Ammonia (NH3) is the most abundant alkaline
component in the atmosphere. Changes in NH3 concentrations have
important implications for atmospheric chemistry, air quality, and ecosystem
integrity. We ...present a long-term ammonia (NH3) assessment in the
western and central African regions within the framework of the International
Network to study Deposition and Atmospheric chemistry in Africa (INDAAF)
programme. We analyse seasonal variations and trends in NH3
concentrations and total column densities along an African ecosystem
transect spanning dry savannas in Banizoumbou, Niger, and Katibougou, Mali;
wet savannas in Djougou, Benin, and Lamto, Côte d'Ivoire; and forests in Bomassa, Republic of the Congo, and Zoétélé, Cameroon. We use a
21-year record of observations (1998–2018) from INDAAF passive samplers and an 11-year record of observations (2008–2018) of atmospheric vertical column densities from the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) to evaluate NH3 ground-based concentrations and total column densities,
respectively. Climatic data (air temperature, rainfall amount, and leaf area
index), as well as ammonia emission data of biomass combustion from the
fourth version of the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED4) and
anthropogenic sources from the Community Emissions Data System (CEDS), were
compared with total NH3 concentrations and total columns over the same
periods. Annual mean ground-based NH3 concentrations are around 5.7–5.8 ppb in dry savannas, 3.5–4.7 ppb in wet savannas, and 3.4–5.6 ppb in forests. Annual IASI NH3 total column densities are 10.0–10.7 × 1015 molec. cm−2 in dry savanna, 16.0–20.9 × 1015 molec. cm−2 in wet
savanna, and 12.4–13.8 × 1015 molec. cm−2 in forest stations. Non-parametric statistical Mann–Kendall trend tests applied to annual data show that ground-based NH3 concentrations increase at Bomassa (+2.56 % yr−1) but decrease at Zoétélé (−2.95 % yr−1) over the 21-year period. The 11-year period of IASI NH3 total column density measurements show yearly increasing trends at Katibougou (+3.46 % yr−1), Djougou (+2.24 % yr−1), and Zoétélé (+3.42 % yr−1). From the outcome of our
investigation, we conclude that air temperature, leaf area index, and
rainfall combined with biomass burning, agricultural, and residential
activities are the key drivers of atmospheric NH3 in the INDAAF
stations. The results also show that the drivers of trends are (1) agriculture in the dry savanna of Katibougou; (2) air temperature and agriculture in the wet savanna of Djougou and Lamto; and (3) leaf area index, air temperature, residential, and agriculture in the forest of Bomassa.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE—Interventional treatment of unruptured brain arteriovenous malformations (BAVMs) has become increasingly controversial. Because medical therapy is still lacking, we aimed to ...obtain insight into the disease mechanisms implicated in BAVMs and to identify potential targets for medical treatment to prevent rupture of a BAVM.
METHODS—We used next-generation RNA sequencing to identify differential expression on a transcriptome-wide level comparing tissue samples of 12 BAVMs to 16 intracranial control arteries. We identified differentially expressed genes by negative binominal generalized log-linear regression (false discovery rate corrected P<0.05). We selected 10 genes for validation using droplet digital polymerase chain reaction. We performed functional pathway analysis accounting for potential gene-length bias, to establish enhancement of biological pathways involved in BAVMs. We further assessed which Gene Ontology terms were enriched.
RESULTS—We found 736 upregulated genes in BAVMs including genes implicated in the cytoskeletal machinery and cell-migration and genes encoding for inflammatory cytokines and secretory products of neutrophils and macrophages. Furthermore, we found 498 genes downregulated including genes implicated in extracellular matrix composition, the binary angiopoietin-TIE system, and TGF (transforming growth factor)-β signaling. We confirmed the differential expression of top 10 ranked genes. Functional pathway analysis showed enrichment of the protein digestion and absorption pathway (false discovery rate-adjusted P=1.70×10). We identified 47 enriched Gene Ontology terms (false discovery rate-adjusted P<0.05) implicated in cytoskeleton network, cell-migration, endoplasmic reticulum, transmembrane transport, and extracellular matrix composition.
