Abstract
Though T-cell immunosenescence is a major risk factor for age-related diseases, susceptibility to infections, and responses to vaccines, differences in T-cell subset counts and ...representation by age and sex have not been determined for a large sample representative of the national population of the United States. We evaluated the counts of T-cell subsets including total, CD4+, and CD8+ T cells and their naïve (Tn), effector memory (Tem), and effector subsets, in the context of age, sex, and exposure to cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection among 8 848 Health and Retirement Study participants, a nationally representative study of adults older than 55 years. Total T cells (CD3+) and CD4+ cells declined markedly with age; CD8+ T cells declined somewhat less. While CD4+ T cell declines with age occurred for both CMV-seropositive and CMV-seronegative groups, total T cells and CD8+ cells were both substantially higher among the CMV-seropositive group. Numbers of Tn CD4+ and CD8+ cells were strongly and inversely related to age, were better conserved among women, and were independent of CMV seropositivity. By contrast, accumulation of the CD8+ and CD4+ Tem and effector subsets was CMV-associated. This is the first study to provide counts of T-cell subsets by age and sex in a national sample of US adults older than the age of 55 years. Understanding T-cell changes with age and sex is an important first step in determining strategies to reduce its impact on age-related diseases and susceptibility to infection.
Glucose metabolism is a mechanism by which energy is produced in form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) by mitochondria and precursor metabolites are supplied to enable the ultimate enrichment of ...mature metabolites in the cell. Recently, glycolytic enzymes have been shown to have unconventional but important functions. Among these enzymes, pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) plays several roles including having conventional metabolic enzyme activity, and also being a transcriptional regulator and a protein kinase. Compared with the closely related PKM1, PKM2 is highly expressed in cancer cells and embryos, whereas PKM1 is dominant in mature, differentiated cells. Posttranslational modifications such as phosphorylation and acetylation of PKM2 change its cellular functions. In particular, PKM2 can translocate to the nucleus, where it regulates the transcription of many target genes. It is notable that PKM2 also acts as a protein kinase to phosphorylate several substrate proteins. Besides cancer cells and embryonic cells, astrocytes also highly express PKM2, which is crucial for lactate production via expression of lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA), while mature neurons predominantly express PKM1. The lactate produced in cancer cells promotes tumor progress and that in astrocytes can be supplied to neurons and may act as a major source for neuronal ATP energy production. Thereby, we propose that PKM2 along with its different posttranslational modifications has specific purposes for a variety of cell types, performing unique functions.
Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) is crucial for cell proliferation in embryonic and cancer cells. PKM2 has a novel function as protein kinase and transcription factor. In nucleus, PKM2 has a variety of binding proteins to regulate the expression of specific genes.
The FeSe nematic phase has been the focus of recent research on iron-based superconductors (IBSs) due to its unusual properties, which are distinct from those of the pnictides. A series of ...theoretical/experimental studies were performed to determine the origin of the nematic phase. However, they yielded conflicting results and caused additional controversies. Here, we report the results of angle-resolved photoemission and X-ray absorption spectroscopy studies on FeSe detwinned by a piezo stack. We fully resolved band dispersions with orbital characters near the Brillouin zone (BZ) corner, and revealed an absence of any Fermi pocket at the Y point in the 1-Fe BZ. In addition, the occupation imbalance between dxz and dyz orbitals was the opposite of that of iron pnictides, consistent with the identified band characters. These results resolve issues associated with the FeSe nematic phase and shed light on the origin of the nematic phase in IBSs.Twinning is a phenomenon which describes the intergrowth between two identical crystals, and can complicate the analysis of their intrinsic properties both from a physical and structural perspective. Here, the authors use a piezo stack to detwin FeSe crystals and then investigate the band dispersions using photoelectron and X-ray absorption spectroscopies in order to further clarify the origins of the nematic phase in FeSe.
While criminal justice reforms aimed at reducing the size of pretrial detainee population are being implemented across the U.S., little is known about their impact on the labour market. Using ...difference-in-differences approach, we find that the 2017 New Jersey Criminal Justice Reform increased the employment probability among blacks in their prime working age (i.e. 25-54) by 4.2 to 6.8 percentage points; its effect among whites is negligible. Labour force participation, full-time job status, and working hours among blacks also increased. Our findings suggest that individuals not detained pretrial are absorbed by the formal labour market and that this contributes to an overall increase in employment.
Background
Indocyanine green fluorescent lymphography helps visualize the lymphatic drainage pattern in gastric cancer; however, it is unknown whether fluorescent lymphography visualizes all ...metastatic lymph nodes. This study aimed to evaluate the sensitivity of fluorescent lymphography to detect metastatic lymph node stations and lymph nodes and the risk of false-negative findings.
Methods
Patients with clinical T1–4a gastric cancer were included. Indocyanine green was peritumorally injected the day prior to surgery by endoscopy. Gastrectomy with systematic D1+ or D2 lymphadenectomy was performed. Stations and lymph nodes were retrieved at the back-table using near-infrared imaging and classified as “fluorescent” or “non-fluorescent” and later matched with histopathological findings.
