The ideal and the actual community: Evaluations from small-town residents

It is necessary to have some idea of what is wanted by local residents in order to plan community programs. But what residents consider to be ideal levels of factors operating in their localities are seldom explored. especially in relation to actual states. Data on both ideal and actual social diemnsions are reported from a mail questinnaire styd of more than 4,600 residents of 27 small lowa communities. the ideal and actual states differ significantly on most individual ites. and on total scores. Selected sociodemographic measures (community size, age of respondent, likelihood of residing in the community in 5 years) account for relatively little of the variance in the ideal and actual scores or for differences between them. Community evaluations (local opportunities and services, attachment, quality of life) are more effective predictors. A call for the inclusion of public values and evaluations in determining, planning, and carrying out development projects concludes the article.     

One-stage repair of cardiac and arch anomalies without circumlatory arrest

Indian Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery -     

Reduced IL-2 expression in NOD mice leads to a temporal increase in CD62Llo FoxP3+ CD4+ T cells with limited suppressor activity

IL-2 plays a critical role in the induction and maintenance of FoxP3-expressing regulatory T cells (FoxP3(+) Tregs). Reduced expression of IL-2 is linked to T-cell-mediated autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes (T1D), in which an imbalance between FoxP3(+) Tregs and pathogenic T effectors exists. We investigated the contribution of IL-2 to dysregulation of FoxP3(+) Tregs by comparing wildtype NOD mice with animals congenic for a C57BL/6-derived disease-resistant Il2 allele and in which T-cell secretion of IL-2 is increased (NOD.B6Idd3). Although NOD mice exhibited a progressive decline in the frequency of CD62L(hi) FoxP3(+) Tregs due to an increase in CD62L(lo) FoxP3(+) Tregs, CD62L(hi) FoxP3(+) Tregs were maintained in the pancreatic lymph nodes and islets of NOD.B6Idd3 mice. Notably, the frequency of proliferating CD62L(hi) FoxP3(+) Tregs was elevated in the islets of NOD.B6Idd3 versus NOD mice. Increasing levels of IL-2 in vivo also resulted in larger numbers of CD62L(hi) FoxP3(+) Tregs in NOD mice. These results demonstrate that IL-2 influences the suppressor activity of the FoxP3(+) Tregs pool by regulating the balance between CD62L(lo) and CD62L(hi) FoxP3(+) Tregs. In NOD mice, reduced IL-2 expression leads to an increase in nonsuppressive CD62L(lo) FoxP3(+) Tregs, which in turn correlates with a pool of CD62L(hi) FoxP3(+) Tregs with limited proliferation.     

Involvement of TSC genes and differential expression of other members of the mTOR signaling pathway in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Background  

Despite extensive research, the five-year survival rate of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients has not improved. Effective treatment of OSCC requires the identification of molecular targets and signaling pathways to design appropriate therapeutic strategies. Several genes from the mTOR signaling pathway are known to be dysregulated in a wide spectrum of cancers. However, not much is known about the involvement of this pathway in tumorigenesis of OSCC. We therefore investigated the role of the tumor suppressor genes, TSC1 and TSC2, and other members of this pathway in tumorigenesis of OSCC.