The influence of childhood contexts on adult blood pressure is an important yet understudied topic. Using a developmental perspective, this study examines the association between neighborhood ...socioeconomic disadvantage in early childhood (0–5 yrs), middle childhood (6–12 yrs) and adolescence (13–18 yrs) on subsequent blood pressure in young adulthood. Data were from 263 college students (52% Black;
M
age
= 19.21 years) and neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage was measured using a tract-level Area Deprivation Index. Neighborhood disadvantage in early childhood was significantly associated with diastolic blood pressure and explained 22% of the race difference between Black and White adults. The findings are consistent with the notion that early childhood may be a sensitive period for the effects of neighborhood disadvantage on blood pressure.
Organic farming, a low intensity system, may offer benefits for a range of taxa, but what affects the extent of those benefits is imperfectly understood. We explored the effects of organic farming ...and landscape on the activity density and species density of spiders and carabid beetles, using a large sample of paired organic and conventional farms in the UK. Spider activity density and species density were influenced by both farming system and surrounding landscape. Hunting spiders, which tend to have lower dispersal capabilities, had higher activity density, and more species were captured, on organic compared to conventional farms. There was also evidence for an interaction, as the farming system effect was particularly marked in the cropped area before harvest and was more pronounced in complex landscapes (those with little arable land). There was no evidence for any effect of farming system or landscape on web-building spiders (which include the linyphiids, many of which have high dispersal capabilities). For carabid beetles, the farming system effects were inconsistent. Before harvest, higher activity densities were observed in the crops on organic farms compared with conventional farms. After harvest, no difference was detected in the cropped area, but more carabids were captured on conventional compared to organic boundaries. Carabids were more species-dense in complex landscapes, and farming system did not affect this. There was little evidence that non-cropped habitat differences explained the farming system effects for either spiders or carabid beetles. For spiders, the farming system effects in the cropped area were probably largely attributable to differences in crop management; reduced inputs of pesticides (herbicides and insecticides) and fertilisers are possible influences, and there was some evidence for an effect of non-crop plant species richness on hunting spider activity density. The benefits of organic farming may be greatest for taxa with lower dispersal abilities generally. The evidence for interactions among landscape and farming system in their effects on spiders highlights the importance of developing strategies for managing farmland at the landscape-scale for most effective conservation of biodiversity.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
When Dr. E. Fuller Torrey was diagnosed with prostate cancer, none of the books he could find was current enough or comprehensive enough to satisfy his need for information. This book is for the ...hundreds of thousands of other men who each year receive the same frightening diagnosis. It is the book Dr. Torrey wished he had when he was facing the countless questions that a man with prostate cancer, and his family and friends, all confront.Complete, up-to-date, and readable, the book explains how to come to terms with the diagnosis of prostate cancer, evaluate the severity of the disease, and assess the variety of treatment options and their complications. Many chapters provide information other books barely consider, such as a full discussion of the causes of prostate cancer and an evaluation of other books on the subject. Also included is a summary of the most useful Web sites.The author mixes his personal experience with factual material, and he maintains a reassuring sense of humor. His advice is practical, with dozens of tips and lists including "Ten Steps to Sanity for Men Recently Diagnosed with Prostate Cancer." With Dr. Torrey's book in hand, readers can now tackle all the important decisions about prostate cancer, confident in having the most accurate and complete information available.
Abstract Objective The aim of this study is to investigate whether the presence of endometriosis is a prognostic factor in patients diagnosed with clear cell carcinoma (CCC) of the ovary. Methods ...Retrospective chart review was performed to all patients diagnosed with CCC and endometriosis between 1975 and 2002. All pathology reports were reviewed and slides were reviewed when available. Cox regression analysis and Kaplan–Meier test were used to calculate survival prognostic factors. The level of significance was set at 0.05. Results Eighty-four patients with CCC were identified with a 49% rate of coexisting endometriosis. Patients with tumors arising in endometriosis ( n = 15), with endometriosis found elsewhere in the specimen ( n = 26), and those without endometriosis ( n = 43) were analyzed comparatively. Patients with CCCs arising in endometriosis were 10 years younger (95% C.I. 0.6–18 years) than those with CCC not arising in endometriosis ( P < 0.05). Patients with endometriosis anywhere in the surgical specimen presented at early stage 66% of the times versus 42% for patients without endometriosis ( P < 0.05). Median overall survival (OS) for patients with endometriosis was 196 months (95% C.I. 28–363) versus 34 months (95% C.I. 13–55) for patients without endometriosis ( P = 0.01). Advanced tumor stage at diagnosis (HR 13, 95% C.I. 5–29, P = 0.001) and absence of endometriosis (HR 2, 95% C.I. 1–3.9, P = 0.03) were the only significant prognostic factors associated with poor survival. Disease recurrence or death among optimally and completely cytoreduced patients was 31% and 59% for those with and without endometriosis respectively ( P > 0.05). Conclusions Our study suggests that the presence of endometriosis in patients with CCC of the ovary is associated with progression free and OS advantages with no difference in initial resectability.
•We determined whether intranasal insulin would mitigate the behavioral and neuropathological effects of 6-OHDA in a rat model of PD.•Insulin decreased the turns in a drug induced rotational test and ...walking errors on a ladder test.•Insulin increased dopaminergic cell survival in the brain.•The use of an olfactory delivery device with a low dose of insulin can help with translation to clinical trials.
