Cell volume can be altered by two different ways, swelling and shrinkage. Cell swelling is regulated by volume-regulated Cl- channel (VRC). It is not well understood whether shrinkage is regulated by ...VRC. We previously found that antisense oligonucleotide specific to ClC-3 (ClC-3 antisense) prevented cell proliferation, which was related to cell swell volume regulation. In the present study, we further studied the role of ClC-3 Cl- channel in cell apoptosis which was related to cell shrinkage volume regulation by using antisense oligonucleotide specific to ClC-3 (ClC-3 antisense) and ClC-3 cDNA transfection techniques. We found that thapsigargin (TG), a specific inhibitor of the endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase, evoked apoptotic morphological changes (including cytoplasmic blebbing, condensation of nuclear chromatin, and the formation of apoptotic bodies), DNA laddering, and caspase-3 activation in PC12 cells (Pheochromocytoma-derived cell line). TG increased the cell apoptotic population with a decrease in cell viability. These effects were consistent with the decrease in endogenous ClC-3 protein expression, which was also induced by TG. Overexpression of ClC-3 significantly inhibited TG effect on PC12 cell apoptosis, whereas the ClC-3 antisense produced opposite effects and facilitated apoptosis induced by TG. Our data strongly suggest that ClC-3 channel in PC12 cells mediates TG-induced apoptotic process through inhibitory mechanism. Thus, it appears that ClC-3 Cl- channel mediates both cell proliferation and apoptosis through accelerative and inhibitory fashions, respectively.
To evaluate the safety of population based sequential vaccination schedule of inactivated poliovirus vaccines prepared with different strains.
This randomized, parallel-group controlled trial was ...conducted from March, 2017 to May, 2018, in Shanghai. Adverse reaction data of Sabin strain inactivated polio vaccine (sIPV), wild strains inactivated polio vaccines (wIPV) and bivalent types Ⅰ and Ⅲ oral poliomyelitis vaccine (bOPV) were systematically collected through active observation in 1 917 infants in Shanghai after the vaccination at 2, 3, 4 months old. The eligible infants aged 2 months were divided into 4 groups: ①sIPV+sIPV+bOPV group; ②sIPV+wIPV+bOPV group; ③wIPV+sIPV+bOPV group; ④wIPV+wIPV+bOPV group.
The incidence of adverse reaction 30 days later after 3 basic dose vaccinations was 16.79% (946/5 633). No serious adverse reaction was reported. Local and systemic reactions were mainly mild. Common local reactions were pain, erythema, cutaneous nodule,
.; and common systemic reactions were abnormal crying
•DIII-D SAS divertor provides a good testbed for understanding the effects of a tightly closed divertor on particle and power dissipation.•A longer outer leg facilitates the achievement of divertor ...dissipation, while a shorter leg leads to higher divertor temperatures and requires higher upstream densities for detachment.•The divertor conditions strongly depend on the divertor target shaping and Bt direction.•In-slot gas puffing can reduce detachment onset density by about 10% when the outer strike point is placed at the inner slanted surface.•Completed divertor detachment and a high confinement core (H98 > 1.0) can be simultanesouly achieved with the SAS divertor, demonstrating the benefit for core–edge integration.
Dedicated experiments in DIII-D find that magnetic shaping and divertor target geometry significantly affect the divertor plasma conditions and divertor detachment process in the small-angle-slot (SAS) divertor. The compact SAS divertor in DIII-D provides a good testbed for understanding the effects of a tightly closed divertor on particle and power dissipation, and for application to core–edge integration solutions. A longer outer leg facilitates the achievement of divertor dissipation in the SAS divertor, while a shorter leg leads to higher electron temperatures near the divertor target plate and requires higher upstream densities to achieve the same level of divertor detachment. In addition, with the ion B × ∇B drift away from the SAS divertor and the outer strike point (OSP) near the outer corner, the target temperature is lower for a particular upstream density than with the OSP on a slanted or flat surface, leading to lower heat flux even when the particle flux remains similar. In contrast, with the ion B × ∇B drift into the SAS divertor, a strike point at the inner slanted surface exhibits a lower upstream density to achieve divertor detachment than a strike point either at the outer corner or the outer slanted target. Experimental results and SOLPS-ITER simulations with full drifts suggest the strong interplay between drift flows and the neutral distribution resulted from target shaping. Furthermore, in-slot gas puffing has been shown to achieve global divertor detachment with an onset density about 10 % lower than that using main-chamber gas puffing when the outer strike point is placed at the inner slanted surface. Corresponding modelling reveals that the local gas puffing enhances the neutral ionization which potentially facilitates the achievement of divertor dissipation. However, such improvement diminishes when the strike point is at the outer corner, which also indicates the geometric dependence on divertor performance in the SAS divertor. Even with different strike point locations, complete divertor detachment with very low particle and heat fluxes at the divertor targets and a high confinement core with normalized energy confinement factor H98 > 1.0 can be simultanesouly achieved with the SAS divertor with ion B × ∇B drift into SAS divertor, demonstrating the benefit of a closed divertor for exploration of core–edge integration.
Various extraction methods have been used to determine selenium (Se) concentrations in soils and plants in the second seleniferous regions of China. Our results show tea Se contents in the study area ...range from 1.009 to 2.6 mg/kg, which reveal that the tea areas in Ziyang County are in seleniferous regions. The four extraction methods evaluated in this study provide different information concerning soil and plant Se levels. The quality control/quality assurance program for this project indicated there is excellent agreement between total soil Se and extractable Se. For example, phosphate extractable Se results from the field investigation and greenhouse study were found to be highly correlated (R2 > 0.91) by linear regression analyses. Results from rye seedling experiments further show phosphate extractable Se has significant correlations with plant Se uptake and that a 0.1 M solution of KH2PO4 can be used as the extractant of soil available Se. In the acid soil, the Brassica campestris yield could be significantly reduced when the content of Se6+-Se ≥ 0.5 mg/kg, and the influence on the yield was not as obvious when the content of Se6+-Se reached up to 2.0 mg/kg. The uptake by Brassica campestris of Se6+-Se is higher than that of Se4+-Se. The main factors influencing the biological availability of soil Se, in order of their importance are CaCO3, the presence of silt grains, organic matter and the presence of clay grains. pH could affect KH2PO4 extractable Se through CaCO3.
Summary
There is evidence that NR6A1 is a strong candidate for being a causal gene underlying vertebral number in pigs. The Licha Black is one of the leanest Chinese indigenous pig breeds, having an ...average vertebral number of 21.5. The introgression of Western germplasm into Licha Black, resulting in increased vertebral number, has been assumed but is not confirmed. This study detected allele frequencies of the NR6A1 causative mutation (c.575T>C) in 519 pigs from three Western and seven Chinese breeds including Licha Black, and evaluated the genetic variation in a 650‐kb region containing NR6A1 in the 10 breeds. Allele T for increased vertebral number was fixed in Western breeds. In contrast, this allele was very rare in most of the Chinese native breeds. Notably, the T allele was present in the Licha Black at a rather higher frequency (0.585) and in the Laiwu at lower frequency (0.250). As expected, selection pressure has wiped out the genetic variability in the 650 kb region in Western breeds. Conversely, Chinese indigenous breeds showed a high degree of genetic variability in this region. However, the Licha Black displayed dramatically reduced heterozygosity at the loci proximal to the causative mutation. Moreover, a high proportion (45.9%) of Licha Black pigs and a small number (21%) of Laiwu pigs had the Western NR6A1 haplotype, and the two breeds showed closer relationships with Western commercial breeds than other Chinese breeds in the phylogenic tree. When the results are taken together, this study supports the assumption that the Western NR6A1 haplotypes were introduced into Licha Black and possibly Laiwu and are associated with increased vertebral number.
OBJECTIVES: While more than 300,000 total hip arthroplasties (THA) are performed annually in the United States, there is no gold standard for an effective postoperative THA pain strategy. The ...objective of this retrospective cohort study was to compare clinical, and discharge outcomes for patients utilizing an extended-release liposomal bupivacaine (LB) to a control cohort utilizing bupivacaine. METHODS: The LB cohort included 64 consecutive THA patients from one surgeon at a single institution between August 2013 and July 2015 and 66 consecutive THA procedures performed by the same surgeon between June 2011 and July 2013 were selected as the control cohort. Clinical (pain VAS, distance walked, opioid use, falls) and discharge (discharge destination, length of stayLOS, readmission rates) outcomes were compared on post-operation day (POD) 0, 1 and 2 using univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: The LB cohort showed significantly lower AUC VAS pain scores on POD 0, 1 and 2. Significantly fewer LB patients used rescue opioids on POD1 and POD2. LOS decreased significantly from 2.7 to 2.0 days and 30% more LB patients were discharged at POD1. After adjusting for covariates, LB patients were more likely to walk farther than controls after surgery. LB cohort had significantly fewer 30-day readmissions than the control cohort. For patients with available financial data, adjusted mean hospital charge costs were lower in the LB patients. Categorically, the LB cohort had lower costs than the control cohort for room, medical and surgical supplies, diagnostic test (including labs and operation), and physical therapy. There were no differences in falls or discharge location. CONCLUSIONS: This retrospective cohort study comparing LB to bupivacaine demonstrated improved perioperative pain management, less opioid use, decreased length of stay, lower costs, earlier discharge and increased physical function.