Results
Among 592 patients who underwent minimally invasive gastrectomy from September 2013 until December 2016, lymph node metastases were present in 150. The sensitivity of fluorescent lymphography in detecting all metastatic lymph node stations was 95.3% (143/150 patients), with a false-negative rate of 4.7% (7/150 patients) and the sensitivity in detecting all metastatic lymph nodes was 81.3% (122/150 patients). The negative predictive value was 99.3% for non-fluorescent stations and 99.2% for non-fluorescent LNs. For detecting all metastatic LN stations, subgroup analysis revealed 100% sensitivity for pT1a, 96.8% for pT1b, 100% for pT2, 91.3% for pT3, and 93.6% for pT4a tumors.
Conclusions
Fluorescent lymphography-guided lymphadenectomy can be a useful method for radical lymphadenectomy by facilitating the complete dissection of all potentially positive LN stations. Fluorescent lymphography-guided lymphadenectomy appears to be a reasonable alternative to conventional systematic lymphadenectomy for gastric cancer.
In mouse tooth development, the roots of the first lower molar develop after crown formation to form 2 cylindrical roots by post-natal day 5. This study compared the morphogenesis and cellular events ...of the mesial-root-forming (MRF) and bifurcation-forming (BF) regions, located in the mesial and center of the first lower molar, to better define the developmental mechanisms involved in multi-rooted tooth formation. We found that the mesenchyme in the MRF showed relatively higher proliferation than the bifurcation region. This suggested that spatially regulated mesenchymal proliferation is required for creating cylindrical root structure. The mechanism may involve the mesenchyme forming a physical barrier to epithelial invagination of Hertwig’s epithelial root sheath. To test these ideas, we cultured roots in the presence of pharmacological inhibitors of microtubule and actin polymerization, nocodazole and cytochalasin-D. Cytochalasin D also inhibits proliferation in epithelium and mesenchyme. Both drugs resulted in altered morphological changes in the tooth root structures. In particular, the nocodazole- and cytochalasin-D-treated specimens showed a loss of root diameter and formation of a single-root, respectively. Immunolocalization and three-dimensional reconstruction results confirmed these mesenchymal cellular events, with higher proliferation in MRF in multi-rooted tooth formation.
The KMTNet/K2-C9 (Kepler) Data Release Kim, H.-W.; Hwang, K.-H.; Kim, D.-J. ...
The Astronomical journal,
05/2018, Volume:
155, Issue:
5
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
We present Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet) light curves for microlensing-event candidates in the Kepler K2 C9 field having peaks within three effective timescales of the Kepler ...observations. These include 181 "clear microlensing" and 84 "possible microlensing" events found by the KMTNet event finder, plus 56 other events found by OGLE and/or MOA that were not found by KMTNet. All data for the first two classes are immediately available for public use without restriction.
We report two microlensing events, KMT-2017-BLG-1038 and KMT-2017-BLG-1146, that are caused by planetary systems. These events were discovered by Korea Microlensing Telescope Network survey ...observations from the 2017 bulge season. The discovered systems consist of a planet and host star with mass ratios of and , respectively. Based on a Bayesian analysis assuming a Galactic model without stellar remnant hosts, we find that the planet KMT-2017-BLG-1038Lb is a super-Jupiter-mass planet ( ) orbiting a mid-M dwarf host ( ) that is located at kpc toward the Galactic bulge. The other planet, KMT-2017-BLG-1146Lb, is a sub-Jupiter-mass planet ( ) orbiting a mid-M dwarf host ( ) at a distance of kpc toward the Galactic bulge. Both are potentially gaseous planets that are beyond their hosts' snow lines. These typical microlensing planets will be routinely discovered by second-generation microlensing surveys, rapidly increasing the number of detections.
Background and purpose
Although a stroke from atherosclerosis in the basilar artery (BA) often presents with mild initial stroke severity, it has heterogeneous clinical courses. We investigated the ...efficacy of digital subtraction angiography (DSA)‐based collateral perfusion evaluation in association with long‐term outcomes of medically treated symptomatic basilar artery stenosis.
Methods
From a registry database of all consecutive patients with stroke, we included 98 medically treated patients (due to mild initial stroke severity) National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores ≤ 4; symptomatic basilar artery stenosis, 70–99% with available initial diagnostic DSA. Basilar collateral scoring was performed via the DSA, using a modified version of the American Society of Interventional and Therapeutic Neuroradiology/Society of Interventional Radiology grading system in both the superior cerebellar artery and anterior/posterior‐inferior cerebellar artery territories (score 0–8). The outcomes were designated as the 90‐day modified Rankin Scale (mRS90) score (poor, 3–6). Student's t‐test, chi‐square test and logistic regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with a poor outcome.
Results
The median initial NIHSS score was 2 interquartile range (IQR), 0–3, median posterior circulation Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score was 8 (IQR, 7–10), median collateral score was 7 (IQR, 7–8) and 20 (20.4%) had poor mRS90 scores. In multivariate analysis, poorer collateral scores (P = 0.003), higher NIHSS scores (P = 0.005) and lower posterior circulation Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (P = 0.017) were independently associated with a poor mRS90 score.
Conclusions
The DSA‐based collateral scoring of the BA large branches might predict long‐term outcome in medically treated symptomatic basilar artery stenosis with mild initial severity. Evaluation of BA collateral perfusion status might be useful to determine appropriate treatment strategies.
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