Emerging evidence continues to demonstrate that disrupted insulin signaling and altered energy metabolism may play a key role underpinning pathology in neurodegenerative conditions. Intranasally administered insulin has already shown promise as a memory-enhancing therapy in patients with Alzheimer’s and animal models of the disease. Intranasal drug delivery allows for direct targeting of insulin to the brain, bypassing the blood brain barrier and minimizing systemic adverse effects. In this study, we sought to expand upon previous results that show intranasal insulin may also have promise as a Parkinson’s therapy. We treated 6-OHDA parkinsonian rats with a low dose (3 IU/day) of insulin and assessed apomorphine induced rotational turns, motor deficits via a horizontal ladder test, and dopaminergic cell survival via stereological counting. We found that insulin therapy substantially reduced motor dysfunction and dopaminergic cell death induced by unilateral injection of 6-OHDA. These results confirm insulin’s efficacy within this model, and do so over a longer period after model induction which more closely resembles Parkinson’s disease. This study also employed a lower dose than previous studies and utilizes a delivery device, which could lead to an easier transition into human clinical trials as a therapeutic for Parkinson’s disease.
Monoterpenoid indole alkaloids (MIAs) are plant defense compounds and high-value pharmaceuticals. Biosynthesis of the universal MIA precursor, secologanin, is organized between internal ...phloem-associated parenchyma (IPAP) and epidermis cells. Transporters for intercellular transport of proposed mobile pathway intermediates have remained elusive. Screening of an Arabidopsis thaliana transporter library expressed in Xenopus oocytes identified AtNPF2.9 as a putative iridoid glucoside importer. Eight orthologs were identified in Catharanthus roseus, of which three, CrNPF2.4, CrNPF2.5 and CrNPF2.6, were capable of transporting the iridoid glucosides 7-deoxyloganic acid, loganic acid, loganin and secologanin into oocytes. Based on enzyme expression data and transporter specificity, we propose that several enzymes of the biosynthetic pathway are present in both IPAP and epidermis cells, and that the three transporters are responsible for transporting not only loganic acid, as previously proposed, but multiple intermediates. Identification of the iridoid glucoside-transporting CrNPFs is an important step toward understanding the complex orchestration of the seco-iridioid pathway.
There is evidence for elevation-dependent warming (EDW) in many mountainous regions, including the Alps, Rockies, and Tibetan Plateau, all of which are in mid latitudes. Most studies finding evidence ...of EDW indicate that both recent decadal and future projected warming rates are greater at higher elevations. In this study, we examine the roles of Arctic amplification and elevation on future warming rates in winter and summer in eastern Siberia (50-70° N; 80-180° E). This region includes four major river basins that flow into the Arctic Ocean (the Yenisei, Lena, Indigirka, and Kolyma) and intersects with mountain ranges in northern Mongolia and eastern Siberia. We analyze projected 21st century temperature projections using a six-member ensemble of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Community Climate System Model (CCSM4) with a radiative forcing of 8.5 W m−2. Projected warming rates in winter for the 21st century are dominated by Arctic amplification, which leads to significantly larger warming rates at higher latitudes, with latitudinal gradients of about 0.16 °C degree−1 latitude. In summer, the latitudinal gradient is near zero (0.02 °C degree−1 of latitude). Within specific latitude bands, we also find EDW. However, unlike most mid-latitude locations where warming rates are greater at higher elevations, we find that future warming rates are smaller at higher elevations for this high-latitude region, particularly during winter, with statistically significant rates varying between −0.70 °C km−1 and −2.46 °C km−1 for different 5° latitude bands. The decrease in warming rates with elevation in winter at the highest latitudes is primarily attributed to strong inversions and changes in the lapse rate as free-air temperatures warm at slower rates than surface temperatures. In summer, the elevation dependence is much weaker than in winter but still statistically significant and negative in all but the most northern latitude band with values ranging between −0.10 °C km−1 and −0.56 °C km−1.
S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase-like protein 1 (AHCYL1), also known as IP(3) receptor-binding protein released with IP(3) (IRBIT), regulates IP(3)-induced Ca(2+) release into the cytoplasm of cells. ...AHCYL1 is a critical regulator of early developmental stages in zebrafish, but little is known about the function of AHCYL1 or hormonal regulation of expression of the AHCYL1 gene in avian species. Therefore, we investigated differential expression profiles of the AHCYL1 gene in various adult organs and in oviducts from estrogen-treated chickens. Chicken AHCYL1 encodes for a protein of 540 amino acids that is highly conserved and has considerable homology to mammalian AHCYL1 proteins (>94% identity). AHCYL1 mRNA was expressed abundantly in various organs of chickens. Further, the synthetic estrogen agonist induced AHCYL1 mRNA and protein predominantly in luminal and glandular epithelial cells of the chick oviduct. In addition, estrogen activated AHCYL1 through the ERK1/2 signal transduction cascade and that activated expression of AHCYL1 regulated genes affecting oviduct development in chicks as well as calcium release in epithelial cells of the oviduct. Also, microRNAs, miR-124a, miR-1669, miR-1710 and miR-1782 influenced AHCYL1 expression in vitro via its 3'-UTR which suggests that post-transcriptional events are involved in the regulation of AHCYL1 expression in the chick oviduct. In conclusion, these results indicate that AHCYL1 is a novel estrogen-stimulated gene expressed in epithelial cells of the chicken oviduct that likely affects growth, development and calcium metabolism of the mature oviduct of hens via an estrogen-mediated ERK1/2 MAPK cell signaling pathway.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Over the past decade the Middle East has undergone huge geopolitical shifts, including widespread war and violence, the collapse of numerous regimes, a changing American role, a restored Russian ...presence, and the emergence of ISIS. In this book Graham Fuller addresses the character of these shifts and how they will shape the future of this tumultuous region as well as the role of major outside powers.
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