Sunshine Advisory, April 2006

A Bulletin on Iowa Open Meetings and Public Records Laws By Attorney General Tom Miller

Sunshine Advisory, September 2006

A Bulletin on Iowa Open Meetings and Public Records Laws By Attorney General Tom Miller

Sunshine Advisory, June 2006

A Bulletin on Iowa Open Meetings and Public Records Laws By Attorney General Tom Miller

Sunshine Advisory, July 2006

A Bulletin on Iowa Open Meetings and Public Records Laws By Attorney General Tom Miller

Sunshine Advisory, August 2006

A Bulletin on Iowa Open Meetings and Public Records Laws By Attorney General Tom Miller

Sunshine Advisory, October 2006

A Bulletin on Iowa Open Meetings and Public Records Laws By Attorney General Tom Miller

Sunshine Advisory, November 2006

A Bulletin on Iowa Open Meetings and Public Records Laws By Attorney General Tom Miller

Sunshine Advisory, December 2006

A Bulletin on Iowa Open Meetings and Public Records Laws By Attorney General Tom Miller

Sunshine Advisory, January 2007

A Bulletin on Iowa Open Meetings and Public Records Laws By Attorney General Tom Miller

Sunshine Advisory, March 2007

A Bulletin on Iowa Open Meetings and Public Records Laws By Attorney General Tom Miller

Sunshine Advisory, April 2007

A Bulletin on Iowa Open Meetings and Public Records Laws By Attorney General Tom Miller

Sunshine Advisory, May 2007

A Bulletin on Iowa Open Meetings and Public Records Laws By Attorney General Tom Miller

Behavioral phenotyping of glutathione-deficient mice: Relevance to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Redox-dysregulation represents a common pathogenic mechanism in schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BP). It may in part arise from a genetically compromised synthesis of glutathione (GSH), the major cellular antioxidant and redox-regulator. Allelic variants of the genes coding for the rate-limiting GSH synthesizing enzyme glutamate-cysteine-ligase modifier (GCLM) and/or catalytic (GCLC) subunit have been associated with SZ and BP. Using mice knockout (KO) for GCLM we have previously shown that impaired GSH synthesis is associated with morphological, functional and neurochemical anomalies similar to those in patients. Here we asked whether GSH deficit is also associated with SZ- and BP-relevant behavioral and cognitive anomalies. Accordingly, we subjected young adult GCLM-wildtype (WT), heterozygous and KO males to a battery of standard tests. Compared to WT, GCLM-KO mice displayed hyperlocomotion in the open field and forced swim test but normal activity in the home cage, suggesting that hyperlocomotion was selective to environmental novelty and mildly stressful situations. While spatial working memory and latent inhibition remained unaffected, KO mice showed a potentiated hyperlocomotor response to an acute amphetamine injection, impaired sensorymotor gating in the form of prepulse inhibition and altered social behavior compared to WT. These anomalies resemble important aspects of both SZ and the manic component of BP. As such our data support the notion that redox-dysregulation due to GSH deficit is implicated in both disorders. Moreover, our data propose the GCLM-KO mouse as a valuable model to study the behavioral and cognitive consequences of redox dysregulation in the context of psychiatric disease.

Guayule and Russian dandelion as alternative sources of natural rubber.

Natural rubber, obtained almost exclusively from the Para rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis), is a unique biopolymer of strategic importance that, in many of its most significant applications, cannot be replaced by synthetic rubber alternatives. Several pressing motives lead to the search for alternative sources of natural rubber. These include increased evidence of allergenic reactions to Hevea rubber, the danger that the fungal pathogen Microcyclus ulei, causative agent of South American Leaf Blight (SALB), might spread to Southeast Asia, which would severely disrupt rubber production, potential shortages of supply due to increasing demand and changes in land use, and a general trend towards the replacement of petroleum-derived chemicals with renewables. Two plant species have received considerable attention as potential alternative sources of natural rubber: the Mexican shrub Guayule (Parthenium argentatum Gray) and the Russian dandelion (Taraxacum koksaghyz). This review will summarize the current production methods and applications of natural rubber (dry rubber and latex), the threats to the production of natural rubber from the rubber tree, and describe the current knowledge of the production of natural rubber from guayule and Russian dandelion.

Sunshine Advisory, June 2007

A Bulletin on Iowa Open Meetings and Public Records Laws By Attorney General Tom Miller