Natural Parent Research Articles

Perceiving referential intent: Dynamics of reference in natural parent–child interactions

Two studies are presented which examined the temporal dynamics of the social-attentive behaviors that co-occur with referent identification during natural parent–child interactions in the home. Study 1 focused on 6.2h of videos of 56 parents interacting during everyday activities with their 14–18month-olds, during which parents uttered common nouns as parts of spontaneously occurring utterances. Trained coders recorded, on a second-by-second basis, parent and child attentional behaviors relevant to reference in the period (40s) immediately surrounding parental naming. The referential transparency of each interaction was independently assessed by having naïve adult participants guess what word the parent had uttered in these video segments, but with the audio turned off, forcing them to use only non-linguistic evidence available in the ongoing stream of events. We found a great deal of ambiguity in the input along with a few potent moments of word-referent transparency; these transparent moments have a particular temporal signature with respect to parent and child attentive behavior: it was the object’s appearance and/or the fact that it captured parent/child attention at the moment the word was uttered, not the presence of the object throughout the video, that predicted observers’ accuracy. Study 2 experimentally investigated the precision of the timing relation, and whether it has an effect on observer accuracy, by disrupting the timing between when the word was uttered and the behaviors present in the videos as they were originally recorded. Disrupting timing by only ±1 to 2s reduced participant confidence and significantly decreased their accuracy in word identification. The results enhance an expanding literature on how dyadic attentional factors can influence early vocabulary growth. By hypothesis, this kind of time-sensitive data-selection process operates as a filter on input, removing many extraneous and ill-supported word-meaning hypotheses from consideration during children’s early vocabulary learning.

Novel juglone and plumbagin 5-O derivatives and their in vitro growth inhibitory activity against apoptosis-resistant cancer cells.

Juglone 1 an plumbagin 2 are plant secondary metabolites nowadays well known for their anticancer properties. In this study we synthesized analogues of 1 and 2 deriving from the functionalization of the OH group in position 5 with different side chains in form of esters and ethers. Therefore the growth inhibitory activities of these adducts were evaluated in vitro on six cancer cell lines using the MTT colorimetric assays along with the two natural parent compounds. The data revealed that these latter displayed the strongest growth inhibitory activities in vitro. Quantitative videomicroscopy analyses were then carried out on human U373 glioblastoma cells, which are characterized by various level of resistance to pro-apoptotic stimuli. We compared the naturally occurring reference compounds 1 and 2 with the derivatives exerting the best activities in terms of IC50 growth inhibitory values. These analyses showed that both juglone and plumbagin had a cytostatic effect on U373 cells and were able to overcome the intrinsic resistance of U373 cancer cells to pro-apoptotic stimuli.

Total synthesis and cytotoxic activities of longamide B, longamide B methyl ester, hanishin, and their analogues

The marine alkaloids, longamide B (1), longamide B methyl ester (2), hanishin (3), and a series of non-naturally occurring analogues were synthesized in an efficient manner from inexpensive commercially available dl-aspartic acid dimethyl ester. The cytotoxicities of these natural products (1-3) and their analogues (9-15) were evaluated against human lung adenocarcinoma (A549) and human prostate cancer (PC3) cells. This is the first evaluation of the cytotoxicities of these alkaloids in these cancer cell lines and it revealed that analogue 15 had comparable cytotoxic activity to its natural parent compound, (±)-hanishin (3). This study provides useful information for further structural modification of these alkaloids in order to develop novel antitumor agents.

Rejection of natural parent presumption

Rejection of natural parent presumption

Ecological and human health hazards of heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in road dust of Isfahan metropolis, Iran

