Self-esteem and trait anxiety in relation to drug misuse in Kuwait

This study was designed to document knowledge about Kuwaiti drug users and to investigate whether or not there is an association between their poor self-concept and high level of anxiety. One hundred and seven incarcerated drug users, 107 individuals serving prison terms for offenses other than drug use, and 107 "normal" individuals were included in this pilot study. The Arabic version of Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale and Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were used to measure the subjects' self-esteem and state-trait anxiety, respectively. The results documented revealed that there is a relationship between levels of self-esteem and anxiety in Kuwaiti drug user behavior.     

Effects of cationic porphyrins as G-quadruplex interactive agents in human tumor cells

A series of cationic porphyrins has been identified as G-quadruplex interactive agents (QIAs) that stabilize telomeric G-quadruplex DNA and thereby inhibit human telomerase; 50% inhibition of telomerase activity was achieved in HeLa cell-free extract at porphyrin concentrations in the range < or = 50 microM. Cytotoxicity of the porphyrins in vitro was assessed in normal human cells (fibroblast and breast) and human tumor cells representing models selected for high telomerase activity and short telomeres (breast carcinoma, prostate, and lymphoma). In general, the cytotoxicity (EC50, effective concentration for 50% inhibition of cell proliferation) against normal and tumor cells was > 50 microM. The porphyrins were readily absorbed into tumor cell nuclei in culture. Inhibition of telomerase activity in MCF7 cells by subcytotoxic concentrations of TMPyP4 showed time and concentration dependence at 1-100 microM TMPyP4 over 15 days in culture (10 population doubling times). The inhibition of telomerase activity was paralleled by a cell growth arrest in G2-M. These results suggest that relevant biological effects of porphyrins can be achieved at concentrations that do not have general cytotoxic effects on cells. Moreover, the data support the concept that a rational, structure-based approach is possible to design novel telomere-interactive agents with application to a selective and specific anticancer therapy.     

IL-13 is a key regulatory cytokine for Th2 cell-mediated pulmonary granuloma formation and IgE responses induced by Schistosoma mansoni eggs

Schistosoma mansoni egg-induced pulmonary granuloma formation is a cell-mediated inflammatory response associated with dominant Th2-type cytokine expression, tissue eosinophilia, and high levels of serum IgE. In the present study, we show that in vivo blockade of the Th2 cytokine IL-13, using soluble IL-13R alpha2-Fc fusion protein, significantly reduced the size of pulmonary granulomas in unsensitized as well as egg-sensitized mice. Blocking IL-13 also significantly reduced total serum IgE levels. Interestingly, however, IL-13 blockade did not affect the evolving egg-induced Th2-type cytokine response. IL-4, IL-5, as well as IL-13 responses were indistinguishable in control-Fc- and soluble IL-13R alpha2-Fc fusion protein-treated animals. The smaller granulomas were also phenotypically like the control Fc-treated mice, displaying a similar eosinophil content. Additional studies in IL-4-deficient mice demonstrated that IL-13 was produced, but at much lower levels than in wild-type mice, while IL-4 expression was completely independent of IL-13. Moreover, while granuloma formation was partially reduced in IL-4-deficient mice, blocking IL-13 in these animals almost completely abrogated granuloma development and the pulmonary eosinophilia, while it simultaneously increased IFN-gamma production. Together, these data demonstrate that IL-13 serves as an important mediator of Th2-mediated inflammation and plays a role in eliciting IgE responses triggered by schistosome eggs.     

Gamma delta T-cell function in pathogenesis of cerebral malaria in mice infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKA

Mice depleted of gammadelta T cells by monoclonal antibody treatment and infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKA did not develop cerebral malaria (CM). In striking contrast, delta0/0 mice infected with P. berghei developed CM despite their gammadelta T-cell deficiency. gammadelta T cells appear to be essential for the pathogenesis of CM in mice having experienced normal ontogeny but not in mice genetically deprived of gammadelta T cells from the beginning of life.     

