Global Ethics and Nanotechnology: A Comparison of the Nanoethics Environments of the EU and China

The following article offers a brief overview of current nanotechnology policy, regulation and ethics in Europe and The People’s Republic of China with the intent of noting (dis)similarities in approach, before focusing on the involvement of the public in science and technology policy (i.e. participatory Technology Assessment). The conclusions of this article are, that (a) in terms of nanosafety as expressed through policy and regulation, China PR and the EU have similar approaches towards, and concerns about, nanotoxicity—the official debate on benefits and risks is not markedly different in the two regions; (b) that there is a similar economic drive behind both regions’ approach to nanodevelopment, the difference being the degree of public concern admitted; and (c) participation in decision-making is fundamentally different in the two regions. Thus in China PR, the focus is on the responsibility of the scientist; in the EU, it is about government accountability to the public. The formulation of a Code of Conduct for scientists in both regions (China PR’s predicted for 2012) reveals both similarity and difference in approach to nanotechnology development. This may change, since individual responsibility alone cannot guide S&T development, and as public participation is increasingly seen globally as integral to governmental decision-making

Detection of melanoma lymph node metastases by Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy of fine-needle aspirates

Introduction Non-surgical sentinel node (SN) evaluation offers advantages over SN removal. Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) of lymph node needle aspirates accurately identifies the presence of metabolites associated with melanoma micrometastases. Validation of this technique would reduce the morbidity and costs of SN evaluation. Methods Fine needle aspiration biopsies (FNAB) from 70 malignant and 42 benign nodes from patients undergoing node resection for metastatic melanoma were obtained. Proton MRS (8.5 T) was carried out using standard protocols (4). Four 5~tm sections from each node block (3mm thick) were stained with H&E (2 sections) and for S 100 protein and HMB45. MR spectra and histopathology were correlated using a statistical classification strategy (SCS) (3). Results Proton MRS of FNAB from benign and metastatic nodes are shown in Figure 1. Resonances include those from lipid (Lip), amino acids, lactate, creatine (Cre), phosphocreatine, choline (Chol) metabolites and inositol. An SCS-based classifier was generated for benign and metastatic nodes. In four random training sets, spectra from 47 metastatic and 28 benign nodes were subjected to SCS. Using five optimally discriminatory spectral regions, metastases was predicted with a sensitivity of 97.3%, a specificity of 90.2% and an accuracy of 94.7%. In independent validation sets (samples not in training sets), including 23 metastatic and 14 benign nodes, the presence of metastases was predicted with a sensitivity of 93.5%, a specificity of 87.5% and an accuracy of 91.2%. The crispness of the data (% samples with a class probability >75%) was ~88% for training and validation sets. These data indicate that SN staging of melanoma may be achieved without surgical biopsy and histopathology. Conclusions Pro- ton MRS of FNAB of lymph nodes provides robust, accurate diagnosis of metastatic disease in nodes from melanoma patients

Salivary Secretory Leukocyte Protease Inhibitor and Oral Candidiasis in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1-Infected Persons

Oropharyngeal candidiasis, typically caused by Candida albicans, is the most common oral disease associated with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection. Secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI), a 12-kDa antiprotease, suppresses the growth of C. albicans in vitro. To determine whether the mucosal protein plays a role in protecting oral tissues against fungal infection, we conducted a cross-sectional study investigating the oral and systemic health and salivary SLPI levels in 91 dentate HIV-1-infected adults receiving medical care in the southeastern United States. Participants with a self-reported history of clinical oropharyngeal candidiasis during the previous 2 years constituted the test group (n = 52), while the comparison group (n = 39) had no oropharyngeal candidiasis during that period. Data collected from medical records, oral examination, and SLPI enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay quantitation of whole saliva were analyzed by t test, analysis of variance, linear regression, and unconditional logistic regression. The test group had a significantly higher mean salivary SLPI level than the comparison group (1.9 μg/ml versus 1.1 μg/ml, P < 0.05). Linear regression modeling identified CD4 cell count and history of oropharyngeal candidiasis as key predictors of salivary SLPI and revealed a significant interaction (P < 0.05) between immunosuppression (CD4 cell count below 200 cells/μl) and positive history of oropharyngeal candidiasis in predicting salivary SLPI level. By logistic regression modeling, a salivary SLPI level exceeding 2.1 μg/ml, low CD4 count, antiretroviral monotherapy, and smoking were key predictors of oropharyngeal candidiasis. These data support a key role for SLPI in the oral mucosal defense against C. albicans. The antimicrobial mucosal protein may serve as an indicator of previous oropharyngeal candidiasis infection among immunosuppressed persons

The heritability and genetics of complement C3 expression in UK SLE families.

As the central component of the complement system, C3 has sensory and effector functions bridging innate and adaptive immunity. It is plausible that common genetic variation at C3 determines either serum C3 level or susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but only a single, Japanese, study has currently showed genetic association. In a cohort of 1371 individuals from 393 UK white European SLE families, we quantified serum C3 and genotyped C3 tagSNPs. Using a Bayesian variance components model, we estimated 39.6% serum C3 heritability. Genotype/serum C3 association was determined by mixed linear models. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs344555, located in a haplotype block incorporating the 3' end of C3, was associated with serum C3 (P=0.007), with weaker associations observed for other SNPs in this block. In an extended cohort of 585 SLE families the association between C3 variants and SLE was assessed by transmission disequilibrium test. SNP rs3745568 was associated with SLE (P=0.0046), but not with serum C3. Our disease associated SNP differs from that highlighted in the Japanese study; however, we replicate their finding that genetic variants at the 3' end of C3 are associated with serum C3. Larger studies and further fine mapping will be required to definitively identify functional variants