Abiotic retention of nitrogen and dissolved organic matter by forest mineral soils

The effect of NO3- deposition on NH4 +, DON, and DOC retention as well as abiotic NO3 - retention via the hypothesized ferrous wheel mechanism was examined in oxic and anoxic tropical and oxic temperate soils using sorption isotherm experiments. Adsorption of NH4+, DON, and DOC by mineral soils was examined in forest floor extracts with DOC levels of 0-50 mg/L. Experimental treatments included no added NO3-, 4mg/L of added NO3-, or 4 mg/L of NO3 - and 2 mg/L of Fe3+. Ferric iron was added since it would likely increase DOC retention in the context of podzolization, and it might also influence N retention. Retention of NH4 + and DOC did not change upon NO3- addition in any of the soils. Although there are some experimental conditions that could be changed, the results indicate that the ferrous wheel hypothesis does not explain the NO3- retention by mineral soils that has been observed in the field. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Socioeconomic inequalities in child malnutrition in the developing world

Among the conclusions the authors reach about malnutrition rates, among different economic groups: 1) inequalities in malnutrition almost disfavor the poor; 2) it's not just that the poor have higher rates of malnutrition. The rate of malnutrition declines continuously with rising living standards; 3) the tendency of poorer children to have higher rates of stunting, and underweight, is not due to chance, or sampling variability. Inequalities in stunting, and underweight, as measured by the concentration index, are statistically significant in almost countries; 4) inequalities in underweight tend to be larger than inequalities in stunting, which tend to be larger than inequalities in wasting; 5) in most cases, whatever the malnutrition indicator, differences in inequality between countries are not statistically significant; 6) even if attention is restricted to the cross-country differences in inequality that are statistically significant, interesting conclusions emerge, Egypt, and Vietnam have the most equal distributions of malnutrition, and Nicaragua, Peru, and, to a lesser extent, Morocco, have highly unequal distributions; 7) some countries (such as Egypt and Romania) do well in terms of both the average (the prevalence of malnutrition) and the distribution (equality). Others do badly on both counts. Peru, for example, has a higher average level of stunting than Egypt, and higher poor-non-poor inequality. But many countries do well on one count, and badly on the other. Brazil, for example, has a far lower (less than 20 percent) stunting rate overall, than Bangladesh (more than 50 percent), but has four times as much inequality (as measured by the concentration index); 8) use of an achievement index that captures both the average level, and the inequality of malnutrition, leads to some interesting rank reversals in the country league table. With stunting, for example, focusing on the achievement index moves Egypt (a low-inequality country) from sixth position to fourth, higher than Brazil and Russia (two countries with high inequality).Early Childhood Development,Early Child and Children's Health,Public Health Promotion,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Disease Control&Prevention,Early Child and Children's Health,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Early Childhood Development,Child Labor,Child Labor Law

On decomposing the causes of health sector inequalities with an application to malnutrition inequalities in Vietnam

The authors propose a method for decomposing inequalities in the health sector into their causes, by coupling the concentration index with a regression framework. They also show how changes in inequality over time, and differences across countries, can be decomposed into the following: Changes due to changing inequalities in the determinants of the variable of interest. Changes in the means of the determinants. Changes in the effects of the determinants o the variable of interest. The authors illustrate the method using data on child malnutrition in Vietnam. They find that inequalities in height-for-age in 1993 and 1998 are accounted for largely by inequalities in household consumption and by unobserved influences at the commune level. And they find that an increase in such inequalities is accounted for largely by changes in these two influences. In the case of household consumption, rising inequalities play a part, but more important have been the inequality-increasing effects of rising average consumption and the increased protective effect of consumption on nutritional status. In the case of unobserved commune-level influences, rising inequality and general improvements seem to have been roughly equally important in accounting for rising inequality in malnutrition.Environmental Economics&Policies,Public Health Promotion,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Early Child and Children's Health,Disease Control&Prevention,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Inequality,Regional Rural Development,Environmental Economics&Policies,Early Child and Children's Health

