Defining the Ceramide Composition of Bovine and Human Milk Gangliosides by Direct Infusion ESI-CID Tandem Mass Spectrometry of Native and Permethylated Molecular Species.

Gangliosides are glycosphingolipids composed of an oligosaccharide that contains one or more sialic acid residues and is linked to a ceramide, a lipid composed of a long chain base (LCB) that bears an amide-linked fatty acyl group (FA). The ceramide portions of gangliosides are embedded in cell membranes; the exposed glycans interact with the extracellular environment. Gangliosides play a myriad of roles in activities such as cell-cell communication, formation of lipid rafts, cellular adhesion, calcium homeostasis, host-pathogen interaction, and viral invasion.

Beyond ingredients: Supramolecular structure of lipid droplets in infant formula affects metabolic and brain function in mouse models.

Human milk beneficially affects infant growth and brain development. The supramolecular structure of lipid globules in human milk i.e.

Unilateral Strength Training after Total Knee Arthroplasty Leads to Similar or Better Effects on Strength and Flexibility than Bilateral Strength Training - A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study.

Objective: Unilateral strength training has been shown to be more effective than bilateral training to increase strength in healthy people. The aims of this study were to test the feasibility of unilateral strength training during total knee arthroplasty (TKA) rehabilitation and compare it with standard bilateral training.

Methods: Twenty-four TKA patients from an inpatient rehabilitation programme were randomly assigned to unilateral and bilateral strength training groups.

[CME: Ethylene Glycol Intoxication].

CME: Ethylene Glycol Intoxication Abstract. Ethylene glycol is a sweet-tasting alcohol used in common antifreeze and other industrial solutions. Without appropriate therapy, intoxication with ethylene glycol can result in severe metabolic acidosis, acute renal failure, and in death.

Effect of dietary lipid structure in early postnatal life on mouse adipose tissue development and function in adulthood.

Obese individuals have more (hyperplastic) and larger (hypertrophic) adipocytes in their white adipose tissue (WAT) than normal-weight individuals. The difference in cell number emerges early in childhood, suggesting that this is a critical period for being susceptible to obesity. Breast-feeding has been shown to be protective against obesity, and we have previously shown in mice that the physical structure of lipids in human milk may contribute to this protective effect.

In situ detection of urease-positive Helicobacter pylori-like organisms on swine gastric mucosa.

The objective of this study was to improve the visual localization of urease activity of Helicobacter pylori-like organisms (HPLO) on swine gastric mucosa by in vitro optimization of the urea concentration and pH indicator of a urease test reagent. Five 21-day-old conventional pigs were infected orally with HPLO (3 pigs) or Brucella broth alone (2 pigs). At 17 d after infection the pigs were euthanized and their stomachs excised and tested for HPLO by a modified urease test formulation sprayed onto the gastric mucosa, as well as confirmatory culture and isolation of HPLO from urease-positive sites.

In utero transmission of porcine torque teno viruses.

Sera and selected tissue homogenates collected from gnotobiotic swine never exposed to the environment or other swine tissues were tested for the presence of porcine torque teno virus (TTV) DNAs by nested and non-nested polymerase chain reactions (PCR) using primers specific for the untranslated region of porcine genogroups (g) 1 and 2. Twenty-three of 105 (21.9%) gnotobiotic piglets were g1- and/or g2-TTV DNA positive.

Evaluation of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae bacterins for porcine torque teno virus DNAs.

Objective: To determine whether commercial Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae bacterins sold for use in swine contain porcine torque teno virus (TTV).

Sample Population: 22 commercially available M hyopneumoniae bacterins.

Procedures: Direct and nested PCR assays for genogroup-specific TTV DNAs were performed on serials of M hyopneumoniae bacterins by use of published and custom-designed primer pairs at 3 laboratories in North America and Europe.

Soluble monomeric EphrinA1 is released from tumor cells and is a functional ligand for the EphA2 receptor.

The ephrinA1 ligand exerts antioncogenic effects in tumor cells through activation and downregulation of the EphA2 receptor and has been described as a membrane-anchored protein requiring clustering for function. However, while investigating the ephrinA1/EphA2 system in the pathobiology of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), we uncovered that ephrinA1 is released from GBM and breast adenocarcinoma cells as a soluble, monomeric protein and is a functional form of the ligand in this state. Conditioned media containing a soluble monomer of ephrinA1 caused EphA2 internalization and downregulation, dramatic alteration of cell morphology and suppression of the Ras-MAPK pathway.

Effects of disrupting calcium homeostasis on neuronal maturation: early inhibition and later recovery.

It has become increasingly clear that agents that disrupt calcium homeostasis may also be toxic to developing neurons. Using isolated primary neurons, we sought to understand the neurotoxicity of agents such as MK801 (which blocks ligand-gated calcium entry), BAPTA (which chelates intracellular calcium), and thapsigargin (TG; which inhibits the endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase pump). Thus, E18 rat cortical neurons were grown for 1 day in vitro (DIV) and then exposed to vehicle (0.

A novel method for the detection of porcine circovirus type 2 replicative double stranded viral DNA and nonreplicative single stranded viral DNA in tissue sections.

Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2), an economically important pathogen of swine, is the necessary cause of post weaning multisystemic wasting disease (PMWS); PCV2 infection is associated with porcine dermatitis and nephritis syndrome (PDNS). Current immunohistochemical (IHC) methodologies identify PCV2 antigens but are not capable of differentiating replicating virus from nonreplicating virion particles in tissue sections. In this paper, a combination of IHC using commercial monoclonal antibodies specific for single stranded (ss) and double stranded (ds) DNA and PCV2 specific in situ hybridization (ISH) was used to show the specificity of the former for PCV2 DNA in tissue sections from PCV2-infected gnotobiotic pigs.

Loss of calcium and increased apoptosis within the same neuron.

Loss of neuronal calcium is associated with later apoptotic injury but observing reduced calcium and increased apoptosis in the same cell would provide more definitive proof of this apparent correlation. Thus, following exposure to vehicle or the calcium chelator, BAPTA (1-20 microM), primary cortical neurons were labeled with Calcium Green-1 which was then cross-linked with EDAC, prior to immuno-staining for various proteins. We found that BAPTA-induced changes in calcium were highly correlated with changes in expression of activated caspase-3 as well as the calcium binding proteins calbindin, calretinin, and parvalbumin.

Age-dependent seroprevalence of antibodies against a Helicobacter pylori-like organism and Helicobacter pylori in commercially reared swine.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of antibodies against a swine-origin Helicobacter pylori-like organism (HPLO) and H pylori in conventionally reared swine.

Animals: 640 conventionally reared swine of various ages from 16 high-health farms in Canada, 20 sows from Ohio, and 35 gnotobiotic swine.

Procedures: Blood was collected from the cranial vena cava.

Widespread neonatal brain damage following calcium channel blockade.

An abundance of evidence exists that shows calcium channel blockade promotes injury in cultured neurons. However, few studies have addressed the in vivo toxicity of such agents. We now show that the L-type calcium channel antagonist nimodipine promotes widespread and robust injury throughout the neonatal rat brain, in an age-dependent manner.

Isolation and preliminary characterization of a novel Helicobacter species from swine.

Objective: To determine whether a Helicobacter sp similar to Helicobacter pylori in the stomachs of humans could be isolated from the stomachs of pigs.

Animals: 4 young conventionally reared and 21 gnotobiotic pigs.

Procedure: Gastric mucosal homogenates (10% wt/vol) from 4 young conventionally reared pigs were cultured on Skirrow medium under microaerophilic conditions to assess the presence of Helicobacter spp.

Activation of the immune system is the pivotal event in the production of wasting disease in pigs infected with porcine circovirus-2 (PCV-2).

Porcine circovirus (PCV)-2, a newly described single-stranded circular DNA virus pathogen of swine is the cause of postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS). In gnotobiotic piglets, PCV-2 infection alone produces asymptomatic infection without evidence of overt PMWS. Gnotobiotic piglets infected with PCV-2 were injected with keyhole limpet hemocyanin in incomplete Freund's adjuvant (KLH/ICFA), and the effects on virus production and development of PMWS were determined.

Murine splenocytes induce severe gastritis and delayed-type hypersensitivity and suppress bacterial colonization in Helicobacter pylori-infected SCID mice.

The goal of this study was to evaluate the role of host immunity in gastritis and epithelial damage due to Helicobacter pylori. Splenocytes from H. pylori-infected and uninfected C57BL/6 mice were adoptively transferred to H.

The effects of extracorporeal whole body hyperthermia on the functional and phenotypic features of canine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC).

In this study the effect of transient 42.3 degrees C whole body hyperthermia (WBH) on the distribution of PBMC phenotypes and in vitro blastogenic responsiveness was determined in dogs. Hyperthermia (n = 6) was induced by heating venous blood during extracorporeal circulation (venous perfusion WBH); perfused non-heated dogs (n = 4) were used as controls.

Vaccination of gnotobiotic piglets against Helicobacter pylori.

To determine the effect of oral adjuvant-assisted and parenteral vaccination, germ-free piglets were vaccinated orally with and without labile toxin adjuvant or parenterally and challenged with viable Helicobacter pylori. All prechallenge vaccination regimens induced anti-H. pylori antibodies and suppressed bacterial colonization, but no vaccination regime completely prevented infection.

Reduction mammaplasty: a safe and effective outpatient procedure.

Traditionally, reduction mammaplasty has been performed on an inpatient basis with a one to two day hospitalization. Many procedures once commonly performed on an inpatient basis have been shown to be safe and effective when performed in an outpatient setting. The purpose of this study was to determine if reduction mammaplasty could be performed safely on an outpatient basis and to compare findings between inpatient and outpatient groups.

Manifestations of the local gastric immune response in gnotobiotic piglets infected with Helicobacter pylori.

Helicobacter pylori, a human gastric bacterial pathogen, was inoculated into gnotobiotic piglets and manifestations of the resultant gastric inflammation was analyzed by in situ immunochemistry and flow cytometric analysis of isolated lamina propria leukocytes (LPL) and peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) recovered from infected and control piglets. Gastric mucosa tissue sections from uninfected control piglets were essentially negative for cluster differentiation- (CD-) positive leukocytes. Failure to isolate significant numbers of LPL from the gastric lamina propria confirmed this observation.

Transcutaneous PO2 of the scalp in male pattern baldness: a new piece to the puzzle.

Our study was designed to measure the transcutaneous PO2 of the scalp to determine if there was a relative microvascular insufficiency and associated tissue hypoxia in areas of hair loss in male pattern baldness. A controlled prospective study was performed at Butterworth Hospital, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Eighteen nonsmoking male volunteers aged 18 years and older were studied.