States' Accommodations Policies and Development of Alternate Assessments Based on Modified Achievement Standards: A Discriminant Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lazarus, Sheryl S.; Cormier, Damien C.; Thurlow, Martha L.

2011-01-01

The characteristics of a state's accommodations policy may affect a state's decision about whether to develop an alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS). A very restrictive accommodations policy may make it more difficult for some students to participate in the state's regular assessment used for accountability…

Constructing Alternate Assessment Cohorts: An Oregon Perspective. Research Brief 3

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saven, Jessica L.; Farley, Dan; Tindal, Gerald

2013-01-01

Longitudinally modeling the growth of students with significant cognitive disabilities (SWSCDs) on alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS) presents many challenges for states. The number of students in Grades 3-8 who remain in a cohort group varies over time, depending on the methods used to construct the…

Characteristics of States' Alternate Assessments Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards in 2010-2011. Synthesis Report 85

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Price, Lynn M.; Hodgson, Jennifer R.; Lazarus, Sheryl S.; Thurlow, Martha L.

2011-01-01

All students, including students with disabilities, participate in state accountability systems. Most students with disabilities participate in the regular assessment, with or without accommodations. Students with more significant cognitive disabilities participate in the alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS). A…

Carbon Dots and 9AA as a Binary Matrix for the Detection of Small Molecules by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yongli; Gao, Dan; Bai, Hangrui; Liu, Hongxia; Lin, Shuo; Jiang, Yuyang

2016-07-01

Application of matrix-assisted laser-desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI MS) to analyze small molecules have some limitations, due to the inhomogeneous analyte/matrix co-crystallization and interference of matrix-related peaks in low m/z region. In this work, carbon dots (CDs) were for the first time applied as a binary matrix with 9-Aminoacridine (9AA) in MALDI MS for small molecules analysis. By 9AA/CDs assisted desorption/ionization (D/I) process, a wide range of small molecules, including nucleosides, amino acids, oligosaccharides, peptides, and anticancer drugs with a higher sensitivity were demonstrated in the positive ion mode. A detection limit down to 5 fmol was achieved for cytidine. 9AA/CDs matrix also exhibited excellent reproducibility compared with 9AA matrix. Moreover, by exploring the ionization mechanism of the matrix, the influence factors might be attributed to the four parts: (1) the strong UV absorption of 9AA/CDs due to their π-conjugated network; (2) the carboxyl groups modified on the CDs surface act as protonation sites for proton transfer in positive ion mode; (3) the thin layer crystal of 9AA/CDs could reach a high surface temperature more easily and lower transfer energy for LDI MS; (4) CDs could serve as a matrix additive to suppress 9AA ionization. Furthermore, this matrix was allowed for the analysis of glucose as well as nucleosides in human urine, and the level of cytidine was quantified with a linear range of 0.05-5 mM (R2 > 0.99). Therefore, the 9AA/CDs matrix was proven to be an effective MALDI matrix for the analysis of small molecules with improved sensitivity and reproducibility. This work provides an alternative solution for small molecules detection that can be further used in complex samples analysis.

Who Are the Students Who May Qualify for an Alternate Assessment Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards (AA-MAS)?: Focus Group Results. Synthesis Report 79

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berndt, Sandra; Ebben, Barbara; Kubinski, Eva; Sim, Grant; Liu, Kristin; Lazarus, Sheryl; Thurlow, Martha; Christian, Elizabeth

2011-01-01

Beginning in 2007, federal regulations to two major education laws gave state departments of education the option to develop an alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS) for some students with disabilities. The regulations stated that the AA-MAS was intended for students who were being instructed in the grade-level…

Alternate Assessments for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities: Participation Guidelines and Definitions. NCEO Report 406

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thurlow, Martha L.; Lazarus, Sheryl S.; Larson, Erik D.; Albus, Deb A.; Liu, Kristi K.; Kwong, Elena

2017-01-01

With the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 2015, renewed attention was paid to the importance of guidelines for participation in alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS) and to understanding of who the students are who have significant cognitive disabilities. The analyses…

The Relationship of Teachers' Instructional Decisions and Beliefs about Alternate Assessments to Student Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karvonen, Meagan; Wakeman, Shawnee; Flowers, Claudia; Moody, Shauna

2013-01-01

In the decade since alternate assessments based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS) were first required, special education teachers have had to develop content knowledge and pedagogical skills to teach academics to students with significant cognitive disabilities. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact that teachers'…

Rating AAs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carter, Susan J.

2001-01-01

Why alternative investments? In a word: performance. Many higher education endowment and foundation managers are making increasing commitments to alternative investments, or AAs, in order to obtain higher returns and broader diversification for their investment portfolios than public securities instruments can usually provide. Learn how to handle…

Cell-free unnatural amino acid incorporation with alternative energy systems and linear expression templates.

PubMed

Shrestha, Prashanta; Smith, Mark Thomas; Bundy, Bradley Charles

2014-01-25

Site-specific incorporation of unnatural amino acids (uAAs) during protein synthesis expands the proteomic code through the addition of unique residue chemistry. This field provides a unique tool to improve pharmacokinetics, cancer treatments, vaccine development, proteomics and protein engineering. The limited ability to predict the characteristics of proteins with uAA-incorporation creates a need for a low-cost system with the potential for rapid screening. Escherichia coli-based cell-free protein synthesis is a compelling platform for uAA incorporation due to the open and accessible nature of the reaction environment. However, typical cell-free systems can be expensive due to the high cost of energizing reagents. By employing alternative energy sources, we reduce the cost of uAA-incorporation in CFPS by 55%. While alternative energy systems reduce cost, the time investment to develop gene libraries can remain cumbersome. Cell-free systems allow the direct use of PCR products known as linear expression templates, thus alleviating tedious plasmid library preparations steps. We report the specific costs of CFPS with uAA incorporation, demonstrate that LETs are suitable expression templates with uAA-incorporation, and consider the substantial reduction in labor intensity using LET-based expression for CFPS uAA incorporation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The 2% Transition: Supporting Access to State Assessments for Students with Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jamgochian, Elisa M.; Ketterlin-Geller, Leanne R.

2015-01-01

Most students with disabilities participate in state assessments with or without accommodations [based on each student's Individualized Education Program (IEP)]. A small number of students with the most severe or profound intellectual disabilities participate in an alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS). Until…

An Existential Approach: An Alternative to the AA Model of Recovery

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogers, Maria A.; Cobia, Debra

2008-01-01

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is the most widely used organization for the treatment of alcoholism. AA's philosophy has changed how many people view themselves and their substance use. The majority of substance abuse programs in the United States use the 12 steps, either by making them the basis of their treatment program, or by introducing AA to…

Evolution of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases--analysis of unique domain architectures and phylogenetic trees reveals a complex history of horizontal gene transfer events.

PubMed

Wolf, Y I; Aravind, L; Grishin, N V; Koonin, E V

1999-08-01

Phylogenetic analysis of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) of all 20 specificities from completely sequenced bacterial, archaeal, and eukaryotic genomes reveals a complex evolutionary picture. Detailed examination of the domain architecture of aaRSs using sequence profile searches delineated a network of partially conserved domains that is even more elaborate than previously suspected. Several unexpected evolutionary connections were identified, including the apparent origin of the beta-subunit of bacterial GlyRS from the HD superfamily of hydrolases, a domain shared by bacterial AspRS and the B subunit of archaeal glutamyl-tRNA amidotransferases, and another previously undetected domain that is conserved in a subset of ThrRS, guanosine polyphosphate hydrolases and synthetases, and a family of GTPases. Comparison of domain architectures and multiple alignments resulted in the delineation of synapomorphies-shared derived characters, such as extra domains or inserts-for most of the aaRSs specificities. These synapomorphies partition sets of aaRSs with the same specificity into two or more distinct and apparently monophyletic groups. In conjunction with cluster analysis and a modification of the midpoint-rooting procedure, this partitioning was used to infer the likely root position in phylogenetic trees. The topologies of the resulting rooted trees for most of the aaRSs specificities are compatible with the evolutionary "standard model" whereby the earliest radiation event separated bacteria from the common ancestor of archaea and eukaryotes as opposed to the two other possible evolutionary scenarios for the three major divisions of life. For almost all aaRSs specificities, however, this simple scheme is confounded by displacement of some of the bacterial aaRSs by their eukaryotic or, less frequently, archaeal counterparts. Displacement of ancestral eukaryotic aaRS genes by bacterial ones, presumably of mitochondrial origin, was observed for three aaRSs. In contrast, there was no convincing evidence of displacement of archaeal aaRSs by bacterial ones. Displacement of aaRS genes by eukaryotic counterparts is most common among parasitic and symbiotic bacteria, particularly the spirochaetes, in which 10 of the 19 aaRSs seem to have been displaced by the respective eukaryotic genes and two by the archaeal counterpart. Unlike the primary radiation events between the three main divisions of life, that were readily traceable through the phylogenetic analysis of aaRSs, no consistent large-scale bacterial phylogeny could be established. In part, this may be due to additional gene displacement events among bacterial lineages. Argument is presented that, although lineage-specific gene loss might have contributed to the evolution of some of the aaRSs, this is not a viable alternative to horizontal gene transfer as the principal evolutionary phenomenon in this gene class.

Mutational analysis of immunoglobulin E-binding epitopes of beta-casein and beta-lactoglobulin showed a heterogeneous pattern of critical amino acids between individual patients and pooled sera.

PubMed

Cocco, R R; Järvinen, K-M; Han, N; Beyer, K; Sampson, H A

2007-06-01

For immunotherapeutic approaches, 'critical' amino acids (AAs) within allergenic epitopes are replaced with alternate AAs to eliminate IgE antibody binding. To determine the critical AAs for IgE binding in beta-casein and beta-lactoglobulin (BLG). Peptides of 10-14 AAs in length were synthesized on a derivatized cellulose membrane with single AA substitutions (alanine or glycine) at each position. Membranes were incubated with a pool of sera from 15 cow's milk-allergic patients and individual sera from six of the 15 patients. In cases where no decrease in binding occurred with a single AA substitution, peptides with two AA substitutions were generated and labelled. Using pooled patient sera, single AA substitutions led to complete elimination of binding to six of 11 peptides for beta-casein and to all six peptides for BLG. Substituting two AAs led to an elimination of binding to four of the remaining five beta-casein epitopes. However, in three of the 11 modified beta-casein peptides and five of the six BLG peptides, no decrease in IgE binding occurred in at least one individual patient. For these patients, critical AAs other than those defined by the patient serum pool were identified, indicating a heterogeneous pattern of IgE recognition. These results indicate that AAs critical for IgE binding are more heterogeneous than initially defined by pooled milk-allergic patient sera. For future immunotherapeutic interventions with mutated peptides, critical AAs should also be identified with individual patient sera to account for heterogeneity of IgE binding between patients.

Learned Helplessness: A Reply and an Alternative S-R Interpretation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levis, Donald J.

1976-01-01

Author attempts to provide a careful analysis of Maier and Seligman's manuscript (AA 522 796) on learned helplessness with the hope that such a critique will produce a positive effect by clarifying issues of contention and pinpointing weaknesses in need of correction. (Author/RK)

Science Alternate Assessments Based on Alternate Achievement Standards (AA-AAS) during School Year 2014-2015. Synthesis Report 99

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogers, Christopher M.; Thurlow, Martha L.; Lazarus, Sheryl S.

2015-01-01

Federal law requires that all students, including students with disabilities, participate in state assessments used for accountability purposes. It also requires states to assess students in several content areas, including science. Most students with disabilities take the general science assessment with or without accommodations, but a few…

[Molecular structure and alternative splicing analysis of heat shock factors of Schistosoma japonicum].

PubMed

Yu, Xie; Hai-Yan, Liao; Shu-Jie, Chen; Ling-Yu, Shi; Li-Yan, Ou; Ping-Ying, Teng; Dan, Xia; Qi-Wei, Chen; Sinan, Zheng; Xiao-Hong, Zhou

2016-07-12

To clone and identify the heat shock factors (HSFs) of Schistosoma japonicum and analyze its molecular structure and alternative splicing pattern. The New Zealand rabbits were infected with the cercariae of Schistosoma japonicum and were killed and dissected 42 days post-infection, and the adult worms of S. japonicum and the livers of the rabbits were harvested. Then, the total RNA was extracted by using Trizol reagent. The Sj-hsf open reading frame (ORF) and the alternative splicing fragments were amplified by RT-PCR from the female, male and egg samples, then cloned and verified by enzyme digestion and sequencing. DNAMAN 8.0, InterPro, Mega 6 combined with the Internet databases were utilized to clarify the gene structure, functional domains, alternative splicing pattern, and the homology and phylogenetic tree of HSFs. Sj-hsf ORF and the alternative splicing fragments were amplified from the female, male and egg samples of S. japonicum by RT-PCR. After cloning, the positive recombinant plasmids pB Sj HSFf-F, pB Sj HSFf-M, pB Sj HSFf-E containing Sj-hsf ORF, pB Sj HSFs-F, pB Sj HSFs-M, pB Sj HSFs-E with Sj-hsf alternative splicing fragments were identified by enzyme digestion and sequencing. Three alternative splicing Sj-hsf isoforms were observed through sequence analysis: Sj-hsf -isoform1 (2 050 bp), Sj-hsf -isoform2 (2 086 bp) and Sj - hsf -isoform3 (2 111 bp); the GenBank accession numbers were KU954546, KX119143 and KX119144, respectively. All the three isoforms located in the same Contig SJC_S000780 of S. japonicum genome and all expressed at female, male and egg stages, but Sj-hsf -isoform1 with a high-level expression. Sj -HSF-isoform1 (671 aa) and Sj -HSF-isoform2 (683 aa) had DBD (DNA binding domain), HR-A/B and HR-C domains, while Sj -HSF-isoform3 (282 aa) stopped in advance without HR-C domain. Phylogenetic tree analysis of HSFs illustrated that Sj - HSFs belonged to HSF1 family, with a close phylogenetic relationship to Sm -HSFs. There are three alternative splicing isoforms of Sj -HSF existing in the female, male and egg stages of S. japonicum , but Sj -HSF-isoform1 expresses in a high-level. This study lays the foundation for further study on molecular mechanisms of Sj- HSFs in regulating the heat shock response system.

Ascorbic acid as a free radical scavenger in porcine and bovine aqueous humour.

PubMed

Erb, Carl; Nau-Staudt, Kerstin; Flammer, Josef; Nau, Werner

2004-01-01

To study the antioxidant activity, UV absorption, concentration and stability of ascorbic acid (AA) in porcine and bovine aqueous humour (AH). Porcine and bovine AH was taken within 5 min after death and frozen at -70 degrees C. The characteristic UV absorption band of AA and the concentration of AA in AH was determined by UV spectrophotometry. The antioxidant activity of AA to serve as a free radical scavenger in AH has been determined by using a novel fluorescent probe for antioxidants, the azoalkane 2,3-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]oct-2-ene (DBO). The fluorescence lifetime and intensity of this probe reflect the concentration of dissolved antioxidants. The time-resolved fluorescence of DBO (laser excitation at 351 nm) in AH and in a neutral phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) solution containing only the natural amount of AA as an additive were measured. The characteristic UV absorption band of AA has its maximum at 266 nm in AH. The concentration of AA in porcine and bovine AH was found to be 0.547 +/- 0.044 and 1.09 +/- 0.16 mM, respectively, by spectrophotometry. The fluorescence lifetime of the probe DBO was reduced from 320 +/- 5 ns in pure aerated PBS to 205 +/- 5 ns in porcine AH and 165 +/- 3 ns in bovine AH. A detailed kinetic analysis of the lifetime shortening suggests that AA contributes approximately 75 and 85% to the antioxidant activity of porcine and bovine AH, respectively. Our experiments suggest that AA is the major contributor to the antioxidant activity of porcine and bovine AH. The role of AA to serve as an antioxidant in AH is discussed. In addition, UV spectrophotometry is established as an alternative method to determine the concentration of AA in AH. Copyright 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel

States' Participation Guidelines for Alternate Assessments Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards (AA-MAS) in 2008. Synthesis Report 71

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lazarus, Sheryl S.; Rogers, Christopher; Cormier, Damien; Thurlow, Martha L.

2008-01-01

Federal regulations (U.S. Department of Education, 2007a) provide states with the flexibility to offer an alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS). This assessment option is for a small group of students with disabilities who can make significant progress, but may not reach grade-level achievement within the…

Making meaning of Alcoholics Anonymous for social workers: myths, metaphors, and realities.

PubMed

Davis, D R; Jansen, G G

1998-03-01

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), the increasingly popular mutual-help program for alcoholics, is often criticized for being just another substitute addiction, emphasizing "powerlessness" to already disenfranchised groups, being a religion or cult, adhering to a medical model of disease instead of a strengths perspective, and other such areas of concern to social workers. Many of these interpretations are based on viewing AA as an alternative treatment model or a rational service delivery model. This article addresses common critiques of AA by offering a way of understanding it as a "normative narrative community," where identity transformation takes place through the use of metaphor and storytelling. The article suggests alternative meanings of key metaphors, such as "powerlessness," describes areas of program strength and potential barriers for social workers, and reviews current research on AA effectiveness.

If-then contingencies and the differential effects of the availability of an attractive alternative on relationship maintenance for men and women.

PubMed

Lydon, John E; Menzies-Toman, Danielle; Burton, Kimberly; Bell, Chris

2008-07-01

In 7 experiments, the causal effects of the availability of an attractive alternative (AA) relationship partner on current relationship thoughts and intentions were tested using confederates, mental simulations, and virtual reality. Men behaved consistent with traditional relationship-commitment theories, showing decreased willingness to tolerate their partner's transgressions after the availability of an AA was made salient. However, consistent with a motivated cognition approach to commitment and work on relational self-construals, women increased their tolerance when presented with the relationship threat of an alternative. Word-fragment and lexical decision data suggested that AAs may activate threat for women, and their ability to dampen threat accessibility is associated with prorelationship responses. Finally, this "if relationship is threatened, then defend the relationship" contingency was induced in men with an implementation intention induction.

Bifunctional CYP81AA proteins catalyse identical hydroxylations but alternative regioselective phenol couplings in plant xanthone biosynthesis

PubMed Central

El-Awaad, Islam; Bocola, Marco; Beuerle, Till; Liu, Benye; Beerhues, Ludger

2016-01-01

Xanthones are natural products present in plants and microorganisms. In plants, their biosynthesis starts with regioselective cyclization of 2,3′,4,6-tetrahydroxybenzophenone to either 1,3,5- or 1,3,7-trihydroxyxanthones, catalysed by cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes. Here we isolate and express CYP81AA-coding sequences from Hypericum calycinum and H. perforatum in yeast. Microsomes catalyse two consecutive reactions, that is, 3′-hydroxylation of 2,4,6-trihydroxybenzophenone and C–O phenol coupling of the resulting 2,3′,4,6-tetrahydroxybenzophenone. Relative to the inserted 3′-hydroxyl, the orthologues Hc/HpCYP81AA1 cyclize via the para position to form 1,3,7-trihydroxyxanthone, whereas the paralogue HpCYP81AA2 directs cyclization to the ortho position, yielding the isomeric 1,3,5-trihydroxyxanthone. Homology modelling and reciprocal mutagenesis reveal the impact of S375, L378 and A483 on controlling the regioselectivity of HpCYP81AA2, which is converted into HpCYP81AA1 by sextuple mutation. However, the reciprocal mutations in HpCYP81AA1 barely affect its regiospecificity. Product docking rationalizes the alternative C–O phenol coupling reactions. Our results help understand the machinery of bifunctional CYPs. PMID:27145837

Bifunctional CYP81AA proteins catalyse identical hydroxylations but alternative regioselective phenol couplings in plant xanthone biosynthesis.

PubMed

El-Awaad, Islam; Bocola, Marco; Beuerle, Till; Liu, Benye; Beerhues, Ludger

2016-05-05

Xanthones are natural products present in plants and microorganisms. In plants, their biosynthesis starts with regioselective cyclization of 2,3',4,6-tetrahydroxybenzophenone to either 1,3,5- or 1,3,7-trihydroxyxanthones, catalysed by cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes. Here we isolate and express CYP81AA-coding sequences from Hypericum calycinum and H. perforatum in yeast. Microsomes catalyse two consecutive reactions, that is, 3'-hydroxylation of 2,4,6-trihydroxybenzophenone and C-O phenol coupling of the resulting 2,3',4,6-tetrahydroxybenzophenone. Relative to the inserted 3'-hydroxyl, the orthologues Hc/HpCYP81AA1 cyclize via the para position to form 1,3,7-trihydroxyxanthone, whereas the paralogue HpCYP81AA2 directs cyclization to the ortho position, yielding the isomeric 1,3,5-trihydroxyxanthone. Homology modelling and reciprocal mutagenesis reveal the impact of S375, L378 and A483 on controlling the regioselectivity of HpCYP81AA2, which is converted into HpCYP81AA1 by sextuple mutation. However, the reciprocal mutations in HpCYP81AA1 barely affect its regiospecificity. Product docking rationalizes the alternative C-O phenol coupling reactions. Our results help understand the machinery of bifunctional CYPs.

Mechanical Properties and Eco-Efficiency of Steel Fiber Reinforced Alkali-Activated Slag Concrete.

PubMed

Kim, Sun-Woo; Jang, Seok-Joon; Kang, Dae-Hyun; Ahn, Kyung-Lim; Yun, Hyun-Do

2015-10-30

Conventional concrete production that uses ordinary Portland cement (OPC) as a binder seems unsustainable due to its high energy consumption, natural resource exhaustion and huge carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. To transform the conventional process of concrete production to a more sustainable process, the replacement of high energy-consumptive PC with new binders such as fly ash and alkali-activated slag (AAS) from available industrial by-products has been recognized as an alternative. This paper investigates the effect of curing conditions and steel fiber inclusion on the compressive and flexural performance of AAS concrete with a specified compressive strength of 40 MPa to evaluate the feasibility of AAS concrete as an alternative to normal concrete for CO₂ emission reduction in the concrete industry. Their performances are compared with reference concrete produced using OPC. The eco-efficiency of AAS use for concrete production was also evaluated by binder intensity and CO₂ intensity based on the test results and literature data. Test results show that it is possible to produce AAS concrete with compressive and flexural performances comparable to conventional concrete. Wet-curing and steel fiber inclusion improve the mechanical performance of AAS concrete. Also, the utilization of AAS as a sustainable binder can lead to significant CO₂ emissions reduction and resources and energy conservation in the concrete industry.

Alternative methods for measuring obesity in African American women.

PubMed

Clark, Ashley E; Taylor, Jacquelyn Y; Wu, Chun Yi; Smith, Jennifer A

2013-03-01

The use of body mass index (BMI) may not be the most appropriate measurement tool in determining obesity in diverse populations. We studied a convenience sample of 108 African American (AA) women to determine the best method for measuring obesity in this at-risk population. The purpose of this study was to determine if percent body fat (PBF) and percent body water (PBW) could be used as alternatives to BMI in predicting obesity and risk for hypertension (HTN) among AA women. After accounting for age, BMI, and the use of anti-hypertensive medication, PBF (p = 0.0125) and PBW (p = 0.0297) were significantly associated with systolic blood pressure, while BMI was not. Likewise, PBF (p = 0.0316) was significantly associated with diastolic blood pressure, while PBW and BMI were not. Thus, health care practitioners should consider alternative anthropometric measurements such as PBF when assessing obesity in AA women.

A framework for an alternatives assessment dashboard for evaluating chemical alternatives applied to flame retardants for electronic applications

EPA Science Inventory

The goal of alternatives assessment (AA) is to facilitate a comparison of alternatives to a chemical of concern, resulting in the identification of safer alternatives. A two-stage methodology for comparing chemical alternatives was developed. In the first stage, alternatives are ...

The CUG-initiated larger form coat protein of Chinese wheat mosaic virus binds to the cysteine-rich RNA silencing suppressor.

PubMed

Sun, Liying; Andika, Ida Bagus; Shen, Jiangfeng; Yang, Di; Ratti, Claudio; Chen, Jianping

2013-10-01

Some viruses use alternative translation initiation at non-AUG codons as a strategy to produce multiple proteins during gene expression. Here we show that, using this strategy, Chinese wheat mosaic virus (CWMV; Furovirus) expresses a larger form of coat protein (N-ext/CP) in infected plants. Site-directed mutagenesis and transient expression analysis confirmed that CWMV N-ext/CP is initiated at an upstream in-frame CUG codon at nucleotide position 207-209 of RNA 2, which adds a 39 amino acid (aa) N-terminal extension to the major CP. Interestingly, in planta and in vitro analyses indicated that CWMV N-ext/CP but not CP interacts with the CWMV cysteine-rich protein (CRP), an RNA silencing suppressor. We further determined that the N-terminal 39 aa extension, particularly the 10 aa region immediately upstream of the major CP coding region is responsible for the interaction of N-ext/CP with CRP. In an Agrobacterium co-infiltration assay, co-expression with N-ext/CP did not affect CRP silencing suppression activity. Thus the alternative translation initiation at a CUG codon provides the CWMV N-ext/CP with the ability to bind to the viral silencing suppressor. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Arachidonic acid-induced Ca2+ entry and migration in a neuroendocrine cancer cell line.

PubMed

Goswamee, Priyodarshan; Pounardjian, Tamar; Giovannucci, David R

2018-01-01

Store-operated Ca 2+ entry (SOCE) has been implicated in the migration of some cancer cell lines. The canonical SOCE is defined as the Ca 2+ entry that occurs in response to near-maximal depletion of Ca 2+ within the endoplasmic reticulum. Alternatively, arachidonic acid (AA) has been shown to induce Ca 2+ entry in a store-independent manner through Orai1/Orai3 hetero-multimeric channels. However, the role of this AA-induced Ca 2+ entry pathway in cancer cell migration has not been adequately assessed. The present study investigated the involvement of AA-induced Ca 2+ entry in migration in BON cells, a model gastro-enteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (GEPNET) cell line using pharmacological and gene knockdown methods in combination with live cell fluorescence imaging and standard migration assays. We showed that both the store-dependent and AA-induced Ca 2+ entry modes could be selectively activated and that exogenous administration of AA resulted in Ca 2+ entry that was pharmacologically distinct from SOCE. Also, whereas homomeric Orai1-containing channels appeared to largely underlie SOCE, the AA-induced Ca 2+ entry channel required the expression of Orai3 as well as Orai1. Moreover, we showed that AA treatment enhanced the migration of BON cells and that this migration could be abrogated by selective inhibition of the AA-induced Ca 2+ entry. Taken together, these data revealed that an alternative Orai3-dependent Ca 2+ entry pathway is an important signal for GEPNET cell migration.

Accuracy and reproducibility of aortic annular measurements obtained from echocardiographic 3D manual and semi-automated software analyses in patients referred for transcatheter aortic valve implantation: implication for prosthesis size selection.

PubMed

Stella, Stefano; Italia, Leonardo; Geremia, Giulia; Rosa, Isabella; Ancona, Francesco; Marini, Claudia; Capogrosso, Cristina; Giglio, Manuela; Montorfano, Matteo; Latib, Azeem; Margonato, Alberto; Colombo, Antonio; Agricola, Eustachio

2018-02-06

A 3D transoesophageal echocardiography (3D-TOE) reconstruction tool has recently been introduced. The system automatically configures a geometric model of the aortic root and performs quantitative analysis of these structures. We compared the measurements of the aortic annulus (AA) obtained by semi-automated 3D-TOE quantitative software and manual analysis vs. multislice computed tomography (MSCT) ones. One hundred and seventy-five patients (mean age 81.3 ± 6.3 years, 77 men) who underwent both MSCT and 3D-TOE for annulus assessment before transcatheter aortic valve implantation were analysed. Hypothetical prosthetic valve sizing was evaluated using the 3D manual, semi-automated measurements using manufacturer-recommended CT-based sizing algorithm as gold standard. Good correlation between 3D-TOE methods vs. MSCT measurements was found, but the semi-automated analysis demonstrated slightly better correlations for AA major diameter (r = 0.89), perimeter (r = 0.89), and area (r = 0.85) (all P < 0.0001) than manual one. Both 3D methods underestimated the MSCT measurements, but semi-automated measurements showed narrower limits of agreement and lesser bias than manual measurements for most of AA parameters. On average, 3D-TOE semi-automated major diameter, area, and perimeter underestimated the respective MSCT measurements by 7.4%, 3.5%, and 4.4%, respectively, whereas minor diameter was overestimated by 0.3%. Moderate agreement for valve sizing for both 3D-TOE techniques was found: Kappa agreement 0.5 for both semi-automated and manual analysis. Interobserver and intraobserver agreements for the AA measurements were excellent for both techniques (intraclass correlation coefficients for all parameters >0.80). The 3D-TOE semi-automated analysis of AA is feasible and reliable and can be used in clinical practice as an alternative to MSCT for AA assessment. Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author(s) 2018. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Mechanical Properties and Eco-Efficiency of Steel Fiber Reinforced Alkali-Activated Slag Concrete

PubMed Central

Kim, Sun-Woo; Jang, Seok-Joon; Kang, Dae-Hyun; Ahn, Kyung-Lim; Yun, Hyun-Do

2015-01-01

Conventional concrete production that uses ordinary Portland cement (OPC) as a binder seems unsustainable due to its high energy consumption, natural resource exhaustion and huge carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. To transform the conventional process of concrete production to a more sustainable process, the replacement of high energy-consumptive PC with new binders such as fly ash and alkali-activated slag (AAS) from available industrial by-products has been recognized as an alternative. This paper investigates the effect of curing conditions and steel fiber inclusion on the compressive and flexural performance of AAS concrete with a specified compressive strength of 40 MPa to evaluate the feasibility of AAS concrete as an alternative to normal concrete for CO2 emission reduction in the concrete industry. Their performances are compared with reference concrete produced using OPC. The eco-efficiency of AAS use for concrete production was also evaluated by binder intensity and CO2 intensity based on the test results and literature data. Test results show that it is possible to produce AAS concrete with compressive and flexural performances comparable to conventional concrete. Wet-curing and steel fiber inclusion improve the mechanical performance of AAS concrete. Also, the utilization of AAS as a sustainable binder can lead to significant CO2 emissions reduction and resources and energy conservation in the concrete industry. PMID:28793639

Mass spectrometric behavior of anabolic androgenic steroids using gas chromatography coupled to atmospheric pressure chemical ionization source. Part I: ionization.

PubMed

Raro, M; Portolés, T; Sancho, J V; Pitarch, E; Hernández, F; Marcos, J; Ventura, R; Gómez, C; Segura, J; Pozo, O J

2014-06-01

The detection of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) is one of the most important topics in doping control analysis. Gas chromatography coupled to (tandem) mass spectrometry (GC-MS(/MS)) with electron ionization and liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry have been traditionally applied for this purpose. However, both approaches still have important limitations, and, therefore, detection of all AAS is currently afforded by the combination of these strategies. Alternative ionization techniques can minimize these drawbacks and help in the implementation of a single method for the detection of AAS. In the present work, a new atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) source commercialized for gas chromatography coupled to a quadrupole time-of-flight analyzer has been tested to evaluate the ionization of 60 model AAS. Underivatized and trimethylsylil (TMS)-derivatized compounds have been investigated. The use of GC-APCI-MS allowed for the ionization of all AAS assayed irrespective of their structure. The presence of water in the source as modifier promoted the formation of protonated molecules ([M+H](+)), becoming the base peak of the spectrum for the majority of studied compounds. Under these conditions, [M+H](+), [M+H-H2O](+) and [M+H-2·H2O](+) for underivatized AAS and [M+H](+), [M+H-TMSOH](+) and [M+H-2·TMSOH](+) for TMS-derivatized AAS were observed as main ions in the spectra. The formed ions preserve the intact steroid skeleton, and, therefore, they might be used as specific precursors in MS/MS-based methods. Additionally, a relationship between the relative abundance of these ions and the AAS structure has been established. This relationship might be useful in the structural elucidation of unknown metabolites. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Predictors of Membership in Alcoholics Anonymous in a Sample of Successfully Remitted Alcoholics

PubMed Central

Krentzman, Amy R.; Robinson, Elizabeth A. R.; Perron, Brian E.; Cranford, James A.

2012-01-01

This study identifies factors associated with Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) membership in a sample of 81 persons who have achieved at least one year of total abstinence from drugs and alcohol. Forty-four were AA members, 37 were not. Logistic regression was used to test the cross-sectional associations of baseline demographic, substance-related, spiritual and religious, and personality variables with AA membership. Significant variables from the bivariate analyses were included in a multivariate model controlling for previous AA involvement. Having more positive views of God and more negative consequences of drinking were significantly associated with AA membership. This information can be used by clinicians to identify clients for whom AA might be a good fit, and can help others overcome obstacles to AA or explore alternative forms of abstinence support. PMID:21615004

Integrating Exposure into Chemical Alternatives Assessment Using a Qualitative Approach

EPA Science Inventory

Most alternatives assessments (AA) published to date are largely hazard-based rankings, and as such may not represent a fully informed consideration of the advantages and disadvantages of possible alternatives. With an assessment goal of identifying an alternative chemical that i...

Interference-free spectrofluorometric quantification of aristolochic acid I and aristololactam I in five Chinese herbal medicines using chemical derivatization enhancement and second-order calibration methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Yong; Wu, Hai-Long; Yin, Xiao-Li; Gu, Hui-Wen; Xiao, Rong; Wang, Li; Fang, Huan; Yu, Ru-Qin

2017-03-01

A rapid interference-free spectrofluorometric method combined with the excitation-emission matrix fluorescence and the second-order calibration methods based on the alternating penalty trilinear decomposition (APTLD) and the self-weighted alternating trilinear decomposition (SWATLD) algorithms, was proposed for the simultaneous determination of nephrotoxic aristolochic acid I (AA-I) and aristololactam I (AL-I) in five Chinese herbal medicines. The method was based on a chemical derivatization that converts the non-fluorescent AA-I to high-fluorescent AL-I, achieving a high sensitive and simultaneous quantification of the analytes. The variables of the derivatization reaction that conducted by using zinc powder in acetose methanol aqueous solution, were studied and optimized for best quantification results of AA-I and AL-I. The satisfactory results of AA-I and AL-I for the spiked recovery assay were achieved with average recoveries in the range of 100.4-103.8% and RMSEPs < 0.78 ng mL- 1, which validate the accuracy and reliability of the proposed method. The contents of AA-I and AL-I in five herbal medicines obtained from the proposed method were also in good accordance with those of the validated LC-MS/MS method. In light of high sensitive fluorescence detection, the limits of detection (LODs) of AA-I and AL-I for the proposed method compare favorably with that of the LC-MS/MS method, with the LODs < 0.35 and 0.29 ng mL- 1, respectively. The proposed strategy based on the APTLD and SWATLD algorithms by virtue of the "second-order advantage", can be considered as an attractive and green alternative for the quantification of AA-I and AL-I in complex herbal medicine matrices without any prior separations and clear-up processes.

Virulence-Associated Genome Mutations of Murine Rotavirus Identified by Alternating Serial Passages in Mice and Cell Cultures

PubMed Central

Tatsumi, Masatoshi; Tsutsumi, Hiroyuki

2014-01-01

ABSTRACT Although significant clinical efficacy and safety of rotavirus vaccines were recently revealed in many countries, the mechanism of their attenuation is not well understood. We passaged serially a cell culture-adapted murine rotavirus EB strain in mouse pups or in cell cultures alternately and repeatedly and fully sequenced all 11 genes of 21 virus samples passaged in mice or in cell cultures. Sequence analysis revealed that mouse-passaged viruses that regained virulence almost consistently acquired four kinds of amino acid (aa) substitutions in VP4 and substitution in aa 37 (Val to Ala) in NSP4. In addition, they gained and invariably conserved the 3′ consensus sequence in NSP1. The molecular changes occurred along with the acquisition of virulence during passages in mice and then disappeared following passages in cell cultures. Intraperitoneal injection of recombinant NSP4 proteins confirmed the aa 37 site as important for its diarrheagenic activity in mice. These genome changes are likely to be correlated with rotavirus virulence. IMPORTANCE Serial passage of a virulent wild-type virus in vitro often results in loss of virulence of the virus in an original animal host, while serial passage of a cell culture-adapted avirulent virus in vivo often gains virulence in an animal host. Actually, live attenuated virus vaccines were originally produced by serial passage in cell cultures. Although clinical efficacy and safety of rotavirus vaccines were recently revealed, the mechanism of their attenuation is not well understood. We passaged serially a murine rotavirus by alternating switch of host (mice or cell cultures) repeatedly and sequenced the eleven genes of the passaged viruses to identify mutations associated with the emergence or disappearance of virulence. Sequence analysis revealed that changes in three genes (VP4, NSP1, and NSP4) were associated with virulence in mice. Intraperitoneal injection of recombinant NSP4 proteins confirmed its diarrheagenic activity in mice. These genome changes are likely to be correlated with rotavirus virulence. PMID:24599996

Virulence-associated genome mutations of murine rotavirus identified by alternating serial passages in mice and cell cultures.

PubMed

Tsugawa, Takeshi; Tatsumi, Masatoshi; Tsutsumi, Hiroyuki

2014-05-01

Although significant clinical efficacy and safety of rotavirus vaccines were recently revealed in many countries, the mechanism of their attenuation is not well understood. We passaged serially a cell culture-adapted murine rotavirus EB strain in mouse pups or in cell cultures alternately and repeatedly and fully sequenced all 11 genes of 21 virus samples passaged in mice or in cell cultures. Sequence analysis revealed that mouse-passaged viruses that regained virulence almost consistently acquired four kinds of amino acid (aa) substitutions in VP4 and substitution in aa 37 (Val to Ala) in NSP4. In addition, they gained and invariably conserved the 3' consensus sequence in NSP1. The molecular changes occurred along with the acquisition of virulence during passages in mice and then disappeared following passages in cell cultures. Intraperitoneal injection of recombinant NSP4 proteins confirmed the aa 37 site as important for its diarrheagenic activity in mice. These genome changes are likely to be correlated with rotavirus virulence. Serial passage of a virulent wild-type virus in vitro often results in loss of virulence of the virus in an original animal host, while serial passage of a cell culture-adapted avirulent virus in vivo often gains virulence in an animal host. Actually, live attenuated virus vaccines were originally produced by serial passage in cell cultures. Although clinical efficacy and safety of rotavirus vaccines were recently revealed, the mechanism of their attenuation is not well understood. We passaged serially a murine rotavirus by alternating switch of host (mice or cell cultures) repeatedly and sequenced the eleven genes of the passaged viruses to identify mutations associated with the emergence or disappearance of virulence. Sequence analysis revealed that changes in three genes (VP4, NSP1, and NSP4) were associated with virulence in mice. Intraperitoneal injection of recombinant NSP4 proteins confirmed its diarrheagenic activity in mice. These genome changes are likely to be correlated with rotavirus virulence.

Comparative study on Ti/Zr/V and chromate conversion treated aluminum alloys: Anti-corrosion performance and epoxy coating adhesion properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Wen; Li, Wenfang; Mu, Songlin; Fu, Nianqing; Liao, Zhongmiao

2017-05-01

In this study, a Ti/Zr/V conversion coating (TZVCC) was deposited on the surface of aluminum alloy 6063 (AA6063) as an alternative of the chromate conversion coating (CCC). Both the TZVCC treated AA6063 (TZVCC/AA6063) and CCC treated AA6063 (CCC/AA6063) were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscope (AFM) and contact angle measuring device. The anti-corrosion performance of the TZVCC/AA6063 and CCC/AA6063 was evaluated by electrochemical measurements and neutral salt spray tests. It showed that both the surface roughness and surface free energy of the AA6063 were significantly increased after TZVCC treatment. The anti-corrosion performance of TZVCC/AA6063 was superior to that of CCC/AA6063. In addition, the effects of the TZVCC and CCC on the adhesion properties and anti-corrosion performance of epoxy coating applied on samples were examined by pull-off tests and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The dry, wet and recovery adhesive strengths of the epoxy coating on TZVCC treated samples (epoxy coated TZVCC/AA6063) were very close to those of epoxy coating on CCC treated ones (epoxy coated CCC/AA6063). The epoxy coated TZVCC/AA6063 showed better corrosion resistance than the epoxy coated CCC/AA6063 and epoxy coated AA6063.

Branched chains support postoperative protein synthesis.

PubMed

Cerra, F B; Upson, D; Angelico, R; Wiles, C; Lyons, J; Faulkenbach, L; Paysinger, J

1982-08-01

A blinded, prospective trial of the effects of branched-chain amino acid (BcAA)-enriched total parenteral nutrition (TPN) versus standard TPN was undertaken in nonseptic noncirrhotic abdominal surgery patients and patients with multiple traumatic injuries. The study reflected data from the immediate 7-day postoperative period. With isocaloric and isonitrogenous input, the BcAA-TPN patients achieved positive nitrogen balance on day 3. Although the urinary nitrogen output was decreased by day 3 in BcAA-TPN, the plasma BcAA levels did not increase until day 6. With no change in 3-methylhistidine urinary excretion, the early nitrogen retention with BcAA-TPN probably reflects a stimulation of protein synthesis. The ability to favorably modulate the metabolic stress response with alternate fuels has become a clinical reality.

Double injection/single detection asymmetric flow injection manifold for spectrophotometric determination of ascorbic acid and uric acid: Selection the optimal conditions by MCDM approach based on different criteria weighting methods.

PubMed

Boroumand, Samira; Chamjangali, Mansour Arab; Bagherian, Ghadamali

2017-03-05

A simple and sensitive double injection/single detector flow injection analysis (FIA) method is proposed for the simultaneous kinetic determination of ascorbic acid (AA) and uric acid (UA). This method is based upon the difference between the rates of the AA and UA reactions with Fe 3+ in the presence of 1, 10-phenanthroline (phen). The absorbance of Fe 2+ /1, 10-phenanthroline (Fe-phen) complex obtained as the product was measured spectrophotometrically at 510nm. To reach a good accuracy in the differential kinetic determination via the mathematical manipulations of the transient signals, different criteria were considered in the selection of the optimum conditions. The multi criteria decision making (MCDM) approach was applied for the selection of the optimum conditions. The importance weights of the evaluation criteria were determined using the analytic hierarchy process, entropy method, and compromised weighting (CW). The experimental conditions (alternatives) were ranked by the technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution. Under the selected optimum conditions, the obtained analytical signals were linear in the ranges of 0.50-5.00 and 0.50-4.00mgL -1 for AA and UA, respectively. The 3σ detection limits were 0.07mgL -1 for AA and 0.12mgL -1 for UA. The relative standard deviations for four replicate determinations of AA and UA were 2.03% and 3.30% respectively. The method was also applied for the analysis of analytes in the blood serum, Vitamine C tablets, and tap water with satisfactory results. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Double injection/single detection asymmetric flow injection manifold for spectrophotometric determination of ascorbic acid and uric acid: Selection the optimal conditions by MCDM approach based on different criteria weighting methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boroumand, Samira; Chamjangali, Mansour Arab; Bagherian, Ghadamali

2017-03-01

A simple and sensitive double injection/single detector flow injection analysis (FIA) method is proposed for the simultaneous kinetic determination of ascorbic acid (AA) and uric acid (UA). This method is based upon the difference between the rates of the AA and UA reactions with Fe3 + in the presence of 1, 10-phenanthroline (phen). The absorbance of Fe2 +/1, 10-phenanthroline (Fe-phen) complex obtained as the product was measured spectrophotometrically at 510 nm. To reach a good accuracy in the differential kinetic determination via the mathematical manipulations of the transient signals, different criteria were considered in the selection of the optimum conditions. The multi criteria decision making (MCDM) approach was applied for the selection of the optimum conditions. The importance weights of the evaluation criteria were determined using the analytic hierarchy process, entropy method, and compromised weighting (CW). The experimental conditions (alternatives) were ranked by the technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution. Under the selected optimum conditions, the obtained analytical signals were linear in the ranges of 0.50-5.00 and 0.50-4.00 mg L- 1 for AA and UA, respectively. The 3σ detection limits were 0.07 mg L- 1 for AA and 0.12 mg L- 1 for UA. The relative standard deviations for four replicate determinations of AA and UA were 2.03% and 3.30% respectively. The method was also applied for the analysis of analytes in the blood serum, Vitamine C tablets, and tap water with satisfactory results.

Alternative Mating Type Configurations (a/α versus a/a or α/α) of Candida albicans Result in Alternative Biofilms Regulated by Different Pathways

PubMed Central

Srikantha, Thyagarajan; Huang, Guanghua; Garnaas, Adam M.; Soll, David R.

2011-01-01

Similar multicellular structures can evolve within the same organism that may have different evolutionary histories, be controlled by different regulatory pathways, and play similar but nonidentical roles. In the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans, a quite extraordinary example of this has occurred. Depending upon the configuration of the mating type locus (a/α versus a/a or α/α), C. albicans forms alternative biofilms that appear similar morphologically, but exhibit dramatically different characteristics and are regulated by distinctly different signal transduction pathways. Biofilms formed by a/α cells are impermeable to molecules in the size range of 300 Da to 140 kDa, are poorly penetrated by human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs), and are resistant to antifungals. In contrast, a/a or α/α biofilms are permeable to molecules in this size range, are readily penetrated by PMNs, and are susceptible to antifungals. By mutational analyses, a/α biofilms are demonstrated to be regulated by the Ras1/cAMP pathway that includes Ras1→Cdc35→cAMP(Pde2—|)→Tpk2(Tpk1)→Efg1→Tec1→Bcr1, and a/a biofilms by the MAP kinase pathway that includes Mfα→Ste2→ (Ste4, Ste18, Cag1)→Ste11→Hst7→Cek2(Cek1)→Tec1. These observations suggest the hypothesis that while the upstream portion of the newly evolved pathway regulating a/a and α/α cell biofilms was derived intact from the upstream portion of the conserved pheromone-regulated pathway for mating, the downstream portion was derived through modification of the downstream portion of the conserved pathway for a/α biofilm formation. C. albicans therefore forms two alternative biofilms depending upon mating configuration. PMID:21829325

Characteristics of and Implications for Students Participating in Alternate Assessments Based on Alternate Academic Achievement Standards

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kearns, Jacqueline Farmer; Towles-Reeves, Elizabeth; Kleinert, Harold L.; Kleinert, Jane O'Regan; Thomas, Megan Kleine-Kracht

2011-01-01

Little research has precisely defined the population of students participating in alternate assessments based on alternate academic achievement standards (AA-AAAS). Therefore, the purpose of this article is twofold: (a) explicate the findings of a multistate study examining the characteristics of the population of students participating in…

Role of the Lipoxygenase Pathway in RSV-induced Alternatively Activated Macrophages Leading to Resolution of Lung Pathology

PubMed Central

Shirey, Kari Ann; Lai, Wendy; Pletneva, Lioubov M.; Karp, Christopher L.; Divanovic, Senad; Blanco, Jorge C. G.; Vogel, Stefanie N.

2013-01-01

Resolution of severe RSV-induced bronchiolitis is mediated by alternatively activated macrophages (AA-Mϕ) that counteract cyclooxygenase (COX)-2-induced lung pathology. Herein, we report that RSV infection of 5-lipoxygenase (LO)−/− and 15-LO−/− macrophages or mice failed to elicit AA-Mϕ differentiation and concomitantly exhibited increased COX-2 expression. Further, RSV infection of 5-LO−/− mice resulted in enhanced lung pathology. Pharmacologic inhibition of 5-LO or 15-LO also blocked differentiation of RSV-induced AA-Mϕ in vitro and, conversely, treatment of 5-LO−/− macrophages with downstream products, lipoxin A4 (LXA4) and resolvin E1 (RvE1), but not leukotriene B4 (LTB4) or LTD4, partially restored expression of AA-Mϕ markers. Indomethacin blockade of COX activity in RSV-infected macrophages increased 5-LO, and 15-LO, as well as arginase-1 mRNA expression. Treatment of RSV-infected mice with indomethacin also resulted not only in enhanced lung arginase-1 mRNA expression and decreased COX-2, but also, decreased lung pathology in RSV-infected 5-LO−/− mice. Treatment of RSV-infected cotton rats with a COX-2-specific inhibitor resulted in enhanced lung 5-LO mRNA and AA-Mϕ marker expression. Together, these data suggest a novel therapeutic approach for RSV that promotes AA-Mϕ differentiation by activating the 5-LO pathway. PMID:24064666

Racial discrimination mediates race differences in sleep problems: A longitudinal analysis.

PubMed

Fuller-Rowell, Thomas E; Curtis, David S; El-Sheikh, Mona; Duke, Adrienne M; Ryff, Carol D; Zgierska, Aleksandra E

2017-04-01

To examine changes in sleep problems over a 1.5-year period among Black or African American (AA) and White or European American (EA) college students and to consider the role of racial discrimination as a mediator of race differences in sleep problems over time. Students attending a large, predominantly White university (N = 133, 41% AA, 57% female, mean age = 18.8, SD = .90) reported on habitual sleep characteristics and experiences of racial discrimination at baseline and follow-up assessments. A latent variable for sleep problems was assessed from reports of sleep latency, duration, efficiency, and quality. Longitudinal models were used to examine race differences in sleep problems over time and the mediating role of perceived discrimination. Covariates included age, gender, parent education, parent income, body mass index, self-rated physical health, and depressive symptoms. Each of the individual sleep measures was also examined separately, and sensitivity analyses were conducted using alternative formulations of the sleep problems measure. AAs had greater increases in sleep problems than EAs. Perceived discrimination was also associated with increases in sleep problems over time and mediated racial disparities in sleep. This pattern of findings was similar when each of the sleep indicators was considered separately and held with alternative sleep problems measures. The findings highlight the importance of racial disparities in sleep across the college years and suggest that experiences of discrimination contribute to group disparities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Novel Uses for the Anabolic Androgenic Steroids Nandrolone and Oxandrolone in the Management of Male Health.

PubMed

Wu, Christopher; Kovac, Jason R

2016-10-01

There has recently been renewed interest in novel clinical applications of the anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) testosterone and its synthetic derivatives, particularly given with the rising popularity of testosterone supplementation therapy (TST) for the treatment of male hypogonadism. In this manuscript, we provide a brief review of the history of AAS and discuss clinical applications of two of the more well-known AAS: nandrolone and oxandrolone. Both agents exhibit favorable myotrophic/androgenic ratios and have been investigated for effectiveness in numerous disease states. We also provide a brief synopsis of selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) and postulate how these orally active, non-aromatizing, tissue-selective agents might be used in contemporary andrology. Currently, the applications of testosterone alternatives in hypogonadism are limited. However, it is tempting to speculate that these agents may one day become accepted as alternatives, or adjuncts, to the treatment of male hypogonadism.

Molecular architecture of silk fibroin of Indian golden silkmoth, Antheraea assama.

PubMed

Gupta, Adarsh K; Mita, Kazuei; Arunkumar, Kallare P; Nagaraju, Javaregowda

2015-08-03

The golden silk spun by Indian golden silkmoth Antheraea assama, is regarded for its shimmering golden luster, tenacity and value as biomaterial. This report describes the gene coding for golden silk H-fibroin (AaFhc), its expression, full-length sequence and structurally important motifs discerning the underlying genetic and biochemical factors responsible for its much sought-after properties. The coding region, with biased isocodons, encodes highly repetitious crystalline core, flanked by a pair of 5' and 3' non-repetitious ends. AaFhc mRNA expression is strictly territorial, confined to the posterior silk gland, encoding a protein of size 230 kDa, which makes homodimers making the elementary structural units of the fibrous core of the golden silk. Characteristic polyalanine repeats that make tight β-sheet crystals alternate with non-polyalanine repeats that make less orderly antiparallel β-sheets, β-turns and partial α-helices. Phylogenetic analysis of the conserved N-terminal amorphous motif and the comparative analysis of the crystalline region with other saturniid H-fibroins reveal that AaFhc has longer, numerous and relatively uniform repeat motifs with lower serine content that assume tighter β-crystals and denser packing, which are speculated to be responsible for its acclaimed properties of higher tensile strength and higher refractive index responsible for golden luster.

Successfully Transitioning from the AA-MAS to the General Assessment. NCEO Policy Directions. Number 22

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lazarus, Sheryl; Thurlow, Martha; Christensen, Laurene; Shyyan, Vitaliy

2014-01-01

Federal policy initiatives such as the flexibility waivers for accountability are requiring that states transition away from the use of an alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS). It is expected that those students who had participated in that assessment will instead participate in the state's general assessment (or a…

Sipuleucel-T for the Treatment of Metastatic Hormone-Relapsed Prostate Cancer: A NICE Single Technology Appraisal; An Evidence Review Group Perspective.

PubMed

Simpson, Emma L; Davis, Sarah; Thokala, Praveen; Breeze, Penny R; Bryden, Peter; Wong, Ruth

2015-11-01

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) invited Dendreon, the company manufacturing sipuleucel-T, to submit evidence for the clinical and cost effectiveness of sipuleucel-T for asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic, metastatic, non-visceral hormone-relapsed prostate cancer patients in whom chemotherapy is not yet clinically indicated, as part of NICE's single technology appraisal process. The comparator was abiraterone acetate (AA) or best supportive care (BSC). The School of Health and Related Research at the University of Sheffield was commissioned to act as the Evidence Review Group (ERG). This paper describes the company submission (CS), ERG review, and subsequent decision of the NICE Appraisal Committee (AC). The ERG produced a critical review of the clinical and cost-effectiveness evidence of sipuleucel-T based upon the CS. Clinical-effectiveness data relevant to the decision problem were taken from three randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of sipuleucel-T and a placebo (PBO) comparator of antigen-presenting cells (APC) being re-infused (APC-PBO) (D9901, D9902A and D9902B), and one RCT (COU-AA-302) of AA plus prednisone vs. PBO plus prednisone. Two trials reported a significant advantage for sipuleucel-T in median overall survival compared with APC-PBO: for trial D9901, an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 0.47; (95 % confidence interval [CI] 0.29, 0.76) p < 0.002; for D9902B, adjusted HR 0.78 (95 % CI 0.61, 0.98) p = 0.03. There was no significant difference between groups in D9902A, unadjusted HR 0.79 (95 % CI 0.48, 1.28) p = 0.331. Sipuleucel-T and APC-PBO groups did not differ significantly in time to disease progression, in any of the three RCTs. Most adverse events developed within 1 day of the infusion, and resolved within 2 days. The CS included an indirect comparison of sipuleucel-T (D9902B) and AA plus prednisone (COU-AA-302). As trials differed in prior use of chemotherapy, an analysis of only chemotherapy-naïve patients was included, in which the overall survival for sipuleucel-T and AA was not significantly different, HR 0.94 (95 % CI 0.69, 1.28) p = 0.699. The ERG had several concerns regarding the data and assumptions incorporated within the company's cost-effectiveness analyses and conducted exploratory analyses to quantify the impact of making alternative assumptions or using alternative data inputs. The deterministic incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) for sipuleucel-T vs. BSC when using the ERG's preferred data and assumptions was £ 108,585 per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) in the whole licensed population and £ 61,204/QALY in the subgroup with low prostate-specific antigen at baseline. The ERG also conducted an incremental analysis comparing sipuleucel-T with both AA and BSC in the chemotherapy-naïve subgroup. Sipuleucel-T had a deterministic ICER of £ 111,682/QALY in this subgroup, when using the ERG's preferred assumptions, and AA was extendedly dominated. The ERG also concluded that estimates of costs and benefits for AA should be interpreted with caution given the limitations of the indirect comparison. The AC noted that the ICER for sipuleucel-T was well above the range usually considered cost effective, and did not recommend sipuleucel-T for the treatment of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic, metastatic, non-visceral hormone-relapsed prostate cancer.

Amino acid metabolism in dairy cows and their regulation in milk synthesis.

PubMed

Wang, Feiran; Shi, Haitao; Wang, Shuxiang; Wang, Yajing; Cao, Zhijun; Li, Shengli

2018-06-10

Reducing dietary crude protein (CP) and supplementing with certain amino acids (AAs) has been known as a potential solution to improve nitrogen (N) efficiency in dairy production. Thus understanding how AAs are utilized in various sites along the gut is critical. AA flow from the intestine to portal-drained viscera (PDV) and liver then to the mammary gland was elaborated in this article. Recoveries in individual AA in PDV and liver seem to share similar AA pattern with input: output ratio in mammary gland, which subdivides essential AA (EAA) into two groups, lysine (Lys) and branched-chain AA (BCAA) in group 1, input: output ratio > 1; methionine (Met), histidine (His), phenylalanine (Phe) etc. in group 2, input: output ratio close to 1. AAs in the mammary gland are either utilized for milk protein synthesis or retained as body tissue, or catabolized. The fractional removal of AAs and the number and activity of AA transporters together contribute to the ability of AAs going through mammary cells. Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway is closely related to milk protein synthesis and provides alternatives for AA regulation of milk protein synthesis, which connects AA with lactose synthesis via α-lactalbumin (gene: LALBA) and links with milk fat synthesis via sterol regulatory element-binding transcription protein 1 (SREBP1) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR). Overall, AA flow across various tissues reveal AA metabolism and utilization in dairy cows on one hand. While the function of AA in the biosynthesis of milk protein, fat and lactose at both transcriptional and posttranscriptional level from another angle provides the possibility for us to regulate them for higher efficiency. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Analysis of RNA structure using small-angle X-ray scattering

PubMed Central

Cantara, William A.; Olson, Erik D.; Musier-Forsyth, Karin

2016-01-01

In addition to their role in correctly attaching specific amino acids to cognate tRNAs, aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRS) have been found to possess many alternative functions and often bind to and act on other nucleic acids. In contrast to the well-defined 3D structure of tRNA, the structures of many of the other RNAs recognized by aaRSs have not been solved. Despite advances in the use of X-ray crystallography (XRC), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) for structural characterization of biomolecules, significant challenges to solving RNA structures still exist. Recently, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) has been increasingly employed to characterize the 3D structures of RNAs and RNA-protein complexes. SAXS is capable of providing low-resolution tertiary structure information under physiological conditions and with less intensive sample preparation and data analysis requirements than XRC, NMR and cryo-EM. In this article, we describe best practices involved in the process of RNA and RNA-protein sample preparation, SAXS data collection, data analysis, and structural model building. PMID:27777026

Acrylamide content distribution and possible alternative ingredients for snack foods.

PubMed

Cheng, Wei Chih; Sun, De Chao; Chou, Shin Shou; Yeh, An I

2012-12-01

Acrylamide (AA) contents in 294 snack foods including cereal-based, root- and tuber-based, and seafood-based foods, nuts, dried beans, and dried fruits purchased in Taiwan were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in this study. The highest levels of average AA content were found in root- and tuber-based snack foods (435 μg/kg), followed by cereal-based snack foods (299 μg/kg). Rice flour-based, seafood-based, and dried fruit snack foods had the lowest average AA content (<50 μg/kg). This is the first large surveillance of AA content in snack foods in Taiwan. The results could provide important data regarding intake information from the snack foods. In addition, the results showed a great diversity of AA content in snack foods prepared from different ingredients. Rice- and seafood-based products had much lower AA than those made from other ingredients. This information could constitute a good reference for consumers to select products for healthy snacking.

Considerations for Consortia as States Transition Away from AA-MAS. NCEO Brief. Number 7

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Center on Educational Outcomes, 2014

2014-01-01

States with an alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS) that received a flexibility waiver from some of the requirements of No Child Left Behind are required to phase out their use of this assessment. And, on August 23, 2013, the U.S. Department of Education published a proposed rollback of regulation that allowed the…

Net Flux of Amino Acids Across the Portal-drained Viscera and Liver of the Ewe During Abomasal Infusion of Protein and Glucose

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Decreasing the fraction of amino acids metabolized by the mucosal cells may increase the fraction of AA being released into the blood. A potential mechanism to reduce AA catabolism by mucosal cells is to provide an alternative source of energy. We hypothesized that increasing glucose flow to the s...

Understanding Test-Type Assignment: Why Do Special Educators Make Unexpected Test-Type Assignments?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cho, Hyun-Jeong; Kingston, Neal

2014-01-01

We interviewed special educators (a) whose students with disabilities (SWDs) were proficient on the 2008 general education assessment but were assigned to the 2009 alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS), and (b) whose students with mild disabilities took the 2008 alternate assessment based on alternate achievement…

Acquired Aplastic Anemia: What Have We Learned and What Is in the Horizon?

PubMed

Savaşan, Süreyya

2018-06-01

Acquired aplastic anemia (aAA) characterized by peripheral pancytopenia and bone marrow aplasia is a rare and serious disorder. Differential diagnosis includes constitutional bone marrow failure syndromes and myelodysplastic disorders. Autoimmune reaction to altered hematopoietic stem cells highlights the underlying mechanism. Matched related donor allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the ideal pediatric treatment; alternative approaches include immunosuppressive therapy and use of eltrombopag. Progression to clonal disorders can occur. Recently, alternative donor hematopoietic stem cell transplantation outcomes have significantly improved. Despite advances, aAA continues to be a challenge for hematologists. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Breakfast with glycomacropeptide compared with amino acids suppresses plasma ghrelin levels in individuals with phenylketonuria

PubMed Central

MacLeod, Erin L.; Clayton, Murray K.; van Calcar, Sandra C.; Ney, Denise M.

2010-01-01

Phenylketonuria (PKU) requires a lifelong low-phenylalanine (phe) diet where protein needs are met by consumption of a phe-free amino acid (AA) formula; complaints of persistent hunger are common. Foods made with glycomacropeptide (GMP), an intact protein that contains minimal phe and may promote satiety, provide an alternative to AA formula. The objective was to assess the ability of a GMP breakfast to promote satiety and affect plasma concentrations of AAs, insulin, and the appetite stimulating hormone ghrelin in those with PKU, when compared to an AA-based breakfast. Eleven PKU subjects (8 adults and 3 boys ages 11–14) served as their own controls in an inpatient metabolic study with two 4-day treatments: an AA-based diet followed by a diet replacing all AA formula with GMP foods. Plasma concentrations of AAs, insulin and ghrelin were obtained before and/or 180 minutes after breakfast. Satiety was assessed using a visual analog scale before, immediately after and 180 minutes after breakfast. Postprandial ghrelin concentration was significantly lower (p=0.03) with GMP compared to an AA-based breakfast, with no difference in fasting ghrelin. Lower postprandial ghrelin concentrations were associated with greater feelings of fullness 180 minutes after breakfast suggesting greater satiety with GMP compared to AAs. Postprandial concentrations of insulin and total plasma AAs were higher after a GMP breakfast compared to an AA-based breakfast consistent with slower absorption of AAs from GMP. These results show sustained ghrelin suppression, and suggest greater satiety with ingestion of a meal containing GMP compared with AAs. PMID:20466571

Emergence and Evolution

PubMed Central

Bullwinkle, Tammy J.

2013-01-01

The aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) are essential components of the protein synthesis machinery responsible for defining the genetic code by pairing the correct amino acids to their cognate tRNAs. The aaRSs are an ancient enzyme family believed to have origins that may predate the last common ancestor and as such they provide insights into the evolution and development of the extant genetic code. Although the aaRSs have long been viewed as a highly conserved group of enzymes, findings within the last couple of decades have started to demonstrate how diverse and versatile these enzymes really are. Beyond their central role in translation, aaRSs and their numerous homologs have evolved a wide array of alternative functions both inside and outside translation. Current understanding of the emergence of the aaRSs, and their subsequent evolution into a functionally diverse enzyme family, are discussed in this chapter. PMID:23478877

Plasma Lactate Dehydrogenase Levels Predict Mortality in Acute Aortic Syndromes: A Diagnostic Accuracy and Observational Outcome Study.

PubMed

Morello, Fulvio; Ravetti, Anna; Nazerian, Peiman; Liedl, Giovanni; Veglio, Maria Grazia; Battista, Stefania; Vanni, Simone; Pivetta, Emanuele; Montrucchio, Giuseppe; Mengozzi, Giulio; Rinaldi, Mauro; Moiraghi, Corrado; Lupia, Enrico

2016-02-01

In acute aortic syndromes (AAS), organ malperfusion represents a key event impacting both on diagnosis and outcome. Increased levels of plasma lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), a biomarker of malperfusion, have been reported in AAS, but the performance of LDH for the diagnosis of AAS and the relation of LDH with outcome in AAS have not been evaluated so far.This was a bi-centric prospective diagnostic accuracy study and a cohort outcome study. From 2008 to 2014, patients from 2 Emergency Departments suspected of having AAS underwent LDH assay at presentation. A final diagnosis was obtained by aortic imaging. Patients diagnosed with AAS were followed-up for in-hospital mortality.One thousand five hundred seventy-eight consecutive patients were clinically eligible, and 999 patients were included in the study. The final diagnosis was AAS in 201 (20.1%) patients. Median LDH was 424 U/L (interquartile range [IQR] 367-557) in patients with AAS and 383 U/L (IQR 331-460) in patients with alternative diagnoses (P < 0.001). Using a cutoff of 450 U/L, the sensitivity of LDH for AAS was 44% (95% confidence interval [CI] 37-51) and the specificity was 73% (95% CI 69-76). Overall in-hospital mortality for AAS was 23.8%. Mortality was 32.6% in patients with LDH ≥ 450 U/L and 16.8% in patients with LDH < 450 U/L (P = 0.006). Following stratification according to LDH quartiles, in-hospital mortality was 12% in the first (lowest) quartile, 18.4% in the second quartile, 23.5% in the third quartile, and 38% in the fourth (highest) quartile (P = 0.01). LDH ≥ 450 U/L was further identified as an independent predictor of death in AAS both in univariate and in stepwise logistic regression analyses (odds ratio 2.28, 95% CI 1.11-4.66; P = 0.025), in addition to well-established risk markers such as advanced age and hypotension. Subgroup analysis showed excess mortality in association with LDH ≥ 450 U/L in elderly, hemodynamically stable and in nonsurgically treated patients.Plasma LDH constitutes a biomarker of poor outcome in patients with AAS. LDH is a rapid and universally available assay that could be used to improve risk stratification and to individualize treatment in patient groups where options are controversial.

Plasma Lactate Dehydrogenase Levels Predict Mortality in Acute Aortic Syndromes

PubMed Central

Morello, Fulvio; Ravetti, Anna; Nazerian, Peiman; Liedl, Giovanni; Veglio, Maria Grazia; Battista, Stefania; Vanni, Simone; Pivetta, Emanuele; Montrucchio, Giuseppe; Mengozzi, Giulio; Rinaldi, Mauro; Moiraghi, Corrado; Lupia, Enrico

2016-01-01

Abstract In acute aortic syndromes (AAS), organ malperfusion represents a key event impacting both on diagnosis and outcome. Increased levels of plasma lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), a biomarker of malperfusion, have been reported in AAS, but the performance of LDH for the diagnosis of AAS and the relation of LDH with outcome in AAS have not been evaluated so far. This was a bi-centric prospective diagnostic accuracy study and a cohort outcome study. From 2008 to 2014, patients from 2 Emergency Departments suspected of having AAS underwent LDH assay at presentation. A final diagnosis was obtained by aortic imaging. Patients diagnosed with AAS were followed-up for in-hospital mortality. One thousand five hundred seventy-eight consecutive patients were clinically eligible, and 999 patients were included in the study. The final diagnosis was AAS in 201 (20.1%) patients. Median LDH was 424 U/L (interquartile range [IQR] 367–557) in patients with AAS and 383 U/L (IQR 331–460) in patients with alternative diagnoses (P < 0.001). Using a cutoff of 450 U/L, the sensitivity of LDH for AAS was 44% (95% confidence interval [CI] 37–51) and the specificity was 73% (95% CI 69–76). Overall in-hospital mortality for AAS was 23.8%. Mortality was 32.6% in patients with LDH ≥ 450 U/L and 16.8% in patients with LDH < 450 U/L (P = 0.006). Following stratification according to LDH quartiles, in-hospital mortality was 12% in the first (lowest) quartile, 18.4% in the second quartile, 23.5% in the third quartile, and 38% in the fourth (highest) quartile (P = 0.01). LDH ≥ 450 U/L was further identified as an independent predictor of death in AAS both in univariate and in stepwise logistic regression analyses (odds ratio 2.28, 95% CI 1.11–4.66; P = 0.025), in addition to well-established risk markers such as advanced age and hypotension. Subgroup analysis showed excess mortality in association with LDH ≥ 450 U/L in elderly, hemodynamically stable and in nonsurgically treated patients. Plasma LDH constitutes a biomarker of poor outcome in patients with AAS. LDH is a rapid and universally available assay that could be used to improve risk stratification and to individualize treatment in patient groups where options are controversial. PMID:26871831

Models for Conducting Economic Analysis of Alternative Fuel Vehicles.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-06-01

where regenerative braking is employed (5) Efficient, safe, and reliable operation (6) Overload protection for motors, motor reversing, and charging of...current to the motor in order to control the flow of power. [Ref. 3:p. 171] The regenerative braking mentioned in (4) above is a means of charging the...recovered electrically and used to charge the battery, thus extending the range of the vehicle. In regenerative braking , the electric vehicle’s V 23 AA Sg

Vitamin D Receptor ApaI (rs7975232) Polymorphism Confers Decreased Risk of Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Overall and African Population, but not in Asians: Evidence from a Meta-analysis.

PubMed

Areeshi, Mohammed Y; Mandal, Raju K; Wahid, Mohd; Dar, Sajad A; Jawed, Arshad; Lohani, Mohtashim; Abdallah, Amir Mahgoub Awadelkareem; Khan, Saif; Panda, Aditya K; Mishra, B N; Haque, Shafiul

2017-09-01

The involvement of the VDR ApaI gene polymorphism in the development of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) has been reported by numerous published studies and yielded inconsistent results. The present meta-analysis evaluated the association of VDR ApaI polymorphism and risk of PTB occurrence. PubMed (Medline), EMBASE and Google Scholar web-databases were searched and a meta-analysis was performed by calculating the pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). This meta-analysis included a total of 14 eligible studies comprising of 1958 confirmed PTB cases and 2938 controls. We observed decreased risk of PTB in allelic (a vs. A: p =0.003; OR=0.873, 95% CI=0.798 to 0.955), homozygous (aa vs. AA: p =0.006; OR=0.761, 95% CI=0.626 to 0.924), dominant (aa+Aa vs. AA: p =0.039; OR=0.874, 95% CI=0.769 to 0.993) and recessive (aa vs. AA+Aa: p =0.025; OR=0.819, 95% CI=0.688 to 0.975) genetic models. During subgroup analysis, allele (a vs. A: p =0.005; OR=0.846, 95% CI=0.753 to 0.951), homozygous (aa vs. AA: p =0.002; OR=0.662, 95% CI=0.513 to 0.854) and recessive genetic models (aa vs. AA+Aa: p=0.003; OR=0.709, 95% CI=0.566 to 0.889) demonstrated decreased PTB risk in African population. However, no significant association was observed in Asian population. In conclusion, VDR ApaI polymorphism is significantly associated with decreased risk of PTB for in overall and African population, but not in Asians. © 2017 by the Association of Clinical Scientists, Inc.

β-Cell lipotoxicity in response to free fatty acid elevation in prepubertal youth: African American versus Caucasian contrast.

PubMed

Michaliszyn, Sara F; Bonadonna, Riccardo C; Sjaarda, Lindsey A; Lee, Sojung; Farchoukh, Lama; Arslanian, Silva A

2013-08-01

Prepubertal African American (AA) youth compared with their Caucasian (C) peers have higher insulin secretion, which correlates positively with free fatty acid (FFA) concentration. In our continued efforts to explain the racial disparity in insulinemia, and because FFAs modulate insulin secretion, we hypothesized that AA youth would have a greater response to FFA-induced β-cell insulin secretion than C youth. We compared the short-term effects of FFA elevation on fasting and glucose-stimulated C-peptide-modeled insulin secretion in prepubertal normal-weight AA versus C peers during a 2-h hyperglycemic clamp (12.5 mmol/L) on two occasions: 1) infusion of normal saline and 2) infusion of 20% intralipid (IL). During IL infusion, insulin sensitivity (IS) declined comparably in AA and C youth. Glucose sensitivity of first- and second-phase insulin secretion showed a significant condition × race interaction being higher in AA youth. Disposition index, β-cell function relative to IS, declined with IL infusion in AA and C youth, with a significantly greater decrease in Cs compared with AAs. In conclusion, AA and C prepubertal youth both demonstrated a decline in β-cell function relative to IS during IL infusion, indicative of acute lipotoxicity. The greater decline in C youth compared with AAs may suggest that C youth are more susceptible to β-cell lipotoxicity than AA youth, or alternatively, that AA youth are hypersensitive to FFA stimulation of β-cell insulin secretion, consistent with our theory.

42 CFR 54a.8 - Right to services from an alternative provider.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... DISCRETIONARY FUNDING UNDER TITLE V OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT, 42 U.S.C. 290aa, ET SEQ., FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT SERVICES § 54a.8 Right to services from an alternative provider. (a... Alcohol and Drug Abuse Patient Records”); (iv) Upon referring a program beneficiary to an alternative...

42 CFR 54a.8 - Right to services from an alternative provider.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... DISCRETIONARY FUNDING UNDER TITLE V OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT, 42 U.S.C. 290aa, ET SEQ., FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT SERVICES § 54a.8 Right to services from an alternative provider. (a... Alcohol and Drug Abuse Patient Records”); (iv) Upon referring a program beneficiary to an alternative...

42 CFR 54a.8 - Right to services from an alternative provider.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... DISCRETIONARY FUNDING UNDER TITLE V OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT, 42 U.S.C. 290aa, ET SEQ., FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT SERVICES § 54a.8 Right to services from an alternative provider. (a... Alcohol and Drug Abuse Patient Records”); (iv) Upon referring a program beneficiary to an alternative...

42 CFR 54a.8 - Right to services from an alternative provider.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... DISCRETIONARY FUNDING UNDER TITLE V OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT, 42 U.S.C. 290aa, et seq., FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT SERVICES § 54a.8 Right to services from an alternative provider. (a... Alcohol and Drug Abuse Patient Records”); (iv) Upon referring a program beneficiary to an alternative...

42 CFR 54a.8 - Right to services from an alternative provider.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... DISCRETIONARY FUNDING UNDER TITLE V OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT, 42 U.S.C. 290aa, et seq., FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT SERVICES § 54a.8 Right to services from an alternative provider. (a... Alcohol and Drug Abuse Patient Records”); (iv) Upon referring a program beneficiary to an alternative...

Targeted Metabolomics Approach To Detect the Misuse of Steroidal Aromatase Inhibitors in Equine Sports by Biomarker Profiling.

PubMed

Chan, George Ho Man; Ho, Emmie Ngai Man; Leung, David Kwan Kon; Wong, Kin Sing; Wan, Terence See Ming

2016-01-05

The use of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) is prohibited in both human and equine sports. The conventional approach in doping control testing for AAS (as well as other prohibited substances) is accomplished by the direct detection of target AAS or their characteristic metabolites in biological samples using hyphenated techniques such as gas chromatography or liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Such an approach, however, falls short when dealing with unknown designer steroids where reference materials and their pharmacokinetics are not available. In addition, AASs with fast elimination times render the direct detection approach ineffective as the detection window is short. A targeted metabolomics approach is a plausible alternative to the conventional direct detection approach for controlling the misuse of AAS in sports. Because the administration of AAS of the same class may trigger similar physiological responses or effects in the body, it may be possible to detect such administrations by monitoring changes in the endogenous steroidal expression profile. This study attempts to evaluate the viability of using the targeted metabolomics approach to detect the administration of steroidal aromatase inhibitors, namely androst-4-ene-3,6,17-trione (6-OXO) and androsta-1,4,6-triene-3,17-dione (ATD), in horses. Total (free and conjugated) urinary concentrations of 31 endogenous steroids were determined by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for a group of 2 resting and 2 in-training thoroughbred geldings treated with either 6-OXO or ATD. Similar data were also obtained from a control (untreated) group of in-training thoroughbred geldings (n = 28). Statistical processing and chemometric procedures using principle component analysis and orthogonal projection to latent structures-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) have highlighted 7 potential biomarkers that could be used to differentiate urine samples obtained from the control and the treated groups. On the basis of this targeted metabolomic approach, the administration of 6-OXO and ATD could be detected for much longer relative to that of the conventional direct detection approach.

Investigation of copper (Cu2+) adsorption performances and gamma radiation dose effect of polymeric hydrogel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hassan, Safia; Yasin, Tariq; Imran, Zahid; Batool, Syeda Sitwat

2018-02-01

In present study, series of gamma irradiated poly(acrylic acid)/Penytriethoxytrisilane (PTES) based hydrogels were synthesized. The hydrogels were used for the adsorption of Cu2+ from the aqueous solution. Batch adsorption experiments were performed by varying contact time (0-10 hours), pH value (2-6), hydrogels weight (15-155 mg) and initial Cu2+ concentration (0.003-90 mg/L). The results indicated that lowering the gamma irradiation dose (30-15 kGy) and PTES amount (1.65-0.83 μmol) into hydrogel polymeric networks, improved the initial rate of adsorption and final adsorption capacity of hydrogel for Cu2+. AA40/15 had 143.4mg/g Cu2+ adsorption capacity higher than AA80/30 which is 106.0mg/g. Hydrogels exhibited maximum o adsorption capacity for Cu2+ within a wide pH range. All adsorption data was described by the pseudo—first order and second order kinetic model equations and isotherm data by Langmuir model. FTIR spectra analysis before and after adsorption of Cu2+ on the AA hydrogels gave detail analysis of adsorption mechanism. The behavior of adsorption expressed that the enhanced adsorption capacity was due to the porous structure and e presence of functional groups onto surface of adsorbate. It is expected this polymeric hydrogel has potential to work as alternative biomedical sorbents and environmental use as pH altered.

Submerged Culture of Grifola gargal and G. sordulenta (Higher Basidiomycetes) from Argentina as a Source of Mycelia with Antioxidant Activity.

PubMed

Postemsky, Pablo Daniel; Curvetto, Néstor Raúl

2015-01-01

Submerged culture is an alternative mycelium source for Grifola gargal and G. sordulenta, two rare edible mushrooms related to Grifola frondosa. This work studies their mycelia as a source of antioxidants. The efficient concentrations of methanolic extracts in both radical scavenging (RS) and reducing power (RP) abilities in G. gargal and in G. sordulenta showed a high antioxidant activity. In the experimental design used, the antioxidant activity mainly depended on the culture conditions rather than on the media composition. Irrespective of the basal culture medium, mycelium methanolic extracts of G. sordulenta obtained from culture in Erlenmeyer flasks showed equivalents to ascorbic acid (EQ(AA)) RS-EQ(AA) and RP-EQ(AA) contents higher than the corresponding values obtained with jar cultures. Under stationary cultivation, G. sordulenta produced approximately 50% higher content in both RS-EQ(AA) and RP-EQ(AA) than the medicinal mushroom G. frondosa. Phenolics correlated with RS-EQ(AA) and RP-EQ(AA) in G. gargal and with RP-EQ(AA) in G. sordulenta; besides, thin-layer chromatography showed these compounds to be at least in part related to the RS capacity. It is concluded that G. gargal and G. sordulenta mycelia are excellent sources of antioxidant metabolites.

Dual roles for CoAA and its counterbalancing isoform CoAM in human kidney cell tumorigenesis

PubMed Central

Kang, Yun Kyoung; Schiff, Rachel; Ko, Lan; Wang, Tao; Tsai, Sophia Y.; Tsai, Ming-Jer; W. O’Malley, Bert

2008-01-01

Co-Activator Activator (CoAA) has been reported to be a coactivator that regulates steroid receptor-mediated transcription and alternative RNA splicing. Herein we show that CoAA is a dual-function coregulator that inhibits G1/S transition in human kidney cells and suppresses anchorage independent growth and xenograft tumor formation. Suppression occurs in part by downregulating c-myc and its downstream effectors ccnd1 and skp2, and causing accumulation of p27/Kip1 protein. In this cellular setting, CoAA directly represses the proto-oncogene, c-myc by recruiting HDAC3 protein and decreasing both the acetylation of histone H3 and the presence of RNA polymerase II on the c-myc promoter. Interestingly, a splicing isoform of CoAA, Coactivator Modulator (CoAM), antagonizes CoAA-induced G1/S transition and growth inhibition by negatively regulating the mRNA levels of the endogenous CoAA isoform. In addition, we found that expression of CoAA protein is significantly decreased in human renal cell carcinoma as compared to normal kidney. Our study presents evidence that CoAA is a potential tumor suppressor in renal carcinoma and that CoAM is a counterbalancing splice-isoform. This is so far the only example of a nuclear receptor coregulator involved in suppression of kidney cancer, and suggests potentially significant new roles for coregulators in renal cancer biology. PMID:18829545

The obligate respiratory supercomplex from Actinobacteria.

PubMed

Kao, Wei-Chun; Kleinschroth, Thomas; Nitschke, Wolfgang; Baymann, Frauke; Neehaul, Yashvin; Hellwig, Petra; Richers, Sebastian; Vonck, Janet; Bott, Michael; Hunte, Carola

2016-10-01

Actinobacteria are closely linked to human life as industrial producers of bioactive molecules and as human pathogens. Respiratory cytochrome bcc complex and cytochrome aa3 oxidase are key components of their aerobic energy metabolism. They form a supercomplex in the actinobacterial species Corynebacterium glutamicum. With comprehensive bioinformatics and phylogenetic analysis we show that genes for cyt bcc-aa3 supercomplex are characteristic for Actinobacteria (Actinobacteria and Acidimicrobiia, except the anaerobic orders Actinomycetales and Bifidobacteriales). An obligatory supercomplex is likely, due to the lack of genes encoding alternative electron transfer partners such as mono-heme cyt c. Instead, subunit QcrC of bcc complex, here classified as short di-heme cyt c, will provide the exclusive electron transfer link between the complexes as in C. glutamicum. Purified to high homogeneity, the C. glutamicum bcc-aa3 supercomplex contained all subunits and cofactors as analyzed by SDS-PAGE, BN-PAGE, absorption and EPR spectroscopy. Highly uniform supercomplex particles in electron microscopy analysis support a distinct structural composition. The supercomplex possesses a dimeric stoichiometry with a ratio of a-type, b-type and c-type hemes close to 1:1:1. Redox titrations revealed a low potential bcc complex (Em(ISP)=+160mV, Em(bL)=-291mV, Em(bH)=-163mV, Em(cc)=+100mV) fined-tuned for oxidation of menaquinol and a mixed potential aa3 oxidase (Em(CuA)=+150mV, Em(a/a3)=+143/+317mV) mediating between low and high redox potential to accomplish dioxygen reduction. The generated molecular model supports a stable assembled supercomplex with defined architecture which permits energetically efficient coupling of menaquinol oxidation and dioxygen reduction in one supramolecular entity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Functional outcomes in African-Americans after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy.

PubMed

DeCastro, G Joel; Jayram, Gautam; Razmaria, Aria; Shalhav, Arieh; Zagaja, Gregory P

2012-08-01

Previous studies have demonstrated differences in surgical outcomes after radical prostatectomy based on ethnicity. We compared sexual and urinary outcomes in African-American (AA) patients 6 and 12 months after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) with those of non-AA patients. We reviewed our RARP database at our institution for patients with at least 12 months of follow-up. Erectile function was defined using the University of California, Los Angeles Prostate Cancer Index as erections "firm enough for masturbation and foreplay" or "firm enough for intercourse," while urinary continence was defined as being "pad free." Only patients who were potent and pad free preoperatively were included in the analysis. Multivariate logistic regression was used to compare postoperative potency and urinary pad-free status between AA and non-AA patients while controlling for pertinent demographic, clinical, and pathologic variables. In the urinary continence analysis, 140 AA patients and 576 non-AA patients were included, compared with 105 AAs and 500 non-AA patients who were included in the analysis of sexual function. At 12 months postoperatively, a smaller proportion of AA patients were potent compared with non-AA patients (60% vs 76.4%, P=0.001). Similarly, we found a lower incidence of pad-free status for AA patients at 12 months postoperatively (55.7% vs 69.8%, P=0.039). Similar functional results were found at 6 months postoperatively for both analysis groups. AA men appear to have worse urinary and sexual outcomes at 12 months after RARP compared with non-AA patients. At 6 months, there is no statistically significant difference. Further, longer-term studies are needed to validate these results.

Racial variation in tubal sterilization rates: The role of patient-level factors

PubMed Central

Borrero, Sonya; Abebe, Kaleab; Dehlendorf, Christine; Schwarz, Eleanor Bimla; Creinin, Mitchell D.; Nikolajski, Cara; Ibrahim, Said

2010-01-01

Objective To assess racial differences in attitudes and knowledge about sterilization. Design Cross-sectional survey Setting Questionnaires were mailed to participants’ home addresses Patients 193 women aged 18–45 who had undergone tubal sterilization. Intervention(s) None Main Outcome Measure Attitudes and knowledge about tubal sterilization and awareness of contraceptive alternatives Results We received 193 completed surveys (64% response rate). AA woman were more likely to have a family member who had undergone tubal sterilization, to report that their mothers influenced their sterilization decisions, and to report that prior unintended pregnancy and desire to avoid insertion of a foreign object were very important factors in their decision to choose sterilization over other methods. Compared to white women, AA women more often thought that sterilization reversal could easily restore fertility (62 % vs 36%); that a woman’s sterilization would reverse itself after 5 years (60% vs 23%); and that a man cannot ejaculate after vasectomy (38% vs 13%). Fewer AA women had ever heard of intrauterine contraception (90% vs 98%). Racial differences in knowledge remained statistically significant after adjusting for socioeconomic confounders. Conclusions Misinformation about sterilization and limited awareness of contraceptive alternatives among AA women may contribute to racial disparities in tubal sterilization rates. PMID:20579640

Rapid quantification of underivatized amino acids in plasma by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) coupled with tandem mass-spectrometry.

PubMed

Prinsen, Hubertus C M T; Schiebergen-Bronkhorst, B G M; Roeleveld, M W; Jans, J J M; de Sain-van der Velden, M G M; Visser, G; van Hasselt, P M; Verhoeven-Duif, N M

2016-09-01

Amino acidopathies are a class of inborn errors of metabolism (IEM) that can be diagnosed by analysis of amino acids (AA) in plasma. Current strategies for AA analysis include cation exchange HPLC with post-column ninhydrin derivatization, GC-MS, and LC-MS/MS-related methods. Major drawbacks of the current methods are time-consuming procedures, derivative problems, problems with retention, and MS-sensitivity. The use of hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) columns is an ideal separation mode for hydrophilic compounds like AA. Here we report a HILIC-method for analysis of 36 underivatized AA in plasma to detect defects in AA metabolism that overcomes the major drawbacks of other methods. A rapid, sensitive, and specific method was developed for the analysis of AA in plasma without derivatization using HILIC coupled with tandem mass-spectrometry (Xevo TQ, Waters). Excellent separation of 36 AA (24 quantitative/12 qualitative) in plasma was achieved on an Acquity BEH Amide column (2.1×100 mm, 1.7 μm) in a single MS run of 18 min. Plasma of patients with a known IEM in AA metabolism was analyzed and all patients were correctly identified. The reported method analyzes 36 AA in plasma within 18 min and provides baseline separation of isomeric AA such as leucine and isoleucine. No separation was obtained for isoleucine and allo-isoleucine. The method is applicable to study defects in AA metabolism in plasma.

Methods for Kinetic and Thermodynamic Analysis of Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases

PubMed Central

Francklyn, Christopher S.; First, Eric A.; Perona, John J.; Hou, Ya-Ming

2008-01-01

The accuracy of protein synthesis relies on the ability of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) to discriminate among true and near cognate substrates. To date, analysis of aaRSs function, including identification of residues of aaRS participating in amino acid and tRNA discrimination, has largely relied on the steady state kinetic pyrophosphate exchange and aminoacylation assays. Pre-steady state kinetic studies investigating a more limited set of aaRS systems have also been undertaken to assess the energetic contributions of individual enzyme-substrate interactions, particularly in the adenylation half reaction. More recently, a renewed interest in the use of rapid kinetics approaches for aaRSs has led to their application to several new aaRS systems, resulting in the identification of mechanistic differences that distinguish the two structurally distinct aaRS classes. Here, we review the techniques for thermodynamic and kinetic analysis of aaRS function. Following a brief survey of methods for the preparation of materials and for steady state kinetic analysis, this review will describe pre-steady state kinetic methods employing rapid quench and stopped-flow fluorescence for analysis of the activation and aminoacyl transfer reactions. Application of these methods to any aaRS system allows the investigator to derive detailed kinetic mechanisms for the activation and aminoacyl transfer reactions, permitting issues of substrate specificity, stereochemical mechanism, and inhibitor interaction to be addressed in a rigorous and quantitative fashion. PMID:18241792

Baseline Characteristics of African Americans in the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT)

PubMed Central

Still, Carolyn H.; Craven, Timothy E.; Freedman, Barry I.; Van Buren, Peter; Sink, Kaycee M.; Killeen, Anthony A.; Bates, Jeffrey T.; Bee, Alberta; Contreras, Gabriel; Oparil, Suzanne; Pedley, Carolyn; Wall, Barry; White, Suzanne; Woods, Delia; Rodriguez, Carlos; Wright, Jackson T.

2015-01-01

The Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT) will compare treatment to a systolic blood pressure goal of <120 mmHg to treatment to the currently recommended goal of <140 mmHg for effects on incident cardiovascular, renal, and neurologic outcomes including cognitive decline. Objectives The objectives of this analysis are to compare baseline characteristics of African American (AA) and non-AA SPRINT participants and explore factors associated with uncontrolled blood pressure (BP) by race. Methods SPRINT enrolled 9,361 hypertensive participants over age 50. This cross-sectional analysis examines sociodemographics, baseline characteristics, and study measures among AAs compared to non-AAs. Results AAs made up 31% of participants. AAs (compared to non-AAs) were younger and less frequently male, had less education, and were more likely uninsured or covered by Medicaid. In addition, AAs scored lower on the cognitive screening test when compared to non-AAs. Multivariable logistic regression analysis found BP control rates to <140/90 mmHg were higher for AAs who were male, had higher number of chronic diseases, were on diuretic treatment, and had better medication adherence. Conclusion SPRINT is well poised to examine the effects of SBP targets on clinical outcomes as well as predictors influencing BP control in AAs. PMID:26320890

77 FR 18151 - Discharge Removal Equipment for Vessels Carrying Oil

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-27

... Facility Response Plans for Oil: 2003 Removal Equipment Requirements and Alternative Technology Revisions... ``Vessel and Facility Response Plans for Oil: 2003 Removal Equipment Requirements and Alternative... CGD 90-068] RIN 1625-AA02, Formerly 2115-AD66 Discharge Removal Equipment for Vessels Carrying Oil...

The ILSI-HESI Project on Animal Alternative Needs in Environmental Risk Assessment

EPA Science Inventory

The ILSI Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI) established a project in 2009 on Animal Alternatives in Environmental Risk Assessment (AA-ERA) following a successful two-year emerging issues assessment of the topic. The early stages of this work included the execution...

Wear Resistance Increase by Friction Stir Processing for Partial Magnesium Replacement in Aluminium Alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balos, Sebastian; Labus Zlatanovic, Danka; Janjatovic, Petar; Dramicanin, Miroslav; Rajnovic, Dragan; Sidjanin, Leposava

2018-03-01

In this paper, the influence of friction stir processing (FSP) was evaluated as a way of increasing mechanical properties and a way of replacing the magnesium content in aluminium alloys. FSP was done on AA5754 H111 aluminium alloy, containing 3 % Mg, by using various types of tools and different welding speeds, rotational speeds and tilt angles. Wear test was done against SiC abrasive papers. SiC was used to simulate extreme abrasive wear conditions. The wear test was done on untreated AA5754 specimens, processed AA5754 specimens and untreated AA5083 H111 specimens, the latter containing 4.5 % Mg. AA5083 was chosen as an alternative to AA5754, but with a significantly higher Mg content. Base material microhardness was 60 HV1 and 80 HV1 for AA5754 and AA5083 alloys respectively. To find the effect of FSP on AA5754 alloy, microstructures were studied, mainly grain size in the stir zone. It was found, that an elevated processing and rotational speed, without tilt angle and the tool without a reservoir resulted in an increase in hardness of the AA5754 to 70 HV1, but with the occurrence of tunneling defect and the wear rate of 79.3 mg. Lower FSP parameters and a tilted tool with a reservoir resulted in microhardness of 68 HV1 and wear rate of 68.2 mg without tunneling. These wear values are lower than those obtained with unmodified Al-alloys: AA5754 97.2 mg and AA5083 86.3 mg. An increased wear resistance can be attributed to the combined effect of grain boundary strengthening mechanism and solid solution strengthening, versus only the latter in untreated alloys.

Single tag for total carbohydrate analysis.

PubMed

Anumula, Kalyan Rao

2014-07-15

Anthranilic acid (2-aminobenzoic acid, 2-AA) has the remarkable property of reacting rapidly with every type of reducing carbohydrate. Reactivity of 2-AA with carbohydrates in aqueous solutions surpasses all other tags reported to date. This unique capability is attributed to the strategically located -COOH which accelerates Schiff base formation. Monosaccharides, oligosaccharides (N-, O-, and lipid linked and glycans in secretory fluids), glycosaminoglycans, and polysaccharides can be easily labeled with 2-AA. With 2-AA, labeling is simple in aqueous solutions containing proteins, peptides, buffer salts, and other ingredients (e.g., PNGase F, glycosidase, and transferase reaction mixtures). In contrast, other tags require relatively pure glycans for labeling in anhydrous dimethyl sulfoxide-acetic acid medium. Acidic conditions are known to cause desialylation, thus requiring a great deal of attention to sample preparation. Simpler labeling is achieved with 2-AA within 30-60 min in mild acetate-borate buffered solution. 2-AA provides the highest sensitivity and resolution in chromatographic methods for carbohydrate analysis in a simple manner. Additionally, 2-AA is uniquely qualified for quantitative analysis by mass spectrometry in the negative mode. Analyses of 2-AA-labeled carbohydrates by electrophoresis and other techniques have been reported. Examples cited here demonstrate that 2-AA is the universal tag for total carbohydrate analysis. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Glycomacropeptide in children with phenylketonuria: does its phenylalanine content affect blood phenylalanine control?

PubMed

Daly, A; Evans, S; Chahal, S; Santra, S; MacDonald, A

2017-08-01

In phenylketonuria (PKU), there are no data available for children with respect to evaluating casein glycomacropeptide (CGMP) as an alternative to phenylalanine-free protein substitutes [Phe-free L-amino acid (AA)]. CGMP contains a residual amount of phenylalanine, which may alter blood phenylalanine control. In a prospective 6-month pilot study, we investigated the effect on blood phenylalanine control of CGMP-amino acid (CGMP-AA) protein substitute in 22 PKU subjects (13 boys, nine girls), median age (range) 11 years (6-16 years). Twelve received CGMP-AA and nine received Phe-free L-AA, (1 CGMP-AA withdrawal). Subjects partially or wholly replaced Phe-free L-AA with CGMP-AA. If blood phenylalanine exceeded the target range, the CGMP-AA dose was reduced and replaced with Phe-free L-amino acids. The control group remained on Phe-free L-AAs. Phenylalanine, tyrosine and Phe : Tyr ratio concentrations were compared with the results for the previous year. In the CGMP-AA group, there was a significant increase in blood phenylalanine concentrations (pre-study, 275 μmol L -1 ; CGMP-AA, 317 μmol L -1 ; P = 0.02), a decrease in tyrosine concentrations (pre-study, 50 μmol L -1 ; CGMP-AA, 40 μmol L -1 ; P = 0.03) and an increase in Phe : Tyr ratios (pre-study, Phe : Tyr 4.9:1; CGMP-AA, Phe : Tyr 8:1; P = 0.02). In the control group there was a non-significant fall in phenylalanine concentrations (pre-study 325μmol/L: study 280μmol/L [p = 0.9], and no significant changes for tyrosine or phe/tyr ratios [p = 0.9]. Children taking the CGMP-AA found it more acceptable to L-AA. Blood phenylalanine control declined with CGMP-AA but, by titrating the dose of CGMP-AA, blood phenylalanine control remained within target range. The additional intake of phenylalanine may have contributed to the change in blood phenylalanine concentration. CGMP-AA use requires careful monitoring in children. © 2017 The British Dietetic Association Ltd.

Determination of silicon in biomass and products of pyrolysis process via high-resolution continuum source atomic absorption spectrometry.

PubMed

Nakadi, Flávio V; Prodanov, Caroline; Boschetti, Wiliam; Vale, Maria Goreti R; Welz, Bernhard; de Andrade, Jailson B

2018-03-01

Thermochemical processes can convert the biomass into fuels, such as bio-oil. The biomass submitted to pyrolysis process, such as fibers, are generally rich in silicon, an element that can lead to damages in an engine when there is high concentration in a fuel. High-resolution continuum source atomic absorption spectrometry (HR-CS AAS) is an interesting alternative for Si determination in the products and byproducts of the pyrolysis process because, besides the flame (F) and graphite furnace (GF) atomizers, it has enhanced the application of direct analysis of solid samples (SS) within GF. This study aimed the development of methods to determine Si in biomass samples, their products and byproducts using HR-CS AAS. A high-resolution continuum source atomic absorption spectrometer contrAA 700 equipped with F and GF atomizers was used throughout the study. HR-CS F AAS (λ = 251.611nm, 1 detection pixel, N 2 O/C 2 H 2 flame) was used to evaluate Si content in biomass and ash, after a microwave-assisted acid digestion with HNO 3 and HF. HR-CS GF AAS (T pyr = 1400°C, T atom = 2650°C) has evaluated Si in pyrolysis water and bio-oil at 251.611nm, and in peach pit biomass and ash at 221.174nm using SS, both wavelengths with 1 detection pixel. Rhodium (300μg) was applied as permanent modifier and 10μgPd + 6μg Mg were pipetted onto the standards/samples at each analysis. Three different biomass samples were studied: palm tree fiber, coconut fiber and peach pit, and three certified reference materials (CRM) were used to verify the accuracy of the methods. The figures of merit were LOD 0.09-20mgkg -1 , and LOQ 0.3-20mgkg -1 , considering all the methods. There were no significant differences between the CRM certified values and the determined ones, using a Student t-test with a confidence interval of 95% (n = 5). Si concentration ranged from 0.11-0.92% mm -1 , 1.1-1.7mgkg -1 , 3.3-13mgkg -1 , and 0.41-1.4%mm -1 , in biomass, bio-oil, pyrolysis water and ash, respectively. Si remained mostly in the ash, leading to a mass fraction of up to 103%, even when the Si loss is not considered. Silicon concentration in bio-oil was below 1.7mgkg -1 , which is suitable for its application as a fuel. The developed methods using HR-CS AAS are suitable for Si determination in biomass, bio-oil, pyrolysis water, and ash. The application of bio-oil as an alternative fuel would be possible evaluating its Si content due to its low levels. The mass balance for Si has proved to be an important tool in order to evaluate the correct disposal of pyrolysis process byproducts. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Acrylamide analysis in food by liquid chromatographic and gas chromatographic methods.

PubMed

Elbashir, Abdalla A; Omar, Mei M Ali; Ibrahim, Wan Aini Wan; Schmitz, Oliver J; Aboul-Enein, Hassan Y

2014-01-01

Acrylamide (AA) is a compound classified as carcinogenic to humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. It was first discovered to be present in certain heated processed food by the Swedish National Food Administration (SNFA) and University of Stockholm in early 2002. The major pathway for AA formation in food is the Maillard reaction between reducing sugar and the amino acid asparagine at high temperature. Since the discovery of AA's presence in food, many analytical methods have been developed for determination of AA contents in different food matrices. Also, several studies have been conducted to develop extraction procedures for AA from difficult food matrices. AA is a small, highly polar molecule, which makes its extraction and analysis challenging. Many articles and reviews have been published dealing with AA in food. The aim of the review is to discuss AA formation in food, the factors affecting AA formation and removal, AA exposure assessment, AA extraction and cleanup from food samples, and analytical methods used in AA determination, such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography (GC). Special attention is given to sample extraction and cleanup procedures and analytical techniques used for AA determination.

Binding assessment of two arachidonic-based synthetic derivatives of adrenalin with β-lactoglobulin: Molecular modeling and chemometrics approach.

PubMed

Gholami, S; Bordbar, A K; Akvan, N; Parastar, H; Fani, N; Gretskaya, N M; Bezuglov, V V; Haertlé, T

2015-12-01

A computational approach to predict the main binding modes of two adrenalin derivatives, arachidonoyl adrenalin (AA-AD) and arachidonoyl noradrenalin (AA-NOR) with the β-lactoglubuline (BLG) as a nano-milk protein carrier is presented and assessed by comparison to the UV-Vis absorption spectroscopic data using chemometric analysis. Analysis of the spectral data matrices by using the multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares (MCR-ALS) algorithm led to the pure concentration calculation and spectral profiles resolution of the chemical constituents and the apparent equilibrium constants computation. The negative values of entropy and enthalpy changes for both compound indicated the essential role of hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interactions as main driving forces in stabilizing protein-ligand complex. Computational studies predicted that both derivatives are situated in the calyx pose and remained in that pose during the whole time of simulation with no any significant protein structural changes which pointed that the BLG could be considered as a suitable carrier for these catecholamine compounds. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Alternative Locales for the Health Promotion of African American Men: A Survey of African American Men in Chicago Barbershops

PubMed Central

Moore, N. J.; Wright, M.; Gipson, J.; Keeter, M.; Cornelious, T.; Reed, D.; Russell, J.; Watson, K. S.; Murray, M.

2018-01-01

African American men (AA) carry unequal burdens of several conditions including cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and HIV. Engagement of diverse populations including AA men in research and health promotion practice is vital to examining the health disparities that continue to plague many racially and ethnically diverse communities. To date, there is little research on best practices that indicate locations, community areas and settings to engage AA men in research and health promotion. Traditionally, the AA church has been a key area to engage AA men and women. However, changing tides in attendance of AA parishioners require additional information to identify areas where AAs, particularly, AA men congregate. The AA barbershop has been identified as a place of social cohesion, cultural immersion and solidarity for AA men but specific sub-populations of AA men may be underrepresented. To further investigate additional locales where AA men congregate, this study engaged AA barbers and clients in several urban community barbershops in Chicago, Illinois. 127 AA men over age 18y/o receiving grooming services in 25 Chicago area barbershops across 14 predominantly AA communities were consented and recruited for a quantitative survey study. The self-administered surveys were completed in ~15 min and $10 compensation was provided to men. Descriptive statistics were reported for demographic variables and for frequency of responses for locations to find AA men of specific age ranges for health promotion and screening activities. Outside of the traditionally used churches or barbershops, the top recommended recruitment sites by age were: 18–29y/o− city park or a recreational center; 30–39y/o− gym, bars or the street; 40–49y/o− various stores, especially home improvement stores, and the mall; and 50y/o+- fast food restaurants in the mornings, such as McDonalds, and individual’s homes. The study participants also reported that locations where AA men congregate vary by age. Findings from this study illustrate that AA barbers and barbershops remain a key stakeholder in health promotion among AA men. The findings also demonstrate the need for additional research to examine best practices for identifying locations where diverse groups of AA men that vary by age and sexual orientation may congregate in order to support increased health promotion among AA men. PMID:27651166

Alternative Locales for the Health Promotion of African American Men: A Survey of African American Men in Chicago Barbershops.

PubMed

Murphy, A B; Moore, N J; Wright, M; Gipson, J; Keeter, M; Cornelious, T; Reed, D; Russell, J; Watson, K S; Murray, M

2017-02-01

African American men (AA) carry unequal burdens of several conditions including cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and HIV. Engagement of diverse populations including AA men in research and health promotion practice is vital to examining the health disparities that continue to plague many racially and ethnically diverse communities. To date, there is little research on best practices that indicate locations, community areas and settings to engage AA men in research and health promotion. Traditionally, the AA church has been a key area to engage AA men and women. However, changing tides in attendance of AA parishioners require additional information to identify areas where AAs, particularly, AA men congregate. The AA barbershop has been identified as a place of social cohesion, cultural immersion and solidarity for AA men but specific sub-populations of AA men may be underrepresented. To further investigate additional locales where AA men congregate, this study engaged AA barbers and clients in several urban community barbershops in Chicago, Illinois. 127 AA men over age 18y/o receiving grooming services in 25 Chicago area barbershops across 14 predominantly AA communities were consented and recruited for a quantitative survey study. The self-administered surveys were completed in ~15 min and $10 compensation was provided to men. Descriptive statistics were reported for demographic variables and for frequency of responses for locations to find AA men of specific age ranges for health promotion and screening activities. Outside of the traditionally used churches or barbershops, the top recommended recruitment sites by age were: 18-29y/o- city park or a recreational center; 30-39y/o- gym, bars or the street; 40-49y/o- various stores, especially home improvement stores, and the mall; and 50y/o+- fast food restaurants in the mornings, such as McDonalds, and individual's homes. The study participants also reported that locations where AA men congregate vary by age. Findings from this study illustrate that AA barbers and barbershops remain a key stakeholder in health promotion among AA men. The findings also demonstrate the need for additional research to examine best practices for identifying locations where diverse groups of AA men that vary by age and sexual orientation may congregate in order to support increased health promotion among AA men.

Comparision of ICP-OES and MP-AES in determing soil nutrients by Mechlich3 method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tonutare, Tonu; Penu, Priit; Krebstein, Kadri; Rodima, Ako; Kolli, Raimo; Shanskiy, Merrit

2014-05-01

Accurate, routine testing of nutrients in soil samples is critical to understanding soil potential fertility. There are different factors which must be taken into account selecting the best analytical technique for soil laboratory analysis. Several techniques can provide adequate detection range for same analytical subject. In similar cases the choise of technique will depend on factors such as sample throughput, required infrastructure, ease of use, used chemicals and need for gas supply and operating costs. Mehlich 3 extraction method is widely used for the determination of the plant available nutrient elements contents in agricultural soils. For determination of Ca, K, and Mg from soil extract depending of laboratory ICP and AAS techniques are used, also flame photometry for K in some laboratories. For the determination of extracted P is used ICP or Vis spectrometry. The excellent sensitivity and wide working range for all extracted elements make ICP a nearly ideal method, so long as the sample throughput is big enough to justify the initial capital outlay. Other advantage of ICP techniques is the multiplex character (simultaneous acquisition of all wavelengths). Depending on element the detection limits are in range 0.1 - 1000 μg/L. For smaller laboratories with low sample throughput requirements the use of AAS is more common. Flame AAS is a fast, relatively cheap and easy technique for analysis of elements. The disadvantages of the method is single element analysis and use of flammable gas, like C2H2 and oxidation gas N2O for some elements. Detection limits of elements for AAS lays from 1 to 1000 μg/L. MP-AES offers a unique alternative to both, AAS and ICP-OES techniques with its detection power, speed of analysis. MP-AES is quite new, simple and relatively inexpensive multielemental technique, which is use self-sustained atmospheric pressure microwave plasma (MP) using nitrogen gas generated by nitrogen generator. Therefore not needs for argon and flammable (C2H2) gases, cylinder handling and the running costs of equipment are low. Detection limits of elements for MP-AES lays between the AAS and ICP ones. The objective of this study was to compare the results of soil analysis using two multielemental analytical methods - ICP-OES and MP-AES. In the experiment, different soil types with various texture, content of organic matter and pH were used. For the study soil samples of Albeluvisols, Leptosols, Cambisols, Regosols and Histosols were used . The plant available nutrients were estimated by Mehlich 3 extraction. The ICP-OES analysis were provided in the Estonian Agricultural Research Centre and MP-AES analysis in department of Soil Science and Agrochemistry at Estonian University of Life Sciences. The detection limits and limits of quantification of Ca, K, Mg and P in extracts are calculated and reported.

Determination of autoantibodies to thyroglobulin, thyroxine and triiodothyronine in canine serum.

PubMed

Patzl, M; Möstl, E

2003-03-01

Enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) for the determination of autoanti-bodies (AA) to thyroid antigens in canine serum were developed. Streptavidin (SA) was immobilized as capture molecule on microtitreplates (MTP). Thyroglobulin (Tg) purified from canine thyroids and the thyroid hormones thyroxine and triiodothyronine (T3 and T4) were conjugated to biotin labelling reagents and attached to the MTP over the SA-biotin bridge. Bound AA were detected with anti-dog-immunoglobulin G (IgG) labelled with horseradish peroxidase. Serum samples from dogs which were allotted to four groups were analysed: A (n = 31), biochemical evidence of hypothyroidism; B (n = 76), clinical signs of hypothyroidism; C (n = 47), euthyroid with non-thyroidal disease; D (n = 186), clinically healthy. The validity of the assays was tested with two different methods. After thiophilic absorption chromatography of positive sera, a positive reaction in the EIA was only detected in those fractions which coeluted with the canine IgG standard. Furthermore, the positive reaction was blocked by the addition of the corresponding antigen. In 55% of the hypothyroid dogs AA to Tg and/or T3 and T4, respectively, were found (up to a titre of 1 : 1600). In group B 34% of the dogs were diagnosed positive, but the titre was lower (up to 1 : 400). In the groups C and D the number of dogs with AA and their titre was significantly lower. Two different methods for distinguishing positive and negative test results were compared in order to increase the specificity of the tests without decreasing the sensitivity. The EIAs are precise and based on high agreement with previous reported assays able to discriminate dogs with thyroiditis from healthy ones. These assays represent a good alternative to the isotope assays generally used for the analysis of AA to T4 and T3.

Study of gelatin supplemented diet on amino acid homeostasis in the horse.

PubMed

Coenen, M; Appelt, K; Niemeyer, A; Vervuert, I

2006-08-01

Gelatin supplementation is a common measure in an attempt to assist cartilage repair, but little scientific evidence exists to support its efficacy. To investigate the effects of gelatin administration on post prandial homeostasis. Twelve Standardbred horses (mean 404 kg bwt) were fed a hay-concentrate diet supplemented by soy bean meal and oil (control [C], n = 6) or with the addition of 60 g gelatin/day (G, n = 6). The horses were trained by an alternate order of interval and prolonged exercise every second day. The velocities of the treadmill corresponding to 2 and 10 mmol lactate/l blood were derived from lactate curves during a standardised exercise test at the start and middle of the 64 day training period. Blood samples for amino acid analysis were obtained weekly at rest (2 h post prandial). In the second part of the training period, a post prandial sampling was conducted on a day without exercise (prior feeding up to 8 h post prandial). Plasma free amino acids (AA) were determined by HPLC. The change from pre- to the training diet induced an increase in many AA during the total training period. At rest free glycine and proline in blood increased with gelatin supplementation during 7 days after the start of supplementation. The AA in plasma showed a post prandial curve with peak concentrations 2-3 h after feeding. Significant post prandial effects of gelatin intake were detectable for glycine, proline and arginine. The AA from gelatin are absorbed quickly and become available for AA metabolism. It is evident that in the horse, gelatin influences the homeostasis of those amino acids required for cartilage synthesis. Further research is needed to elucidate the utilisation of those amino acids for the prevention or repair of cartilage damage.

Accuracy and reproducibility of novel echocardiographic three-dimensional automated software for the assessment of the aortic root in candidates for thanscatheter aortic valve replacement.

PubMed

García-Martín, Ana; Lázaro-Rivera, Carla; Fernández-Golfín, Covadonga; Salido-Tahoces, Luisa; Moya-Mur, Jose-Luis; Jiménez-Nacher, Jose-Julio; Casas-Rojo, Eduardo; Aquila, Iolanda; González-Gómez, Ariana; Hernández-Antolín, Rosana; Zamorano, José Luis

2016-07-01

A specialized three-dimensional transoesophageal echocardiography (3D-TOE) reconstruction tool has recently been introduced; the system automatically configures a geometric model of the aortic root from the images obtained by 3D-TOE and performs quantitative analysis of these structures. The aim of this study was to compare the measurements of the aortic annulus (AA) obtained by the new model to that obtained by 3D-TOE and multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) in candidates to transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) and to assess the reproducibility of this new method. We included 31 patients who underwent TAVI. The AA diameters and area were evaluated by the manual 3D-TOE method and by the automatic software. We showed an excellent correlation between the measurements obtained by both methods: intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC): 0.731 (0.508-0.862), r: 0.742 for AA diameter and ICC: 0.723 (0.662-0.923), r: 0.723 for the AA area, with no significant differences regardless of the method used. The interobserver variability was superior for the automatic measurements than for the manual ones. In a subgroup of 10 patients, we also found an excellent correlation between the automatic measurements and those obtained by MDCT, ICC: 0.941 (0.761-0.985), r: 0.901 for AA diameter and ICC: 0.853 (0.409-0.964), r: 0.744 for the AA area. The new automatic 3D-TOE software allows modelling and quantifying the aortic root from 3D-TOE data with high reproducibility. There is good correlation between the automated measurements and other 3D validated techniques. Our results support its use in clinical practice as an alternative to MDCT previous to TAVI. Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2015. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Evaluating the efficacy of amino acids as CO2 capturing agents: a first principles investigation.

PubMed

Hussain, M Althaf; Soujanya, Yarasi; Sastry, G Narahari

2011-10-01

Comprehension of the basic concepts for the design of systems for CO2 adsorption is imperative for increasing interest in technology for CO2 capture from the effluents. The efficacy of 20 naturally occurring amino acids (AAs) is demonstrated as the most potent CO2 capturing agents in the process of chemical absorption and physisorption through a systematic computational study using highly parametrized M05-2X/6-311+G(d,p) method. The ability of AAs to bind CO2 both in the noncovalent and covalent fashion and presence of multiple adsorption sites with varying magnitude of binding strengths in all 20 AAs makes them as most promising materials in the process of physisorption. The binding energies (BEs) estimating the strength of noncovalent interaction of AAs and CO2 are calculated and results are interpreted in terms of the nature and strength of the various types of cooperative interactions which are present. The study underlines the possibility to engineer the porous solid materials with extended networks by judiciously employing AA chains as linkers which can substantially augment their efficacy. Results show that a significant increase in the CO2···AA affinity is achieved in the case of AAs with polar neutral side chains. Furthermore, the study proposes AAs as effective alternatives to alkanolamines in chemical dissolution of CO2.

Dual roles for coactivator activator and its counterbalancing isoform coactivator modulator in human kidney cell tumorigenesis.

PubMed

Kang, Yun Kyoung; Schiff, Rachel; Ko, Lan; Wang, Tao; Tsai, Sophia Y; Tsai, Ming-Jer; O'Malley, Bert W

2008-10-01

Coactivator activator (CoAA) has been reported to be a coactivator that regulates steroid receptor-mediated transcription and alternative RNA splicing. Herein, we show that CoAA is a dual-function coregulator that inhibits G(1)-S transition in human kidney cells and suppresses anchorage-independent growth and xenograft tumor formation. Suppression occurs in part by down-regulating c-myc and its downstream effectors ccnd1 and skp2 and causing accumulation of p27/Kip1 protein. In this cellular setting, CoAA directly represses the proto-oncogene c-myc by recruiting HDAC3 protein and decreasing both the acetylation of histone H3 and the presence of RNA polymerase II on the c-myc promoter. Interestingly, a splicing isoform of CoAA, coactivator modulator (CoAM), antagonizes CoAA-induced G(1)-S transition and growth inhibition by negatively regulating the mRNA levels of the endogenous CoAA isoform. In addition, we found that expression of CoAA protein is significantly decreased in human renal cell carcinoma compared with normal kidney. Our study presents evidence that CoAA is a potential tumor suppressor in renal carcinoma and that CoAM is a counterbalancing splice isoform. This is, thus far, the only example of a nuclear receptor coregulator involved in suppression of kidney cancer and suggests potentially significant new roles for coregulators in renal cancer biology.

Detection of anabolic androgenic steroid abuse in doping control using mammalian reporter gene bioassays.

PubMed

Houtman, Corine J; Sterk, Saskia S; van de Heijning, Monique P M; Brouwer, Abraham; Stephany, Rainer W; van der Burg, Bart; Sonneveld, Edwin

2009-04-01

Anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) are a class of steroid hormones related to the male hormone testosterone. They are frequently detected as drugs in sport doping control. Being similar to or derived from natural male hormones, AAS share the activation of the androgen receptor (AR) as common mechanism of action. The mammalian androgen responsive reporter gene assay (AR CALUX bioassay), measuring compounds interacting with the AR can be used for the analysis of AAS without the necessity of knowing their chemical structure beforehand, whereas current chemical-analytical approaches may have difficulty in detecting compounds with unknown structures, such as designer steroids. This study demonstrated that AAS prohibited in sports and potential designer AAS can be detected with this AR reporter gene assay, but that also additional steroid activities of AAS could be found using additional mammalian bioassays for other types of steroid hormones. Mixtures of AAS were found to behave additively in the AR reporter gene assay showing that it is possible to use this method for complex mixtures as are found in doping control samples, including mixtures that are a result of multi drug use. To test if mammalian reporter gene assays could be used for the detection of AAS in urine samples, background steroidal activities were measured. AAS-spiked urine samples, mimicking doping positive samples, showed significantly higher androgenic activities than unspiked samples. GC-MS analysis of endogenous androgens and AR reporter gene assay analysis of urine samples showed how a combined chemical-analytical and bioassay approach can be used to identify samples containing AAS. The results indicate that the AR reporter gene assay, in addition to chemical-analytical methods, can be a valuable tool for the analysis of AAS for doping control purposes.

Determination of acrylamide in processed foods by LC/MS using column switching.

PubMed

Takatsuki, Satoshi; Nemoto, Satoru; Sasaki, Kumiko; Maitani, Tamio

2003-04-01

An LC/MS method was developed for the determination of acrylamide (AA) in processed or cooked foods. AA was extracted with a mixture of water and acetone from homogenized food samples after the addition of 13C-labeled acrylamide (AA-1-(13)C) as an internal standard. The extract was concentrated, washed with dichloromethane for defatting, and cleaned up on Bond Elut C18, PSA and ACCUCAT cartridge-columns, and then AA was determined by LC/MS in the selected ion recording (SIR) mode. For the LC/MS analysis, four LC columns were connected in-line and the flow of the mobile phase was switched according to a time-program. Monitoring ions for AA were m/z 72 and 55, and those for AA-1-(13)C were m/z 73 and 56. AA and AA-1-(13)C were determined without interference from the matrices in all samples. The recoveries of AA from potato chips, corn snack, pretzel and roasted tea spiked at the level of 500 ng/g of AA were 99.5-101.0% with standard deviations (SD) in the range from 0.3 to 1.6%. The limits of detection and quantification of the developed method were 9 and 30 ng/g for AA in samples, respectively. The method was applied to the analysis of AA in various processed or cooked food samples purchased from retail markets. High levels of AA were found in potato chips and French-fried potato (467-3,544 ng/g). Fried and sugar-coated dough cakes (karinto) contained 374 and 1,895 ng/g. Corn snacks contained 117-535 ng/g of AA. Roasted foods (such as roasted sesame seed, roasted barley (mugi-cha), roasted tea (hoji-cha), coffee beans and curry powder) contained 116-567 ng/g of AA. Foods made from fish, egg and meat contained lower levels of AA than the plant-based foods. Foods containing much water showed a tendency to have low levels of AA compared with dry foods. The proposed method was applicable to the analysis of AA in variety of processed foods.

75 FR 54025 - Vessel and Facility Response Plans for Oil: 2003 Removal Equipment Requirements and Alternative...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-03

...-AA26 Vessel and Facility Response Plans for Oil: 2003 Removal Equipment Requirements and Alternative... a final rule entitled ``Vessel and Facility Response Plans for Oil: 2003 Removal Equipment... responders for each vessel or facility with appropriate equipment and resources located in each zone of...

Osteo-maturation of adipose-derived stem cells required the combined action of vitamin D3, beta-glycerophosphate, and ascorbic acid.

PubMed

Gupta, Anurag; Leong, David Tai; Bai, Hui Fen; Singh, Shiv Brat; Lim, Thiam-Chye; Hutmacher, Dietmar Werner

2007-10-12

This study investigated the effects of various components [vitamin D3 (VD3), beta-glycerophosphate (BGP), and ascorbic acid (AA)] on the potential of human adipose-derived progenitor cells (ADPCs) to transdifferentiate into osteoblast-like cells. ADPCs were induced under four different supplement groups: (1) VD3+BGP+AA, (2) VD3 alone, (3) BGP+AA, and (4) no VD3, BGP or AA. Mineralization studies and presence of bone matrix-related proteins by immunostaining showed that the Group 1 ADPCs showed their ability to undergo osteoblastic differentiation. Further evaluation was made by estimation of levels of RUNX-2 and TAZ genes. Group 1 ADPCs showed the consistent expression of RUNX-2 and TAZ levels over the study period of 28days. The study showed good correlation among various parameters evaluated to conclude that ADPCs could be an alternative source for generating osteoblast-like cells.

Chiral capillary electrophoresis with UV-excited fluorescence detection for the enantioselective analysis of 9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl-derivatized amino acids.

PubMed

Prior, Amir; Coliva, Giulia; de Jong, Gerhardus J; Somsen, Govert W

2018-05-29

The potential of capillary electrophoresis (CE) with ultraviolet (UV)-excited fluorescence detection for sensitive chiral analysis of amino acids (AAs) was investigated. DL-AAs were derivatized with 9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl chloride (FMOC)-Cl to allow their fluorescence detection and enhance enantioseparation. Fluorescence detection was achieved employing optical fibers, leading UV excitation light (< 300 nm) from a Xe-Hg lamp to the capillary window, and fluorescence emission to a spectrograph equipped with a charge-coupled device (CCD). Signal averaging over time and emission wavelength intervals was carried out to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the FMOC-AAs. A background electrolyte (BGE) of 40 mM sodium tetraborate (pH 9.5), containing 15% isopropanol (v/v), 30 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and 30 mM β-cyclodextrin (β-CD), was found optimal for AA chemo- and enantioseparation. Enantioresolutions of 1.0 or higher were achieved for 16 proteinogenic DL-AAs. Limits of detection (LODs) were in the 10-100-nM range (injected concentration) for the D-AA enantiomers, except for FMOC-D-tryptophan (536 nM) which showed intramolecular fluorescence quenching. Linearity (R 2  > 0.997) and repeatability for peak height (relative standard deviations (RSDs) < 7.0%; n = 5) and electrophoretic mobility (RSDs < 0.6%; n = 5) of individual AA enantiomers were established for chiral analysis of DL-AA mixtures. The applicability of the method was investigated by the analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Next to L-AAs, endogenous levels of D-glutamine and D-aspartic acid could be measured in CSF revealing enantiomeric ratios of 0.35 and 19.6%, respectively. This indicates the method's potential for the analysis of low concentrations of D-AAs in presence of abundant L-AAs.

Reliability of fully automated versus visually controlled pre- and post-processing of resting-state EEG.

PubMed

Hatz, F; Hardmeier, M; Bousleiman, H; Rüegg, S; Schindler, C; Fuhr, P

2015-02-01

To compare the reliability of a newly developed Matlab® toolbox for the fully automated, pre- and post-processing of resting state EEG (automated analysis, AA) with the reliability of analysis involving visually controlled pre- and post-processing (VA). 34 healthy volunteers (age: median 38.2 (20-49), 82% female) had three consecutive 256-channel resting-state EEG at one year intervals. Results of frequency analysis of AA and VA were compared with Pearson correlation coefficients, and reliability over time was assessed with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Mean correlation coefficient between AA and VA was 0.94±0.07, mean ICC for AA 0.83±0.05 and for VA 0.84±0.07. AA and VA yield very similar results for spectral EEG analysis and are equally reliable. AA is less time-consuming, completely standardized, and independent of raters and their training. Automated processing of EEG facilitates workflow in quantitative EEG analysis. Copyright © 2014 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Elimination of ascorbic acid after high-dose infusion in prostate cancer patients: a pharmacokinetic evaluation.

PubMed

Nielsen, Torben K; Højgaard, Martin; Andersen, Jon T; Poulsen, Henrik E; Lykkesfeldt, Jens; Mikines, Kári J

2015-04-01

Treatment with high-dose intravenous (IV) ascorbic acid (AA) is used in complementary and alternative medicine for various conditions including cancer. Cytotoxicity to cancer cell lines has been observed with millimolar concentrations of AA. Little is known about the pharmacokinetics of high-dose IV AA. The purpose of this study was to assess the basic kinetic variables in human beings over a relevant AA dosing interval for proper design of future clinical trials. Ten patients with metastatic prostate cancer were treated for 4 weeks with fixed AA doses of 5, 30 and 60 g. AA was measured consecutively in plasma and indicated first-order elimination kinetics throughout the dosing range with supra-physiological concentrations. The target dose of 60 g AA IV produced a peak plasma AA concentration of 20.3 mM. Elimination half-life was 1.87 hr (mean, S.D. ± 0.40), volume of distribution 0.19 L/kg (S.D. ±0.05) and clearance rate 6.02 L/hr (100 mL/min). No differences in pharmacokinetic parameters were observed between weeks/doses. A relatively fast first-order elimination with half-life of about 2 hr makes it impossible to maintain AA concentrations in the potential cytotoxic range after infusion stop in prostate cancer patients with normal kidney function. We propose a regimen with a bolus loading followed by a maintenance infusion based on the calculated clearance. © 2014 Nordic Association for the Publication of BCPT (former Nordic Pharmacological Society).

Structural and electron diffraction scaling of twisted graphene bilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Kuan; Tadmor, Ellad B.

2018-03-01

Multiscale simulations are used to study the structural relaxation in twisted graphene bilayers and the associated electron diffraction patterns. The initial twist forms an incommensurate moiré pattern that relaxes to a commensurate microstructure comprised of a repeating pattern of alternating low-energy AB and BA domains surrounding a high-energy AA domain. The simulations show that the relaxation mechanism involves a localized rotation and shrinking of the AA domains that scales in two regimes with the imposed twist. For small twisting angles, the localized rotation tends to a constant; for large twist, the rotation scales linearly with it. This behavior is tied to the inverse scaling of the moiré pattern size with twist angle and is explained theoretically using a linear elasticity model. The results are validated experimentally through a simulated electron diffraction analysis of the relaxed structures. A complex electron diffraction pattern involving the appearance of weak satellite peaks is predicted for the small twist regime. This new diffraction pattern is explained using an analytical model in which the relaxation kinematics are described as an exponentially-decaying (Gaussian) rotation field centered on the AA domains. Both the angle-dependent scaling and diffraction patterns are in quantitative agreement with experimental observations. A Matlab program for extracting the Gaussian model parameters accompanies this paper.

Analysis of protein glycation products by MALDI-TOF/MS.

PubMed

Kislinger, Thomas; Humeny, Andreas; Peich, Carlo C; Becker, Cord-Michael; Pischetsrieder, Monika

2005-06-01

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-mass spectrometry with time-of-flight detection (MALDI-TOF/MS) is a promising tool to analyze advanced glycation end product (AGE)-modified proteins. The combination of soft ionization (MALDI) with time-of-flight mass detection allows analysis of peptides and proteins of a molecular mass up to 300 kDa with minimal sample workup. Because the direct structural analysis of intact AGE proteins is not possible due to the formation of broad and poorly resolved peaks, peptide mapping was introduced into the analysis of AGE proteins by MALDI-TOF/MS, allowing site-specific analysis of defined AGEs. When methylglyoxal-modified lysozyme was subjected to MALDI-TOF/MS peptide mapping, methylimidazolone and argpyrimidine attached to the arginine residue and carboxyethyl (CEL) bound to the lysine were detected on peptide(aa1-7) (KVFGRCE). In contrast, only one methylimidazolone was found on peptide(aa8-35) (LAAAMKRHGLDNYRGYSLGNWVCAAKFE) and peptide(aa120-129) (VQAWIRGCRL), respectively. The analysis of AGE protein, which had been incubated with glucose, revealed the presence of an Amadori product and a carboxymethyl residue (CML) on peptide(aa1-7) and peptide(aa8-35), as well as an imidazolone A on peptide(aa120-129). Furthermore, the early Maillard reaction of lysozyme, which had been glycated by seven different sugars, was monitored by MALDI-TOF/MS peptide mapping. Finally, this approach was successfully applied for site- and product-specific relative quantification of AGEs. For example, kinetics of CML and Amadori product formation on peptide(aa1-7), as well as imidazolone A formation on peptide(aa120-129), were determined.

Skipping of Exons by Premature Termination of Transcription and Alternative Splicing within Intron-5 of the Sheep SCF Gene: A Novel Splice Variant

PubMed Central

Saravanaperumal, Siva Arumugam; Pediconi, Dario; Renieri, Carlo; La Terza, Antonietta

2012-01-01

Stem cell factor (SCF) is a growth factor, essential for haemopoiesis, mast cell development and melanogenesis. In the hematopoietic microenvironment (HM), SCF is produced either as a membrane-bound (−) or soluble (+) forms. Skin expression of SCF stimulates melanocyte migration, proliferation, differentiation, and survival. We report for the first time, a novel mRNA splice variant of SCF from the skin of white merino sheep via cloning and sequencing. Reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR and molecular prediction revealed two different cDNA products of SCF. Full-length cDNA libraries were enriched by the method of rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE-PCR). Nucleotide sequencing and molecular prediction revealed that the primary 1519 base pair (bp) cDNA encodes a precursor protein of 274 amino acids (aa), commonly known as ‘soluble’ isoform. In contrast, the shorter (835 and/or 725 bp) cDNA was found to be a ‘novel’ mRNA splice variant. It contains an open reading frame (ORF) corresponding to a truncated protein of 181 aa (vs 245 aa) with an unique C-terminus lacking the primary proteolytic segment (28 aa) right after the D175G site which is necessary to produce ‘soluble’ form of SCF. This alternative splice (AS) variant was explained by the complete nucleotide sequencing of splice junction covering exon 5-intron (5)-exon 6 (948 bp) with a premature termination codon (PTC) whereby exons 6 to 9/10 are skipped (Cassette Exon, CE 6–9/10). We also demonstrated that the Northern blot analysis at transcript level is mediated via an intron-5 splicing event. Our data refine the structure of SCF gene; clarify the presence (+) and/or absence (−) of primary proteolytic-cleavage site specific SCF splice variants. This work provides a basis for understanding the functional role and regulation of SCF in hair follicle melanogenesis in sheep beyond what was known in mice, humans and other mammals. PMID:22719917

Antimycin A inhibits cytochrome b559-mediated cyclic electron flow within photosystem II.

PubMed

Takagi, Daisuke; Ifuku, Kentaro; Nishimura, Taishi; Miyake, Chikahiro

2018-05-22

The light reactions of photosynthesis are known to comprise both linear and cyclic electron flow in order to convert light energy into chemical energy in the form of NADPH and ATP. Antimycin A (AA) has been proposed as an inhibitor of ferredoxin-dependent cyclic electron flow around photosystem I (CEF-PSI) in photosynthesis research. However, its precise inhibitory mechanism and target site had not been elucidated yet. Here we show that AA inhibits the cyclic (alternative) electron flow via cytochrome b 559 (Cyt b 559 ) within photosystem II (CEF-PSII). When AA was applied to thylakoid membranes isolated from spinach leaves, the high potential form of Cyt b 559 , which was reduced in the dark, was transformed into the lower potential forms and readily oxidized by molecular oxygen. In the absence of AA, the reduced Cyt b 559 was oxidized by P680 + upon light illumination and re-reduced in the dark, mainly by the electron from the Q B site on the acceptor side of PSII. In contrast, AA suppressed the oxidation of Cyt b 559 and induced its reduction under the illumination. This inhibition of Cyt b 559 oxidation by AA enhanced photoinhibition of PSII. Based on the above results, we propose caution regarding the use of AA for evaluating CEF-PSI per se and concurrently propose that AA provides for new insights into, and interpretations of, the physiological importance of Cyt b 559 , rather than that of CEF-PSI in photosynthetic organisms.

Protein quality of insects as potential ingredients for dog and cat foods.

PubMed

Bosch, Guido; Zhang, Sheng; Oonincx, Dennis G A B; Hendriks, Wouter H

2014-01-01

Insects have been proposed as a high-quality, efficient and sustainable dietary protein source. The present study evaluated the protein quality of a selection of insect species. Insect substrates were housefly pupae, adult house cricket, yellow mealworm larvae, lesser mealworm larvae, Morio worm larvae, black soldier fly larvae and pupae, six spot roach, death's head cockroach and Argentinean cockroach. Reference substrates were poultry meat meal, fish meal and soyabean meal. Substrates were analysed for DM, N, crude fat, ash and amino acid (AA) contents and for in vitro digestibility of organic matter (OM) and N. The nutrient composition, AA scores as well as in vitro OM and N digestibility varied considerably between insect substrates. For the AA score, the first limiting AA for most substrates was the combined requirement for Met and Cys. The pupae of the housefly and black soldier fly were high in protein and had high AA scores but were less digestible than other insect substrates. The protein content and AA score of house crickets were high and similar to that of fish meal; however, in vitro N digestibility was higher. The cockroaches were relatively high in protein but the indispensable AA contents, AA scores and the in vitro digestibility values were relatively low. In addition to the indices of protein quality, other aspects such as efficiency of conversion of organic side streams, feasibility of mass-production, product safety and pet owner perception are important for future dog and cat food application of insects as alternative protein source.

Relative refractoriness of left ventricular contraction underlies human tachycardia-induced mechanical and electrical alternans.

PubMed

Kashimura, Takeshi; Kodama, Makoto; Watanabe, Tohru; Tanaka, Komei; Hayashi, Yuka; Ohno, Yukako; Obata, Hiroaki; Ito, Masahiro; Hirono, Satoru; Hanawa, Haruo; Minamino, Tohru

2014-02-01

Mechanical alternans (MA) and electrical alternans (EA) are predictors of cardiac events. Experimental studies have suggested that refractoriness of calcium cycling underlies these cardiac alternans. However, refractoriness of left ventricular contraction has not been examined in patients with cardiac alternans. In 51 patients with miscellaneous heart diseases, incremental right atrial pacing was performed to induce MA and EA. MA was quantified by alternans amplitude (AA: the difference between left ventricular dP/dt of a strong beat and that of a weak beat), and AA at 100/min (AA100) and maximal AA (AAmax) were measured. EA was defined as alternation of T wave morphology in 12-lead electrocardiogram. Relative refractoriness of left ventricular contraction was examined by drawing the mechanical restitution curve under a basal coupling interval (BCL) of 600 ms (100/min) and was assessed by the slope at BCL (Δmechanical restitution). Postextrasystolic potentiation (PESP) was also examined and the slope of PESP curve (ΔPESP) was assessed as a property to alternate strong and weak beats. MA and EA were induced in 19 patients and in none at 100/min or less, and at any heart rate in 32 and in 10, respectively. AA100 and AAmax correlated positively with Δmechanical restitution and negatively with ΔPESP. Patients with EA had a significantly larger Δmechanical restitution and a significantly larger absolute value of ΔPESP than those without. In patients with MA and EA, the left ventricular contractile force during tachycardia is under relative refractoriness and prone to cause large fluctuation of contractile force. ©2013, The Authors. Journal compilation ©2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Effects of abrupt introduction and removal of high and low digestibility corn distillers dried grains with solubles from the diet on growth performance and carcass characteristics of growing-finishing pigs.

PubMed

Hilbrands, A M; Johnston, L J; McClelland, K M; Cox, R B; Baidoo, S K; Souza, L W O; Shurson, G C

2013-01-01

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of feeding continuously a diet containing 40% dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) or intermittently diets containing 20 or 40% DDGS on growth performance and carcass quality of pigs. Responses of the pigs to abrupt introduction and removal of dietary DDGS with differing concentrations of standardized ileal digestible (SID) AA were also evaluated. In Exp. 1, crossbred pigs (n=216; initial BW=51.3±3.1 kg) were assigned randomly to 1 of 4 treatments, which included a corn-soybean meal control (CON), a 20% DDGS diet (D20), a switch between D20 and CON (D20-CON), and a switch between a 40% DDGS diet and CON (D40-CON) with 6 pens per treatment. Pigs abruptly introduced and removed from a 20% DDGS diet (D20-CON) exhibited no differences in growth performance or carcass quality compared with CON pigs. However, intermittently feeding a 40% DDGS diet (D40-CON) resulted in lighter HCW (P<0.05) compared with all other treatments. In Exp. 2, crossbred pigs (n=324; initial BW=33.2±3.0 kg) were assigned randomly to 1 of 6 treatments, including a corn-soybean meal control (CON), a 40% low SID AA DDGS diet (LD), a 40% high SID AA DDGS diet (HD), LD and CON diets alternated (LD-CON), HD and CON diets alternated (HD-CON), or HD and LD diets alternated (HD-LD) with 6 pens per treatment. Final BW and ADG were less (P<0.05) for LD and HD-LD pigs compared with CON pigs, but HD pigs tended to have reduced (P<0.10) final BW and ADG. Loin muscle area was smaller for LD and HD-LD pigs compared with CON pigs (P<0.05). Percentage carcass lean was not affected by dietary treatment. Backfat of DDGS-fed pigs was more unsaturated than CON pigs, but AA digestibility of DDGS did not affect this response. Digestibility of AA in DDGS can influence pig performance and carcass quality when fed at high concentrations (40% or more). The use of a high SID AA DDGS source may diminish some of the negative responses observed for growth performance and carcass characteristics when feeding high concentrations of DDGS if accurate values of SID AA are used in diet formulation. Periodic inclusion and removal of 40% DDGS from diets did not adversely affect growth performance or carcass quality regardless of the SID AA digestibility of the DDGS used. These results indicate that it is possible to abruptly incorporate and remove DDGS from grower-finisher swine diets without meaningful detrimental effects on growth performance or carcass quality.

Characteristics of States' Alternate Assessments Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards in 2008. Synthesis Report 72

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Albus, Deb; Lazarus, Sheryl S.; Thurlow, Martha L.; Cormier, Damien

2009-01-01

In April 2007, Federal No Child Left Behind regulations were finalized that provided states with additional flexibility for assessing some students with disabilities. The regulations allowed states to offer another assessment option, alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS). States are not required to have…

Analysis of amyloid fibrils in the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus).

PubMed

Bergström, Joakim; Ueda, Mitsuharu; Une, Yumi; Sun, Xuguo; Misumi, Shogo; Shoji, Shozo; Ando, Yukio

2006-06-01

Recently, a high prevalence of amyloid A (AA) amyloidosis has been documented among captive cheetahs worldwide. Biochemical analysis of amyloid fibrils extracted from the liver of a Japanese captive cheetah unequivocally showed that protein AA was the main fibril constituent. Further characterization of the AA fibril components by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and Western blot analysis revealed three main protein AA bands with approximate molecular weights of 8, 10 and 12 kDa. Mass spectrometry analysis of the 12-kDa component observed in SDS-PAGE and Western blotting confirmed the molecular weight of a 12,381-Da peak. Our finding of a 12-kDa protein AA component provides evidence that the cheetah SAA sequence is longer than the previously reported 90 amino acid residues (approximately 10 kDa), and hence SAA is part of the amyloid fibril.

Effects of Anabolic Androgenic Steroids on the Reproductive System of Athletes and Recreational Users: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Christou, Maria A; Christou, Panagiota A; Markozannes, Georgios; Tsatsoulis, Agathocles; Mastorakos, George; Tigas, Stelios

2017-09-01

Anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) are testosterone derivatives used by athletes and recreational users to improve athletic performance and/or enhance appearance. Anabolic androgenic steroids use may have serious and potentially irreversible adverse effects on different organs and systems, including the reproductive system. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to critically assess the impact of AAS use on the reproductive system of athletes and recreational users. An electronic literature search was conducted using the databases MEDLINE, CENTRAL, and Google Scholar. Studies were included when the following criteria were fulfilled: participants were athletes or recreational users of any age, sex, level or type of sport; AAS use of any type, dose, form or duration; AAS effects on the reproductive system were assessed as stated by medical history, clinical examination, hormone and/or semen analysis. Random-effects meta-analysis was performed to assess the weighted mean difference (WMD) of serum gonadotropin (luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone) and testosterone levels compared with baseline, during the period of AAS use, as well as following AAS discontinuation. Thirty-three studies (three randomized clinical trials, 11 cohort, 18 cross-sectional, and one non-randomized parallel clinical trial) were included in the systematic review (3879 participants; 1766 AAS users and 2113 non-AAS users). The majority of the participants were men; only six studies provided data for female athletes. A meta-analysis (11 studies) was conducted of studies evaluating serum gonadotropin and testosterone levels in male subjects: (1) prior to, and during AAS use (six studies, n = 65 AAS users; seven studies, n = 59, evaluating gonadotropin and testosterone levels respectively); (2) during AAS use and following AAS discontinuation (four studies, n = 35; six studies, n = 39, respectively); as well as (3) prior to AAS use and following AAS discontinuation (three studies, n = 17; five studies, n = 27, respectively). During AAS intake, significant reductions in luteinizing hormone [weighted mean difference (WMD) -3.37 IU/L, 95% confidence interval (CI) -5.05 to -1.70, p < 0.001], follicle-stimulating hormone (WMD -1.73 IU/L, 95% CI -2.67 to -0.79, p < 0.001), and endogenous testosterone levels (WMD -10.75 nmol/L, 95% CI -15.01 to -6.49, p < 0.001) were reported. Following AAS discontinuation, serum gonadotropin levels gradually returned to baseline values within 13-24 weeks, whereas serum testosterone levels remained lower as compared with baseline (WMD -9.40 nmol/L, 95% CI -14.38 to -4.42, p < 0.001). Serum testosterone levels remained reduced at 16 weeks following discontinuation of AAS. In addition, AAS abuse resulted in structural and functional sperm changes, a reduction in testicular volume, gynecomastia, as well as clitoromegaly, menstrual irregularities, and subfertility. The majority of AAS users demonstrated hypogonadism with persistently low gonadotropin and testosterone levels, lasting for several weeks to months after AAS withdrawal. Anabolic androgenic steroid use results in profound and prolonged effects on the reproductive system of athletes and recreational users and potentially on fertility.

Arjunolic acid, a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α agonist, regresses cardiac fibrosis by inhibiting non-canonical TGF-β signaling.

PubMed

Bansal, Trisha; Chatterjee, Emeli; Singh, Jasdeep; Ray, Arjun; Kundu, Bishwajit; Thankamani, V; Sengupta, Shantanu; Sarkar, Sagartirtha

2017-10-06

Cardiac hypertrophy and associated heart fibrosis remain a major cause of death worldwide. Phytochemicals have gained attention as alternative therapeutics for managing cardiovascular diseases. These include the extract from the plant Terminalia arjuna, which is a popular cardioprotectant and may prevent or slow progression of pathological hypertrophy to heart failure. Here, we investigated the mode of action of a principal bioactive T. arjuna compound, arjunolic acid (AA), in ameliorating hemodynamic load-induced cardiac fibrosis and identified its intracellular target. Our data revealed that AA significantly represses collagen expression and improves cardiac function during hypertrophy. We found that AA binds to and stabilizes the ligand-binding domain of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) and increases its expression during cardiac hypertrophy. PPARα knockdown during AA treatment in hypertrophy samples, including angiotensin II-treated adult cardiac fibroblasts and renal artery-ligated rat heart, suggests that AA-driven cardioprotection primarily arises from PPARα agonism. Moreover, AA-induced PPARα up-regulation leads to repression of TGF-β signaling, specifically by inhibiting TGF-β-activated kinase1 (TAK1) phosphorylation. We observed that PPARα directly interacts with TAK1, predominantly via PPARα N-terminal transactivation domain (AF-1) thereby masking the TAK1 kinase domain. The AA-induced PPARα-bound TAK1 level thereby shows inverse correlation with the phosphorylation level of TAK1 and subsequent reduction in p38 MAPK and NF-κBp65 activation, ultimately culminating in amelioration of excess collagen synthesis in cardiac hypertrophy. In conclusion, our findings unravel the mechanism of AA action in regressing hypertrophy-associated cardiac fibrosis by assigning a role of AA as a PPARα agonist that inactivates non-canonical TGF-β signaling. © 2017 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Alternative Fuels

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-06-11

equipment when supplying jet fuel not practicable or cost effective Unclassified 5 erna ve ue s ocus Petroleum Crude Oil (declining discovery / production...on Jet A/A-1 Approved fuels, DXXXX Unclassified 6 JP-8/5 (Commercial Jet Fuel, ASTM Spec) DARPA Alternative Jet Fuels • Agricultural crop oils ...canola, jatropha, soy, palm , etc.) Alternative fuels – University of North Dakota EERC – UOP – General Electric (GE) t i o n C o s t t i o n C o s t

Strain of ascending aorta on cardiac magnetic resonance in 1027 patients: Relation with age, gender, and cardiovascular disease.

PubMed

Scarabello, Marco; Codari, Marina; Secchi, Francesco; Cannaò, Paola M; Alì, Marco; Di Leo, Giovanni; Sardanelli, Francesco

2018-02-01

To evaluate ascending aortic strain (AAS) with cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) in a large consecutive series of patients with different types of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Two-dimensional phase-contrast gradient-echo sequences of the ascending aorta were retrospectively reviewed in 1027 patients (726 males, 301 females). Aortic lumen area was segmented using a semi-automatic approach to calculate AAS values. Subgroup analysis was performed for patients with normal CMR, tetralogy of Fallot (ToF), and ischemic heart disease (IHD). Multivariate and post-hoc analyses were performed to evaluate the effect of age, gender, and CVD on AAS values. Shapiro-Wilk, three- and two-way ANOVA, Mann-Whitney U, and Spearman correlation statistics were used. Multivariate analysis showed significant differences in AAS among decades of age (p<0.001), genders (p=0.006) and CVD subgroups (p<0.001) without interaction among these factors. A gender-related difference (higher AAS in females) was significant in ToF (p=0.008), while an AAS reduction during aging was observed in all CVD subgroups. Post-hoc analysis showed a significantly lower AAS in ToF and IHD patients compared to subjects with normal CMR (p<0.001). Differences in age, gender, and CVD independently affect AAS. The lower AAS observed in ToF fosters its assessment during follow-up in adulthood. Future studies on causes and clinical implications of a higher AAS in females affected by ToF are warranted. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparison of the anti-scorbutic activity of L-ascorbic acid and Ester C in the non-ascorbate synthesizing Osteogenic Disorder Shionogi (ODS) rat.

PubMed

Verlangieri, A J; Fay, M J; Bannon, A W

1991-01-01

The Osteogenic Disorder Shionogi (ODS) rat, Clea Inc., Tokyo, Japan lacks the ability to synthesize L-ascorbic acid (AA). As with man, monkey and the guinea pig, this rat lacks L-gulonolactone oxidase necessary for the synthesis of AA from glucose. This study shows this animal to be an alternative to the guinea pig in AA studies. The anti-scorbutic potency of Ester C (EC), a calcium ascorbate and calcium threonate mixture, was compared with an AA dose of equal ascorbate activity equivalents (AAE) for anti-scorbutic activity in the ODS rat. The minimal anti-scorbutic dose of EC was determined to be 0.44 mg/kg/day (AAE), while an AA dose of 0.51 mg/kg/day (AAE) was not anti-scorbutic in a 24 day study. At 24 days EC rats gained 125% of initial body weight (BW) and the AA rats only 45% BW. Scorbutic signs at 24 days were scored on a 0 (min) to 3 (max) scale. The EC/AA ratio scores were: hemorrhage 0/1.4, behavior change 0/2.0, piloerection 0/2.2, mobility 0.4/2.2, dysbasia 0.6/2.8 and ataxia 0.4/1.0. Pearson's correlation coefficient for BW versus AAE was r = .34 for the AA group and r = .90 for the EC group. The morbidity index for EC was 0/5 and for the AA group 2/5. The AAE dose of AA which was 16% higher/day than the EC AAE dose was not anti-scorbutic, while the EC dose was anti-scorbutic. EC rats had 3.5X greater weight gain, a sensitive indicator of scurvy, than the AA rats. EC rats had 3-4 times less, if any, scorbutic signs than AA rats. The results clearly show that, based on ascorbate activity equivalents, EC has more available ascorbate activity/potency than AA. The mechanism of this increased potency is believed to be due to the facilitated transport of AAE into the cell by the threonate (a normal in vivo metabolite of AA) present in the EC product. In addition, previous studies have shown EC (AAE) to be higher in plasma and excreted less rapidly than the AAE derived from AA administered orally.

Outcomes and healthcare utilization in children and young adults with aplastic anemia: A multiinstitutional analysis.

PubMed

Gupta, Ashish; Fu, Pingfu; Hashem, Hasan; Vatsayan, Anant; Shein, Steven; Dalal, Jignesh

2017-12-01

Aplastic anemia is a bone marrow failure syndrome with high mortality affecting children and young adults. Although current treatment guidelines recommend hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT) for patients with matched sibling donors, outcomes with alternate donor options have been improving. We analyzed a validated multiinstitutional pediatric cohort using one of the largest pediatric and young adult database, the Pediatric Health Information System, for patients diagnosed with aplastic anemia (AA) from 2006 to 2015. Outcomes with upfront and salvage transplants were analyzed along with healthcare utilization. Among 2,169 patients in the study period, almost 20% underwent HCT, while others received immunosuppressive therapy. In a multivariate model, there was no significant difference in mortality with upfront or salvage transplants (odds ratio [OR] 1.24, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.6-2.58, P = 0.567), while every platelet transfusion was associated with higher mortality (OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.12-1.67, P = 0.002). Healthcare utilization was significantly higher in salvage transplants requiring frequent hospitalization and transfusion requirements. Treatment mortality and graft failure rates were significantly reduced in the salvage transplant group in recent years (2011-2015 as compared to 2006-2010). As outcomes with HCT continue to improve in severe AA, transplant with good alternate donors should be considered upfront in children and young adults. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

To pace or not to pace: a pilot study of four- and five-gaited Icelandic horses homozygous for the DMRT3 'Gait Keeper' mutation.

PubMed

Jäderkvist Fegraeus, K; Hirschberg, I; Árnason, T; Andersson, L; Velie, B D; Andersson, L S; Lindgren, G

2017-12-01

The Icelandic horse is a breed known mainly for its ability to perform the ambling four-beat gait 'tölt' and the lateral two-beat gait pace. The natural ability of the breed to perform these alternative gaits is highly desired by breeders. Therefore, the discovery that a nonsense mutation (C>A) in the DMRT3 gene was the main genetic factor for horses' ability to perform gaits in addition to walk, trot and canter was of great interest. Although several studies have demonstrated that homozygosity for the DMRT3 mutation is important for the ability to pace, only about 70% of the homozygous mutant (AA) Icelandic horses are reported to pace. The aim of the study was to genetically compare four- and five-gaited (i.e. horses with and without the ability to pace) AA Icelandic horses by performing a genome-wide association (GWA) analysis. All horses (n = 55) were genotyped on the 670K Axiom Equine Genotyping Array, and a GWA analysis was performed using the genabel package in r. No SNP demonstrated genome-wide significance, implying that the ability to pace goes beyond the presence of a single gene variant. Despite its limitations, the current study provides additional information regarding the genetic complexity of pacing ability in horses. However, to fully understand the genetic differences between four- and five-gaited AA horses, additional studies with larger sample materials and consistent phenotyping are needed. © 2017 Stichting International Foundation for Animal Genetics.

7 CFR 1.672 - What will the Forest Service do with a proposed alternative?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false What will the Forest Service do with a proposed... Conditions in FERC Hydropower Licenses Alternatives Process § 1.672 What will the Forest Service do with a...(a)(1), the Forest Service must do the following within 60 days after the deadline for filing...

State Perspectives on Implementing, or Choosing Not to Implement, an Alternate Assessment Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palmer, Porter W.

2009-01-01

Since Federal regulations have given states the option to implement alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS) as part of their accountability systems for a small group of students with disabilities, a number of states have made decisions about whether or not to develop and implement such an assessment.…

Prescription profile of potentially aristolochic acid containing Chinese herbal products: an analysis of National Health Insurance data in Taiwan between 1997 and 2003.

PubMed

Hsieh, Shu-Ching; Lin, I-Hsin; Tseng, Wei-Lum; Lee, Chang-Hsing; Wang, Jung-Der

2008-10-23

Some Chinese herbal products (CHPs) may contain aristolochic acid (AA) or may be adulterated by the herbs suspected of containing AA which is nephrotoxic and carcinogenic. This study aims to identify the risk and the prescription profile of AA-containing CHPs (AA-CHPs) in Taiwan. A longitudinal analysis was conducted on a randomly sampled cohort of 200,000 patients using the data from the National Health Insurance (NHI) in Taiwan between 1997 and 2003. During the 7-year study period, 78,644 patients were prescribed with AA-CHPs; most patients were females, or middle-aged, or both. A total of 526,867 prescriptions were made to use 1,218 licensed AA-CHPs. Over 85% of the AA-exposed patients took less than 60 g of AA-herbs; however, about 7% were exposed to a cumulated dose of over 100 g of Radix et Rhizoma Asari (Xixin), Caulis Akebiae (Mutong) or Fructus Aristolochiae (Madouling). Patients of respiratory and musculoskeletal diseases received most of the AA-CHP prescriptions. The most frequently prescribed AA-CHPs Shujing Huoxie Tang, Chuanqiong Chadiao San and Longdan Xiegan Tang, containing Radix Stephaniae Tetrandrae, Radix et Rhizoma Asari and Caulis Akebiae, respectively. About one-third of people in Taiwan have been prescribed with AA-CHPs between 1997 and 2003. Although the cumulated doses were not large, further actions should be carried out to ensure the safe use of AA-CHPs.

Prescription profile of potentially aristolochic acid containing Chinese herbal products: an analysis of National Health Insurance data in Taiwan between 1997 and 2003

PubMed Central

Hsieh, Shu-Ching; Lin, I-Hsin; Tseng, Wei-Lum; Lee, Chang-Hsing; Wang, Jung-Der

2008-01-01

Background Some Chinese herbal products (CHPs) may contain aristolochic acid (AA) or may be adulterated by the herbs suspected of containing AA which is nephrotoxic and carcinogenic. This study aims to identify the risk and the prescription profile of AA-containing CHPs (AA-CHPs) in Taiwan. Methods A longitudinal analysis was conducted on a randomly sampled cohort of 200,000 patients using the data from the National Health Insurance (NHI) in Taiwan between 1997 and 2003. Results During the 7-year study period, 78,644 patients were prescribed with AA-CHPs; most patients were females, or middle-aged, or both. A total of 526,867 prescriptions were made to use 1,218 licensed AA-CHPs. Over 85% of the AA-exposed patients took less than 60 g of AA-herbs; however, about 7% were exposed to a cumulated dose of over 100 g of Radix et Rhizoma Asari (Xixin), Caulis Akebiae (Mutong) or Fructus Aristolochiae (Madouling). Patients of respiratory and musculoskeletal diseases received most of the AA-CHP prescriptions. The most frequently prescribed AA-CHPs Shujing Huoxie Tang, Chuanqiong Chadiao San and Longdan Xiegan Tang, containing Radix Stephaniae Tetrandrae, Radix et Rhizoma Asari and Caulis Akebiae, respectively. Conclusion About one-third of people in Taiwan have been prescribed with AA-CHPs between 1997 and 2003. Although the cumulated doses were not large, further actions should be carried out to ensure the safe use of AA-CHPs. PMID:18945373

Women and anabolic steroids: an analysis of a dozen users.

PubMed

Ip, Eric J; Barnett, Mitchell J; Tenerowicz, Michael J; Kim, Jennifer A; Wei, Hong; Perry, Paul J

2010-11-01

To provide an in-depth analysis of 12 female self-reported anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) users. Web-based survey. A Web-based survey was posted on 38 discussion boards of various fitness, bodybuilding, weightlifting, and steroid Web sites between February and June 2009. Participants completed a survey regarding demographics and use of AAS and other performance-enhancing agents (PEAs). A cohort of 1519 strength-trained subjects fully completed and submitted a valid survey. Five hundred eighteen subjects were self-reported AAS users consisting of 12 women and 506 men. One thousand one subjects were non-AAS users consisting of 230 women and 771 men. Demographic data and use of AAS and other PEAs. The female AAS users reported using an average of 8.8 PEAs in their routine. Compared with male AAS users and female non-AAS users, respectively, female AAS users were more likely to have met criteria for substance-dependence disorder (58.3% vs 23.4%; P = 0.01; 58.3% vs 9.1%; P < 0.001), have been diagnosed with a psychiatric illness (50.0% vs 17.4%; P = 0.01; 50.0% vs 22.2%; P = 0.04), and have reported a history of sexual abuse (41.7% vs 6.1%; P < 0.001; 41.7% vs 15.3%; P = 0.03). Female AAS users practice polypharmacy. Female AAS users are more likely to have qualified for substance-dependence disorder, have been diagnosed with a psychiatric illness, and have a history of sexual abuse than both male AAS users and female non-AAS users.

Versatility of acyl-acyl carrier protein synthetases

DOE PAGES

Beld, Joris; Finzel, Kara; Burkart, Michael D.

2014-10-09

The acyl carrier protein (ACP) requires posttranslational modification with a 4'-phosphopantetheine arm for activity, and this thiol-terminated modification carries cargo between enzymes in ACP-dependent metabolic pathways. In this paper, we show that acyl-ACP synthetases (AasSs) from different organisms are able to load even, odd, and unnatural fatty acids onto E. coli ACP in vitro. Vibrio harveyi AasS not only shows promiscuity for the acid substrate, but also is active upon various alternate carrier proteins. AasS activity also extends to functional activation in living organisms. We show that exogenously supplied carboxylic acids are loaded onto ACP and extended by the E.more » coli fatty acid synthase, including unnatural fatty acid analogs. These analogs are further integrated into cellular lipids. Finally, in vitro characterization of four different adenylate-forming enzymes allowed us to disambiguate CoA-ligases and AasSs, and further in vivo studies show the potential for functional application in other organisms.« less

How the multiple antioxidant properties of ascorbic acid affect lipid oxidation in oil-in-water emulsions.

PubMed

Uluata, Sibel; McClements, D Julian; Decker, Eric A

2015-02-18

Lipid oxidation is a serious problem for oil-containing food products because it negatively affects shelf life and nutritional composition. An antioxidant strategy commonly employed to prevent or delay oxidation in foods is to remove oxygen from the closed food-packaging system. An alternative technique is use of an edible oxygen scavenger to remove oxygen within the food. Ascorbic acid (AA) is a particularly promising antioxidant because of its natural label and multiple antioxidative functions. In this study, AA was tested as an oxygen scavenger in buffer and an oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion. The effects of transition metals on the ability of AA to scavenge oxygen were determined. Headspace oxygen decrease less than 1% in the medium-chain triacylglycerol (MCT) O/W emulsion system (pH 3 and 7). AA was able to almost completely remove dissolved oxygen (DO) in a buffered solution. Transition metals (Fe(2+) and Cu(+)) significantly accelerated the degradation of AA; however, iron and copper only increased DO depletion rates, by 10.6-16.4% from day 1 to 7, compared to the control. AA (2.5-20 mM) decreased DO in a 1% O/W emulsion system 32.0-64.0% and delayed the formation of headspace hexanal in the emulsion from 7 to over 20 days. This research shows that, when AA is used in an O/W emulsion system, oxidation of the emulsion system can be delay by multiple mechanisms.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Layton, E.; Huang, Y.; Chu, S.

We show that cyclic quantum evolution can be realized and the Aharonov-Anandan (AA) geometric phase can be determined for any spin-{ital j} system driven by periodic fields. Two methods are extended for the study of this problem: the generalized spin-coherent-state technique and the Floquet quasienergy approach. Using the former approach, we have developed a {ital generalized} Bloch-sphere model and presented a SU(2) Lie-group formulation of the AA geometric phase in the spin-coherent state. We show that the AA phase is equal to {ital j} times the solid angle enclosed by the trajectory traced out by the tip of a generalizedmore » Bloch vector. General analytic formulas are obtained for the Bloch vector trajectory and the AA geometric phase in terms of external physical parameters. In addition to these findings, we have also approached the same problem from an alternative but complementary point of view without recourse to the concept of coherent-state terminology. Here we first determine the Floquet quasienergy eigenvalues and eigenvectors for the spin-{ital j} system driven by periodic fields. This in turn allows the construction of the time-evolution propagator, the total wave function, and the AA geometric phase in a more general fashion.« less

Variation of amino acid sequences of serum amyloid a (SAA) and immunohistochemical analysis of amyloid a (AA) in Japanese domestic cats.

PubMed

Tei, Meina; Uchida, Kazuyuki; Chambers, James K; Watanabe, Ken-Ichi; Tamamoto, Takashi; Ohno, Koichi; Nakayama, Hiroyuki

2018-02-02

Amyloid A (AA) amyloidosis, a fatal systemic amyloid disease, occurs secondary to chronic inflammatory conditions in humans. Although persistently elevated serum amyloid A (SAA) levels are required for its pathogenesis, not all individuals with chronic inflammation necessarily develop AA amyloidosis. Furthermore, many diseases in cats are associated with the elevated production of SAA, whereas only a small number actually develop AA amyloidosis. We hypothesized that a genetic mutation in the SAA gene may strongly contribute to the pathogenesis of feline AA amyloidosis. In the present study, genomic DNA from four Japanese domestic cats (JDCs) with AA amyloidosis and from five without amyloidosis was analyzed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and direct sequencing. We identified the novel variation combination of 45R-51A in the deduced amino acid sequences of four JDCs with amyloidosis and five without. However, there was no relationship between amino acid variations and the distribution of AA amyloid deposits, indicating that differences in SAA sequences do not contribute to the pathogenesis of AA amyloidosis. Immunohistochemical analysis using antisera against the three different parts of the feline SAA protein-i.e., the N-terminal, central, and C-terminal regions-revealed that feline AA contained the C-terminus, unlike human AA. These results indicate that the cleavage and degradation of the C-terminus are not essential for amyloid fibril formation in JDCs.

Dynamic Multivariate Accelerated Corrosion Test Protocol

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-10-01

atmospheric, accelerated, AA2024-T3, AA6061-T6, AA7075-T3, 1010 steel, AgCl, rare earth conversion coat, magnesium rich primer, polyurethane , Eyring, Monte...morphology and elemental analysis by scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and electrochemical determinations of...in the FT-IR analysis; degradation of the components of the high performance polyurethane coatings exposed in the UV/ozone chamber were more

MDCT evaluation of acute aortic syndrome (AAS)

PubMed Central

Rossi, Giovanni; Lassandro, Francesco; Rea, Gaetano; Marino, Maurizio; Muto, Maurizio; Molino, Antonio; Scaglione, Mariano

2016-01-01

Non-traumatic acute thoracic aortic syndromes (AAS) describe a spectrum of life-threatening aortic pathologies with significant implications on diagnosis, therapy and management. There is a common pathway for the various manifestations of AAS that eventually leads to a breakdown of the aortic intima and media. Improvements in biology and health policy and diffusion of technology into the community resulted in an associated decrease in mortality and morbidity related to aortic therapeutic interventions. Hybrid procedures, branched and fenestrated endografts, and percutaneous aortic valves have emerged as potent and viable alternatives to traditional surgeries. In this context, current state-of-the art multidetector CT (MDCT) is actually the gold standard in the emergency setting because of its intrinsic diagnostic value. Management of acute aortic disease has changed with the increasing realization that endovascular therapies may offer distinct advantages in these situations. This article provides a summary of AAS, focusing especially on the MDCT technique, typical and atypical findings and common pitfalls of AAS, as well as recent concepts regarding the subtypes of AAS, consisting of aortic dissection, intramural haematoma, penetrating atherosclerotic ulcer and unstable aortic aneurysm or contained aortic rupture. MDCT findings will be related to pathophysiology, timing and management options to achieve a definite and timely diagnostic and therapeutic definition. In the present article, we review the aetiology, pathophysiology, clinical presentation, outcomes and therapeutic approaches to acute aortic syndromes. PMID:27033344

Efficacy and safety of topical calcipotriol in management of alopecia areata: A pilot study.

PubMed

Narang, Tarun; Daroach, Manju; Kumaran, M Sendhil

2017-05-01

Reports have highlighted serum vitamin D deficiency and reduced 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) receptors(VDR) expression on hair follicles of alopecia areata(AA) patients. Very few studies have demonstrated efficacy of topical calcipotriol (vitamin D analogue) in AA. We intended to study the efficacy of calcipotriol lotion 0.005% in AA and correlate its outcome with serum vitamin D levels. We conducted a prospective study, in which 22 patients with AA were treated with calcipotriol lotion 0.005% twice daily for 3 months. Clinico-epidemiological parameters including severity of AA and SALT score were calculated at baseline and at 12 weeks. Hair regrowth was assessed monthly at 4, 8, 12 weeks. Serum vitamin D levels were measured at baseline. After 12 weeks of treatment, hair regrowth was observed in 13 (59.1%) patients. Mean period for onset of disease stabilization and hair regrowth was 4 weeks and 4.21± 2.13 weeks, respectively. Among these 13 patients, SALT 50 and SALT 100 was observed in 6(46.2%) and 2(9%) patients, respectively. Response to treatment was better in patients with lower vitamin D levels (p < .009). Topical calcipotriol can be an alternative treatment in AA and it could prove to be more useful in patients who are vitamin D deficient. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Electrochemical detection of DNA damage induced by acrylamide and its metabolite at the graphene-ionic liquid-Nafion modified pyrolytic graphite electrode.

PubMed

Qiu, Yanyan; Qu, Xiangjin; Dong, Jing; Ai, Shiyun; Han, Ruixia

2011-06-15

A new electrochemical biosensor for directly detecting DNA damage induced by acrylamide (AA) and its metabolite was presented in this work. The graphene-ionic liquid-Nafion modified pyrolytic graphite electrode (PGE) was prepared, and then horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and natural double-stranded DNA were alternately assembled on the modified electrode by the layer-by-layer method. The PGE/graphene-ionic liquid-Nafion and the construction of the (HRP/DNA)(n) film were characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. With the guanine signal in DNA as an indicator, the damage of DNA was detected by differential pulse voltammetry after PGE/graphene-ionic liquid-Nafion/(HRP/DNA)(n) was incubated in AA solution or AA+H(2)O(2) solution at 37°C. This method provides a new model to mimic and directly detect DNA damage induced by chemical pollutants and their metabolites in vitro. The results indicated that, in the presence of H(2)O(2), HRP was activated and catalyzed the transformation of AA to glycidamide, which could form DNA adducts and induce more serious damage of DNA than AA. In order to further verify these results, UV-vis spectrophotometry was also used to investigate DNA damage induced by AA and its metabolites in solution and the similar results were obtained. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analysis for nickel (3 and 4) in positive plates from nickel-cadmium cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewis, Harlan L.

1994-01-01

The NASA-Goddard procedure for destructive physical analysis (DPA) of nickel-cadmium cells contains a method for analysis of residual charged nickel as NiOOH in the positive plates at complete cell discharge, also known as nickel precharge. In the method, the Ni(III) is treated with an excess of an Fe(II) reducing agent and then back titrated with permanganate. The Ni(III) content is the difference between Fe(II) equivalents and permanganate equivalents. Problems have arisen in analysis at NAVSURFWARCENDIV, Crane because for many types of cells, particularly AA-size and some 'space-qualified' cells, zero or negative Ni(III) contents are recorded for which the manufacturer claims 3-5 percent precharge. Our approach to this problem was to reexamine the procedure for the source of error, and correct it or develop an alternative method.

Immobilization of mercury and zinc in an alkali-activated slag matrix.

PubMed

Qian, Guangren; Sun, Darren Delai; Tay, Joo Hwa

2003-07-04

The behavior of heavy metals mercury and zinc immobilized in an alkali-activated slag (AAS) matrix has been evaluated using physical property tests, pore structure analysis and XRD, TG-DTG, FTIR and TCLP analysis. Low concentrations (0.5%) of mercury and zinc ions had only a slight affect on compressive strength, pore structure and hydration of AAS matrixes. The addition of 2% Hg ions to the AAS matrix resulted in a reduction in early compressive strength but no negative effects were noticed after 28 days of hydration. Meanwhile, 2% Hg ions can be effectively immobilized in the AAS matrix with the leachate meeting the USEPA TCLP mercury limit. For a 2% Zn-doped AAS matrix, the hydration of the AAS paste was greatly retarded and the zinc concentration in the leachate from this matrix was higher than 5mg/l even at 28 days. Based on these results, we conclude that the physical encapsulation and chemical fixation mechanisms were likely to be responsible for the immobilization of Hg ions in the AAS matrix while only chemical fixation mechanisms were responsible for the immobilization of Zn ions in the AAS matrix.

Age Differences of Salivary Alpha-Amylase Levels of Basal and Acute Responses to Citric Acid Stimulation Between Chinese Children and Adults.

