Background
A low level of response (low LR) to alcohol correlates with the later development of alcohol‐related problems. Although some of the underpinnings of LR are understood, little is known ...about the potential relationship between LR and acute tolerance. The current analyses tested the hypothesis that a low LR will be explained in part by more intense acute tolerance to alcohol during a drinking session.
Methods
Data were generated through a reanalysis of data from 120 individuals who were 18‐ to 25‐year‐old, sex‐matched pairs of low and high LR drinkers who at baseline did not meet criteria for an alcohol use disorder. Each subject participated in an oral alcohol challenge in which they consumed about 0.7 ml ethanol per kg and acute tolerance was measured as the differences in alcohol's effects at similar breath alcohol levels (BrACs) during the rising and falling breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) curve. Measures included aspects of the Subjective High Assessment Scale (SHAS) and body sway.
Results
Contrary to our hypothesis, but similar to results with other alcohol measures, acute tolerance was significantly attenuated in low LR compared with high LR individuals on most SHAS scores. Neither LR group demonstrated acute tolerance to alcohol for sleepiness or body sway. Men and women did not differ on any of these measures.
Conclusion
These data do not support a role of acute tolerance in the low LR to alcohol as measured by subjective feelings of intoxication or body sway in these subjects, findings that were similar across males and females. In addition, consistent with the literature, the analyses demonstrated differences across measures such that acute tolerance was observed for most measures of subjective effects but not for body sway. Among the subjective effects, acute tolerance was observed for alcohol's intoxicating effect but not for feeling sleepy.
Among children diagnosed with FASD at seven years of age, 18.4% were born preterm, 51.4% were small‐for‐gestational‐age (SGA), and 5.9% were both preterm and SGA, compared to 12%, 28%, and 0.5% for non‐FASD controls. After controlling for the usual number of drinks per drinking day in 1st trimester, the number of trimesters drank, maternal education, tobacco use, and maternal age, the odds ratio of an FASD diagnosis by age seven was significantly associated with SGA (OR = 2.16, 95% CI:1.35–3.45).
Purpose of the study
This study aimed to investigate whether persistently high 1-h postchallenge glucose (PG) levels in a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (75 g OGTT), as well as persistently low 1-h ...PG levels, are a risk factor for reclassification from normal glucose tolerance (NGT) into impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) among participants continually observed for 11 years.
Methods
This single-center retrospective study used the electronic records of all participants undergoing Ningen Dock (health checkup) at Kiryu Kosei General Hospital between 2008 and 2018. In 2008, 361 of 523 participants who received Ningen Dock had NGT. Of the 361 participants, 109 received 75 g OGTT yearly for 11 years (2008–2018), and 72 of these 109 participants showed either persistently high 1-h PG (> 155 mg/dL) or persistently low 1-h PG (< 155 mg/dL) levels. These 72 participants with NGT were analyzed to observe the 1-h PG effect on glucose tolerance alteration for 11 years. They were divided into persistently low 1-h PG (
N
= 50) and persistently high 1-h PG (
N
= 22) groups.
Results
In the low 1-h PG group, 49 participants remained to have NGT, and the remaining 1 was reclassified as having IGT. In the high 1-h PG group, 8 remained to have NGT, whereas 10 and 4 were reclassified as having IGT and T2DM, respectively.
Conclusion
High 1-h PG levels may be a risk factor for reclassification from NGT into IGT or T2DM, but not the low 1-h PG levels.
Background
The postprandial regulation of angiopoietin-like proteins (Angptls) and their expression in adipocytes is poorly characterized.
Objective
Circulating Angptl3 and 4 were analyzed in healthy ...individuals undergoing either an oral lipid tolerance test (OLTT;
n
= 98) or an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT;
n
= 99). Venous blood was drawn after 0, 2, 4, and 6 h during OLTT and after 0, 1, and 2 h during OGTT. Anthropometric and laboratory parameters were assessed and concentrations of Angptls were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Angptl gene expression in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and in murine adipose tissues and cellular fractions was analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR.
