Islamists say win Egypt presidency; rival contests

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood declared on Monday that its candidate Mohamed Morsy won the country's first free presidential race, beating Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister and ending six decades of rule by presidents plucked from the military.

But his victory claim was swiftly challenged by his rival, while shortly before the final result the generals who have run the country since the overthrow of Mubarak issued new rules that made clear real power remains with the army.

"Mohamed Morsy is the first popularly elected civilian president of Egypt," the official website of Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party announced.

But an aide to Shafik, an ex-military man like Mubarak, contested that and said the group was "hijacking the election."

"Our counting of the votes has so far showed that we are ahead with 52 percent of the vote but we refuse to break the law and issue any numbers now," said Mahmoud Baraka, the media of Shafik's campaign.

Egypt's state television reported both claims. The official election committee has yet to make any announcement.

Morsy in his first comments since the victory announcement promised at a news conference to be president for all Egyptians and said he would not "seek revenge or settle scores."

"Thanks be to God who has guided Egypt's people to the path of freedom and democracy, uniting the Egyptians to a better future," Morsy said.

Hundreds of flag-waving youth supporters of the Brotherhood gathered in Tahrir Square, where the anti-Mubarak revolution erupted 16 months ago. Outside the Brotherhood's Party headquarters, others danced and chanted: "Morsy Morsy ... The president." They also shouted "Down down with military rule."

"This is a historic vote in which good triumphs over evil. I voted Morsy and my dream has come true", said Ahmed Saad.

LIMITED POWERS

A decree from the ruling military council, published as the count got under way on Sunday, spelled out only limited powers for the new head of state and reclaimed for itself the lawmaking prerogatives held by the Islamist-led parliament which the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) dissolved last week.

Liberal and Islamist opponents denounced a "military coup".

The council's "constitutional declaration", issued under powers it took for itself after pushing aside Mubarak to appease street protests 16 months ago, was a blow to democracy, said many who aired their grievances on social media, a favored weapon in the Arab Spring that ended Mubarak's 30-year rule.

"Grave setback for democracy and revolution," tweeted former U.N. diplomat and Nobel peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei.

"SCAF retains legislative power, strips president of any authority over army and solidifies its control," he said.

"The 'unconstitutional declaration' continues an outright military coup," tweeted Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh, a moderate Islamist knocked out in the first round of the presidential election last month. "We have a duty to confront it."

A Facebook page whose young activists helped launch the uprising mocked the army's order, noting Egypt would have a head of state with no control over his own armed forces: "It means the president is elected but has no power," one comment read.

DEADLINE

The order from Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the chairman to the Supreme Council, indicated that the army, which also controls swathes of Egypt's economy, has no intention of handing substantial power now to its old adversary the Brotherhood.

"SCAF will carry legislative responsibilities ... until a new parliament is elected," the council's order said.

It raised a question of how, even if a civilian head of state is sworn in this week, Tantawi can claim to have met his own deadline of July 1 for relinquishing control - a deadline the armed forces' major patron and paymaster the United States had stressed in recent days it was expecting him to respect.

Washington and Egypt's European allies, also major providers of aid to the most populous Arab state, had voiced concern when Tantawi, backed by a judicial ruling from a court appointed under Mubarak, dissolved the parliament elected in January in which the Brotherhood and hardline Islamists had a big majority.

The Brotherhood has contested the army's power to dissolve parliament and warned of "dangerous days".

However, the Western powers - and many of Egypt's 82 million people - are also uneasy about the rise of Islamists in Cairo, as in other new democracies of the Arab Spring, notably Tunisia and Libya, and so are unlikely to sanction the generals for now.

The failure of the new parliament to agree a consensus body to draft a constitution - liberals accuse the Islamists of packing the panel with religious zealots - has left Egyptians picking their way from revolution to democracy through a legal maze while the generals control the map and change it at will.

Under the latest order, writing of the new constitution may pass to a body appointed by the SCAF - if a court rules against the contested panel nominated by the now defunct legislature.

Any new constitution would need approval in a referendum, with a new parliamentary election following. By a timetable contained in the decree, it would take another five months or so to complete the planned "transition to democracy".

However, the experience of the past year has left many Egyptians doubting that the military, and what they call the "deep state" stretching across big business, Mubarak-era judges, security officials and the army, will ever hand over control.

"SCAF isn't going to transfer any real power," Marc Lynch, a Middle East expert at George Washington University said on Twitter of the constitutional order. "Back to the beginning."

Many voters were dismayed by an unpalatable choice between a man seen as an heir to Mubarak and the nominee of a religious party committed to reversing liberal social traditions.

Some cast a ballot against both men in protest.

(Additional reporting by Dina Zayed, Tom Pfeiffer, Edmund Blair, Alastair Macdonald and Samia Nakhoul in Cairo and Abdel Rahman Youssef in Alexandria; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Samia Nakhoul)

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Fairfax Media to shed 1,900 jobs over 3 years

(AP) ? Australian multimedia company Fairfax Media Ltd. announced Monday it will shed 1,900 jobs over three years as part of a restructure.

