Propylthiouracil Is Teratogenic in Murine Embryos

Background: Hyperthyroidism during pregnancy is treated with the antithyroid drugs (ATD) propylthiouracil (PTU) and methimazole (MMI). PTU currently is recommended as the drug of choice during early pregnancy. Yet, despite widespread ATD use in pregnancy, formal studies of ATD teratogenic effects have not been performed. Methods: We examined the teratogenic effects of PTU and MMI during embryogenesis in mice. To span different periods of embryogenesis, dams were treated with compounds or vehicle daily from embryonic day (E) 7.5 to 9.5 or from E3.5 to E7.5. Embryos were examined for gross malformations at E10.5 or E18.5 followed by histological and micro-CT analysis. Influences of PTU on gene expression levels were examined by RNA microarray analysis. Results: When dams were treated from E7.5 to E9.5 with PTU, neural tube and cardiac abnormalities were observed at E10.5. Cranial neural tube defects were significantly more common among the PTU-exposed embryos than those exposed to MMI or vehicle. Blood in the pericardial sac, which is a feature indicative of abnormal cardiac function and/or abnormal vasculature, was observed more frequently in PTU-treated than MMI-treated or vehicle-treated embryos. Following PTU treatment, a total of 134 differentially expressed genes were identified. Disrupted genetic pathways were those associated with cytoskeleton remodeling and keratin filaments. At E 18.5, no gross malformations were evident in either ATD group, but the number of viable PTU embryos per dam at E18.5 was significantly lower from those at E10.5, indicating loss o

Omani School and University Students' Opinions about Public Transport: Incentives and Disincentives

The global shift to private transport is impacting on the environment in a number of ways, including increases in vehicle emissions that, in turn, contribute to the major problem of global warming and potential climate change. This suggests a need to improve strategies to encourage greater use of public transport. The aim of this study is to explore which aspects of public transport might be perceived as reducing its popularity, and which might act as motivators to increase its use. In order to act as a motivator, a positive characteristic must be both believed to be true of public transport and viewed as an important issue by individuals. In contrast, negative characteristics that are viewed as important are likely to act as deterrents to the use of public transport. A questionnaire was used to determine the views of Omani school and university students about such characteristics. Comfort, safety and short journey time were viewed as important, but these characteristics were believed to be inferior for public transport. Surprisingly in a country where new, large and expensive private vehicles are common, the social status associated with using different forms of transport was seen as less important, and few respondents believed that using public transport was socially embarrassing. There were some differences in the responses of male and female respondents, with more females than males viewing comfort, safety and convenience in terms of travelling at preferred times as important. From an eco-centric perspective, although many respondents viewed it as important that personal transport should not exacerbate global warming, only half believed that public transport could make a contribution here. Many of Oman’s public transport issues are structural, but education may still have a part to play in encouraging the use of public transport

Epidermal Wound Healing in the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Significance: Healing of epidermal wounds is a fundamentally conserved process found in essentially all multicellular organisms. Studies of anatomically simple and genetically tractable model invertebrates can illuminate the roles of key genes and mechanisms in wound healing. Recent Advances: The nematode skin is composed of a simple epithelium, the epidermis (also known as hypodermis), and an associated extracellular cuticle. Nematodes likely have a robust capacity for epidermal repair; yet until recently, relatively few studies have directly analyzed wound healing. Here we review epidermal wound responses and repair in the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Critical Issues: Wounding the epidermis triggers a cutaneous innate immune response and wound closure. The innate immune response involves upregulation of a suite of antimicrobial peptides. Wound closure involves a Ca(2+)-triggered rearrangement of the actin cytoskeleton. These processes appear to be initiated independently, yet, their coordinated activity allows the animal to survive otherwise fatal skin wounds. Future Directions: Unanswered questions include the nature of the damage-associated molecular patterns sensed by the epidermis, the signaling pathways relaying Ca(2+) to the cytoskeleton, and the mechanisms of permeability barrier repair

Turkish school students and global warming: Beliefs and willingness to act

One aim of environmental education is to persuade people to act in more proenvironmental ways. However, there is not a linear relationship between environmental knowledge in general and a willingness to act pro-environmentally. This research explores, using a specially-devised questionnaire, Turkish school students' beliefs about the benefits of specific actions for reducing global warming (their Believed Usefulness of Action), their readiness to adopt them (their Degree of Willingness to Act), and the relationships between these. Students appear willing to take certain actions such as switching off un-used electrical items, but unwilling to undertake other actions such as increasing their use of public transport. Planting more trees was thought to be the most useful action, whereas few students appreciated the role that buying fewer new consumables might play. A novel index, the Potential Effectiveness of Education, was constructed to quantify the relationships between these two parameters for specific actions. For some actions, such as purchasing fewer new goods, there were stronger relationships between a belief in the effectiveness of an action in reducing global warming and the willingness to undertake it. Teaching about the benefits of such actions might be effective in terms of encouraging individuals to adopt them. © 2011 by EURASIA