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The article examines the role of the orphan nuclear receptor NOR1 in the development of atherosclerosis. According to the authors, NOR1 positively regulates monocyte recruitment to the vascular wall, thereby performing an atherogenic role. The authors were also able to identify a pathway underlying monocyte adhesion which explains how the nuclear receptor affects the process of atherosclerosis development.

The article presents a discussion concerning the inhibition of vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation on peroxisome proliferation-activated receptor (PPAR)α/p16INK4a pathway by repressing cell cycle-dependent telomerase activation. It also demonstrates that PPARα's antiproliferative effects in VSMCs depend on the suppression of tolemerase activity by targeting the p16/RB/E2F transcriptional cascade.

Abstract: Critical loads have been used at both the national and international scale in negotiations of protocols controlling the emissions of sulphur and nitrogen. Further, reductions in these pollutants have increasingly high costs; hence, quantifying the uncertainties in the calculation of critical loads and their exceedances has become increasingly important. The UK uses mass balance modelling techniques to calculate steady-state acidity and nutrient nitrogen critical loads for woodland habitats. The calculation uses data from a wide range of sources and the accuracy of the critical loads are influenced by the accuracy of the input data sets. This paper aims to quantify the uncertainties in the data used. A comparison of the uncertainties derived for UK data and those calculated by other European countries reveals a wide range in the estimates of uncertainty and in the methods used to derive them. Possible reasons for these differences are the different methods used to estimate the uncertainty, the scale at which the uncertainty was assessed and underlying methodological differences. Transparency in the way the uncertainties are derived are necessary for communication between scientists and decision makers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Critical loads and exceedances have been used as the basis for negotiation of the Gothenburg Protocol and the National Emissions Ceilings Directive to reduce emissions of sulphur and nitrogen across Europe. Since emissions have already been significantly reduced, the associated cost of further emission reductions is high. In order to define future abatement strategies, policy makers therefore need to understand uncertainties associated with critical load exceedances and interpret them accordingly. Deterministic methods of presenting critical load exceedance, which treat the critical load concept as a set criterion, are well established. Spatially explicit uncertainties in deposition estimates for Wales have recently become available and new ways of presenting information on critical load exceedance are now possible. We explore the utility of partial distributions and inverse cumulative distributions of exceedance data, probability of exceedance and cumulative distribution function by habitat, using Wales as a case study. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]