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BACKGROUND: Peanut is a significant source of nutrition and a valuable oilseed crop. It is also a serious allergy source, which poses a threat to 1.1% of the population. This study aimed to screen lactic acid bacteria (LAB) with the capacity to alleviate peanut allergenicity and exhibit anti‐allergic properties. RESULT: The results show that LAB can make use of substances in peanuts to reduce the pH of peanut milk from 6.603 to 3.593–4.500 by acid production and that it can utilize the protein in peanuts to reduce the allergenic content (especially Ara h 1) and improve biological activity in peanut pulp. The content of Ara h 1 peanut‐sensitizing protein was reduced by 74.65% after fermentation. The protein extracted from fermented peanut pulp is more readily digestible by gastrointestinal juices. The inhibitory activity assay of hyaluronidase (an enzyme with strong correlation to allergy) increased from 46.65% to a maximum of 90.57% to reveal that LAB fermentation of peanut pulp exhibited a robust anti‐allergic response. CONCLUSION: The strains identified in this study exhibited the ability to mitigate peanut allergenicity partially and to possess potential anti‐allergic properties. Lactobacillus plantarum P1 and Lactobacillus salivarius C24 were identified as the most promising strains and were selected for further research. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An examination of late Rorty shows that he does not abandon belief in an external world about which we can, and indeed must, acquire knowledge. His disapproval of the correspondence theory of truth does not involve the idea that anything other than local weather, for example, could falsify remarks about local weather. It is just that once we get done looking out the window or, if we are outside, feeling the right kind of drops make contact with our skin, there is nothing else we can do, nothing better, to make ourselves more certain, more cognitively secure. One can see this in the detailed work that enables scientific progress. Science improves itself by doing more of the same. G. E. Moore's famous open question stays open only as a reminder that our fallibility never disappears and that our cognitive security is never better than pro tem. Rorty, as a faithful pragmatist and undogmatic meliorist, thinks this is perfectly O.K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Guidelines recommend nursing home (NH) residents with cognitive impairment receive less intensive glycemic treatment and less frequent fingerstick monitoring. Our objective was to determine whether current practice aligns with guideline recommendations by examining fingerstick frequency in Veterans Affairs (VA) NH residents with diabetes across cognitive impairment levels. Methods: We identified VA NH residents with diabetes aged ≥65 residing in VA NHs for >30 days between 2016 and 2019. Residents were grouped by cognitive impairment status based on the Cognitive Function Scale: cognitively intact, mild impairment, moderate impairment, and severe impairment. We also categorized residents into mutually exclusive glucose‐lowering medication (GLM) categories: (1) no GLMs, (2) metformin only, (3) sulfonylureas/other GLMs (+/− metformin but no insulin), (4) long‐acting insulin (+/− oral/other GLMs but no short‐acting insulin), and (5) any short‐acting insulin. Our outcome was mean daily fingersticks on day 31 of NH admission. Results: Among 13,637 NH residents, mean age was 75 years and mean hemoglobin A1c was 7.0%. The percentage of NH residents on short‐acting insulin varied by cognitive status from 22.7% in residents with severe cognitive impairment to 33.9% in residents who were cognitively intact. Mean daily fingersticks overall on day 31 was 1.50 (standard deviation = 1.73). There was a greater range in mean fingersticks across GLM categories compared to cognitive status. Fingersticks ranged widely across GLM categories from 0.39 per day (no GLMs) to 3.08 (short‐acting insulin), while fingersticks ranged slightly across levels of cognitive impairment from 1.11 (severe cognitive impairment) to 1.59 (cognitively intact). Conclusion: NH residents receive frequent fingersticks regardless of level of cognitive impairment, suggesting that cognitive status is a minor consideration in monitoring decisions. Future studies should determine whether decreasing fingersticks in NH residents with moderate/severe cognitive impairment can reduce burdens without compromising safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This editorial comments on the article by Gaussoin et al. in this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The Folin‐Ciocalteu reagent (FCR) assay is a reliable and robust, in vitro measure of antioxidant capacity (AOC) of foods but in winemaking its use has generally been confined to measuring total phenolics. However, the contributions of non‐phenolics and sulphites, and total AOC are also of interest for winemaking process control and human health functionality. Accordingly, we adapted the FCR assay and evaluated it with a range of wines made from grapes and other fruits, viz. peach, Chinese quince, blueberry, bayberry and red dragon fruit. The novel protocol avoided recognised interferences and revealed a wide variation among the wines in the contributions of phenolics, non‐phenolics and sulphites to their total AOC. Of the fruit‐derived antioxidants, phenolics accounted for 67.7–98.9% and non‐phenolics, 1.0–26.0% of the AOC, respectively. Direct reaction of sulphites with FCR accounted for 0.1–10.6% of the AOC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study examines the histological findings of tracheal tissue samples obtained from COVID‐19 positive mechanically ventilated patients, to assess the degree of tracheal inflammation/ulceration present. Design and participants: Retrospective single‐centre observational cohort study. All patients admitted to Adult Intensive Care Unit (AICU) with COVID‐19 infection, requiring mechanical ventilation and surgical tracheostomy between 1 April and 1 May 2020, were included (Group 1). Tracheal windows excised at tracheostomy underwent histological analysis. Comparison was made with: tracheal windows from COVID‐19 positive AICU ventilated patients admitted between 1 January and 1 March 2021 (Group 2); tracheal windows from COVID‐19 negative AICU ventilated patients (Group 3); and, tracheal autopsy samples from COVID‐19 positive patients that died without undergoing prolonged mechanical ventilation (Group 4). Results: Group 1 demonstrated mild/moderate inflammation (tracheitis) in nearly all samples (15/16, 93.8%), with infrequent micro‐ulceration (2/16, 12.5%). Group 2 demonstrated similar mild/moderate inflammation in all samples (17/17, 100%), with no ulceration. Histological findings of Groups 1 and 2 COVID‐19 positive patients were similar to Group 3 COVID‐19 negative patients, which demonstrated mild/moderate inflammation (5/5, 100%), with