bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Betalain production is possible in anthocyanin-producing plant species given the presence of DOPA-dioxygenase and L-DOPA
Authors: Harris Nilangani N , Javellana John , Davies Kevin M , Lewis David H , Jameson Paula E , Deroles Simon C , Calcott Kate E , Gould Kevin S , Schwinn Kathy E
Published: March 2012

Background

Carotenoids and anthocyanins are the predominant non-chlorophyll pigments in plants. However, certain families within the order Caryophyllales produce another class of pigments, the betalains, instead of anthocyanins. The occurrence of betalains and anthocyanins is mutually exclusive. Betalains are divided into two classes, the betaxanthins and betacyanins, which produce yellow to orange or violet colours, respectively. In this article we show betalain production in species that normally produce anthocyanins, through a combination of genetic modification and substrate feeding.

Results

The biolistic introduction of DNA constructs for transient overexpression of two different dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) dioxygenases (DODs), and feeding of DOD substrate (L-DOPA), was sufficient to induce betalain production in cell cultures of Solanum tuberosum (potato) and petals of Antirrhinum majus. HPLC analysis showed both betaxanthins and betacyanins were produced. Multi-cell foci with yellow, orange and/or red colours occurred, with either a fungal DOD (from Amanita muscaria) or a plant DOD (from Portulaca grandiflora), and the yellow/orange foci showed green autofluorescence characteristic of betaxanthins. Stably transformed Arabidopsis thaliana (arabidopsis) lines containing 35S: AmDOD produced yellow colouration in flowers and orange-red colouration in seedlings when fed L-DOPA. These tissues also showed green autofluorescence. HPLC analysis of the transgenic seedlings fed L-DOPA confirmed betaxanthin production.

Conclusions

The fact that the introduction of DOD along with a supply of its substrate (L-DOPA) was sufficient to induce betacyanin production reveals the presence of a background enzyme, possibly a tyrosinase, that can convert L-DOPA to cyclo-DOPA (or dopaxanthin to betacyanin) in at least some anthocyanin-producing plants. The plants also demonstrate that betalains can accumulate in anthocyanin-producing species. Thus, introduction of a DOD and an enzyme capable of converting tyrosine to L-DOPA should be sufficient to confer both betaxanthin and betacyanin production to anthocyanin-producing species. The requirement for few novel biosynthetic steps may have assisted in the evolution of the betalain biosynthetic pathway in the Caryophyllales, and facilitated multiple origins of the pathway in this order and in fungi. The stably transformed 35S: AmDOD arabidopsis plants provide material to study, for the first time, the physiological effects of having both betalains and anthocyanins in the same plant tissues.
Correlations between prescription of anti-hypertensive medication and mortality due to stroke
Authors: Papp Renata , Csaszar Albert , Paulik Edit , Balogh Sandor
Published: March 2012

Background

One of the most important risk factors for stroke is hypertension. A number of studies have attempted to identify the most effective anti-hypertensive therapeutic group for stroke prevention. Using an epidemiologic approach we aimed to find correlations based on Hungarian data on stroke-mortality and on prescription routine of anti-hypertensive therapeutics in three different counties, showing significant difference in stroke mortality.

Methods

We have used the official yearly reports on stroke-mortality for the period 2003-2008. Based on the significant differences in the change in mortality due to stroke three counties were selected: Baranya, Bekes and Hajdu-Bihar. The usage of antihypertensive therapeutic groups was analyzed. The correlation of stroke mortality difference and different antihypertensive treatment habits was analyzed by using normality test, time series analyses, correlation coefficient, paired samples test, one sample test and chi-square test.

Results

For the year 2003 stroke-mortality standardized with the county population number was highest in county Bekes, followed by county Baranya and county Hajdu-Bihar. For each year stroke mortality has shown significant (p < 0.0001) difference between the three counties and the ranking/order of the counties has been preserved over time. During the period of our study, an increase in the number of days of treatment was observed for most of the anti-hypertensive drugs listed. We have observed that the increased use of high-ceiling diuretics resulted in a mortality advantage, and the reduction in use of calcium channel blockers with direct cardiac effect had negative consequences.

Conclusions

The authors acknowledge that by limiting the study to three counties the findings cannot be generalized to the whole Hungarian population. Two trends can still be identified:

i) increased number of days of treatment (and therefore the probable use) of high-ceiling diuretics is associated with reduction in mortality due to stroke and its immediate complications; ii) reduction in the use of non-dihidropiridin CCBs does not seem justified, as their use appears to be advantageous in stroke prevention. Authors put emphasis on the importance of the adherence of the patients to the preventive therapies. Health care professionals could provide an important added value to the life long preventive therapies by improving the compliance of their patients, giving personalized care and advice.
Evaluation of drug administration errors in a teaching hospital
Authors: Berdot Sarah , Sabatier Brigitte , Gillaizeau Florence , Caruba Thibaut , Prognon Patrice , Durieux Pierre
Published: March 2012

Background

Medication errors can occur at any of the three steps of the medication use process: prescribing, dispensing and administration. We aimed to determine the incidence, type and clinical importance of drug administration errors and to identify risk factors.

