SARPs: a family of secreted apoptosis-related proteins

Quiescent mouse embryonic C3H/10T1/2 cells are more resistant to different proapoptotic stimuli than are these cells in the exponential phase of growth. However, the exponentially growing 10T1/2 cells are resistant to inhibitors of RNA or protein synthesis, whereas quiescent cells die upon these treatments. Conditioned medium from quiescent 10T1/2 cells possesses anti-apoptotic activity, suggesting the presence of protein(s) that function as an inhibitor of the apoptotic program. Using differential display technique, we identified and cloned a cDNA designated sarp1 (secreted apoptosis-related protein) that is expressed in quiescent but not in exponentially growing 10T1/2 cells. Hybridization studies with sarp1 revealed two additional family members. Cloning and sequencing of sarp2 and sarp3 revealed 38% and 40% sequence identity to sarp1, respectively. Human breast adenocarcinoma MCF7 cells stably transfected with sarp1 or infected with SARP1-expressing adenovirus became more resistant, whereas cells transfected with sarp2 displayed increased sensitivity to different proapoptotic stimuli. Expression of sarp family members is tissue specific. sarp mRNAs encode secreted proteins that possess a cysteine-rich domain (CRD) homologous to the CRD of frizzled proteins but lack putative membrane-spanning segments. Expression of SARPs modifies the intracellular levels of beta-catenin, suggesting that SARPs interfere with the Wnt-frizzled proteins signaling pathway.     

Associations of serum and dietary magnesium with cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, insulin, and carotid arterial wall thickness: the ARIC study. Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study

The objective of this study was to examine the relationships of serum and dietary magnesium (Mg) with prevalent cardiovascular disease (CVD), hypertension, diabetes mellitus, fasting insulin, and average carotid intimal-medial wall thickness measured by B-mode ultrasound. A cross-sectional design was used. The setting was the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study in four US communities. A total of 15,248 participants took part, male and female, black and white, aged 45-64 years. Fasting serum Mg, lipids, fasting glucose and insulin were measured; as was usual dietary intake by food frequency questionnaire and carotid intima-media thickness by standardized B-mode ultrasound methods. The results showed that serum Mg levels and dietary Mg intake were both lower in blacks than whites. Mean serum Mg levels were significantly lower in participants with prevalent CVD, hypertension, and diabetes than in those free of these diseases. In participants without CVD, serum Mg levels were also inversely associated with fasting serum insulin, glucose, systolic blood pressure and smoking. Dietary Mg intake was inversely associated with fasting serum insulin, plasma high density lipoprotein-cholesterol, systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Adjusted for age, race, body mass index, smoking, hypertension, Low density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and field center, mean carotid wall thickness increased in women by 0.0118 mm (p = 0.006) in diuretic users and 0.0048 mm (p = 0.017) in nonusers for each 0.1 mmol/l decrease in serum Mg level; the multivariate association in men was not significant. In conclusion, low serum and dietary Mg may be related to the etiologies of CVD, hypertension, diabetes, and atherosclerosis.     

SPROUT—A Modeling Language for SEED

An important capability of the SEED system is rapid generation of internal design representations, including design alternatives, that can be evaluated in terms of a broad range of criteria. It consists of modules that must communicate with each other and remain extensible. From a software engineering perspective, there exists no single programming language or database management system, commercial or research-based, that provides all the needed support. In this paper, we describe the SPROUT modeling language, the cornerstone of efforts to bridge this gap. It supports the specification of a system information model, which contains a building product model as a subset. Developments are discussed that lead to the current language design as well as the support for case-based design, persistent storage of objects, management of versions and alternatives, and communication between different SEED modules (i.e., agents). Emphasis is placed on the automatic generation of computer programs and database schemas from a SPROUT specification. Lastly, this effort is compared to other comparable efforts including PDES∕STEP.     

Focusing on the exterior and the interior: Two investigations of the initiation of personal relationships.

Tested the hypothesis that the construct of self-monitoring would identify individuals who characteristically adopt distinctly different orientations when initiating dating relationships. In each of 2 studies, low and high self-monitoring men chose a female partner for a date. In Study 1, attentional differences in the initial information-seeking stage of relationship initiation in an open-field setting were examined with 19 high- and 20 low-scoring Ss on a self-monitoring scale. In Study 2, actual choices of dating partners were examined where one type of desirable attribute in a partner had to be sacrificed in order to obtain another type of desirable attribute. 16 high- and 16 low-scoring Ss on a self-monitoring scale participated. Behavioral and self-report evidence revealed that in both the initial information-gathering stage and the actual choice of whom to date, low self-monitoring Ss paid a greater amount of attention to and placed greater weight on information about interior personal attributes than did high self-monitoring Ss; by contrast, high self-monitoring Ss paid more attention to and put greater weight on exterior physical appearance than did low self-monitoring Ss. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-monitoring and dating relationships.

Four investigations, with 479 university students, examined the involvement of self-monitoring propensities in dating relationships. Studies 1 and 2 examined willingness to change dating partners and form close, intimate dating relationships with other partners. Only Ss high in self-monitoring, as measured by the Self-Monitoring Scale, were willing to terminate current relationships in favor of alternative partners. In Study 3, for those involved in multiple dating relationships, high self-monitoring Ss reported having dated a greater number of partners in the preceding year than low self-monitoring Ss; for those in steady, exclusive dating relationships, low self-monitoring Ss reported having dated their current partner for considerably longer than high self-monitoring individuals. Study 4 examined growth of intimacy in dating relationships. The link between length of relationship and level of intimacy was more pronounced for low than high self-monitoring Ss. Findings suggest that high self-monitoring individuals adopt an "uncommitted" and low self-monitoring individuals a "committed" orientation toward dating relationships. Implications for understanding the evolution of intimate relationships, including marital ones, are discussed. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

AIDS: risk behaviors among rural Mexican women married to migrant workers in the United States

International migration between Mexico and the United States has been acknowledged as a phenomenon that may contribute to the spread of AIDS in rural Mexico. The purpose of this study is to identify the information held by the participants regarding AIDS and to describe selected high-risk behaviors for AIDS transmission among a representative sample of rural women living in Mexico who are married to immigrant temporary workers to the United States. The women who participated in the study were married, of reproductive age, and had active sex lives with their spouses. Results revealed that most of the women interviewed had at least some knowledge about AIDS. Although some misconceptions were evident, most of the information they had was accurate. About one-third of the women felt at risk for AIDS, mostly because they doubted their husbands' fidelity, or because in the last five years they had donated blood, received a blood transfusion, or received an intramuscular or intravenous injection. The results of the study are discussed within the sociocultural context that surrounds the lives of the women interviewed.