Correction to Dittmar, Halliwell, and Ive (2006).

Reports an error in "Does Barbie make girls want to be thin? The effect of experimental exposure to images of dolls on the body image of 5- to 8-year-old girls" by Helga Dittmar, Emma Halliwell and Suzanne Ive (Developmental Psychology, 2006 Mar, Vol 42[2], 283-292). A substantive error occurs in the Body shape dissatisfaction section on page 287. The sentence describing the calculation of body shape dissatisfaction scores from girls' responses to the Child Figure Rating Scale should instead read as follows: "A body shape dissatisfaction score was computed by subtracting the girl's actual from her ideal body size." (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2006-03514-007.) The ubiquitous Barbie doll was examined in the present study as a possible cause for young girls' body dissatisfaction. A total of 162 girls, from age 5 to age 8, were exposed to images of either Barbie dolls, Emme dolls (U.S. size 16), or no dolls (baseline control) and then completed assessments of body image. Girls exposed to Barbie reported lower body esteem and greater desire for a thinner body shape than girls in the other exposure conditions. However, this immediate negative impact of Barbie doll was no longer evident in the oldest girls. These findings imply that, even if dolls cease to function as aspirational role models for older girls, early exposure to dolls epitomizing an unrealistically thin body ideal may damage girls' body image, which would contribute to an increased risk of disordered eating and weight cycling. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nicotinic Acid Increases Adiponectin Secretion from Differentiated Bovine Preadipocytes through G-Protein Coupled Receptor Signaling

The transition period in dairy cows (3 weeks prepartum until 3 weeks postpartum) is associated with substantial mobilization of energy stores, which is often associated with metabolic diseases. Nicotinic acid (NA) is an antilipolytic and lipid-lowering compound used to treat dyslipidaemia in humans, and it also reduces non-esterified fatty acids in cattle. In mice the G-protein coupled receptor 109A (GPR109A) ligand NA positively affects the secretion of adiponectin, an important modulator of glucose and fat metabolism. In cattle, the corresponding data linking NA to adiponectin are missing. Our objective was to examine the effects of NA on adiponectin and AMPK protein abundance and the expression of mRNAs of related genes such as chemerin, an adipokine that enhances adiponectin secretion in vitro. Differentiated bovine adipocytes were incubated with pertussis toxin (PTX) to verify the involvement of GPR signaling, and treated with 10 or 15 µM NA for 12 or 24 h. NA increased adiponectin concentrations (p ≤ 0.001) and the mRNA abundances of GPR109A (p ≤ 0.05) and chemerin (p ≤ 0.01). Pre-incubation with PTX reduced the adiponectin response to NA (p ≤ 0.001). The NA-stimulated secretion of adiponectin and the mRNA expression of chemerin in the bovine adipocytes were suggestive of GPR signaling-dependent improved insulin sensitivity and/or adipocyte metabolism in dairy cows.     

Error correction/masking for digital voice transmission over theland mobile satellite system

The development of a 2400-b/s speech digitizer which provides an acceptable level of intelligibility and quality over land mobile satellite channels is described. Performance tests over simulated channels in the UHF band (800 MHz) are presented. The voice digitizer is a linear prediction (LPC) vocoder which uses a channel error correction and concealment procedure tailored to error statistics for a minimum-shift keyed (MSK) downlink to a moving vehicle. The error-handling technique is based on perceptual criteria and utilizes the parametric nature of LPC representation of speech. A single-error-correcting, single-burst-detecting (28, 20) fire code is shown to be the best choice for the application. The intelligibility of the vocoder is measured and compared to the standard LPC-10 algorithm. The major remaining sources of speech quality degradation due to channel errors are determined and ranked     

Iron‐Catalyzed Cross‐Coupling of 1‐Alkynylcyclopropyl Tosylates and Related Substrates

1‐Alkynylcyclopropyl tosylates react with alkylmagnesium halides in the presence of catalytic ferric acetylacetonate [Fe(acac)₃] under net propargylic substitution; allene formation, which is the prevalent reactivity mode of propargylic substrates otherwise, was noticed as a side reaction only when branched alkyl‐ or aryl‐Grignard reagents were used. These transformations represent the first successful iron‐catalyzed cross‐coupling reactions of tert‐alkyl electrophiles.

