Smoking and Parkinson''s disease: a dose-response relationship

BACKGROUND: Previous studies questioned the link between early childhood anemia and detrimental child development. OBJECTIVE: A population-based study was conducted to examine the association between early childhood anemia and mild or moderate metal retardation at 10 y of age. DESIGN: The present study linked early childhood nutrition data collected by the Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and school records. Hemoglobin values were used to determine the relation between anemia in early life and children's placement in special education classes for mild or moderate mental retardation. Subjects were all participants in the WIC program. A computer program was used to link data from birth, WIC, and school records. RESULTS: Logistic regression showed an increased likelihood of mild or moderate mental retardation associated with anemia, independent of birth weight, maternal education, sex, race-ethnicity, the mother's age, or the child's age at entry into the WIC program. CONCLUSION: These findings support the proposition that efforts to prevent mild and moderate mental retardation should include providing children with adequate nutrition during early childhood.     

Sensitivity of the Human Eye to Power Frequency Electric Fields

Reports spanning more than a century have shown that tissues associated with the eye are able to respond to local electric fields with impressions of light called electrophosphenes. A finite element analysis of the field distributions in the head near the receptors shows that the 60 Hz threshold for perception of electrophosphenes is approximately 1 V/m. Thus, tissues associated with the eye appear to be among the most sensitive to power frequency electric fields in the human body.     

Huntingtin-associated protein 1 (HAP1) interacts with the p150Glued subunit of dynactin

Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited neurodegenerative disease caused by expansion of a polyglutamine repeat in the HD protein huntingtin. Huntingtin's localization within the cell includes an association with cytoskeletal elements and vesicles. We previously identified a protein (HAP1) which binds to huntingtin in a glutamine repeat length-dependent manner. We now report that HAP1 interacts with cytoskeletal proteins, namely the p150 Glued subunit of dynactin and the pericentriolar protein PCM-1. Structural predictions indicate that both HAP1 and the interacting proteins have a high probability of forming coiled coils. We examined the interaction of HAP1 with p150 Glued . Binding of HAP1 to p150 Glued (amino acids 879-1150) was confirmed in vitro by binding of p150 Glued to a HAP1-GST fusion protein immobilized on glutathione-Sepharose beads. Also, HAP1 co-immunoprecipitated with p150 Glued from brain extracts, indicating that the interaction occurs in vivo . Like HAP1, p150 Glued is highly expressed in neurons in brain and both proteins are enriched in a nerve terminal vesicle-rich fraction. Double label immunofluorescence experiments in NGF-treated PC12 cells using confocal microscopy revealed that HAP1 and p150 Glued partially co-localize. These results suggest that HAP1 might function as an adaptor protein using coiled coils to mediate interactions among cytoskeletal, vesicular and motor proteins. Thus, HAP1 and huntingtin may play a role in vesicle trafficking within the cell and disruption of this function could contribute to the neuronal dysfunction and death seen in HD.     

Structural reorganization of the cerebral capillary wall in the Baikal seal Pusa sibirica during diving]

INTRODUCTION: The most common fat-suppressed sequence used to study skeletal conditions is the STIR sequence which has shown high sensitivity in the detection of skeletal lesions and whose main drawback is its long acquisition time. Currently, Turbo-STIR (T-STIR) sequences can shorten the acquisition time. The purpose of this study was therefore to compare the conventional STIR sequence with the new T-STIR sequence in the study of skeletal conditions to compare their diagnostic yield. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty patients with different types of skeletal lesions were examined. MR examinations were performed with a Philips Gyroscan S15/ACS II unit (1.5 T). All the patients underwent a STIR sequence (TR/TE = 1500/20, TI = 180 ms, matrix = 204 x 256, NEX = 2, slice thickness = 5 mm, acquisition time = 9 min 24 s) and a T-STIR sequence (TR/TE = 1500/20, TI = 180 ms, matrix = 204 x 256, NEX = 2, slice thickness = 5 mm, TFL = 3, acquisition time = 3 min 33 s). The images were evaluated by measuring both quantitative parameters--percent contrast (%C), contrast to noise ratio (C/N), signal to noise ratio (S/N)--and qualitative parameters--lesion conspicuity, margins and extension, motion artifacts, image quality. RESULTS: The only statistically significant difference between the two sequences was image quality, which was superior in the conventional STIR sequence (p < .05). No statistically significant difference was demonstrated with the quantitative evaluation. DISCUSSION: In this study, T-STIR sequences were performed with low-high acquisition profile to acquire an actual echo time of 20 ms which permits to obtain optimal S/N with good spatial resolution. Therefore, T-STIR sequences with low-high acquisition profile provides better results than T-STIR sequences with linear acquisition profile which permits to obtain an actual echo time of 40 ms. CONCLUSION: This work shows that T-STIR sequences can replace conventional STIR sequences in the study of skeletal conditions reducing the acquisition time by 60%. This result can be obtained only by an accurate optimization of acquisition parameters.     

TOXICITY AND ANTIBACTERIAL EFFECT OF MACE OF MYRISTICA FRAGRANS USED IN MOROCCAN GASTRONOMY: BIOCHEMICAL AND HISTOLOGICAL IMPACT

The aril of the plant Myristica fragrans is one of the most broadly used spices in Moroccan gastronomy. This research demonstrated its antimicrobial activity against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial species. Likewise, its toxicity was investigated on Swiss albino mice. Mice were treated orally with 0.003 and 0.3 mg/day during 7 days. Plasmatic markers and antioxidant defense systems were assessed and histological alterations evaluated. Our results showed a significant increase in creatine phosphokinase level. The microscopic evaluation showed that mace induces morphological perturbation in mice's liver. The results also showed an inhibitory effect of glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase and an important increase in the level of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, succinate dehydrogenase activities and no change in catalase activities. All of these results show that M. fragrans at 0.3 mg/g in mice affects energy metabolism and oxidative stress.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Mace can be used as a natural antioxidant and preservative in the food industry to increase the shelf life of foodstuffs.     

Aspects of Packaging from NDA <- IND

The strategic decisions regarding package stability in an NDA should be thought out even before the IND stage (hence the inversion of the order of the words NDA and IND in the title). The philosophy of clinical blister packaging is discussed as are the tests necessary to ensure perfection of seal. The principles of molecular and pinhole moisture permeation are discussed. Suggested fractional factorial schemes for package testing are presented     

Time counts: Future time perspective, goals, and social relationships.

On the basis of postulates derived from socioemotional selectivity theory, the authors explored the extent to which future time perspective (FTP) is related to social motivation, and to the composition and perceived quality of personal networks. Four hundred eighty German participants with ages ranging from 20 to 90 yrs took part in the study. In 2 card-sort tasks, participants indicated their partner preference and goal priority. Participants also completed questionnaires on personal networks and social satisfaction. Older people, as a group, perceived their future time as more limited than younger people. Individuals who perceived future time as being limited prioritized emotionally meaningful goals, whereas individuals who perceived their futures as open-ended prioritized instrumental or knowledge-related goals. Priority of goal domains was found to be differently associated with the size, composition, and perceived quality of personal networks depending on FTP. Prioritizing emotion-regulatory goals was associated with greater social satisfaction and less perceived strain with others when participants perceived their future as limited. Findings underscore the importance of FTP in the self-regulation of social relationships and the subjective experience associated with them. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

NUTRIENT COMPOSITION OF STUFFED VINE LEAVES: A MEDITERRANEAN DIETARY

Stuffed grape vine leaves, dolma is a well-liked Turkish dish, common to Mediterranean diets. Moisture, ash, energy, protein, fat, carbohydrate, calcium, sodium, iron, β-carotene (vitamin A), vitamin C analyses were conducted to determine the nutritional value of dolma. β-carotene level per 100 g serving of dolma (1041 IU) supplies 20.82% of the USRDA (5000 IU) and an INQ (Index of Nutritional Quality) for vitamin A of 2.54. Although the fat content and INQ for fat were found to be high in dolma, it can still be considered a healthy choice due to the type of oil used, namely olive oil, which has been shown to have beneficial effects on health.