Methods

Prospective study based on disguised observation technique in four wards in a teaching hospital in Paris, France (800 beds). A pharmacist accompanied nurses and witnessed the preparation and administration of drugs to all patients during the three drug rounds on each of six days per ward. Main outcomes were number, type and clinical importance of errors and associated risk factors. Drug administration error rate was calculated with and without wrong time errors. Relationship between the occurrence of errors and potential risk factors were investigated using logistic regression models with random effects.

Results

Twenty-eight nurses caring for 108 patients were observed. Among 1501 opportunities for error, 415 administrations (430 errors) with one or more errors were detected (27.6%). There were 312 wrong time errors, ten simultaneously with another type of error, resulting in an error rate without wrong time error of 7.5% (113/1501). The most frequently administered drugs were the cardiovascular drugs (425/1501, 28.3%). The highest risks of error in a drug administration were for dermatological drugs. No potentially life-threatening errors were witnessed and 6% of errors were classified as having a serious or significant impact on patients (mainly omission). In multivariate analysis, the occurrence of errors was associated with drug administration route, drug classification (ATC) and the number of patient under the nurse's care.

Conclusion

Medication administration errors are frequent. The identification of its determinants helps to undertake designed interventions.
Gold nanoparticles as high-resolution X-ray imaging contrast agents for the analysis of tumor-related micro-vasculature
Authors: Chien Chia-Chi , Chen Hsiang-Hsin , Lai Sheng-Feng , Wu Kang-Chao , Cai Xiaoqing , Hwu Yeukuang , Petibois Cyril , Chu Yong , Margaritondo Giorgio
Published: March 2012

Background

Angiogenesis is widely investigated in conjunction with cancer development, in particular because of the possibility of early stage detection and of new therapeutic strategies. However, such studies are negatively affected by the limitations of imaging techniques in the detection of microscopic blood vessels (diameter 3-5 μm) grown under angiogenic stress. We report that synchrotron-based X-ray imaging techniques with very high spatial resolution can overcome this obstacle, provided that suitable contrast agents are used.

Results

We tested different contrast agents based on gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) for the detection of cancer-related angiogenesis by synchrotron microradiology, microtomography and high resolution X-ray microscopy. Among them only bare-AuNPs in conjunction with heparin injection provided sufficient contrast to allow in vivo detection of small capillary species (the smallest measured lumen diameters were 3-5 μm). The detected vessel density was 3-7 times higher than with other nanoparticles. We also found that bare-AuNPs with heparin allows detecting symptoms of local extravascular nanoparticle diffusion in tumor areas where capillary leakage appeared.

Conclusions

Although high-Z AuNPs are natural candidates as radiology contrast agents, their success is not guaranteed, in particular when targeting very small blood vessels in tumor-related angiography. We found that AuNPs injected with heparin produced the contrast level needed to reveal--for the first time by X-ray imaging--tumor microvessels with 3-5 μm diameter as well as extravascular diffusion due to basal membrane defenestration. These results open the interesting possibility of functional imaging of the tumor microvasculature, of its development and organization, as well as of the effects of anti-angiogenic drugs.
Pulsed ultrasound associated with gold nanoparticle gel reduces oxidative stress parameters and expression of pro-inflammatory molecules in an animal model of muscle injury
Authors: Victor Eduardo G , Silveira Paulo CL , Possato Jonathann C , da Rosa Guilherme L , Munari Uillian B , de Souza Claudio T , Pinho Ricardo A , da Silva Luciano , Streck Emilio L , Paula Marcos MS
Published: March 2012

Background

Nanogold has been investigated in a wide variety of biomedical applications because of the anti-inflammatory properties. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of TPU (Therapeutic Pulsed Ultrasound) with gold nanoparticles (GNP) on oxidative stress parameters and the expression of pro-inflammatory molecules after traumatic muscle injury.

Materials and methods

Animals were divided in nine groups: sham (uninjured muscle); muscle injury without treatment; muscle injury + DMSO; muscle injury + GNP; muscle injury + DMSO + GNP; muscle injury + TPU; muscle injury + TPU + DMSO; muscle injury + TPU + GNP; muscle injury + TPU + DMSO + GNP. The ROS production was determined by concentration of superoxide anion, modulation of antioxidant defenses was determined by the activity of superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase enzymes, oxidative damage determined by formation of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance and protein carbonyls. The levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were measured as inflammatory parameters.