CONCLUSIONS—Our genome-wide RNA-sequencing study points to involvement of inflammatory mediators, loss of cerebrovascular quiescence, and impaired integrity of the vascular wall in the pathophysiology of BAVMs. Our study may lend support to potential receptivity of BAVMs to medical therapeutics, including those promoting vessel maturation, and anti-inflammatory and immune-modifying drugs.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE—Analyzing genes involved in development and rupture of intracranial aneurysms can enhance knowledge about the pathogenesis of aneurysms, and identify new treatment strategies. ...We compared gene expression between ruptured and unruptured aneurysms and control intracranial arteries.
METHODS—We determined expression levels with RNA sequencing. Applying a multivariate negative binomial model, we identified genes that were differentially expressed between 44 aneurysms and 16 control arteries, and between 22 ruptured and 21 unruptured aneurysms. The differential expression of 8 relevant and highly significant genes was validated using digital polymerase chain reaction. Pathway analysis was used to identify enriched pathways. We also analyzed genes with an extreme pattern of differential expressiononly expressed in 1 condition without any expression in the other.
RESULTS—We found 229 differentially expressed genes in aneurysms versus controls and 1489 in ruptured versus unruptured aneurysms. The differential expression of all 8 genes selected for digital polymerase chain reaction validation was confirmed. Extracellular matrix pathways were enriched in aneurysms versus controls, whereas pathways involved in immune response and the lysosome pathway were enriched in ruptured versus unruptured aneurysms. Immunoglobulin genes were expressed in aneurysms, but showed no expression in controls.
CONCLUSIONS—For rupture of intracranial aneurysms, we identified the lysosome pathway as a new pathway and found further evidence for the role of the immune response. Our results also point toward a role for immunoglobulins in the pathogenesis of aneurysms. Immune-modifying drugs are, therefore, interesting candidate treatment strategies in the prevention of aneurysm development and rupture.
This review analyses the cumulated data from a number of long‐term follow‐up studies among infants, children and adults vaccinated against hepatitis B in industrialised and developing countries. ...Despite low or undetectable antibody responses years ater vaccination, the development of HBsAg was a rarity and, if present, only transient. Some vaccinees developed anti‐HBc responses but none developed an HB carrier state or clinical manifestations of disease. Studies demonstrating anamnestic responses among those with low or undetectable anti‐HBs levels following challenge with HB vaccine, together with the production of anti‐HBs in circulating B‐cells by spot ELISA, confirmed the presence of immune memory among vaccinees. Anamnestic anti‐HBs responses all correlate close in kinetics and magnitude with proliferative T‐cell responses. The accumulated data from studies assessed in this Review indicate that protection is dependent on immune memory, rather than declining anti‐HBs responses and add additional weight to the European Consensus recommendations (12) that following a complete course of vaccination, booster doses are unnecessary in immunocompetent persons. If implemented, this recommendation will have considerable cost benefits world‐wide.
