Immunomodulatory Effects of Massage in Skeletal Muscle

The inflammatory process is a critical component of the repair and regeneration of skeletal muscle following injury. The influx of innate immune cells following injury is intricate, and temporal nature. Although required for proper repair and regeneration, the inflammatory process has been shown to exacerbate initial damage, prolonging the healing process. Complementary Alternative Medicine (CAM) treatments, such as massage therapy, are a promising substitute for pharmaceutical modulation of the inflammatory response, and recent studies into the efficacy of massage have begun to report the physiological benefits of massage application following injury. Nonetheless, there is a significant lack of sound mechanistic investigations into massage application and its effects on unperturbed tissue. To gain insight to its potential influences on healthy skeletal muscle, massage was applied at three different magnitudes of load in vivo. Using a custom fabricated device for cyclic compressive loading, Wistar rats receiving massage had an increased expression in genes associated with the immune response; a significant change in the macrophage populations within the muscle tissue; and demonstrated a systemic effect marked by the increase of immune cells in the non-massaged limb. Further elucidating the systemic and immunomodulatory effects of massage, Long Evans rats receiving non-constrained eccentric exercise followed by a single 30minute bout of massage, displayed a significant crossover effect just 6 hours post exercise through the modulation of inflammatory cells in the non-massaged limb. Together these investigations suggest that mechanotransductive properties of massage can promote modulation of the immune response absent of pharmaceuticals

No evidence of extraterrestrial noble metal and helium anomalies at Marinoan glacial termination

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2015. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters 437 (2016): 76-88, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2015.12.040.High concentrations of extraterrestrial iridium have been reported in terminal Sturtian and Marinoan glacial marine sediments and are used to argue for long (likely 3-12 Myr) durations of these Cryogenian glaciations. Reanalysis of the Marinoan sedimentary rocks used in the original study, supplemented by sedimentary rocks from additional terminal Marinoan sections, however, does not confirm the initial report. New platinum group element concentrations, and 187Os/188Os and 3He/4He signatures are consistent with crustal origin and minimal extraterrestrial contributions. The discrepancy is likely caused by different sample masses used in the two studies, with this study being based on much larger samples that better capture the stochastic distribution of extraterrestrial particles in marine sediments. Strong enrichment of redox-sensitive elements, particularly rhenium, up-section in the basal postglacial cap carbonates, may indicate a return to more fully oxygenated seawater in the aftermath of the Marinoan snowball earth. Sections dominated by hydrogenous osmium indicate increasing submarine hydrothermal sources and/or continental inputs that are increasingly dominated by young mantle-derived rocks after deglaciation. Sedimentation rate estimates for the basal cap carbonates yield surprisingly slow rates of a few centimeters per thousand years. This study highlights the importance of using sedimentary rock samples that represent sufficiently large area-time products to properly sample extraterrestrial particles representatively, and demonstrates the value of using multiple tracers of extraterrestrial matter.We are grateful for support from a 2008 WHOI Summer Student Fellowship for CAW. BPE acknowledges financial support from WHOI’s Ocean and Climate Change Institute (CH11320) and U.S. NSF SGER grant EAR-0821878. Fieldwork in NW Canada was licensed by the Aurora Research Institute and supported by a grant to PFH from the Astrobiology Institute of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Fieldwork in NW Canada and Namibia was supported by grants EAR-9905495 and EAR-0417422 (to PFH) from the US NSF. We thank Jon Husson (Harvard University) and Ricardo Trindade (University of São Paulo, Brazil) for excellent support during fieldwork in Namibia in August of 2005

Plasma LDL and HDL characteristics and carotenoid content are positively influenced by egg consumption in an elderly population(1)

