Age-related endothelial dysfunction in human skeletal muscle feed arteries: the role of free radicals derived from mitochondria in the vasculature

Aim This study sought to determine the role of free radicals derived from mitochondria in the vasculature in the recognized age-related endothelial dysfunction of human skeletal muscle feed arteries (SMFAs). Methods A total of 44 SMFAs were studied with and without acute exposure to the mitochondria-targeted antioxidant MitoQ and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) blockade. The relative abundance of proteins from the electron transport chain, phosphorylated (p-) to endothelial (e) NOS ratio, manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) and the mitochondria-derived superoxide () levels were assessed in SMFA. Endothelium-dependent and endothelium-independent SMFA vasodilation was assessed in response to flow-induced shear stress, acetylcholine (ACh) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP). Results MitoQ restored endothelium-dependent vasodilation in the old to that of the young when stimulated by both flow (young: 68 ± 5; old: 25 ± 7; old + MitoQ 65 ± 9%) and ACh (young: 97 ± 4; old: 59 ± 10; old + MitoQ: 98 ± 5%), but did not alter the initially uncompromised, endothelium-independent vasodilation (SNP). Compared to the young, MitoQ in the old diminished the initially elevated mitochondria-derived levels and appeared to attenuate the breakdown of MnSOD. Furthermore, MitoQ increased the ratio of p-eNOS to NOS and the restoration of endothelium-dependent vasodilation in the old by MitoQ was ablated by NOS blockade. Conclusion This study demonstrated that MitoQ reverses age-related vascular dysfunction by what appears to be an NO-dependent mechanism in human SMFAs. These findings suggest that mitochondria-targeted antioxidants may have utility in terms of counteracting the attenuated blood flow and vascular dysfunction associated with advancing age

Atrazine and Water Quality: An Evaluation of Restricting Atrazine Use on Corn and Sorghum to Postemergent Applications

Atrazine is the most widely used herbicide for corn and sorghum and the most commonly encountered in ground and surface water. In addition to water quality problems, atrazine poses hazards through atmospheric transport, food residues, and exposure of applications and wildlife. If atrazine use is restricted, substitute herbicides will come into wider use, increasing the likelihood of occurrence of their own sets of potentially undesirable side effects and imposing cost or efficacy penalties

Optimization of screening for radioactivity in urine by liquid scintillation.

Numerous events have or could have resulted in the inadvertent uptake of radionuclides by fairly large populations. Should a population receive an uptake, valuable information could be obtained by using liquid scintillation counting (LSC) techniques to quickly screen urine from a sample of the affected population. This study investigates such LSC parameters as discrimination, quench, volume, and count time to yield guidelines for analyzing urine in an emergency situation. Through analyzing variations of the volume and their relationships to the minimum detectable activity (MDA), the optimum ratio of sample size to scintillating chemical cocktail was found to be 1:3. Using this optimum volume size, the alpha MDA varied from 2100 pCi/L for a 30-second count time to 35 pCi/L for a 1000-minute count time. The typical count time used by the Sandia National Laboratories Radiation Protection Sample Diagnostics program is 30 minutes, which yields an alpha MDA of 200 pCi/L. Because MDA is inversely proportional to the square root of the count time, count time can be reduced in an emergency situation to achieve the desired MDA or response time. Note that approximately 25% of the response time is used to prepare the samples and complete the associated paperwork. It was also found that if the nuclide of interest is an unknown, pregenerated discriminator settings and efficiency calibrations can be used to produce an activity value within a factor of two, which is acceptable for a screening method

Enteral Feeding with Human Milk Decreases Time to Discharge in Infants following Gastroschisis Repair

We reviewed a multi-institutional database to assess the effect of enteral feeding with human milk on duration from initiation of feeds to discharge after gastroschisis repair

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: Dusty Star-Forming Galaxies and Active Galactic Nuclei in the Southern Survey

We present a catalog of 191 extragalactic sources detected by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) at 148 GHz and/or 218 GHz in the 2008 Southern survey. Flux densities span 14-1700 mJy, and we use source spectral indices derived using ACT-only data to divide our sources into two sub-populations: 167 radio galaxies powered by central active galactic nuclei (AGN), and 24 dusty star-forming galaxies (DSFGs). We cross-identify 97% of our sources (166 of the AGN and 19 of the DSFGs) with those in currently available catalogs. When combined with flux densities from the Australian Telescope 20 GHz survey and follow-up observations with the Australia Telescope Compact Array, the synchrotron-dominated population is seen to exhibit a steepening of the slope of the spectral energy distribution from 20 to 148 GHz, with the trend continuing to 218 GHz. The ACT dust-dominated source population has a median spectral index of 3.7+0.62-0.86, and includes both local galaxies and sources with redshifts as great as 5.6. Dusty sources with no counterpart in existing catalogs likely belong to a recently discovered subpopulation of DSFGs lensed by foreground galaxies or galaxy groups.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, 4 table

Microbial nitrogen limitation in the mammalian large intestine

Resource limitation is a fundamental factor governing the composition and function of ecological communities. However, the role of resource supply in structuring the intestinal microbiome has not been established and represents a challenge for mammals that rely on microbial symbionts for digestion: too little supply might starve the microbiome while too much might starve the host. We present evidence that microbiota occupy a habitat that is limited in total nitrogen supply within the large intestines of 30 mammal species. Lowering dietary protein levels in mice reduced their faecal concentrations of bacteria. A gradient of stoichiometry along the length of the gut was consistent with the hypothesis that intestinal nitrogen limitation results from host absorption of dietary nutrients. Nitrogen availability is also likely to be shaped by host-microbe interactions: levels of host-secreted nitrogen were altered in germ-free mice and when bacterial loads were reduced via experimental antibiotic treatment. Single-cell spectrometry revealed that members of the phylum Bacteroidetes consumed nitrogen in the large intestine more readily than other commensal taxa did. Our findings support a model where nitrogen limitation arises from preferential host use of dietary nutrients. We speculate that this resource limitation could enable hosts to regulate microbial communities in the large intestine. Commensal microbiota may have adapted to nitrogen-limited settings, suggesting one reason why excess dietary protein has been associated with degraded gut-microbial ecosystems

The Grizzly, October 10, 1980

Alternative Housing Investigated • Unchanged since 1960: Activity Fee Increase Likely • Freshman Class Select Officers • Work Stalled On Campus Beautification • Bermans Give Sculpture To College • Ursinus News In Brief: Student chemistry group honored; Study skills workshop to be repeated; College appoints pol sci lecturer • Off-Campus Houses Rewired • Fast Method Discovered for Wismer • African Politics Subject of Oct. 15 Forum • IF Council, USGA Host Fall Picnic • Inactive Alarm System Questioned • Steranko Plays To Sparse Crowd • The Art of Procrastination • Toga! Toga! Toga! • New Ritter Center Dedicated • How To Get To Philly Without A Car • Guide To Ursinus Vocabulary • Science Fiction Books Discussion Offered • Lantern Needs Help • CLC Reveals Findings From Survey • Homecoming Candidates • Three Intramural Teams Clinch Playoff Spot • Booters Take Two • Hockey\u27s Unbeaten Streak Broken • X-Country Places 2nd At Mansfieldhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1043/thumbnail.jp