Mass Spectrometric Analysis of Oxidized Eicosapentaenoic Acid Sodium Salt

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) is an omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) with 20 carbon atoms and 5 carbon-carbon double bonds. Mammalian cells cannot synthesize long chain PUFAs such as EPA de novo, and, thus, the most effective way to enrich cells in EPA is by dietary intake of fish oils. EPA supplementation causes an increase in its concentration in plasma lipids and in cell membrane phospholipids. Many beneficial effects of EPA supplementation have been noted, including (1) the potential to sensitize cancerous tumors towards chemotherapy, (2) the promotion of cardiovascular health, and (3) the alleviation of some mental disorders, but results from clinical trials have sometimes been disparate. In this study, we report the use of mass spectrometry to investigate the autoxidation of EPA, thereby demonstrating the formation of a variety of oxidized products. The oxidative stress of the patient may affect the response to EPA and may, in part, explain divergent results from clinical trials

Mass Spectrometric Analysis of Oxidized Eicosapentaenoic Acid Sodium Salt

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) is an omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) with 20 carbon atoms and 5 carbon-carbon double bonds. Mammalian cells cannot synthesize long chain PUFAs such as EPA de novo, and, thus, the most effective way to enrich cells in EPA is by dietary intake of fish oils. EPA supplementation causes an increase in its concentration in plasma lipids and in cell membrane phospholipids. Many beneficial effects of EPA supplementation have been noted, including (1) the potential to sensitize cancerous tumors towards chemotherapy, (2) the promotion of cardiovascular health, and (3) the alleviation of some mental disorders, but results from clinical trials have sometimes been disparate. In this study, we report the use of mass spectrometry to investigate the autoxidation of EPA, thereby demonstrating the formation of a variety of oxidized products. The oxidative stress of the patient may affect the response to EPA and may, in part, explain divergent results from clinical trials

Perspectives and experiences of collecting antenatal colostrum in women who have had diabetes during pregnancy: a North Queensland semi-structured interview study

Objectives: To explore and describe the experiences and perspectives of collecting and storing colostrum in the antenatal period in women who have had diabetes in pregnancy. Design: Face-to-face, semi-structured interviews analysed with purposive sampling and thematic analysis. Setting: A regional hospital in North Queensland with a high prevalence of diabetes in pregnancy. Participants: Six women with a previous pregnancy complicated by diabetes who were advised to collect and store colostrum in pregnancy. Results: Six themes were identified: wariness of medicalisation (adjusting to an ‘abnormal’ pregnancy, seeking continuity of care, determination to reduce formula, fear of invasive intervention); underlying altruism (providing the best for baby, preparing for complications, eager for milk donation); internal pressure to succeed (coping with confronting information, disheartened by failures, constant fear of insufficient supply, overwhelming guilt, concern for future breastfeeding success); self-management and ownership (adapting to awkwardness, developing strategies for success, actively seeking education, gaining confidence to request help, accepting personal limitations); frustrated by waste (encroaching on time, squandering a precious resource, ambiguous about necessity) and building fortitude for motherhood (physically preparing for breast feeding, symbolic of the imminent infant, establishing early relationships with supports, approaching challenges with realistic optimism). Conclusion: Women with diabetes in pregnancy experience guilt and stress about the added risk of hypoglycaemia to their babies and strive to provide the best for their babies by collecting and storing colostrum, even if this leads to distress to themselves. It is crucial that these women be provided accurate, realistic advice about the benefits and disadvantages of collecting colostrum in the antenatal period

Eicosapentaenoic Acid Modulates Trichomonas 1 vaginalis Activity

Trichomonas vaginalis is a sexually transmitted parasite and, while it is often asymptomatic in 50 males, the parasite is associated with disease in both sexes. Metronidazole is an effective 51 treatment for trichomoniasis, but resistant strains have evolved and, thus, it has become 52 necessary to investigate other possible therapies. In this study, we examined the effects of native 53 and oxidized forms of the sodium salts of eicosapentaenoic, docosahexaenoic and arachidonic 54 acids on T. vaginalis activity. Eicosapentaenoic acid was the most toxic with 190 μM and 380 55 μM causing approximately 90% cell death in Casu2 and ATCC 50142 strains, respectively. In 56 contrast, oxidized eicosapentaenoic acid was the least toxic, requiring \u3e3 mM to inhibit activity, 57 while low levels (10μM) were associated with increased parasite density. Mass spectrometric 58 analysis of oxidized eicosapentaenoic acid revealed C20 products containing one to six 59 additional oxygen atoms and various degrees of bond saturation. These results indicate that 60 eicosapentaenoic acid has different effects on T. vaginalis survival, depending on whether it is 61 present in the native or oxidized form. A better understanding of lipid metabolism in T. vaginalis 62 may facilitate the design of synthetic fatty acids that are effective for the treatment of 63 metronidazole-resistant T. vaginalis