Results

Compared to muscle injury without treatment group, the muscle injury + TPU + DMSO + GNP gel group promoted a significant decrease in superoxide anion production and lipid peroxidation levels (p < 0.050). It also showed a significant decrease in TNF-α and IL-1β levels (p < 0.050) when compared to muscle injury without treatment group.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that TPU + DMSO + GNP gel presents beneficial effects on the muscular healing process, inducing a reduction in the production of ROS and also the expression of pro-inflammatory molecules.
Reaching out and reaching up - developing a low cost drug treatment system in Cambodia
Authors: Klein Axel , Saphonn Vonthanak , Reid Savanna
Published: March 2012

Cambodia, confronted by the spread of drug misuse among young people, requested support from international agencies to develop a drug treatment programme in 2000. The initial plan developed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime was to set up a number of conventional drug treatment centres in urban areas. During the planning phase, however, the project was redesigned as a community based outreach programme. Ten Community Counselling Teams have been formed and trained in pilot areas, and within the first year of operation 462 drug and alcohol users contacted. Comprising former drug users, family members affected by drug use and health care staff, they have drug scene credibility, local knowledge and connectivity, and a rudimentary level of medical competence. Crucially, they enjoy the support of village elders, who are involved in the planning and reporting stages. While the Community Counselling Teams with their basic training in addiction counselling are in no position as yet to either provide or refer clients to treatment, they can provide brief interventions, organise self help groups, and most importantly provide an alternative to law enforcement. By taking a development centred approach, with emphasis on community, empowerment and inclusion, it provides a constructive and inclusive alternative to medical approaches and the compulsory drug treatment centres. The paper is based on an evaluation involving interviews with a range of stakeholders and a review of project documents.
Tailoring of polar and nonpolar ZnO planes on MgO (001) substrates through molecular beam epitaxy
Authors: Zhou Hua , Wang Hui-Qiong , Liao Xia-Xia , Zhang Yufeng , Zheng Jin-Cheng , Wang Jia-Ou , Muhemmed Emin , Qian Hai-Jie , Ibrahim Kurash , Chen Xiaohang , Zhan Huahan , Kang Junyong
Published: March 2012

Polar and nonpolar ZnO thin films were deposited on MgO (001) substrates under different deposition parameters using oxygen plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The orientations of ZnO thin films were investigated by in situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction and ex situ X-ray diffraction (XRD). The film roughness measured by atomic force microscopy evolved as a function of substrate temperature and was correlated with the grain sizes determined by XRD. Synchrotron-based X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) was performed to study the conduction band structures of the ZnO films. The fine structures of the XAS spectra, which were consistent with the results of density functional theory calculation, indicated that the polar and nonpolar ZnO films had different electronic structures. Our work suggests that it is possible to vary ZnO film structures from polar to nonpolar using the MBE growth technique and hence tailoring the electronic structures of the ZnO films.

PACS: 81; 81.05.Dz; 81.15.Hi.
The comparison of insulin resistance frequency in patients with recurrent early pregnancy loss to normal individuals
Authors: Maryam Kotanaie , Bouzari Zinatossadat , Basirat Zahra , Kashifard Mehrdad , Zadeh Mahtab Zeinal
Published: March 2012

Background

Patients with ≥ 3 recurrent spontaneous miscarriages are classified as having RSM. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is associated with insulin resistance (IR). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the association of IR and RMS.

Methods

Present case- control prospective study was performed on 100 women in control group (with a history of at a live birth and no history of one more abortion) and study group (with a history of ≥ 3 RMS) who were not diabetes and PCOS. Two groups matched in base of age and body mass index. Blood was withdrawn from the case and control patients for the determination of the fasting blood glucose (FG), fasting insulin (FI) levels and ultrasonography was performed on all the patients.

Results

The observed differences between age, FG and FG to FI ratio levels in case and control groups were not significant (p > 0.05) but it was significant about fasting insulin (p = 0.0119). FI of < 20 μu/ml or ≥ 20 μu/ml in case and control group was significant (Chi-square: 4.083, p: 0.0433, odds ratio: 4.4386, CI95% = 1.1541 to 17.0701), whereas the difference between absolute and proportional frequency of patients with FG to FI ratio of < 4.5 and ≥ 4.5 in case and control groups was not significant (Chi-square: 2.374, p = 0.123).

Conclusion

Current study showed that in women with RPL, in Iranian race like Americans, frequency of insulin resistance in high, therefore there is a probability of the degree of insulin resistance in women with RPL.
Adrenomedullin expression in epithelial ovarian cancers and promotes HO8910 cell migration associated with upregulating integrin α5β1 and phosphorylating FAK and paxillin
Authors: Deng Boya , Zhang Siyang , Miao Yuan , Han Zhuang , Zhang Xiaoli , Wen Fang , Zhang Yi
Published: March 2012

Background

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths in women worldwide. Adrenomedullin (AM) is a multifunctional peptide which presents in various kinds of tumors.

Methods

In this study, we characterized the expression and function of AM in epithelial ovarian cancer using immunohistochemistry staining. Exogenous AM and small interfering RNA (siRNA) specific for AM receptor CRLR were treated to EOC cell line HO8910. Wound healing assay and flow cytometry were used to measure the migration ability and expression of integrin α5 of HO8910 cells after above treatments. Western blot was used to examine the phosphorylation of FAK and paxillin.

Results

We found that patients with high AM expression showed a higher incidence of metastasis, larger residual size of tumors after cytoreduction and shorter disease-free and overall survival time. Exogenous AM induced ovarian cancer cell migration in time- and dose- dependent manners. AM upregulated the expression of integrin α5 and phosphorylation of FAK, paxillin as well.

