Readers\u27 Speakout

Dear Florence Howe: Devoting an entire issue to the First Annual Convention of the National Women\u27s Studies Association was enormously helpful to those of us who could not attend. The reports on the Convention indicated that it was simply first-rate. Nothing in the issue, however, helped me to understand why some delegates trashed the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID) and scapegoated its representative, Kathleen Staudt. I had hoped to learn why because a number of colleagues returned from the Convention with the story that everyone agreed that AID had no business being there. But no one could explain why. All I have heard are vague stories, most of them quite silly

Genome sequence of Acetomicrobium hydrogeniformans OS1

Acetomicrobium hydrogeniformans, an obligate anaerobe of the phylum Synergistetes, was isolated from oil production water. It has the unusual ability to produce almost 4 molecules H2/molecule glucose. The draft genome of A. hydrogeniformans OS1 (DSM 22491T) is 2,123,925 bp, with 2,068 coding sequences and 60 RNA genes

Overview of the NASA Entry, Descent and Landing Systems Analysis Study

NASA senior management commissioned the Entry, Descent and Landing Systems Analysis (EDL-SA) Study in 2008 to identify and roadmap the Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) technology investments that the agency needed to make in order to successfully land large payloads at Mars for both robotic and human-scale missions. This paper summarizes the approach and top-level results from Year 1 of the Study, which focused on landing 10-50 mt on Mars, but also included a trade study of the best advanced parachute design for increasing the landed payloads within the EDL architecture of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission

Compositional analysis of extracellular aggregates in the eyes of patients with exfoliation syndrome and exfoliation glaucoma

Purpose: Exfoliation syndrome (XFS) is a condition characterized by the production of insoluble fibrillar aggregates (exfoliation material; XFM) in the eye and elsewhere. Many patients with XFS progress to exfoliation glaucoma (XFG), a significant cause of global blindness. We used quantitative mass spectrometry to analyze the composition of XFM in lens capsule specimens and in aqueous humor (AH) samples from patients with XFS, patients with XFG and unaffected individuals. Methods: Pieces of lens capsule and samples of AH were obtained with consent from patients undergoing cataract surgery. Tryptic digests of capsule or AH were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and relative differences between samples were quantified using the tandem mass tag technique. The distribution of XFM on the capsular surface was visualized by SEM and super-resolution light microscopy. Results: A small set of proteins was consistently upregulated in capsule samples from patients with XFS and patients with XFG, including microfibril components fibrillin-1, latent transforming growth factor-β-binding protein-2 and latent transforming growth factor-β-binding protein-3. Lysyl oxidase-like 1, a cross-linking enzyme associated with XFS in genetic studies, was an abundant XFM constituent. Ligands of the transforming growth factor-β superfamily were prominent, including LEFTY2, a protein best known for its role in establishing the embryonic body axis. Elevated levels of LEFTY2 were also detected in AH from patients with XFG, a finding confirmed subsequently by ELISA. Conclusions: This analysis verified the presence of suspected XFM proteins and identified novel components. Quantitative comparisons between patient samples revealed a consistent XFM proteome characterized by strong expression of fibrillin-1, lysyl oxidase-like-1, and LEFTY2. Elevated levels of LEFTY2 in the AH of patients with XFG may serve as a biomarker for the disease

Opposite associations between alanine aminotransferase and γ-glutamyl transferase levels and all-cause mortality in type 2 diabetes: analysis of the Fenofibrate Intervention and Event Lowering in Diabetes (FIELD) study

Aims Reported associations between liver enzymes and mortality may not hold true in type 2 diabetes, owing to a high prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which has been linked to cardiovascular disease and mortality in its own right. Our study aimed to determine whether alanine aminotransferase (ALT) or γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT) levels predict mortality in type 2 diabetes, and to examine possible mechanisms. Methods Data from the Fenofibrate Intervention and Event Lowering in Diabetes (FIELD) study were analysed to examine the relationship between liver enzymes and all-cause and cause-specific mortality over 5 years. Results Over 5 years, 679 (6.9%) individuals died. After adjustment, for every standard deviation increase in ALT (13.2U/L), the HR for death on study was 0.85 (95% CI 0.78-0.93), p70 U/L, compared with GGT ≤70 U/L, had HR 1.82 (1.48−2.24), p70 U/L was associated with higher risks of death due to cardiovascular disease, cancer and non-cancer/non-cardiovascular causes. The relationship for ALT persisted after adjustment for indirect measures of frailty but was attenuated by elevated hsCRP. Conclusions As in the general population, ALT has a negative, and GGT a positive, correlation with mortality in type 2 diabetes when ALT is less than two times the upper limit of normal. The relationship 4 for ALT appears specific for death due to cardiovascular disease. Links of low ALT with frailty, as a potential mechanism for relationships seen, were neither supported nor conclusively refuted by our analysis and other factors are also likely to be important in those with type 2 diabetes

Ethnic Minority Microparticles have Distinct Pro-Thrombotic and Pro-Oxidative Phenotypes and Interact Differentially with Endothelial Cells in vitro: Implications for Risk to Cardiovascular Disease.

open access articleEthnic minority individuals are disproportionately susceptible to endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Microparticles (MP) are biologically active membrane-bound nanovesicles released from cells that act as biomolecular shuttles. Plasma MP was isolated from healthy White, Black African, and South Asian individuals and analysed using flow cytometry. Their effects and interactions were assessed using fluorescence, confocal, and scanning electron microscopy. Total MP and a sub-population of smaller MP associated with dysfunction and disease progression were significantly increased in Black African individuals. Pro-thrombotic and pro-oxidant MP were substantially more numerous in Black African individuals. The tissue factor activity of ethnic minority MP was significantly greater than White MP. Ethnic minority MP induced significantly greater functional changes and morphology to an endothelial cell line in vitro and integrated into endothelial cells noticeably more than White MP. These data imply distinct differences in ethnic minority MP, suggesting a role in CVD susceptibility

Longitudinal analysis of low-molecular weight fluorophores in type 1 diabetes mellitus

Objectives : Circulating low molecular weight (<10 kDa) fluorophores (LMW-F) measured by non-specific fluorescence spectroscopy may detect small advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) not recognized by other assays. This longitudinal study assessed correlates of LMW-F and predictive power of LMW-F levels for vascular health in Type 1 diabetes (T1DM) patients. Methods : Fasting patients with T1DM (n=37) were studied twice at intervals of 12-60 months (mean±SD, 33±15 months). LMW-F levels were also measured once in 112 healthy control subjects. Results : Relative to controls, LMW-F levels were higher in diabetic subjects at initial and final time points (mean±SD), 5.4±1.9 AU/ml and 4.5±1.8 AU/ml respectively vs. 3.8±2.1 AU/ml p=0.0001 and p=0.06). Baseline LMW-F levels predicted subsequent hs-CRP and oxLDL/LDL values. LMW-F levels decreased significantly over time in diabetes (5.4±1.9 vs. 4.5±1.8 AU/ml p=0.02). Rises in LMW-F levels in individual diabetic subjects correlated significantly with worsening renal function (BUN), glycemia (HbA1c) and with vascular dysfunction (systemic vascular resistance). Conclusions : LMW-F levels predict levels of inflammation and oxidation in T1DM. Changes in LMW-F levels in T1DM reflect variations in glycemia and renal function. Biochemical characterization of LMW-F would facilitate understanding of the potential utility of LMW-F as a therapeutic target