Letters between The Science Agency and W. J. Kerr

Letter concerning filling a position in horticulture with The Science Agency

Weekly Versus Monthly Testosterone Administration On Fast and Slow Skeletal Muscle Fibers in Older Adult Males

Context: In older adults, loss of mobility due to sarcopenia is exacerbated in men with low serum T. T replacement therapy is known to increase muscle mass and strength, but the effect of weekly (WK) vs monthly (MO) administration on specific fiber types is unknown. Objective: To determine the efficacy of WK vs MO T replacement on the size and functional capacity of individual fast and slow skeletal muscle fiber types. Design, Setting, and Patients: Subjects were randomized into a 5-month, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. All subjects (ages, 61–71 y) were community-dwelling men who had T levels \u3c 500 ng/dL. Intervention: Subjects were dosed weekly for 5 months, receiving continuous T (WK, n = 5; 100 mg T enanthate, im injection), monthly cycled T (MO, n = 7; alternating months of T and placebo), or placebo (n = 7). Muscle biopsies of the vastus lateralis were obtained before and after treatment. Main Outcome Measures: Main outcomes for individual slow and fast fibers included fiber diameter, peak force (P0), rate of tension development, maximal shortening velocity, peak power, and Ca2+ sensitivity. Results: Both treatments increased fiber diameter and peak power, with WK treatment 5-fold more effective than MO in increasing type I fiber P0. WK effects on fiber diameter and force were 1.5-fold higher in slow fibers compared to fast fibers. In fast type II fibers, diameter and P0 increased similarly between treatments. The increased power was entirely due to increased fiber size and force. Conclusions: In conclusion, T replacement effects were fiber-type dependent, restricted to increases in cell size, P0, and peak power, and dependent on the paradigm selected (WK vs MO)

Effects of dietary curcumin or N-acetylcysteine on NF-κB activity and contractile performance in ambulatory and unloaded murine soleus

BACKGROUND: Unloading of skeletal muscle causes atrophy and loss of contractile function. In part, this response is believed to be mediated by the transcription factor nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB). Both curcumin, a component of the spice turmeric, and N-acetylcysteine (NAC), an antioxidant, inhibit activation of NF-κB by inflammatory stimuli, albeit by different mechanisms. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that dietary curcumin or NAC supplementation would inhibit unloading-induced NF-κB activity in skeletal muscle and thereby protect muscles against loss of mass and function caused by prolonged unloading. METHODS: We used hindlimb suspension to unload the hindlimb muscles of adult mice. Animals had free access to drinking water or drinking water supplemented with 1% NAC and to standard laboratory diet or diet supplemented with 1% curcumin. For 11 days, half the animals in each dietary group were suspended by the tail (unloaded) and half were allowed to ambulate freely. RESULTS: Unloading caused a 51–53% loss of soleus muscle weight and cross-sectional area relative to freely-ambulating controls. Unloading also decreased total force and force per cross-sectional area developed by soleus. Curcumin supplementation decreased NF-κB activity measured in peripheral tissues of ambulatory mice by gel shift analysis. In unloaded animals, curcumin supplementation did not inhibit NF-κB activity or blunt the loss of muscle mass in soleus. In contrast, NAC prevented the increase in NF-κB activity induced by unloading but did not prevent losses of muscle mass or function. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, neither dietary curcumin nor dietary NAC prevents unloading-induced skeletal muscle dysfunction and atrophy, although dietary NAC does prevent unloading induced NF-κB activation

Effects of dietary curcumin or N-acetylcysteine on NF-kappaB activity and contractile performance in ambulatory and unloaded murine soleus

BACKGROUND: Unloading of skeletal muscle causes atrophy and loss of contractile function. In part, this response is believed to be mediated by the transcription factor nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB). Both curcumin, a component of the spice turmeric, and N-acetylcysteine (NAC), an antioxidant, inhibit activation of NF-kappaB by inflammatory stimuli, albeit by different mechanisms. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that dietary curcumin or NAC supplementation would inhibit unloading-induced NF-kappaB activity in skeletal muscle and thereby protect muscles against loss of mass and function caused by prolonged unloading. METHODS: We used hindlimb suspension to unload the hindlimb muscles of adult mice. Animals had free access to drinking water or drinking water supplemented with 1% NAC and to standard laboratory diet or diet supplemented with 1% curcumin. For 11 days, half the animals in each dietary group were suspended by the tail (unloaded) and half were allowed to ambulate freely. RESULTS: Unloading caused a 51-53% loss of soleus muscle weight and cross-sectional area relative to freely-ambulating controls. Unloading also decreased total force and force per cross-sectional area developed by soleus. Curcumin supplementation decreased NF-kappaB activity measured in peripheral tissues of ambulatory mice by gel shift analysis. In unloaded animals, curcumin supplementation did not inhibit NF-kappaB activity or blunt the loss of muscle mass in soleus. In contrast, NAC prevented the increase in NF-kappaB activity induced by unloading but did not prevent losses of muscle mass or function. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, neither dietary curcumin nor dietary NAC prevents unloading-induced skeletal muscle dysfunction and atrophy, although dietary NAC does prevent unloading induced NF-kappaB activation

CFT70 Data Review Testosterone Supplementation as a Countermeasure against Musculoskeletal Losses During Space Exploration

No abstract availabl

Benefits of a College STEM Faculty Development Initiative: Instructors Report Increased and Sustained Implementation of Research-Based Instructional Strategies

The Summer Institutes on Scientific Teaching (SI) is a faculty development workshop in which science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) instructors, particularly from biology, are trained in the Scientific Teaching (ST) pedagogy. While participants have generally reported positive experiences, we aimed to assess how the SI affected participants’ teaching practices. Building on a previously developed taxonomy of ST practices, we surveyed SI participants from the 2004–2014 SI classes regarding specific ST practices. Participants’ self-reported use and implementation of ST practices increased immediately after SI attendance as well as over a longer time frame, suggesting that implementation persisted and even increased with time. However, instructors reported implementation gains for some practices more than others. The practices with the highest gains were engaging students in their own learning, using learning goals in course design, employing formative assessment, developing overarching course learning goals, representing science as a process, and facilitating group discussion activities. We propose that the ST practices showing the greatest gains may serve as beneficial focal points for professional development programs, while practices with smaller gains may require modified dissemination approaches or support structures

1989: Abilene Christian College Bible Lectures - Full Text

CHRIST AND CULTURE: The Problem of Secularism Being the Abilene Christian University Annual Bible Lectures 1989 Published by ACU PRESS 1634 Campus Court Abilene, Texas 7960

Novel patient-derived xenograft mouse model for pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma demonstrates single agent activity of oxaliplatin

Additional file 4: Figure S3. Integrated genomic viewer (IGV) of BRCA2 gene. IGV displays genomic data of the PA-018 PAAC PDTX model. Chromosome 13 (Chr 13) is shown and 5bp deletions are found after position 32907365 (c.1755_1759del5), this region resides on exon 10 of BRCA2. The bottom of the image shows the nucleotides and amino acids that correspond to the reference sequence of the BRCA2 gene and protein