Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Cell 'glue' provides cancer insight
| THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND |
The researchers have discovered the signals that prompt proteins to build the 'glue' that binds cells together to form healthy tissues - a process that is interrupted in certain diseases.
Image: BeholdingEye/iStockphoto
University of Queensland researchers have discovered an important step in how proteins glue cells together to form healthy tissues, a process that is often disturbed in diseases such as cancer and inflammation.
Professor Alpha Yap, Dr Aparna Ratheesh and Dr Guillermo Gomez from UQ's Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) led a team that discovered the signals that prompt proteins to build the "glue" that binds cells into tissues. “Cells are the basic building blocks of our body,” Professor Yap said. “Healthy tissues require their component cells to recognise and adhere to one another. “This adhesion is achieved through specialised bundles of proteins whose formation is promoted by a signalling protein called Rho. "You can think of this signal like the conductor of an orchestra, making sure that all the players work together.” Professor Yap and his team studied Rho and discovered a network of proteins that ensure Rho is activated at the correct time. “Many of the proteins in this network have been implicated in cancer, meaning this discovery will provide valuable insights into how healthy tissues are disturbed in disease,” Professor Yap said. It follows the Yap laboratory's 2010 and 2011 discoveries of how adhesion proteins come unstuck inappropriately. The study is published in the current edition of the international scientific journal Nature Cell Biology. This work was financially supported by the Human Frontiers Science Program, the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, the Australian Research Council, and the Oncology Children's Foundation. Confocal microscopy was performed at the IMB's ACRF Cancer Biology Imaging Facility, established with the generous support of the Australian Cancer Research Foundation.
Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.
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Stem cells aid cancer understanding
| THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE |
By being able to identify these stem cells the researchers are hoping to learn more about the role they play in tissue regeneration and cancer.
Image: Henrik5000/iStockphoto
An international team of researchers led by renowned stem cell scientist Professor Martin Pera has discovered a novel marker that plays a vital role in understanding how cancer develops in the liver, pancreas and oesophagus.
The study, published in the journal Stem Cell, adds to our understanding of the role of stem and next-stage progenitor cells in tissue regeneration and cancer diagnosis and treatment. While stem cells are known to reside in organs such as the liver and pancreas, they are difficult to isolate. The new findings show that an antibody the team developed can capture the stem cells. Professor Pera, program leader for Stem Cells Australia and Chair of Stem Cell Sciences at the University of Melbourne, said the antibody was able to detect progenitor cells in disease states such as cirrhosis of the liver, and in cancers such as pancreatic adenocarcinoma and oesophageal carcinoma. “By being able to identify these cells, we hope to learn more about their role in tissue regeneration and in cancer especially in the diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic cancer,” he said. “Cancers of the liver, pancreas and oesophagus are often very difficult to detect and challenging to treat.” The large collaboration of scientists from around the world working on this study evolved over many years with research undertaken in Professor Pera’s laboratories at the then Australian Stem Cell Centre and at the University of Southern California Professor Pera and one of the co-authors on the paper, Dr Kouichi Hasegawa, were recently awarded an Australia-India Strategic Research Fund grant to continue their search for novel markers for liver, pancreatic and gut stem cells. Dr Hasegawa, who recently undertook a three month sabbatical at Stem Cells Australia, holds positions at Kyoto University’s Institute for Integrated Cell-Materials Sciences and at the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at the National Centre for Biological Sciences in Bangalore, India. “This funding will support us to develop more antibodies that can be used to assist in the identification and prospective isolation of stem and progenitor cells in these tissues and lead to the development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic reagents,” said Professor Pera.
Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.
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Effects of Jupiter in different Houses
1st
HOUSE
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GOOD
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Native will be good administrator, fearless, clean hearted, religious, good eye sight.
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BAD
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Jupiter is generally bad up to the age of 14years; father may suffer from asthma, brain disorder.
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REMEDIES
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HE SHOULD RESPECT FEMALES.
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2nd
HOUSE
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GOOD
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Good respect in society, agriculturist, and construction work will be beneficial. Business of woman related things will also be beneficial. Gold and jewels related business will not give good results.
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BAD
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Illness to him and wife and family life will be like hell.
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REMEDIES
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HE SHOULD NOT INSULT GUESTS, BUT SHOULD ENTERTAIN THEM PROPERLY.
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3rd
HOUSE
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GOOD
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Scholar, rich, brave, good health, long life. Takes care of his brothers and sisters.
