Publications by authors named "Plummer S"

A recent article presented geochemical and microbial evidence establishing metabolic adaptation to and in-situ reductive dechlorination of trichloroethene (TCE) in a fractured dolomite aquifer. This study was designed to further explore site conditions and microbial populations and to explain previously reported enhancement of reductive dechlorination by the addition of pulverized dolomite to laboratory microcosms. A survey of groundwater geochemical parameters (chlorinated ethenes, ethene, H2, CH4, DIC, DOC, and delta13C values for CH4, DIC, and DOC) indicated that in situ reductive dechlorination was ongoing and that an unidentified pool of organic carbon was contributing, likely via microbial respiration, to the large and relatively light on-site DIC pool.

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Advancement of cancer prevention and therapy requires clinical development of systemic biomarkers of pharmacological efficacy of the agent under scrutiny. Curcumin, a polyphenol derived from Curcuma spp., has shown wide-ranging chemopreventive activity in preclinical carcinogenic models, in which it inhibits cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 at the transcriptional level.

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Cyclooxygenases (COX) catalyse the oxygenation of arachidonic acid to prostaglandin (PG) endoperoxides. Activity of one of the COX isoforms, COX-2, results in production of prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) via the endoperoxide PGH(2). COX-2 has been implicated in the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer.

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[reaction in text] A convergent asymmetric synthesis of (-)-ratjadone (1) has been achieved, confirming the assignments of stereochemistry for the naturally occurring antifungal metabolite.

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Curcumin, the yellow pigment in turmeric, has been shown to prevent malignancies in a variety of tissues in rodents, especially in the intestinal tract. Pharmacological activities of curcumin in cells in situ germane to chemoprevention, such as inhibition of expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), require drug concentrations in the 10(-5) - 10(-4) M range. The systemic bioavailability of curcumin is low, so that its pharmacological activity may be mediated, in part, by curcumin metabolites.

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Whole garlic (Allium sativum L.) extract and some of its components were assayed for antigiardial activity. Whole garlic extract gave an IC(50) at 24 h of 0.

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Eighty-three women who perceived themselves to be at risk for ovarian cancer completed a battery of surveys. In addition to demographics, subjects were asked to complete the Brief Symptom Inventory, Multidimensional Health Locus of Control, Death Anxiety Scale, Taylor Anxiety Scale, Index of Sexual Satisfaction, Impact of Event Scale, and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Overall, the respondents were more similar to normal controls than to psychiatric outpatients.

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An investigation was conducted to explore the relationship between acute changes in cortisol and memory and attention in the context of an acute naturalistic stressor, namely, examination stress. Sixty students (36 male, 24 female) participated in an assessment of self-reported levels of stress, salivary cortisol, short term memory, selective and divided attention and auditory verbal working memory. Assessments were conducted during a non-exam and exam period.

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For a disease such as cancer, where a number of alterations to normal cell function accumulate over time, there are several opportunities to inhibit, slow down or even reverse the process. Many of the changes which drive the disease process occur in cell-signalling pathways that regulate proliferation and apoptosis. As our knowledge of these complicated signalling networks improves, it is becoming clear that many molecules, both drugs and naturally occurring dietary constituents, can interact beneficially with deregulated pathways.

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Many dietary constituents are chemopreventive in animal models, and experiments with cultured cells are revealing various potential mechanisms of action. Compounds classified as blocking agents can prevent, or greatly reduce, initiation of carcinogenesis, while suppressing agents affect later stages of the process by reducing cell proliferation. Many compounds have both types of activity.

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We have previously isolated and characterized murine MYB binding protein (p160) 1a, a protein that specifically interacts with the leucine zipper motif within the negative regulatory domain of the c-Myb proto-oncoprotein. We now describe the molecular cloning of the human MYBBP1A cDNA and chromosomal localization to 17p13.3 by fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis.

