Anger suppression mediates the relationship between optimism and natural killer cell cytotoxicity in men treated for localized prostate cancer.

This study evaluated relations among optimism, depression, anger suppression and natural killer cell cytotoxicity (NKCC) in 61 men treated for localized prostate cancer (PC). All participants were assessed at a single time point where demographics, optimism, depression and anger suppression were measured. We also collected peripheral venous blood to assess NKCC. Results showed that greater optimism was associated with greater NKCC ( β=.27, P<.05), less depression ( β=−.63, P<.001) and less anger suppression ( β=−.29, P<.05). Furthermore, less anger suppression ( β=−.35, P<.01) was associated with greater NKCC. In a hierarchical regression model controlling for depression and then anger suppression, the relationship between optimism and NKCC became nonsignificant [ β=.18, t(56)=1.51, P=.14], while anger suppression remained significantly correlated with NKCC [ β=−.29, t(56)=−2.40, P<.05]. Results suggest that optimism is associated with NKCC and a greater ability to adaptively express anger. Furthermore, it appears that less anger suppression partially mediates the relationship between optimism and NKCC

Cyclic lipopeptide profile of the plant-beneficial endophytic bacterium Bacillus subtilis HC8

In a previous study (Malfanova et al. in Microbial Biotech 4:523-532, 2011), we described the isolation and partial characterization of the biocontrol endophytic bacterium B. subtilis HC8. Using thin-layer chromatography, we have detected several bioactive antifungal compounds in the methanolic extract from the acid-precipitated supernatant of HC8. In the present study, we have further analyzed this methanolic extract using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Based on the comparison of retention times and molecular masses with those of known antifungal compounds, we identified three families of lipopeptide antibiotics. These include four iturins A having fatty acyl chain lengths of C14 to C17, eight fengycins A (from C14 to C18 and from C15 to C17 containing a double bond in the acyl chain), four fengycins B (C15 to C18), and five surfactins (C12 to C16). Evaluation of the antifungal activity of the isolated lipopeptides showed that fengycins are the most active ones. To our knowledge, this is the first report of an endophytic Bacillus subtilis producing all three major families of lipopeptide antibiotics containing a very heterogeneous mixture of homologues. The questions remain open which of these lipopeptides (1) are being produced during interaction with the plant and (2) are contributing to the biocontrol activity of HC8. © 2012 The Author(s)

Half a Century of Wilson & Jungner: Reflections on the Governance of Population Screening

Background: In their landmark report on the "Principles and Practice of Screening for Disease" (1968), Wilson and Jungner noted that the practice of screening is just as important for securing beneficial outcomes and avoiding harms as the formulation of principles. Many jurisdictions have since established various kinds of "screening governance organizations" to provide oversight of screening practice. Yet to date there has been relatively little reflection on the nature and organization of screening governance itself, or on how different governance arrangements affect the way screening is implemented and perceived and the balance of benefits and harms it delivers. Methods: An international expert policy workshop convened by Sturdy, Miller and Hogarth. Results: While effective governance is essential to promote beneficial screening practices and avoid attendant harms, screening governance organizations face enduring challenges. These challenges are social and ethical as much as technical. Evidence-based adjudication of the benefits and harms of population screening must take account of factors that inform the production and interpretation of evidence, including the divergent professional, financial and personal commitments of stakeholders. Similarly, when planning and overseeing organized screening programs, screening governance organizations must persuade or compel multiple stakeholders to work together to a common end. Screening governance organizations in different jurisdictions vary widely in how they are constituted, how they relate to other interested organizations and actors, and what powers and authority they wield. Yet we know little about how these differences affect the way screening is implemented, and with what consequences. Conclusions: Systematic research into how screening governance is organized in different jurisdictions would facilitate policy learning to address enduring challenges. Even without such research, informal exchange and sharing of experiences between screening governance organizations can deliver invaluable insights into the social as well as the technical aspects of governance