Georgia State University

About: Georgia State University is a education organization based out in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 13988 authors who have published 35895 publications receiving 1164332 citations. The organization is also known as: GSU & Georgia State.

Dietary emulsifiers directly alter human microbiota composition and gene expression ex vivo potentiating intestinal inflammation

Abstract: Objective The intestinal microbiota plays a central role in the development of many chronic inflammatory diseases including IBD and metabolic syndrome. Administration of substances that alter microbiota composition, including the synthetic dietary emulsifiers polysorbate 80 (P80) and carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), can promote such inflammatory disorders. However, that inflammation itself impacts microbiota composition has obfuscated defining the extent to which these compounds or other substances act directly upon the microbiota versus acting on host parameters that promote inflammation, which subsequently reshapes the microbiota. Design We examined the direct impact of CMC and P80 on the microbiota using the mucosal simulator of the human intestinal microbial ecosystem (M-SHIME) model that maintains a complex stable human microbiota in the absence of a live host. Results This approach revealed that both P80 and CMC acted directly upon human microbiota to increase its proinflammatory potential, as revealed by increased levels of bioactive flagellin. The CMC-induced increase in flagellin was rapid (1 day) and driven by altered microbiota gene expression. In contrast, the P80-induced flagellin increase occurred more slowly and was closely associated with altered species composition. Transfer of both emulsifier-treated M-SHIME microbiotas to germ-free recipient mice recapitulated many of the host and microbial alterations observed in mice directly treated with emulsifiers. Conclusions These results demonstrate a novel paradigm of deconstructing host–microbiota interactions and indicate that the microbiota can be directly impacted by these commonly used food additives, in a manner that subsequently drives intestinal inflammation.

Synthesis and In Vivo Fate of Zwitterionic Near-Infrared Fluorophores

Abstract: A longstanding problem in the field of image-guided surgery is the development of ideal near-infrared (NIR) fluorophores. The heptamethine NIR fluorophore indocyanine green (ICG) has been used extensively for image-guided surgery because of clinical availability and safety.[1-3] However, ICG is far from ideal because it exhibits high uptake in the liver, contaminates the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, provides moderate optical properties,[4] is unstable in aqueous media,[3,5] and is unable to conjugate covalently to targeting ligands.[2] Although several classes of novel molecules have been described,[6-13] none to date exhibit simultaneous low background binding, bifunctionality, excellent optical properties, low protein binding, and high serum stability. Although it is intuitive that physicochemical properties, i.e., positive/negative charge density, hydrophilicity/lipophilicity, and charge distribution, will impact in vivo performance, chemical structures that exhibit ideal characteristics have not yet been defined.

The measurment of the cognitive distortions of child molesters

Abstract: Two hundred and forty child molester paraphiliacs, 48 non-child molesting paraphiliacs and 86 non-paraphiliacs were administered a 29 item Likert scale of statements designed to determine: 1) if cognitive distortions concerning child molestation exist among child molesters and (2) if child molesters can be discriminated from non-child molesters by assessing their cognitive distortions. Factor analysis yielded six factors covering the general area of child molestation being harmful to the child. The factors were reliable and successfully separated child molesters from non-child molesters. Results confirmed that child molesters not only vary from non-child molesters by their behavior with children, but also by their cognitions or beliefs about the consequence of their child molestation behavior on the child.