59 research outputs found
Freeze-Dried Ham Promotes Azoxymethane-Induced Mucin-Depleted Foci and Aberrant Crypt Foci in Rat Colon
Processed and red meat consumption is associated with the risk of colorectal cancer. Meta-analyses have suggested that the risk associated with processed meat is higher. Most processed meats are cured and cooked, which leads to formation of free nitrosyl heme. We speculated that free nitrosyl heme is more toxic than native myoglobin. The promoting effect of a freeze-dried, cooked, cured ham diet was looked for in a 100-day study. Colon carcinogenesis endpoints were aberrant crypt foci and mucin depleted foci (MDF). A second study (14 days) was designed 1) to compare the effect of ham, hemoglobin, and hemin; and 2) to test the effect of sodium chloride, nitrite, and phosphate in diet on early biomarkers associated with heme-induced promotion. In the 100-day study, control and ham-fed rats had 3.5 and 8.5 MDF/colon, respectively (P < 0.0001). Promotion was associated with cytotoxicity and lipid peroxidation. In the short-term study, cytotoxicity and lipid peroxidation of fecal water, and the urinary marker of lipid peroxidation, increased dramatically in ham- and hemin-fed rat. In contrast, the hemoglobin diet, sodium chloride, nitrite, phosphate diet had no effect. Freeze-dried cooked ham can promote colon carcinogenesis in a rodent model. Hemin, but not hemoglobin, mimicked ham effect on early biochemical markers associated with carcinogenesis
Induction of Colonic Aberrant Crypts in Mice by Feeding Apparent N-Nitroso Compounds Derived From Hot Dogs
Nitrite-preserved meats (e.g., hot dogs) may help cause colon cancer because they contain N-nitroso compounds. We tested whether purified hot-dog-derived total apparent N-nitroso compounds (ANC) could induce colonic aberrant crypts, which are putative precursors of colon cancer. We purified ANC precursors in hot dogs and nitrosated them to produce ANC. In preliminary tests, CF1 mice received 1 or 3 i.p. injections of 5mg azoxymethane (AOM)/kg. In Experiments 1 and 2, female A/J mice received ANC in diet. In Experiment 1, ANC dose initially dropped sharply because the ANC precursors had mostly decomposed but, later in Experiment 1 and throughout Experiment 2, ANC remained at 85 nmol/g diet. Mice were killed after 8 (AOM tests) or 17–34 (ANC tests) wk.Median numbers of aberrant crypts in the distal 2 cm of the colon for 1 and 3 AOMinjections, CF1 controls, ANC (Experiment 1), ANC (Experiment 2),and untreated A/J mice were 31, 74, 12, 20, 12, and 5–6, with P < 0.01 for both ANC tests. Experiment 2 showed somewhat increased numbers of colonic mucin-depleted foci in the ANC-treated group. We conclude that hot-dog-derived ANC induced significant numbers of aberrant crypts in the mouse colon
Viscous cosmologies in scalar-tensor theories for Kasner type metrics
In a viscous Bianchi type I metric of the Kasner form, it is well known that
it is not possible to describe an anisotropic physical model of the universe,
which satisfies the second law of thermodynamics and the dominant energy
condition (DEC) in Einstein's theory of gravity. We examine this problem in
scalar-tensor theories of gravity. In this theory we show that it is possible
to describe the growth of entropy, keeping the thermodynamics and the dominant
energy condition.Comment: 6 pages, Latex, accepted in Phys. Rev.
Anisotropy in Bianchi-type brane cosmologies
The behavior near the initial singular state of the anisotropy parameter of
the arbitrary type, homogeneous and anisotropic Bianchi models is considered in
the framework of the brane world cosmological models. The matter content on the
brane is assumed to be an isotropic perfect cosmological fluid, obeying a
barotropic equation of state. To obtain the value of the anisotropy parameter
at an arbitrary moment an evolution equation is derived, describing the
dynamics of the anisotropy as a function of the volume scale factor of the
Universe. The general solution of this equation can be obtained in an exact
analytical form for the Bianchi I and V types and in a closed form for all
other homogeneous and anisotropic geometries. The study of the values of the
anisotropy in the limit of small times shows that for all Bianchi type
space-times filled with a non-zero pressure cosmological fluid, obeying a
linear barotropic equation of state, the initial singular state on the brane is
isotropic. This result is obtained by assuming that in the limit of small times
the asymptotic behavior of the scale factors is of Kasner-type. For brane
worlds filled with dust, the initial values of the anisotropy coincide in both
brane world and standard four-dimensional general relativistic cosmologies.Comment: 12 pages, no figures, to appear in Class. Quantum Gra
The Core Human Microbiome: Does It Exist and How Can We Find It? A Critical Review of the Concept
The core microbiome, which refers to a set of consistent microbial features across populations, is of major interest in microbiome research and has been addressed by numerous studies. Understanding the core microbiome can help identify elements that lead to dysbiosis, and lead to treatments for microbiome-related health states. However, defining the core microbiome is a complex task at several levels. In this review, we consider the current state of core human microbiome research. We consider the knowledge that has been gained, the factors limiting our ability to achieve a reliable description of the core human microbiome, and the fields most likely to improve that ability. DNA sequencing technologies and the methods for analyzing metagenomics and amplicon data will most likely facilitate higher accuracy and resolution in describing the microbiome. However, more effort should be invested in characterizing the microbiome’s interactions with its human host, including the immune system and nutrition. Other components of this holobiontic system should also be emphasized, such as fungi, protists, lower eukaryotes, viruses, and phages. Most importantly, a collaborative effort of experts in microbiology, nutrition, immunology, medicine, systems biology, bioinformatics, and machine learning is probably required to identify the traits of the core human microbiome
