Protein causes varicose veins

Friday, November 4, 2011

Varicose veins, sometimes referred to as "varices" in medical jargon, are usually just a cosmetic problem if they occur as spider veins. In their advanced stage, however, they pose a real health threat. In people with this widespread disorder, the blood is no longer transported to the heart unhindered but instead pools in the veins of the leg. This is because the vessel walls or venous valves no longer function adequately. Dr. Thomas Korff and his group at the Division of Cardiovascular Physiology (Director: Prof. Markus Hecker) of Heidelberg University's Institute of Physiology and Pathophysiology have now shown that the pathological remodeling processes causing varicose veins are mediated by a single protein.

As a response to increased stretching of the vessel wall, this protein triggers the production of several molecules promoting changes in wall architecture. The paper published in the current issue of FASEB Journal may offer a possibility for using drugs to decelerate the formation of or even prevent new varicose veins.

Previously, no suitable experimental systems existed for studying the way in which these changes in the cells of the blood vessels are controlled. For their studies, Korff and his team took advantage of the fact that blood vessels in the mouse ear are clearly visible and are also easily accessible for minor surgical procedures. In order to artificially set off processes that are similar to the formation of varicose veins, they tied off a vein with a thin thread. The elevated pressure in the vessels caused by the pooled blood led to the recognizable remodeling characteristic of varicose veins. In addition, in the affected veins, the cell proliferation rate and the production of MMP-2 increased. MMP-2 is an enzyme that breaks down the non-cellular components of the connective tissue of the blood vessels. On the other hand, there were no signs of an inflammatory response, which can be observed during other vessel remodeling processes.

Model allows agents to be tested

"Nevertheless, the cellular mechanisms that control the formation of varicose veins appear to be similar to mechanisms that orchestrate the remodeling of arteries in patients with high blood pressure," Korff explains. The transcription factor AP-1 which regulates the activity of certain genes and thus the corresponding protein production is regulated by the filling pressure in the blood vessels and in turn controls the formation of varicose veins, Korff adds. If AP-1 is inhibited, thus prohibiting it from activating genes, the characteristic corkscrew-like varicose veins do not form and cell proliferation and the production of enzymes that break down connective tissue remain at normal levels.

In a further experiment, the group showed that the results obtained in the mouse are also valid for humans. Varicose veins that have been surgically removed from patients exhibited the same cellular and molecular changes as the varicose veins created artificially in the mouse ear. Based on these results, Korff plans more studies. "Using our model, we can now more precisely analyze the early stages of the disorder and test possible drugs for their ability to prevent varicose vein formation, which, as a result, may improve the quality of life of afflicted patients."

According to the German Vascular League, 30 million people suffer from minor vein-related symptoms, whereby women are affected around twice as often as men. According to a health report published by the German government, 15 to 20 percent of the population has varicose veins.

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University Hospital Heidelberg: http://www.klinikum.uni-heidelberg.de/

Thanks to University Hospital Heidelberg for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/114966/Protein_causes_varicose_veins

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Pilot convicted of flying drunk gets prison time

DENVER?? A United Express pilot convicted of flying while drunk will serve six months in prison.

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Thirty-three-year-old Aaron Jason Cope of Norfolk, Va., was sentenced Friday in Denver federal court.

Cope was also ordered to serve six months in home detention after completing his prison term followed by two years of supervised release.

He was convicted in June of flying under the influence from Austin, Texas, to Denver in December 2009. The flight was operated by Shuttle America for United Express.

The plane's captain thought he smelled alcohol on Cope's breath and an initial breathalyzer showed he had a blood alcohol content of 0.09 percent. A later confirmation test showed a 0.08 level.

The Federal Aviation Administration prohibits anyone from flying with a blood alcohol content of 0.04 percent or higher.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45168365/ns/travel-news/

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Selena Gomez stalker pleads not guilty (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) ? An Illinois man pleaded not guilty on Thursday to stalking teenage actress Selena Gomez, best known for her role in Disney television show "Wizards of Waverly Place.

Thomas Brodnicki, 46, also was ordered to stay away from the actress for three years. He told a psychiatrist that he traveled to Los Angeles to see the star and had conversations with God about killing her, according to court documents.

In October, the 19-year-old Gomez obtained a temporary stay away order against Brodnicki. She said she was in "extreme fear" of Brodnicki in a statement filed with the court.

Along with her role on "Wizards of Waverly Place," the actress is known for her part in this year's film "Monte Carlo" and she is the girlfriend of singer Justin Bieber.

(Reporting and Writing by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111103/people_nm/us_selenagomez

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Huge asteroid headed for close encounter with Earth (Reuters)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla (Reuters) ? A huge asteroid will pass closer to Earth than the moon on Tuesday, giving scientists a rare chance for study without having to go through the time and expense of launching a probe, officials said.

