Translation of mRNA for human lymphotoxin in microinjected Xenopus oocytes

AbstractSynthesis and secretion of biologically active human lymphotoxin (LT) can be detected in Xenopus laevis oocytes following their inoculation with poly(A+) RNA from human stimulated peripheral blood lymphocytes, but not in oocytes inoculated with RNA from unstimulated lymphocytes or from fibroblastoid cells. In size-fractionating mRNA of stimulated lymphocytes most LT activity is found to be coded for by RNA with an approximate sedimentation value of 19 S

Promovendo a comunidade, compartilhando poder: lições para a construção de culturas escolares de justiça restaurativa

Increasingly, education policymakers are touting restorative justice as a way to interrupt the “school-to-prison pipeline,” which disproportionately impacts students by race, sexuality, and disability. A small but growing research literature suggests that restorative justice decreases suspension and behavioral incidents, while improving school climate—particularly when embraced as a schoolwide ethos, rather than a targeted disciplinary strategy. Restorative justice represents a marked departure from long-standing punitive approaches to discipline, however, and school communities are eager for support in navigating this culture shift. To this end, this article presents findings from case studies of five diverse NYC schools using restorative justice approaches. Drawing on qualitative data from interviews and focus groups with educators, students, parents, and school safety agents, our findings provide insight into key practices and resources, stakeholder perceptions, and challenges of and practical strategies for building holistic, schoolwide restorative justice. We present a series of “lessons” to inform restorative justice practice and policy, underscoring the importance of community-building, deliberate resources and infrastructure, interrogating localized and systemic power dynamics, and elevating student leadership. Cada vez más, los formuladores de políticas educativas recomiendan la justicia restaurativa como una forma de interrumpir la “pipelinede la escuela a la prisión”, que impacta desproporcionadamente a los estudiantes por raza, sexualidad y discapacidad. Los investigadores sugieren que la justicia restaurativa disminuye la suspensión y los incidentes de comportamiento, al tiempo que mejora el clima escolar, particularmente cuando se adopta como un espíritu de toda la escuela, no como una estrategia disciplinaria. Este artículo presenta los resultados de estudios de caso de cinco escuelas diversas de Nueva York que utilizan enfoques de justicia restaurativa. Basándose en datos cualitativos de entrevistas y grupos focales con educadores, estudiantes, padres y agentes de seguridad escolar, nuestros hallazgos brindan información sobre prácticas y recursos clave, percepciones de las partes interesadas y estrategias para construir justicia restaurativa holística en toda la escuela. Presentamos una serie de “lecciones” para informar la práctica y la política de justicia restaurativa, subrayando la importancia de la construcción de la comunidad, recursos e infraestructura deliberados, interrogando dinámicas de poder localizadas y sistémicas, y elevando el liderazgo estudiantil. Cada vez mais, os formuladores de políticas educacionais recomendam justiça restaurativa como uma maneira de interromper o “pipeline da escola para a prisão”, que afeta de forma desproporcional os alunos por raça, sexualidade e deficiência. Os pesquisadores sugerem que a justiça restaurativa diminui a suspensão e os incidentes comportamentais, ao mesmo tempo em que melhora o clima escolar - principalmente quando adotado como ethos em toda a escola, não como uma estratégia disciplinar. Este artigo apresenta as conclusões de estudos de caso de cinco escolas de Nova York usando abordagens de justiça restaurativa. Com base em dados qualitativos de entrevistas e grupos focais com educadores, alunos, pais e agentes de segurança da escola, nossas descobertas fornecem informações sobre práticas e recursos importantes, percepções das partes interessadas e estratégias para a construção de justiça restaurativa holística em toda a escola. Apresentamos uma série de “lições” para informar práticas e políticas de justiça restaurativa, ressaltando a importância da construção da comunidade, recursos e infraestrutura deliberados, interrogando a dinâmica de poder localizada e sistêmica e elevando a liderança dos estudantes

Neuroblastoma Cell Death is Induced by Inorganic Arsenic Trioxide (As2O3) and Inhibited by a Normal Human Bone Marrow Cell-Derived Factor

Three phenotypically distinct cell types are present in human neuroblastomas (NB) and NB cell lines: I-type stem cells, N-type neuroblastic precursors, and S-type Schwannian/melanoblastic precursors. The stimulation of human N-type neuroblastoma cell proliferation by normal human bone marrow monocytic cell conditioned medium (BMCM) has been demonstrated in vitro, a finding consistent with the high frequency of bone marrow (BM) metastases in patients with advanced NB. Inorganic arsenic trioxide (As2O3), already clinically approved for the treatment of several hematological malignancies, is currently under investigation for NB. Recent studies show that As2O3 induces apoptosis in NB cells. We examined the impact of BMCM on growth and survival of As2O3-treated NB cell lines, to evaluate the response of cultured NB cell variants to regulatory agents. We studied the effect of BMCM on survival and clonogenic growth of eleven As2O3-treated NB cell lines grown in sparsely seeded, non-adherent, semi-solid cultures. As2O3 had a strong inhibitory effect on survival of all tested NB cell lines. BMCM augmented cell growth and survival and reversed the inhibitory action of As2O3 in all tested cell lines, but most strongly in N-type cells. While As2O3 effectively reduced survival of all tested NB cell lines, BMCM effectively impacted its inhibitory action. Better understanding of micro-environmental regulators affecting human NB tumor cell growth and survival may be seminal to the development of therapeutic strategies and clinically effective agents for this condition