uncommon superficial erosion (1/5, 20%). Group 4 demonstrated mild chronic inflammation or no significant inflammation, with uncommon micro‐ulceration (1/4, 25%). Conclusions: Severe tracheal inflammation was not demonstrated in mechanically ventilated COVID‐19 positive patients at the level of the second/third tracheal rings, at the stage of disease patients underwent tracheostomy. Histological findings were similar between mechanically ventilated COVID‐19 positive and negative patients. Tracheal ulceration may be a feature of early or severe COVID‐19 disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protein synthesis is one of the most essential processes in every kingdom of life, and its dysregulation is a known driving force in cancer development. Multiple signaling pathways converge on the translation initiation machinery, and this plays a crucial role in regulating differential gene expression. In colorectal cancer, dysregulation of initiation results in translational reprogramming, which promotes the selective translation of mRNAs required for many oncogenic processes. The majority of upstream mutations found in colorectal cancer, including alterations in the WNT, MAPK, and PI3K\AKT pathways, have been demonstrated to play a significant role in translational reprogramming. Many translation initiation factors are also known to be dysregulated, resulting in translational reprogramming during tumor initiation and/or maintenance. In this review, we outline the role of translational reprogramming that occurs during colorectal cancer development and progression and highlight some of the most critical factors affecting the etiology of this disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The majority of colorectal cancer is diagnosed in people aged >65 years, yet the elderly are less likely to undergo curative surgery. Chronological age is poorly correlated with post-operative outcomes and is not an acceptable measure of risk. Conversely, frailty is a strong predictor of poor post-operative outcomes and presents an opportunity for optimisation. This systematic review aims to assess the evidence between frailty and outcomes in patients of all ages undergoing colorectal cancer resections and to compare the predictive value of frailty status to that of age alone. Methods: The review was registered on Prospero, CRD42019150542. PubMed was searched for articles reporting outcomes for frail patients undergoing elective or emergency colorectal cancer resection up until August 2019. All studies reporting outcomes in frail patients were deemed eligible for inclusion and assessed according to the PRISMA guidelines. Results: Of the 143 identified studies, 17 were eligible for inclusion. Study type, frailty assessments and outcomes measured were highly variable. ‘Frailty’ was associated with significantly higher rates of post-operative complications (7/7 studies), post-operative mortality (5/7 studies), readmission (3/4 studies) and length of stay (3/3 studies). Seven of 11 studies reported no association between age and adverse outcomes. Conclusion: Frailty is a predictor of poor clinical outcomes in patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer. Standardisation of frailty assessment and outcome measure is needed. Accurate risk stratification of patients will allow us to make informed treatment decisions, identify patients who may benefit from preoperative intervention and tailor post-operative care. Introduction [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the effect of drought on plant communities and their associated ecosystem functions is well studied, little research has considered how responses are modified by soil depth and depth heterogeneity. We conducted a mesocosm study comprising shallow and deep soils, and variable and uniform soil depths, and two levels of plant community composition, and exposed them to a simulated drought to test for interactive effects of these treatments on the resilience of carbon dioxide fluxes, plant functional traits, and soil chemical properties. We tested the hypotheses that: (a) shallow and variable depth soils lead to increased resistance and resilience of ecosystem functions to drought due to more exploitative plant trait strategies; (b) plant communities associated with intensively managed high fertility soils, will have more exploitative root traits than extensively managed, lower fertility plant communities. These traits will be associated with higher resistance and resilience to drought and may interact with soil depth and depth heterogeneity to amplify the effects on ecosystem functions. Our results showed that while there were strong soil depth/heterogeneity effects on plant‐driven carbon fluxes, it did not affect resistance or resilience to drought, and there were no treatment effects on plant‐available carbon or nitrogen. We did observe a significant increase in exploitative root traits in shallow and variable soils relative to deep and uniform, which may have resulted in a compensation effect which led to the similar drought responses. Plant community compositions representative of intensive management were more drought resilient than more diverse "extensive" communities irrespective of soil depth or soil depth heterogeneity. In intensively managed plant communities, root traits were more representative of exploitative strategies. Taken together, our results suggest that reorganization of root traits in response to soil depth could buffer drought effects on ecosystem functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to identify the locations and harvest months in Guizhou province, China, producing the most suitable red dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus) for winemaking. Fruit from Guanling, Luodian and Zhenfeng counties was harvested separately from successive fruit cycles in August, September and October, respectively. The key traits measured were fruit weight, pulp yield, soluble solids content, and titratable acid. Wine characteristics measured were alcohol content, total carbohydrates, titratable acidity, volatile acidity, and betacyanin content. The overall suitability of fruit from each location for winemaking was evaluated using a multi‐factor, unweighted, scorecard. On that basis, fruit from Guanling county harvested in August was the most suitable. Fruit from Luodian, and Zhenfeng was most suitable when harvested in August and September, and September, respectively. These results provide a preliminary guide for the sourcing of red dragon fruit from Guizhou for wine production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the article, the author examines the concepts of Professor Rowland Stout on belief and desire. Also cited are Stout's books "Things That Happen Because They Should" and "The Inner Life of a Rational Agent," Stout's views on behaviorism, and other topics like self-knowledge, self-deception, the concept of knowledge, and Stout's proposition that action involves knowledge.

