The function of proteins depends on their structure. The structural integrity of proteins is dynamic and depends on interacting nearby neighboring moieties that influence their properties and induce folding and structural changes. The conformational changes induced by these nearby neighbors in the micro-environmental milieu at that moment are guided by chemical or electrical bonding attractions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAll traumas suppress the immune system, resulting in higher morbidity and mortality. Infections, poor nutritional status, chronic illness, fatigue, therapies or procedures performed during and after transport also negatively affect the immune system. Large populations are impacted by trauma worldwide and suffer enormous costs in both direct and indirect expenditures from physical, psychological and functional losses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNumerous national reports have called for reforming laboratory courses so that all students experience the research process. In response, many course-based research experiences (CREs) have been developed and implemented. Research on the impact of these CREs suggests that student benefits can be similar to those of traditional apprentice-model research experiences.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClinical Relevance: Surface alterations of dental restorations can result in increased plaque biofilm. This leads to increased risk of premature restoration failure. Smokeless tobacco, in common use by some US military personnel, represents a potential source for surface alteration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMed Hypotheses
August 2015
Several themes supported by a robust literature are addressed in this clinical translational review and research paper: (1) the inadequate standard of care for minimal traumatic brain injury (mTBI)/concussion when compared to stroke because diagnosis and care for mTBI/concussion are based primarily on a symptom only framework; (2) the treatment of stroke (brain injury) infection with select antibiotics; (3) the use of beta blockade in stroke (brain injury). The various etiologies of brain injury appear to coalesce to common endpoints: potential neuronal demise, cognitive and functional losses, immune suppression and infection. The use of principles patterned after 'Koch's Postulates' (show/prove the presence of infection/illness/disease, treat until resolved, and prove objectively that the disease/illness is gone/healed/cured) appears to be marginalized in establishing a diagnosis and recovery from mTBI/TBI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis review focuses on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Several sequelae of PTSD are partially attributed to glucocorticoid-induced neuronal loss in the hippocampus and amygdala. Glucocorticoids and adrenergic agents cause both immediate and late sequelae and are considered from the perspective of their actions on the expression of cytokines as well as some of their physiological and psychological effects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlzheimer's disease is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder characterized by a progressive loss of cognitive and behavioral abilities. Extracellular senile plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles are hallmarks of AD. Researchers aim to analyze the molecular mechanisms underlying AD pathogenesis; however, the therapeutic options available to treat this disease are inadequate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTraumatic brain injury or stroke causes profound suppression of the cellular immune system and short- and long-term psychological sequelae. Infection is also a common result and is likely caused by bacterial translocation from the gut. Both the bacterial translocation from the gut and the ensuing pneumonia and sepsis are ameliorated by adoptive immune therapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCentral oxytocin (OT) modulates many social behaviors, including female rat sexual receptivity, quantified as the copulatory stance known as lordosis. The expression of the lordosis response is modulated by OT action in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMH), as demonstrated by behavioral pharmacology experiments. However, the subcellular localization of OT in this brain region has been unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe hypothalamic ventromedial nucleus (VMH) displays sexual dichotomies in its overall size, neurochemistry, and neuronal morphology. These differences may underlie the sex differences observed in functions mediated by the VMH, such as reproductive behaviors and energy balance. A previous Golgi impregnation analysis of VMH dendrites reported sex differences in total dendrite length in the ventrolateral region of the VMH.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMH), with its major subdivisions, the dorsomedial and ventrolateral VMH (dmVMH and vlVMH, respectively), has been studied extensively for its role in female sexual behavior. This behavior is controlled by the vlVMH through the cellular actions of estradiol combined with progesterone. Although the effects of treatment with estradiol alone on neuronal morphology in the vlVMH have been examined, much less is known about the combined effects of estradiol and progesterone on neuronal structure.
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