Effect Of Pregnancy And Lactation On Lipoprotein And Cholesterol Metabolism In The Rat

Origins of hyperlipidemia and cholestasis that occur during pregnancy were investigated by examining expression of key elements related to plasma and hepatic cholesterol metabolism during pregnancy, lactation, and post-lactation in the rat model. Among major findings were: during pregnancy, the activities of hepatic 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase, acyl coenzyme A:cholesterol acyltransferase, acyl coenzyme A:diacylglycerol acyltransferase, cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase, cholesterol ester hydrolases, low density lipoprotein receptors, LRP, and mdr2 were significantly lower or similar to non-pregnant controls while SR-B1 was elevated. Once lactation began, reductase, cholesterol acyltransferase, 7 alpha-hydroxylase activities, low density lipoprotein receptors, and mdr2 increased while SR-B1 decreased. In later stages of lactation most hepatic elements returned to near control levels. Plasma cholesterol levels were higher than control at birth and during lactation with increase in LDL-size particles. By 24 h post-lactation, plasma triglycerides were 3.7-fold higher while cholesterol remained unchanged. Very large lipoproteins were present while LDL-size particles were now absent. Hepatic cholesterol acyltransferase had decreased to 27% of control while diacylglycerol acyltransferase increased 3-fold and low density lipoprotein receptors doubled. Most elements were normalized 3 weeks after weaning except for LRP and low density lipoprotein receptors which were elevated. These studies provide an integrated picture of expression of key elements of hepatic and plasma cholesterol metabolism during pregnancy and lactation and advance understanding of hyperlipidemia and cholestasis during these states

A Subjective Evaluation of Fundamental Locomotor Movement in Modern Dance Using a Five Point Rating Scale

The purpose of the study was to develop a test of fundamental locomotor movement for students enrolled in the modern dance classes at South Dakota State University. A five point rating scale was used to subjectively evaluate students who took the test. The writer devised a test of fundamental locomotor movement and conducted a pilot study. As a result of the first pilot study, certain changes were necessary for successful administration of the test. A second test was devised using only locomotor movement in pattern combinations. A second pilot study was conducted. As a result of the second pilot study, all changes made appeared feasible, and the final testing periods were planned. The final form of the test contained two parts. Part I, consisting of six items, was for beginning students in modern dance. Part II, containing ten items, was for intermediate to advanced students in modern dance. Part I of the test was administered to 19 freshmen women. Part II of the test was administered to 17 women physical education majors. The test for each group was administered twice, with two days between the test and re-test. On both days of testing, three judges used the five point rating scale to evaluate the students who performed the tests in groups of three. The students received two test scores; one score for the first administration of the test, and one score for the re-test. The generalizations made by the writer, concerning her test, include the following: 1) It would appear that a classification test for students in modern dance is needed to determine the skill levels among beginning, intermediate, and advanced students. 2) It would appear that the test developed in this study is economical to administer and practical for use in modern dance classes, since an entire class of twenty students can be tested in one 40 minute class period. 3) It would appear that if a teacher of modern dance did not wish to use the entire test, items could be selected from the test for use as challenge, motivation, and/or enjoyment

