<Emphasis Type="Italic">Bcl11b</Emphasis>mutations identified in murine lymphomas increase the proliferation rate of hematopoietic progenitor cells

Background  

The telomeric region of mouse chromosome 12 has previously shown frequent allelic loss in murine lymphoma. The Bcl11b gene has been identified and suggested as a candidate tumor suppressor gene within this region. In this study, we aimed to elucidate whether Bcl11b is mutated in lymphomas with allelic loss, and whether the mutations we detected conferred any effect on cell proliferation and apoptosis.     

Tension neck and evaluation of a physical training course among office workers in a bank corporation

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a physical training course in a group of patients (n=74) suffering from chronic tension neck. All participants in the course were employed by a bank corporation in Helsinki, Finland. A comparable control group (n=77) consisted of office workers with tension neck from the same bank corporation who did not attend any training course. The outcome was analysed 6 months after the course. Pain and disability in the neck and shoulder region did not vary significantly between the group which participated in the training course and the control group. The experimental group had increased the amount of physical workout compared to the control group (83.7% vs 69.0%, P = 0.0448). Also, regarding the frequency of relaxation and stretching exercises the two groups differed significantly: the experimental group had continued to perform exercises more often (P= 0.0434). The frequency of sick leave days did not significantly differ between the groups, but the office workers in the experimental group had more periods of extended sick leave (> 10 days) and the controls had more frequent short sick leaves. The experimental group did increase their physical workout significantly compared with the controls, but no differences were detected regarding pain and disability. In order to gain more benefit more attention should be paid to the educational part of the training courses in order to enhance the patients'self-care abilities. Also, strategies to alleviate psychosocial problems and organized relaxation exercises could decrease muscle tension in the neck in office workers.     

Inheritance of male courtship sound characteristics inDrosophila littoralis

Males ofDrosophila littoralis vibrate their wings during courtship to deliver a love song. This consists of 25- to 50-ms-long pulses with a basic frequency of about 250–400 Hz, separated by 250- to 500-ms pauses. When recording the sounds of flies from several localities in Europe, we found that males of one strain from northern Finland displayed courtship sounds with an unusally low wing beat frequency (below 250 Hz). In a genetic analysis utilizing marker stocks, the anomalous frequency was found to be caused by genes on all major autosomes, the strongest factors being on the second chromosome. Interaction between genes on chromosome 2 and on the fused chromosome 3–4 was nonadditive. In low-frequency sounds, the number of cycles in the pulse (CN) was decreased, so that the length of the sound pulse (PL) remained more or less unchanged. We suggest that the genetically and physiologically most thoroughly controlled trait in the sound ofDrosophila littoralis is the length of the pulse.     

Isolation and characterization of two European strains of Ehrlichia phagocytophila of equine origin

We report the isolation and partial genetic characterization of two equine strains of granulocytic Ehrlichia of the genogroup Ehrlichia phagocytophila. Frozen whole-blood samples from two Swedish horses with laboratory-verified granulocytic ehrlichiosis were inoculated into HL-60 cell cultures. Granulocytic Ehrlichia was isolated and propagated from both horses. DNA extracts from the respective strains were amplified by PCR using primers directed towards the 16S rRNA gene, the groESL heat shock operon gene, and the ank gene. The amplified gene fragments were sequenced and compared to known sequences in the GenBank database. With respect to the 16S rRNA gene, the groESL gene, and the ank gene, the DNA sequences of the two equine Ehrlichia isolates were identical to sequences found in isolates from clinical cases of granulocytic ehrlichiosis in humans and domestic animals in Sweden. However, compared to amplified DNA from an American Ehrlichia strain of the E. phagocytophila genogroup, differences were found in the groESL gene and ank gene sequences.     

Decreased inducibility of TNF expression in lipid-loaded macrophages

Background  

Inflammation and immune responses are considered to be very important in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Lipid accumulation in macrophages of the arterial intima is a characteristic feature of atherosclerosis which can influence the inflammatory potential of macrophages. We studied the effects of lipid loading on the regulation of TNF expression in human monocyte-derived macrophages.     

Genetic variation in the male courtship sound ofDrosophila littoralis

Drosophila littoralis males and females emit sounds during courtship by vibrating their wings. Genetic variation in the male courtship sound of this species was studied by analyzing the sounds of males of 42 fresh isofemale strains from three localities in Finland and those of several laboratory strains originating from Europe and Caucasus. Among the fresh strains, the mean number of sound cycles in a pulse varied from 12 to 17 cycles, the length of a pulse from 39 to 51 ms, the length of a sound cycle from 2.9 to 3.6 ms, and the length of an interpulse interval (ipi) from 280 to 400 ms. The sounds of the old laboratory strains differed from each other more than the sounds of the fresh strains. There was, however, no sign of geographic differentiation.This study was aided by funds from The Academy of Finland.     

The power of power wheelchairs: Mobility choices of community-dwelling,older adults

Background: Power wheelchairs are purported to have a positive effect on health, occupation, and quality of life. However, there is limited knowledge about what factors shape power wheelchair use decisions. Aims/objectives: A study was undertaken to understand the mobility choices of community-dwelling, power wheelchair users. Methods: A series of semi-structured qualitative interviews was conducted with 13 older adult power wheelchair users. Participants were interviewed at enrollment and four months later. Data analysis was informed by Bourdieu’s theoretical constructs of habitus, capital, and field. Results: Three main styles of power wheelchair use were identified: reluctant use, strategic use, and essential use, and each type is illustrated using an aggregate case study. Conclusion/significance: These findings highlight the need to alter the power relationship that exists between prescribers and device users and to effect policy changes that enable people with physical impairments to make as wide a range of mobility choices as possible.     

Culture at low glucose up-regulates mitochondrial function in pancreatic β cells with accompanying effects on viability

We tested whether exposure of β cells at reduced glucose leads to mitochondrial adaptions and whether such adaptions modulate effects of hypoxia. Rat islets, human islets and INS-1 832/13 cells were pre-cultured short term at half standard glucose concentrations (5.5 mM for rat islets and cells, 2.75 mM for human islets) without overtly negative effects on subsequently measured function (insulin secretion and cellular insulin contents) or on viability. Culture at half standard glucose upregulated complex I and tended to upregulate complex II in islets and INS-1 cells alike. An increased release of lactate dehydrogenase that followed exposure to hypoxia was attenuated in rat islets which had been pre-cultured at half standard glucose. In INS-1 cells exposure to half standard glucose attenuated hypoxia-induced effects on several viability parameters (MTT, cell number and incremental apoptotic DNA). Thus culture at reduced glucose of pancreatic islets and clonal β cells leads to mitochondrial adaptions which possibly lessen the negative impact of hypoxia on β cell viability. These findings appear relevant in the search for optimization of pre-transplant conditions in a clinical setting.