Taurine and proliferation of lymphocytes in physically restrained rats

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Taurine is present in lymphocytes and seems to modulate certain immune cell functions. Among the effects of taurine on these cells are protection against antioxidants and regulation of inflammatory aspects of the immune response. Stress affects antigen presentation, traffic and proliferation of leukocytes, as well as antibody and cytokine secretion. The purposes of this study were to explore the possible direct effects of taurine concentrations on lymphoproliferation and interleukins levels in control and in physical restrained rats.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Lymphocytes of male Sprague-Dawley rats, stressed by physical restrain and controls (5 h per day for 5 days) were isolated from blood by Histopaque (1077 g/l) and differential adhesion to plastic, and then cultured (72 h) in the presence of different concentrations of taurine (0.5 – 50 mM), β-alanine (0.5 – 50 mM), or both, without or with the T cells mitogen, concanavalin A. Plasma and lymphocytes levels of pro-inflammatory interleukin-1β and anti-inflammatory interleukin-10 were respectively measured by Pierce Endogen rat ELISA Kits. Taurine in plasma and in lymphocytes were determined by HPLC.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Lymphoproliferation of resting cells significantly decreased in the presence of 3 and 6 mM taurine and increased up to control level at 12 mM taurine. In concanavalin A-activated lymphocytes, the effect of taurine was greater. β-alanine increased lymphoproliferation in a bell shaped dose-dependent manner and decreased it in activated lymphocytes but in a lower magnitude. In combination, β-alanine impaired the effect of taurine at 3 and 6 mM. After restriction, no change in lymphoproliferation was observed at different concentrations of the amino acids without or with concanavalin A, although pro-inflammatory interleukin and taurine in plasma and in lymphocytes significantly increased.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Taurine affects lymphoproliferation in control rats, following a dose-dependent manner, an effect that might involve its transport into the cells. Elevation of interleukin-1β produced in stressed rats by physical restrain could seriously affect the immune balance, whereas taurine increase might be protective. These results suggest that taurine and taurine transport play a role in lymphoproliferation. In addition, modifications of taurine system in lymphocytes take place during restriction stress.</p

What (or Who) lives inside Scotch broom roots?

Scotch broom (Cystis scoparius) is invading the South Puget lowlands, presumably with help from the nitrogen-fixing symbiotic bacteria that are found in its root nodules. With this nitrogen source, Scotch broom is not limited by low nitrogen levels in the soils like many other plants. The goals of our research are 1) to identify the nodulating bacteria of Scotch broom in the Northwest, British Columbia, and Canberra, Australia to explore the diversity of Scotch broom symbionts and 2) to explore the possibility of multiple occupancy in Scotch broom nodules. Using 16s rRNA sequencing, we will identify the bacteria of Scotch broom nodules from Washington, British Columbia, and Canberra, Australia. We recently identified the South Puget Sound lowland prairie Scotch broom symbionts as predominantly from two genera: Burkholderia and Rhizobium (British Columbia and Australian sequence data to follow). Moreover, there were two nodules of the ten from which both Burkholderia and Rhizobium were successfully isolated and sequenced. Therefore, it is possible that multiple bacterial species can live within a single Scotch broom nodule. Neither the presence of Burkholderia nor multiple nodule occupation has been previously well-documented in a temperate zone legume and a survey of Scotch broom symbionts of the Northwest, USA has not been performed

World Beats

This fascinating book explores Beat Generation writing from a transnational perspective, using the concept of worlding to place Beat literature in conversation with a far-reaching network of cultural and political formations. Countering the charge that the Beats abroad were at best naïve tourists seeking exoticism for exoticism's sake, World Beats finds that these writers propelled a highly politicized agenda that sought to use the tools of the earlier avant-garde to undermine Cold War and postcolonial ideologies and offer a new vision of engaged literature. With fresh interpretations of central Beat authors Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William Burroughs - as well as usually marginalized writers like Philip Lamantia, Ted Joans, and Brion Gysin - World Beats moves beyond national, continental, or hemispheric frames to show that embedded within Beat writing is an essential universality that brought America to the world and the world to American literature

CONRAD' s Heart of Darkness

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Remixing an Open Educational Resource: A Case Study of the Uncommon “R”

Open educational resources address the crisis college students face purchasing textbooks. Although academic librarians play a prominent role implementing the open educational resource solution, by engaging faculty in their use and creation, librarians could go further. At the College of New Rochelle, instruction librarians teamed up with the Scholarly Communications Librarian to revise and remix an already existing information literacy textbook. This case study outlines how an open educational resource textbook was altered and localized to reflect students’ lived reality. The textbook was used in a credit-bearing information literacy course for the College’s Liberal Arts adult education B.A. program

Remixing an Open Educational Resource: A Case Study of the Uncommon “R”

Open educational resources address the crisis college students face purchasing textbooks. Although academic librarians play a prominent role implementing the open educational resource solution, by engaging faculty in their use and creation, librarians could go further. At the College of New Rochelle, instruction librarians teamed up with the Scholarly Communications Librarian to revise and remix an already existing information literacy textbook. This case study outlines how an open educational resource textbook was altered and localized to reflect students’ lived reality. The textbook was used in a credit-bearing information literacy course for the College’s Liberal Arts adult education B.A. program

Alcohol Intake Among Breast Cancer Survivors: Change in Alcohol Use During a Weight Management Intervention

A grant from the One-University Open Access Fund at the University of Kansas was used to defray the author's publication fees in this Open Access journal. The Open Access Fund, administered by librarians from the KU, KU Law, and KUMC libraries, is made possible by contributions from the offices of KU Provost, KU Vice Chancellor for Research & Graduate Studies, and KUMC Vice Chancellor for Research. For more information about the Open Access Fund, please see http://library.kumc.edu/authors-fund.xml.Background Daily alcohol intake in quantities as small as half a drink/day significantly increases the risk of breast cancer recurrence for postmenopausal survivors. Interventions designed to modify alcohol use among survivors have not been studied; however, lifestyle interventions that target change in dietary intake may affect alcohol intake. Objective To evaluate change in alcohol use during a weight loss intervention for obese, rural-dwelling breast cancer survivors. Methods Data were derived from an 18-month trial that included a 6-month weight loss intervention delivered via group conference calls, followed by a 12-month randomized weight loss maintenance phase in which participants received continued group calls or mailed newsletters. Participants who reported regular alcohol use at baseline (N=37) were included in this study. Results Mean daily alcohol intake significantly decreased from baseline to 6 months during the weight loss intervention (19.6-2.3 g; P=.001). Mean alcohol intake did not significantly increase (b=0.99, P=.12) during the weight loss maintenance phase (months 6-18) and did not depend on randomization group (b=0.32, P=.799). Conclusions Findings provide preliminary evidence that a weight loss intervention may address obesity and alcohol use risk factors for cancer recurrence. Minimal mail-based contact post weight loss can maintain alcohol use reductions through 18 months, suggesting durability in these effects. These results highlight a possibility that lifestyle interventions for survivors may modify health behaviors that are not the main foci of an intervention but that coincide with intervention goals. Trial Registration Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01441011; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01441011 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6lsJ9dMa9