ABSTRACT
Many plants contain proteins that are capable of inactivating ribosomes and accordingly are called ribosome‐inactivating proteins or RIPs. These typical plant proteins receive a lot of ...attention in biological and biomedical research because of their unique biological activities toward animal and human cells. In addition, evidence is accumulating that some RIPs play a role in plant defense and hence can be exploited in plant protection. To understand the mode of action of RIPs and to optimize their medical and therapeutical applications and their use as antiviral compounds in plant protection, intensive efforts have been made to unravel the enzymatic activities of RIPs and provide a structural basis for these activities. Though marked progress has been made during the last decade, the enzymatic activity of RIPs has become a controversial issue because of the concept that RIPs possess, in addition to their classical RNA N‐glycosi‐dase and polynucleotide:adenosine glycosidase activity, other unrelated enzymatic activities. Moreover, the presumed novel enzymatic activities, especially those related to diverse nuclease activities, are believed to play an important role in various biological activities of RIPs. However, both the novel enzymatic activities and their presumed involvement in the biological activities of RIPs have been questioned because there is evidence that the activities observed are due to contaminating enzymes. We offer a critical review of the pros and cons of the putative novel enzymatic activities of RIPs. Based on the available data, it is suggested that there is little conclusive evidence in support of the presumed activities and that in the past too little attention has been given to the purity of the RIP preparation. The antiviral activity and mode of action of RIPs in plants are discussed in view of their classical and presumed novel enzymatic activities.—Peumans, W. J., Hao, Q., Van Damme, E. J. M. Ribosome‐inactivating proteins from plants: more than RNA N‐glycosidases? FASEB J. 15, 1493–1506 (2001)
Atmospheric ammonia (NH3) is a precursor to fine particulate matter and a source of nitrogen (N) deposition that can adversely affect ecosystem health. The main sources of NH3 – agriculture and ...biomass burning – are undergoing are or expected to undergo substantial changes in Africa. Although evidence of increasing NH3 over parts of Africa has been observed, the mechanisms behind these trends are not well understood. Here we use observations of atmospheric NH3 vertical column densities (VCDs) from the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) along with other satellite observations of the land surface and atmosphere to evaluate how NH3 concentrations have changed over Africa from 2008 through 2018, and what has caused those changes. In West Africa NH3 VCDs are observed to increase during the late dry season, with increases of over 6 % yr-1 in Nigeria during February and March (p<0.01). These positive trends are associated with increasing burned area and CO trends during these months, likely related to agricultural preparation. Increases are also observed in the Lake Victoria basin region, where they are associated with expanding agricultural area. In contrast, NH3 VCDs declined over the Sudd wetlands in South Sudan by over 1.5 % yr-1, though not significantly (p=0.28). Annual maxima in NH3 VCDs in South Sudan occur during February through May and are associated with the drying of temporarily flooded wetland soils, which favor emissions of NH3. The change in mean NH3 VCDs over the Sudd is strongly correlated with variation in wetland extent in the Sudd: in years when more area remained flooded during the dry season, NH3 VCDs were lower (r=0.64,p<0.05). Relationships between biomass burning and NH3 may be observed when evaluating national-scale statistics: countries with the highest rates of increasing NH3 VCDs also had high rates of growth in CO VCDs; burned area displayed a similar pattern, though not significantly. Livestock numbers were also higher in countries with intermediate or high rates of NH3 VCD growth. Fertilizer use in Africa is currently low but growing; implementing practices that can limit NH3 losses from fertilizer as agriculture is intensified may help mitigate impacts on health and ecosystems.
Abstract Carbohydrate-binding agents (CBAs) have been proposed as innovative anti-HIV compounds selectively targeting the glycans of the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein gp120 and preventing ...DC-SIGN-directed HIV capture by dendritic cells (DCs) and transmission to CD4+ T-lymphocytes. We now show that CBAs efficiently prevent R5 HIV-1 infection of human primary monocyte-derived macrophage (MDM) cell cultures in the nanomolar range. Both R5 and X4 HIV-1 strains were efficiently captured by the macrophage mannose-binding receptor (MMR) present on MDM. HIV-1 capture by MMR-expressing MDM was inhibited by soluble mannose-binding lectin and MMR antibody. Short pre-exposure of these HIV-1 strains to CBAs is able to prevent virus capture by MDM and subsequent syncytia formation in cocultures of the CBA-exposed HIV-1-captured MDM and uninfected CD4+ T-lymphocytes. The potential of CBAs to impair MDM in their capacity to capture and to transmit HIV to T-lymphocytes might be an important property to be taken into consideration in the eventual choice to select microbicide candidate drugs for clinical investigation.