Earth's close encounter with Asteroid 2005 YU 55 will occur at 6:28 p.m. EST on Tuesday, as the space rock sails about 201,000 miles from the planet.

"It is the first time since 1976 that an object of this size has passed this closely to the Earth. It gives us a great -- and rare -- chance to study a near-Earth object like this," astronomer Scott Fisher, a program director with the National Science Foundation, said on Friday during a Web chat with reporters.

The orbit and position of the asteroid, which is about 1,312 feet in diameter, is well known, added senior research scientist Don Yeomans, with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

"There is no chance that this object will collide with the Earth or moon," Yeomans said.

Thousands of amateur and professional astronomers are expected to track YU 55's approach, which will be visible from the planet's northern hemisphere. It will be too dim to be seen with the naked eye, however, and it will be moving too fast for viewing by the Hubble Space Telescope.

"The best time to observe it would be in the early evening on November 8 from the East Coast of the United States," Yeomans said. "It is going to be very faint, even at its closest approach. You will need a decent-sized telescope to be able to actually see the object as it flies by."

Scientists suspect YU 55 has been visiting Earth for thousands of years, but because gravitational tugs from the planets occasionally tweak its path, they cannot tell for sure how long the asteroid has been in its present orbit.

"These sorts of events have been happening for most of the lifetime of the Earth, about 4.5 billion years," Fisher said.

Computer models showing the asteroid's path for the next 100 years show there is no chance it will hit Earth during that time, added Yeomans.

"We do not think that it will ever impact the Earth or moon (but) we only have its orbit calculated for the next 100 years," he said.

Previous studies show the asteroid, which is blacker than charcoal, is what is called a C-type asteroid that is likely made of carbon-based materials and some silicate rock.

More information about its composition and structure are expected from radar images and chemical studies of its light as the asteroid passes by the planet.

"I've read that we will be able to see details down to a size of about 15 feet across on the surface of the asteroid," Fisher said.

NASA is working on a mission to return soil samples from an asteroid known as 1999 RQ36 in 2020, followed by a human mission to another asteroid in the mid-2020s.

Japan also plans to launch an asteroid sample return mission in 2018.

(Editing by Tom Brown and Philip Barbara)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111104/sc_nm/us_space_asteroid

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Medea Benjamin: Jailed for Sailing to Gaza, Challenging the Blockade

Two boats full of courageous passengers were on their way to Gaza when they were intercepted on Friday, November 4, by the Israeli military in international waters. We call the passengers courageous because they sailed from Turkey on November 2 with the knowledge that at any moment they might be boarded by Israeli commandos intent on stopping them -- perhaps violently, as the Israeli military did in 2010 when they killed nine humanitarian aid workers on the Turkish boat named Mavi Marmara.

The boats -- one from Canada and one from Ireland -- were carrying 27 passengers, including press and peace activists from Ireland, Canada, the United States, Australia and Palestine. They were unarmed, and the Israeli military knew that. They were simply peace activists wanting to connect with civilians in Gaza, and the Israeli military knew that. Yet naked aggression was used against them in international waters -- something that is normally considered an act of piracy.

The passengers on the boats were sailing to Gaza to challenge the U.S.-supported Israeli blockade that is crippling the lives of 1.6 million Palestinian civilians in Gaza. They were sailing to stand up against unaccountable power -- the power of the Israeli government -- that has been violating the basic rights of the 5.5 million Palestinians that live inside Israel's pre-1967 borders or in the Occupied Territories. They were sailing for us, civil society, who believe in human rights and the rule of law.

The Arab Spring -- which has now spread to cities across the United States in the form of the "#occupy" movement, and has been echoed in protests against economic injustice in Europe and Israel as well -- has fundamentally been a challenge to unaccountable power. Some countries experiencing this protest wave are dictatorships under military rule or ruled by monarchies; others are generally considered "democracies." But in all instances the majority feel that they have been shut out of decision-making and have been harmed by policies benefiting a narrow elite with disproportionate power.

The blockade of Gaza's civilians is an extreme example of unaccountable power. Palestinians in Gaza aren't allowed to vote for Israeli or American politicians. But due to political decisions taken in Israel and the United States, Palestinians in Gaza are prevented from exporting their goods, traveling freely, farming their land, fishing their waters or importing construction materials to build their homes and factories.

We have been to Gaza before, where we have seen the devastation firsthand. We have also been to Israel and the West Bank, where we have seen how the Israeli government is detaining Palestinians at checkpoints, building walls that cut them off from their lands, demolishing their houses, arbitrarily imprisoning their relatives and imposing economic restrictions that prevent them from earning a living. We have seen how Palestinians, like people everywhere, are desperate to live normal and dignified lives.

