Triiodothyronine suppresses humoral immunity but not T-cell-mediated immune response in incubating female eiders (Somateria mollissima)

Immunity is believed to share limited resources with other physiological functions and this may partly account for the fitness costs of reproduction. Previous studies have shown that the acquired immunity of female common eiders (Somateria mollissima) is suppressed during the incubation fast. To save energy, triiodothyronine (T3) is adaptively decreased during fasting in most bird species, despite T3 levels are maintained throughout incubation in female eiders. However, the relationship between thyroid hormones and the immune system is not fully understood. The current study aimed to determine the endocrine mechanisms that underlie immunosuppression in incubating female eiders. ..

Decreased leptin concentration in neonates is associated with enhanced postnatal growth during the first year

AbstractLeptin regulates maternal metabolism and fetal growth by reducing food intake and increasing energy expenditure, particularly during the third trimester. In this study, we investigated the relationships between leptin and growth, and explored the longitudinal change of leptin in early postnatal life. A total of 58 infants were categorized according to gestational length and birth weight. Arterial blood samples were taken within 24 hours (Day 1), and on Days 4 and 7 of life. Plasma leptin levels were measured by commercial human leptin enzyme immunometric assay. The average serum leptin level declined in the first week of life. There was a positive correlation between leptin level and body weight on Day 4. Neonates with leptin decrease between Day 1 and Day 4 had better weight gain at one year old, and the hospital stay day was shorter. Furthermore, the full feeding days and the duration of feeding priming and full feeding days in the leptin decrease group were less than in the leptin increase group. Serum leptin was significantly decreased and positively correlated with neonates' body weight gain in the first week of life. A rapid decline in serum leptin after birth is associated with greater future weight gain and physiological advantage for infants' life

Leptin fails to blunt the lipopolysaccharide-induced activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in rats

Copyright @ 2013 The authors. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.Obesity is a risk factor for sepsis morbidity and mortality, whereas the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis plays a protective role in the body's defence against sepsis. Sepsis induces a profound systemic immune response and cytokines serve as excellent markers for sepsis as they act as mediators of the immune response. Evidence suggests that the adipokine leptin may play a pathogenic role in sepsis. Mouse endotoxaemic models present with elevated leptin levels and exogenously added leptin increased mortality whereas human septic patients have elevated circulating levels of the soluble leptin receptor (Ob-Re). Evidence suggests that leptin can inhibit the regulation of the HPA axis. Thus, leptin may suppress the HPA axis, impairing its protective role in sepsis.We hypothesised that leptin would attenuate the HPA axis response to sepsis.We investigated the direct effects of an i.p. injection of 2 mg/kg leptin on the HPA axis response to intraperitoneally injected 25 μg/kg lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the male Wistar rat. We found that LPS potently activated the HPA axis, as shown by significantly increased plasma stress hormones, ACTH and corticosterone, and increased plasma interleukin 1β (IL1β) levels, 2 h after administration. Pre-treatment with leptin, 2 h before LPS administration, did not influence the HPA axis response to LPS. In turn, LPS did not affect plasma leptin levels. Our findings suggest that leptin does not influence HPA function or IL1b secretion in a rat model of LPS-induced sepsis, and thus that leptin is unlikely to be involved in the acute-phase endocrine response to bacterial infection in rats.The section is funded by grants from the MRC, BBSRC, NIHR and an Integrative Mammalian Biology (IMB) Capacity Building Award, and by a FP7-HEALTH-2009-241592 EuroCHIP grant and is supported by the NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre Funding Scheme. This work is supported by a BBSRC Doctoral Training-Strategic Skills Award grant (BB/F017340/1)

Chronic unpredictable stress regulates visceral adipocyte-mediated glucose metabolism and inflammatory circuits in male rats

