Effects of fructose-containing sweeteners on fructose intestinal, hepatic, and oral bioavailability in dual-catheterized rats.

Objective: Fructose is commonplace in Western diets and is consumed primarily through added sugars as sucrose or high fructose corn syrup. High consumption of fructose has been linked to the development of metabolic disorders, such as cardiovascular diseases. The majority of the harmful effects of fructose can be traced to its uncontrolled and rapid metabolism, primarily within the liver.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Workshop Summary: Enhancing Opportunities for Training and Retention of a Diverse Biomedical Workforce.

Rationale: Committed to its mission of conducting and supporting research that addresses the health needs of all sectors of the nation's population, the Division of Lung Diseases, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NHLBI/NIH) seeks to identify issues that impact the training and retention of underrepresented individuals in the biomedical research workforce.

Objectives: Early-stage investigators who received grant support through the NIH Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health Related Research Program were invited to a workshop held in Bethesda, Maryland in June, 2015, in order to (1) assess the effectiveness of the current NHLBI diversity program, (2) improve its strategies towards achieving its goal, and (3) provide guidance to assist the transition of diversity supplement recipients to independent NIH grant support.

Methods: Workshop participants participated in five independent focus groups to discuss specific topics affecting underrepresented individuals in the biomedical sciences: (1) Socioeconomic barriers to success for diverse research scientists; (2) role of the academic research community in promoting diversity; (3) life beyond a research project grant: non-primary investigator career paths in research; (4) facilitating career development of diverse independent research scientists through NHLBI diversity programs; and (5) effectiveness of current NHLBI programs for promoting diversity of the biomedical workforce.

Lack of EC-SOD worsens alveolar and vascular development in a neonatal mouse model of bleomycin-induced bronchopulmonary dysplasia and pulmonary hypertension.

Background: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) worsens clinical outcomes in former preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Oxidant stress disrupts alveolar and vascular development in models of BPD. Bleomycin causes oxidative stress and induces BPD and PAH in neonatal rats.

Selective depletion of vascular EC-SOD augments chronic hypoxic pulmonary hypertension.

Excess superoxide has been implicated in pulmonary hypertension (PH). We previously found lung overexpression of the antioxidant extracellular superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD) attenuates PH and pulmonary artery (PA) remodeling. Although comprising a small fraction of total SOD activity in most tissues, EC-SOD is abundant in arteries.

Oxidative Stress and Therapeutic Development in Lung Diseases.

Oxidative stress has many implications in the pathogenesis of lung diseases. In this review, we provide an overview of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) and nitrogen (RNS) species and antioxidants, how they relate to normal physiological function and the pathophysiology of different lung diseases, and therapeutic strategies. The production of ROS/RNS from endogenous and exogenous sources is first discussed, followed by antioxidant systems that restore oxidative balance and cellular homeostasis.

Selective inactivation of PTEN in smooth muscle cells synergizes with hypoxia to induce severe pulmonary hypertension.

Background: Pulmonary vascular remodeling in pulmonary hypertension (PH) is characterized by increased vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) and adventitial fibroblast proliferation, small vessel occlusion, and inflammatory cell accumulation. The underlying molecular mechanisms driving progression remain poorly defined. We have focused on loss of the phosphatase PTEN in SMCs as a major driver of pathological vascular remodeling.

Superoxide dismutase mimetic, MnTE-2-PyP, attenuates chronic hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary vascular remodeling, and activation of the NALP3 inflammasome.

Aims: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is characterized by an oxidant/antioxidant imbalance that promotes abnormal vascular responses. Reactive oxygen species, such as superoxide (O(2)(•-)), contribute to the pathogenesis of PH and vascular responses, including vascular remodeling and inflammation. This study sought to investigate the protective role of a pharmacological catalytic antioxidant, a superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimetic (MnTE-2-PyP), in hypoxia-induced PH, vascular remodeling, and NALP3 (NACHT, LRR, and PYD domain-containing protein 3)-mediated inflammation.

A modified EPA Method 1623 that uses tangential flow hollow-fiber ultrafiltration and heat dissociation steps to detect waterborne Cryptosporidium and Giardia spp.

