Effects of dietary phytoestrogens on plasma testosterone and triiodothyronine (T3) levels in male goat kids

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Exposure to xenoestrogens in humans and animals has gained increasing attention due to the effects of these compounds on reproduction. The present study was undertaken to investigate the influence of low-dose dietary phytoestrogen exposure, i.e. a mixture of genistein, daidzein, biochanin A and formononetin, on the establishment of testosterone production during puberty in male goat kids.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Goat kids at the age of 3 months received either a standard diet or a diet supplemented with phytoestrogens (3 - 4 mg/kg/day) for ~3 months. Plasma testosterone and total and free triiodothyronine (T₃) concentrations were determined weekly. Testicular levels of testosterone and cAMP were measured at the end of the experiment. Repeated measurement analysis of variance using the MIXED procedure on the generated averages, according to the Statistical Analysis System program package (Release 6.12, 1996, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA) was carried out.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>No significant difference in plasma testosterone concentration between the groups was detected during the first 7 weeks. However, at the age of 5 months (i.e. October 1, week 8) phytoestrogen-treated animals showed significantly higher testosterone concentrations than control animals (37.5 nmol/l vs 19.1 nmol/l). This elevation was preceded by a rise in plasma total T₃that occurred on September 17 (week 6). A slightly higher concentration of free T₃was detected in the phytoestrogen group at the same time point, but it was not until October 8 and 15 (week 9 and 10) that a significant difference was found between the groups. At the termination of the experiment, testicular cAMP levels were significantly lower in goats fed a phytoestrogen-supplemented diet. Phytoestrogen-fed animals also had lower plasma and testicular testosterone concentrations, but these differences were not statistically significant.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our findings suggest that phytoestrogens can stimulate testosterone synthesis during puberty in male goats by increasing the secretion of T₃; a hormone known to stimulate Leydig cell steroidogenesis. It is possible that feedback signalling underlies the tendency towards decreased steroid production at the end of the experiment.</p

Simultaneous Quantitation of Antibodies to Neutralizing Epitopes on Virus-Like Particles for Human Papillomavirus Types 6, 11, 16, and 18 by a Multiplexed Luminex Assay

Several different methods have been developed to quantitate neutralizing antibody responses to human papillomaviruses (HPVs), including in vivo neutralization assays, in vitro pseudoneutralization assays, competitive radioimmunoassays (cRIAs), and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. However, each of these techniques possesses one or more limitations that preclude testing large numbers of patient sera for use in natural history studies and large vaccine clinical trials. We describe here a new multiplexed assay, by using the Luminex Laboratory MultiAnalyte Profiling (LabMAP3) assay system, that can simultaneously quantitate neutralizing antibodies to human papillomavirus types 6, 11, 16, and 18 in 50 μl of serum. The HPV-Luminex competitive immunoassay measures titers of polyclonal antibodies in serum capable of displacing phycoerythrin-labeled detection monoclonal antibodies binding to conformationally sensitive, neutralizing epitopes on the respective virus-like particles. This competitive Luminex immunoassay was found to be as sensitive, accurate, and precise as the currently used cRIAs. An effective HPV vaccine will most likely require several distinct genotypes to protect against multiple cancer causing papillomaviruses. The HPV-Luminex immunoassay should prove to be a useful tool in simultaneously quantitating antibody immune responses to multiple HPV genotypes for natural history infection studies and for monitoring the efficacy of prospective vaccines

Catalyzed Nano-Framework Stablized High Density Reversible Hydrogen Storage Systems

A wide range of high capacity on-board rechargeable material candidates have exhibited non-ideal behavior related to irreversible hydrogen discharge / recharge behavior, and kinetic instability or retardation. This project addresses these issues by incorporating solvated and other forms of complex metal hydrides, with an emphasis on borohydrides, into nano-scale frameworks of low density, high surface area skeleton materials to stabilize, catalyze, and control desorption product formation associated with such complex metal hydrides. A variety of framework chemistries and hydride / framework combinations were investigated to make a relatively broad assessment of the method'Âs potential. In this project, the hydride / framework interactions were tuned to decrease desorption temperatures for highly stable compounds or increase desorption temperatures for unstable high capacity compounds, and to influence desorption product formation for improved reversibility. First principle modeling was used to explore heterogeneous catalysis of hydride reversibility by modeling H{sub 2} dissociation, hydrogen migration, and rehydrogenation. Atomic modeling also demonstrated enhanced NaTi(BH{sub 4}){sub 4} stabilization at nano-framework surfaces modified with multi-functional agents. Amine multi-functional agents were found to have more balanced interactions with nano-framework and hydride clusters than other functional groups investigated. Experimentation demonstrated that incorporation of Ca(BH{sub 4}){sub 2} and Mg(BH{sub 4}){sub 2} in aerogels enhanced hydride desorption kinetics. Carbon aerogels were identified as the most suitable nano-frameworks for hydride kinetic enhancement and high hydride loading. High loading of NaTi(BH{sub 4}){sub 4} ligand complex in SiO{sub 2} aerogel was achieved and hydride stability was improved with the aerogel. Although improvements of desorption kinetics was observed, the incorporation of Ca(BH{sub 4}){sub 2} and Mg(BH{sub 4}){sub 2} in nano-frameworks did not improve their H{sub 2} absorption due to the formation of stable alkaline earth B12H12 intermediates upon rehydrogenation. This project primarily investigated the effect of nano-framework surface chemistry on hydride properties, while the effect of pore size is the focus area of other efforts (e.g., HRL, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) etc.) within the Metal Hydride Center of Excellence (MHCoE). The projects were complementary in gaining an overall understanding of the influence of nano-frameworks on hydride behavior

Induction therapy for NSCLC: A consensus report

SCOPUS: cp.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe