Chromosomal evolution in the South American nymphalidae

We give the chromosome numbers of about 80 species or subspecies of Biblidinae as well as of numbers of neotropical Libytheinae (one species), Cyrestinae (4) Apaturinae (7), Nymphalinae (about 40), Limenitidinae (16) and Heliconiinae (11). Libytheana has about n=32, the Biblidinae, Apaturinae and Nymphalinae have in general n=31, the Limenitidinae have n=30, the few Argynnini n=31 and the few species of Acraeni studied have also mostly n=31. The results agree with earlier data from the Afrotropical species of these taxa. We supplement these data with our earlier observations on Heliconiini, Danainae and the Neotropical Satyroid taxa. The lepidopteran modal n=29-31 represents clearly the ancestral condition among the Nymphalidae, from which taxa with various chromosome numbers have differentiated. The overall results show that Neotropical taxa have a tendency to evolve karyotype instability, which is in stark contrast to the otherwise stable chromosome numbers that characterize both Lepidoptera and Trichoptera.144413714

How Might Reform of the Political System Appeal to Discontented Citizens?

In Britain, levels of political trust have declined, stimulating policy makers to explore ways of appealing to discontented citizens. One such initiative involves reform of the political system. Yet this raises the question of which types of political reform are likely to appeal to discontented citizens. Existing studies have examined how individuals respond to political reforms, yet these studies only consider a limited range of institutional changes. Scholars and policy makers thus know little about the popular appeal of a wider set of institutional reforms. Taking advantage of proposals for political reform in Britain, this article considers public reactions to a wide range of institutional changes. Using data from the 2011 British Social Attitudes survey, we find that direct democratic reforms are not the only changes that appeal to discontented citizens. Instead, policy-makers may also appeal to the distrustful via reforms that allow voters more control over their political representatives

Peak bone mineral density in Vietnamese women

While the prevalence of osteoporosis and risk factors for low bone mineral density (BMD) has been well documented in Caucasian populations, there is a lack of data from Asia. This work was designed to clarify to what extent osteoporosis could be regarded as a major public health problem in Vietnam. Furthermore, to elucidate the prevalence of certain risk factors, such as vitamin D deficiency and other determinants of bone mass as a basis to indentify high-risk individuals among the Vietnamese women and men. The clinical studies were designed as cross-sectional investigations using a multistage sampling scheme. Within the setting of northern Vietnam (latitude 21°N), districts were selected to represent urban and rural areas. In total 612 healthy women and 222 men aged 13-83 years were investigated. BMD was measured at the lumbar spine, femoral neck and total hip in all qualified subjects with dual energy X-ray absortiometry. Serum concentrations of 25(OH)D, parathyroid hormone, estrogen and testosterone were quantified by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. Data on clinical history and lifestyle were collected by individual face-to-face interviews. Reference values for peak BMD were defined. These data allowed the calculation of T-scores and thus for the first time, an accurate identification of osteoporosis in a Vietnamese population. As determined at the femoral neck, the prevalence of osteoporosis was 17-23% in women and 9% in men. The results clearly suggest that osteoporosis is an important public health problem. Postmenopausal women living in urban areas experienced osteoporosis more than rural residents. Serum levels of 25(OH)D and estrogen were significantly associated with bone mass in both women and men. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (<20 ng/mL) was very high, 30% in women and 16% in men. An experimental study on the isoflavone content of different soymilk preparations was performed by HPLC (high pressure liquid chromatography). Values of isoflavones were very low, around 60-80 mg/L, and there were only 10-20% of bioactive aglycones. This is far below the reported threshold levels to exert significant effects on bone. In the future these data will be useful as a valuable reference base to diagnose osteoporosis and for the clinical management of its consequences. The high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency should raise the awareness of potentially important health issues such as osteoporosis but also about other serious diseases within the Vietnamese society

