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Step Closer (step + closer)
Selected AbstractsIntegrating Biosensors and Drug Delivery: A Step Closer Toward Scalable Responsive Drug-Delivery SystemsADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 6 2009Han-Kuan Anthony Tsai A miniature biosensor immobilized on the backside of a gold lid is protected inside a microfabricated vial. To activate the protected biosensor, the conjugated polymer/gold lid is opened by the application of 800,mV. Both independent sensing and drug delivery from the microvalves are demonstrated. [source] Application of Raman spectroscopy for cervical dysplasia diagnosisJOURNAL OF BIOPHOTONICS, Issue 1-2 2009Elizabeth M. Kanter Abstract Cervical cancer is the second most common malignancy among women worldwide, with over 490 000 cases diagnosed and 274 000 deaths each year. Although current screening methods have dramatically reduced cervical cancer incidence and mortality in developed countries, a "See and Treat" method would be preferred, especially in developing countries. Results from our previous work have suggested that Raman spectroscopy can be used to detect cervical precancers; however, with a classification accuracy of 88%, it was not clinically applicable. In this paper, we describe how incorporating a woman's hormonal status, particularly the point in menstrual cycle and menopausal state, into our previously developed classification algorithm improves the accuracy of our method to 94%. The results of this paper bring Raman spectroscopy one step closer to being utilized in a clinical setting to diagnose cervical dysplasia. (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Perspective: Masculinized dominant females in a cooperatively breeding species, a case of cross-sexual transfer?MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 7 2007ELLEN D. KETTERSON This issue of Molecular Ecology includes an exciting article by Aubin-Horth et al. in which they examine behaviour, hormone levels, and gene expression in dominant and subordinate male and female cichlid fishes of the African species Neolamprologus pulcher. Their fascinating experiments take us one important step closer to an understanding of one of life's persistent mysteries: why males differ from females and how such differences develop and evolve. [source] Annotation: Deconstructing the attention deficit in fragile X syndrome: a developmental neuropsychological approachTHE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 6 2004K.M. Cornish Background:, Fragile X syndrome is one of the world's leading hereditary causes of developmental delay in males. The past decade has witnessed an explosion of research that has begun to unravel the condition at its various levels: from the genetic and brain levels to the cognitive level, and then to the environmental and behavioural levels. Our aim in this review is to attempt to integrate some of the extensive body of knowledge to move the research a step closer to understanding how the dynamics of atypical development can influence the specific cognitive and behavioural end-states frequently observed in children and adolescents with fragile X syndrome. Methods:, We conducted a review of the current neuropsychological and neuropsychiatric approaches that have attempted to delineate the pattern of ,spared' and ,impaired' functions associated with the phenotype. Results:, The profile of findings suggests that fragile X syndrome should not be viewed merely as a catalogue of spared and impaired cognitive functions or modules. Instead, there appears to be a process of almost gradual modularisation whereby cognitive mechanisms become domain specific as a function of development itself (Karmiloff-Smith, 1992). The results of a decade of intense research point towards an early weakness in one or more components of executive control rather than single, static higher-level deficits (e.g., spatial cognition, speech processing). This weakness affects both the development of more complex functions and current performance. Conclusions:, The prevailing tendency to interpret developmental disorders in terms of fixed damage to distinct modular functions needs to be reconsidered. We offer this review as an example of an alternative approach, attempting to identify an initial deficit and its consequences for the course of development. Through better definition of the cognitive and behavioural phenotype, in combination with current progress in brain imaging techniques and molecular studies, the next decade should continue to hold exciting promise for fragile X syndrome and other neurodevelopmental disorders. [source] Biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease and exercise: One step closer to preventionANNALS OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 3 2010Yaffe Kristine MD No abstract is available for this article. [source] Systems biology and its application to the understanding of neurological diseases,ANNALS OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 2 2009Pablo Villoslada MD Recent advances in molecular biology, neurobiology, genetics, and imaging have demonstrated important insights about the nature of neurological diseases. However, a comprehensive understanding of their pathogenesis is still lacking. Although reductionism has been successful in enumerating and characterizing the components of most living organisms, it has failed to generate knowledge on how these components interact in complex arrangements to allow and sustain two of the most fundamental properties of the organism as a whole: its fitness, also termed its robustness, and its