PubMed

Yang, Ze-Min; Chen, Long-Hui; Zhang, Min; Lin, Jing; Zhang, Jie; Chen, Wei-Wen; Yang, Xiao-Rong

2015-01-01

It remains unclear how salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) levels respond to mechanical stimuli in different age groups. In addition, the role played by the sAA gene (AMY1) copy number and protein expression (glycosylated and non-glycosylated) in sAA activity has also been rarely reported. In this study, we analyzed saliva samples collected before and after citric acid stimulation from 47 child and 47 adult Chinese subjects. We observed that adults had higher sAA activity and sAA glycosylated levels (glycosylated sAA amount/total sAA amount) in basal and stimulated saliva when compared with children, while no differences were found in total or glycosylated sAA amount between them. Interestingly, adults showed attenuated sAA activity levels increase over those of children after stimulation. Correlation analysis showed that total sAA amount, glycosylated sAA amount, and AMY1 copy number × total sAA amount were all positively correlated with sAA activity before and after stimulation in both groups. Interestingly, correlation r between sAA levels (glycosylated sAA amount and total sAA amount) and sAA activity decreased after stimulation in children, while adults showed an increase in correlation r. In addition, the correlation r between AMY1 copy number × total sAA amount and sAA activity was higher than that between AMY1 copy number, total sAA amount, and sAA activity, respectively. Taken together, our results suggest that total sAA amount, glycosylated sAA amount, and the positive interaction between AMY1 copy number and total sAA amount are crucial in influencing sAA activity before and after stimulation in children and adults.

Age Differences of Salivary Alpha-Amylase Levels of Basal and Acute Responses to Citric Acid Stimulation Between Chinese Children and Adults

PubMed Central

Yang, Ze-Min; Chen, Long-Hui; Zhang, Min; Lin, Jing; Zhang, Jie; Chen, Wei-Wen; Yang, Xiao-Rong

2015-01-01

It remains unclear how salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) levels respond to mechanical stimuli in different age groups. In addition, the role played by the sAA gene (AMY1) copy number and protein expression (glycosylated and non-glycosylated) in sAA activity has also been rarely reported. In this study, we analyzed saliva samples collected before and after citric acid stimulation from 47 child and 47 adult Chinese subjects. We observed that adults had higher sAA activity and sAA glycosylated levels (glycosylated sAA amount/total sAA amount) in basal and stimulated saliva when compared with children, while no differences were found in total or glycosylated sAA amount between them. Interestingly, adults showed attenuated sAA activity levels increase over those of children after stimulation. Correlation analysis showed that total sAA amount, glycosylated sAA amount, and AMY1 copy number × total sAA amount were all positively correlated with sAA activity before and after stimulation in both groups. Interestingly, correlation r between sAA levels (glycosylated sAA amount and total sAA amount) and sAA activity decreased after stimulation in children, while adults showed an increase in correlation r. In addition, the correlation r between AMY1 copy number × total sAA amount and sAA activity was higher than that between AMY1 copy number, total sAA amount, and sAA activity, respectively. Taken together, our results suggest that total sAA amount, glycosylated sAA amount, and the positive interaction between AMY1 copy number and total sAA amount are crucial in influencing sAA activity before and after stimulation in children and adults. PMID:26635626

The roles of AMY1 copies and protein expression in human salivary α-amylase activity.

PubMed

Yang, Ze-Min; Lin, Jing; Chen, Long-Hui; Zhang, Min; Chen, Wei-Wen; Yang, Xiao-Rong

2015-01-01

Salivary α-amylase (sAA) activity has been extensively investigated in nutrition and psychology. But few studies were performed to assess the role played by sAA gene (AMY1) copies and protein expression in basal and stimulus-induced sAA activity. The sAA activity, amount and AMY1 copy number were determined from 184 saliva samples pre- and post-citric acid stimulation. Our findings showed that citric acid could induce significant increase in sAA activity, total sAA amount, and glycosylated sAA amount, among which the glycosylated sAA amount had the largest response. The correlation analysis showed that AMY1 copy number, total sAA amount and AMY1 copy number×total sAA amount had significantly positive and successively increasing correlations with sAA activity in unstimulated and stimulated saliva, respectively, and furthermore, we observed higher correlations in unstimulated saliva when compared with the corresponding correlations in stimulated saliva. We also observed significant correlations between glycosylated sAA amount and sAA activity in unstimulated and stimulated saliva, respectively. Interestingly, the correlations were higher in stimulated saliva than in unstimulated saliva, and the correlations between glycosylated sAA amount and sAA activity were higher than that of between total sAA amount and sAA activity in stimulated saliva. Moreover, total sAA amount ratio and glycosylated sAA amount ratio showed significantly positive correlation with sAA activity ratio. AMY1 copy number had no correlation with sAA activity ratio. These findings suggested that AMY1 copy number and sAA amount played crucial roles in sAA activity; however, the roles were attenuated after stimulation due to fortified release of glycosylated sAA. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Impact of Bone-targeted Therapies in Chemotherapy-naïve Metastatic Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer Patients Treated with Abiraterone Acetate: Post Hoc Analysis of Study COU-AA-302

PubMed Central

Saad, Fred; Shore, Neal; Van Poppel, Hendrik; Rathkopf, Dana E.; Smith, Matthew R.; de Bono, Johann S.; Logothetis, Christopher J.; de Souza, Paul; Fizazi, Karim; Mulders, Peter F.A.; Mainwaring, Paul; Hainsworth, John D.; Beer, Tomasz M.; North, Scott; Fradet, Yves; Griffin, Thomas A.; De Porre, Peter; Londhe, Anil; Kheoh, Thian; Small, Eric J.; Scher, Howard I.; Molina, Arturo; Ryan, Charles J.

2016-01-01

Background Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) often involves bone, and bone-targeted therapy (BTT) has become part of the overall treatment strategy. Objective Investigation of outcomes for concomitant BTT in a post hoc analysis of the COU-AA-302 trial, which demonstrated an overall clinical benefit of abiraterone acetate (AA) plus prednisone over placebo plus prednisone in asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic chemotherapy-naïve mCRPC patients. Design, setting, and participants This report describes the third interim analysis (prespecified at 55% overall survival [OS] events) for the COU-AA-302 trial. Intervention Patients were grouped by concomitant BTT use or no BTT use. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis Radiographic progression-free survival and OS were coprimary end points. This report describes the third interim analysis (prespecified at 55% OS events) and involves patients treated with or without concomitant BTT during the COU-AA-302 study. Median follow-up for OS was 27.1 mo. Median time-to-event variables with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs), 95% CIs, and p values for concomitant BTT versus no BTT were obtained via Cox models. Results and limitations While the post hoc nature of the analysis is a limitation, superiority of AA and prednisone versus prednisone alone was demonstrated for clinical outcomes with or without BTT use. Compared with no BTT use, concomitant BTT significantly improved OS (HR 0.75; p = 0.01) and increased the time to ECOG deterioration (HR 0.75; p < 0.001) and time to opiate use for cancer-related pain (HR 0.80; p = 0.036). The safety profile of concomitant BTT with AA was similar to that reported for AA in the overall intent-to-treat population. Osteonecrosis of the jaw (all grade 1/2) with concomitant BTT use was reported in <3% of patients. Conclusions AA with concomitant BTT was safe and well tolerated in men with chemotherapy-naïve mCRPC. The benefits of AA on clinical outcomes were increased with concomitant BTT. Patient summary Treatment of advanced prostate cancer often includes bone-targeted therapy. This post hoc analysis showed that in patients with advanced prostate cancer who were treated with abiraterone acetate and prednisone in combination with bone-targeted therapy, there was a continued trend in prolongation of life when compared with patients treated with prednisone alone. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00887198. PMID:25985882

Statistical analysis of fragmentation patterns of electron ionization mass spectra of enolized-trimethylsilylated anabolic androgenic steroids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fragkaki, A. G.; Angelis, Y. S.; Tsantili-Kakoulidou, A.; Koupparis, M.; Georgakopoulos, C.

2009-08-01

Anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) are included in the List of prohibited substances of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as substances abused to enhance athletic performance. Gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) plays an important role in doping control analyses identifying AAS as their enolized-trimethylsilyl (TMS)-derivatives using the electron ionization (EI) mode. This paper explores the suitability of complementary GC-MS mass spectra and statistical analysis (principal component analysis, PCA and partial least squares-discriminant analysis, PLS-DA) to differentiate AAS as a function of their structural and conformational features expressed by their fragment ions. The results obtained showed that the application of PCA yielded a classification among the AAS molecules which became more apparent after applying PLS-DA to the dataset. The application of PLS-DA yielded a clear separation among the AAS molecules which were, thus, classified as: 1-ene-3-keto, 3-hydroxyl with saturated A-ring, 1-ene-3-hydroxyl, 4-ene-3-keto, 1,4-diene-3-keto and 3-keto with saturated A-ring anabolic steroids. The study of this paper also presents structurally diagnostic fragment ions and dissociation routes providing evidence for the presence of unknown AAS or chemically modified molecules known as designer steroids.

Combination of azelaic acid 5% and clindamycin 2% for the treatment of acne vulgaris.

PubMed

Pazoki-Toroudi, Hamidreza; Nilforoushzadeh, Mohamad Ali; Ajami, Marjan; Jaffary, Fariba; Aboutaleb, Nahid; Nassiri-Kashani, Mansour; Firooz, Alireza

2011-12-01

Acne vulgaris, an inflammatory skin disease with different clinical appearances, is a common problem in most adolescents. It seems that using combinations of topical agents can decrease resistance to the treatment and improve the efficacy. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of azelaic acid (AA) 5% and clindamycin (Clin) 2% combination (AA-Clin) on mild-to-moderate acne vulgaris. The efficacy and safety of 12-week treatment with AA-Clin in patients with mild-to-moderate facial acne vulgaris were evaluated by a multicenter, randomized, and double-blind study. A total of 88 male and 62 female patients were randomly assigned to one of these treatments: AA 5%, Clin 2%, and combination of them. Every 4 weeks, total inflammatory and noninflammatory lesions were counted, acne severity index (ASI) was calculated, and patient satisfaction was recorded. Treatment for 12 weeks with combination gel significantly reduced the total lesion number compared with baseline (p < 0.01), as well as Clin 2% or AA 5% treatment groups (p < 0.05 or p < 0.01). The percentage of reduction in ASI in combination treated group (64.16 ± 6.01) was significantly more than those in the Clin 2% (47.73 ± 6.62, p < 0.05) and 5% AA (32.46 ± 5.27, p < 0.01) groups after 12 weeks. Among the patients in the AA-Clin group, 75.86% of males were satisfied or very satisfied and 85.71% of females were satisfied or very satisfied. This trend was significant in comparison to the number of patients who were satisfied with AA 5% or Clin 2% treatment (p < 0.01). Seven patients in AA-Clin group (incidence = 22%) showed adverse effects that were not statistically significant compared to treatment with individual active ingredients. The profound reduction in lesion count and ASI by combination therapy with AA-Clin gel in comparison to individual treatment with 5% AA or Clin 2% suggested the combination formula as an effective alternative in treatment of acne vulgaris.

Synthetic anabolic agents: steroids and nonsteroidal selective androgen receptor modulators.

PubMed

Thevis, Mario; Schänzer, Wilhelm

2010-01-01

The central role of testosterone in the development of male characteristics, as well as its beneficial effects on physical performance and muscle growth, has led to the search for synthetic alternatives with improved pharmacological profiles. Hundreds of steroidal analogs have been prepared with a superior oral bioavailability, which should also possess reduced undesirable effects. However, only a few entered the pharmaceutical market due to severe toxicological incidences that were mainly attributed to the lack of tissue selectivity. Prominent representatives of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) are for instance methyltestosterone, metandienone and stanozolol, which are discussed as model compounds with regard to general pharmacological aspects of synthetic AAS. Recently, nonsteroidal alternatives to AAS have been developed that selectively activate the androgen receptor in either muscle tissue or bones. These so-called selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) are currently undergoing late clinical trials (IIb) and will be prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency from January 2008. Their entirely synthetic structures are barely related to steroids, but particular functional groups allow for the tissue-selective activation or inhibition of androgen receptors and, thus, the stimulation of muscle growth without the risk of severe undesirable effects commonly observed in steroid replacement therapies. Hence, these compounds possess a high potential for misuse in sports and will be the subject of future doping control assays.

Metabolic cooperation of ascorbic acid and glutathione in normal and vitamin C-deficient ODS rats.

PubMed

Wang, Y; Kashiba, M; Kasahara, E; Tsuchiya, M; Sato, E F; Utsumi, K; Inoue, M

2001-01-01

Although the coordination of various antioxidants is important for the protection of organisms from oxidative stress, dynamic aspects of the interaction of endogenous antioxidants in vivo remain to be elucidated. We studied the metabolic coordination of two naturally occurring water-soluble antioxidants, ascorbic acid (AA) and reduced glutathione (GSH), in liver, kidney and plasma of control and scurvy-prone osteogenic disorder Shionogi (ODS) rats that hereditarily lack the ability to synthesize AA. When supplemented with AA, its levels in liver and kidney of ODS rats increased to similar levels of those in control rats. Hepato-renal levels of glutathione were similar with the two animal groups except for the slight increase in its hepatic levels in AA-supplemented ODS rats. Administration of L-buthionine sulfoximine (BSO), a specific inhibitor of GSH synthesis, rapidly decreased the hepato-renal levels of glutathione in a biphasic manner, a rapid phase followed by a slower phase. Kinetic analysis revealed that glutathione turnover was enhanced significantly in liver mitochondria and renal cytosol of ODS rats. Administration of BSO significantly increased AA levels in the liver and kidney of control rats but decreased them in AA-supplemented ODS rats. Kinetic analysis revealed that AA is synthesized by control rat liver by some BSO-enhanced mechanism and the de novo synthesized AA is transferred to the kidney. Such a coordination of the metabolism of GSH and AA in liver and kidney is suppressed in AA-deficient ODS rats. These and other results suggest that the metabolism of AA and GSH forms a compensatory network by which oxidative stress can be decreased.

Application of bacterial reverse mutation assay for detection of non-genotoxic carcinogens.

PubMed

Kanode, Rewan; Chandra, Saurabh; Sharma, Sharad

2017-06-01

Non-genotoxic carcinogens may play a significant role in development of cancer. Currently short-term assays for mutagenicity classify genotoxic carcinogens and lack the abilities to detect epigenetic carcinogens. The need to develop an endpoint always remains to recognize potentially carcinogenic agents employing rapid and practical bioassays. For this, the present study utilized TA98 and TA1537 tester strains of Salmonella typhimurium to evaluate four non-genotoxic carcinogenic agents (Coumarin, β-Myrcene, Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and trans-anethole). These chemicals were tested individually and in combination with promutagens 2-aminoanthracene (2AA) and benzo(a)pyrene (BP) in presence of metabolic activation system (S9) by plate incorporation method. Exposure to all four test chemicals revealed marked increase of revertant colonies in promutagen combined groups as compared to promutagens alone. However significantly greater fold responses were observed with 2AA combination groups (Coumarin +2AA, β-Myrcene +2AA, Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate +2AA and trans-anethole +2AA) with TA98 strain as compared with TA1537, which seems to have enhanced the mutagenic response of 2AA in metabolically activated conditions. It is concluded that out of both tester strains TA98 strain of Salmonella typhimurium has the potential to detect non-genotoxic carcinogens when combined with potent promutgens either by inhibiting or modulating activities of liver microsomal enzymes biochemically which may indirectly contribute to neoplastic alterations. Further this simple, short-term alternative assay may provide rapid information during extrapolative toxicology for differentiating genotoxic and non-genotoxic carcinogens.

Collectivity and manifestations of minimum-bias jets in high-energy nuclear collisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trainor, Thomas A.

2018-01-01

Collectivity, as interpreted to mean flow of a dense medium in high-energy A-A collisions described by hydrodynamics, has been attributed to smaller collision systems - p-A and even p-p collisions - based on recent analysis of LHC data. However, alternative methods reveal that some data features attributed to flows are actually manifestations of minimum-bias (MB) jets. In this presentation I review the differential structure of single-particle pt spectra from SPS to LHC energies in the context of a two-component (soft + hard) model (TCM) of hadron production. I relate the spectrum hard component to measured properties of isolated jets. I use the spectrum TCM to predict accurately the systematics of ensemble-mean p̅t in p-p, p-A and A-A collision systems over a large energy interval. Detailed comparisons of the TCM with spectrum and correlation data suggest that MB jets play a dominant role in hadron production near midrapidity. Claimed flow phenomena are better explained as jet manifestations agreeing quantitatively with measured jet properties.

Increased Frequency of KRAS Mutations in African Americans Compared with Caucasians in Sporadic Colorectal Cancer.

PubMed

Staudacher, Jonas J; Yazici, Cemal; Bul, Vadim; Zeidan, Joseph; Khalid, Ahmer; Xia, Yinglin; Krett, Nancy; Jung, Barbara

2017-10-19

The basis for over-representation of colorectal cancer (CRC) in African-American (AA) populations compared with Caucasians are multifactorial and complex. Understanding the mechanisms for this racial disparity is critical for delivery of better care. Several studies have investigated sporadic CRC for differences in somatic mutations between AAs and Caucasians, but owing to small study sizes and conflicting results to date, no definitive conclusions have been reached. Here, we present the first systematic literature review and meta-analysis investigating the mutational differences in sporadic CRC between AAs and Caucasians focused on frequent driver mutations (APC,TP53, KRAS,PI3CA, FBXW7,SMAD4, and BRAF). Publication inclusion criteria comprised sporadic CRC, human subjects, English language, information on ethnicity (AA, Caucasian, or both), total subject number >20, and information on mutation frequencies. We identified 6,234 publications. Meta-analysis for APC, TP54, FBXW7, or SMAD4 was not possible owing to paucity of data. KRAS mutations were statistically less frequent in non-Hispanic Whites when compared with AAs (odds ratio, 0.640; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.5342-0.7666; P=0.0001), while the mutational differences observed in BRAF and PI3CA did not reach statistical significance. Here, we report the mutational patterns for KRAS, BRAF, and PI3CA in sporadic CRC of AAs and Caucasians in a systematic meta-analysis of previously published data. We identified an increase in KRAS mutations in sporadic CRC in AAs, which may contribute to worse prognosis and increased mortality of CRC in AAs. Future studies investigating health-care disparities in CRC in AAs should control for KRAS mutational frequency.

Comparison of liquid chromatography-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (LC/IRMS) and gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/C/IRMS) for the determination of collagen amino acid δ13C values for palaeodietary and palaeoecological reconstruction.

PubMed

Dunn, Philip J H; Honch, Noah V; Evershed, Richard P

2011-10-30

Results are presented of a comparison of the amino acid (AA) δ(13)C values obtained by gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/C/IRMS) and liquid chromatography-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (LC/IRMS). Although the primary focus was the compound-specific stable carbon isotope analysis of bone collagen AAs, because of its growing application for palaeodietary and palaeoecological reconstruction, the results are relevant to any field where AA δ(13)C values are required. We compare LC/IRMS with the most up-to-date GC/C/IRMS method using N-acetyl methyl ester (NACME) AA derivatives. This comparison involves the analysis of standard AAs and hydrolysates of archaeological human bone collagen, which have been previously investigated as N-trifluoroacetyl isopropyl esters (TFA/IP). It was observed that, although GC/C/IRMS analyses required less sample, LC/IRMS permitted the analysis of a wider range of AAs, particularly those not amenable to GC analysis (e.g. arginine). Accordingly, reconstructed bulk δ(13)C values based on LC/IRMS-derived δ(13)C values were closer to the EA/IRMS-derived δ(13)C values than those based on GC/C/IRMS values. The analytical errors for LC/IRMS AA δ(13)C values were lower than GC/C/IRMS determinations. Inconsistencies in the δ(13)C values of the TFA/IP derivatives compared with the NACME- and LC/IRMS-derived δ(13)C values suggest inherent problems with the use of TFA/IP derivatives, resulting from: (i) inefficient sample combustion, and/or (ii) differences in the intra-molecular distribution of δ(13)C values between AAs, which are manifested by incomplete combustion. Close similarities between the NACME AA δ(13)C values and the LC/IRMS-derived δ(13)C values suggest that the TFA/IP derivatives should be abandoned for the natural abundance determinations of AA δ(13)C values. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Differences between manual and automatic analysis in determining the severity of obstructive sleep apnea using home sleep apnea testing.

PubMed

Labarca, Gonzalo; Dreyse, Jorge; Salas, Constanza; Contreras, Andrea; Nazar, Gonzalo; Gaete, Maria I; Jorquera, Jorge

2018-04-07

Home sleep apnea testing (HSAT) is a diagnostic measure for obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) in moderate/high risk patients. Some HSAT companies contain automatic analysis (AA). However, guidelines recommend manual analysis (MA) despite the weak evidence for this recommendation. Evaluate the concordance between AA and MA of HSAT to make either a diagnosis and severity classification. We evaluated AA and MA of HSAT between 2015 and 2016. The study was a blind analysis reviewed by two physicians using currents recommendations. The differences between AA and MA were compared with single variable T analysis, inter-scorer agreement for diagnosis was evaluated with Cohen Kappa coefficient, correlation was examined using Tau-b Kendall, and Bland-Altman plot was constructed to analyze differences between AA and MA. One hundred and ninety-eight patients were included. In our study, the mean age was 50 ± 15 years, 83% male, BMI 30 ± 5 and neck circumference 41 ± 4 cm. Eighty-two percent of subjects showed an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) > 5 ev/h. Thirty-five percent of patients with OSAHS were mild (AHI: 5-15 ev/h), 34% moderate and 31% severe (>30 ev/h). The kappa coefficient between physicians was 1.0 (high), between AA and MA was 0.58 (moderate) for the diagnosis of OSAHS and 0.33 (weak) for severity with 0.70 Tau-b. The AA underestimates the IAH -8 ev/h, (95% CI -9 to -7 ev/h, p < 0.001) and delivers a misclassification of severity by 47%. AA underestimates the rate of respiratory events and alters the classification of the severity of the disease and may modify the therapeutic approach. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Understanding the Role of Message Frames on African-American Willingness to Participate in a Hypothetical Diabetes Prevention Study.

PubMed

Langford, Aisha T; Larkin, Knoll; Resnicow, Ken; Zikmund-Fisher, Brian J; Fagerlin, Angela

2017-08-01

The objective of this research was to evaluate the impact of message framing (e.g., highlighting health disparities vs. progress toward reducing disparities) on willingness to enroll in a hypothetical research study. African-American (AA, n = 1513) and White (n = 362) adults completed an online survey about diabetes, health behaviors including physical activity, and attitudes about research. AA participants were randomized to view a general message (same message as provided to all White participants) or 1 of 4 alternate messages that framed the need for people to participate in research in terms of race and/or health disparities. Among AAs, there were no differences in willingness to enroll in the study by message frame. However, individual characteristics including younger age, female sex, attitudes about research, a sense of obligation, and community responsibility were significant predictors of willingness to enroll in the study. AA participants who received the general message were equally willing as White participants to enroll in the study. Highlighting race and health disparities in study recruitment materials may not be needed to increase interest among AAs. Factors beyond race appear to be stronger motivators for participation. Unlike previous research, racial framing did not suppress motivation to enroll in our hypothetical study.

The occurrence and control of nitric oxide generation by the plant mitochondrial electron transport chain.

PubMed

Alber, Nicole A; Sivanesan, Hampavi; Vanlerberghe, Greg C

2017-07-01

The plant mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) is bifurcated such that electrons from ubiquinol are passed to oxygen via the usual cytochrome path or through alternative oxidase (AOX). We previously showed that knockdown of AOX in transgenic tobacco increased leaf concentrations of nitric oxide (NO), implying that an activity capable of generating NO had been effected. Here, we identify the potential source of this NO. Treatment of leaves with antimycin A (AA, Q i -site inhibitor of Complex III) increased NO amount more than treatment with myxothiazol (Myxo, Q o -site inhibitor) despite both being equally effective at inhibiting respiration. Comparison of nitrate-grown wild-type with AOX knockdown and overexpression plants showed a negative correlation between AOX amount and NO amount following AA. Further, Myxo fully negated the ability of AA to increase NO amount. With ammonium-grown plants, neither AA nor Myxo strongly increased NO amount in any plant line. When these leaves were supplied with nitrite alongside the AA or Myxo, then the inhibitor effects across lines mirrored that of nitrate-grown plants. Hence the ETC, likely the Q-cycle of Complex III generates NO from nitrite, and AOX reduces this activity by acting as a non-energy-conserving electron sink upstream of Complex III. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Non-Muscle Myosin Heavy Chain 9 Gene (MYH9) Is Not Associated with Lupus Nephritis in African Americans

PubMed Central

Freedman, Barry I.; Edberg, Jeffrey C.; Comeau, Mary E.; Murea, Mariana; Bowden, Donald W.; Divers, Jasmin; Alarcón, Graciela S.; Brown, Elizabeth E.; McGwin, Gerald; Kopp, Jeffrey B.; Winkler, Cheryl A.; Nelson, George W.; Illei, Gabor; Petri, Michelle; Ramsey-Goldman, Rosalind; Reveille, John D.; Vilá, Luis M.; Langefeld, Carl D.; Kimberly, Robert P.

2010-01-01

Background African Americans (AA) disproportionately develop lupus nephritis (LN) relative to European Americans and familial clustering supports causative genes. Since MYH9 underlies approximately 40% of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in AA, we tested for genetic association with LN. Methods Seven MYH9 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and the E1 risk haplotype were tested for association with LN in three cohorts of AA. Results A preliminary analysis revealed that the MYH9 E1 risk haplotype was associated with ESRD in 25 cases with presumed systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)-associated ESRD, compared to 735 non-SLE controls (odds ratio 3.1; p = 0.010 recessive). Replication analyses were performed in 583 AA with SLE in the PROFILE cohort (318 with LN; 265 with SLE but without nephropathy) and 60 AA from the NIH (39 with LN; 21 with SLE but without nephropathy). Analysis of the NIH and larger PROFILE cohorts, as well as a combined analysis, did not support this association. Conclusions These results suggest that AA with ESRD and coincident SLE who were recruited from dialysis clinics more likely have kidney diseases in the MYH9-associated spectrum of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. PROFILE and NIH participants, recruited from rheumatology practices, demonstrate that MYH9 does not contribute substantially to the development of LN in AA. PMID:20523037

Evolution of insect arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferases: Structural evidence from the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti

PubMed Central

Han, Qian; Robinson, Howard; Ding, Haizhen; Christensen, Bruce M.; Li, Jianyong

2012-01-01

Arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase (aaNAT) catalyzes the transacetylation from acetyl-CoA to arylalkylamines. aaNATs are involved in sclerotization and neurotransmitter inactivation in insects. Phyletic distribution analysis confirms three clusters of aaNAT-like sequences in insects: typical insect aaNAT, polyamine NAT-like aaNAT, and mosquito unique putative aaNAT (paaNAT). Here we studied three proteins: aaNAT2, aaNAT5b, and paaNAT7, each from a different cluster. aaNAT2, a protein from the typical insect aaNAT cluster, uses histamine as a substrate as well as the previously identified arylalkylamines. aaNAT5b, a protein from polyamine NAT -like aaNAT cluster, uses hydrazine and histamine as substrates. The crystal structure of aaNAT2 was determined using single-wavelength anomalous dispersion methods, and that of native aaNAT2, aaNAT5b and paaNAT7 was detected using molecular replacement techniques. All three aaNAT structures have a common fold core of GCN5-related N-acetyltransferase superfamily proteins, along with a unique structural feature: helix/helices between β3 and β4 strands. Our data provide a start toward a more comprehensive understanding of the structure–function relationship and physiology of aaNATs from the mosquito Aedes aegypti and serve as a reference for studying the aaNAT family of proteins from other insect species. The structures of three different types of aaNATs may provide targets for designing insecticides for use in mosquito control. PMID:22753468

Aviation System Safety Risk Management Tool Analysis. Volume 2: Appendices

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-10-01

Part Number FY AMC Case Number BATERY BB433AA 81 E 810421201 E’ BATTERY BB433AA 81 E 810421181 [’ BATTERY BB433AA 81 E 810514141 [’ BATIERY BB433AA 81...830520061 [- BAT=ERY NOT REC 83 E 830514071 -l BATTERY NOT REC 82 E 811102131 El BATERY NOT REC 82 E 820715191 " BATTERY NOT REC 82 E 820902051 "- BATERY NOT

Evaluating Alcoholics Anonymous's effect on drinking in Project MATCH using cross-lagged regression panel analysis.

PubMed

Magura, Stephen; Cleland, Charles M; Tonigan, J Scott

2013-05-01

The objective of the study is to determine whether Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) participation leads to reduced drinking and problems related to drinking within Project MATCH (Matching Alcoholism Treatments to Client Heterogeneity), an existing national alcoholism treatment data set. The method used is structural equation modeling of panel data with cross-lagged partial regression coefficients. The main advantage of this technique for the analysis of AA outcomes is that potential reciprocal causation between AA participation and drinking behavior can be explicitly modeled through the specification of finite causal lags. For the outpatient subsample (n = 952), the results strongly support the hypothesis that AA attendance leads to increases in alcohol abstinence and reduces drinking/ problems, whereas a causal effect in the reverse direction is unsupported. For the aftercare subsample (n = 774), the results are not as clear but also suggest that AA attendance leads to better outcomes. Although randomized controlled trials are the surest means of establishing causal relations between interventions and outcomes, such trials are rare in AA research for practical reasons. The current study successfully exploited the multiple data waves in Project MATCH to examine evidence of causality between AA participation and drinking outcomes. The study obtained unique statistical results supporting the effectiveness of AA primarily in the context of primary outpatient treatment for alcoholism.

The Prognostic Role of Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Autoantibody in Non-Gravid Hypertension and Pre-eclampsia

PubMed Central

Lei, Jinghui; Li, Yafeng; Zhang, Suli; Wu, Ye; Wang, Pengli; Liu, Huirong

2016-01-01

Abstract Angiotensin II type 1 receptor autoantibody (AT1-AA) is found in patients with non-gravid hypertension or pre-eclampsia, but the relationship is uncertain. The aim of the present study was to assess the association between AT1-AA and high blood pressure using meta-analysis, and to evaluate the prognosis value of AT1-AA for hypertensive diseases. Literature search from PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases were conducted using keywords “hypertension” or “pre-eclampsia,” “angiotensin II receptor type 1 autoantibody,” and its aliases from April 1999 to December 2015. Studies evaluating the association between AT1-AA and non-gravid hypertension or pre-eclampsia were included in this analysis. The quality of the eligible studies was assessed based on the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale with some modifications. Two researchers then independently reviewed all included studies and extracted all relevant data. Association between AT1-AA and hypertension was tested with pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Finally, we evaluated whether AT1-AA predicted the prognosis of hypertension by using a summary receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve and sensitivity analysis. Ten studies were finally included in this meta-analysis. AT1-AA showed more significant association with pre-eclampsia than that with non-gravid hypertension (pooled OR 32.84, 95% CI 17.19–62.74; and pooled OR 4.18, 95% CI 2.20–7.98, respectively). Heterogeneity among studies was also detected probably due to different hypertensive subtypes and AT1-AA measuring methods. Area under summary ROC curve (AUC) of pre-eclampsia was 0.92 (sensitivity 0.76; specificity 0.86). Area under the ROC curve of overall hypertensive diseases or non-gravid hypertension was lower than that of pre-eclampsia (0.86 and 0.72, respectively) with lower sensitivities (0.46 and 0.26, respectively). The major limitation of this analysis was the publication bias due to lack of unpublished data and the language limitation during literature search. Prospective study with large simple size and specific measuring data collection are needed to enhance our findings in the future. Our analysis confirms that elevated AT1-AA in serum is significantly associated with hypertensive disorder, especially pre-eclampsia. AT1-AA may be a valuable indicator for poorer prognosis of patients with pre-eclampsia, and could be used in patients with hypertensive disease for risk evaluation and making individual treatment decision. PMID:27124051

Bad bacteria in acute appendicitis: rare but relevant.

PubMed

Reinisch, Alexander; Malkomes, Patrizia; Habbe, Nils; Bechstein, Wolf Otto; Liese, Juliane

2017-09-01

Bacterial infections are a factor for morbidity in patients with acute appendicitis (AA). The spreading of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria is a significant problem in surgery, and the most relevant MDR pathogens are summarized as Enterobacteriaceae, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterococci (ESKAPE) bacteria. Data regarding the species and distribution of bacteria in AA are available, but information about the resistances and their relevance is deficient. In this retrospective study, we analyzed microbiological swabs of patients with AA. The outcome parameters of patients after laparoscopic appendectomy were analyzed against microbiological results, including antibiotic resistance testing. Positive swabs were compared with bacteria cultivated after alternative abdominal emergency surgery (AES). In total, 584 patients with AA were included and had a mean age of 35.5 years. In 216 patients (36.9%), a swab was taken, and in 128 (59.3%) swabs, bacteria could be cultivated. The most frequent organisms were Escherichia coli, Bacteroides species, and Pseudomonas. In 9.4% of the positive AA swabs, MDR germs were cultivated, and all of them were ESKAPE pathogens. Patients with MDR bacteria in AA suffered more infectious complications (p = 0.006) and needed longer hospitalizations (p < 0.009). In AES, aside from appendicitis, a different spectrum containing more MDR bacteria was cultivated (5.9 vs. 20.9%; p < 0.0001). Although they occur less frequently in appendectomy compared to emergency surgeries for other abdominal diseases, MDR bacteria are traceable in this common disease and contribute to additional morbidity.

Toxin stability improvement and toxicity increase against dipteran and lepidopteran larvae of Bacillus thuringiensis crystal protein Cry2Aa.

PubMed

Elleuch, Jihen; Jaoua, Samir; Ginibre, Carole; Chandre, Fabrice; Tounsi, Slim; Zghal, Raida Z

2016-12-01

Bacillus thuringiensis δ-endotoxins are the most widely used biopesticides for controlling economically important crop pests and disease vectors. Improving their efficacy is of great benefit. Here, an improvement in Cry2Aa δ-endotoxin toxicity was attempted via a cry gene over expression system using P20 from B. thuringiensis israelensis. The coexpression of Cry2Aa with P20 resulted in a seven fold increase in its production yield in B. thuringiensis. Generated crystals proved to be significantly more toxic (505.207 µg g -1 , 1.99 mg L -1 and 1.49 mg L -1 ) than the P20-lacking control (720.78 µg g -1 , 705.69 mg L -1 and 508.51 mg L -1 ) against Ephestia kuehniella, Aedes aegypti and Culex pipiens larvae respectively. In vitro, processing experiments revealed a P20-mediated protection of Cry2Aa against degradation under larval gut conditions. Thus, P20 could promote the maintenance of a tightly packaged conformation of Cry2Aa toxins in the larval midgut upon correct activation and binding to its membrane receptors. Based on their resistance against excessive proteolysis, Cry2Aa δ-endotoxins, produced in the presence of P20, could be considered as a successful control agent for E. kuehniella and an effective alternative for mosquito control, implying its possible exploitation in pest management programmes. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Removal of novel antiandrogens identified in biological effluents of domestic wastewater by activated carbon.

PubMed

Ma, Dehua; Chen, Lujun; Liu, Rui

2017-10-01

Environmental antiandrogenic (AA) contaminants in effluents from wastewater treatment plants have the potential for negative impacts on wildlife and human health. The aim of our study was to identify chemical contaminants with likely AA activity in the biological effluents and evaluate the removal of these antiandrogens (AAs) during advanced treatment comprising adsorption onto granular activated carbon (GAC). In this study, profiling of AA contaminants in biological effluents and tertiary effluents was conducted using effect-directed analysis (EDA) including high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fractionation, a recombinant yeast screen containing androgen receptor (YAS), in combination with mass spectrometry analyses. Analysis of a wastewater secondary effluent from a membrane bioreactor revealed complex profiles of AA activity comprising 14 HPLC fractions and simpler profiles of GAC effluents with only 2 to 4 moderately polar HPLC fractions depending on GAC treatment conditions. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-nanospray mass spectrometry analyses of AA fractions in the secondary effluent resulted in detection of over 10 chemical contaminants, which showed inhibition of YAS activity and were potential AAs. The putative AAs included biocides, food additives, flame retardants, pharmaceuticals and industrial contaminants. To our knowledge, it is the first time that the AA properties of N-ethyl-2-isopropyl-5-methylcyclohexanecarboxamide (WS3), cetirizine, and oxcarbazepine are reported. The EDA used in this study was proven to be a powerful tool to identify novel chemical structures with AA activity in the complex aquatic environment. The adsorption process to GAC of all the identified antiandrogens, except WS3 and triclosan, fit well with the pseudo-second order kinetics models. Adsorption to GAC could further remove most of the AAs identified in the biological effluents with high efficiencies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Estimating the efficacy of Alcoholics Anonymous without self-selection bias: an instrumental variables re-analysis of randomized clinical trials.

PubMed

Humphreys, Keith; Blodgett, Janet C; Wagner, Todd H

2014-11-01

Observational studies of Alcoholics Anonymous' (AA) effectiveness are vulnerable to self-selection bias because individuals choose whether or not to attend AA. The present study, therefore, employed an innovative statistical technique to derive a selection bias-free estimate of AA's impact. Six data sets from 5 National Institutes of Health-funded randomized trials (1 with 2 independent parallel arms) of AA facilitation interventions were analyzed using instrumental variables models. Alcohol-dependent individuals in one of the data sets (n = 774) were analyzed separately from the rest of sample (n = 1,582 individuals pooled from 5 data sets) because of heterogeneity in sample parameters. Randomization itself was used as the instrumental variable. Randomization was a good instrument in both samples, effectively predicting increased AA attendance that could not be attributed to self-selection. In 5 of the 6 data sets, which were pooled for analysis, increased AA attendance that was attributable to randomization (i.e., free of self-selection bias) was effective at increasing days of abstinence at 3-month (B = 0.38, p = 0.001) and 15-month (B = 0.42, p = 0.04) follow-up. However, in the remaining data set, in which preexisting AA attendance was much higher, further increases in AA involvement caused by the randomly assigned facilitation intervention did not affect drinking outcome. For most individuals seeking help for alcohol problems, increasing AA attendance leads to short- and long-term decreases in alcohol consumption that cannot be attributed to self-selection. However, for populations with high preexisting AA involvement, further increases in AA attendance may have little impact. Copyright © 2014 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

A Novel Glucosylation Reaction on Anthocyanins Catalyzed by Acyl-Glucose–Dependent Glucosyltransferase in the Petals of Carnation and Delphinium[C][W

PubMed Central

Matsuba, Yuki; Sasaki, Nobuhiro; Tera, Masayuki; Okamura, Masachika; Abe, Yutaka; Okamoto, Emi; Nakamura, Haruka; Funabashi, Hisakage; Takatsu, Makoto; Saito, Mikako; Matsuoka, Hideaki; Nagasawa, Kazuo; Ozeki, Yoshihiro

2010-01-01

Glucosylation of anthocyanin in carnations (Dianthus caryophyllus) and delphiniums (Delphinium grandiflorum) involves novel sugar donors, aromatic acyl-glucoses, in a reaction catalyzed by the enzymes acyl-glucose–dependent anthocyanin 5(7)-O-glucosyltransferase (AA5GT and AA7GT). The AA5GT enzyme was purified from carnation petals, and cDNAs encoding carnation Dc AA5GT and the delphinium homolog Dg AA7GT were isolated. Recombinant Dc AA5GT and Dg AA7GT proteins showed AA5GT and AA7GT activities in vitro. Although expression of Dc AA5GT in developing carnation petals was highest at early stages, AA5GT activity and anthocyanin accumulation continued to increase during later stages. Neither Dc AA5GT expression nor AA5GT activity was observed in the petals of mutant carnations; these petals accumulated anthocyanin lacking the glucosyl moiety at the 5 position. Transient expression of Dc AA5GT in petal cells of mutant carnations is expected to result in the transfer of a glucose moiety to the 5 position of anthocyanin. The amino acid sequences of Dc AA5GT and Dg AA7GT showed high similarity to glycoside hydrolase family 1 proteins, which typically act as β-glycosidases. A phylogenetic analysis of the amino acid sequences suggested that other plant species are likely to have similar acyl-glucose–dependent glucosyltransferases. PMID:20971893

Preparation of an Adhesive in Emulsion for Maxillofacial Prosthetic

PubMed Central

Sánchez-García, Judith A.; Ortega, Alejandra; Barceló-Santana, Federico H.; Palacios-Alquisira, Joaquín

2010-01-01

Maxillofacial prostheses is a dental medicine specialty aimed at restoring anatomical facial defects caused by cancer, trauma or congenital malformations through an artificial device, which is commonly attached to the skin with the help of an adhesive. The purpose of our research was to develop a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) based on acrylic monomers, characterizing and determining its drying kinetics, that is to say the time it takes to lose 50 to 90% of its moisture. The adhesive synthesis was realized by means of emulsion polymerization; the composition of formulations was: (AA-MMA-EA) and (AA-MMA-2EHA) with different molar ratios. The formulation based on (AA-MMA-2EHA) with 50 w% of solids, presented good adhesive properties such as tack, bond strength, and short drying time. We propose this formulation as a PSA, because it offers an alternative for systemically compromised patients, by less irritation compared to organic solvent-based adhesives. PMID:21152308

Characterization of chiral amino acids from different milk origins using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to ion-mobility mass spectrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, He; Zheng, Nan; Li, Songli; Zhang, Yangdong; Zhao, Shengguo; Wen, Fang; Wang, Jiaqi

2017-04-01

Milk contains free amino acids (AAs) that play essential roles in maintaining the growth and health of infants, and D-AA isomers are increasingly being recognized as important signalling molecules. However, there are no studies of the different characteristics of chiral AA (C-AA) from different milk origins. Here, UPLC coupled to ion-mobility high-resolution MS (IM-HRMS) was employed to characterize 18 pairs of C-AAs in human, cow, yak, buffalo, goat, and camel milk. The results proved that milk origins can be differentiated based on the D- to L- AA ratio-based projection scores by principal component analysis. The present study gives a deeper understanding of the D- to L- AA ratio underlying the biological functions of different animal milks, and provide a new strategy for the study of AA metabolic pathways.

Analysis of amino acids and acyl carnitine profiles in low birth weight, preterm, and small for gestational age neonates.

PubMed

Liu, Qian; Wu, Jing; Shen, Wen; Wei, Ran; Jiang, Jianhui; Liang, Jinqun; Chen, Min; Zhong, Mei; Yin, Aihua

2017-11-01

To analyze the amino acids (AA) and acyl carnitine (AC) profiles in dry blood spot (DBS) specimens of low birth weight (LBW), preterm birth (PTB), and small for gestational age (SGA), and to compare the concentration difference of AA and AC with those without above. This is a retrospectively study. Eight thousand nine hundred and seventy-nine uncomplicated pregnant newborns were enrolled into the study. DBS were collected on the third day of life, and concentrations of 11 types of AA, free carnitine and 30 types of AC were detected by using high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). Shapiro-Wilk test and Kruskal-Wallis rank test were applied in statistical analysis. Concentrations of most AA and AC in infants born in SGA were significantly higher than those in non-SGA group, while lower in LBW and PTB groups than those in non-LBW and non-PTB groups (p < 0.05). The difference of concentration of AA and AC in the subgroups suggested there may be a dysutilization of AA and AC in SGA, but an inborn insufficient of AA and AC in LBW and PTB neonates.

Current evidence on associations between the MMP-7 (-181A>G) polymorphism and digestive system cancer risk.

PubMed

Ke, Pan; Wu, Zhong-De; Wen, Hua-Song; Ying, Miao-Xiong; Long, Huo-Cheng; Qing, Liu-Guo

2013-01-01

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) degrade various components of the extracellular matrix and functional polymorphisms in encoding genes may contribute to genetic susceptibility to many cancers. Up to now, associations between MMP-7 (-181A>G) and digestive system cancer risk have remained inconclusive. To better understand the role of the MMP-7 (-181A>G) genotype in digestive cancer development, we conducted this comprehensive meta-analysis encompassing 3,518 cases and 4,596 controls. Overall, the MMP-7 (-181A>G) polymorphism was associated with higher digestive system cancer risk on homozygote comparison (GG vs. AA, OR=1.21, 95% CI = 1.12-1.60) and in a dominant model (GG/GA vs. AA, OR=1.16, 95% CI =1.03-1.46). On subgroup analysis, this polymorphism was significantly linked to higher risks for gastric cancer (GG vs. AA, OR=1.22, 95% CI = 1.02- 1.46; GA vs. AA, OR=1.82, 95% CI =1.16-2.87; GG/GA vs. AA, OR=1.13, 95% CI =1.01-1.27; GG vs. GA/AA, OR= 1.25, 95% CI = 1.06-2.39. We also observed increased susceptibility to colorectal cancer and esophageal SCC in both homozygote (OR = 1.13, 95% CI = 1.06-1.26) and heterozygote comparisons (OR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.11-1.91). In the stratified analysis by controls, significant effects were only observed in population-based studies (GA vs. AA, OR=1.16, 95% CI=1.08-1.50; GA/AA vs. GG, OR=1.10, 95% CI=1.01-1.72). According to the source of ethnicity, a significantly increased risk was found among Asian populations in the homozygote model (GG vs. AA, OR=1.40, 95% CI=1.12-1.69), heterozygote model (GA vs. AA, OR=1.26, 95% CI=1.02-1.51), and dominant model (GG/GA vs. AA, OR=1.18, 95% CI=1.08-1.55). Our findings suggest that the MMP-7 (-181A>G) polymorphism may be a risk factor for digestive system cancer, especially among Asian populations.

High-throughput quantification of the levels and labeling abundance of free amino acids by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cocuron, Jean-Christophe; Tsogtbaatar, Enkhtuul; Alonso, Ana P.

Accurate assessment of mass isotopomer distributions (MIDs) of intracellular metabolites, such as free amino acids (AAs), is crucial for quantifying in vivo fluxes. To date, the majority of studies that measured AA MIDs have relied on the analysis of proteinogenic rather than free AAs by: i) GC–MS, which involved cumbersome process of derivatization, or ii) NMR, which requires large quantities of biological sample. In this work, the development and validation of a high-throughput LC–MS/MS method allowing the quantification of the levels and labeling of free AAs is described. Sensitivity in the order of the femtomol was achieved using multiple reactionmore » monitoring mode (MRM). The MIDs of all free AAs were assessed without the need of derivatization, and were validated (except for Trp) on a mixture of unlabeled AA standards. Finally, this method was applied to the determination of the 13C-labeling abundance in free AAs extracted from maize embryos cultured with 13C-glutamine or 13C-glucose. Although Cys was below the limit of detection in these biological samples, the MIDs of a total of 18 free AAs were successfully determined. Due to the increased application of tandem mass spectrometry for 13C-Metabolic Flux Analysis, this novel method will enable the assessment of more complete and accurate labeling information of intracellular AAs, and therefore a better definition of the fluxes.« less

High-throughput quantification of the levels and labeling abundance of free amino acids by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

DOE PAGES

Cocuron, Jean-Christophe; Tsogtbaatar, Enkhtuul; Alonso, Ana P.

2017-02-16

Accurate assessment of mass isotopomer distributions (MIDs) of intracellular metabolites, such as free amino acids (AAs), is crucial for quantifying in vivo fluxes. To date, the majority of studies that measured AA MIDs have relied on the analysis of proteinogenic rather than free AAs by: i) GC–MS, which involved cumbersome process of derivatization, or ii) NMR, which requires large quantities of biological sample. In this work, the development and validation of a high-throughput LC–MS/MS method allowing the quantification of the levels and labeling of free AAs is described. Sensitivity in the order of the femtomol was achieved using multiple reactionmore » monitoring mode (MRM). The MIDs of all free AAs were assessed without the need of derivatization, and were validated (except for Trp) on a mixture of unlabeled AA standards. Finally, this method was applied to the determination of the 13C-labeling abundance in free AAs extracted from maize embryos cultured with 13C-glutamine or 13C-glucose. Although Cys was below the limit of detection in these biological samples, the MIDs of a total of 18 free AAs were successfully determined. Due to the increased application of tandem mass spectrometry for 13C-Metabolic Flux Analysis, this novel method will enable the assessment of more complete and accurate labeling information of intracellular AAs, and therefore a better definition of the fluxes.« less

Performance of the Colson MAM BP 3AA1-2 automatic blood pressure monitor according to the European Society of Hypertension validation protocol.

PubMed

Pereira, Telmo; Maldonado, João

2005-11-01

To evaluate the performance of the Colson MAM BP 3AA1-2 oscillometric automatic blood pressure monitor according to the validation protocol of the European Society of Hypertension, testing its suitability for self-measurement of blood pressure. The performance of the device was assessed in relation to various clinical variables, including age, gender, body mass index, arm circumference and arterial stiffness. 33 subjects (15 men and 18 women), with a mean age of 47 +/- 10 years, were studied according to the procedures laid down in the European Society of Hypertension validation protocol. Sequential same-arm blood pressure measurements were made, alternating between a mercury standard and the automatic device. The differences among the test-control measurements were assessed and divided into categorization zones of 5, 10 and 15 mmHg discrepancy. Aortic pulse wave velocity was assessed in all subjects with a Complior device (Colson, Paris). The Colson MAM BP 3AA1-2 passed all three phases of the protocol for both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The mean differences between the test and control measurements were -1.0 +/- 5.0 mmHg for systolic blood pressure and -1.1 +/- 4.1 mmHg for diastolic blood pressure. Both standard deviations are well below the 8 mmHg limit proposed by the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation. The predictive value of various clinical variables for the discrepancies was assessed by a regression model analysis, with no variable being found that independently undermined the performance of the monitor. In another regression analysis, we found a similar relation between test and control blood pressures and aortic pulse wave velocity, a widely recognized and validated index of target organ damage. These data show that the Colson MAM BP 3AA1-2 satisfies the quality requirements proposed by the European Society of Hypertension, demonstrating its suitability for inclusion in integrated programs of clinical surveillance based on self-measurement of blood pressure. The uniformity of its performance over a wide spectrum of clinical characteristics and the relation found with pulse wave velocity further reinforce its clinical validity.

Stress Corrosion Cracking Study of Aluminum Alloys Using Electrochemical Noise Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rathod, R. C.; Sapate, S. G.; Raman, R.; Rathod, W. S.

2013-12-01

Stress corrosion cracking studies of aluminum alloys AA2219, AA8090, and AA5456 in heat-treated and non heat-treated condition were carried out using electrochemical noise technique with various applied stresses. Electrochemical noise time series data (corrosion potential vs. time) was obtained for the stressed tensile specimens in 3.5% NaCl aqueous solution at room temperature (27 °C). The values of drop in corrosion potential, total corrosion potential, mean corrosion potential, and hydrogen overpotential were evaluated from corrosion potential versus time series data. The electrochemical noise time series data was further analyzed with rescaled range ( R/ S) analysis proposed by Hurst to obtain the Hurst exponent. According to the results, higher values of the Hurst exponents with increased applied stresses showed more susceptibility to stress corrosion cracking as confirmed in case of alloy AA 2219 and AA8090.

Contrasting amino acid profiles among permissive and non-permissive hosts of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, putative causal agent of Huanglongbing

PubMed Central

Alabi, Olufemi J.; Simpson, Catherine R.; Jifon, John L.

2017-01-01

Huanglongbing is a devastating disease of citrus. In this study, a comprehensive profile of phloem sap amino acids (AA) in four permissive host plants of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) and three non-permissive Rutaceae plants was conducted to gain a better understanding of host factors that may promote or suppress the bacterium. The AA profiles of Diaphorina citri nymphs and adults were similarly analyzed. A total of 38 unique AAs were detected in phloem sap of the various plants and D. citri samples, with phloem sap of young shoots containing more AAs and at higher concentrations than their mature counterparts. All AAs detected in phloem sap of non-permissive plants were also present in CLas -permissive hosts plus additional AAs in the latter class of plants. However, the relative composition of 18 commonly shared AAs varied between CLas -permissive hosts and non-permissive plants. Multivariate analysis with a partial least square discriminant methodology revealed a total of 12 AAs as major factors affecting CLas host status, of which seven were positively related to CLas tolerance/resistance and five positively associated with CLas susceptibility. Most of the AAs positively associated with CLas susceptibility were predominantly of the glutamate family, notably stressed-induced AAs such as arginine, GABA and proline. In contrast, AAs positively correlated with CLas tolerance/resistance were mainly of the serine family. Further analysis revealed that whereas the relative proportions of AAs positively associated with CLas susceptibility did not vary with host developmental stages, those associated with CLas tolerance/resistance increased with flush shoot maturity. Significantly, the proline-to-glycine ratio was determined to be an important discriminating factor for CLas permissivity with higher values characteristic of CLas -permissive hosts. This ratio could be exploited as a biomarker in HLB-resistance breeding programs. PMID:29236706

Atrial arrhythmias after lung transplant: underlying mechanisms, risk factors, and prognosis.

PubMed

Orrego, Carlos M; Cordero-Reyes, Andrea M; Estep, Jerry D; Seethamraju, Harish; Scheinin, Scott; Loebe, Matthias; Torre-Amione, Guillermo

2014-07-01

Atrial arrhythmias (AAs) early after lung transplant are frequent and have a significant impact on morbidity and mortality. However, the pathogenesis of AAs after lung transplant remains incompletely understood. In this study we aimed to determine the prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) and other AAs, as well as risk factors, clinical outcomes and possible underlying mechanisms associated with AAs after lung transplant. A retrospective analysis was performed on 382 patients who underwent lung transplantation from 2000 to 2010. A 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) was obtained and AAs classified as AF and other AAs (atrial flutter [AFL] and supraventricular tachycardia [SVT]). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to determine predictors, and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were constructed. The incidence of AAs was 25%; 17.8% developed AF and 7.6% other AAs (AFL/SVT). The major indication for transplant was idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF, 35%). Significant predictors of AF were as follows: age; IPF; left atrial enlargement; diastolic dysfunction; and history of coronary artery disease (CAD). Risk factors for other AAs (AFL/SVT) were: age; right ventricle dysfunction; right ventricular enlargement; and elevated right atrial pressure (RAP). One-year mortality was higher in the arrhythmia group (21.5% arrhythmia vs 15.7% no-arrhythmia group; p < 0.05). In addition, patients treated with anti-arrhythmic medications had higher mortality (p < 0.05). AAs are common after lung transplantation. Risk factors for developing either AF or other AAs (AFL/SVT) are different. The development of early AAs post-transplant is associated with prolonged post-operative stay and increased mortality. A rate-control strategy should be used as first-line therapy and anti-arrhythmic agents reserved for those patients who do not respond to the initial treatment. Copyright © 2014 International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Active site nanospace of aminoacyl tRNA synthetase: difference between the class I and class II synthetases.

PubMed

Dutta, Saheb; Choudhury, Kaberi; Banik, Sindrila Dutta; Nandi, Nilashis

2014-03-01

The present work is aimed at understanding the origin of the difference in the molecular organization of the active site nanospaces of the class I and class II aminoacyl tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) which are tunnel-like structures. The active site encloses the cognate amino acid (AA) and the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to carry out aminoacylation reaction. Comparison of the structures of the active site of the class I and class II (aaRSs) shows that the nanodimensional tunnels are curved in opposite directions in the two classes. We investigated the origin of this difference using quantum mechanical computation of electrostatic potential (ESP) of substrates, surrounding residues and ions, using Atoms in Molecule (AIM) Theory and charge population analysis. We show that the difference is principally due to the variation in the spatial charge distribution of ATP in the two classes which correspond to extended and bent conformations of ATP. The present computation shows that the most feasible pathway for nucleophilic attack to alphaP is oppositely directed for class I and class II aaRSs. The available crystal structures show that the cognate AA is indeed located along the channel favorable for nucleophilic attack as predicted by the ESP analysis. It is also shown that the direction of the channel changes its orientation when the orientation of ATP is changed from extended to a bent like structure. We further used the AIM theory to confirm the direction of the approach of AA in each case and the results corroborate the results from the ESP analysis. The opposite curvatures of the active site nanospaces in class I and class II aaRSs are related with the influence of the charge distributions of the extended and bent conformations of ATP, respectively. The results of the computation of electrostatic potential by successive addition of active site residues show that their roles on the reaction are similar in both classes despite the difference in the organization of the active sites of class I and class II aaRSs. The difference in mechanism in two classes as pointed out in recent study (S. Dutta Banik and N. Nandi, J. Biomol. Struct. Dyn. 30, 701 (2012)) is related with the fact that the relative arrangement of the ATP with respect to the AA is opposite in class I and class II aaRSs as explained in the present work. The charge population difference between the reacting centers (which are the alphaP atom of ATP (q(p)) and the attacking oxygen atom of carboxylic acid group (q(o)), respectively) denoted by delta(q), is a measure of the propensity of nucleophilic attack. The population analysis of the substrate AA shows that a non-negligible difference exists between the attacking oxygens of AA in class I (syn) and in class II (anti) which is one reason for the lower value of delta(q) in class II relative to class I. The population analysis of the AA, ATP, Mg+2 ions and active site residues shows that the difference in delta(q) values of the two classes is substantially reduced. When ions and residues are considered. Thus, the bent state of ATP, Mg+2 ions and active site residues complements it cognate AA to carry out the nucleophilic reaction in class I as efficiently as occurs in class I (with the extended state of ATP, single Mg+2 ion and active site residues). This could be one reason for the two different conformations of ATP in the two classes. The mutual arrangements of AA and ATP in each aaRS are guided by the spatial charge distribution of ATP (extended and bent). The present work shows that the construction of nanospace complements the arrangement of the substrate (AA and ATP).

Website accessibility in the tourism industry: an analysis of official national tourism organization websites around the world.

PubMed

Domínguez Vila, Trinidad; Alén González, Elisa; Darcy, Simon

2017-08-09

To analyze the accessibility of official national tourism organization websites of countries around the world, in order to establish possible common patterns and rankings of those with exemplary practice through to those with the highest number of issues. The purpose for undertaking such an analysis is to provide a quasi-indicator of inclusive organizational practice for online accessibility for both destination managers and their accessible tourism consumers - domestic and overseas people with disability visiting the websites. The official tourism websites of 210 countries included in the latest World Tourism Organization report were analyzed. A website accessibility evaluation tool (website accessible test) was used in the analysis, according to AA and AAA levels of conformance to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 requirements. Different patterns compliance to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 were established for the clusters, which were rather similar for both AA and AAA conformance levels. The main issues in the least accessible websites were also identified, mainly focused on the following guidelines: navigable, compatible, adaptability, text alternatives and also referred to other assistive technologies. Once the main issues were established several alternatives are suggested to address them, such as implementing more prescriptive laws and regulations, complying with mandatory benchmark standards and/or having external agencies audit website designs. However, in addition to using benchmark standards, efforts to improve this situation should also be made by programmers, who should also rely on preexistent experiences and develop more dynamic knowledge. This knowledge may include text alternatives for any nontext content; creation of content that can be presented in different ways without losing information; provide ways to help users navigate, find content, determine where they are and navigate websites to maximize compatibility with assistive technologies and user agents. Implications for rehabilitation Access to information - in this case, online information - is an important factor in the process of rehabilitation for people with disability and those supporting them. Failure to apply homogeneous criteria for website accessibility around the world can hamper access to information by people with disabilities. Travel planning requires access to mainstream tourist distribution networks where online inclusive practice is a precursor to information searching. Documents for destination managers and programmers the main problems of accessibility to websites and examples of models or solutions to follow and not. Establish the main inclusive website design criteria on which to focus on improving the access of people with disabilities to websites (e.g., text alternatives, content presented in different ways, navigating and improving compatibility with assistive technologies etc.).

Trans-ethnic Meta-analysis and Functional Annotation Illuminates the Genetic Architecture of Fasting Glucose and Insulin.

PubMed

Liu, Ching-Ti; Raghavan, Sridharan; Maruthur, Nisa; Kabagambe, Edmond Kato; Hong, Jaeyoung; Ng, Maggie C Y; Hivert, Marie-France; Lu, Yingchang; An, Ping; Bentley, Amy R; Drolet, Anne M; Gaulton, Kyle J; Guo, Xiuqing; Armstrong, Loren L; Irvin, Marguerite R; Li, Man; Lipovich, Leonard; Rybin, Denis V; Taylor, Kent D; Agyemang, Charles; Palmer, Nicholette D; Cade, Brian E; Chen, Wei-Min; Dauriz, Marco; Delaney, Joseph A C; Edwards, Todd L; Evans, Daniel S; Evans, Michele K; Lange, Leslie A; Leong, Aaron; Liu, Jingmin; Liu, Yongmei; Nayak, Uma; Patel, Sanjay R; Porneala, Bianca C; Rasmussen-Torvik, Laura J; Snijder, Marieke B; Stallings, Sarah C; Tanaka, Toshiko; Yanek, Lisa R; Zhao, Wei; Becker, Diane M; Bielak, Lawrence F; Biggs, Mary L; Bottinger, Erwin P; Bowden, Donald W; Chen, Guanjie; Correa, Adolfo; Couper, David J; Crawford, Dana C; Cushman, Mary; Eicher, John D; Fornage, Myriam; Franceschini, Nora; Fu, Yi-Ping; Goodarzi, Mark O; Gottesman, Omri; Hara, Kazuo; Harris, Tamara B; Jensen, Richard A; Johnson, Andrew D; Jhun, Min A; Karter, Andrew J; Keller, Margaux F; Kho, Abel N; Kizer, Jorge R; Krauss, Ronald M; Langefeld, Carl D; Li, Xiaohui; Liang, Jingling; Liu, Simin; Lowe, William L; Mosley, Thomas H; North, Kari E; Pacheco, Jennifer A; Peyser, Patricia A; Patrick, Alan L; Rice, Kenneth M; Selvin, Elizabeth; Sims, Mario; Smith, Jennifer A; Tajuddin, Salman M; Vaidya, Dhananjay; Wren, Mary P; Yao, Jie; Zhu, Xiaofeng; Ziegler, Julie T; Zmuda, Joseph M; Zonderman, Alan B; Zwinderman, Aeilko H; Adeyemo, Adebowale; Boerwinkle, Eric; Ferrucci, Luigi; Hayes, M Geoffrey; Kardia, Sharon L R; Miljkovic, Iva; Pankow, James S; Rotimi, Charles N; Sale, Michele M; Wagenknecht, Lynne E; Arnett, Donna K; Chen, Yii-Der Ida; Nalls, Michael A; Province, Michael A; Kao, W H Linda; Siscovick, David S; Psaty, Bruce M; Wilson, James G; Loos, Ruth J F; Dupuis, Josée; Rich, Stephen S; Florez, Jose C; Rotter, Jerome I; Morris, Andrew P; Meigs, James B

2016-07-07

Knowledge of the genetic basis of the type 2 diabetes (T2D)-related quantitative traits fasting glucose (FG) and insulin (FI) in African ancestry (AA) individuals has been limited. In non-diabetic subjects of AA (n = 20,209) and European ancestry (EA; n = 57,292), we performed trans-ethnic (AA+EA) fine-mapping of 54 established EA FG or FI loci with detailed functional annotation, assessed their relevance in AA individuals, and sought previously undescribed loci through trans-ethnic (AA+EA) meta-analysis. We narrowed credible sets of variants driving association signals for 22/54 EA-associated loci; 18/22 credible sets overlapped with active islet-specific enhancers or transcription factor (TF) binding sites, and 21/22 contained at least one TF motif. Of the 54 EA-associated loci, 23 were shared between EA and AA. Replication with an additional 10,096 AA individuals identified two previously undescribed FI loci, chrX FAM133A (rs213676) and chr5 PELO (rs6450057). Trans-ethnic analyses with regulatory annotation illuminate the genetic architecture of glycemic traits and suggest gene regulation as a target to advance precision medicine for T2D. Our approach to utilize state-of-the-art functional annotation and implement trans-ethnic association analysis for discovery and fine-mapping offers a framework for further follow-up and characterization of GWAS signals of complex trait loci. Copyright © 2016 American Society of Human Genetics. All rights reserved.

Trust Building Recruitment Strategies for Researchers Conducting Studies in African American (AA) Churches: Lessons Learned.

PubMed

Bonner, Gloria; Williams, Sharon; Wilkie, Diana; Hart, Alysha; Burnett, Glenda; Peacock, Geraldine

2017-12-01

An initial and vital important step in recruiting participants for church-based hospice and palliative care research is the establishment of trust and credibility within the church community. Mistrust of medical research is an extremely important barrier hindering recruitment in African American (AA) communities. A church-based EOL dementia education project is currently being conducted at four large urban AA churches. Church leaders voiced mistrust concerns of previous researchers who conducted investigations in their faith-based institutions. We explored strategies to ameliorate the mistrust concerns. Specific aim: To identify trust-rebuilding elements for researchers following others who violated trust of AA church leaders. Face-to-face, in-depth interviews were conducted from a convenient sample of four established AA church leaders. Interviews were held in the informants' churches to promote candor and comfort in revealing sensitive information about trust /mistrust. Content analysis framework was used to analyze the data. Elements identified from the analysis were then used to create themes. Multidimensional overarching themes emerged from the analysis included: Experience with researchers (positive and extremely negative), violation of trust and trust building strategies. Findings suggest that researchers who wish to conduct successful studies in the AA religious institutions must implement trust rebuilding strategies that include mutual respect, collaboration and partnership building. If general moral practices continue to be violated, threat to future hospice and palliative care research within the institutions may prevail. Thus, potential benefits are thwarted for the church members, AA community, and advancement of EOL care scholarship.

A framework for an alternatives assessment dashboard for evaluating chemical alternatives applied to flame retardants for electronic applications.

PubMed

Martin, Todd M

2017-05-01

The goal of alternatives assessment (AA) is to facilitate a comparison of alternatives to a chemical of concern, resulting in the identification of safer alternatives. A two stage methodology for comparing chemical alternatives was developed. In the first stage, alternatives are compared using a variety of human health effects, ecotoxicity, and physicochemical properties. Hazard profiles are completed using a variety of online sources and quantitative structure activity relationship models. In the second stage, alternatives are evaluated utilizing an exposure/risk assessment over the entire life cycle. Exposure values are calculated using screening-level near-field and far-field exposure models. The second stage allows one to more accurately compare potential exposure to each alternative and consider additional factors that may not be obvious from separate binned persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity scores. The methodology was utilized to compare phosphate-based alternatives for decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE) in electronics applications.

Spatio-temporal interaction between absorbing aerosols and temperature: Correlation and causality based approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dave, P.; Bhushan, M.; Venkataraman, C.

2016-12-01

Indian subcontinent, in particular, the Indo-gangetic plain (IGP) has witnessed large temperature anomalies (Ratnam et al., 2016) along with high emission of absorbing aerosols (AA) (Gazala, et al., 2005). The anomalous high temperature observed over this region may bear a relationship with high AA emissions. Different studies have been conducted to understand AA and temperature relationships (Turco et al., 1983; Hansen et al., 1997, 2005; Seinfeld 2008; Ramanathan et al. 2010b; Ban-Weiss et al., 2012). It was found that when the AA was injected in the lower- mid troposphere the surface air temperature increases while injection of AA at higher troposphere-lower stratosphere surface temperature decreases. These studies used simulation based results to establish link between AA and temperature (Hansen et al., 1997, 2005; Ban-Weiss et al., 2012). The current work focuses on identifying the causal influence of AA on temperature using observational and re-analysis data over Indian subcontinent using cross correlation (CCs) and Granger causality (GC) (Granger, 1969). Aerosol index (AI) from TOMS-OMI was used as index for AA while ERA-interim reanalysis data was used for temperature at varying altitude. Period of study was March-April-May-June (MAMJ) for years 1979-2015. CCs were calculated for all the atmospheric layers. In each layer nearby and distant pixels (>500 kms) with high CCs were identified using clustering technique. It was found that that AI and Temperature shows statistically significant cross-correlations for co-located and distant pixels and more prominently over IGP. The CCs fades away with higher altitudes. CCs analysis was followed by GC analysis to identify the lag over which AI can influence the Temperature. GC also supported the findings of CCs analysis. It is an early attempt to link persisting large temperature anomalies with absorbing aerosols and may help in identifying the role of absorbing aerosol in causing heat waves.

Multiple dimensions of spirituality in recovery: a lagged mediational analysis of Alcoholics Anonymous' principal theoretical mechanism of behavior change.

PubMed

Krentzman, Amy R; Cranford, James A; Robinson, Elizabeth A R

2013-01-01

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) states that recovery is possible through spiritual experiences and spiritual awakenings. Research examining spirituality as a mediator of AA's effect on drinking has been mixed. It is unknown whether such findings are due to variations in the operationalization of key constructs, such as AA and spirituality. To answer these questions, the authors used a longitudinal model to test 2 dimensions of AA as focal predictors and 6 dimensions of spirituality as possible mediators of AA's association with drinking. Data from the first 18 months of a 3-year longitudinal study of 364 alcohol-dependent individuals were analyzed. Structural equation modeling was used to replicate the analyses of Kelly et al. (Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2011;35:454-463) and to compare AA attendance and AA involvement as focal predictors. Multiple regression analyses were used to determine which spirituality dimensions changed as the result of AA participation. A trimmed, data-driven model was employed to test multiple mediation paths simultaneously. The findings of the Kelly et al. study were replicated. AA involvement was a stronger predictor of drinking outcomes than AA attendance. AA involvement predicted increases in private religious practices, daily spiritual experiences, and forgiveness of others. However, only private religious practices mediated the relationship between AA and drinking.

Correlation between Wavelength Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (WDXRF) analysis of hardened concrete for chlorides vs. Atomic Absorption (AA) analysis in accordance with AASHTO T- 260; sampling and testing for chloride ion in concrete and concrete raw mater

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-04-01

A correlation between Wavelength Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence(WDXRF) analysis of Hardened : Concrete for Chlorides and Atomic Absorption (AA) analysis (current method AASHTO T-260, procedure B) has been : found and a new method of analysis has been ...

ORBITAL AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF THE σ Ori Aa, Ab, B TRIPLE SYSTEM

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Simón-Díaz, S.; Caballero, J. A.; Apellániz, J. Maíz

2015-02-01

We provide a complete characterization of the astrophysical properties of the σ Ori Aa, Ab, B hierarchical triple system and an improved set of orbital parameters for the highly eccentric σ Ori Aa, Ab spectroscopic binary. We compiled a spectroscopic data set comprising 90 high-resolution spectra covering a total time span of 1963 days. We applied the Lehman-Filhés method for a detailed orbital analysis of the radial velocity curves and performed a combined quantitative spectroscopic analysis of the σ Ori Aa, Ab, B system by means of the stellar atmosphere code FASTWIND. We used our own plus other available information onmore » photometry and distance to the system for measuring the radii, luminosities, and spectroscopic masses of the three components. We also inferred evolutionary masses and stellar ages using the Bayesian code BONNSAI. The orbital analysis of the new radial velocity curves led to a very accurate orbital solution of the σ Ori Aa, Ab pair. We provided indirect arguments indicating that σ Ori B is a fast-rotating early B dwarf. The FASTWIND+BONNSAI analysis showed that the Aa, Ab pair contains the hottest and most massive components of the triple system while σ Ori B is a bit cooler and less massive. The derived stellar ages of the inner pair are intriguingly younger than the one widely accepted for the σ Orionis cluster, at 3 ± 1 Ma. The outcome of this study will be of key importance for a precise determination of the distance to the σ Orionis cluster, the interpretation of the strong X-ray emission detected for σ Ori Aa, Ab, B, and the investigation of the formation and evolution of multiple massive stellar systems and substellar objects.« less

Differential expression of miRNAs in colon cancer between African and Caucasian Americans: implications for cancer racial health disparities.

PubMed

Li, Ellen; Ji, Ping; Ouyang, Nengtai; Zhang, Yuanhao; Wang, Xin Yu; Rubin, Deborah C; Davidson, Nicholas O; Bergamaschi, Roberto; Shroyer, Kenneth R; Burke, Stephanie; Zhu, Wei; Williams, Jennie L

2014-08-01

Colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence and mortality are higher in African Americans (AAs) than in Caucasian Americans (CAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) have been found to be dysregulated in colonic and other neoplasias. The aim of this exploratory study was to identify candidate miRNAs that could contribute to potential biological differences between AA and CA colon cancers. Total RNA was isolated from tumor and paired adjacent normal colon tissue from 30 AA and 31 CA colon cancer patients archived at Stony Brook University (SBU) and Washington University (WU)‑St. Louis Medical Center. miRNA profiles were determined by probing human genome-wide miRNA arrays with RNA isolated from each sample. Using repeated measures analysis of variance (RANOVA), miRNAs were selected that exhibited significant (p<0.05) interactions between race and tumor or significant (fold change >1.5, p<0.05) main effects of race and/or tumor. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR) was used to confirm miRNAs identified by microarray analysis. Candidate miRNA targets were analyzed using immunohistochemistry. RANOVA results indicated that miR-182, miR152, miR-204, miR-222 and miR-202 exhibited significant race and tumor main effects. Of these miRNAs, q-PCR analysis confirmed that miR-182 was upregulated in AA vs. CA tumors and exhibited significant race:tumor interaction. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that the levels of FOXO1 and FOXO3A, two potential miR-182 targets, are reduced in AA tumors. miRNAs may play a role in the differences between AA and CA colon cancer. Specifically, differences in miRNA expression levels of miR-182 may contribute to decreased survival in AA colon cancer patients.

Scientific impact of Association for Academic Surgery and Society of University Surgeons plenary session abstracts increases in the era of the Academic Surgical Congress from 2006 to 2010.

PubMed

Kaifi, Jussuf T; Kibbe, Melina R; LeMaire, Scott A; Staveley-O'Carroll, Kevin F; Kao, Lillian S; Sosa, Julie A; Kimchi, Eric T; Pawlik, Timothy M; Gusani, Niraj J

2013-06-01

The objective of our study was to analyze plenary abstracts since 2006, when the Association for Academic Surgery (AAS) and Society of University Surgeons (SUS) began hosting the combined annual Academic Surgical Congress (ASC). Plenary session abstracts from the separate AAS and SUS meetings from 2002 to 2004 had previously revealed no significant difference in the scientific impact of published manuscripts. In total, 76 abstracts from the AAS (n = 40) and SUS (n = 36) plenary sessions at the annual ASC meetings (2006-2010) were reviewed. Publication rate, citation number, 2010 impact factor (IF), and 5-y IF were obtained. Statistical analysis was conducted using Fisher exact and Student t-tests. Overall, 60 (79%) of 76 ASC plenary abstracts presented between 2006 and 2010 were published in peer-reviewed journals. Analysis revealed a higher publication rate for AAS (90%) compared with SUS (67%) plenary abstracts (P = 0.02). Among the articles published, the overall mean number of total citations was 6.7, with no difference between AAS and SUS (5.9 versus 7.8, P = 0.46). The mean 2010 five-year IF for all publications was 4.6 (AAS, 4.3 versus SUS, 5.0; P = 0.54). Compared with a previous analysis from the separate meetings, the mean IF has increased for both societies at an equivalent rate of 0.4. After the initiation of the joint ASC meeting in 2006, the SUS and AAS plenary presentations continue to exhibit high-quality research. This study supports the benefit of a joint meeting for the AAS and SUS, as it has been associated with an increasing overall scientific impact for plenary abstracts. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Arachidonic acid with taurine enhances pulmonary absorption of macromolecules without any serious histopathological damages.

PubMed

Miyake, Masateru; Minami, Takanori; Yamazaki, Hiroyuki; Emoto, Chie; Mukai, Tadashi; Toguchi, Hajime

2017-05-01

Therapeutic peptides and protein are being used in several indications; however, their poor permeability still remains to be solved. This study focused on the pulmonary route of macromolecules. First, the effects of arachidonic acid (AA) as an absorption enhancer on drug serum concentration, after intratracheal administration, were investigated in rats. Second, the safety of AA was assessed in rats in an acute toxicity study for 7days. AA enhanced the exposure of both interferon-α (IFN-α) and fluorescein isothiocyanate 4000 (FD-4). In addition, the histopathological analysis indicated that AA caused alveolitis and bronchitis in rats. In combination with Taurine (Tau), these lung injuries were prevented through the histopathological analysis. The combined use of Tau with AA did not show any changes in the pharmacokinetics of FD-4. From these results, we suggest the combined use of AA with Tau as a novel formulation on the pulmonary route of macromolecule drugs. This formulation could improve the bioavailability of macromolecule drugs without any serious local damage to the lungs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Recent advances in treatment of aplastic anemia

PubMed Central

Shin, Seung Hwan; Lee, Sung Eun

2014-01-01

Recent advances in the treatment of aplastic anemia (AA) made most of patients to expect to achieve a long-term survival. Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) from HLA-matched sibling donor (MSD-SCT) is a preferred first-line treatment option for younger patients with severe or very severe AA, whereas immunosuppressive treatment (IST) is an alternative option for others. Horse anti-thymocyte globuline (ATG) with cyclosporin A (CsA) had been a standard IST regimen with acceptable response rate. Recently, horse ATG had been not available and replaced with rabbit ATG in most countries. Subsequently, recent comparative studies showed that the outcomes of patients who received rabbit ATG/CsA were similar or inferior compared to those who received horse ATG/CsA. Therefore, further studies to improve the outcomes of IST, including additional eltrombopag, are necessary. On the other hand, the upper age limit of patients who are able to receive MSD-SCT as first-line treatment is a current issue because of favorable outcomes of MSD-SCT of older patients using fludarabine-based conditioning. In addition, further studies to improve the outcomes of patients who receive allogeneic SCT from alternative donors are needed. In this review, current issues and the newly emerging trends that may improve their outcomes in near futures will be discussed focusing the management of patients with AA. PMID:25378968

High-precision measurement of phenylalanine δ15N values for environmental samples: a new approach coupling high-pressure liquid chromatography purification and elemental analyzer isotope ratio mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Broek, Taylor A B; Walker, Brett D; Andreasen, Dyke H; McCarthy, Matthew D

2013-11-15

Compound-specific isotope analysis of individual amino acids (CSI-AA) is a powerful new tool for tracing nitrogen (N) source and transformation in biogeochemical cycles. Specifically, the δ(15)N value of phenylalanine (δ(15)N(Phe)) represents an increasingly used proxy for source δ(15)N signatures, with particular promise for paleoceanographic applications. However, current derivatization/gas chromatography methods require expensive and relatively uncommon instrumentation, and have relatively low precision, making many potential applications impractical. A new offline approach has been developed for high-precision δ(15)N measurements of amino acids (δ(15)N(AA)), optimized for δ(15)N(Phe) values. Amino acids (AAs) are first purified via high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC), using a mixed-phase column and automated fraction collection. The δ(15)N values are determined via offline elemental analyzer-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (EA-IRMS). The combined HPLC/EA-IRMS method separated most protein AAs with sufficient resolution to obtain accurate δ(15)N values, despite significant intra-peak isotopic fractionation. For δ(15)N(Phe) values, the precision was ±0.16‰ for standards, 4× better than gas chromatography/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/C/IRMS; ±0.64‰). We also compared a δ(15)N(Phe) paleo-record from a deep-sea bamboo coral from Monterey Bay, CA, USA, using our method versus GC/C/IRMS. The two methods produced equivalent δ(15)N(Phe) values within error; however, the δ(15)N(Phe) values from HPLC/EA-IRMS had approximately twice the precision of GC/C/IRMS (average stdev of 0.27‰ ± 0.14‰ vs 0.60‰ ± 0.20‰, respectively). These results demonstrate that offline HPLC represents a viable alternative to traditional GC/C/IMRS for δ(15)N(AA) measurement. HPLC/EA-IRMS is more precise and widely available, and therefore useful in applications requiring increased precision for data interpretation (e.g. δ(15)N paleoproxies). Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Hidden word learning capacity through orthography in aphasia.

PubMed

Tuomiranta, Leena M; Càmara, Estela; Froudist Walsh, Seán; Ripollés, Pablo; Saunavaara, Jani P; Parkkola, Riitta; Martin, Nadine; Rodríguez-Fornells, Antoni; Laine, Matti

2014-01-01

The ability to learn to use new words is thought to depend on the integrity of the left dorsal temporo-frontal speech processing pathway. We tested this assumption in a chronic aphasic individual (AA) with an extensive left temporal lesion using a new-word learning paradigm. She exhibited severe phonological problems and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) suggested a complete disconnection of this left-sided white-matter pathway comprising the arcuate fasciculus (AF). Diffusion imaging tractography confirmed the disconnection of the direct segment and the posterior indirect segment of her left AF, essential components of the left dorsal speech processing pathway. Despite her left-hemispheric damage and moderate aphasia, AA learned to name and maintain the novel words in her active vocabulary on par with healthy controls up to 6 months after learning. This exceeds previous demonstrations of word learning ability in aphasia. Interestingly, AA's preserved word learning ability was modality-specific as it was observed exclusively for written words. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) revealed that in contrast to normals, AA showed a significantly right-lateralized activation pattern in the temporal and parietal regions when engaged in reading. Moreover, learning of visually presented novel word-picture pairs also activated the right temporal lobe in AA. Both AA and the controls showed increased activation during learning of novel versus familiar word-picture pairs in the hippocampus, an area critical for associative learning. AA's structural and functional imaging results suggest that in a literate person, a right-hemispheric network can provide an effective alternative route for learning of novel active vocabulary. Importantly, AA's previously undetected word learning ability translated directly into therapy, as she could use written input also to successfully re-learn and maintain familiar words that she had lost due to her left hemisphere lesion. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Estimating the efficacy of Alcoholics Anonymous without self-selection bias: An instrumental variables re-analysis of randomized clinical trials

PubMed Central

Humphreys, Keith; Blodgett, Janet C.; Wagner, Todd H.

2014-01-01

Background Observational studies of Alcoholics Anonymous’ (AA) effectiveness are vulnerable to self-selection bias because individuals choose whether or not to attend AA. The present study therefore employed an innovative statistical technique to derive a selection bias-free estimate of AA’s impact. Methods Six datasets from 5 National Institutes of Health-funded randomized trials (one with two independent parallel arms) of AA facilitation interventions were analyzed using instrumental variables models. Alcohol dependent individuals in one of the datasets (n = 774) were analyzed separately from the rest of sample (n = 1582 individuals pooled from 5 datasets) because of heterogeneity in sample parameters. Randomization itself was used as the instrumental variable. Results Randomization was a good instrument in both samples, effectively predicting increased AA attendance that could not be attributed to self-selection. In five of the six data sets, which were pooled for analysis, increased AA attendance that was attributable to randomization (i.e., free of self-selection bias) was effective at increasing days of abstinence at 3-month (B = .38, p = .001) and 15-month (B = 0.42, p = .04) follow-up. However, in the remaining dataset, in which pre-existing AA attendance was much higher, further increases in AA involvement caused by the randomly assigned facilitation intervention did not affect drinking outcome. Conclusions For most individuals seeking help for alcohol problems, increasing AA attendance leads to short and long term decreases in alcohol consumption that cannot be attributed to self-selection. However, for populations with high pre-existing AA involvement, further increases in AA attendance may have little impact. PMID:25421504

Factors associated with active aging in Finland, Poland, and Spain.

PubMed

Perales, Jaime; Martin, Steven; Ayuso-Mateos, Jose Luis; Chatterji, Somnath; Garin, Noe; Koskinen, Seppo; Leonardi, Matilde; Miret, Marta; Moneta, Victoria; Olaya, Beatriz; Tobiasz-Adamczyk, Beata; Haro, Josep Maria

2014-08-01

Continuous population aging has raised international policy interest in promoting active aging (AA). AA theoretical models have been defined from a biomedical or a psychosocial perspective. These models may be expanded including components suggested by lay individuals. This paper aims to study the correlates of AA in three European countries, namely, Spain, Poland, and Finland using four different definitions of AA. The EU COURAGE in Europe project was a cross-sectional general adult population survey conducted in a representative sample of the noninstitutionalized population of Finland, Poland, and Spain. Participants (10,800) lived in the community. This analysis focuses on individuals aged 50 years old and over (7,987). Four definitions (two biomedical, one psychosocial, and a complete definition including biomedical, psychosocial, and external variables) of AA were analyzed. Differences in AA were found for country, age, education, and occupation. Finland scored consistently the highest in AA followed by Spain and Poland. Younger age was associated with higher AA. Higher education and occupation was associated with AA. Being married or cohabiting was associated with better AA compared to being widowed or separated in most definitions. Gender and urbanicity were not associated with AA, with few exceptions. Men scored higher in AA only in Spain, whereas there was no gender association in the other two countries. Being widowed was only associated with lower AA in Poland and not being married was associated with lower AA in Poland and Finland but not Spain. Associations with education, marital status, and occupation suggest that these factors are the most important components of AA. These association patterns, however, seem to vary across the three countries. Actions to promote AA in these countries may be addressed at reducing inequalities in occupation and education or directly tackling the components of AA lacking in each country.

