Assessing the Impact of Early Learning Programs in Africa.

We present results from early learning programs in six African countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda. In partnership with ministries of education, RTI International has worked within government systems to support the design and deployment of locally contextualized materials, training, and assessment tools, with the goal of improving outcomes for early learners in primary schools, and in Kenya and Tanzania preprimary as well. Here we report on the experience and evidence of impact from specific programs in each country, including summary assessment results when available.

Estradiol-induced regression in T47D:A18/PKCalpha tumors requires the estrogen receptor and interaction with the extracellular matrix.

Several breast cancer tumor models respond to estradiol (E(2)) by undergoing apoptosis, a phenomenon known to occur in clinical breast cancer. Before the application of tamoxifen as an endocrine therapy, high-dose E(2) or diethystilbesterol treatment was successfully used, albeit with unfavorable side effects. It is now recognized that such an approach may be a potential endocrine therapy option.

Gene therapy for rheumatoid arthritis: recent advances.

The treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the last decade has made enormous advances with the use of biological therapies. However, these therapies have serious limitations such as the expense, side-effects, and the requirement for repeated injections, each of which can potentially be obviated by gene therapy. A gene therapy approach for the treatment of RA has the potential to stably deliver a gene product or multiple products in a target-specific, disease-inducible manner.

Differences in the expression of cathepsin B in B16 melanoma metastatic variants depend on transcription factor Sp1.

Cathepsin B contributes to the invasiveness of B16 melanoma cells in mice, with the highly metastatic B16a melanoma producing six- to eightfold more cathepsin B mRNA and protein than the less metastatic B16F1 variant. The proximal promoter region of the cathepsin B (Ctsb) gene (-149 to +94) was previously found to be capable of reproducing this pattern of differential gene activation in B16 melanoma variants. The binding of B16 melanoma nuclear proteins to this promoter region has now been mapped to three GC-boxes (Sp1 transcription factor binding sites) and a potential X-box [tax response element (TRE)/c-AMP responsive element (CRE) site].