Despite multiple associations between the microbiota and immune diseases, their role in autoimmunity is poorly understood. We found that translocation of a gut pathobiont,
, to the liver and other ...systemic tissues triggers autoimmune responses in a genetic background predisposing to autoimmunity. Antibiotic treatment prevented mortality in this model, suppressed growth of
in tissues, and eliminated pathogenic autoantibodies and T cells. Hepatocyte-
cocultures induced autoimmune-promoting factors. Pathobiont translocation in monocolonized and autoimmune-prone mice induced autoantibodies and caused mortality, which could be prevented by an intramuscular vaccine targeting the pathobiont.
-specific DNA was recovered from liver biopsies of autoimmune patients, and cocultures with human hepatocytes replicated the murine findings; hence, similar processes apparently occur in susceptible humans. These discoveries show that a gut pathobiont can translocate and promote autoimmunity in genetically predisposed hosts.
In this paper, we study the recently proposed Schwarzschild acoustic black hole spacetime, in which we investigate some physical phenomena related to the effective geometry of this background, ...including the analogous Hawking radiation and the quasibound states. We calculate the spectrum of quasibound state frequencies and the wave functions on the Schwarzschild acoustic background by using the polynomial condition of the general Heun function, and then we discuss the stability of the system. We also compare the resonant frequencies of the Schwarzschild acoustic black hole with the ones by the standard Schwarzschild black hole. Our results may shed some light on the physics of black holes and their analog models in condensed matter. Moreover, these studies could provide the possibility, in principle, for laboratory testing of effects whose nature is unquestionably associated with purely quantum effects in gravity.
A
bstract
The formal derivatives of the Yang-Baxter equation with respect to its spectral parameters, evaluated at some fixed point of these parameters, provide us with two systems of differential ...equations. The derivatives of the
R
matrix elements, however, can be regarded as independent variables and eliminated from the systems, after which two systems of polynomial equations are obtained in place. In general, these polynomial systems have a non-zero Hilbert dimension, which means that not all elements of the
R
matrix can be fixed through them. Nonetheless, the remaining unknowns can be found by solving a few number of simple differential equations that arise as consistency conditions of the method. The branches of the solutions can also be easily analyzed by this method, which ensures the uniqueness and generality of the solutions. In this work we considered the Yang-Baxter equation for two-state systems, up to the eight-vertex model. This differential approach allowed us to solve the Yang-Baxter equation in a systematic way and also to completely classify its regular solutions.
In this work, we follow the recently revisited f(R) theory of gravity for studying the interaction between quantum scalar particles and the gravitational field of a generalized black hole with an ...f(R) global monopole. This background has a term playing the role of an effective cosmological constant, which permits us to call it as Schwarzschild-Anti-de Sitter (SAdS) black hole with an f(R) global monopole. We examine the separability of the Klein–Gordon equation with a non-minimal coupling and then we discuss both the massless and massive cases for a conformal coupling. We investigate some physical phenomena related to the asymptotic behavior of the radial function, namely, the black hole radiation, the quasibound states, and the wave eigenfunctions.
The effect of research collaboration (RC) on citation impact (the citations that the scientific knowledge has received) has been studied over the years. However, the extant literature has not ...considered that the effect of RC can not be efficiently assessed if the level of development of the research and innovation system (RIS) of the collaborating countries is disregarded. I have addressed this gap by looking at the articles published by 36 countries and controlling for other variables that also influence citation impact. The results show that the higher the development of the RIS, the higher the citation impact, as measured by the percentile each article occupies in the respective Web of Science subject area, of single–authored articles and of articles with domestic research collaboration (DRC). The articles representing DRC always have a higher citation impact than single-authored articles, regardless of the level of development of RIS of the countries. Even the articles representing an international research collaboration do not always have a higher impact than single-authored articles; (1) there is no statistically significant difference between the citation impact of articles published in collaboration between scientists from countries considered strong innovators and modest innovators and the citation impact of single-authored articles of scientists from countries considered strong innovators; and (2) articles published by scientists from countries considered innovation leaders in collaboration with scientists from countries considered modest innovators have a lower impact than single-authored articles published by scientists from countries considered innovation leaders. In general, collaboration between scientists from countries with a well-developed RIS and those with a less developed RIS results in articles with a lower citation impact than articles with DRC originating from scientists from countries with a well-developed RIS and higher than articles with DRC originating from scientists from countries with a less developed RIS.
