The use of non-proven therapy among patients treated in Norwegian oncological departments. A cross-sectional national multicentre study

A national multicentre study was performed to investigate the prevalent use of "alternative medicine", here called "non-proven therapies (NPT)", applied among Norwegian cancer patients. Of 911 patients invited to take part in the study, 642 were included in the analysis. Demographic characteristics were collected for all patients. The participating physicians gave information about the patients' clinical characteristics. Among 630 evaluable patients, 20% had been or were present users of NPTs for their oncological disease. The preferred methods were healing by hand and faith healing. Herbs, vitamins, diets and Iscador were other popular methods. As many as 40% of the users of NPTs had used NPTs earlier for non-malignant diseases. Elderly patients were less likely to use NPTs. Use was high in the northern part of Norway.     

Calibration of human locomotion and models of perceptual-motor organization.

People coordinate the force and direction of skilled actions with target locations and adjust the calibrations to compensate for changing circumstances. Are the adjustments globally organized (adjusting a particular action to fit a particular circumstance would generalize to all actions in the same circumstance); anatomically specific (every effector is adjusted independently of others); or functional (adjustments would generalize to all actions serving the same goal and generating the same perceptible consequences)? Across 10 experiments, changes in the calibration of walking, throwing, and turning-in-place were induced, and generalization of changes in calibration to functionally related and unrelated actions were tested. The experiments demonstrate that humans rapidly adjust the calibration of their walking, turning, and throwing to changing circumstances, and a functional model of perceptual-motor organization is suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stimulus-driven attentional capture: Evidence from equiluminant visual objects.

Previous work has shown that abrupt visual onsets capture attention. Possible mechanisms for this phenomenon include (1) luminance-change detection system and (2) a mechanism that detects the appearance of new perceptual objects. Exps 1 and 2 revealed that attention is captured in visual search by the appearance of a new perceptual object even when the object is equiluminant with its background and thus exhibits no luminance change when it appears. Exp 3 showed that a highly salient luminance increment alone is not sufficient to capture attention. These findings suggest that attentional capture is mediated by a mechanism that detects the appearance of new perceptual objects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subgingival microbial profile of Papillon-Lefèvre patients assessed by DNA-probes

The prevalence of 18 selected bacterial species was assessed by means of "checkerboard" DNA-DNA hybridisation in a group of 12 Saudi-Arabian adolescents with Papillon-Lefèvre syndrome. A total of 36 tooth sites were investigated. The patients exhibited severe periodontal disease with deep pockets. All 12 patients harboured the putative bacterial pathogens P. intermedia, F. nucleatum, P. micros and S. intermedius while T. denticola, B. forsythus, P. nigrescens, E. corrodens, S. noxia and C. rectus were recovered from 11 patients. P. gingivalis was recovered from 9 patients and 18 sites while corresponding figures for A. actinomycetemcomitans were 8 and 19, respectively. A number of the investigated species (B. forsythus, T. denticola, P. intermedia, C rectus) reached high levels (> or =10(6) cells) in more than 1/2 of the patients. On the other hand, bacteria such as A. actinomycetemcomitans and P. gingivalis were infrequently encountered at high levels in these subgingival samples. In conclusion, the analysis failed to demonstrate a PLS-specific profile of the subgingival infection, since the bacterial composition of the sampled sites closely resembled that characterising deep pockets in adult periodontitis patients.     

Suicide Attempt Self-Injury Interview (SASII): Development, reliability, and validity of a scale to assess suicide attempts and intentional self-injury.

The authors describe the development of the Suicide Attempt Self-Injury Interview (SASII), an instrument designed to assess the factors involved in nonfatal suicide attempts and intentional self-injury. Using 4 cohorts of participants, authors generated SASII items and evaluated them with factor and content analyses and internal consistency statistics. The final measure was assessed for reliability and validity with collateral measures. The SASII assesses variables related to method, lethality and impulsivity of the act, likelihood of rescue, suicide intent or ambivalence and other motivations, consequences, and habitual self-injury. The SASII was found to have very good interrater reliability and adequate validity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Apolipoprotein E,a Crucial Cellular Protein in the Lifecycle of Hepatitis Viruses

Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) is a multifunctional protein expressed in several tissues, including those of the liver. This lipoprotein component is responsible for maintaining lipid content homeostasis at the plasma and tissue levels by transporting lipids between the liver and peripheral tissues. The ability of ApoE to interact with host-cell surface receptors and its involvement in several cellular pathways raised questions about the hijacking of ApoE by hepatotropic viruses. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) was the first hepatitis virus reported to be dependent on ApoE for the completion of its lifecycle, with ApoE being part of the viral particle, mediating its entry into host cells and contributing to viral morphogenesis. Recent studies of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) lifecycle have revealed that this virus and its subviral envelope particles also incorporate ApoE. ApoE favors HBV entry and is crucial for the morphogenesis of infectious particles, through its interaction with HBV envelope glycoproteins. This review summarizes the data highlighting the crucial role of ApoE in the lifecycles of HBV and HCV and discusses its potential role in the lifecycle of other hepatotropic viruses.     

