Tufts University

About: Tufts University is a education organization based out in Medford, Massachusetts, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 32800 authors who have published 66881 publications receiving 3451152 citations. The organization is also known as: Tufts College & Universitatis Tuftensis.

Assessing overweight, obesity, diet, and physical activity in college students

Abstract: The authors surveyed 738 college students aged 18 to 27 years to assess overweight, obesity, dietary habits, and physical activity. They used BMI (body mass index) > or = 25 kg/m2 or BMI > or = 85th percentile and BMI > or = 30 kg/m2 or BMI > or = 95th percentile to estimate overweight and obesity in those aged or = 20 years, they used BMI > or = 25 kg/m2 and > or = 30 kg/m2. They found overweight rates of 21.6% using BMI directly and 16.2% using BMI percentile and obesity rates of 4.9% using BMI directly and 4.2% using BMI percentile. More than 69% of the participants reported < 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day and more than 67% reported < 20 g of fiber per day; participants reported physical activity on fewer than 3 d/wk. Most college students are not meeting dietary and physical activity guidelines, suggesting the need for prevention interventions and increased understanding of overweight in college students.

Neuroendocrine-Immune Interactions

Abstract: The long-held view that homeostatic mechanisms are integrated by the nervous and endocrine systems has recently been expanded by information that these systems interact with the immune system. Immune responses alter neural and endocrine function, and in turn, neural and endocrine activity modifies immunologic function1. Many regulatory peptides and their receptors previously thought to be limited to the brain or the immune system are now known to be expressed by both. Findings that link immune and neuroendocrine function provide explanations for the response of the pituitary and adrenal glands to infection and inflammation and the alterations in pituitary-thyroid and . . .

Vitamin E supplementation and in vivo immune response in healthy elderly subjects. A randomized controlled trial.

Abstract: Objective. —To determine whether long-term supplementation with vitamin E enhances in vivo, clinically relevant measures of cell-mediated immunity in healthy elderly subjects. Design. —Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled intervention study. Setting and Participants. —A total of 88 free-living, healthy subjects at least 65 years of age. Intervention. —Subjects were randomly assigned to a placebo group or to groups consuming 60, 200, or 800 mg/d of vitamin E for 235 days. Main Outcome Measures. —Delayed-type hypersensitivity skin response (DTH); antibody response to hepatitis B, tetanus and diphtheria, and pneumococcal vaccines; and autoantibodies to DNA and thyroglobulin were assessed before and after supplementation. Results. —Supplementation with vitamin E for 4 months improved certain clinically relevant indexes of cell-mediated immunity in healthy elderly. Subjects consuming 200 mg/d of vitamin E had a 65% increase in DTH and a 6-fold increase in antibody titer to hepatitis B compared with placebo (17% and 3-fold, respectively), 60-mg/d (41% and 3-fold, respectively), and 800-mg/d (49% and 2.5-fold, respectively) groups. The 200-mg/d group also had a significant increase in antibody titer to tetanus vaccine. Subjects in the upper tertile of serum α-tocopherol (vitamin E) concentration (>48.4 μmol/L [2.08 mg/dL]) after supplementation had higher antibody response to hepatitis B and DTH. Vitamin E supplementation had no effect on antibody titer to diphtheria and did not affect immunoglobulin levels or levels of T and B cells. No significant effect of vitamin E supplementation on autoantibody levels was observed. Conclusions. —Our results indicate that a level of vitamin E greater than currently recommended enhances certain clinically relevant in vivo indexes of T-cell-mediated function in healthy elderly persons. No adverse effects were observed with vitamin E supplementation.

Expansion and evolution of cell death programmes.

Abstract: Cell death has historically been subdivided into regulated and unregulated mechanisms. Apoptosis, a form of regulated cell death, reflects a cell's decision to die in response to cues and is executed by intrinsic cellular machinery. Unregulated cell death (often called necrosis) is caused by overwhelming stress that is incompatible with cell survival. Emerging evidence, however, suggests that these two processes do not adequately explain the various cell death mechanisms. Recent data point to the existence of multiple non-apoptotic, regulated cell death mechanisms, some of which overlap or are mutually exclusive with apoptosis. Here we examine how and why these different cell death programmes have evolved, with an eye towards new cytoprotective therapeutic opportunities.