The shear rheology of fresh molten chocolate produced from crumb was studied over 5 decades of shear rate using controlled stress devices. The Carreau model was found to be a more accurate ...description than the traditional Casson model, especially at shear rates between 0.1 and 1 s⁻¹. At shear rates around 0.1 s⁻¹ (shear stress approximately 7 Pa) the material exhibited a transition to a solid regime, similar to the behavior reported by Coussot (2005) for other granular suspensions. The nature of the suspension was explored by investigating the effect of solids concentration (0.20 < φ < 0.75) and the nature of the particles. The rheology of the chocolate was then compared with the rheology of (1) a synthetic chocolate, which contained sunflower oil in place of cocoa butter, and (2) a suspension of sugar of a similar size distribution (volume mean 15 μm) in cocoa butter and emulsifier. The chocolate and synthetic chocolate showed very similar rheological profiles under both steady shear and oscillatory shear. The chocolate and the sugar suspension showed similar Krieger-Dougherty dependency on volume fraction, and a noticeable transition to a stiff state at solids volume fractions above approximately 0.5. Similar behavior has been reported by Citerne and others (2001) for a smooth peanut butter, which had a similar particle size distribution and solids loading to chocolate. The results indicate that the melt rheology of the chocolate is dominated by hydrodynamic interactions, although at high solids volume fractions the emulsifier may contribute to the departure of the apparent viscosity from the predicted trend.
Previous experiments with tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L. cv Samsun NN) plants revealed that jasmonic acid methyl ester (JAME) induces the expression of a cytoplasmic/nuclear lectin in leaf cells and ...provided the first evidence that jasmonates affect the expression of carbohydrate-binding proteins in plant cells. To corroborate the induced accumulation of relatively large amounts of a cytoplasmic/nuclear lectin, a detailed study was performed on the induction of the lectin in both intact tobacco plants and excised leaves. Experiments with different stress factors demonstrated that the lectin is exclusively induced by exogeneously applied jasmonic acid and JAME, and to a lesser extent by insect herbivory. The lectin concentration depends on leaf age and the position of the tissue in the leaf. JAME acts systemically in intact plants but very locally in excised leaves. Kinetic analyses indicated that the lectin is synthesized within 12 h exposure time to JAME, reaching a maximum after 60 h. After removal of JAME, the lectin progressively disappears from the leaf tissue. The JAME-induced accumulation of an abundant nuclear/cytoplasmic lectin is discussed in view of the possible role of this lectin in the plant.
A selection of carbohydrate-binding agents (CBAs) with different glycan specificities were evaluated for their inhibitory effect against HIV infection and transmission, and their interaction with ...vaginal commensal bacteria.
Several assays were used for the antiviral evaluation: (i) cell-free virus infection of human CD4+ T lymphocyte C8166 cells; (ii) syncytium formation in co-cultures of persistently HIV-1-infected HUT-78/HIV-1 and non-infected CD4+ SupT1 cells; (iii) DC-SIGN-directed capture of HIV-1 particles; and (iv) transmission of DC-SIGN-captured HIV-1 particles to uninfected CD4+ C8166 cells. CBAs were also examined for their interaction with vaginal commensal lactobacilli using several viability, proliferation and adhesion assays.
The CBAs showed efficient inhibitory activity in the nanomolar to low-micromolar range against four events that play a crucial role in HIV-1 infection and transmission: cell-free virus infection, fusion between HIV-1-infected and non-infected cells, HIV-1 capture by DC-SIGN and transmission of DC-SIGN-captured virus to T cells. As candidate microbicides should not interfere with the normal human microbiota, we examined the effect of CBAs against Lactobacillus strains, including a variety of vaginal strains, a gastrointestinal strain and several non-human isolates. None of the CBAs included in our studies inhibited the growth of these bacteria in several media, affected their viability or had any significant impact on their adhesion to HeLa cell monolayers.
The CBAs in this study were inhibitory to HIV-1 in several in vitro infection and transmission models, and may therefore qualify as potential microbicide candidates. The lack of significant impact on commensal vaginal lactobacilli is an important property of these CBAs in view of their potential microbicidal use.
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