Summary
Recent studies found that hepatitis C virus (HCV) may invade the central nervous system, and both HCV and Parkinson's disease (PD) have in common the overexpression of inflammatory ...biomarkers. We analysed data from a community‐based integrated screening programme based on a total of 62 276 subjects. We used logistic regression models to investigate association between HCV infection and PD. The neurotoxicity of HCV was evaluated in the midbrain neuron–glia coculture system in rats. The cytokine/chemokine array was performed to measure the differences of amounts of cytokines released from midbrain in the presence and absence of HCV. The crude odds ratios (ORs) for having PD were 0.62 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.48–0.81 and 1.91 (95% CI, 1.48–2.47) for hepatitis B virus (HBV) and HCV. After controlling for potential confounders, the association between HCV and PD remained statistically significant (adjusted OR = 1.39; 95% CI, 1.07–1.80), but not significantly different between HBV and PD. The HCV induced 60% dopaminergic neuron death in the midbrain neuron–glia coculture system in rats, similar to that of 1‐methyl‐4‐phenylpyridinium (MPP+) but not caused by HBV. This link was further supported by the finding that HCV infection may release the inflammatory cytokines, which may play a role in the pathogenesis of PD. In conclusion, our study demonstrated a significantly positive epidemiological association between HCV infection and PD and corroborated the dopaminergic toxicity of HCV similar to that of MPP+.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common degenerative condition that afflicts more than 70% of the population between 55 and 77 years of age. Although its prevalence is rising globally with aging of the ...population, current therapy is limited to symptomatic relief and, in severe cases, joint replacement surgery. We report that intra-articular expression of proteoglycan 4 (Prg4) in mice protects against development of OA. Long-term Prg4 expression under the type II collagen promoter (Col2a1) does not adversely affect skeletal development but protects from developing signs of age-related OA. The protective effect is also shown in a model of posttraumatic OA created by cruciate ligament transection. Moreover, intra-articular injection of helper-dependent adenoviral vector expressing Prg4 protected against the development of posttraumatic OA when administered either before or after injury. Gene expression profiling of mouse articular cartilage and in vitro cell studies show that Prg4 expression inhibits the transcriptional programs that promote cartilage catabolism and hypertrophy through the up-regulation of hypoxia-inducible factor 3α. Analyses of available human OA data sets are consistent with the predictions of this model. Hence, our data provide insight into the mechanisms for OA development and offer a potential chondroprotective approach to its treatment.
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are potent drug candidates against microbial organisms such as bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses. AMPs have abundant sequences and structures, two fundamental ...resources for bioinformatics researches, but analyses on how they associate with each other are either nonexistent or limited to partial classification and data. We thus present A Database of Anti-Microbial peptides (ADAM), which contains 7,007 unique sequences and 759 structures, to systematically establish comprehensive associations between AMP sequences and structures through structural folds and to provide an easy access to view their relationships. 30 distinct AMP structural fold clusters with more than one structure are detected and about a thousand AMPs are associated with at least one structural fold cluster. According to ADAM, AMP structural folds are limited—AMPs only cover about 3% of the overall protein fold space.
Compared with a single piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) sheet, a bimorph can enhance driving performance. The main aim of this work is to study a soft piezoelectric bimorph as an ...actuator used in a soft sail. PVDF samples were prepared using a high-temperature solvent evaporation method and were then drawn and poled. The crystalline phase, mechanical properties, piezoelectric property and energy-harvesting performance were analyzed. A PVDF piezoelectric bimorph was designed. The capacity of deformation of the parallel bimorph with a pulsed electric field was studied. The deformation of the sample increased almost linearly, and the deformation performance was obvious with the increase in voltage. To evaluate its driving performance in the engineering model, a sail made of Kapton was produced, and the PVDF bimorph was used as an actuator to drive the sail. The deformation was observed by a Video-Simultaneous Triangulation and Resection System. Furthermore, the finite element method was used to further understand the actuation effect of the Kapton sail matrix and PVDF bimorph actuator according to three different laying methods.
Study of γγ→γψ(2S) at Belle Wang, X. L.; Aihara, H.; Asner, D. M. ...
Physical review. D,
06/2022, Letnik:
105, Številka:
11
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Using 980 fb-1 of data at and around the Υ(nS)(n = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) resonances collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e+e- collider, the two-photon process γγ → γψ(2S) is ...studied from the threshold to 4.2 GeV for the first time. Two structures are seen in the invariant mass distribution of γψ(2S): one at MR1 = 3922.4 ± 6.5 ± 2.0 MeV/c2 with a width of ΓR1 = 22 ± 17 ± 4 MeV, and another at MR2 = 4014.3 ± 4.0 ± 1.5 MeV/c2 with a width of ΓR2 = 4 ± 11 ± 6 MeV; the signals are parametrized with the incoherent sum of two Breit- Wigner functions. The first structure is consistent with the X(3915) or the χc2(3930), and the local statistical significance is determined to be 3.1σ with the systematic uncertainties included. The second matches none of the known charmonium or charmonium like states, and its global significance is determined to be 2.8σ including the look-elsewhere effect. The production rates are Γγγ B(R1 → γψ(2S)) = 9.8 ± 3.6 ± 1.2 eV assuming (JPC, |λ|) = (0++, 0) or 2.0 ± 0.7 ± 0.2 eV with (2++, 2) for the first structure and Γγγ B(R2 → γψ(2S)) = 6.2 ± 2.2 ± 0.8 eV with (0++, 0) or 1.2 ± 0.4 ± 0.2 eV with (2++, 2) for the second one. Furthermore, the first errors are statistical and the second systematic, and λ is the helicity.