32 CFR 293.6 - Procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... public Internet website. (8) Coordinates with other DoD Components, other members of the Intelligence... currently and properly classified or falls within another FOIA exemption, GC prepares an analysis on the... by the agency AA. The AA reviews the initial FOIA request, GC's analysis, and the denial decision...

[Performance comparison of material tests for cadmium and lead in food contact plastics].

PubMed

Mutsuga, Motoh; Abe, Tomoyuki; Abe, Yutaka; Ishii, Rie; Itoh, Yuko; Ohno, Hiroyuki; Ohno, Yuichiro; Ozaki, Asako; Kakihara, Yoshiteru; Kaneko, Reiko; Kawamura, Yoko; Shibata, Hiroshi; Sekido, Haruko; Sonobe, Hironori; Takasaka, Noriko; Tajima, Yoshiyasu; Tanaka, Aoi; Nomura, Chie; Hikida, Akinori; Matsuyama, Sigetomo; Murakami, Ryo; Yamaguchi, Miku; Wada, Takenari; Watanabe, Kazunari; Akiyama, Hiroshi

2014-01-01

Based on the Japanese Food Sanitation Law, the performances of official and alternative material test methods for cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in food contact plastics were compared. Nineteen laboratories participated to an interlaboratory study, and quantified Cd and Pb in three PVC pellets. in the official method, a sample is digested with H2SO4, taken up in HCl, and evaporated to dryness on a water bath, then measured by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) or inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Statistical treatment revealed that the trueness, repeatability (RSDr) and reproducibility (RSDr) were 86-95%, 3.1-9.4% and 8.6-22.1%, respectively. The values of the performance parameters fulfilled the requirements , and the performances met the test specifications. The combination of evaporation to dryness on a hot plate and measurement by AAS or ICP-OES is applicable as an alternative method. However, the trueness and RSDr were inferior to those of the official method. The performance parameters obtained by using the microwave digestion method (MW method) to prepare test solution were better than those of the official method. Thus, the MW method is available as an alternative method. Induced coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is also available as an alternative method. However, it is necessary to ensure complete digestion of the sample.

Determination of D- and L-amino acids produced by cyanobacteria using gas chromatography on Chirasil-Val after derivatization with pentafluoropropyl chloroformate.

PubMed

Zahradnícková, Helena; Husek, Petr; Simek, Petr; Hartvich, Petr; Marsálek, Blahoslav; Holoubek, Ivan

2007-08-01

A rapid and simple method was developed for the determination of free amino acids (AAs) released from cyanobacteria. The procedure involves trapping of AAs from the centrifuged cyanobacterial culture fluid on a cation-exchange resin, their release together with the resin by direct treatment with the reaction medium, followed by immediate derivatization with a corresponding chloroformate. The extractive alkylation transfers the analytes into an organic phase, an aliquot of which is subjected to GC analysis. Identification and quantification of AAs was performed by GC/MS and GC/FID, respectively, using propyl chloroformate (PCF) as the derivatization reagent. For chiral analysis, the cyanobacteria extracts were treated with 2,2,3,3,3-pentafluoropropyl chloroformate (PFPCF) to create more volatile analytes. Separation of the AA enantiomers was accomplished on a Chirasil-Val capillary column and the D/L enantiomeric ratios were determined. AAs of cyanobacteria are considered to be important for the assessment of energy flow in an aquatic food web, nutrition value of cyanobacteria in a food web and for cell-cell communication within cyanobacteria. The highest levels of AAs were found in the summer period at the beginning of the season (July). In the September and October samples, the amount of AAs was lower, the number of D-AAs decreased and the D/L ratio was higher than in the July sample. Based on the obtained results it can be assumed that young populations excrete AAs in higher concentrations and a different composition compared to actively growing populations.

The ratio of serum n-3 to n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids is associated with diabetes mellitus in patients with prior myocardial infarction: a multicenter cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Takahashi, Masao; Ando, Jiro; Shimada, Kazunori; Nishizaki, Yuji; Tani, Shigemasa; Ogawa, Takayuki; Yamamoto, Masato; Nagao, Ken; Hirayama, Atsushi; Yoshimura, Michihiro; Daida, Hiroyuki; Nagai, Ryozo; Komuro, Issei

2017-01-26

In prior myocardial infarction (PMI) patients, diabetes mellitus (DM), dyslipidemia, and hypertension increase the risk of secondary cardiovascular events. Although a decreased ratio of serum eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) to arachidonic acid (AA; EPA/AA) has been shown to significantly correlate with the onset of acute coronary syndrome, the associations between polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) levels and coronary risk factors in PMI patients have not been evaluated thoroughly. This study aimed to assess the associations between PUFAs levels and the risk factors in PMI patients. We enrolled 1733 patients with known PUFA levels who were treated in five divisions of cardiology in a metropolitan area of Japan, including 303 patients with PMI. EPA/AA and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) to AA level ratio (DHA/AA) in patients with and without PMI were analyzed according to presence of coronary risk factors. Diabetes patients with PMI had significantly lower EPA/AA and DHA/AA than diabetes patients without PMI (EPA/AA: P <0.01; DHA/AA: P =0.003), with no such differences in dyslipidemia and hypertension patients. In DM patients with high high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels (>0.1 mg/dL), EPA/AA was low in individuals who also had PMI, whereas DHA/AA was not (EPA/AA, with PMI: 0.43 ± 0.24; without PMI: 0.53 ± 0.30, P < 0.05). Moreover, patients on statins had significantly lower DHA/AA ratios, whereas the EPA/AA ratio did not depend on statin use. Multiple regression analysis revealed that statin use in DM patients was associated with low DHA/AA but not EPA/AA. PMI patients with DM have low EPA/AA and DHA/AA. EPA/AA and DHA/AA are differently related to hs-CRP level in DM patients with PMI. Statin use can potentially affect DHA/AA but not EPA/AA, and therefore EPA/AA ratio is a better marker of assessment for cardiovascular events.

Eicosapentaenoic acid to arachidonic acid (EPA/AA) ratio as an associated factor of high risk plaque on coronary computed tomography in patients without coronary artery disease.

PubMed

Nagahara, Yasuomi; Motoyama, Sadako; Sarai, Masayoshi; Ito, Hajime; Kawai, Hideki; Takakuwa, Yoko; Miyagi, Meiko; Shibata, Daisuke; Takahashi, Hiroshi; Naruse, Hiroyuki; Ishii, Junichi; Ozaki, Yukio

2016-07-01

Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA)-verified high risk plaque (HRP) characteristics including positive remodeling and low attenuation plaque have been associated with acute coronary syndromes. Several studies reported that the n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids have been associated with cardiovascular events. However, the relationship between serum eicosapentaenoic acid to arachidonic acid (EPA/AA) ratio and CCTA-verified HRP in patients without known coronary artery disease (CAD) is unclear. We aimed at investigating the relation between EPA/AA and CCTA-verified HRP in patients without known CAD. We included 193 patients undergoing CCTA without known CAD (65.5 ± 12.0 years, 55.0% male). No patient has been treated with EPA. The relation of coronary risk factors, lipid profile, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, coronary artery calcification score (CACS), number of vessel disease, plaque burden, and EPA/AA with the presence of HRP was evaluated by logistic regression analysis. Incremental value of EPA/AA to predict HRP was also analyzed by C-index, NRI, and IDI. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate the time to cardiovascular event. HRP was observed in 37 (19%) patients. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that current smoking (OR 2.58; p=0.046), number of vessel disease (OR 1.87; p=0.031), and EPA/AA ratio (OR 0.65; p=0.0006) were independent associated factors of HRP on CCTA. Although the addition of EPA/AA to the baseline model did not significantly improve C-index, both NRI (0.60, p=0.0049) and IDI (0.054, p=0.0072) were significantly improved. Patients with HRP had significantly higher rate of events compared with patients without HRP (14% vs. 3%, Logrank p=0.0004). On multivariable Cox hazard analysis, baseline EPA/AA ratio was an independent predictor (HR 0.57, p=0.047). Low EPA/AA was an associated factor of HRP on CCTA in patients without CAD. In addition to conventional coronary risk factors and CACS, EPA/AA and CCTA might be useful for risk stratification of CAD. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The effects of superset configuration on kinetic, kinematic, and perceived exertion in the barbell bench press.

PubMed

Weakley, Jonathon Js; Till, Kevin; Read, Dale B; Phibbs, Padraic J; Roe, Gregory; Darrall-Jones, Joshua; Jones, Ben L

2017-08-04

Training that is efficient and effective is of great importance to an athlete. One method of improving efficiency is by incorporating supersets into resistance training routines. However, the structuring of supersets is still unexplored. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the effects of agonist-antagonist (A-A), alternate peripheral (A-P), and similar biomechanical (SB) superset configurations on rate of perceived exertion (RPE), kinetic and kinematic changes during the bench press. 10 subjects performed resistance training protocols in a randomized-crossover design, with magnitude-based inferences assessing changes/differences within and between protocols. Changes in RPE were very likely and almost certainly greater in the A-P and SB protocols when compared with the A-A, while all superset protocols had very likely to almost certain reductions in mean velocity and power from baseline. Reductions in mean velocity and power were almost certainly greater in the SB protocol, with differences between the A-A and A-P protocols being unclear. Decreases in peak force were likely and almost certain in the A-A and SB protocols respectively, with changes in A-P being unclear. Differences between these protocols showed likely greater decreases in SB peak forces when compared to A-A, with all other superset comparisons being unclear. This study demonstrates the importance of exercise selection when incorporating supersets into a training routine. It is suggested that the practitioner uses A-A supersets when aiming to improve training efficiency and minimize reductions in kinetic and kinematic output of the agonist musculature while completing the barbell bench press.

Screening of Catalyst and Important Variable for The Esterification of Acrylic Acid with 2 Ethylhexanol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmad, M. A. A.; Chin, S. Y.

2017-06-01

The global demand of 2-ethylhexyl acrylate (2EHA) market has witnessed a significant growth in the past few years and this growth is anticipated to increase in the coming years. 2EHA is one of the basic organic building blocks that mainly used in the production of coatings, adhesives, superabsorbents, thickeners and plastic additives. Homogenous acid-catalysed esterification of acrylic acid (AA) with 2-ethylhexanol (2EH) is commonly used for the production of 2EHA. The homogeneous catalysts such as sulfuric and para-toluene sulfonic acid have resulted the costly and complicated downstream process that generates acidic, corrosive and non-environmental friendly waste. Therefore, it is importance to develop a cheaper process that employing heterogeneous catalysts and alternative raw material from wastewater containing acrylic acid. In this research, the study for the esterification of AA with 2EH catalysed by ion-exchange resin was conducted. The best sulfonic acid functional cation-exchange resin among SK104, SK1B, PK208, PK216, PK228, RCP145, and RCP160 was screened. PK208 outperformed the other resins and it was used subsequently in the parametric studies. The effect of important parameters (initial concentration of acrylic acid (AA), temperature, molar ratio of reactant (AA and 2EH), catalyst loading, and polymerisation inhibitor loading) was studied using 2 factorial design to determine the significant parameters to the esterification. It was found that the initial concentration of AA and temperature were most significantly affecting the esterification of AA with 2EH.

Fluoride adsorption properties of three modified forms of activated alumina in drinking water.

PubMed

Duan, Ying; Wang, Chenchen; Li, Xuede; Xu, Wei

2014-12-01

The study describes the removal of fluoride from drinking water using activated alumina (AA). AA was modified with H2SO4, FeCl3 and a combination of the two to enhance fluoride adsorption. The AA adsorbents were characterized using Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area analysis and X-ray fluorescence. The maximum adsorption capacity of H2SO4- and FeCl3-modified AA adsorbents was 4.98 mg/g, which is 3.4 times higher compared with that of normal AA. The results showed that the surface area of AA increased when modified with H2SO4. AA modified with FeCl3 enhanced fluoride adsorption ability through ion-exchange between chlorine ions and fluoride ions. The fluoride adsorption properties of AA modified with both H2SO4 and FeCl3 were consistent with the Langmuir model. The fluoride adsorption kinetics of the adsorbents were well described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model.

Multi-Objective Optimization of Friction Stir Welding Process Parameters of AA6061-T6 and AA7075-T6 Using a Biogeography Based Optimization Algorithm

PubMed Central

Tamjidy, Mehran; Baharudin, B. T. Hang Tuah; Paslar, Shahla; Matori, Khamirul Amin; Sulaiman, Shamsuddin; Fadaeifard, Firouz

2017-01-01

The development of Friction Stir Welding (FSW) has provided an alternative approach for producing high-quality welds, in a fast and reliable manner. This study focuses on the mechanical properties of the dissimilar friction stir welding of AA6061-T6 and AA7075-T6 aluminum alloys. The FSW process parameters such as tool rotational speed, tool traverse speed, tilt angle, and tool offset influence the mechanical properties of the friction stir welded joints significantly. A mathematical regression model is developed to determine the empirical relationship between the FSW process parameters and mechanical properties, and the results are validated. In order to obtain the optimal values of process parameters that simultaneously optimize the ultimate tensile strength, elongation, and minimum hardness in the heat affected zone (HAZ), a metaheuristic, multi objective algorithm based on biogeography based optimization is proposed. The Pareto optimal frontiers for triple and dual objective functions are obtained and the best optimal solution is selected through using two different decision making techniques, technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) and Shannon’s entropy. PMID:28772893

Re-evaluation of thin layer chromatography as an alternative method for the quantification of prostaglandins from rat Kupffer cells.

PubMed

Pestel, Sabine; Jungermann, Kurt; Schieferdecker, Henrike L

2005-01-01

In contrast to conventionally used immunoassays, thin layer chromatography (TLC)--by prelabeling of cells with radioactive arachidonic acid (AA)--allows to differentiate between cellularly built and added prostanoids and thus to investigate feedback effects of prostanoids on their own release. PGD2, TXB2 and PGE2 released from zymosan-stimulated Kupffer cells were separated with distinct RF-values, corresponding to those of the pure substances. Quantification of PGD2 and PGE2 gave comparable results with TLC and immunoassays, but measurement in the presence of added prostanoids was only possible with TLC. Moreover TLC was superior to immunoassays in having a longer linear range while being comparably sensitive. Cellularly built TXB2 in its radioactively labeled form was not detectable by TLC. Inhibition of TXB2 release by externally added AA or technical artifacts were excluded, suggesting that the cellular AA-pools used for prostaglandin and thromboxane synthesis differ in their accessibility for added AA. Thus, TLC is a simple, sensitive and precise method for the quantification of cellularly built prostaglandins but not of thromboxane even in the presence of added prostanoids.

Multi-Objective Optimization of Friction Stir Welding Process Parameters of AA6061-T6 and AA7075-T6 Using a Biogeography Based Optimization Algorithm.

PubMed

Tamjidy, Mehran; Baharudin, B T Hang Tuah; Paslar, Shahla; Matori, Khamirul Amin; Sulaiman, Shamsuddin; Fadaeifard, Firouz

2017-05-15

The development of Friction Stir Welding (FSW) has provided an alternative approach for producing high-quality welds, in a fast and reliable manner. This study focuses on the mechanical properties of the dissimilar friction stir welding of AA6061-T6 and AA7075-T6 aluminum alloys. The FSW process parameters such as tool rotational speed, tool traverse speed, tilt angle, and tool offset influence the mechanical properties of the friction stir welded joints significantly. A mathematical regression model is developed to determine the empirical relationship between the FSW process parameters and mechanical properties, and the results are validated. In order to obtain the optimal values of process parameters that simultaneously optimize the ultimate tensile strength, elongation, and minimum hardness in the heat affected zone (HAZ), a metaheuristic, multi objective algorithm based on biogeography based optimization is proposed. The Pareto optimal frontiers for triple and dual objective functions are obtained and the best optimal solution is selected through using two different decision making techniques, technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) and Shannon's entropy.

A comprehensive structure-function analysis shed a new light on molecular mechanism by which a novel smart copolymer, NY-3-1, assists protein refolding.

PubMed

Ye, Chaohui; Ilghari, Dariush; Niu, Jianlou; Xie, Yaoyao; Wang, Yan; Wang, Chao; Li, Xiaokun; Liu, Bailin; Huang, Zhifeng

2012-08-31

An in-depth understanding of molecular basis by which smart polymers assist protein refolding can lead us to develop a more effective polymer for protein refolding. In this report, to investigate structure-function relationship of pH-sensitive smart polymers, a series of poly(methylacrylic acid (MAc)-acrylic acid (AA))s with different MAc/AA ratios and molecular weights were synthesized and then their abilities in refolding of denatured lysozyme were compared by measuring the lytic activity of the refolded lysozyme. Based on our analysis, there were optimal MAc/AA ratio (44% MAc), M(w) (1700 Da), and copolymer concentration (0.1%, w/v) at which the highest yield of protein refolding was achieved. Fluorescence, circular dichroism, and RP-HPLC analysis reported in this study demonstrated that the presence of P(MAc-AA)s in the refolding buffer significantly improved the refolding yield of denatured lysozyme without affecting the overall structure of the enzyme. Importantly, our bioseparation analysis, together with the analysis of zeta potential and particle size of the copolymer in refolding buffers with different copolymer concentrations, suggested that the polymer provided a negatively charged surface for an electrostatic interaction with the denatured lysozyme molecules and thereby minimized the hydrophobic-prone aggregation of unfolded proteins during the process of refolding. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An Alternative Nested Reading Frame May Participate in the Stress-Dependent Expression of a Plant Gene

PubMed Central

Sheshukova, Ekaterina V.; Komarova, Tatiana V.; Ershova, Natalia M.; Shindyapina, Anastasia V.; Dorokhov, Yuri L.

2017-01-01

Although plants as sessile organisms are affected by a variety of stressors in the field, the stress factors for the above-ground and underground parts of the plant and their gene expression profiles are not the same. Here, we investigated NbKPILP, a gene encoding a new member of the ubiquitous, pathogenesis-related Kunitz peptidase inhibitor (KPI)-like protein family, that we discovered in the genome of Nicotiana benthamiana and other representatives of the Solanaceae family. The NbKPILP gene encodes a protein that has all the structural elements characteristic of KPI but in contrast to the proven A. thaliana KPI (AtKPI), it does not inhibit serine peptidases. Unlike roots, NbKPILP mRNA and its corresponding protein were not detected in intact leaves, but abiotic and biotic stressors drastically affected NbKPILP mRNA accumulation. In search of the causes of suppressed NbKPILP mRNA accumulation in leaves, we found that the NbKPILP gene is “matryoshka,” containing an alternative nested reading frame (ANRF) encoding a 53-amino acid (aa) polypeptide (53aa-ANRF) which has an amphipathic helix (AH). We confirmed ANRF expression experimentally. A vector containing a GFP-encoding sequence was inserted into the NbKPILP gene in frame with 53aa-ANRF, resulting in a 53aa-GFP fused protein that localized in the membrane fraction of cells. Using the 5′-RACE approach, we have shown that the expression of ANRF was not explained by the existence of a cryptic promoter within the NbKPILP gene but was controlled by the maternal NbKPILP mRNA. We found that insertion of mutations destroying the 53aa-ANRF AH resulted in more than a two-fold increase of the NbKPILP mRNA level. The NbKPILP gene represents the first example of ANRF functioning as a repressor of a maternal gene in an intact plant. We proposed a model where the stress influencing the translation initiation promotes the accumulation of NbKPILP and its mRNA in leaves. PMID:29312392

An Alternative Nested Reading Frame May Participate in the Stress-Dependent Expression of a Plant Gene.

PubMed

Sheshukova, Ekaterina V; Komarova, Tatiana V; Ershova, Natalia M; Shindyapina, Anastasia V; Dorokhov, Yuri L

2017-01-01

Although plants as sessile organisms are affected by a variety of stressors in the field, the stress factors for the above-ground and underground parts of the plant and their gene expression profiles are not the same. Here, we investigated NbKPILP , a gene encoding a new member of the ubiquitous, pathogenesis-related Kunitz peptidase inhibitor (KPI)-like protein family, that we discovered in the genome of Nicotiana benthamiana and other representatives of the Solanaceae family. The NbKPILP gene encodes a protein that has all the structural elements characteristic of KPI but in contrast to the proven A. thaliana KPI (AtKPI), it does not inhibit serine peptidases. Unlike roots, NbKPILP mRNA and its corresponding protein were not detected in intact leaves, but abiotic and biotic stressors drastically affected NbKPILP mRNA accumulation. In search of the causes of suppressed NbKPILP mRNA accumulation in leaves, we found that the NbKPILP gene is "matryoshka," containing an alternative nested reading frame (ANRF) encoding a 53-amino acid (aa) polypeptide (53aa-ANRF) which has an amphipathic helix (AH). We confirmed ANRF expression experimentally. A vector containing a GFP-encoding sequence was inserted into the NbKPILP gene in frame with 53aa-ANRF, resulting in a 53aa-GFP fused protein that localized in the membrane fraction of cells. Using the 5'-RACE approach, we have shown that the expression of ANRF was not explained by the existence of a cryptic promoter within the NbKPILP gene but was controlled by the maternal NbKPILP mRNA. We found that insertion of mutations destroying the 53aa-ANRF AH resulted in more than a two-fold increase of the NbKPILP mRNA level. The NbKPILP gene represents the first example of ANRF functioning as a repressor of a maternal gene in an intact plant. We proposed a model where the stress influencing the translation initiation promotes the accumulation of NbKPILP and its mRNA in leaves.

Trust Building Recruitment Strategies for Researchers Conducting Studies in African American (AA) Churches: Lessons Learned

PubMed Central

Bonner, Gloria; Williams, Sharon; Wilkie, Diana; Hart, Alysha; Burnett, Glenda; Peacock, Geraldine

2017-01-01

Background An initial and vital important step in recruiting participants for church-based hospice and palliative care research is the establishment of trust and credibility within the church community. Mistrust of medical research is an extremely important barrier hindering recruitment in African American (AA) communities. A church-based EOL dementia education project is currently being conducted at four large urban AA churches. Church leaders voiced mistrust concerns of previous researchers who conducted investigations in their faith-based institutions. We explored strategies to ameliorate the mistrust concerns. Specific aim To identify trust-rebuilding elements for researchers following others who violated trust of AA church leaders. Methods Face-to-face, in-depth interviews were conducted from a convenient sample of four established AA church leaders. Interviews were held in the informants’ churches to promote candor and comfort in revealing sensitive information about trust/mistrust. Content analysis framework was used to analyze the data. Elements identified from the analysis were then used to create themes. Results Multidimensional overarching themes emerged from the analysis included: Experience with researchers (positive and extremely negative), violation of trust and trust building strategies. Conclusions Findings suggest that researchers who wish to conduct successful studies in the AA religious institutions must implement trust rebuilding strategies that include mutual respect, collaboration and partnership building. If general moral practices continue to be violated, threat to future hospice and palliative care research within the institutions may prevail. Thus, potential benefits are thwarted for the church members, AA community, and advancement of EOL care scholarship. PMID:27577723

Systems analysis of the prostate transcriptome in African-American men compared with European-American men.

PubMed

Hardiman, Gary; Savage, Stephen J; Hazard, E Starr; Wilson, Robert C; Courtney, Sean M; Smith, Michael T; Hollis, Bruce W; Halbert, Chanita Hughes; Gattoni-Celli, Sebastiano

2016-07-01

African-Americans (AA) have increased prostate cancer risk and a greater mortality rate than European-Americans (EA). AA exhibit a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency. We examined the global prostate transcriptome in AA and EA, and the effect of vitamin D 3 supplementation. Twenty-seven male subjects (ten AA and 17 EA), slated to undergo prostatectomy were enrolled in the study. Fourteen subjects received vitamin D 3 (4000 IU daily) and 13 subjects received placebo for 2 months prior to surgery. AA show higher expression of genes associated with immune response and inflammation. Systems level analyses support the concept that Inflammatory processes may contribute to disease progression in AA. These transcripts can be modulated by a short course of vitamin D 3 supplementation.

Morphological and molecular variations induce mitochondrial dysfunction as a possible underlying mechanism of athletic amenorrhea.

PubMed

Xiong, Ruo-Hong; Wen, Shi-Lei; Wang, Qiang; Zhou, Hong-Ying; Feng, Shi

2018-01-01

Female athletes may experience difficulties in achieving pregnancy due to athletic amenorrhea (AA); however, the underlying mechanisms of AA remain unknown. The present study focuses on the mitochondrial alteration and its function in detecting the possible mechanism of AA. An AA rat model was established by excessive swimming. Hematoxylin and eosin staining, and transmission electron microscopic methods were performed to evaluate the morphological changes of the ovary, immunohistochemical examinations and radioimmunoassays were used to detect the reproductive hormones and corresponding receptors. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to test the mtDNA copy number. PCR and western blot analysis were used to test the expression of ND2. The change of morphological features of the rat ovaries revealed evident abnormalities. Particularly, the features of the mitochondria were markedly altered. In addition, reproductive hormones in the serum and tissues of AA rats were also detected to evaluate the function of the ovaries, and the levels of these hormones were significantly decreased. Furthermore, the mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNA) and expression of NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 (ND2) were quantitated by qPCR or western blot analysis. Accordingly, the mtDNA copy number and expression of ND2 expression were markedly reduced in the AA rats. In conclusion, mitochondrial dysfunction in AA may affect the cellular energy supply and, therefore, result in dysfunction of the ovary. Thus, mitochondrial dysfunction may be considered as a possible underlying mechanism for the occurrence of AA.

Protective pathways against colitis mediated by appendicitis and appendectomy

PubMed Central

Cheluvappa, R; Luo, A S; Palmer, C; Grimm, M C

2011-01-01

Appendicitis followed by appendectomy (AA) at a young age protects against inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Using a novel murine appendicitis model, we showed that AA protected against subsequent experimental colitis. To delineate genes/pathways involved in this protection, AA was performed and samples harvested from the most distal colon. RNA was extracted from four individual colonic samples per group (AA group and double-laparotomy control group) and each sample microarray analysed followed by gene-set enrichment analysis (GSEA). The gene-expression study was validated by quantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT–PCR) of 14 selected genes across the immunological spectrum. Distal colonic expression of 266 gene-sets was up-regulated significantly in AA group samples (false discovery rates < 1%; P-value < 0·001). Time–course RT–PCR experiments involving the 14 genes displayed down-regulation over 28 days. The IBD-associated genes tnfsf10, SLC22A5, C3, ccr5, irgm, ptger4 and ccl20 were modulated in AA mice 3 days after surgery. Many key immunological and cellular function-associated gene-sets involved in the protective effect of AA in experimental colitis were identified. The down-regulation of 14 selected genes over 28 days after surgery indicates activation, repression or de-repression of these genes leading to downstream AA-conferred anti-colitis protection. Further analysis of these genes, profiles and biological pathways may assist in developing better therapeutic strategies in the management of intractable IBD. PMID:21707591

A Qualitative Analysis of Medical Students' Reflection on Attending an Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting: Insights for Future Addiction Curricula.

PubMed

Kastenholz, Kurt J; Agarwal, Gaurava

2016-06-01

This paper describes medical students' views of alcoholism and their response to attending an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting during their psychiatry clerkship. This may assist other educators in planning their addiction curricula. Medical students were required to attend an AA meeting during their psychiatry clerkship and then to write a reflection piece on this experience. We selected a random sample of 40 pieces and performed a qualitative analysis to identify the prominent ideas and themes in this sample. Medical students found their experience attending an AA meeting to be educationally valuable. They reported their familiarity with AA prior to this experience was largely limited to popular media depictions. Students reported understanding alcoholism as a disease with both biological and psychosocial components. They were often concerned with the presence of religiosity and spirituality at the meetings. Following the experience, students felt more comfortable referring patients to AA and identified empathy, honesty, and openness as crucial contributors to the efficacy of AA. Students felt that attending an AA meeting during their psychiatry clerkship was an educationally valuable experience. Medical students' familiarity with addiction treatment is limited, and attending an AA meeting may be helpful in increasing their comfort with treating addicted patients in the future. In addition, educators may want to explicitly address the spirituality issue related to some treatment programs to increase the likelihood that future physicians feel comfortable referring their patients to recovery programs.

Effect of insulin sensitizer therapy on amino acids and their metabolites.

PubMed

Irving, Brian A; Carter, Rickey E; Soop, Mattias; Weymiller, Audrey; Syed, Husnain; Karakelides, Helen; Bhagra, Sumit; Short, Kevin R; Tatpati, Laura; Barazzoni, Rocco; Nair, K Sreekumaran

2015-06-01

Prior studies have reported that elevated concentrations of several plasma amino acids (AA), particularly branched chain (BCAA) and aromatic AA predict the onset of type 2 diabetes. We sought to test the hypothesis that circulating BCAA, aromatic AA and related AA metabolites decline in response to the use of insulin sensitizing agents in overweight/obese adults with impaired fasting glucose or untreated diabetes. We performed a secondary analysis of a randomized, double-blind, placebo, controlled study conducted in twenty five overweight/obese (BMI ~30kg/m(2)) adults with impaired fasting glucose or untreated diabetes. Participants were randomized to three months of pioglitazone (45mg per day) plus metformin (1000mg twice per day, N=12 participants) or placebo (N=13). We measured insulin sensitivity by the euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp and fasting concentrations of AA and AA metabolites using ultra-pressure liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry before and after the three-month intervention. Insulin sensitizer therapy that significantly enhanced insulin sensitivity reduced 9 out of 33 AA and AA metabolites measured compared to placebo treatment. Moreover, insulin sensitizer therapy significantly reduced three functionally clustered AA and metabolite pairs: i) phenylalanine/tyrosine, ii) citrulline/arginine, and iii) lysine/α-aminoadipic acid. Reductions in plasma concentrations of several AA and AA metabolites in response to three months of insulin sensitizer therapy support the concept that reduced insulin sensitivity alters AA and AA metabolites. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Levels of serum ascorbate and its metabolites in hemodialysis patients].

PubMed

Hirano, Hiroko; Tone, Yoshinori; Otani, Haruhisa; Oya, Masaki; Kimura, Keigo; Saika, Yasushi; Fujii, Ryoichi; Mune, Masatoshi; Ichinose, Masakazu; Yukawa, Susumu

2004-07-01

The status of ascorbic acid (AA) in dialysis patients is the subject of debate. Some reports have found AA to be deficient in dialysis patients, while others have found that AA is not deficient. In an attempt to confirm AA serum concentrations in dialysis patients, we analyzed the concentrations of AA as well as its metabolites using the specific determination of AA with chemical derivatization and the HPLC method. We studied 131 patients under maintenance hemodialysis therapy (HD), 23 patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) and 48 healthy controls (C). Serum concentrations of AA and the AA metabolites dehydroascorbic acid (DHA) and 2, 3-diketogulonate (DKG) were measured by HPLC. Nine HD patients were taking AA supplements. Seventy-six (62.3%) of the 122 HD patients not taking AA supplements exhibited deficient levels of AA (< 20 microM), while 13 (56.5%) of the 23 CRF patients and 9 (18.8%) of the 48 C showed deficient levels of AA. Analysis of AA metabolites in the normal-range AA (20-80 microM) group revealed that the DHA/AA ratio in HD patients was significantly higher than in C (3.3 +/- 2.6% and 1.2 +/- 2.2%, respectively). The DKG/AA ratio in HD patients was higher than in CRF patients (3.6 +/- 5.2% vs. 0.9 +/- 1.9%), whereas DKG was not detected in C. When compared to serum levels before the start of dialysis, serum AA, DHA and DKG concentrations at the end of the dialysis session decreased by an average of 74.2, 84.0 and 78.8% respectively. In HD patients, serum levels of thiobarbituric reactive substances (TBARS) were significantly lower in the higher AA (> 80 microM) group than in the deficient and normal-range AA groups. In 12 AA-deficient patients, after 1 month of taking AA supplements (200 mg/day), serum AA levels rose to 79.9 microM, while serum TBARS level declined when compared with levels before supplementation. In conclusion, the frequency of AA deficiency in dialysis patients is extremely high. AA deficiency in HD patients may result in high TBARS levels, which reflect increased oxidative stress. Adequate AA supplementation should therefore be considered in such patients.

Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 +49A/G polymorphisms contribute to the risk of type 1 diabetes in children: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis with trial sequential analysis.

PubMed

Wang, Bo; Du, Wei; Jia, Yutao; Zhang, Xiaobai; Ma, Guorui

2017-02-07

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a heritable disease associated with multiple genetic variants. This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the correlation between cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4(CTLA-4) +49A/G polymorphisms and the risk of T1D in children. The random effects model was used to estimate the related odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Trial sequential analysis (TSA) was used to determine whether the currently available evidence was sufficient and conclusive. Our results indicated that CTLA-4 gene polymorphisms significantly increased the risk of childhood T1D in an allelic model (G vs. A: OR=1.33, 95%CI=1.19-1.48; I2=44.0% and P=0.001for heterogeneity) and a codominant model (GG vs. AA: OR=1.75, 95%CI=1.37-2.24; I2=57.5% and P=0.001for heterogeneity; GA vs. AA: OR=1.26, 95%CI=1.09-1.46; I2=40.4% and P=0.036for heterogeneity). Subgroup analysis results indicated that the ORs were higher in the Asian population (ORallelic model=1.60, ORGG vs. AA=2.46 and ORGA vs. AA=1.58) than the Caucasian population (ORallelic model==1.24, ORGG vs. AA=1.55 and ORGA vs. AA=1.19). The TSA results indicated that the evidence of the effect was sufficient. In conclusion, CTLA4 +49A/G polymorphisms increased the risk of T1D in children, and CTLA4 +49A/G can be considered to be a genetic marker for T1D in children.

Iron in non-hydroxyl radical mediated photochemical processes for dye degradation: Catalyst or inhibitor?

PubMed

Wu, Bingdang; Zhang, Shujuan; Li, Xuchun; Liu, Xitong; Pan, Bingcai

2015-07-01

The acetylacetone (AA) mediated photochemical process has been proven as an efficient approach for decoloration. For azo dyes, the UV/AA process was several to more than ten times more efficient than the UV/H2O2 process. Iron is one of the most common elements on the earth. It is well known that iron can improve the UV/H2O2 process through thermal Fenton and photo-Fenton reactions. What will be the role of iron in the UV/AA process? Could iron-AA complexes act as photocatalysts in environmental remediation? To answer these questions, the photo-degradation of an azo dye, Acid Orange 7 (AO7), was conducted under the variant combinations of AA with iron species in both ionic (Fe2+, Fe3+) and complex (Fe(AA)3) forms. The pseudo-first-order decoloration rate constants of AO7 in these photochemical processes followed such an order: UV/Fe(II)/AA

Genome-wide meta-analysis in alopecia areata resolves HLA associations and reveals two new susceptibility loci

PubMed Central

Huang, Hailiang; Menelaou, Androniki; Redler, Silke; Becker, Tim; Heilmann, Stefanie; Yamany, Tarek; Duvic, Madeliene; Hordinsky, Maria; Norris, David; Price, Vera H.; Mackay-Wiggan, Julian; de Jong, Annemieke; DeStefano, Gina M.; Moebus, Susanne; Böhm, Markus; Blume-Peytavi, Ulrike; Wolff, Hans; Lutz, Gerhard; Kruse, Roland; Bian, Li; Amos, Christopher I.; Lee, Annette; Gregersen, Peter K.; Blaumeiser, Bettina; Altshuler, David; Clynes, Raphael; de Bakker, Paul I. W.; Nöthen, Markus M.; Daly, Mark J.; Christiano, Angela M.

2015-01-01

Alopecia areata (AA) is a prevalent autoimmune disease with ten known susceptibility loci. Here we perform the first meta-analysis in AA by combining data from two genome-wide association studies (GWAS), and replication with supplemented ImmunoChip data for a total of 3,253 cases and 7,543 controls. The strongest region of association is the MHC, where we fine-map 4 independent effects, all implicating HLA-DR as a key etiologic driver. Outside the MHC, we identify two novel loci that exceed statistical significance, containing ACOXL/BCL2L11(BIM) (2q13); GARP (LRRC32) (11q13.5), as well as a third nominally significant region SH2B3(LNK)/ATXN2 (12q24.12). Candidate susceptibility gene expression analysis in these regions demonstrates expression in relevant immune cells and the hair follicle. We integrate our results with data from seven other autoimmune diseases and provide insight into the alignment of AA within these disorders. Our findings uncover new molecular pathways disrupted in AA, including autophagy/apoptosis, TGFß/Tregs and JAK kinase signaling, and support the causal role of aberrant immune processes in AA. PMID:25608926

Molecular Genetic Analysis of Midgut Serine Proteases in Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes

PubMed Central

Isoe, Jun; Rascón, Alberto A.; Kunz, Susan; Miesfeld, Roger L.

2009-01-01

Digestion of blood meal proteins by midgut proteases provides anautogenous mosquitoes with the nutrients required to complete the gonotrophic cycle. Inhibition of protein digestion in the midgut of blood feeding mosquitoes could therefore provide a strategy for population control. Based on recent reports indicating that the mechanism and regulation of protein digestion in blood fed female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes is more complex than previously thought, we used a robust RNAi knockdown method to investigate the role of four highly expressed midgut serine proteases in blood meal metabolism. We show by Western blotting that the early phase trypsin protein (AaET) is maximally expressed at 3 h post blood meal (PBM), and that AaET is not required for the protein expression of three late phase serine proteases, AaLT (late trypsin), AaSPVI (5G1), and AaSPVII. Using the trypsin substrate analog BApNA to analyze in vitro enzyme activity in midgut extracts from single mosquitoes, we found that knockdown of AaSPVI expression caused a 77.6% decrease in late phase trypsin-like activity, whereas, knockdown of AaLT and AaSPVII expression had no significant effect on BApNA activity. In contrast, injection of AaLT, AaSPVI, and AaSPVII dsRNA inhibited degradation of endogenous serum albumin protein using an in vivo protease assay, as well as, significantly decreased egg production in both the first and second gonotrophic cycles (p<0.001). These results demonstrate that AaLT, AaSPVI, and AaSPVII all contribute to blood protein digestion and oocyte maturation, even though AaSPVI is the only abundant midgut late phase serine protease that appears to function as a classic trypsin enzyme. PMID:19883761

Radiocarbon Analysis of Individual Amino Acids: Carbon Blank Quantification for a Small-Sample High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography Purification Method.

PubMed

Bour, Amy L; Walker, Brett D; Broek, Taylor A B; McCarthy, Matthew D

2016-04-05

Compound-specific radiocarbon analysis (CSRA) of amino acids (AAs) is of great interest as a proxy for organic nitrogen (N) cycling rates, dating archeological bone collagen, and investigating processes shaping the biogeochemistry of global N reservoirs. However, recoverable quantities of individual compounds from natural samples are often insufficient for radiocarbon ((14)C) analyses (<50 μg C). Constraining procedural carbon (C) blanks and their isotopic contributions is critical for reporting of accurate CSRA measurements. Here, we report the first detailed quantification of C blanks (including sources, magnitudes, and variability) for a high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) method designed to purify individual AAs from natural samples. We used pairs of AA standards with either modern (M) or dead (D) fraction modern (Fm) values to quantify MC and DC blanks within several chromatographic regions. Blanks were determined for both individual and mixed AA standard injections with peak loadings ranging from 10 to 85 μg C. We found 0.8 ± 0.4 μg of MC and 1.0 ± 0.5 μg of DC were introduced by downstream sample preparation (drying, combustion, and graphitization), which accounted for essentially the entire procedural blank for early eluting AAs. For late-eluting AAs, higher eluent organic content and fraction collected volumes contributed to total blanks of 1.5 ± 0.75 μg of MC and 3.0 ± 1.5 μg of DC. Our final measurement uncertainty for 20 μg of C of most AAs was ±0.02 Fm, although sample size requirements are larger for similar uncertainty in late-eluting AAs. These results demonstrate the first CSRA protocol for many protein AAs with uncertainties comparable to the lowest achieved in prior studies.

Medial Amygdala Lesions Selectively Block Aversive Pavlovian–Instrumental Transfer in Rats

PubMed Central

McCue, Margaret G.; LeDoux, Joseph E.; Cain, Christopher K.

2014-01-01

Pavlovian conditioned stimuli (CSs) play an important role in the reinforcement and motivation of instrumental active avoidance (AA). Conditioned threats can also invigorate ongoing AA responding [aversive Pavlovian–instrumental transfer (PIT)]. The neural circuits mediating AA are poorly understood, although lesion studies suggest that lateral, basal, and central amygdala nuclei, as well as infralimbic prefrontal cortex, make key, and sometimes opposing, contributions. We recently completed an extensive analysis of brain c-Fos expression in good vs. poor avoiders following an AA test (Martinez et al., 2013, Learning and Memory). This analysis identified medial amygdala (MeA) as a potentially important region for Pavlovian motivation of instrumental actions. MeA is known to mediate defensive responding to innate threats as well as social behaviors, but its role in mediating aversive Pavlovian–instrumental interactions is unknown. We evaluated the effect of MeA lesions on Pavlovian conditioning, Sidman two-way AA conditioning (shuttling) and aversive PIT in rats. Mild footshocks served as the unconditioned stimulus in all conditioning phases. MeA lesions had no effect on AA but blocked the expression of aversive PIT and 22 kHz ultrasonic vocalizations in the AA context. Interestingly, MeA lesions failed to affect Pavlovian freezing to discrete threats but reduced freezing to contextual threats when assessed outside of the AA chamber. These findings differentiate MeA from lateral and central amygdala, as lesions of these nuclei disrupt Pavlovian freezing and aversive PIT, but have opposite effects on AA performance. Taken together, these results suggest that MeA plays a selective role in the motivation of instrumental avoidance by general or uncertain Pavlovian threats. PMID:25278858

Genome-wide association analysis of red blood cell traits in African Americans: the COGENT Network

PubMed Central

Chen, Zhao; Tang, Hua; Qayyum, Rehan; Schick, Ursula M.; Nalls, Michael A.; Handsaker, Robert; Li, Jin; Lu, Yingchang; Yanek, Lisa R.; Keating, Brendan; Meng, Yan; van Rooij, Frank J.A.; Okada, Yukinori; Kubo, Michiaki; Rasmussen-Torvik, Laura; Keller, Margaux F.; Lange, Leslie; Evans, Michele; Bottinger, Erwin P.; Linderman, Michael D.; Ruderfer, Douglas M.; Hakonarson, Hakon; Papanicolaou, George; Zonderman, Alan B.; Gottesman, Omri; Thomson, Cynthia; Ziv, Elad; Singleton, Andrew B.; Loos, Ruth J.F.; Sleiman, Patrick M.A.; Ganesh, Santhi; McCarroll, Steven; Becker, Diane M.; Wilson, James G.; Lettre, Guillaume; Reiner, Alexander P.

2013-01-01

Laboratory red blood cell (RBC) measurements are clinically important, heritable and differ among ethnic groups. To identify genetic variants that contribute to RBC phenotypes in African Americans (AAs), we conducted a genome-wide association study in up to ∼16 500 AAs. The alpha-globin locus on chromosome 16pter [lead SNP rs13335629 in ITFG3 gene; P < 1E−13 for hemoglobin (Hgb), RBC count, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), MCH and MCHC] and the G6PD locus on Xq28 [lead SNP rs1050828; P < 1E − 13 for Hgb, hematocrit (Hct), MCV, RBC count and red cell distribution width (RDW)] were each associated with multiple RBC traits. At the alpha-globin region, both the common African 3.7 kb deletion and common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) appear to contribute independently to RBC phenotypes among AAs. In the 2p21 region, we identified a novel variant of PRKCE distinctly associated with Hct in AAs. In a genome-wide admixture mapping scan, local European ancestry at the 6p22 region containing HFE and LRRC16A was associated with higher Hgb. LRRC16A has been previously associated with the platelet count and mean platelet volume in AAs, but not with Hgb. Finally, we extended to AAs the findings of association of erythrocyte traits with several loci previously reported in Europeans and/or Asians, including CD164 and HBS1L-MYB. In summary, this large-scale genome-wide analysis in AAs has extended the importance of several RBC-associated genetic loci to AAs and identified allelic heterogeneity and pleiotropy at several previously known genetic loci associated with blood cell traits in AAs. PMID:23446634

Developing and Improving Modified Achievement Level Descriptors: Rationale, Procedures, and Tools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quenemoen, Rachel; Albus, Debra; Rogers, Chris; Lazarus, Sheryl

2010-01-01

Some states are developing alternate assessments based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS) to measure the academic achievement of some students with disabilities (Albus, Lazarus, Thurlow, & Cormier, 2009; Lazarus, Thurlow, Christensen, & Cormier, 2007). These assessments measure the same content as the general assessment for a given…

Subsequent Chemotherapy and Treatment Patterns After Abiraterone Acetate in Patients with Metastatic Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer: Post Hoc Analysis of COU-AA-302.

PubMed

de Bono, Johann S; Smith, Matthew R; Saad, Fred; Rathkopf, Dana E; Mulders, Peter F A; Small, Eric J; Shore, Neal D; Fizazi, Karim; De Porre, Peter; Kheoh, Thian; Li, Jinhui; Todd, Mary B; Ryan, Charles J; Flaig, Thomas W

2017-04-01

Treatment patterns for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) have changed substantially in the last few years. In trial COU-AA-302 (chemotherapy-naïve men with mCRPC), abiraterone acetate plus prednisone (AA) significantly improved radiographic progression-free survival and overall survival (OS) when compared to placebo plus prednisone (P). This post hoc analysis investigated clinical responses to docetaxel as first subsequent therapy (FST) among patients who progressed following protocol-specified treatment with AA, and characterized subsequent treatment patterns among older (≥75 yr) and younger (<75 yr) patient subgroups. Data were collected at the final OS analysis (96% of expected death events). Subsequent therapy data were prospectively collected, while response and discontinuation data were collected retrospectively following discontinuation of the study drug. At the discretion of the investigator, 67% (365/546) of patients from the AA arm received subsequent treatment with one or more agents approved for mCRPC. Efficacy analysis was performed for patients for whom baseline and at least one post-baseline prostate-specific antigen (PSA) values were available. Baseline and at least one post-baseline PSA values were available for 100 AA patients who received docetaxel as FST. While acknowledging the limitations of post hoc analyses, 40% (40/100) of these patients had an unconfirmed ≥50% PSA decline with first subsequent docetaxel therapy, and 27% (27/100) had a confirmed ≥50% PSA decline. The median docetaxel treatment duration among these 100 patients was 4.2 mo. Docetaxel was the most common FST among older and younger patients from each treatment arm. However, 43% (79/185) of older patients who progressed on AA received no subsequent therapy for mCRPC, compared with 17% (60/361) of younger patients. Patients with mCRPC who progress with AA treatment may still derive benefit from subsequent docetaxel therapy. These data support further assessment of treatment patterns following AA treatment for mCRPC, particularly among older patients. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00887198. Treatment patterns for advanced prostate cancer have changed substantially in the last few years. This additional analysis provides evidence of clinical benefit for subsequent chemotherapy in men with advanced prostate cancer whose disease progressed after treatment with abiraterone acetate. Older patients were less likely to be treated with subsequent therapy. Copyright © 2016 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Determination of trace amino acids in human serum by a selective and sensitive pre-column derivatization method using HPLC-FLD-MS/MS and derivatization optimization by response surface methodology.

PubMed

Li, Guoliang; Cui, Yanyan; You, Jinmao; Zhao, Xianen; Sun, Zhiwei; Xia, Lian; Suo, Yourui; Wang, Xiao

2011-04-01

Analysis of trace amino acids (AA) in physiological fluids has received more attention, because the analysis of these compounds could provide fundamental and important information for medical, biological, and clinical researches. More accurate method for the determination of those compounds is highly desirable and valuable. In the present study, we developed a selective and sensitive method for trace AA determination in biological samples using 2-[2-(7H-dibenzo [a,g]carbazol-7-yl)-ethoxy] ethyl chloroformate (DBCEC) as labeling reagent by HPLC-FLD-MS/MS. Response surface methodology (RSM) was first employed to optimize the derivatization reaction between DBCEC and AA. Compared with traditional single-factor design, RSM was capable of lessening laborious, time and reagents consumption. The complete derivatization can be achieved within 6.3 min at room temperature. In conjunction with a gradient elution, a baseline resolution of 20 AA containing acidic, neutral, and basic AA was achieved on a reversed-phase Hypersil BDS C(18) column. This method showed excellent reproducibility and correlation coefficient, and offered the exciting detection limits of 0.19-1.17 fmol/μL. The developed method was successfully applied to determinate AA in human serum. The sensitive and prognostic index of serum AA for liver diseases has also been discussed.

Right Fronto-Temporal EEG can Differentiate the Affective Responses to Award-Winning Advertisements.

PubMed

Wang, Regina W Y; Huarng, Shy-Peih; Chuang, Shang-Wen

2018-04-01

Affective engineering aims to improve service/product design by translating the customer's psychological feelings. Award-winning advertisements (AAs) were selected on the basis of the professional standards that consider creativity as a prerequisite. However, it is unknown if AA is related to satisfactory advertising performance among customers or only to the experts' viewpoints towards the advertisements. This issue in the field of affective engineering and design merits in-depth evaluation. We recruited 30 subjects and performed an electroencephalography (EEG) experiment while watching AAs and non-AAs (NAAs). The event-related potential (ERP) data showed that AAs evoked larger positive potentials 250-1400 [Formula: see text]ms after stimulus onset, particularly in the right fronto-temporal regions. The behavioral results were consistent with the professional recognition given to AAs by experts. The perceived levels of creativity and "product-like" quality were higher for the AAs than for the NAAs. Event-related spectral perturbation (ERSP) analysis further revealed statistically significant differences in the theta, alpha, beta, and gamma band activity in the right fronto-temporal regions between the AAs and NAAs. Our results confirm that EEG features from the time/frequency domains can differentiate affective responses to AAs at a neural circuit level, and provide scientific evidence to support the identification of AAs.

Property Criteria for Automotive Al-Mg-Si Sheet Alloys

PubMed Central

Prillhofer, Ramona; Rank, Gunther; Berneder, Josef; Antrekowitsch, Helmut; Uggowitzer, Peter J.; Pogatscher, Stefan

2014-01-01

In this study, property criteria for automotive Al-Mg-Si sheet alloys are outlined and investigated in the context of commercial alloys AA6016, AA6005A, AA6063 and AA6013. The parameters crucial to predicting forming behavior were determined by tensile tests, bending tests, cross-die tests, hole-expansion tests and forming limit curve analysis in the pre-aged temper after various storage periods following sheet production. Roping tests were performed to evaluate surface quality, for the deployment of these alloys as an outer panel material. Strength in service was also tested after a simulated paint bake cycle of 20 min at 185 °C, and the corrosion behavior was analyzed. The study showed that forming behavior is strongly dependent on the type of alloy and that it is influenced by the storage period after sheet production. Alloy AA6016 achieves the highest surface quality, and pre-ageing of alloy AA6013 facilitates superior strength in service. Corrosion behavior is good in AA6005A, AA6063 and AA6016, and only AA6013 shows a strong susceptibility to intergranular corrosion. The results are discussed below with respect to the chemical composition, microstructure and texture of the Al-Mg-Si alloys studied, and decision-making criteria for appropriate automotive sheet alloys for specific applications are presented. PMID:28788119

Identification of a Unique Amyloid Sequence in AA Amyloidosis of a Pig Associated With Streptococcus Suis Infection.

PubMed

Kamiie, J; Sugahara, G; Yoshimoto, S; Aihara, N; Mineshige, T; Uetsuka, K; Shirota, K

2017-01-01

Here we report a pig with amyloid A (AA) amyloidosis associated with Streptococcus suis infection and identification of a unique amyloid sequence in the amyloid deposits in the tissue. Tissues from the 180-day-old underdeveloped pig contained foci of necrosis and suppurative inflammation associated with S. suis infection. Congo red stain, immunohistochemistry, and electron microscopy revealed intense AA deposition in the spleen and renal glomeruli. Mass spectrometric analysis of amyloid material extracted from the spleen showed serum AA 2 (SAA2) peptide as well as a unique peptide sequence previously reported in a pig with AA amyloidosis. The common detection of the unique amyloid sequence in the current and past cases of AA amyloidosis in pigs suggests that this amyloid sequence might play a key role in the development of porcine AA amyloidosis. An in vitro fibrillation assay demonstrated that the unique AA peptide formed typically rigid, long amyloid fibrils (10 nm wide) and the N-terminus peptide of SAA2 formed zigzagged, short fibers (7 nm wide). Moreover, the SAA2 peptide formed long, rigid amyloid fibrils in the presence of sonicated amyloid fibrils formed by the unique AA peptide. These findings indicate that the N-terminus of SAA2 as well as the AA peptide mediate the development of AA amyloidosis in pigs via cross-seeding polymerization.

Determination of aristolochic acids by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection.

PubMed

Wang, Yinan; Chan, Wan

2014-06-25

Nephrotoxic and carcinogenic aristolochic acids (AAs) are naturally occurring nitrophenanthrene carboxylic acids in the herbal genus Aristolochia. The misuse of AA-containing herbs in preparing slimming drugs has caused hundred of cases of kidney disease in Belgium women in a slimming regime in the early 1990s. Accumulating evidence also suggested that prolong dietary intake of AA-contaminated food is one of the major causes to the Balkan endemic nephropathy that was first observed in the late 1950s. Therefore, analytical methods of high sensitivity are extremely important for safeguarding human exposure to AA-containing herbal medicines, herbal remedies, and food composites. In this paper, we describe the development of a new high-performance liquid chromatography coupled fluorescence detector (HPLC-FLD) method for the sensitive determination of AAs. The method makes use of a novel cysteine-induced denitration reaction that "turns on" the fluorescence of AAs for fluorometric detections. Our results showed that the combination of cysteine-induced denitration and HPLC-FLD analysis allows for sensitive quantification of AA-I and AA-II at detection limits of 27.1 and 25.4 ng/g, respectively. The method was validated and has been successfully applied in quantifying AAs in Chinese herbal medicines.

Combinations of putative virulence markers in typical and variant enteroaggregative Escherichia coli strains from children with and without diarrhoea.

PubMed Central

Elias, W. P.; Uber, A. P.; Tomita, S. K.; Trabulsi, L. R.; Gomes, T. A. T.

2002-01-01

Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) is defined by the ability to produce aggregative adherence (AA) to cultured cells. We analysed 128 EAEC strains, isolated from children with and without diarrhoea, regarding the presence of 11 EAEC virulence genes. Seventy strains carried and 58 lacked the EAEC probe sequence; 17 probe positive and 31 probe negative strains showed variations in the AA pattern. All EAEC probe positive strains carried at least one EAEC marker; aspU (94.3%), irp2 (91.4%), and aggR (74.3%) were the most prevalent. Conversely, among the EAEC probe negative strains, 41.4% were devoid of any marker and astA predominated (44.8%). No significant statistical difference in the prevalence of any marker between cases and controls in both EAEC probe groups or AA variants was found. We suggest that the EAEC probe positive strains may have a higher pathogenic potential or alternatively, EAEC probe negative strains may harbour virulence factors as yet undescribed. PMID:12211596

A Comprehensive Approach to Assess Feathermeal as an Alternative Protein Source in Aquafeed.

PubMed

Jasour, Mohammad Sedigh; Wagner, Liane; Sundekilde, Ulrik K; Larsen, Bodil K; Greco, Ines; Orlien, Vibeke; Olsen, Karsten; Rasmussen, Hanne T; Hjermitslev, Niels H; Hammershøj, Marianne; Dalsgaard, Anne J T; Dalsgaard, Trine K

2017-12-06

The effect of partially replacing fishmeal in aquafeed with feathermeal (FTH) at three levels (0%: FTH0, 8%: FTH8, 24%: FTH24) and two extrusion temperatures (100 and 130 °C) was evaluated in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) with respect to growth performance, metabolism response, and oxidative status of the feed proteins. Multivariate data analyses revealed that FTH24 correlated positively with high levels of oxidation products, amino acids (AA) racemization, glucogenic AAs level in liver, feed intake (FI), specific growth rate (SGR), and feed conversion ratio (FCR); and low AAs digestibility. Both FI and SGR were significantly increased when 8 and 24% feathermeal was included in the feed extruded at 100 °C, while there was a negative effect on FCR in fish fed FTH24. In conclusion, higher oxidation levels in FTH24 may give rise to metabolic alterations while lower levels of FTH may be considered as fishmeal substitute in aquafeed for rainbow trout.

Which method of posttraumatic stress disorder classification best predicts psychosocial function in children with traumatic brain injury?

PubMed

Iselin, Greg; Le Brocque, Robyne; Kenardy, Justin; Anderson, Vicki; McKinlay, Lynne

2010-10-01

Controversy surrounds the classification of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), particularly in children and adolescents with traumatic brain injury (TBI). In these populations, it is difficult to differentiate TBI-related organic memory loss from dissociative amnesia. Several alternative PTSD classification algorithms have been proposed for use with children. This paper investigates DSM-IV-TR and alternative PTSD classification algorithms, including and excluding the dissociative amnesia item, in terms of their ability to predict psychosocial function following pediatric TBI. A sample of 184 children aged 6-14 years were recruited following emergency department presentation and/or hospital admission for TBI. PTSD was assessed via semi-structured clinical interview (CAPS-CA) with the child at 3 months post-injury. Psychosocial function was assessed using the parent report CHQ-PF50. Two alternative classification algorithms, the PTSD-AA and 2 of 3 algorithms, reached statistical significance. While the inclusion of the dissociative amnesia item increased prevalence rates across algorithms, it generally resulted in weaker associations with psychosocial function. The PTSD-AA algorithm appears to have the strongest association with psychosocial function following TBI in children and adolescents. Removing the dissociative amnesia item from the diagnostic algorithm generally results in improved validity. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Advances in the application of amino acid nitrogen isotopic analysis in ecological and biogeochemical studies

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Compound-specific isotopic analysis of amino acids (CSIA-AA) has emerged in the last decade as a powerful approach for tracing the origins and fate of nitrogen in ecological and biogeochemical studies. This approach is based on the empirical knowledge that source AAs (i.e., phenylalanine), fractiona...

Immunoseroproteomic Profiling in African American Men with Prostate Cancer: Evidence for an Autoantibody Response to Glycolysis and Plasminogen-Associated Proteins*

PubMed Central

Sanchez, Tino W.; Zhang, Guangyu; Li, Jitian; Dai, Liping; Mirshahidi, Saied; Wall, Nathan R.; Yates, Clayton; Wilson, Colwick; Montgomery, Susanne; Zhang, Jian-Ying; Casiano, Carlos A.

2016-01-01

African American (AA) men suffer from a disproportionately high incidence and mortality of prostate cancer (PCa) compared with other racial/ethnic groups. Despite these disparities, African American men are underrepresented in clinical trials and in studies on PCa biology and biomarker discovery. We used immunoseroproteomics to profile antitumor autoantibody responses in AA and European American (EA) men with PCa, and explored differences in these responses. This minimally invasive approach detects autoantibodies to tumor-associated antigens that could serve as clinical biomarkers and immunotherapeutic agents. Sera from AA and EA men with PCa were probed by immunoblotting against PC3 cell proteins, with AA sera showing stronger immunoreactivity. Mass spectrometry analysis of immunoreactive protein spots revealed that several AA sera contained autoantibodies to a number of proteins associated with both the glycolysis and plasminogen pathways, particularly to alpha-enolase (ENO1). The proteomic data is deposited in ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD003968. Analysis of sera from 340 racially diverse men by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) showed higher frequency of anti-ENO1 autoantibodies in PCa sera compared with control sera. We observed differences between AA-PCa and EA-PCa patients in their immunoreactivity against ENO1. Although EA-PCa sera reacted with higher frequency against purified ENO1 in ELISA and recognized by immunoblotting the endogenous cellular ENO1 across a panel of prostate cell lines, AA-PCa sera reacted weakly against this protein by ELISA but recognized it by immunoblotting preferentially in metastatic cell lines. These race-related differences in immunoreactivity to ENO1 could not be accounted by differential autoantibody recognition of phosphoepitopes within this antigen. Proteomic analysis revealed differences in the posttranslational modification profiles of ENO1 variants differentially recognized by AA-PCa and EA-PCa sera. These intriguing results suggest the possibility of race-related differences in the antitumor autoantibody response in PCa, and have implications for defining novel biological determinants of PCa health disparities. PMID:27742740

Evaluation of thrombelastographic platelet-mapping in healthy cats.

PubMed

Blois, Shauna L; Banerjee, Amrita; Wood, R Darren

2012-06-01

Thrombelastography (TEG) permits analysis of clot formation but it is not specific for platelet activity. TEG PlateletMapping (TEG-PM) is a modification of TEG that uses adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and arachidonic acid (AA) as platelet agonists to define the contribution of platelets to clot formation. The objectives of this study were to determine values for TEG-PM in healthy cats and the interassay variation of TEG-PM. TEG-PM analysis was performed on blood specimens collected from 12 healthy cats and was repeated using a second blood specimen collected 2 hours later. Maximum amplitudes generated by thrombin (MA(thrombin)), fibrin (MA(fibrin)), ADP-stimulated platelet activity (MA(ADP)), and AA-stimulated platelet activity (MA(AA)) were recorded. Mean ± SD for MA(thrombin) was 51.1 ± 8.5 mm, for MA(fibrin) was 32.3 ± 17.7 mm, for MA(ADP) was 32.3 ± 15.0 mm, and for MA(AA) was 24.5 ± 12.2 mm. Mean MA(ADP) and MA(fibrin) were not significantly different, whereas mean MA(AA) was significantly lower than mean MA(fibrin). Results from the first and second specimens were not significantly different. Correlation between the first and second specimens was moderate for MA(thrombin), MA(fibrin), and MA(ADP), but was poor for MA(AA). A high degree of variability (coefficient of variation 47.7-60.0%) was observed for MA(fibrin), MA(ADP), and MA(AA). As MA(ADP) and MA(AA) (AA) were the same as or lower than MA(fibrin), a valid baseline to determine platelet-stimulated clot formation could not be established. Considerable interassay variation and wide intervals for MA(fibrin), MA(ADP), and MA(AA) values in this study indicate that TEG-PM should be used cautiously in feline patients. Several preanalytical factors should be examined in further detail. © 2012 American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology.

Activity of vegetative insecticidal proteins Vip3Aa58 and Vip3Aa59 of Bacillus thuringiensis against lepidopteran pests.

PubMed

Baranek, Jakub; Kaznowski, Adam; Konecka, Edyta; Naimov, Samir

2015-09-01

Vegetative insecticidal proteins (Vips) secreted by some isolates of Bacillus thuringiensis show activity against insects and are regarded as insecticides against pests. A number of B. thuringiensis strains harbouring vip3A genes were isolated from different sources and identified by using a PCR based approach. The isolates with the highest insecticidal activity were indicated in screening tests, and their vip genes were cloned and sequenced. The analysis revealed two polymorphic Vip protein forms, which were classified as Vip3Aa58 and Vip3Aa59. After expression of the vip genes, the proteins were isolated and characterized. The activity of both toxins was estimated against economically important lepidopteran pests of woodlands (Dendrolimus pini), orchards (Cydia pomonella) and field crops (Spodoptera exigua). Vip3Aa58 and Vip3Aa59 were highly toxic and their potency surpassed those of many Cry proteins used in commercial bioinsecticides. Vip3Aa59 revealed similar larvicidal activity as Vip3Aa58 against S. exigua and C. pomonella. Despite 98% similarity of amino acid sequences of both proteins, Vip3Aa59 was significantly more active against D. pini. Additionally the effect of proteolytic activation of Vip58Aa and Vip3Aa59 on toxicity of D. pini and S. exigua was studied. Both Vip3Aa proteins did not show any activity against Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera) larvae. The results suggest that the Vip3Aa58 and Vip3Aa59 toxins might be useful for controlling populations of insect pests of crops and forests. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Analysis of the flow property of aluminum alloy AA6016 based on the fracture morphology using the hydroforming technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lang, Lihui; Zhang, Quanda; Sun, Zhiying; Wang, Yao

2017-09-01

In this paper, the hydraulic bulging experiments were respectively carried out using AA6016-T4 aluminum alloy and AA6016-O aluminum alloy, and the deformation properties and fracture mechanism of aluminum alloy under the conditions of thermal and hydraulic were analyzed. Firstly, the aluminum alloy AA6016 was dealt with two kinds of heat treatment systems such as solid solution heat treatment adding natural ageing and full annealing, then the aluminum alloy such as AA6016-T4 and AA6016-O were obtained. In the same working environment, the two kinds of materials were used in the process of hydraulic bulging experiments, according to the observation and measurement of the deformation sizes of grid circles and material thicknesses near the fracture region, the flow properties and development trend of fracture defect of the materials were analyzed comprehensively from the perspective of qualitative analysis and quantitative analysis; Secondly, the two kinds of materials were sampled in different regions of the fracture area and the microstructure morphology of the fracture was observed by the scanning electron microscope (SEM). The influence laws of the heat treatment systems on the fracture defect of the aluminum alloy under the condition of the liquid pressure were studied preliminarily by observing the distribution characteristics of the fracture microstructure morphology of dimple. At the same time, the experimental research on the ordinary stamping forming process of AA6016-O was carried out and the influence law of different forming process on the fracture defect of the aluminum alloy material was studied by observing the distribution of the fracture microstructure morphology; Finally, the development process of the fracture defect of aluminum alloy sheet was described theoretically from the view of the stress state.

Do young people benefit from AA as much, and in the same ways, as adult aged 30+? A moderated multiple mediation analysis.

PubMed

Hoeppner, Bettina B; Hoeppner, Susanne S; Kelly, John F

2014-10-01

Research has shown that participation in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) confers significant recovery benefit to adults suffering from alcohol use disorder (AUD). Concerns persist, however, that AA may not work as well for younger adults, who tend to have shorter addiction histories, different social circumstances, and less spiritual/religious interest than adults. Secondary data analysis of Project MATCH, using a prospective, moderated multiple mediation analysis to test and compare six previously identified mechanisms of change in younger adults (n=266) vs. adults aged 30+ (n=1460). Nine clinical sites within the United States. Treatment-seeking adults (n=1726) suffering from AUD who participated in 12 weeks of outpatient treatment and completed follow-ups at 3-, 9- and 15-months. AA attendance during treatment; mediators at 9 months; and outcomes [percentage of days abstinent (PDA) and drinks per drinking day (DDD)] at 15 months. AA attendance was associated with improved drinking outcomes in both younger adults (PDA: F(1, 247)=8.55, p<0.01; DDD: F(1, 247)=15.93, p<0.01) and adults aged 30+ (PDA: F(1, 1311)=86.58, p<0.01; DDD: F(1, 1311)=11.96, p<0.01). Only two of the six hypothesized pathways (i.e., decreases in pro-drinking social networks, self-efficacy in social situations) appeared to work in younger adults. Unidentified mechanisms of behavior change that are mobilized by AA participation appear to be at work in young people. Once identified, these mechanisms may shed new light on how exactly AA confers similar benefits for young people and, more broadly, may enhance our understanding of recovery-related change for young adults that could yield novel intervention targets. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Functional characterisation of a SNP in the ABCC11 allele - effects on axillary skin metabolism, odour generation and associated behaviours.

PubMed

Harker, Mark; Carvell, Ann-Marie; Marti, Vernon P J; Riazanskaia, Svetlana; Kelso, Hailey; Taylor, David; Grimshaw, Sally; Arnold, David S; Zillmer, Ruediger; Shaw, Jane; Kirk, Jayne M; Alcasid, Zee M; Gonzales-Tanon, Sheila; Chan, Gertrude P; Rosing, Egge A E; Smith, Adrian M

2014-01-01

A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), 538G→A, leading to a G180R substitution in the ABCC11 gene results in reduced concentrations of apocrine derived axillary odour precursors. Determine the axillary odour levels in the SNP ABCC11 genotype variants and to investigate if other parameters associated with odour production are affected. Axillary odour was assessed by subjective quantification and gas chromatography headspace analysis. Metabolite profiles, microbiome diversity and personal hygiene habits were also assessed. Axillary odour in the A/A homozygotes was significantly lower compared to the G/A and G/G genotypes. However, the perception-based measures still detected appreciable levels of axillary odour in the A/A subjects. Metabolomic analysis highlighted significant differences in axillary skin metabolites between A/A subjects compared to those carrying the G allele. These differences resulted in A/A subjects lacking specific volatile odourants in the axillary headspace, but all genotypes produced odoriferous short chain fatty acids. Microbiomic analysis revealed differences in the relative abundance of key bacterial genera associated with odour generation between the different genotypes. Deodorant usage indicated a high level of self awareness of axillary odour levels with A/A individuals less likely to adopt personal hygiene habits designed to eradicate/mask its presence. The SNP in the ABCC11 gene results in lower levels of axillary odour in the A/A homozygotes compared to those carrying the G allele, but A/A subjects still produce noticeable amounts of axillary odour. Differences in axillary skin metabolites, bacterial genera and personal hygiene behaviours also appear to be influenced by this SNP. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

A framework for an alternatives assessment dashboard for evaluating chemical alternatives applied to flame retardants for electronic applications

PubMed Central

Martin, Todd M.

2017-01-01

The goal of alternatives assessment (AA) is to facilitate a comparison of alternatives to a chemical of concern, resulting in the identification of safer alternatives. A two stage methodology for comparing chemical alternatives was developed. In the first stage, alternatives are compared using a variety of human health effects, ecotoxicity, and physicochemical properties. Hazard profiles are completed using a variety of online sources and quantitative structure activity relationship models. In the second stage, alternatives are evaluated utilizing an exposure/risk assessment over the entire life cycle. Exposure values are calculated using screening-level near-field and far-field exposure models. The second stage allows one to more accurately compare potential exposure to each alternative and consider additional factors that may not be obvious from separate binned persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity scores. The methodology was utilized to compare phosphate-based alternatives for decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE) in electronics applications. PMID:29333139

Comparison of Multisegmental Foot and Ankle Motion Between Total Ankle Replacement and Ankle Arthrodesis in Adults.

PubMed

Seo, Sang Gyo; Kim, Eo Jin; Lee, Doo Jae; Bae, Kee Jeong; Lee, Kyoung Min; Lee, Dong Yeon

2017-09-01

Total ankle replacement (TAR) and ankle arthrodesis (AA) are usually performed for severe ankle arthritis. We compared postoperative foot segmental motion during gait in patients treated with TAR and AA. Gait analysis was performed in 17 and 7 patients undergoing TAR and AA, respectively. Subjects were evaluated using a 3-dimensional multisegmental foot model with 15 markers. Temporal gait parameters were calculated. The maximum and minimum values and the differences in hallux, forefoot, hindfoot, and arch in 3 planes (sagittal, coronal, transverse) were compared between the 2 groups. One hundred healthy adults were evaluated as a control. Gait speed was faster in the TAR ( P = .028). On analysis of foot and ankle segmental motion, the range of hindfoot sagittal motion was significantly greater in the TAR (15.1 vs 10.2 degrees in AA; P = .004). The main component of motion increase was hindfoot dorsiflexion (12.3 and 8.6 degrees). The range of forefoot sagittal motion was greater in the TAR (9.3 vs 5.8 degrees in AA; P = .004). Maximum ankle power in the TAR (1.16) was significantly higher than 0.32 in AA; P = .008). However, the range of hindfoot and forefoot sagittal motion was decreased in both TAR and AA compared with the control group ( P = .000). Although biomechanical results of TAR and AA were not similar to those in the normal controls, joint motions in the TAR more closely matched normal values. Treatment decision making should involve considerations of the effect of surgery on the adjacent joints. Level III, case-control study.

Protective pathways against colitis mediated by appendicitis and appendectomy.

PubMed

Cheluvappa, R; Luo, A S; Palmer, C; Grimm, M C

2011-09-01

Appendicitis followed by appendectomy (AA) at a young age protects against inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Using a novel murine appendicitis model, we showed that AA protected against subsequent experimental colitis. To delineate genes/pathways involved in this protection, AA was performed and samples harvested from the most distal colon. RNA was extracted from four individual colonic samples per group (AA group and double-laparotomy control group) and each sample microarray analysed followed by gene-set enrichment analysis (GSEA). The gene-expression study was validated by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of 14 selected genes across the immunological spectrum. Distal colonic expression of 266 gene-sets was up-regulated significantly in AA group samples (false discovery rates < 1%; P-value < 0·001). Time-course RT-PCR experiments involving the 14 genes displayed down-regulation over 28 days. The IBD-associated genes tnfsf10, SLC22A5, C3, ccr5, irgm, ptger4 and ccl20 were modulated in AA mice 3 days after surgery. Many key immunological and cellular function-associated gene-sets involved in the protective effect of AA in experimental colitis were identified. The down-regulation of 14 selected genes over 28 days after surgery indicates activation, repression or de-repression of these genes leading to downstream AA-conferred anti-colitis protection. Further analysis of these genes, profiles and biological pathways may assist in developing better therapeutic strategies in the management of intractable IBD. © 2011 The Authors. Clinical and Experimental Immunology © 2011 British Society for Immunology.

Spirituality in Recovery: A Lagged Mediational Analysis of Alcoholics Anonymous’ Principal Theoretical Mechanism of Behavior Change

PubMed Central

Kelly, John F.; Stout, Robert L.; Magill, Molly; Tonigan, J. Scott; Pagano, Maria E.

2010-01-01

Background Evidence indicates Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) can play a valuable role in recovery from alcohol use disorder. While AA itself purports it aids recovery through “spiritual” practices and beliefs, this claim remains contentious and has been only rarely formally investigated. Using a lagged, mediational analysis, with a large clinical sample of adults with alcohol use disorder, this study examined the relationships among AA, spirituality/religiousness, and alcohol use, and tested whether the observed relation between AA and better alcohol outcomes can be explained by spiritual changes. Method Adults (N = 1,726) participating in a randomized controlled trial of psychosocial treatments for alcohol use disorder (Project MATCH) were assessed at treatment intake, and 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 months on their AA attendance, spiritual/religious practices, and alcohol use outcomes using validated measures. General linear modeling (GLM) and controlled lagged mediational analyses were utilized to test for mediational effects. Results Controlling for a variety of confounding variables, attending AA was associated with increases in spiritual practices, especially for those initially low on this measure at treatment intake. Results revealed AA was also consistently associated with better subsequent alcohol outcomes, which was partially mediated by increases in spirituality. This mediational effect was demonstrated across both outpatient and aftercare samples and both alcohol outcomes (proportion of abstinent days; drinks per drinking day). Conclusions Findings suggest that AA leads to better alcohol use outcomes, in part, by enhancing individuals’ spiritual practices and provides support for AA’s own emphasis on increasing spiritual practices to facilitate recovery from alcohol use disorder. PMID:21158876

Comparison of fluorescent tags for analysis of mannose-6-phosphate glycans.

PubMed

Kang, Ji-Yeon; Kwon, Ohsuk; Gil, Jin Young; Oh, Doo-Byoung

2016-05-15

Mannose-6-phosphate (M-6-P) glycan analysis is important for quality control of therapeutic enzymes for lysosomal storage diseases. Here, we found that the analysis of glycans containing two M-6-Ps was highly affected by the hydrophilicity of the elution solvent used in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In addition, the performances of three fluorescent tags--2-aminobenzoic acid (2-AA), 2-aminobenzamide (2-AB), and 3-(acetyl-amino)-6-aminoacridine (AA-Ac)--were compared with each other for M-6-P glycan analysis using HPLC and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The best performance for analyzing M-6-P glycans was shown by 2-AA labeling in both analyses. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Workload-Matched Adaptive Automation Support of Air Traffic Controller Information Processing Stages

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaber, David B.; Prinzel, Lawrence J., III; Wright, Melanie C.; Clamann, Michael P.

2002-01-01

Adaptive automation (AA) has been explored as a solution to the problems associated with human-automation interaction in supervisory control environments. However, research has focused on the performance effects of dynamic control allocations of early stage sensory and information acquisition functions. The present research compares the effects of AA to the entire range of information processing stages of human operators, such as air traffic controllers. The results provide evidence that the effectiveness of AA is dependent on the stage of task performance (human-machine system information processing) that is flexibly automated. The results suggest that humans are better able to adapt to AA when applied to lower-level sensory and psychomotor functions, such as information acquisition and action implementation, as compared to AA applied to cognitive (analysis and decision-making) tasks. The results also provide support for the use of AA, as compared to completely manual control. These results are discussed in terms of implications for AA design for aviation.

Amino acid adsorption on anatase (101) surface at vacuum and aqueous solution: a density functional study.

PubMed

Liu, Liuxie; Li, Kai; Chen, Xiao; Liang, Xiaoqin; Zheng, Yan; Li, Laicai

2018-03-29

The adsorption of 20 amino acids (AAs) on the (101) surface of anatase titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) has been investigated under the scheme of density functional theory. Through the analysis of adsorption geometries, amino group and side chains of AAs have been identified as the major side to adsorb on TiO 2 , while the carboxyl group prefers to stay outside to avoid the repulsion between negatively charged oxygen from TiO 2 and AAs. On the surface, two-coordinated oxygen is the major site to stabilize AAs through O-H interactions. The above conclusion does not change when it is in the aqueous solution based on the calculations with AAs surrounded by explicit water molecules. The above knowledge is helpful in predicting how AAs and even peptides adsorb on inorganic materials. Graphical abstract The adsorption of 20 amino acids (AAs) on the (101) surface of anatase titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) has been investigated under the scheme of density functional theory.

Application of acoustic doppler velocimeters for streamflow measurements

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rehmel, M.

2007-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) principally has used Price AA and Price pygmy mechanical current meters for measurement of discharge. New technologies have resulted in the introduction of alternatives to the Price meters. One alternative, the FlowTracker acoustic Doppler velocimeter, was designed by SonTek/YSI to make streamflow measurements in wadeable conditions. The device measures a point velocity and can be used with standard midsection method algorithms to compute streamflow. The USGS collected 55 quality-assurance measurements with the FlowTracker at 43 different USGS streamflow-gaging stations across the United States, with mean depths from 0.05to0.67m, mean velocities from 13 to 60 cm/s, and discharges from 0.02 to 12.4m3/s. These measurements were compared with Price mechanical current meter measurements. Analysis of the comparisons shows that the FlowTracker discharges were not statistically different from the Price meter discharges at a 95% confidence level. ?? 2007 ASCE.

Two alternatively spliced GPR39 transcripts in seabream: molecular cloning, genomic organization, and regulation of gene expression by metabolic signals.

PubMed

Zhang, Yong; Liu, Yun; Huang, Xigui; Liu, Xiaochun; Jiao, Baowei; Meng, Zining; Zhu, Pei; Li, Shuisheng; Lin, Haoran; Cheng, Christopher H K

2008-12-01

Two GPR39 transcripts, designated as sbGPR39-1a and sbGPR39-1b, were identified in black seabream (Acanthopagrus schlegeli). The deduced amino acid (aa) sequence of sbGPR39-1a contains 423 residues with seven putative transmembrane (TM) domains. On the other hand, sbGPR39-1b contains 284 aa residues with only five putative TM domains. Northern blot analysis confirmed the presence of two GPR39 transcripts in the seabream intestine, stomach, and liver. Apart from seabream, the presence of two GPR39 transcripts was also found to exist in a number of teleosts (zebrafish and pufferfish) and mammals (human and mouse). Analysis of the GPR39 gene structure in different species suggests that the two GPR39 transcripts are generated by alternative splicing. When the seabream receptors were expressed in cultured HEK293 cells, Zn(2)(+) could trigger sbGPR39-1a signaling through the serum response element pathway, but no such functionality could be detected for the sbGPR39-1b receptor. The two receptors were found to be differentially expressed in seabream tissues. sbGPR39-1a is predominantly expressed in the gastrointestinal tract. On the other hand, sbGPR39-1b is widely expressed in most central and peripheral tissues except muscle and ovary. The expression of sbGPR39-1a in the intestine and the expression of sbGPR39-1b in the hypothalamus were decreased significantly during food deprivation in seabream. On the contrary, the expression of the GH secretagogue receptors (sbGHSR-1a and sbGHSR-1b) was significantly increased in the hypothalamus of the food-deprived seabream. The reciprocal regulatory patterns of expression of these two genes suggest that both of them are involved in controlling the physiological response of the organism during starvation.

Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) gibberellin 2-oxidase genes in stem elongation and abiotic stress response.

PubMed

Zhou, Yuchan; Underhill, Steven J R

2016-01-01

Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) is a traditional staple tree crop in the Oceania. Susceptibility to windstorm damage is a primary constraint on breadfruit cultivation. Significant tree loss due to intense tropical windstorm in the past decades has driven a widespread interest in developing breadfruit with dwarf stature. Gibberellin (GA) is one of the most important determinants of plant height. GA 2-oxidase is a key enzyme regulating the flux of GA through deactivating biologically active GAs in plants. As a first step toward understanding the molecular mechanism of growth regulation in the species, we isolated a cohort of four full-length GA2-oxidase cDNAs, AaGA2ox1- AaGA2ox4 from breadfruit. Sequence analysis indicated the deduced proteins encoded by these AaGA2oxs clustered together under the C19 GA2ox group. Transcripts of AaGA2ox1, AaGA2ox2 and AaGA2ox3 were detected in all plant organs, but exhibited highest level in source leaves and stems. In contrast, transcript of AaGA2ox4 was predominantly expressed in roots and flowers, and displayed very low expression in leaves and stems. AaGA2ox1, AaGA2ox2 and AaGA2ox3, but not AaGA2ox4 were subjected to GA feedback regulation where application of exogenous GA3 or gibberellin biosynthesis inhibitor, paclobutrazol was shown to manipulate the first internode elongation of breadfruit. Treatments of drought or high salinity increased the expression of AaGA2ox1, AaGA2ox2 and AaGA2ox4. But AaGA2ox3 was down-regulated under salt stress. The function of AaGA2oxs is discussed with particular reference to their role in stem elongation and involvement in abiotic stress response in breadfruit. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

NASA Alternate Access to Station Service Concept

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bailey, Michelle D.; Crumbly, Chris

2001-01-01

The evolving nature of the NASA space enterprise compels the agency to develop new and innovative space systems concepts. NASA, working with increasingly strained budgets and a declining manpower base, is attempting to transform from operational activities to procurement of commercial services. NASA's current generation reusable launch vehicle, the Shuttle, is in transition from a government owned and operated entity to a commercial venture to reduce the civil servant necessities for that program. NASA foresees its second generation launch vehicles being designed and operated by industry for commercial and government services. The "service" concept is a pioneering effort by NASA. The purpose the "service" is not only to reduce the civil servant overhead but will free up government resources for further research - and enable industry to develop a space business case so that industry can sustain itself beyond government programs. In addition, NASA desires a decreased responsibility thereby decreasing liability. The Second Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) program is implementing NASA's Space Launch Initiative (SLI) to enable industry to develop the launch vehicles of the future. The Alternate Access to Station (AAS) project office within this program is chartered with enabling industry to demonstrate an alternate access capability for the International Space Station (ISS). The project will not accomplish this by traditional government procurement methods, not by integrating the space system within the project office, or by providing the only source of business for the new capability. The project funds will ultimately be used to purchase a service to take re-supply cargo to the ISS, much the same as any business might purchase a service from FedEx to deliver a package to its customer. In the near term, the project will fund risk mitigation efforts for enabling technologies. AAS is in some ways a precursor to the 2nd Generation RLV. By accomplishing ISS resupply with existing technologies, not only will a new category of autonomous vehicles deliver cargo, but a commercial business base will be incubated that will improve the likelihood of commercial convergence with the next generation of RLVs. Traditional paradigms in government management and acquisition philosophy are being challenged in order to bring about the objective of the AAS project. The phased procurement approach is proving to be the most questionable aspect to date. This work addresses the fresh approach AAS is adopting in management and procurement through a study of the AAS history, current solutions, key technologies, procurement complications, and an incremental forward plan leading to the purchase of a service to deliver goods to ISS. Included in this work is a discussion of the Commercial Space Act of 1998 and how it affects government purchase of space launch and space vehicle services. Industry should find these topics pertinent to their current state of business.

