Plasma lipids and prolactin in patients with breast cancer

In a comparative study of pre- and postmenopausal women with benign and malignant breast disease, a number of differences were observed in circulating plasma prolactin and lipid concentrations. Plasma lipids, phospholipids, triglycerides, cholesterol and free fatty acids were all higher in blood obtained from breast cancer patients prior to surgery. HDL-Cholesterol levels were significantly lower in these patients. These differences remained when the patient groups were sub-divided according to menopausal status. Plasma prolactin concentrations were also found to be higher in cancer compared with non-cancer patients, this effect being more marked in premenopausal than in postmenopausal patients. Premenopausal patients with invasive or poorly differentiated disease had significantly higher prolactin levels than those with non-invasive disease. No correlations were found between plasma prolactin and any of the lipid fractions.

Aluminium and human breast diseases

The human breast is exposed to aluminium from many sources including diet and personal care products, but dermal application of aluminium-based antiperspirant salts provides a local long-term source of exposure. Recent measurements have shown that aluminium is present in both tissue and fat of the human breast but at levels which vary both between breasts and between tissue samples from the same breast. We have recently found increased levels of aluminium in noninvasively collected nipple aspirate fluids taken from breast cancer patients (mean 268±28 g/l) compared with control healthy subjects (mean 131±10 g/l) providing evidence of raised aluminium levels in the breast microenvironment when cancer is present. The measurement of higher levels of aluminium in type I human breast cyst fluids (median 150g/l) compared with human serum (median 6g/l) or human milk (median 25g/l) warrants further investigation into any possible role of aluminium in development of this benign breast disease. Emerging evidence for aluminium in several breast structures now requires biomarkers of aluminium action in order to ascertain whether the presence of aluminium has any biological impact. To this end, we report raised levels of proteins that modulate iron homeostasis (ferritin, transferrin) in parallel with raised aluminium in nipple aspirate fluids in vivo, and we report overexpression of mRNA for several S100 calcium binding proteins following long-term exposure of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells in vitro to aluminium chlorhydrate.

An experimental investigation of peer influences on hostile attributions in adolescents

Aggression in young people has been associated with a bias towards attributing hostile intent to others; however, little is known about the origin of biased social information processing. The current study explored the potential role of peer contagion in the emergence of hostile attribution in adolescents. 134 adolescents were assigned to one of two manipulated ‘chat-room’ conditions, where they believed they were communicating with online peers (e-confederates) who endorsed either hostile or benign intent attributions. Adolescents showed increased hostile attributions following exposure to hostile e-confederates and reduced hostility in the benign condition. Further analyses demonstrated that social anxiety was associated with a reduced tendency to take on hostile peer attitudes. Neither gender nor levels of aggression influenced individual susceptibility to peer influence, but aggressive adolescents reported greater affinity with hostile e-confederates.

The impact of buy to let residential investment on local housing markets: evidence from Glasgow, Scotland

The advent of the 'buy to let' (BTL) phenomenon in the UK. apart from producing a new wave of individualized rental market investment, has been widely judged to be a speculative and destabilizing force in the housing market. This paper provides a detailed empirical investigation of new residential investment in one city (Glasgow) where BTL has made a relatively large impact. In seeking to overcome data problems, the study employed qualitative (expert interviews and a landlord survey) and quantitative methods (census, the Register of Sasines, standardized house price information and modelling thereof) in order to assess the nature and scale of BTL, the motivations of investors and its impact on the private housing market. The evidence suggests that white Glasgow is in many re.spects different to rental markets elsewhere in the UK and although the investment has thus far largely occurred in a benign environment, the context for future investment, on balance, looks sustainable (i.e.favourable changes to pension planning law and the maturing market for BTL}. Long-term market impact is an empirical question that depends on the specific interactions of market niches or segments (i.e. the first-time buyer market for apartments} with potential buy to let investment. Our conclusion, to borrow a Scottish legal term, is that BTL induced volatility is 'not proven'.