Parenteral oestrogen in the treatment of prostate cancer: a systematic review

The objectives of this study were to assess the effectiveness and safety of parenteral oestrogen in the treatment of prostate cancer, and to examine any dose relationship. A systematic review was undertaken. Electronic databases, published paper and internet resources were searched to locate published and unpublished studies with no restriction by language or publication date. Studies included were randomised controlled trials of parenteral oestrogen in patients with prostate cancer; other study designs were also included to examine dose–response. Study selection, appraisal, data extraction and quality assessment were performed by one reviewer and independently checked by another. Twenty trials were included in the review. The trials differed with regard to the included patients, formulation and dose of parenteral oestrogen, comparator used, outcome measures reported and the duration of follow-up. The results provide no evidence to suggest that parenteral oestrogen, in doses sufficient to produce castrate levels of testosterone, is less effective than luteinising hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) or orchidectomy in controlling prostate cancer, or that it is consistently associated with an increase in cardiovascular mortality. Further well-conducted trials of parenteral oestrogen are required. A pilot randomised controlled trial comparing transdermal oestrogen to LHRH analogues in men with locally advanced or metastatic prostate cancer is underway in the United Kingdom

TRIM27 Negatively Regulates NOD2 by Ubiquitination and Proteasomal Degradation

NOD2, the nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich repeat containing gene family (NLR) member 2 is involved in mediating antimicrobial responses. Dysfunctional NOD2 activity can lead to severe inflammatory disorders, but the regulation of NOD2 is still poorly understood. Recently, proteins of the tripartite motif (TRIM) protein family have emerged as regulators of innate immune responses by acting as E3 ubiquitin ligases. We identified TRIM27 as a new specific binding partner for NOD2. We show that NOD2 physically interacts with TRIM27 via the nucleotide-binding domain, and that NOD2 activation enhances this interaction. Dependent on functional TRIM27, ectopically expressed NOD2 is ubiquitinated with K48-linked ubiquitin chains followed by proteasomal degradation. Accordingly, TRIM27 affects NOD2-mediated pro-inflammatory responses. NOD2 mutations are linked to susceptibility to Crohns disease. We found that TRIM27 expression is increased in Crohns disease patients, underscoring a physiological role of TRIM27 in regulating NOD2 signaling. In HeLa cells, TRIM27 is partially localized in the nucleus. We revealed that ectopically expressed NOD2 can shuttle to the nucleus in a Walker A dependent manner, suggesting that NOD2 and TRIM27 might functionally cooperate in the nucleus. We conclude that TRIM27 negatively regulates NOD2-mediated signaling by degradation of NOD2 and suggest that TRIM27 could be a new target for therapeutic intervention in NOD2-associated diseases.Funding Agencies|German Research Foundation (DFG)|SFB670-NG01|Swedish Society of Medicine||Regional Research Council of South-East Sweden (FORSS)||Swedish Research Council division of Medicine||Gustav V 90th anniversary foundation||Italian Telethon Foundation||DFG|SE 1122/2-1|</p

Therapy Insight: Parenteral Estrogen treatment for Prostate Cancer—a new dawn for an old therapy

Oral estrogens were the treatment of choice for carcinoma of the prostate for over four decades, but were abandoned because of an excess of cardiovascular and thromboembolic toxicity. It is now recognized that most of this toxicity is related to the first pass portal circulation, which upregulates the hepatic metabolism of hormones, lipids and coagulation proteins. Most of this toxicity can be avoided by parenteral (intramuscular or transdermal) estrogen administration, which avoids hepatic enzyme induction. It also seems that a short-term but modest increase in cardiovascular morbidity (but not mortality) is compensated for by a long-term cardioprotective benefit, which accrues progressively as vascular remodeling develops over time. Parenteral estrogen therapy has the advantage of giving protection against the effects of andropause (similar to the female menopause), which are induced by conventional androgen suppression and include osteoporotic fracture, hot flashes, asthenia and cognitive dysfunction. In addition, parenteral estrogen therapy is significantly cheaper than contemporary endocrine therapy, with substantive economic implications for health providers