NASA Alternate Access to Station Service Concept

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bailey, M. D.; Crumbly, C.

2002-01-01

The evolving nature of the NASA space enterprise compels the agency to develop new and innovative space systems concepts. NASA, working with increasingly strained budgets and a declining manpower base, is attempting to transform from operational activities to procurement of commercial services. NASA's current generation reusable launch vehicle, the Shuttle, is in transition from a government owned and operated entity to a commercial venture to reduce the civil servant necessities for that program. NASA foresees its second generation launch vehicles being designed and operated by industry for commercial and government services. The "service" concept is a pioneering effort by NASA. The purpose the "service" is not only to reduce the civil servant overhead but will free up government resources for further research and enable industry to develop a space business case so that industry can sustain itself beyond government programs. In addition, NASA desires a decreased responsibility thereby decreasing liability. The Second Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) program is implementing NASA's Space Launch Initiative (SLI) to enable industry to develop the launch vehicles of the future. The Alternate Access to Station (AAS) project office within this program is chartered with enabling industry to demonstrate an alternate access capability for the International Space Station (ISS). The project will not accomplish this by traditional government procurement methods, not by integrating the space system within the project office, or by providing the only source of business for the new capability. The project funds will ultimately be used to purchase a service to take re-supply cargo to the ISS, much the same as any business might purchase a service from FedEx to deliver a package to its customer. In the near term, the project will fund risk mitigation efforts for enabling technologies. AAS is in some ways a precursor to the 2nd Generation RLV. By accomplishing ISS resupply with existing technologies, not only will a new category of autonomous vehicles deliver cargo, but a commercial business base will be incubated that will improve the likelihood of commercial convergence with the next generation of RLVs. Traditional paradigms in government management and acquisition philosophy are being challenged in order to bring about the objective of the AAS project. The phased procurement approach is proving to be the most questionable aspect to date. This work addresses the fresh approach AAS is adopting in management and procurement through a study of the AAS history, current solutions, key technologies, procurement complications, and an incremental forward plan leading to the purchase of a service to deliver goods to ISS. Included in this work is a discussion of the Commercial Space Act of 1998 and how it affects government purchase of space launch and space vehicle services. Industry should find these topics pertinent to their current state of business.

Standardized ileal digestibility of amino acids in European soya bean and rapeseed products fed to growing pigs.

PubMed

Kaewtapee, C; Mosenthin, R; Nenning, S; Wiltafsky, M; Schäffler, M; Eklund, M; Rosenfelder-Kuon, P

2018-04-01

This study was conducted to determine the chemical composition and standardized ileal digestibility coefficients (SID) of crude protein (CP) and amino acids (AA) of European soya bean and rapeseed products in pigs. Six soya bean and two rapeseed products were used as the sole dietary source of CP and AA, including raw (FFSB) and roasted full-fat soya beans (FFSB R oasted ), soya bean (SBC) and rapeseed cake (RSC), and rapeseed meal (RSM) from Bavaria (Germany), soya bean meal (SBM) from the Danube region (Austria; SBM A ustria ), a commercially available standard SBM (SBM S td ) and an imported genetically modified organism-free SBM (SBM GMO -free ). Eight ileal- cannulated pigs with an initial body weight of 32 ± 2 kg were allotted to a row-column design with eight diets and six periods of seven days each. Trypsin inhibitor activity (TIA) ranged from 1.8 in SBM S td to 24.5 mg/g DM in FFSB. The SID of CP and all AA in FFSB R oasted were greater than in FFSB, but lower when compared to SBC and SBM A ustria (p < .05). The SID of CP and all AA (except glutamic acid) were not different between SBC and SBM A ustria , but the SID of CP and all AA (except methionine) were greater (p < .05) in SBC than in SBM GMO -free . Furthermore, the SID of CP and most AA showed a quadratic response with decreasing TIA, and there exists a quadratic response in SID of CP and all AA with increasing lysine to CP ratio and neutral detergent insoluble nitrogen (p < .05). In conclusion, variation in chemical composition and SID of CP and AA was observed in different European soya bean and rapeseed products as influenced by differences in processing conditions. European SBC and SBM A ustria can be used as alternative to imported SBM GMO -free and SBM S td in diets for growing pigs. © 2017 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Tibial nerve stimulation to inhibit the micturition reflex by an implantable wireless driver microstimulator in cats

PubMed Central

Li, Xing; Liao, Li-Min; Chen, Guo-Qing; Wang, Zhao-Xia; Lu, Tian-Ji; Deng, Han; Loeb, Gerald-E

2016-01-01

Abstract Background: Traditional tibial nerve stimulation (TNS) has been used to treat overactive bladder syndrome (OAB), but there are some shortcomings. Thus, a novel alternative is needed for the treatment of OAB. The study investigated the effects of a new type of tibial nerve microstimulator on the micturition reflex in cats. Methods: An implantable wireless driver microstimulator was implanted around the tibial nerve in 9 α-chloralose anesthetized cats. Cystometry was performed by infusing 0.9% normal saline (NS) or 0.25% acetic acid (AA) through a urethral catheter. Multiple cystometrograms were performed before, during, and after TNS to determine the inhibitory effect of the microstimulator on the micturition reflex. Results: TNS at 2 threshold (T) intensity significantly increased the bladder capacity (BC) during NS infusion. Bladder overactivity was irritated by the intravesical infusion of 0.25% AA, which significantly reduced the BC compared with the NS infusion. TNS at 2 T intensity suppressed AA-induced bladder overactivity and significantly increased the BC compared with the AA control. Conclusion: The implantable wireless driver tibial nerve microstimulator appears to be effective in inhibiting the micturition reflex during physiologic and pathologic conditions. The implantable wireless driver tibial nerve microstimulator could be used to treat OAB. PMID:27537576

Genome-wide meta-analysis in alopecia areata resolves HLA associations and reveals two new susceptibility loci.

PubMed

Betz, Regina C; Petukhova, Lynn; Ripke, Stephan; Huang, Hailiang; Menelaou, Androniki; Redler, Silke; Becker, Tim; Heilmann, Stefanie; Yamany, Tarek; Duvic, Madeliene; Hordinsky, Maria; Norris, David; Price, Vera H; Mackay-Wiggan, Julian; de Jong, Annemieke; DeStefano, Gina M; Moebus, Susanne; Böhm, Markus; Blume-Peytavi, Ulrike; Wolff, Hans; Lutz, Gerhard; Kruse, Roland; Bian, Li; Amos, Christopher I; Lee, Annette; Gregersen, Peter K; Blaumeiser, Bettina; Altshuler, David; Clynes, Raphael; de Bakker, Paul I W; Nöthen, Markus M; Daly, Mark J; Christiano, Angela M

2015-01-22

Alopecia areata (AA) is a prevalent autoimmune disease with 10 known susceptibility loci. Here we perform the first meta-analysis of research on AA by combining data from two genome-wide association studies (GWAS), and replication with supplemented ImmunoChip data for a total of 3,253 cases and 7,543 controls. The strongest region of association is the major histocompatibility complex, where we fine-map four independent effects, all implicating human leukocyte antigen-DR as a key aetiologic driver. Outside the major histocompatibility complex, we identify two novel loci that exceed the threshold of statistical significance, containing ACOXL/BCL2L11(BIM) (2q13); GARP (LRRC32) (11q13.5), as well as a third nominally significant region SH2B3(LNK)/ATXN2 (12q24.12). Candidate susceptibility gene expression analysis in these regions demonstrates expression in relevant immune cells and the hair follicle. We integrate our results with data from seven other autoimmune diseases and provide insight into the alignment of AA within these disorders. Our findings uncover new molecular pathways disrupted in AA, including autophagy/apoptosis, transforming growth factor beta/Tregs and JAK kinase signalling, and support the causal role of aberrant immune processes in AA.

Advancing statistical analysis of ambulatory assessment data in the study of addictive behavior: A primer on three person-oriented techniques.

PubMed

Foster, Katherine T; Beltz, Adriene M

2018-08-01

Ambulatory assessment (AA) methodologies have the potential to increase understanding and treatment of addictive behavior in seemingly unprecedented ways, due in part, to their emphasis on intensive repeated assessments of an individual's addictive behavior in context. But, many analytic techniques traditionally applied to AA data - techniques that average across people and time - do not fully leverage this potential. In an effort to take advantage of the individualized, temporal nature of AA data on addictive behavior, the current paper considers three underutilized person-oriented analytic techniques: multilevel modeling, p-technique, and group iterative multiple model estimation. After reviewing prevailing analytic techniques, each person-oriented technique is presented, AA data specifications are mentioned, an example analysis using generated data is provided, and advantages and limitations are discussed; the paper closes with a brief comparison across techniques. Increasing use of person-oriented techniques will substantially enhance inferences that can be drawn from AA data on addictive behavior and has implications for the development of individualized interventions. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Sulfur alleviates arsenic toxicity by reducing its accumulation and modulating proteome, amino acids and thiol metabolism in rice leaves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dixit, Garima; Singh, Amit Pal; Kumar, Amit; Dwivedi, Sanjay; Deeba, Farah; Kumar, Smita; Suman, Shankar; Adhikari, Bijan; Shukla, Yogeshwar; Trivedi, Prabodh Kumar; Pandey, Vivek; Tripathi, Rudra Deo

2015-11-01

Arsenic (As) contamination of water is a global concern and rice consumption is the biggest dietary exposure to human posing carcinogenic risks, predominantly in Asia. Sulfur (S) is involved in di-sulfide linkage in many proteins and plays crucial role in As detoxification. Present study explores role of variable S supply on rice leaf proteome, its inclination towards amino acids (AA) profile and non protein thiols under arsenite exposure. Analysis of 282 detected proteins on 2-DE gel revealed 113 differentially expressed proteins, out of which 80 were identified by MALDI-TOF-TOF. The identified proteins were mostly involved in glycolysis, TCA cycle, AA biosynthesis, photosynthesis, protein metabolism, stress and energy metabolism. Among these, glycolytic enzymes play a major role in AA biosynthesis that leads to change in AAs profiling. Proteins of glycolytic pathway, photosynthesis and energy metabolism were also validated by western blot analysis. Conclusively S supplementation reduced the As accumulation in shoot positively skewed thiol metabolism and glycolysis towards AA accumulation under AsIII stress.

Adaptive automation of human-machine system information-processing functions.

PubMed

Kaber, David B; Wright, Melanie C; Prinzel, Lawrence J; Clamann, Michael P

2005-01-01

The goal of this research was to describe the ability of human operators to interact with adaptive automation (AA) applied to various stages of complex systems information processing, defined in a model of human-automation interaction. Forty participants operated a simulation of an air traffic control task. Automated assistance was adaptively applied to information acquisition, information analysis, decision making, and action implementation aspects of the task based on operator workload states, which were measured using a secondary task. The differential effects of the forms of automation were determined and compared with a manual control condition. Results of two 20-min trials of AA or manual control revealed a significant effect of the type of automation on performance, particularly during manual control periods as part of the adaptive conditions. Humans appear to better adapt to AA applied to sensory and psychomotor information-processing functions (action implementation) than to AA applied to cognitive functions (information analysis and decision making), and AA is superior to completely manual control. Potential applications of this research include the design of automation to support air traffic controller information processing.

Plasma-induced grafting of acrylic acid on bentonite for the removal of U(VI) from aqueous solution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hongshan, ZHU; Shengxia, DUAN; Lei, CHEN; Ahmed, ALSAEDI; Tasawar, HAYAT; Jiaxing, LI

2017-11-01

Fabrication of reusable adsorbents with satisfactory adsorption capacity and using environment-friendly preparation processes is required for the environment-related applications. In this study, acrylic acid (AA) was grafted onto bentonite (BT) to generate an AA-graft-BT (AA-g-BT) composite using a plasma-induced grafting technique considered to be an environment-friendly method. The as-prepared composite was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, x-ray powder diffraction, thermal gravity analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Barrett-Emmett-Teller analysis, demonstrating the successful grafting of AA onto BT. In addition, the removal of uranium(VI) (U(VI)) from contaminated aqueous solutions was examined using the as-prepared composite. The influencing factors, including contact time, pH value, ionic strength, temperature, and initial concentration, for the removal of U(VI) were investigated by batch experiments. The experimental process fitted best with the pseudo-second-order kinetic and the Langmuir models. Moreover, thermodynamic investigation revealed a spontaneous and endothermic process. Compared with previous adsorbents, AA-g-BT has potential practical applications in treating U(VI)-contaminated solutions.

Isolation and Characterization of Three New Monoterpene Synthases from Artemisia annua

PubMed Central

Ruan, Ju-Xin; Li, Jian-Xu; Fang, Xin; Wang, Ling-Jian; Hu, Wen-Li; Chen, Xiao-Ya; Yang, Chang-Qing

2016-01-01

Artemisia annua, an annual herb used in traditional Chinese medicine, produces a wealth of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes, including the well-known sesquiterpene lactone artemisinin, an active ingredient in the treatment for malaria. Here we report three new monoterpene synthases of A. annua. From a glandular trichome cDNA library, monoterpene synthases of AaTPS2, AaTPS5, and AaTPS6, were isolated and characterized. The recombinant proteins of AaTPS5 and AaTPS6 produced multiple products with camphene and 1,8-cineole as major products, respectively, and AaTPS2 produced a single product, β-myrcene. Although both Mg2+ and Mn2+ were able to support their catalytic activities, altered product spectrum was observed in the presence of Mn2+ for AaTPS2 and AaTPS5. Analysis of extracts of aerial tissues and root of A. annua with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry detected more than 20 monoterpenes, of which the three enzymes constituted more than 1/3 of the total. Mechanical wounding induced the expression of all three monoterpene synthase genes, and transcript levels of AaTPS5 and AaTPS6 were also elevated after treatments with phytohormones of methyl jasmonate, salicylic acid, and gibberellin, suggesting a role of these monoterpene synthases in plant–environment interactions. The three new monoterpene synthases reported here further our understanding of molecular basis of monoterpene biosynthesis and regulation in plant. PMID:27242840

Effects of Using Modified Items to Test Students with Persistent Academic Difficulties

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elliott, Stephen N.; Kettler, Ryan J.; Beddow, Peter A.; Kurz, Alexander; Compton, Elizabeth; McGrath, Dawn; Bruen, Charles; Hinton, Kent; Palmer, Porter; Rodriguez, Michael C.; Bolt, Daniel; Roach, Andrew T.

2010-01-01

This study investigated the effects of using modified items in achievement tests to enhance accessibility. An experiment determined whether tests composed of modified items would reduce the performance gap between students eligible for an alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS) and students not eligible, and the…

Predicting End-of-Year Achievement Test Performance: A Comparison of Assessment Methods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kettler, Ryan J.; Elliott, Stephen N.; Kurz, Alexander; Zigmond, Naomi; Lemons, Christopher J.; Kloo, Amanda; Shrago, Jacqueline; Beddow, Peter A.; Williams, Leila; Bruen, Charles; Lupp, Lynda; Farmer, Jeanie; Mosiman, Melanie

2014-01-01

Motivated by the multiple-measures clause of recent federal policy regarding student eligibility for alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MASs), this study examined how scores or combinations of scores from a diverse set of assessments predicted students' end-of-year proficiency status on statewide achievement…

Therapeutic potential of choline magnesium trisalicylate as an alternative to aspirin for patients with bleeding tendencies.

PubMed

Danesh, B J; Saniabadi, A R; Russell, R I; Lowe, G D

1987-12-01

We have compared the effects of acetyl salicylic acid (ASA, aspirin) and choline magnesium trisalicylate (CMT), a non-acetylated salicylate product, on platelet aggregation in human whole blood ex-vivo. Using a whole blood platelet counter, platelet aggregation was quantified by measuring the fall in the number of single platelets at peak aggregation in response to collagen, arachidonic acid (AA), as well as spontaneous aggregation. In double blind and random order, 12 healthy volunteers received, on two separate occasions 10 days apart, a single oral dose of 652 mg ASA or 655 mg CMT. Despite a comparable absorption of salicylic acid from the two drugs, ingestion of ASA resulted in a marked inhibition of platelet aggregation induced by collagen (p less than 0.005), AA (p less than 0.01) and spontaneous aggregation (p less than 0.01), whereas such effects were not observed after CMT ingestion. We suggest that CMT may have therapeutic potential as an alternative to aspirin when inhibition of platelet aggregation can induce bleeding complications.

Identifying a typology of men who use anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS).

PubMed

Zahnow, Renee; McVeigh, Jim; Bates, Geoff; Hope, Vivian; Kean, Joseph; Campbell, John; Smith, Josie

2018-05-01

Despite recognition that the Anabolic Androgenic Steroid (AAS) using population is diverse, empirical studies to develop theories to conceptualise this variance in use have been limited. In this study, using cluster analysis and multinomial logistic regression, we identify typologies of people who use AAS and examine variations in motivations for AAS use across types in a sample of 611 men who use AAS. The cluster analysis identified four groups in the data with different risk profiles. These groups largely reflect the ideal types of people who use AAS proposed by Christiansen et al. (2016): Cluster 1 (You Only Live Once (YOLO) type, n = 68, 11.1%) were younger and motivated by fat loss; Cluster 2 (Well-being type, n = 236, 38.6%) were concerned with getting fit; Cluster 3 (Athlete type, n = 155, 25.4%) were motivated by muscle and strength gains; Cluster 4 (Expert type, n = 152, 24.9%) were focused on specific goals (i.e. not 'getting fit'). The results of this study demonstrate the need to make information about AAS accessible to the general population and to inform health service providers about variations in motivations and associated risk behaviours. Attention should also be given to ensuring existing harm minimisation services are equipped to disseminate information about safe intra-muscular injecting and ensuring needle disposal sites are accessible to the different types. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Proteomics analysis of altered proteins in kidney of mice with aristolochic acid nephropathy using the fluorogenic derivatization-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method.

PubMed

Lin, Chia-En; Chang, Wen-Shin; Lee, Jen-Ai; Chang, Ting-Ya; Huang, Yu-Shen; Hirasaki, Yoshiro; Chen, Hung-Shing; Imai, Kazuhiro; Chen, Shih-Ming

2018-03-01

Aristolochic acid (AA) causes interstitial renal fibrosis, called aristolochic acid nephropathy (AAN). There is no specific indicator for diagnosing AAN, so this study aimed to investigate the biomarkers for AAN using a proteomics method. The C3H/He female mice were given ad libitum AA-distilled water (0.5 mg/kg/day) and distilled water for 56 days in the AA and normal groups, respectively. The AA-induced proteins in the kidney were investigated using a proteomics study, including fluorogenic derivatization with 7-chloro-N-[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole-4-sulfonamide, followed by high-performance liquid chromatography analysis and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry with a MASCOT database searching system. There were two altered proteins, thrombospondin type 1 (TSP1) and G protein-coupled receptor 87 (GPR87), in the kidney of AA-group mice on day 56. GPR87, a tumorigenesis-related protein, is reported for the first time in the current study. The renal interstitial fibrosis was certainly induced in the AA-group mice under histological examination. Based on the results of histological examination and the proteomics study, this model might be applied to AAN studies in the future. TSP1 might be a novel biomarker for AAN, and the further role of GPR87 leading to AA-induced tumorigenesis should be researched in future studies. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The ameliorative effect of ascorbic acid on the oxidative status, live weight and recovery rate in road transport stressed goats in a hot humid tropical environment.

PubMed

Nwunuji, Tanko Polycarp; Mayowa, Opeyemi Onilude; Yusoff, Sabri Mohd; Bejo, Siti-Khairani; Salisi, Shahrom; Mohd, Effendy Abd Wahid

2014-05-01

The ameliorative effect of ascorbic acid (AA) on live weight following transportation is vital in animal husbandry. This study investigated the influence of AA on live weight, rectal temperature (rt), and oxidative status of transport stressed goats in a hot humid tropical environment. Twenty-four goats were divided into four groups, A, B, C and D of six animals each. Group A were administered AA 100 mg/kg intramuscularly 30 min prior to 3.5 h transportation. Group B was administered AA following transportation. Group C were transported but not administered AA as positive controls while group D were not transported but were administered normal saline as negative controls. Live weight, rt and blood samples were collected before, immediately post-transport (pt), 24 h, 3 days, 7 days and 10 days pt. Plasma was used for malondialdehyde (MDA) analysis while hemolysates were used for superoxide dismutase (SOD) analysis. There was minimal live weight loss in group A compared to groups B and C. Group A recorded reduced MDA activities and increased SOD activities compared to groups B and C which recorded significantly high MDA activities. This study revealed that AA administration ameliorated the stress responses induced by transportation in animals in hot humid tropical environments. The administration of AA to goats prior to transportation could ameliorate stress and enhance productivity. © 2014 Japanese Society of Animal Science.

Brain and gonadal aromatase activity and steroid hormone levels in female and polymorphic males of the peacock blenny Salaria pavo.

PubMed

Gonçalves, David; Teles, Magda; Alpedrinha, João; Oliveira, Rui F

2008-11-01

In the peacock blenny Salaria pavo large males with well-developed secondary sexual characters establish nests and attract females while small "sneaker" males mimic female sexual displays in order to approach the nests of larger males and parasitically fertilize eggs. These alternative reproductive tactics are sequential, as sneakers irreversibly switch into nesting males. This transition involves major morphologic and behavioral changes and is likely to be mediated by hormones. This study focuses on the role of aromatase, an enzyme that catalyses the conversion of androgens into estrogens, in the regulation of male sexual polymorphism in S. pavo. For this, sex steroid plasma levels and aromatase activity (AA) in gonads, whole brain and brain macroareas were determined in sneakers, transitional males (i.e. sneakers undergoing the transition into nesting males), nesting males and females collected in the field. AA was much higher in ovarian tissue than in testicular tissue and accordingly circulating estradiol levels were highest in females. This supports the view that elevated AA and estradiol levels are associated with the development of a functional ovary. Transitional males are in a non-reproductive phase and had underdeveloped testes when compared with sneakers and nesting males. Testicular AA was approximately 10 times higher in transitional males when compared with sneakers and nesting males, suggesting high AA has a suppressive effect on testicular development. Nesting males had significantly higher plasma levels of both testosterone (T) and 11-ketotestosterone when compared with the other male morphs and previous studies demonstrated that these androgens suppress female-like displays in sneakers. In the brain, AA was highest in macroareas presumably containing hypothalamic nuclei traditionally associated with the regulation of reproductive behaviors. Overall, females presented the highest levels of brain AA. In male morphs AA increased from sneakers, to transitional males, to nesting males in all brain macroareas. These results suggest that the transition into the nesting male tactic is accompanied both by an increase in testicular androgen production and by a higher conversion of androgens into estrogens in the brain. The increase in androgen production is likely to mediate the development of male secondary sexual characters while the increase in brain AA may be related to the behavioral changes associated with tactic transition.

Influence of abiraterone acetate on neuroendocrine differentiation in chemotherapy-naive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

PubMed

Dong, Baijun; Fan, Liancheng; Wang, Yanqing; Chi, Chenfei; Ma, Xiaowei; Wang, Rui; Cai, Wen; Shao, Xiaoguang; Pan, Jiahua; Zhu, Yinjie; Shangguan, Xun; Xin, Zhixiang; Hu, Jianian; Xie, Shaowei; Kang, Xiaonan; Zhou, Lixin; Xue, Wei

2017-05-01

To determine the influence of abiraterone Acetate (AA) on neuroendocrine differentiation (NED) in patients with chemotherapy-naive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). We conducted an analysis in 115 chemotherapy-naïve mCRPC patients who would be treated with chemotherapy. The serum levels of chromogranin A (CgA), neurone-specific enolase (NSE) were measured in 67 mCRPC patients without AA treatment and 48 patients after the failure of AA treatment, in which these markers were also measured in 34 patients before and after 6 months of AA treatment. Comparative t-test was used to evaluate the serial changes of serum NED markers during AA treatment and univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to test the influence of AA treatment on NED. Serum CgA were NSE were evaluated to be above the upper limit of normal (ULN) in 56 (48.7%) and 29 (25.2%) patients before chemotherapy. In 34 patients with serial evaluation, serum CgA level of 14 patients and NSE of 14 patients increased after the failure of AA treatment. There was no significant difference of NED markers (CgA or NSE variation (P = 0.243) between at baseline and after the failure of AA treatment. Compared with the CgA elevation group in the first 6 months of AA treatment and baseline supranormal CgA group, the CgA decline group, and baseline normal CgA group has a much longer median PSA PFS (14.34 vs 10.00 months, P < 0.001, and 14.23 vs 10.30 months, P = 0.02) and rPFS, respectively (18.33 vs 11.37 months, P < 0.001, and 17.10 vs 12.07 months, P = 0.03). In logistic univariate analysis, AA treatment and its duration were not independent factors influencing NED. We hypothesized that AA might not significantly lead to progression of NED of mCRPC in general. Furthermore, we found there was heterogeneity in changes of NED markers in different mCRPC patients during AA treatment. Serial CgA and NSE evaluation might help clinicians guide clinical treatment of mCRPC patients. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Antiangiogenic effects of AA-PMe on HUVECs in vitro and zebrafish in vivo

PubMed Central

Xiao, Qi; Zhou, Yachun; Wei, Yingjie; Gong, Zhunan

2018-01-01

Angiogenesis plays a vital role in many physiological and pathological processes and several diseases are connected with its dysregulation. Asiatic acid (AA) has demonstrated anticancer properties and we suspect this might be attributable to an effect on angio-genesis. A modified derivative of AA, N-(2α,3β,23-acetoxyurs-12-en-28-oyl)-L-proline methyl ester (AA-PMe), has improved efficacy over its parent compound, but its effect on blood vessel development remains unclear. Methods In this study, we investigated the antiangiogenic activity of AA and AA-PMe in zebrafish embryos and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). First of all, we treated HUVECs with increasing concentrations of AA-PMe or AA, with or without vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) present, and assessed cell viability, tube formation, and cell migration and invasion. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis were later used to determine the role of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2)-mediated signaling in AA-PMe inhibition of angiogenesis. We extended these studies to follow angiogenesis using Tg(fli:EGFP) transgenic zebrafish embryos. For these experiments, embryos were treated with varying concentrations of AA-PMe or AA from 24 to 72 hours postfertilization prior to morphological observation, angiogenesis assessment, and endogenous alkaline phosphatase assay. VEGFR2 expression in whole embryos following AA-PMe treatment was also determined. Results We found AA-PMe decreased cell viability and inhibited migration and tube formation in a dose-dependent manner in HUVECs. Similarly, AA-PMe disrupted the formation of intersegmental vessels, the dorsal aorta, and the posterior cardinal vein in zebrafish embryos. Both in vitro and in vivo AA-PMe surpassed AA in its ability to block angiogenesis by suppressing VEGF-induced phosphorylation of VEGFR2 and disrupting downstream extracellular regulated protein kinase and AKT signaling. Conclusion For the first time, this study reveals that AA-PMe acts as a potent VEGFR2 kinase inhibitor and exerts powerful antiangiogenic activity, suggesting it to be a promising therapeutic candidate for further research. PMID:29670362

Antiangiogenic effects of AA-PMe on HUVECs in vitro and zebrafish in vivo.

PubMed

Jing, Yue; Wang, Gang; Xiao, Qi; Zhou, Yachun; Wei, Yingjie; Gong, Zhunan

2018-01-01

Angiogenesis plays a vital role in many physiological and pathological processes and several diseases are connected with its dysregulation. Asiatic acid (AA) has demonstrated anticancer properties and we suspect this might be attributable to an effect on angio-genesis. A modified derivative of AA, N-(2α,3β,23-acetoxyurs-12-en-28-oyl)-L-proline methyl ester (AA-PMe), has improved efficacy over its parent compound, but its effect on blood vessel development remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the antiangiogenic activity of AA and AA-PMe in zebrafish embryos and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). First of all, we treated HUVECs with increasing concentrations of AA-PMe or AA, with or without vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) present, and assessed cell viability, tube formation, and cell migration and invasion. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot analysis were later used to determine the role of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2)-mediated signaling in AA-PMe inhibition of angiogenesis. We extended these studies to follow angiogenesis using Tg(fli:EGFP) transgenic zebrafish embryos. For these experiments, embryos were treated with varying concentrations of AA-PMe or AA from 24 to 72 hours postfertilization prior to morphological observation, angiogenesis assessment, and endogenous alkaline phosphatase assay. VEGFR2 expression in whole embryos following AA-PMe treatment was also determined. We found AA-PMe decreased cell viability and inhibited migration and tube formation in a dose-dependent manner in HUVECs. Similarly, AA-PMe disrupted the formation of intersegmental vessels, the dorsal aorta, and the posterior cardinal vein in zebrafish embryos. Both in vitro and in vivo AA-PMe surpassed AA in its ability to block angiogenesis by suppressing VEGF-induced phosphorylation of VEGFR2 and disrupting downstream extracellular regulated protein kinase and AKT signaling. For the first time, this study reveals that AA-PMe acts as a potent VEGFR2 kinase inhibitor and exerts powerful antiangiogenic activity, suggesting it to be a promising therapeutic candidate for further research.

Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy of Calcium in Foodstuffs in Non-Science-Major Courses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kostecka, Keith S.

2000-10-01

Non-science-major students at Columbia College-Chicago are introduced to the concept of ppm, prepare AAS standard solutions, digest foodstuffs in nitric acid, conduct AAS analysis for Ca, determine mass percentage of calcium in the sample, and check calcium levels in various food items on the Internet with a critical eye. Students work cooperatively in a setting that allows them to see how wet chemistry and understandable use of instrumental methods can be linked together. Overall response to this activity has been favorable and continues to spawn new projects dealing with the AAS analysis of metals in hair, vitamins, and additional foods.

Identification of novel mutations in Mexican patients with Aarskog-Scott syndrome.

PubMed

Pérez-Coria, Mariana; Lugo-Trampe, José J; Zamudio-Osuna, Michell; Rodríguez-Sánchez, Iram P; Lugo-Trampe, Angel; de la Fuente-Cortez, Beatriz; Campos-Acevedo, Luis D; Martínez-de-Villarreal, Laura E

2015-05-01

Aarskog-Scott syndrome (AAS), also known as faciogenital dysplasia (FGD, OMIM # 305400), is an X-linked disorder of recessive inheritance, characterized by short stature and facial, skeletal, and urogenital abnormalities. AAS is caused by mutations in the FGD1 gene (Xp11.22), with over 56 different mutations identified to date. We present the clinical and molecular analysis of four unrelated families of Mexican origin with an AAS phenotype, in whom FGD1 sequencing was performed. This analysis identified two stop mutations not previously reported in the literature: p.Gln664* and p.Glu380*. Phenotypically, every male patient met the clinical criteria of the syndrome, whereas discrepancies were found between phenotypes in female patients. Our results identify two novel mutations in FGD1, broadening the spectrum of reported mutations; and provide further delineation of the phenotypic variability previously described in AAS.

Identification of novel mutations in Mexican patients with Aarskog–Scott syndrome

PubMed Central

Pérez-Coria, Mariana; Lugo-Trampe, José J; Zamudio-Osuna, Michell; Rodríguez-Sánchez, Iram P; Lugo-Trampe, Angel; de la Fuente-Cortez, Beatriz; Campos-Acevedo, Luis D; Martínez-de-Villarreal, Laura E

2015-01-01

Aarskog–Scott syndrome (AAS), also known as faciogenital dysplasia (FGD, OMIM # 305400), is an X-linked disorder of recessive inheritance, characterized by short stature and facial, skeletal, and urogenital abnormalities. AAS is caused by mutations in the FGD1 gene (Xp11.22), with over 56 different mutations identified to date. We present the clinical and molecular analysis of four unrelated families of Mexican origin with an AAS phenotype, in whom FGD1 sequencing was performed. This analysis identified two stop mutations not previously reported in the literature: p.Gln664* and p.Glu380*. Phenotypically, every male patient met the clinical criteria of the syndrome, whereas discrepancies were found between phenotypes in female patients. Our results identify two novel mutations in FGD1, broadening the spectrum of reported mutations; and provide further delineation of the phenotypic variability previously described in AAS. PMID:26029706

RACE-SPECIFIC TRANSITION PATTERNS AMONG ALCOHOL USE CLASSES IN ADOLESCENT GIRLS

PubMed Central

Dauber, Sarah E.; Paulson, James F.; Leiferman, Jenn A.

2010-01-01

We used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to examine transitions among alcohol use classes in 2225 White and African American adolescent girls, and race differences in predictors of transition into and out of problematic drinking classes. Latent class analysis confirmed four classes for White girls and three for AA girls, defined in a previous study. Latent transition analysis revealed more stable abstainers and decreasing alcohol use among AA girls, and more increasing alcohol use among White girls, though stable abstainers were the largest group among both races. Increasing use was predicted by delinquency, academic misbehavior, substance use, and peer support for White girls, and by older age and delinquency for AA girls. Decreasing use was predicted by older age and depressive symptoms for White girls, and by family relationship quality and substance use for AA girls. Study limitations and implications of findings are discussed. PMID:20708254

Insufficient Leaflet Remodeling in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation: Association With the Severity of Mitral Regurgitation.

PubMed

Kagiyama, Nobuyuki; Hayashida, Akihiro; Toki, Misako; Fukuda, Shota; Ohara, Minako; Hirohata, Atsushi; Yamamoto, Keizo; Isobe, Mitsuaki; Yoshida, Kiyoshi

2017-03-01

The relationship between annular dilatation caused by atrial fibrillation (AF) and mitral regurgitation (MR) remains controversial. We hypothesized that the small ratio of total leaflet area/annulus area (TLA/AA), reflecting insufficient leaflet remodeling to annular dilatation, is a main component of MR in patients with AF. Three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiographic data of the mitral valve were analyzed in 28 AF patients with moderate or severe MR (MR group), age- and sex-matched 56 AF patients with mild or less MR (non-MR group), and 16 control subjects. AA was significantly greater in both the MR (645±126 mm 2 /m 2 , P <0.001) and non-MR groups (568±121 mm 2 /m 2 , P =0.001) compared with control subjects (444±108 mm 2 /m 2 ). However, TLA/AA was significantly smaller in the MR (1.29±0.10, P <0.001), but not in the non-MR group (1.65±0.24, P >0.99), compared with control subjects (1.70±0.29). In linear regression analysis, TLA/AA was inversely associated with the effective regurgitant orifice ( r =-0.73, P <0.001). The area under the receiver-operating-characteristics curve of TLA/AA was significantly greater than that of AA (0.95 versus 0.72, P <0.001). Multivariable analysis revealed that small TLA/AA ( P <0.001) was independently associated with significant MR, while AA was not ( P =0.26). In patients with AF, insufficient leaflet remodeling to annular dilatation, rather than crude annular dilatation, was strongly associated with the severity of MR. © 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.

Identification of a novel bovine enterovirus possessing highly divergent amino acid sequences in capsid protein.

PubMed

Tsuchiaka, Shinobu; Rahpaya, Sayed Samim; Otomaru, Konosuke; Aoki, Hiroshi; Kishimoto, Mai; Naoi, Yuki; Omatsu, Tsutomu; Sano, Kaori; Okazaki-Terashima, Sachiko; Katayama, Yukie; Oba, Mami; Nagai, Makoto; Mizutani, Tetsuya

2017-01-17

Bovine enterovirus (BEV) belongs to the species Enterovirus E or F, genus Enterovirus and family Picornaviridae. Although numerous studies have identified BEVs in the feces of cattle with diarrhea, the pathogenicity of BEVs remains unclear. Previously, we reported the detection of novel kobu-like virus in calf feces, by metagenomics analysis. In the present study, we identified a novel BEV in diarrheal feces collected for that survey. Complete genome sequences were determined by deep sequencing in feces. Secondary RNA structure analysis of the 5' untranslated region (UTR), phylogenetic tree construction and pairwise identity analysis were conducted. The complete genome sequences of BEV were genetically distant from other EVs and the VP1 coding region contained novel and unique amino acid sequences. We named this strain as BEV AN12/Bos taurus/JPN/2014 (referred to as BEV-AN12). According to genome analysis, the genome length of this virus is 7414 nucleotides excluding the poly (A) tail and its genome consists of a 5'UTR, open reading frame encoding a single polyprotein, and 3'UTR. The results of secondary RNA structure analysis showed that in the 5'UTR, BEV-AN12 had an additional clover leaf structure and small stem loop structure, similarly to other BEVs. In pairwise identity analysis, BEV-AN12 showed high amino acid (aa) identities to Enterovirus F in the polyprotein, P2 and P3 regions (aa identity ≥82.4%). Therefore, BEV-AN12 is closely related to Enterovirus F. However, aa sequences in the capsid protein regions, particularly the VP1 encoding region, showed significantly low aa identity to other viruses in genus Enterovirus (VP1 aa identity ≤58.6%). In addition, BEV-AN12 branched separately from Enterovirus E and F in phylogenetic trees based on the aa sequences of P1 and VP1, although it clustered with Enterovirus F in trees based on sequences in the P2 and P3 genome region. We identified novel BEV possessing highly divergent aa sequences in the VP1 coding region in Japan. According to species definition, we proposed naming this strain as "Enterovirus K", which is a novel species within genus Enterovirus. Further genomic studies are needed to understand the pathogenicity of BEVs.

Splice variants and promoter methylation status of the Bovine Vasa Homology (Bvh) gene may be involved in bull spermatogenesis

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Vasa is a member of the DEAD-box protein family that plays an indispensable role in mammalian spermatogenesis, particularly during meiosis. Bovine vasa homology (Bvh) of Bos taurus has been reported, however, its function in bovine testicular tissue remains obscure. This study aimed to reveal the functions of Bvh and to determine whether Bvh is a candidate gene in the regulation of spermatogenesis in bovine, and to illustrate whether its transcription is regulated by alternative splicing and DNA methylation. Results Here we report the molecular characterization, alternative splicing pattern, expression and promoter methylation status of Bvh. The full-length coding region of Bvh was 2190 bp, which encodes a 729 amino acid (aa) protein containing nine consensus regions of the DEAD box protein family. Bvh is expressed only in the ovary and testis of adult cattle. Two splice variants were identified and termed Bvh-V4 (2112 bp and 703 aa) and Bvh-V45 (2040 bp and 679 aa). In male cattle, full-length Bvh (Bvh-FL), Bvh-V4 and Bvh-V45 are exclusively expressed in the testes in the ratio of 2.2:1.6:1, respectively. Real-time PCR revealed significantly reduced mRNA expression of Bvh-FL, Bvh-V4 and Bvh-V45 in testes of cattle-yak hybrids, with meiotic arrest compared with cattle and yaks with normal spermatogenesis (P < 0.01). The promoter methylation level of Bvh in the testes of cattle-yak hybrids was significantly greater than in cattle and yaks (P < 0.01). Conclusion In the present study, Bvh was isolated and characterized. These data suggest that Bvh functions in bovine spermatogenesis, and that transcription of the gene in testes were regulated by alternative splice and promoter methylation. PMID:23815438

Evaluation of four raw meat diets using domestic cats, captive exotic felids, and cecectomized roosters.

PubMed

Kerr, K R; Beloshapka, A N; Morris, C L; Parsons, C M; Burke, S L; Utterback, P L; Swanson, K S

2013-01-01

Our objective was to evaluate raw meat diets for captive exotic and domestic carnivores containing traditional and alternative raw meat sources, specifically, beef trimmings, bison trimmings, elk muscle meat, and horse trimmings. We aimed to examine diet composition and protein quality; apparent total tract energy and macronutrient digestibility in domestic cats, African wildcats, jaguars, and Malayan tigers; and ME and fecal fermentative end-products in domestic cats. Because of variation in the meat sources, dietary proximate, AA, and long-chain fatty acid composition were variable. Our analyses indicated that all diets had essential fatty acid deficiencies, and the elk diet (i.e., trimmed muscle meat) was deficient in total fat. Standardized AA digestibilities measured using the cecectomized rooster assay were high (>87%). Using the NRC minimum requirements for the growth of kittens, the first limiting AA of all diets was the combined requirement of Met and Cys (AA score: 81 to 95; protein digestibility corrected AA score: 75 to 90). All diets were highly digestible (88 to 89% OM digestibility). There was no effect of diet or felid species on DM (85 to 87%), OM, and GE (90 to 91%) digestibilities. Apparent CP digestibility was greater (P≤0.05) in cats fed elk (97%) compared with those fed bison (96%), and greater (P≤0.05) in wildcats (97%) and domestic cats (97%) compared with tigers (95%). The diet and species interaction (P≤0.05) was observed for apparent fat digestibility. In domestic cats, the fresh fecal pH and proportions of acetate and butyrate were altered (P≤0.05) due to diet. Diet also affected (P≤0.05) fresh fecal concentrations of total branched-chain fatty acids, valerate, and Lactobacillus genus. In conclusion, although the raw meat diets were highly digestible, because of variation in raw meat sources the nutrient composition of the diets was variable. Thus, compositional analysis of raw meat sources is necessary for proper diet formulation. The types of meat commonly used in raw meat diets may be deficient in total fat (trimmed muscle meat) and essential fatty acids (trimmings and muscle meats). Additionally, differences in raw meat source nutrient composition and digestibility affect the beneficial and putrefactive fermentative end-products found in feces.

Facilities Management Guide for Asbestos and Lead

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-11-01

equipment such as HEPA filtered power tools, portable welding exhaust systems, and paint removal equipment when work disturbs lead. Do not dry sweep ...sampling and analysis of [______] paint bulk and wipe samples by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AA) or anodic stripping voltametry (ASV...analysis. e. All bulk (destructive) collected for lead shall be analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AA) or anodic stripping voltametry

Synergistic effects of arsenic trioxide combined with ascorbic acid in human osteosarcoma MG-63 cells: a systems biology analysis.

PubMed

Huang, X C; Maimaiti, X Y M; Huang, C W; Zhang, L; Li, Z B; Chen, Z G; Gao, X; Chen, T Y

2014-01-01

To further understand the synergistic mechanism of As2O3 and asscorbic acid (AA) in human osteosarcoma MG-63 cells by systems biology analysis. Human osteosarcoma MG-63 cells were treated by As2O3 (1 µmol/L), AA (62.5 µmol/L) and combined drugs (1 µmol/L As2O3 plus 62.5 µmol/L AA). Dynamic morphological characteristics were recorded by Cell-IQ system, and growth rate was calculated. Illumina beadchip assay was used to analyze the differential expression genes in different groups. Synergic effects on differential expression genes (DEGs) were analyzed by mixture linear model and singular value decomposition model. KEGG pathway annotations and GO enrichment analysis were performed to figure out the pathways involved in the synergic effects. We captured 1987 differential expression genes in combined therapy MG-63 cells. FAT1 gene was significantly upregulated in all three groups, which is a promising drug target as an important tumor suppressor analogue; meanwhile, HIST1H2BD gene was markedly downregulated in the As2O3 monotherapy group and the combined therapy group, which was found to be upregulated in prostatic cancer. These two genes might play critical roles in synergetic effects of AA and As2O3, although the exact mechanism needs further investigation. KEGG pathway analysis showed many DEGs were related with tight junction, and GO analysis also indicated that DEGs in the combined therapy cells gathered in occluding junction, apical junction complex, cell junction, and tight junction. AA potentiates the efficacy of As2O3 in MG-63 cells. Systems biology analysis showed the synergic effect on the DEGs.

Genome-wide association study of coronary artery calcified atherosclerotic plaque in African Americans with type 2 diabetes.

PubMed

Divers, Jasmin; Palmer, Nicholette D; Langefeld, Carl D; Brown, W Mark; Lu, Lingyi; Hicks, Pamela J; Smith, S Carrie; Xu, Jianzhao; Terry, James G; Register, Thomas C; Wagenknecht, Lynne E; Parks, John S; Ma, Lijun; Chan, Gary C; Buxbaum, Sarah G; Correa, Adolfo; Musani, Solomon; Wilson, James G; Taylor, Herman A; Bowden, Donald W; Carr, John Jeffrey; Freedman, Barry I

2017-12-08

Coronary artery calcified atherosclerotic plaque (CAC) predicts cardiovascular disease (CVD). Despite exposure to more severe conventional CVD risk factors, African Americans (AAs) are less likely to develop CAC, and when they do, have markedly lower levels than European Americans. Genetic factors likely contribute to the observed ethnic differences. To identify genes associated with CAC in AAs with type 2 diabetes (T2D), a genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed using the Illumina 5 M chip in 691 African American-Diabetes Heart Study participants (AA-DHS), with replication in 205 Jackson Heart Study (JHS) participants with T2D. Genetic association tests were performed on the genotyped and 1000 Genomes-imputed markers separately for each study, and combined in a meta-analysis. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), rs11353135 (2q22.1), rs16879003 (6p22.3), rs5014012, rs58071836 and rs10244825 (all on chromosome 7), rs10918777 (9q31.2), rs13331874 (16p13.3) and rs4459623 (18q12.1) were associated with presence and/or quantity of CAC in the AA-DHS and JHS, with meta-analysis p-values ≤8.0 × 10 -7 . The strongest result in AA-DHS alone was rs6491315 in the 13q32.1 region (parameter estimate (SE) = -1.14 (0.20); p-value = 9.1 × 10 -9 ). This GWAS peak replicated a previously reported AA-DHS CAC admixture signal (rs7492028, LOD score 2.8). Genetic association between SNPs on chromosomes 2, 6, 7, 9, 16 and 18 and CAC were detected in AAs with T2D from AA-DHS and replicated in the JHS. These data support a role for genetic variation on these chromosomes as contributors to CAC in AAs with T2D, as well as to variation in CAC between populations of African and European ancestry.

Cyclooxygenase Reaction Mechanism of PGHS ------- Evidence for a Reversible Transition between a Pentadienyl Radical and a New Tyrosyl Radical by Nitric Oxide Trapping

PubMed Central

Lü, Jian-Ming; Rogge, Corina E.; Wu, Gang; Kulmacz, Richard J.; van der Donk, Wilfred A.; Tsai, Ah-lim

2011-01-01

Incubation of prostaglandin H synthase-1 (PGHS-1) under anaerobic conditions with peroxide and arachidonic acid leads to two major radical species: a pentadienyl radical and a radical with a narrow EPR spectrum. The proportions of the two radicals are sensitive to temperature, favoring the narrow radical species at 22 °C. The EPR characteristics of this latter radical are somewhat similar to the previously reported narrow-singlet tyrosine radical NS1a and are insensitive to deuterium labeling of AA. To probe the origin and structure of this radical, we combined EPR analysis with nitric oxide (NO) trapping of tyrosine and substrate derived radicals for both PGHS-1 and -2. Formation of 3-nitrotyrosine in the proteins was analyzed by immunoblotting, whereas NO adducts to AA and AA metabolites were analyzed by mass spectrometry and by chromatography of 14C-labeled products. The results indicate that both nitrated tyrosine residues and NO-AA adducts formed upon NO trapping. The NO-AA adduct was predominantly an oxime at C11 of AA with three conjugated double bonds, as indicated by absorption at 275 nm and by mass spectral analysis. This adduct amounted to 10% and 20% of the heme concentration of PGHS-1 and -2, respectively. For PGHS-1, the yield of NO-AA adduct matched the yield of the narrow radical signal obtained in parallel EPR experiments. High frequency EPR characterization of this narrow radical, reported in an accompanying paper, supports assignment to a new tyrosyl radical, NS1c, rather than an AA-based radical. To reconcile the results from EPR and NO-trapping studies, we propose that the NS1c is in equilibrium with an AA pentadienyl radical, and that the latter reacts preferentially with NO. PMID:21403766

Anabolic steroid-induced hypogonadism: diagnosis and treatment.

PubMed

Rahnema, Cyrus D; Lipshultz, Larry I; Crosnoe, Lindsey E; Kovac, Jason R; Kim, Edward D

2014-05-01

To develop an understanding of hypogonadal men with a history of anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) use and to outline recommendations for management. Review of published literature and expert opinions. Intended as a meta-analysis, but no quality studies met the inclusion criteria. Not applicable. Men seeking treatment for symptomatic hypogonadism who have used nonprescribed AAS. History and physical examination followed by medical intervention if necessary. Serum testosterone and gonadotropin levels, symptoms, and fertility restoration. Symptomatic hypogonadism is a potential consequence of AAS use and may depend on dose, duration, and type of AAS used. Complete endocrine and metabolic assessment should be conducted. Management strategies for anabolic steroid-associated hypogonadism (ASIH) include judicious use of testosterone replacement therapy, hCG, and selective estrogen receptor modulators. Although complications of AAS use are variable and patient specific, they can be successfully managed. Treatment of ASIH depends on the type and duration of AAS use. Specific details regarding a patient's AAS cycle are important in medical management. Copyright © 2014 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Clinical characteristics of African Americans vs Caucasian Americans with multiple sclerosis.

PubMed

Cree, B A C; Khan, O; Bourdette, D; Goodin, D S; Cohen, J A; Marrie, R A; Glidden, D; Weinstock-Guttman, B; Reich, D; Patterson, N; Haines, J L; Pericak-Vance, M; DeLoa, C; Oksenberg, J R; Hauser, S L

2004-12-14

African American (AA) individuals are thought to develop multiple sclerosis (MS) less frequently than Caucasian American (CA) individuals. To compare the clinical characteristics of AA and CA patients with MS. The clinical features of MS were compared in a large retrospective cohort of AA (n = 375) and CA (n = 427) subjects. The proportion of women to men was similar in AA and CA subjects (81% [AA] vs 77% [CA]; p = 0.122). There were no differences in the proportions of subjects with relapsing-remitting, secondary progressive, primary progressive, and progressive relapsing MS. The median time to diagnosis was 1 year after symptom onset in AA subjects and 2 years after symptom onset in CA subjects (p = 0.0013). The age at onset was approximately 2.5 years later in AA than CA subjects (33.7 vs 31.1 years; p = 0.0001). AA subjects presented with multisite signs and symptoms at disease onset more often than CA subjects (p = 0.018). Clinical involvement restricted to the optic nerves and spinal cord (opticospinal MS) occurred in 16.8% of AA patients compared with 7.9% of CA patients (p < 0.001). Transverse myelitis also occurred more frequently in AA subjects (28 vs 18%; p = 0.001). Survival analysis revealed that AA subjects were at higher risk for development of ambulatory disability than CA subjects. After adjusting for baseline variations and differences in therapeutic interventions, AAs were at 1.67-fold greater risk for requiring a cane to ambulate than CA patients (p < 0.001). There was a trend suggesting that AAs were also at greater risk for development of wheelchair dependency (p = 0.099). Adjusted Cox proportional hazard models showed that this effect was in part attributable to the older age at onset in AAs (p < 0.001). Compared with multiple sclerosis (MS) in Caucasian Americans, African American patients with MS have a greater likelihood of developing opticospinal MS and transverse myelitis and have a more aggressive disease course.

Antiamoebic Activity of Adenophyllum aurantium (L.) Strother and Its Effect on the Actin Cytoskeleton of Entamoeba histolytica

PubMed Central

Herrera-Martínez, Mayra; Hernández-Ramírez, Verónica I.; Hernández-Carlos, Beatriz; Chávez-Munguía, Bibiana; Calderón-Oropeza, Mónica A.; Talamás-Rohana, Patricia

2016-01-01

In Mexico, the Adenophyllum aurantium (L.) Strother plant is consumed as an infusion to treat intestinal diseases such as amoebiasis, which is an endemic health problem in Mexico and other countries. However, the effect of A. aurantium on Entamoeba histolytica, the causative agent of amoebiasis, is unknown. An aerial part methanolic extract (AaMeA), a root methanolic extract (AaMeR) and a root ethyl acetate extract (AaEaR) were tested on E. histolytica trophozoites. AaMeA and AaMeR did not show antiproliferative activity; however, AaEaR exhibited an in vitro GI50 of 230 μg/ml, and it was able to inhibit the differentiation of Entamoeba invadens trophozoites into cysts. The intraperitoneal administration of AaEaR (2.5 or 5 mg) to hamsters that were infected with E. histolytica inhibited the development of amoebic liver abscesses in 48.5 or 89.0% of the animals, respectively. Adhesion to fibronectin and erythrophagocytosis were 28.7 and 37.5% inhibited by AaEaR, respectively. An ultrastructure analysis of AaEaR-treated trophozoites shows a decrease in the number of vacuoles but no apparent cell damage. Moreover, this extract affected the actin cytoskeleton structuration, and it prevented the formation of contractile rings by mechanism(s) that were independent of reactive oxygen species and RhoA activation pathways. 13C NMR data showed that the major compounds in the AaEaR extract are thiophenes. Our results suggest that AaEaR may be effective in treatments against amoebiasis, nevertheless, detailed toxicity studies on thiophenes, contained in AaEaR, are required to avoid misuse of this vegetal species. PMID:27445810

Do women differ from men on Alcoholics Anonymous participation and abstinence? A multi-wave analysis of treatment seekers

PubMed Central

Delucchi, Kevin

2011-01-01

Background Given the widespread use of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and other similar groups in the US and the increasing membership of women, the present paper compares women to men on their meeting attendance and AA-prescribed behaviors, factors associated with that AA participation, and tests how these relate to women’s and men’s abstinence across time. Methods All consecutive new admissions (age ≥ 18) from county-wide public and private alcohol and drug treatment programs representing the larger population of treatment seekers were approached to be in the study at treatment entry. Those consenting at baseline (n = 926) were sought for follow-up interviews 1, 3, 5 and 7 years later. Generalized linear models were used to test whether various help-seeking factors associated with AA participation differentially by gender and, controlling for AA and other confounders, whether women differ from men on abstinence. Results At each follow-up interview, women and men attended AA at similar rates and similarly practiced specific AA-behaviors, and they were alike on most factors associated with AA participation and abstention across time including abstinence goal, drink volume, negative consequences, prior treatment, and encouragement to reduce drinking. Relative to men, women with higher ASI drug severity were less likely to participate in AA. Though higher AA participation was a predictor of abstinence for both genders, males were less likely to be abstinent across time. Men were also more likely to reduce their AA participation across time. Conclusion These findings add to an emerging literature on how women compare to men on factors related to AA participation and subsequent drinking outcomes across time. Findings have clinical implications for service providers referring clients to such groups. PMID:21689121

Associations With Eicosapentaenoic Acid to Arachidonic Acid Ratio and Mortality in Hospitalized Heart Failure Patients.

PubMed

Watanabe, Shunsuke; Yoshihisa, Akiomi; Kanno, Yuki; Takiguchi, Mai; Yokokawa, Tetsuro; Sato, Akihiko; Miura, Shunsuke; Shimizu, Takeshi; Abe, Satoshi; Sato, Takamasa; Suzuki, Satoshi; Oikawa, Masayoshi; Sakamoto, Nobuo; Yamaki, Takayoshi; Sugimoto, Koichi; Kunii, Hiroyuki; Nakazato, Kazuhiko; Suzuki, Hitoshi; Saitoh, Shu-Ichi; Takeishi, Yasuchika

2016-12-01

Intake of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) lowers the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular events, particularly ischemic heart disease. In addition, the ratio of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; n-3 PUFA) to arachidonic acid (AA; n-6 PUFA) has recently been recognized as a risk marker of cardiovascular disease. In contrast, the prognostic impact of the EPA/AA ratio on patients with heart failure (HF) remains unclear. A total of 577 consecutive patients admitted for HF were divided into 2 groups based on median of the EPA/AA ratio: low EPA/AA (EPA/AA <0.32 mg/dl, n = 291) and high EPA/AA (EPA/AA ≥0.32, n = 286) groups. We compared laboratory data and echocardiographic findings and followed cardiac mortality. Although body mass index, blood pressure, B-type natriuretic peptide, hemoglobin, estimated glomerular filtration rate, total protein, albumin, sodium, C-reactive protein, and left ventricular ejection fraction did not differ between the 2 groups, cardiac mortality was significantly higher in the low EPA/AA group than in the high EPA/AA group (12.7 vs 5.9%, log-rank P = .004). Multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis revealed that the EPA/AA ratio was an independent predictor of cardiac mortality (hazard ratio 0.677, 95% confidence interval 0.453-0.983, P = .041) in patients with HF. The EPA/AA ratio was an independent predictor of cardiac mortality in patients with HF; therefore, the prognosis of patients with HF may be improved by taking appropriate management to control the EPA/AA balance. Copyright © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Genetic analysis of interleukin 18 gene polymorphisms in alopecia areata.

PubMed

Celik, Sumeyya Deniz; Ates, Omer

2018-06-01

Alopecia areata (AA), which appears as nonscarring hair shedding on any hair-bearing area, is a common organ-specific autoimmune condition. Cytokines have important roles in the development of AA. Interleukin (IL) 18 is a significant proinflammatory cytokine that was found higher in the patients with AA. We aimed to investigate whether the IL-18 (rs187238 and rs1946518) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) may be associated with AA and/or clinical outcome of patients with AA in Turkish population. Genotyping of rs187238 and rs1946518 SNPs were detected using sequence-specific primer-polymerase chain reaction (SSP-PCR) method in 200 patients with AA and 200 control subjects. The genotype distribution of rs1946518 (-607C>A) SNP was found to be statistically significantly different among patients with AA and controls (P = .0008). Distribution of CC+CA genotypes and frequency of -607/allele C of rs1946518 SNP were higher in patients with AA (P = .001, P = .001, respectively). The genotype distribution of rs187238 (-137G>C) SNP was found to be statistically significantly different among patients with AA and control subjects (P = .0014). Distribution of GG genotype and frequency of -137/allele G of rs187238 SNP were higher in patients with AA (P = .0003, P = .001, respectively). The rs1946518 (-607C>A) and rs187238 (-137G>C) polymorphisms were found associated with alopecia areata disease. The study suggests that IL-18 rs187238 and rs1946518 SNPs may be the cause of the AA susceptibility. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Lower frequency of TLR9 variant associated with protection from breast cancer among African Americans

PubMed Central

Tuomela, Johanna M.; Forero-Torres, Andres; Desmond, Renee; Vuopala, Katri S.; Harris, Kevin W.; Merner, Nancy D.

2017-01-01

Introduction Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) is an innate immune system DNA-receptor that regulates tumor invasion and immunity in vitro. Low tumor TLR9 expression has been associated with poor survival in Caucasian patients with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). African American (AA) patients with TNBC have worse prognosis than Caucasians but whether this is due to differences in tumor biology remains controversial. We studied the prognostic significance of tumor Toll like receptor-9 (TLR9) protein expression among African American (AA) triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients. Germline TLR9 variants in European Americans (EAs) and AAs were investigated, to determine their contribution to AA breast cancer risk. Methods TLR9 expression was studied with immunohistochemistry in archival tumors. Exome Variant Server and The Cancer Genome Atlas were used to determine the genetic variation in the general EA and AA populations, and AA breast cancer cases. Minor allele frequencies (MAFs) were compared between EAs (n = 4300), AAs (n = 2203), and/or AA breast cancer cases (n = 131). Results Thirty-two TLR9 variants had a statistically significant MAF difference between general EAs and AAs. Twenty-one of them affect a CpG site. Rs352140, a variant previously associated with protection from breast cancer, is more common in EAs than AAs (p = 2.20E-16). EAs had more synonymous alleles, while AAs had more rare coding alleles. Similar analyses comparing AA breast cancer cases with AA controls did not reveal any variant class differences; however, three previously unreported TLR9 variants were associated with late onset breast cancer. Although not statistically significant, rs352140 was observed less frequently in AA cases compared to controls. Tumor TLR9 protein expression was not associated with prognosis. Conclusions Tumor TLR9 expression is not associated with prognosis in AA TNBC. Significant differences were detected in TLR9 variant MAFs between EAs and AAs. They may affect TLR9 expression and function. Rs352140, which may protect from breast cancer, is 1.6 X more common among EAs. These findings call for a detailed analysis of the contribution of TLR9 to breast cancer pathophysiology and health disparities. PMID:28886076

Lower frequency of TLR9 variant associated with protection from breast cancer among African Americans.

PubMed

Chandler, Madison R; Keene, Kimberly S; Tuomela, Johanna M; Forero-Torres, Andres; Desmond, Renee; Vuopala, Katri S; Harris, Kevin W; Merner, Nancy D; Selander, Katri S

2017-01-01

Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) is an innate immune system DNA-receptor that regulates tumor invasion and immunity in vitro. Low tumor TLR9 expression has been associated with poor survival in Caucasian patients with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). African American (AA) patients with TNBC have worse prognosis than Caucasians but whether this is due to differences in tumor biology remains controversial. We studied the prognostic significance of tumor Toll like receptor-9 (TLR9) protein expression among African American (AA) triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients. Germline TLR9 variants in European Americans (EAs) and AAs were investigated, to determine their contribution to AA breast cancer risk. TLR9 expression was studied with immunohistochemistry in archival tumors. Exome Variant Server and The Cancer Genome Atlas were used to determine the genetic variation in the general EA and AA populations, and AA breast cancer cases. Minor allele frequencies (MAFs) were compared between EAs (n = 4300), AAs (n = 2203), and/or AA breast cancer cases (n = 131). Thirty-two TLR9 variants had a statistically significant MAF difference between general EAs and AAs. Twenty-one of them affect a CpG site. Rs352140, a variant previously associated with protection from breast cancer, is more common in EAs than AAs (p = 2.20E-16). EAs had more synonymous alleles, while AAs had more rare coding alleles. Similar analyses comparing AA breast cancer cases with AA controls did not reveal any variant class differences; however, three previously unreported TLR9 variants were associated with late onset breast cancer. Although not statistically significant, rs352140 was observed less frequently in AA cases compared to controls. Tumor TLR9 protein expression was not associated with prognosis. Tumor TLR9 expression is not associated with prognosis in AA TNBC. Significant differences were detected in TLR9 variant MAFs between EAs and AAs. They may affect TLR9 expression and function. Rs352140, which may protect from breast cancer, is 1.6 X more common among EAs. These findings call for a detailed analysis of the contribution of TLR9 to breast cancer pathophysiology and health disparities.

Intronic variants in the dopa decarboxylase (DDC) gene are associated with smoking behavior in European-Americans and African-Americans.

PubMed

Yu, Yi; Panhuysen, Carolien; Kranzler, Henry R; Hesselbrock, Victor; Rounsaville, Bruce; Weiss, Roger; Brady, Kathleen; Farrer, Lindsay A; Gelernter, Joel

2006-07-15

We report here a study considering association of alleles and haplotypes at the DOPA decarboxylase (DDC) locus with the DSM-IV diagnosis of nicotine dependence (ND) or a quantitative measure for ND using the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND). We genotyped 18 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) spanning a region of approximately 210 kb that includes DDC and the genes immediately flanking DDC in 1,590 individuals from 621 families of African-American (AA) or European-American (EA) ancestry. Evidence of association (family-based tests) was observed with several SNPs for both traits (0.0002

Interaction between Na-K-ATPase and Bcl-2 proteins BclXL and Bak.

PubMed

Lauf, Peter K; Alqahtani, Tariq; Flues, Karin; Meller, Jaroslaw; Adragna, Norma C

2015-01-01

In silico analysis predicts interaction between Na-K-ATPase (NKA) and Bcl-2 protein canonical BH3- and BH1-like motifs, consistent with NKA inhibition by the benzo-phenanthridine alkaloid chelerythrine, a BH3 mimetic, in fetal human lens epithelial cells (FHLCs) (Lauf PK, Heiny J, Meller J, Lepera MA, Koikov L, Alter GM, Brown TL, Adragna NC. Cell Physiol Biochem 31: 257-276, 2013). This report establishes proof of concept: coimmunoprecipitation and immunocolocalization showed unequivocal and direct physical interaction between NKA and Bcl-2 proteins. Specifically, NKA antibodies (ABs) coimmunoprecipitated BclXL (B-cell lymphoma extra large) and BAK (Bcl-2 antagonist killer) proteins in FHLCs and A549 lung cancer cells. In contrast, both anti-Bcl-2 ABs failed to pull down NKA. Notably, the molecular mass of BAK1 proteins pulled down by NKA and BclXL ABs appeared to be some 4-kDa larger than found in input monomers. In silico analysis predicts these higher molecular mass BAK1 proteins as alternative splicing variants, encoding 42 amino acid (aa) larger proteins than the known 211-aa long canonical BAK1 protein. These BAK1 variants may constitute a pool separate from that forming mitochondrial pores by specifically interacting with NKA and BclXL proteins. We propose a NKA-Bcl-2 protein ternary complex supporting our hypothesis for a special sensor role of NKA in Bcl-2 protein control of cell survival and apoptosis. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

Effects of methamphetamine on the noradrenergic activity biomarker salivary alpha-amylase*

PubMed Central

Haile, Colin N.; De La Garza, Richard; Mahoney, James J.; Newton, Thomas F.

2013-01-01

Background Methamphetamine (METH) potently activates the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) by increasing central and peripheral norepinephrine (NE). Salivary α-amylase (sAA) is a biomarker of SNS activation that correlates with plasma NE levels. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of METH on sAA activity and whether changes in sAA activity were correlated with subjective effects ratings. Methods Non-treatment seeking METH-dependent volunteers (N=8) participated in this within-subjects laboratory-based study. Volunteers received randomly administered intravenous METH (0mg, 30mg) and sAA activity, cardiovascular measures and subjective ratings were assessed at baseline (−15 min) and five post-METH time points (10, 20, 30, 45, and 60 min). Results METH (30mg) increased sAA activity over time. sAA activity significantly correlated with diastolic blood pressure following 0mg METH and systolic blood pressure following 30mg METH. Subjective ratings (ANY EFFECT, HIGH, GOOD, STIMULATED, LIKE, WLLING TO PAY) highly correlated with sAA over five post-METH time points (N=40; r’s=0.543–0.684, p’s <0.001). Age, body mass index and METH amount received on a mg/kg basis were significantly associated with sAA activity. Multiple linear regression analysis indicated sAA activity remained a significant predictor of subjective ratings following METH after controlling for these factors. Conclusions The NE peripheral biomarker sAA activity is associated with METH’s subjective effects. PMID:23968815

Nutritional support contributes to recuperation in a rat model of aplastic anemia by enhancing mitochondrial function.

PubMed

Yang, Guang; Zhao, Lifen; Liu, Bing; Shan, Yujia; Li, Yang; Zhou, Huimin; Jia, Li

2018-02-01

Acquired aplastic anemia (AA) is a hematopoietic stem cell disease that leads to hematopoietic disorder and peripheral blood pancytopenia. We investigated whether nutritional support is helpful to AA recovery. We established a rat model with AA. A nutrient mixture was administered to rats with AA through different dose gavage once per day for 55 d. Animals in this study were assigned to one of five groups: normal control (NC; group includes normal rats); AA (rats with AA); high dose (AA + nutritional mixture, 2266.95 mg/kg/d); medium dose (1511.3 mg/kg/d); and low dose (1057.91 mg/kg/d). The effects of nutrition administration on general status and mitochondrial function of rats with AA were evaluated. The nutrient mixture with which the rats were supplemented significantly improved weight, peripheral blood parameters, and histologic parameters of rats with AA in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, we observed that the number of mitochondria in the liver, spleen, kidney, and brain was increased after supplementation by transmission electron microscopy analysis. Nutrient administration also improved mitochondrial DNA content, adenosine triphosphate content, and membrane potential but inhibited oxidative stress, thus, repairing the mitochondrial dysfunction of the rats with AA. Taken together, nutrition supplements may contribute to the improvement of mitochondrial function and play an important role in the recuperation of rats with AA. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of methamphetamine on the noradrenergic activity biomarker salivary alpha-amylase.

PubMed

Haile, Colin N; De La Garza, Richard; Mahoney, James J; Newton, Thomas F

2013-12-01

Methamphetamine (METH) potently activates the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) by increasing central and peripheral norepinephrine (NE). Salivary α-amylase (sAA) is a biomarker of SNS activation that correlates with plasma NE levels. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of METH on sAA activity and whether changes in sAA activity were correlated with subjective effects ratings. Non-treatment seeking METH-dependent volunteers (N=8) participated in this within-subjects laboratory-based study. Volunteers received randomly administered intravenous METH (0mg, 30 mg) and sAA activity, cardiovascular measures and subjective ratings were assessed at baseline (-15 min) and five post-METH time points (10, 20, 30, 45, and 60 min). METH (30 mg) increased sAA activity over time. sAA activity significantly correlated with diastolic blood pressure following 0mg METH and systolic blood pressure following 30 mg METH. Subjective ratings (ANY EFFECT, HIGH, GOOD, STIMULATED, LIKE, WLLING TO PAY) highly correlated with sAA over five post-METH time points (N=40; r's=0.543-0.684, p's<0.001). Age, body mass index and METH amount received on a mg/kg basis were significantly associated with sAA activity. Multiple linear regression analysis indicated sAA activity remained a significant predictor of subjective ratings following METH after controlling for these factors. The NE peripheral biomarker sAA activity is associated with METH's subjective effects. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Transcriptome profiling of the intoxication response of Tenebrio molitor larvae to Bacillus thuringiensis Cry3Aa protoxin.

PubMed

Oppert, Brenda; Dowd, Scot E; Bouffard, Pascal; Li, Lewyn; Conesa, Ana; Lorenzen, Marcé D; Toutges, Michelle; Marshall, Jeremy; Huestis, Diana L; Fabrick, Jeff; Oppert, Cris; Jurat-Fuentes, Juan Luis

2012-01-01

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) crystal (Cry) proteins are effective against a select number of insect pests, but improvements are needed to increase efficacy and decrease time to mortality for coleopteran pests. To gain insight into the Bt intoxication process in Coleoptera, we performed RNA-Seq on cDNA generated from the guts of Tenebrio molitor larvae that consumed either a control diet or a diet containing Cry3Aa protoxin. Approximately 134,090 and 124,287 sequence reads from the control and Cry3Aa-treated groups were assembled into 1,318 and 1,140 contigs, respectively. Enrichment analyses indicated that functions associated with mitochondrial respiration, signalling, maintenance of cell structure, membrane integrity, protein recycling/synthesis, and glycosyl hydrolases were significantly increased in Cry3Aa-treated larvae, whereas functions associated with many metabolic processes were reduced, especially glycolysis, tricarboxylic acid cycle, and fatty acid synthesis. Microarray analysis was used to evaluate temporal changes in gene expression after 6, 12 or 24 h of Cry3Aa exposure. Overall, microarray analysis indicated that transcripts related to allergens, chitin-binding proteins, glycosyl hydrolases, and tubulins were induced, and those related to immunity and metabolism were repressed in Cry3Aa-intoxicated larvae. The 24 h microarray data validated most of the RNA-Seq data. Of the three intoxication intervals, larvae demonstrated more differential expression of transcripts after 12 h exposure to Cry3Aa. Gene expression examined by three different methods in control vs. Cry3Aa-treated larvae at the 24 h time point indicated that transcripts encoding proteins with chitin-binding domain 3 were the most differentially expressed in Cry3Aa-intoxicated larvae. Overall, the data suggest that T. molitor larvae mount a complex response to Cry3Aa during the initial 24 h of intoxication. Data from this study represent the largest genetic sequence dataset for T. molitor to date. Furthermore, the methods in this study are useful for comparative analyses in organisms lacking a sequenced genome.

Transcriptome Profiling of the Intoxication Response of Tenebrio molitor Larvae to Bacillus thuringiensis Cry3Aa Protoxin

PubMed Central

Oppert, Brenda; Dowd, Scot E.; Bouffard, Pascal; Li, Lewyn; Conesa, Ana; Lorenzen, Marcé D.; Toutges, Michelle; Marshall, Jeremy; Huestis, Diana L.; Fabrick, Jeff; Oppert, Cris; Jurat-Fuentes, Juan Luis

2012-01-01

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) crystal (Cry) proteins are effective against a select number of insect pests, but improvements are needed to increase efficacy and decrease time to mortality for coleopteran pests. To gain insight into the Bt intoxication process in Coleoptera, we performed RNA-Seq on cDNA generated from the guts of Tenebrio molitor larvae that consumed either a control diet or a diet containing Cry3Aa protoxin. Approximately 134,090 and 124,287 sequence reads from the control and Cry3Aa-treated groups were assembled into 1,318 and 1,140 contigs, respectively. Enrichment analyses indicated that functions associated with mitochondrial respiration, signalling, maintenance of cell structure, membrane integrity, protein recycling/synthesis, and glycosyl hydrolases were significantly increased in Cry3Aa-treated larvae, whereas functions associated with many metabolic processes were reduced, especially glycolysis, tricarboxylic acid cycle, and fatty acid synthesis. Microarray analysis was used to evaluate temporal changes in gene expression after 6, 12 or 24 h of Cry3Aa exposure. Overall, microarray analysis indicated that transcripts related to allergens, chitin-binding proteins, glycosyl hydrolases, and tubulins were induced, and those related to immunity and metabolism were repressed in Cry3Aa-intoxicated larvae. The 24 h microarray data validated most of the RNA-Seq data. Of the three intoxication intervals, larvae demonstrated more differential expression of transcripts after 12 h exposure to Cry3Aa. Gene expression examined by three different methods in control vs. Cry3Aa-treated larvae at the 24 h time point indicated that transcripts encoding proteins with chitin-binding domain 3 were the most differentially expressed in Cry3Aa-intoxicated larvae. Overall, the data suggest that T. molitor larvae mount a complex response to Cry3Aa during the initial 24 h of intoxication. Data from this study represent the largest genetic sequence dataset for T. molitor to date. Furthermore, the methods in this study are useful for comparative analyses in organisms lacking a sequenced genome. PMID:22558093

Heterologously expressed Aspergillus aculeatus β-glucosidase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a cost-effective alternative to commercial supplementation of β-glucosidase in industrial ethanol production using Trichoderma reesei cellulases.

PubMed

Treebupachatsakul, Treesukon; Nakazawa, Hikaru; Shinbo, Hideaki; Fujikawa, Hiroki; Nagaiwa, Asami; Ochiai, Nobuhiro; Kawaguchi, Takashi; Nikaido, Mitsuru; Totani, Kazuhide; Shioya, Koki; Shida, Yosuke; Morikawa, Yasushi; Ogasawara, Wataru; Okada, Hirofumi

2016-01-01

Trichoderma reesei is a filamentous organism that secretes enzymes capable of degrading cellulose to cellobiose. The culture supernatant of T. reesei, however, lacks sufficient activity to convert cellobiose to glucose using β-glucosidase (BGL1). In this study, we identified a BGL (Cel3B) from T. reesei (TrCel3B) and compared it with the active β-glucosidases from Aspergillus aculeatus (AaBGL1). AaBGL1 showed higher stability and conversion of sugars to ethanol compared to TrCel3B, and therefore we chose to express this recombinant protein for use in fermentation processes. We expressed the recombinant protein in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, combined it with the superb T. reesei cellulase machinery and used the combination in a simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) process, with the hope that the recombinant would supplement the BGL activity. As the sugars were processed, the yeast immediately converted them to ethanol, thereby eliminating the problem posed by end product inhibition. Recombinant AaBGL1 activity was compared with Novozyme 188, a commercially available supplement for BGL activity. Our results show that the recombinant protein is as effective as the commercial supplement and can process sugars with equal efficiency. Expression of AaBGL1 in S. cerevisiae increased ethanol production effectively. Thus, heterologous expression of AaBGL1 in S. cerevisiae is a cost-effective and efficient process for the bioconversion of ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Embryonic desiccation resistance in Aedes aegypti: presumptive role of the chitinized Serosal Cuticle

PubMed Central

Rezende, Gustavo Lazzaro; Martins, Ademir Jesus; Gentile, Carla; Farnesi, Luana Cristina; Pelajo-Machado, Marcelo; Peixoto, Alexandre Afrânio; Valle, Denise

2008-01-01

Background One of the major problems concerning dengue transmission is that embryos of its main vector, the mosquito Aedes aegypti, resist desiccation, surviving several months under dry conditions. The serosal cuticle (SC) contributes to mosquito egg desiccation resistance, but the kinetics of SC secretion during embryogenesis is unknown. It has been argued that mosquito SC contains chitin as one of its components, however conclusive evidence is still missing. Results We observed an abrupt acquisition of desiccation resistance during Ae. aegypti embryogenesis associated with serosal cuticle secretion, occurring at complete germ band extension, between 11 and 13 hours after egglaying. After SC formation embryos are viable on dry for at least several days. The presence of chitin as one of the SC constituents was confirmed through Calcofluor and WGA labeling and chitin quantitation. The Ae. aegypti Chitin Synthase A gene (AaCHS1) possesses two alternatively spliced variants, AaCHS1a and AaCHS1b, differentially expressed during Ae. aegypti embryonic development. It was verified that at the moment of serosal cuticle formation, AaCHS1a is the sole variant specifically expressed. Conclusion In addition to the peritrophic matrix and exoskeleton, these findings confirm chitin is also present in the mosquito serosal cuticle. They also point to the role of the chitinized SC in the desiccation resistance of Ae. aegypti eggs. AaCHS1a expression would be responsible for SC chitin synthesis. With this embryological approach we expect to shed new light regarding this important physiological process related to the Ae. aegypti life cycle. PMID:18789161

Exploiting the synthetic lethality between terminal respiratory oxidases to kill Mycobacterium tuberculosis and clear host infection

PubMed Central

Kalia, Nitin P.; Hasenoehrl, Erik J.; Ab Rahman, Nurlilah B.; Koh, Vanessa H.; Ang, Michelle L. T.; Sajorda, Dannah R.; Hards, Kiel; Grüber, Gerhard; Alonso, Sylvie; Cook, Gregory M.; Berney, Michael; Pethe, Kevin

2017-01-01

The recent discovery of small molecules targeting the cytochrome bc1:aa3 in Mycobacterium tuberculosis triggered interest in the terminal respiratory oxidases for antituberculosis drug development. The mycobacterial cytochrome bc1:aa3 consists of a menaquinone:cytochrome c reductase (bc1) and a cytochrome aa3-type oxidase. The clinical-stage drug candidate Q203 interferes with the function of the subunit b of the menaquinone:cytochrome c reductase. Despite the affinity of Q203 for the bc1:aa3 complex, the drug is only bacteriostatic and does not kill drug-tolerant persisters. This raises the possibility that the alternate terminal bd-type oxidase (cytochrome bd oxidase) is capable of maintaining a membrane potential and menaquinol oxidation in the presence of Q203. Here, we show that the electron flow through the cytochrome bd oxidase is sufficient to maintain respiration and ATP synthesis at a level high enough to protect M. tuberculosis from Q203-induced bacterial death. Upon genetic deletion of the cytochrome bd oxidase-encoding genes cydAB, Q203 inhibited mycobacterial respiration completely, became bactericidal, killed drug-tolerant mycobacterial persisters, and rapidly cleared M. tuberculosis infection in vivo. These results indicate a synthetic lethal interaction between the two terminal respiratory oxidases that can be exploited for anti-TB drug development. Our findings should be considered in the clinical development of drugs targeting the cytochrome bc1:aa3, as well as for the development of a drug combination targeting oxidative phosphorylation in M. tuberculosis. PMID:28652330

Effects of high-intensity interval training on cardiometabolic risk in overweight and obese African-American women: a pilot study.

PubMed

Hornbuckle, Lyndsey M; McKenzie, Michael J; Whitt-Glover, Melicia C

2017-03-01

Little is known about high-intensity interval training (HIIT) in African-American (AA) women. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the effects of HIIT and steady-state (SS) exercise on cardiometabolic risk factors in young AA women. A 16-week exercise intervention was conducted 3x/week. Twenty-seven AA women were randomized to SS (n = 11; 32 continuous minutes of treadmill walking at 60-70% of maximum heart rate (HR max )), or HIIT (n = 16; 32 min of treadmill HIIT alternating 3 min at 60-70% of HR max with 1 min at 80-90% of HR max ). Two-way repeated measures ANOVA with intention-to-treat analysis was used to identify changes between groups. Significance was accepted at P ≤ 0.05. Of the 27 women who entered the study (age: 30.5 ± 6.8 years; BMI: 35.1 ± 5.1 kg/m 2 ; 5274 ± 1646 baseline steps/day), 14 completed the intervention. HIIT significantly decreased waist circumference (107.0 ± 11.3 to 105.1 ± 11.9 cm) compared to SS, which showed no change. There was a significant time effect for steps where HIIT increased steps/day (5334 ± 1586 to 7604 ± 1817 steps/day), and SS had no change. There were no significant changes in either group for any other measurements. HIIT was more effective at reducing waist circumference and increasing daily steps/day than SS treadmill exercise over 16 weeks. Further research in a larger sample is indicated to evaluate the effects of each protocol on cardiometabolic risk factors.

Normal muscle oxygen consumption and fatigability in sickle cell patients despite reduced microvascular oxygenation and hemorheological abnormalities.

PubMed

Waltz, Xavier; Pichon, Aurélien; Lemonne, Nathalie; Mougenel, Danièle; Lalanne-Mistrih, Marie-Laure; Lamarre, Yann; Tarer, Vanessa; Tressières, Benoit; Etienne-Julan, Maryse; Hardy-Dessources, Marie-Dominique; Hue, Olivier; Connes, Philippe

2012-01-01

Although it has been hypothesized that muscle metabolism and fatigability could be impaired in sickle cell patients, no study has addressed this issue. We compared muscle metabolism and function (muscle microvascular oxygenation, microvascular blood flow, muscle oxygen consumption and muscle microvascular oxygenation variability, which reflects vasomotion activity, maximal muscle force and local muscle fatigability) and the hemorheological profile at rest between 16 healthy subjects (AA), 20 sickle cell-hemoglobin C disease (SC) patients and 16 sickle cell anemia (SS) patients. Muscle microvascular oxygenation was reduced in SS patients compared to the SC and AA groups and this reduction was not related to hemorhelogical abnormalities. No difference was observed between the three groups for oxygen consumption and vasomotion activity. Muscle microvascular blood flow was higher in SS patients compared to the AA group, and tended to be higher compared to the SC group. Multivariate analysis revealed that muscle oxygen consumption was independently associated with muscle microvascular blood flow in the two sickle cell groups (SC and SS). Finally, despite reduced muscle force in sickle cell patients, their local muscle fatigability was similar to that of the healthy subjects. Sickle cell patients have normal resting muscle oxygen consumption and fatigability despite hemorheological alterations and, for SS patients only, reduced muscle microvascular oxygenation and increased microvascular blood flow. Two alternative mechanisms can be proposed for SS patients: 1) the increased muscle microvascular blood flow is a way to compensate for the lower muscle microvascular oxygenation to maintain muscle oxygen consumption to normal values or 2) the reduced microvascular oxygenation coupled with a normal resting muscle oxygen consumption could indicate that there is slight hypoxia within the muscle which is not sufficient to limit mitochondrial respiration but increases muscle microvascular blood flow.

Disability and comorbidity among major depressive disorder and double depression in African-American adults.