A Method for Serial Tissue Processing and Parallel Analysis of Aberrant Crypt Morphology, Mucin Depletion, and Beta-Catenin Staining in an Experimental Model of Colon Carcinogenesis
The use of architectural and morphological characteristics of cells for establishing prognostic indicators by which individual pathologies are assigned grade and stage is a well-accepted practice. Advances in automated micro- and macroscopic image acquisition and digital image analysis have created new opportunities in the field of prognostic assessment; but, one area in experimental pathology, animal models for colon cancer, has not taken advantage of these opportunities. This situation is primarily due to the methods available to evaluate the colon of the rodent for the presence of premalignant and malignant pathologies. We report a new method for the excision and processing of the entire colon of the rat and illustrate how this procedure permitted the quantitative assessment of aberrant crypt foci (ACF), a premalignant colon pathology, for characteristics consistent with progression to malignancy. ACF were detected by methylene blue staining and subjected to quantitative morphometric analysis. Colons were then restained with high iron diamine–alcian blue for assessment of mucin depletion using an image overlay to associate morphometric data with mucin depletion. The subsequent evaluation of ACF for beta-catenin staining is also demonstrated. The methods described are particularly relevant to the screening of compounds for cancer chemopreventive activity
Modified gravity in a viscous and non-isotropic background
We study the dynamical evolution of an model of gravity in a viscous
and anisotropic background which is given by a Bianchi type-I model of the
Universe. We find viable forms of gravity in which one is exactly the
Einsteinian model of gravity with a cosmological constant and other two are
power law models. We show that these two power law models are stable
with a suitable choice of parameters. We also examine three potentials which
exhibit the potential effect of models in the context of scalar tensor
theory. By solving different aspects of the model and finding the physical
quantities in the Jordan frame, we show that the equation of state parameter
satisfy the dominant energy condition. At last we show that the two power law
models behave like quintessence model at late times and also the shear
coefficient viscosity tends to zero at late times.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure
Entropy and universality of Cardy-Verlinde formula in dark energy universe
We study the entropy of a FRW universe filled with dark energy (cosmological
constant, quintessence or phantom). For general or time-dependent equation of
state the entropy is expressed in terms of energy, Casimir energy,
and . The correspondent expression reminds one about 2d CFT entropy only for
conformal matter. At the same time, the cosmological Cardy-Verlinde formula
relating three typical FRW universe entropies remains to be universal for any
type of matter. The same conclusions hold in modified gravity which represents
gravitational alternative for dark energy and which contains terms growing at
low curvature. It is interesting that BHs in modified gravity are more entropic
than in Einstein gravity. Finally, some hydrodynamical examples testing new
shear viscosity bound, which is expected to be the consequence of the
holographic entropy bound, are presented for the early universe in the plasma
era and for the Kasner metric. It seems that the Kasner metric provides a
counterexample to the new shear viscosity bound.Comment: LaTeX file, 39 pages, references are adde
CMB Telescopes and Optical Systems
The cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) is now firmly established as
a fundamental and essential probe of the geometry, constituents, and birth of
the Universe. The CMB is a potent observable because it can be measured with
precision and accuracy. Just as importantly, theoretical models of the Universe
can predict the characteristics of the CMB to high accuracy, and those
predictions can be directly compared to observations. There are multiple
aspects associated with making a precise measurement. In this review, we focus
on optical components for the instrumentation used to measure the CMB
polarization and temperature anisotropy. We begin with an overview of general
considerations for CMB observations and discuss common concepts used in the
community. We next consider a variety of alternatives available for a designer
of a CMB telescope. Our discussion is guided by the ground and balloon-based
instruments that have been implemented over the years. In the same vein, we
compare the arc-minute resolution Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) and the
South Pole Telescope (SPT). CMB interferometers are presented briefly. We
conclude with a comparison of the four CMB satellites, Relikt, COBE, WMAP, and
Planck, to demonstrate a remarkable evolution in design, sensitivity,
resolution, and complexity over the past thirty years.Comment: To appear in: Planets, Stars and Stellar Systems (PSSS), Volume 1:
Telescopes and Instrumentatio
Aberrant crypt foci in colorectal carcinogenesis. Cell and crypt dynamics
Aberrant crypt foci (ACF) have been identified on the colonic mucosal surface of rodents treated with colon carcinogens and of humans after methylene-blue staining and observation under a light microscope. Several lines of evidence strongly suggest that ACF with certain morphological, histological, cell kinetics, and genetic features are precursor lesions of colon cancer both in rodents and in humans. Thus, ACF represent the earliest step in colorectal carcinogenesis. This paper has the main purpose of reviewing the evidence supporting this view, with particular emphasis on cell and crypt dynamics in ACF. ACF have been used as intermediate biomarkers of cancer development in animal studies aimed at the identification of colon carcinogens and chemopreventive agents. Recently, evidence has also shown that ACF can be effectively employed in chemopreventive studies also in humans
- …