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A follow-up study was performed in 12 healthy women to evaluate systemic exposure to aluminium following topical application of a representative antiperspirant formulation under real-life use conditions (part A) and to assess the local fate of topically applied aluminium by taking additional tape strips and skin biopsies (Part B). A simple roll-on formulation, containing the maximal possible radioactive dose, was prepared with [26Al] aluminium-labeled chlorohydrate (ACH). The microtracer of [26Al] was used to distinguish aluminium from the natural background, using accelerator mass spectrometry. [26Al] aluminiumcitrate was administered intravenously to estimate the dermal fraction absorbed. Despite the 25-fold increase of the topical dose compared with the previous study, only 12 blood samples gave results above the lower limit of quantitation (0.118 fg/mL). The most reliable estimates of the dermal fraction absorbed are derived from noncompartmental analysis with the urine data. By using the intravenous dose to normalize the urinary excretion to 100% bioavailability, the best estimate of the fraction absorbed of [26Al] from a topical application of [26Al]-aluminium-labeled chlorohydrate in an antiperspirant formulation was 0.00052%. Part B of the study demonstrated that the majority of the aluminium in the formulation remained associated with the external layers of the skin without penetration through the skin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heating anaerobic meat medium at 95 degrees C for 19 minutes prevents growth of the spores of Clostridium botulinum B, E and F strains under specific conditions. Heating the medium at 90 degrees C for 20 minutes prevents growth in the absence of hen egg white lysozyme. Growth is observed in the presence of lysozyme which is not destroyed completely by heat treatment. Bacterial growth is inhibited by NaCl and heat treatment. Results of a study show that heating at 90 degrees C for 20 minutes fails to decrease the bacterial population by a factor of ten to the sixth power in the presence of the lysozyme.

Abstract Background Proteolytic Clostridium botulinum is the causative agent of botulism, a severe neuroparalytic illness. Given the severity of botulism, surprisingly little is known of the population structure, biology, phylogeny or evolution of C. botulinum. The recent determination of the genome sequence of C. botulinum has allowed comparative genomic indexing using a DNA microarray. Results Whole genome microarray analysis revealed that 63% of the coding sequences (CDSs) present in reference strain ATCC 3502 were common to all 61 widely-representative strains of proteolytic C. botulinum and the closely related C. sporogenes tested. This indicates a relatively stable genome. There was, however, evidence for recombination and genetic exchange, in particular within the neurotoxin gene and cluster (including transfer of neurotoxin genes to C. sporogenes), and the flagellar glycosylation island (FGI). These two loci appear to have evolved independently from each other, and from the remainder of the genetic complement. A number of strains were atypical; for example, while 10 out of 14 strains that formed type A1 toxin gave almost identical profiles in whole genome, neurotoxin cluster and FGI analyses, the other four strains showed divergent properties. Furthermore, a new neurotoxin sub-type (A5) has been discovered in strains from heroin-associated wound botulism cases. For the first time, differences in glycosylation profiles of the flagella could be linked to differences in the gene content of the FGI. Conclusion Proteolytic C. botulinum has a stable genome backbone containing specific regions of genetic heterogeneity. These include the neurotoxin gene cluster and the FGI, each having evolved independently of each other and the remainder of the genetic complement. Analysis of these genetic components provides a high degree of discrimination of strains of proteolytic C. botulinum, and is suitable for clinical and forensic investigations of botulism outbreaks.

The effects of C[O.sub.2] on gene expression and neurotoxin formation by proteolytic Clostridium botulinum type A1 strain ATCC 3502 are analyzed during the growth cycle. Microarray analysis has enabled the identification of coding sequences whose expression profiles have matched with those of the neurotoxin cluster and a DNA microarray is used for studying the transcriptome.

A study was conducted to examine the effects of carbon dioxide on the growth of and neurotoxin production by nonproteolytic Clostridium botulinum type E during growth cycle. The results shed new cautionary light on the potential risks of botulism associated with the use of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP).

PRECIS This Is an effort to show that fundamental Christian principles repudiate racism and Antisemitism. Acknowledging that both attitudes have been part of Christian history and that the root of [...]

California's farmworkers are among the lowest-paid wage earners in the state. They often live in crowded or substandard housing. The Polanco Bill—state legislation enacted in the early 1990s—aimed to increase the supply of housing for farmworkers by encouraging the development of employee housing on land zoned for agriculture. This article discusses the implementation and effects of the Polanco Bill in the agricultural area of the eastern Coachella Valley. It finds, somewhat unexpectedly, that groups of farmworkers, often family members, have used the bill to collaborate and develop small, resident-owned, informal mobile home communities, called polancos, and focuses on one such case. Although the article's key contribution is to identify the informal approach and its key attributes, it also discusses whether a new housing model based on the collectively owned polancos is possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Joint liability microcredit lending employs members' trust and social networks to screen and monitor members. Lenders may use this information along with a formal application to determine the size and terms of the loan they disburse. Yet it is unclear what factors influence loan size. This paper examines two questions related to credit consumption: the size of loans disbursed and whether the borrower was credit rationed, using a sample of clients from Nicaragua. Findings suggest that borrower assets, gender and length of time with the lending institution influence the size of loans received. Recent evidence has also suggested that credit rationing may be related to loan officer discrimination, although evidence for this and other factors here is not clear. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuing proliferation requires regulation of cyclin D1 levels in each cell cycle phase. Growth factors stimulate high levels during G2?phase, which commits the cell to continue through G1?phase with sufficient cyclin D1 to initiate DNA synthesis. Upon entry into S?phase, however, cyclin D1 levels rapidly decline. Our goal is to understand the mechanism and importance of this S-phase suppression. Here, we demonstrate that cyclin D1 levels decline during S?phase due to reduced protein stability, without alterations in the rate of protein synthesis. This decline depends upon Thr 286, since mutation of this site eliminates the normal pattern of cyclin D1 suppression during S?phase. As evidence that phosphorylation of Thr 286 is responsible for this decline, Thr 286 is shown to be more efficiently phosphorylated during S?phase than in other cell cycle periods. Finally, high cyclin D1 levels during S?phase are shown to inhibit DNA synthesis. This inhibitory activity presumably blocks the growth of cells with altered cyclin D1 expression characteristics. Abnormal stimulation of cyclin D1 might result in levels high enough to promote G1/S?phase transition even in the absence of appropriate growth stimuli. In such cells, however, the levels of cyclin D1 would presumably be too high to be suppressed during S?phase, resulting in the inhibition of DNA synthesis.Oncogene (2005) 24, 2599-2612. doi:10.1038/sj.onc.1208326 Published online 21 February 2005 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses an attempt to develop a representative christology markedly different from the constitutive christologies at the heart of both traditional and modern theology. Exclusivist tradition; Tradition of pluralistic inclusivism; Traditional christology and its problems.