Conjugated linoleic acid evokes de-lipidation through the regulation of genes controlling lipid metabolism in adipose and liver tissue

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a unique lipid that elicits dramatic reductions in adiposity in several animal models when included at < or = 1% of the diet. Despite a flurry of investigations, the precise mechanisms by which conjugated linoleic acid elicits its dramatic effects in adipose tissue and liver are still largely unknown. In vivo and in vitro analyses of physiological modifications imparted by conjugated linoleic acid on protein and gene expression suggest that conjugated linoleic acid exerts its de-lipidating effects by modulating energy expenditure, apoptosis, fatty acid oxidation, lipolysis, stromal vascular cell differentiation and lipogenesis. The purpose of this review shall be to examine the recent advances and insights into conjugated linoleic acid's effects on obesity and lipid metabolism, specifically focused on changes in gene expression and physiology of liver and adipose tissue.     

Fibroblast radiosensitivity and intraocular fibrovascular proliferation following radiotherapy for bilateral retinoblastoma.

A 5-day-old female patient was found to have large hereditary retinoblastomas in the posterior pole of each eye. The patient received radiation treatment over a 39-day period, with each retina receiving 4600 rad. Two weeks after the complete treatment the tumours had regressed to approximately one-quarter of their original size. By 14 weeks following completion of radiotherapy the patient had developed in each eye extensive iris neovascularisation with progressive closure of the filtration angles, secondary glaucoma, and retinal detachments resulting from fibrovascular proliferation on the retinal surface. Radiosensitivity studies were from separate conjunctival biopsies obtained before and after radiation. These showed a D0 (calculated survival curve parameters, defined in the Methods section) in the exponential growth phase of 110 prior to radiation and a postirradiation exponential growth phase D0 of 70. Karotype studies showed several chromosomal abnormalities following radiotherapy. The clinical course and pathology findings are thought to represent an unusually severe orbital and ocular response to radiation therapy. These findings are consistent with our hypothesis that some patients with hereditary retinoblastoma may have a defect in the accumulation repair of x-irradiation induced DNA damage.     

Measuring the implementation of health promotion programs: the case of the Breast and Cervical Cancer Program in Maryland

This paper introduces critically important issues and benefits for measuring the extent and processes of program implementation when conducting and studying health education and health promotion programs. These methods are illustrated with reference to the Breast and Cervical Cancer Program in Maryland. We suggest using a chain of events research paradigm rather than confining community intervention research to the more frequently used experimental model. Combined roles as researchers and technical advisors serve complementary functions of gathering relevant, valid information about implementation and making these data useful to program managers. Measures of implementation should be used to examine the detailed delivery of program components, to assess organizational and environmental processes influencing the extent of implementation and to analytically link variations in program delivery to desired short-term outcomes. Measuring these processes is needed to move implementation research for health promotion programs beyond an anecdotal set of case stories about implementation problems to a fully developed area of research-based knowledge.     

Grossamide and N-trans-caffeoyltyramine from Annona crassiflora seeds

Grossamide, and N-trans-caffeoyltyramine, were isolated for the first time from the seeds of Annona crassiflora Mart, and in the Annonaceae family.     

Regional Tau Effects on Prospective Cognitive Change in Cognitively Normal Older Adults