The Sydney-based company will shed almost one fifth of its 10,000 staff, spokesman Brad Hatch said.

The company also said that its The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age broadsheet newspapers will become tabloids and their websites will introduce pay walls from early next year.

Australia's largest newspaper publisher after News Corp. also said it would close two printing facilities in Sydney and Melbourne by June 2014.

Both sites have printing presses with significant surplus capacity which is no longer required, Fairfax said.

"Readers' behaviors have changed and will not change back," chief executive Greg Hywood said in a statement.

"As a result, we are taking decisive actions to fundamentally change the way we do business," he added.

Hywood said Fairfax devised the changes after considering the merits of a full range of structural alternatives, including a demerger.

"The package of strategic initiatives is bold, and several are difficult, particularly as they will impact on some of our people," he said

"However, we believe that they are in the best interests of Fairfax, our shareholders, and ultimately the majority of our people," he said.

"They are necessary to ensure Fairfax retains its position as a leading independent media company and a key voice in our markets," he added.

The measures will have a one-off cost of about 248 million Australian dollars ($251 million), and result in annual savings of AU$235 million from June 2014.

In New Zealand, the stock market on Monday halted trading in shares of Trade Me, an online auction site that is majority owned by Fairfax, while Fairfax sold down its stake.

Fairfax owns more than 300 newspapers, 50 websites and 15 radio stations in Australia and New Zealand.

Associated Press

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'Breaking Dawn' Teaser: Renesmee's In Danger

The Volturi are coming after the newborn vampire in this teaser for the new 'Breaking Dawn - Part 2' trailer, out in full on Wednesday.
By Josh Wigler


Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson in "Breaking Dawn - Part 2"
Photo:

The Volturi are coming! The Volturi are coming! Hide your immortal babies, the Volturi are coming!

As promised, Tuesday (June 19) brought brings a brand new 10-second teaser for "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 2," the final act in the supernatural romance saga based on the novels from Stephenie Meyer. Director Bill Condon's upcoming finale focuses heavily on the ever-evolving Cullen family, which welcomed two new members to the clan in the most recent "Twilight" movie: Bella Swan, now a vampire thanks to a life-or-death choice made by Edward, and Renesmee, the vampire/human hybrid daughter of Bella and Edward.

The "Breaking Dawn" 10-second teaser centers largely on Renesmee, even if she's not physically in the spotlight. Edward introduces his baby girl to the rest of his family, but does so with a dark warning: "The Volturi think Renesmee is an immortal child."

An immortal child, for those not in the know, is a human infant or toddler bitten by a vampire. Despite their young mental age, immortal children have all of the gifts bestowed upon your average vamp — super strength, super speed and more — and are nearly impossible to control. In short, they're bad for business, and the Volturi make it their business to kill each and every one that they find.

Except Renesmee isn't an immortal child, despite the Volturi's beliefs. Newly minted vampire Bella says as much. "She was born, not bitten," she says forcefully in the teaser. "She grows every single day!"

But when has reason ever really worked on the Volturi? It certainly hasn't in this case, as the Cullen family's pleas fall on deaf ears. By the teaser's conclusion, Aro and his fellow Volturi have descended upon Edward and Bella, who are more than ready to fight for their daughter's life.

Starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, "Breaking Dawn - Part 2" hits theaters November 16. The full teaser trailer comes online Wednesday.

What do you think of the new "Breaking Dawn" 10-second teaser? Tell us in the comments section below!

Check out everything we've got on "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 2."

For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com.

Related Videos Related Photos

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Boko Haram claims church attacks as Nigeria toll hits 52

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[ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

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Meagan Good Weds In Malibu

People:

Meagan Good has jumped the broom!

The "Think Like a Man" and "Jumping the Broom" star exchanged vows with preacher and Columbia Pictures VP DeVon Franklin on Saturday evening at Triunfo Creek Winery in Malibu, Calif., PEOPLE has learned exclusively.

Read the whole story at People

Contribute to this Story:

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JCI early table of contents for June 18, 2012

[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 18-Jun-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Sarah Jackson
press_releases@the-jci.org
Journal of Clinical Investigation

AGING
Preventing cellular aging and aging-related degenerative diseases

Age-associated degeneration is caused, at least in part, by accumulated cellular damage, including DNA damage, but how these types of damage drive aging remains unclear. Dr. Paul Robbins and colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh sought to address this question using a mouse model of DNA repair deficiency. The Robbins team found that DNA damage drives aging, in part, by activating NF-?B, a transcription factor that responds to cellular damage and stress. They report that inhibition of NF-?B reduces oxidative stress, oxidative DNA damage, oxidative protein damage, and cellular senescence induced by oxidative damage. Their data suggest that NF-?B inhibitors can mitigate cellular damage and could provide clinical benefit for degenerative changes caused by aging.