Conhecimento sobre a doença renal crônica do paciente em hemodiálise

Objetivo: Verificar o grau de conhecimento e a fonte de informações sobre a doença renal de pacientes com Insuficiência Renal Crônica em tratamento em uma clínica de hemodiálise.Materiais e Métodos: O conhecimento desses pacientes foi avaliado em um estudo exploratório e descritivo realizado por meio de um questionário aplicado a 58 pacientes, de ambos os sexos, em uma clínica renal no Noroeste do Rio Grande do Sul.Resultados: Demonstramos que a maioria dos pacientes busca informações sobre Insuficiência Renal Crônica na internet e que menos da metade busca estas informações com profissionais da saúde. Quando a busca é realizada com profissionais da saúde, predomina o enfermeiro. Os pacientes demonstraram pouco conhecimento relativo as medicações que usam, mas a maioria soube relatar os alimentos que deve evitar e a quantidade de água que pode beber.Conclusão: Evidenciamos que a maioria dos pacientes possui conhecimento de sua condição e tratamento, mas, mesmo assim, alguns ainda desobedecem as regras alimentares. Os profissionais da saúde não são a principal doente de informações para os pacientes, demonstrando fragilidades na relação profissional-paciente

Enhancement of Transport Selectivity through Nano-Channels by Non-Specific Competition

The functioning of living cells requires efficient and selective transport of materials into and out of the cell, and between different cellular compartments. Much of this transport occurs through nano-scale channels that do not require large scale molecular re-arrangements (such as transition from a ‘closed’ to an ‘open’ state) and do not require a direct input of metabolic energy during transport. Nevertheless, these ‘always open’ channels are highly selective and pass only their cognate molecules, while efficiently excluding all others; indeed, these channels can efficiently transport specific molecules even in the presence of a vast excess of non-specific molecules. Such biological transporters have inspired the creation of artificial nano-channels. These channels can be used as nano-molecular sorters, and can also serve as testbeds for examining modes of biological transport. In this paper, we propose a simple kinetic mechanism that explains how the selectivity of such ‘always open’ channels can be based on the exclusion of non-specific molecules by specific ones, due to the competition for limited space inside the channel. The predictions of the theory account for the behavior of the nuclear pore complex and of artificial nanopores that mimic its function. This theory provides the basis for future work aimed at understanding the selectivity of various biological transport phenomena

ENIGMA and global neuroscience: A decade of large-scale studies of the brain in health and disease across more than 40 countries

This review summarizes the last decade of work by the ENIGMA (Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta Analysis) Consortium, a global alliance of over 1400 scientists across 43 countries, studying the human brain in health and disease. Building on large-scale genetic studies that discovered the first robustly replicated genetic loci associated with brain metrics, ENIGMA has diversified into over 50 working groups (WGs), pooling worldwide data and expertise to answer fundamental questions in neuroscience, psychiatry, neurology, and genetics. Most ENIGMA WGs focus on specific psychiatric and neurological conditions, other WGs study normal variation due to sex and gender differences, or development and aging; still other WGs develop methodological pipelines and tools to facilitate harmonized analyses of "big data" (i.e., genetic and epigenetic data, multimodal MRI, and electroencephalography data). These international efforts have yielded the largest neuroimaging studies to date in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorders, epilepsy, and 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. More recent ENIGMA WGs have formed to study anxiety disorders, suicidal thoughts and behavior, sleep and insomnia, eating disorders, irritability, brain injury, antisocial personality and conduct disorder, and dissociative identity disorder. Here, we summarize the first decade of ENIGMA's activities and ongoing projects, and describe the successes and challenges encountered along the way. We highlight the advantages of collaborative large-scale coordinated data analyses for testing reproducibility and robustness of findings, offering the opportunity to identify brain systems involved in clinical syndromes across diverse samples and associated genetic, environmental, demographic, cognitive, and psychosocial factors

Non-invasive prenatal diagnosis using cell-free fetal DNA in maternal plasma from PGD pregnancies

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is usually used to establish a non-affected pregnancy for those couples facing a genetic risk of having an affected child. However, an invasive test is still recommended to all PGD patients due to the risk of misdiagnosis. The discovery of cell-free fetal DNA in maternal plasma provides the possibility for noninvasive prenatal diagnosis. Studies have shown that fetal single-gene disorders can be detected in cell-free fetal DNA by the matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) assay with single-allele base extension reaction (SABER) approach or by the size-fractionation approach, whereby cell-free fetal DNA is enriched on the basis of its smaller size compared with maternal DNA fragments. Recent studies have indicated that a combination of the two approaches increases the accuracy of detection. This study combined the two methods and examined fetal paternally inherited gene mutations in maternal plasma obtained from four PGD-conducted pregnancies. The presence or absence of mutations was correctly detected in all cases. This combined method could be used for risk-free prenatal diagnosis of diseases caused by single-gene mutations, and in particular for couples who undergo PGD who opt not to perform invasive prenatal confirmation due to the risk of abortion