Impact of Menstrual Phases on Stress Markers: A Pilot Study

PURPOSE: Previous research has shown that different phases of the menstrual cycle may impact biometrics such as markers of stress and inflammation [e.g., cortisol (CORT), interleukin-6] as well as body composition. However, there is scarce literature regarding markers of stress and oxidative stress such as salivary a-amylase (sAA), immunoglobin-A (SIgA) and uric acid (UA), in relation to the four different menstrual phases. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of menstrual phases on sAA, CORT, UA and SIgA. METHODS: 21 pre-menopausal women with regular menstrual cycles (n=9) oral contraceptive users (OC) and (n=12) non-oral contraceptive users (non-OC) recorded baseline cycle dates using the Flo Period Tracker appä. Participants began experimental testing after recording baseline dates, consisting of four total sessions with one session occurring during the 1) menses, 2) late follicular, 3) ovulatory and 4) late luteal phase. Salivary markers: CORT, sAA, UA, and SIgA, along with diastolic and systolic blood pressure (BP), total body water (TBW) and body fat percentage (BF%) were recorded during each phase. BF% and TBW were determined via InBody bioelectric-impedance analyzerä. 500uL of saliva was collected, with samples immediately frozen at -80°C until analysis. Saliva samples were centrifuged at 4°C for a duration of 15 minutes at 1500g prior to analysis and duplicated for CORT, sAA, UA and SIgA concentrations. Statistical procedures were conducted via SAS v 9.4 (Cary, NC). One way repeated measures analysis of variance was used to evaluate outcome measures as well as changes in salivary markers and body composition measurements across different menstrual cycle phases. Fisher’s Least Significant Difference test was used to compare means in the instance of a significant main effect (p \u3c 0.05). Partial eta squared (hp2) was run to determine effect size. RESULTS: sAA concentrations were significantly lower during the follicular phase compared menstruation phase (p = 0.006, ηp2 = 0.14). The main effect for SIgA approached significance (p = 0.05). There were no changes in CORT, UA, BF%, TBW or diastolic and systolic blood pressure. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest the menstrual cycle influences sAA concentrations in both OC users and non-OC users. More research needs to be conducted with a larger sample size in order to determine significance of SIgA in relation to menstrual phases

Adhesive latching and legless leaping in small, worm-like insect larvae

Jumping is often achieved using propulsive legs, yet legless leaping has evolved multiple times. We examined the kinematics, energetics, and morphology of long-distance jumps produced by the legless larvae of gall midges (Asphondylia sp.). They store elastic energy by forming their body into a loop and pressurizing part of their body to form a transient “leg”. They prevent movement during elastic loading by placing two regions covered with microstructures against each other, which likely serve as a newly-described adhesive latch. Once the latch releases, the transient “leg” launches the body into the air. Their average takeoff speeds (mean: 0.88 m s-1; range: 0.38-1.33 m s-1) and horizontal travel distances (up to 36 times body length or 121 mm) rival those of legged insect jumpers and their mass specific power density (mean: 1390 W kg-1; range: 240-2950 W kg-1) indicates the use of elastic energy storage to launch the jump. Based on the forces reported for other microscale adhesive structures, the adhesive latching surfaces are sufficient to oppose the loading forces prior to jumping. Energetic comparisons of insect larval crawling versus jumping indicate that these jumps are orders of magnitude more efficient than would be possible if the animals had crawled an equivalent distance. These discoveries integrate three vibrant areas in engineering and biology - soft robotics, small, high acceleration systems, and adhesive systems - and point toward a rich, and as-yet untapped area of biological diversity of worm-like, small, legless jumpers

Gene transfer into hepatocytes using asialoglycoprotein receptor mediated endocytosis of DNA complexed with an artificial tetra-antennary galactose ligand

We have constructed an artificial ligand for the hepatocyte-specific asialoglycoprotein receptor for the purpose of generating a synthetic delivery system for DNA. This ligand has a tetra-antennary structure, containing four terminal galactose residues on a branched carrier peptide. The carbohydrate residues of this glycopeptide were introduced by reductive coupling of lactose to the alpha- and epsilon-amino groups of the two N-terminal lysines on the carrier peptide. The C-terminus of the peptide, containing a cysteine separated from the branched N-terminus by a 10 amino acid spacer sequence, was used for conjugation to 3-(2-pyridyldithio)propionate-modified polylysine via disulfide bond formation. Complexes containing plasmid DNA bound to these galactose-polylysine conjugates have been used for asialoglycoprotein receptor-mediated transfer of a luciferase gene into human (HepG2) and murine (BNL CL.2) hepatocyte cell lines. Gene transfer was strongly promoted when amphipathic peptides with pH-controlled membrane-disruption activity, derived from the N-terminal sequence of influenza virus hemagglutinin HA-2, were also present in these DNA complexes. Thus, we have essentially borrowed the small functional domains of two large proteins, asialoglycoprotein and hemagglutinin, and assembled them into a supramolecular complex to generate an efficient gene-transfer system