TITLE:

NF-?B inhibition delays DNA damageinduced senescence and aging in mice

AUTHOR CONTACT:

Paul Robbins

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Phone: (412) 648-9268; Fax: (412) 624-8997; E-mail: probb@pitt.edu

View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/45785?key=84c4d84388bea61c718c


IMMUNOLOGY
Combatting fungal eye infections

Pathogenic fungal infections of the eye can be difficult to treat and often result in blindness. Sixto Leal, Eric Pearlman, and colleagues at Case Western Reserve University have investigated the cellular warfare occurring between fungi and the immune system during eye infections. They employed mouse model systems to investigate the involvement of neutrophils, the first immune cell type at sites of injury, in controlling fungal infections. Their results showed that neutrophils are critical to controling fungal infections of the eye. The team subsequently examined how neutrophils effectively kill fungi. They determined that in a specific enzyme, called NADPH oxidase, kills fungi. In parrallel, mutated fungal strains were used to determine how fungi fight back against the immune system, demonstrating that specific fungal genes protect against NADPH produced by neutrophils. Furthermore, they showed that a drug known as PX-12 enhanced the ability of neutrophils to kill infectious fungus. Understanding the interactions between host and pathogen can provide new insight for designing better fungal infection treatments, in hopes of ultimately reducing the prevalence of infectious blindness.

TITLE:

Thioredoxin and superoxide dismutase mediate fungal survival against neutrophil oxidation

AUTHOR CONTACT:

Sixto Leal, Jr.

Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

Phone: 7862020619; E-mail: sml40@case.edu

View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/63239?key=a4ff702f85d89ef15a1a


NEUROBIOLOGY
Molecular effects of social isolation on neurotransmission

Social isolation in early childhood has been linked to depression, addiction, and anxiety disorders. Work in animal models has shown that early postnatal experiences are vital for organization in the developing cerebral cortex, which can be perturbed by stress. Dr. Takuya Takahashi at Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine set out to describe the effects of neonatal stress, particularly stress caused by isolation, on the molecular events that determine the circuitry of the brain. In rodents, the effects of whisker experience, a major conduit of social interaction, can be directly identified in a specific sensory nerves in the barrel cortex region. Whisker experience drives the delivery of specific receptors, known as AMPA receptors, to the receiving end of neuronal synapses where they bind to glutamate and mediate synaptic transmission. The Takahashi team reported that isolating pups from their mothers for even a few hours a day reduced the delivery of AMPA receptors to neuronal synapses. Isolation increased systemic levels of active corticosterone, a glucocorticoid associated with stress. The group found that corticosterone injection mimicked the molecular effects of social isolation, and blocking glucocorticoid receptors with an antagonist prevented them. Their study provides preclinical data supporting glucocorticoid receptor antagonists as therapeutics and suggests continued studies of the molecular changes associated with early traumatic experience may lead to the identification of useful biomarkers for mental disorders.

TITLE:

Disrupted cortical function underlies behavior dysfunction due to social isolation

AUTHOR CONTACT:

Takuya Takahashi

Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama City University, Yokohama, , JPN

Phone: 81457872577; E-mail: takahast@yokohama-cu.ac.jp

View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/63060?key=8dbc0bbddebea8abbb4c


CARDIOLOGY
Imaging immune cell recruitment into the beating heart

Two-photon microscopy is an imaging technique that captures single-cell motion in living organisms and has been widely utilized in the study of inflammatory responses. However, this technique has not proven effective for studying moving tissues, including heart muscle. Drs. Daniel Kreisel and Mark Miller, along with colleagues at the Washington University School of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health, now report a method for the real-time imaging of recruitment of immune cells known as leukocytes in beating mouse hearts following cardiac injury. Using this approach, they visualized neutrophils clustering in heart muscle tissue after coronary artery blockage or heart transplantation. The team also observed reduced neutrophil migration after injury when ICAM-1 signaling, known to be important for neutrophil recruitment, was inhibited. This approach represents an important development in imaging techniques and holds particular promise for studying the role of inflammation in cardiovascular disease.

TITLE:

Intravital 2-photon imaging of leukocyte trafficking in beating heart

AUTHOR CONTACT:

Daniel Kreisel

Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA

Phone: (314) 362-6021; Fax: (314) 367-8459; E-mail: kreiseld@wudosis.wustl.edu

View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/62970?key=525c28f7529336b2bb9f


HEMATOLOGY
Understanding mutations that underlie congenital anemia

Diamond-Blackfan anemia is a congenital form of anemia due to low red blood cell counts. To date, approximately half of all cases of Diamond-Blackfan anemia have been attributed to ribosomal protein gene mutations. Dr. Hanna Gazda and colleagues at Harvard University in Boston performed a detailed analysis of gene expression on two siblings with Diamond-Blackfan anemia who had no known disease-causing mutations. The Gazda team identified a mutation in the gene encoding the hematopoietic transcription factor GATA1 that impairs production of the full-length form of the protein. Their findings provide insight into the development of Diamond-Blackfan anemia and shows that the disease can arise from causes other than defects in ribosomal protein genes. The identified mutations also illustrate the critical role for GATA1 in human blood cell production.

TITLE:

Exome Sequencing Identifies GATA1 Mutations Resulting in Diamond-Blackfan Anemia

AUTHOR CONTACT:

Hanna Gazda

Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA, USA

Phone: 617-919-4587; Fax: ; E-mail: hanna.gazda@childrens.harvard.edu

View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/63597?key=4a1f1a8433ddbf77a7b9

ACCOMPANYING COMMENTARY

TITLE:

What's in a name?

AUTHOR CONTACT:

Monica Bessler

CHOPS and University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Phone: 267-426-8782; Fax: ; E-mail: besslerm@email.chop.edu

View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/63989?key=24eb4d2d883e2e5eaf99


CARDIOLOGY
Genetic cause of cardiac conduction disturbances relvealed

Heart contraction patterns rely on proper conduction of electrical impulse, and disturbances of cardiac conduction are associated with arrhythmias and cardiac arrest. The pattern of conduction depends on appropriate regulation of gene expression by key transcription factors and transcriptional enhancers. Dr. Vincent Christoffels and colleagues at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands conducted an extensive study to characterize in cardiac cells where in the mouse genome key cardiac transcription factors, including TBX3, NKX2-5 and GATA4, bind in heart. They identified new regulatory elements, known as gene enhancers, in ion channel genes, such as the Scn5a/Scn10a locus that was bound by TBX3. The Christoffels team went on to show that a single-nucleotide polymorphism in the SCN10A enhancer, associated with alterations in cardiac conduction patterns in humans, disrupts TBX3 binding and reduces the cardiac activity of the enhancer. Their work identifies key regulatory elements for cardiac conduction and helps to explain how genetic variants in non-coding DNA sequences influence cardiac conduction and risk of cardiac arrhythmias.

TITLE:

Genetic variation in T-box binding element functionally affects SCN5A/SCN10A enhancer

AUTHOR CONTACT:

Vincent Christoffels

Academic Medical Center (AMC), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, UNK, NLD

Phone: +31205664793; E-mail: v.m.christoffels@amc.nl

View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/62613?key=66b2534e335610e39b3e


NEUROBIOLOGY
Disrupted adenosine signaling contributes to schizophrenia

An emerging concept in schizophrenia posits that abnormal adenosine signaling might underlie disease development. Dr. Detlev Boison and colleagues at Legacy Research in Portland, Oregon designed experiments to test the 'adenosine hypothesis' of schizophrenia with pharmacological and molecular tools, and to evaluate novel adenosine-based strategies for therapeutic intervention. The Boison team found that augmenting adenosine by pharmacological inhibition of adenosine kinase (ADK), the key enzyme for metabolic adenosine clearance, exerted antipsychotic-like activity in mice, whereas transgenic overexpression of ADK was associated with attentional impairments linked to schizophrenia. By perturbing adenosine release in two different regions of the mouse brain, the group went on to show disrupting adenosine production in either the striatal and hippocampal regions contributed to schizophrenia-relevant symptoms, and suggests that developing local adenosine augmentation therapies might be effective for the treatment of schizophrenia.

TITLE:

Adenosine augmentation ameliorates psychotic and cognitive endophenotypes of schizophrenia in mice

AUTHOR CONTACT:

Detlev Boison

Legacy Research, Portland, OR, USA

Phone: (503) 413-1754; Fax: (503) 413-5465; E-mail: dboison@downeurobiology.org

View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/62378?key=4d84f22baec8acf019a3


ONCOLOGY
Chemosensitivity is controlled by transcription factor modification

The development of targeted cancer treatments that increase tumor chemosensitivity is important for improving therapy. Several chemotherapeutic drugs increase levels of ISG15, a ubiquitin-like protein that can be bound to other cellular proteins to modify their function, suggesting that ISGylation may inhibit cancer . However, how ISGylation of specific target proteins controls tumorigenesis is poorly understood. Dr. Chin Ha Chung and colleagues at the Seoul National University identified proteins that are ISGylated in response to chemotherapy. They found that an isoform of a transcription factor known as p63 was ISGylated and that this modificaton played an essential role in downregulating its activity. Anticancer drugs induced ISGylation of this p63 isoform, which blocked its ability to promote tumor formation. Their findings provide the first demonstration that ISG15 is a tumor suppressor through its conjugation to p63.

