Aging disrupts the temporal organization of antioxidant defenses in the heart of male rats and phase shifts circadian rhythms of systolic blood pressure

Biogerontology - Aging is one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, and oxidative stress is a key element responsible for the development of age-related pathologies. In addition,...     

Representations of people with dementia – subaltern,person, citizen

GILMOUR JA and BRANNELLY T. Nursing Inquiry 2010; 17 : 240–247
Representations of people with dementia – subaltern, person, citizen This study traces shifts in health professional representations of people with dementia. The concepts of subaltern, personhood and citizenship are used to draw attention to issues around visibility, voice and inclusion. Professional discourses and practices draw upon, and are shaped by historical and contemporary representations. Until recently, people with dementia were subaltern in nursing and medical discourses; marginalised and silenced. The incorporation of contemporary representations foregrounding personhood and citizenship into health professional accounts provide space for transformative styles of care. Privileging personhood centralises the person with dementia in social networks, focusing on their experiences and relationships. Respecting citizenship involves challenging discrimination and stigma: nursing from a rights‐based approach necessitates listening and being responsive to the needs of the person with dementia. Incorporating contemporary representations in health professional practice requires the discarding of the historically dominant elite and authoritarian accounts of dementia still apparent in some nursing texts along with, perhaps, the historically burdened term of dementia itself.     

Biarylaniline phenethanolamines as potent and selective beta3 adrenergic receptor agonists

The synthesis of a series of phenethanolamine aniline agonists that contain an aniline ring on the right-hand side of the molecule substituted at the meta position with a benzoic acid or a pyridyl carboxylate is described. Several of the analogues (e.g., 34, 36-38, 40, and 44) have high beta(3) adrenergic receptor (AR) potency and selectivity against beta(1) and beta(2) ARs in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells expressing beta ARs. The dog pharmacokinetic profile of some of these analogues showed >25% oral bioavailability and po half-lives of at least 1.5 h. Among the compounds described herein, the 3,3'-biarylaniline carboxylate derivatives 36, 38 and the phenylpyridyl derivative 44 demonstrated outstanding in vitro properties and reasonable dog pharmacokinetic profiles. These three analogues also showed dose dependent beta(3) AR mediated responses in mice. The ease of synthesis and superior dog pharmacokinetics of compound 38 relative to that of 44 in combination with its in vitro profile led us to choose this compound as a development candidate for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.     

Claurailas A-D, cytotoxic carbazole alkaloids from the roots of Clausena harmandiana

Four new carbazole alkaloids, claurailas A-D (1-4), as well as 12 known carbazoles and three known coumarins were isolated from the roots of Clausena harmandiana. Heptaphylline (6) and 7-methoxyheptaphylline (7) showed strong cytotoxicity against NCI-H187 and KB cell lines with IC(50) values ranging from 1.3 to 2.7 μM. Compound 7 showed no cytotoxicity against Vero cells.     

Biological activity of chemical constituents from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Clausena harmandiana</Emphasis>

The activity guided fractionation of the Clausena harmandiana root extracts led to the isolation of a coumarin, a ferulate, and eight carbazoles. This is the first report of the isolation of compounds 2–4 and 6–10 from this species, and this is the first time 10 was isolated from this genus. Compound 4 showed strong cytotoxicity against NCI-H187 cells with an IC₅₀ value of 1.63 μg/mL. Compound 5 demonstrated strong cytotoxicity against MCF-7 and KB cell lines with IC50 values of 2.21 and 1.74 μg/mL, respectively. Compounds 3 and 4 exhibited moderate cytotoxicity against the MCF-7 cell line, and 8 showed moderate cytotoxicity against NCIH187 and KB cell lines. Compounds 3 and 5 showed antiplasmodial activity with IC₅₀ values of 3.27 and 2.94 μg/mL, respectively.     

Adsorption of Oligonucleotides onto Polyisohexylcyanoacrylate Nanoparticles Protects Them Against Nucleases and Increases Their Cellular Uptake

Oligonucleotides can be adsorbed on polyisohexylcyanoacrylate nanoparticles in the presence of hydrophobic quartenary ammonium salts. Oligonucleotides bound to nanoparticles are protected from nuclease attack both in buffer and in cell culture media. Cellular uptake of Oligonucleotides is increased when they are adsorbed onto nanoparticles as a result of the capture of nanoparticles by an endocytic/phagocytic pathway. Intracellular stability towards nucleolytic degradation is increased in the presence of nanoparticles. These results show that nanoparticles can be considered as convenient carriers for the protection and delivery of oligonucleotides to cells.     

Getting to the Heart of the Story: Using Talanoa to Explore Pacific Mental Health

Talanoa is an established format for generating discussion about complex topics used throughout the Pacific. Pacific researchers use talanoa to gather data with migrant Pacific Island populations, in countries such as the United States of America, Australia, and Aotearoa/New Zealand (A/NZ). Using talanoa in this way, changes the way that the approach is used as, on the one hand it is out of its original context, and on the other hand, extends its use to gather data with Pacific Islanders. In this article, we discuss the implementation of talanoa in an explorative qualitative research project, and discuss its effectiveness and usefulness for getting to the heart of the story about Tongan interpretations of mental illness and distress.     

Connective tissue disease manifested as multiple myeloma

A diagnosis of Sj?gren's syndrome or rheumatoid arthritis was made in five women in whom multiple myeloma was first suspected. All had mild symptoms of sicca or arthritis, positive tests for rheumatoid factor or antinuclear antibody, and markedly increased IgG immunoglobulins. A connective tissue disorder may produce the characteristic electrophoretic pattern of multiple myeloma.