Conclusions

Our results suggested that AM contributed to the progression of EOC and had additional roles in EOC cell migration by activating the integrin α5β1 signaling pathway. Therefore, we presumed that AM could be a potential molecular therapeutic target for ovarian carcinoma.
The foot‐health of people with diabetes in a regional Australian population: a prospective clinical audit
Authors: Perrin Byron M , Gardner Marcus J , Kennett Susan R
Published: March 2012

Background

There is limited understanding of the foot‐health of people with diabetes in Australian regional areas. The aim of this study was to document the foot‐health of people with diabetes who attend publically funded podiatric services in a regional Australian population.

Methods

A three month prospective clinical audit was undertaken by the publically‐funded podiatric services of a large regional area of Victoria, Australia. The primary variables of interest were the University of Texas (UT) diabetic foot risk classification of each patient and the incidence of new foot ulceration during the study period. Age, gender, diabetes type, duration of diabetes and the podiatric service the patients attended were the other variables of interest.

Results

Five hundred and seventy six patients were seen during the three month period. Over 49% had a UT risk classification at a level at least peripheral neuropathy or more serious diabetes‐related foot morbidity. Higher risk at baseline was associated with longer duration of diabetes (F = 31.7, p < 0.001), male gender (χ2 = 40.3, p < 0.001) and type 1 diabetes (χ2 = 37.3, p < 0.001). A prior history of foot pathology was the overwhelming predictor for incident ulceration during the time period (OR 8.1 (95% CI 3.6 to 18.2), p < 0.001).

Conclusions

The publically funded podiatric services of this large regional area of Australia deal with a disproportionally large number of people with diabetes at high risk of future diabetes‐related foot complications. These findings may be useful in ensuring appropriate allocation of resources for future public health services involved in diabetic foot health service delivery in regional areas.
Health impact of probiotics - vision and opportunities
Authors: Hajela Neerja , Nair G Balakrish , Abraham Philip , Ganguly Nirmal K
Published: March 2012

Our understanding of the role of the microbiota in our gut and other sites in our body is rapidly emerging and could lead to many new and innovative approaches for health care. The promise of the potential role of probiotics for the prevention and treatment of enteric and other infections as an effective solution needs to be realized. The meeting report summarizes the insights and learning from a recent symposium, "Health Impact of Probiotics - Vision and Opportunities" conducted in Mumbai by the Yakult India Microbiota and Probiotic Science Foundation and P.D. Hinduja National Hospital, Mumbai. The symposium reflected its objective of unraveling the potential role of probiotics for health benefits through presentations and discussions. Experts clearly highlighted the role of probiotics in improving various aspects of health and in immune modulation. The report also captures the debate and discussions on the challenges that are likely to be encountered for the use of probiotics in the country.
Etiology analysis and computed tomography imaging of a tonsillar inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor: report of an immunocompetent patient and brief review
Authors: Luo Yun-Zhen , Dai Li-Bo , Zhou Shui-Hong , Luo Xing-Mei , Fan Jun , Ruan Ling-Xiang
Published: March 2012

Objectives

The etiology of Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor(IMT) is contentious. In this study, we used computed tomography (CT) to examine tonsillar IMT and further analyzed the etiology of this entity.

Methodology

We presented CT features of left tonsillar IMT and reviewed the English-language literature published between 1984 and 2011.

Results

To our knowledge, there are only six published cases of tonsillar IMT including the present case. Two patients were asymptomatic at initial presentation. Two patients were taking immunosuppressants, and one was pregnant and in an immunomodulated state. CT of our patient revealed a 2.6 × 1.8 cm irregular soft tissue mass between the left tonsil and the base of the tongue. It did not invade surrounding structures and was not enhanced on contrast-enhanced imaging.

Conclusions

Tonsillar IMT may be a benign tumor. We suggest that preoperative recognition of tonsillar IMT by CT may be important to avoid unnecessary expanded surgery.
A systematic critical review on MRI in spondyloarthritis
Authors: Arnbak Bodil , Leboeuf-Yde Charlotte , Jensen Tue Secher
Published: March 2012

Introduction

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been proven capable of showing inflammatory and structural changes in patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA) and has become widely used in the diagnosis of SpA. Despite this, no systematic reviews evaluate the diagnostic utility of MRI for SpA. Therefore, the objective of this systematic review was to determine the evidence for the utility of MRI in the clinical diagnosis of SpA. The aims were to identify which MRI findings are associated with the diagnosis of SpA and to quantify this association.

Methods

MEDLINE and EMBASE were electronically searched. Inclusion criteria were cross-sectional or longitudinal case-control or cohort MRI studies. The studies required a group with either SpA or inflammatory back pain (IBP) and a non-case group without SpA or IBP. Each group required a minimum of 20 participants. The included articles had to report results containing raw numbers suitable for the construction of two-by-two tables or report results by sensitivity and specificity for cross-sectional studies or odds ratios, relative risk ratios, or likelihood ratios for longitudinal studies. Method quality was assessed by using criteria based on the QUADAS tool.

