Regular ingestion of tea does not inhibit in vivo lipid peroxidation in humans.

Prospective studies suggest that tea may protect against cardiovascular disease. A potential mechanism for such an effect involves inhibition of lipid peroxidation by polyphenolic antioxidants derived from tea. Our objective was to determine whether regular ingestion of tea could inhibit in vivo lipid peroxidation. Two controlled intervention studies assessed the effects of regular ingestion of tea on lipid peroxidation determined by measurement of urinary F(2)-isoprostane excretion. Study 1: The effects of 1000 mL/d of green tea and black tea were compared with hot water containing caffeine in 13 subjects with elevated blood pressure using a randomized 3-period (7 d each) crossover design. Study 2: The effects of 1250 mL/d of black tea were compared with hot water in 22 subjects with mildly raised serum total cholesterol concentrations using a randomized 2-period (4 wk each) crossover design. F(2)-isoprostane excretion was not altered after regular ingestion of green tea (273 +/- 48 pmol/mmol creatinine) or black tea (274 +/- 39 pmol/mmol creatinine) in comparison with hot water (263 +/- 47 pmol/mmol creatinine; Study 1), or by regular ingestion of black tea (334 +/- 71 pmol/mmol creatinine) in comparison with hot water (355 +/- 75 pmol/mmol creatinine; Study 2). These results do not support the suggestion that polyphenolic antioxidants derived from tea inhibit in vivo lipid peroxidation.     

Aberrant expression of tight junction-related proteins ZO-1, claudin-1 and occludin in synovial sarcoma: an immunohistochemical study with ultrastructural correlation.

Synovial sarcoma demonstrates epithelial differentiation, either by light microscopy (biphasic synovial sarcoma) or by immunohistochemical/ultrastructural methods only (monophasic) and poorly differentiated synovial sarcoma. Although the glands of synovial sarcoma are known to have tight junction-like structures, far less is known about junction formation in the spindled component of synovial sarcomas. Additionally, it is unknown whether the tight junctions of synovial sarcoma are normally constituted. The tight junction is a multiprotein complex consisting of numerous proteins that include ZO-1, claudin-1 and occludin. A total of 35 cases of synovial sarcoma (13 biphasic, 14 monophasic and eight poorly differentiated) were immunostained for ZO-1, claudin-1 and occludin using commercially available antibodies, heat-induced epitope retrieval and standard avidin-biotin technique. When available, corresponding electron micrographs were reviewed. For five cases, the presence of either an SYT-SSX1 (three cases) or SYT-SSX2 (two cases) gene fusion was known. Positive cases showed particulate membrane staining. The glands of biphasic synovial sarcomas expressed ZO-1 (13/13), claudin-1 (12/13) and occludin (11/13) in a manner identical to normal glandular epithelia, at the apical portion of the lateral membrane. The spindle cells of biphasic synovial sarcomas showed abnormal circumferential membranous expression of ZO-1 (12/13), claudin-1 (6/13) and occludin (3/13). Monophasic synovial sarcomas expressed ZO-1 in a circumferential pattern (13/14) but less often claudin-1 (4/14) or occludin (3/14). Poorly differentiated synovial sarcomas expressed ZO-1 (8/8) and claudin-1 (6/8) but only rarely occludin (2/8). By electron microscopy, recognizable tight junctions were seen only in glands. No correlation was seen between histologic subtype or fusion type and expression of tight junction proteins. We conclude that the glands of biphasic synovial sarcomas show well-organized, true epithelial tight junctions. In contrast, the spindled cells of all synovial sarcomas show significant abnormalities in the expression and localization of tight junction proteins, suggesting partial and/or aberrant epithelial differentiation.     

Cardiovascular risk in parents of children with extreme lipoprotein cholesterol levels: the Bogalusa Heart Study

Fasting serum lipids, lipoprotein cholesterol, and other cardiovascular disease risk factors were examined in 321 natural parents of children with low and/or high levels of beta- and pre-beta-lipoprotein cholesterol. Parents of children from low pre-beta-lipoprotein groups had elevated alpha- and lower pre-beta-lipoprotein cholesterol levels. Parents whose children had high beta-lipoprotein cholesterol levels also had high serum total and beta-lipoprotein cholesterol levels. Parents of children with high levels of both beta- and pre-beta-lipoprotein cholesterol had a high prevalence of both abnormal risk factor levels, as well as clinical evidence of early coronary artery disease (before age 50 years). These observations show that parents of children with high beta- and/or pre-beta-lipoprotein cholesterol levels have greatly enhanced risk for cardiovascular disease, and children mirror their parents' lipoprotein cholesterol levels. These observations emphasize the need for cardiovascular risk evaluation early in life, especially in high-risk families.     

Mediating effects of social support on firefighters' sense of community and perceptions of care

This study examined the relationship between psychological sense of community, social‐support networks, and care‐giver stress and satisfaction among firefighters. No significant gender differences were obtained, but zero‐order correlates demonstrated significant relationships among all four variables. In examining the mediating effects of social‐support satisfaction, partial mediation for psychological sense of community on care‐giver satisfaction was determined, as well as full mediation for psychological sense of community on care‐giver stress. Therefore, firefighters who are satisfied with the support they receive may experience less stress with their care giving than those who experience low levels of support satisfaction. Future studies should assess these relationships more extensively in other areas of civic responsibility among public‐service employees to delineate effective support avenues. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comm Psychol 32: 121–126, 2004.     

Age-related changes in centripetal ciliary body movement relative to centripetal lens movement in monkeys

The goal was to determine the age-related changes in accommodative movements of the lens and ciliary body in rhesus monkeys. Varying levels of accommodation were stimulated via the Edinger-Westphal (E-W) nucleus in 26 rhesus monkeys, aged 6–27 years, and the refractive changes were measured by coincidence refractometry. Centripetal ciliary process (CP) and lens movements were measured by computerized image analysis of goniovideographic images. Ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) at 50 MHz was used to visualize and measure accommodative forward movements of the ciliary body in relation to age, accommodative amplitude, and centripetal CP and lens movements. At ～3 diopters of accommodation, the amount of centripetal lens movement required did not significantly change with age (p = 0.10; n = 18 monkeys); however, the amount of centripetal CP movement required significantly increased with age (p = 0.01; n = 18 monkeys), while the amount of forward ciliary body movement significantly decreased with age (p = 0.007; n = 11 monkeys). In the middle-aged animals (12–16.5 years), a greater amount of centripetal CP movement was required to induce a given level of lens movement and thereby a given level of accommodation (p = 0.01), compared to the young animals (6–10 yrs). Collectively, the data suggests that, with age, the accommodative system may be attempting to compensate for the loss of forward ciliary body movement by increasing the amount of centripetal CP movement. This, in turn, would allow enough zonular relaxation to achieve the magnitude of centripetal lens movement necessary for a given amplitude of accommodation.