Dipolar bosonic gases are currently the focus of intensive research due to their interesting many-body physics in the quantum regime. Their experimental embodiments range from Rydberg atoms to GaAs ...double quantum wells and van der Waals heterostructures built from transition metal dichalcogenides. Although quantum gases are very dilute, mutual interactions between particles could lead to exotic many-body phenomena such as Bose-Einstein condensation and high-temperature superfluidity. Here, we report the effect of repulsive dipolar interactions on the dynamics of interlayer excitons in the dilute regime. By using spatial and time-resolved photoluminescence imaging, we observe the dynamics of exciton transport, enabling a direct estimation of the exciton mobility. The presence of interactions significantly modifies the diffusive transport of excitons, effectively acting as a source of drift force and enhancing the diffusion coefficient by one order of magnitude. The repulsive dipolar interactions combined with the electrical control of interlayer excitons opens up appealing new perspectives for excitonic devices.
Polypill Strategy in Secondary Cardiovascular Prevention Castellano, Jose M.; Pocock, Stuart J.; Bhatt, Deepak L. ...
New England journal of medicine/The New England journal of medicine,
09/2022, Letnik:
387, Številka:
11
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Among patients with recent MI, therapy with a polypill containing aspirin, ramipril, and atorvastatin led to a lower incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events at a median of 3 years than usual ...care.
A lipid excess produces a systemic inflammation process due to tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein synthesis. Simultaneously, this fat excess promotes the appearance of ...insulin resistance. All this contributes to the development of atherosclerosis and increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). On the other hand, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), especially eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid (omega 3), and arachidonic acid (omega 6) have shown anti-inflammatory properties.
Lately, an inverse relationship between omega-3 fatty acids, inflammation, obesity and CVDs has been demonstrated. To check fatty acids effect, the levels of some inflammation biomarkers have been analyzed. Leptin, adiponectin and resistin represent a group of hormones associated with the development of CVDs, obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus and insulin resistance and are modified in obese/overweight people comparing to normal weight people. Omega-3 PUFAs have been shown to decrease the production of inflammatory mediators, having a positive effect in obesity and diabetes mellitus type-2. Moreover, they significantly decrease the appearance of CVD risk factors. Regarding omega-6 PUFA, there is controversy whether their effects are pro- or anti-inflammatory. The aim of this manuscript is to provide a comprehensive overview about the role of omega-3 and omega-6 PUFAs in CVDs and metabolic syndrome.
Ongoing climate changes alter a broad range environmental variables in coastal ecosystems, which may lead to changes in species range distributions or collapse of populations. It is often assumed ...that changes in environmental parameters affect organisms in a nonadditive way and multifactorial experiments are therefore needed to obtain a better prediction of the effects of climate change. We studied experimentally how combinations of high temperature, low light and high nitrogen (HN) availability affect eelgrass (Zostera marina), which is an important foundation species on the northern hemisphere. Plants were cultured under optimal (15°C) and high (25°C) temperature, limiting and saturating light, and low and high ammonium availability in a 3-factorial design. We found that individual exposure to heat and shade, respectively, had a negative effect on eelgrass while the effect of exposure to HN-availability alone was less harmful. Exposure to combinations of two or three stressors simultaneously had a stronger (negative) effect on eelgrass than exposure to each stressor individually, but the combined effects of exposure to multiple stressors were largely similar to the expected additive responses. A synergetic effect was only found in case of mortality when eelgrass plants were exposed to all three stressors simultaneously. The effects of exposure to single or multiple stressors could largely be explained from alterations in the C-budget of the plants: exposure to one or more stressors lowered the acquisition of C, drained the C-reserves and sometimes allocated energy to defense or repair processes instead of growth resulting in reduced growth and higher mortality.
Mushrooms are a source of dietary fiber (DF) with a cholesterol-lowering effect. However, their underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. The effect of DF-enriched fractions from three mushrooms ...species on cholesterol-related expression was studied in vitro. The Pleurotus ostreatus DF fraction (PDF) was used in mice models to assess its potential palliative or preventive effect against hypercholesterolemia. PDF induced a transcriptional response in Caco-2 cells, suggesting a possible cholesterol-lowering effect. In the palliative setting, PDF reduced hepatic triglyceride likely because Dgat1 was downregulated. However, cholesterol-related biochemical data showed no changes and no relation with the observed transcriptional modulation. In the preventive setting, PDF modulated cholesterol-related genes expression in a manner similar to that of simvastatin and ezetimibe in the liver, although no changes in plasma and liver biochemical data were induced. Therefore, PDF may be useful reducing hepatic triglyceride accumulation. Because it induced a molecular response similar to hypocholesterolemic drugs in liver, further dose-dependent studies should be carried out.
