Antimutagenic, antitumor and estrogen receptor binding activity of the rare plant : An ethnobotanical and chemosystematic approach.

Objective: and other members of the Diapensiaceae family have ethnomedicinal history in both Eastern and Western hemispheres. Based on ethnopharmacological and chemosystematic evidence, pharmacological and toxicological bioassays were conducted on the rare plant Oconee Bell, .

Materials And Methods: Extracts were examined in assays for antimutagenicity, antitumor and estrogen receptor (ER)-binding activity.

Blood sampling - Two sides to the story.

This study aimed to investigate why there is variability in taking blood. A multi method Pilot study was completed in four National Health Service Scotland hospitals. Human Factors/Ergonomics principles were applied to analyse data from 50 observations, 15 interviews and 12-months of incident data from all Scottish hospitals.

Effects of Panax ginseng, zearalenol, and estradiol on sperm function.

Background: Estrogen signaling pathways are modulated by exogenous factors. Panax ginseng exerts multiple activities in biological systems and is classified as an adaptogen. Zearalenol is a potent mycoestrogen that may be present in herbs and crops arising from contamination or endophytic association.

Multiple Integrated Complementary Healing Approaches: Energetics & Light for bone.

A synergistic-healing strategy that combines molecular targeting within a system-wide perspective is presented as the Multiple Integrated Complementary Healing Approaches: Energetics And Light (MICHAEL). The basis of the MICHAEL approach is the realization that environmental, nutritional and electromagnetic factors form a regulatory framework involved in bone and nerve healing. The interactions of light, energy, and nutrition with neural, hormonal and cellular pathways will be presented.

Identification of kinases, phosphatases, and phosphorylation sites in human and porcine spermatozoa.

Multiple inter-connected signaling pathways, involving kinases and phosphatases, form a framework that controls sperm motility, function, and fertilizing ability. Methods that give a broad view of the proteomic landscape may prove valuable in uncovering new crosstalk connections, as well as in discovering new proteins within this regulatory framework. A multi-immunoblotting strategy was utilized to evaluate this concept on human and porcine spermatozoa samples.

Impact of kudzu and puerarin on sperm function.

The goal of this study was to investigate the impact of kudzu (Pueraria mirifica) and the isoflavone puerarin in functional toxicological tests on spermatozoa and to assess the affinity of extracts and pure isoflavones for estrogen receptor (ER)-alpha and -beta (ERα, ERβ) in receptor binding assays. Capacitation, acrosome reaction and chromatin decondensation in spermatozoa were analyzed using microscopic analysis. Kudzu, but not puerarin, reduced motility of sperm.

Composition, mosquito larvicidal, biting deterrent and antifungal activity of essential oils of different plant parts of Cupressus arizonica var. glabra ('Carolina Sapphire').

Essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation of female cones (FC), male cones (MC), needle-twigs (NT) and wood-bark (WB) of 'Carolina Sapphire' [Cupressus arizonica var glabra (Sudw.) Little] were analyzed simultaneously by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The main constituents of the investigated essential oils were as follows: FC: alpha-pinene 68.

Beer is the cattle of women: sorghum beer commercialization and dietary intake of agropastoral families in Karamoja, Uganda.

Karimojong agropastoralists of Uganda have employed a dual subsistence strategy of cattle herding and sorghum cultivation to survive in an unpredictable environment, one afflicted by a severe humanitarian crisis. Armed raiding since the 1970s has led to devastating cattle losses, high male mortality, and increased sedentarization of women and children in densely populated homesteads, where infectious diseases and malnutrition rates are prevalent. Fieldwork in 1998-1999 confirmed the detrimental effects of armed raiding on child growth and development.

Longitudinal weight gain of immunized infants and toddlers in Moroto District, Uganda (Karamoja subregion).

This study examines longitudinal weight gain of a sample of 123 immunized children from Moroto District, northeast Uganda. The weight data were combined from two sources: (1) anthropometric examinations carried out between 1998 and 2004 by a research team from the University of Kansas, and (2) weights recorded on children's immunization records by local health care practitioners. Our findings conform generally to the pattern described in previous studies in this as well as other pastoralist populations in sub-Sahara.

Mixed-longitudinal growth of Karimojong girls and boys in Moroto District, Uganda.

In this article we examine results of a mixed-longitudinal study of child and adolescent growth among agropastoral Karimojong children in Moroto District, northeast Uganda. During a 5-month period from August to December, 2004, longitudinal data were collected for a mixed sample of 104 Karimojong children, aged from birth to 18 years. During a previous study in 1998-1999,we had measured 26 of these children who then ranged in Age between 3 months and 7 years.

Mixed-longitudinal growth of breastfeeding children in Moroto District, Uganda (Karamoja subregion). A loss of biological resiliency?

This study examines the pattern of growth, underlying growth velocity and nutritional status in a sample of thirty breastfeeding Karimojong children, aged from birth to three years. A mixed-longitudinal structure was adopted for the study, which was carried out between August and December, 2004, in two communities in Moroto District, Uganda. Monthly anthropometric and health examinations were administered to mothers and children during this interval.

The contribution of hepatic steroid metabolism to serum estradiol and estriol concentrations in nonylphenol treated MMTVneu mice and its potential effects on breast cancer incidence and latency.

The two major pathways for the metabolism of estradiol-17beta (E2) are the 2- and 16-hydroxylase pathways. Research has suggested that the increased production of the estrogenically active 16-hydroxy products such as estriol (E3) may be involved in increased susceptibility to breast cancer. 4-Nonylphenol (4-NP) is an environmental estrogen that also can activate the pregnane-X receptor (PXR) and induce P-450 enzymes responsible for the production of E3.

Cross-sectional growth of pastoralist Karimojong and Turkana children.

In this study, we compare cross-sectional growth in two Nilotic pastoralist populations, the Turkana and Karimojong of northern East Africa. Until the middle of the 18th century, these two groups constituted one population, and their genetic affinities consequently are assumed to be strong. Known differences in their subsistence practices as well as their recent cultural history allow us to consider the genetic vs.

Mycotoxins in root extracts of American and Asian ginseng bind estrogen receptors alpha and beta.

The estrogenic activity of ginseng has been the subject of conflicting reports. Cell proliferation, induction of estrogen-responsive genes, and isolated cases of adverse reactions such as postmenopausal vaginal bleeding and gynecomastia have been reported after ginseng treatment. Other studies report antiproliferative effects with no induction of estrogen-responsive genes.

Butterfat feeding in early infancy in african populations: New hypotheses.

The feeding of butterfat and animal milk to infants during their first 6 months has been documented in a number of pastoralist populations in Africa and elsewhere. In the view of the majority of nutrition scientists and physicians, this practice heightens the risk of malnutrition and infection for the infant. Where these nonbreastmilk foods are used to replace breastmilk, this view certainly is justified.

Correlates of dietary intake of lactating women in South Turkana.

Previous studies of nutrition among nomadic pastoralists in South Turkana, Kenya, have suggested that social mechanisms may be used to buffer vulnerable members of the group from acute nutritional stress. During 1989-1990, 24-hour dietary recall data were collected from 101 lactating women in Ngisonyoka, Turkana. Multivariate regression was then used to quantify the effects of environmental, socioeconomic, and demographic variables on dietary intake.