TITLE:

Chemosensitivity is controlled by p63 modification with ubiquitin-like protein ISG15

AUTHOR CONTACT:

Chin Ha Chung

Seoul National University, Seoul, , KOR

Phone: +82 2 880 6693; Fax: +82 2 871 9193; E-mail: chchung@snu.ac.kr

View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/61762?key=9914597e95aa21327894 ;

###


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 18-Jun-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Sarah Jackson
press_releases@the-jci.org
Journal of Clinical Investigation

AGING
Preventing cellular aging and aging-related degenerative diseases

Age-associated degeneration is caused, at least in part, by accumulated cellular damage, including DNA damage, but how these types of damage drive aging remains unclear. Dr. Paul Robbins and colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh sought to address this question using a mouse model of DNA repair deficiency. The Robbins team found that DNA damage drives aging, in part, by activating NF-?B, a transcription factor that responds to cellular damage and stress. They report that inhibition of NF-?B reduces oxidative stress, oxidative DNA damage, oxidative protein damage, and cellular senescence induced by oxidative damage. Their data suggest that NF-?B inhibitors can mitigate cellular damage and could provide clinical benefit for degenerative changes caused by aging.

TITLE:

NF-?B inhibition delays DNA damageinduced senescence and aging in mice

AUTHOR CONTACT:

Paul Robbins

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Phone: (412) 648-9268; Fax: (412) 624-8997; E-mail: probb@pitt.edu

View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/45785?key=84c4d84388bea61c718c


IMMUNOLOGY
Combatting fungal eye infections

Pathogenic fungal infections of the eye can be difficult to treat and often result in blindness. Sixto Leal, Eric Pearlman, and colleagues at Case Western Reserve University have investigated the cellular warfare occurring between fungi and the immune system during eye infections. They employed mouse model systems to investigate the involvement of neutrophils, the first immune cell type at sites of injury, in controlling fungal infections. Their results showed that neutrophils are critical to controling fungal infections of the eye. The team subsequently examined how neutrophils effectively kill fungi. They determined that in a specific enzyme, called NADPH oxidase, kills fungi. In parrallel, mutated fungal strains were used to determine how fungi fight back against the immune system, demonstrating that specific fungal genes protect against NADPH produced by neutrophils. Furthermore, they showed that a drug known as PX-12 enhanced the ability of neutrophils to kill infectious fungus. Understanding the interactions between host and pathogen can provide new insight for designing better fungal infection treatments, in hopes of ultimately reducing the prevalence of infectious blindness.

TITLE:

Thioredoxin and superoxide dismutase mediate fungal survival against neutrophil oxidation

AUTHOR CONTACT:

Sixto Leal, Jr.

Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

Phone: 7862020619; E-mail: sml40@case.edu

View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/63239?key=a4ff702f85d89ef15a1a


NEUROBIOLOGY
Molecular effects of social isolation on neurotransmission

Social isolation in early childhood has been linked to depression, addiction, and anxiety disorders. Work in animal models has shown that early postnatal experiences are vital for organization in the developing cerebral cortex, which can be perturbed by stress. Dr. Takuya Takahashi at Yokohama City University Graduate School of Medicine set out to describe the effects of neonatal stress, particularly stress caused by isolation, on the molecular events that determine the circuitry of the brain. In rodents, the effects of whisker experience, a major conduit of social interaction, can be directly identified in a specific sensory nerves in the barrel cortex region. Whisker experience drives the delivery of specific receptors, known as AMPA receptors, to the receiving end of neuronal synapses where they bind to glutamate and mediate synaptic transmission. The Takahashi team reported that isolating pups from their mothers for even a few hours a day reduced the delivery of AMPA receptors to neuronal synapses. Isolation increased systemic levels of active corticosterone, a glucocorticoid associated with stress. The group found that corticosterone injection mimicked the molecular effects of social isolation, and blocking glucocorticoid receptors with an antagonist prevented them. Their study provides preclinical data supporting glucocorticoid receptor antagonists as therapeutics and suggests continued studies of the molecular changes associated with early traumatic experience may lead to the identification of useful biomarkers for mental disorders.

TITLE:

Disrupted cortical function underlies behavior dysfunction due to social isolation

AUTHOR CONTACT:

Takuya Takahashi

Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama City University, Yokohama, , JPN

Phone: 81457872577; E-mail: takahast@yokohama-cu.ac.jp

View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/63060?key=8dbc0bbddebea8abbb4c


CARDIOLOGY
Imaging immune cell recruitment into the beating heart

Two-photon microscopy is an imaging technique that captures single-cell motion in living organisms and has been widely utilized in the study of inflammatory responses. However, this technique has not proven effective for studying moving tissues, including heart muscle. Drs. Daniel Kreisel and Mark Miller, along with colleagues at the Washington University School of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health, now report a method for the real-time imaging of recruitment of immune cells known as leukocytes in beating mouse hearts following cardiac injury. Using this approach, they visualized neutrophils clustering in heart muscle tissue after coronary artery blockage or heart transplantation. The team also observed reduced neutrophil migration after injury when ICAM-1 signaling, known to be important for neutrophil recruitment, was inhibited. This approach represents an important development in imaging techniques and holds particular promise for studying the role of inflammation in cardiovascular disease.