Environmentally relevant concentrations of selected polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardant congeners and their hydroxylated (OH) and methoxylated ...(MeO) analogues that can perturb thyroid hormone-dependent processes were comparatively examined with respect to competitive binding with thyroxine (T4) and 3,5,3′-triiodothyronine (T3) thyroid hormones (THs) on recombinant human and gull albumin and transthyretin transport proteins. The liver tissue was from glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus) from Norway and herring gulls (Larus argentatus) from the Great Lakes of North America. We isolated, cloned, sequenced, purified, and expressed the cDNA (cDNA) of albumin from liver of herring and glaucous gull. Albumin amino acid sequences were identical for both gull species. Concentration-dependent, competitive binding curves were generated for T4 and T3 binding alone and for selected substrates using gull and human recombinant albumin (recALB). Human recALB had high preference for T4 relative to T3, whereas it was reversed for gull recALB. Binding assays with recALB and recTTR gull proteins showed that relative to 2,2′,4,4′-tetrabromoDE (BDE-47) and 2,2′,3,4′,5,5′,6-heptaCB (CB-187) and the MeO-substituted (4-MeO-CB187 and 6-MeO-BDE47) analogues, 4-OH-CB187, 6-OH-BDE47, and 4′-OH-BDE49 had the greatest binding affinity and potency, and that competitive binding was greater for T3 relative to T4. These results indicate that xenobiotic ligand binding to human ALB or TTR cannot be used as a surrogate for gull binding interactions. The combination of TH-like brominated diphenyl ether backbone (relative to the chlorinated biphenyl backbone), and the presence of OH-group produced a more effective competitive ligand on human and gull recALB and recTTR relative to both T3 and T4. This suggests the possibility that OH-substituted organohalogen contaminants may be an exposure concern to the thyroid system in free-ranging gulls as well as for humans.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) must be present early in development, but may not fully manifest until social demands exceed capacities. In the absence of adequate biological or brain imaging markers ...to detect and diagnose autism, diagnosis relies on clinical judgment based on observation of symptoms. Many tools have been developed in English-speaking countries (questionnaires for parents, symptom checklists for professionals, observation systems, etc.). Screening in countries with other languages requires cultural and linguistic adaptation of these instruments. This paper presents the adaptation of the ADEC (Autism Detection in Early Childhood).
The original version of the ADEC was translated and culturally and linguistically adapted to the characteristics of the population of Guayaquil (Ecuador).
A pilot study was conducted with a sample of 613 children aged 18-48 months.
Cronbach's alpha values (0.89) indicate high internal consistency. The correlation between the MCHAT-R/F follow-up interview and the ADEC (mean r = 0.93) indicates high construct validity. In terms of predictive validity, using the original cut-off points of the ADEC, they show excellent diagnostic ability. The sensitivity and specificity results (sensitivity 1.00; specificity 0.92; positive predictive value 0.83; negative predictive value 0.99) are even better than those obtained in a similar study in the Mexican population.
Considering that the MCHAT R/F is a parent-reported instrument, the Guayaquil Spanish version of the ADEC (ADEC-GU) seems to be a suitable instrument to be used in a complementary way as a second-level screening instrument for autism, before resorting to a full diagnostic process.
Over time, the relationship between diet and health has aroused great interest, since nutrition can prevent and treat several diseases. It has been demonstrated that general recommendations on ...macronutrients and micronutrients do not affect to every individual in the same way because diet is an important environmental factor that interacts with genes. Thus, there is a growing necessity of improving a personalized nutrition to treat obesity and associated medical conditions, taking into account the interactions between diet, genes and health. Therefore, the knowledge of the interactions between the genome and nutrients at the molecular level, has led to the advent of nutritional genomics, which involves the sciences of nutrigenomics and nutrigenetics. In this review, we will comprehensively analyze the role of the most important genes associated with two interrelated chronic medical conditions, such as obesity and cardiovascular diseases.
Background
Following spinal cord injury (SCI), the routine use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) resulted in an incremental diagnosis of posttraumatic syringomyelia (PTS). However, facing four ...decades of preferred surgical treatment of PTS, no clear consensus on the recommended treatment exists. We review the literature on PTS regarding therapeutic strategies, outcomes, and complications.
Methods
We performed a systematic bibliographic search on (“spinal cord injuries” Mesh AND “syringomyelia” Mesh). English language literature published between 1980 and 2020 was gathered, and case reports and articles examining syrinx due to other causes were excluded. The type of study, interval injury to symptoms, severity and level of injury, therapeutic procedure, duration of follow-up, complications, and outcome were recorded.
Results
Forty-three observational studies including 1803 individuals met the eligibility criteria. The time interval from SCI to the diagnosis of PTS varied between 42 and 264 months. Eighty-nine percent of patients were treated surgically (
n
= 1605) with a complication rate of 26%. Symptoms improved in 43% of patients postoperatively and in 2% treated conservatively. Stable disease was documented in 50% of patients postoperatively and in 88% treated conservatively. The percentage of deterioration was similar (surgery 16%, 0.8% dead; conservative 10%). Detailed analysis of surgical outcome with regard to symptoms revealed that pain, motor, and sensory function could be improved in 43 to 55% of patients while motor function deteriorated in around 25%. The preferred methods of surgery were arachnoid lysis (48%) and syrinx drainage (31%).
Conclusion
Even diagnosing PTS early in its evolution with MRI, to date, no satisfactory standard treatment exists, and the present literature review shows similar outcomes, regardless of the treatment modality. Therefore, PTS remains a neurosurgical challenge. Additional research is required using appropriate study designs for improving treatment options.
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