Folate exacerbates the effects of ethanol on peripubertal mouse mammary gland development.

Alcohol consumption is linked with increased breast cancer risk in women, even at low levels of ingestion. The proposed mechanisms whereby ethanol exerts its effects include decreased folate levels resulting in diminished DNA synthesis and repair, and/or acetaldehyde-generated DNA damage. Based on these proposed mechanisms, we hypothesized that ethanol would have increased deleterious effects during periods of rapid mammary gland epithelial proliferation, such as peripuberty, and that folate deficiency alone might mimic and/or exacerbate the effects of ethanol.

Differential pharmacodynamic effects of paclitaxel formulations in an intracranial rat brain tumor model.

Nano- and microparticulate carriers can exert a beneficial impact on the pharmacodynamics of anticancer agents. To investigate the relationships between carrier and antitumor pharmacodynamics, paclitaxel incorporated in liposomes (L-pac) was compared with the clinical standard formulated in Cremophor-EL/ethanol (Cre-pac) in a rat model of advanced primary brain cancer. Three maximum-tolerated-dose regimens given by intravenous administration were investigated: 50 mg/kg on day 8 (d8) after implantation of 9L gliosarcoma tumors; 40 mg/kg on d8 and d15; 20 mg/kg on d8, d11, and d15.

An educational intervention on organ and tissue donation for first-year medical students.

Context: Medical students and medical professionals have knowledge deficits related to organ and tissue transplantation.

Objective: To implement and evaluate a medical education intervention on organ and tissue donation designed for first-year medical students.

Study Design: Independent sample pretest and posttest design.

Life and death decisions: using school-based health education to facilitate family discussion about organ and tissue donation.

Public education that encourages family discussions about organ and tissue donation can enhance understanding, facilitate a donor's wishes and increase the numbers of donations. Action research methods were used to explore the impact of a student-initiated family discussion about donation. Most discussions were positive; only 7% middle school and 4% high school participants described them as "terrible.

The effect of proteasome inhibitors on mammalian erythroid terminal differentiation.

Objectives: Murine erythroblasts infected with the anemia-inducing strain of Friend virus (FVA cells) terminally differentiate to the reticulocyte stage after 48 hours of culture in vitro in response to erythropoietin (EPO). The objective of this study was to determine the possible role of proteasome-mediated proteolysis during the terminal differentiation of FVA cells.

Materials And Methods: The proteasome inhibitors MG132 and lactacystin were used to perturb the normal function of proteasomes during terminal differentiation.