TITLE:

Intravital 2-photon imaging of leukocyte trafficking in beating heart

AUTHOR CONTACT:

Daniel Kreisel

Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA

Phone: (314) 362-6021; Fax: (314) 367-8459; E-mail: kreiseld@wudosis.wustl.edu

View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/62970?key=525c28f7529336b2bb9f


HEMATOLOGY
Understanding mutations that underlie congenital anemia

Diamond-Blackfan anemia is a congenital form of anemia due to low red blood cell counts. To date, approximately half of all cases of Diamond-Blackfan anemia have been attributed to ribosomal protein gene mutations. Dr. Hanna Gazda and colleagues at Harvard University in Boston performed a detailed analysis of gene expression on two siblings with Diamond-Blackfan anemia who had no known disease-causing mutations. The Gazda team identified a mutation in the gene encoding the hematopoietic transcription factor GATA1 that impairs production of the full-length form of the protein. Their findings provide insight into the development of Diamond-Blackfan anemia and shows that the disease can arise from causes other than defects in ribosomal protein genes. The identified mutations also illustrate the critical role for GATA1 in human blood cell production.

TITLE:

Exome Sequencing Identifies GATA1 Mutations Resulting in Diamond-Blackfan Anemia

AUTHOR CONTACT:

Hanna Gazda

Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA, USA

Phone: 617-919-4587; Fax: ; E-mail: hanna.gazda@childrens.harvard.edu

View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/63597?key=4a1f1a8433ddbf77a7b9

ACCOMPANYING COMMENTARY

TITLE:

What's in a name?

AUTHOR CONTACT:

Monica Bessler

CHOPS and University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Phone: 267-426-8782; Fax: ; E-mail: besslerm@email.chop.edu

View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/63989?key=24eb4d2d883e2e5eaf99


CARDIOLOGY
Genetic cause of cardiac conduction disturbances relvealed

Heart contraction patterns rely on proper conduction of electrical impulse, and disturbances of cardiac conduction are associated with arrhythmias and cardiac arrest. The pattern of conduction depends on appropriate regulation of gene expression by key transcription factors and transcriptional enhancers. Dr. Vincent Christoffels and colleagues at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands conducted an extensive study to characterize in cardiac cells where in the mouse genome key cardiac transcription factors, including TBX3, NKX2-5 and GATA4, bind in heart. They identified new regulatory elements, known as gene enhancers, in ion channel genes, such as the Scn5a/Scn10a locus that was bound by TBX3. The Christoffels team went on to show that a single-nucleotide polymorphism in the SCN10A enhancer, associated with alterations in cardiac conduction patterns in humans, disrupts TBX3 binding and reduces the cardiac activity of the enhancer. Their work identifies key regulatory elements for cardiac conduction and helps to explain how genetic variants in non-coding DNA sequences influence cardiac conduction and risk of cardiac arrhythmias.

TITLE:

Genetic variation in T-box binding element functionally affects SCN5A/SCN10A enhancer

AUTHOR CONTACT:

Vincent Christoffels

Academic Medical Center (AMC), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, UNK, NLD

Phone: +31205664793; E-mail: v.m.christoffels@amc.nl

View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/62613?key=66b2534e335610e39b3e


NEUROBIOLOGY
Disrupted adenosine signaling contributes to schizophrenia

An emerging concept in schizophrenia posits that abnormal adenosine signaling might underlie disease development. Dr. Detlev Boison and colleagues at Legacy Research in Portland, Oregon designed experiments to test the 'adenosine hypothesis' of schizophrenia with pharmacological and molecular tools, and to evaluate novel adenosine-based strategies for therapeutic intervention. The Boison team found that augmenting adenosine by pharmacological inhibition of adenosine kinase (ADK), the key enzyme for metabolic adenosine clearance, exerted antipsychotic-like activity in mice, whereas transgenic overexpression of ADK was associated with attentional impairments linked to schizophrenia. By perturbing adenosine release in two different regions of the mouse brain, the group went on to show disrupting adenosine production in either the striatal and hippocampal regions contributed to schizophrenia-relevant symptoms, and suggests that developing local adenosine augmentation therapies might be effective for the treatment of schizophrenia.

TITLE:

Adenosine augmentation ameliorates psychotic and cognitive endophenotypes of schizophrenia in mice

AUTHOR CONTACT:

Detlev Boison

Legacy Research, Portland, OR, USA

Phone: (503) 413-1754; Fax: (503) 413-5465; E-mail: dboison@downeurobiology.org

View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/62378?key=4d84f22baec8acf019a3


ONCOLOGY
Chemosensitivity is controlled by transcription factor modification

The development of targeted cancer treatments that increase tumor chemosensitivity is important for improving therapy. Several chemotherapeutic drugs increase levels of ISG15, a ubiquitin-like protein that can be bound to other cellular proteins to modify their function, suggesting that ISGylation may inhibit cancer . However, how ISGylation of specific target proteins controls tumorigenesis is poorly understood. Dr. Chin Ha Chung and colleagues at the Seoul National University identified proteins that are ISGylated in response to chemotherapy. They found that an isoform of a transcription factor known as p63 was ISGylated and that this modificaton played an essential role in downregulating its activity. Anticancer drugs induced ISGylation of this p63 isoform, which blocked its ability to promote tumor formation. Their findings provide the first demonstration that ISG15 is a tumor suppressor through its conjugation to p63.

