Expression of bcl-6 and CD10 protein is associated with longer overall survival and time to treatment failure in follicular lymphoma

Follicular lymphomas (FLs) are a heterogeneous group of tumors, but prognostic factors are evaluated insufficiently in this common hematologic neoplasm. While bcl-6 and CD10 are expressed characteristically in FLs, their significance for biologic behavior of FL has not been studied previously. Samples from 73 patients with FL and clinical follow-up from 7 to 231 months were evaluated by immunohistochemical analysis. Patients with high levels of bcl-6 expression had favorable overall survival (OS) (P = .003), disease-specific survival (DSS) (P = .033), and time to treatment failure (P = .003) compared with patients with low levels of bcl-6 expression. Multivariate analysis showed that the results for OS, DSS, and time to treatment failure were independent of the international prognostic index. Patients with CD10+ FLs also had longer OS (P = .001), DSS (P = .007), and time to treatment failure (P = .004), and grade 1 FL was associated with better OS (P = .01) and a statistical trend for longer DSS (P = .05) and time to treatment failure (P = .05), but these results were not independent of bcl-6 expression or the international prognostic index in multivariate analysis.     

Do the socioeconomic context and the European geographical area modify parental influences on smoking experimentation among adolescents?

Adolescent smoking is a major public health problem. While the socioeconomic status (SES) of the neighbourhood and that of the family are known to play a role in smoking onset and progression, it is not clear whether it modifies the association between parental influences and adolescent behaviour. The purpose of this study is to investigate family correlates of adolescent smoking experimentation and to explore the modifying role of socioeconomic context and European geographical area in a sample of European adolescents. This is a secondary analysis of the baseline survey of the European Drug Addiction Prevention (EU-Dap) trial which took place in seven European countries and involved 7079 students. School SES was used as indicator of socioeconomic context. European countries were aggregated in two geographical areas: North-Central and South. The associations between parental, family factors, and adolescents smoking experimentation were analysed through multilevel mixed-effect logistic regression models, stratified by school SES and European geographical area. Parental smoking, permissiveness towards tobacco, family conflicts, problematic relationships, low connectedness, and low parental control were significantly associated with adolescent smoking experimentation. Paternal smoking was a stronger correlate of adolescent smoking in low SES schools, while maternal smoking in high SES schools. Parental permissiveness was a stronger correlate in low SES schools. Family conflicts and low parental control were correlates only in low SES schools. The associations did not substantially differ between European geographical areas, with the exception of parental smoking that was a stronger correlate in the North, and parental control that was a correlate only in the South of Europe. To reduce inequalities in tobacco-related outcomes, prevention efforts in low socioeconomic contexts appear to be a public health priority. Parental smoking, permissiveness, family relationships, and connectedness should be addressed in preventive programs.

     

Influence of Body Position on Defecation in Humans

Objectives: To compare three positions for defecation by measuring abdominal pressure and the anorectal angle simultaneously. Methods: We recruited six healthy volunteers. The videomanometric measures included simultaneous fluoroscopic images, abdominal pressures, subtracted rectal pressures and anal sphincter pressures. Three positions were used: sitting, sitting with the hip flexing at 60 ° with respect to the rest of the body, and squatting with the hip flexing at 22.5 ° with respect to the rest of the body. Results: Basal abdominal pressure before defecation on hip‐flex sitting was lower than that with normal sitting, although the difference did not reach statistical significance. Basal abdominal pressure before defecation on squatting (26 cmH₂O) was lower than that with normal sitting (P < 0.01). Abdominal pressure increase (strain) on hip‐flex sitting was lower than that with normal sitting, although this difference did not reach statistical significance. Similarly, the abdominal pressure increase on squatting was smaller than that with normal sitting, and yet the difference did not reach statistical significance. The rectoanal angle on defecation on hip‐flex sitting did not differ from that with normal sitting. The rectoanal angle on defecation on squatting (126 °) was larger than that with normal sitting (100 °) (P < 0.05), and was also larger than that with hip‐flex sitting (99 °) (P < 0.01). Conclusion: The results of the present study suggest that the greater the hip flexion achieved by squatting, the straighter the rectoanal canal will be, and accordingly, less strain will be required for defecation.     

