Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
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Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. · Aug 2009
Involvement of both extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic pathways in apoptosis induced by genistein in human cervical cancer cells.
Genistein, a naturally occurring isoflavonoid abundant in soy products, has anticancer activity in multiple tumor cells. In this study, we evaluated the apoptotic effect of genistein on cervical cancer cells and its mechanism of apoptosis. Genistein inhibited the proliferation of cervical cancer cells (HeLa, CaSki, and C33A). ⋯ Interestingly, inhibition of caspase-8 resulted in remarkable reduction of genistein-induced apoptosis. Bax expression was increased and total bid decreased, whereas bcl-2 level was not changed by genistein. Taken together, these results suggest that genistein could induce apoptosis through both extrinsic and intrinsic pathways in human cervical cancer cells.
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We performed two parallel interview studies of stroke patients (n= 20) and professional nurses (n= 5) to gain more insight into the therapeutic role of music listening in stroke rehabilitation. Results suggest that music listening can be used to relax, improve mood, and provide both physical and mental activation during the early stages of recovery from stroke. Thus, music listening could provide a useful clinical tool in stroke rehabilitation.
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Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. · Jun 2009
What motivates participation in violent political action: selective incentives or parochial altruism?
In standard models of decision making, participation in violent political action is understood as the product of instrumentally rational reasoning. According to this line of thinking, instrumentally rational individuals will participate in violent political action only if there are selective incentives that are limited to participants. We argue in favor of an alternate model of political violence where participants are motivated by moral commitments to collective sacred values. Correlative and experimental empirical evidence in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict strongly supports this alternate view.
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Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. · May 2009
Deciphering the relationships between Rickettsia conorii conorii and Rhipicephalus sanguineus in the ecology and epidemiology of Mediterranean spotted fever.
Mediterranean spotted fever is the most important tick-borne disease occurring in Southern Europe and North Africa. The first case of this life-threatening zoonosis was reported in 1910. In the 1930s, the role of the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, and the causative agent, Rickettsia conorii were described. ⋯ The long-recognized phenomenon known as reactivation has been suggested as a cause of negative effects--that is, the change in temperature and physiology of the tick host induces the agent to emerge from dormancy and attain infectivity with bad effects on ticks. However, naturally infected colonies of ticks have been maintained in laboratory conditions over several generations. We discuss here several aspects that have been recently studied to better understand Rh. sanguineus-R. conorii relationships, including comparison between the fitness of infected and non-infected ticks in laboratory conditions and the role of external factors such as temperature and starvation.