BACKGROUND: Approximately 1/3 of individuals have a high plasma response to dietary cholesterol (hyper-responders). Although increases in both LDL and HDL cholesterol have been observed, limited data exist regarding effects of egg consumption on lipoprotein subclasses and circulating carotenoids. METHODS: 29 postmenopausal women (50–68 y) and 13 men (60–80 y) were assigned to either 3 eggs (EGG, 640 mg cholesterol/d) or an equal volume of cholesterol-free egg substitute (SUB, 0 mg cholesterol/d) for 30 d. Following a 3 wk wash out, subjects crossed over to the alternate diet. Individuals with a response to dietary cholesterol > 2.2 mg/dL for each additional 100 mg of dietary cholesterol were classified as hyper-responders while hypo-responders were those with a response ≤ to 2.2 mg/dL. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy determined LDL and HDL size & particle concentrations. Dietary records were used to evaluate carotenoid consumption. RESULTS: Hyper-responders had higher concentrations of both LDL (LDL-C) and HDL (HDL-C) cholesterol after EGG. In contrast, the concentrations of plasma LDL-C and HDL-C did not differ between the EGG and SUB for the hypo-responders. After EGG, hyper-responders had larger (≥ 21.2 nm) less atherogenic LDL particle (P < 0.001) and larger HDL particle (> 8.8 nm) (P < 0.01), with no significant difference in the total number of LDL or HDL particles. Regardless of response classification, all individuals had an increase in plasma lutein (from 32.4 ± 15.2 to 46.4 ± 23.3 ng/L) and zeaxanthin (from 8.8 ± 4.8 to 10.7 ± 5.8 ng/L) during EGG, yet hyper-responders displayed higher concentrations of carotenoids when compared to hypo-responders CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the increases in LDL-C and HDL-C due to increased egg consumption in hyper-responders are not related to an increased number of LDL or HDL particles but, to an increase in the less atherogenic lipoprotein subfractions. Also, increases in plasma carotenoids after EGG may provide a valuable dietary source for this population

Fecal Volatile Organic Ccompound Profiles from White-Tailed Deer (\u3ci\u3eOdocoileus virginianus\u3c/i\u3e) as Indicators of \u3ci\u3eMycobacterium bovis\u3c/i\u3e Exposure or \u3ci\u3eMycobacterium bovis\u3c/i\u3e Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) Vaccination

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) serve as a reservoir for bovine tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium bovis, and can be a source of infection in cattle. Vaccination with M. bovis Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG) is being considered for management of bovine tuberculosis in deer. Presently, no method exists to non-invasively monitor the presence of bovine tuberculosis in deer. In this study, volatile organic compound profiles of BCG-vaccinated and non-vaccinated deer, before and after experimental challenge with M. bovis strain 95–1315, were generated using solid phase microextraction fiber head-space sampling over suspended fecal pellets with analysis by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Chromatograms were processed using XCMS Online to characterize ion variation among treatment groups. The principal component scores resulting from significant (α = 0.05) ion responses were used to build linear discriminant analysis models. The sensitivity and specificity of these models were used to evaluate the feasibility of using this analytical approach to distinguish within group comparisons between pre- and post-M. bovis challenge: non-vaccinated male or female deer, BCG-vaccinated male deer, and the mixed gender non-vaccinated deer data. Seventeen compounds were identified in this analysis. The peak areas for these compounds were used to build a linear discriminant classification model based on principal component analysis scores to evaluate the feasibility of discriminating between fecal samples from M. bovis challenged deer, irrespective of vaccination status. The model best representing the data had a sensitivity of 78.6% and a specificity of 91.4%. The fecal head-space sampling approach presented in this pilot study provides a non-invasive method to discriminate between M. bovis challenged deer and BCG-vaccinated deer. Additionally, the technique may prove invaluable for BCG efficacy studies with free-ranging deer as well as for use as a non-invasive monitoring system for the detection of tuberculosis in captive deer and other livestock

An exploratory trial implementing a community-based child oral health promotion intervention for Australian families from refugee and migrant backgrounds: a protocol paper for Teeth Tales

Introduction: Inequalities are evident in early childhood caries rates with the socially disadvantaged experiencing greater burden of disease. This study builds on formative qualitative research, conducted in the Moreland/Hume local government areas of Melbourne, Victoria 2006–2009, in response to community concerns for oral health of children from refugee and migrant backgrounds. Development of the community-based intervention described here extends the partnership approach to cogeneration of contemporary evidence with continued and meaningful involvement of investigators, community, cultural and government partners. This trial aims to establish a model for child oral health promotion for culturally diverse communities in Australia.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Methods and analysis: This is an exploratory trial implementing a community-based child oral health promotion intervention for Australian families from refugee and migrant backgrounds. Families from an Iraqi, Lebanese or Pakistani background with children aged 1–4 years, residing in metropolitan Melbourne, were invited to participate in the trial by peer educators from their respective communities using snowball and purposive sampling techniques. Target sample size was 600. Moreland, a culturally diverse, inner-urban metropolitan area of Melbourne, was chosen as the intervention site. The intervention comprised peer educator led community oral health education sessions and reorienting of dental health and family services through cultural Competency Organisational Review (CORe).&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Ethics and dissemination: Ethics approval for this trial was granted by the University of Melbourne Human Research Ethics Committee and the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development Research Committee. Study progress and output will be disseminated via periodic newsletters, peer-reviewed research papers, reports, community seminars and at National and International conferences.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt

Cyberinfrastructure for Life Sciences - iAnimal Resources for Genomics and Other Data Driven Biology

Whole genome sequence, SNPs, copy number variation, phenotypes and other “-omics” data underlie evidence-based estimations of breeding value. Unfortunately, the computational resources (data storage, high-performance computing, analysis pipelines, etc.) that exploit this knowledge are limited in availability – many investigations are therefore restricted to the commercial sector or well-funded academic programs. Cyberinfrastructure developed by the iPlant Collaborative (NSF-#DBI0735191) and its extension iAnimal (USDA-#2013-67015-21231) provides the animal breeding community a comprehensive and freely available platform for the storage, sharing, and analyses of large datasets – from genomes to phenotype data. iPlant/iAnimal tools support a variety of genotype-phenotype related analyses in a platform that accommodates every level of user – from breeder to bioinformatician. These tools have been used to develop scalable, accessible versions of common workflows required for applying sequencing to livestock genomics

Produksi Jamur Tiram Putih (Pleurotus Ostreatus) Pada Media Tambahan Molase Dengan Dosis Yang Berbeda

Jamur tiram putih disebut juga dengan jamur kayu karena jamur tersebut tumbuh pada media kayu lapuk. Jamur tiram putih banyak digemari masyarakat karena selain memiliki cita rasa yang enak juga memiliki banyak manfaat bagi tubuh. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui adanya pengaruh molase dengan dosis berbeda pada produktivitas jamur tiram putih. Penelitian ini menggunakan rancangan acak lengkap satu faktorial yaitu pemberian molase dengan empat taraf konsentrasi 0 %, 7,5 %, 14,5 % dan 22 % / baglog dan dilakukan tiga ulangan. Untuk pengujian hipotesis dengan anova satu jalan (One Way Anova), hasil pengujian hipotesis pada pemenuhan miseliumdiperoleh nilai probabilitas 0,001 &lt; 0.05 H0 ditolak artinya antara ke empat perlakuan tidak sama atau berbeda nyata maka dilakukan Pos Hok Test uji lanjut Anova dengan uji LSD. Berat buah jamur tiram putih panen I diperoleh nilai probabilitas 0,021 &lt; 0.05 H0 ditolak artinya antara ke empat perlakuan tidak sama atau berbeda nyata nyata maka dilakukan Pos Hok Test uji lanjut Anova dengan uji LSD, sedangkan pada parameter yang lain diperoleh kesimpulan H0 diterima artinya tidak terdapat perbedaan antara ke empat perlakuan. Hasil penelitian pada pengamatan pemenuhan miseliumdiperoleh perlakuan yang memberikan pengaruh paling baik yaitu M1 (7,5 % molase/ baglog) dengan rata-rata pemenuhan miselium16,3 hari dan perlakuan yang memberikan pengaruh kurang baik yaitu M0 atau kontrol dengan rata-rata 27,7 hari. Pada jumlah total tubuh buah jamur diperoleh perlakuan yang memberikan pengaruh paling baik yaitu M3 (22 % molase/ baglog) dengan rata-rata 11,5 buah dan perlakuan yang memberikan pengaruh kurang baik yaitu M0 (kontrol) dengan rata-rata 9 buah. Pada berat buah jamur tiram putih perlakuan yang memberikan pengaruh paling baik yaitu M3 (22 % molase/ baglog) dengan rata-rata 78,2 g dan perlakuan yang memberikan pengaruh kurang baik yaitu M0 dengan rata-rata 48,85 g. Dari hasil tersebut diperoleh kesimpulan M1 dosis molase paling rendah (7,5%) berpengaruh pada pemenuhan miselium dan M3 dosis molase paling tinggi (22 %) berpengaruh pada jumlah tubuh buah dan berat buah jamur