Anthropological Contributions to Cognitive Science

Anthropology was a founding member of cognitive science(Bender et al., 2010; Gardner, 1985), sharing with othercognitive disciplines a deep interest in thinking and behav-ior. With its unique expertise in the cultural content, con-text, and constitution of cognition, it would still be essentialto any comprehensive endeavor to explore the human mind(Bloch, 2012), but rather has turned into cognitive science’s“missing discipline” (Boden, 2006), thus leaving importantquestions unanswered or even unasked. Given that substan-tial shares of knowledge are implicit and that cognition issituated, distributed, embodied, and grounded in variousother ways, anthropological approaches provide privilegedaccess to investigation: for arriving at reasonable hypothe-ses, ensuring ecological validity, and even for coming upwith new research questions and paradigms (Astuti &Bloch, 2012; Hutchins, 2010; Nersessian, 2006).In line with recent calls for rapprochement in Topics inCognitive Science (Bender et al., 2012; Beller & Bender,2015), our symposium brings together scholars that repre-sent different branches of contemporary anthropology withdistinct perspectives—including ‘traditional’ social anthro-pology, cognitive anthropology and ethno-linguistics, cogni-tive ecology, evolutionary anthropology, and archaeology—to present what they consider to be indispensable contribu-tions to cognitive science.With our selection of authors, we hope to demonstrate thevalue of anthropological approaches for cognitive science aswell as the potential benefits of cross-disciplinary collabora-tion. Cognitive archaeologist Overmann discusses a theo-retical perspective on how mind, behavior, and materialartifacts interact to shape human cognition. Combining theirexpertise in linguistics and evolutionary anthropology, Ráczand Jordan investigate the design principles of kinship sys-tems as near-universal conceptual tools. With his back-ground in (ethno-)linguistics and cognitive anthropology,Le Guen uses Yucatec Maya sign languages to illustrate theimportance of cultural practices for shaping cognitive be-havior. Based on Hutchins’ cognitive ecology approach,Solberg speaks to questions at the intersection of anthropol-ogy and philosophy of science by illuminating the culturalframework of science production in a biology lab. And so-cial anthropologist Astuti concludes by taking a bird’s eyeview on how efforts to understand the human mind cruciallybenefit from acknowledging its historical origins and fromtaking the specific sociocultural contexts into consideration.Based on work some of which is published in high-qualityjournals (such as Science, Nature, PNAS, BBS, TiCS, Cur-rent Anthropology, or Cognition), these participants willoffer invaluable contributions to a more diverse, more inclu-sive, and hence more comprehensive cognitive science

Analysis of Sex-Specific Prostanoid Production Using a Mouse Model of Selective Cyclooxygenase-2 Inhibition

Background: Prostanoids are a family of lipid mediators formed from arachidonic acid by cyclooxygenase enzymes and serve as biomarkers of vascular function. Prostanoid production may be different in males and females indicating that different therapeutic approaches may be required during disease. Objecti ves: We examined sex-dependent differences in COX-related metabolites in genetically modified mice that produce a cyclooxygenase- 2 (COX2) enzyme containing a tyrosine 385 to phenylalanine (Y385F) mutation. This mutation renders the COX2 enzyme unable to form a key intermediate radical required for complete arachidonic acid metabolism and provides a model of selective COX2 inhibition. Design and Methods: Mice heterozygous for the Y385F mutation in COX2 were mated to produce cohorts of wild-type, heterozygous, and COX2 mutant mice. We investigated whether the genotype distribution followed Mendelian genetics and studied whether sex-specific differences could be found in certain prostanoid levels measured in peritoneal macrophages and in urinary samples. Results : The inheritance of the COX2 mutation displayed a significant deviation with respect to Mendel’s laws of genetics, with a lowerthan- expected progeny of weaned COX2 mutant pups. In macrophages, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production following lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and interferon gamma (IFNγ) stimulation was COX2-dependent in both males and females, and data indicated that crosstalk between the nitric oxide (NO) and COX2 pathways may be sex specific. We observed significant differences in urinary PGE2 production by male and female COX2 mutant mice, with the loss of COX2 activity in male mice decreasing their ability to produce urinary PGE2. Finally, female mice across all 3 genotypes produced similar levels of urinary thromboxane (measured as 11-dehydro TxB2) at significantly higher levels than males, indicating a sex-related difference that is likely COX1-derived. Conclusions: Our findings clearly demonstrate that sex-related differences in COX-derived metabolites can be observed, and that other pathways (such as the NO pathway) are affected