PubMed

Torres, Elisa R

2013-09-25

Few studies have examined differences in disability and comorbity among major depressive disorder (MDD), dysthymia, and double depression in African-Americans (AA). A secondary analysis was performed on AA in the National Survey of American Life. Interviews occurred 2001-2003. A four stage national area probability sampling was performed. DSM-IV-TR diagnoses were obtained with a modified version of the World Health Organization's expanded version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Disability was measured by interview with the World Health Organization's Disability Assessment Schedule II. Compared to non-depressed AA, AA endorsing MDD (t=19.0, p=0.0001) and double depression (t=18.7, p=0.0001) reported more global disability; AA endorsing MDD (t=8.5, p=0.0063) reported more disability in the getting around domain; AA endorsing MDD (t=19.1, p=0.0001) and double depression (t=12.1, p=0.0014) reported more disability in the life activities domain. AA who endorsed double depression reported similar disability and comorbidities with AA who endorsed MDD. Few AA endorsed dysthymia. This was a cross-sectional study subject to recall bias. The NSAL did not measure minor depression. The current study supports the idea of deleting distinct chronic subtypes of depression and consolidating them into a single category termed chronic depression. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An Effectiveness Analysis of the Tactical Employment of Decoys

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-06-03

desert made it impossible to hide the dense concentration of vehicles in the three assembly areas: 1st Armoured Division in Assembly Area (AA) Murrayfield...North, 24th Armoured Brigade in AA Murrayfield South, and 10th Armoured Division in AA Melting Pot. However, an ingenious combination of decoys and...hood, configured to resemble an ammo carrier, was often draped over tanks to disguise thenm12 To reinforce the story that the British main attack would

Simultaneous and Sequential Feature Negative Discriminations: Elemental Learning and Occasion Setting in Human Pavlovian Conditioning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baeyens, Frank; Vervliet, Bram; Vansteenwegen, Debora; Beckers, Tom; Hermans, Dirk; Eelen, Paul

2004-01-01

Using a conditioned suppression task, we investigated simultaneous (XA-/A+) vs. sequential (X [right arrow] A-/A+) Feature Negative (FN) discrimination learning in humans. We expected the simultaneous discrimination to result in X (or alternatively the XA configuration) becoming an inhibitor acting directly on the US, and the sequential…

Biomonitors: Practice and Concepts

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-01-01

A.A. Benson. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Petroleum hydrocarbons : uptake and discharge by the marine mussel, Mytilus edulis. Science supported by the Office of...Simkiss, K., M. Taylor & A.Z. Mason. Metal 11. Spacie, A. & J.L. Hamelink. Alternative models detoxification and bioaccumulation in molluscs . % for... petroleum hydrocarbons : Accumulation and Marine Ecology Progress Series 1980 3, 257- biotransformation in marine organisms. In: T6= Effects of

A Within-Group Analysis of African American Mothers’ Authoritarian Attitudes, Limit-Setting and Children's Self-Regulation

PubMed Central

LeCuyer, Elizabeth A.; Swanson, Dena Phillips

2016-01-01

Research suggests that higher levels of authoritarian parenting exist in African American (AA) families than in European American (EA) families, and that authoritarian attitudes may be associated with more positive outcomes in AA families than EA families. However, less is known about authoritarian attitudes and children's development within AA families. This within-group study of 50 African American mothers and their 3-year-old children examined associations between maternal authoritarian attitudes, observed maternal limit-setting strategies, and children's self-regulation during a limit-setting interaction. The findings indicate that while AA families may hold more authoritarian attitudes than EA families, the direction of effect of authoritarian attitudes on children's outcomes appears to be the same in both ethnic groups. In this sample, when examining AA authoritarian attitudes relative to those of other AA mothers, less or lower authoritarian attitudes were associated with authoritative limit-setting behavior (firm limits within the context of overall warmth and responsiveness) and better children's self-regulation. PMID:28408794

Comparison of the nucleotide and amino acid sequences of the RsrI and EcoRI restriction endonucleases.

PubMed

Stephenson, F H; Ballard, B T; Boyer, H W; Rosenberg, J M; Greene, P J

1989-12-21

The RsrI endonuclease, a type-II restriction endonuclease (ENase) found in Rhodobacter sphaeroides, is an isoschizomer of the EcoRI ENase. A clone containing an 11-kb BamHI fragment was isolated from an R. sphaeroides genomic DNA library by hybridization with synthetic oligodeoxyribonucleotide probes based on the N-terminal amino acid (aa) sequence of RsrI. Extracts of E. coli containing a subclone of the 11-kb fragment display RsrI activity. Nucleotide sequence analysis reveals an 831-bp open reading frame encoding a polypeptide of 277 aa. A 50% identity exists within a 266-aa overlap between the deduced aa sequences of RsrI and EcoRI. Regions of 75-100% aa sequence identity correspond to key structural and functional regions of EcoRI. The type-II ENases have many common properties, and a common origin might have been expected. Nevertheless, this is the first demonstration of aa sequence similarity between ENases produced by different organisms.

A Within-Group Analysis of African American Mothers' Authoritarian Attitudes, Limit-Setting and Children's Self-Regulation.

PubMed

LeCuyer, Elizabeth A; Swanson, Dena Phillips

2017-03-01

Research suggests that higher levels of authoritarian parenting exist in African American (AA) families than in European American (EA) families, and that authoritarian attitudes may be associated with more positive outcomes in AA families than EA families. However, less is known about authoritarian attitudes and children's development within AA families. This within-group study of 50 African American mothers and their 3-year-old children examined associations between maternal authoritarian attitudes, observed maternal limit-setting strategies, and children's self-regulation during a limit-setting interaction. The findings indicate that while AA families may hold more authoritarian attitudes than EA families, the direction of effect of authoritarian attitudes on children's outcomes appears to be the same in both ethnic groups. In this sample, when examining AA authoritarian attitudes relative to those of other AA mothers, less or lower authoritarian attitudes were associated with authoritative limit-setting behavior (firm limits within the context of overall warmth and responsiveness) and better children's self-regulation.

Wilhelm Weinberg’s Early Contribution to Segregation Analysis

PubMed Central

Stark, Alan; Seneta, Eugene

2013-01-01

Wilhelm Weinberg (1862–1937) is a largely forgotten pioneer of human and medical genetics. His name is linked with that of the English mathematician G. H. Hardy in the Hardy–Weinberg law, pervasive in textbooks on population genetics since it expresses stability over generations of zygote frequencies AA, Aa, aa under random mating. One of Weinberg’s signal contributions, in an article whose centenary we celebrate, was to verify that Mendel’s segregation law still held in the setting of human heredity, contrary to the then-prevailing view of William Bateson (1861–1926), the leading Mendelian geneticist of the time. Specifically, Weinberg verified that the proportion of recessive offspring genotypes aa in human parental crossings Aa × Aa (that is, the segregation ratio for such a setting) was indeed p=14. We focus in a nontechnical way on his procedure, called the simple sib method, and on the heated controversy with Felix Bernstein (1878–1956) in the 1920s and 1930s over work stimulated by Weinberg’s article. PMID:24018765

In vitro gastrointestinal digestion promotes the protective effect of blackberry extract against acrylamide-induced oxidative stress

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Wei; Su, Hongming; Xu, Yang; Jin, Chao

2017-01-01

Acrylamide (AA)-induced toxicity has been associated with accumulation of excessive reactive oxygen species. The present study was therefore undertaken to investigate the protective effect of blackberry digests produced after (BBD) in vitro gastrointestinal (GI) digestion against AA-induced oxidative damage. The results indicated that the BBD (0.5 mg/mL) pretreatment significantly suppressed AA-induced intracellular ROS generation (56.6 ± 2.9% of AA treatment), mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) decrease (297 ± 18% of AA treatment) and glutathione (GSH) depletion (307 ± 23% of AA treatment), thereby ameliorating cytotoxicity. Furthermore, LC/MS/MS analysis identified eight phenolic compounds with high contents in BBD, including ellagic acid, ellagic acid pentoside, ellagic acid glucuronoside, methyl-ellagic acid pentoside, methyl-ellagic acid glucuronoside, cyanidin glucoside, gallic acid and galloyl esters, as primary active compounds responsible for antioxidant action. Collectively, our study uncovered that the protective effect of blackberry was reserved after gastrointestinal digestion in combating exogenous pollutant-induced oxidative stress.

Molecular Determinants for Substrate Interactions with the Glycine Transporter GlyT2.

PubMed

Carland, Jane E; Thomas, Michael; Mostyn, Shannon N; Subramanian, Nandhitha; O'Mara, Megan L; Ryan, Renae M; Vandenberg, Robert J

2018-03-21

Transporters in the SLC6 family play key roles in regulating neurotransmission and are the targets for a wide range of therapeutics. Important insights into the transport mechanisms and the specificity of drug interactions of SLC6 transporters have been obtained from the crystal structures of a bacterial homologue of the family, LeuT Aa , and more recently the Drosophila dopamine transporter and the human serotonin transporter. However, there is disputed evidence that the bacterial leucine transporter, LeuT Aa , contains two substrate binding sites that work cooperatively in the mechanism of transport, with the binding of a second substrate being required for the release of the substrate from the primary site. An alternate proposal is that there may be low affinity binding sites that serve to direct the flow of substrates to the primary site. We have used a combination of molecular dynamics simulations of substrate interactions with a homology model of GlyT2, together with radiolabeled amino acid uptake assays and electrophysiological analysis of wild-type and mutant transporters, to provide evidence that substrate selectivity of GlyT2 is determined entirely by the primary substrate binding site and, furthermore, if a secondary site exists then it is a low affinity nonselective amino acid binding site.

Whey acerola-flavoured drink submitted ohmic heating processing: Is there an optimal combination of the operational parameters?

PubMed

Cappato, Leandro P; Ferreira, Marcus Vinícius S; Pires, Roberto P S; Cavalcanti, Rodrigo N; Bisaggio, Rodrigo C; Freitas, Mônica Q; Silva, Marcia C; Cruz, Adriano G

2018-04-15

Whey acerola-flavoured drink was treated using ohmic heating (OH) at 65°C for 30min to evaluate different frequencies (10, 100 and 1000Hz with 25V) and voltages (45, 60 and 80V at 60Hz) and by conventional heating (CH) with the same temperature profile (65°C/30min). Rheology parameters, color changes (h°, C∗, ΔE) microstructure (optical microscopy), and ascorbic acid (AA) degradation kinetics were performed. AA degradation rates ranged from 1.7 to 29.3% and from 2.8 to 24.8% for OH and CH, respectively. The beverages treated with both processes exhibited a pseudo-plastic behavior (n<1), higher saturation (C∗), lesser reddish color (h°), and higher color variations (ΔE∗). In microstructure analysis, OH (1000Hz-25V and 80V-60Hz) was able to rupture the cell structure. The best results were observed at low frequencies and voltage OH processes on whey acerola-flavoured drinks should be performed at low frequencies and voltages (≤100Hz and 45V), an alternating current (A/C). However, despite the use of inert electrodes, the existence of corrosion was not evaluated, being an important information to be investigated. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characterization of differential gene expression in adrenocortical tumors harboring beta-catenin (CTNNB1) mutations.

PubMed

Durand, Julien; Lampron, Antoine; Mazzuco, Tania L; Chapman, Audrey; Bourdeau, Isabelle

2011-07-01

Mutations of β-catenin gene (CTNNB1) are frequent in adrenocortical adenomas (AA) and adrenocortical carcinomas (ACC). However, the target genes of β-catenin have not yet been identified in adrenocortical tumors. Our objective was to identify genes deregulated in adrenocortical tumors harboring CTNNB1 genetic alterations and nuclear accumulation of β-catenin. Microarray analysis identified a dataset of genes that were differently expressed between AA with CTNNB1 mutations and wild-type (WT) tumors. Within this dataset, the expression profiles of five genes were validated by real time-PCR (RT-PCR) in a cohort of 34 adrenocortical tissues (six AA and one ACC with CTNNB1 mutations, 13 AA and four ACC with WT CTNNB1, and 10 normal adrenal glands) and two human ACC cell lines. We then studied the effects of suppressing β-catenin transcriptional activity with the T-cell factor/β-catenin inhibitors PKF115-584 and PNU74654 on gene expression in H295R and SW13 cells. RT-PCR analysis confirmed the overexpression of ISM1, RALBP1, and PDE2A and the down-regulation of PHYHIP in five of six AA harboring CTNNB1 mutations compared with WT AA (n = 13) and normal adrenal glands (n = 10). RALBP1 and PDE2A overexpression was also confirmed at the protein level by Western blotting analysis in mutated tumors. ENC1 was specifically overexpressed in three of three AA harboring CTNNB1 point mutations. mRNA expression and protein levels of RALBP1, PDE2A, and ENC1 were decreased in a dose-dependent manner in H295R cells after treatment with PKF115-584 or PNU74654. This study identified candidate genes deregulated in CTNNB1-mutated adrenocortical tumors that may lead to a better understanding of the role of the Wnt-β-catenin pathway in adrenocortical tumorigenesis.

Analysis of an Air Conditioning Coolant Solution for Metal Contamination Using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy: An Undergraduate Instrumental Analysis Exercise Simulating an Industrial Assignment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baird, Michael J.

2004-01-01

A real-life analytical assignment is presented to students, who had to examine an air conditioning coolant solution for metal contamination using an atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). This hands-on access to a real problem exposed the undergraduate students to the mechanism of AAS, and promoted participation in a simulated industrial activity.

Optimization of an organic yogurt based on sensorial, nutritional, and functional perspectives.

PubMed

Karnopp, Ariadne Roberto; Oliveira, Katherine Guimarães; de Andrade, Eriel Forville; Postingher, Bruna Mara; Granato, Daniel

2017-10-15

The effects of purple grape juice (PGJ), grape skin flour (GSF), and oligofructose (OLI) on proximate composition, total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant activity (AA), sensory, physicochemical, and textural properties of yogurts were analyzed using response surface methodology. Multiple regression models were proposed and results showed that PGJ increased the viscosity, AA, and TPC, while GSF increased the ash and total fiber contents of yogurts. GSF and OLI increased the hardness and consistency. A simultaneous optimization was performed to maximize TPC, ash and fibers contents, and sensory acceptance: a yogurt containing 1.7% GSF and 8.0% PGJ had a high fiber (5.60±0.13%) and ash (0.76±0.02%) contents, TPC (28.32±2.10mg GAE/100g), AA toward DPPH (57.85±1.36mg AAE/100g), and total reducing capacity (28.86±5.19mg QE/100g). The optimized yogurt had 79% acceptability index, indicating the use of PGJ and GSF is a feasible alternative to increase the functional properties of yogurts. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ascorbic-acid-assisted growth of high quality M@ZnO: a growth mechanism and kinetics study.

PubMed

Yang, Yun; Han, Shuhua; Zhou, Guangju; Zhang, Lijie; Li, Xingliang; Zou, Chao; Huang, Shaoming

2013-12-07

We present a general route for synthesizing M@ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) by using ascorbic acid (AA) to induce deposition of ZnO on various shaped and structured cationic-surfactant-capped NP surfaces (noble, magnetic, semiconductor, rod-like, spherical, cubic, dendrite, alloy, core@shell). The results show that the complexing (AA and Zn(2+)) and cooperative effects (AA and CTAB) play important roles in the formation of polycrystalline ZnO shells. Besides, the growth kinetics of M@ZnO was systematically studied. It was found that the slow growth rate favors the successful formation of uniform core@ZnO NPs with relatively loose shells. An appropriate growth rate allows achieving high quality M@ZnO NPs with dense shells. However, very fast growth causes significant additional nucleation and the formation of pure ZnO NPs. This general method is suitable for preparing M@ZnO using seed NPs prepared in both water and organic phases. It might be an alternative route for functionalizing NPs for bioapplications (ZnO is biocompatible), modulating material properties as designed, or synthesizing template materials for building other nanostructures.

Effects of cumulative trauma load on perceptions of health, blood pressure, and resting heart rate in urban African American youth.

PubMed

Conner-Warren, Rhonda

2014-04-01

This study examined relationships between cumulative trauma (CT) and urban African American (AA) adolescents' blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), and perceptions of health. A correlational design using secondary data analysis studied effects of CT, health outcomes, and perceptions of health. Participants were 175 urban AA youth (11-16 years) who completed structured surveys and physiological measures of HR and BP before and after exercise. AA youth were experiencing high levels of CT. Negative correlations were obtained between AA females' perceptions of their health and systolic BP with levels of trauma. No gender differences were found in HR or BP. AA females with high CT may perceive themselves as less healthy and can be at risk for health problems. © 2014, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Analysis of the Cytotoxic Potential of Anisomelic Acid Isolated from Anisomeles malabarica

PubMed Central

Preethy, Christo Paul; Alshatwi, Ali Abdullah; Gunasekaran, Muthukumaran; Akbarsha, Mohammad Abdulkadher

2013-01-01

Anisomelic acid (AA), one of the major compounds in Anisomeles malabarica, was tested for its cytotoxicity and apoptosis-inducing potential in breast and cervical cancer cells. The MTT assay for cell viability indicated that AA is cytotoxic to all of the four cell lines tested in a dose- and duration-dependent manner. Acridine Orange & Ethidium Bromide (AO & EB) and Hoechst 33258 staining of AA-treated cells revealed typical apoptotic morphology such as condensed chromatin and formation of apoptotic bodies. The comet assay revealed DNA strand break(s), indicating that AA induces DNA damage which culminates in apoptosis. Thus, the study revealed the anti-proliferative and apoptosis-inducing properties of AA in both breast and cervical cancer cells. Therefore, anisomelic acid offers potential for application in breast and cervical cancer therapy. PMID:23833721

Sickle cell trait and development of microvascular complications in diabetes mellitus.

PubMed

Bleyer, Anthony J; Reddy, Sri V; Sujata, Leon; Russell, Gregory B; Akinnifesi, Damilola; Bleyer, Anthony J; Hire, Donald; Shihabi, Zak; Knovich, Mary Ann; Daeihagh, Pirouz; Calles, Jorge; Freedman, Barry I

2010-06-01

Many African Americans (AA) have both sickle cell trait (SCT) and diabetes mellitus. The objective of this study was to determine whether individuals with diabetes mellitus and SCT have higher rates of microvascular complications relative to those without SCT. This was a retrospective study comparing albuminuria, estimated GFR (eGFR), and microvascular complications in AA with diabetes on the basis of presence of SCT. The study included 821 outpatients who underwent hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) testing, and presence of SCT was determined using the HbA1c assay. Medical record review and telephone interviews were performed for AA participants. Data were obtained on 376 AA patients (110 with SCT, 245 with neither SCT nor hemoglobin C trait, and 21 with hemoglobin C trait) and 445 European Americans. The mean eGFR and urinary protein excretion were similar between the three AA subgroups. Analysis revealed that 36.3% of AA nontrait and 22.7% of AA SCT participants had retinopathy, peripheral vascular disease, or end-stage kidney disease (P = 0.01). After adjustment for diabetes duration, age, insulin use, and gender, differences in the prevalence of microvascular complications were not observed. SCT does not increase the risk of microvascular complications in AA with diabetes mellitus.

Sickle Cell Trait and Development of Microvascular Complications in Diabetes Mellitus

PubMed Central

Bleyer, Anthony J.; Reddy, Sri V.; Sujata, Leon; Russell, Gregory B.; Akinnifesi, Damilola; Hire, Donald; Shihabi, Zak; Knovich, Mary Ann; Daeihagh, Pirouz; Calles, Jorge; Freedman, Barry I.

2010-01-01

Background and objectives: Many African Americans (AA) have both sickle cell trait (SCT) and diabetes mellitus. The objective of this study was to determine whether individuals with diabetes mellitus and SCT have higher rates of microvascular complications relative to those without SCT. Design, setting, participants, & measurements: This was a retrospective study comparing albuminuria, estimated GFR (eGFR), and microvascular complications in AA with diabetes on the basis of presence of SCT. The study included 821 outpatients who underwent hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) testing, and presence of SCT was determined using the HbA1c assay. Medical record review and telephone interviews were performed for AA participants. Results: Data were obtained on 376 AA patients (110 with SCT, 245 with neither SCT nor hemoglobin C trait, and 21 with hemoglobin C trait) and 445 European Americans. The mean eGFR and urinary protein excretion were similar between the three AA subgroups. Analysis revealed that 36.3% of AA nontrait and 22.7% of AA SCT participants had retinopathy, peripheral vascular disease, or end-stage kidney disease (P = 0.01). After adjustment for diabetes duration, age, insulin use, and gender, differences in the prevalence of microvascular complications were not observed. Conclusions: SCT does not increase the risk of microvascular complications in AA with diabetes mellitus. PMID:20299376

Quantum chemical density functional theory studies on the molecular structure and vibrational spectra of Gallic acid imprinted polymers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pardeshi, Sushma; Dhodapkar, Rita; Kumar, Anupama

2013-12-01

Gallic acid (GA) is known by its antioxidant, anticarcinogenic properties and scavenger activity against several types of harmful free radicals. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are used in separation of a pure compound from complex matrices. A stable template-monomer complex generates the MIPs with the highest affinity and selectivity for the template. The quantum chemical computations based on density functional theory (DFT) was used on the template Gallic acid (GA), monomer acrylic acid (AA) and GA-AA complex to study the nature of interactions involved in the GA-AA complex. B3LYP/6-31+G(2d,2p) model chemistry was used to optimize their structures and frequency calculations. The effect of porogen acetonitrile (ACN) on complex formation was included by using polarizable continuum model (PCM). The results demonstrated the formation of a stable GA-AA complex through the intermolecular hydrogen bonding between carboxylic acid groups of GA and AA. The Mulliken atomic charge analysis and simulated vibrational spectra also supported the stable hydrogen bonding interaction between the carboxylic acid groups of GA and AA with minimal interference of porogen ACN. Further, simulations on GA-AA mole ratio revealed that 1:4 GA-AA was optimum for synthesis of MIP for GA.

Intestinal digestibility of amino acids in rumen undegradable protein estimated using a precision-fed cecectomized rooster bioassay: I. Soybean meal and SoyPlus.

PubMed

Boucher, S E; Calsamiglia, S; Parsons, C M; Stein, H H; Stern, M D; Erickson, P S; Utterback, P L; Schwab, C G

2009-09-01

The objectives of this experiment were to measure intestinal digestibility of AA in rumen undegradable protein (RUP-AA) in soybean meal (SBM) and expeller SBM (SoyPlus, West Central, Ralston, IA; SP) and to determine if these feeds contain a constant protein fraction that is undegradable in the rumen and indigestible in the small intestine, as assumed in the French Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (Paris, France) and Scandinavian AAT-PBV (AAT = AA absorbed from small intestine; PBV = protein balance in the rumen) models. Three samples of SBM and 3 samples of SP were obtained from the Feed Analysis Consortium Inc. (Savoy, IL). To obtain the RUP fraction, samples were ruminally incubated in situ for 16 h in 4 lactating cows, and the collected rumen undegraded residues (RUR) were pooled by sample. Subsamples of the intact feeds and RUR were crop intubated to 4 cecectomized roosters, and total excreta were collected for 48 h. Intact feeds, RUR, and excreta were analyzed for AA. Basal endogenous AA loss estimates were obtained from fasted birds and were used to calculate standardized digestibility of AA in the intact feeds and RUP-AA. Indigestibility coefficients of the intact feeds were calculated as (100 - % standardized AA digestibility), and indigestibility of the RUR was calculated as [(100 - % ruminal degradation of AA) x [(100 - % standardized RUP-AA digestibility)]/100]. Results indicated that standardized digestibility of feed-AA was similar to standardized digestibility of RUP-AA for SBM and SP samples and that standardized digestibility of individual AA differed within samples. Standardized feed-AA and RUP-AA digestibility values were lowest for Lys and Cys and highest for Trp and Met. Results also indicated that SBM and SP did not contain a constant protein fraction that was both undegradable in the rumen and indigestible in the small intestine. Indigestibility values of RUR were lower than in intact feeds, suggesting that SBM and SP contain a protein fraction that is indigestible in the intestine but partly degradable in the rumen, digestible in the intestine after ruminal incubation, or both.

Intestinal digestibility of amino acids in rumen-undegraded protein estimated using a precision-fed cecectomized rooster bioassay: II. Distillers dried grains with solubles and fish meal.

PubMed

Boucher, S E; Calsamiglia, S; Parsons, C M; Stein, H H; Stern, M D; Erickson, P S; Utterback, P L; Schwab, C G

2009-12-01

The objectives of this experiment were to measure intestinal digestibility of AA in the rumen-undegraded protein fraction (RUP-AA) of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and fish meal (FM) samples and to determine whether these feeds contain a constant protein fraction that is undegradable in the rumen and indigestible in the small intestine, as assumed in the French Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (Paris, France) and Scandinavian AAT-PBV (AAT = AA absorbed from small intestine; PBV = protein balance in the rumen) models. Five sources of DDGS and 5 sources of FM were obtained from Feed Analysis Consortium, Inc. (Champaign, IL). To obtain the rumen-undegradable protein fraction, samples were ruminally incubated in situ for 16 h in 4 lactating cows, and the collected rumen-undegraded residues (RUR) were pooled by sample. Subsamples of the intact feeds and RUR were crop-intubated to 4 cecectomized roosters, and total excreta were collected for 48 h. Intact feeds, RUR, and excreta were analyzed for AA. Basal endogenous AA loss estimates were obtained from fasted birds and were used to calculate standardized digestibility of RUP-AA and AA in the intact feeds. Indigestibility coefficients of the intact feeds were calculated as (100 - % standardized AA digestibility), and indigestibility of the RUR was calculated as [(100 - % ruminal degradation of AA) x (100 - % standardized RUP-AA digestibility)/100]. Results indicate that standardized digestibility of feed-AA differs from RUP-AA for DDGS samples but not for FM samples, and that standardized digestibility of individual AA differs within samples. For the DDGS samples, standardized feed-AA and RUP-AA digestibility values were most often lowest for His and Lys and highest for Met and Trp. For FM samples, standardized feed-AA and RUP-AA digestibility values were most often lowest for His and highest for Trp. Results also indicate that DDGS and most FM samples do not contain a constant protein fraction that is both undegradable in the rumen and indigestible in the small intestine. Indigestibility values of RUR were lower than in intact feeds, suggesting that the feed ingredients used in this experiment contain a protein fraction that is indigestible in the intestine but partly degradable in the rumen or digestible in the intestine after rumen incubation, or both.

Compound-specific amino acid δ15N patterns in marine algae: Tracer potential for cyanobacterial vs. eukaryotic organic nitrogen sources in the ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCarthy, Matthew D.; Lehman, Jennifer; Kudela, Raphael

2013-02-01

Stable nitrogen isotopic analysis of individual amino acids (δ15N-AA) has unique potential to elucidate the complexities of food webs, track heterotrophic transformations, and understand diagenesis of organic nitrogen (ON). While δ15N-AA patterns of autotrophs have been shown to be generally similar, prior work has also suggested that differences may exist between cyanobacteria and eukaryotic algae. However, δ15N-AA patterns in differing oceanic algal groups have never been closely examined. The overarching goals of this study were first to establish a more quantitative understanding of algal δ15N-AA patterns, and second to examine whether δ15N-AA patterns have potential as a new tracer for distinguishing prokaryotic vs. eukaryotic N sources. We measured δ15N-AA from prokaryotic and eukaryotic phytoplankton cultures and used a complementary set of statistical approaches (simple normalization, regression-derived fractionation factors, and multivariate analyses) to test for variations. A generally similar δ15N-AA pattern was confirmed for all algae, however significant AA-specific variation was also consistently identified between the two groups. The relative δ15N fractionation of Glx (glutamine + glutamic acid combined) vs. total proteinaceous N appeared substantially different, which we hypothesize could be related to differing enzymatic forms. In addition, the several other AA (most notably glycine and leucine) appeared to have strong biomarker potential. Finally, we observed that overall patterns of δ15N values in algae correspond well with the Trophic vs. Source-AA division now commonly used to describe variable AA δ15N changes with trophic transfer, suggesting a common mechanistic basis. Overall, these results show that autotrophic δ15N-AA patterns can differ between major algal evolutionary groupings for many AA. The statistically significant multivariate results represent a first approach for testing ideas about relative eukaryotic vs. prokaryotic ON sources in the sea.

Ascorbic Acid Attenuates Multifidus Muscles Injury and Atrophy after Posterior Lumbar Spine Surgery by Suppressing Inflammation and Oxidative Stress in a Rat Model.

PubMed

Tang, Pan; Gu, Yu; Gu, Jia-Ming; Xie, Zi-Ang; Xu, Jia-Qi; Zhao, Xiang-De; Huang, Kang-Mao; Wang, Ji-Ying; Jiang, Xue-Sheng; Fan, Shun-Wu; Hu, Zhi-Jun

2018-04-11

A rat model of multifidus muscles injury and atrophy after posterior lumbar spine surgery. We determined the effect of ascorbic acid (AA) on the postoperative multifidus muscles in rat model. Previous studies show oxidative stress and inflammation are two main molecular mechanisms in multifidus muscle injury and atrophy after posterior lumbar surgery. AA may have a protective effect in postoperative multifidus muscles. Rats were divided into sham surgery, control surgery, and surgery plus AA groups. Multifidus muscles of the control and AA groups were excised from the osseous structures. The muscles were retracted continuously for 2 h. In the sham and AA groups, AA was administered via oral gavage daily in the first week. In each group, the oxidative stress was evaluated by measuring malondialdehyde (MDA) and Total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD). The inflammation, fat degeneration or fibrosis of multifidus muscle were evaluated by Q-PCR, histology or immunohistochemical analysis. T-SOD activity was significantly lower in the control group than that in the AA group in the first week. MDA levels were significantly higher in the AA group. Interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α in multifidus muscles also showed significant differences when treated with AA. The inflammation score on histology was significantly lower in the AA group postoperatively in the first week. In the long run, marker genes for fibrosis and fat degeneration, and fibrosis and fat degeneration scores, were significantly lower in the AA than the control group on days 14 and 28 postoperatively. In conclusion, AA attenuated the oxidative stress and inflammation response in the postoperative multifidus muscles, and remarkable differences were observed from the histological assessment and related marker genes expression. Our results provided important insight into the anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects of AA in the postoperative multifidus muscles. N/A.

Rhizome of Anemarrhena asphodeloides as mediators of the eco-friendly synthesis of silver and gold spherical, face-centred cubic nanocrystals and its anti-migratory and cytotoxic potential in normal and cancer cell lines.

PubMed

Lee, Hyun A; Castro-Aceituno, Veronica; Abbai, Ragavendran; Moon, Seong Soo; Kim, Yeon-Ju; Simu, Shakina Yesmin; Yang, Deok Chun

2018-03-29

The water extract of Anemarrhena asphodeloides, the traditional oriental medicinal plant, mediated the eco-friendly synthesis of silver nanoparticles (Aa-AgNPs) and gold nanoparticles (Aa-AuNPs). First, its therapeutic rhizome was powdered prior to water extraction and then silver, gold nanoparticles were synthesized. Aa-AgNPs and Aa-AuNPs were found to be spherical, face-centred cubic nanocrystals with a Z-average hydrodynamic diameter of 190 and 258 nm, respectively. In addition, proteins and aromatic biomolecules were the plausible players associated with the production and stabilization of Aa-AgNPs; instead, phenolic compounds were responsible for the synthesis and stability of Aa-AuNPs. In vitro cytotoxic analysis revealed that up to 50 μg.mL -1 concentration Aa-AuNPs did not exhibit any toxicity on 3T3-L1, HT29 and MCF7 cell lines, while being specifically cytotoxic to A549 cell line. On the contrary, Aa-AgNPs displayed a significantly higher toxicity in comparison to Aa-AuNPs in all cell lines specially MCF7 cell line. Since cancer cells were more sensitive to Aa-Au/AgNPs treatments, further evaluation was done in order to determine their anticancer potential. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was not affected by Aa-AuNPs, on the other hand, Aa-AgNPs treatment exhibited a higher potential to induce oxidative stress in A549 cells than HT29 and MCF7 cells. In addition, Aa-Ag/AuNPs reduced cell migration in A549 cells at 10 and 50 μg.mL -1 , respectively. So far, this is the only report uncovering the ability of A. asphodeloides to synthesize silver and gold nanoparticles with anticancer potential and also indirectly enabling its large-scale utilization with value addition.

Automatic analysis (aa): efficient neuroimaging workflows and parallel processing using Matlab and XML.

PubMed

Cusack, Rhodri; Vicente-Grabovetsky, Alejandro; Mitchell, Daniel J; Wild, Conor J; Auer, Tibor; Linke, Annika C; Peelle, Jonathan E

2014-01-01

Recent years have seen neuroimaging data sets becoming richer, with larger cohorts of participants, a greater variety of acquisition techniques, and increasingly complex analyses. These advances have made data analysis pipelines complicated to set up and run (increasing the risk of human error) and time consuming to execute (restricting what analyses are attempted). Here we present an open-source framework, automatic analysis (aa), to address these concerns. Human efficiency is increased by making code modular and reusable, and managing its execution with a processing engine that tracks what has been completed and what needs to be (re)done. Analysis is accelerated by optional parallel processing of independent tasks on cluster or cloud computing resources. A pipeline comprises a series of modules that each perform a specific task. The processing engine keeps track of the data, calculating a map of upstream and downstream dependencies for each module. Existing modules are available for many analysis tasks, such as SPM-based fMRI preprocessing, individual and group level statistics, voxel-based morphometry, tractography, and multi-voxel pattern analyses (MVPA). However, aa also allows for full customization, and encourages efficient management of code: new modules may be written with only a small code overhead. aa has been used by more than 50 researchers in hundreds of neuroimaging studies comprising thousands of subjects. It has been found to be robust, fast, and efficient, for simple-single subject studies up to multimodal pipelines on hundreds of subjects. It is attractive to both novice and experienced users. aa can reduce the amount of time neuroimaging laboratories spend performing analyses and reduce errors, expanding the range of scientific questions it is practical to address.

Cancer risk in patients with alopecia areata: a nationwide population-based matched cohort study.

PubMed

Chen, Chih-Chiang; Chang, Yun-Ting; Liu, Han-Nan; Chen, Yi-Ju

2018-05-01

Alopecia areata (AA) is an organ-specific autoimmune disorder. Defective immune system related disorders are prone to increase the risk of cancer formation. However, the association among AA and variety of cancer types had never been studied. A nationwide population-based matched cohort study was conducted to evaluate the cancer risk in patients with AA. Records from Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database were analyzed. Cases of AA from 1997 to 2013 and cancers registered in the catastrophic illness profile from the same time period were collected. The standard incidence ratio (SIR) of each cancer was calculated. In total, 2099 cancers among 162,499 patients with AA and without prior cancers were identified. The overall cancer risks in AA patients were slightly decreased, especially among male subjects (SIR: 0.89). Refer to individual cancer, the cancer risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) (SIR: 0.59), upper GI cancer (SIR: 0.70), liver cancer (SIR: 0.82), uterine, and cervix cancer (SIR: 0.84) were significantly lower in patients with AA. In contrast, AA patients were inclined to have lymphoma, breast cancer, kidney, and urinary bladder cancer with the SIR of 1.55, 2.93, and 2.95, respectively. Age stratified analyses revealed female AA patients younger than 50 years old have even higher risk of breast cancer (SIR: 3.37). Further sensitivity analysis showed similar results after excluding major autoimmune disorders. Cancer risk in AA patients is organ specific, and it is not associated with the underlying autoimmune disorders in patients with AA. © 2018 The Authors. Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Brain and Cognition Abnormalities in Long-Term Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Users

PubMed Central

Kaufman, Marc J.; Janes, Amy C.; Hudson, James I.; Brennan, Brian P.; Kanayama, Gen; Kerrigan, Andrew R.; Jensen, J. Eric; Pope, Harrison G.

2015-01-01

Background Anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) use is associated with psychiatric symptoms including increased aggression as well as with cognitive dysfunction. The brain effects of long-term AAS use have not been assessed in humans. Methods This multimodal magnetic resonance imaging study of the brain compared 10 male weightlifters reporting long-term AAS use with 10 age-matched weightlifters reporting no AAS exposure. Participants were administered visuospatial memory tests and underwent neuroimaging. Brain volumetric analyses were performed; resting-state fMRI functional connectivity (rsFC) was evaluated using a region-of-interest analysis focused on the amygdala; and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) metabolites were quantified by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Results AAS users had larger right amygdala volumes than nonusers (P=0.002) and reduced rsFC between right amygdala and frontal, striatal, limbic, hippocampal, and visual cortical areas. Left amygdala volumes were slightly larger in AAS users (P=0.061) but few group differences were detected in left amygdala rsFC. AAS users also had lower dACC scyllo-inositol levels (P=0.004) and higher glutamine/glutamate ratios (P=0.028), possibly reflecting increased glutamate turnover. On a visuospatial cognitive task, AAS users performed more poorly than nonusers, with the difference approaching significance (P=0.053). Conclusions Long-term AAS use is associated with right amygdala enlargement and reduced right amygdala rsFC with brain areas involved in cognitive control and spatial memory, which could contribute to the psychiatric effects and cognitive dysfunction associated with AAS use. The MRS abnormalities we detected could reflect enhanced glutamate turnover and increased vulnerability to neurotoxic or neurodegenerative processes, which could contribute to AAS-associated cognitive dysfunction. PMID:25986964

Long-term prognosis of AL and AA renal amyloidosis: a Japanese single-center experience.

PubMed

Ozawa, Masatoyo; Komatsuda, Atsushi; Ohtani, Hiroshi; Nara, Mizuho; Sato, Ryuta; Togashi, Masaru; Takahashi, Naoto; Wakui, Hideki

2017-04-01

Few studies have been conducted on the long-term prognosis of patients with amyloid light chain (AL) and amyloid A (AA) renal amyloidosis in the same cohort. We retrospectively examined 68 patients with biopsy-proven renal amyloidosis (38 AL and 30 AA). Clinicopathological findings at the diagnosis and follow-up data were evaluated in each patient. We analyzed the relationship between clinicopathological parameters and survival data. Significant differences were observed in several clinicopathological features, such as proteinuria levels, between the AL and AA groups. Among all patients, 84.2 % of the AL group and 93.3 % of the AA group received treatments for the underlying diseases of amyloidosis. During the follow-up period (median 18 months in AL and 61 months in AA), 36.8 % of the AL group and 36.7 % of the AA group developed end-stage renal failure requiring dialysis, while 71.1 % of the AL group and 56.7 % of the AA group died. Patient and renal survivals were significantly longer in the AA group than in the AL group. eGFR of >60 mL/min/1.73 m 2 at biopsy and an early histological stage of glomerular amyloid deposition were identified as low-risk factors. A multivariate analysis showed that cardiac amyloidosis and steroid therapy significantly influenced patient and renal survivals. Our results showed that heart involvement was the major predictor of poor outcomes in renal amyloidosis, and that the prognosis of AA renal amyloidosis was markedly better than that in previously reported cohorts. Therapeutic advances in inflammatory diseases are expected to improve the prognosis of AA amyloidosis.

Racial Differences in the Overall Survival of Hairy Cell Leukemia in the United States: A Population-Based Analysis of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Database.

PubMed

Giri, Smith; Shrestha, Rajesh; Pathak, Ranjan; Bhatt, Vijaya Raj

2015-08-01

Several studies have reported excellent long-term overall survival (OS) of patients with hairy cell leukemia (HCL) without racial disparity. Studies in other cancers have demonstrated worse mortality among African American (AA) individuals. We used the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results 18 database to identify HCL patients diagnosed between 1978 and 2011. Kaplan-Meier curves were plotted to estimate OS. Univariate analysis using the life table method and multivariate Cox regression model were used to determine the independent effect of race on OS. The study population included 78% men and had a median age of 56 years. Race included 93% white, 3.5% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 3.5% AA. The 10-year OS was significantly less for AA as compared with white and Asian/Pacific Islander individuals (54% vs. 72% vs. 75%; P < .001). A Kaplan-Meier survival curve showed a significantly worse OS for AA versus other races (P < .001). In a multivariate analysis, AA race remained an independent predictor for a worse OS (hazard ratio 1.77; 95% confidence interval, 1.30-2.40; P < .001) after adjusting for age, sex, year of diagnosis, and marital status. In this population-based study, only half of AA patients but more than two-thirds of HCL patients from other racial groups were alive at 10 years. Such drastic racial differences in OS of HCL patients at the population level mandates further evaluation of the contributory biological, socioeconomic, health system, and other factors. Understanding and overcoming such racial disparities might close the racial differences in OS of this potentially curable disease. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of a 6-phytase on the apparent ileal digestibility of minerals and amino acids in ileorectal anastomosed pigs fed on a corn-soybean meal-barley diet.

PubMed

Guggenbuhl, P; Waché, Y; Simoes Nunes, C; Fru, F

2012-12-01

Phosphorus of plant-based feedstuffs for monogastric animals is mainly in the form of phytic P, which has a very low bioavailability. The nondigested phytic P may contribute to P pollution. Furthermore, phytic acid may reduce digestibility of other minerals and protein. This study evaluated effects of the microbial 6-phytase RONOZYME HiPhos on apparent ileal digestibility of P, phytic acid, Ca, CP, energy, and AA in six 60-d-old ileorectal anastomosed pigs. In a duplicated 3 × 3 Latin square design, pigs had free access to alternatively a corn (Zea mays)-soybean (Glycine max) meal-barley (Hordeum vulgare)-based diet or this diet supplemented with RONOZYME HiPhos at either 500 units/kg (RH500) or 1000 units/kg (RH1000). Pigs fed diets supplemented with RH500 or RH1000 increased (P < 0.05) digestibility of P, Ca, and Lys. Pigs fed diet RH1000 increased (P < 0.05) digestibility of CP, total AA, indispensable AA, Glu + Gln, His, Gly, Ala, Tyr, Leu, Phe, and Met. Similar to growth trials with increased total tract digestibility of P and Ca, phytase increased apparent ileal digestibility of these indispensable minerals and phytate. The phytase increased digestibility of CP and indispensable AA indicating a better availability of plant-based proteins.

Evaluation of AA5052 alloy anode in alkaline electrolyte with organic rare-earth complex additives for aluminium-air batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Dapeng; Li, Heshun; Liu, Jie; Zhang, Daquan; Gao, Lixin; Tong, Lin

2015-10-01

Behaviours of the AA5052 aluminium alloy anode of the alkaline aluminium-air battery are studied by the hydrogen evolution test, the electrochemical measurements and the surface analysis method. The combination of amino-acid and rare earth as electrolyte additives effectively retards the self-corrosion of AA5052 aluminium alloy in 4 M NaOH solution. It shows that the combination of L-cysteine and cerium nitrate has a synergistic effect owing to the formation of a complex film on AA5052 alloy surface. The organic rare-earth complex can decrease the anodic polarisation, suppress the hydrogen evolution and increase the anodic utilization rate.

A correlation comparison between Altmetric Attention Scores and citations for six PLOS journals.

PubMed

Huang, Wenya; Wang, Peiling; Wu, Qiang

2018-01-01

This study considered all articles published in six Public Library of Science (PLOS) journals in 2012 and Web of Science citations for these articles as of May 2015. A total of 2,406 articles were analyzed to examine the relationships between Altmetric Attention Scores (AAS) and Web of Science citations. The AAS for an article, provided by Altmetric aggregates activities surrounding research outputs in social media (news outlet mentions, tweets, blogs, Wikipedia, etc.). Spearman correlation testing was done on all articles and articles with AAS. Further analysis compared the stratified datasets based on percentile ranks of AAS: top 50%, top 25%, top 10%, and top 1%. Comparisons across the six journals provided additional insights. The results show significant positive correlations between AAS and citations with varied strength for all articles and articles with AAS (or social media mentions), as well as for normalized AAS in the top 50%, top 25%, top 10%, and top 1% datasets. Four of the six PLOS journals, Genetics, Pathogens, Computational Biology, and Neglected Tropical Diseases, show significant positive correlations across all datasets. However, for the two journals with high impact factors, PLOS Biology and Medicine, the results are unexpected: the Medicine articles showed no significant correlations but the Biology articles tested positive for correlations with the whole dataset and the set with AAS. Both journals published substantially fewer articles than the other four journals. Further research to validate the AAS algorithm, adjust the weighting scheme, and include appropriate social media sources is needed to understand the potential uses and meaning of AAS in different contexts and its relationship to other metrics.

Combined Analysis of the Fruit Metabolome and Transcriptome Reveals Candidate Genes Involved in Flavonoid Biosynthesis in Actinidia arguta.

PubMed

Li, Yukuo; Fang, Jinbao; Qi, Xiujuan; Lin, Miaomiao; Zhong, Yunpeng; Sun, Leiming; Cui, Wen

2018-05-15

To assess the interrelation between the change of metabolites and the change of fruit color, we performed a combined metabolome and transcriptome analysis of the flesh in two different Actinidia arguta cultivars: "HB" ("Hongbaoshixing") and "YF" ("Yongfengyihao") at two different fruit developmental stages: 70d (days after full bloom) and 100d (days after full bloom). Metabolite and transcript profiling was obtained by ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometer and high-throughput RNA sequencing, respectively. The identification and quantification results of metabolites showed that a total of 28,837 metabolites had been obtained, of which 13,715 were annotated. In comparison of HB100 vs. HB70, 41 metabolites were identified as being flavonoids, 7 of which, with significant difference, were identified as bracteatin, luteolin, dihydromyricetin, cyanidin, pelargonidin, delphinidin and (-)-epigallocatechin. Association analysis between metabolome and transcriptome revealed that there were two metabolic pathways presenting significant differences during fruit development, one of which was flavonoid biosynthesis, in which 14 structural genes were selected to conduct expression analysis, as well as 5 transcription factor genes obtained by transcriptome analysis. RT-qPCR results and cluster analysis revealed that AaF3H , AaLDOX , AaUFGT , AaMYB , AabHLH , and AaHB2 showed the best possibility of being candidate genes. A regulatory network of flavonoid biosynthesis was established to illustrate differentially expressed candidate genes involved in accumulation of metabolites with significant differences, inducing red coloring during fruit development. Such a regulatory network linking genes and flavonoids revealed a system involved in the pigmentation of all-red-fleshed and all-green-fleshed A. arguta , suggesting this conjunct analysis approach is not only useful in understanding the relationship between genotype and phenotype, but is also a powerful tool for providing more valuable information for breeding.

Ascorbic acid/Fe@Fe2O3: A highly efficient combined Fenton reagent to remove organic contaminants.

PubMed

Hou, Xiaojing; Huang, Xiaopeng; Ai, Zhihui; Zhao, Jincai; Zhang, Lizhi

2016-06-05

In this study, we demonstrate that the combination of ascorbic acid and Fe@Fe2O3 core-shell nanowires (AA/Fe@Fe2O3) offers a highly efficient Fenton reagent. This combined Fenton reagent exhibited extremely high activity on the decomposition of H2O2 to produce OH for the degradation of various organic contaminants, including rhodamine B, methylene blue, alachlor, atrazine, siduron, lincomycin, and chloroamphenicol. The contaminant degradation constants in the AA/Fe@Fe2O3/H2O2 Fenton systems were 38-53 times higher than those in the conventional homogeneous Fenton system (Fe(II)/H2O2) at pH 3.8. Moreover, the OH generation rate constant in the AA/Fe@Fe2O3/H2O2 Fenton system was 1-3 orders of magnitudes greater than those of heterogeneous Fenton systems developed with other iron-containing materials (α-FeOOH, α-Fe2O3, FeOCl, and so on). The high activity of AA/Fe@Fe2O3 was attributed to the effective Fe(III)/Fe(II) cycle and the iron-ascorbate complex formation to stabilize ferrous ions with desirable and steady concentrations. During the AA/Fe@Fe2O3/H2O2 Fenton process, ascorbic acid served as a reducing and complexing reagent, enabling the reuse of Fe@Fe2O3 nanowires. We systematically investigated the alachlor and ascorbic acid degradation and found that they could be effectively degraded in the AA/Fe@Fe2O3/H2O2 system, accompanying with 100% of dechlorination and 92% of denitrification. This study sheds light on the importance of Fe(III)/Fe(II) cycle for the design of high efficient Fenton system and provides an alternative pathway for the organic contaminants removal. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Co-expression of AaPMT and AaTRI effectively enhances the yields of tropane alkaloids in Anisodus acutangulus hairy roots

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Tropane alkaloids (TA) including anisodamine, anisodine, hyoscyamine and scopolamine are a group of important anticholinergic drugs with rapidly increasing market demand, so it is significant to improve TA production by biotechnological approaches. Putrescine N-methyltransferase (PMT) was considered as the first rate-limiting upstream enzyme while tropinone reductase I (TRI) was an important branch-controlling enzyme involved in TA biosynthesis. However, there is no report on simultaneous introduction of PMT and TRI genes into any TA-producing plant including Anisodus acutangulus (A. acutangulus), which is a Solanaceous perennial plant that is endemic to China and is an attractive resource plant for production of TA. Results In this study, 21 AaPMT and AaTRI double gene transformed lines (PT lines), 9 AaPMT single gene transformed lines (P lines) and 5 AaTRI single gene transformed lines (T lines) were generated. RT-PCR and real-time fluorescence quantitative analysis results revealed that total AaPMT (AaPMT T) and total AaTRI (AaTRI T) gene transcripts in transgenic PT, P and T lines showed higher expression levels than native AaPMT (AaPMT E) and AaTRI (AaTRI E) gene transcripts. As compared to the control and single gene transformed lines (P or T lines), PT transgenic hairy root lines produced significantly higher levels of TA. The highest yield of TA was detected as 8.104 mg/g dw in line PT18, which was 8.66, 4.04, and 3.11-times higher than those of the control (0.935 mg/g dw), P3 (highest in P lines, 2.004 mg/g dw) and T12 (highest in T lines, 2.604 mg/g dw), respectively. All the tested samples were found to possess strong radical scavenging capacity, which were similar to control. Conclusion In the present study, the co-expression of AaPMT and AaTRI genes in A. acutangulus hairy roots significantly improved the yields of TA and showed higher antioxidant activity than control because of higher total TA content, which is the first report on simultaneous introduction of PMT and TRI genes into TA-producing plant by biotechnological approaches. PMID:21526999

Engineered myocardium model to study the roles of HIF-1α and HIF1A-AS1 in paracrine-only signaling under pathological level oxidative stress.

PubMed

Acun, Aylin; Zorlutuna, Pinar

2017-08-01

Studying heart tissue is critical for understanding and developing treatments for cardiovascular diseases. In this work, we fabricated precisely controlled and biomimetic engineered model tissues to study how cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions influence myocardial cell survival upon exposure to pathological level oxidative stress. Specifically, the interactions of endothelial cells (ECs) and cardiomyocytes (CMs), and the role of hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), with its novel alternative regulator, HIF-1α antisense RNA1 (HIF1A-AS1), in these interactions were investigated. We encapsulated CMs in photo-crosslinkable, biomimetic hydrogels with or without ECs, then exposed to oxidative stress followed by normoxia. With precisely controlled microenvironment provided by the model tissues, cell-cell interactions were restricted to be solely through the secreted factors. CM survival after oxidative stress was significantly improved, in the presence of ECs, when cells were in the model tissues that were functionalized with cell attachment motifs. Importantly, the cardioprotective effect of ECs was reduced when HIF-1α expression was knocked down suggesting that HIF-1α is involved in cardioprotection from oxidative damage, provided through secreted factors conferred by the ECs. Using model tissues, we showed that cell survival increased with increased cell-cell communication and enhanced cell-matrix interactions. In addition, whole genome transcriptome analysis showed, for the first time to our knowledge, a possible role for HIF1A-AS1 in oxidative regulation of HIF-1α. We showed that although HIF1A-AS1 knockdown helps CM survival, its effect is overridden by CM-EC bidirectional interactions as we showed that the conditioned media taken from the CM-EC co-cultures improved CM survival, regardless of HIF1A-AS1 expression. Cardiovascular diseases, most of which are associated with oxidative stress, is the most common cause of death worldwide. Thus, understanding the molecular events as well as the role of intercellular communication under oxidative stress is upmost importance in its prevention. In this study we used 3D engineered tissue models to investigate the role of HIF-1α and its regulation in EC-mediated cardioprotection. We showed that EC-mediated protection is only possible when there is a bidirectional crosstalk between ECs and CMs even without physical cell-cell contact. In addition, this protective effect is at least partially related to cell-ECM interactions and HIF-1α, which is regulated by HIF1A-AS1 under oxidative stress. Copyright © 2017 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Aminobacter aminovorans NADH:flavin oxidoreductase His140: a highly conserved residue critical for NADH binding and utilization.

PubMed

Russell, Thomas R; Tu, Shiao-Chun

2004-10-12

Homodimeric FRD(Aa) Class I is an NADH:flavin oxidoreductase from Aminobacter aminovorans. It is unusual because it contains an FMN cofactor but utilizes a sequential-ordered kinetic mechanism. Because little is known about NADH-specific flavin reductases in general and FRD(Aa) in particular, this study aimed to further explore FRD(Aa) by identifying the functionalities of a key residue. A sequence alignment of FRD(Aa) with several known and hypothetical flavoproteins in the same subfamily reveals within the flavin reductase active-site domain a conserved GDH motif, which is believed to be responsible for the enzyme and NADH interaction. Mutation of the His140 in this GDH motif to alanine reduced FRD(Aa) activity to <3%. An ultrafiltration assay and fluorescence quenching demonstrated that H140A FRD(Aa) binds FMN in the same 1:1 stoichiometric ratio as the wild-type enzyme, but with slightly weakened affinity (K(d) = 0.9 microM). Anaerobic stopped-flow studies were carried out using both the native and mutated FRD(Aa). Similar to the native enzyme, H140A FRD(Aa) was also able to reduce the FMN cofactor by NADH although much less efficiently. Kinetic analysis of anaerobic reduction measurements indicated that the His140 residue of FRD(Aa) was essential to NADH binding, as well as important for the reduction of the FMN cofactor. For the native enzyme, the cofactor reduction was followed by at least one slower step in the catalytic pathway.

Expression analysis of hepatic mitochondria-related genes in mice exposed to acrylamide and glycidamide.

PubMed

Lee, Taewon; Manjanatha, Mugimane G; Aidoo, Anane; Moland, Carrie L; Branham, William S; Fuscoe, James C; Ali, Akhtar A; Desai, Varsha G

2012-01-01

Acrylamide (AA) is an industrial chemical that has been extensively investigated for central nervous system (CNS), reproductive, and genetic toxicity. However, AA effects on the liver, a major organ of drug metabolism, have not been adequately explored. In addition, the role of mitochondria in AA-mediated toxicity is still unclear. Changes in expression levels of genes associated with hepatic mitochondrial function of male transgenic Big Blue (BB) mice administered 500 mg/L AA or an equimolar concentration (600 mg/L) of its reactive metabolite glycidamide (GA) in drinking water for 3 and 4 wk, respectively, were examined. Transcriptional profiling of 542 mitochondria-related genes indicated a significant downregulation of genes associated with the 3-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase family in AA- and GA-treated mice, suggesting a possible role of both chemicals in altering hepatic steroid metabolism in BB mice. In addition, genes associated with lipid metabolism were altered by both treatments. Interestingly, only the parental compound (AA) significantly induced expression levels of genes associated with oxidative phosphorylation, in particular ATP synthase, which correlated with elevated ATP levels, indicating an increased energy demand in liver during AA exposure. Acrylamide-treated mice also showed significantly higher activity of glutathione S-transferase in association with decreased levels of reduced glutathione (GSH), which may imply an enhanced rate of conjugation of AA with GSH in liver. These results suggest different hepatic mechanisms of action of AA and GA and provide important insights into the involvement of mitochondria during their exposures.

Is the presence of AA amyloidosis associated with impaired coronary flow reserve?

PubMed

Bulut, Mustafa; Keles, Nursen; Caliskan, Zuhal; Kostek, Osman; Aksu, Feyza; Ozdil, Kamil; Akcakoyun, Mustafa; Demircioglu, Kenan; Yilmaz, Yusuf; Kanbay, Mehmet; Caliskan, Mustafa

2016-08-01

Systemic amyloid A protein (AA) amyloidosis may occur as a complication of many chronic inflammatory disorders. Patients receiving inadequate anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive therapies have an increased risk of developing systemic AA amyloidosis. Inflammation plays a role in all stages and the thrombotic complications of atherosclerosis. In the absence of epicardial coronary stenosis, coronary flow reserve (CFR) reflects coronary microvascular dysfunction. In the present study, we hypothesized that amyloid advanced subclinical inflammation in chronic inflammatory diseases (CID) patients may further affect coronary microcirculation. Thirty-two patients with biopsy-diagnosed renal AA, 73 patients with non-amyloid CID, and a group of healthy volunteers were included in the study. The measurements of coronary flow velocity were performed by a single investigator with expertise in transthoracic Doppler harmonic echocardiography (TTDE). The AA amyloidosis subgroup had significantly lower CFR values than other non-amyloid CID patients and the control individuals (1.8 (1.5-2.1) vs. 2.1 (2.0-2.4) and 3.0 (2.8-3.2), p < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that the presence of AA amyloidosis and elevated hs - CRP independently predict impairment of the CFR (p < 0.05). The presence of AA amyloidosis is related to decreased CFR values and the presence of AA amyloidosis and elevated hs - CRP independently predict impairment of the CFR. Therefore, patients with AA amyloidosis may have an increased risk of developing coronary artery diseases. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nandrolone inhibits MMP-2 in the left ventricle of rats.

PubMed

Marqueti, R C; Micocci, K C; Leite, R D; Selistre-de-Araujo, H S

2012-03-01

The indiscriminate use of anabolic-androgenic steroids has been shown to induce left ventricular dysfunctions. The main objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of nandrolone decanoate on matrix metalloprotease (MMP-2) activity and protein level in the left ventricle (LV) of rats after 7 weeks of mechanical load exercise. Wistar rats were grouped into: sedentary (S); nandrolone decanoate-treated sedentary (AAS); trained without AAS (T) and trained and treated with AAS (AAST). Exercised groups performed a 7-weeks water-jumping program. Training significantly increased the MMP-2 activity by zymography and the protein level by Western blotting analysis. However, the AAS treatment abolished both the increase in MMP activity and protein level induced by exercise. These results suggest that AAS may impair cardiac tissue remodeling which may lead to the heart malfunction. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Micronucleus as biomarkers of cancer risk in anabolic androgenic steroids users.

PubMed

Souza, L da Cunha Menezes; da Cruz, L A; Cerqueira, E de Moraes Marcílio; Meireles, Jrc

2017-03-01

The use of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) has grown among practitioners of recreational bodybuilding, with significant contributions of designer steroids, aiming muscle hypertrophy in healthy subjects. The abusive use of AAS in general is associated with adverse effects; one of the most worrisome is cancer development. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the cytokinesis block micronucleus (CBMN) test in human lymphocytes in identifying risk groups for cancer development in users of AAS. Blood was collected from 15 AAS users bodybuilders (G1), 20 non-users bodybuilders (G2) and 20 non-users sedentary (G3). MN analysis was performed on a minimum of 1000 binucleated lymphocytes. The occurrence of MN was significantly higher ( p < 0.05) in individuals of G1 compared to G2 and G3. The results indicate the sensitivity of CBMN in human lymphocytes in the identification of chromosomal damage in consequence of AAS.

Evolutionary analysis of the kinesin light chain genes in the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti: gene duplication as a source for novel early zygotic genes.

PubMed

Biedler, James K; Tu, Zhijian

2010-07-08

The maternal zygotic transition marks the time at which transcription from the zygotic genome is initiated and a subset of maternal RNAs are progressively degraded in the developing embryo. A number of early zygotic genes have been identified in Drosophila melanogaster and comparisons to sequenced mosquito genomes suggest that some of these early zygotic genes such as bottleneck are fast-evolving or subject to turnover in dipteran insects. One objective of this study is to identify early zygotic genes from the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti to study their evolution. We are also interested in obtaining early zygotic promoters that will direct transgene expression in the early embryo as part of a Medea gene drive system. Two novel early zygotic kinesin light chain genes we call AaKLC2.1 and AaKLC2.2 were identified by transcriptome sequencing of Aedes aegypti embryos at various time points. These two genes have 98% nucleotide and amino acid identity in their coding regions and show transcription confined to the early zygotic stage according to gene-specific RT-PCR analysis. These AaKLC2 genes have a paralogous gene (AaKLC1) in Ae. aegypti. Phylogenetic inference shows that an ortholog to the AaKLC2 genes is only found in the sequenced genome of Culex quinquefasciatus. In contrast, AaKLC1 gene orthologs are found in all three sequenced mosquito species including Anopheles gambiae. There is only one KLC gene in D. melanogaster and other sequenced holometabolous insects that appears to be similar to AaKLC1. Unlike AaKLC2, AaKLC1 is expressed in all life stages and tissues tested, which is consistent with the expression pattern of the An. gambiae and D. melanogaster KLC genes. Phylogenetic inference also suggests that AaKLC2 genes and their likely C. quinquefasciatus ortholog are fast-evolving genes relative to the highly conserved AaKLC1-like paralogs. Embryonic injection of a luciferase reporter under the control of a 1 kb fragment upstream of the AaKLC2.1 start codon shows promoter activity at least as early as 3 hours in the developing Ae. aegypti embryo. The AaKLC2.1 promoter activity reached ~1600 fold over the negative control at 5 hr after egg deposition. Transcriptome profiling by use of high throughput sequencing technologies has proven to be a valuable method for the identification and discovery of early and transient zygotic genes. The evolutionary investigation of the KLC gene family reveals that duplication is a source for the evolution of new genes that play a role in the dynamic process of early embryonic development. AaKLC2.1 may provide a promoter for early zygotic-specific transgene expression, which is a key component of the Medea gene drive system.

Racial differences in outcomes of triple-negative breast cancer

PubMed Central

Pacheco, Jose M.; Gao, Feng; Bumb, Caroline; Ellis, Matthew J.; Ma, Cynthia X.

2015-01-01

African American (AA) women have a higher incidence of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC: negative for the expression of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and HER2 gene amplification) than Caucasian (CA) women, explaining in part their higher breast cancer mortality. However, there have been inconsistent data in the literature regarding survival outcomes of TNBC in AA versus CA women. We performed a retrospective chart review on 493 patients with TNBC first seen at the Washington University Breast Oncology Clinic (WUBOC) between January 2006 and December 2010. Analysis was done on 490 women (30 % AA) for whom follow-up data was available. The median age at diagnosis was 53 (23–98) years and follow-up time was 27.2 months. There was no significant difference between AA and CA women in the age of diagnosis, median time from abnormal imaging to breast biopsy and from biopsy diagnosis to surgery, duration of follow-up, tumor stage, grade, and frequency of receiving neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy and pathologic complete response rate to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. There was no difference in disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) between AA and CA groups by either univariate or multivariate analysis that included age, race, and stage. The hazard ratio for AA women was 1.19 (CI 0.80–1.78, p = 0.39) and 0.91 (CI 0.62–1.35, p = 0.64) for OS and DFS, respectively. Among the 158 patients who developed recurrence or presented with stage IV disease (AA: n = 36, CA: n = 122), no racial differences in OS were observed. We conclude that race did not significantly affect the clinical presentation and outcome of TNBC in this single center study where patients received similar therapy and follow-up. PMID:23400579

Platelet-Rich Plasma Injection With Arthroscopic Acromioplasty for Chronic Rotator Cuff Tendinopathy: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

PubMed

Carr, Andrew J; Murphy, Richard; Dakin, Stephanie G; Rombach, Ines; Wheway, Kim; Watkins, Bridget; Franklin, Sarah L

2015-12-01

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has been proposed to augment tendon healing through improving tissue structure during the initial repair phase. To investigate both the clinical and tissue effects of the coapplication of PRP injection with arthroscopic acromioplasty (AA) in patients with chronic rotator cuff tendinopathy. Randomized controlled trial; Level of evidence, 1. The study comprised 60 randomized patients diagnosed with rotator cuff tendinopathy (55% women) aged between 35 and 75 years. Patients were randomized to AA alone or in combination with an injection of autologous PRP into the subacromial bursa (AA + PRP). Efficacy of treatment was assessed by analysis of patient-reported outcomes up to 2 years after treatment (Oxford Shoulder Score [OSS]) and by analysis of tendon biopsy specimens taken 12 weeks after treatment. There was no significant difference in the OSS between AA alone and AA + PRP at any time point in the study. From 12 weeks onward, there was a significant increase in the OSS for both groups compared with their baseline scores (P < .001). Bonar scoring determined no significant change in tissue structure with the coapplication of PRP compared with surgery alone. The number of blood vessels and tendon cellularity were significantly decreased in tissue biopsy specimens taken from PRP-treated patients. The expression of p53-positive apoptotic cells increased after AA + PRP but decreased after AA alone. Arthroscopic acromioplasty significantly improves long-term clinical outcomes up to 2 years. The coapplication of PRP did not affect clinical outcomes. PRP significantly alters the tissue characteristics in tendons after surgery with reduced cellularity and vascularity and increased levels of apoptosis. The coapplication of PRP did not improve clinical outcomes and may have potential deleterious effects on healing tendons. ISRCTN 10464365. © 2015 The Author(s).

Comparative Genomic Analysis of Phylogenetically Closely Related Hydrogenobaculum sp. Isolates from Yellowstone National Park

PubMed Central

Romano, Christine; D'Imperio, Seth; Woyke, Tanja; Mavromatis, Konstantinos; Lasken, Roger; Shock, Everett L.

2013-01-01

We describe the complete genome sequences of four closely related Hydrogenobaculum sp. isolates (≥99.7% 16S rRNA gene identity) that were isolated from the outflow channel of Dragon Spring (DS), Norris Geyser Basin, in Yellowstone National Park (YNP), WY. The genomes range in size from 1,552,607 to 1,552,931 bp, contain 1,667 to 1,676 predicted genes, and are highly syntenic. There are subtle differences among the DS isolates, which as a group are different from Hydrogenobaculum sp. strain Y04AAS1 that was previously isolated from a geographically distinct YNP geothermal feature. Genes unique to the DS genomes encode arsenite [As(III)] oxidation, NADH-ubiquinone-plastoquinone (complex I), NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase chain, a DNA photolyase, and elements of a type II secretion system. Functions unique to strain Y04AAS1 include thiosulfate metabolism, nitrate respiration, and mercury resistance determinants. DS genomes contain seven CRISPR loci that are almost identical but are different from the single CRISPR locus in strain Y04AAS1. Other differences between the DS and Y04AAS1 genomes include average nucleotide identity (94.764%) and percentage conserved DNA (80.552%). Approximately half of the genes unique to Y04AAS1 are predicted to have been acquired via horizontal gene transfer. Fragment recruitment analysis and marker gene searches demonstrated that the DS metagenome was more similar to the DS genomes than to the Y04AAS1 genome, but that the DS community is likely comprised of a continuum of Hydrogenobaculum genotypes that span from the DS genomes described here to an Y04AAS1-like organism, which appears to represent a distinct ecotype relative to the DS genomes characterized. PMID:23435891

Racial Disparity in Renal Transplantation: Alemtuzumab the Great Equalizer?

PubMed

Smith, Alison A; John, Mira M; Dortonne, Isabelle S; Paramesh, Anil S; Killackey, Mary; Jaffe, Bernard M; Buell, Joseph F

2015-10-01

Racial disparity as a barrier to successful outcomes in renal transplants for African Americans has been well described. Numerous unsuccessful attempts have been made to identify specific immunologic and socioeconomic factors. The objective of our study was to determine whether alemtuzumab (AL) induction abolishes this discrepancy and improves allograft survival in African American recipients. A retrospective chart review of consecutive adult renal transplants was conducted between 2006 and 2014. Kaplan-Meier analysis and hazard ratios were calculated for the African Americans (AA) and white groups. Multiple linear regressions were performed to assess independent variables (race, retransplant, sex, donor type, induction agent) on allograft survival. A significant difference in allograft survival was identified between whites (n = 272) and AA (n = 445), with AA experiencing more graft losses (18.2% vs 12.1%, P = 0.0351). Induction with AL improved outcomes in all transplant recipients. Multiple linear regression identified that the strongest predictor of allograft failure was induction without AL (P < 0.0001). The data for a subset analysis matched for follow-up length demonstrated that whites compared with AA (n = 157, 67 whites and 90 AA) had lower rates of allograft failure in the absence of AL induction (14.9% vs 44.4%, P = 0.0156, hazard ratio = 2.077). In contrast, AL induction (n = 275, 105 whites and 170 AA) eliminated the racial disparity in allograft failure (5.7% vs 9.4%, P = 0.8248, hazard ratio = 1.504). This is the first study to describe the effects of AL induction therapy on AA renal transplant recipients beyond the first posttransplant year. Our early results suggest that AL induction therapy abolishes the disparity in renal allograft failure.

Healing effects of Musa sapientum var. paradisiaca in diabetic rats with co-occurring gastric ulcer: cytokines and growth factor by PCR amplification.

PubMed

Kumar, Mohan; Gautam, Manish Kumar; Singh, Amit; Goel, Raj Kumar

2013-11-05

The present study evaluates the effects of extract of Musa sapientum fruit (MSE) on ulcer index, blood glucose level and gastric mucosal cytokines, TNF-α and IL-1β and growth factor, TGF-α (affected in diabetes and chronic ulcer) in acetic acid (AA)-induced gastric ulcer (GU) in diabetic (DR) rat. MSE (100 mg/kg, oral), omeprazole (OMZ, 2.0 mg/kg, oral), insulin (INS, 4 U/kg, sc) or pentoxyphylline (PTX, 10 mg/kg, oral) were given once daily for 10 days in 14 days post-streptozotocin (60 mg/kg, intraperitoneal)-induced diabetic rats while, the normal/diabetic rats received CMC for the same period after induction of GU with AA. Ulcer index was calculated based upon the product of length and width (mm2/rat) of ulcers while, TNF-α, IL-1β and TGF-α were estimated in the gastric mucosal homogenate from the intact/ulcer region. Phytochemical screening and HPTLC analysis of MSE was done following standard procedures. An increase in ulcer index, TNF-α and IL-1β were observed in normal (NR)-AA rat compared to NR-normal saline rat, which were further increased in DR-AA rat while, treatments of DR-AA rat with MSE, OMZ, INS and PTX reversed them, more so with MSE and PTX. Significant increase in TGF-α was found in NR-AA rat which did not increase further in DR-AA rat. MSE and PTX tended to increase while, OMZ and INS showed little or no effect on TGF-α in AA-DR rat. Phytochemical screening of MSE showed the presence of saponins, flavonoids, glycosides, steroids and alkaloids and HPTLC analysis indicated the presence of eight active compounds. MSE showed antidiabetic and better ulcer healing effects compared with OMZ (antiulcer) or INS (antidiabetic) in diabetic rat and could be more effective in diabetes with concurrent gastric ulcer.

77 FR 39172 - Safety Zone: Skagway Harbor, Skagway, AK for 4th of July Fireworks

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-02

...-AA00 Safety Zone: Skagway Harbor, Skagway, AK for 4th of July Fireworks AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS... of the Small Boat Harbor, Skagway, Alaska, to limit access for the duration of the 4th of July... Inlet for the City of Skagway, Alaska, sponsored 4th of July fireworks display. A no-action alternative...

Highly sensitive fiber grating chemical sensors: An effective alternative to atomic absorption spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laxmeshwar, Lata. S.; Jadhav, Mangesh S.; Akki, Jyoti. F.; Raikar, Prasad; Kumar, Jitendra; prakash, Om; Raikar, U. S.

2017-06-01

Accuracy in quantitative determination of trace elements like Zinc, present in drinking water in ppm level, is a big challenge and optical fiber gratings as chemical sensors may provide a promising solution to overcome the same. This paper presents design of two simple chemical sensors based on the principle of shift in characteristic wavelength of gratings with change in their effective refractive index, to measure the concentration of Zinc in drinking water using etched short period grating (FBG) and Long period grating (LPG) respectively. Three samples of drinking water from different places have been examined for presence of Zinc. Further, the results obtained by our sensors have also been verified with the results obtained by a standard method, Atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). The whole experiment has been performed by fixing the fibers in a horizontal position with the sensor regions at the center of the fibers, making it less prone to disturbance and breaking. The sensitivity of LPG sensor is about 205 times that of the FBG sensor. A few advantages of Fiber grating sensors, besides their regular features, over AAS have also been discussed, that make our sensors potential alternatives for existing techniques in determination of trace elements in drinking water.

Evaluating alcoholics anonymous sponsor attributes using conjoint analysis.

PubMed

Stevens, Edward B; Jason, Leonard A

2015-12-01

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) considers sponsorship an important element of the AA program, especially in early recovery. 225 adult individuals who had experience as either a sponsor, sponsee, or both, participated in a hypothetical sponsor ranking exercise where five attributes were varied across three levels. Conjoint analysis was used to compute part-worth utility of the attributes and their levels for experience, knowledge, availability, confidentiality, and goal-setting. Differences in utilities by attribute were found where confidentiality had the greatest overall possible impact on utility and sponsor knowledge had the least. These findings suggest qualitative differences in sponsors may impact their effectiveness. Future research on AA should continue to investigate sponsor influence on an individual's overall recovery trajectory. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dietary and lifestyle determinants of acrylamide and glycidamide hemoglobin adducts in non-smoking postmenopausal women from the EPIC cohort

PubMed Central

Obón-Santacana, Mireia; Lujan-Barroso, Leila; Freisling, Heinz; Cadeau, Claire; Fagherazzi, Guy; Boutron-Ruault, Marie-Christine; Kaaks, Rudolf; Fortner, Renée T.; Boeing, Heiner; Quirós, J. Ramón; Molina-Montes, Esther; Chamosa, Saioa; Huerta Castaño, José María; Ardanaz, Eva; Khaw, Kay-Tee; Wareham, Nick; Key, Tim; Trichopoulou, Antonia; Lagiou, Pagona; Naska, Androniki; Palli, Domenico; Grioni, Sara; Tumino, Rosario; Vineis, Paolo; Santucci De Magistris, Maria; Bueno-de-Mesquita, H.B.; Peeters, Petra H.; Wennberg, Maria; Bergdahl, Ingvar A.; Vesper, Hubert; Riboli, Elio; Duell, Eric J

2017-01-01

Purpose Acrylamide was classified as ‘probably carcinogenic’ to humans in 1994 by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. In 2002, public health concern increased when acrylamide was identified in starchy, plant-based foods, processed at high temperatures. The purpose of this study was to identify which food groups and lifestyle variables were determinants of hemoglobin adduct concentrations of acrylamide (HbAA) and glycidamide (HbGA) in 801 non-smoking postmenopausal women from 8 countries in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. Methods Biomarkers of internal exposure were measured in red blood cells (collected at baseline) by HPLC/MS/MS (high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry). In this cross-sectional analysis four dependent variables were evaluated: HbAA, HbGA, sum of total adducts (HbAA+HbGA), and their ratio (HbGA/HbAA). Simple and multiple regression analyses were used to identify determinants of the four outcome variables. All dependent variables (except HbGA/HbAA), and all independent variables were log-transformed (log2) to improve normality. Median (25th-75thpercentile) HbAA and HbGA adducts levels were 41.3 (32.8-53.1) pmol/g Hb and 34.2 (25.4-46.9) pmol/g Hb, respectively. Results The main food group determinants of HbAA, HbGA, HbAA+HbGA were biscuits, crackers, and dry cakes. Alcohol intake and body mass index were identified as the principal determinants of HbGA/HbAA. The total percent variation in HbAA, HbGA, HbAA+HbGA, and HbGA/HbAA explained in this study was 30%, 26%, 29%, and 13%, respectively. Conclusions Dietary and lifestyle factors explain a moderate proportion of acrylamide adduct variation in non-smoking postmenopausal women from the EPIC cohort. PMID:26850269

Automated image analysis for quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization with environmental samples.

PubMed

Zhou, Zhi; Pons, Marie Noëlle; Raskin, Lutgarde; Zilles, Julie L

2007-05-01

When fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analyses are performed with complex environmental samples, difficulties related to the presence of microbial cell aggregates and nonuniform background fluorescence are often encountered. The objective of this study was to develop a robust and automated quantitative FISH method for complex environmental samples, such as manure and soil. The method and duration of sample dispersion were optimized to reduce the interference of cell aggregates. An automated image analysis program that detects cells from 4',6'-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) micrographs and extracts the maximum and mean fluorescence intensities for each cell from corresponding FISH images was developed with the software Visilog. Intensity thresholds were not consistent even for duplicate analyses, so alternative ways of classifying signals were investigated. In the resulting method, the intensity data were divided into clusters using fuzzy c-means clustering, and the resulting clusters were classified as target (positive) or nontarget (negative). A manual quality control confirmed this classification. With this method, 50.4, 72.1, and 64.9% of the cells in two swine manure samples and one soil sample, respectively, were positive as determined with a 16S rRNA-targeted bacterial probe (S-D-Bact-0338-a-A-18). Manual counting resulted in corresponding values of 52.3, 70.6, and 61.5%, respectively. In two swine manure samples and one soil sample 21.6, 12.3, and 2.5% of the cells were positive with an archaeal probe (S-D-Arch-0915-a-A-20), respectively. Manual counting resulted in corresponding values of 22.4, 14.0, and 2.9%, respectively. This automated method should facilitate quantitative analysis of FISH images for a variety of complex environmental samples.

Analysis of the distributions of hourly NO2 concentrations contributing to annual average NO2 concentrations across the European monitoring network between 2000 and 2014

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malley, Christopher S.; von Schneidemesser, Erika; Moller, Sarah; Braban, Christine F.; Hicks, W. Kevin; Heal, Mathew R.

2018-03-01

Exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is associated with negative human health effects, both for short-term peak concentrations and from long-term exposure to a wider range of NO2 concentrations. For the latter, the European Union has established an air quality limit value of 40 µg m-3 as an annual average. However, factors such as proximity and strength of local emissions, atmospheric chemistry, and meteorological conditions mean that there is substantial variation in the hourly NO2 concentrations contributing to an annual average concentration. The aim of this analysis was to quantify the nature of this variation at thousands of monitoring sites across Europe through the calculation of a standard set of chemical climatology statistics. Specifically, at each monitoring site that satisfied data capture criteria for inclusion in this analysis, annual NO2 concentrations, as well as the percentage contribution from each month, hour of the day, and hourly NO2 concentrations divided into 5 µg m-3 bins were calculated. Across Europe, 2010-2014 average annual NO2 concentrations (NO2AA) exceeded the annual NO2 limit value at 8 % of > 2500 monitoring sites. The application of this chemical climatology approach showed that sites with distinct monthly, hour of day, and hourly NO2 concentration bin contributions to NO2AA were not grouped into specific regions of Europe, furthermore, within relatively small geographic regions there were sites with similar NO2AA, but with differences in these contributions. Specifically, at sites with highest NO2AA, there were generally similar contributions from across the year, but there were also differences in the contribution of peak vs. moderate hourly NO2 concentrations to NO2AA, and from different hours across the day. Trends between 2000 and 2014 for 259 sites indicate that, in general, the contribution to NO2AA from winter months has increased, as has the contribution from the rush-hour periods of the day, while the contribution from peak hourly NO2 concentrations has decreased. The variety of monthly, hour of day and hourly NO2 concentration bin contributions to NO2AA, across cities, countries and regions of Europe indicate that within relatively small geographic areas different interactions between emissions, atmospheric chemistry and meteorology produce variation in NO2AA and the conditions that produce it. Therefore, measures implemented to reduce NO2AA in one location may not be as effective in others. The development of strategies to reduce NO2AA for an area should therefore consider (i) the variation in monthly, hour of day, and hourly NO2 concentration bin contributions to NO2AA within that area; and (ii) how specific mitigation actions will affect variability in hourly NO2 concentrations.

Nutritional status in patients with phenylketonuria using glycomacropeptide as their major protein source.

PubMed

Pinto, A; Almeida, M F; Ramos, P C; Rocha, S; Guimas, A; Ribeiro, R; Martins, E; Bandeira, A; MacDonald, A; Rocha, J C

2017-10-01

Low phenylalanine (PHE), glycomacropeptide-based protein substitute (GMP) is an alternative to traditional L-amino acid supplements (AA) used in the dietary management of phenylketonuria (PKU). In a retrospective, longitudinal study, we report the nutritional status of PKU patients taking AA and GMP. Eleven PKU patients aged 27±10 years (1 HPA, 4 mild and 6 classical PKU) on dietary treatment were evaluated (anthropometry, body composition, blood pressure measurements, biochemical markers including vitamin, mineral, lipids, carbohydrates and protein status/metabolism, and nutritional intake assessment) at two different annual reviews. The mean time taking AA was 13±5 months and GMP 13±7 months. Blood phenylalanine (PHE) and tyrosine (TYR) were analysed before and after GMP introduction. Both GMP and AA protein substitutes provided similar protein equivalent intake (0.85 vs 0.75 g/kg/day, P=0.182). In the GMP group, it contributed 57% (27-100%) of the protein substitute intake (with AA delivering the rest of protein substitute intake), providing an additional 34±12 mg/day PHE. Nutritional intake, anthropometry and body composition measurements were similar in both the groups. Median blood PHE did not change (P=0.594), although values within target range improved (36 vs 46%), but this was not statistically significant. Mean blood TYR increased (52.0±19.2 vs 63.2±25.6 μmol/l, P=0.033), and all biochemical markers remained stable, except for a lower A1C haemoglobin (P=0.011). Partial GMP contribution to total protein substitute intake did not affect nutritional status in patients with PKU. Blood PHE control was not adversely affected. The increased blood TYR after GMP introduction necessitates further study.

Patient, hospital, and neighborhood factors associated with treatment of early-stage breast cancer among Asian American women in California

PubMed Central

Gomez, Scarlett Lin; Press, David J.; Lichtensztajn, Daphne; Keegan, Theresa H. M.; Shema, Sarah J.; Le, Gem M.; Kurian, Allison W.

2012-01-01

Background Clinical guidelines recommend breast conserving surgery (BCS) with radiation as a viable alternative to mastectomy for treatment of early-stage breast cancer. Yet, Asian Americans (AA) are more likely than other groups to have mastectomy or omit radiation after BCS. Methods We applied polytomous logistic regression and recursive partitioning (RP) to analyze factors associated with mastectomy, or BCS without radiation, among 20,987 California AAs diagnosed with stage 0–II breast cancer from 1990–2007. Results The percentage receiving mastectomy ranged from 40% among US-born Chinese to 58% among foreign-born Vietnamese. Factors associated with mastectomy included tumor characteristics such as larger tumor size, patient characteristics such as older age and foreign birthplace among some AA ethnicities, and additional factors including hospital (smaller hospital size, not NCI cancer center, low socioeconomic status (SES) patient composition, and high hospital AA patient composition) and neighborhood characteristics (ethnic enclaves of low SES). These hospital and neighborhood characteristics were also associated with BCS without radiation. Through RP, the highest mastectomy subgroups were defined by tumor characteristics such as size and anatomic location, in combination with diagnosis year and nativity. Conclusions Tumor characteristics and, secondarily, patient, hospital and neighborhood factors, are predictors of mastectomy and omission of radiation following BCS among AAs. Impact By focusing on interactions among patient, hospital, and neighborhood factors in the differential receipt of breast cancer treatment, our study identifies subgroups of interest for further study, and translation into public health and patient-focused initiatives to ensure that all women are fully informed about treatment options. PMID:22402290

Identification of Genes Upregulated by the Transcription Factor Bcr1 That Are Involved in Impermeability, Impenetrability, and Drug Resistance of Candida albicans a/α Biofilms

PubMed Central

Srikantha, Thyagarajan; Daniels, Karla J.; Pujol, Claude; Kim, Elena

2013-01-01

Candida albicans forms two types of biofilm, depending upon the configuration of the mating type locus. Although architecturally similar, a/α biofilms are impermeable, impenetrable, and drug resistant, whereas a/a and α/α biofilms lack these traits. The difference appears to be the result of an alternative matrix. Overexpression in a/a cells of BCR1, a master regulator of the a/α matrix, conferred impermeability, impenetrability, and drug resistance to a/a biofilms. Deletion of BCR1 in a/α cells resulted in the loss of these a/α-specific biofilm traits. Using BCR1 overexpression in a/a cells, we screened 107 genes of interest and identified 8 that were upregulated by Bcr1. When each was overexpressed in a/a biofilms, the three a/α traits were partially conferred, and when each was deleted in a/α cells, the traits were partially lost. Five of the eight genes have been implicated in iron homeostasis, and six encode proteins that are either in the wall or plasma membrane or secreted. All six possess sites for O-linked and N-linked glycosylation that, like glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchors, can cross-link to the wall and matrix, suggesting that they may exert a structural role in conferring impermeability, impenetrability, and drug resistance, in addition to their physiological functions. The fact that in a screen of 107 genes, all 8 of the Bcr1-upregulated genes identified play a role in impermeability, impenetrability, and drug resistance suggests that the formation of the a/α matrix is highly complex and involves a larger number of genes than the initial ones identified here. PMID:23563485

Development and pilot-testing of the Alopecia Areata Assessment Tool (ALTO).

PubMed

Li, David G; Huang, Kathie P; Xia, Fan Di; Joyce, Cara; Scott, Deborah A; Qureshi, Abrar A; Mostaghimi, Arash

2018-01-01

Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by non-scarring hair loss. The lack of a definitive biomarker or formal diagnostic criteria for AA limits our ability to define the epidemiology of the disease. In this study, we developed and tested the Alopecia Areata Assessment Tool (ALTO) in an academic medical center to validate the ability of this questionnaire in identifying AA cases. The ALTO is a novel, self-administered questionnaire consisting of 8 closed-ended questions derived by the Delphi method. This prospective pilot study was administered during a 1-year period in outpatient dermatology clinics. Eligible patients (18 years or older with chief concern of hair loss) were recruited consecutively. No patients declined to participate. The patient's hair loss diagnosis was determined by a board-certified dermatologist. Nine scoring algorithms were created and used to evaluate the accuracy of the ALTO in identifying AA. 239 patients (59 AA cases and 180 non-AA cases) completed the ALTO and were included for analysis. Algorithm 5 demonstrated the highest sensitivity (89.8%) while algorithm 3 demonstrated the highest specificity (97.8%). Select questions were also effective in clarifying disease phenotype. In this study. we have successfully demonstrated that ALTO is a simple tool capable of discriminating AA from other types of hair loss. The ALTO may be useful to identify individuals with AA within large populations.