This study investigates trace elements and PAHs content in road dust of Isfahan metropolis, central Iran. The mean concentrations of As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sb and Zn are 22.15, 2.14, 182.26, 66.63, 393.33, 6.95 and 707.19mgkg−1, respectively. When compared with upper continental crust, the samples generally display elevated trace element concentrations, except for Co and Cr. The decreasing trend of calculated enrichment factors (EFs) is Cd>Pb>Sb>Zn>Cu>As>Ni>Cr>Co. Calculated potential ecological risk reveals that among the analyzed metals, Cd and Pb, have a higher potential ecological risk. Statistically, two identified main sources of trace elements include road traffic emissions and resuspension of soil particles. As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Sb and Zn in Isfahan road dust are strongly influenced by anthropogenic activity, mainly traffic emissions, while Co, Cr and Ni originate from resuspension of soil natural parent particles. The sum of 13 major PAHs (∑13PAHs) mass concentration ranges from 184.64 to 3221.72μgkg−1 with the mean being 1074.58μgkg−1. PAHs sources are identified using PCA analysis. It is demonstrated that the PAHs in Isfahan road dust are mainly derived from traffic emission, coal combustion and petroleum. Toxic equivalent concentrations (TEQs) of PAHs in the road dust ranges between 25.021μgkg−1 and 230.893μgkg−1. High correlation coefficients (r2=0.909 and 0.822, p<0.01) between Benzo[a]pyrene, Benzo[b+k]fluoranthene and toxicity equivalent concentrations of road dust indicate that Benzo[a]pyrene and Benzo[b+k]fluoranthenes are major TEQ contributors. The total incremental life time cancer risk (ILCR) of exposure to PAHs from Isfahan metropolis urban dust is 4.85×10−4 for adult and 5.02×10−4 for children. Estimated results of ILCR indicate that Isfahan residents are potentially exposed to high cancer risk via both dust ingestion and dermal contact.

Abstract 2283: Potent curcumin analog FLLL-12 targets both intrinsic and extrinsic signaling pathways to induce apoptosis in lung cancers

Abstract Background: Curcumin is the major bioactive compound isolated from the rhizome of Curcuma longa (turmeric). Despite its high margin of safety and efficacy against various types of cancers, the potential utility of curcumin as a chemopreventive/chemotherapeutic drug is compromised by its low bioavailability and poor selectivity. To circumvent these problems, more potent and selective curcumin analogues have been developed. In the current study, we investigated the mechanism of apoptosis of one such synthetic analogue, FLLL-12, against lung cancers. This compound was reported to exhibit potent anti-tumor activity against prostate, colon and breast cancer cell lines. However, its mechanism of growth inhibition has yet to be elucidated. Methods: Multiple premalignant and fully transformed lung cancer cell lines were used throughout the study. SRB assay was used to measure cell growth inhibition. Annexin V staining was conducted for apoptosis assay. Expression of mRNAs and proteins were measured by RT-PCR and Western blotting, respectively. Gene overexpression and knockdown strategies were used to activate or shut down of specific proteins. Results: IC50 values and apoptosis assay results showed that FLLL-12 was ∼10-fold more potent than the natural parent compound, curcumin, against lung cancer cells. Further mechanistic studies revealed that FLLL-12 induced the expression of DR5, inhibited the protein expression of EGFR, p-AKT, AKT and Bcl-2 and increased the expression of BIM. Analysis of mRNA expression suggested that FLLL-12 strongly inhibited the mRNA expression of EGFR and AKT, whereas the expression of Bcl-2 and Bim mRNAs remained unchanged. FLLL-12 also induced the expression of p53 and p73. However, inactivation of these proteins with their dominant negative construct or siRNA had no significant effects on apoptosis induction. Conclusions: Our results strongly suggest that FLLL-12 is a potent curcumin analog that induces apoptosis of lung cancer cell lines by targeting: (1) intrinsic pathways via transcriptional inhibition of EGFR and AKT and induction of BIM, and (2) extrinsic pathway via induction of DR5. Future in vivo studies using appropriate animal models are warranted for further development of this promising compound for cancer prevention and/or treatment for lung cancer. (Supported by R03CA171663, P50CA128613 and Robbins Scholar Award of Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University). Citation Format: A.R.M. Ruhul Amin, Abedul Haque, Mohammad A. Rahman, James R. Fuchs, Zhuo G. Chen, Dong M. Shin. Potent curcumin analog FLLL-12 targets both intrinsic and extrinsic signaling pathways to induce apoptosis in lung cancers. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 2283. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-2283

Laboratory chamber measurements of the longwave extinction spectra and complex refractive indices of African and Asian mineral dusts

AbstractIn this study we present the first results from laboratory chamber experiments newly designed to investigate the longwave optical properties of mineral dust. Extinction spectra in the 2–16 µm range have been measured in situ (T = 293 K, RH &lt; 2%) for polydispersed pure dust aerosols generated from natural parent soils from Tunisia, Niger, and the Gobi desert. Data are used in combination with particle size distributions to estimate the complex refractive index of each dust sample. Our results show that the magnitude and spectral dependence of the dust extinction and refractive indices differ according to particle mineralogy, suggesting the necessity for regionally resolved optical properties for modeling dust radiative effects in the longwave. The magnitude of extinction is controlled by the particle size distribution and remains significant down to low coarse particle concentrations, indicating that the longwave effect of mineral dust persists throughout long‐range transport and is thus relevant at the global scale.

