34 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
Cleanup After Hurricane Katrina: Environmental Considerations
This report aims to provide an overview of the immediate and intermediate cleanup tasks across the diverse communities in the affected region, and federal legal authorities and plans for tackling them. The report also discusses coordinated roles and activities among local, state, and federal agencies and officials. Finally, the report serves to reference other, more detailed CRS reports and other sources on particular Katrina cleanup activities
Recommended from our members
109th Congress
Environmental protection concerns span a wide variety of issues, including clean air, water quality, chemical security, and environmental aspects of other major issue areas, such as energy, transportation, disaster relief and cleanup, and defense. This report provides an overview of key environmental issues receiving attention in the 109th Congress
Acute Exposure to High-Fat Diets Increases Hepatic Expression of Genes Related to Cell Repair and Remodeling in Female Rats
High-fat diets (HFD) promote the development of both obesity and fatty liver disease through the up-regulation of hepatic lipogenesis. Insulin resistance, a hallmark of both conditions, causes dysfunctional fuel partitioning and increases in lipogenesis. Recent work has demonstrated that systemic insulin resistance occurs in as little as the first 72 hours of an HFD, suggesting the potential for hepatic disruption with HFD at this time point. The current study sought to determine differences in expression of lipogenic genes between sexes in 3-month-old male and female Long-Evans rats after 72 hours of a 40% HFD or a 17% fat (chow) diet. Owing to the response of estrogen on hepatic signaling, we hypothesized that a sexual dimorphic response would occur in the expression of lipogenic enzymes, inflammatory cytokines, apoptotic, and cell repair and remodeling genes. Both sexes consumed more energy when fed an HFD compared with their low fat-fed controls. However, only the males fed the HFD had a significant increase in body fat. Regardless of sex, HFD caused down-regulation of lipogenic and inflammatory genes. Interestingly, females fed an HFD had up-regulated expression of apoptotic and cell repair-related genes compared with the males. This may suggest that females are more responsive to the acute hepatic injury effects caused by HFDs. In summary, neither male nor female rats displayed disrupted hepatic metabolic pathways after 72 hours of the HFD treatment. In addition, female rats appear to have protection from increases in fat deposition, possibly due to increased caloric expenditure; male rats fed an HFD were less active, as demonstrated by distance traveled in their home cage