Cigarette smoking influences DNA methylation genome wide, in newborns from pregnancy exposure and in adults from personal smoking. Whether a unique methylation signature exists for
exposure in ...newborns is unknown.
We separately meta-analyzed newborn blood DNA methylation (assessed using Illumina450k Beadchip), in relation to sustained maternal smoking during pregnancy (9 cohorts, 5648 newborns, 897 exposed) and adult blood methylation and personal smoking (16 cohorts, 15907 participants, 2433 current smokers).
Comparing meta-analyses, we identified numerous signatures specific to newborns along with many shared between newborns and adults. Unique smoking-associated genes in newborns were enriched in xenobiotic metabolism pathways. Our findings may provide insights into specific health impacts of prenatal exposure on offspring.
The hydrogen permeation and separation properties of alumina, zeolite (ZSM-5), palladium and Pd–Ag alloy membranes were measured and compared. Hydrogen separation from a commercial Towngas mixture ...(49% H
2, 28.5% CH
4, 19.5% CO
2 and 3% CO) was conducted. The commercial alumina membrane displayed excellent hydrogen permeation rate but was unable to separate hydrogen from the Towngas. Supported ZSM-5 membrane prepared by ex situ method was able to produce a product stream containing 60% H
2 from Towngas, whereas, high purity hydrogen was generated using thin palladium and Pd–Ag alloy membranes prepared by electroless plating technique. Some of the constituent gases in Towngas mixture inhibit hydrogen flux through the palladium membrane, but the addition of silver serves to ameliorate the situation.
In the present study we explore the association between the ponderal index (PI) at birth and the metabolic syndrome (MetS) in middle-aged population in China. A total of 975 men and women aged 41-52 ...years with detailed birth records were followed up and recruited for clinic examinations, involving anthropometry and measurements of blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, serum lipid profile. The MetS was diagnosed according to the National Cholesterol Education Program (Adult Treatment Panel III) definition. Multivariate logistic regression analysis estimated the effect of PI on MetS and the interaction between PI at birth and adult body mass index (BMI). The average prevalence of MetS was 19.3%, with rates of 23.7%, 22.9%, 16.9% and 16.5% in those who at birth were <25th percentile, the 25th-50th percentile, the 50th-75th percentile and >75th percentile PI respectively, with a significant decreasing trend (x²for trend = 5.661, P = 0.017). Logistic regression analysis showed that 25.7% of the occurrence of MetS was attributable to PI at birth and adult BMI both acting independently and synergistically. In summary thinness at birth predicts the later occurrence of MetS, as well as modifying the association between later BMI and MetS. Overweight later in life was most deleterious for those with growth retardation at birth.
The formation of titanium (Ti)-wear particles during the lifetime of an implant is believed to be a major component of loosening due to debris-induced changes in bone cell function. Radiographic ...evidence indicates a loss of fixation at the implant-bone interface, and we believe that the accumulation of Ti particles may act on the bone-remodeling process and impact both long- and short-term implant-fixation strengths. To determine the effects of various sizes of the Ti particles on osteoblast function in vivo, we measured the loss of integration strength around Ti-pin implants inserted into a rat tibia in conjunction with Ti particles from one of four size-groups. Implant integration is mediated primarily by osteoblast adhesion/focal contact pattern, viability, proliferation and differentiation, and osteoclast recruitment at the implant site in vivo. This study demonstrates the significant attenuation of osteoblast function concurrent with increased expression of receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL), a dominant signal for osteoclast recruitment, which is regulated differentially, depending on the size of the Ti particle. Zymography studies have also demonstrated increased activities of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) 2 and 9 in cells exposed to larger Ti particles. In summary, all particles have adverse effects on osteoblast function, resulting in decreased bone formation and integration, but different mechanisms are elicited by particles of different sizes.
Gastric electrical stimulation (GES) involves the delivery of electrical impulses to the stomach for therapeutic purposes. New GES protocols are needed that are optimized for improved motility ...outcomes and energy efficiency. In this study, a biophysically based smooth muscle cell (SMC) model was modified on the basis of experimental data and employed in conjunction with experimental studies to define the effects of a large range of GES protocols on individual SMCs. For the validation studies, rat gastric SMCs were isolated and subjected to patch-clamp analysis during stimulation. Experimental results were in satisfactory agreement with simulation results. The results define the effects of a wide range of GES parameters (pulse width, amplitude, and pulse-train frequency) on isolated SMCs. The minimum pulse width required to invoke a supramechanical threshold response from SMCs (defined at -30 mV) was 65 ms (at 250-pA amplitude). The minimum amplitude required to invoke this threshold was 75 pA (at 1,000-ms pulse width). The amplitude of the invoked response beyond this threshold was proportional to the stimulation amplitude. A high-frequency train of stimuli (40 Hz; 10 ms, 150 pA) could invoke and maintain the SMC plateau phase while requiring 60% less power and accruing approximately 30% less intracellular Ca(2+) concentration during the plateau phase than a comparable single-pulse protocol could in a demonstrated example. Validated computational simulations are an effective strategy for efficiently identifying effective minimum-energy GES protocols, and pulse-train protocols may also help to reduce the power consumption of future GES devices.
