Diplomarbeit aus dem Jahr 2011 im Fachbereich Biologie - Mikrobiologie, Molekularbiologie, Note: 1, Universität Wien, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: The protozoan parasite Trichomonas vaginalis is the causative agent of trichomonosis which is ¿ with more than 170 million new cases each year ¿ the most prevalent non-viral sexually transmitted disease (STD) worldwide. Although trichomonosis is not a primarily lethal disease, the clinical picture can include severe urogenital inflammations. Chronic infections have been associated with cervical/prostate cancer and a predisposition of HIV infections. In case of pregnancy, chronic infections can also lead to preterm delivery and low birth weight. For more than 50 years, metronidazole, a nitroimidazole antibiotic, has been in use for the treatment of trichomonosis. It is applied orally and although it is mostly compliant, it can have serious side effects. It is also not applicable for pregnant women due to its ability to pass the placenta. Furthermore, an increasing number of emerging metronidazoleresistant T. vaginalis strains has lead to more treatment failures in the last few years. To this day, however, there is no effective alternative drug against trichomonosis available. Pentamycin is a polyene antimycotic and has been in use in the treatment of candidiasis, in preliminary studies it also turned out to be effective against trichomonads. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of pentamycin against T. vaginalis and the ability to develop resistances in vitro. For these purposes, the dose-effect relationship between pentamycin and four differently metronidazole-sensitive T. vaginalis strains was investigated. Moreover, the protein composition before and after the treatment was compared. To induce resistance, strains were treated with sublethal concentrations of pentamycin within a time of six months. It could be shown that pentamycin is highly effective against T. vaginalis. A 100% eradication of trichomonads was reached with a concentration of 15 ;g/ml and an incubation time of 1h. All four differently metronidazole-sensitive strains showed almost the same sensitivity to pentamycin. The comparison of the protein profiles of untreated and treated cells analysed by SDS-PAGE showed that the mode of action of pentamycin is based on an interaction and subsequent damage of the cell membrane which consequently leads to total lysis and death of the cell. [...]

Bloomsbury presents The Illuminated Man by Christopher Priest and Nina Allan, read by Roger May and Hilary Maclean, with Nina Allan. This book is about J. G. Ballard. This book is also about death, love and time travel. J. G. Ballard possessed one of the most astonishing imaginations of our age, and he had an intense and turbulent history: a childhood spent in the encroaching shadow of World War II, teenage internment in a Japanese prison camp – an experience famously fictionalised in Empire of the Sun. Ballard's novels are among the finest and most unusual fiction that has ever been published. Whether in the hyper-surrealism of High Rise or the erotic violence of Crash, he upended the morality and reality of our world. Christopher Priest knew many of Ballard's friends and colleagues personally. As a young writer, it had been Ballard's stories, most of all, that had helped cement his passion for science fiction. With much of their early work published in the same magazines, Priest knew about Ballard's world from the inside. He set out to write a biography that would make people understand what he already knew: that J. G. Ballard wasn't just a cult writer — he was one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. In 2024, Christopher died. He had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, which had metastasised into the bones, the same disease that killed J. G. Ballard — the man whose biography he'd spent his last months working on. When Nina and Christopher first met, they bonded over their love for Ballard's writing, rereading his novels and stories together many times. When it became clear that Christopher would not have time to finish this biography, Nina promised him that she would complete it, patching together with her own voice the gaps that remained. If the book began as a tribute from Priest to Ballard, it is now also a love story written by Nina for Christopher. With access to never-before-seen material, The Illuminated Man explores the history and themes of Ballard's life and – with Ballardian strangeness – celebrates and mourns for those that are gone. This is the story of two deaths, three science fiction writers and one attempt to turn back time.

