The Secrets of Self-Starvation

This is a single case study for which a life history approach was adopted. The informant, a patient suffering from anorexia nervosa (AN), was specifically selected because of her particular circumstances. Three themes emerged from her narrative that accounted for self-starvation: saving money, reserving food and competing for slenderness. The paper explores these themes and closes by emphasizing the necessity of understanding the sensitive and untold story of a patient’s self-starvation in her cultural-familial context

Improved analytical methods for microarray-based genome-composition analysis

BACKGROUND: Whereas genome sequencing has given us high-resolution pictures of many different species of bacteria, microarrays provide a means of obtaining information on genome composition for many strains of a given species. Genome-composition analysis using microarrays, or 'genomotyping', can be used to categorize genes into 'present' and 'divergent' categories based on the level of hybridization signal. This typically involves selecting a signal value that is used as a cutoff to discriminate present (high signal) and divergent (low signal) genes. Current methodology uses empirical determination of cutoffs for classification into these categories, but this methodology is subject to several problems that can result in the misclassification of many genes. RESULTS: We describe a method that depends on the shape of the signal-ratio distribution and does not require empirical determination of a cutoff. Moreover, the cutoff is determined on an array-to-array basis, accounting for variation in strain composition and hybridization quality. The algorithm also provides an estimate of the probability that any given gene is present, which provides a measure of confidence in the categorical assignments. CONCLUSIONS: Many genes previously classified as present using static methods are in fact divergent on the basis of microarray signal; this is corrected by our algorithm. We have reassigned hundreds of genes from previous genomotyping studies of Helicobacter pylori and Campylobacter jejuni strains, and expect that the algorithm should be widely applicable to genomotyping data

Can Preschoolers be Health Messengers to Promote Breast Health among Chinese Americans?

Women’s limited knowledge about breast cancer screening (BCS), combined with differences in Eastern and Western disease prevention concepts, may contribute to late-stage breast cancer diagnosis among minorities. Children can be conduits of knowledge transfer to adults. This pilot study tested the use of a culturally-tailored theatrical preschool performance in increasing Chinese American women’s knowledge of BCS guidelines. Chinese preschool children relayed BCS guidelines through a culturally-tailored theatrical performance. Data were collected from 177 Chinese American women (84% foreign-born) who completed pre- and post-performance surveys. Findings suggested that promoting BCS guidelines through a culturally-tailored preschool theatrical performance significantly increased participants’ knowledge of the guidelines. Interventions involving young children as change agents to deliver simple health messages such as BCS guidelines are feasible and promising to increase knowledge and desired behavioral change within the target population. Further empirical investigations are warranted in larger randomized controlled trials

Cyclic voltammetric behaviour and high-performance liquid chromatography amperometric determination of levamisole

The electrochemical oxidation of levamisole, a glassy carbon electrode, was investigated over the pH range 2.0–10.0. Cyclic voltammetric investigations showed a single oxidation process was recorded, with a peak potential (Ep) shown to be pH-dependent in the range 5.0–8.0; between pH 2.0 and pH 5.0, and above pH 8.0, the Ep was found to be independent of pH, indicating apparent pKa values of 5.0 and 8.0. Peak currents were found to increase with increasing pH values. This voltammetric oxidation process was found to be consistent with a two-electron, two-proton oxidation to the corresponding sulfoxide. Based on these findings, the development of a of method based on the high-performance liquid chromatography separation of levamisole, with electrochemical detection being used for its determination, was explored. The chromatographic conditions required for the separation of levamisole were first investigated and optimized using UV detection. The conditions were identified as a 150 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 µm C18 column with a mobile phase consisting of 50% methanol, and 50%, 50 mM, pH 8.0 phosphate buffer. The technique of hydrodynamic voltammetry was applied to optimize the applied potential required for the determination of levamisole, identified as +2.3 V versus a stainless-steel pseudo-reference counter-electrode. Under the optimized conditions, levamisole exhibited a linear response of 1.00–20 mg/L (R2 = 0.999), with a detection limit of 0.27 mg/L. The possibility of determining levamisole in artificial urine was shown to be possible via simple dilution in the mobile phase. Mean recoveries of 99.7%, and 94.6%, with associated coefficients of variation of 8.2% and 10.2%, respectively, were obtained for 1.25 µg/mL (n = 5) and 2.50 µg/mL (n = 5)

Asymptotically cylindrical 7-manifolds of holonomy G_2 with applications to compact irreducible G_2-manifolds

We construct examples of exponentially asymptotically cylindrical Riemannian 7-manifolds with holonomy group equal to G_2. To our knowledge, these are the first such examples. We also obtain exponentially asymptotically cylindrical coassociative calibrated submanifolds. Finally, we apply our results to show that one of the compact G_2-manifolds constructed by Joyce by desingularisation of a flat orbifold T^7/\Gamma can be deformed to one of the compact G_2-manifolds obtainable as a generalized connected sum of two exponentially asymptotically cylindrical SU(3)-manifolds via the method given by the first author (math.DG/0012189).Comment: 36 pages; v2: corrected trivial typos; v3: some arguments corrected and improved; v4: a number of improvements on presentation, paritularly in sections 4 and 6, including an added picture