The drivers of multinational enterprise subsidiary entrepreneurship in China: a new resource-based view perspective

This paper extends the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm, as applied to multinational enterprises (MNEs), by distinguishing between two critical resource dimensions, namely relative resource superiority (capabilities) and slack. Both dimensions, in concert with specific environmental conditions, are required to increase entrepreneurial activities. We propose distinct configurations (three-way moderation effects) of capabilities, slack, and environmental factors (i.e. dynamism and hostility) to explain entrepreneurship. Using survey data from 66 Canadian subsidiaries operating in China, we find that higher subsidiary entrepreneurship requires both HR slack and strong downstream capabilities in subsidiaries, subject to the industry environment being dynamic and benign. However, high HR slack alone, in a dynamic and benign environment, but without the presence of strong capabilities, actually triggers the fewest initiatives, with HR slack redirected from entrepreneurial experimentation towards complacency and inefficiency. This paper has major implications for MNEs seeking to increase subsidiary entrepreneurship in fast growing emerging markets.

MALDI MS profiling of post-DRE urine samples highlights the potential of b-Microseminoprotein as a marker for prostatic diseases

BACKGROUND. To use spectra acquired by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry (MS) from pre- and post-digital rectal examination (DRE) urine samples to search for discriminating peaks that can adequately distinguish between benign and malignant prostate conditions, and identify the peaks’ underlying biomolecules. METHODS. Twenty-five participants with prostate cancer (PCa) and 27 participants with a variety of benign prostatic conditions as confirmed by a 10-core tissue biopsy were included. Pre- and post-DRE urine samples were prepared for MALDI MS profiling using an automated clean-up procedure. Following mass spectra collection and processing, peak mass and intensity were extracted and subjected to statistical analysis to identify peaks capable of distinguishing between benign and cancer. Logistic regression was used to combine markers to create a sensitive and specific test. RESULTS. A peak at m/z 10,760 was identified as b-microseminoprotein (b-MSMB) and found to be statistically lower in urine from PCa participants using the peak’s average areas. By combining serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels with MALDI MS-measured b-MSMB levels, optimum threshold values obtained from Receiver Operator characteristics curves gave an increased sensitivity of 96% at a specificity of 26%. CONCLUSIONS. These results demonstrate that with a simple sample clean-up followed by MALDI MS profiling, significant differences of MSMB abundance were found in post-DRE urine samples. In combination with PSA serum levels, obtained from a classic clinical assay led to high classification accuracy for PCa in the studied sample set. Our results need to be validated in a larger multicenter prospective randomized clinical trial.

Biological significance of short-chain fatty acid metabolism by the intestinal microbiome

Purpose of review Evidence suggests that short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) derived from microbial metabolism in the gut play a central role in host homeostasis. The present review describes the current understanding and physiological implications of SCFAs derived from microbial metabolism of nondigestible carbohydrates. Recent findings Recent studies indicate a role for SCFAs, in particular propionate and butyrate, in the metabolic and inflammatory disorders such as obesity, diabetes and inflammatory bowel diseases, through the activation of specific G-protein-coupled receptors and modification of transcription factors. Established prebiotics, such as fructooligosaccharides and galactooligosaccharides, which support the growth of Bifidobacteria, mainly mediate acetate production. Thus, recent identification of prebiotics which are able to stimulate the production of propionate and butyrate by benign saccharolytic populations in the colon is of interest. Summary Manipulation of saccharolytic fermentation by prebiotic substrates is beginning to provide information on structure–function relationships relating to the production of SCFAs, which have multiple roles in host homeostasis.

Premature germination of resting spores as a means of Protecting brassica crops from Plasmodiophora brassicae Wor., (clubroot)

Premature germination of resting spores as a means of protecting brassica crops from Plasmodiphora brassicae Wor., (Clubroot). Crop Protection. Clubroot disease causes substantial yield and quality losses in broadacre oil seed and intensive vegetable brassica crops worldwide. The causal microbe Plasmodiophora brassicae Wor., perennates as soil-borne dormant resting spores. Their germination is triggered by exudates from host roots. A valuable addition to sustainable integrated control strategies could be developed by identifying and synthesising the molecules responsible for stimulating resting spore germination. This paper reports experiments in which stimulatory exudates were collected from brassica roots following exposure to infective stages of P. brassicae. Analyses identified a germination signalling molecule of circa 1 kDa formed of glucose sub-units. Mass spectral analyses showed this to be a complex hexasaccharide carbohydrate with structural similarities to the components of plant cell walls. This is the first report of a host generated hexasaccharide which is capable of stimulating the germination of resting spores of P. brassicae. The implications for environmentally benign control of clubroot are discussed briefly.

