This paper discusses how urban freight activity can function such that it meets the urban sustainability objectives policy makers are now beginning to implement. It considers: the importance of urban freight transport in maintaining the economic vitality of the city; the negative impacts that it imposes; the concept of urban sustainability and the development of sustainability strategies; and the means and measures by which freight transport could be made more sustainable. It presents results from a project that investigated the current freight transport operations of seven different companies in three urban areas in the UK. The potential operational, financial and environmental effects of four policy measures on these operations are considered.2

Maternal exposure to increased synthetic glucocorticoids (GC) during pregnancy is known to disturb fetal development and increase the risk of long-term disease. Maternal exposure to elevated levels of natural GC is likely to be common yet is relatively understudied. The placenta plays an important role in regulating fetal exposure to maternal GC but is itself vulnerable to maternal insults. This study uses a mouse model of maternal corticosterone (Cort) exposure to investigate its effects on the developing placenta. Mice were treated with Cort (33 μg/kg·h) for 60 h starting at embryonic d 12.5 (E12.5) before collection of placentas at E14.5 and E17.5. Although Cort exposure did not affect fetal size, placentas of male fetuses were larger at E17.5 in association with changes in placental Igf2. This increase in size was associated with an increase in placental thickness and an increase in placental junctional zone volume. Placentas from female fetuses were of normal size and had no changes in growth factor mRNA levels. The expression of the protective enzyme 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 was increased at E14.5 but was decreased in males at E17.5. In contrast, the expression of Nr3c1 (which encodes the GC receptor) was increased during the Cort exposure and remained elevated at E17.5 in the placentas of male fetuses. Our study has shown that maternal Cort exposure infers a sex-specific alteration to normal placental growth and growth factor expression, thus further adding to our understanding of the mechanisms of male dominance of programmed disease.

Alcohol consumption throughout pregnancy can cause metabolic dysregulation, including glucose intolerance in progeny. This study determined if periconceptional (PC) alcohol (12% v/v in a liquid diet) (PC:EtOH) consumed exclusively around conception results in similar outcomes in Sprague-Dawley rats. Control (C) rats were given a liquid diet containing no alcohol but matched to ensure equal caloric intake. PC maternal alcohol intake (from 4 days before conception until day 4 of gestation), resulted in offspring with elevated fasting plasma glucose (∼10-25%, P < 0.05), impaired glucose tolerance (P < 0.05), and decreased insulin sensitivity (P < 0.01) at 6 months of age. This was associated with increased hepatic gluconeogenesis and sex-specific alterations in peripheral protein kinase B (AKT) signaling. These changes were accompanied by increased mRNA expression of DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) 1, 3a, and 3b (1.5- to 1.9-fold, P < 0.05) in fetal liver in late gestation, suggesting PC:EtOH may cause epigenetic changes that predispose offspring to metabolic dysfunction. Exposure to a postnatal (PN) high-fat and cholesterol diet (HFD) from 3 months of age caused hyperinsulinemia (∼2-fold increase, P < 0.001) and exacerbated the metabolic dysfunction in male offspring exposed to PC:EtOH but had no additive effects in females. Given many women may drink alcohol while planning a pregnancy, it is crucial to increase public awareness regarding the effects of alcohol consumption around conception on offspring health.

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The effects of maternal alcohol consumption around the time of conception on offspring are largely unknown and difficult to determine in a human population. This study utilized a rodent model to examine if periconceptional alcohol (PC:EtOH) consumption, alone or in combination with a postnatal high-fat diet (HFD), resulted in obesity and liver dysfunction. Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a control or an ethanol-containing [12.5% (vol/vol) EtOH] liquid diet from 4 days before mating until 4 days of gestation ( n = 12/group). A subset of offspring was fed a HFD between 3 and 8 mo of age. In males, PC:EtOH and HFD increased total body fat mass ( P < 0.05, P < 0.0001); in females, only HFD increased fat mass ( P < 0.0001). PC:EtOH increased microvesicular liver steatosis in male, but not female, offspring. Plasma triglycerides, HDL, and cholesterol were increased in PC:EtOH-exposed males ( P < 0.05), and LDL, cholesterol, and leptin (Lep) were increased in PC:EtOH-exposed females ( P < 0.05). mRNA levels of Tnf-α and Lep in visceral adipose tissue were increased by PC:EtOH in both sexes ( P < 0.05), and Il-6 mRNA was increased in males ( P < 0.05). These findings were associated with reduced expression of microRNA-26a, a known regulator of IL-6 and TNF-α. Alcohol exposure around conception increases obesity risk, alters plasma lipid and leptin profiles, and induces liver steatosis in a sex-specific manner. These programmed phenotypes were similar to those caused by a postnatal HFD, particularly in male offspring. These results have implications for the health of offspring whose mothers consumed alcohol around the time of conception.

Suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3), as a key regulator of cytokine signaling, has the potential to modulate numerous cellular processes. Its involvement in inflammatory disease is well established, and there is increasing evidence for a role in breast cancer as a regulator of signal transducers and activators of transcription (STATs). Here we show that over-expression of SOCS3 markedly supresses STAT3 expression, and abrogates STAT5 phosphorylation, resulting in decreased cell proliferation in T47D breast cancer cells, and decreased proliferation and anchorage-independent growth in MCF7 cells. Using T47D cells, we elucidated the signaling pathways and transcription factors involved in SOCS3 expression in response to prolactin, a key mammotropic hormone. Quantitative real time PCR was used to examine SOCS3 mRNA expression, IP/WB was used to examine STAT phosphorylation, luciferase reporter assays, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and gel shift assays allowed evaluation of ciselements and trans-factors regulating SOCS3 expression. We demonstrate that prolactin-induced SOCS3 expression is STATdependant, predominantly involving STAT5, although STAT1 is also associated with the promoter. In addition, prolactin-induced SOCS3 promoter activation requires PKA-stimulated Sp1 binding to the GC-rich region of the promoter. Finally, we show that PRLinduced SOCS3 expression can be potentiated by co-treatment with PGE 2 . This study demonstrates that SOCS3 acts as an antiproliferative agent in breast cancer cells, and highlights the complexity of SOCS3 regulation and crosstalk. ' 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Key words: SOCS3; breast cancer; prolactin; STAT; Sp1The Suppressor of Cytokine Signaling (SOCS) proteins were originally discovered as inhibitors of Class I cytokine receptor signaling through the Janus Kinase/Signal Transducers and Activators of Transcription (JAK/STAT) pathway. 1,2 Because expression of SOCS proteins is also upregulated by the same signaling pathway, it was realized that they complete an intracellular negative feedback loop that modulates cellular responsiveness to cytokines. For example, SOCS2 and cytokine-inducible SH2-containing protein (CIS) modulate GH-receptor signaling in the liver 3,4 whilst SOCS1 regulates IL-21 signaling in T cells. 5 In breast cancer, SOCS1-3 and CIS are expressed at higher levels in carcinoma compared with adjacent normal tissue, 6 and in breast cancer cell lines compared with normal mammary cells. 7 Therefore, it has been suggested that SOCS proteins could play a role in the initiation or progression of breast cancer. However, recent studies have demonstrated that SOCS3 has an anti-tumorigenic role in hepatic carcinoma, [8][9][10] and is silenced in hepatocellular and adenocarcinoma 11,12 and that reduced SOCS3 expression in breast cancer could be correlated to reduced lymph node metastasis. 13 The precise role of SOCS3 in breast cancer progression remains elusive.The present study aims to establish direct actions of SOCS3 on proliferation in breast cancer cells, and ...

Excessive exposure to alcohol prenatally has a myriad of detrimental effects on the health and well-being of the offspring. It is unknown whether chronic low-moderate exposure of alcohol prenatally has similar and lasting effects on the adult offspring’s health. Using our recently developed Sprague-Dawley rat model of 6% chronic prenatal ethanol exposure, this study aimed to determine if this modest level of exposure adversely affects glucose homeostasis in male and female offspring aged up to eight months. Plasma glucose concentrations were measured in late fetal and postnatal life. The pancreas of 30 day old offspring was analysed for β-cell mass. Glucose handling and insulin action was measured at four months using an intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test and insulin challenge, respectively. Body composition and metabolic gene expression were measured at eight months. Despite normoglycaemia in ethanol consuming dams, ethanol-exposed fetuses were hypoglycaemic at embryonic day 20. Ethanol-exposed offspring were normoglycaemic and normoinsulinaemic under basal fasting conditions and had normal pancreatic β-cell mass at postnatal day 30. However, during a glucose tolerance test, male ethanol-exposed offspring were hyperinsulinaemic with increased first phase insulin secretion. Female ethanol-exposed offspring displayed enhanced glucose clearance during an insulin challenge. Body composition and hepatic, muscle and adipose tissue metabolic gene expression levels at eight months were not altered by prenatal ethanol exposure. Low-moderate chronic prenatal ethanol exposure has subtle, sex specific effects on glucose homeostasis in the young adult rat. As aging is associated with glucose dysregulation, further studies will clarify the long lasting effects of prenatal ethanol exposure.

Suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) is expressed by lymphoid cells and can modulate the sensitivity of these cells to cytokine stimulation through inhibition of Janus kinase (JAK)/signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) signaling pathways. This study employed a mouse pro-B cell line expressing the human GH receptor (BaF/3-GHR), to elucidate the signal transduction pathways used by GH to elicit SOCS3 expression. GH treatment of these cells caused a rapid, dose-dependent increase in SOCS3 mRNA expression, which was independent of de novo protein synthesis. As expected, GH treatment increased JAK-dependent STAT5 tyrosine phosphorylation, which bound to the proximal STAT response element (pSRE) on the SOCS3 promoter. This process appeared to involve STAT5b, rather than STAT5a. In addition, GH activation of the SOCS3 promoter required a nearby activator protein (AP) 1/cAMP response element (CRE), which bound cAMP response element binding protein, c-Fos, and c-Jun. Moreover, inhibitors of p38 MAPK and c-Jun N-terminal kinase prevented GH-stimulation of SOCS3 mRNA expression in these cells, suggesting a role for these kinases in SOCS3 transcription. Importantly, GH stimulation increased binding of FOXO3a to the SOCS3 promoter at a site overlapping the AP1/CRE response element, and overexpression of FOXO3a in these cells augmented SOCS3 promoter activation. In addition, we show a direct interaction between FOXO3a and STAT5 in these cells, which may provide a link between STAT5 and the AP1 transcription factors on the SOCS3 promoter. We conclude that regulation of SOCS3 expression by GH in a pro-B cell involves not only the pSRE, but also a transcriptionally active complex involving cAMP response element binding protein/c-Fos/c-Jun and FOXO3a. This study has implications for cytokine regulation of SOCS gene expression in lymphoid cells.