Synthesis and preliminary biologic activity evaluation of nitric oxide-releasing andrographolide derivatives in RIN-m cells.

Pancreatic β-cell dysfunction and death are important feature of diabetes mellitus. Beta-cell protection has demonstrated clinical benefits in the treatment of this disease. In the present study, andrographolide derivatives with nitric oxide (NO)-releasing capability were synthesized and their protective effects against tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BHP) induced cell damage were investigated in RIN-m cells. Compound 6b was found to release a moderate amount of NO and was more potent than its natural parent andrographolide in inhibiting cell apoptosis. These findings suggested that andrographolide derivatives with NO-releasing capacity may be a potential therapy for diabetes.

Approaches toward soil mapping of urban territories with the city of perm as an example

The diversity of urban soils and technogenic surface formations (TSFs) in the city of Perm is predetermined by the diverse lithologic and geomorphic conditions; different types of land use (residential areas with low-rise and multistory buildings, industrial zones, and agricultural zones) further enhance it. The soil cover of Perm has a mosaic pattern with contrasting changes in the morphology and genesis of its components. The areas of separate soils and TSFs cannot be delineated upon medium- and even large-scale mapping of the territory. We suggest that urban pedocomplexes—combinations of soils and TSFs developing within a given functional zone of the city from the same parent materials—should be shown on the map. Urban pedocomplexes differ from one another in the character of the predominant soils and TSFs. They inherit some features from the natural soils and parent materials and are transformed under the impact of the major type of land use.

Source identification and ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in topsoil using environmental geochemical mapping: Typical urban renewal area in Beijing, China

Environmental geochemical mapping with high-density soil sampling was conducted to determine the spatial distribution, possible sources and potential ecological risk of heavy metals at a former chemical industry area in Beijing. A total of 550 surface soil samples were collected and the concentrations of heavy metals, such as Ni, Cr, V, As, Cu, Pb, Cd, Zn and Hg, were analyzed. The spatial distribution characteristics of these metals were demonstrated by environmental geochemical mapping. Enrichment factors show that the soil concentrations of Cu, Pb, Cd, Zn and especially Hg were higher than the background values. Multivariate geostatistical analyses suggested that Cu, Pb, Cd, Zn and Hg in the topsoil were strongly influenced by anthropogenic or chemical industry activities while Ni, As, V and Cr mainly originated from the natural parent materials of the soils. The potential ecological risk was quantitatively estimated for each site and the risk map was plotted for assessment. Among the metals, Cd and Hg showed a higher potential ecological risk than the others.

Restrictions on natural parent contact with infants during care proceedings where forced adoption may be the outcome: some cautions about recent research and developing practice

Child protection practice and law in the United Kingdom (UK) and North America is almost unique in the world with regard to the ability of courts to override the objections of natural parents to the adoption of their children. This controversial legal outcome is known as forced adoption. There is strong pressure from government in the UK for more children to be removed from the care of their parents and to be quickly placed with adoptive parents. This article presents a critical review of specific research that is relied on to justify drastic limitation on contact between natural parents and separated infants during the care proceedings process. It is argued that such restrictions are not neutral, and instead act to promote a fait accompli of forced adoption.

Helper and Obstacle: the image of the father in four Swedish mother-narrated novels of the early 21st Century: Myrén, Nordin, Sandberg and Sveland

In my research on French and Swedish mother-narrated novels, the role given to the father stands out as a prime locus of difference between the two literatures. In the French mother-narratives, the most striking feature of the father is his absence. In accordance with the 20th Century image of the father, he is typically excluded from the mother-child dyad, and when present, he generally incarnates not body and care, but rather a traditional image of the father as bread-winner, law-keeper and/or representative for the outer sphere. In the Swedish novels, things are different. Without idealizing neither the stories, nor Sweden as a country, I will, in this paper, display some examples of a new and insistent trope in Swedish literature: the father as a caring bodily presence. Partly in light of the French novels, I will explore what this presence amounts to in four novels in which the mother is a narrator, and what it means for the narrating mothers. The novels I analyse are: I en familj finns inga fiender by Viktoria Myrén (2009); Ta itu by Kristina Sandberg (2003); Bitterfittan by Maria Sveland (2007); and Gå sönder, gå hel by Sofia Nordin (2011). I argue that the father is ascribed a double role, as both a helper and an obstacle in the mother's quest for liberation and subjectivity. On the one hand, he helps the mother to free herself from the idea of the mother as the exclusive natural parent and to move towards gender equality. On the other hand, he is insensitive to the oppressive effects of the traditional mother image, and sometimes uses it himself to limit his partner, by inducing feelings of guilt. I suggest that this ambiguous literary image of the father can be understood as an articulation of the imbalance between norm and reality concerning gender equality, which is present in Sweden today.