Cryptosporidium and Giardia species are two of the most prevalent protozoa that cause waterborne diarrheal disease outbreaks worldwide. To better characterize the prevalence of these pathogens, EPA Method 1623 was developed and used to monitor levels of these organisms in US drinking water supplies (12). The method has three main parts; the first is the sample concentration in which at least 10 L of raw surface water is filtered.

Chitinases in Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia.

Pneumocystis pneumonia remains an important complication of immune suppression. The cell wall of Pneumocystis has been demonstrated to potently stimulate host inflammatory responses, with most studies focusing on β-glucan components of the Pneumocystis cell wall. In the current study, we have elaborated the potential role of chitins and chitinases in Pneumocystis pneumonia.

Xanthine oxidase-derived ROS upregulate Egr-1 via ERK1/2 in PA smooth muscle cells; model to test impact of extracellular ROS in chronic hypoxia.

Exposure of newborn calves to chronic hypoxia causes pulmonary artery (PA) hypertension and remodeling. Previous studies showed that the redox-sensitive transcription factor, early growth response-1 (Egr-1), is upregulated in the PA of chronically hypoxic calves and regulates cell proliferation. Furthermore, we established in mice a correlation between hypoxic induction of Egr-1 and reduced activity of extracellular superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD), an antioxidant that scavenges extracellular superoxide.

Using quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR and cell culture plaque assays to determine resistance of Toxoplasma gondii oocysts to chemical sanitizers.

Toxoplasma gondii oocysts are highly resistant to many chemical sanitizers. Methods used to determine oocyst infectivity have relied primarily on mouse, chicken, and feline bioassays. Although considered gold standards, they only provide a qualitative assessment of oocyst viability.

Viruses and bacteria in karst and fractured rock aquifers in East Tennessee, USA.

A survey of enteric viruses and indicator bacteria was carried out in eight community water supply sources (four wells and four springs) in East Tennessee. Seven sites derived their water from carbonate aquifers and one from fractured sandstone. Four of the sites were deemed "low-risk" based on prior monitoring of fecal indicators and factors such as presence of thick layers of overlying sediments.

Characterization of the PcCdc42 small G protein from Pneumocystis carinii, which interacts with the PcSte20 life cycle regulatory kinase.

Pneumocystis carinii (Pc) causes severe pneumonia in immunocompromised hosts. The binding of Pc trophic forms to alveolar epithelial cells is a central feature of infection, inducing the expression and activation of PcSte20, a gene participating in mating, proliferation, and pseudohyphal growth. In related fungi, Ste20 proteins are generally activated by immediate upstream small G proteins of the Cdc42-like family.

Characterization of PCEng2, a {beta}-1,3-endoglucanase homolog in Pneumocystis carinii with activity in cell wall regulation.

Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia is an opportunistic fungal infection that causes severe respiratory impairment in immunocompromised patients. The viability of Pneumocystis organisms is dependent on the cyst cell wall, a structural feature that is regulated by essential cell wall-associated enzymes. The formation of the glucan-rich cystic wall has been previously characterized, but glucan degradation in the organism-specifically, degradation during trophic excystment-is not yet fully understood.

The Pneumocystis meiotic PCRan1p kinase exhibits unique temperature-regulated activity.

Pneumocystis organisms are opportunistic fungal pathogens that cause significant pneumonia in immune-compromised hosts. Recent evidence has suggested that Pneumocystis carinii exists as separate mating types, and expresses and regulates proteins that govern meiosis and progression of the life cycle. This study was undertaken to investigate the activity of three life cycle-regulatory proteins in Pneumocystis, including two proteins essential in mating signaling, and a putative meiotic regulator, to determine the conditions under which they are most active.

Modification to EPA Method 1623 to address a unique seasonal matrix effect encountered in some U.S. source waters.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Method 1623 is designed to detect and determine concentrations of Cryptosporidium oocysts and Giardia cysts in water through concentration, immuno-magnetic separation (IMS), and immuno-fluorescence assay with microscopic examination.