Effects of anabolic androgenic steroids on chylomicron metabolism.

PubMed

Morikawa, Aleksandra T; Maranhão, Raul C; Alves, Maria-Janieire N N; Negrão, Carlos E; da Silva, Jeferson L; Vinagre, Carmen G C

2012-11-01

To evaluate the effects of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) on chylomicron metabolism. An artificial lipid emulsion labeled with radioactive cholesteryl ester (CE) and triglycerides (TG) mimicking chylomicrons was intravenously injected into individuals who regularly weight trained and made regular use of AAS (WT+AAS group), normolipidemic sedentary individuals (SDT group) and individuals who also regularly weight trained but did not use AAS (WT group). Fractional clearance rates (FCR) were determined by compartmental analysis for emulsion plasma decay curves. FCR-CE for the WT+AAS group was reduced (0.0073 ± 0.0079 min(-1), 0.0155 ± 0.0100 min(-1), 0.0149 ± 0.0160 min(-1), respectively; p<0.05), FCR-TG was similar for both the WT and SDT groups. HDL-C plasma concentrations were lower in the WT+AAS group when compared to the WT and SDT groups (22 ± 13; 41 ± 7; 38 ± 13 mg/dL, respectively; p<0.001). Hepatic triglyceride lipase activity was greater in the WT+AAS group when compared to the WT and SDT groups (7243 ± 1822; 3898 ± 1232; 2058 ± 749, respectively; p<0.001). However, no difference was observed for lipoprotein lipase activity. Data strongly suggest that AAS may reduce the removal from the plasma of chylomicron remnants, which are known atherogenic factors. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of the anxiolytic and antidepressant effects of asiatic acid, a compound from Gotu kola or Centella asiatica, in the male Sprague Dawley rat.

PubMed

Ceremuga, Tomás Eduardo; Valdivieso, Debra; Kenner, Catherine; Lucia, Amy; Lathrop, Keith; Stailey, Owen; Bailey, Heather; Criss, Jonathan; Linton, Jessica; Fried, Jordan; Taylor, Andrew; Padron, Gina; Johnson, Arthur Don

2015-04-01

Herbal medication use continues to rise and interactions with existing medications propose risks and may have significant effects and consequences on the administration of anesthesia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the anxiolytic and antidepressant effects of asiatic acid and its potential modulation of the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABAA) receptor. Fifty-five male Sprague Dawley rats were divided into 5 groups: vehicle (DMSO), asiatic acid (AA), midazolam, or a combination of flumazenil + AA or midazolam + AA, and injected intraperitoneally 30 minutes prior to testing. The rats were tested on the Elevated Plus Maze (EPM) and the Forced Swim Test (FST). Data were analyzed using a two-tailed multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Significance was found regarding the ratio of open arm time, maximum speed, and time spent mobile in the AA group and the midazolam + AA group (P < .05). Flumazenil decreased the anxiolytic effects, suggesting that AA modulates the benzodiazepine site on the GABAA receptor. Further studies are recommended to determine the efficacy of prolonged treatment for anxiety and depression.

Paracetamol and cytarabine binding competition in high affinity binding sites of transporting protein

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sułkowska, A.; Bojko, B.; Równicka, J.; Sułkowski, W. W.

2006-07-01

Paracetamol (acetaminophen, AA) the most popular analgesic drug is commonly used in the treatment of pain in patients suffering from cancer. In our studies, we evaluated the competition in binding with serum albumin between paracetamol (AA) and cytarabine, antyleukemic drug (araC). The presence of one drug can alter the binding affinity of albumin towards the second one. Such interaction can result in changing of the free fraction of the one of these drugs in blood. Two spectroscopic methods were used to determine high affinity binding sites and the competition of the drugs. Basing on the change of the serum albumin fluorescence in the presence of either of the drugs the quenching ( KQ) constants for the araC-BSA and AA-BSA systems were calculated. Analysis of UV difference spectra allowed us to describe the changes in drug-protein complexes (araC-albumin and AA-albumin) induced by the presence of the second drug (AA and araC, respectively). The mechanism of competition between araC and AA has been proposed.

Increase of essential amino acids in the bovine uterine lumen during preimplantation development.

PubMed

Groebner, Anna E; Rubio-Aliaga, Isabel; Schulke, Katy; Reichenbach, Horst D; Daniel, Hannelore; Wolf, Eckhard; Meyer, Heinrich H D; Ulbrich, Susanne E

2011-05-01

Amino acids (AAs) are crucial for the developing conceptus prior to implantation. To provide insights into the requirements of the bovine embryo, we determined the AA composition of the uterine fluid. At days 12, 15, and 18 post-estrus, the uteri of synchronized pregnant and non-pregnant Simmental heifers were flushed for the analysis of 41 AAs and their derivatives by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The ipsilateral endometrium was sampled for quantitative PCR. In addition to a pregnancy-dependent increase of the essential AAs (P<0.01), we detected elevated concentrations for most non-essential proteinogenic AAs. Histidine (His) and the expression of the His/peptide transporter solute carrier 15A3 (SLC15A3) were significantly increased at day 18 of pregnancy in vivo. In addition, SLC15A3 was predominantly stimulated by trophoblast-derived interferon-τ in stroma cells of an in vitro co-culture model of endometrial cells. Our results show an increased concentration of AAs most likely to optimally provide the elongating pre-attachment conceptus with nutrients.

MRI Correlates of Disability in African-Americans with Multiple Sclerosis

PubMed Central

Howard, Jonathan; Battaglini, Marco; Babb, James Scott; Arienzo, Donatello; Holst, Brigitte; Omari, Mirza; De Stefano, Nicola; Herbert, Joseph; Inglese, Matilde

2012-01-01

Objectives Multiple sclerosis (MS) in African-Americans (AAs) is characterized by more rapid disease progression and poorer response to treatment than in Caucasian-Americans (CAs). MRI provides useful and non-invasive tools to investigate the pathological substrate of clinical progression. The aim of our study was to compare MRI measures of brain damage between AAs and CAs with MS. Methods Retrospective analysis of 97 AAs and 97 CAs with MS matched for age, gender, disease duration and age at MRI examination. Results AA patients had significantly greater T2- (p = 0.001) and T1-weighted (p = 0.0003) lesion volumes compared to CA patients. In contrast, measurements of global and regional brain volume did not significantly differ between the two ethnic groups (p>0.1). Conclusions By studying a quite large sample of well demographically and clinically matched CA and AA patients with a homogeneous MRI protocol we showed that higher lesion accumulation, rather than pronounced brain volume decrease might explain the early progress to ambulatory assistance of AAs with MS. PMID:22900088

Diagnostic Accuracy of History, Physical Examination, Laboratory Tests, and Point-of-care Ultrasound for Pediatric Acute Appendicitis in the Emergency Department: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

PubMed

Benabbas, Roshanak; Hanna, Mark; Shah, Jay; Sinert, Richard

2017-05-01

Acute appendicitis (AA) is the most common surgical emergency in children. Accurate and timely diagnosis is crucial but challenging due to atypical presentations and the inherent difficulty of obtaining a reliable history and physical examination in younger children. The aim of this study was to determine the utility of history, physical examination, laboratory tests, Pediatric Appendicitis Score (PAS) and Emergency Department Point-of-Care Ultrasound (ED-POCUS) in the diagnosis of AA in ED pediatric patients. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis and used a test-treatment threshold model to identify diagnostic findings that could rule in/out AA and obviate the need for further imaging studies, specifically computed tomography (CT) scan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and radiology department ultrasound (RUS). We searched PubMed, EMBASE, and SCOPUS up to October 2016 for studies on ED pediatric patients with abdominal pain. Quality Assessment Tool for Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS-2) was used to evaluate the quality and applicability of included studies. Positive and negative likelihood ratios (LR+ and LR-) for diagnostic modalities were calculated and when appropriate data was pooled using Meta-DiSc. Based on the available literature on the test characteristics of different imaging modalities and applying the Pauker-Kassirer method we developed a test-treatment threshold model. Twenty-one studies were included encompassing 8,605 patients with weighted AA prevalence of 39.2%. Studies had variable quality using the QUADAS-2 tool with most studies at high risk of partial verification bias. We divided studies based on their inclusion criteria into two groups of "undifferentiated abdominal pain" and abdominal pain "suspected of AA." In patients with undifferentiated abdominal pain, history of "pain migration to right lower quadrant (RLQ)" (LR+ = 4.81, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.59-6.44) and presence of "cough/hop pain" in the physical examination (LR+ = 7.64, 95% CI = 5.94-9.83) were most strongly associated with AA. In patients suspected of AA none of the history or laboratory findings were strongly associated with AA. Rovsing's sign was the physical examination finding most strongly associated with AA (LR+ = 3.52, 95% CI = 2.65-4.68). Among different PAS cutoff points, PAS ≥ 9 (LR+ = 5.26, 95% CI = 3.34-8.29) was most associated with AA. None of the history, physical examination, laboratory tests findings, or PAS alone could rule in or rule out AA in patients with undifferentiated abdominal pain or those suspected of AA. ED-POCUS had LR+ of 9.24 (95% CI = 6.24-13.28) and LR- of 0.17 (95% CI = 0.09-0.30). Using our test-treatment threshold model, positive ED-POCUS could rule in AA without the use of CT and MRI, but negative ED-POCUS could not rule out AA. Presence of AA is more likely in patients with undifferentiated abdominal pain migrating to the RLQ or when cough/hop pain is present in the physical examination. Once AA is suspected, no single history, physical examination, laboratory finding, or score attained on PAS can eliminate the need for imaging studies. Operating characteristics of ED-POCUS are similar to those reported for RUS in literature for diagnosis of AA. In ED patients suspected of AA, a positive ED-POCUS is diagnostic and obviates the need for CT or MRI while negative ED-POCUS is not enough to rule out AA. © 2017 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

Effects of unsaturated fatty acids on the kinetics of voltage‐gated proton channels heterologously expressed in cultured cells

PubMed Central

Kawanabe, Akira

2016-01-01

Key points Arachidonic acid (AA) greatly enhances the activity of the voltage‐gated proton (Hv) channel, although its mechanism of action and physiological function remain unclear.In the present study, we analysed the effects of AA on proton currents through Hv channels heterologously expressed in HEK293T cells.The dramatic increase in proton current amplitude elicited by AA was accompanied by accelerated activation kinetics and a leftward shift in the voltage‐dependence of activation.Mutagenesis studies suggest the two aforementioned effects of AA reflect two distinct structural mechanisms.Application of phospholipase A2, which liberates AA from phospholipids in the membrane, also enhances Hv channel activity, supporting the idea that AA modulates Hv channel activity within physiological contexts. Abstract Unsaturated fatty acids are key components of the biological membranes of all cells, and precursors of mediators for cell signalling. Arachidonic acid (AA) is an unsaturated fatty acid known to modulate the activities of various ion channels, including the voltage‐gated proton (Hv) channel, which supports the rapid production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in phagocytes through regulation of pH and membrane potential. However, the molecular mechanisms and physiological functions of the effects of AA on Hv channels remain unclear. In the present study, we report an electrophysiological analysis of the effects of AA on the mouse Hv channel (mHv1) heterologously expressed in HEK293T cells. Application of AA to excised inside‐out patch membranes rapidly induced a robust increase in the amplitude of the proton current through mHv1. The current increase was accompanied by accelerated activation kinetics and a small leftward shift of the current–voltage relationship. In monomeric channels lacking the coiled‐coil region of the channel protein, the shift in the current–voltage relationship was diminished but activation and deactivation remained accelerated. Studies with several AA derivatives showed that double bonds and hydrophilic head groups are essential for the effect of AA, although charge was not important. The application of phospholipase A2 (PLA2), which generates AA from cell membrane phospholipids, stimulated mHv1 activity to a similar extent as direct application of ∼20 μm AA, suggesting that endogenous AA may regulate Hv channel activity. PMID:26563684

Transient thermal analysis during friction stir welding between AA2014-T6 and pure copper

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gadhavi, A. R.; Ghetiya, N. D.; Patel, K. M.

2018-04-01

AA2xxx-Cu alloys showed larger applications in the defence sectors and in aerospace industries due to high strength to weight ratio and toughness. FSW in a butt joint configuration was carried out between AA2014-T6 and pure Copper placing AA2014 on AS and Cu on RS. Temperature profiles were observed by inserting K-type thermocouples in the mid-thickness at various locations of the plate. A sharp decrease in temperature profiles was observed on Copper side due to its higher thermal conductivity. A thermal numerical model was prepared in ANSYS to compare the simulated temperature profiles with the experimental temperature profiles and both the temperature profiles were found to be in good agreement.

The potential impact of multidimesional geriatric assessment in the social security system.

PubMed

Corbi, Graziamaria; Ambrosino, Immacolata; Massari, Marco; De Lucia, Onofrio; Simplicio, Sirio; Dragone, Michele; Paolisso, Giuseppe; Piccioni, Massimo; Ferrara, Nicola; Campobasso, Carlo Pietro

2018-01-12

To evaluate the efficacy of multidimensional geriatric assessment (MGA/CGA) in patients over 65 years old in predicting the release of the accompaniment allowance (AA) indemnity by a Local Medico-Legal Committee (MLC-NHS) and by the National Institute of Social Security Committee (MLC-INPS). In a longitudinal observational study, 200 Italian elder citizens requesting AA were first evaluated by MLC-NHS and later by MLC-INPS. Only MLC-INPS performed a MGA/CGA (including SPMSQ, Barthel Index, GDS-SF, and CIRS). This report was written according to the STROBE guidelines. The data analysis was performed on January 2016. The evaluation by the MLC-NHS and by the MLC-INPS was in agreement in 66% of cases. In the 28%, the AA benefit was recognized by the MLC-NHS, but not by the MLC-INPS. By the multivariate analysis, the best predictors of the AA release, by the MLC-NHS, were represented by gender and the Barthel Index score. The presence of carcinoma, the Barthel Index score, and the SPMQ score were the best predictors for the AA release by MLC-INPS. MGA/CGA could be useful in saving financial resources reducing the risk of incorrect indemnity release. It can improve the accuracy of the impairment assessment in social security system.

Self-reported aging anxiety in Greek students, health care professionals, and community residents: a comparative study.

PubMed

Koukouli, Sofia; Pattakou-Parasyri, Vassiliki; Kalaitzaki, Argyroula E

2014-04-01

This study investigates the anxiety people feel about aging and the psychometric properties of the Anxiety about Aging Scale (AAS) in Greek samples. The AAS was administered in 3 groups: 147 primary health care professionals, 74 Nursing and Social Work students, and 99 community residents. A confirmatory factor analysis reproduced the 4 factors underlying the Greek-translated AAS, with acceptable reliabilities for the 3 samples. Multivariate analysis of variance showed that students expressed significantly more anxiety about aging (higher overall AAS score), more "Fear of old people," "Psychological concerns," and "Concerns about physical appearance," and less "Fear of losses," compared with professionals and community residents. Women reported the highest concerns about physical appearance compared with men. Students and professionals having experience with dementia showed lower and higher overall AAS scores, respectively, compared with those who had no such experience. The younger professionals without experience and the less educated ones with experience expressed higher overall anxiety about aging than the older professionals and the less educated both without experience. Our findings suggest the importance of implementing appropriate educational interventions and ongoing training tailored to assuage students' and professionals' anxiety about their own aging and lessen their agist attitudes toward old people.

Fractures in Relation to Menstrual Status and Bone Parameters in Young Athletes

PubMed Central

Ackerman, Kathryn E.; Cano Sokoloff, Natalia; Maffazioli, Giovana De Nardo; Clarke, Hannah; Lee, Hang; Misra, Madhusmita

2014-01-01

Introduction To compare fracture prevalence in oligo-amenorrheic athletes (AA), eumenorrheic athletes (EA), and non-athletes (NA) and determine relationships with bone density, structure and strength estimates. Methods 175 females (100 AA, 35 EA, and 40 NA) 14–25 yo were studied. Lifetime fracture history was obtained through participant interviews. Areal BMD was assessed by DXA at the spine, hip and whole body (WB). Bone structure was assessed by HRpQCT at the radius and tibia, and strength by finite element analysis. Results AA, EA, and NA did not differ in age, sexual maturity, or height. AA had lower BMI, and older menarchal age than EA and NA (p≤0.001). BMD Z-scores were lower in AA vs. EA at the total hip, femoral neck, spine, and whole body (p≤0.001). Lifetime fracture risk was higher in AA than EA and NA (47%, 25.7%, 12.5%, p≤0.001), largely driven by stress fractures in AA vs. EA and NA (32% vs. 5.9% vs. 0%). In AA, those who fractured had lower lumbar and WB BMD Z-scores, vBMD of outer trabecular region in radius and tibia, and trabecular thickness of the radius (p≤0.05). In AA, those who had 2 stress fractures had lower lumbar and WB BMD Z-scores, total cross-sectional area, trabecular vBMD, stiffness and failure load at radius; and lower stiffness and failure load at tibia versus those with <2 stress fracture (p≤0.05). Conclusion Weight-bearing athletic activity increases BMD, but may increase stress fracture risk in those with menstrual dysfunction. Bone microarchitecture and strength differences are more pronounced in AA with multiple stress fractures. This is the first study to examine fractures in relation to bone structure in adolescent female athletes. PMID:25397605

Hydrogen isotopes in individual amino acids reflect differentiated pools of hydrogen from food and water in Escherichia coli.

PubMed

Fogel, Marilyn L; Griffin, Patrick L; Newsome, Seth D

2016-08-09

Hydrogen isotope (δ(2)H) analysis is widely used in animal ecology to study continental-scale movement because δ(2)H can trace precipitation and climate. To understand the biochemical underpinnings of how hydrogen is incorporated into biomolecules, we measured the δ(2)H of individual amino acids (AAs) in Escherichia coli cultured in glucose-based or complex tryptone-based media in waters with δ(2)H values ranging from -55‰ to +1,070‰. The δ(2)H values of AAs in tryptone spanned a range of ∼250‰. In E. coli grown on glucose, the range of δ(2)H among AAs was nearly 200‰. The relative distributions of δ(2)H of AAs were upheld in cultures grown in enriched waters. In E. coli grown on tryptone, the δ(2)H of nonessential AAs varied linearly with the δ(2)H of media water, whereas δ(2)H of essential AAs was nearly identical to δ(2)H in diet. Model calculations determined that as much as 46% of hydrogen in some nonessential AAs originated from water, whereas no more than 12% of hydrogen in essential AAs originated from water. These findings demonstrate that δ(2)H can route directly at the molecular level. We conclude that the patterns and distributions in δ(2)H of AAs are determined through biosynthetic reactions, suggesting that δ(2)H could become a new biosignature for studying novel microbial pathways. Our results also show that δ(2)H of AAs in an organism's tissues provides a dual tracer for food and environmental (e.g., drinking) water.

The ratio of serum eicosapentaenoic acid to arachidonic acid and risk of cancer death in a Japanese community: The Hisayama Study.

PubMed

Nagata, Masaharu; Hata, Jun; Hirakawa, Yoichiro; Mukai, Naoko; Yoshida, Daigo; Ohara, Tomoyuki; Kishimoto, Hiro; Kawano, Hiroyuki; Kitazono, Takanari; Kiyohara, Yutaka; Ninomiya, Toshiharu

2017-12-01

Whether the intake of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) or arachidonic acid (AA) affects the risk of cancer remains unclear, and the association between the serum EPA:AA ratio and cancer risk has not been fully evaluated in general populations. A total of 3098 community-dwelling subjects aged ≥40 years were followed up for 9.6 years (2002-2012). The levels of the serum EPA:AA ratio were categorized into quartiles (<0.29, 0.29-0.41, 0.42-0.60, and >0.60). The risk estimates were computed using a Cox proportional hazards model. The same analyses were conducted for the serum docosahexaenoic acid to arachidonic acid (DHA:AA) ratio and individual fatty acid concentrations. During the follow-up period, 121 subjects died of cancer. Age- and sex-adjusted cancer mortality increased with lower serum EPA:AA ratio levels (P trend<0.05). In the multivariable-adjusted analysis, the subjects in the first quartile of the serum EPA:AA ratio had a 1.93-fold (95% confidence interval, 1.15-3.22) greater risk of cancer death than those in the fourth quartile. Lower serum EPA concentrations were marginally associated with higher cancer mortality (P trend<0.11), but the serum DHA or AA concentrations and the serum DHA:AA ratio were not (all P trend>0.37). With regard to site-specific cancers, lower serum EPA:AA ratio was associated with a higher risk of death from liver cancer. However, no such associations were detected for deaths from other cancers. These findings suggest that decreased level of the serum EPA:AA ratio is a significant risk factor for cancer death in the general Japanese population. Copyright © 2017. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.

Hydrogen isotopes in individual amino acids reflect differentiated pools of hydrogen from food and water in Escherichia coli

PubMed Central

Fogel, Marilyn L.; Griffin, Patrick L.; Newsome, Seth D.

2016-01-01

Hydrogen isotope (δ2H) analysis is widely used in animal ecology to study continental-scale movement because δ2H can trace precipitation and climate. To understand the biochemical underpinnings of how hydrogen is incorporated into biomolecules, we measured the δ2H of individual amino acids (AAs) in Escherichia coli cultured in glucose-based or complex tryptone-based media in waters with δ2H values ranging from −55‰ to +1,070‰. The δ2H values of AAs in tryptone spanned a range of ∼250‰. In E. coli grown on glucose, the range of δ2H among AAs was nearly 200‰. The relative distributions of δ2H of AAs were upheld in cultures grown in enriched waters. In E. coli grown on tryptone, the δ2H of nonessential AAs varied linearly with the δ2H of media water, whereas δ2H of essential AAs was nearly identical to δ2H in diet. Model calculations determined that as much as 46% of hydrogen in some nonessential AAs originated from water, whereas no more than 12% of hydrogen in essential AAs originated from water. These findings demonstrate that δ2H can route directly at the molecular level. We conclude that the patterns and distributions in δ2H of AAs are determined through biosynthetic reactions, suggesting that δ2H could become a new biosignature for studying novel microbial pathways. Our results also show that δ2H of AAs in an organism’s tissues provides a dual tracer for food and environmental (e.g., drinking) water. PMID:27444017

Investigation into the cross-correlation of salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase responses to psychological stress.

PubMed

Engert, Veronika; Vogel, Susanne; Efanov, Simona I; Duchesne, Annie; Corbo, Vincent; Ali, Nida; Pruessner, Jens C

2011-10-01

Stress is a multidimensional construct. To accurately represent stress physiology, multiple stress measures across multiple stress-related systems should be assessed. However, associations may be masked given that different systems underlie different time courses. Salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase (sAA) are reliable biological stress markers of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the hypothalamus pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis, respectively. Studies examining the link between sAA and cortisol levels in response to stress have produced inconsistent results. Here, we investigated whether the covariance of stress-induced sAA and cortisol release is dependent on the distinct temporal dynamics of the two stress markers. A total of 50 male participants were exposed to a psychological laboratory stressor with high frequency (2-min interval) saliva sampling in two independent studies. Synchronized time series of sAA and cortisol measures before, during and after stress induction were obtained. Cross-correlation analysis was applied to test for the association of sAA and cortisol levels at various stages relative to the onset of the stressor. Positive and negative cross-correlations between lagged pairs of sAA and cortisol measures were found in both studies. The strongest correlation was found for sAA preceding cortisol release by 13.5 min (r = .27, p < .001). With a smaller effect size cortisol also significantly preceded sAA by 13.5 min (r = -.16, p < .001). We suggest that sAA and cortisol stress responses are reliably associated at various time lags throughout a stressful situation. As a possible connection site between HPA axis and SNS that may underlie sAA-cortisol associations, we discuss CRF neurons of the hypothalamus involved in sympathetic regulation. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A correlation comparison between Altmetric Attention Scores and citations for six PLOS journals

PubMed Central

Huang, Wenya; Wang, Peiling

2018-01-01

This study considered all articles published in six Public Library of Science (PLOS) journals in 2012 and Web of Science citations for these articles as of May 2015. A total of 2,406 articles were analyzed to examine the relationships between Altmetric Attention Scores (AAS) and Web of Science citations. The AAS for an article, provided by Altmetric aggregates activities surrounding research outputs in social media (news outlet mentions, tweets, blogs, Wikipedia, etc.). Spearman correlation testing was done on all articles and articles with AAS. Further analysis compared the stratified datasets based on percentile ranks of AAS: top 50%, top 25%, top 10%, and top 1%. Comparisons across the six journals provided additional insights. The results show significant positive correlations between AAS and citations with varied strength for all articles and articles with AAS (or social media mentions), as well as for normalized AAS in the top 50%, top 25%, top 10%, and top 1% datasets. Four of the six PLOS journals, Genetics, Pathogens, Computational Biology, and Neglected Tropical Diseases, show significant positive correlations across all datasets. However, for the two journals with high impact factors, PLOS Biology and Medicine, the results are unexpected: the Medicine articles showed no significant correlations but the Biology articles tested positive for correlations with the whole dataset and the set with AAS. Both journals published substantially fewer articles than the other four journals. Further research to validate the AAS algorithm, adjust the weighting scheme, and include appropriate social media sources is needed to understand the potential uses and meaning of AAS in different contexts and its relationship to other metrics. PMID:29621253

The positive association of Association for Academic Surgery membership with academic productivity.

PubMed

Valsangkar, Nakul P; Milgrom, Daniel P; Martin, Paul J; Parett, Jordan S; Joshi, Mugdha M; Zimmers, Teresa A; Koniaris, Leonidas G

2016-09-01

To evaluate the academic productivity and National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding of members of the Association for Academic Surgery (AAS). Academic metrics including, numbers of publications, citations, and NIH funding history were determined for 4015 surgical faculty at the top 55 NIH-funded departments of surgery, using Scopus, NIH RePORT, and the Grantome online databases. AAS membership included 20.5% (824) of all 4015 surgical faculty in this database. For members of the AAS, publications (P) ± standard deviation and citations (C) ± SD were P: 54 ± 96 and C: 985 ± 3321, compared with P: 31 ± 92, C: 528 ± 3001 for nonmembers, P < 0.001. Higher academic productivity among AAS members was observed across all subspecialty types and was especially pronounced for assistant and associate professors. AAS membership was also associated with increased rates of NIH funding and better productivity for equally funded surgical faculty compared with nonmembers. Analysis of AAS membership by subspecialty revealed that AAS members were most commonly general surgery faculty (57.8%); however, only 7.4% of the faculty was affiliated with cardiothoracic surgery. There was also a lack of dedicated science and/or research faculty (0.6% versus 3.4%) among the members of the AAS. AAS membership appears to be correlated with greater academic performance among junior and midlevel surgical faculty. This improvement is observed regardless of subspecialty. Increased participation of faculty within subspecialties such as cardiothoracic surgery and, a greater focus on increasing the numbers of dedicated research faculty within the AAS may help increase the scientific impact and productivity among members of the society. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Increased dependence of leucine in posttraumatic sepsis: leucine/tyrosine clearance ratio as an indicator of hepatic impairment in septic multiple organ failure syndrome.

PubMed

Pittiruti, M; Siegel, J H; Sganga, G; Coleman, B; Wiles, C E; Belzberg, H; Wedel, S; Placko, R

1985-09-01

The body clearance of 10 plasma amino acids (AA) was determined from the rate of compared muscle-released AA and AA administered by infusion of total parenteral nutrition (TPN) compared to their estimated extracellular (ECW) pool in patients with multiple trauma with (n = 10) or without (n = 16) sepsis at 8-hour intervals. In both nonseptic and septic trauma, increasing TPN increased the mean clearance rate of all infused AA. When the individual AA clearance rates were normalized by the total AA infusion rate, regression-covariance analysis revealed that patients with sepsis had relatively impaired clearances of alanine (p less than 0.01) and methionine, proline, phenylalanine, and tyrosine p less than 0.05 for all). In contrast, the clearances of branched-chain AA (BCAA) valine and isoleucine were maintained, and the clearance of leucine was higher (p less than 0.05) in trauma patients with sepsis than in those without. At any AA infusion rate, compared with surviving patients with sepsis (p less than 0.05), patients who developed fatal multiple organ failure syndrome (MOFS) showed increased clearances of all BCAA with further impaired clearance of tyrosine. The clearance ratio of leucine/tyrosine was increased in MOFS at any AA infusion rate (p less than 0.0001), was an indicator of severity, and, if persistent, was a manifestation of a fatal outcome. Because tyrosine metabolism occurs almost entirely in the liver while leucine can be utilized by viscera and muscle, these data suggest early and progressive septic impairment of the pattern of hepatic uptake and oxidation of AA with a greater body dependence on BCAA, especially leucine, as septic MOFS develops.

Race-dependent association of sulfidogenic bacteria with colorectal cancer.

PubMed

Yazici, Cemal; Wolf, Patricia G; Kim, Hajwa; Cross, Tzu-Wen L; Vermillion, Karin; Carroll, Timothy; Augustus, Gaius J; Mutlu, Ece; Tussing-Humphreys, Lisa; Braunschweig, Carol; Xicola, Rosa M; Jung, Barbara; Llor, Xavier; Ellis, Nathan A; Gaskins, H Rex

2017-11-01

Colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence is higher in African Americans (AAs) compared with non-Hispanic whites (NHWs). A diet high in animal protein and fat is an environmental risk factor for CRC development. The intestinal microbiota is postulated to modulate the effects of diet in promoting or preventing CRC. Hydrogen sulfide, produced by autochthonous sulfidogenic bacteria, triggers proinflammatory pathways and hyperproliferation, and is genotoxic. We hypothesised that sulfidogenic bacterial abundance in colonic mucosa may be an environmental CRC risk factor that distinguishes AA and NHW. Colonic biopsies from uninvolved or healthy mucosa from CRC cases and tumour-free controls were collected prospectively from five medical centres in Chicago for association studies. Sulfidogenic bacterial abundance in uninvolved colonic mucosa of AA and NHW CRC cases was compared with normal mucosa of AA and NHW controls. In addition, 16S rDNA sequencing was performed in AA cases and controls. Correlations were examined among bacterial targets, race, disease status and dietary intake. AAs harboured a greater abundance of sulfidogenic bacteria compared with NHWs regardless of disease status. Bilophila wadsworthia -specific dsrA was more abundant in AA cases than controls. Linear discriminant analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed five sulfidogenic genera that were more abundant in AA cases. Fat and protein intake and daily servings of meat were significantly higher in AAs compared with NHWs, and multiple dietary components correlated with a higher abundance of sulfidogenic bacteria. These results implicate sulfidogenic bacteria as a potential environmental risk factor contributing to CRC development in AAs. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

DOES ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORK DIFFERENTLY FOR MEN AND WOMEN? A MODERATED MULTIPLE-MEDIATION ANALYSIS IN A LARGE CLINICAL SAMPLE

PubMed Central

Kelly, John F.; Hoeppner, Bettina B.

2012-01-01

Background Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) began as a male organization, but about one third is now female. Studies have found that women participate at least as much as men and benefit equally from AA, but it is unclear whether women benefit from AA in the same or different ways as men. This study tested whether gender moderated the mechanisms through which AA aids recovery. Methods A cohort study of alcohol dependent adults (N=1,726; 24% female; Project MATCH) was assessed on AA attendance during treatment; with mediators at 9 months; outcomes (Percent Days Abstinent [PDA] and Drinks per Drinking Day [DDD]) at 15 months. Multiple mediator models tested whether purported mechanisms (i.e., self-efficacy, depression, social networks, spirituality/religiosity) explained AA's effects differently for men and women controlling for baseline values, mediators, treatment, and other confounders. Results For PDA, the proportion of AA's effect accounted for by the mediators was similar for men (53%) and women (49%). Both men and women were found to benefit from changes in social factors but these mechanisms were more important among men. For DDD, the mediators accounted for 70% of the effect of AA for men and 41% for women. Again, men benefitted mostly from social changes. Independent of AA's effects, negative affect self-efficacy was shown to have a strong relationship to outcome for women but not men. Conclusions The recovery benefits derived from AA differ in nature and magnitude between men and women and may reflect differing needs based on recovery challenges related to gender-based social roles and drinking contexts. PMID:23206376

Structural and functional correlations in stable renal allografts.

PubMed

Fulladosa, Xavier; Moreso, Francesc; Torras, Joan; Hueso, Miquel; Grinyó, Josep M; Serón, Daniel

2003-05-01

Renal functional reserve (RFR) has been proposed as a surrogate marker of renal mass, but its significance in well-functioning renal transplants is controversial. Thus, we used early protocol biopsies to analyze structural and functional correlations in stable grafts. We studied 32 cyclosporine (CsA)-treated stable cadaveric transplants at 5 months. Biopsies were evaluated according to Banff criteria and histomorphometry. Inulin and p-aminohippurate clearances were used to calculate glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and effective renal plasma flow (ERPF). RFR after an amino acid infusion (RFR-AA) and after a combined amino acid and dopamine infusion (RFR-AA-DOPA) was evaluated. Baseline GFR was 54 +/- 16 mL/min/1.73 m2, and ERPF was 219 +/- 55 mL/min/1.73 m2. RFR-AA was 9% +/- 13%, and RFR-AA-DOPA was 22% +/- 20%. RFR-AA correlated with CsA dose (R = 0.39; P = 0.02), whereas RFR-AA-DOPA correlated with CsA dose (R = 0.36; P = 0.04) and CsA levels (R = 0.40; P = 0.02). The only histological parameter associated with RFR was the presence of arteriolar hyalinosis (AH). Patients showing an AH score of 1 or greater (n = 7) had lower RFR-AA (0% +/- 9% versus 11% +/- 13%; P = 0.02) and lower RFR-AA-DOPA (9% +/- 17% versus 26% +/- 19%; P = 0.03). Multivariate analysis showed that an AH score of 1 or greater, but not CsA dose or levels, was associated with RFR-AA (R = 0.42; P = 0.01). RFR-AA-DOPA was associated with hyaline arteriolar damage (R = 0.43; P = 0.01), as well as CsA levels (R = 0.54; P = 0.006). The presence of AH is the only histological parameter associated with impaired RFR in well-functioning grafts.

Does Alcoholics Anonymous work differently for men and women? A moderated multiple-mediation analysis in a large clinical sample.

PubMed

Kelly, John F; Hoeppner, Bettina B

2013-06-01

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) began as a male organization, but about one third is now female. Studies have found that women participate at least as much as men and benefit equally from AA, but it is unclear whether women benefit from AA in the same or different ways as men. This study tested whether gender moderated the mechanisms through which AA aids recovery. A cohort study of alcohol dependent adults (N=1726; 24% female; Project MATCH) was assessed on AA attendance during treatment; with mediators at 9 months; outcomes (Percent Days Abstinent [PDA] and Drinks per Drinking Day [DDD]) at 15 months. Multiple mediator models tested whether purported mechanisms (i.e., self-efficacy, depression, social networks, spirituality/religiosity) explained AA's effects differently for men and women controlling for baseline values, mediators, treatment, and other confounders. For PDA, the proportion of AA's effect accounted for by the mediators was similar for men (53%) and women (49%). Both men and women were found to benefit from changes in social factors but these mechanisms were more important among men. For DDD, the mediators accounted for 70% of the effect of AA for men and 41% for women. Again, men benefitted mostly from social changes. Independent of AA's effects, negative affect self-efficacy was shown to have a strong relationship to outcome for women but not men. The recovery benefits derived from AA differ in nature and magnitude between men and women and may reflect differing needs based on recovery challenges related to gender-based social roles and drinking contexts. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Association between the interleukin-17A -197G>A (rs2275913) polymorphism and risk of digestive cancer.

PubMed

Duan, Yin; Shi, Ji-Nan; Pan, Chi; Chen, Hai-Long; Zhang, Su-Zhan

2014-01-01

Interleukin-17A (IL-17A) is a multifunctional cytokine which plays a crucial role in the initiation and progression of cancer. To date, several studies have investigated associations between IL-17A -197G>A (rs2275913) polymorphism and digestive cancer risk, but the results remain conflicting. We here aimed to confirm the role of this single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in susceptibility to digestive cancer through a systemic review and meta-analysis. Ten eligible case-control studies were identified by searching electronic databases, involving 3,087 cases and 3,815 controls. Odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to estimate the strength of the association. The results of overall analyses indicated that the variant A allele was associated with an increased risk of digestive cancer (AA vs GG: OR=1.51, 95%CI=1.18-1.93; AA vs GG+GA: OR=1.45, 95%CI=1.12-1.87; A vs G: OR=1.21, 95%CI=1.05-1.39). In subgroup analysis stratified by specific cancer type, elevated risk among studies of gastric cancer was found (AA vs GG: OR=1.68, 95%CI=1.24-2.28; AA vs GG+GA: OR=1.62, 95%CI=1.16-2.26; A vs G: OR=1.23, 95%CI=1.04-1.46). According to ethnicity, there was evidence in the Asian populations for an association between this polymorphism and cancer risk (GA vs GG: OR=1.19, 95%CI=1.05-1.36; AA vs GG: OR=1.56, 95%CI=1.15-2.12; AA+GA vs GG: OR=1.28, 95%CI=1.13- 1.44; AA vs GG+GA: OR=1.42, 95%CI=1.01-2.00; A vs G: OR=1.24, 95%CI=1.08-1.44), while in the Caucasian populations an association was found in the recessive model (AA vs GG+GA: OR=1.62, 95%CI=1.17-2.24). In conclusion, the results of this meta-analysis suggest that the IL-17A -197G>A polymorphism contributes to an increased risk of human digestive cancer, both in the Asian and Caucasian populations and especially for gastric cancer.

Cloning of stanniocalcin (STC) cDNAs of divergent teleost species: Monomeric STC supports monophyly of the ancient teleosts, the osteoglossomorphs.

PubMed

Amemiya, Yutaka; Irwin, David M; Youson, John H

2006-10-01

Molecular cloning of teleost stanniocalcin (STC) cDNAs was undertaken in two species of order Osteoglossiformes of subdivision Osteoglossomorpha and one species of each of orders Cypriniformes and Perciformes within the subdivision Euteleostei. The elephantnose (Gnathonemus petersii) and the butterflyfish (Pantadon buchholzi) are basal teleosts in different osteoglossiforme suborders yet their 218 amino acid (aa) mature hormones, from prehormones of 249 and 251aa, respectively, have only 10 cysteine residues. A substitution for cysteine at the intermonomeric disulfide linkage site, implies that their STCs exist as monomeric peptides, as is the case with STC from another osteoglossormorph, arawana [Amemiya, Y., Marra, L.E., Reyhani, N., Youson, J.H., 2002. Stanniocalcin from an ancient teleost: a monomeric form of the hormone and a possible extracorpuscular distribution. Mol. Cell. Endocrinol. 188, 141-150]. The STC cDNA of the generalized teleost and cyprinid, the white sucker (Catostomus commersoni), encodes a prehormone of 249aa with a signal peptide of 31aa and a mature protein of 218aa that possesses 11 cysteine residues. The latter feature is consistent with a previous analysis that white sucker mature STC is a glycosylated, homodimeric peptide [Amemiya, Y., Marra, L.E., Reyhani, N., Youson, J.H., 2002. Stanniocalcin from an ancient teleost: a monomeric form of the hormone and a possible extracorpuscular distribution. Mol. Cell. Endocrinol. 188, 141-150]. An open reading frame of the STC cDNA of the derived teleost and perciforme, the smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieui), encodes a prehormone of 255aa with a signal peptide of 33aa and a mature protein of 222aa. The position of the 11 cysteines in smallmouth bass STC suggests that it exists as a homodimeric peptide. A phylogenetic analysis, using the new STC-1 amino acid sequences and those in the gene data base provided strong support for monophyly of the Osteoglossomorpha and indicated, with positioning of white sucker and smallmouth bass, that this molecule has some utility as a taxonomic marker. This analysis also suggested that two STC-1 gene sequences exist in multiple fish genomes, and that they may be a product of the fish-specific genome duplication. The mutation in the osteoglossomorph STC likely occurred after the appearance of the first teleosts and before movement of the tectonic plates.

Effects of ensiling cereal grains (barley, wheat, triticale and rye) on total and pre-caecal digestibility of proximate nutrients and amino acids in pigs.

PubMed

Hackl, W; Pieper, B; Pieper, R; Korn, U; Zeyner, A

2010-12-01

Inclemency of weather frequently causes critical water contents in cereal grains above 15%. Ensiling in pre-mature condition may be an alternative to other techniques of preservation. Aim of this study was to compare apparent total tract digestibility (D(t) ; barley, wheat, triticale, rye) of proximate nutrients and pre-caecal digestibility (D(pc); barley, wheat) of amino acids (AA), respectively, from cereal grains in ensiled and almost dry condition. Moistly harvested cereal grains (67-73% dry matter) were milled through a 4-mm sieve and ensiled with lactic acid bacteria (LAB, 3 × 10(5) colony forming units/g Lactobacillus plantarum DSMZ 8862 and 8866). To investigate D(t), two trials were conducted with six Mini-Lewe pigs and four German Landrace pigs, respectively. D(pc) of AA was determined using four German Landrace pigs with ileo-rectal anastomosis. D(t) of proximate nutrients did not differ between cereal grains and their silages, except for ether extract, which was more digestible in ensiled than dry wheat, triticale and rye (p < 0.05). Lysine content was lower in ensiled than dry barley and wheat. In barley, ensiling was accompanied by reduced D(pc) of lysine and histidine (p < 0.05). In wheat, ensiling increased D(pc) of lysine, methionine, threonine and leucin (p < 0.05). Ensiling of pre-mature cereal grains with LAB can serve as a reasonable storage alternative. However, as limited data are yet available, further research is required to understand completely the impact of ensiling on nutritional value as indicated, for example, by the lysine content and the D(pc) of certain AA. © 2010 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Structure of the alternative complex III in a supercomplex with cytochrome oxidase.

PubMed

Sun, Chang; Benlekbir, Samir; Venkatakrishnan, Padmaja; Wang, Yuhang; Hong, Sangjin; Hosler, Jonathan; Tajkhorshid, Emad; Rubinstein, John L; Gennis, Robert B

2018-05-01

Alternative complex III (ACIII) is a key component of the respiratory and/or photosynthetic electron transport chains of many bacteria 1-3 . Like complex III (also known as the bc 1 complex), ACIII catalyses the oxidation of membrane-bound quinol and the reduction of cytochrome c or an equivalent electron carrier. However, the two complexes have no structural similarity 4-7 . Although ACIII has eluded structural characterization, several of its subunits are known to be homologous to members of the complex iron-sulfur molybdoenzyme (CISM) superfamily 8 , including the proton pump polysulfide reductase 9,10 . We isolated the ACIII from Flavobacterium johnsoniae with native lipids using styrene maleic acid copolymer 11-14 , both as an independent enzyme and as a functional 1:1 supercomplex with an aa 3 -type cytochrome c oxidase (cyt aa 3 ). We determined the structure of ACIII to 3.4 Å resolution by cryo-electron microscopy and constructed an atomic model for its six subunits. The structure, which contains a [3Fe-4S] cluster, a [4Fe-4S] cluster and six haem c units, shows that ACIII uses known elements from other electron transport complexes arranged in a previously unknown manner. Modelling of the cyt aa 3 component of the supercomplex revealed that it is structurally modified to facilitate association with ACIII, illustrating the importance of the supercomplex in this electron transport chain. The structure also resolves two of the subunits of ACIII that are anchored to the lipid bilayer with N-terminal triacylated cysteine residues, an important post-translational modification found in numerous prokaryotic membrane proteins that has not previously been observed structurally in a lipid bilayer.

Toward Radiocarbon Measurement of Individual Amino Acids in Marine Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM): Δ14C Blank Quantification for an HPLC Purification Method.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bour, A. L.; Broek, T.; Walker, B. D.; Mccarthy, M. D.

2014-12-01

The presence of much of the marine dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) pool as uncharacterized, biologically recalcitrant molecules is a central mystery in the marine nitrogen cycle. Radiocarbon (Δ14C) isotopic measurements have been perhaps the most important data constraining the cycling of dissolved organic matter (DOM), but little Δ14C data specific to DON is available. Amino acids (AAs) are the major component of DON that can be isolated on a molecular level. Δ14C measurements for the operational "protein-like" fraction of DOM in the deep ocean indicate that this compound class has radiocarbon ages greater than several ocean mixing cycles, suggesting remarkable preservation of labile AAs exported from the surface. However, it is possible that the previously defined operational "protein-like" fraction may also contain non-AA material. Radiocarbon measurement of purified individual AAs would provide a more direct and reliable proxy for DON Δ14C age and cycling rate. We present here Δ14C blank characterization of an AA purification method based on HPLC, with on-line fraction collection. This method allows the recovery of unmodified AAs, but accurate measurement of small AA samples that can be extracted from DOM requires a system with extremely low Δ 14C blanks. Here we assess the impact of HPLC purification on the Δ14C age of known amino acids standards. Individual AA standards with contrasting (modern vs. dead) and well- characterized Δ14C ages were processed in a range of sample sizes. The eluted peaks were collected and dried, and measurement of their post-chromatography Δ14C content allowed for determination of the Δ14C blank by method of additions. The same protocol was applied to a mixture of six AA standards, to evaluate tailing effects in consecutive AA peaks of contrasting Δ14C age. AA standards were selected to include both Δ14C modern and dead AAs that elute both early and late in the chromatographic solvent program. We discuss implications for future Δ14C analysis of AAs purified from DOM by this method.

Fibrinogen Šumperk II: dysfibrinogenemia in an individual with two coding mutations.

PubMed

Kotlín, Roman; Suttnar, Jiří; Cápová, Irena; Hrachovinová, Ingrid; Urbánková, Marie; Dyr, Jan Evangelista

2012-05-01

Fibrinogen—a 340-kDa glycoprotein—plays a crucial role in blood coagulation, platelet aggregation, wound healing, and other physiological processes. A mutation in fibrinogen may lead to congenital dysfibrinogenemia,a rare disease characterized by the functional deficiency of fibrinogen. About 580 cases of abnormal fibrinogens have been reported worldwide; thereof 335 cases in the fibrinogen Aa chain[1]. To our knowledge, only five cases of abnormal fibrinogens with two mutations [2–6] and one case of two different mutations in the same family [7] have been described earlier. A 52-year-old female was examined for bleeding. Routine hemostasis screening resulted in a diagnosis of dysfibrinogenemia. Functional testing revealed prolonged fibrin polymerization, prolonged lysis of the clot, abnormal fibrin morphology,and fibrinopeptides release. Genetic analysis showed two heterozygous nonsense mutations—previously described mutation AaGly13Glu and a novel mutation Aa Ser314Cys. The mutation Aa Gly13-Glu was found in her brother and niece, but there was no evidence in either of the mutation Aa Ser314Cys. While mutation Aa Gly13Glu is responsible for abnormal fibrinopeptide release and prolonged thrombin time, the novel mutation Aa Ser314Cys seems to affect fibrin morphology and fibrinolysis.

Dietary acrylamide intake of adults in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition differs greatly according to geographical region.

PubMed

Freisling, Heinz; Moskal, Aurelie; Ferrari, Pietro; Nicolas, Geneviève; Knaze, Viktoria; Clavel-Chapelon, Françoise; Boutron-Ruault, Marie-Christine; Nailler, Laura; Teucher, Birgit; Grote, Verena A; Boeing, Heiner; Clemens, Matthias; Tjønneland, Anne; Olsen, Anja; Overvad, Kim; Quirós, J Ramón; Duell, Eric J; Sánchez, María-José; Amiano, Pilar; Chirlaque, Maria-Dolores; Barricarte, Aurelio; Khaw, Kay-Tee; Wareham, Nicholas J; Crowe, Francesca L; Gallo, Valentina; Oikonomou, Eleni; Naska, Androniki; Trichopoulou, Antonia; Palli, Domenico; Agnoli, Claudia; Tumino, Rosario; Polidoro, Silvia; Mattiello, Amalia; Bueno-de-Mesquita, H Bas; Ocké, Marga C; Peeters, Petra H M; Wirfält, Elisabet; Ericson, Ulrika; Bergdahl, Ingvar A; Johansson, Ingegerd; Hjartåker, Anette; Engeset, Dagrun; Skeie, Guri; Riboli, Elio; Slimani, Nadia

2013-06-01

Methodological differences in assessing dietary acrylamide (AA) often hamper comparisons of intake across populations. Our aim was to describe the mean dietary AA intake in 27 centers of 10 European countries according to selected lifestyle characteristics and its contributing food sources in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. In this cross-sectional analysis, 36 994 men and women, aged 35-74 years completed a single, standardized 24-hour dietary recall using EPIC-Soft. Food consumption data were matched to a harmonized AA database. Intake was computed by gender and center, and across categories of habitual alcohol consumption, smoking status, physical activity, education, and body mass index (BMI). Adjustment was made for participants' age, height, weight, and energy intake using linear regression models. Adjusted mean AA intake across centers ranged from 13 to 47 μg/day in men and from 12 to 39 μg/day in women; intakes were higher in northern European centers. In most centers, intake in women was significantly higher among alcohol drinkers compared with abstainers. There were no associations between AA intake and physical activity, BMI, or education. At least 50 % of AA intake across centers came from two food groups "bread, crisp bread, rusks" and "coffee." The third main contributing food group was "potatoes". Dietary AA intake differs greatly among European adults residing in different geographical regions. This observed heterogeneity in AA intake deserves consideration in the design and interpretation of population-based studies of dietary AA intake and health outcomes.

Microstructure, crystallographic texture and mechanical properties of friction stir welded AA2017A

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ahmed, M.M.Z., E-mail: mohamed_ahmed4@s-petrol.suez.edu.eg; Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Suez Canal University, Suez 43721; Wynne, B.P.

2012-02-15

In this study a thick section (20 mm) friction stir welded AA2017A-T451 has been characterized in terms of microstructure, crystallographic texture and mechanical properties. For microstructural analysis both optical and scanning electron microscopes have been used. A detailed crystallographic texture analysis has been carried out using the electron back scattering diffraction technique. Crystallographic texture has been examined in both shoulder and probe affected regions of the weld NG. An entirely weak texture is observed at the shoulder affected region which is mainly explained by the effect of the sequential multi pass deformation experienced by both tool probe and tool shoulder.more » The texture in the probe dominated region at the AS side of the weld is relatively weak but still assembles the simple shear texture of FCC metals with B/B{sup Macron} and C components existing across the whole map. However, the texture is stronger at the RS than at the AS of the weld, mainly dominated byB/B{sup Macron} components and with C component almost absent across the map. An alternating bands between (B) components and (B{sup Macron }) component are observed only at the AS side of the weld. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Detailed investigation of microstructure and crystallographic texture. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The grain size is varied from the top to the bottom of the NG. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer An entirely weak texture is observed at the shoulder affected region. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The texture in the probe affected region is dominated by simple shear texture.« less

75 FR 38537 - Alaska Native Claims Selection

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-02

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [AA-11960, AA-12011, AA-12010, AA-11963, AA-11974, AA-11999, AA-12019, AA-12000, AA-12001, AA-12002, AA-11975, AA-11998, AA-11997, AA-11976, AA-11966, AA-11965, AA-12009, AA-12007, AA-12008, AA-11955, AA-11953, AA-11954, AA-12006, AA-11945, AA...

75 FR 51098 - Alaska Native Claims Selection

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-18

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [AA-11956, AA-11991, AA-11992, AA-11983, AA-11990, AA-11962, AA-11946, AA-11947, AA-11964, AA-11951, AA-11989, AA-11952, AA-11959, AA-11988, AA-11948, AA-11949, AA-11980, AA-11985, AA-11950, AA-11986, AA-11981, AA-11982, AA-12004, AA-12005; LLAK...

"I did not want to take that medicine": African-Americans' reasons for diabetes medication nonadherence and perceived solutions for enhancing adherence.

PubMed

Shiyanbola, Olayinka O; Brown, Carolyn M; Ward, Earlise C

2018-01-01

Diabetes is disproportionally burdensome among African-Americans (AAs) and medication adherence is important for optimal outcomes. Limited studies have qualitatively examined reasons for nonadherence among AAs with type 2 diabetes, though AAs are less adherent to prescribed medications compared to whites. This study explored the reasons for medication nonadherence and adherence among AAs with type 2 diabetes and examined AAs' perceived solutions for enhancing adherence. Forty AAs, age 45-60 years with type 2 diabetes for at least 1 year prior, taking at least one prescribed diabetes medication, participated in six semistructured 90-minute focus groups. Using a phenomenology qualitative approach, reasons for nonadherence and adherence, as well as participants' perceived solutions for increasing adherence were explored. Qualitative content analysis was conducted. AAs' reasons for intentional nonadherence were associated with 1) their perception of medicines including concerns about medication side effects, as well as fear and frustration associated with taking medicines; 2) their perception of illness (disbelief of diabetes diagnosis); and 3) access to medicines and information resources. Participants reported taking their medicines because they valued being alive to perform their social and family roles, and their belief in the doctor's recommendation and medication helpfulness. Participants provided solutions for enhancing adherence by focusing on the roles of health care providers, patients, and the church. AAs wanted provider counseling on the necessity of taking medicines and the consequences of not taking them, indicating the need for the AA community to support and teach self-advocacy in diabetes self-management, and the church to act as an advocate in ensuring medication use. Intentional reasons of AAs with type 2 diabetes for not taking their medicines were related to their perception of medicines and illness. Solutions for enhancing diabetes medication adherence among AAs should focus on the roles of providers, patients, and the church.

Dietary supplementation of branched-chain amino acids increases muscle net amino acid fluxes through elevating their substrate availability and intramuscular catabolism in young pigs.

PubMed

Zheng, Liufeng; Zuo, Fangrui; Zhao, Shengjun; He, Pingli; Wei, Hongkui; Xiang, Quanhang; Pang, Jiaman; Peng, Jian

2017-04-01

Branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) have been clearly demonstrated to have anabolic effects on muscle protein synthesis. However, little is known about their roles in the regulation of net AA fluxes across skeletal muscle in vivo. This study was aimed to investigate the effect and related mechanisms of dietary supplementation of BCAA on muscle net amino acid (AA) fluxes using the hindlimb flux model. In all fourteen 4-week-old barrows were fed reduced-protein diets with or without supplemental BCAA for 28 d. Pigs were implanted with carotid arterial, femoral arterial and venous catheters, and fed once hourly with intraarterial infusion of p-amino hippurate. Arterial and venous plasma and muscle samples were obtained for the measurement of AA, branched-chain α-keto acids (BCKA) and 3-methylhistidine (3-MH). Metabolomes of venous plasma were determined by HPLC-quadrupole time-of-flight-MS. BCAA-supplemented group showed elevated muscle net fluxes of total essential AA, non-essential AA and AA. As for individual AA, muscle net fluxes of each BCAA and their metabolites (alanine, glutamate and glutamine), along with those of histidine, methionine and several functional non-essential AA (glycine, proline and serine), were increased by BCAA supplementation. The elevated muscle net AA fluxes were associated with the increase in arterial and intramuscular concentrations of BCAA and venous metabolites including BCKA and free fatty acids, and were also related to the decrease in the intramuscular concentration of 3-MH. Correlation analysis indicated that muscle net AA fluxes are highly and positively correlated with arterial BCAA concentrations and muscle net BCKA production. In conclusion, supplementing BCAA to reduced-protein diet increases the arterial concentrations and intramuscular catabolism of BCAA, both of which would contribute to an increase of muscle net AA fluxes in young pigs.

A targeted mass spectrometry-based approach for the identification and characterization of proteins containing α-aminoadipic and γ-glutamic semialdehyde residues

PubMed Central

Chavez, Juan D.; Bisson, William H.

2011-01-01

The site-specific identification of α-aminoadipic semialdehyde (AAS) and γ-glutamic semialdehyde (GGS) residues in proteins is reported. Semialdehydic protein modifications result from the metal-catalyzed oxidation of Lys or Arg and Pro residues, respectively. Most of the analytical methods for the analysis of protein carbonylation measure change to the global level of carbonylation and fail to provide details regarding protein identity, site, and chemical nature of the carbonylation. In this work, we used a targeted approach, which combines chemical labeling, enrichment, and tandem mass spectrometric analysis, for the site-specific identification of AAS and GGS sites in proteins. The approach is applied to in vitro oxidized glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and an untreated biological sample, namely cardiac mitochondrial proteins. The analysis of GAPDH resulted in the site-specific identification of two AAA and four GGS residues. Computational evaluation of the identified AAS and GGS sites in GAPDH indicated that these sites are located in flexible regions, show high solvent accessibility values, and are in proximity with possible metal ion binding sites. The targeted proteomic analysis of semialdehydic modifications in cardiac mitochondria yielded nine AAS modification sites which were unambiguously assigned to distinct lysine residues in the following proteins: ATP/ATP translocase isoforms 1 and 2, ubiquinol cytochrome-c reductase core protein 2, and ATP synthase α-subunit. PMID:20957471

A meta-analysis of MSI frequency and race in colorectal cancer

PubMed Central

Ashktorab, Hassan; Ahuja, Sadhna; Kannan, Lakshmi; Llor, Xavier; Ellis, Nathan A.; Xicola, Rosa M.; Laiyemo, Adeyinka O.; Carethers, John M.; Brim, Hassan; Nouraie, Mehdi

2016-01-01

PURPOSE African Americans (AA) are at a higher risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) and some studies report a higher frequency of microsatellite instability (MSI) in this population while others report lower frequency compared to Caucasians. AIM To determine and evaluate the association of race and clinical factors with MSI frequency through meta- analysis. METHODS Twenty-two studies out of 15,105 (1997-2015) were evaluated after a search in different literature databases, using keywords “colorectal cancer, microsatellite instability, African Americans, Caucasians and Hispanics”. We used random effect meta-analysis to calculate the MSI frequency in all studies as well as in African American and Caucasian samples. Meta-regression analysis was used to assess the univariate effect of race, gender, age, tumor location and stage on MSI frequency. RESULTS The overall MSI frequency among CRCs was 17% (95%CI: 15%-19%, I²=91%). In studies with available race data, The MSI rate among AAs, Hispanics and Caucasians were 12%, 12% and 14% respectively and was not significantly different. Sub-group analysis of studies with racial information indicates MSI OR of 0.78 for AAs compared to Caucasians. CONCLUSION CRCs demonstrate an overall MSI frequency of 17%. MSI frequency differences between AAs and Caucasians were not pronounced, suggesting that other factors contribute to the racial disparity. The methodological approaches and biological sources of the variation seen in MSI frequency between different studies need to be further investigated. PMID:27120810

Validation and Interrogation of Differentially Expressed and Alternately Spliced Genes in African American Prostate Cancer

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-10-01

aggressive disease. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Prostate cancer, health disparities among racial groups, molecular mechanisms, differential gene expression...identify molecular mechanisms of tumor aggressiveness. The studies proposed here address the urgent need to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying... genetic /epigenetic/post-transcriptional factors in AA prostate cancer and Gleason grade and 2) manipulate splicing using novel splice-switching

Successive Over-Relaxation Technique for High-Performance Blind Image Deconvolution

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-08

deconvolution, space surveillance, Gauss - Seidel iteration 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT SAR 18, NUMBER OF PAGES 5...sensible approximate solutions to the ill-posed nonlinear inverse problem. These solutions are addresses as fixed points of the iteration which consists in...alternating approximations (AA) for the object and for the PSF performed with a prescribed number of inner iterative descents from trivial (zero

[Usefulness of imaging examinations in preoperative diagnosis of acute appendicitis].

PubMed

Nitoń, Tomasz; Górecka-Nitoń, Aleksandra

2014-01-01

Acute appendicitis (AA) is the cause one of most operations perform in department of general surgery on emergency ward. Frequency of acute appendicitis range from 6-8% of population. Clinical presentation is frequently unspecified and despite common occurence leads to many difficulties in diagnosis. Diagnosis of acute appendicitis includes clinical examination, laboratory tests, diagnostic scoring systems, computer programs as physisian aids and imaging examinations. About 30-45% patients suspected of acute appendicitis have untypical clinical presentation and here use of US or CT is very helpful. Longstanding use of US resulted in high AA evaluation accuracy with high sensitivity (75-90%) and specificity (84-100%). CT demonstrates above 95% ratio of correct diagnoses, reduces negative appendectomy rates and perforation rates as well as unnecessary observations. CT sensitivity and specificity CT is estimated between 83-100% among different authors. Expedited AA diagnosis, surgery and reduced hospitalization time are possible advantages of imaging tests. Additionally these tests can detect alternative deseases imitating acute appnedicitis. Use of imaging tests especially CT is beneficial in fertile women because of frequent genito-urinary disorders leading to the most diagnostic errors. However thera are contraindications in use of CT, for example it can not be performed in early pregnancy etc...

Arachidonic acid alters tomato HMG expression and fruit growth and induces 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase-independent lycopene accumulation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rodriguez-Concepcion, M.; Gruissem, W.

Regulation of isoprenoid end-product synthesis required for normal growth and development in plants is not well understood. To investigate the extent to which specific genes for the enzyme 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGR) are involved in end-product regulation, the authors manipulated expression of the HMG1 and HMG2 genes in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) fruit using arachidonic acid (AA). In developing young fruit AA blocked fruit growth, inhibited HMG1, and activated HMG2 expression. These results are consistent with other reports indicating that HMG1 expression is closely correlated with growth processes requiring phytosterol production. In mature-green fruit AA strongly induced the expression ofmore » HMG2, PSY1 (the gene for phytoene synthase), and lycopene accumulation before the normal onset of carotenoid synthesis and ripening. The induction of lycopene synthesis was not blocked by inhibition of HMGR activity using mevinolin, suggesting that cytoplasmic HMGR is not required for carotenoid synthesis. Their results are consistent with the function of an alternative plastid isoprenoid pathway (the Rohmer pathway) that appears to direct the production of carotenoids during tomato fruit ripening.« less

'Care and Prevent': rationale for investigating skin and soft tissue infections and AA amyloidosis among people who inject drugs in London.

PubMed

Harris, M; Brathwaite, R; McGowan, Catherine R; Ciccarone, D; Gilchrist, G; McCusker, M; O'Brien, K; Dunn, J; Scott, J; Hope, V

2018-05-08

Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among people who inject drugs (PWID). International data indicate up to one third of PWID have experienced an SSTI within the past month. Complications include sepsis, endocarditis and amyloid A (AA) amyloidosis. AA amyloidosis is a serious sequela of chronic SSTI among PWID. Though there is a paucity of literature reporting on AA amyloidosis among PWID, what has been published suggests there is likely a causal relationship between AA amyloidosis and injecting-related SSTI. If left untreated, AA amyloidosis can lead to renal failure; premature mortality among diagnosed PWID is high. Early intervention may reverse disease. Despite the high societal and individual burden of SSTI among PWID, empirical evidence on the barriers and facilitators to injecting-related SSTI prevention and care or the feasibility and acceptability of AA amyloidosis screening and treatment referral are limited. This study aims to fill these gaps and assess the prevalence of AA amyloidosis among PWID. Care and Prevent is a UK National Institute for Health Research-funded mixed-methods study. In five phases (P1-P5), we aim to assess the evidence for AA amyloidosis among PWID (P1); assess the feasibility of AA amyloidosis screening, diagnostic and treatment referral among PWID in London (P2); investigate the barriers and facilitators to AA amyloidosis care (P3); explore SSTI protection and risk (P4); and co-create harm reduction resources with the affected community (P5). This paper describes the conceptual framework, methodological design and proposed analysis for the mixed-methods multi-phase study. We are implementing the Care and Prevent protocol in London. The systematic review component of the study has been completed and published. Care and Prevent will generate an estimate of AA amyloidosis prevalence among community recruited PWID in London, with implications for the development of screening recommendations and intervention implementation. We aim to recruit 400 PWID from drug treatment services in London, UK. Care and Prevent is the first study to assess screening feasibility and the prevalence of positive proteinuria, as a marker for AA amyloidosis, among PWID accessing drug treatment services. AA amyloidosis is a serious, yet under-recognised condition for which early intervention is available but not employed.

Antifilarial and Antibiotic Activities of Methanolic Extracts of Melaleuca cajuputi Flowers

PubMed Central

Al-Abd, Nazeh M.; Nor, Zurainee Mohamed; Mansor, Marzida; Hasan, MS; Kassim, Mustafa

2016-01-01

We evaluated the activity of methanolic extracts of Melaleuca cajuputi flowers against the filarial worm Brugia pahangi and its bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia. Anti-Wolbachia activity was measured in worms and in Aedes albopictus Aa23 cells by PCR, electron microscopy, and other biological assays. In particular, microfilarial release, worm motility, and viability were determined. M. cajuputi flower extracts were found to significantly reduce Wolbachia endosymbionts in Aa23 cells, Wolbachia surface protein, and microfilarial release, as well as the viability and motility of adult worms. Anti-Wolbachia activity was further confirmed by observation of degraded and phagocytized Wolbachia in worms treated with the flower extracts. The data provided in vitro and in vivo evidence that M. cajuputi flower extracts inhibit Wolbachia, an activity that may be exploited as an alternative strategy to treat human lymphatic filariasis. PMID:27417081

Differential gene expression between African American and European American colorectal cancer patients.

PubMed

Jovov, Biljana; Araujo-Perez, Felix; Sigel, Carlie S; Stratford, Jeran K; McCoy, Amber N; Yeh, Jen Jen; Keku, Temitope

2012-01-01

The incidence and mortality of colorectal cancer (CRC) is higher in African Americans (AAs) than other ethnic groups in the U. S., but reasons for the disparities are unknown. We performed gene expression profiling of sporadic CRCs from AAs vs. European Americans (EAs) to assess the contribution to CRC disparities. We evaluated the gene expression of 43 AA and 43 EA CRC tumors matched by stage and 40 matching normal colorectal tissues using the Agilent human whole genome 4x44K cDNA arrays. Gene and pathway analyses were performed using Significance Analysis of Microarrays (SAM), Ten-fold cross validation, and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA). SAM revealed that 95 genes were differentially expressed between AA and EA patients at a false discovery rate of ≤5%. Using IPA we determined that most prominent disease and pathway associations of differentially expressed genes were related to inflammation and immune response. Ten-fold cross validation demonstrated that following 10 genes can predict ethnicity with an accuracy of 94%: CRYBB2, PSPH, ADAL, VSIG10L, C17orf81, ANKRD36B, ZNF835, ARHGAP6, TRNT1 and WDR8. Expression of these 10 genes was validated by qRT-PCR in an independent test set of 28 patients (10 AA, 18 EA). Our results are the first to implicate differential gene expression in CRC racial disparities and indicate prominent difference in CRC inflammation between AA and EA patients. Differences in susceptibility to inflammation support the existence of distinct tumor microenvironments in these two patient populations.

Differential Gene Expression between African American and European American Colorectal Cancer Patients

PubMed Central

Jovov, Biljana; Araujo-Perez, Felix; Sigel, Carlie S.; Stratford, Jeran K.; McCoy, Amber N.; Yeh, Jen Jen; Keku, Temitope

2012-01-01

The incidence and mortality of colorectal cancer (CRC) is higher in African Americans (AAs) than other ethnic groups in the U. S., but reasons for the disparities are unknown. We performed gene expression profiling of sporadic CRCs from AAs vs. European Americans (EAs) to assess the contribution to CRC disparities. We evaluated the gene expression of 43 AA and 43 EA CRC tumors matched by stage and 40 matching normal colorectal tissues using the Agilent human whole genome 4x44K cDNA arrays. Gene and pathway analyses were performed using Significance Analysis of Microarrays (SAM), Ten-fold cross validation, and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA). SAM revealed that 95 genes were differentially expressed between AA and EA patients at a false discovery rate of ≤5%. Using IPA we determined that most prominent disease and pathway associations of differentially expressed genes were related to inflammation and immune response. Ten-fold cross validation demonstrated that following 10 genes can predict ethnicity with an accuracy of 94%: CRYBB2, PSPH, ADAL, VSIG10L, C17orf81, ANKRD36B, ZNF835, ARHGAP6, TRNT1 and WDR8. Expression of these 10 genes was validated by qRT-PCR in an independent test set of 28 patients (10 AA, 18 EA). Our results are the first to implicate differential gene expression in CRC racial disparities and indicate prominent difference in CRC inflammation between AA and EA patients. Differences in susceptibility to inflammation support the existence of distinct tumor microenvironments in these two patient populations. PMID:22276153

Data Fusion Analysis For Test Validation System

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-11-16

triethyl phosphate (TEP), methyl salicylate (MeS), and acetic acid (AA). A total of 29 release scenarios were conducted: fifteen TEP releases of 30...N2 - north second. bA - 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, and 11; B - 1 through 12; NA - not available. cTEP - triethyl phosphate; MeS - methyl salicylate ; AA

Biochemical evaluation of a parsley tyrosine decarboxylase results in a novel 4-hydroxyphenylacetaldehyde synthase enzyme.

PubMed

Torrens-Spence, Michael P; Gillaspy, Glenda; Zhao, Bingyu; Harich, Kim; White, Robert H; Li, Jianyong

2012-02-10

Plant aromatic amino acid decarboxylases (AAADs) are effectively indistinguishable from plant aromatic acetaldehyde syntheses (AASs) through primary sequence comparison. Spectroscopic analyses of several characterized AASs and AAADs were performed to look for absorbance spectral identifiers. Although this limited survey proved inconclusive, the resulting work enabled the reevaluation of several characterized plant AAS and AAAD enzymes. Upon completion, a previously reported parsley AAAD protein was demonstrated to have AAS activity. Substrate specificity tests demonstrate that this novel AAS enzyme has a unique substrate specificity towards tyrosine (km 0.46mM) and dopa (km 1.40mM). Metabolite analysis established the abundance of tyrosine and absence of dopa in parsley extracts. Such analysis indicates that tyrosine is likely to be the sole physiological substrate. The resulting information suggests that this gene is responsible for the in vivo production of 4-hydroxyphenylacetaldehyde (4-HPAA). This is the first reported case of an AAS enzyme utilizing tyrosine as a primary substrate and the first report of a single enzyme capable of producing 4-HPAA from tyrosine. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Development of a disease-specific instrument to measure quality of life in patients with alopecia areata.

PubMed

Endo, Yuichiro; Miyachi, Yoshiki; Arakawa, Akiko

2012-01-01

Alopecia areata (AA) is a common hair loss disorder that frequently follows a chronic course. Although AA is apparently associated with disturbance of quality of life (QoL), no disease-specific instrument to measure the QoL has been developed. This study was conducted to develop a disease-specific self-administered instrument to measure AA patients' QoL (AAQ). A two-step cross-sectional study was conducted. Items were generated from qualitative interviews with five patients with AA (two men and three women, age 28±6.4 years). Then, a preliminary questionnaire was produced and delivered to the patients (n=122). The AAQ was examined in terms of statistical performance. The AAQ included 7 items in the following three subscales: 'restriction of activity', 'concealment' and 'adaptation'. The reliability of internal consistency was fair with Cronbach's alpha coefficients of 0.59-81 for each subscale. Confirmatory factor analysis and correlation analysis demonstrated that the AAQ had good construct validity. Interestingly, the AAQ was only correlated with subjective severity scores as rated by the patients, but not with objective disease severity assessed by investigators.

Evaluation of the Houston biochemical relapse definition in men treated with prolonged neoadjuvant and adjuvant androgen ablation and assessment of follow-up lead-time bias.

PubMed

Pickles, Tom; Kim-Sing, Charmaine; Morris, W James; Tyldesley, Scott; Paltiel, Chuck

2003-09-01

To validate the Houston prostate-specific antigen relapse definition in a mature cohort of men treated with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) and adjuvant androgen ablation (AA) and men treated with EBRT monotherapy, and to compare these results with the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) and Vancouver prostate-specific antigen relapse (biochemical no evidence of disease) definitions. A prospective database of 1490 men treated with EBRT, with or without AA, was examined. The impact on hazard proportions, as well as the predictive ability, of the Houston, ASTRO, and Vancouver definitions was tested. For all patients, the Houston definition was more accurate (79.5%) than the ASTRO (76.7%) or Vancouver (77.2%) definitions in predicting subsequent clinical relapse. The Houston definition was superior to the ASTRO definition in those treated both with and without AA and equivalent to the Vancouver definition in those receiving AA. The Houston definition demonstrated proportional hazards when categorized for the use of AA, unlike the ASTRO and Vancouver definitions. The effect of inadequate follow-up on the projected relapse rates was negligible with the Houston definition. The Houston relapse definition is favored after EBRT monotherapy or combined EBRT and AA. Use of the Cox proportional hazard multivariate analysis is appropriate with the Houston definition, but not with the ASTRO or Vancouver definitions if AA and non-AA patients are combined.

Hydropathic self-organized criticality: a magic wand for protein physics.

PubMed

Phillips, J C

2012-10-01

Self-organized criticality (SOC) is a popular concept that has been the subject of more than 3000 articles in the last 25 years. The characteristic signature of SOC is the appearance of self-similarity (power-law scaling) in observable properties. A characteristic observable protein property that describes protein-water interactions is the water-accessible (hydropathic) interfacial area of compacted globular protein networks. Here we show that hydropathic power-law (size- or length-scale-dependent) exponents derived from SOC enable theory to connect standard Web-based (BLAST) short-range amino acid (aa) sequence similarities to long-range aa sequence hydropathic roughening form factors that hierarchically describe evolutionary trends in water - membrane protein interactions. Our method utilizes hydropathic aa exponents that define a non-Euclidean metric realistically rooted in the atomic coordinates of 5526 protein segments. These hydropathic aa exponents thereby encapsulate universal (but previously only implicit) non-Euclidean long-range differential geometrical features of the Protein Data Bank. These hydropathic aa exponents easily organize small mutated aa sequence differences between human and proximate species proteins. For rhodopsin, the most studied transmembrane signaling protein associated with night vision, analysis shows that this approach separates Euclidean short- and non-Euclidean long-range aa sequence properties, and shows that they correlate with 96% success for humans, monkeys, cats, mice and rabbits. Proper application of SOC using hydropathic aa exponents promises unprecedented simplifications of exponentially complex protein sequence-structure-function problems, both conceptual and practical.

Portable electrochemical sensor based on 4-aminobenzoic acid-functionalized herringbone carbon nanotubes for the determination of ascorbic acid and uric acid in human fluids.

PubMed

Abellán-Llobregat, A; González-Gaitán, C; Vidal, L; Canals, A; Morallón, E

2018-06-30

A new portable electrochemical sensor based on 4-aminobenzoic acid-modified herringbone carbon nanotubes (hCNTs-4ABA/Au-IDA) has been developed for the simultaneous determination of ascorbic acid (AA) and uric acid (UA) in physiological fluids. AA and UA were quantified by chronoamperometry at 0.1 and 0.32 V, respectively, in phosphate buffer solution (PBS 0.25 M, pH 7.0). Significant results were obtained for the separate quantification of AA and UA, with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.65 μM for both analytes, and sensitivities of (9.0 ± 0.4) A g -1 mM -1 and (8.8 ± 0.3) A g -1 mM -1 for AA and UA, respectively. Repeatability was studied at 50 μM for AA and UA, providing relative standard deviations (RSD) lower than 9%. Additions of glucose, dopamine and epinephrine did not interfere with the AA and UA determination. Furthermore, UA did not interfere with AA determination at 0.1 V, although AA additions increased the current recorded at 0.32 V. The method has been successfully applied to human urine, perspiration and serum samples, without significant matrix effects, which allows for the use of an external calibration and the analysis of all the matrices investigated. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Determination of mercury in hair: Comparison between gold amalgamation-atomic absorption spectrometry and mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Domanico, Francesco; Forte, Giovanni; Majorani, Costanza; Senofonte, Oreste; Petrucci, Francesco; Pezzi, Vincenzo; Alimonti, Alessandro

2017-09-01

Mercury is a heavy metal that causes serious health problems in exposed subjects. The most toxic form, i.e., methylmercury (MeHg), is mostly excreted through human hair. Numerous analytical methods are available for total Hg analysis in human hair, including cold vapour atomic fluorescence spectrometry (CV-AFS), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and thermal decomposition amalgamation atomic absorption spectrometry (TDA-AAS). The aim of the study was to compare the TDA-AAS with the ICP-MS in the Hg quantification in human hair. After the washing procedure to minimize the external contamination, from each hair sample two aliquots were taken; the first was used for direct analysis of Hg by TDA-AAS and the second was digested for Hg determination by the ICP-MS. Results indicated that the two data sets were fully comparable (median; TDA-AAS, 475ngg -1 ; ICP-MS, 437ngg -1 ) and were not statistically different (Mann-Whitney test; p=0.44). The two techniques presented results with a good coefficient of correlation (r=0.94) despite different operative ranges and method limits. Both techniques satisfied internal performance requirements and the parameters for method validation resulting sensitive, precise and reliable. Finally, the use of the TDA-AAS can be considered instead of the ICP-MS in hair analysis in order to reduce sample manipulation with minor risk of contamination, less time consuming due to the absence of the digestion step and cheaper analyses. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Genome-wide association study of age at menarche in African-American women

PubMed Central

Demerath, Ellen W.; Liu, Ching-Ti; Franceschini, Nora; Chen, Gary; Palmer, Julie R.; Smith, Erin N.; Chen, Christina T.L.; Ambrosone, Christine B.; Arnold, Alice M.; Bandera, Elisa V.; Berenson, Gerald S.; Bernstein, Leslie; Britton, Angela; Cappola, Anne R.; Carlson, Christopher S.; Chanock, Stephen J.; Chen, Wei; Chen, Zhao; Deming, Sandra L.; Elks, Cathy E.; Evans, Michelle K.; Gajdos, Zofia; Henderson, Brian E.; Hu, Jennifer J.; Ingles, Sue; John, Esther M.; Kerr, Kathleen F.; Kolonel, Laurence N.; Le Marchand, Loic; Lu, Xiaoning; Millikan, Robert C.; Musani, Solomon K.; Nock, Nora L.; North, Kari; Nyante, Sarah; Press, Michael F.; Rodriquez-Gil, Jorge L.; Ruiz-Narvaez, Edward A.; Schork, Nicholas J.; Srinivasan, Sathanur R.; Woods, Nancy F.; Zheng, Wei; Ziegler, Regina G.; Zonderman, Alan; Heiss, Gerardo; Gwen Windham, B.; Wellons, Melissa; Murray, Sarah S.; Nalls, Michael; Pastinen, Tomi; Rajkovic, Aleksandar; Hirschhorn, Joel; Adrienne Cupples, L.; Kooperberg, Charles; Murabito, Joanne M.; Haiman, Christopher A.

2013-01-01

African-American (AA) women have earlier menarche on average than women of European ancestry (EA), and earlier menarche is a risk factor for obesity and type 2 diabetes among other chronic diseases. Identification of common genetic variants associated with age at menarche has a potential value in pointing to the genetic pathways underlying chronic disease risk, yet comprehensive genome-wide studies of age at menarche are lacking for AA women. In this study, we tested the genome-wide association of self-reported age at menarche with common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a total of 18 089 AA women in 15 studies using an additive genetic linear regression model, adjusting for year of birth and population stratification, followed by inverse-variance weighted meta-analysis (Stage 1). Top meta-analysis results were then tested in an independent sample of 2850 women (Stage 2). First, while no SNP passed the pre-specified P < 5 × 10−8 threshold for significance in Stage 1, suggestive associations were found for variants near FLRT2 and PIK3R1, and conditional analysis identified two independent SNPs (rs339978 and rs980000) in or near RORA, strengthening the support for this suggestive locus identified in EA women. Secondly, an investigation of SNPs in 42 previously identified menarche loci in EA women demonstrated that 25 (60%) of them contained variants significantly associated with menarche in AA women. The findings provide the first evidence of cross-ethnic generalization of menarche loci identified to date, and suggest a number of novel biological links to menarche timing in AA women. PMID:23599027

Decreasing racial disparity with the combination of ledipasvir-sofosbuvir for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C.

PubMed

Naylor, Paul H; Mutchnick, Milton

2017-01-01

African Americans (AA) in the US are twice as likely to be infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) compared to the non-Hispanic-white US population (Cau). They are also more likely to be infected with HCV genotype 1, more likely to develop hepatocellular carcinoma, and, in addition, have a lower response rate to interferon-based therapies. With the increase in response rates reported for combinations of direct-acting antivirals, the possibility that racial disparity would be eliminated by agents that directly inhibit virus replication has become a reality. The objective of this review is to evaluate the literature from clinical studies and retrospective analysis with respect to the response of AA to the most prescribed antiviral combination sofosbuvir plus ledipasvir. While few studies have focused on AA patients, sufficient information is availed from the literature and studies in our predominately AA clinic population to confirm that ledipasvir-sofosbuvir has a similar effectiveness in AA as compared to Cau.

IL-10 -1082 A>G (rs1800896) polymorphism confers susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis in Caucasians but not in Asians and Africans: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

Areeshi, Mohammed Y; Mandal, Raju K; Dar, Sajad A; Jawed, Arshad; Wahid, Mohd; Lohani, Mohtashim; Panda, Aditya K; Mishra, Bhartendu N; Akhter, Naseem; Haque, Shafiul

2017-10-31

Earlier studies have shown that interlukin-10 ( IL-10 ) -1082 A>G gene polymorphism is implicated in susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB), but their results are inconsistent and inconclusive. In the present study, a meta-analysis was performed to analyze the potential association between IL-10 -1082 A>G gene polymorphism and PTB susceptibility. A quantitative synthesis was done using PubMed (Medline), EMBASE, and Google Scholar web databases search and meta-analysis was performed by calculating pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for all the genetic models. A total of 22 eligible studies comprising 4956 PTB cases and 6428 healthy controls were included in the analysis. We did not observe any increased or decreased risk of PTB in allelic contrast (G vs. A: P =0.985; OR = 1.001, 95% CI = 0.863-1.162), homozygous (GG vs. AA: P =0.889; OR = 1.029, 95% CI = 0.692-1.529), heterozygous (GA vs. AA: P =0.244; OR = 0.906, 95% CI = 0.767-1.070), dominant (GG + AG vs. AA: P =0.357; OR = 1.196, 95% CI = 0.817-1.752), and recessive (GG vs. AA + AG: P =0.364; OR = 0.921, 95% CI = 0.771-1.100) genetic models. Likewise, no association of IL-10 -1082 A>G polymorphism with PTB risk was observed in Asian and African population for all the genetic models. Interestingly, the dominant model (GG + AG vs. AA: P =0.004; OR = 1.694, 95% CI = 1.183-2.425) demonstrated increased risk of PTB in Caucasian population. This meta-analysis concludes that IL-10 -1082 A>G gene polymorphism is not significantly associated with overall, Asian and African population. However, this polymorphism is associated with Caucasian population. © 2017 The Author(s).

IL-10 -1082 A>G (rs1800896) polymorphism confers susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis in Caucasians but not in Asians and Africans: a meta-analysis

PubMed Central

Areeshi, Mohammed Y.; Mandal, Raju K.; Dar, Sajad A.; Jawed, Arshad; Wahid, Mohd; Lohani, Mohtashim; Panda, Aditya K.; Mishra, Bhartendu N.; Akhter, Naseem

2017-01-01

Background: Earlier studies have shown that interlukin-10 (IL-10) -1082 A>G gene polymorphism is implicated in susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB), but their results are inconsistent and inconclusive. In the present study, a meta-analysis was performed to analyze the potential association between IL-10 -1082 A>G gene polymorphism and PTB susceptibility. Methods: A quantitative synthesis was done using PubMed (Medline), EMBASE, and Google Scholar web databases search and meta-analysis was performed by calculating pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for all the genetic models. Results: A total of 22 eligible studies comprising 4956 PTB cases and 6428 healthy controls were included in the analysis. We did not observe any increased or decreased risk of PTB in allelic contrast (G vs. A: P=0.985; OR = 1.001, 95% CI = 0.863–1.162), homozygous (GG vs. AA: P=0.889; OR = 1.029, 95% CI = 0.692–1.529), heterozygous (GA vs. AA: P=0.244; OR = 0.906, 95% CI = 0.767–1.070), dominant (GG + AG vs. AA: P=0.357; OR = 1.196, 95% CI = 0.817–1.752), and recessive (GG vs. AA + AG: P=0.364; OR = 0.921, 95% CI = 0.771–1.100) genetic models. Likewise, no association of IL-10 -1082 A>G polymorphism with PTB risk was observed in Asian and African population for all the genetic models. Interestingly, the dominant model (GG + AG vs. AA: P=0.004; OR = 1.694, 95% CI = 1.183–2.425) demonstrated increased risk of PTB in Caucasian population. Conclusions: This meta-analysis concludes that IL-10 -1082 A>G gene polymorphism is not significantly associated with overall, Asian and African population. However, this polymorphism is associated with Caucasian population. PMID:28951522

Mutation Analysis of IDH1/2 Genes in Unselected De novo Acute Myeloid Leukaemia Patients in India - Identification of A Novel IDH2 Mutation.