Enmein-type diterpenoid analogs from natural kaurene-type oridonin: Synthesis and their antitumor biological evaluation

A series of enmein-type diterpenoid analogs (11–20) derived from natural kaurene-type diterpenoid oridonin were synthesized and biologically evaluated. All target compounds showed improved anti-proliferative activities against four human cancer cell lines compared with natural oridonin and parent compound 10. Some compounds were more potent than positive control Taxol. Furthermore, mechanistic investigation showed that the representative compound 17 affected cell cycle and induced apoptosis at low micro-molar level in human hepatoma Bel-7402 cells, via an oxidative stress triggered mitochondria-related caspase-dependent pathway.

Design, synthesis and molecular docking studies of sinomenine derivatives

In order to search for drugs with excellent anti-inflammatory activities, a series of novel sinomenine derivatives were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their inhibition activities against NF-κB activation induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Compared with the natural parent sinomenine, compounds 2a–w showed higher activity, while compounds 1a–o showed similar activity against NF-κB. Moreover, a molecular model for the binding between compound 2v and the active site of p50 was provided on the basis of the computational docking results.

The resveratrol analog 4,4'-dihydroxy-trans-stilbene suppresses transformation in normal mouse fibroblasts and inhibits proliferation and invasion of human breast cancer cells

4,4'-dihydroxy-trans-stilbene (DHS) is a synthetic analog of resveratrol, a phytoalexin known for its biological activities. We previously demonstrated that DHS exerts an antiproliferative effect on normal human fibroblasts that is higher than that of the natural parent molecule. No evidence regarding its role in human cancer cell lines has been found thus far. In this study, we investigated the effects of DHS both on chemical-induced transformation of BALB/c 3T3 mouse fibroblasts and on the proliferation and invasion of human breast cancer MCF-7 cells. The results showed that DHS markedly suppresses the two-stage (3-methylcholanthrene plus 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate) cell transformation. Compared with resveratrol, DHS inhibited both anchorage-dependent and -independent MCF-7 growth more efficiently. In addition, a reduction in the number of cells in S-phase, characterized by a concomitant increase in the levels of p21 and p53 proteins, together with a strong inhibition of pRb protein phosphorylation, was observed in DHS-treated cells. Furthermore, DHS effected a strong reduction in matrix metalloproteinase-2 and -9 activities, concomitantly with a marked inhibition of cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix components as well as inhibition of cell migration and invasion. Importantly, modulation of the adhesion molecule E-cadherin was also found in DHS-treated cells. Taken together, these results demonstrate that the two 4,4'-hydroxyl groups on the stilbenic backbone make DHS a more active molecule than resveratrol in inhibiting neoplastic transformation, cancer cell proliferation and invasion. In conclusion, this study suggests that DHS could be a promising anticancer agent.

STATEWIDE SPECIAL EDUCATION SURROGATE PARENT PROGRAMS: ENSURING QUALITY ADVOCACY TO ALL FOSTER CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL EDUCATION NEEDS

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) protects foster children's rights to have a special education decision maker. For foster children who do not have a natural or adoptive parent or a responsible adult in their life to take on this role, IDEIA requires that a special education surrogate parent be appointed by appropriate procedures. Under IDEIA, these procedures are delegated to the states. Each state must ensure that local education agencies (LEAs) delineate methods for recruiting and maintaining a pool of available special education surrogate parents. Due to differing state laws and LEA procedures, there are many discrepancies in the quality and availability of special education surrogate parents. To combat these problems, this Note proposes principles for administrative regulations establishing statewide special education surrogate parent programs by examining existing statewide programs. Administered through a state's Department of Education in collaboration with child welfare agencies, statewide special education surrogate parent programs guarantee well‐qualified decision makers who will advocate for all children eligible for special education services.