17β-estradiol Inhibits the Production of RANTES in Human Keratinocytes

A chemokine, regulated upon activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) attracts T helper-1 cells and macrophages. The production of RANTES is enhanced in keratinocytes of psoriatic skin lesions, which may contribute to the inflammatory infiltrate. It is known that estrogen regulates the natural course of psoriasis. We examined the in vitro effects of 17β-estradiol on RANTES production by human keratinocytes. 17β-estradiol inhibited tumor necrosis factor-α or interleukin-1β-induced RANTES secretion, mRNA expression, and promoter activity in keratinocytes, and these effects of 17β-estradiol were counteracted by estrogen receptor antagonist ICI 182 780. Two nuclear factor κB elements on RANTES promoter were required for tumor necrosis factor-α or interleukin-1β-induced transcription and involved in the inhibition by 17β-estradiol. 17β-estradiol inhibited nuclear factor κB transcriptional activity, whereas it did not inhibit DNA binding of nuclear factor κB or phosphorylation or degradation of the inhibitor of nuclear factor κB α in tumor necrosis factor-α or interleukin-1β-stimulated keratinocytes. 17β-estradiol-induced inhibition of nuclear factor κB transcriptional activity and RANTES promoter activity was rescued by overexpression of a coactivator cyclic AMP response element-binding protein (CREB) or nuclear factor κB p65 but not by steroid receptor coactivator-1 or nuclear factor κB p50. The overexpression of CREB-binding protein rescued 17β-estradiol-induced inhibition of transcription mediated by a chimeric protein, GAL4-p65286–551, which contained GAL4 DNA binding domain fused to C-terminal transactivating domain of p65 (amino acids 286–551). The transfection of estrogen receptor α or estrogen receptor β into estrogen receptor-negative SKBR3 cells resulted in 17β-estradiol-mediated inhibition of transcription via GAL4-p65286–551. These results suggest that 17β-estradiol-bound estrogen receptor may inhibit nuclear factor κB-dependent transcription of RANTES gene by competing with p65 for limiting amounts of CREB-binding protein

Intracellular 3′,5′-Adenosine Cyclic Monophosphate Level Regulates House Dust Mite-Induced Interleukin-13 Production by T Cells from Mite-Sensitive Patients with Atopic Dermatitis

We studied the relationship between cAMP and house dust mite-induced cytokine production in T cells from mite-sensitive patients with atopic dermatitis. T cells from atopic dermatitis patients secreted high level of interleukin-13 (mean 851.1 pg per ml) when cultured with autologous monocytes pulsed with Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus extract. Dermato- phagoides pteronyssinus-induced interleukin-13 secretion was not detected in normal subjects. Adenylate cyclase inhibitor MDL 12,330A and cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase type 4 inhibitor rolipram blocked Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus-induced interleukin-13 secretion in atopic dermatitis T cells. In atopic dermatitis T cells, cAMP level rose at 5 min after Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus stimulus then decreased to the basal level at 1 h. MDL 12,330A blocked the Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus-induced cAMP elevation while rolipram blocked its reversal. In atopic dermatitis T cells, adenylate cyclase activity increased at 5 min after Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus stimulus, followed by the increase of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase acvity at 15 min. In atopic dermatitis T cells, phospholipase C inhibitor ET-18-OCH3 blocked Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus-induced activation of adenylate cyclase, while rolipram, protein kinase A inhibitor H-89, and MDL 12,330A blocked the activation of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase. These results suggest that Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus may first increase cAMP in atopic dermatitis T cells by activating adenylate cyclase via phospholipase C, and next decrease cAMP by activating cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase 4 via protein kinase A, which may be activated by adenylate cyclase-generated cAMP signal. These events are required for interleukin-13 response Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus

17β-Estradiol Enhances the Production of Nerve Growth Factor in THP-1-Derived Macrophages or Peripheral Blood Monocyte-Derived Macrophages