Flash microwave-assisted solvothermal (FMS) synthesis of photoactive anatase sub-microspheres with hierarchical porosity

The synthesis of nanostructured sub-microspheres of TiO₂ anatase with hierarchical nano- and mesoporosity was successfully achieved by using an innovative approach that applies the principles of acidic digestion to microwave (MW) solvothermal synthesis. This process, termed flash microwave-assisted solvothermal (FMS) synthesis, facilitates the formation of spherical particles without surfactants or templating agents, exploiting the rapid reaction kinetics engendered by MW heating. Unlike many other MW-assisted solvothermal methods, the application of constant MW power leads to a rapid increase of the autogenous pressure, inducing burst-nucleation of small primary crystallites and subsequent rapid agglomeration into secondary particles, with reaction times reduced to minute-timescales. The use of non-aqueous polar solvents such as ethanol is key to the production of regular spheres with a narrow size distribution, composed of nanocrystallites. Morphology, porosity, specific surface area, phase composition, crystallite size and optical properties of the particles can be controlled via a judicious selection of physical and chemical synthesis parameters, especially precursor choice and acid concentration. The complex structure of the particles leads to surface areas of up to ca. 500 m² g⁻¹ with intergranular mesoporosity. The as-synthesised FMS particles show increased adsorption under dark conditions and selective de-ethylation of rhodamine B under visible light compared to a commercial photocatalyst (Degussa P25). The photodegradation mechanism hinges on the capacity of the spheres to accept electrons from the photoexcited state of molecules at the particle surface, with the large sphere surface area maximising adsorption capacity and improving the efficiency of the photocatalytic processes. The singular characteristics and properties of the particles could pave the way for further applications in water purification and optoelectronic devices.

Photoactive nanostructured TiO₂ sub-microspheres can be fabricated by “microwave flash synthesis” in minute timescales.     

Tissue-specific regulation of growth hormone (GH) receptor and insulin-like growth factor-I gene expression in the pituitary and liver of GH-deficient (lit/lit) mice and transgenic mice that overexpress bovine GH (bGH) or a bGH antagonist

GH has diverse biological actions that are mediated by binding to a specific, high-affinity cell surface receptor (GHR). Expression of GHR is tissue specific and a requirement for cellular responsiveness to GH. IGF-I is produced in multiple tissues and regulated in part by GH through GHR. In this study, we evaluated GHR and IGF-I mRNA expression in pituitary gland and compared the levels with those derived from liver of bovine GH transgenic, GH antagonist transgenic, lit/lit mice, and their respective controls using real-time RT-PCR. In liver, both GHR and IGF-I mRNA expressions were regulated in parallel with GH action in all three animal models, and there was a strong correlation between GHR and IGF-I mRNA levels. In the pituitary gland, increased expression of IGF-I mRNA in the pituitary of bovine GH transgenic mice was observed, whereas IGF-I expression in GH antagonist transgenic or lit/lit mice was similar to that observed in control animals. There were no differences of GHR mRNA levels in pituitary gland of any groups we examined. There was also no correlation between GHR and IGF-I mRNA levels in any group in the pituitary gland. In conclusion, we found that hepatic GHR and IGF-I mRNA levels were strongly correlated with each other in chronic GH excess or deficient state, and that regulation and correlation between local GHR and IGF-I mRNA levels induced by GH is different between liver and pituitary gland.     

Environmental mercury exposure,semen quality and reproductive hormones in Greenlandic Inuit and European men: a cross-sectional study

Several animal studies indicate that mercury is a male reproductive toxicant, but human studies are few and contradictory. We examined semen characteristics and serum levels of reproductive hormones in relation to environmental exposure to mercury. Blood and semen samples were collected from 529 male partners of pregnant women living in Greenland, Poland and Ukraine between May 2002 and February 2004. The median concentration of the total content of mercury in whole blood was 9.2 ng ml⁻¹ in Greenland (0.2–385.8 ng ml⁻¹), 1.0 ng ml⁻¹ in Poland (0.2–6.4 ng ml⁻¹) and 1.0 ng ml⁻¹ in Ukraine (0.2–4.9 ng ml⁻¹). We found a significantly positive association between the blood levels of mercury and serum concentration of inhibin B in men from Greenland (β=0.074, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.021 to 0.126) and in an analysis including men from all three regions (β=0.067, 95% CI=0.024 to 0.110). The association may be due to beneficial effects of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which are contained in seafood and fish. No significant association (P>0.05) was found between blood concentrations of mercury and any of the other measured semen characteristics (semen volume, total sperm count, sperm concentration, morphology and motility) and reproductive hormones (free androgen index (FAI), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone and LH×testosterone) in any region. In conclusion, the findings do not provide evidence that environmental mercury exposure in Greenlandic and European men with median whole blood concentration up to 10 ng ml⁻¹ has adverse effects on biomarkers of male reproductive health.