A literary criticism of the book "On Criticism" by Noel Carrol is presented. It offered as a philosophy of criticism, an attempt to reconstruct rationally the practice of art criticism. It mentions Carroll’s critic which sound like a teacher of art or music appreciation addressing students. It also mentions Carroll’s views on work of art which is the achievement of the artist.

The article offers information on British philosopher Michael Dummett's constructivist alternative. Topics include, relation of truth to the recognition of truth is the fundamental problem of the theory of meaning or of metaphysics; exploration of the constructivist alternative to realist theories of meaning and truth; and Dummett's philosophical motivation seems to lie in the fallowing.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between self‐reported vision impairment (VI), hearing impairment (HI), and dual‐sensory impairment (DSI), stratified by dementia status, on hospital admissions, hospice use, and healthcare costs. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis. SETTING: Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey from 1999 to 2006. PARTICIPANTS: Rotating panel of community‐dwelling Medicare beneficiaries, aged 65 years and older (N = 24 009). MEASUREMENTS: VI and HI were ascertained by self‐report. Dementia status was determined by self‐report or diagnosis codes in claims data. Primary outcomes included any inpatient admission over a 2‐year period, hospice use over a 2‐year period, annual Medicare fee‐for‐service costs, and total healthcare costs (which included information from Medicare claims data and other self‐reported payments). RESULTS: Self‐reported DSI was present in 30.2% (n = 263/871) of participants with dementia and 17.8% (n = 4112/23 138) of participants without dementia. In multivariable logistic regression models, HI, VI, or DSI was generally associated with increased odds of hospitalization and hospice use regardless of dementia status. In a generalized linear model adjusted for demographics, annual total healthcare costs were greater for those with DSI and dementia compared to those with DSI without dementia ($28 875 vs $3340, respectively). Presence of any sensory impairment was generally associated with higher healthcare costs. In a model adjusted for demographics, Medicaid status, and chronic medical conditions, DSI compared with no sensory impairment was associated with a small, but statistically significant, difference in total healthcare spending in those without dementia ($1151 vs $1056; P < .001) but not in those with dementia ($11 303 vs $10 466; P = .395). CONCLUSION: Older adults with sensory and cognitive impairments constitute a particularly prevalent and vulnerable population who are at increased risk of hospitalization and contribute to higher healthcare spending. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:1617–1624, 2019 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on philosopher Arthur Danto and his early work. Topics discussed include the book "Analytical Philosophy of Knowledge" by Danto, where he explains the concept of knowledge; the elements of perseverance effect in the works of Danto; and the works of philosopher John Dewey.

