The relationship between workplace justice and self-reported occupational accidents in construction employees of Taiwan.

This study investigated the correlation between workplace justice and self-reported occupational accidents among employees of construction industry in Taiwan, and data from a national survey of employees in 2013 was analyzed. This study sampled a total of 1,543 employees age 25 to 65 in the construction industry, among whom 1,379 were men and 164 were women. Information regarding the experience of work-related accidents occurring over the previous 12 months prior to the survey was obtained by a standardized questionnaire. Also obtained were participants' employment conditions, self-reported health, job demands as well as workplace justice. The prevalence rates of occupational accidents in man and women were 22.84% and 13.41%, respectively. Under controlling participants' employment conditions, self-reported health and job demands there was higher rate of occupational accidents among male construction employees with lower workplace justice. This study provides directions for occupational safety and health interventions.

The Need for Scholarly Evaluation of Programmes Targeting Mental Health Stigma in Singapore.

Stigma towards people with mental illness is widely prevalent in Singapore despite nearly 2 decades of anti-stigma efforts. The latest and most ambitious initiative to tackle stigma, "Beyond the Label", was launched in 2018. We believe that it is timely to highlight the missing gap in Singapore's anti-stigma efforts-the lack of evaluative research on anti-stigma programmes. It is crucial that organisations involved in the battle against stigma publish peer-reviewed papers detailing the construction and effectiveness of their programmes vis-à-vis established frameworks or guidelines. We also provide suggestions on useful resources for organisations that are engaged in anti-stigma work.

Metabolomics approach for investigation of effects of dengue virus infection using the EA.hy926 cell line.

This paper describes a multiplatform analytical approach combining proton nuclear magnetic resonance ((1)H NMR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry (MS), together with pattern recognition tools in a metabolomic study used to investigate the effects of dengue virus infection. The four serotypes of dengue, DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3, and DEN-4, were inoculated into the EA.hy926 cell line, which was then incubated for various time intervals. Principal component analysis (PCA) of the (1)H NMR and MS data revealed metabolic profile patterns or fingerprint patterns that can be attributed to specific virus serotypes. Distinct effects of infection by each serotype were demonstrated, and these differences were attributed to changes in levels of metabolites (including amino acids, dicarboxylic acids, fatty acids, and organic acids related to the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle). The study demonstrated application of metabolomics to improve understanding of the effect of dengue infection on endothelial cells' metabolome.

A pituitary gene encodes a protein that produces differentiation of breast and prostate cancer cells.

A cDNA clone of 1.1 kb encoding a 108-aa polypeptide was isolated from a human pituitary cDNA library by expression cloning. This protein was named tumor differentiation factor (TDF). The recombinant TDF protein and a 20-aa peptide, P1, selected from the ORF of the gene, induced morphological and biochemical changes consistent with differentiation of human breast and prostate cancer cells. Fibroblast, kidney, hepatoma, and leukemic lymphocytic cell lines were unaffected. Breast and prostate cancer cells aggregated in spheroid-like structures within 24 h of exposure to TDF. This effect was abrogated by a specific affinity-purified rabbit polyclonal anti-P1 Ab. E-cadherin expression was increased in a dose-dependent manner by TDF. Treatment of MCF7 cells with TDF led to production of a lactalbumin-related protein. Peptide P1 significantly decreased the growth of androgen-independent DU145 prostate cancer in severe combined immunodeficient mice. The presence of TDF protein in human sera was detected by the anti-P1 Ab, suggesting a role of TDF in endocrine metabolism. The fact that all activities of TDF can be mimicked by a peptide derived from the encoding TDF sequence opens the possibility of therapeutic applications.