Studies suggest that tau deposition starts in the anterolateral entorhinal cortex (EC) with normal aging, and that the presence of β-amyloid (Aβ) facilitates its spread to neocortex, which may reflect the beginning of Alzheimer''s disease (AD). Functional connectivity between the anterolateral EC and the anterior-temporal (AT) memory network appears to drive higher tau deposition in AT than in the posterior-medial (PM) memory network. Here, we investigated whether this differential vulnerability to tau deposition may predict different cognitive consequences of EC, AT, and PM tau. Using ¹⁸F-flortaucipir (FTP) and ¹¹C-Pittsburgh compound-B (PiB) positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, we measured tau and Aβ in 124 cognitively normal human older adults (74 females, 50 males) followed for an average of 2.8 years for prospective cognition. We found that higher FTP in all three regions was individually related to faster memory decline, and that the effects of AT and PM FTP, but not EC, were driven by Aβ+ individuals. Moreover, when we included all three FTP measures competitively in the same model, only AT FTP significantly predicted memory decline. Our data support a model whereby tau, facilitated by Aβ, transits from EC to cortical regions that are most closely associated with the anterolateral EC, which specifically affects memory in the initial stage of AD. Memory also appears to be affected by EC tau in the absence of Aβ, which may be less clinically consequential. These findings may provide clarification of differences between normal aging and AD, and elucidate the transition between the two stages.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Tau and β-amyloid (Aβ) are hallmarks of Alzheimer''s disease (AD) but are also found in cognitively normal people. It is unclear whether, and how, this early deposition of tau and Aβ may affect cognition in normal aging and the asymptomatic stage of AD. We show that tau deposition in the entorhinal cortex (EC), which is common in advanced age, predicts memory decline in older adults independent of Aβ, likely reflecting normal, age-related memory loss. In contrast, tau in anterior-temporal (AT) regions is most predictive of memory decline in Aβ+ individuals. These data support the idea that tau preferentially spreads to specific cortical regions, likely through functional connections, which plays a primary role in memory decline in the early stage of AD.     

Tufted puffin reproduction reveals ocean climate variability

Anomalously warm sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) are associated with interannual and decadal variability as well as with long-term climate changes indicative of global warming. Such oscillations could precipitate changes in a variety of oceanic processes to affect marine species worldwide. As global temperatures continue to rise, it will be critically important to be able to predict the effects of such changes on species' abundance, distribution, and ecological relationships so as to identify vulnerable populations. Off the coast of British Columbia, warm SSTs have persisted through the last two decades. Based on 16 years of reproductive data collected between 1975 and 2002, we show that the extreme variation in reproductive performance exhibited by tufted puffins (Fratercula cirrhata) was related to changes in SST both within and among seasons. Especially warm SSTs corresponded with drastically decreased growth rates and fledging success of puffin nestlings. Puffins may partially compensate for within-season changes associated with SST by adjusting their breeding phenology, yet our data also suggest that they are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change at this site and may serve as a valuable indicator of biological change in the North Pacific. Further and prolonged increases in ocean temperature could make Triangle Island, which contains the largest tufted puffin colony in Canada, unsuitable as a breeding site for this species.     

Online scan of FASD prevention and health promotion resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities

Issue addressed

Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) includes a range of life‐long impairments caused by alcohol exposure in utero. Health professionals are vital to preventing FASD but many are hesitant to discuss FASD with clients due to their need for additional resources to aid the conversation. This scan sought to identify the scope and gaps in publicly available FASD prevention and health promotion resources, and assess their cultural appropriateness for use among five key groups of Indigenous Australian people including: (i) pregnant women, (ii) women of childbearing age, (iii) grandmothers and aunties, (iv) men, and (v) health professionals.

Methods

Relevant resources published 1995‐2017 were identified through the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet, FASD organisation websites, grey literature, Google searches, and field experts. Results were screened by inclusion and cultural appropriateness criteria developed and piloted by the research team, and further screened by health professionals attending FASD training workshops.

Results

115 of the 2146 identified resources were eligible. Relevant resources were found for all five key groups; however, no resources were specifically designed for men, grandmothers or aunties.

Conclusions

A range of high‐quality, culturally appropriate resources were identified, however, health professionals attending the training workshops were not aware of their availability. Further resource development is suggested for men, grandmothers and aunties.

So what?

Prioritisation of active dissemination and implementation strategies is suggested to increase awareness and use of future resource developments. The inclusion of a resource trial among health professionals is a recommended strategy to increase awareness and use of newly developed resources.

     

Stage IV-N: a favorable subset of children with metastatic neuroblastoma

Among children over 1 year of age with Evans Stage IV neuroblastoma, there appears to be a small group with a relatively favorable prognosis. These patients have extensive lymph node metastases (cervical/axillary/thoracic/abdominal/pelvic), but no extranodal metastases. Three of six such patients (50%) are long-term disease-free survivors, compared with none of 40 patients with extranodal metastatic disease (p less than 0.0002). Patients with only lymph node metastases (Stage "IV-N") may have a biologically more favorable tumor that is curable with conventional, intensive multimodality therapy.