Impact assessment of heavy metal pollution in the municipal lake water, Yaounde, Cameroon

The objectives of this study are to evaluate the extent of heavy metal pollution in water at the Municipal Lake of Yaounde, and to find out their variability and origin. Water from fifteen selected sites of the lake and River Mingoa, Cameroon was sampled in August 16th of 2005 and 2006 and in 30th August 2007 during the minor dry season; and subjected to the analyses of physicochemical parameters and various elements. In addition, multivariate data analysis techniques including principal component analysis (PCA) were utilized to determine the variations in heavy metal content in the Municipal Lake water and their natural or anthropogenic sources. The chemical results indicated that concentrations of Al, Fe, Mn, Cd and Pb in the study area exceeded the drinking water quality and they would pose health risk for users of these waters. This is evidence that River Mingoa, the main tributary to the Municipal Lake is the main collector of pollutants from activities in the sloping side of the Municipal Lake. Based on the multivariate statistical analysis, very high positive correlations were observed between elements, and five factors computed from PCA explained 86.6% of total variance. These factor loadings are mainly controlled by anthropogenic inputs, lithogenic processes during weathering progress of natural parent materials and local geology.

Regio- and stereoselective C10β–H functionalization of sinomenine: an access to more potent immunomodulating derivatives

Regio- and stereoselective C10β–H functionalization of sinomenine, an economically available natural immunomodulating alkaloid, has been studied, developed and successfully applied to the synthesis of new immunosuppressive sinomenine derivatives in a protecting-free fashion. Regioselective oxidation of sinomenine with (diacetoxyiodo)benzene (DIB) in water provided a single stable benzoquinone derivative 4, and subsequent 1,6-conjugated addition of 4 with alcohols, amines, and thiols afforded a new series of C10β–H functionalized sinomenine derivatives stereoselectively. Some derivatives with a newly introduced 10β-bezenesulfanyl substituent exhibited much higher TNF-α inhibitory potency than their natural parent sinomenine. This work opens a convenient access to novel sinomenine derivatives with medicinal interests.

Reaction Characteristics of Andrographolide and its Analogue AL-1 with GSH, as a Simple Chemical Simulation of NF-κB Inhibition

14-α-Lipoic acid-3,19-dihydroxyandrographolide (AL-1, 2) is an analogue of andrographolide (Andro, 1) coupled to α-lipoic acid (LA, 4). AL-1 was at least 10-fold more potent than the natural parent compound Andro in inhibiting nuclear factor (NF)-κB activation in RIN-m cells. In the present study, glutathione (GSH, 3) was used as a simple chemical model molecule of NF-κB with cysteine 62. The characteristics of the reaction between AL-1 or Andro and GSH were investigated to trace some possible elucidation for the inhibitive mechanism and stronger inhibition of AL-1 to NF-κB activation. The results showed that the main reaction products of AL-1 and Andro were identical, sulfhydryl adduct and amino adduct. AL-1 reacted much faster than Andro with GSH. The product yield of AL-1 was much higher than that of Andro. It was speculated that AL-1 might inhibit NF-κB by the same mechanism as Andro. And the faster reaction rate and higher yield may account for the stronger NF-κB inhibition of AL-1 when compared with Andro.

The Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP) with Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC): Comprehensive Care for Preterm Infants.

State-of-the-art Newborn Intensive Care Units (NICUs), instrumental in the survival of high-risk and ever-earlier-born preterm infants, often have costly human repercussions. The developmental sequelae of newborn intensive care are largely misunderstood. Developed countries eager to export their technologies must also transfer the knowledge-base that encompasses all high-risk and preterm infants' personhood as well as the neuro-essential importance of their parents. Without such understanding, the best medical care, while assuring survival jeopardizes infants' long-term potential and deprives parents of their critical role. Exchanging the womb for the NICU environment at a time of rapid brain growth compromises preterm infants' early development, which results in long-term physical and mental health problems and developmental disabilities. The Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP) aims to prevent the iatrogenic sequelae of intensive care and to maintain the intimate connection between parent and infant, one expression of which is Kangaroo Mother Care. NIDCAP embeds the infant in the natural parent niche, avoids over-stimulation, stress, pain, and isolation while it supports self-regulation, competence, and goal orientation. Research demonstrates that NIDCAP improves brain development, functional competence, health, and life quality. It is cost effective, humane, and ethical, and promises to become the standard for all NICU care.