Results
Angptl3 concentrations significantly decreased while Angptl4 levels continuously increased during OLTT. Both proteins remained unaffected during OGTT. Angptl3 and Angptl4 were expressed in murine subcutaneous and visceral AT with higher mRNA levels in mature adipocytes when compared to the stroma-vascular cell fraction. Both proteins were strongly induced during 3T3-L1 adipocyte differentiation and they were unresponsive to glucose in mature fat cells. Adipocyte Angptl3 (but not Angptl4) mRNA expression was inhibited by the polyunsaturated fatty acids arachidonic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, whereas nine types of dietary fatty acids remained without any effect.
Conclusions
There is evidence of short-time regulation of Angptl3/4 levels upon metabolic stress. Angptl4 expression is high and Angptl3 expression is low in AT and restricted mainly to mature adipocytes without any differences concerning fat compartments. Whereas dietary fatty acids and glucose are without any effect, omega-3/-6-polyunsaturated fatty acids inhibited Anptl3 expression in adipocytes.
Salt stress reduces land and water productivity and contributes to poverty and food insecurity. Increased salinization caused by human practices and climate change is progressively reducing ...agriculture productivity despite escalating calls for more food. Plant responses to salt stress are well understood, involving numerous critical processes that are each controlled by multiple genes. Knowledge of the critical mechanisms controlling salt uptake and exclusion from functioning tissues, signaling of salt stress, and the arsenal of protective metabolites is advancing. However, little progress has been made in developing salt-tolerant varieties of crop species using standard (but slow) breeding approaches. The genetic diversity available within cultivated crops and their wild relatives provides rich sources for trait and gene discovery that has yet to be sufficiently utilized. Transforming this knowledge into modern approaches using genomics and molecular tools for precision breeding will accelerate the development of tolerant cultivars and help sustain food production.
CeO2 nanoparticles were in-situ grown on the surface of Mn-Co mixed oxide micro-flowers to improve the resistance to SO2 and H2O poisoning.
Display omitted
•A new MnCoCeOx microflower was rationally ...designed for the SCR de-NOx.•The MnCoCeOx exhibited obviously enhanced low-temperature de-NOx performance.•CeO2 played important roles in improving low-temperature catalytic performance.•Both E-R and L-H mechanisms were included in the SCR de-NOx over the MnCoCeOx.
A new MnCoCeOx microflower is rationally designed by a series of elaborate steps for the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx with NH3. The MnCoOx microflower is firstly synthesized by the self-assembly of Mn-Co mixed oxide nanosheets, and then CeO2 nanoparticles are in-situ grown on the surface of Mn-Co mixed oxide nanosheets by dipping MnCoOx microflower in Ce(NO3)3 solution followed by a heat-treatment. The resultant MnCoCeOx microflower presents significantly enhanced low-temperature catalytic performance and SO2 tolerance. It is revealed that the attached CeO2 plays several important roles in the improvement of low-temperature de-NOx performance, such as decreasing the apparent activation energy, increasing the ratios of Ce3+/Cen+, Mn4+/Mnn+ and Oα/(Oα + Oβ), enhancing the oxidation ability of MnCoOx at low temperatures. Moreover, by preventing MnCoOx from being vulcanized into metal sulfate species, CeO2 plays an important role in enhancing the resistance to SO2 poisoning. The in-situ DRIFTS results disclose that the NH3 coordinated on Lewis acid sites, NH4+ bound to Brønsted acid sites, the NO2 and bidentate nitrates linked on metal oxides are the major reactive species on MnCoCeOx catalyst, which occur SCR de-NOx reaction following both Eley-Rideal and Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanisms.