We examined in vitro effects of 17β-estradiol (E2) on nerve growth factor production by macrophages derived from monocytic cell line THP-1-or periphereal blood monocytes. E2 and membrane-impermeable bovine serum albumin-conjugated E2 (E2-BSA) enhanced nerve growth factor secretion and mRNA expression in both types of macrophages E2 enhanced nerve growth factor promotor activity in THP-1-derived macrophages and two activator protein-1 binding sites on the promoter were responsible for the enhancement. E2 and E2-BSA enhanced transcriptional activity and DNA binding of activator protein-1. E2 and E2-BSA shifted the activator protein-1 composition from c-Jun homodimers to c-Fos/c-Jun heterodimers. E2 and E2-BSA transiently induced c-Fos mRNA, which was constitutively undetectable in both types of macrophages. Adenylate cyclase inhibitor SQ22536 suppressed E2-induced nerve growth factor production and c-Fos expression. E2 and E2-BSA increased intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate level in both types of macrophages. Antisense oligonucleotide against guanine nucleotide-binding protein-coupled receptor, GPR30 suppressed the E2-induced cyclic adenosine monophosphate signal, c-Fos expression, and nerve growth factor secretion in both types of macrophages. These results suggest that E2 may enhance nerve growth factor production by inducing c-Fos expression via cyclic adenosine monophosphate signal in macrophages. These effects may be mediated via GPR30

Japanese Monetary Policy during the Collapse of the Bubble Economy: A View of Policymaking under Uncertainty

Focusing on policymaking under uncertainty, we analyze the monetary policy of the Bank of Japan (BOJ) in the early 1990s, when the bubble economy collapsed. Conducting stochastic simulations with a large- scale macroeconomic model of the Japanese economy, we find that the BOJf s monetary policy at that time was essentially optimal under uncertainty about the policy multiplier. On the other hand, we also find that the BOJ's policy was not optimal under uncertainty about inflation dynamics, and that a more aggressive policy response than actually implemented would have been needed. Thus, optimal monetary policy differs greatly depending upon which type of uncertainty is emphasized. Taking into account the fact that overcoming deflation became an important issue from the latter 1990s, it is possible to argue that during the early 1990s the BOJ should have placed greater emphasis on uncertainty about inflation dynamics and implemented a more aggressive monetary policy. The result from a counterfactual simulation indicates that the inflation rate and the real growth rate would have been higher to some extent if the BOJ had implemented a more accommodative policy during the early 1990s. However, the simulation result also suggests that the effects would have been limited, and that an accommodative monetary policy itself would not have changed the overall image of the prolonged stagnation of the Japanese economy during the 1990s.Collapse of the bubble economy; Monetary policy; Uncertainty

Structural equation model of factors related to quality of life for community-dwelling schizophrenic patients in Japan

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to clarify how community mental healthcare systems can be improved. METHODS: We included 79 schizophrenic patients, aged 20 to 80 years, residing in the Tokyo metropolitan area who regularly visited rehabilitation facilities offering assistance to psychiatric patients and were receiving treatment on an outpatient basis. No subjects had severe cognitive disorders or were taking medication with side effects that could prevent the completion of questionnaires. Questionnaires included items related to quality of life, self-efficacy, self-esteem, psychosis based on the Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale, health locus of control, and socio-demographic factors. We performed multiple linear regression analysis with quality of life as the dependent variable and, based on covariance structural analysis, evaluated the goodness of fit of the resulting structural equations models. RESULTS: Self-efficacy, self-esteem, and degree of psychosis significantly impacted quality of life. Marital status, age, and types of medications also influenced quality of life. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed psychiatric symptoms (Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale-32 [daily living and role functioning] (Beta = −0.537, p < 0.001) and self-efficacy (Beta = 0.249, p < 0.05) to be predictors of total quality of life score. Based on covariance structural analysis, the resulting model was found to exhibit reasonable goodness of fit. CONCLUSIONS: Self-efficacy had an especially strong and direct impact on QOL. Therefore, it is important to provide more positive feedback to patients, provide social skills training based on cognitive behavioral therapy, and engage patients in role playing to improve self-efficacy and self-concept

A simple large-scale method for separating closed circular form DNA by gel electrophoresis

The covalently closed form of circular duplex SV40 DNA was separated from the open and linear form of SV40 DNA by agarose gel electrophoresis in a large-scale gel system. The closed circular DNA was recovered from agarose gels by re-electrophoresing the gel slices. The recovery of DNA was about 70%. Electron microscopic analysis showed that the recovered DNA did not have doube- or single-stranded breaks. The recovered DNA can be used without further purification for electron microscopy, as a substrate for experiments using restriction endonuclease and as a template for in vitro RNA synthesis.</p