Chronic psychological stress is a prominent risk factor involved in the pathogenesis of many complex diseases, including major depression, obesity, and type II diabetes. Visceral adipose tissue is a key endocrine organ involved in the regulation of insulin action and an important component in the development of insulin resistance. Here, we examined for the first time the changes on visceral adipose tissue physiology and on adipocyte-associated insulin sensitivity and function after chronic unpredictable stress in rats. Male rats were subjected to chronic unpredictable stress for 35 days. Total body and visceral fat was measured. Cytokines and activated intracellular kinase levels were determined using high-throughput multiplex assays. Adipocyte function was assessed via tritiated glucose uptake assay. Stressed rats showed no weight gain, and their fat/lean mass ratio increased dramatically compared to control animals. Stressed rats had significantly higher mesenteric fat content and epididymal fat pad weight and demonstrated reduced serum glucose clearing capacity following glucose challenge. Alterations in fat depot size were mainly due to changes in adipocyte numbers and not size. High-throughput molecular screening in adipocytes isolated from stressed rats revealed activation of intracellular inflammatory, glucose metabolism, and MAPK networks compared to controls, as well as significantly reduced glucose uptake capacity in response to insulin stimulation. Our study identifies the adipocyte as a key regulator of the effects of chronic stress on insulin resistance, and glucose metabolism, with important ramifications in the pathophysiology of several stress-related disease states

Improving Acne Vulgaris Knowledge in Adolescents: Computer-Based Tutorial versus Handout

IMPROVING ACNE VULGARIS KNOWLEDGE IN ADOLESCENTS: COMPUTER-BASED TUTORIAL VERSUS HANDOUT Ohenewaa Larbi Ahima; James Dziura; Richard J. Antaya, Department of Dermatology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT. Given the choice, adolescents would most likely prefer a computer-based tutorial (CBT) on acne vulgaris rather than a handout with the same information. The aims of the study were to assess pre- and post-test preference of either a handout or CBT on acne among adolescents, and to assess adolescents knowledge of acne before and after the intervention. One hundred ten patients ages 13 to 17 participated in the study. All subjects completed a pretest questionnaire about preference of either a CBT or handout, and to assess baseline knowledge of acne. Subjects were then randomized to either the CBT or handout. Immediately after the intervention, subjects completed preference and acne knowledge questionnaires to assess change in knowledge. One month later a posttest was given and subjects completed the same acne knowledge questionnaire to assess knowledge retention. In the pretest sixty-seven percent of subjects preferred the CBT versus 33% for the handout (p = 0.0006). Posttest preference for the CBT was 68% versus 31% for the handout (p = 0.0002). Each group liked their medium of tutorial (p = 0.085). More subjects in the CBT group than the handout group felt the pictures were adequate (p = 0.0003). Likewise, more subjects in the CBT group than the handout group felt the tutorial was easy to understand (p = 0.02). Adolescent patients prefer to learn about acne with a CBT rather than a handout. Both CBT and handout tutorial are equally beneficial in significantly improving short- and moderate-term knowledge about acne among adolescent patients

Maternal corticotropin-releasing hormone is associated with LEP DNA methylation at birth and in childhood: an epigenome-wide study in Project Viva

BackgroundCorticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) plays a central role in regulating the secretion of cortisol which controls a wide range of biological processes. Fetuses overexposed to cortisol have increased risks of disease in later life. DNA methylation may be the underlying association between prenatal cortisol exposure and health effects. We investigated associations between maternal CRH levels and epigenome-wide DNA methylation of cord blood in offsprings and evaluated whether these associations persisted into mid-childhood.MethodsWe investigated mother-child pairs enrolled in the prospective Project Viva pre-birth cohort. We measured DNA methylation in 257 umbilical cord blood samples using the HumanMethylation450 Bead Chip. We tested associations of maternal CRH concentration with cord blood cells DNA methylation, adjusting the model for maternal age at enrollment, education, maternal race/ethnicity, maternal smoking status, pre-pregnancy body mass index, parity, gestational age at delivery, child sex, and cell-type composition in cord blood. We further examined the persistence of associations between maternal CRH levels and DNA methylation in children's blood cells collected at mid-childhood (n = 239, age: 6.7-10.3 years) additionally adjusting for the children's age at blood drawn.ResultsMaternal CRH levels are associated with DNA methylation variability in cord blood cells at 96 individual CpG sites (False Discovery Rate <0.05). Among the 96 CpG sites, we identified 3 CpGs located near the LEP gene. Regional analyses confirmed the association between maternal CRH and DNA methylation near LEP. Moreover, higher maternal CRH levels were associated with higher blood-cell DNA methylation of the promoter region of LEP in mid-childhood (P < 0.05, β = 0.64, SE = 0.30).ConclusionIn our cohort, maternal CRH was associated with DNA methylation levels in newborns at multiple loci, notably in the LEP gene promoter. The association between maternal CRH and LEP DNA methylation levels persisted into mid-childhood

