Rural place attachment in Hispano urban centers

Continued rural to urban migration is helping to motivate cultural geographers to better understand the complexity of the urban structure. Interpreting patterns of gender, class, ethnicity, and commercialization have proven to be fertile research areas, yet little is understood of the links between rural and urban places. Despite intense feelings of loyalty to their rural villages, the 1940s witnessed Hispanos moving en masse to cities. By the 1950s, due to higher wages and secure employment, a majority were living in regional urban centers. The Hispano experience provides a valuable crucible to examine how the attachment urbanites have for rural places is manifested in various urban cultural expressions. Presenting examples garnered from the cities of Albuquerque, Española, and Santa Fe, New Mexico and Pueblo, Colorado, this article illustrates how painted murals, burial preferences, popular music, and irrigation ditches provide urban dwellers with a link to the rural village ideal. Understanding threads of rural culture that have been incorporated into the urban fabric leads to a clearer comprehension of the emotional attachment urbanites have for rural areas and a better appreciation of the complexity of the urban cultural environment

Temporal shifts of the Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) gut bacterial communities

The aim of this study was to investigate the gut bacterial communities of Nephrops norvegicus individuals, using a suite of molecular tools consisting of automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis, 16S rRNA gene-internal transcribed spacer clone libraries and FISH. The animals were collected from Pagasitikos Gulf, Greece, during different months of the year. The diversity of the gut bacterial communities was found to mostly vary with sampling time, which could be related to temporal variations in food supply. The 16S rRNA gene diversity analysis showed dominance of specific phylotypes for each month studied. February, May, July, August and October samples were rich in sequences related to the gammaproteobacterial genera Pseudoalteromonas, Psychrobacter and Photobacterium. September and December samples were dominated by phylotypes affiliated with uncultured representatives of Mollicutes, which are generally associated with the intestinal tracts of various animals. The presence of Gammaproteobacteria and uncultured Mollicutes in August and September samples, respectively, was further confirmed by FISH. None of the morphometric parameters considered was related to the temporal pattern of dominant bacterial communities

The Flavonoid Luteolin Worsens Chemical-Induced Colitis in NF-κBEGFP Transgenic Mice through Blockade of NF-κB-Dependent Protective Molecules

BACKGROUND: The flavonoid luteolin has anti-inflammatory properties both in vivo and in vitro. However, the impact of luteolin on experimental models of colitis is unknown. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To address the therapeutic impact of luteolin, NF-κB(EGFP) transgenic mice were fed a chow diet containing 2% luteolin- or isoflavone-free control chow (AIN-76), and acute colitis was induced using 3% dextran sodium sulfate (DSS). Additionally, development of spontaneous colitis was evaluated in IL-10(−/−);NF-κB(EGFP) transgenic mice fed 2% luteolin chow diet or control chow diet. Interestingly, NF-κB(EGFP) transgenic mice exposed to luteolin showed worse DSS-induced colitis (weight loss, histological scores) compared to control-fed mice, whereas spontaneous colitis in IL-10(−/−);NF-κB(EGFP) mice was significantly attenuated. Macroscopic imaging of live resected colon showed enhanced EGFP expression (NF-κB activity) in luteolin-fed mice as compared to control-fed animals after DSS exposure, while cecal EGFP expression was attenuated in luteolin-fed IL-10(−/−) mice. Interestingly, confocal microscopy showed that EGFP positive cells were mostly located in the lamina propria and not in the epithelium. Caspase 3 activation was significantly enhanced whereas COX-2 gene expression was reduced in luteolin-fed, DSS-exposed NF-κB(EGFP) transgenic mice as assessed by Western blot and immunohistochemical analysis. In vitro, luteolin sensitized colonic epithelial HT29 cells to TNFα-induced apoptosis, caspase 3 activation, DNA fragmentation and reduced TNFα-induced C-IAP1, C-IAP2 and COX-2 gene expression. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We conclude that while luteolin shows beneficial effects on spontaneous colitis, it aggravates DSS-induced experimental colitis by blocking NF-κB-dependent protective molecules in enterocytes