A literary criticism of the books "The Knowledge Illusion: Why We Never Think Alone" by Steven Sloman and Philip Fernbach, "Denying to the Grave: Why We Ignore the Facts That Will Save Us" by Sara E. Gorman and Jack M. Gorman, and "The Enigma of Reason" by Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber is presented. Topics include rationality, the concept of knowledge, and individual intelligence.

ABSTRACT The evolution of floral morphology in the monocot order Zingiberales shows a trend in which androecial whorl organs are progressively modified into variously conspicuous 'petaloid' structures with differing degrees of fertility. Petaloidy of androecial members results from extensive laminarization of an otherwise radially symmetric structure. The genetic basis of the laminarization of androecial members has been addressed through recent candidate gene studies focused on understanding the spatiotemporal expression patterns of genes known to be necessary to floral organ formation. Here, we explore the correlation between gene duplication events and floral and inflorescence morphological diversification across the Zingiberales by inferring ancestral character states and gene copy number using the most widely accepted phylogenetic hypotheses. Our results suggest that the duplication and differential loss of GLOBOSA (GLO) copies is correlated with a change in the degree of the laminarization of androecial members. We also find an association with increased diversification in most families. We hypothesize that retention of paralogs in flower development genes could have led to a developmental shift affecting androecial organs with potential adaptive consequences, thus favoring diversification in some lineages but not others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented on two leading economic books such as "Phishing for Phools: The Economics of Manipulation and Deception," by Akerlof and Shiller and "Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics," by Thaler. It mentions the perjorative concept of misbehaving, the idealized model of economic theory, and the behavioral economics.

The author comments on two ideas presented by author Saul Kripke in his book "Reference and Existence." He discussed the non-existence of unicorns and the impossibility of their existence as medieval stories do not tell about the internal structure of a unicorn and that it is a hypothetical mythical species as argued by Kripke. He analyzes two passages from the book "Reference and Existence" which he views demonstrate skepticism and describes Kripke's existential quantification point of view.

The article discusses the Baruch Spinoza's perspective on contemporary social and economic reality, a topic receiving great attention from Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) director of research Frederic Lordon. Topics discussed include Lordon's preference for Spinoza's metaphysically grandiose naturalism over contemporary physicalism and the significant influence of money on modern society.

