1,720,969 research outputs found
Effect of Saw Palmetto Supplements on Androgen-Sensitive LNCaP Human Prostate Cancer Cell Number and Syrian Hamster Flank Organ Growth
Full text linkCitation: Opoku-Acheampong, A. B., Penugonda, K., & Lindshield, B. L. (2016). Effect of Saw Palmetto Supplements on Androgen-Sensitive LNCaP Human Prostate Cancer Cell Number and Syrian Hamster Flank Organ Growth. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 10. doi:10.1155/2016/8135135Saw palmetto supplements (SPS) are commonly consumed by men with prostate cancer. We investigated whether SPS fatty acids and phytosterols concentrations determine their growth-inhibitory action in androgen-sensitive LNCaP cells and hamster flank organs. High long-chain fatty acids-low phytosterols (HLLP) SPS >= 750 nM with testosterone significantly increased and >= 500 nM with dihydrotestosterone significantly decreased LNCaP cell number. High long-chain fatty acids-high phytosterols (HLHP) SPS >= 500 nM with dihydrotestosterone and high medium-chain fatty acids-low phytosterols (HMLP) SPS >= 750 nM or with androgens significantly decreased LNCaP cell number (n = 3; p < 0.05). Five-to six-week-old, castrated male Syrian hamsters were randomized to control (n = 4), HLLP, HLHP, and HMLP SPS (n = 6) groups. Testosterone or dihydrotestosterone was applied topically daily for 21 days to the right flank organ; the left flank organ was treated with ethanol and served as the control. Thirty minutes later, SPS or ethanol was applied to each flank organ in treatment and control groups, respectively. SPS treatments caused a notable but nonsignificant reduction in the difference between left and right flank organ growth in testosterone-treated SPS groups compared to the control. The same level of inhibition was not seen in dihydrotestosterone-treated SPS groups (p < 0.05). Results may suggest that SPS inhibit 5 alpha-reductase thereby preventing hamster flank organ growth
Newly formulated, protein quality-enhanced, extruded sorghum-, cowpea-, corn-, soya-, sugar- and oil-containing fortified-blended foods lead to adequate vitamin A and iron outcomes and improved growth compared with non-extruded CSB+ in rats
Full text linkCitation: Delimont, N. M., Fiorentino, N. M., Opoku-Acheampong, A. B., Joseph, M. V., Guo, Q., Alavi, S., & Lindshield, B. L. (2017). Newly formulated, protein quality-enhanced, extruded sorghum-, cowpea-, corn-, soya-, sugar- and oil-containing fortified-blended foods lead to adequate vitamin A and iron outcomes and improved growth compared with non-extruded CSB+ in rats. Journal of Nutritional Science. doi:10.1017/jns.2017.15Corn and soyabean micronutrient-fortified-blended foods (FBF) are commonly used for food aid. Sorghum and cowpeas have been suggested as alternative commodities because they are drought tolerant, can be grown in many localities, and are not genetically modified. Change in formulation of blends may improve protein quality, vitamin A and Fe availability of FBF. The primary objective of this study was to compare protein efficiency, Fe and vitamin A availability of newly formulated extruded sorghum-, cowpea-, soya- and corn-based FBF, along with a current, non-extruded United States Agency for International Development (USAID) corn and soya blend FBF (CSB+). A second objective was to compare protein efficiency of whey protein concentrate (WPC) and soya protein isolate (SPI) containing FBF to determine whether WPC inclusion improved outcomes. Eight groups of growing rats (n 10) consumed two white and one red sorghum–cowpea (WSC1 + WPC, WSC2 + WPC, RSC + WPC), white sorghum–soya (WSS + WPC) and corn–soya (CSB14 + WPC) extruded WPC-containing FBF, an extruded white sorghum–cowpea with SPI (WSC1 + SPI), non-extruded CSB+, and American Institute of Nutrition (AIN)-93G, a weanling rat diet, for 4 weeks. There were no significant differences in protein efficiency, Fe or vitamin A outcomes between WPC FBF groups. The CSB+ group consumed significantly less food, gained significantly less weight, and had significantly lower energy efficiency, protein efficiency and length, compared with all other groups. Compared with WSC1 + WPC, the WSC1 + SPI FBF group had significantly lower energy efficiency, protein efficiency and weight gain. These results suggest that a variety of commodities can be used in the formulation of FBF, and that newly formulated extruded FBF are of better nutritional quality than non-extruded CSB+. Copyright © The Author(s) 2017 This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
University students and faculty have positive perceptions of open/alternative resources and their utilization in a textbook replacement initiative