New York Times Bestseller "This book may help those who are susceptible to illnesses that can be prevented." -His Holiness the Dalai Lama "Absolutely the best book I've read on nutrition and diet" -Dan Buettner, author of The Blue Zones Solution From the physician behind the wildly popular Nutrition Facts website, How Not to Die reveals the groundbreaking scientific evidence behind the only diet that can help prevent and reverse many of the causes of disease-related death. In How Not to Die, Dr. Michael Greger, the internationally-renowned nutrition expert, physician, and founder of NutritionFacts.org, examines the fifteen top causes of premature death in America--heart disease, various cancers, diabetes, Parkinson's, high blood pressure, and more--and explains how nutritional and lifestyle interventions can sometimes trump prescription pills and other pharmaceutical and surgical approaches to help prevent and reverse these diseases, freeing us to live healthier lives. The simple truth is that most doctors are good at treating acute illnesses but bad at preventing chronic disease. The fifteen leading causes of death claim the lives of 1.6 million Americans annually. This doesn't have to be the case. By following Dr. Greger's advice, all of it backed up by strong scientific evidence, you will learn which foods to eat and which lifestyle changes to make to live longer. History of prostate cancer in your family? Put down that glass of milk and add flaxseed to your diet whenever you can. Have high blood pressure? Hibiscus tea can work better than a leading hypertensive drug-and without the side effects. Fighting off liver disease? Drinking coffee can reduce liver inflammation. Battling breast cancer? Consuming soy is associated with prolonged survival. Worried about heart disease (the number 1 killer in the United States)? Switch to a whole-food, plant-based diet, which has been repeatedly shown not just to prevent the disease but often stop it in its tracks. In addition to showing what to eat to help treat the top fifteen causes of death, How Not to Die includes Dr. Greger's Daily Dozen -a checklist of the twelve foods we should consume every day.Full of practical, actionable advice and surprising, cutting edge nutritional science, these doctor's orders are just what we need to live longer, healthier lives.

Diplomarbeit aus dem Jahr 2011 im Fachbereich Biologie - Mikrobiologie, Molekularbiologie, Note: 1, Universität Wien, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: The protozoan parasite Trichomonas vaginalis is the causative agent of trichomonosis which is ¿ with more than 170 million new cases each year ¿ the most prevalent non-viral sexually transmitted disease (STD) worldwide. Although trichomonosis is not a primarily lethal disease, the clinical picture can include severe urogenital inflammations. Chronic infections have been associated with cervical/prostate cancer and a predisposition of HIV infections. In case of pregnancy, chronic infections can also lead to preterm delivery and low birth weight. For more than 50 years, metronidazole, a nitroimidazole antibiotic, has been in use for the treatment of trichomonosis. It is applied orally and although it is mostly compliant, it can have serious side effects. It is also not applicable for pregnant women due to its ability to pass the placenta. Furthermore, an increasing number of emerging metronidazoleresistant T. vaginalis strains has lead to more treatment failures in the last few years. To this day, however, there is no effective alternative drug against trichomonosis available. Pentamycin is a polyene antimycotic and has been in use in the treatment of candidiasis, in preliminary studies it also turned out to be effective against trichomonads. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of pentamycin against T. vaginalis and the ability to develop resistances in vitro. For these purposes, the dose-effect relationship between pentamycin and four differently metronidazole-sensitive T. vaginalis strains was investigated. Moreover, the protein composition before and after the treatment was compared. To induce resistance, strains were treated with sublethal concentrations of pentamycin within a time of six months. It could be shown that pentamycin is highly effective against T. vaginalis. A 100% eradication of trichomonads was reached with a concentration of 15 ;g/ml and an incubation time of 1h. All four differently metronidazole-sensitive strains showed almost the same sensitivity to pentamycin. The comparison of the protein profiles of untreated and treated cells analysed by SDS-PAGE showed that the mode of action of pentamycin is based on an interaction and subsequent damage of the cell membrane which consequently leads to total lysis and death of the cell. [...]