Background Eccrine porocarcinoma ( EPC) is a rare malignant tumor of the eccrine sweat gland. It is a potentially fatal neoplasm that is locally aggressive and commonly recurs. Wide surgical excision has traditionally been the treatment of choice and is curative in approximately 70-80% of cases. The disease is metastatic to lymph nodes and distant sites in 20% and 10% of cases, respectively. Metastatic EPC has not shown any great response to adjuvant chemotherapy or radiation. Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Mohs micrographic surgery ( MMS) for EPC as an alternative to wide local excision. Methods Five patients diagnosed with EPS between 2011 and 2014 at the University of Louisville and treated with MMS were studied. Recurrence-free periods subsequent to the treatment of EPC with MMS were measured. Results The five patients with EPC treated by MMS remained recurrence-free for a mean of 11 months (range: 2-26 months). Conclusions Mohs micrographic surgery is a highly effective treatment for EPC. Given the high rate of recurrence, propensity for lymph node metastases, and the often ineffective options for treating advanced disease, MMS should be considered in the treatment of all cases of EPC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to characterize stem and progenitor cell populations from the equine superficial digital flexor tendon, an energy-storing tendon with similarities to the human Achilles tendon, which is frequently injured. Using published methods for the isolation of tendon-derived stem/progenitor cells by low-density plating we found that isolated cells possessed clonogenicity but were unable to fully differentiate towards mesenchymal lineages using trilineage differentiation assays. In particular, adipogenic differentiation appeared to be restricted, as assessed by Oil Red O staining of stem/progenitor cells cultured in adipogenic medium. We then assessed whether differential adhesion to fibronectin substrates could be used to isolate a population of cells with broader differentiation potential. However we found little difference in the stem and tenogenic gene expression profile of these cells as compared to tenocytes, although the expression of thrombospondin-4 was significantly reduced in hypoxic conditions. Tendon-derived stem/progenitor cells isolated by differential adhesion to fibronectin had a similar differentiation potential to cells isolated by low density plating, and when grown in either normoxic or hypoxic conditions. In summary, we have found a restricted differentiation potential of cells isolated from the equine superficial digital flexor tendon despite evidence for stem/progenitor-like characteristics. © 2015 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 33:849-858, 2015. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nonsurgical toolbox is practically empty by the time an allergy patient reaches the otolaryngology clinic. [Extracted from the article]

An essay is presented which examines the philosophical study of metaphysics from the viewpoint of metaphysician E. J. Lowe. Topics discussed include an overview of metaphysics, the difficulties encountered in the teaching of philosophy and an analysis of the concept of "person" or "self" as presented by Lowe. Also explored are Lowe's indeterminism and dualism.

A literary criticism of the fifth edition of the book "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) is presented. Topics covered include the diagnosis and treatment of metal disorders, the state of psychiatric practice and the relationship between clinical medicine and psychiatry. Also discussed is the classification of different mental disorders such as social anxiety disorders.

The article observes that philosophers often wonder exactly what they are doing and whether it is worth doing. It argues that philosophy goes on being useful because there is always a supply of new persons who need its help. It also offers a review of the book "Reality: A Very Short Introduction," by Jan Westernhoff and the 1996 paper "Plato's Euthyphro," by Peter Geach.

The article discusses a growing literature on the wrong way to form desires or preferences which Jon Elster has discussed like such things as adaptive preference formation, counteradaptive preference formation and conformism. It points out that preferences provide reasons whether they are motivated or not and people with peculiar preferences would explain their actions. It refers to Pierre Bourdieu who provides a highly developed account of how agency is actually exercised.

The article reviews the book "What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets," by Michael J. Sandel.

The article discusses whether being interested and being bored are in particular uncriticizable states of mind. It attempts to say something about the interesting, the boring and the beautiful that fights a kind of casual and unreflective relativism of value. It suggests to live an interesting life surrounded by interesting people and things.