Daily Intake of Cod or Salmon for 2?Weeks Decreases the 18:1n-9/18:0 Ratio and Serum Triacylglycerols in Healthy Subjects

Intake of fish and omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids is associated with a reduced concentration of plasma triacylglycerols (TAG) but the mechanisms are not fully clarified. Stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD1) activity, governing TAG synthesis, is affected by n-3 fatty acids. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) display expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism. The aim of the present study was to estimate whether intake of lean and fatty fish would influence n-3 fatty acids composition in plasma phospholipids (PL), serum TAG, 18:1n-9/18:0 ratio in plasma PL, as well as PBMC gene expression of SCD1 and fatty acid synthase (FAS). Healthy males and females (n = 30), aged 20–40, consumed either 150 g of cod, salmon, or potato (control) daily for 15 days. During intervention docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) increased in the cod group (P < 0.05), while TAG concentration decreased (P < 0.05). In the salmon group both eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n-3) and DHA increased (P < 0.05) whereas TAG concentration and the 18:1n-9/18:0 ratio decreased (P < 0.05). Reduction of the 18:1n-9/18:0 ratio was associated with a corresponding lowering of TAG (P < 0.05) and an increase in EPA and DHA (P < 0.05). The mRNA levels of SCD1 and FAS in PBMC were not significantly altered after intake of cod or salmon when compared with the control group. In conclusion, both lean and fatty fish may lower TAG, possibly by reducing the 18:1n-9/18:0 ratio related to allosteric inhibition of SCD1 activity, rather than by influencing the synthesis of enzyme protein.     

Myelinosome Organelles in the Retina of R6/1 Huntington Disease (HD) Mice: Ubiquitous Distribution and Possible Role in Disease Spreading

Visual deficit is one of the complications of Huntington disease (HD), a fatal neurological disorder caused by CAG trinucleotide expansions in the Huntingtin gene, leading to the production of mutant Huntingtin (mHTT) protein. Transgenic HD R6/1 mice expressing human HTT exon1 with 115 CAG repeats recapitulate major features of the human pathology and exhibit a degeneration of the retina. Our aim was to gain insight into the ultrastructure of the pathological HD R6/1 retina by electron microscopy (EM). We show that the HD R6/1 retina is enriched with unusual organelles myelinosomes, produced by retinal neurons and glia. Myelinosomes are present in all nuclear and plexiform layers, in the synaptic terminals of photoreceptors, in the processes of retinal neurons and glial cells, and in the subretinal space. In vitro study shows that myelinosomes secreted by human retinal glial Müller MIO-M1 cells transfected with EGFP-mHTT-exon1 carry EGFP-mHTT-exon1 protein, as revealed by immuno-EM and Western-blotting. Myelinosomes loaded with mHTT-exon1 are incorporated by naive neuronal/neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. This results in the emergence of mHTT-exon1 in recipient cells. This process is blocked by membrane fusion inhibitor MDL 28170. Conclusion: Incorporation of myelinosomes carrying mHTT-exon1 in recipient cells may contribute to HD spreading in the retina. Exploring ocular fluids for myelinosome presence could bring an additional biomarker for HD diagnostics.     

Preparation of Spherical, Submicrometer Oxide Particles by Hydrolysis of Emulsified Alkoxide Droplets

A new method for forming spherical, submicrometer ceramic oxide particles by the hydrolysis of emulsified alkoxide droplets is reported. Emulsions are formed of alkoxide droplets dispersed in an inert, polar solvent. The alkoxide droplets are hydrolyzed to form oxide particles by adding water to the emulsion. It was shown that individual droplets acted as "microreactors" and controlled the powder size, shape, and composition. Both single-oxide and mixed-oxide powders were formed by this technique.     

Quantitation of vitamin K in human milk

A quantitative method was developed for the assay of vitamin K in human colostrum and milk. The procedure combines preparative and analytical chromatography on silica gel in a nitrogen atmosphere followed by reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Two HPLC steps were used: gradient separation with ultraviolet (UV) detection followed by isocratic separation detected electrochemically. Due to co-migrating impurities, UV detection alone is insufficient for identification of vitamin K. Exogenous vitamin K was shown to equilibrate with endogenous vitamin K in the samples. A statistical method was incorporated to control for experimental variability. Vitamin K₁ was analyzed in 16 pooled milk samples from 7 donors and in individual samples from 15 donors at 1 month post-partrum. Vitamin K₁ was present at 2.94±1.94 and 3.15±2.87 ng/mL in pools and in individuals, respectively. Menaquinones, the bacterial form of the vitamin, were not detected. The significance of experimental variation to studies of vitamin K in individuals is discussed.