A melancolia da criatividade na poesia de Augusto dos Anjos

This book is the result, almost in its entirety, of my doctoral thesis, "The anguish of influence in the poetry of Augusto dos Anjos", defended in March 2001 at the Federal University of Paraíba under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Francisco Gomes Corrêa (Chico Viana), in which I sought to demonstrate the sublime already identified and recognized, but not yet adequately explained, in the critical fortune of the poet, which is most often considered by critics as "morbid" and "grotesque". The three sonnets discussed here, To a Masked Man, Soliloquy of a Visionary and Intimate Verses, were chosen as examples of this critical diagnosis, and through them we seek, using Harold Bloom's theory and methodology of creative anguish, to show how they, ironically and self-consciously, through the process that Bloom calls "dialectical revisionism", not only express, reflect and emanate the sublime, but also recreate it. Augusto dos Anjos is an Orphic poet and, in this sense, his poetry invites poetry lovers to the most fantastic and gratifying adventures in the realm of imagination and the sublime. It is our ambition to provide lovers of the poet with the necessary initiation to experience him, appreciate him and, finally, find him in the dimension that has always been his: that of the sublime. Before presenting the interpretations of the three poems, a discursive treatment of Bloom's theory is necessary - whose critical fortune, in Portuguese, practically does not exist - in order to situate the reader in the theoretical-critical context that supported this work. The book is divided into five chapters, the first and last being, respectively, Introduction and Final Considerations. The three sonnets will be studied verse by verse; the chapters were subdivided according to the verses or sequences of images in each verse, which require more or less discussion according to the importance they occupy in the interpretative "hierarchy".O presente livro é o resultado, quase na íntegra, de minha tese de doutorado, "A angústia da influência na poesia de Augusto dos Anjos", defendida em março de 2001 na Universidade Federal da Paraíba sob a orientação do Prof. Dr. Francisco Gomes Corrêa (Chico Viana), na qual procurei demonstrar o sublime já identificado e reconhecido, porém ainda não adequadamente explicado, na fortuna crítica do poeta, o qual na mais das vezes é considerado pela crítica como "mórbido" e "grotes co". Os três sonetos aqui tratados, A um Mascarado, Solilóquio de um Visionário e Versos Íntimos, foram escolhidos como exemplares desse diagnóstico crítico, e através deles procuramos, utilizando a teoria e metodologia da angústia da criatividade de Harold Bloom, mostrar como eles, ironicamente e auto conscientemente, através do processo que Bloom denomina "revisionismo dialético" não só expressam, refletem, emanam o sublime, mas o re-criam. Augusto dos Anjos é um poeta órfico e, nesse sentido, sua poesia convida o amante da poesia as mais fantásticas e gratificantes aventuras no domínio da imaginação e do sublime. É nossa ambição proporcionar aos amantes do poeta a iniciação necessária para vivenciá-lo, apreciá-lo e, enfim, encontrá-lo na dimensão que lhe foi sempre própria: a do sublime. Antes de apresentar as interpretações dos três poemas, faz-se necessário um tratamento discursivo da teoria de Bloom - cuja fortuna crítica, em português, praticamente não existe, para situar o leitor no contexto teórico-crítico que deu suporte a este trabalho. O livro se divide em cinco capítulos, sendo o primeiro e o último, respectivamente, Introdução e Considerações Finais. Os três sonetos serão estudados verso a verso; os capítulos foram subdivididos em função dos versos ou das sequências de imagens de cada verso, os quais demandam mais ou menos discussão conforme a importância que ocupam na "hierarquia" interpretativa

The ethics of gender in Milton's paradise lost

ERICKSON, Sandra S.Fernandes. The ethics of gender in Milton's paradise lost. Principios: revista de filosofia. Natal (RN). v. 5, n. 6, p. 155-170. 1998. ISSN 1983-2109. Disponivel em: . Acesso em: 04 out. 2010.Existe uma acirrada discussao entre os estudiosos do classico ingles Paradise Lost (John Milton, 1674) sobre o suposto misogenismo do autor. A maioria dos estudiosos, inclusive mulheres sustentam que niio. A analise da Eva Miltoniana apresentada abaixo deixa claro que niio so Milton e de fato misogenista, mas seu misogenismo vai alem da opinio comum de uma epoca que via a mulher como encarnaçao do mal. Milton, atraves de sua Eva, justifica esta visdo da mulher, aprofundando e perpetuando com sua mitopoetica a visiio etica-teolo­ gica da mulher. Sua visiio, longe de ser "moderna ", representa a reafirmaciio do ethos paternalistico da tradiciio judaico-cristii

Pequena Glossa Para Acompanhar a Leitura de Zora N. Hurston

Ler e traduzir Zora Neale Hurston supõe o domínio de diversas formas linguísticas existentes no Sul dos Estados Unidos. A autora teve a ousadia de escrever em formas não canônicas da língua inglesa com domínio e uso magistral dos diversos registros. Como não encontramos um glossário em português, é com bastante trabalho que conseguimos construir essa pequena glossa

Receitas de e nas escriturações de Zora—ou Baião-de-Dois Continentes

É muito meigo ver o interesse de Zora Hurston em todos os aspectos da vida das comunidades que ela estudou e documentou. Graças a ela muitas partes importantes da cultura negra ficaram preservadas. As receitas que ela fez questão de incluir em seus escritos científicos e ficcionais são preciosas

Mutations involving the SRY-related gene SOX8 are associated with a spectrum of human reproductive anomalies.