Results

In total, 2,395 articles were identified in MEDLINE and EMBASE before November 2011. All articles were reviewed by title and abstract. Seventy-seven articles were reviewed by full text, and 10 met the inclusion criteria. Two were considered of high quality: one evaluated the sacroiliac joints, and the other, the spine. Because of the small number of high-quality studies, a meta-analysis was not performed. The two high-quality studies found a positive association between MRI findings (bone marrow edema, erosions, fat infiltrations, global assessment of sacroiliitis, and ankylosis) and the diagnosis of IBP and SpA.

Conclusion

In this review, several MRI findings were found to be associated with SpA. However, because of the small number of high-quality studies, the evidence for the utility of MRI in the diagnosis of SpA must be considered limited. Therefore, caution should be taken to ensure that inflammatory and structural MRI findings are not interpreted as being more specific for SpA than is supported by research.
Silencing of HSulf-2 expression in MCF10DCIS.com cells attenuate ductal carcinoma in situ progression to invasive ductal carcinoma in vivo
Authors: Khurana Ashwani , McKean Hiedi , Kim Hyunseok , Kim Sung-Hoon , Mcguire Jacie , Roberts Lewis R , Goetz Matthew P , Shridhar Viji
Published: March 2012

Introduction

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast is a heterogeneous group of proliferative cellular lesions that have the potential to become invasive. Very little is known about the molecular alterations involved in the progression from DCIS to invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC). Heparan endosulfatase (HSulf-2) edits sulfate moieties on heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) and has been implicated in modulating heparin binding growth factor signaling, angiogenesis and tumorigenesis. However, the role of HSulf-2 in breast cancer progression is poorly understood. MCF10DCIS.com cells (referred as MCF10DCIS) express HSulf-2 and form comedo type DCIS and progress to IDC when transplanted in immune-deficient mice and, therefore, is an ideal model to study breast cancer progression. We evaluated the role of HSulf-2 in progression from DCIS to IDC using mouse fat pad mammary xenografts.

Methods

Non-target control (NTC) and HSulf-2 knockdown in MCF10DCIS breast cancer cells were achieved by NTC shRNA and two different lentiviral shRNA against HSulf-2 respectively. Xenografts were established by injecting NTC and HSulf-2 deficient MCF10DCIS cells in mouse mammary fat pads. Xenografts were subjected to H&E staining for morphological analysis, TUNEL and Propidium iodide staining (to determine the extent of apoptosis), Western blot analysis and zymography.

Results

Using a mouse mammary fat pad derived xenograft model, we observed that compared to control treated xenografts, down-regulation of HSulf-2 was associated with significant delays in growth at Week 7 (P-value < 0.05). Histological examination of the tumors demonstrated substantial differences in comedo necrosis, with marked luminal apoptosis and up-regulation of apoptotic markers Bim, cleaved PARP and cleaved caspase 3 in HSulf-2 depleted xenografts. Furthermore, HSulf-2 depleted xenografts retained the basement membrane integrity with decreased activity and expression of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9), an enzyme critical for degradation of extracellular matrix compared to nontargeted control.

Conclusion

Our data suggest that HSulf-2 expression may be critical for human breast cancer progression. Down-regulation of HSulf-2 leads to retention of comedo type DCIS and delays the progression of DCIS to IDC. Further studies are necessary to determine if therapeutic targeting of HSulf-2 expression might delay the progression of DCIS to IDC.
Serial soluble neurofilament heavy chain in plasma as a marker of brain injury after cardiac arrest
Authors: Rundgren Malin , Friberg Hans , Cronberg Tobias , Romner Bertil , Petzold Axel
Published: March 2012

Introduction

Induced hypothermia has been shown to improve outcome after cardiac arrest, but early prognostication is hampered by the need for sedation. Here we tested whether a biomarker for neurodegeneration, the neurofilament heavy chain (NfH), may improve diagnostic accuracy in the first days after cardiac arrest.

Methods

This prospective study included 90 consecutive patients treated with hypothermia after cardiac arrest. Plasma levels of phosphorylated NfH (SMI35) were quantified using standard ELISA over a period of 72 h after cardiac arrest. The primary outcome was the dichotomized Cerebral Performance Categories scale (CPC). A best CPC 1-2 during 6 months follow-up was considered a good outcome, a best CPC of 3-4 a poor outcome. Receiver operator characteristics and area under the curve were calculated.

Results

The median age of the patients was 65 years, and 63 (70%) were male. A cardiac aetiology was identified in 62 cases (69%). 77 patients (86%) had out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The outcome was good in 48 and poor in 42 patients. Plasma NfH levels were significantly higher 2 and 36 hours after cardiac arrest in patients with poor outcome (median 0.28 ng/mL and 0.5 ng/mL, respectively) compared to those with good outcome (0 ng/mL, p = 0.016, p < 0.005, respectively). The respective AUC were 0.72 and 0.71.

