Exploring Prostate Cancer Genome Reveals Simultaneous Losses of PTEN,FAS and PAPSS2 in Patients with PSA Recurrence after Radical Prostatectomy

The multifocal nature of prostate cancer (PCa) creates a challenge to patients’ outcome prediction and their clinical management. An approach that scrutinizes every cancer focus is needed in order to generate a comprehensive evaluation of the disease, and by correlating to patients’ clinico-pathological information, specific prognostic biomarker can be identified. Our study utilized the Affymetrix SNP 6.0 Genome-wide assay to investigate forty-three fresh frozen PCa tissue foci from twenty-three patients. With a long clinical follow-up period that ranged from 2.0–9.7 (mean 5.4) years, copy number variation (CNV) data was evaluated for association with patients’ PSA status during follow-up. From our results, the loss of unique genes on 10q23.31 and 10q23.2–10q23.31 were identified to be significantly associated to PSA recurrence (p < 0.05). The implication of PTEN and FAS loss (10q23.31) support previous reports due to their critical roles in prostate carcinogenesis. Furthermore, we hypothesize that the PAPSS2 gene (10q23.2–10q23.31) may be functionally relevant in post-operative PSA recurrence because of its reported role in androgen biosynthesis. It is suggestive that the loss of the susceptible region on chromosome 10q, which implicates PTEN, FAS and PAPSS2 may serve as genetic predictors of PSA recurrence after radical prostatectomy.     

Alignment of Rod‐Shaped Single‐Photon Emitters Driven by Line Defects in Liquid Crystals

Arrays of liquid crystal defects—linear smectic dislocations—are used to trap semiconductor CdSe/CdS dot‐in‐rods which behave as single‐photon emitters. Measurements of the emission diagram are combined together with measurements of the emitted polarization of the single emitters. It is shown that the dot‐in‐rods are confined parallel to the linear defects to allow for a minimization of the disorder energy associated with the dislocation cores. It is demonstrated that the electric dipoles associated with the dot‐in‐rods, tilted with respect to the rods, remain oriented in the plane including the smectic linear defects and perpendicular to the substrate, most likely due to dipole/dipole interactions between the dipoles of the liquid crystal molecules and those of the dot‐in‐rods. Using smectic dislocations, nanorods can consequently be oriented along a unique direction for a given substrate, independently of the ligands' nature, without any induced aggregation, leading as well to a fixed azimuthal orientation for the dot‐in‐rods' dipoles. These results open the way for the fine control of nanoparticle anisotropic optical properties, in particular, fine control of single‐photon emission polarization.     

Dairy farming and biogas use in Rungwe district, South-west Tanzania: A study of opportunities and constraints

This study examined the opportunities and constraints of biogas use in Rungwe district, South-west Tanzania. Two hundred households with and without biogas facilities were selected randomly from four villages. Structured, semi-structured and open-ended discussion was used to gather information. Findings show a number of opportunities for biogas technology adoption including large numbers of indoor-fed cattle and inadequate firewood in the district, which has increased its cost of such commodity. Households generally spend an average of TShs. 20,656.50 per month or TShs. 247,876.8 per annum for energy. The demand for biogas (90%) among respondents is high and the energy policy as well as donor community favour the promotion of energy efficient technologies such as biogas. Constraints encountered in establishing biogas plants were found to include unaffordability (75%) and water scarcity. Also there is inadequate expertise where some of the biogas plants have been poorly constructed leading to ineffective performance. There is also a small proportion of the respondents who admitted that they had heard nothing about biogas technology. It is being suggested that credit should be available as well as developing affordable biodigestors. Communal biogas should be encouraged to reduce the cost per unit and the government should undertake the improvement of water services.     

Interdose interval effects on the development of contextual tolerance to nicotine's analgesic effects in rats (Rattus norvegicus).

Learning models of associative and nonassociative drug tolerance predict that the development of contextual tolerance to drug effects is disrupted when the drug is delivered at short interdose intervals (IDIs). The authors examined the impact of 1 long IDI and 2 short IDIs in the development of contextual nicotine tolerance. Associative tolerance was investigated by giving rats (Rattus norvegicus) 10 subcutaneous injections of nicotine at either long (72-hr) IDIs or short (6-hr and 4.5-hr) IDIs. The delivery of nicotine was either explicitly paired or explicitly unpaired with a distinctive context. A 3rd group of rats was exposed to the experimental procedures but received only saline. Associative tolerance to nicotine's analgesic effects was defined as a shift to the right of the dose-response curve (DRC) of rats in the explicitly paired condition with respect to the DRC of rats in the explicitly unpaired condition. Analgesia was assessed with the tail-flick and hot-plate devices. In the tail-flick assessment, associative tolerance was evident in the 72-hr and the 6-hr IDI conditions only. In the hot-plate assessment, associative tolerance was present in the 72-hr IDI condition only. The findings suggest that contextual tolerance to nicotine's analgesic effects are positively related to IDI length and are more readily demonstrated with the tail-flick method than with the hot-plate method. Overall, the results supported the thesis that nicotine tolerances that develop to different IDIs are qualitatively different and may be mediated by different psychological and physiological mechanisms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some Results on Effective Randomness