© The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. SOX8 is an HMG-box transcription factor closely related to SRY and SOX9. Deletion of the gene encoding Sox8 in mice causes reproductive dysfunction but the role of SOX8 in humans is unknown. Here, we show that SOX8 is expressed in the somatic cells of the early developing gonad in the human and influences human sex determination. We identified two individuals with 46, XY disorders/differences in sex development (DSD) and chromosomal rearrangements encompassing the SOX8 locus and a third individual with 46, XY DSD and a missense mutation in the HMG-box of SOX8. In vitro functional assays indicate that this mutation alters the biological activity of the protein. As an emerging body of evidence suggests that DSDs and infertility can have common etiologies, we also analysed SOX8 in a cohort of infertile men (n=274) and two independent cohorts of women with primary ovarian insufficiency (POI; n=153 and n=104). SOX8 mutations were found at increased frequency in oligozoospermic men (3.5%; P < 0.05) and POI (5.06%; P=4.5×10 -5 ) as compared with fertile/normospermic control populations (0.74%). The mutant proteins identified altered SOX8 biological activity as compared with the wild-type protein. These data demonstrate that SOX8 plays an important role in human reproduction and SOX8 mutations contribute to a spectrum of phenotypes including 46, XY DSD, male infertility and 46, XX POI.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Profiling Sterols in Cerebrotendinous Xanthomatosis: Utility of Girard Derivatization and High Resolution Exact Mass LC-ESI-MSn Analysis

In this study we profile free 3-oxo sterols present in plasma from patients affected with the neurodegenerative disorder of sterol and bile acid metabolism cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis (CTX), utilizing a combination of charge-tagging and LC-ESI-MSn performed with an LTQ-Orbitrap Discovery instrument. In addition, we profile sterols in plasma from 24-month-old cyp27A1 gene knockout mice lacking the enzyme defective in CTX. Charge-tagging was accomplished by reaction with cationic Girard\u27s P (GP) reagent 1-(carboxymethyl) pyridinium chloride hydrazide, an approach uniquely suited to studying the 3-oxo sterols that accumulate in CTX, as Girard\u27s reagent reacts with the sterol oxo moiety to form charged hydrazone derivatives. The ability to selectively generate GP-tagged 3-oxo-4-ene and 3-oxo-5(H) saturated plasma sterols enabled ESI-MSn analysis of these sterols in the presence of a large excess (3 orders of magnitude) of cholesterol. Often cholesterol detected in biological samples makes it challenging to quantify minor sterols, with cholesterol frequently removed prior to analysis. We derivatized plasma (10μl) without SPE removal of cholesterol to ensure detection of all sterols present in plasma. We were able to measure 4-cholesten-3-one in plasma from untreated CTX patients (1207±302ng/ml, mean±SD, n=4), as well as other intermediates in a proposed pathway to 5α-cholestanol. In addition, a number of bile acid precursors were identified in plasma using this technique. GP-tagged sterols were identified utilizing high resolution exact mass spectra (±5ppm), as well as MS2 ([M]+→) spectra that possessed characteristic neutral loss of 79Da (pyridine) fragment ions, and MS3 ([M]+→[M-79]+→) spectra that provided additional structurally informative fragment ions. © 2010 Elsevier B.V

The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE): Technical Overview

The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) will expand the information space for study of cosmic sources, by adding linear polarization to the properties (time, energy, and position) observed in x-ray astronomy. Selected in 2017 January as a NASA Astrophysics Small Explorer (SMEX) mission, IXPE will be launched into an equatorial orbit in 2021. The IXPE mission will provide scientifically meaningful measurements of the x-ray polarization of a few dozen sources in the 2-8 keV band, including polarization maps of several x-ray-bright extended sources and phase-resolved polarimetry of many bright pulsating x-ray sources

Nucleolar retention of a translational C/EBPα isoform stimulates rDNA transcription and cell size

The messenger RNA of the intronless CEBPA gene is translated into distinct protein isoforms through the usage of consecutive translation initiation sites. These translational isoforms have distinct functions in the regulation of differentiation and proliferation due to the presence of different N-terminal sequences. Here, we describe the function of an N-terminally extended protein isoform of CCAAT enhancer-binding protein α (C/EBPα) that is translated from an alternative non-AUG initiation codon. We show that a basic amino-acid motif within its N-terminus is required for nucleolar retention and for interaction with nucleophosmin (NPM). In the nucleoli, extended-C/EBPα occupies the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) promoter and associates with the Pol I-specific factors upstream-binding factor 1 (UBF-1) and SL1 to stimulate rRNA synthesis. Furthermore, during differentiation of HL-60 cells, endogenous expression of extended-C/EBPα is lost concomitantly with nucleolar C/EBPα immunostaining probably reflecting the reduced requirement for ribosome biogenesis in differentiated cells. Finally, overexpression of extended-C/EBPα induces an increase in cell size. Altogether, our results suggest that control of rRNA synthesis is a novel function of C/EBPα adding to its role as key regulator of cell growth and proliferation