Conclusions

Plasma NfH levels correlate to neurological prognosis following cardiac arrest. In this study, 15 patients had neurological co-morbidities and there was a considerable overlap of data. As such, neurofilament should not be used for routine neuroprognostication until more data are available.
Central Role for PELP1 in Nonandrogenic Activation of the Androgen Receptor in Prostate Cancer
Authors: Yang Lin , Ravindranathan Preethi , Ramanan Meera , Kapur Payal , Hammes Stephen R. , Hsieh Jer-Tsong , Raj Ganesh V.
Published: March 2012

The ability of 17β-estradiol (E2) to regulate the proliferation of prostate cancer (PCa) cells in the absence of androgen is poorly understood. Here, we show the predominant estrogen receptor (ER) isoform expressed in PCa specimens and cell lines is ERβ. Our data indicate that E2 induces the formation of a complex between androgen receptor (AR), ERβ, and a proline-, glutamic acid-, and leucine-rich cofactor protein 1 (PELP1) in PCa cells. This protein complex is formed on AR's cognate DNA-responsive elements on the promoter in response to E2. Formation of this complex enables the transcription of AR-responsive genes in response to E2. Knockdown of PELP1, AR, or ERβ blocks the assembly of this complex, blocks E2-induced genomic activation of AR-regulated genes, and blocks E2-stimulated proliferation of PCa cells. Overall, this study shows that PELP1 may enable E2-induced AR signaling by forming a protein complex between AR, ERβ, and PELP1 on the DNA, leading to the proliferation of PCa cells in the absence of androgen. PELP1 may bridge the signal between E2 bound to ERβ and AR and thus allow for cross talk between these steroid receptors. These data suggest a novel mechanism of AR activation in the absence of androgens in PCa cells. Our data indicate that disruption of the complex between AR and PELP1 may be a viable therapeutic strategy in advanced PCa.
Revisiting and Questioning Functional Rescue between Dimerized LH Receptor Mutants
Authors: Zhang Meilin , Guan Rongbin , Segaloff Deborah L.
Published: March 2012

The glycoprotein hormone receptors are G protein-coupled receptors containing a large extracellular domain fused to a prototypical serpentine domain. cis-activation occurs when binding of hormone to the extracellular domain stabilizes the serpentine domain in an active conformation. Studies by others suggested that these receptors can also signal by trans-activation, where hormone binding to one receptor protomer activates the serpentine domain of an associated protomer, as documented by the partial rescue of hormone-dependent signaling when a binding defective mutant is coexpressed with a signaling defective mutant. However, our characterizations of several LH receptor (LHR) mutants used in previous studies differ markedly from those originally reported. Also, when examining a pair of LHR mutants previously shown to functionally rescue in vitro as well as in vivo, in addition to finding that the properties of the individual mutants differ significantly from those originally described, we determined that when this pair of mutants was coexpressed in vitro, quantitative analyses did not indicate functional rescue. Additional data are presented that provide a plausible alternate explanation for the apparent in vivo trans-activation that was reported. Finally, using LHR mutants that we have documented to be expressed at the cell surface but to lack human chorionic gonadotropin binding activity or to be severely impaired in their ability to activate Gs, we did not observe functional rescue of human chorionic gonadotropin-stimulated cAMP when the mutants were coexpressed, even though bioluminescence resonance energy transfer analyses confirmed that the coexpressed mutants formed dimers. Taken altogether, our data substantively question the concept of functional rescue between LHR mutants.
Transcriptome-wide analysis of small RNA expression in early zebrafish development
Authors: Wei Chunyao , Salichos Leonidas , Wittgrove Carli M. , Rokas Antonis , Patton James G.
Published: March 2012

During early vertebrate development, a large number of noncoding RNAs are maternally inherited or expressed upon activation of zygotic transcription. The exact identity, expression levels, and function for most of these noncoding RNAs remain largely unknown. miRNAs (microRNAs) and piRNAs (piwi-interacting RNAs) are two classes of small noncoding RNAs that play important roles in gene regulation during early embryonic development. Here, we utilized next-generation sequencing technology to determine temporal expression patterns for both miRNAs and piRNAs during four distinct stages of early vertebrate development using zebrafish as a model system. For miRNAs, the expression patterns for 198 known miRNAs within 122 different miRNA families and eight novel miRNAs were determined. Significant sequence variation was observed at the 5′ and 3′ends of miRNAs, with most extra nucleotides added at the 3′ end in a nontemplate directed manner. For the miR-430 family, the addition of adenosine and uracil residues is developmentally regulated and may play a role in miRNA stability during the maternal zygotic transition. Similar modification at the 3′ ends of a large number of miRNAs suggests widespread regulation of stability during early development. Beside miRNAs, we also identified a large and unexpectedly diverse set of piRNAs expressed during early development.
Exploding Offers
Authors: Lippman Steven A. , Mamer John W.
Published: March 2012

A buyer seeks to purchase an asset from a seller who has a finite time T in which to sell his asset. Either the buyer's offer is permanent and remains available until time T, or it is an exploding offer and remains in effect only at the instant it is made. Our goal is to determine when an exploding offer maximizes the buyer's probability of purchasing the asset (at the given offer price). We embed our analysis in a standard continuous time finite horizon search model with recall in which only one buyer is strategic and considers making an exploding offer. Our analysis and examples reveal that the strategic buyer's choice of offer duration is complex: almost anything can occur. We obtain an explicit characterization of the optimal choice when the offer distribution is uniform.
From the Editor—Decisions over Time (Exploding Offers or Purchase Regret), in Game Settings (Embedded Nash Bargaining or Adversarial Games), and in Influence Diagrams
Authors: Keller L. Robin
Published: March 2012