Nanostructuring boron-doped diamond (BDD) films increases their sensitivity and performance when used as electrodes in electrochemical environments. We have developed a method to produce such ...nanostructured, porous electrodes by depositing BDD thin film onto a densely packed “forest” of vertically aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The CNTs had previously been exposed to a suspension of nanodiamond in methanol causing them to clump together into “teepee” or “honeycomb” structures. These nanostructured CNT/BDD composite electrodes have been extensively characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Not only do these electrodes possess the excellent, well-known characteristics associated with BDD (large potential window, chemical inertness, low background levels), but also they have electroactive areas and double-layer capacitance values ∼450 times greater than those for the equivalent flat BDD electrodes.
Introduction The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability of measurements made on 3-dimensional digital models obtained with a surface laser scanner (D-250; 3Shape, Copenhagen, Denmark). ...Methods Twenty orthodontic dental casts of permanent dentitions were selected. Three-dimensional images were obtained on this scanner and analyzed by using the Geomagic Studio 5 software (Raindrop Geomagic, Inc, Morrisville, NC). Measurements were made with a digital caliper directly on the dental casts and also digitally on the digital models. Fifteen anatomic dental points were identified, and a total of 11 linear measurements were taken from each cast, including arch length and width. Dependent t tests were used to evaluate intraexaminer reproducibility and measurement accuracy on the digital models. Results No statistically significant differences were found between the measurements made directly on the dental casts and on the digital models. Conclusions Linear measurements on digital models are accurate and reproducible. Digital models obtained with the surface laser scanner are reliable for measurements of arch width and length.
There is growing evidence that the commensal bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract (the gut microbiota) influence the development of autoimmunity in rodent models. Since humans have co-evolved with ...commensals for millennia, it is likely that people, who are genetically predisposed to autoimmunity, harbor gut microbial communities that similarly influence the onset and/or severity of disease. Beyond the current efforts to identify such disease-promoting or -preventing commensals (“pathobionts” or “symbionts”), it will be important to determine what factors modulate them. Dietary changes are known to affect both the composition and function of the gut microbial communities, which in turn can alter the innate and adaptive immune system. In this review, we focus on the relationships between diet, microbiota, and autoimmune diseases. We hypothesize that the beneficial and life-prolonging effects of caloric restriction on a variety of autoimmune models including lupus might partly be mediated by its effects on the gut microbiome and associated virome, the collection of all viruses in the gut. We give recent examples of the immunomodulatory potential of select gut commensals and their products or diet-derived metabolites in murine models of arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and type 1 diabetes. Lastly, we summarize the published phenotypes of germ-free mouse models of lupus and speculate on any role of the diet-sensitive microbiome and virome in systemic lupus and the related antiphospholipid syndrome.
The underline neuropathology of Parkinson disease is pleiomorphic and its genetic background diverse. Possibly because of this heterogeneity, no effective disease modifying therapy is available. In ...this paper we give an overview of the genetics of Parkinson disease and explain how this is relevant for the development of new therapies.
This article is part of the special issue entitled ‘The Quest for Disease-Modifying Therapies for Neurodegenerative Disorders’.
•Parkinson Disease is genetically diverse and a number of different genes have been linked to its pathogenesis.•In recent years many genetically targeted disease modifying therapies for Parkinson disease have been proposed.•The most promising targeted therapies under investigation involve GBA1, LRRK2 and SNCA.
Anaplasma marginale, the causative agent of bovine anaplasmosis, is a tick-borne bacterium that causes significant economic losses for cattle industries and is increasingly being detected in other ...animal species. Rhipicephalus microplus is the main vector of this bacterium and may be found parasitizing small ruminants. In northeastern Brazil, multispecies grazing is a common family subsistence practice on smallholder farms possibly facilitating interspecies transmission of pathogens. Considering that A. marginale infection has been previously molecularly described in sheep, this study has aimed to estimate the prevalence of A. marginale and factors associated with the infection in goats from northeastern Brazil. A total of 403 goat blood samples were included in the study. An epidemiological questionnaire was applied to each farm owner addressing age, gender, presence of ticks and multispecies grazing. All samples were screened for A. marginale- and A. ovis-infection using primers targeting the Anaplasma spp. msp4 gene. The identity of A. marginale in the blood was confirmed by PCR amplification of msp5 followed by sequencing. Anaplasma spp. were differentiated by sequencing of the repeat region of the msp1α gene. For the statistical analysis the Chi-square or the Fisher's exact test was used to verify association of the individual factors (age, gender, presence of ticks, and multispecies grazing) with Anaplasma spp. infection. We report the first molecular detection of A. marginale in goats from northeastern Brazil, based on msp1α, msp4 and msp5 gene sequencing analysis. Sequencing of the detected A. marginale msp1α gene revealed the F repeat. Amblyomma parvum and R. microplus were found feeding on animals.