Individual differences in reproductive strategy are related to views about recreational drug use in Belgium, the Netherlands and Japan

Individual differences in moral views are often explained as the downstream effect of ideological commitments, such as political orientation and religiosity. Recent studies in the U.S. suggest that moral views about recreational drug use are also influenced by attitudes towards sex and that this relationship cannot be explained by ideological commitments. In this study, we investigate student samples from Belgium, the Netherlands, and Japan. We find that, in all samples, sexual attitudes are strongly related to views about recreational drug use, even after controlling for various ideological variables. We discuss our results in the light of reproductive strategies as determinants of moral views

Molecular epidemiology and evolutionary genetics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Taipei

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The control of tuberculosis in densely populated cities is complicated by close human-to-human contacts and potential transmission of pathogens from multiple sources. We conducted a molecular epidemiologic analysis of 356 <it>Mycobacterium tuberculosis </it>(MTB) isolates from patients presenting pulmonary tuberculosis in metropolitan Taipei. Classical antibiogram studies and genetic characterization, using mycobacterial interspersed repetitive-unit-variable-number tandem-repeat (MIRU-VNTR) typing and spoligotyping, were applied after culture.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 356 isolates were genotyped by standard spoligotyping and the strains were compared with in the international spoligotyping database (SpolDB4). All isolates were also categorized using the 15 loci MIRU-VNTR typing method and combin with <it>NTF </it>locus and RD deletion analyses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of 356 isolates spoligotyped, 290 (81.4%) displayed known spoligotypes and 66 were not identified in the database. Major spoligotypes found were Beijing lineages (52.5%), followed by Haarlem lineages (13.5%) and EAI plus EAI-like lineages (11%). When MIRU-VNTR was employed, 140 patterns were identified, including 36 clusters by 252 isolates and 104 unique patterns, and the largest cluster comprised 95 isolates from the Beijing family. The combination of spoligotyping and MIRU-VNTR revealed that 236 (67%) of the 356 isolates were clustered in 43 genotypes. Strains of the Beijing family was more likely to be of modern strain and a higher percentage of multiple drug resistance than other families combined (P = 0.08). Patients infected with Beijing strains were younger than those with other strains (mean 58.7 vs. 64.2, p = 0.02). Moreover, 85.3% of infected persons younger than 25 years had Beijing modern strain, suggesting a possible recent spread in the young population by this family of TB strain in Taipei.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our data on MTB genotype in Taipei suggest that MTB infection has not been optimally controlled. Control efforts should be reinforced in view of the high prevalence of the Beijing strain in young population and association with drug resistance.</p

Iron Behaving Badly: Inappropriate Iron Chelation as a Major Contributor to the Aetiology of Vascular and Other Progressive Inflammatory and Degenerative Diseases

The production of peroxide and superoxide is an inevitable consequence of aerobic metabolism, and while these particular "reactive oxygen species" (ROSs) can exhibit a number of biological effects, they are not of themselves excessively reactive and thus they are not especially damaging at physiological concentrations. However, their reactions with poorly liganded iron species can lead to the catalytic production of the very reactive and dangerous hydroxyl radical, which is exceptionally damaging, and a major cause of chronic inflammation. We review the considerable and wide-ranging evidence for the involvement of this combination of (su)peroxide and poorly liganded iron in a large number of physiological and indeed pathological processes and inflammatory disorders, especially those involving the progressive degradation of cellular and organismal performance. These diseases share a great many similarities and thus might be considered to have a common cause (i.e. iron-catalysed free radical and especially hydroxyl radical generation). The studies reviewed include those focused on a series of cardiovascular, metabolic and neurological diseases, where iron can be found at the sites of plaques and lesions, as well as studies showing the significance of iron to aging and longevity. The effective chelation of iron by natural or synthetic ligands is thus of major physiological (and potentially therapeutic) importance. As systems properties, we need to recognise that physiological observables have multiple molecular causes, and studying them in isolation leads to inconsistent patterns of apparent causality when it is the simultaneous combination of multiple factors that is responsible. This explains, for instance, the decidedly mixed effects of antioxidants that have been observed, etc...Comment: 159 pages, including 9 Figs and 2184 reference

S100A8 as potential salivary biomarker of oral squamous cell carcinoma using nanoLC-MS/MS.

[[abstract]]BACKGROUND: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) shows low 5-year survival; early treatment greatly reduces mortality and morbidity. Saliva is a non-invasive sample, with good potential to discover biomarkers for early detection. METHODS: NanoLC-MS/MS served to analyze saliva proteome from control subjects (n=35) and OSCC patients T1 (n=29), T2 (n=36), T3 (n=14) and T4 (n=21) stages. Identified biomarkers were verified by Western blot and ELISA assays. RESULTS: NanoLC-MS/MS analysis of salivary proteins between 10 and 15kDa identified S100A8, hemoglobin delta and gamma-G globin in T3 and T4 stage OSCC as well as S100A7 in T1 and T2 stage OSCC. Western blot and ELISA indicated positive correlation between salivary S100A8 increment and tumor size stage. High level of S100A8 appeared in 3.4, 13.9, 92.9, and 100% of saliva OSCC patients with T1, T2, T3, and T4 stages, respectively. Significant increase of salivary S100A7 was observed in 20.7% and 11.1% of those with T1 and T2, respectively. AUROC curve indicated high sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of S100A8-based ELISA as a detector. CONCLUSIONS: NanoLC-MS/MS, Western blot and ELISA manifested salivary S100A8 as a specific and sensitive marker for detection of OSCC patients. Salivary S100A8 protein could be applicable in developing OSCC diagnostics