We investigate the characterizations of effective randomness in terms of Martin-Lof tests and martingales. First, we address a question of Ambos-Spies and Kucera, who asked for a characterization of computable randomness in terms of tests. We argue that computable randomness can be characterized in terms of Martin-Lof tests and effective probability distributions on Cantor space. Second, we show that the class of Martin-Lof random sequences coincides with the class of sequences that are random with respect to computable martingale processes; the latter randomness notion was introduced by Hitchcock and Lutz. Third, we analyze the sequence of measures of the components of a universal Martin-Lof test. Kucera and Slaman showed that any component of a universal Martin-Lof test defines a class of Martin-Lof random measure. Further, since the sets in a Martin-Lof test are uniformly computably enumerable, so is the corresponding sequence of measures. We prove an exact converse and hence a characterization. For any uniformly computably enumerable sequence r₁, r₂,... of reals such that each r_n is Martin-Lof random and less than 2^-n there is a universal Martin-Lof test U₁, U₂,... such that U_n{0,1}^∞ has measure r_n.     

Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus abelii) spatial memory and behavior in a foraging task.

Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus abelii) spatial memory was explored by using an arboreal foraging paradigm in a zoo environment. The experiment consisted of 4 tasks: walking maze, win-stay, food density, and competition. All 3 orangutans made very few revisits to previously depleted sites in the walking maze task. In the win-stay task, 2 orangutans were more accurate than chance at remembering locations of specific baited sites. Food density affected the behavior of 1 orangutan. Foraging with a competitor did not increase the orangutans' accuracy at recovering food from baited locations. The orangutans did not compete directly for access to the food sites but did avoid visiting sites depleted by a competitor. The orangutans' foraging patterns suggest that they minimized energy expended by reducing the distance traveled to retrieve food items. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of micronisation temperature (130 and 170 °C) on functional properties of cowpea flour

Functional properties of cowpea flour from seeds micronised at two different surface temperatures (130 and 170 °C) were studied. Micronisation (130 and 170 °C) significantly (P ? 0.05) increased the water absorption capacity and least gelation concentration of the flour. The treatment significantly (P ? 0.05) reduced the water solubility and swelling indices, gel strength and foaming capacity of the flour. The changes in cowpea flour functional properties, such as the loss of foaming capacity in flours from micronised (130 and 170 °C) seeds, were associated with significant (P ? 0.05) increase in the surface hydrophobicity and cross-linking of the cowpea protein. SDS–PAGE of the protein-rich fractions revealed changes in the protein subunit profile which included the formation of disulphide bonds and possibly Maillard cross-links. The flour from M-170 °C seeds was significantly (P ? 0.05) darker than was the flour from unmicronised and M-130 °C seeds.     

Plant location and extraction procedure strongly alter the antimicrobial activity of murta extracts

Leaves and fruits of Murta (Ugni Molinae Turcz.) growing in three locations of Chile with diverse climatic conditions were extracted by using ethanol/water mixtures at different ratios and the antimicrobial activity was assessed. Extracts containing the highest polyphenolic content were from murta plants grown nearer to the mountain (58 mg GAE/g murta), subjected to extreme summer/winter-day/night temperature changes and rainy regime. Extracts from leaves collected in the valley and coast contained 46 and 40 mg GAE/g murta, respectively. A mixture of 50% ethanol/water was the most efficient in extracting polyphenols, showing pure solvents—both water and ethanol—a lower extraction capacity. No correlation between antioxidant capacity and polyphenolic content was found. Extracts from Murta leaves provoked a decrease in the growing of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus, and showed no activity against the beneficial, probiotic bacteria. A significant correlation between polyphenol content and antimicrobial activity on harmful bacteria was found. Myricetin glucoside and quercetin glucoside/glucuronide/dirhamnoside presumably contributed to the antimicrobial activity of the extract. The higher antimicrobial activity of leaves extracts compared to the fruits could be attributed to flavan-3-ols and other flavonol glycosides. Quercetin glucuronide, myricetin xyloside and flavan-3-ols in polymeric form were tentatively identified for the first time in murta extracts. Both extracts showed an antimicrobial activity similar to some commercial antibiotics, suggesting their suitability to replace synthetic antimicrobials in food.