Can Policy Promote Adoption or Outcomes of Evidence-based Prevention Programming?: a Case Illustration of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports

Prevention Science - This study examined the impact of a state policy requiring that any school with a habitual truancy rate of 8% or higher to be trained in Tier 1 school-wide Positive Behavioral...     

An antioxidant lignan and other constituents from the root bark of Hibiscus syriacus

A new lignan named as hibiscuside, (+)-pinoresinol 4-O-[beta-glucopyranosyl (1--->2)-alpha-rhamnoside] (1), and a known lignan, syringaresinol (2) were isolated from the root bark of Hibiscus syriacus together with two feruloyltyramines (3,4) and three known isoflavonoids (5,6,7). The structures of these compounds have been established on the basis of their NMR, mass UV spectra. Among these phenolic compounds, 6"-O-acetyldaidzin (5), 6"-O-acetylgenistin (6), and 3-hydroxydaidzein (7) with IC(50) values of 8.2, 10.6, and 4.1 microM, respectively, significantly inhibited lipid peroxidation in rat liver microsomes. Hibiscuside (1), E- and Z-N-feruloyl tyramines (3,4) exhibited moderate antioxidant activity.     

Korean Red Ginseng Water Extract Restores Impaired Endothelial Function by Inhibiting Arginase Activity in Aged Mice

Cardiovascular disease is the prime cause of morbidity and mortality and the population ages that may contribute to increase in the occurrence of cardiovascular disease. Arginase upregulation is associated with impaired endothelial function in aged vascular system and thus may contribute to cardiovascular disease. According to recent research, Korean Red Ginseng water extract (KRGE) may reduce cardiovascular disease risk by improving vascular system health. The purpose of this study was to examine mechanisms contributing to age-related vascular endothelial dysfunction and to determine whether KRGE improves these functions in aged mice. Young (10±3 weeks) and aged (55±5 weeks) male mice (C57BL/6J) were orally administered 0, 10, or 20 mg/mouse/day of KRGE for 4 weeks. Animals were sacrificed and the aortas were removed. Endothelial arginase activity, nitric oxide (NO) generation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) coupling, vascular tension, and plasma peroxynitrite production were measured. KRGE attenuated arginase activity, restored nitric oxide (NO) generation, reduced ROS production, and enhanced eNOS coupling in aged mice. KRGE also improved vascular tension in aged vessels, as indicated by increased acetylcholine-induced vasorelaxation and improved phenylephrine-stimulated vasoconstriction. Furthermore, KRGE prevented plasma peroxynitrite formation in aged mice, indicating reduced lipid peroxidation. These results suggest KRGE exerts vasoprotective effects by inhibiting arginase activity and augmenting NO signaling and may be a useful treatment for age-dependent vascular diseases.     

A prospective,multicenter phase II study of continuous infusion of FLAG for patients older than 60 yr with resistant acute myeloid leukemia: a comparison with intensive younger patients’ trial

Relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (R/R AML) in elderly (≥60 yr old) patients were eligible. Induction chemotherapy consisted fludarabine and cytarabine (ARAC) as a 24‐hr CI without idarubicin (C‐FLAG), which was compared with the results of C‐FLAG with idarubicin (CI‐FLAG2) in younger patients’ trial. A total of 33 and 68 patients were enrolled in C‐FLAG and CI‐FLAG2, respectively. CR, CRp, and CRi were achieved in 10 (30.3%), 3 (9.1%), and 2 (6.1%), respectively. When comparing outcomes between C‐FLAG and CI‐FLAG2, there were no difference in terms of CR rate (P = 0.572) and objective response rate (ORR; P = 0.899). Favorable predictors on ORR in C‐FLAG were PB WBC ≤ 20K/uL at salvage (P = 0.024) and early evaluation peripheral BLAST = 0% (P = 0.013) on multivariate analysis. The overall survival of patients who achieve CR/CRp/CRi showed significantly prolonged survival compared with patients who did not in C‐FLAG (P < 0.001) and was a favorable predictor of longer survival by multivariate analysis (P = 0.009). Median overall survival was 3.19 (95% CI, 2.05–4.33) months and similar with that of CI‐FLAG2 (P = 0.841). Attenuated salvage regimen C‐FLGA in elderly patients was as effective as more intensive younger patients’ regimen CI‐FLAG2 in terms of response and survival although elderly patients had more unfavorable clinical characteristics.