ATP Synthase and Mitochondrial Bioenergetics Dysfunction in Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder in our society, as the population ages, its incidence is expected to increase in the coming decades. The etiopathology of this disease still remains largely unclear, probably because of the highly complex and multifactorial nature of AD. However, the presence of mitochondrial dysfunction has been broadly described in AD neurons and other cellular populations within the brain, in a wide variety of models and organisms, including post-mortem humans. Mitochondria are complex organelles that play a crucial role in a wide range of cellular processes, including bioenergetics. In fact, in mammals, including humans, the main source of cellular ATP is the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), a process that occurs in the mitochondrial electron transfer chain (ETC). The last enzyme of the ETC, and therefore the ulterior generator of ATP, is the ATP synthase. Interestingly, in mammalian cells, the ATP synthase can also degrade ATP under certain conditions (ATPase), which further illustrates the crucial role of this enzyme in the regulation of cellular bioenergetics and metabolism. In this collaborative review, we aim to summarize the knowledge of the presence of dysregulated ATP synthase, and of other components of mammalian mitochondrial bioenergetics, as an early event in AD. This dysregulation can act as a trigger of the dysfunction of the organelle, which is a clear component in the etiopathology of AD. Consequently, the pharmacological modulation of the ATP synthase could be a potential strategy to prevent mitochondrial dysfunction in AD.     

Evolutionary bi-criteria optimum design of robots based on task specifications

The optimum robot structure design problem based on task specifications is an important one, since it has greater influence on manipulator workspace design, vibrations of the manipulator during operation, manipulator efficiency in the work environment and power consumption. In this paper, an optimization robot structure problem is formulated with the objective of determining the optimal geometric dimensions of the robot manipulators considering the task specifications (pick and place operation). The aim is to minimize torque required for motion and maximize manipulability measure of the robot subject to dynamic, kinematic, deflection and structural constraints with link physical characteristics (length and cross-sectional area parameters) as design variables. In this work, five different cross-sections (hollow circle, hollow square, hollow rectangle, C-channel and I-channel) have been experimented for the link. Three evolutionary optimization algorithms namely multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA), elitist nondominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) and multi-objective differential evolution (MODE) are used for the optimum structural design of 2-link and 3-link planar robots. Two methods (normalized weighting objective functions and average fitness factor) are used to select the best optimal solution. Two multiobjective performance measures namely solution spread measure and ratio of non-dominated individuals are used to evaluate the Pareto optimal fronts. Two more multiobjective performance measures namely optimiser overhead and algorithm effort, are used to find computational effort of optimization algorithm. The results obtained from various techniques are compared and analyzed.     

Security Implementation in Wireless Sensor Network by RF Signal Obfuscation

Wireless Personal Communications - In Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) the wireless communication is an open access communication. Eavesdropping is a common but severe security threat and it is the...     

Risk factors and prevalence of antibodies against hepatitis A virus (HAV) in children from day-care centers, in Goiania, Brazil

A comparative interim analysis was performed of clinical parameters, computed tomographic (CT) scan results and technetium-99m hexamethylpropylene amine oxime single-photon emission tomography (SPET) findings obtained within 12 h of acute supratentorial ischaemic infarction. First, the applicability for SPET semiquantification in this study of the "method of Mountz", simultaneously accounting for extent and degrees of hypoperfusion by expressing deficits as millilitre of zero perfusion, was considered. Next, the relative contributions of perfusion SPET and CT scan in the acute stage of ischaemic infarction were compared in 27 patients (mean age 68.8 years). Finally, the correlation of SPET lesions with clinical parameters at onset was evaluated. The method of Mountz represents a workable, accurate virtual parameter, with the assumption that the contralateral brain region remains uninvolved. Interobserver reproducibility in 12 SPET studies, with lesions varying between 6 and 369 cc, showed a correlation coefficient r of 0.99. In practice, because of inconstant distribution of activities in the brain, the method can only be applied slice by slice and not on the total global volume. While the mean delay since the onset of symptomatology was approximately 7 h for both SPET and CT scan, SPET showed lesions concordant with the clinical neurological findings in 100% and CT scan in only 48%. One could hypothesize that SPET examinations performed later would show larger functional defects, because of the development of additional functional changes secondary to biochemical alterations. However, in this regard no statistically significant differences were found between two subproups, taking the median of delay before SPET examination as cut-off.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)