NSIS Volume 43, Part 1
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10222/70946
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Item Open Access Instructions to Authors(Nova Scotian Institute of Science, 2005)Item Open Access Evolution, Blood Types, and Weight Loss: A Critical Examination of a Popular Diet(Nova Scotian Institute of Science, 2005) Thiemann, Gregory W.In a best-selling diet book D'Adamo & Whitney (1996) claim that an individual's ABO blood type is the single most important factor in determining the appropriate diet for weightloss and general health. This is based on the premise that the four different blood types have evolved within the past 50,000 years and that each type is an adaptation to a particular lifestyle and diet. While each of the four recommended diets, if followed for an extended period, would likely produce weight-loss in people suffering from obesity, modem genetic research indicates that the human ABO blood groups evolved millions of years ago and pre-date the existence of Homo sapiens. With no clinical evidence or theoretical basis to support them, the claims for the supposed curative functions of D'Adamo & Whitney's Blood Type Diet are misleading and potentially dangerous.Item Open Access The Prion(Nova Scotian Institute of Science, 2005) Gibbons, PaulTransmissible spongifonn encephalopathies (TSE) have been documented in livestock for centuries but the nature of the putative causative agent as a contagious, mutant form of a host-encoded protein is a very recent discovery whose nuances remain unclear. In its normal conformation, the Prion is believed to be a short-lived uptake protein ubiquitous in nervous tissues.In contrast ,the mutant Prion usually has an identical primary structure , but has a radically different tertiary and quaternary structure that confers on it unusual stability and resistance to the normal post-translational reactions. Most importantly, the mutant protein binds to the normal Prion protein and alters its conformation to the mutant form. Transmission of TSE from host to host has been observed to occur primarily through ingestion of infected tissue and introduction of the mutant Prion to nervous tissue in the mouth, such as the cranial nerves serving the tongue. It is believed that the mutant Prion is transported within the parenchyma via highly motile microglia. The latent damage from eventual accumulation of mutant Prion is the result of the host's immune response to the protein that involves inflammatory TNF-alpha and IL-1 alpha and beta, among others. Clinical symptoms, however , presented well after the host's immune response resulted in spongiform changes to nervous tissue. Fortunately, there currently exists promising research that seeking to explain natural immunity to TSE and apply it to unaffected individuals.Item Open Access A Retrospective: Three Quarters of a Century at the Halifax Fisheries Research Laboratory(Nova Scotian Institute of Science, 2005) Stewart, James E.; Safer, AndrewIn 1925 a Fisheries Technological Program was begun in temporary quarters on the Halifax waterfront to provide scientific research and technical assistance to improve the handling, processing and quality of fisheries products in Atlantic Canada. From that date through to 1979 (with a move to permanent buildings next door) studies on fish processing (smoking, drying, fresh and frozen storage, protein stability, marine oils, enzymatic and bacterial spoilage and grading systems among others) were conducted and the results transferred to industry, government and international agencies with a high degree of success and benefits. After it was apparent that product quality was affected by the condition of fish prior to harvest, more effort was devoted to physiological studies of live fish. In the 1960s studies concerning live lobster storage and latterly technical support for developing aquaculture ventures, i.e. health studies, nutritional requirements, environmental needs and physical structures, were added. Following the termination of the technological program in 1979 the buildings were used to accommodate elements of the Fisheries Resource Branch until theY'could be re-Iocated in 1997. This retrospective traces the reasons for programs and offers brief sketches of the studies and their application.Item Open Access The Nova Scotian Institute of Science: Student Science Awards 2004(Nova Scotian Institute of Science, 2005)Item Open Access Occurrence of the Swamp Lymnaea, Lymnaea Stagnalis (Gastropoda: Pulmonata) in Atlantic Canada(Nova Scotian Institute of Science, 2005) McAlpine, Donald F.; Hughes, Liam C.; Alexander, ArianneThe occurrence of the swamp lymnaea, Lymnaea stagnalis (linnaeus 1758). a large, distinctive, pulmonate snail, has been documented in Atlantic Canada for the first time. It is unclear if the populations reported here are relictual, or whether L stagnalis has been introduced into Atlantic Canada.Item Open Access Anti-Inflammation: Finding a New Role for Heat Shock Proteins in Human Health(Nova Scotian Institute of Science, 2005) Chen, Yu; Currie, R. WilliamHeat shock proteins (Hsps) are highly conserved proteins and have been proven to protect prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells in most organisms against external stressors, whether environmental or pathophysiological. This defense mechanism probably depends on the roles of Hsps as molecular chaperones in governing proper protein assembly, folding and transport or as anti -apoptotic regulators of cell death pathways. Recent investigations on human inflammatory diseases indicate that Hsps may be involved in the process of inflammation. In this short review, we describe the general concept of heat shock proteins and inflammation and the new anti-inflammation role of heat shock proteins in various inflammatory diseases such as infection, autoimmune diseases, ischemia/reperfusion injury, cardiovascular diseases and chemical-induced diseases. The Hsps may act as autoantigens to stimulate the immune system and interact with inflammatory intracellular signaling pathways to regulate the inflammatory response. There are still unanswered questions about the heat shock response that require further investigation.Item Open Access President's Report: Session 2003-2004(Nova Scotian Institute of Science, 2005) McCulloch, ArchieItem Open Access Front Matter(Nova Scotian Institute of Science, 2005)