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BAD
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Coward, unlucky, ill health, friends and enemies will create troubles.
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REMEDIES
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SHOULD NOT INDULGE HIMSELF IN LOOSE TALK, SHOULD ALWAYS DONATE SOMETHING TO GIRL CHILD.
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4th
HOUSE
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GOOD
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Famous like king, lucky, possess spiritual power, stick to religion, always helps others, long life.
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BAD
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Responsible for his own downfall, if he involves in love affair after 34years of age his family will be badly affected.
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REMEDIES
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HE SHOULD RESPECT HIS ELDERS, AVOID RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER WOMEN.
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5th
HOUSE
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GOOD
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Honest, respectable, short tempered
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BAD
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If feeds himself in the name of religion, it will give bad effects such as loss of children.
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REMEDIES
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HE SHOULD AVOID NON-VEG AND EXTRA MARITAL RELATIONS.
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6th
HOUSE
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GOOD
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Saint by nature, gets things without asking for them, selfish, if donates in the name of forefather he will prosper.
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BAD
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Jupiter is generally bad up to the age of 34th years
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REMEDIES
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SHOULD GIVE SWEET BREAD TO DOG. HE SHOULD NOT PET DOG.
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7th
HOUSE
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GOOD
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Wife will be beautiful, helpful and be base of his fortune. He may get son at the age of 45. Physically strong, religious. It is useless to make efforts to earn in abroad.
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BAD
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He may be a criminal or may strive for money and happiness in his old age.
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REMEDIES
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HE SHOULD NOT ADVERTISE RELIGION, SHOULD AVOID COMPANY OF ERRANT SAINT.
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8th
HOUSE
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GOOD
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Good health, long life, life is full enjoyments, spiritual power.
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BAD
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Infamous.
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REMEDIES
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IF GRAND FATHER IS NOT ALIVE THEN HE SHOULD WEAR GOLD AROUND HIS NECK.
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9th
HOUSE
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GOOD
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Man of words, lucky, his elders may be rich and of good character, will not like to take liquor, may be gold smith or jeweler and famous for his abilities.
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BAD
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Poor, opposes religion, does not believe in god.
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REMEDIES
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HE SHOULD RESPECT RELIGION, GO DAILY TO PLACE OF WORSHIP.
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10th
HOUSE
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GOOD
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Self made man, clever, many relationships with females.
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BAD
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Steep up and down, if work honestly, his family will be in all sorts of troubles
| |
REMEDIES
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HE SHOULD CLEAN HIS NOSE BEFORE STARTING ANY THING.
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11th
HOUSE
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GOOD
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Such a person possess all good qualities, leads happy family life if all members are united.
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BAD
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Bad for sister and aunt, his position will deteriorate after his father�s death.
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REMEDIES
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HE SHOULD KEEP HIS PROMISES, HE SHOULD LIVE WITH HIS FAMILY AND HELP THE MEMBERS OF HIS FAMILY, SHOULD AVOID LIQUOR AND NON-VEG.
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12th
HOUSE
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GOOD
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Such a person will do good to evil also, intellectual, saint, yogi. If someone abuses such a person will be trouble and if he praises this person will be benefited.
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BAD
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Though he has long life but bad for others. Problems in child birth, bad deed will be the cause of death.
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REMEDIES
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HE SHOULD PUT MARK OF SAFFRON ON HIS FOREHEAD DAILY. SHOULD KEEP HIS HEAD COVERED, SHOULD NOT WEAR ANY THING AROUND HIS NECK, SHOULD NOT INSULT GURU (TEACHER)
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Asians reluctant to seek help for domestic violence
Asian-American victims of domestic violence rarely seek help from police or health care providers – "an alarming trend" among the fastest-growing racial group in the United States, says a Michigan State University researcher.
While cultural barriers can discourage victims from seeking help, there also is a lack of culturally sensitive services available to them, said Hyunkag Cho, assistant professor of social work.
That can be as simple as a local domestic violence hotline that cannot facilitate calls from Chinese- or Korean-speaking victims due to language barriers. And failing to get help the first time, Cho said, may prevent a victim from trying again.
"Authorities and health care providers need to be equipped with information and resources for adequately addressing the needs of victims of domestic violence among Asians and other racial minorities," Cho said.
According to a recent Pew Research Center report, Asian-Americans are now the fastest growing racial group in the United States, making up 36 percent of all immigrants who arrived in 2010. Latinos were second, at 31 percent.