Drosophila Exo70 is Essential for Neurite Extension and Survival under Thermal Stress

The octomeric exocyst complex governs the final step of exocytosis in both plants and animals. Its roles, however, extend beyond exocytosis and include organelle biogenesis, ciliogenesis, cell migration, and cell growth. Exo70 is a conserved component of the exocyst whose function in Drosophila is unclear. In this study, we characterized two mutant alleles of Drosophila exo70. exo70 mutants exhibit reduced synaptic growth, locomotor activity, glutamate receptor density, and mEPSP amplitude. We found that presynaptic Exo70 is necessary for normal synaptic growth at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ). At the neuromuscular junction, exo70 genetically interacts with the small GTPase ralA to regulate synaptic growth. Loss of Exo70 leads to the blockage of JNK signaling-, activity-, and temperature-induced synaptic outgrowths. We showed that this phenotype is associated with an impairment of integral membrane protein transport to the cell surface at synaptic terminals. In octopaminergic motor neurons, Exo70 is detected in synaptic varicosities, as well as the regions of membrane extensions in response to activity stimulation. Strikingly, mild thermal stress causes severe neurite outgrowth defects and pharate adult lethality in exo70 mutants. exo70 mutants also display defective locomotor activity in response to starvation stress. These results demonstrated that Exo70 is an important regulator of induced synaptic growth and is crucial for an organism’s adaptation to environmental changes

Media Ecology and the Politics of Dissent: Representations of the Hong Kong Protests in the Guardian and China Daily.

The phenomenon of protests, currently on the rise in worldwide democracies, is made known to citizens mainly through representations in the media. This paper, responding to the need for a broader view of protest media coverage in an international context, examines the ways the 2014 Hong Kong protests were covered by the online versions of two highly influential and appealing newspapers, belonging to contrasting media systems: Guardian and China Daily. By revising a typology of previously used frames and inventing new ones this study conducts a quantitative content analysis of news articles with the view to a) highlight similarities and differences in the media coverage of protests within the above - mentioned media systems, b) find out whether the media coverage of such events with political ramifications is affected by the geopolitical interests of the countries. Based on our analysis, this study suggests the need for revising the protest paradigm as important factors - the protests’ momentum, the media systems, the new information communication technologies and certain geopolitical interests - are involved in the dynamics surrounding media coverage of protests and as such they greatly influence the framing process. Moreover, our findings demonstrated that the media coverage of the 2014 HK protests by the two newspapers was reflective of both the media systems in which they function as well as of the distinctive national standpoints

The efficacy and safety of enzalutamide with trastuzumab in patients with HER2+ and androgen receptor-positive metastatic or locally advanced breast cancer

Purpose: Androgen receptor (AR) expression occurs in up to 86% of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive (HER2+) breast cancers. In vitro, AR inhibitors enhance antitumor activity of trastuzumab, an anti-HER2 antibody, in trastuzumab-resistant HER2+ cell lines. This open-label, single-arm, phase II study evaluated the efficacy and safety of enzalutamide, an AR-signaling inhibitor, in patients with advanced HER2+ AR+ breast cancer previously treated with trastuzumab. Methods: Eligible patients had measurable or non-measurable evaluable disease per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) v1.1, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group status 64 1, no history of brain metastases, and previously received 65 1 anti-HER2 regimen for advanced disease. Patients received 160\ua0mg oral enzalutamide daily and 6\ua0mg/kg intravenous trastuzumab every 21\ua0days until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Primary end point was clinical benefit rate at 24\ua0weeks (CBR24); secondary end points included progression-free survival (PFS) and safety. Results: Overall, 103\ua0women were enrolled [median age 60\ua0years (range 34\u201383)]; 62% had received 65 3\ua0lines of prior anti-HER2 therapy. CBR24, comprising patients with confirmed partial responses (5%) and durable stable disease at 24\ua0weeks (19%), was 24% in the efficacy evaluable set (n = 89). CBR24 did not seem related to AR-expression levels or hormone receptor status. Median PFS was 3.4\ua0months (95% confidence interval 2.0\u20133.8). Overall, 97 (94%) patients experienced treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs), with fatigue most common (34%). Dyspnea (4%) and malignant neoplasm progression (3%) were the only TEAEs grade 65 3 reported in 65 3\ua0patients. 22 patients (21%) reported serious TEAEs. Four patients (4%) experienced fatal, non-drug-related TEAEs. Conclusions: Enzalutamide plus trastuzumab was well tolerated, and a subset of patients in this heavily pretreated population had durable disease control. Determination of biomarkers is needed to identify patients most likely to benefit from this combination. ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT0209196