The origin of the large magnetic relaxation effects at microwave frequencies observed in Fe(4 )-doped YIG films has been investigated in detail. Owing to the fairly high conductivity, eddy currents ...play a fundamental role in shaping the microwave spectra, leading to a superposition between a narrow magnetostatic mode series and a broad background signal. At the same time, eddy currents provide the largest contribution to the magnetic damping, giving rise to a characteristic linewidth angular dependence. Experimental results are in agreement with a simple model developed by means of a magnetostatic approach.
Endometriosis is a gynecologic disease affecting up to 10% of the women and a major cause of pain and infertility. It is characterized by the implantation of functional endometrial tissue at ectopic ...positions generally within the peritoneum. This complex disease has an important genetic component with a heritability estimated at around 50%. This review aims at providing recent insights into the genetic bases of endometriosis, and presents a detailed overview of evidence of epigenetic alterations specific to this disease. In the future, these alterations may constitute therapeutic targets for pharmacological compounds able to modify the epigenetic code.
Abstract
STUDY QUESTION
What is the relationship between endometriosis phenotypes superficial peritoneal endometriosis (SUP), ovarian endometrioma (OMA), deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) and the ...adenomyosis appearance by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)?
SUMMARY ANSWER
Focal adenomyosis located in the outer myometrium (FAOM) was observed more frequently in women with endometriosis, and was significantly associated with the DIE phenotype.
WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY
An association between endometriosis and adenomyosis has been reported previously, although data regarding the association between MRI appearance of adenomyosis and the endometriosis phenotype are currently still lacking.
STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION
This was an observational, cross-sectional study using data prospectively collected from non-pregnant patients who were between 18 and 42 years of age, and who underwent surgery for symptomatic benign gynecological conditions between January 2011 and December 2014. For each patient, a standardized questionnaire was completed during a face-to-face interview conducted by the surgeon during the month preceding the surgery. Only women with preoperative standardized uterine MRIs were retained for this study.
PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS
Surgery was performed on 292 patients with signed consent and available preoperative MRIs. After a thorough surgical examination of the abdomino-pelvic cavity, 237 women with histologically proven endometriosis were allocated to the endometriosis group and 55 symptomatic women without evidence of endometriosis to the endometriosis free group. The existence of diffuse or FAOM was studied in both groups and according to surgical endometriosis phenotypes (SUP, OMA and DIE).
MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE
Adenomyosis was observed in 59.9% (n = 175) of the total sample population (n = 292). Based on MRI, the distribution of adenomyosis was as follows: isolated diffuse adenomyosis (53 patients; 18.2%), isolated FAOM (74 patients; 25.3%), associated diffuse and FAOM (48 patients; 16.4%). Diffuse adenomyosis (isolated and associated to FAOM) was observed in one-third of the patients regardless of whether they were endometriotic patients or endometriosis free women taken as controls (34.2% (81 cases) versus 36.4% (20 cases)); P = 0.764. Among endometriotic women, diffuse adenomyosis (isolated and associated to FAOM) failed to reach significant correlation with the endometriosis phenotypes (SUP, 20.0% (8 cases); OMA, 45.2% (14 cases) and DIE, 35.5% (59 cases); P = 0.068). In striking contrast, there was a significant increase in the frequency of FAOM in endometriosis-affected women than in controls (119 cases (50.2%) versus 5.4% (3 cases); P < 0.001). FAOM correlated with the endometriosis phenotypes, significantly with DIE (SUP, 7.5% (3 cases); OMA, 19.3% (6 cases) and DIE, 66.3% (110 cases); P < 0.001).
LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION
There was a possible selection bias due to the specificity of the study design, as it only included surgical patients in a referral center that specializes in endometriosis surgery. Therefore, women referred to our center may have suffered from particularly severe forms of endometriosis. This could explain the high number of women with DIE (166/237–70%) in our study group. This referral bias for women with severe lesions may have amplified the difference in association of FAOM with the endometriosis-affected patients compared to women without endometriosis. Furthermore, according to inclusion criteria, women in the endometriosis free group were symptomatic women. This may introduce some bias as symptomatic women may be more prone to have associated adenomyosis that in turn could have been overrepresented in the endometriosis free group. Whether this selection could have introduced a bias in the relationship between endometriosis and adenomyosis remains unknown.
WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS
This study opens the door to future epidemiological, clinical and mechanistic studies aimed at better characterizing diffuse and focal adenomyosis. Further studies are necessary to adequately determine if diffuse and focal adenomyosis are two separate entities that differ in terms of pathogenesis.
STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)
No funding supported this study. The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.
