A Study in Neo‐conservative Populism: Richard Trudgen's Why Warriors Lie Down and Die

First appearing in 2000, and with 20,000 copies sold as it entered its sixth printing in 2004, Richard Trudgen's Why Warriors Lie down and Die is a minor publishing phenomenon. Although scholarly forums have generally ignored the book, Christian media outlets, the popular press and neo‐conservative political activists have enthusiastically received and promoted it. An examination of the merits of Why Warriors Lie down and Die suggests that its popularity is only partly explained by original observations or insights on the part of the author. The most important explanation, and implication, of the book's remarkable take‐up lies in the opportune way in which it corresponds with now ascendant neo‐conservative political perspectives on indigenous policy.     

Synthesis and storage of a neurohormone in insect brains in vitro

The build-up of neurosecretory material in the median neurosecretory cells and fibre tracts of cultured cockroach brains was demonstrated by staining and bioassay. Examination of the cultured brains by electron microscopy showed active production of neurosecretory granules after 3 days in vitro. The close correlation of the results obtained by these different methods of assay leaves little doubt that a neurohormone is being synthesized and stored.     

Biodistribution and pharmacokinetics of vanadium following intraperitoneal administration of vanadocene dichloride to mice

The biodistribution and pharmacokinetics of vanadium following i.p. administration of vanadocene dichloride (VDC), a representative of a new class of organometallic anticancer agents, is reported for Strain A mice. A convenient flameless atomic absorption spectroscopic assay is described and is used to determine kinetic profiles for vanadium in blood, kidney, liver, small intestine and brain tissue for times up to 24 h after administration. For a VDC dose of 80 mg/kg, vanadium concentration decreases rapidly from both the blood and small intestine, and the data can be fit to a phenomenological exponential function (blood: t1/2 = 118 +/- 43 min; small intestine: t1/2(alpha) = 18.10 +/- 0.14 min, t1/2(beta) = 341 +/- 45 min). In contrast, vanadium accumulates in both the kidney and liver up to a maximal concentration (1.12 +/- 0.06 mM and 0.56 +/- 0.06 mM after 12 and 8 h, respectively), and is then excreted with estimated half-lives of 7.9 +/- 0.7 and 12.1 +/- 0.1 h, respectively. No detectable levels of vanadium are found in the brain tissue over the temporal course of the experiment. These results are compared to previous mammalian studies with cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum(II) (CDDP) and related 'second generation' platinum derivatives; there are both qualitative similarities between the vanadium and platinum systems as well as important quantitative differences.     

The Redox Biochemistry of Protein Sulfenylation and Sulfinylation

Controlled generation of reactive oxygen species orchestrates numerous physiological signaling events (Finkel, T. (2011) Signal transduction by reactive oxygen species. J. Cell Biol. 194, 7–15). A major cellular target of reactive oxygen species is the thiol side chain (RSH) of Cys, which may assume a wide range of oxidation states (i.e. −2 to +4). Within this context, Cys sulfenic (Cys-SOH) and sulfinic (Cys-SO₂H) acids have emerged as important mechanisms for regulation of protein function. Although this area has been under investigation for over a decade, the scope and biological role of sulfenic/sulfinic acid modifications have been recently expanded with the introduction of new tools for monitoring cysteine oxidation in vitro and directly in cells. This minireview discusses selected recent examples of protein sulfenylation and sulfinylation from the literature, highlighting the role of these post-translational modifications in cell signaling.