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Colorectal cancer is a major cause of cancer deaths in Western countries, but epidemiological data suggest that dietary modification might reduce these by as much as 90%. Cyclo-oxygenase 2 (COX2), an inducible isoform of prostaglandin H synthase, which mediates prostaglandin synthesis during inflammation, and which is selectively overexpressed in colon tumours, is thought to play an important role in colon carcinogenesis. Curcumin, a constituent of turmeric, possesses potent anti-inflammatory activity and prevents colon cancer in animal models.

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Background: The move in the United Kingdom (UK) from institutional to community care has led to an inevitable increase in the involvement of practice nurses (PNs) in mental health care. Around 20 000 PNs are currently working in the United Kingdom (UK). However, the extent and nature of PN involvement in delivering mental health interventions has not been adequately explored.

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Among the chromosomal regions commonly undergoing deletions in breast tumors is 11q23.1. The genes that are targets for loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in this region is not yet established.

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The objective of this study was to provide more accurate frequency estimates of breast cancer susceptibility gene 1 ( BRCA1 ) germline alterations in the ovarian cancer population. To achieve this, we determined the prevalence of BRCA1 alterations in a population-based series of consecutive ovarian cancer cases. This is the first population-based ovarian cancer study reporting BRCA1 alterations derived from a comprehensive screen of the entire coding region.

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The concept that cancer can be prevented, or its onset postponed, by certain diet-derived substances is currently eliciting considerable interest. Agents which interfere with tumour development at the stage of promotion and progression in particular are of potential clinical value. As chemopreventive agents have to be administered over a long period of time in order to establish whether they possess efficacy in humans, it is of paramount importance to establish their lack of toxicity.

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Rearrangements or loss of chromosome 17 are frequent events in breast tumors. Chromosome 17 contains at least four genes implicated in breast cancer (TP53, ERBB2 (Her2/neu), BRCA1, and NM23), as well as other putative tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes implicated in loss of heterozygosity or allelic imbalance studies. Allelic imbalance represents the addition or loss of genetic material in tumor samples, providing circumstantial evidence for the location of cancer related genes.

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We have integrated genetic and physical mapping data for chromosome 17 subdivided into 26 bins, by using a panel of chromosome 17 deletion somatic cell hybrids. One hundred four short tandem repeat and STS markers have been localized into these bins and have enabled the ordering of 288 ESTs and 26 genes, including 142 ESTs that had not been previously sublocalized on chromosome 17. The mapping information of several genetic maps, as well as information obtained by radiation hybrid and STS content mapping of YACs, has been integrated using this hybrid panel.

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This study aimed to compare the ability of practice nurses in two groups of general practices to detect psychological distress in patients attending their clinics. Practice nurses in Britain are employed directly by general practitioners (GPs) and carry out their duties mainly in treatment rooms in GP's practices. The number of practice nurses has increased rapidly since the mid-1970s; recent estimates put the total between about 15000 and 18000.

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Chromosome 17 is one of the most frequently altered chromosomes in malignant breast cancer. At least four genes implicated in breast cancer reside on chromosome 17 (p53, 17p13; Her-2/neu/ERBB2, 17q12; BRCA1, 17q21; and nm23, 17q22). In addition, allelic imbalance has been described for at least five regions of chromosome 17.

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p53 mutations are the most common genetic alterations found in human malignancies. However current estimates of p53 alterations in cancers may be inaccurate because there is evidence that current approaches do not detect all p53 alterations. In this study we determine the status of the p53 gene by complete DNA sequencing of exons 2 through 11 as well as immunohistochemical staining in cohorts of primary human breast, ovarian and non small cell lung cancer.

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Objective: To determine whether the abnormal glucagon and amylin secretions in NIDDM are secondary to hyperglycemia and relative hypoinsulinemia.

Research Design And Methods: A total of 13 patients with NIDDM were studied before and after treatment with glipizide gastrointestinal therapeutic system (GITS) in a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled fashion. Of the 13 subjects, 9 were randomized to the glipizide GITS arm and 4 were randomized to the placebo arm of the study.

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