The SNAC1 gene belongs to the stress-related NAC superfamily of transcription factors. It was identified from rice and overexpressed in cotton cultivar YZ1 by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated ...transformation. SNAC1-overexpressing cotton plants showed more vigorous growth, especially in terms of root development, than the wild-type plants in the presence of 250 mM NaCl under hydroponic growth conditions. The content of proline was enhanced but the MDA content was decreased in the transgenic cotton seedlings under drought and salt treatments compared to the wild-type. Furthermore, SNAC1-overexpressing cotton plants also displayed significantly improved tolerance to both drought and salt stresses in the greenhouse. The performances of the SNAC1-overexpressing lines under drought and salt stress were significantly better than those of the wild-type in terms of the boll number. During the drought and salt treatments, the transpiration rate of transgenic plants significantly decreased in comparison to the wild-type, but the photosynthesis rate maintained the same at the flowering stage in the transgenic plants. These results suggested that overexpression of SNAC1 improve more tolerance to drought and salt in cotton through enhanced root development and reduced transpiration rates.
Doing ‘business as usual’ comes with a cost Rubio, Francisco; Nieves-Cordones, Manuel; Horie, Tomoaki ...
The New phytologist,
02/2020, Letnik:
225, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Salinization of agricultural lands is a major threat to agriculture. Many different factors affect and determine plant salt tolerance. Nonetheless, there is a consensus on the relevance of ...maintaining an optimal cytosolic potassium : sodium ion (K⁺ : Na⁺) ratio for salinity tolerance in plants. This ratio depends on the operation of plasma membrane and tonoplast transporters. In the present review we focus on some aspects related to the energetic cost of maintaining that K⁺ : Na⁺ ratio. One of the factors that affect the cost of the first step of K⁺ acquisition – root K⁺ uptake through High Affinity K⁺ transporter and Arabidopsis K⁺ transport system 1 transport systems – is the value of the plasma membrane potential of root cells, a parameter that may differ amongst plant species. In addition to its role in nutrition, cytosolic K⁺ also is important for signalling, and K⁺ efflux through gated outward-rectifying K⁺ and nonselective cation channels can be regarded as a switch to redirect energy towards defence reactions. In maintaining cytosolic K⁺, the great buffer capacity of the vacuole should be considered. The possible role of high-affinity K⁺ transporters (HKT)2s in mediating K⁺ uptake under saline conditions and the importance of cycling of K⁺ throughout the plant also are discussed.
Regulatory T (T
) cells, an immunosuppressive subset of CD4
T cells characterized by the expression of the master transcription factor forkhead box protein P3 (FOXP3), are a component of the immune ...system with essential roles in maintaining self-tolerance. In addition, T
cells can suppress anticancer immunity, thereby hindering protective immunosurveillance of neoplasia and hampering effective antitumour immune responses in tumour-bearing hosts, thus promoting tumour development and progression. Identification of the factors that are specifically expressed in T
cells and/or that influence T
cell homeostasis and function is important to understanding cancer pathogenesis and to identifying therapeutic targets. Immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have provided a paradigm shift in the treatment of cancer. Most immune-checkpoint molecules are expressed in T
cells, but the effects of ICIs on T
cells, and thus the contributions of these cells to treatment responses, remain unclear. Notably, evidence indicates that ICIs targeting programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) might enhance the immunosuppressive function of T
cells, whereas cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) inhibitors might deplete these cells. Thus, although manipulation of T
cells is a promising anticancer therapeutic strategy, approaches to controlling these cells require further research. Herein, we discuss novel insights into the roles of T
cells in cancer, which can hopefully be used to develop T
cell-targeted therapies and facilitate immune precision medicine.
Thymic Epithelial Cells Abramson, Jakub; Anderson, Graham
Annual review of immunology,
04/2017, Letnik:
35, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Intrathymic T cell development is a complex process that depends upon continuous guidance from thymus stromal cell microenvironments. The thymic epithelium within the thymic stroma comprises highly ...specialized cells with a high degree of anatomic, phenotypic, and functional heterogeneity. These properties are collectively required to bias thymocyte development toward production of self-tolerant and functionally competent T cells. The importance of thymic epithelial cells (TECs) is evidenced by clear links between their dysfunction and multiple diseases where autoimmunity and immunodeficiency are major components. Consequently, TECs are an attractive target for cell therapies to restore effective immune system function. The pathways and molecular regulators that control TEC development are becoming clearer, as are their influences on particular stages of T cell development. Here, we review both historical and the most recent advances in our understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms controlling TEC development, function, dysfunction, and regeneration.
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