Water, irrigation and plant diseases

Irrigation is a major husbandry tool, vital for world food production and security. The purpose of this review is twofold:- firstly drawing attention to the beneficial and deleterious aspects of irrigation resulting from interactions with the microbial world; secondly, forming a basis for encouraging further research and development. Irrigation is for example, a valuable component in the control of some soil borne pathogens such as Streptomyces scabies, the cause of potato common scab and Fusarium cubense, a cause of banana wilt. By contrast, applying irrigation encourages some foliar pathogens and factors such as splash dispersal of propagules and the retention of leaf wetness are important elements in the successful establishment of disease foci. Irrigation applied at low levels in the canopy directly towards the stem bases and root zones of plants also provides means encouraging disease development. Irrigation also offers means for the direct spread of microbes such as water borne moulds, Oomycetes, and plasmodial pathogens coming from populations present in the water supply. The presence of plant disease causing microbes in sources of irrigation has been associated with outbreaks of diseases such as clubroot (Plasmodiophora brassicae). Irrigation can be utilised as a means for applying agrochemicals, fungigation. The developing technologies of water restriction and root zone drying also have an impact on the success of disease causing organisms. This is an emerging technology and its interactions with benign and pathogenic microbes require consideration.

Sparta and the English Republic

In 1659-60, James Harrington and Henry Stubbe, two republican authors, engaged in a bad-tempered pamphlet debate about the constitution of classical Sparta. This took place in the context of political collapse after the fall of the Cromwellian Protectorate, as republicans desperately attempted to devise safeguards which could prevent the return of monarchy. Questions of constitutional form were not always at the forefront of 1650s English republicanism, but Harrington’s ideal constitution of ‘Oceana’ brought these questions to the fore in 1659’s discussions. Sparta formed a key plank of the ‘ancient prudence’ which supported Harrington’s theory, and like Stubbe he drew on Nicolaus Cragius’ De Republica Lacedaemoniorum (1593) for evidence, and was attracted to some of the more apparently ‘aristocratic’ elements of the Spartan constitution. However, classical texts and modern scholarly authority, such as Cragius’, were not the only ingredients in the English version of the ‘classical republican’ tradition; sixteenth- and seventeenth-century political thinkers and current exigencies also shaped Harrington and Stubbe’s arguments. Both Harrington and Stubbe ended up challenging the scholarly and ancient consensus that Sparta was an aristocracy or mixed polity, Harrington reinterpreting it to assimilate it to ‘democracy’, and Stubbe attempting to rehabilitate a model of benign ‘oligarchy’.

Science drives horticulture's progress and profit

Horticultural science linked with basic studies in biology, chemistry, physics and engineering has laid the foundation for advances in applied knowledge which are at the heart of commercial, environmental and social horticulture. In few disciplines is science more rapidly translated into applicable technologies than in the huge range of man’s activities embraced within horticulture which are discussed in this Trilogy. This chapter surveys the origins of horticultural science developing as an integral part of the 16th century “Scientific Revolution”. It identifies early discoveries during the latter part of the 19th and early 20th centuries which rationalized the control of plant growth, flowering and fruiting and the media in which crops could be cultivated. The products of these discoveries formed the basis on which huge current industries of worldwide significance are founded in fruit, vegetable and ornamental production. More recent examples of the application of horticultural science are used in an explanation of how the integration of plant breeding, crop selection and astute marketing highlighted by the New Zealand industry have retained and expanded the viability of production which supplies huge volumes of fruit into the world’s markets. This is followed by an examination of science applied to tissue and cell culture as an example of technologies which have already produced massive industrial applications but hold the prospect for generating even greater advances in the future. Finally, examples are given of nascent scientific discoveries which hold the prospect for generating horticultural industries with considerable future impact. These include systems modeling and biology, nanotechnology, robotics, automation and electronics, genetics and plant breeding, and more efficient and effective use of resources and the employment of benign microbes. In conclusion there is an estimation of the value of horticultural science to society.

