88 research outputs found
Differential regulation of CYP4Z1 mRNA in human breast cancer cell lines.
CYP4Z1 is a novel cytochrome P450 enzyme that is preferentially expressed in normal breast and neoplastic breast tissue. This poster reported on the results of a study in which an in vitro cell model was used to define the mechanisms regulating CYP4Z1 mRNA expression, by exposing oestrogen receptor positive cell lines to agonists of three independent nuclear receptor pathways: the progesterone receptor (PGR); peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPARĪ±); and the glucocorticoid receptor (GCR)
Metformin and asarone inhibit HepG2 cell proliferation in a high glucose environment by regulating AMPK and Akt signaling pathway.
Background: Metabolic dysregulation is one of the hallmarks of tumor cell proliferation. Evidence indicates the potential role of the 5ā²adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and protein kinase B/Akt signaling pathway in regulating cell proliferation, survival, and apoptosis. The present study explores the effect of metformin HCl and the combination of Ī±- and Ī²-asarone on the proliferation of HepG2 cells in the presence of high glucose levels simulating the diabetic-hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) condition. Results: The metformin and asarone reduced HepG2 cell viability in a dose-dependent manner and induced morphological changes as indicated by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay. The metformin and asarone arrested the cells at the G0/G1 phase, upregulated the expression of AMPK, and downregulated Akt expression in high glucose conditions as identified by the flow cytometry technique. Further, the upregulated AMPK led to a decrease in the expression of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase-2 (PCK-2) and sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1 (SREBP-1). Conclusion: The anti-proliferative effect of metformin and asarone in the diabetic-HCC condition is mediated via AMPK and Akt pathway
Flood Disasters and Health Among the Urban Poor
Billions of people live in urban poverty, with many forced to reside in
disaster-prone areas. Research suggests that such disasters harm child
nutrition and increase adult morbidity. However, little is known about impacts
on mental health, particularly of people living in slums. In this paper we
estimate the effects of flood disasters on the mental and physical health of
poor adults and children in urban Indonesia. Our data come from the Indonesia
Family Life Survey and new surveys of informal settlement residents. We find
that urban poor populations experience increases in acute morbidities and
depressive symptoms following floods, that the negative mental health effects
last longer, and that the urban wealthy show no health effects from flood
exposure. Further analysis suggests that worse economic outcomes may be partly
responsible. Overall, the results provide a more nuanced understanding of the
morbidities experienced by populations most vulnerable to increased disaster
occurrence.Comment: 41 pages, 1 figure, 6 tables, 10 Appendix table
Importance of religion after adversity
After major adversity, some people rely on their religious faith and networks for comfort, support, and material goods and services. Consistent with this behavior are findings that adversity has a positive causal effect on the importance of religion in people's lives. Using a large high-frequency US dataset, we estimate the causal effects of natural disasters on stated religious importance and attendance at religious services. Effects are identified by comparing changes in outcomes over time within counties affected by a natural disaster with changes over time in other counties from the same state. We find that most estimates are near-zero in magnitude; for the full sample, for subgroups defined by religious affiliation, demographics, and income, and for different disaster types. However, significant negative effects are found immediately postdisaster, suggesting a short-term crowding-out effect in which recovery activities limit time for worship. This explanation is supported by a finding that people are less āwell restedā in the first weeks postdisaster
Response-scale heterogeneity in the EQ-5D
This paper discusses two types of response-scale heterogeneity, which may impact upon the EQ-5D. Response-scale heterogeneity in reporting occurs when individuals systematically differ in their use of response scales when responding to self-assessments. This type of heterogeneity is widely observed in relation to other self-assessed measures but is often overlooked with regard to the EQ-5D. Analogous to this, preference elicitation involving the EQ-5D could be subject to a similar type of heterogeneity, where variations across respondents may occur in the interpretations of the levels (response categories) being valued. This response-scale heterogeneity in preference elicitation may differ from variations in preferences for health states, which have been observed in the literature. This paper explores what these forms of response-scale heterogeneity may mean for the EQ-5D and the potential implications for researchers who rely on the instrument as a measure of health and quality of life. We identify situations where they are likely to be problematic and present potential avenues for overcoming these issues
Jellyfish
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources published a series of educational webpages and brochures on marine science. This issue focuses on jellyfish
Insulin and insulin-like growth factor-I responsiveness and signalling mechanisms in C2C12 satellite cells: effect of differentiation and fusion
AbstractIn proliferating C2C12 myoblasts, serum and physiological concentrations of insulin and IGF-I stimulated protein synthesis and RNA accretion. After fusion, the multinucleated myotubes remained responsive to serum but not to insulin or IGF-I, even though both insulin and type-1 IGF receptor mRNAs increased in abundance. Protein synthetic responses to insulin and IGF-I in myoblasts were not inhibited by dexamethasone, ibuprofen or Ro-31-8220, thus phospholipase A2, cyclo-oxygenase and protein kinase C did not appear to be involved in the signalling mechanisms. Neither apparently were polyphosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C or phospholipase D since neither hormone increased inositol phosphate, phosphatidic acid, choline or phosphatidylbutanol production. Only the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase inhibitor, wortmannin, and the 70 kDa S6-kinase inhibitor, rapamycin, wholly or partially blocked the effects of insulin and IGF-I on protein synthesis. 2-deoxyglucose uptake remained responsive to insulin and IGF-I after fusion and was also inhibited by wortmannin. The results suggest that the loss of responsiveness after fusion is not due to loss of receptors, but to the uncoupling of a post-receptor pathway, occurring after the divergence of the glucose transport and protein synthesis signalling systems, and that, if wortmannin acts at a single site, this is prior to that point of divergence
Cost-Effectiveness of Erythropoietin in Traumatic Brain Injury : A Multinational Trial-Based Economic Analysis
The EPO-TBI multi-national randomized controlled trial found that erythropoietin (EPO), when compared to placebo, did not affect 6-month neurological outcome, but reduced illness severity-adjusted mortality in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI), making the cost-effectiveness of EPO in TBI uncertain. The current study uses patient-level data from the EPO-TBI trial to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of EPO in patients with moderate or severe TBI from the healthcare payers' perspective. We addressed the issue of transferability in multi-national trials by estimating costs and effects for specific geographical regions of the study (Australia/New Zealand, Europe, and Saudi Arabia). Unadjusted mean quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs; 95% confidence interval [CI]) at 6 months were 0.027 (0.020-0.034; p <0.001) higher in the EPO group, with an adjusted QALY increment of 0.014 (0.000-0.028; p = 0.04). Mean unadjusted costs (95% CI) were 2377 (-12,446 to 7693; p = 0.64). For a willingness-to-pay threshold of $US50,000 per QALY, 71.8% of replications were considered cost-effective. Therefore, we did not find evidence that EPO was significantly cost-effective in the treatment of moderate or severe TBI at 6-month follow-up.Peer reviewe
A gender difference in false recall of negative words: Women DRM more than men
Gender differences in susceptibility to associative memory illusions in the Deese/Roediger-McDermott paradigm were investigated using negative and neutral word lists. Women (n = 50) and men (n = 50) studied 20 lists of 12 words that were associates of a nonpresented critical lure. Ten lists were associates of negatively-valenced lures (e.g., cry, evil) and ten were associates of neutral lures (e.g., chair, slow). When asked to recall the words after each list, women falsely recalled more negative lures than men, but there was no gender difference in the false recall of neutral lures. These findings suggest that women reflect on associations within negative lists to a greater degree than men and are thereby more likely to generate the negative critical lures
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