Publications by authors named "Eric J Murphy"

Dust grains absorb half of the radiation emitted by stars throughout the history of the universe, re-emitting this energy at infrared wavelengths. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are large organic molecules that trace millimetre-size dust grains and regulate the cooling of interstellar gas within galaxies. Observations of PAH features in very distant galaxies have been difficult owing to the limited sensitivity and wavelength coverage of previous infrared telescopes.

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The drying of a wet cake consisting of an active pharmaceutical ingredient and solvent in an agitated filter-dryer is a critical and challenging unit operation in the pharmaceutical industry. The complexity of this operation is attributed to the constraints on product quality in terms of its physical properties in addition to the residual solvent content. In this manuscript, a better understanding of the drying mechanism is gained by integrating insights from three-dimensional analytical solutions and computational fluid dynamics simulations into a zero-dimensional model to explain experimental data.

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While brain glucose metabolism is known to contribute the carbons to support brain saturated and monounsaturated fatty biosynthesis de novo in the developing brains of young rodents, such a contribution to fatty acid biosynthesis in the adult brain is poorly understood. Recent work from the Bazinet laboratory illuminates the role of brain glucose metabolism in providing a carbon source from which palmitic acid is synthesized. In "The Majority of Brain Palmitic Acid is Maintained by Lipogenesis from Dietary Sugars and is Augmented in Offspring fed low Palmitic Acid Levels from Birth", the Bazinet lab demonstrates the importance of glucose as a key contributing source of carbon for brain palmitic synthesis and that a low palmitate diet exacerbates its utilization for brain palmitate synthesis de novo.

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This study has extended previous metabolic measures in postmortem tissues (frontal and parietal lobes, pons, cerebellum, hippocampus, and cerebral cortex) obtained from a 37-year-old male patient with succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency (SSADHD) who expired from SUDEP (sudden unexplained death in epilepsy). Histopathologic characterization of fixed cortex and hippocampus revealed mild to moderate astrogliosis, especially in white matter. Analysis of total phospholipid mass in all sections of the patient revealed a 61% increase in cortex and 51% decrease in hippocampus as compared to (n = 2-4) approximately age-matched controls.

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Brain endocannabinoids (EC) such as arachidonoylethanolamine (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) primarily originate from serum arachidonic acid (ARA), whose level is regulated in part by a cytosolic ARA-binding protein, that is, liver fatty acid binding protein-1 (FABP1), not expressed in the brain. Ablation of the Fabp1 gene (LKO) increases brain AEA and 2-AG by decreasing hepatic uptake of ARA to increase serum ARA, thereby increasing ARA availability for uptake by the brain. The brain also expresses sterol carrier protein-2 (SCP-2), which is also a cytosolic ARA-binding protein.

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We illustrate the extraordinary potential of the (far-IR) Origins Survey Spectrometer (OSS) on board the Origins Space Telescope (OST) to address a variety of open issues on the co-evolution of galaxies and AGNs. We present predictions for blind surveys, each of 1000 h, with different mapped areas (a shallow survey covering an area of 10 deg and a deep survey of 1 deg) and two different concepts of the OST/OSS: with a 5.9m telescope (Concept 2, our reference configuration) and with a 9.

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Dysregulation of the hepatic endocannabinoid (EC) system and high fat diet (HFD) are associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Liver cytosol contains high levels of two novel endocannabinoid binding proteins-liver fatty acid binding protein (FABP1) and sterol carrier protein-2 (SCP-2). While Fabp1 gene ablation significantly increases hepatic levels of arachidonic acid (ARA)-containing EC and sex-dependent response to pair-fed high fat diet (HFD), the presence of SCP-2 complicates interpretation.

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In this editorial, we highlight the recent work of Dorninger et al. that demonstrates a reduction in plasmalogens in the motor end plate is associated with a reduction in motor end plate function. This reduction in function is illuminated in reduced muscle function in these mice, corresponding with the reduction in acetylcholine release and in its receptor density observed in these mice.

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Emerging evidence indicates that the fatty acid composition of obesogenic diets influences physiologic outcomes. There are scant data regarding how the content of non-essential fatty acids like monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and saturated fatty acids (SFAs) impact the metabolism of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). In this work, we tested the hypothesis that obesogenic diets enriched in oleic acid (OA; 18:1n-9) reduce polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) levels vs an obesogenic diet enriched in SFAs.

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The endocannabinoid system shifts energy balance toward storage and fat accumulation, especially in the context of diet-induced obesity. Relatively little is known about factors outside the central nervous system that may mediate the effect of high-fat diet (HFD) on brain endocannabinoid levels. One candidate is the liver fatty acid binding protein (FABP1), a cytosolic protein highly prevalent in liver, but not detected in brain, which facilitates hepatic clearance of fatty acids.

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Although liver fatty acid binding protein (FABP1, L-FABP) is not detectable in the brain, Fabp1 gene ablation (LKO) markedly increases endocannabinoids (EC) in brains of male mice. Since the brain EC system of females differs significantly from that of males, it was important to determine if LKO differently impacted the brain EC system. LKO did not alter brain levels of arachidonic acid (ARA)-containing EC, i.

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Article Synopsis
  • FABP1 is a liver protein that helps transport arachidonic acid (ARA), a precursor for endocannabinoids, but is not found in the brain.
  • The study found that mice lacking FABP1 (LKO) had higher levels of ARA-containing endocannabinoids (like AEA and 2-AG) in their brains, along with increased non-ARA endocannabinoids.
  • These changes in brain endocannabinoids were not due to compensatory up-regulation of enzymes or proteins involved in endocannabinoid synthesis and signaling, highlighting the significant role of FABP1 in regulating endocannabinoid levels from outside the brain.
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The first discovered member of the mammalian FABP family, liver fatty acid binding protein (FABP1, L-FABP), occurs at high cytosolic concentration in liver, intestine, and in the case of humans also in kidney. While the rat FABP1 is well studied, the extent these findings translate to human FABP1 is not clear-especially in view of recent studies showing that endocannabinoids and cannabinoids represent novel rat FABP1 ligands and FABP1 gene ablation impacts the hepatic endocannabinoid system, known to be involved in non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFLD) development. Although not detectable in brain, FABP1 ablation nevertheless also impacts brain endocannabinoids.

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Changes in glycerophospholipid metabolism with age and disease can have a profound effect on immune cell activation and effector function. We previously demonstrated that glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase-1, the first and rate limiting step in de novo glycerophospholipid synthesis, plays a role in modulating murine T cell function. The resultant phenotype is characterized by decreased IL-2 production, increased propensity toward apoptosis, and altered membrane glycerophospholipid mass similar to that of an aged T cell.

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