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The episode of Peter's rescue from prison in Acts 12:5-17 occupies an intriguing position in the narrative of Acts as a whole. Scholars hold differing views on the episode's function. These views range from seeing the episode as a hermeneutical key to the work as a whole to making no discernable difference to the narrative whatsoever. The present article seeks to contribute to the debate by reading Acts 12:5-17 spatially. In paying attention to the various spatial references in the text, the movement of characters, their locales and their own and the reader's experience of them being present or not present, a contrasting structure may be perceived in the text. Furthermore, spatiality helps to point out the contrast between different character groups in the narrative. Some implications for reading the episode in this contrasting fashion will be indicated, and the enigmatic statement about Peter's 'going to another place' (Ac 12:17) will be read against the text's spatial background. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Niacin can effectively treat dyslipidaemic disorders. However, its clinical use is limited due to the cutaneous flushing mediated by the nicotinic acid receptor HCA2. In the current study, we evaluated two partial agonists for HCA2, LUF6281 and LUF6283, with respect to their anti-dyslipidaemic potential and cutaneous flushing effect. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH In vitro potency and efficacy studies with niacin and the two HCA2 partial agonists were performed using HEK293T cells stably expressing human HCA2. Normolipidaemic C57BL/6 mice received either niacin or the HCA2 partial agonists (400 mg·kg−1·day−1) once a day for 4 weeks for evaluation of their effects in vivo. KEY RESULTS Radioligand competitive binding assay showed Ki values for LUF6281 and LUF6283 of 3 and 0.55 µM. [35S]-GTPγS binding revealed the rank order of their potency as niacin > LUF6283 > LUF6281. All three compounds reduced plasma VLDL-triglyceride concentrations similarly, while LUF6281 and LUF6283, in contrast to niacin, did not also exhibit the unwanted flushing side effect in C57BL/6 mice. Niacin reduced the expression of lipolytic genes HSL and ATGL in adipose tissue by 50%, whereas LUF6281 and LUF6283 unexpectedly did not. In contrast, the decrease in VLDL-triglyceride concentration induced by LUF6281 and LUF6283 was associated with a parallel >40% reduced expression of APOB within the liver. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS The current study identifies LUF6281 and LUF6283, two HCA2 partial agonists of the pyrazole class, as promising drug candidates to achieve the beneficial lipid lowering effect of niacin without producing the unwanted flushing side effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The insufficient diagnostic accuracy for differentiation between benign and malignant adrenocortical disease and lack of sensitive markers reflecting tumor load emphasize the need for novel biomarkers for diagnosis and follow-up of adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC). Design: Since the inhibin &agr;-subunit is expressed within the adrenal cortex, the role of serum inhibin pro-&agr;C as a tumor marker for ACC was studied in patients. Methods: Regulation of adrenal pro-&agr;C secretion was investigated by adrenocortical function tests. Serum inhibin pro-&agr;C levels were measured in controls (n=181) and patients with adrenocortical hyperplasia (n=45), adrenocortical adenoma (ADA, n=32), ACC (n=32), or non-cortical tumors (n=12). Steroid hormone, ACTH, and inhibin A and B levels were also estimated in patient subsets. Results: Serum inhibin pro-&agr;C levels increased by 16% after stimulation with ACTH (P=0.043). ACC patients had higher serum inhibin pro-aC levels than controls (medians 733 vs 307 ng/l, P<0.0001) and patients with adrenocortical hyperplasia, ADA, or non-adrenocortical adrenal tumors (148, 208, and 131 ng/l, respectively, P=0.0003). Inhibin pro-&agr;C measurement in ACC patients had a sensitivity of 59% and specificity of 84% for differentiation from ADA patients. Receiver operating characteristic analysis displayed areas under the curve of 0.87 for ACC vs controls and 0.81 for ACC vs ADA (P<0.0001). Surgery or mitotane therapy was followed by a decrease of inhibin pro-&agr;C levels in 10/10 ACC patients tested during follow-up (P=0.0065). Conclusions: Inhibin pro-aC is produced by the adrenal gland. Differentiation between ADA and ACC by serum inhibin pro-aC is limited, but its levels may constitute a novel tumor marker for ACC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We tested the hypothesis that marine non-native fouling species are more abundant than native species on artificial structures, focusing on ascidians and using fouling plates deployed in various Dutch harbors. A more detailed study was conducted in the pleasure craft harbor of Breskens, in the south of The Netherlands, where a species assessment was done of iron harbor walls, wooden pilings, diagonal stone rip-rap dikes, fouling plates, and the inside, outside and underside of the floats of floating docks. Ascidians were found only on the floating structures. Non-native ascidians were not found to be significantly more abundant than native ascidians, however. Solitary and colonial tunicates were compared, assuming that they fundamentally differ in their abilities to occupy space. In general, colonial species like the native Botryllus schlosseri and the non-native Botrylloides violaceus were more abundant on fouling community plates, while solitary ascidians like the native species Ciona intestinalis and Ascidiella aspersa appeared to be more successful later in succession. The inside, outside and underside of a floating dock harboured significantly different species communities. Ascidiella aspersa for example was found significantly more often on the underside than on the inside and outside of the dock floats. When assessing the ascidian species diversity in a harbor it is therefore advised to search several different habitats on floating structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]