A UN Report released in September found that "Israel's oppressive policies [in Gaza] constitute a form of collective punishment of civilians", that these policies violate both international humanitarian and human rights law, and that the illegal siege of Gaza should be lifted. The International Committee of the Red Cross also called the blockade of Gaza a violation of international law because it constitutes "collective punishment" of a civilian population for actions for which the civilians are not responsible. The Red Cross is a neutral humanitarian organization. It doesn't usually go around making pronouncements on matters of public policy. The fact that it has done so in this case should be a strong signal to the international community that the blockade of Gaza is extreme and must fall.

History has shown us again and again that when political leaders decide it's in their interest, then peace, diplomacy, negotiations are possible. Recently, Israel and Hamas -- with the help of the new Egyptian government -- successfully negotiated a prisoner exchange that had eluded them for five years. In speeches, the Israeli government "opposes negotiations with Hamas," and in speeches, Hamas "opposes negotiations with Israel." But when they decided it was in their interest, they had no problem sitting down at the table and hammering out an agreement.

If Israel and Hamas can negotiate an agreement to release prisoners, then surely Israel and Hamas can negotiate an agreement to lift the blockade on Gaza's civilians.

But the people of Gaza can't wait for political leaders to decide it's in their interest to negotiate, so it's up to us -- as civil society -- to step up the pressure. That's what these waves of boats are doing. That's what the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement is doing.

More than a year ago, President Obama called the blockade unsustainable. "It seems to us that there should be ways of focusing narrowly on arms shipments, rather than focusing in a blanket way on stopping everything and then, in a piecemeal way, allowing things into Gaza," he said. That hasn't happened. Why not? Why shouldn't it happen now? What does blocking Palestinian exports from Gaza to Europe or keeping people from getting medical treatment abroad have to do with arms shipments?

The Israeli military stopped these two small ships carrying peace activists to Gaza, but they won't stop the Palestinians who are demanding freedom, and they won't stop the solidarity movement. We won't stop challenging the blockade on Gaza's civilians -- by land and by sea -- until the blockade falls. And we won't stop challenging the denial of Palestinian democratic aspirations until those aspirations are realized.

Medea Benjamin is the cofounder of CODEPINK and Global Exchange. Robert Naiman is the Director of Just Foreign Policy.

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Follow Medea Benjamin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@medeabenjamin

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/medea-benjamin/gaza-blockade-boats_b_1077273.html

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Vikings stadium talks not dead yet (Star Tribune)

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Nebraska Democrat wavering on whether to retire (AP)

WASHINGTON ? All the pieces are in place for a re-election bid, but Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson is wavering on whether he'll seek a third term in 2012 or retire ? a decision that could have a big effect on Democrats' chances of holding their Senate majority.

Nelson told The Associated Press on Thursday that he'll make a decision over the holiday season. In the meantime, he's piled up campaign cash, hired a campaign manager and watched his party spend more than $1 million on ads supporting him.

But Nelson, a conservative Democrat, has told friends and supporters he's not a lock for another run and has expressed frustration with the inability of a divided Congress to pass meaningful legislation.

"He's alluded to a lot of frustration back in Washington," said former Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey, a Nelson supporter. "There's a lot of frustration with him and independent-minded senators about the ability to get things done."

Fahey said he expected Nelson's happiness on the job, as well as family concerns, to factor heavily in his decision.

Nelson's decision will have important consequences for Democratic hopes of maintaining control of the Senate. Republicans need to net four seats in 2012 to take back the upper chamber.

Republicans see his seat as a pickup opportunity either way: They believe the state has tilted further to the right in recent years and think Nelson's vote for President Barack Obama's signature health care legislation will weigh him down.

But Nelson, a two-term governor before winning a Senate seat, would give Democrats a fighting chance. Nelson dipped in polls after the health care debate, but he has shown an ability to rebound after being down in statewide races before.

Guy Cecil, the executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said Thursday his organization is still planning for Nelson to run but will await his announcement.

For his part, Nelson said he'll act as if he's running until he decides he's not.

"The campaign is moving as planned," Nelson said. "We are raising money, hiring staff."

Nelson's preparation has left him with a healthy cash advantage should he decide to go for a third term. He has more than $3 million cash on hand, about twice his nearest competitor, and has the luxury of stockpiling money while Republicans have a crowded primary that includes Don Stenberg, the state's treasurer, Jon Bruning, the attorney general, and Deb Fischer, a state senator.

Nelson said he is not making his intentions clear, in part, because "campaigns are too long," he said.

"I don't want everything I say or do viewed through the prism of re-election," he said. "Perhaps this is the norm for my colleagues, but it is not the way I have operated in the past."

Fahey said Nelson's kept close counsel on his decision. But he said he believes Nelson is leaning more toward running than not and said Nelson is behaving the same way he has when he's run in past elections.

"I think he's absolutely prepared himself to run," Fahey said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111104/ap_on_el_se/us_senate_nelson

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