Novel methods for detecting buried explosive devices

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Quantum Magnetics, Inc. (QM) are exploring novel landmine detection technologies. Technologies considered here include bioreporter bacteria, swept acoustic resonance, nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR), and semiotic data fusion. Bioreporter bacteria look promising for third-world humanitarian applications; they are inexpensive, and deployment does not require high-tech methods. Swept acoustic resonance may be a useful adjunct to magnetometers in humanitarian demining. For military demining, NQR is a promising method for detecting explosive substances; of 50,000 substances that have been tested, none has an NQR signature that can be mistaken for RDX or TNT. For both military and commercial demining, sensor fusion entails two daunting tasks, identifying fusible features in both present-day and emerging technologies, and devising a fusion algorithm that runs in real-time on cheap hardware. Preliminary research in these areas is encouraging. A bioreporter bacterium for TNT detection is under development. Investigation has just started in swept acoustic resonance as an approach to a cheap mine detector for humanitarian use. Real-time wavelet processing appears to be a key to extending NQR bomb detection into mine detection, including TNT-based mines. Recent discoveries in semiotics may be the breakthrough that will lead to a robust fused detection scheme

So Small, So Loud: Extremely High Sound Pressure Level from a Pygmy Aquatic Insect (Corixidae, Micronectinae)

To communicate at long range, animals have to produce intense but intelligible signals. This task might be difficult to achieve due to mechanical constraints, in particular relating to body size. Whilst the acoustic behaviour of large marine and terrestrial animals has been thoroughly studied, very little is known about the sound produced by small arthropods living in freshwater habitats. Here we analyse for the first time the calling song produced by the male of a small insect, the water boatman Micronecta scholtzi. The song is made of three distinct parts differing in their temporal and amplitude parameters, but not in their frequency content. Sound is produced at 78.9 (63.6–82.2) SPL rms re 2.10−5 Pa with a peak at 99.2 (85.7–104.6) SPL re 2.10−5 Pa estimated at a distance of one metre. This energy output is significant considering the small size of the insect. When scaled to body length and compared to 227 other acoustic species, the acoustic energy produced by M. scholtzi appears as an extreme value, outperforming marine and terrestrial mammal vocalisations. Such an extreme display may be interpreted as an exaggerated secondary sexual trait resulting from a runaway sexual selection without predation pressure

Uncovering three-dimensional gradients in fibrillar orientation in an impact-resistant biological armour

The complex hierarchical structure in biological and synthetic fibrous nanocomposites entails considerable difficulties in the interpretation of the crystallographic texture from diffraction data. Here, we present a novel reconstruction method to obtain the 3D distribution of fibres in such systems. An analytical expression is derived for the diffraction intensity from fibres, explaining the azimuthal intensity distribution in terms of the angles of the three dimensional fibre orientation distributions. The telson of stomatopod (mantis shrimp) serves as an example of natural biological armour whose high impact resistance property is believed to arise from the hierarchical organization of alpha chitin nanofibrils into fibres and twisted plywood (Bouligand) structures at the sub-micron and micron scale. Synchrotron microfocus scanning X-ray diffraction data on stomatopod telson were used as a test case to map the 3D fibre orientation across the entire tissue section. The method is applicable to a range of biological and biomimetic structures with graded 3D fibre texture at the sub-micron and micron length scales

A Revision of Malagasy Species of Anochetus Mayr and Odontomachus Latreille (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Species inventories are essential for documenting global diversity and generating necessary material for taxonomic study and conservation planning. However, for inventories to be immediately relevant, the taxonomic process must reduce the time to describe and identify specimens. To address these concerns for the inventory of arthropods across the Malagasy region, we present here a collaborative approach to taxonomy where collectors, morphologists and DNA barcoders using cytochrome c oxidase 1 (CO1) participate collectively in a team-driven taxonomic process. We evaluate the role of DNA barcoding as a tool to accelerate species identification and description. This revision is primarily based on arthropod surveys throughout the Malagasy region from 1992 to 2006. The revision is based on morphological and CO1 DNA barcode analysis of 500 individuals. In the region, five species of Anochetus (A

Film practice as interdisciplinary research: a case study

Referring primarily to my own doctoral practice-as-research project as a case study, this chapter explores cinematic practice as a mode of interdisciplinary research. The project traces the journey of the Kladovo transport, a large group of Jewish refugees from central Europe, who attempted to flee Nazi persecutions in 1939 via the river Danube. The majority of the passengers never got further than Serbia, where their journey fatally ended in 1941/1942. This failed escape attempt is charged with striking relationships to time, like the long periods of stasis that the Kladovo transport spent on the Danube waters. While drawing from large an interdisciplinary field, including history, Holocaust geographies and archaeology, I explore this journey as a multi-temporal event, with the camera as my main research tool. In this chapter, I will take a closer look at some of the elements of the interdisciplinary encounters as they appeared in my study