Overall, this book illustrates the complexities of the regulation and deregulation of genes mediated through epigenetics in the development and progression of human malignancies. All the articles have been carefully chosen to represent several cancer systems with state of our knowledge on the role of epigenetic deregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) and their target mRNAs along with epigenetic deregulation of mRNAs. This book also illustrates the role of several dietary agents, collectively called nutraceuticals or natural agents in modulating the epigenetic reprogramming of miRNAs and mRNAs for the prevention and/or treatment of human malignancies. It is well known that genetic aberrations, especially inherited through parents (somatic genetic alterations) contribute to the development of less than 10% of all cancer yet epigenetic alterations in genes especially through selective methylation and acetylation appears to be responsible for the development and progression of the vast majority of all cancers. Therefore, understanding the role of epigenetics in the regulation of genes especially through deregulated expression of miRNAs as presented in this book will allow scientists to devise targeted therapeutic strategies for re-expression of the lost genes or down-regulate the genes that are over-expressed in order to eradicate cancer. It is hoped that targeting epigenetics will not only target cancer cells but it will also target the tumor microenvironment (more like the entire tumor environment such as the entire host) for achieving better treatment outcomes for patients diagnosed with cancer which will lead to achieve the long-term objective for complete eradication of cancer. This book contains fifteen chapters which begins with the concept of systems and network biology for investigating the epigenetics of cancer followed by a series of articles on the role of miRNAs and their target genes in the biology of pancreatic cancer and other cancers such as breast, kidney, prostate and and colon. Since it is becoming increasingly clear that cancer stem cells (CSCs) are important in the development and progression of cancer, and CSCs are important in therapeutic resistance, treatment failure and tumor recurrence, thus the importance of CSCs and epigenetics has been highlighted by a very timely article on epigenetic variations of stem cell markers in cancer including miRNAs. Moreover, just targeting heterogeneous cancer cell populations may not be optimal to eradicate tumors and for which one must take a holistic approach for developing drugs that could also target the tumor microenvironment and tumor dormancy that are regulated through epigenetics. Keeping abreast with this thought process the concluding chapter provides a concept towards curative cancer therapy with maspin, which could be a unique window of opportunity to target tumor dormancy. Therefore, it suggest that targeting the tumor dormancy and the tumor microenvironment using novel therapeutics specifically by targeting epigenetics would become the future of medicine.

Overall, this book illustrates the complexities of the regulation and deregulation of genes mediated through epigenetics in the development and progression of human malignancies. All the articles have been carefully chosen to represent several cancer systems with state of our knowledge on the role of epigenetic deregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) and their target mRNAs along with epigenetic deregulation of mRNAs. This book also illustrates the role of several dietary agents, collectively called nutraceuticals or natural agents in modulating the epigenetic reprogramming of miRNAs and mRNAs for the prevention and/or treatment of human malignancies. It is well known that genetic aberrations, especially inherited through parents (somatic genetic alterations) contribute to the development of less than 10% of all cancer yet epigenetic alterations in genes especially through selective methylation and acetylation appears to be responsible for the development and progression of the vast majority of all cancers. Therefore, understanding the role of epigenetics in the regulation of genes especially through deregulated expression of miRNAs as presented in this book will allow scientists to devise targeted therapeutic strategies for re-expression of the lost genes or down-regulate the genes that are over-expressed in order to eradicate cancer. It is hoped that targeting epigenetics will not only target cancer cells but it will also target the tumor microenvironment (more like the entire tumor environment such as the entire host) for achieving better treatment outcomes for patients diagnosed with cancer which will lead to achieve the long-term objective for complete eradication of cancer. This book contains fifteen chapters which begins with the concept of systems and network biology for investigating the epigenetics of cancer followed by a series of articles on the role of miRNAs and their target genes in the biology of pancreatic cancer and other cancers such as breast, kidney, prostate and and colon. Since it is becoming increasingly clear that cancer stem cells (CSCs) are important in the development and progression of cancer, and CSCs are important in therapeutic resistance, treatment failure and tumor recurrence, thus the importance of CSCs and epigenetics has been highlighted by a very timely article on epigenetic variations of stem cell markers in cancer including miRNAs. Moreover, just targeting heterogeneous cancer cell populations may not be optimal to eradicate tumors and for which one must take a holistic approach for developing drugs that could also target the tumor microenvironment and tumor dormancy that are regulated through epigenetics. Keeping abreast with this thought process the concluding chapter provides a concept towards curative cancer therapy with maspin, which could be a unique window of opportunity to target tumor dormancy. Therefore, it suggest that targeting the tumor dormancy and the tumor microenvironment using novel therapeutics specifically by targeting epigenetics would become the future of medicine.