The clinical, laboratory, and radiological features at presentation of 16 children (<12 years) with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and pneumonia were compared with 32 age matched patients ...with community acquired pneumonia for determination of predictive factors that could allow early differentiation of the two conditions. A definitive contact history was the most important predictor for SARS. Raised serum lactate dehydrogenase concentration in the presence of low neutrophil count and serum creatine phosphokinase level at presentation also indicated an increased likelihood of SARS-coronavirus infection in young children.
Streptococcus suis serotype 2 (SS2) is considered as a major pathogen that causes sepsis and meningitis in piglets and humans, but knowledge of its antigenic proteins remains limited so far. The ...surface-related proteins of pathogens often play significant roles in bacterium-host interactions and infection. Here, we obtained the elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) gene of Streptococcus suis and constructed the recombinant expression plasmid successfully. The target recombinant plasmid was then expressed in Escherichia coli and the immuno-protection of the recombinant protein was subsequently evaluated as well. The EF-Tu gene of Streptococcus suis is 1197 bp in length, encodes 398 amino acids. The target recombinant EF-Tu (rEF-Tu) protein can recognize the antiserum of Streptococcus suis and can provoke obvious humoral immune responses in rabbits and conferred protection to rabbits against Streptococcus suis ear-vein challenge, implying that the EF-Tu may be used as an attractive candidate antigen for a component of subunit vaccine.
Here, we report a measurement of cumulants and correlation functions of event-by-event proton multiplicity distributions from fixed-target Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_\text{NN}}$ = 3 GeV measured by ...the STAR experiment. Protons are identified within the rapidity (y) and transverse momentum ($p_T$) region –0:9 < $\textit{y}$ < 0 and 0:4 < pT < 2:0 GeV/c in the center-of-mass frame. A systematic analysis of the proton cumulants and correlation functions up to sixth-order as well as the corresponding ratios as a function of the collision centrality, $p_T$, and $\textit{y}$ are presented. The effect of pileup and initial volume fluctuations on these observables and the respective corrections are discussed in detail. The results are compared to calculations from the hadronic transport UrQMD model as well as a hydrodynamic model. In the most central 5% collisions, the value of proton cumulant ratio $C_4 = C_2$ is negative, drastically different from the values observed in Au+Au collisions at higher energies. Compared to model calculations including Lattice QCD, a hadronic transport model, and a hydrodynamic model, the strong suppression in the ratio of $C_4/C_2$ at 3 GeV Au+Au collisions indicates an energy regime dominated by hadronic interactions.
With the increased demands in performance, the optical disk drive needs to have high speed, be more stable and less noisy. However, the disk vibration and the associate noise induced by the rotating ...flow caused by fluid–structure interactions become more severe as the rotating speed of the disk drive increases. The purpose of this research is to design a disk cover of an optical disk drive that can effectively improve the flow-induced disk vibration and the associate noise as the rotating speed of the disk increases. Numerical results from the finite-element analysis show that altering the shape of disk top cover influences the rotating flow and the corresponding secondary recirculating vortex, and then affects the disk vibration. With a proper design of a disk cover, the flow-induced disk vibration can be reduced substantially as compared to the original shape of the top cover at a rotating speed of 8000
rev/min. Furthermore, experimental results show that the associate noise that includes the flow noise and structure-borne noise of disk can be reduced at least 10
dB at the same rotating speed.
We isolated 23 polymorphic microsatellite loci of tetranucleotide, dinucleotide or compound repeat motif in the black-faced spoonbill (Platalea minor). In a panel of up to 20 individuals, number of ...alleles per locus ranged from two to 19 (mean = 8) and heterozygosity from 0.278 to 0.950 (mean = 0.606). Allele frequencies of five loci deviated from that expected under Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium, and one of them was likely Z-linked. Excluding these loci, the remaining 18 loci should provide a sufficient set of molecular markers for use in ecological and conservation genetic investigation of this globally endangered wader species, and cross-species amplification test suggests that they are potentially useful in other Ciconiiformes waterbirds.
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