TITLE:

Chemosensitivity is controlled by p63 modification with ubiquitin-like protein ISG15

AUTHOR CONTACT:

Chin Ha Chung

Seoul National University, Seoul, , KOR

Phone: +82 2 880 6693; Fax: +82 2 871 9193; E-mail: chchung@snu.ac.kr

View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/61762?key=9914597e95aa21327894 ;

###


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Not necessarily more flexible to use temp agency workers

[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 18-Jun-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Hannes Kantelius
hannes.kantelius@gu.se
46-070-361-9095
University of Gothenburg

Temporary agency workers risk facing limited development opportunities and employability. In addition, using temp agency workers may contrary to the user firms' intentions reduce flexibility. These are the conclusions of a new doctoral thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Hannes Kantelius' doctoral thesis The Logic of Using Temporary Agency Workers Individual and Organizational Consequences describes the consequences of using temporary agency workers. Today about 1.4 percent of all employed Swedes can be found in the temporary staffing industry, which has grown in recent years in the wake of the financial crisis. The discourse surrounding the temp industry usually concerns the relationship between temporary workers and the temporary work agencies. However, Kantelius' study shows that it is at least as important to focus on the staffing strategies of the user firms.

'The purpose of using temp workers is often to increase the user firm's flexibility. But if this staffing strategy does not give enough attention to competence requirements and the time required to train newcomers, it may instead lead to unforeseen inflexibility,' says Kantelius.

The thesis is based partly on qualitative case studies at a number of user firms and temp agencies and partly on a questionnaire survey completed by more than 500 white-collar agency workers. The case studies concern only user firms engaged in long-term use of temp workers. The study shows which organisational mechanisms are at work when temp workers are used, but also how the logic of using temp agency workers for example can lead to differences in development opportunities between the user firm's own personnel and the workers from the temp agency.

The questionnaire responses reveal that a majority of the surveyed white-collar temp workers perceive low employment security. Among those who do perceive an acceptable level of security, it is mostly access to competence development and how the workers are integrated into the user firm that make the difference.

'It seems like the temp industry may be facing a division between workers with good work conditions and a decent level of employment security and those with worse work conditions and a low level of security. The perceived employment security is largely determined by the worker's perceived prospects for future employment,' says Kantelius.

The study also shows an example of how the use of temporary agency workers can lead to the temp workers both getting access to competence development and becoming integrated into the user firm.

'It's a complex industry where things are presented as either black or white. Hopefully my thesis will help add a few more nuances to the discussion.'

###

The thesis has been successfully defended.


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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 18-Jun-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Hannes Kantelius
hannes.kantelius@gu.se
46-070-361-9095
University of Gothenburg

Temporary agency workers risk facing limited development opportunities and employability. In addition, using temp agency workers may contrary to the user firms' intentions reduce flexibility. These are the conclusions of a new doctoral thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Hannes Kantelius' doctoral thesis The Logic of Using Temporary Agency Workers Individual and Organizational Consequences describes the consequences of using temporary agency workers. Today about 1.4 percent of all employed Swedes can be found in the temporary staffing industry, which has grown in recent years in the wake of the financial crisis. The discourse surrounding the temp industry usually concerns the relationship between temporary workers and the temporary work agencies. However, Kantelius' study shows that it is at least as important to focus on the staffing strategies of the user firms.

'The purpose of using temp workers is often to increase the user firm's flexibility. But if this staffing strategy does not give enough attention to competence requirements and the time required to train newcomers, it may instead lead to unforeseen inflexibility,' says Kantelius.

The thesis is based partly on qualitative case studies at a number of user firms and temp agencies and partly on a questionnaire survey completed by more than 500 white-collar agency workers. The case studies concern only user firms engaged in long-term use of temp workers. The study shows which organisational mechanisms are at work when temp workers are used, but also how the logic of using temp agency workers for example can lead to differences in development opportunities between the user firm's own personnel and the workers from the temp agency.

The questionnaire responses reveal that a majority of the surveyed white-collar temp workers perceive low employment security. Among those who do perceive an acceptable level of security, it is mostly access to competence development and how the workers are integrated into the user firm that make the difference.

'It seems like the temp industry may be facing a division between workers with good work conditions and a decent level of employment security and those with worse work conditions and a low level of security. The perceived employment security is largely determined by the worker's perceived prospects for future employment,' says Kantelius.

The study also shows an example of how the use of temporary agency workers can lead to the temp workers both getting access to competence development and becoming integrated into the user firm.

'It's a complex industry where things are presented as either black or white. Hopefully my thesis will help add a few more nuances to the discussion.'

###

The thesis has been successfully defended.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


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Smoking Might Raise Your Odds for Skin Cancer

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Rio weakens on energy and water

Governments are set to weaken pledges on boosting access to water and energy after a new draft negotiating text was issued at the Rio+20 meeting.