An Agrobacterium tumefaciens -mediated transformation (ATMT) system was successfully developed for Colletotrichum truncatum, the causal agent of chili anthracnose. A. tumefaciens carrying a hygromycin phosphotransferase gene ( hph) and a green fluorescent protein ( gfp) gene was used to transform the conidiospores of two C. truncatum pathotypes F8-3B and BRIP26974. Optimum transformation efficiency was obtained when equal volumes of A. tumefaciens strain AGL1 carrying either pJF1 or pPK2 binary vector was used to transform C. truncatum conidiospores at 106/ml and co-cultivated at 24 °C for three days. Southern blot analysis indicated that 87.5% of the transformants contained randomly inserted, single copies of the T-DNA. Infection and colonisation of chili fruit at the mature red stage with F8-3B-GFP and BRIP26974-GFP confirmed the maintenance of virulence within these transformed pathotypes. In situ studies of infection and colonisation of the susceptible genotype fruit using fluorescent microscopy and transformed isolates of C. truncatum expressing GFP revealed that the pathogen was able to colonise healthy fruit tissue intercellularly in an endophytic manner without producing secondary biotrophic infection structures. The developed transformation system will be used to study the function of pathogenicity genes in C. truncatum using both forward and reverse genetics approaches. (© 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relative size of religious groups or denominations within societies or nations influences variation in the extent to which group members psychologically identify with their religion. National-level census data measuring the proportional size of religious groups in New Zealand are merged with nationally representative data on self-reported psychological identification drawn from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study. A multilevel random coefficient model shows a logarithmic function for the relationship between religious group size and average group-level religious identification. Members of smaller religious groups (less than 1.5 percent of the population) tend to strongly identify with their religion, whereas members of groups that are larger in size (over 6 percent of the population) tend to be less identified, on average. Religious group cohesion may be a dynamic process. Larger religious groups are less cohesive and experience more contested identities and ideological positions (average group identification is lower). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New Zealand society is unique in that New Zealanders of European descent (the majority group) are regularly labeled in institutional and popular discourse using an ethnic group label created by Māori (the indigenous minority group). This label is 'Pākehā.' Endorsement of this label is by no means consensual, and opposition to its use is often claimed on the grounds that the term is pejorative. We tested the validity of this concern in a national sample (N = 6,507) by assessing differences in the ingroup and outgroup evaluations of Māori and New Zealanders of European descent based on their label preferences. We found no support for the claim that the term 'Pākehā' is associated with a negative evaluation of the majority group. Rather, Māori expressed positive attitudes toward New Zealanders of European descent regardless of the label they preferred to describe them. For Māori, use of the term 'Pākehā' was instead indicative of ingroup cultural engagement, including the use of Māori language, and had little to do with outgroup attitudes. New Zealanders of European descent who preferred the term 'Pākehā,' in contrast, expressed more positive attitudes toward Māori than those who preferred the terms 'New Zealand European,''New Zealander,' or 'Kiwi.' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fetal wounds can heal without scarring. There is evidence that the sensory nervous system plays a role in mediating inflammation and healing, and that the reinnervation pattern of adult wounds differs from that of unwounded skin. Ectoderm is required for development of the cutaneous nerve plexus in early gestation. It was hypothesised that scarless fetal wounds might completely regenerate their neural and vascular architecture. Wounds were made on mouse fetuses at embryonic day 16.5 of a 19.5-day gestation, which healed without visible scars. Immunohistochemical analysis of wound sites was performed to assess reinnervation, using antibodies to the pan neuronal marker PGP9.5 as well as to the neuropeptides calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and substance P (SP). Staining for the endothelial marker von Willebrand factor (VWF) allowed comparison of reinnervation and revascularisation. Wounds were harvested at timepoints from day 1 after wounding to postnatal day 6. Quantification of wound reinnervation and revascularisation was performed for timepoints up to 6 days post-wounding. Hypervascularisation of the wounds occurred within 24 h, and blood vessel density within the wounds remained significantly elevated until postnatal day 2 (4 days post- wounding), after which VWF immunoreactivity was similar between wound and control groups. Wound nerve density returned to a level similar to that of unwounded skin within 48 h of wounding, and PGP9.5 immunoreactive nerve fibre density remained similar to control skin thereafter. CGRP and SP immunoreactivity followed a similar pattern to that of PGP9.5, although wound levels did not return to those of control skin until postnatal day 1. Scarless fetal wounds appeared to regenerate their nerve and blood vessel microanatomy perfectly after a period of hypervascularisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arabidopsis seed size is regulated by the IKU pathway that includes IKU2 (a leucine-rich repeat kinase) and MINI3 (a WRKY transcription factor). We report the cloning of the IKU1 ( At2g35230) gene. iku1 mutants cause reduced endosperm growth and the production of small seeds. IKU1 encodes a protein containing a VQ motif, which is a motif specific to plants. IKU1 is expressed in the early endosperm and its progenitor, the central cell. Restoration of IKU1 function in the endosperm is sufficient to rescue seed size. A genomic construct carrying mutations in the VQ motif failed to complement the iku1 mutation, suggesting an essential role for the VQ motif. IKU1 interacts with MINI3 in the yeast two-hybrid system, consistent with an IKU1 function in the IKU-MINI pathway. Our data support the proposition that endosperm development is an important determinant of seed size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A response by James DeAngelis to a review of his book "Ludwig Wittgenstein: A Cultural Point of View," is presented.