Spin density distributions for the system in which thiophene molecule is edge-adsorbed to H-saturated zigzag graphene nanoribbon based on density functional theory calculations. It is clear from the ...figure that the thiophene molecule is spin polarized. There is charge transfer between thiophene molecule and zigzag graphene nanoribbon and this charge transfer induces the spin polarization of the molecule. The transferred charge will preferentially fill spin-splitted p orbitals in the thiophene molecule near the Fermi energy, which makes the molecule spin polarized due to the different occupations of up and down spins.
Display omitted
•Thiophene molecule is spin-polarized when edge-adsorbed to zigzag graphene nanoribbon.•Transferred charges make the molecule bond lengths change so the system become asymmetric.•Spin polarization of the molecule arises from a preferably filling of spin-splitted p orbitals.
Spin polarization properties of thiophene molecule adsorbed to the edge of zigzag graphene nanoribbon (GNR) are studied based on density functional theory calculations. It is shown that there is charge transfer between the thiophene molecule and the zigzag GNR, which changes the bond lengths of the thiophene molecule. Another consequence of the charge transfer is the spontaneous spin polarization of the thiophene molecule. The mechanism of the spontaneous spin polarization is also discussed based on the analysis of the density of states. It is found that the p orbitals of the carbon atoms and the sulfur atom in thiophene molecule become spin split near the Fermi energy, so preferential fillings of the spin-splitted p orbitals make the thiophene molecule spin polarized. This spontaneous spin polarization of thiophene molecules adsorbed to the zigzag GNR could be a new route to graphene-based organic spintronic devices.
To evaluate the diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) for renal artery stenosis (RAS).
Fifty-seven hypertensive patients suspected for RAS ...admitted in Beijing Hospital from September 2017 to August 2018 were enrolled. All 114 renal arteries were assessed by CEUS and DSA. RAS was subdivided into low-(30%-50%), moderate-(50%-69%) and high-grade (70%-99%) subgroups. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were compared between CEUS and DSA results.
Fifty-seven hypertensive patients (31 males, mean age 57.1 years) involving 114 renal arteries were included. Overall, DSA identified RAS in 71(62.3%) renal arteries, mild RAS, 34(29.8%); moderate RAS, 23(20.2%); severe RAS, 14(12.3%). With CEUS, the sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, PPV and NPV for detecting mild-grade RAS were 85.3%, 97.3%, 91.5%, 96.7% and 87.8%; for detecting moderate-grade RAS were 82.6%, 97.9%, 92.9%, 95.0% and 92.2%;
Summary
Our and others' previous studies have shown that Schistosoma japonicum (SJ) infection can inhibit allergic reactions. We recently reported that DCs played an important role in SJ ...infection‐mediated inhibition of allergy, which was associated with enhanced IL‐10 and T regulatory cell responses. Here, we further compared the role of CD8α+ DC and CD8α− DC subsets for the inhibitory effect. We sorted CD8α+ DC (SJCD8α+ DC) and CD8α− DC (SJCD8α− DC) from SJ‐infected mice and tested their ability to modulate allergic responses in vivo. The data showed that the adoptive transfer of SJCD8α− DC was much more efficient than SJCD8α+ DC for the suppression of allergic airway eosinophilia, mucus overproduction, antigen‐specific IgE responses, and Th2 cytokines (IL‐4 and IL‐5). More importantly, we found that the transfer of SJCD8α− DC, but not SJCD8α+ DC, significantly increased IL‐10 and TGF‐β production following OVA exposure. As control, the transfer of DC subsets from naïve mice had no significant effect on allergic inflammation. In addition, SJCD8α‐DC expressed significantly higher IL‐10 but lower IL‐12, CD80 and CD86 than SJCD8α+ DC, fitting a tolerogenic phenotype. The results suggest that CD8α− DC is the predominant DC subset which is involved in the parasitic infection‐mediated inhibition of allergic inflammation and possibly through enhancing immunomodulatory cytokine (IL‐10 and TGF‐β) production.
PDF