Objective
The mouse is an optimal model organism in which gene–environment interactions can be used to study the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA). The gold standard for arthritis research in mice ...is based on histopathology and immunohistochemistry, which are labor‐intensive, prone to sampling bias and technical variability, and limited in throughput. The aim of this study was to develop a new technique that assesses mouse cartilage by integrating quantitative volumetric imaging techniques.
Methods
A novel mouse model of OA was generated by cruciate ligament transection (CLT) and evaluated by histopathology and immunohistochemistry. Knee joint specimens were then imaged using a new technique that combines high‐resolution micro–computed tomography (micro‐CT) and phase‐contrast optics followed by quantitative analyses. A comparative analysis was also performed in a previously established mouse model of OA generated by destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM).
Results
Phase‐contrast micro‐CT achieved cellular resolution of chondrocytes and quantitative assessment of parameters such as articular cartilage volume and surface area. In mouse models of OA generated by either CLT or DMM, we showed that phase‐contrast micro‐CT distinguished control and OA cartilage by providing quantitative measures with high reproducibility and minimal variability. Features of OA at the cellular or tissue level could also be observed in images generated by phase‐contrast micro‐CT.
Conclusion
We established an imaging technology that comprehensively assessed and quantified the 2‐dimensional and 3‐dimensional changes of articular cartilage. Application of this technology will facilitate the rapid and high‐throughput assessment of genetic and therapeutic models of OA in mice.
Background
Altered immune function after appendicectomy has been associated with autoimmune disease, even though the mechanisms are not clearly elucidated. This study aimed to investigate whether the ...frequency of new‐onset type II diabetes was increased after appendicectomy in a case–control study.
Methods
This was a retrospective cohort study from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000. The relative risk was compared with that in the general population using population‐based data. Each patient was tracked for a 3‐year interval to identify those who developed type II diabetes. Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was used to assess the risk of type II diabetes during follow‐up.
Results
A total of 31 512 patients were included in the study, of whom 5252 had an appendicectomy (study cohort) and 26 260 were matched for comparison. Some 714 patients (2·3 per cent) developed type II diabetes during the 3‐year follow‐up, 161 in the study cohort (3·1 per cent) and 553 in the comparison cohort (2·1 per cent). The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for type II diabetes in the study cohort was 1·45 (95 per cent c.i. 1·22 to 1·74). This increased risk was most pronounced in men (adjusted HR 1·47, 1·16 to 1·88) and in those with a perforated appendix (adjusted HR 2·28, 1·71 to 3·03), and applied only to patients younger than 65 years of age.
Conclusion
An increased risk of new‐onset type II diabetes within 3 years after appendicectomy was found in patients aged less than 65 years. The risk was highest in men and in those with complicated appendicitis.
Appendicectomy increases risk of diabetes
Fire is an integral part of savanna ecology and changes in fire patterns are linked to biodiversity loss in savannas worldwide. In Australia, changed fire regimes are implicated in the contemporary ...declines of small mammals, riparian species, obligate-seeding plants and grass seed-eating birds. Translating this knowledge into management to recover threatened species has proved elusive. We report here on a landscape-scale experiment carried out by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) on Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary in northwest Australia. The experiment was designed to understand the response of a key savanna bird guild to fire, and to use that information to manage fire with the aim of recovering a threatened species population. We compared condition indices among three seed-eating bird species--one endangered (Gouldian finch) and two non-threatened (long-tailed finch and double-barred finch)--from two large areas (> 2,830 km2) with initial contrasting fire regimes ('extreme': frequent, extensive, intense fire; versus 'benign': less frequent, smaller, lower intensity fires). Populations of all three species living with the extreme fire regime had condition indices that differed from their counterparts living with the benign fire regime, including higher haematocrit levels in some seasons (suggesting higher levels of activity required to find food), different seasonal haematocrit profiles, higher fat scores in the early wet season (suggesting greater food uncertainty), and then lower muscle scores later in the wet season (suggesting prolonged food deprivation). Gouldian finches also showed seasonally increasing stress hormone concentrations with the extreme fire regime. Cumulatively, these patterns indicated greater nutritional stress over many months for seed-eating birds exposed to extreme fire regimes. We tested these relationships by monitoring finch condition over the following years, as AWC implemented fire management to produce the 'benign' fire regime throughout the property. The condition indices of finch populations originally living with the extreme fire regime shifted to resemble those of their counterparts living with the benign fire regime. This research supports the hypothesis that fire regimes affect food resources for savanna seed-eating birds, with this impact mediated through a range of grass species utilised by the birds over different seasons, and that fire management can effectively moderate that impact. This work provides a rare example of applied research supporting the recovery of a population of a threatened species.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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