     

Phosphoproteomic Analysis of Subcutaneous and Omental Adipose Tissue Reveals Increased Lipid Turnover in Dairy Cows Supplemented with Conjugated Linoleic Acid

Phosphoproteomics is a cutting-edge technique that can be utilized to explore adipose tissue (AT) metabolism by quantifying the repertoire of phospho-peptides (PP) in AT. Dairy cows were supplemented with conjugated linoleic acid (CLA, n = 5) or a control diet (CON, n = 5) from 63 d prepartum to 63 d postpartum; cows were slaughtered at 63 d postpartum and AT was collected. We performed a quantitative phosphoproteomics analysis of subcutaneous (SC) and omental (OM) AT using nanoUPLC-MS/MS and examined the effects of CLA supplementation on the change in the phosphoproteome. A total of 5919 PP were detected in AT, and the abundance of 854 (14.4%) were differential between CON and CLA AT (p ≤ 0.05 and fold change ± 1.5). The abundance of 470 PP (7.9%) differed between OM and SC AT, and the interaction treatment vs. AT depot was significant for 205 PP (3.5% of total PP). The integrated phosphoproteome demonstrated the up- and downregulation of PP from proteins related to lipolysis and lipogenesis, and phosphorylation events in multiple pathways, including the regulation of lipolysis in adipocytes, mTOR signaling, insulin signaling, AMPK signaling, and glycolysis. The differential regulation of phosphosite on a serine residue (S777) of fatty acid synthase (FASN) in AT of CLA-supplemented cows was related to lipogenesis and with more phosphorylation sites compared to acetyl-coenzyme A synthetase (ACSS2). Increased protein phosphorylation was seen in acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1 (ACACA;8 PP), FASN (9 PP), hormone sensitive lipase (LIPE;6 PP), perilipin (PLIN;3 PP), and diacylglycerol lipase alpha (DAGLA;1 PP) in CLA vs. CON AT. The relative gene expression in the SC and OM AT revealed an increase in LIPE and FASN in CLA compared to CON AT. In addition, the expression of DAGLA, which is a lipid metabolism enzyme related to the endocannabinoid system, was 1.6-fold higher in CLA vs. CON AT, and the expression of the cannabinoid receptor CNR1 was reduced in CLA vs. CON AT. Immunoblots of SC and OM AT showed an increased abundance of FASN and a lower abundance of CB1 in CLA vs. CON. This study presents a complete map of the SC and the OM AT phosphoproteome in dairy cows following CLA supplementation and discloses many unknown phosphorylation sites, suggestive of increased lipid turnover in AT, for further functional investigation.     

Proteins Marking the Sequence of Genotoxic Signaling from Irradiated Mesenchymal Stromal Cells to CD34+ Cells

Non-targeted effects (NTE) of ionizing radiation may initiate myeloid neoplasms (MN). Here, protein mediators (I) in irradiated human mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) as the NTE source, (II) in MSC conditioned supernatant and (III) in human bone marrow CD34+ cells undergoing genotoxic NTE were investigated. Healthy sublethal irradiated MSC showed significantly increased levels of reactive oxygen species. These cells responded by increasing intracellular abundance of proteins involved in proteasomal degradation, protein translation, cytoskeleton dynamics, nucleocytoplasmic shuttling, and those with antioxidant activity. Among the increased proteins were THY1 and GNA11/14, which are signaling proteins with hitherto unknown functions in the radiation response and NTE. In the corresponding MSC conditioned medium, the three chaperones GRP78, CALR, and PDIA3 were increased. Together with GPI, these were the only four altered proteins, which were associated with the observed genotoxic NTE. Healthy CD34+ cells cultured in MSC conditioned medium suffered from more than a six-fold increase in γH2AX focal staining, indicative for DNA double-strand breaks, as well as numerical and structural chromosomal aberrations within three days. At this stage, five proteins were altered, among them IQGAP1, HMGB1, and PA2G4, which are involved in malign development. In summary, our data provide novel insights into three sequential steps of genotoxic signaling from irradiated MSC to CD34+ cells, implicating that induced NTE might initiate the development of MN.