Full text linkThis is contribution no. 16-114-J from the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station.The Kansas State University Open/Alternative Textbook Initiative provides grants to faculty members to replace textbooks with open/alternative educational resources (OAERs) that are available at no cost to students. Open educational resources are available for anyone to access, while alternative educational resources are not open. The objective of this study was to determine the perceptions towards OAERs and the initiative, of students enrolled in, and faculty members teaching, courses using OAERs. A survey was sent out to 2,074 students in 13 courses using the OAERs. A total of 524 (25.3%) students completed the survey and a faculty member from each of the 13 courses using OAERs was interviewed. Students rated the OAERs as good quality, preferred using them instead of buying textbooks for their courses, and agreed that they would like OAERs used in other courses. Faculty felt that student learning was somewhat better and it was somewhat easier to teach using OAERs than when they used the traditional textbooks. Nearly all faculty members preferred teaching with OAERs and planned to continue to do so after the funding period. These results, combined with the tremendous savings to students, support the continued funding of the initiative and similar approaches at other institutions
5α-reductase 1 mRNA levels are positively correlated with TRAMP mouse prostate most severe lesion scores.
Full text linkThe contribution of 5α-reductase 1 and 5α-reductase 2 to prostate cancer development and progression is not clearly understood. TRAMP mice are a common prostate cancer model, in which 5α-reductase 1 and 5α-reductase 2 expression levels, along with prostate lesions scores, have not been investigated at different time points to further understand prostate carcinogenesis.To this end, 8-, 12-, 16-, and 20-week-old male C57BL/6TRAMP x FVB mice prostate most severe and most common lesion scores, 5α-reductase 1 and 5α-reductase 2 in situ hybridization expression, and Ki-67, androgen receptor, and apoptosis immunohistochemistry levels were measured. Levels of these markers were quantified in prostate epithelium, hyperplasia, and tumors sections. Mice developed low- to high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia at 8 weeks as the most severe and most common lesions, and moderate- and high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia at 12 and 16 weeks as the most severe lesion in all lobes. Moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma was observed at 20 weeks in all lobes. Poorly differentiated carcinoma was not observed in any lobe until 12-weeks-old. 5α-reductase 1 and 5α-reductase 2 were not significantly decreased in tumors compared to prostate epithelium and hyperplasia in all groups, while proliferation, apoptosis, and androgen receptor were either notably or significantly decreased in tumors compared with prostate epithelium and hyperplasia in most or all groups. Prostate 5αR1 levels were positively correlated with adjusted prostate most severe lesion scores.Downregulation of androgen receptor and 5α-reductase 2, along with upregulation of 5α-reductase 1 in tumors may promote prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia and prostate cancer development in TRAMP mice
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Lycopene, Selenium, Vitamin E and Prostate Cancer
No full textEpidemiologic studies suggest that tomato and lycopene consumption and serum lycopene concentrations are inversely related to prostate cancer occurrence. The oldest, and possibly most cited potential mechanism of action, is that lycopene increases gap junction communication by increasing connexin 43 (Cx43) levels. To better characterize this mechanism, we utilized Cx43 +/+ and Cx43 -/- mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF) and two different treatment schedules (72-hour and 24-hour lycopene treatment). 72-hour treatment was more effective than the 24-hour treatment in decreasing cell growth, but only in Cx43 +/+ MEFs. Treatment with the gap junction communication inhibitor, 18beta-glycyrrhetinic acid, failed to counteract this decrease in cell numbers. These results suggest that lycopene metabolic and/or oxidation products may be responsible for the decrease in cell growth, and this inhibition of growth may involve the gap junction-independent effects of Cx43. Despite the excitement surrounding lycopene, in our prostate cancer models lycopene alone has not significantly decreased prostate cancer development or progression. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of dietary lycopene (250 ppm), selenium (Se-methylselenocysteine, 2 ppm), and vitamin E (gamma-tocopherol, 200 ppm) alone, and in combination, on the growth of androgen-dependent Dunning R3327-H rat prostate adenocarcinomas. AIN-93G diets containing these micronutrients were prefed for 4-6 weeks prior to tumor implantation by subcutaneous injection. The tumors were then allowed to grow for -18 weeks. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that selenium consumption resulted in a highly significant decrease in final tumor areas and tumor weights, while lycopene and gamma-tocopherol consumption did not significantly alter tumor growth. There were no significant interactions among nutrient combinations. Selenium consumption did not significantly alter serum testosterone or dihydrotestosterone levels, tumor proliferation, or apoptosis rates. Finally using Real-Time PCR we wanted to examine whether alterations in androgen gene (androgen receptor, probasin) and/or selenium-associated protein genes (selenium binding protein 2, selenoprotein 15, selenoprotein P) in the normal prostate or Dunning prostate tumors could explain selenium's decrease in tumor growth. Selenium consumption had no effect on gene expression but castration or finasteride-treatment did lead to expression alterations, suggesting that these genes are androgen-responsive.Made available in DSpace on 2015-09-25T22:31:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2
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Reason: Restricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETDsRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETDsU of I Only113 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Lycopene, Selenium, Vitamin E and Prostate Cancer
No full text113 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008.Epidemiologic studies suggest that tomato and lycopene consumption and serum lycopene concentrations are inversely related to prostate cancer occurrence. The oldest, and possibly most cited potential mechanism of action, is that lycopene increases gap junction communication by increasing connexin 43 (Cx43) levels. To better characterize this mechanism, we utilized Cx43 +/+ and Cx43 -/- mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF) and two different treatment schedules (72-hour and 24-hour lycopene treatment). 72-hour treatment was more effective than the 24-hour treatment in decreasing cell growth, but only in Cx43 +/+ MEFs. Treatment with the gap junction communication inhibitor, 18beta-glycyrrhetinic acid, failed to counteract this decrease in cell numbers. These results suggest that lycopene metabolic and/or oxidation products may be responsible for the decrease in cell growth, and this inhibition of growth may involve the gap junction-independent effects of Cx43. Despite the excitement surrounding lycopene, in our prostate cancer models lycopene alone has not significantly decreased prostate cancer development or progression. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of dietary lycopene (250 ppm), selenium (Se-methylselenocysteine, 2 ppm), and vitamin E (gamma-tocopherol, 200 ppm) alone, and in combination, on the growth of androgen-dependent Dunning R3327-H rat prostate adenocarcinomas. AIN-93G diets containing these micronutrients were prefed for 4-6 weeks prior to tumor implantation by subcutaneous injection. The tumors were then allowed to grow for -18 weeks. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that selenium consumption resulted in a highly significant decrease in final tumor areas and tumor weights, while lycopene and gamma-tocopherol consumption did not significantly alter tumor growth. There were no significant interactions among nutrient combinations. Selenium consumption did not significantly alter serum testosterone or dihydrotestosterone levels, tumor proliferation, or apoptosis rates. Finally using Real-Time PCR we wanted to examine whether alterations in androgen gene (androgen receptor, probasin) and/or selenium-associated protein genes (selenium binding protein 2, selenoprotein 15, selenoprotein P) in the normal prostate or Dunning prostate tumors could explain selenium's decrease in tumor growth. Selenium consumption had no effect on gene expression but castration or finasteride-treatment did lead to expression alterations, suggesting that these genes are androgen-responsive.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD
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