An assessment of the effects of climate change on horticulture

Horticulture may be defined as the intensive cultivation and harvesting of plants for financial, environmental and social profit. Evidence for the occurrence of climate change more generally and reasons why this process is happening with such rapidity are discussed. These changes are then considered in terms of the effects which might alter the options for worldwide intensive horticultural cultivation of plants and its interactions with other organisms. Potentially changing climates will have considerable impact upon horticultural processes and productivity across the globe . Climate change will alter the growth patterns and capabilities for flowering and fruiting of many perennial and annual horticultural plants. In some regions perennial fruit crops are likely to experience substantial difficulties because of altered seasonal conditions affecting dormancy, acclimation and subsequent flowering and fruiting. Elsewhere these crops may benefit from the effects of climate change as a result of reduced cold damage and increased length of the growing season. There will be considerable effects for aerial and edaphic microbes invertebrate and vertebrate animals which have benign and pathogenic interactions with horticultural plants. Microbial activity and as a consequence soil fertility may alter. New pests and pathogens may become prevalent and damaging in areas where the climate previously excluded their activity. Vital resources such as water and nutrients may become scarce in some regions reducing opportunities for growing horticultural crops. Wind and windiness are significant factors governing the success of horticultural plants and the scale of their impacts may change as climate alters. Damaging winds could limit crop growing in areas where previously it flourished. Forms of macro- and micro-landscaping will change as the spectrum of plants which can be cultivated alters and the availability of resources and their cost changes driven by scarcities brought about by climate change. The horticultural economy of India as it may be affected by climate change is described as an individual example in a detailed study.

Distribution analysis of the putative cancer marker S100A4 across invasive squamous cell carcinoma penile tissue

MS-based proteomic methods were utilised for the first time in the discovery of novel penile cancer biomarkers. MALDI MS imaging was used to obtain the in situ biomolecular MS profile of squamous cell carcinoma of the penis which was then compared to benign epithelial MS profiles. Spectra from cancerous and benign tissue areas were examined to identify MS peaks that best distinguished normal epithelial cells from invasive squamous epithelial cells, providing crucial evidence to suggest S100A4 to be differentially expressed. Verification by immunohistochemistry resulted in positive staining for S100A4 in a sub-population of invasive but not benign epithelial cells.

Aluminium and the human breast

The human population is exposed to aluminium (Al) from diet, antacids and vaccine adjuvants, but frequent application of Al-based salts to the underarm as antiperspirant adds a high additional exposure directly to the local area of the human breast. Coincidentally the upper outer quadrant of the breast is where there is also a disproportionately high incidence of breast cysts and breast cancer. Al has been measured in human breast tissues/fluids at higher levels than in blood, and experimental evidence suggests that at physiologically relevant concentrations, Al can adversely impact on human breast epithelial cell biology. Gross cystic breast disease is the most common benign disorder of the breast and evidence is presented that Al may be a causative factor in formation of breast cysts. Evidence is also reviewed that Al can enable the development of multiple hallmarks associated with cancer in breast cells, in particular that it can cause genomic instability and inappropriate proliferation in human breast epithelial cells, and can increase migration and invasion of human breast cancer cells. In addition, Al is a metalloestrogen and oestrogen is a risk factor for breast cancer known to influence multiple hallmarks. The microenvironment is established as another determinant of breast cancer development and Al has been shown to cause adverse alterations to the breast microenvironment. If current useage patterns of Al-based antiperspirant salts contribute to causation of breast cysts and breast cancer, then reduction in exposure would offer a strategy for prevention, and regulatory review is now justified.