In his latest research, Cho looked at use of mental health services by Asian-American victims of domestic violence.
In one study, which appears in the research journal Violence Against Women, Cho found that Asian victims used mental health services only 5.3 percent of the time, while Latino victims used them 14.6 percent of the time. Cho used survey data from about 350 victims culled from the National Latino and Asian-American Study.
A second study, based on several national surveys and featured in the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, found that Asian victims of domestic violence were at least four times less likely to use mental health services than whites, blacks or Latinos. Cho's sample size was 755 victims.
In his native Korea, Cho said he had friends who refused to seek help for domestic violence. In many Asian cultures, seeking help can be seen as shameful to the victim and the victim's family.
But Cho said there has been too much focus on the victims' individual and cultural barriers to seeking help. Instead, he said the focus should be on how to make affordable, culturally sensitive help more available to them.
"We need to look at the bigger picture," Cho said. "We need more outreach efforts to increase access to domestic violence services."
Provided by Michigan State University
"Asians reluctant to seek help for domestic violence." July 16th, 2012. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-asians-reluctant-domestic-violence.html
Posted by
Robert Karl Stonjek
Robert Karl Stonjek
The Secret of the Blood Falls of Antarctica
From a crack in the Taylor Glacier in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica flows a curious blood-red colored water. When it was first discovered by geologist Griffith Taylor in 1911, the color was thought to have come from an algae. The source of the red color was later discovered to be an iron-rich underground saltwater lake that was trapped by the encroaching glacier at least 1.5 million years ago. The temperature of the water is -5 Celsius, but it's so salty that it doesn't freeze.
But the Blood Falls houses another secret, which scientists from Harvard University have started to uncover - it's home to an entire ecosystem of bacteria, trapped for millennia in conditions that are extremely inhospitable to life.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
New software makes it possible to do in minutes on a small computer what used to be done by large clusters of computers.
Your Laptop Can Now Analyze Big Data
Computer scientists from Carnegie Mellon University have devised a framework for running large-scale computations for tasks such as social network or Web search analysis efficiently on a single personal computer.
The software could help developers working on many modern tasks: for example, designing a new recommendation engine using social network connections. In order to make effective recommendations—"your friends liked this movie, so here is another movie that you haven't seen yet, but you will probably like"—the software has to be able to analyze the connections between the members of a social network. This type of task is called graph computation, and it is increasingly common. But working with large-scale data sets (such as online social networks) usually requires the processing horsepower of many computers clustered together, such as those offered by Amazon's cloud-based EC2 service.
The new software, called GraphChi, exploits the capacious hard drives that are becoming ever more common in personal computers. A graph would normally be stored in temporary memory (RAM) for analysis. With GraphChi, the hard drive performs this task instead.
"PCs don't have enough RAM to hold an entire Web graph, but they do have hard drives, which can hold a lot of information," says Carlos Guestrin, codirector of Carnegie Mellon's Select Lab, where GraphChi was developed. But hard drives are slow compared to RAM for reading and writing data, which tends to slow down computation. So Guestrin's student Aapo Kyrola designed a faster, less random method of accessing the hard drive.
According to Guestrin, a Mac Mini running GraphChi can analyze Twitter's social graph from 2010—which contains 40 million users and 1.2 billion connections—in 59 minutes. "The previous published result on this problem took 400 minutes using a cluster of about 1,000 computers," Guestrin says.
As technology gets more networked, and data sets get larger, graph computation is becoming more and more relevant in many domains, says David A. Bader, a graph computation expert at Georgia Tech. "Trying to understand how the human brain works or trying to make sense of medical patient records involve graph computing," he says.
Bader says GraphChi can't yet handle "streaming graphs," which more accurately model large networks by showing how relationships change over time. Bader and others at Georgia Tech have created a graph computation framework, called Stinger, that's optimized for supercomputers working with massive streaming graphs.
"The scales of these problems will obviously keep growing," says Guestrin, whose team is already working on ways to make GraphChi ready for streaming graphs. But he says GraphChi is capable of effectively handling many large-scale graph-computing problems without resorting to cloud-based solutions or supercomputers.
"A researcher in computational biology could do large-scale computations on their PC; a developer working on a data-center algorithm can test it on their laptop before pushing it to the cloud," Guestrin says. "Big data is everywhere now, but some big data isn't as big as it once was, relatively speaking. Tools like GraphChi will let many companies and startups solve all their graph-computing needs on a single machine. It's cost effective, and it drives innovation, too."
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