Fibroblast growth factor,estrogen, and prolactin receptor features in different grades of prostatic adenocarcinoma in elderly men

The objective was to characterize and associate the receptor reactivities of fibroblastic growth factor (FGF)‐2, FGF‐7, FGF‐8, epidermal growth factor (EGF), α‐actin and vimentin in relation to the androgen receptor (AR), α and β estrogen receptors (ERα and ERβ), and prolactin receptor in the prostate of elderly men showing low‐ and high‐grade adenocarcinoma. Thirty prostatic samples were taken from 60‐ to 90‐year‐old patients without prostatic lesions and with low‐grade cancer and high‐grade cancer, from the University Hospital, School of Medicine, the State University of Campinas. The results showed that increased FGF‐2, FGF‐7, and FGF‐8 receptor reactivities and decreased AR reactivity were verified in both high‐ and low‐grade cancer. However, the FGF‐8 receptor showed greater involvement at the beginning of the malignancy alterations. Increased EGF receptor (EGFR) reactivity and diminished α‐actin immunohistochemistry were identified in both cancer groups. Also, increased ERα, PR, and vimentin receptors were verified in both cancer groups. To conclude, the ERα involvement in the reactive stroma activation led to a microenvironment, which was favorable to cancer progression, due to maximizing stromal imbalance. The prolactin could be related to cancer progression due to its interaction with ERα action, indicating that this hormone could be a relevant target to prevent the estrogenic effects in the prostatic lesions. Both FGF receptor (FGFR)‐2 and FGFR‐8 play a fundamental role in the early stages of prostate cancer, suggesting that these molecules could be a promising therapeutic target. The differential localization of the fibroblastic factors between the prostatic epithelium and stroma of elderly men, who presented prostate cancer, could indicate a favorable distinction for tumoral progression. Microsc. Res. Tech. 76:321–330, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

High‐Throughput Miniaturized Screening of Nanoparticle Formation via Inkjet Printing

The self‐assembly of specific polymers into well‐defined nanoparticles (NPs) is of great interest to the pharmaceutical industry as the resultant materials can act as drug delivery vehicles. In this work, a high‐throughput method to screen the ability of polymers to self‐assemble into NPs using a picoliter inkjet printer is presented. By dispensing polymer solutions in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) from the printer into the wells of a 96‐well plate, containing water as an antisolvent, 50 suspensions are screened for nanoparticle formation rapidly using only nanoliters to microliters. A variety of polymer classes are used and in situ characterization of the submicroliter nanosuspensions shows that the particle size distributions match those of nanoparticles made from bulk suspensions. Dispensing organic polymer solutions into well plates via the printer is thus shown to be a reproducible and fast method for screening nanoparticle formation which uses two to three orders of magnitude less material than conventional techniques. Finally, a pilot study for a high‐throughput pipeline of nanoparticle production, physical property characterization, and cytocompatibility demonstrates the feasibility of the printing approach for screening of nanodrug delivery formulations. Nanoparticles are produced in the well plates, characterized for size and evaluated for effects on metabolic activity of lung cancer cells.     

Peaceful,Pleasant and Private: The British Domestic Garden as an Ordinary Landscape

This paper uses narrative accounts of private gardens in Britain from the Mass-Observation Archive (MO) to explore ideas of landscape, privacy and attachment that emerge from daily practices and routines in these ordinary domestic spaces. We argue for the domestic garden as a vernacular or ordinary landscape that displays tensions between the private and the public nature of home within ambivalent emotional responses. Extended personal narratives offer privileged access to a site of intense engagement and carefully guarded privacy, yet with varying levels of attachment. The garden is a space well described in Britain in its public form but less well known as a private, everyday landscape. In this way a cultural landscape study becomes a contemporary critical geography of an ordinary space.     

Technology and independent practice: Survey findings and implications.

Today's rapid rate of technology change introduces both opportunities and challenges for psychologists. A Technology and Practice Questionnaire was sent to 1000 psychologists in independent practice, half of whom were contacted by e-mail and the other half by U.S. mail. A total of 237 of the 433 deliverable surveys sent by U.S. mail were returned (54.7% response rate), but only 49 of the 458 deliverable surveys sent by e-mail (12.9% response rate). Respondents were asked to rate the frequency of 51 behaviors in their practice and to indicate whether the behavior is ethical. The results suggest a relatively low rate of technology use among independent practitioners and a high degree of ethical uncertainty regarding the use of various technologies in practice. Implications for training and practice are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family functioning processes and diabetic ketoacidosis in youths with type I diabetes.

Purpose/Objective: To examine relations between episodes of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and parental warmth, parental negativity, and lack of responsibility for diabetes-related tasks in a sample of youths with Type 1 diabetes (T1D). Research Method/Design: 100 youths with T1D and their caregivers, recruited from an inpatient diabetes unit and an outpatient diabetes clinic, participated. Participants completed disease-specific measures of family functioning (e.g., parental warmth, parent and child perceptions of negativity, family responsibility for diabetes regimen), and medical information (e.g., glycosylated hemoglobin and incidences of DKA) was obtained from medical records. Results: Results showed that higher child perceptions of parental warmth and caring related to the regimen were associated with decreased odds of experiencing a DKA episode. Child reports of higher parental negativity about the regimen were associated with increased odds of experiencing a DKA episode. Reports of who in the family was responsible for the diabetes regimen were not related to episodes of DKA. Conclusions/Implications: Findings suggested that family factors play a significant role in the occurrence or absence of DKA in children's long-term management of diabetes. Future intervention efforts should focus on warmth, caring, and negativity when children and their parents are problem solving and communicating about the diabetes regimen. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)