Brain Activation by Peptide Pro-Leu-Gly-NH2 (MIF-1)

MIF-1 (Pro-Leu-Gly-NH2) is a tripeptide for which the therapeutic potential in Parkinson's disease and depression has been indicated by many studies. However, the cellular mechanisms of action of MIF-1 are not yet clear. Here, we show the specific brain regions responsive to MIF-1 treatment by c-Fos mapping, and determine the kinetics of cellular signaling by western blotting of pERK, pSTAT3, and c-Fos in cultured neurons. The immunoreactivity of c-Fos was increased 4 hours after MIF-1 treatment in brain regions critically involved in the regulation of mood, anxiety, depression, and memory. The number of cells activated was greater after peripheral treatment (intravenous delivery) than after intracerebroventricular injection. In cultured SH-SY5Y neuronal cells, c-Fos was induced time- and dose-dependently. The activation of cellular c-Fos was preceded by a transient increase of mitogen-activated protein kinase pERK but a reduction of phosphorylated Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription (pSTAT3) initially. We conclude that MIF-1 can modulate multiple cellular signals including pERK, and pSTAT3 to activate c-Fos. The cellular activation in specific brain regions illustrates the biochemical and neuroanatomical basis underlying the therapeutic effect of MIF-1 in Parkinson's disease and depression

Feasibility of industrial hemp production in the United States Pacific Northwest

Published May 1998. Reviewed December 2014. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalo

A novel behavioral fish model of nociception for testing analgesics

Pain is a major symptom in many medical conditions, and often interferes significantly with a person's quality of life. Although a priority topic in medical research for many years, there are still few analgesic drugs approved for clinical use. One reason is the lack of appropriate animal models that faithfully represent relevant hallmarks associated with human pain. Here we propose zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a novel short-term behavioral model of nociception, and analyse its sensitivity and robustness. Firstly, we injected two different doses of acetic acid as the noxious stimulus. We studied individual locomotor responses of fish to a threshold level of nociception using two recording systems: a video tracking system and an electric biosensor (the MOBS system). We showed that an injection dose of 10% acetic acid resulted in a change in behavior that could be used to study nociception. Secondly, we validated our behavioral model by investigating the effect of the analgesic morphine. In time-course studies, first we looked at the dose-response relationship of morphine and then tested whether the effect of morphine could be modulated by naloxone, an opioid antagonist. Our results suggest that a change in behavioral responses of zebrafish to acetic acid is a reasonable model to test analgesics. The response scales with stimulus intensity, is attenuated by morphine, and the analgesic effect of morphine is blocked with naloxone. The change in behavior of zebrafish associated with the noxious stimulus can be monitored with an electric biosensor that measures changes in water impedance. © 2011 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Evoked potentials in the Atlantic cod following putatively innocuous and putatively noxious electrical stimulation: a minimally invasive approach

Aspects of peripheral and central nociception have previously been studied through recording of somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) to putative noxious stimuli in specific brain regions in a few freshwater fish species. In the present study, we describe a novel, minimally invasive method for recording SEPs from the central nervous system of the Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). Cutaneous electric stimulation of the tail in 15 fish elicited SEPs at all stimulus intensities (2, 5, 10 and 20 mA) with quantitative properties corresponding to stimulus intensity. In contrast to previous fish studies, the methodological approach used in Atlantic cod in the current study uncovered a number of additional responses that could originate from multiple brain regions. Several of these responses were specific to stimulation at the highest stimulus intensities, possibly representing qualitative differences in central processing between somatosensory and nociceptive stimuli

Investigation of the Performance of the New Orleans Flood Protection System in Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005: Volume 1

This report presents the results of an investigation of the performance of the New Orleans regional flood protection system during and after Hurricane Katrina, which struck the New Orleans region on August 29, 2005. This event resulted in the single most costly catastrophic failure of an engineered system in history. Current damage estimates at the time of this writing are on the order of $100 to$200 billion in the greater New Orleans area, and the official death count in New Orleans and southern Louisiana at the time of this writing stands at 1,293, with an additional 306 deaths in nearby southern Mississippi. An additional approximately 300 people are currently still listed as “missing”; it is expected that some of these missing were temporarily lost in the shuffle of the regional evacuation, but some of these are expected to have been carried out into the swamps and the Gulf of Mexico by the storm’s floodwaters, and some are expected to be recovered in the ongoing sifting through the debris of wrecked homes and businesses, so the current overall regional death count of 1,599 is expected to continue to rise a bit further. More than 450,000 people were initially displaced by this catastrophe, and at the time of this writing more than 200,000 residents of the greater New Orleans metropolitan area continue to be displaced from their homes by the floodwater damages from this storm event. This investigation has targeted three main questions as follow: (1) What happened?, (2) Why?, and (3) What types of changes are necessary to prevent recurrence of a disaster of this scale again in the future? To address these questions, this investigation has involved: (1) an initial field reconnaissance, forensic study and data gathering effort performed quickly after the arrival of Hurricanes Katrina (August 29, 2005) and Rita (September 24, 2005), (2) a review of the history of the regional flood protection system and its development, (3) a review of the challenging regional geology, (4) detailed studies of the events during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, as well as the causes and mechanisms of the principal failures, (4) studies of the organizational and institutional issues affecting the performance of the flood protection system, (5) observations regarding the emergency repair and ongoing interim levee reconstruction efforts, and (6) development of findings and preliminary recommendations regarding changes that appear warranted in order to prevent recurrence of this type of catastrophe in the future. In the end, it is concluded that many things went wrong with the New Orleans flood protection system during Hurricane Katrina, and that the resulting catastrophe had it roots in three main causes: (1) a major natural disaster (the Hurricane itself), (2) the poor performance of the flood protection system, due to localized engineering failures, questionable judgments, errors, etc. involved in the detailed design, construction, operation and maintenance of the system, and (3) more global “organizational” and institutional problems associated with the governmental and local organizations responsible for the design, construction, operation, maintenance and funding of the overall flood protection system