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AimsTo examine the roles of the membrane attack complex of complement and its sole membrane regulator, CD59, in atherosclerosis.MethodsC6 (C6−/−) deficient and CD59a (Cd59a−/−) knockout mice were separately crossed onto the apolipoprotein E knockout (apoE−/−) background. The double knockout mice were fed high-fat diet in order to study the effects of absence of C6 or CD59a on the progression of atherosclerosis.ResultsC6 deficiency significantly reduced plaque area and disease severity. CD59a had the opposite effect in that deficiency was associated with a significant increase in plaque area, correlating with increased membrane attack complex (MAC) deposition in the plaque and increased smooth muscle cell proliferation in early plaques.ConclusionsOur results demonstrate that the MAC contributes to the development of atherosclerosis, C6 deficiency being protective and CD59a deficiency exacerbating disease.

LIS1 is highly specific for isolated p>a lissencephaly. The high frequency of genomic deletions/duplications of LIS1 is in keeping with the over representation of Alu elements in the 17p13.3 region. MLPA has a high diagnostic yield and should be used as first line molecular diagnosis for p>a lissencephaly.

It is time to rethink the geography of American cities and suburbs in the first half of the twentieth century. Theoretical argument and substantive research have both challenged the received wisdom, which continues to rely heavily on the ideas of the Chicago school of sociology and especially those of Ernest Burgess. In theoretical terms, writers have challenged the view that geographical patterns merely reflect society, suggesting instead that space is integral to economic and social processes. A company does not make its production and location decisions separately: each implies the other. Similarly, a household chooses to live where it can afford, and what it can afford depends on the mix of work strategies that a certain location allows. Such theoretical insights imply that even if the geography of urban areas conformed to the models of the Chicago school, it must be conceptualized anew. 1 In fact, historical research is challenging the substantive accounts offered by Burgess and by many later writers. The enduring model assumes that jobs were concentrated near the city center, except for a few large factories at the fringe. It supposes that jobs and low wages kept immigrant workers in central cities, sometimes in sectors along radial rail lines. Supposedly, only affluent families could afford new suburban homes, while the exclusivity of the suburbs was ensured by suburban self-rule. This view stresses inner-city poverty and suburban affluence. It has inspired many studies of central immigrant ghettoes and slums and, following Warner, the suburban experiences of the middle class. 2 Recently, however, some writers have provided disconfirming evidence of industrial decentralization and of fringe settlement by workers and 262