Pepper AR, Gall C, Mazzuca DM, Melling CWJ, White DJG. Diabetic rats and mice are resistant to porcine and human insulin: flawed experimental models for testing islet xenografts. Xenotransplantation 2009; 16: 502–510. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Islet transplantation is potentially a promising therapy for the restoration of carbohydrate control to diabetic patients. However, the global application of islet transplantation requires a ubiquitous source of β cells. The xenotransplantation of porcine islets would provide such a source. Success in porcine islet xenografting has been achieved in diabetic primates. However, there are few reports of reversal of diabetes with porcine islet xenografts in rodent models of diabetes, relative to the number of successful rodent experiments performed as allografts. Here we report for the first time the inability of porcine (and human) insulin to control blood glucose levels in diabetic rodents determined by a series of dose escalating studies. Methods: Insulin was administered intravenously to streptozotocin induced diabetic Lewis rats, Balb/c and athymic Balb/c mice (n = 5 per group) at the following doses: Group I “physiological dose” (pd) of 0.16 U/kg for a total dose of 40 mU to a 250 g rat. Group II received 0.64 U/kg (4xpd), group III 1.6 U/kg (10xpd) and group IV 6.4 U/kg (40xpd). Blood glucose levels were monitored in each animal at seven time points: 0 (pre-injection), 10 min, 20 min, 30 min, 45 min, 1 h, 1.5 h, 2 h and 3 h post-injection. Serum insulin levels were also determined. Results: Diabetic Lewis rats achieved a maximum reduction in blood glucose from 22.1 ± 1.8mmol/l to 8.0 ± 3.1 mmol/l (a 63.7% reduction), 90 minutes post-injection of 6.4 U/kg dose of porcine insulin (40xpd). Human insulin was less effective at reducing blood glucose levels in rats than porcine insulin (P < 0.001). Porcine insulin reduced blood glucose levels in Balb/c mice from a mean of 18.2 ± 2.1 mmol/l to a hypoglycemic minimum of 1.26 ± 0.18 mmol/l a reduction of 93.0%, 60 min post-injection of the maximum dose of 6.4 U/kg. Balb/c mice were significantly more responsive to porcine insulin than Lewis rats at doses of 0.64 U/kg (P < 0.001), 1.6 U/kg (P < 0.05) and 6.4 U/kg (P < 0.001). Athymic Balb/c nude mice reached a maximum reduction in blood glucose from 21.6 ± 1.8 mmol/l to 3.6 ± 0.9 mmol/l (a 83.4% reduction) 120 min post-injection at a dose of 6.4 U/kg. Overall, athymic Balb/c nude mice were more resistant to porcine insulin than immunocompetent Balb/c mice at doses of 0.64 U/kg (P < 0.001), 1.6 U/kg (P < 0.001) and 6.4 U/kg (P < 0.05). Insulin diluent alone marginally increased blood glucose levels in all animals tested. Conclusions: Our results suggest that restoration of normoglycemia in diabetic rodents is not ideal for testing porcine islets xenografts since the reversals of diabetes in these species requires 20 to 40 times the dose of porcine insulin used in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the assessment of people's irrationality which is portrayed in the book "Predictably Irrational:The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions," by Dan Ariely. Irrationality is examined within the contexts of philosophy and economics. It discusses how consumers make irrational choices due to decoys, advertising, virtual ownership, and self-herding. It delineates how consumers are lured to irrationality whenever they encounter free goods and services. The association between social norms and rationality are also examined. Several examples that illustrate the irrationality of consumers are also provided.