capacity to evolve. Systems biology complements the classic reductionist approaches in the biomedical sciences by enabling integration of available molecular, physiological, and clinical information in the context of a quantitative framework typically used by engineers. Systems biology employs tools developed in physics and mathematics such as nonlinear dynamics, control theory, and modeling of dynamic systems. The main goal of a systems approach to biology is to solve questions related to the complexity of living systems such as the brain, which cannot be reconciled solely with the currently available tools of molecular biology and genomics. As an example of the utility of this systems biological approach, network-based analyses of genes involved in hereditary ataxias have demonstrated a set of pathways related to RNA splicing, a novel pathogenic mechanism for these diseases. Network-based analysis is also challenging the current nosology of neurological diseases. This new knowledge will contribute to the development of patient-specific therapeutic approaches, bringing the paradigm of personalized medicine one step closer to reality. Ann Neurol 2009;65:124,139 [source] NT move brings national ban on cosmetic tail docking a step closerAUSTRALIAN VETERINARY JOURNAL, Issue 6 2003Article first published online: 10 MAR 200 No abstract is available for this article. [source] Tail docking ban inches a step closerAUSTRALIAN VETERINARY JOURNAL, Issue 5 2003Article first published online: 10 MAR 200 No abstract is available for this article. [source] Photodynamic therapy: novel third-generation photosensitizers one step closer?BRITISH JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY, Issue 1 2008L B Josefsen Photodynamic sensitizers are drugs activated by light of a specific wavelength and are used in the photodynamic therapy (PDT) of certain diseases. Second- and third-generation photosensitizers with improved PDT properties are now under investigation. In this issue of the British Journal of Pharmacology, Leung et al. have described the synthesis and investigation of a second-generation photosensitizer (BAM-SiPc) targeted towards the cells of HepG2 and HT29 tumours. BAM-SiPc is selectively functionalized with bis-amino groups and has demonstrated potent PDT activity in a small animal model. However, it also exhibited non-selective distribution and accumulation in multiple animal (small mouse) organs and tissue. These issues highlight the importance and need for good biodistribution and localization properties for an efficacious photosensitizer. The lack of tumour specificity may have a significant impact on the potential BAM-SiPc has in clinical PDT. [source] PTEN: a promising pharmacological target to enhance epithelial wound healingBRITISH JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY, Issue 8 2007M Zhao PI3Ks (phosphoinositide-3 kinases) produce PIP3 (phosphatidylinositol(3,4,5)-trisphosphate) which mediates signals for cell survival and proliferation. The tumour suppressor PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homologue) dephosphorylates PIP3 and is a key negative regulator of PI3K signalling. Recent research highlighted important roles for PI3K/PTEN in cell polarization and directional cell migration, pointing to a significant role for PTEN in wound healing where spatially organized tissue growth is essential. Lai et al. (in this issue of British Journal of Pharmacology) have moved a step closer in utilizing PTEN for wound healing through pharmacological inhibition. Two vanadium derivative inhibitors targeting PTEN significantly elevated the level of phosphorylated Akt (protein kinase B) and nearly doubled the wound healing rate in monolayer cultures of lung and airway epithelial cells. Damage to airway and lung epithelia underlies a wide spectrum of significant clinical conditions. With further experiments, this promising approach may find potential clinical use in situations where enhanced wound healing of pulmonary and other epithelia is important. British Journal of Pharmacology (2007) 152, 1141,1144; doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0707503; published online 8 October 2007 [source] Orthogonally Self-Assembled Multifunctional Block CopolymersCHEMISTRY - A EUROPEAN JOURNAL, Issue 44 2009Ashootosh Abstract We report the synthesis of telechelic poly(norbornene) and poly(cyclooctene) homopolymers by ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) and their subsequent functionalization and block copolymer formation based on noncovalent interactions. Whereas all the poly(norbornene)s contain either a metal complex or a hydrogen-bonding moiety along the polymer side-chains, together with a single hydrogen-bonding-based molecular recognition moiety at one terminal end of the polymer chain. These homopolymers allow for the formation of side-chain-functionalized AB and ABA block copolymers through self-assembly. The orthogonal natures of all side- and main-chain self-assembly events were demonstrated by 1H,NMR spectroscopy and isothermal titration calorimetry. The resulting fully functionalized block copolymers are the first copolymers combining both side- and main-chain self-assembly, thereby providing a high degree of control over copolymer functionalization and architecture and bringing synthetic materials one step closer to the dynamic self-assembly structures found in nature. [source] Urinary F2 -isoprostane metabolite analysis: a step closer to obtaining a reliable measure of oxidative stress?CLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL ALLERGY, Issue 3 2001Frank J. Kelly [source] | ||||||||||