Petiole hyponasty: an ethylene-driven, adaptive response to changes in the environment

Hyponastic (upwardly bending) growth by leaves is a response of numerous plant species to adverse environmental conditions. This review summarises current knowledge on hyponasty with a particular focus on the role of ethylene in regulating this phenomenon and its possible adaptive significance

Approaching Health Disparities From a Population Perspective: The National Institutes of Health Centers for Population Health and Health Disparities

Addressing health disparities has been a national challenge for decades. The National Institutes of Health–sponsored Centers for Population Health and Health Disparities are the first federal initiative to support transdisciplinary multilevel research on the determinants of health disparities. Their novel research approach combines population, clinical, and basic science to elucidate the complex determinants of health disparities. The centers are partnering with community-based, public, and quasi-public organizations to disseminate scientific findings and guide clinical practice in communities. In turn, communities and public health agents are shaping the research. The relationships forged through these complex collaborations increase the likelihood that the centers’ scientific findings will be relevant to communities and contribute to reductions in health disparities

Systemic immune system alterations in early stages of Alzheimer's disease

Immune activation and inflammation play significant roles in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). To test whether AD patients showed systemic manifestations of inflammation, blood from 41 patients with early stages of AD and 31 aged-match elderly controls were evaluated. Cellular markers for monocyte/macrophage (MO) activation and CD8 T lymphocyte were increased in early AD patients. Expression of monocyte CCR2, the receptor for monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), was decreased; however, plasma MCP-1 levels were significantly increased and were related to degree of MO activation in AD. These findings suggest that AD pathogenesis may be influenced by systemic immunologic dysfunction and provides potential immunologic targets for therapeutic intervention