Many least-wealthy, rural, remote and resource-poor small island communities are unlikely to benefit from high-profile global water improvement initiatives. Their small landmasses, geologic composition, geography, social and technological isolation, colonial history, and weak educational and financial resources constitute significant barriers to improving access to safe drinking water. This paper discusses the relatively unique position of such island societies in the international community, providing a case study of the Federated States of Micronesia that integrates data and information pertaining to water resources management and governance, spanning from the island village to national scale. A vision is offered regarding the interaction between small island human and biophysical water systems, manifesting ways to pursue water resource development to improve public health which are constructed to be economically, physically and culturally sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United States, water conservation-oriented rates (WCOR) are an increasingly vital tool for promoting water conservation and mitigating urban drought. Our models prove that one type of WCOR, drought demand rates (DDR), can produce with minimal regulation the quadruple objectives of conservation rates: (1) improving efficiency; (2) providing revenue neutrality; (3) assuring distributional equity and (4) guaranteeing the conservation of water. We demonstrate that such rates can also reduce days that urban streams drop below ‘critical flow’ levels, providing a voice for nature. Our study is situated in northern New Castle County (NCC), Delaware (DE), USA, and the lessons garnered have relevance for industrialized communities seeking a ‘soft-path’ to drought mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the author's insights regarding Nikola Grahek's book "Feeling Pain and Being in Pain," which depicts the meaning of the word "pain." He discusses the essence of the experience of pain and looks into Nikola Grahek's philosophical view on pain. He provides some characteristics of what an experience is as well as the biological function of pain. Moreover, he examines Grahek's idea which expresses that when you are in pain, you feel it. He also explores the concept of painfulness without pain and masochism.

Three studies examined the ways in which cognitive appraisals of health and the condition of the body use moral discourse derived from Christianity. Study 1 indicated that people explicitly rated health-related behaviors such as exercising and dieting as more pious and less sinful than their negative counterparts. Studies 2 and 3 elaborated upon these results using the Implicit Association Test, a cognitive procedure for examining automatic (or implicit) associations that may exist outside of conscious awareness. Results indicated that people have a strong implicit association between morality and the condition of the body. Furthermore, this implicit association remained significant once potential overlap with standard evaluative terminology was statistically controlled. These results suggest that people implicitly evaluate the condition of the body using moral discourse, and that the use of such rhetoric reflects the cognitive appraisal of obesity as immoral, rather than as simply negative in a standard sense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The amino acid sequences of the heavy- and light-chain variable regions of the high-affinity human sequence antidigoxin monoclonal antibody 1B3 (mAb 1B3) were determined, and a structural model for the mAb's variable region was developed by homology modeling techniques. The structural model provided the basis for computationally docking digoxin and eight related cardiac glycosides into the putative binding site of mAb 1B3. Analysis of the consensus binding mode obtained for digoxin showed that the cardenolide moiety of digoxin is deeply embedded in a predominantly hydrophobic, narrow cavity, whereas the terminal, γ-carbohydrate group is solvent-exposed. The docking results indicated that the primary driving forces for digoxin binding by mAb 1B3 are hydrophobic interactions with the digoxin steroid ring system and hydrogen bonds with the digitoxose groups. The binding model accounts for the experimentally observed variations in mAb 1B3 binding affinity for various structural analogs of digoxin used previously to develop a 3D structure-activity relationship model of drug binding (Farr CD, Tabet MR, Ball WJ Jr, Fishwild DM, Wang X, Nair AC, Welsh WJ. Three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship analysis of ligand binding to human sequence antidigoxin monoclonal antibodies using comparative molecular field analysis. J Med Chem 2002;45:3257-3270). In particular, the hydrogen bond pattern is consistent with the unique sensitivity of mAb 1B3's binding affinity to the number of sugar residues present in a cardiac glycoside. The hydrophobic environment about the steroid moiety of digoxin is compatible with the mAb's reduced affinity for ligands that possess hydrophilic hydroxyl and acetyl group modifications in this region. The model also indicated that most of the amino acid residues in contact with the ligand reside in or about the three complementarity determining regions (CDRs) of the heavy chain and the third CDR of the light chain. A comparison of the 1B3 binding model with the crystal structures of two murine antidigoxin mAbs revealed similar binding patterns used by the three mAbs, such as a high frequency of occurrence of aromatic, hydrophobic residues in the CDRs and a dominant role of the heavy chain CDR3 in antigen binding. Proteins 2005. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]