Effect of age and dietary fat (fish,corn and coconut oils) on tocopherol status of C57BL/6Nia mice

The effect of age and dietary fat type on tocopherol status was investigated using young and old C57BL/6Nia mice fed semipurified diets containing 5% (by weight) fish, corn or coconut oils and supplemented with 30, 100 or 500 ppm dl-α-tocopheryl acetate for 6 wk. Tocopherol levels in the diets, plasma, liver, kidney and lung were measured by high performance liquid chromatography following appropriate extractions. The results indicate that mice fed fish oil maintain lower plasma and tissue tocopherol concentrations than those fed corn and cononut oils (fish<corn oil<coconut oil). The difference was not due to a loss of tocopherol prior to consumption, but rather appeared to occur during the absorption process. Old mice had lower plasma and liver tocopherol concentrations than young mice. Old mice fed fish oil, however, maintained plasma tocopherol levels better than young mice fed fish oil, presumably due to their larger tocopherol pool. No age effect was detected on kidney and lung tocopherol levels. It is concluded that tocopherol status is affected by age and dietary fat type, especially fish oil.     

Vandetanib versus Cabozantinib in Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma: A Focus on Anti-Angiogenic Effects in Zebrafish Model

Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is a tumor deriving from the thyroid C cells. Vandetanib (VAN) and cabozantinib (CAB) are two tyrosine kinase inhibitors targeting REarranged during Transfection (RET) and other kinase receptors and are approved for the treatment of advanced MTC. We aim to compare the in vitro and in vivo anti-tumor activity of VAN and CAB in MTC. The effects of VAN and CAB on viability, cell cycle, and apoptosis of TT and MZ-CRC-1 cells are evaluated in vitro using an MTT assay, DNA flow cytometry with propidium iodide, and Annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide staining, respectively. In vivo, the anti-angiogenic potential of VAN and CAB is evaluated in Tg(fli1a:EGFP)^y1 transgenic fluorescent zebrafish embryos by analyzing the effects on the physiological development of the sub-intestinal vein plexus and the tumor-induced angiogenesis after TT and MZ-CRC-1 xenotransplantation. VAN and CAB exert comparable effects on TT and MZ-CRC-1 viability inhibition and cell cycle perturbation, and stimulated apoptosis with a prominent effect by VAN in MZ-CRC-1 and CAB in TT cells. Regarding zebrafish, both drugs inhibit angiogenesis in a dose-dependent manner, in particular CAB shows a more potent anti-angiogenic activity than VAN. To conclude, although VAN and CAB show comparable antiproliferative effects in MTC, the anti-angiogenic activity of CAB appears to be more relevant.     

The Signaling Pathway of TNF Receptors: Linking Animal Models of Renal Disease to Human CKD

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has been recognized as a global public health problem. Despite the current advances in medicine, CKD-associated morbidity and mortality remain unacceptably high. Several studies have highlighted the contribution of inflammation and inflammatory mediators to the development and/or progression of CKD, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related biomarkers. The inflammation pathway driven by TNF-α, through TNF receptors 1 (TNFR1) and 2 (TNFR2), involves important mediators in the pathogenesis of CKD. Circulating levels of TNFRs were associated with changes in other biomarkers of kidney function and injury, and were described as predictors of disease progression, cardiovascular morbidity, and mortality in several cohorts of patients. Experimental studies describe the possible downstream signaling pathways induced upon TNFR activation and the resulting biological responses. This review will focus on the available data on TNFR1 and TNFR2, and illustrates their contributions to the pathophysiology of kidney diseases, their cellular and molecular roles, as well as their potential as CKD biomarkers. The emerging evidence shows that TNF receptors could act as biomarkers of renal damage and as mediators of the disease. Furthermore, it has been suggested that these biomarkers could significantly improve the discrimination of clinical CKD prognostic models.     

Peptide Human Neutrophil Elastase Inhibitors from Natural Sources: An Overview

Elastases are a broad group of enzymes involved in the lysis of elastin, the main component of elastic fibres. They are produced and released in the human body, mainly by neutrophils and the pancreas. The imbalance between elastase activity and its endogenous inhibitors can cause different illnesses due to their excessive activity. The main aim of this review is to provide an overview of the latest advancements on the identification, structures and mechanisms of action of peptide human neutrophil elastase inhibitors isolated from natural sources, such as plants, animals, fungi, bacteria and sponges. The discovery of new elastase inhibitors could have a great impact on the pharmaceutical development of novel drugs through the optimization of the natural lead compounds. Bacteria produce mainly cyclic peptides, while animals provide for long and linear amino acid sequences. Despite their diverse natural sources, these elastase inhibitors show remarkable IC₅₀ values in a range from nM to μM values, thus representing an interesting starting point for the further development of potent bioactive compounds on human elastase enzymes.     

Passive adaptation or active engagement? The challenges of Housing First internationally and in the Italian case

In recent years, a peculiar homelessness policy that goes under the name of ‘Housing First’ has become increasingly popular all over the world. Epitomising a quintessential case of policy-mobility, Housing First can today be considered an heterogeneous assemblage of experiences and approaches that sometimes have little in common with each other. Introducing and commenting upon this heterogeneity, the paper critically analyses why and how Housing First has become a planetary success and what are the issues at stake with its widespread implementation. If recent scholarship published in this journal has granted us a fine understanding of Housing First’s functioning in the US, this paper offers something currently absent from the debate: a nuanced and critical understanding of the ambiguities related to the international success of this policy, with specific references to the challenges associated to its translation in the Italian case.     

Quail egg yolk (Coturnix coturnix japonica) enriched with omega-3 fatty acids

This experiment was carried out with 58-week old laying quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica) assigned to four treatment groups with eight quails per replication in six repetitions in a completely randomized design. The treatments consisted of diets with different levels of flaxseed (0, 1.5, 3.0, and 5.0%). The amounts of cholesterol and total lipids and the fatty acid composition of quail egg yolk were determined in four 21-day cycles. No difference was found in cholesterol levels between the four treatments and the four cycles. The increased ingestion of linolenic acid (LNA) in diet reduced the formation of arachidonic acid (AA) significantly. The 3.0 and 5.0% treatment groups presented a reduction in total saturated fatty acids (TSFA) with the increase in percent flaxseed in feed comparatively to the control value. The n-3 fatty acid level was high in all treatments when compared to that of the control group. The n-6/n-3 ratio decreased from 21.30 (control) to 4.52 (5.0%), which is a better value from the nutritional viewpoint.     

阳光下的"冰山"法国波尔多Seeko''o旅馆

Seeko'o旅馆位于法国波尔多市北部的夏特隆区(Chartrons),美丽的加伦河(Garonne)左岸,Quai de Bacalan街与Cours EdouardVaillant街的交叉口.     

Replacing "who is the client?" with a different ethical question.

The familiar question, "Who is the client?" has become a distraction from more important ethical questions. By requiring a singular answer, the question obscures the fact that psychologists have ethical obligations toward every party in a case, no matter how many or how named. Making the question plural is not a sufficient solution, because identifying the client(s) should not be treated as an end in itself; it is simply a means of clarifying the nature of the relationship(s) and understanding the accompanying ethical obligations. After exploring the underlying implications for informed consent, confidentiality, and other ethical duties, the author suggests that psychologists adopt an alternative ethical question: "What are my ethical responsibilities to each of the parties in this case?" Finally, a case example illustrates the fact that the old question has several different meanings (and therefore different answers), depending upon whether it is asked as an ethical, clinical, legal, or reimbursement question. The proposed new question avoids such confusion because it is easily identifiable as an ethical question and its meaning is clear. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)