A standardised study to compare prostate cancer targeting efficacy of five radiolabelled bombesin analogues

Purpose: Prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based screening for prostate cancer (PC) has dramatically increased early diagnosis. Current imaging techniques are not optimal to stage early PC adequately. A promising alternative to PC imaging is peptide-based scintigraphy using radiolabelled bombesin (BN) analogues that bind to gastrin-releasing peptide receptors (GRPR) being overexpressed in PC. When labelled to appropriate radionuclides BN targeting of GRPRs may also provide applications for peptide radionuclide receptor therapy (PRRT). Assessment studies under identical experimental conditions allowing a reliable comparison of the potential of such analogues are lacking. This study was performed to evaluate and directly compare five promising radiolabelled BN analogues for their targeting efficacy for PC under standardised conditions. Methods: The BN agonists [111In]DOTA-PESIN, [111In]AMBA, [111In]MP2346 and [111In]MP2653 and one antagonist [99mTc]Demobesin-1 were evaluated in GRPR-overexpressing human PC-3 tumou

Serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and immunoglobulins in an older Swiss cohort: results of the Senior Labor Study.

BACKGROUND Vitamin D and the components of humoral immunity play important roles in human health. Older people have lower 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) serum levels than younger adults. We aimed to determine the levels of 25(OH)D serum concentrations in healthy senior citizens and to study their relationship to the levels of components of humoral immunity. METHODS A total of 1,470 healthy Swiss men and women, 60 years or older, were recruited for this study. A total of 179 subjects dropped out of the study because of elevated serum concentrations of C-reactive protein. Fasting blood sera were analyzed for 25(OH)D with the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and for parathyroid hormone (PTH), immunoglobulins and complement C4 and C3 concentrations with immunoassays. The percentage of participants in each of the four 25(OH)D deficiency groups--severely deficient (=30 ng/ml)--were statistically compared. The relationship of the major components of the humoral system and age with 25(OH)D levels was also assessed. RESULTS About 66% of the subjects had insufficient levels of 25(OH)D. Normal levels of 25(OH)D were found in 26.1% of the subjects of which 21% were males and 30.5% were females (total study population). Severely deficient levels of 25(OH)D were found in 7.98% of the total study population. Low levels of 25(OH)D were positively associated with IgG2 (P = 0.01) and with C4 (P = 0.02), yet were inversely related to levels of IgG1 and IgA (P < 0.05) and C3 (P = 0.01). Serum levels of total IgA, IgG, IgG2 and IgG4 peaked together with 25(OH)D during late summer. CONCLUSIONS Approximately two-thirds of the healthy, older Swiss population presented with Vitamin D insufficiency. The incremental shift in IgA and C3 levels might not necessarily reflect a deranged humoral immune defense; however, given the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, the importance of this condition in humoral immunity will be worth looking at more closely. This study supports the role of vitamin D in the competent immune system

Enabling and centering equity and justice in clean energy transition research

Cristina Crespo Montañés is a PhD Candidate in the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley, and a Link Foundation Energy Fellow. Her research studies social and spatial inequities in urban energy transitions. She has been a Fulbright Spain scholar and received an MS in Industrial Engineering from École Centrale Paris and Universitat Politécnica de València. Dr. Eric O'Shaughnessy is a renewable energy research consultant. His research focuses on econometric analysis of distributed energy resource markets. Eric received his PhD from the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Dominic Bednar is a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow at Arizona State University's School for the Future of Innovation in Society and School of Sustainability. He is also currently a Fulbright Chile scholar. His research examines the institutional barriers of energy poverty recognition and response in the United States and explores the spatial, racial/ethnic, and socio-economic patterns of residential energy affordability, consumption, and efficiency. Dr. Destenie Nock is an assistant professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering as well as Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), and CEO of Peoples Energy Analytics. She is also the director of the Society, Policy, Infrastructure, Climate, and Energy (SPICE) group at CMU. Her research uses mathematical modeling tools to address societal problems related to sustainability planning, energy policy, equity, and engineering for social good. Dr. Sanya Carley is a Paul H. O'Neill Professor and Director of the Master of Public Affairs programs at the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, where she also co-directs the Energy Justice Lab. Her research focuses on energy justice and just transitions, electricity and transportation markets and policies, and public perceptions of energy infrastructure and technologies. Dr. Daniel M. Kammen is the Senior Advisor for Energy &amp; Innovation at the US Agency for International Development. He is the James and Katherine Lau Distinguished Professor in Sustainability at the University of California, Berkeley, where he directs the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory. He has served as the Science Envoy for the US Department of State and as Chief Technical Specialist for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency at the World Bank. Dr. David M. Konisky is the Lynton K. Caldwell Professor at the Paul H. O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, where he also co-directs the Energy Justice Lab. Konisky's research focuses on US environmental policy and politics, with particular emphasis on environmental and energy justice, regulation, federalism, and public opinion