Renal development in rodents, unlike in humans, continues during early postnatal period. We aimed to evaluate whether the pharmacological inhibition of Endothelin system during this period affects ...renal development, both at structural and functional level in male and female rats. Newborn rats were treated orally from postnatal day 1 to 20 with vehicle or bosentan (Actelion, 20 mg/kg/day), a dual endothelin receptor antagonist (ERA). The animals were divided in 4 groups: control males, control females, ERA males and ERA females. At day 21, we evaluated renal function, determined the glomerular number by a maceration method and by morphometric analysis and evaluated possible structural renal alterations by three methods: 〈alpha〉-Smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) immunohistochemistry, Masson's trichrome and Sirius red staining. The pharmacological inhibition of Endothelin system with a dual ERA during the early postnatal period of the rat did not leads to renal damage in the kidneys of male and female rats. However, ERA administration decreased the number of glomeruli, the juxtamedullary filtration surface area and the glomerular filtration rate and increased the proteinuria. These effects could predispose to hypertension or renal diseases in the adulthood. On the other hand, these effects were more pronounced in male rats, suggesting that there are sex differences that could be greater later in life. These results provide evidence that Endothelin has an important role in rat renal postnatal development. However these results do not imply that the same could happen in humans, since human renal development is complete at birth.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
A Very Young Radio-loud Magnetar Esposito, P.; Rea, N.; Borghese, A. ...
Astrophysical journal. Letters,
06/2020, Letnik:
896, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The magnetar Swift J1818.0-1607 was discovered in 2020 March when Swift detected a 9 ms hard X-ray burst and a long-lived outburst. Prompt X-ray observations revealed a spin period of 1.36 s, soon ...confirmed by the discovery of radio pulsations. We report here on the analysis of the Swift burst and follow-up X-ray and radio observations. The burst average luminosity was Lburst ∼ 2 × 1039 erg s−1 (at 4.8 kpc). Simultaneous observations with XMM-Newton and NuSTAR three days after the burst provided a source spectrum well fit by an absorbed blackbody ( = (1.13 0.03) × 1023 cm−2 and kT = 1.16 0.03 keV) plus a power law (Γ = 0.0 1.3) in the 1-20 keV band, with a luminosity of ∼8 × 1034 erg s−1, dominated by the blackbody emission. From our timing analysis, we derive a dipolar magnetic field B ∼ 7 × 1014 G, spin-down luminosity erg s−1, and characteristic age of 240 yr, the shortest currently known. Archival observations led to an upper limit on the quiescent luminosity <5.5 × 1033 erg s−1, lower than the value expected from magnetar cooling models at the source characteristic age. A 1 hr radio observation with the Sardinia Radio Telescope taken about 1 week after the X-ray burst detected a number of strong and short radio pulses at 1.5 GHz, in addition to regular pulsed emission; they were emitted at an average rate 0.9 min−1 and accounted for ∼50% of the total pulsed radio fluence. We conclude that Swift J1818.0-1607 is a peculiar magnetar belonging to the small, diverse group of young neutron stars with properties straddling those of rotationally and magnetically powered pulsars. Future observations will make a better estimation of the age possible by measuring the spin-down rate in quiescence.
The aim of this work was to study the effect of a high sodium (HS) diet on blood pressure and renal function in male adult rats that have been treated with a dual Endothelin receptor antagonist (ERA) ...during their early postnatal period (day 1 to 20 of life). Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided in four groups: CNS: control rats with normosodic diet; ERANS: ERA-treated rats with normosodic diet; CHS: control rats with high sodium diet; ERAHS: ERA-treated rats with HS diet. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was recorded before and after the diet and 24-hour metabolic cage studies were performed. AQP2 and α-ENac expressions were measured by western blot and real time PCR in the renal medulla. Vasopressin (AVP) pathway was evaluated by measuring V2 receptor and adenylyl cyclase 6 (AC6) expression and cAMP production in the renal medulla. Pre-pro ET-1mRNA was also evaluated in the renal medulla. Only rats that had been treated with an ERA during their postnatal period increased their SBP after consumption of a HS diet, showing an impaired capacity to excrete sodium and water, i.e. developing salt sensitivity. This salt sensitivity would be mediated by an increase in renomedullary expression and activity of AQP2 and α-ENaC as a consequence of increased AC6 expression and cAMP production and/or a decreased ET-1 production in the renal medulla. The knowledge of the molecular mechanisms underlying the perinatal programming of salt sensitive hypertension will allow the development of reprogramming strategies in order to avoid this pathology.