Our first two articles address decisions involving the passage of time. First, Steven A. Lippman and John W. Mamer explore the question of whether making “Exploding Offers” is beneficial to an employer seeking to hire or, in a more general framing of the question, to a purchaser of an asset. Next, in “Dynamic Purchase Decisions Under Regret: Price and Availability,” Enrico Diecidue, Nils Rudi, and Wenjie Tang examine situations in which a person can make a forward purchase in period 1 or a spot purchase in period 2. Our next two articles involve game theoretic models. In our third article, Steven A. Lippman and Kevin F. McCardle model joint decision making (motivated by dividing up a fortune) via “Embedded Nash Bargaining: Risk Aversion and Impatience.” The fourth article is “Robust Adversarial Risk Analysis: A Level-k Approach,” by Laura McLay, Casey Rothschild, and Seth Guikema. The final article is on “A Framework for Solving Hybrid Influence Diagrams Containing Deterministic Conditional Distributions,” by Yijing Li and Prakash P. Shenoy.
A Branch-and-Cut Algorithm for the Symmetric Two-Echelon Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem
Authors: Jepsen Mads , Spoorendonk Simon , Ropke Stefan
Published: March 2012

This paper presents an exact method for solving the symmetric two-echelon capacitated vehicle routing problem, a transportation problem concerned with the distribution of goods from a depot to a set of customers through a set of satellite locations. The presented method is based on an edge flow model that is a relaxation and provides a valid lower bound. A specialized branching scheme is employed to obtain feasible solutions. Out of a test set of 93 instances the algorithm is able to solve 47 to optimality, surpassing previous exact algorithms.
Non-demand for social rights: a new challenge for social action in France
Authors: Warin Philippe
Published: March 2012

The fact of taking into account the issue of non-demand for social rights leads to changes in the logics underpinning public policy. These changes have a significant impact on the relationship with the publics targeted by these policies, and make it necessary to take individual preferences into account. That is the case in France today, where institutionalisation of the non-take-up theme may be paving the way for ‘post-welfarism’, in which policy making takes in account individual preferences above all. The example considered here is the second largest local ‘social action centre’ or CCAS (centre communal d’action sociale) in France (after that of Paris). The CCAS are instrumental in implementing social action policies and the changes of rationale presented here.
Serving the public or delivering public services? Religion and social welfare in the new British social policy landscape
Authors: Jawad Rana
Published: March 2012

Religion appears as a dormant actor in British social policy, yet since the early 1990s its role in public service provision has become more prominent. What can a religious perspective bring to our understanding of human wellbeing – especially as the idea of the Big Society opens up new normative landscapes? In response, this article outlines some policy and practice issues, namely that religious welfare provision: is key to a more historically accurate account of British social policy; challenges utilitarian notions of wellbeing; is a potentially good example of the Big Society; and is able to reconcile its secular public service provision role with its religious identity and mission to serve the public.
REVIEWS
Authors: Alhussain Eman , Mulaj Klejda
Published: March 2012

THE POLITICAL ROAD TO WAR WITH IRAQ: BUSH, SEPEMBER 11TH AND THE DTIVER OVERTHROW SADDAM, NICK RITCHIE AND PAUL ROGERS (2007) London: Routledge, 240 pp., ISBN: 0415459508 (pbk), $US39.95

THE IRAQI REFUGEES: THE NEW CRISIS IN THE MIDDLE EAST, JOSEPH SASSOON (2011) London and
New York: I.B. Tauris, xx + 247 pp., £14.44 (pbk), £47.60 (hbk), ISBN-10: 1845119193 ISBN-13: 978-1845119195
Cinema on the cultural front: Film-making and the Mozambican revolution
Authors: Gray Ros
Published: March 2012

During the armed struggle and the revolution that followed independence in Mozambique, film-making was understood as operating on the 'cultural front' of an international struggle against capitalist imperialism. Shortly after independence in 1975, FRELIMO established an Instituto Nacional
de Cinema (the INC), and Maputo became a key site in a network of African liberationist film-making that had been emerging since the late 1960s. In a country in which most of the population had no prior experience of the moving image, cinema offered FRELIMO the possibility of mobilizing around
a new identity based on revolutionary nationalism, and teaching the Mozambican people about how the radical transformations of decolonization connected them to other peoples struggling for emancipation across the world. This article explores how the moving image operated during the Mozambican
revolution as an agent of social change, and how this involved decolonizing film-making itself – in all its modes of production, distribution and screening.

