853 research outputs found
Analysis of a 41-year data set : Environmental influences on the fish assemblages of Albemarle Sound, North Carolina
North Carolina both historically and currently maintains one of the most productive fishery resource basins in the nation. However, fish stocks are spatially and temporally variable in abundance and distribution in estuarine ecosystems and the influence of changing environmental factors on the inhabiting fish community of Albemarle Sound, North Carolina has not been studied. Sites within Albemarle Sound were sampled (trawls and seines) monthly by the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries from 1972 to 2012. A total of 56 families representing 132 fish species including freshwater, estuarine, and marine species were represented in sampling Anchoa mitchilli, Menidia beryllina, Micropogonias undulates, Leiostomus xanthurus, Alosa aestivalis and Morone Americana were the most abundant species in sampling. Two gear types were utilized during sampling, and the composition of fish assemblages collected between the two gears were significantly different (ANOSIM R=0.759, p=0.001). 1) Spatial analysis: Salinity and wind direction were significantly correlated with for the seine samples spatially (R=0.754, p=0.01), cumulatively describing 51.9% of the total variation in species assemblage. For trawl samples, salinity and dissolved oxygen were significantly correlated with differences in species assemblages (R=0.683, p=0.001), which cumulatively described 38.3% of the variation in the biological patterns. 2) Temporal analysis: Temporal correlations were weaker than spatial correlations, with depth, temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and wind speed only weakly correlated with species assemblage (R=0.28, p=0.01) for the seine samples, and cumulatively described 14.5% of the variation. For the trawl samples, depth and salinity were weakly correlated with biological patterns (R=0.299, p=0.01), cumulatively describing 15.5% of the variation in the biological patterns. These results suggest that spatial variability in fish assemblage and biological patterns in Albemarle Sound are best described by salinity, with northeast and southwest winds indirectly influencing these patterns through wind driven tides. Temporally, correlations were weak and the amount of variability described was moderate, indicating there are other major factors influencing these patterns and fish assemblages through time.  M.S
ER Stress Inhibits Liver Fatty Acid Oxidation while Unmitigated Stress Leads to Anorexia-Induced Lipolysis and Both Liver and Kidney Steatosis
The unfolded protein response (UPR), induced by endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, regulates the expression of factors that restore protein folding homeostasis. However, in the liver and kidney, ER stress also leads to lipid accumulation, accompanied at least in the liver by transcriptional suppression of metabolic genes. The mechanisms of this accumulation, including which pathways contribute to the phenotype in each organ, are unclear. We combined gene expression profiling, biochemical assays, and untargeted lipidomics to understand the basis of stress-dependent lipid accumulation, taking advantage of enhanced hepatic and renal steatosis in mice lacking the ER stress sensor ATF6α. We found that impaired fatty acid oxidation contributed to the early development of steatosis in the liver but not the kidney, while anorexia-induced lipolysis promoted late triglyceride and free fatty acid accumulation in both organs. These findings provide evidence for both direct and indirect regulation of peripheral metabolism by ER stress
Does owning a pet protect older people against loneliness?
This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Pet ownership is thought to make a positive contribution to health, health behaviours and the general well-being of older people. More specifically pet ownership is often proposed as a solution to the problem of loneliness in later life and specific 'pet based' interventions have been developed to combat loneliness. However the evidence to support this relationship is slim and it is assumed that pet ownership is a protection against loneliness rather than a response to loneliness. The aim of this paper is to examine the association between pet ownership and loneliness by exploring if pet ownership is a response to, or protection against, loneliness using Waves 0-5 from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA)
The metabolic syndrome is not associated with homocysteinemia: The Persian Gulf Healthy Heart Study
Background: It is uncertain whether homocysteine
and the metabolic syndrome or its components are related
in the general population, as studies investigating the
association between homocysteine levels and insulin resistance
have shown conflicting results. Methods: In an ancillary
study to the Persian Gulf Healthy Heart Study, a cohort
study of Iranian men and women aged ≥25 yr, a random sample
of 1754 subjects were evaluated for the association of
plasma homocysteine levels and the metabolic syndrome using
National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP)-Adult
Treatment Panel (ATP)-III criteria. Total homocysteine levels
and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) were determined
by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Results: Subjects
with lower HDL-cholesterol and higher blood pressure
showed significantly higher homocysteine levels (p=0.001
and p<0.0001; respectively). There was no significant difference
in serum levels of homocysteine between subjects with
and without the metabolic syndrome. In multiple logistic regression
analysis, the metabolic syndrome did not show a
significant association with serum homocysteine levels after
adjusting for sex, age, smoking, fruit and vegetable intake
pattern, body mass index, and physical inactivity. Concurrent
elevated CRP levels and the metabolic syndrome also did not
show a significant association with serum homocysteine levels
after adjusting for sex, age, and lifestyle cardiovascular
risk factors. Conclusions: There was no association between
the metabolic syndrome using NCEP-ATPIII criteria and homocysteinemia
in this study. These data refute the hypothesis
that homocysteine levels are influenced by the metabolic
syndrome, at least in general healthy population
Opposite Associations of Trunk and Leg Fat Depots with Plasma Ferritin Levels in Middle-Aged and Older Chinese Men and Women
Background: Few data have been published on the associations of ferritin with trunk and leg fat depots. We aimed to investigate these associations in a Chinese population. Methodology: Trunk fat mass and leg fat mass were determined in a cross-sectional sample of 1,150 Chinese (479 men and 671 women) aged 50–70 years by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scan. Fasting plasma ferritin was measured. Principal Findings: Plasma ferritin was positively correlated with waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, total body fat and trunk fat mass, but inversely correlated with leg fat mass in men (r = 0.16, 0.26, 0.19, 0.22 and 20.12, respectively, all P,0.05) and women (r = 0.16, 0.16, 0.08, 0.17 and 20.12, respectively, all P,0.05). Multivariate regression analysis showed that ferritin levels increased with larger trunk fat mass (b = 0.33 6 0.08 for men and b = 0.21 6 0.05 for women, both P,0.001) while decreased with larger leg fat mass (b = 20.12 6 0.09, P = 0.15 for men; and b = 20.14 6 0.05, P = 0.005 for women). Moreover, plasma ferritin levels decreased with increasing tertile of leg fat mass among each tertile of trunk fat mass. Conclusion: This is the first study to report the opposite associations of trunk and leg fat depots with plasma ferritin levels
Small but crucial : the novel small heat shock protein Hsp21 mediates stress adaptation and virulence in Candida albicans
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Electron paramagnetic resonance and other properties of hydrogenases isolated from Desulfovibrio vulgaris (strain Hildenborough) and Megasphaera elsdenii
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65872/1/j.1432-1033.1983.tb07727.x.pd
Metabolomics Applied to Diabetes Research: Moving From Information to Knowledge
Type 2 diabetes is caused by a complex set ofinteractions between genetic and environmentalfactors. Recent work has shown that human type2 diabetes is a constellation of disorders associ-ated with polymorphisms in a wide array of genes, with each individual gene accounting for 1 % of disease risk (1). Moreover, type 2 diabetes involves dysfunction of multiple organ systems, including impaired insulin action in muscle and adipose, defective control of hepatic glu-cose production, and insulin deficiency caused by loss of -cell mass and function (2). This complexity presents challenges for a full understanding of the molecular path-ways that contribute to the development of this major disease. Progress in this area may be aided by the recent advent of technologies for comprehensive metabolic anal-ysis, sometimes termed “metabolomics. ” Herein, we sum-marize key metabolomics methodologies, including nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrome
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