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Biomonitoring data of N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET) in children is scarce and limited to controlled exposure and surveillance studies. We conducted a 24-hour observational exposure and human ...biomonitoring study designed to estimate use of and exposure to DEET-based insect repellents by Canadian children in an overnight summer camp setting. Here, we present our study design and methodology. In 2019, children between the ages of 7 and 13 took part in the study (n = 126). Children controlled their use of DEET-based insect repellents, and provided an account of their activities at camp that could impact insect repellent absorption. Children provided a total of 389 urine samples throughout the study day, and reported the time that they applied insect repellent, which allowed us to contextualize urinary DEET and metabolite concentrations with respect to the timing of insect repellent application. DEET (2.3% <Limits of detection (LOD)) and two metabolites, N,N-diethyl-m-(hydroxymethyl)benzamide (DHMB) (0% <LOD) and 3-diethylcarbamoyl benzoic acid (DCBA) (0% <LOD), were measured in urine samples. Three time difference scenarios were established for the data and analysed to account for these complex time-dependent data, which demonstrated the need for DEET biomonitoring to be done in context with the timing of a known DEET exposure or over the course of at least 14 to 24 hours to better capture the excretion curve. To our knowledge, this is the first field-based study of real-world exposure to DEET in children. Our experience and results suggest that this type of real-world observational exposure study with a human biomonitoring component can generate data reflective of actual exposure, but is not without significant logistic, practical, and analytical challenges.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Accelerometry is the gold standard for field-based physical activity assessment in children; however, the plethora of devices, data reduction procedures, and cut-points available limits comparability ...between studies. This study aimed to compare physical activity variables from the ActiGraph GT3X+ and Actical accelerometers in children under free-living conditions. A cross-sectional study of 379 children aged 9-11 years from Ottawa (Canada) was conducted. Children wore the ActiGraph GT3X+ and Actical accelerometers on the hip simultaneously for 7 consecutive days (24-h protocol). Moderate-to-vigorous (MVPA), vigorous (VPA), moderate (MPA), and light (LPA) physical activity, as well as sedentary time, (SED) were derived using established data reduction protocols. Excellent agreement between devices was observed for MVPA (ICC = 0.73-0.80), with fair to good agreement for MPA, LPA and SED, and poor agreement for VPA. Bland-Altman plots showed excellent agreement for MVPA, LPA, and SED, adequate agreement for MPA, and poor agreement for VPA. MVPA derived from the Actical was 11.7% lower than the ActiGraph GT3X+. The ActiGraph GT3X+ and Actical are comparable for measuring children's MVPA. However, comparison between devices for VPA, MPA, LPA, and SED are highly dependent on data reduction procedures and cut-points, and should be interpreted with caution. (Autor).
Some dendrobatid poison frogs sequester the toxin epibatidine as a defense against predators. We previously identified an amino acid substitution (S108C) at a highly conserved site in a nicotinic ...acetylcholine receptor β2 subunit of dendrobatid frogs that decreases sensitivity to epibatidine in the brain-expressing α4β2 receptor. Introduction of S108C to the orthologous high-sensitivity human receptor similarly decreased sensitivity to epibatidine but also decreased sensitivity to acetylcholine, a potential cost if this were to occur in dendrobatids. This decrease in the acetylcholine sensitivity manifested as a biphasic acetylcholine concentration-response curve consistent with the addition of low-sensitivity receptors. Surprisingly, the addition of the β2 S108C into the α4β2 receptor of the dendrobatid Epipedobates anthonyi did not change acetylcholine sensitivity, appearing cost-free. We proposed that toxin-bearing dendrobatids may have additional amino acid substitutions protecting their receptors from alterations in acetylcholine sensitivity. To test this, in the current study, we compared the dendrobatid receptor to its homologs from two non-dendrobatid frogs.
The introduction of S108C into the α4β2 receptors of two non-dendrobatid frogs also does not affect acetylcholine sensitivity suggesting no additional dendrobatid-specific substitutions. However, S108C decreased the magnitude of neurotransmitter-induced currents in Epipedobates and the non-dendrobatid frogs. We confirmed that decreased current resulted from fewer receptors in the plasma membrane in Epipedobates using radiolabeled antibodies against the receptors. To test whether S108C alteration of acetylcholine sensitivity in the human receptor was due to (1) adding low-sensitivity binding sites by changing stoichiometry or (2) converting existing high- to low-sensitivity binding sites with no stoichiometric alteration, we made concatenated α4β2 receptors in stoichiometry with only high-sensitivity sites. S108C substitutions decreased maximal current and number of immunolabeled receptors but no longer altered acetylcholine sensitivity.
The most parsimonious explanation of our current and previous work is that the S108C substitution renders the β2 subunit less efficient in assembling/trafficking, thereby decreasing the number of receptors in the plasma membrane. Thus, while β2 S108C protects dendrobatids against sequestered epibatidine, it incurs a potential physiological cost of disrupted α4β2 receptor function.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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