In the offices of the Ebano film production house there is a black and white photograph. It shows a circle of young men, some
with cameras, standing and kneeling for a group portrait. I recognize Licnio Azevedo, Camillo de Sousa and Joao Costa among them. The caption, in type-writer print, reads: 'Angola (Cahama) – Setembro 1981'. I ask Camillo about the photograph. He tells me how he, Licínio and Funcho
came to be in Angola. They went at the time of the South African invasion and spent several weeks in trenches under fire working with the film-makers in the photograph to make Cinco Tiros de Mauser. Camillo points to them one by one: 'That one, Carlos Henriques, he died. Funcho made Pamberè
ne Zimbabwe with him – the first Southern African film made without foreign support. We wanted to show that it was the same fight we were involved with together against Apartheid. This is something important that you should know. Our struggle wasn't about nationalism. It may sound strange
these days, but their struggle was our struggle too.
Viewing the Angolan experience of war and peace through the filmic representation of Luanda in Maria João Ganga's Na Cidade Vazia/Hollow City (2004) and Zezé Gamboa's O Herói/The Hero (2004)
Authors: da Silva Antônio Márcio
Published: March 2012

African cities have received filmic representation by politically engaged film-makers to discuss historical, political and social impacts on the different countries' populations. Similarly, certain Angolan post-civil war film-makers have set stories in an urban space to depict the consequences
of over four decades of wars (1961-2002) in the country. This article therefore focuses on two films produced after 2002 and set in the capital Luanda to analyze such portrayals of Angola. It does this by conducting a close reading of passages from both films while incorporating studies about
Angola's wars. The aims are to identify the ways in which the films hint at political and social issues in the country during two relatively peaceful periods and account for the difficulties Angolan civilians experienced because of the wars. The article concludes by commenting on the films'
criticism of the country's current situation and the alternatives they suggest for Angolans to reconstruct their lives.
Rebuilding the Angolan body politic: Global and local projections of identity and protest in O Herói/The Hero (Zézé Gamboa, 2004)
Authors: Sabine Mark
Published: March 2012

This article uses a reading of Zézé Gamboa's award-winning 2004 feature as a basis for an exploration of post-conflict Angolan screen culture and of its impact both at home and internationally. It considers how O Heri's depiction of a war-torn nation, and of the impediments
to its reconstruction, negotiates between a socially-engaged film-making practice, informed by local tradition and the tenets of 'Third Cinema', and the demands of a globalised cinema market. The film achieves this compromise by deploying allegorical and symbolic tropes, familiar from the
literature, cinema, and political discourse of the era of Angolan liberation (notably, the concept of a socialist 'new man'), to complicate a superficially optimistic story of post-conflict rehabilitation, and to insinuate a critique of the authoritarian practices and neo-liberal policies
of the MPLA government. Further to this, the article identifies strategies through which the film advertises the gulf between its fiction of individual triumph over adversity and, on the other hand, the grimmer reality of Angola's post-conflict malaise. Finally, it considers how the film's
construction of an encrypted allegory also prompts the question of whether or not film production that depends upon the funding and agendas of international capital and neo-colonial powers can ever foster the resurgence of a genuinely 'popular' and progressive culture in post-conflict Angola.
Braucht Hoffnung Gründe? Ernst Bloch über das Hoffen als Affekt und Tugend
Authors: Tegtmeyer Henning
Published: March 2012

Is hope in need of reasons? Cognitivist accounts of hope tend to answer this question in the affirmative, thereby taking hope to be of a belief-like nature and responsive to reasons. Non-cognitivist accounts of hope, by contrast, tend to give a negative answer, thereby taking hope to be a non-cognitive emotion and insensitive to reasons. Ernst Bloch, however, offers a more balanced account of hope in which hope is featured both as an emotion and a virtue (docta spes). This means that hope is different from belief but in need of support by reasons nonetheless, at least in its virtuous form. This double nature of hope can be brought out and defended by comparing Bloch’s conception of hope to the account of hope that Thomas Aquinas develops in which hope is both an emotion and a religious virtue (virtus infusa) and responsive to religious beliefs. Both accounts stand in sharp contrast to William James who takes hope to be a possible basis for beliefs instead. The paper explores the three conceptions of hope and also discusses the conceptual difficulty of how something can be both an emotion and a virtue. What is needed here is a non-Aristotelian conception of passive virtues.
Roles of Ca2+ ions in the control of ChREBP nuclear translocation
Authors: Leclerc Isabelle , Rutter Guy A , Meur Gargi , Noordeen Nafeesa
Published: March 2012

Carbohydrate-responsive element binding protein (ChREBP (MLXIPL)) is emerging as an important mediator of glucotoxity both in the liver and in the pancreatic β-cells. Although the regulation of its nuclear translocation and transcriptional activation by glucose has been the subject of intensive research, it is still not fully understood. We have recently uncovered a novel mechanism in the excitable pancreatic β-cell where ChREBP interacts with sorcin, a penta-EF-hand Ca2+-binding protein, and is sequestered in the cytosol at low glucose concentrations. Upon stimulation with glucose and activation of Ca2+influx, or application of ATP as an intracellular Ca2+-mobilising agent, ChREBP rapidly translocates to the nucleus. In sorcin-silenced cells, ChREBP is constitutively present in the nucleus, and both glucose and Ca2+are ineffective in stimulating further ChREBP nuclear shuttling. Whether an active Ca2+-sorcin element of ChREBP activation also exists in non-excitable cells is discussed.