Understanding the Factors Associated with Engaged Scholarship: A Case Study of Sociologists in the University of Cape Coast, Ghana

Although initially established for the purpose of training teachers and management staff for the formal education sector, one of the major objectives of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) is to establish partnerships with both local and international communities and organizations in ways that simultaneously enhance academic scholarship and socioeconomic development. For this reason, this study examined the significance of university policies on community engagement and the practice of public sociology. Specifically, the influence of epistemological dispositions and perceptions concerning disciplinary, institutional and social demands on engaged scholarship are addressed. The challenges associated with the practice of engaged scholarship and “public sociology” are discussed by identifying the ironies presented by the laws and decrees of UCC and two other national policies for Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs). Data was also collected from fifteen (n=15) academic faculty (sociologists) from DSA and the CEGRAD using a questionnaire with mostly open-ended questions. The responses of participants of this research elucidated some of the major factors associated with the feasibility of the practice of public sociology. Also outlined are some of the community engagement practices pursued in the midst of all the challenges presented in the UCC and Ghanaian context

Intersection between metabolic dysfunction, high fat diet consumption, and brain aging

Deleterious neurochemical, structural, and behavioral alterations are a seemingly unavoidable aspect of brain aging. However, the basis for these alterations, as well as the basis for the tremendous variability in regards to the degree to which these aspects are altered in aging individuals, remains to be elucidated. An increasing number of individuals regularly consume a diet high in fat, with high‐fat diet consumption known to be sufficient to promote metabolic dysfunction, although the links between high‐fat diet consumption and aging are only now beginning to be elucidated. In this review we discuss the potential role for age‐related metabolic disturbances serving as an important basis for deleterious perturbations in the aging brain. These data not only have important implications for understanding the basis of brain aging, but also may be important to the development of therapeutic interventions which promote successful brain aging.Fil: Uranga, Romina Maria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca; ArgentinaFil: Bruce Keller, Annadora J.. State University of Louisiana; Estados UnidosFil: Morrison, Christopher D.. State University of Louisiana; Estados UnidosFil: Fernandez Kim, Sun Ok. State University of Louisiana; Estados UnidosFil: Ebenezer, Philip J.. State University of Louisiana; Estados UnidosFil: Zhang, Le. State University of Louisiana; Estados UnidosFil: Dasuri, Kalavathi. State University of Louisiana; Estados UnidosFil: Keller, Jeffrey N.. State University of Louisiana; Estados Unido

Food for thought:Leptin regulation of hippocampal function and its role in Alzheimer's disease

Expression of TP63 in breast cancer cell lines. (PDF 407 kb

Reading Habits of Selected Communication Educators in Ghana

This study investigated the intensive and the extensive reading habits of Communication Educators in Ghana. It sought to explore how reading habits enhance the professional and personal lives of the Communication Educators. Questionnaires were used to gather responses from a total of 80 Communication Educators. The findings of this research clearly depict that most of the Communication Educators are not passionate readers considering the fact that they mostly read pedagogical materials in their field of study with minimal concentration on materials which required daily reading to broaden their knowledge base and also for pleasure and relaxation. The findings also revealed the constrains that some of the Educators face in getting current pedagogical textbooks from their various Institutions for the purpose of teaching. Keywords: Reading; Reading habits; Communication Educators. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-3-05 Publication date: January 31st 202