The text was issued by the Brazilian host government after it assumed leadership of the talks from the UN.

It affirms that nations must not slide back on prior pledges and names ending poverty as the "greatest challenge".

Brazil wants the text signed off before 130 heads of government and other ministers arrive on Wednesday.

Continue reading the main story

?Start Quote

The text seems to have stopped us moving backwards?

End Quote Asad Rehman Friends of the Earth

The new text was not officially distributed to journalists, despite pledges that the meeting here was "accessible".

Preparatory talks were supposed to end on Friday evening, but at that stage only 37% of the UN's draft text had been agreed - which led to Brazil's decision to issue a revamped document.

The 50-page text, obtained by BBC News, gives developing countries much of what they have been asking for in terms of principles without agreeing to their demands for firm pledges of financial and technological assistance from the West.

In response to charges that richer countries were attempting to weaken prior commitments on aid and other issues, the text is explicit: "We emphasise the need to make progress in implementing previous commitments... it is critical that we honour all previous commitments, without regression".

"Faced with the determined efforts by some developed countries, in particular the US, to rip up the Earth Summit agreement of 1992, the text seems to have stopped us moving backwards," said Asad Rehman, head of international climate at Friends of the Earth.

Continue reading the main story

Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS)

Granting countries the right to gain financially from the exploitation of biological resources discovered on their territory. Aims to prevent biopiracy. Agreement made at the UN CBC meeting in Nagoya, Japan in 2010. Rio+20 will see further discussion particularly of resources from international waters.

"But it certainly doesn't get close to addressing the concerns of the people or our planet.

"Faced with a triple planetary crisis - climate catastrophe, deepening global inequity and unsustainable consumption driven by a broken economic system - the text is neither ambitious enough nor delivers the required political will needed."

In another move that should please developing countries, the text confirms the principle that developed and developing countries have "common but differentiated responsibilities" in moving towards sustainable development.

No firm numbers

But whereas developing countries have been demanding $30-$100bn per year in exchange for "greening" their economies, the draft text gives no firm numbers.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Sustainable Energy for All initiative, which aims to provide everyone on the planet with modern energy by 2030 and increase progress on renewables and energy efficiency, is only "noted" - not endorsed.

Continue reading the main story
  • How able is the planet to meet increasing demand?
  • In 1960, a little over half the planet's land, forests and
    fisheries were needed to meet human consumption.
  • By the late 1970s, consumption was equal to one planet.
  • By the first years of this century, one-and-a-half planets
    were needed to meet consumption.

    This deficit can only be met by the depletion of renewable
    resources and increased pollution.

And there is no commitment to end fossil fuel subsidies, as some countries have been advocating.

On economic indicators, the text "recognises the need for broader measures of progress to complement GDP in order to better inform policy decisions", and asks UN statisticians to begin work on the issue.

"It's good that the text still recognises that rich and poor countries have different responsibilities," said Erica Carroll, Christian Aid's policy analyst.

"But we'd like to see much stronger support for work to ensure that everyone in the world has sustainable energy, and much more enthusiasm on the need for alternatives to GDP."

Many campaign groups have been urging that this summit should at the least acknowledge everyone's basic right to food and water.

The right to food - to which the US has objected during talks - is enshrined in the draft text, but the language on water is vaguer.

"The right to water and sanitation is essential to the full enjoyment of life and other human rights," said Farooq Ullah, executive director-designate of Stakeholder Forum, a group working to involve all stakeholders in UN sustainable development processes.

"Previous UN resolutions have had hold-outs; and one of the successes of Rio+20 has been that Canada and the UK have for the first time recognised the universal right to water and sanitation respectively - so where the Brazilians have lost this agreement is a mystery."

Groups working on ocean conservation were however pleased that the text contains commitments to end illegal and exploitative fishing, support local small-scale fishers, and set up a process that would eventually regulate fishing and protect life on the high seas.

Health care guarantees

There is implicit criticism of the EU's recent move to charge airlines for their greenhouse gas emissions, with a clause saying that countries or regional blocs should not take "unilateral actions to deal with environmental challenges outside the jurisdiction of the importing country".

Other ingredients of the new text include:

  • guarantees of gender equality in employment and health care
  • no requirement for corporations to measure and report on the sustainability of their operations, as has been included in earlier versions
  • a commitment to tackle youth unemployment
  • a limited upgrade for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), without the major elevation in status that many observers have been advocating

The Brazilian hosts say they want negotiators to finish work on the new text by the end of Monday - allowing one day's grace before the three-day summit involving heads of government begins.

Various delegations, especially the US, Canada and the powerful G77/China bloc of 131 developing countries, have previously put red lines through many elements of the new text.

They will have to give ground significantly if a deal is to be concluded.

Even if it is, it will not make the major strides towards a sustainable development path that many scientists and indeed many politicians say are necessary.

Follow Richard on Twitter

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Nalbandian loses Queen's after hurting line judge

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