PubMed

Raveendran, Sureshkumar; Sarojam, Santhi; Vijay, Sangeetha; Geetha, Aswathy Chandran; Sreedharan, Jayadevan; Narayanan, Geetha; Sreedharan, Hariharan

2015-01-01

IDH1/2 mutations which result in alternation in DNA methylation pattern are one of the most common methylation associated mutations in Acute myeloid leukaemia. IDH1/2 mutations frequently associated with higher platelet level, normal cytogentics and NPM1 mutations. Here we analyzed IDH1/2 mutations in 200 newly diagnosed unselected Indian adult AML patients and investigated their correlation with clinical, cytogenetic parameters along with cooperating NPM1 mutation. We detected 5.5% and 4% mutations in IDH1/2 genes, respectively. Except IDH2 c.515_516GG>AA mutation, all the other identified mutations were reported mutations. Similar to reported c.515G>A mutation, the novel c.515_516GG>AA mutation replaces 172nd arginine to lysine in the active site of the enzyme. Even though there was a preponderance of IDH1/2 mutations in NK-AML, cytogenetically abnormal patients also harboured IDH1/2 mutations. IDH1 mutations showed significant higher platelet count and NPM1 mutations. IDH2 mutated patients displayed infrequent NPM1 mutations and lower WBC count. All the NPM1 mutations in the IDH1/2 mutated cases showed type A mutation. The present data suggest that IDH1/2 mutations are associated with normal cytogenetics and type A NPM1 mutations in adult Indian AML patients.

75 FR 26784 - Alaska Native Claims Selection

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-12

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [AA-11973, AA-11993, AA-11968, AA-11972, AA-12018, AA-12013, AA-12014, AA-12015, AA-12016, AA-12017, AA-11984, AA-11994, AA-11995, AA-11996, AA-12003, AA-12012, AA-11967, AA-12020, AA-12021; LLAK-962000- L14100000-HY0000-P] Alaska Native Claims...

JAK2 rs10758669 polymorphisms and susceptibility to ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

Zhang, Ji-Xiang; Song, Jia; Wang, Jun; Dong, Wei-Guo

2014-06-01

In this meta-analysis, we aimed to clarify the impact of Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) rs10758669 polymorphisms on ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) risk. Data were extracted, and pooled odd ratios (ORs) as well as 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) were calculated. Eleven studies with 7009 CD patients, 7929 UC patients, and 19235 controls were included. The results showed that JAK2 rs10758669 polymorphism was associated with CD (AC vs. AA, OR = 1.16, 95%CI, 1.08-1.24; CC vs. AA, OR = 1.29, 95%CI, 1.17-1.43; AC + CC vs. AA, OR = 1.19, 95%CI, 1.11-1.27; CC vs. AA + AC, OR = 1.19, 95%CI, 1.09-1.31; C vs. A, OR = 1.14, 95%CI, 1.09-1.20) and UC susceptibility (AC vs. AA, OR = 1.14, 95%CI, 1.06-1.22; CC vs. AA, OR = 1.33, 95%CI, 1.20-1.47; AC + CC vs. AA, OR = 1.18, 95%CI, 1.10-1.27; CC vs. AA + AC, OR = 1.24, 95%CI, 1.12-1.36; C vs. A, OR = 1.15, 95%CI, 1.10-1.21). But no significant association was found between JAK2 rs10758669 polymorphism with CD in Asian. Either in adult-onset group or multi-age group, hospital-based group or population-based group, JAK2 rs10758669 polymorphism was associated with CD and UC susceptibility. This meta-analysis indicated that JAK2 rs10758669 polymorphism was a risk factor both for CD and UC, especially in Caucasian. The differences in age of onset and study design did not influence the associations obviously. Gene-gene and gene-environment interactions should be investigated in the future.

Drawing attention to a neglected injecting-related harm: a systematic review of AA amyloidosis among people who inject drugs.

PubMed

Harris, Magdalena; Brathwaite, Rachel; Scott, Jenny; Gilchrist, Gail; Ciccarone, Dan; Hope, Vivian; McGowan, Catherine R

2018-04-26

Chronic skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI) among people who inject drugs (PWID) can lead to AA amyloidosis: a serious, yet neglected, multi-organ disease. We aim to synthesize findings on the epidemiology, risk factors, clinical outcomes, screening recommendations and challenges to treatment for AA amyloidosis among PWID. A systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). We searched the following bibliographic databases in July 2017: CINAHL Plus, Embase, Global Health, MEDLINE, PsycEXTRA, PsycINFO and SCOPUS. Studies were included if they investigated AA amyloidosis in PWID. Studies were not restricted to location, study type, year or language of publication. Study heterogeneity precluded meta-analysis; we present a narrative review of the literature. Thirty-seven papers from eight countries met inclusion criteria. A total of 781 PWID are reported on, of whom 177 had AA amyloidosis. Where disease causality is established, it is attributed to chronic inflammation caused by injecting-related SSTIs. Most (88.7%) PWID with AA amyloidosis had SSTIs. The proportion of PWID with AA amyloidosis at post-mortem ranged from 1.6% (Germany) to 22.5% (Serbia). Biopsy studies reported from 5.26% (Portugal) to 50% (Germany) of AA amyloidosis in PWID with suspected or known kidney disease. Following diagnosis, the typical trajectory for PWID with AA amyloidosis was rapid deterioration of renal function requiring haemodialysis. Treatment difficulties, end-stage renal failure and premature death from sepsis were observed. Good outcomes, including reversibility of AA amyloidosis, are attributed to rapid treatment of the underlining inflammation and injecting cessation. Notably, given the population in question, no studies were published in addiction or harm reduction journals; most (92%) appeared in specialist nephrology and medical journals. There is strong evidence of an association between skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) and AA amyloidosis. Among people who inject drugs, injecting-related SSTIs are a significant cause of morbidity and premature mortality and there is evidence of increasing SSTI prevalence. Limitations in the literature make it difficult to estimate AA amyloidosis prevalence among people who inject drugs. © 2018 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Asiatic Acid (AA) Sensitizes Multidrug-Resistant Human Lung Adenocarcinoma A549/DDP Cells to Cisplatin (DDP) via Downregulation of P-Glycoprotein (MDR1) and Its Targets.

PubMed

Cheng, Qilai; Liao, Meixiang; Hu, Haibo; Li, Hongliang; Wu, Longhuo

2018-01-01

P-glycoprotein (P-gp, i.e., MDR1) is associated with the phenotype of multidrug resistance (MDR) and causes chemotherapy failure in the management of cancers. Searching for effective MDR modulators and combining them with anticancer drugs is a promising strategy against MDR. Asiatic acid (AA), a natural triterpene isolated from the plant Centella asiatica, may have an antitumor activity. The present study assessed the reversing effect of AA on MDR and possible molecular mechanisms of AA action in MDR1-overexpressing cisplatin (DDP)-resistant lung cancer cells, A549/DDP. Human lung adenocarcinoma A549/DDP cells were either exposed to different concentrations of AA or treated with DDP, and their viability was measured by the MTT assay. A Rhodamine 123 efflux assay, immunofluorescent staining, ATPase assay, reverse-transcription PCR (RT-PCR), and western blot analysis were conducted to elucidate the mechanisms of action of AA on MDR. Our results showed that AA significantly enhanced the cytotoxicity of DDP toward A549/DDP cells but not its parental A549 cells. Furthermore, AA strongly inhibited P-gp expression by blocking MDR1 gene transcription and increased the intracellular accumulation of the P-gp substrate Rhodamine 123 in A549/DDP cells. Nuclear factor (NF)-kB (p65) activity, IkB degradation, and NF-kB/p65 nuclear translocation were markedly inhibited by pretreatment with AA. Additionally, AA inhibited the MAPK-ERK pathway, as indicated by decreased phosphorylation of ERK1 and -2, AKT, p38, and JNK, thus resulting in reduced activity of the Y-box binding protein 1 (YB1) via blockage of its nuclear translocation. AA reversed P-gp-mediated MDR by inhibition of P-gp expression. This effect was likely related to downregulation of YB1, and this effect was mediated by the NF-kB and MAPK-ERK pathways. AA may be useful as an MDR reversal agent for combination therapy in clinical trials. © 2018 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.

A prospective study of Trichomonas vaginalis and prostate cancer risk among African American men.

PubMed

Fowke, Jay H; Han, Xijing; Alderete, J F; Moses, Kelvin A; Signorello, Lisa B; Blot, William J

2016-04-18

African Americans (AA) have a higher prevalence of Trichomonas vaginalis (Tv) infection and a higher prostate (PC) risk. Past studies suggest an association between Tv seropositivity and PC, and therefore we prospectively investigated this association among AA men. Incident PC cases were individually matched to controls in a nested case-control study within the Southern Community Cohort Study (SCCS). Primary analysis included 296 PC cases and 497 race-matched controls. Levels of Tv antibody response were measured by ELISA in serum collected at baseline. Tv antibody response did not significantly differ between cases and controls overall or within AA participants (253 AA cases). There were no significant associations or trends between levels of Tv response and PC risk or the diagnosis of aggressive PC. We found no evidence of a prospective association between baseline Tv infection and PC risk in AA men. Tv infection in men may have substantial health implications in HIV transmission and reproductive outcomes, but may not impact future PC risk in AA men at high-risk for PC. Further efforts need to define past vs. present Tv infection and to separate pathophysiology from PC detection.

An analysis of the blood pressure and safety outcomes to renal denervation in African Americans and Non-African Americans in the SYMPLICITY HTN-3 trial.

PubMed

Flack, John M; Bhatt, Deepak L; Kandzari, David E; Brown, David; Brar, Sandeep; Choi, James W; D'Agostino, Ralph; East, Cara; Katzen, Barry T; Lee, Lilian; Leon, Martin B; Mauri, Laura; O'Neill, William W; Oparil, Suzanne; Rocha-Singh, Krishna; Townsend, Raymond R; Bakris, George

2015-10-01

SYMPLICITY HTN-3, the first trial of renal denervation (RDN) versus sham, enrolled 26% African Americans, a prospectively stratified cohort. Although the 6-month systolic blood pressure (SBP) reduction in African Americans (AAs) was similar in the RDN group (-15.5 ± 25.4 mm Hg, n = 85 vs. -17.8 ± 29.2, n = 49, P = .641), the sham SBP response was 9.2 mm Hg greater (P = .057) in AAs than non-AAs. In multivariate analyses, sham SBP response was predicted by an interaction between AA and a complex antihypertensive regimen (at least one antihypertensive medication prescribed ≥3 times daily), while in the RDN group, SBP response was predicted by an interaction between AA race and baseline BP ≥ 180 mm Hg. AA race did not independently predict SBP response in either sham or RDN. There appears to be effect modification by race with individual-level patient characteristics in both treatment arms that affect the observed pattern of SBP responses. Copyright © 2015 American Society of Hypertension. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Patient-specific finite element analysis of ascending aorta aneurysms

PubMed Central

Martin, Caitlin; Elefteriades, John

2015-01-01

Catastrophic ascending aorta aneurysm (AsAA) dissection and rupture can be prevented by elective surgical repair, but identifying individuals at risk remains a challenge. Typically the decision to operate is based primarily on the overall aneurysm size, which may not be a reliable indicator of risk. In this study, AsAA inflation and rupture was simulated in 27 patient-specific finite element models constructed from clinical CT imaging data and tissue mechanical testing data from matching patients. These patients included n = 8 with concomitant bicuspid aortic valve (BAV), n = 10 with bovine aortic arch (BAA), and n = 10 with neither BAV nor BAA. AsAA rupture risk was found to increase with elevated systolic wall stress and tissue stiffness. The aortic size index was sufficient for identifying the patients with the lowest risk of rupture, but unsuitable for delineating between patients at moderate and high risk. There was no correlation between BAV or BAA and AsAA rupture risk; however, the AsAA morphology was different among these patients. These results support the use of mechanical parameters such as vessel wall stress and tissue stiffness for AsAA presurgical evaluation. PMID:25770248

Intergranular corrosion in AA5XXX aluminum alloys with discontinuous precipitation at the grain boundaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bumiller, Elissa

The US Navy currently uses AA5xxx aluminum alloys for structures exposed to a marine environment. These alloys demonstrate excellent corrosion resistance over other aluminum alloys (e.g., AA2xxx or AA7xxx) in this environment, filling a niche in the marine structures market when requiring a light-weight alternative to steel. However, these alloys are susceptible to localized corrosion; more specifically, intergranular corrosion (IGC) is of concern. IGC of AA5xxx alloys due to the precipitation of beta phase on the grain boundaries is a well-established phenomenon referred to as sensitization. At high degrees of sensitization, the IGC path is a continuous anodic path of beta phase particles. At lower degrees of sensitization, the beta phase coverage at the grain boundaries is not continuous. The traditional ranges of susceptibility to IGC as defined by ASTM B928 are in question due to recent studies. These studies showed that even at mid range degrees of sensitization where the beta phase is no longer continuous, IGC may still occur. Previous thoughts on IGC of these alloy systems were founded on the idea that once the grain boundary precipitate became discontinuous the susceptibility to IGC was greatly reduced. Additionally, IGC susceptibility has been defined metallurgically by compositional gradients at the grain boundaries. However, AA5xxx alloys show no compositional gradients at the grain boundaries, yet are still susceptible to IGC. The goal of this work is to establish criteria necessary for IGC to occur given no continuous beta phase path and no compositional gradient at the grain boundaries. IGC performance of the bulk alloy system AA5083 has been studied along with the primary phases present in the IGC system: alpha and beta phases using electrochemistry and modeling as the primary tools. Numerical modeling supports that at steady-state the fissure tip is likely saturated with Mg in excess of the 4% dissolved in the matrix. By combining these results, quantitative insights into the IGC susceptibility of AA5xxx alloys is gained. As the aspect ratio increases, the concentration of metal ions in the fissure solution increases, thus driving up the ability to form corrosion product, whether precipitate or gelatinous product. As the theta beta increases, the IGC rates increase for a constant potential. By a combination of aspect ratio, φp, thetabeta, and likely fissure chemistry, the potential drop within the fissure is fully described and the IGC penetration rate can be predicted.

Analysis of Crack Arrest Toughness.

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-01-15

kl,. and that the microstructural features that effect "eligibility" may have a modest effect on K,. 1953 to 1955 he sered in the Titani im Section of...ductile fracture criterion, computations which assumed that the 6-Aa history was the same for rapid fracture as it was for stable crack growth agree...around the crack tip [25]. The 8-Aa history , used as the fracture criterion for the first 4 mm of growth in the dynamic analysis, was obtained from the

Computational Analysis of Material Flow During Friction Stir Welding of AA5059 Aluminum Alloys

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-01-01

tool material (AISI H13 tool steel ) is modeled as an isotropic linear-elastic material. Within the analysis, the effects of some of the FSW key process...threads/m; (b) tool 598 material = AISI H13 tool steel ; (c) workpiece material = 599 AA5059; (d) tool rotation speed = 500 rpm; (e) tool travel 600 speed...the strain-hardening term is augmented to take into account for the effect of dynamic recrystallization) while the FSW tool material (AISI H13

Comparative amino acid digestibility for broiler chickens and White Pekin ducks.

PubMed

Kong, C; Adeola, O

2013-09-01

A total of 608 three-week-old male broiler chickens and White Pekin ducks were used in a 5-d trial to compare ileal amino acid (AA) digestibility of soybean meal (SBM) and canola meal (CM) using the regression method. A corn-casein-cornstarch-based diet was mixed to contain 15% CP. Cornstarch was replaced with test ingredient (SBM or CM) to contain 18 or 21% of CP in 4 other diets. A nitrogen-free diet (NFD) was used for standardization of apparent digestibility. Birds received a standard starter diet (23% CP) from d 0 to 14 posthatch and then 6 experimental diets for 5 d. On d 19 posthatch, birds were asphyxiated with CO(2), and digesta from the distal section of ileum was collected. The ileal digestibility of AA from the test ingredients was assessed by multiple linear regression analysis using data on daily apparent ileal digestible AA and total AA intakes. The basal endogenous losses of N and all AA for ducks were significantly higher than those for broilers. For ileal AA digestibility by regression of apparent digestible AA intake against AA intake, there was a higher (P < 0.05) digestibility for Cys and Pro in ducks compared with broilers (P < 0.05). Within species, digestibility was not different between SBM and CM except for Lys of ducks, and Lys and Pro of broilers (P < 0.05). The results of this study showed that ducks have higher basal endogenous AA losses compared with broiler chickens as well as higher ileal Cys and Pro digestibility estimates derived from regression approach, indicating that data obtained from broilers should not be used to formulate diets for ducks.

Prognostic value of the expression of tumor suppressor genes p53, p21, p16 and prb, and Ki-67 labelling in high grade astrocytomas treated with radiotherapy.

PubMed

Kirla, R; Salminen, E; Huhtala, S; Nuutinen, J; Talve, L; Haapasalo, H; Kalimo, H

2000-01-01

Cumulative inactivation of tumor suppressor genes and/or amplification of oncogenes lead to progressively more malignant astrocytic tumors. We have analyzed the significance of tumor suppressor genes p53, p21, p16 and retinoblastoma protein (pRb) and proliferative activity for survival in 77 high grade astrocytic tumors. After operation, the patients--25 anaplastic astrocytomas (AA) and 52 glioblastomas (GBs)--were treated with similar radiotherapy. The expression of the suppressor genes and the proliferative activity were analyzed immunohistochemically. p53 immunopositivity was found in 44% of AAs and 46% of GBs. Tumors with aberrant p53 expression had lower proliferation indices than p53 immunonegative tumors. Neither p53 expression nor p21 immunonegativity (52% of AAs and 48% of GBs) correlated with survival. p16 immunostaining was negative in 16% of AAs and in 44% of GBs, and it correlated inversely with survival in both uni- and multivariate analyses. pRb immunostaining was negative only in 8% of both AAs and GBs and the absence of p16 and pRb were mutually exclusive. Ki-67 labelling index (LI) was significantly higher in GBs (26.8%) than in AAs (20.3%), and in multivariate analysis it was an independent prognostic factor for survival. In 48% of AAs Ki-67 LI exceeded 20% and this subset of AAs had similar prognosis as GB. In high grade astrocytic tumors p16 immunonegativity was an independent indicator of poor prognosis in addition to the previously established patient's age, histopathology and Ki-67 LI. Furthermore, there was a subset of AAs with a high proliferation rate (> 20%) in which the histopathological hallmarks of GB were lacking, but which had similarly dismal prognosis as GB.

Increased Mortality in Groups of Cattle Administered the β-Adrenergic Agonists Ractopamine Hydrochloride and Zilpaterol Hydrochloride

PubMed Central

Loneragan, Guy H.; Thomson, Daniel U.; Scott, H. Morgan

2014-01-01

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved two β-adrenergic agonists (βAA) for in-feed administration to cattle fed in confinement for human consumption. Anecdotal reports have generated concern that administration of βAA might be associated with an increased incidence of cattle deaths. Our objectives, therefore, were to a) quantify the association between βAA administration and mortality in feedlot cattle, and b) explore those variables that may confound or modify this association. Three datasets were acquired for analysis: one included information from randomized and controlled clinical trials of the βAA ractopamine hydrochloride, while the other two were observational data on zilpaterol hydrochloride administration to large numbers of cattle housed, fed, and cared for using routine commercial production practices in the U.S. Various population and time at-risk models were developed to explore potential βAA relationships with mortality, as well as the extent of confounding and effect modification. Measures of effect were relatively consistent across datasets and models in that the cumulative risk and incidence rate of death was 75 to 90% greater in animals administered the βAA compared to contemporaneous controls. During the exposure period, 40 to 50% of deaths among groups administered the βAA were attributed to administration of the drug. None of the available covariates meaningfully confounded the relationship between βAA and increased mortality. Only month of slaughter, presumably a proxy for climate, consistently modified the effect in that the biological association was generally greatest during the warmer months of the year. While death is a rare event in feedlot cattle, the data reported herein provide compelling evidence that mortality is nevertheless increased in response to administration of FDA-approved βAA and represents a heretofore unquantified adverse drug event. PMID:24621596

Provider-Based Research Networks May Improve Early Access to Innovative Colon Cancer Treatment for African Americans Treated in the Community

PubMed Central

Penn, Dolly C.; Chang, YunKyung; Meyer, Anne-Marie; Mack, Christina DeFilippo; Sanoff, Hanna; Stitzenberg, Karyn; Carpenter, William

2014-01-01

Background African Americans (AA) with colon cancer (CC) experience worse outcomes than Caucasian Americans (CA) partly due to differential treatment. The National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Community Clinical Oncology Program (CCOP), a provider-based research network (PBRN), adopts and diffuses innovative CC treatments quickly. We hypothesized that CCOP participation would lessen racial differences in receipt of oxaliplatin, innovative CC treatment, for patients with stage III CC in the community. Methods Using SEER-Medicare data, we performed a population-based retrospective cohort study of AA and CA individuals ≥66years diagnosed with stage III CC from 2003-2005. We used generalized estimating equations to calculate odds of receiving an oxaliplatin-containing regimen. Predicted probabilities of oxaliplatin receipt for race-CCOP combinations were calculated. The absolute difference in oxaliplatin receipt between races was estimated using interaction contrast ratio (ICR). Results Of 2,971 included individuals, 36% received oxaliplatin, 29.5% were CCOP-affiliated, and 7.6% were AA. In multivariate analysis, early diffusion of oxaliplatin was not associated with race or CCOP participation. The probability of receiving oxaliplatin for CCOP AAs (0.46) almost doubled that of non-CCOP AAs (0.25,p<0.05). For CAs the probabilities of receiving oxaliplatin did not differ by CCOP participation. For oxaliplatin receipt, the joint effects assessment suggested a greater benefit of CCOP participation among AAs (ICR=1.7). Conclusions Among older stage III CC patients there is a differential impact of race on oxaliplatin receipt depending on CCOP participation. AAs treated by CCOPs were more likely to receive oxaliplatin than AAs treated elsewhere. PBRNs may facilitate early access to innovative treatment for AAs with stage III CC. PMID:25209056

Preparation And Analysis Of Specimens Of Ablative Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Solomon, William C.

1994-01-01

Procedure for chemical analysis of specimens of silicone-based ablative thermal-insulation materials SLA-561 and MA25 involves acid digestion of specimens to prepare them for analysis by inductively-coupled-plasma/atomic-emission spectroscopy (ICP/AES). In comparison with atomic-absorption spectroscopy (AAS), ICP/AES is faster and more accurate than AAS. Results of analyses stored in data base, used to trace variations in concentrations of chemical elements in materials during long-term storage, and used in timely manner in investigations of failures. Acid-digestion portion of procedure applied to other thermal-insulation materials containing room-temperature-vulcanizing silicones and enables instrumental analysis of these materials.

Reliability and Accuracy of Static Parameters Obtained From Ink and Pressure Platform Footprints.

PubMed

Zuil-Escobar, Juan Carlos; Martínez-Cepa, Carmen Belén; Martín-Urrialde, Jose Antonio; Gómez-Conesa, Antonia

2016-09-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy and the intrarater reliability of arch angle (AA), Staheli Index (SI), and Chippaux-Smirak Index (CSI) obtained from ink and pressure platform footprints. We obtained AA, SI, and CSI measurements from ink pedigraph footprints and pressure platform footprints in 40 healthy participants (aged 25.65 ± 5.187 years). Intrarater reliability was calculated for all parameters obtained using the 2 methods. Standard error of measurement and minimal detectable change were also calculated. A repeated-measure analysis of variance was used to identify differences between ink and pressure platform footprints. Intraclass correlation coefficient and Bland and Altman plots were used to assess similar parameters obtained using different methods. Intrarater reliability was >0.9 for all parameters and was slightly higher for the ink footprints. No statistical difference was reported in repeated-measure analysis of variance for any of the parameters. Intraclass correlation coefficient values from AA, SI, and CSI that were obtained using ink footprints and pressure platform footprints were excellent, ranging from 0.797 to 0.829. However, pressure platform overestimated AA and underestimated SI and CSI. Our study revealed that AA, SI, and CSI were similar regardless of whether the ink or pressure platform method was used. In addition, the parameters indicated high intrarater reliability and were reproducible. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Efficacy and acceptability of atypical antipsychotics for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder: a meta-analysis of randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials.

PubMed

Liu, Xiao-hui; Xie, Xin-hui; Wang, Ke-yong; Cui, Hong

2014-11-30

As some evidences demonstrated that atypical antipsychotics (AA) may be efficacious in treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), we preformed a meta-analysis of randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials (RCTs) of AAs for the treatment of PTSD. Two hundred and fifty one papers were searched and screened. Eight RCTs met the inclusion criteria. AAs may be superior to placebo in the treatment of PTSD, as indicated by the changes in Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) total scores (weighted mean differences (WMD)=-5.89, 95% confidence interval (CI) [-9.21, -2.56], P=0.0005) and also in CAPS subscale intrusion (WMD=-2.58, 95% CI[-3.83, -1.33], P<0.0001 ) and subscale hyperarousal (WMD=-2.94, 95% CI[-5.45, -0.43], P=0.02). The acceptability measured by dropout rates between AAs and placebo showed no statistical difference (OR=1.24, 95%CI [0.78, 1.97], P=0.36). PTSD symptom cluster, especially in intrusion and hyperarousal. However, we should be careful to generalize the conclusion because of the small number of included trails. We expect more RCTs will be done in the future so as to clarify the specific value of AAs for PTSD. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparison of UPLC and HPLC methods for determination of vitamin C.

PubMed

Klimczak, Inga; Gliszczyńska-Świgło, Anna

2015-05-15

Ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods for determination of ascorbic acid (AA) and total AA (TAA) contents (as the sum of AA and dehydroascorbic acid (DHAA) after its reduction to AA) in fruit beverages and in pharmaceutical preparations were compared. Both methods are rapid: total time of analysis was 15 and 6 min for HPLC and UPLC methods, respectively. The methods were validated in terms of linearity, instrument precision, limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ), accuracy and recovery. Intra- and inter-day instrument precisions for fruit juices, expressed as RSD, were 2.2% and 2.4% for HPLC, respectively, and 1.7% and 1.9% for UPLC, respectively. For vitamin C tablets, inter- and intra-day precisions were 0.4% and 0.5%, respectively (HPLC), and 0.5% and 0.3%, respectively (UPLC). Both methods were sensitive: LOD was 0.049 μg/mL for HPLC and 0.024 μg/mL for UPLC while LOQs were 0.149 and 0.073 μg/mL for HPLC and UPLC, respectively. These methods could be useful in the routine qualitative and quantitative analysis of AA or TAA in pharmaceutical preparations or fruit beverages. However, UPLC method is more sensitive, faster and consumes less eluent. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Healing effects of Musa sapientum var. paradisiaca in diabetic rats with co-occurring gastric ulcer: cytokines and growth factor by PCR amplification

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The present study evaluates the effects of extract of Musa sapientum fruit (MSE) on ulcer index, blood glucose level and gastric mucosal cytokines, TNF-α and IL-1β and growth factor, TGF-α (affected in diabetes and chronic ulcer) in acetic acid (AA)-induced gastric ulcer (GU) in diabetic (DR) rat. Methods MSE (100 mg/kg, oral), omeprazole (OMZ, 2.0 mg/kg, oral), insulin (INS, 4 U/kg, sc) or pentoxyphylline (PTX, 10 mg/kg, oral) were given once daily for 10 days in 14 days post-streptozotocin (60 mg/kg, intraperitoneal)-induced diabetic rats while, the normal/diabetic rats received CMC for the same period after induction of GU with AA. Ulcer index was calculated based upon the product of length and width (mm2/rat) of ulcers while, TNF-α, IL-1β and TGF-α were estimated in the gastric mucosal homogenate from the intact/ulcer region. Phytochemical screening and HPTLC analysis of MSE was done following standard procedures. Results An increase in ulcer index, TNF-α and IL-1β were observed in normal (NR)-AA rat compared to NR-normal saline rat, which were further increased in DR-AA rat while, treatments of DR-AA rat with MSE, OMZ, INS and PTX reversed them, more so with MSE and PTX. Significant increase in TGF-α was found in NR-AA rat which did not increase further in DR-AA rat. MSE and PTX tended to increase while, OMZ and INS showed little or no effect on TGF-α in AA-DR rat. Phytochemical screening of MSE showed the presence of saponins, flavonoids, glycosides, steroids and alkaloids and HPTLC analysis indicated the presence of eight active compounds. Conclusion MSE showed antidiabetic and better ulcer healing effects compared with OMZ (antiulcer) or INS (antidiabetic) in diabetic rat and could be more effective in diabetes with concurrent gastric ulcer. PMID:24192345

Relationship between patient-reported outcomes and clinical outcomes in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer: post hoc analysis of COU-AA-301 and COU-AA-302.

PubMed

Cella, D; Traina, S; Li, T; Johnson, K; Ho, K F; Molina, A; Shore, N D

2018-02-01

Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are used to assess benefit-risk in drug development. The relationship between PROs and clinical outcomes is not well understood. We aim to elucidate the relationships between changes in PRO measures and clinical outcomes in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). We investigated relationships between changes in self-reported fatigue, pain, functional well-being (FWB), physical well-being (PWB) and prostate cancer-specific symptoms with overall survival (OS) and radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) after 6 and 12 months of treatment in COU-AA-301 (N = 1195) or COU-AA-302 (N = 1088). Eligible COU-AA-301 patients had progressed after docetaxel and had Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS) ≤ 2. Eligible COU-AA-302 patients had no prior chemotherapy and ECOG PS 0 or 1. Patients were treated with abiraterone acetate (1000 mg/day) plus prednisone (10 mg/day) or prednisone alone daily. Association between self-reported fatigue, pain and functional status, and OS and/or rPFS, using pooled data regardless of treatment, was assessed. Cox proportional hazard regression modeled time to death or radiographic progression. In COU-AA-301 patients, PRO improvements were associated with longer OS and longer time to radiographic progression versus worsening or stable PROs (P < 0.0001). In multivariate models, all except pain intensity remained associated with OS. Pain intensity, PWB and FWB improvements remained associated with rPFS. In COU-AA-302 patients, worsening PROs were associated with higher likelihood of radiographic progression (P ≤ 0.025) compared with improved or stable PROs. In multivariate models, worsening PWB remained associated with worse rPFS. The 12-month analysis confirmed the 6-month results. PROs are significantly associated with clinically relevant time-to-event efficacy outcomes in clinical trials and may complement and help predict traditional clinical practice methods for monitoring patients for disease progression. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society for Medical Oncology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Coupling pervaporation to AAS for inorganic and organic mercury determination. A new approach to speciation of Hg in environmental samples.

PubMed

Fernandez-Rivas, C; Muñoz-Olivas, R; Camara, C

2001-12-01

The design and development of a new approach for Hg speciation in environmental samples is described in detail. This method, consisting of the coupling of pervaporation and atomic absorption spectrometry, is based on a membrane phenomenon that combines the evaporation of volatile analytes and their diffusion through a polymeric membrane. It is proposed here as an alternative to gas chromatography for speciation of inorganic and organic Hg compounds, as the latter compounds are volatile and can be separated by applying the principles mentioned above. The interest of this method lies in its easy handling, low cost, and rapidity for the analysis of liquid and solid samples. This method has been applied to Hg speciation in a compost sample provided by a waste water treatment plant.

New in vitro insights on a cell death pathway induced by magnolol and honokiol in aristolochic acid tubulotoxicity.

PubMed

Bunel, Valérian; Antoine, Marie-Hélène; Stévigny, Caroline; Nortier, Joëlle; Duez, Pierre

2016-01-01

Aristolochic acids (AA) are nephrotoxic agents found in Aristolochia species whose consumption leads to the onset of a progressive tubulointerstitial fibrosis. This AA-nephropathy was first reported during the Belgian outbreak of the 1990's in which more than a hundred patients consumed slimming pills containing an Aristolochia species and Magnolia officinalis. The patients developed an end-stage kidney disease requiring dialysis or transplantation. Magnolol and honokiol are bioactive compounds from M. officinalis known for their potent antioxidant activity. As they can alleviate oxidative stress, we investigated their respective effects on AA-mediated tubulotoxicity using HK-2 cells. Magnolol and honokiol were able to reduce the oxidative stress associated with AA-treatment. Cytotoxicity alleviation was further investigated and overall cell viability measurements unexpectedly revealed that both compounds worsened the survival of AA-treated cells. Flow cytometry analyses of annexin V/PI stained cells indicated that the lignans efficiently prevented AA-induced apoptosis; but favored necrosis. Microscopy observations highlighted extensive vacuolization; other types of cell death, including autophagy, paraptosis or accelerated senescence were excluded. Ki-67 index and cell cycle analysis indicated that both magnolol and honokiol inhibited proliferation by blocking the cell cycle at the G1 phase; they also prevented the AA-induced G2/M arrest. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Nearby, Young, Argus Association: Membership, Age, and Dusty Debris Disks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zuckerman, Ben

2018-01-01

The Argus Association (AA) defined by Torres et al. (2008) is distinguished from other nearby young moving groups by virtue of its unusual Galactic U-velocity. As defined by Torres et al, their initial AA consisted of 35 members of the IC 2391 open cluster (~135 pc from Earth) and 29 “field members”, 15 of which are within 100 pc of Earth. The spectral types range from F through K with the exception of two M-type members of IC 2391. Zuckerman et al. (2011 & 2012) proposed 13 additional field members – 12 A-type and one F-type -- all of which lie within 80 pc of Earth. Additional AA members have been proposed, typically a few at a time, by other researchers. Deduced ages of the AA (via various techniques) lie, typically, between 40 and 60 Myr. Bell et al (2015) consider the membership and age of a subset of proposed AA stars via color-magnitude diagrams combined with a Bayesian analysis (following Malo et al 2013 & 2014). For the sample of AA stars that they considered, the group age, membership status of individual stars, and even the reality of a coeval moving group were in some doubt. The purpose of the present communication is to consider all proposed AA members – including the frequency of dusty debris disks -- in an attempt to bring some clarity to what is going on.

Identification of AaCASPS7, an effector caspase in Aedes albopictus.

PubMed

Feng, Lingyan; Liu, Hao; Li, Xiaomei; Qiao, Jialu; Wang, Shengya; Guo, Deyin; Liu, Qingzhen

2016-11-15

Aedes albopictus mosquito is a vector of various arboviruses and is becoming a significant threat to public health due to its rapid global expansion. Several reports suggest that apoptosis could be a factor limiting arbovirus infection in mosquitoes. Thus, it is significant to identify apoptosis pathway and study the correlation between apoptosis and virus infection in mosquitoes. Apoptosis is a type of programmed cell death that plays a vital role in immunity, development, and tissue homeostasis. Caspases are a family of conserved proteases playing important roles in apoptosis. In this study, we identified Aedes albopictus AaCASPS7, a caspase shared high identity with dipteran insect drICE orthologs. Phylogenetic analysis showed the closest relative of AaCASPS7 was Aedes aegypti AeCASPS7. AaCASPS7 displayed several features that were typical of an effector caspase and showed significant activity to effector caspase substrates. Aacasps7 transcripts were expressed ubiquitously in developmental and adult stages in Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. Transient expression of AaCASPS7 induced caspase-dependent apoptosis in C6/36 cells. Taken together the above data, this study identified a novel caspase, AaCASPS7, which might function as an apoptotic caspase. Further study the function of AaCASPS7 would facilitate better understanding the apoptotic mechanism in Aedes albopictus mosquito. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Amino acid specific stable nitrogen isotope values in avian tissues: Insights from captive American kestrels and wild herring gulls

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hebert, Craig E.; Popp, B.N.; Fernie, K.J.; Ka'apu-Lyons, C.; Rattner, Barnett A.; Wallsgrove, N.

2016-01-01

Through laboratory and field studies, the utility of amino acid compound-specific nitrogen isotope analysis (AA-CSIA) in avian studies is investigated. Captive American kestrels (Falco sparverius) were fed an isotopically characterized diet and patterns in δ15N values of amino acids (AAs) were compared to those in their tissues (muscle and red blood cells) and food. Based upon nitrogen isotope discrimination between diet and kestrel tissues, AAs could mostly be categorized as source AAs (retaining baseline δ15N values) and trophic AAs (showing 15N enrichment). Trophic discrimination factors based upon the source (phenylalanine, Phe) and trophic (glutamic acid, Glu) AAs were 4.1 (muscle) and 5.4 (red blood cells), lower than those reported for metazoan invertebrates. In a field study involving omnivorous herring gulls (Larus argentatus smithsonianus), egg AA isotopic patterns largely retained those observed in the laying female’s tissues (muscle, red blood cells, and liver). Realistic estimates of gull trophic position were obtained using bird Glu and Phe δ15N values combined with β values (difference in Glu and Phe δ15N in primary producers) for aquatic and terrestrial food webs. Egg fatty acids were used to weight β values for proportions of aquatic and terrestrial food in gull diets. This novel approach can be applied to generalist species that feed across ecosystem boundaries.

Perceived Stress Predicts Lower Physical Activity in African-American Boys, but not Girls.

PubMed

McGlumphy, Kellye C; Shaver, Erika R; Ajibewa, Tiwaloluwa A; Hasson, Rebecca E

2018-03-01

The purpose of this study was to examine cross-sectional relationships of psychological stress, stress coping, and minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in Amer- ican-American (AA) boys and girls. A community-based sample of 139 AA adolescents (mean age 14.7 years; SD = 1.8 years; 64.7% girls; 30% obese) from Washtenaw County, Michigan was included in this analysis. Psychological stress was assessed using the Daily Stress Inventory and the Perceived Stress Scale. Coping strategies were evaluated using the Schoolager's Coping Strategies questionnaire. Physical activity was measured objectively via accelerometry. Compared to boys, girls participated in approximately 13 fewer minutes of MVPA (p < .001) per day and reported significantly higher levels of daily stress (p = .03) and perceived stress (p < .001). In addition, girls reported using a greater number of coping strategies (p = .01) at a greater frequency (p = .04) compared to boys. However, perceived stress significantly predicted lower levels of MVPA (p = .03) in boys only. There are important gender differences in how AA girls perceive, experience, and cope with stress compared to AA boys. Although AA girls reported higher levels of stress and employed more coping strategies, perceived stress was associated with physical inactivity in AA boys, but not girls. Additional research is warranted to better understand the influence of stress on the choice to be physically active in AA youth.

Anabolic-androgenic steroid use among young Finnish males.

PubMed

Mattila, V M; Rimpelä, A; Jormanainen, V; Sahi, T; Pihlajamäki, H

2010-04-01

The aim of the present study was to describe the lifetime occurrence and associated factors of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) among young Finnish males. Of the 10 829 male conscripts (median age 19), 10 396 (96%) answered a questionnaire during the first days of their conscription in the years 2001-2007. The main outcome was lifetime AAS use. We also studied associations between 13 socioeconomic, health, and health behavioral background variables and AAS use by logistic regression. Eighty-nine (0.9%) respondents reported having used AAS. In addition, 26 (0.3%) respondents reported that they would use AAS if they could obtain them. In multivariate analysis, which included all significant variables and age, the strongest associated factors were weight training at fitness centers more than three times a week [odds ratio (OR) 11.8; 95% confidence interval (CI): 7.1-19.6], low educational status (OR 3.7; 95% CI: 2.0-7.0), and weekly drunkenness as drinking style (OR 2.4; 95% CI: 1.4-4.5). Sports other than weight training were not associated with AAS in our sample. The use of AAS is relatively uncommon among Finnish males. It is strongly associated with weight training at fitness centers but also with lower educational status and a drunkenness-oriented lifestyle. Prevention should be targeted at those males participating in weight training.

Agnosia for accents in primary progressive aphasia☆

PubMed Central

Fletcher, Phillip D.; Downey, Laura E.; Agustus, Jennifer L.; Hailstone, Julia C.; Tyndall, Marina H.; Cifelli, Alberto; Schott, Jonathan M.; Warrington, Elizabeth K.; Warren, Jason D.

2013-01-01

As an example of complex auditory signal processing, the analysis of accented speech is potentially vulnerable in the progressive aphasias. However, the brain basis of accent processing and the effects of neurodegenerative disease on this processing are not well understood. Here we undertook a detailed neuropsychological study of a patient, AA with progressive nonfluent aphasia, in whom agnosia for accents was a prominent clinical feature. We designed a battery to assess AA's ability to process accents in relation to other complex auditory signals. AA's performance was compared with a cohort of 12 healthy age and gender matched control participants and with a second patient, PA, who had semantic dementia with phonagnosia and prosopagnosia but no reported difficulties with accent processing. Relative to healthy controls, the patients showed distinct profiles of accent agnosia. AA showed markedly impaired ability to distinguish change in an individual's accent despite being able to discriminate phonemes and voices (apperceptive accent agnosia); and in addition, a severe deficit of accent identification. In contrast, PA was able to perceive changes in accents, phonemes and voices normally, but showed a relatively mild deficit of accent identification (associative accent agnosia). Both patients showed deficits of voice and environmental sound identification, however PA showed an additional deficit of face identification whereas AA was able to identify (though not name) faces normally. These profiles suggest that AA has conjoint (or interacting) deficits involving both apperceptive and semantic processing of accents, while PA has a primary semantic (associative) deficit affecting accents along with other kinds of auditory objects and extending beyond the auditory modality. Brain MRI revealed left peri-Sylvian atrophy in case AA and relatively focal asymmetric (predominantly right sided) temporal lobe atrophy in case PA. These cases provide further evidence for the fractionation of brain mechanisms for complex sound analysis, and for the stratification of progressive aphasia syndromes according to the signature of nonverbal auditory deficits they produce. PMID:23721780

Agnosia for accents in primary progressive aphasia.

PubMed

Fletcher, Phillip D; Downey, Laura E; Agustus, Jennifer L; Hailstone, Julia C; Tyndall, Marina H; Cifelli, Alberto; Schott, Jonathan M; Warrington, Elizabeth K; Warren, Jason D

2013-08-01

As an example of complex auditory signal processing, the analysis of accented speech is potentially vulnerable in the progressive aphasias. However, the brain basis of accent processing and the effects of neurodegenerative disease on this processing are not well understood. Here we undertook a detailed neuropsychological study of a patient, AA with progressive nonfluent aphasia, in whom agnosia for accents was a prominent clinical feature. We designed a battery to assess AA's ability to process accents in relation to other complex auditory signals. AA's performance was compared with a cohort of 12 healthy age and gender matched control participants and with a second patient, PA, who had semantic dementia with phonagnosia and prosopagnosia but no reported difficulties with accent processing. Relative to healthy controls, the patients showed distinct profiles of accent agnosia. AA showed markedly impaired ability to distinguish change in an individual's accent despite being able to discriminate phonemes and voices (apperceptive accent agnosia); and in addition, a severe deficit of accent identification. In contrast, PA was able to perceive changes in accents, phonemes and voices normally, but showed a relatively mild deficit of accent identification (associative accent agnosia). Both patients showed deficits of voice and environmental sound identification, however PA showed an additional deficit of face identification whereas AA was able to identify (though not name) faces normally. These profiles suggest that AA has conjoint (or interacting) deficits involving both apperceptive and semantic processing of accents, while PA has a primary semantic (associative) deficit affecting accents along with other kinds of auditory objects and extending beyond the auditory modality. Brain MRI revealed left peri-Sylvian atrophy in case AA and relatively focal asymmetric (predominantly right sided) temporal lobe atrophy in case PA. These cases provide further evidence for the fractionation of brain mechanisms for complex sound analysis, and for the stratification of progressive aphasia syndromes according to the signature of nonverbal auditory deficits they produce. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

A Genomic and Proteomic Approach to Identify and Quantify the Expressed Bacillus thuringiensis Proteins in the Supernatant and Parasporal Crystal.

PubMed

Gomis-Cebolla, Joaquín; Scaramal Ricietto, Ana Paula; Ferré, Juan

2018-05-10

The combined analysis of genomic and proteomic data allowed us to determine which cry and vip genes are present in a Bacillus thuringiensis ( Bt ) isolate and which ones are being expressed. Nine Bt isolates were selected from Spanish collections of Bt based on their vip1 and vip2 gene content. As a first step, nine isolates were analyzed by PCR to select those Bt isolates that contained genes with the lowest similarity to already described vip1 and vip2 genes (isolates E-SE10.2 and O-V84.2). Two selected isolates were subjected to a combined genomic and proteomic analysis. The results showed that the Bt isolate E-SE10.2 codifies for two new vegetative proteins, Vip2Ac-like_1 and Sip1Aa-like_1, that do not show expression differences at 24 h vs. 48 h and are expressed in a low amount. The Bt isolate O-V84.2 codifies for three new vegetative proteins, Vip4Aa-like_1, Vip4Aa-like_2, and Vip2Ac-like_2, that are marginally expressed. The Vip4Aa-like_1 protein was two-fold more abundant at 24 h vs. 48 h, while the Vip4Aa-like_2 was detected only at 24 h. For Vip2Ac-like_2, no differences in expression were found at 24 h vs. 48 h. Moreover, the parasporal crystal of the E-SE10.2 isolate contains a single type of crystal protein, Cry23Aa-like, while the parasporal crystal from O-V84.2 contains three kinds of crystal proteins: 7.0⁻9.8% weight of Cry45Aa-like proteins, 35⁻37% weight of Cry32-like proteins and 2.8⁻4.3% weight of Cry73-like protein.

Ultrasound analysis of gray-scale median value of carotid plaques is a useful reference index for cerebro-cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes.

PubMed

Ariyoshi, Kyoko; Okuya, Shigeru; Kunitsugu, Ichiro; Matsunaga, Kimie; Nagao, Yuko; Nomiyama, Ryuta; Takeda, Komei; Tanizawa, Yukio

2015-01-01

Measurements of plaque echogenicity, the gray-scale median (GSM), were shown to correlate inversely with risk factors for cerebro-cardiovascular disease (CVD). The eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)/arachidonic acid (AA) ratio is a potential predictor of CVD risk. In the present study, we assessed the usefulness of carotid plaque GSM values and EPA/AA ratios in atherosclerotic diabetics. A total of 84 type 2 diabetics with carotid artery plaques were enrolled. On admission, platelet aggregation and lipid profiles, including EPA and AA, were examined. Using ultrasound, mean intima media thickness and plaque score were measured in carotid arteries. Plaque echogenicity was evaluated using computer-assisted quantification of GSM. The patients were then further observed for approximately 3 years. Gray-scale median was found to be a good marker of CVD events. On multivariate logistic regression analysis, GSM <32 and plaque score ≥5 were significantly associated with past history and onset of CVD during the follow-up period, the odds ratios being 7.730 (P = 0.014) and 4.601 (P = 0.046), respectively. EPA/AA showed a significant correlation with GSM (P = 0.012) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P = 0.039), and an inverse correlation with platelet aggregation (P = 0.046) and triglyceride (P = 0.020). Although most patients with CVD had both low GSM and low EPA/AA values, an association of EPA/AA with CVD events could not be statistically confirmed. The present results suggest the GSM value to be useful as a reference index for CVD events in high-risk atherosclerotic diabetics. Associations of the EPA/AA ratio with known CVD risk factors warrant a larger and more extensive study to show the usefulness of this parameter.

Ultrasound analysis of gray-scale median value of carotid plaques is a useful reference index for cerebro-cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes

PubMed Central

Ariyoshi, Kyoko; Okuya, Shigeru; Kunitsugu, Ichiro; Matsunaga, Kimie; Nagao, Yuko; Nomiyama, Ryuta; Takeda, Komei; Tanizawa, Yukio

2015-01-01

Aims/Introduction Measurements of plaque echogenicity, the gray-scale median (GSM), were shown to correlate inversely with risk factors for cerebro-cardiovascular disease (CVD). The eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)/arachidonic acid (AA) ratio is a potential predictor of CVD risk. In the present study, we assessed the usefulness of carotid plaque GSM values and EPA/AA ratios in atherosclerotic diabetics. Materials and Methods A total of 84 type 2 diabetics with carotid artery plaques were enrolled. On admission, platelet aggregation and lipid profiles, including EPA and AA, were examined. Using ultrasound, mean intima media thickness and plaque score were measured in carotid arteries. Plaque echogenicity was evaluated using computer-assisted quantification of GSM. The patients were then further observed for approximately 3 years. Results Gray-scale median was found to be a good marker of CVD events. On multivariate logistic regression analysis, GSM <32 and plaque score ≥5 were significantly associated with past history and onset of CVD during the follow-up period, the odds ratios being 7.730 (P = 0.014) and 4.601 (P = 0.046), respectively. EPA/AA showed a significant correlation with GSM (P = 0.012) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P = 0.039), and an inverse correlation with platelet aggregation (P = 0.046) and triglyceride (P = 0.020). Although most patients with CVD had both low GSM and low EPA/AA values, an association of EPA/AA with CVD events could not be statistically confirmed. Conclusions The present results suggest the GSM value to be useful as a reference index for CVD events in high-risk atherosclerotic diabetics. Associations of the EPA/AA ratio with known CVD risk factors warrant a larger and more extensive study to show the usefulness of this parameter. PMID:25621138

Elevated Rates of Prolonged Grief Disorder in African Americans

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldsmith, B.; Morrison, R. S.; Vanderwerker, L. C.; Prigerson, H. G.

2008-01-01

The prevalence of Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) in non-Whites is currently unknown. This study was performed to explore the prevalence of PGD in African Americans (AAs). Multivariable analysis of two studies of recently bereaved individuals found AAs to have significantly higher rates of PGD than Whites (21% [14 of 66] vs. 12% [55 of 471],…

Examining Factorial Validity and Measurement Invariance of the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Webb, Mi-young L.; Neuharth-Pritchett, Stacey

2011-01-01

The purposes of this study were to (a) test the hypothesized factor structure of the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS; Pianta, 2001) for 308 African American (AA) and European American (EA) children using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and (b) examine the measurement invariance of the factor structure across AA and EA children. CFA of…

A meta-analysis of interleukin-10-1082 promoter genetic polymorphism associated with atherosclerotic risk.

PubMed

Chao, Li; Lei, Huang; Fei, Jin

2014-01-01

This meta-analysis was conducted to assess the relationship between interleukin-10-1082 G/A single nucleotide polymorphism with atherosclerosis (AS) risk. The databases of PubMed, EMBASE, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wan-Fang were searched from January 2000 to January 2014. 16 studies (involving 7779 cases and 7271 controls) were finally included. Each eligible study was scored for quality assessment. We adopted the most probably appropriate genetic model (recessive model) after carefully calculation. Between study heterogeneity was explored by subgroup analysis and publication bias was estimated by Begg's funnel plot and Egger's regression test. Statistically significant association was observed between AA genotype with overall AS risk, being mainly in coronary heart disease and stroke subgroups among Asian population, and peripheral artery disease (PAD) subgroup among Caucasians. Interleukin-10-1082 AA genotype is associated with increased overall AS risk. AA carriers of Asians seem to be more susceptible to coronary artery disease and stroke, and Caucasians are more susceptible to PAD.

Implication of the C terminus of the Prunus necrotic ringspot virus movement protein in cell-to-cell transport and in its interaction with the coat protein.

PubMed

Aparicio, Frederic; Pallás, Vicente; Sánchez-Navarro, Jesús

2010-07-01

The movement protein (MP) of Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV) is required for viral transport. Previous analysis with MPs of other members of the family Bromoviridae has shown that the C-terminal part of these MPs plays a critical role in the interaction with the cognate coat protein (CP) and in cell-to-cell transport. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation and overlay analysis confirm an interaction between the C-terminal 38 aa of PNRSV MP and its cognate CP. Mutational analysis of the C-terminal region of the PNRSV MP revealed that its C-terminal 38 aa are dispensable for virus transport, however, the 4 aa preceding the dispensable C terminus are necessary to target the MP to the plasmodesmata and for the functionality of the protein. The capacity of the PNRSV MP to use either a CP-dependent or a CP-independent cell-to-cell transport is discussed.

Genetic polymorphisms within exon 3 of heat shock protein 90AA1 gene and its association with heat tolerance traits in Sahiwal cows

PubMed Central

Kumar, Rakesh; Gupta, I. D.; Verma, Archana; Verma, Nishant; Vineeth, M. R.

2015-01-01

Aim: The present study was undertaken to identify novel single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in Exon 3 of HSP90AA1 gene and to analyze their association with respiration rate (RR) and rectal temperature (RT) in Sahiwal cows. Materials and Methods: The present study was carried out in Sahiwal cows (n=100) with the objectives to identify novel SNP in exon 3 of HSP90AA1 gene and to explore the association with heat tolerance traits. CLUSTAL-W multiple sequence analysis was used to identify novel SNPs in exon 3 of HSP90AA1 gene in Sahiwal cows. Gene and genotype frequencies of different genotypes were estimated by standard procedure POPGENE version 1.32 (University of Alberta, Canada). The significant effect of SNP variants on physiological parameters, e.g. RR and RT were analyzed using the General Linear model procedure of SAS Version 9.2. Results: The polymerase chain reaction product with the amplicon size of 450 bp was successfully amplified, covering exon 3 region of HSP90AA1 gene in Sahiwal cows. On the basis of comparative sequence analysis of Sahiwal samples (n=100), transitional mutations were detected at locus A1209G as compared to Bos taurus (NCBI GenBank AC_000178.1). After chromatogram analysis, three genotypes AA, AG, and GG with respective frequencies of 0.23, 0.50, and 0.27 ascertained. RR and RT were recorded once during probable extreme hours in winter, spring, and summer seasons. It was revealed that significant difference (p<0.01) among genetic variants of HSP90AA1 gene with heat tolerance trait was found in Sahiwal cattle. The homozygotic animals with AA genotype had lower heat tolerance coefficient (HTC) (1.78±0.04a), as compared to both AG and GG genotypes (1.85±0.03b and 1.91±0.02c), respectively. The gene and genotype frequencies for the locus A1209G were ascertained. Conclusions: Novel SNP was found at the A1209G position showed all possible three genotypes (homozygous and heterozygous). Temperature humidity index has a highly significant association with RR, RT, and HTC in all the seasons. Perusal of results across different seasons showed the significant (p<0.01) difference in RR, RT, and HTC among winter, spring, and summer seasons. Genetic association with heat tolerance traits reveals their importance as a potential genetic marker for heat tolerance traits in Sahiwal cows. PMID:27047179

Fractures in Relation to Menstrual Status and Bone Parameters in Young Athletes.

PubMed

Ackerman, Kathryn E; Cano Sokoloff, Natalia; DE Nardo Maffazioli, Giovana; Clarke, Hannah M; Lee, Hang; Misra, Madhusmita

2015-08-01

This study was aimed to compare fracture prevalence in oligoamenorrheic athletes (AA), eumenorrheic athletes (EA), and nonathletes (NA) and determine relationships with bone density, structure, and strength estimates. One hundred seventy-five females (100 AA, 35 EA, and 40 NA) 14-25 yr old were studied. Lifetime fracture history was obtained through participant interviews. Areal bone mineral density (BMD) was assessed by DXA at the spine, hip, and whole body (WB). Bone structure was assessed by HRpQCT at the radius and tibia, and strength by finite element analysis. AA, EA, and NA did not differ in age, sexual maturity, or height. AA had lower BMI, and older menarchal age than EA and NA (P ≤ 0.001). Bone mineral density Z-scores were lower in AA versus EA at the total hip, femoral neck, spine, and whole body (P ≤ 0.001). Lifetime fracture risk was higher in AA than EA and NA (47%, 25.7%, 12.5%; P ≤ 0.001), largely driven by stress fractures in AA versus EA and NA (32% vs 5.9% vs 0%). In AA, those who fractured had lower lumbar and WB BMD Z-scores, volumetric BMD (vBMD) of outer trabecular region in radius and tibia, and trabecular thickness of the radius (P ≤ 0.05). In AA, those who had two or more stress fractures had lower lumbar and WB BMD Z-scores, total cross-sectional area, trabecular vBMD, stiffness, and failure load at radius; and lower stiffness and failure load at tibia versus those with fewer than two stress fractures (P ≤ 0.05). Weight-bearing athletic activity increases BMD but may increase stress fracture risk in those with menstrual dysfunction. Bone microarchitecture and strength differences are more pronounced in AA with multiple stress fractures. This is the first study to examine fractures in relation to bone structure in adolescent female athletes.

Exploring healthcare professionals' perceptions of the anesthesia assistant role and its impact on patients and interprofessional collaboration.

PubMed

Lam, Phoebe; Lopez Filici, Ana; Middleton, Claire; McGillicuddy, Patricia

2018-01-01

To practice interprofessional collaboration (IPC), understanding the roles of each profession in the team is key. Anesthesia assistants (AAs) are a relatively new addition to the Canadian healthcare system. As a result, its role in the delivery of anesthesia care can be misunderstood by other healthcare professionals. Using an exploratory multiple case study design, this article explores healthcare professionals' perceptions of the AA role and its impact on patients and IPC. Sixteen semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of nine healthcare professions from inside and outside the peri-operative care unit in two urban, acute care, university-affiliated teaching research hospitals in Ontario. A thematic analysis of the interview transcripts identified five overarching themes: limited understanding of the AA role, improved patient-centred care, improve IPC and interprofessional education, ongoing challenges, and the future direction for professional growth. Results indicated that despite regular clinical practice collaboration, participants have a limited understanding of AAs in terms of their educational prerequisites, scope of practice, and roles. One reason for this lack of understanding is that there is a high variability of titles and clinical duties for non-physician anesthesia providers. The diverse range of anesthesia services provided by AAs can also become a barrier to the full understanding of their scope of practice and roles. The limited understanding of the AA role was reported as one of AAs' ongoing challenges. It prevents AAs from realising their full scope of practice. Participants suggested that AAs' professional growth should focus on promoting and expanding their role. Understanding other healthcare professionals' perceptions of AAs will assist them to become better ambassadors for their role, and to more effectively promote and practice IPC. Ultimately, this will result in improved interprofessional teamwork to deliver effective and efficient patient care.

The Anabolic 500 survey: characteristics of male users versus nonusers of anabolic-androgenic steroids for strength training.

PubMed

Ip, Eric J; Barnett, Mitchell J; Tenerowicz, Michael J; Perry, Paul J

2011-08-01

To contrast the characteristics of two groups of men who participated in strength-training exercise-those who reported anabolicandrogenic steroid (AAS) use versus those who reported no AAS use. Analysis of data from the Anabolic 500, a cross-sectional survey. Five hundred six male self-reported AAS users (mean age 29.3 yrs) and 771 male self-reported nonusers of AAS (mean age 25.2 yrs) who completed an online survey between February 19 and June 30, 2009. Respondents were recruited from Internet discussion boards of 38 fitness, bodybuilding, weightlifting, and steroid Web sites. The respondents provided online informed consent and completed the Anabolic 500, a 99-item Web-based survey. Data were collected on demographics, use of AAS and other performance-enhancing agents, alcohol and illicit drug use, substance dependence disorder, other Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision diagnoses, and history of sexual and/or physical abuse. Most (70.4%) of the AAS users were recreational exercisers who reported using an average of 11.1 performance-enhancing agents in their routine. Compared with nonusers, the AAS users were more likely to meet criteria for substance dependence disorder (23.4% vs 11.2%, p<0.001), report a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder (10.1% vs 6.1%, p=0.010), use cocaine within the past 12 months (11.3% vs 4.7%, p<0.001), and report a history of sexual abuse (6.1% vs 2.7%, p=0.005). Most of the AAS users in this study were recreational exercisers who practiced polypharmacy. The AAS users were more likely than nonusers to meet criteria for substance dependence disorder, report a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder, report recent cocaine use, and have a history of sexual abuse. The information uncovered in this study may help clinicians and researchers develop appropriate intervention strategies for AAS abuse.

Analysis of aldehydes in beer by gas-diffusion microextraction: characterization by high-performance liquid chromatography-diode-array detection-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Gonçalves, Luís Moreira; Magalhães, Paulo Jorge; Valente, Inês Maria; Pacheco, João Grosso; Dostálek, Pavel; Sýkora, David; Rodrigues, José António; Barros, Aquiles Araújo

2010-06-11

In this work, a recently developed extraction technique for sample preparation aiming the analysis of volatile and semi-volatile compounds named gas-diffusion microextraction (GDME) is applied in the chromatographic analysis of aldehydes in beer. Aldehydes-namely acetaldehyde (AA), methylpropanal (MA) and furfural (FA)-were simultaneously extracted and derivatized with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH), then the derivatives were separated and analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography with spectrophotometric detection (HPLC-UV). The identity of the eluted compounds was confirmed by high-performance liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-mass-spectrometry detection in the negative ion mode (HPLC-APCI-MS). The developed methodology showed good repeatability (ca. 5%) and linearity as well as good limits of detection (AA-12.3, FA-1.5 and MA 5.4microgL(-1)) and quantification (AA-41, FA-4.9 and MA 18microgL(-1)); it also appears to be competitive in terms of speed and cost of analysis. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Modifying Achievement Test Items: A Theory-Guided and Data-Based Approach for Better Measurement of What Students with Disabilities Know

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kettler, Ryan J.; Elliott, Stephen N.; Beddow, Peter A.

2009-01-01

Federal regulations allow up to 2% of the student population of a state to achieve proficiency for adequate yearly progress by taking an alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS). Such tests are likely to be easier, but as long as a test is considered a valid measure of grade level content, it is allowable as…

Natura 2000 appropriate assessment: Shortcomings and improvements in Finnish practice

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Soederman, Tara

2009-02-15

The EU Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC requires impact assessments called Appropriate Assessments (AA) for plans and projects probably having adverse effects on the sites of European ecological importance, Natura 2000 sites. Seventy-three Appropriate Assessment reports and seventy official opinions given on them by regional environmental authorities from 1997 to 2005 were reviewed. The findings of the study demonstrate typical shortcomings of ecological impact assessment: a weak information basis for assessment outcomes and lack of proper cumulative impact assessment with respect to ecological structures and processes. The quality of reporting has improved over time with respect to direct impacts on individual habitatmore » types and species and detailed mitigation measures. Regional environment centres considered one fifth of the AA reports to be inadequate because of lacking data. In most cases the regional environment centres demanded a change of plan or project, added mitigation measures, choice of only one alternative for further planning or a new completed assessment with additional information in order to be able to evaluate the significance of the effects. The study underlines the need for iterative planning practices in which the preparation of a plan or project with alternative options goes hand in hand with the impact assessment equipped with sufficient data.« less

Progression from First Drink, First Intoxication, and Regular Drinking to Alcohol Use Disorder: A Comparison of African American and European American Youth.

PubMed

Sartor, Carolyn E; Jackson, Kristina M; McCutcheon, Vivia V; Duncan, Alexis E; Grant, Julia D; Werner, Kimberly B; Bucholz, Kathleen K

2016-07-01

Differences between African Americans (AAs) and European Americans (EAs) in the prevalence and age at onset of alcohol use and alcohol use disorder (AUD) have been documented, but distinctions in the timing of early stage transitions and contribution of various psychiatric and psychosocial risk factors to the progression from initiation to AUD have yet to be investigated. The current study characterized progression from alcohol use initiation-defined alternatively as first drink, first intoxication, and regular drinking onset-to AUD in AA and EA youth. Psychiatric interviews were administered via telephone to 1,461 participants (56% AA, 44% EA) in a high-risk family study (50.3% female, mean age = 17.6 [SD = 3.8]). Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were conducted separately for the AA and EA subsamples to predict DSM-5 AUD as a function of age at alcohol use initiation, with age at first drink, age at first intoxication, and age at regular drinking onset as the point of origin in separate models. Across race/ethnicity, regardless of how it was measured, early alcohol use initiation predicted AUD, but hazard ratios (HRs) were lowest for first drink. Regular smoking and social anxiety disorder were significant predictors in both racial/ethnic groups, but associations with conduct disorder (all 3 models: HR range = 2.07 to 4.15) and major depressive disorder (regular drinking: HR = 4.51, confidence interval [CI]: 1.60 to 12.69 for AUD onset ≥ age 20) were specific to AAs. Posttraumatic stress disorder (HR = 5.38, CI: 1.44 to 20.08) and generalized anxiety disorder (HR = 7.35, CI: 2.31 to 23.34 for AUD onset ≤ age 17) were strongly associated with progression from regular drinking to AUD exclusively in EAs. Early alcohol use initiation is a marker of risk for AUD in both AA and EA youth, but the contributions of various psychiatric risk factors to the development of AUD are not universal across racial/ethnic groups. Copyright © 2016 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

Increased tissue damage and lesion volumes in African Americans with multiple sclerosis.

PubMed

Weinstock-Guttman, B; Ramanathan, M; Hashmi, K; Abdelrahman, N; Hojnacki, D; Dwyer, M G; Hussein, S; Bergsland, N; Munschauer, F E; Zivadinov, R

2010-02-16

African American (AA) patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) have more rapid disease progression and poorer responses to disease-modifying therapies than white American (WA) patients with MS. To investigate brain MRI characteristics in AA compared to WA in a cohort of consecutive patients with MS. We studied 567 patients with MS (age: 45.1 +/- SD 9.8 years, disease duration: 13.4 +/- 8.6 years), comprised of 488 WA and 79 AA. All patients obtained clinical and quantitative MRI evaluation. The majority of patients, 96% of AA and 94% of WA, were on disease-modifying therapies. The MRI measures included T1-, T2-, and gadolinium contrast-enhancing (CE) lesion volumes (LV) and CE number, global and tissue-specific brain atrophy, and magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) in lesions and normal-appearing gray matter (NAGM) and white matter (NAWM). The associations between race and clinical and MRI measurements were assessed in regression analysis. The MTR values in lesions and in NAGM and NAWM were significantly lower in AA compared to WA. The AA group had 31% greater T2-LV and 101% greater T1-LV compared to WA. The MS Severity Score for AA (mean +/- SD = 4.3 +/- 2.9) was greater than for WA (3.8 +/- 2.5), despite a shorter disease duration in AA, indicating more aggressive clinical disease. African American patients showed increased tissue damage, as measured by magnetization transfer ratio, and presented higher lesion volumes compared to white Americans. The greater tissue damage and faster lesion volume accumulation may explain the rapid clinical progression in African American patients.

Toward the Clonotype Analysis of Alopecia Areata-Specific, Intralesional Human CD8+ T Lymphocytes.

PubMed

Bertolini, Marta; Uchida, Youhei; Paus, Ralf

2015-11-01

Alopecia areata (AA) is an organ-restricted autoimmune disease that mainly affects the hair follicle (HF). Several findings support a key primary effector role of CD8+ T cells in the disease pathogenesis. Autoreactive CD8+ T cells are not only present in the characteristic peribulbar inflammatory cell infiltrate of lesional AA HFs but are also found to be infiltrating in lesional HF epithelium where they are thought to recognize major histocompatibility complex class I-presented (auto-)antigens. However, the latter still remain unidentified. Therefore, one key aim in AA research is to identify the clonotypes of autoaggressive, intralesional CD8+ T cells. Therapeutically, this is important (a) so that these lymphocytes can be selectively eliminated or inhibited, (b) to identify the-as yet elusive-key (auto-)antigens in AA, and/or (c) to induce peripheral tolerance against the latter. Therefore, we have recently embarked on a National Alopecia Areata Foundation-supported project that attempts to isolate disease-specific, intralesional CD8+ T cells from AA skin in order to determine their TCR clonotype, using two complementary strategies. The first method is based on the enzymatic skin digestion from lesional AA skin, followed by either MACS technology and single-cell picking or FACS cell sorting, while the second method on laser microdissection. The identification of disease-specific TCRs can serve as a basis for specific AA immunotherapy along the lines sketched above and may possibly also provide prognostic biomarkers. If successful, this research strategy promises to permit, at long last, the causal therapy of AA.

Bioinformatics analysis for structure and function of CPR of Plasmodium falciparum.

PubMed

Fan, Zhigang; Zhang, Lingmin; Yan, Guogang; Wu, Qiang; Gan, Xiufeng; Zhong, Saifeng; Lin, Guifen

2011-02-01

To analyse the structure and function of NADPH-cytochrome p450 reductase (CYPOR or CPR) from Plasmodium falciparum (Pf), and to predict its' drug target and vaccine target. The structure, function, drug target and vaccine target of CPR from Plasmodium falciparum were analyzed and predicted by bioinformatics methods. PfCPR, which was older CPR, had close relationship with the CPR from other Plasmodium species, but it was distant from its hosts, such as Homo sapiens and Anopheles. PfCPR was located in the cellular nucleus of Plasmodium falciparum. 335aa-352aa and 591aa - 608aa were inserted the interior side of the nuclear membrane, while 151aa-265aa was located in the nucleolus organizer regions. PfCPR had 40 function sites and 44 protein-protein binding sites in amino acid sequence. The teriary structure of 1aa-700aa was forcep-shaped with wings. 15 segments of PfCPR had no homology with Homo sapien CPR and most were exposed on the surface of the protein. These segments had 25 protein-protein binding sites. While 13 other segments all possessed function sites. The evolution or genesis of Plasmodium falciparum is earlier than those of Homo sapiens. PfCPR is a possible resistance site of antimalarial drug and may involve immune evasion, which is associated with parasite of sporozoite in hepatocytes. PfCPR is unsuitable as vaccine target, but it has at least 13 ideal drug targets. Copyright © 2011 Hainan Medical College. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

AaCAT1 of the Yellow Fever Mosquito, Aedes aegypti

PubMed Central

Hansen, Immo A.; Boudko, Dmitri Y.; Shiao, Shin-Hong; Voronov, Dmitri A.; Meleshkevitch, Ella A.; Drake, Lisa L.; Aguirre, Sarah E.; Fox, Jeffrey M.; Attardo, Geoffrey M.; Raikhel, Alexander S.

2011-01-01

Insect yolk protein precursor gene expression is regulated by nutritional and endocrine signals. A surge of amino acids in the hemolymph of blood-fed female mosquitoes activates a nutrient signaling system in the fat bodies, which subsequently derepresses yolk protein precursor genes and makes them responsive to activation by steroid hormones. Orphan transporters of the SLC7 family were identified as essential upstream components of the nutrient signaling system in the fat body of fruit flies and the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti. However, the transport function of these proteins was unknown. We report expression and functional characterization of AaCAT1, cloned from the fat body of A. aegypti. Expression of AaCAT1 transcript and protein undergoes dynamic changes during postembryonic development of the mosquito. Transcript expression was especially high in the third and fourth larval stages; however, the AaCAT1 protein was detected only in pupa and adult stages. Functional expression and analysis of AaCAT1 in Xenopus oocytes revealed that it acts as a sodium-independent cationic amino acid transporter, with unique selectivity to l-histidine at neutral pH (K0.5l-His = 0.34 ± 0.07 mm, pH 7.2). Acidification to pH 6.2 dramatically increases AaCAT1-specific His+-induced current. RNAi-mediated silencing of AaCAT1 reduces egg yield of subsequent ovipositions. Our data show that AaCAT1 has notable differences in its transport mechanism when compared with related mammalian cationic amino acid transporters. It may execute histidine-specific transport and signaling in mosquito tissues. PMID:21262963

Evaluation of the pepsin digestibility assay for predicting amino acid digestibility of meat and bone meals.

PubMed

Davis, T M; Parsons, C M; Utterback, P L; Kirstein, D

2015-05-01

Sixteen meat and bone meal (MBM) samples were obtained and selected from various company plants to provide a wide range in pepsin nitrogen digestibility values. Pepsin digestibility was determined using either 0.02 or 0.002% pepsin. Amino acid (AA) digestibility of the 16 MBM samples was then determined using a precision-fed cecectomized rooster assay. The 0.02% pepsin digestibility values were numerically higher than the 0.002% pepsin values. The values varied from 77 to 93% for 0.02% pepsin and from 67 to 91% for 0.002% pepsin. The rooster AA digestibility results showed a wide range of values among MBM samples mostly due to the 4 samples having lowest and highest AA digestibility. A precision-fed broiler chick ileal AA digestibility assay confirmed that there were large differences in AA digestibility among the MBM samples having the lowest and highest rooster digestibility values. Correlation analyses between pepsin and AA digestibility values showed that the correlation values (r) were highly significant (P < 0.0001) for all AA when all 16 MBM samples were included in the analysis. However, when the MBM samples with the 2 lowest and the 2 highest rooster digestibility values were not included in the correlation analyses, the correlation coefficient values (r) were generally very low and not significant (P > 0.05). The results indicated that the pepsin nitrogen digestibility assay is only useful for detecting large differences in AA digestibility among MBM. There also was no advantage for using 0.02 versus 0.002% pepsin. © 2015 Poultry Science Association Inc.

Simple and Robust N-Glycan Analysis Based on Improved 2-Aminobenzoic Acid Labeling for Recombinant Therapeutic Glycoproteins.

PubMed

Jeong, Yeong Ran; Kim, Sun Young; Park, Young Sam; Lee, Gyun Min

2018-03-21

N-glycans of therapeutic glycoproteins are critical quality attributes that should be monitored throughout all stages of biopharmaceutical development. To reduce both the time for sample preparation and the variations in analytical results, we have developed an N-glycan analysis method that includes improved 2-aminobenzoic acid (2-AA) labeling to easily remove deglycosylated proteins. Using this analytical method, 15 major 2-AA-labeled N-glycans of Enbrel ® were separated into single peaks in hydrophilic interaction chromatography mode and therefore could be quantitated. 2-AA-labeled N-glycans were also highly compatible with in-line quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MS) for structural identification. The structures of 15 major and 18 minor N-glycans were identified from their mass values determined by quadrupole time-of-flight MS. Furthermore, the structures of 14 major N-glycans were confirmed by interpreting the MS/MS data of each N-glycan. This analytical method was also successfully applied to neutral N-glycans of Humira ® and highly sialylated N-glycans of NESP ® . Furthermore, the analysis data of Enbrel ® that were accumulated for 2.5 years demonstrated the high-level consistency of this analytical method. Taken together, the results show that a wide repertoire of N-glycans of therapeutic glycoproteins can be analyzed with high efficiency and consistency using the improved 2-AA labeling-based N-glycan analysis method. Copyright © 2018 American Pharmacists Association®. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Through-thickness recrystallization characteristics of a laminated AA3xxx–AA6xxx aluminum alloy system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liao, L.H., E-mail: l2liao@uwaterloo.ca; Jin, H.; Gallerneault, M.

2015-03-15

The through-thickness annealing behavior of a laminated AA3xxx–AA6xxx alloy system at 300 °C has been studied by scanning electron microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction analysis, electron probe micro-analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and hardness measurement. Results show that the recrystallization process starts at the interface region between the AA3xxx (clad) and AA6xxx (core) layers. Subsequently, the recrystallization process front progresses into the core layer, while the clad layer is the last region to recrystallize. It is also found that precipitation precedes recrystallization in the entire laminate at the investigated temperature. The preferential onset of recrystallization at the interface region is attributed tomore » the net driving pressure being the highest in this region. The factors that lead to such enhanced net driving pressure are (a) deformation incompatibility between the two alloy layers, (b) lower solute content of the interface, which also leads to lower volume fraction of precipitates, and (c) an accelerated rate of precipitate coarsening due to the presence of a higher density of dislocations. The gradual progress of recrystallization from the interface towards the core layer is dictated by precipitate coarsening and the dependence of its rate on the density of deformation-induced dislocations. The lower driving pressure due to lower work hardening capacity, high solute drag pressure due to Mn, and additional Zener drag from precipitates that form due to solute redistribution during annealing explain the late initiation of recrystallization in the clad layer. - Highlights: • The through-thickness recrystallization of a laminated system is investigated. • The early onset of recrystallization at the interface is discussed. • The effects of precipitation and coarsening on recrystallization are analyzed.« less

ERCC1 rs3212986 A/C polymorphism is not associated with chemotherapy treatment outcomes in gastric cancer patients: evidence from 11 publications in Chinese populations

PubMed Central

Wang, Yuemei; Wang, Xiaowei

2018-01-01

Background A number of studies have investigated the roles of excision repair cross-complementation group 1 (ERCC1) gene rs3212986 polymorphisms as potential biomarkers in gastric cancer (GC). However, the results were inconsistent. Here, we performed a meta-analysis to explore ERCC1 rs3212986 polymorphisms in the chemotherapy response and clinical outcome of GC. Methods PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were searched up to July 28, 2017, for studies on the association between ERCC1 rs3212986 A/C polymorphisms and response to chemotherapy as well as overall survival time of GC. A fixed-effect or random-effect model was used to calculate the pooled odds ratios (ORs) based on the results from the heterogeneity tests. Results The result revealed that there was no significant association between the ERCC1 rs3212986 A/C polymorphism and response to chemotherapy in GC under comparison models (AA + CA versus CC, OR 0.95, P=0.80, AA versus CA, OR 0.85, P=0.55, AA versus CC, OR 0.74, P=0.47). Further identification suggested that ERCC1 rs3212986 A/C polymorphisms were not linked with the overall survival of GC (AA + CA versus CC, OR 1.09, P=0.52, AA versus CA, OR 1.05, P=0.85, AA versus CC, OR 1.43, P=0.23). Conclusion Our meta-analysis indicated that the ERCC1 rs3212986 A/C polymorphism was not associated with response to chemotherapy or overall survival time in GC. Well-designed studies with larger sample sizes and more ethnic groups should be performed to further validate our results. PMID:29302191

Pharmacogenomic Characterization and Isobologram Analysis of the Combination of Ascorbic Acid and Curcumin-Two Main Metabolites of Curcuma longa-in Cancer Cells.

PubMed

Ooko, Edna; Kadioglu, Onat; Greten, Henry J; Efferth, Thomas

2017-01-01

Curcuma longa has long been used in China and India as anti-inflammatory agent to treat a wide variety of conditions and also as a spice for varied curry preparations. The chemoprofile of the Curcuma species exhibits the presence of varied phytochemicals with curcumin being present in all three species but AA only being shown in C. longa . This study explored the effect of a curcumin/AA combination on human cancer cell lines. The curcumin/AA combination was assessed by isobologram analysis using the Loewe additivity drug interaction model. The drug combination showed additive cytotoxicity toward CCRF-CEM and CEM/ADR5000 leukemia cell lines and HCT116p53 +/+ and HCT116p53 -/- colon cancer cell line, while the glioblastoma cell lines U87MG and U87MG.ΔEGFR showed additive to supra-additive cytotoxicity. Gene expression profiles predicting sensitivity and resistance of tumor cells to induction by curcumin and AA were determined by microarray-based mRNA expressions, COMPARE, and hierarchical cluster analyses. Numerous genes involved in transcription ( TFAM, TCERG1, RGS13, C11orf31 ), apoptosis-regulation ( CRADD, CDK7, CDK19, CD81, TOM1 ) signal transduction ( NR1D2, HMGN1, ABCA1, DE4ND4B, TRIM27 ) DNA repair ( TOPBP1, RPA2 ), mRNA metabolism ( RBBP4, HNRNPR, SRSF4, NR2F2, PDK1, TGM2 ), and transporter genes ( ABCA1 ) correlated with cellular responsiveness to curcumin and ascorbic acid. In conclusion, this study shows the effect of the curcumin/AA combination and identifies several candidate genes that may regulate the response of varied cancer cells to curcumin and AA.

Raman spectroscopy and capillary zone electrophoresis for the analysis of degradation processes in commercial effervescent tablets containing acetylsalicylic acid and ascorbic acid.

PubMed

Neuberger, Sabine; Jooß, Kevin; Flottmann, Dirk; Scriba, Gerhard; Neusüß, Christian

2017-02-05

In order to ensure the stability of pharmaceutical products appropriate manufacturing and storage conditions are required. In general, the degradation of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and subsequent formation of degradation products affect the pharmaceutical quality. Thus, a fast and effective detection and characterization of these substances is mandatory. Here, the applicability of Raman spectroscopy and CZE for the characterization of the degradation of effervescent tablets containing acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) and ascorbic acid (AA) was evaluated. Therefore, a degradation study was performed analyzing tablets from two different manufacturers at varying conditions (relative humidity (RH) 33%, 52% and 75% at 30°C). Raman spectroscopy combined with principal component analysis could be successfully applied for the fast and easy discrimination of non-degraded and degraded effervescent tablets after a storage period of approximately 24h (RH 52%). Nevertheless, a clear identification or quantification of APIs and degradation products within the analyzed tablets was not possible, i.a. due to missing reference materials. CZE-UV enabled the quantification of the APIs (ASA, AA) and related degradation products (salicylic acid (SA); semi-quantitative also mono- and diacetylated AA) within the complex tablet mixtures. The higher the RH, the faster the degradation of ASA and AA as well as the formation of the degradation products. Mono- and diacetylated AA are major primary degradation products of AA for the applied effervescent tablets. A significant degradation of the APIs was detected earlier by CZE (6-12h, RH 52%) than by Raman spectroscopy. Summarized, Raman spectroscopy is well-suited as quick test to detect degradation of these tablets and CZE can be utilized for further detailed characterization and quantification of specific APIs and related degradation products. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Polymeric nanoparticle of copper(II)-4,4‧-dicyanamidobiphenyl ligand: Synthetic, spectral and structural aspect; application to electrochemical sensing of dopamine and ascorbic acid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiniforoshan, Hossein; Ensafi, Ali A.; Heydari-Bafrooei, Esmaeil; Khalesi, Sara Bahmanpour; Tabrizi, Leila

2015-08-01

In this research, new polymer of 4,4‧-dicyanamidobiphenyl (bpH2)-Cu(II) complex, [Cu(bp)(H2O)2]n, has been synthesized and characterized by FT-IR, UV-vis spectroscopy and elemental analysis. The spherical morphology of Cu nanoparticles was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image and the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image showed that the particle size dimensions of Cu nanoparticles were about 80 nm. Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) results indicated that this polymer was thermally stable. Hence, the prepared polymer was used as a modifier for the electrochemical determination of dopamine (DA) and ascorbic acid (AA). Compared to the bare carbon paste electrode (CPE) and multiwall carbon paste electrode (CNTPE), bpCu modified CPE (bpCu-CPE) exhibits much higher electrocatalytic activities toward the oxidation of dopamine and ascorbic acid with an increase in peak currents and a decrease in oxidation overpotentials. The effects of scan rate, concentration and pH were also studied. Differential pulse voltammetry results show that DA and AA could be detected selectively and sensitively at bpCu-CPE with peak-to-peak separation of 200 mV. Relative standard deviations for AA and DA determinations were less than 2.5%, and the linear response ranges of the electrode were 0.05-30.0 μmol L-1 for AA and DA, respectively. The calculated detection limits were 0.02 and 0.04 μmol L-1 (S/N = 3) for AA and DA, respectively. In addition, the presented method was successfully applied for the simultaneous determination of DA and AA in urine and blood samples with reliable recovery.

Pharmacogenomic Characterization and Isobologram Analysis of the Combination of Ascorbic Acid and Curcumin—Two Main Metabolites of Curcuma longa—in Cancer Cells

PubMed Central

Ooko, Edna; Kadioglu, Onat; Greten, Henry J.; Efferth, Thomas

2017-01-01

Curcuma longa has long been used in China and India as anti-inflammatory agent to treat a wide variety of conditions and also as a spice for varied curry preparations. The chemoprofile of the Curcuma species exhibits the presence of varied phytochemicals with curcumin being present in all three species but AA only being shown in C. longa. This study explored the effect of a curcumin/AA combination on human cancer cell lines. The curcumin/AA combination was assessed by isobologram analysis using the Loewe additivity drug interaction model. The drug combination showed additive cytotoxicity toward CCRF-CEM and CEM/ADR5000 leukemia cell lines and HCT116p53+/+ and HCT116p53−/− colon cancer cell line, while the glioblastoma cell lines U87MG and U87MG.ΔEGFR showed additive to supra-additive cytotoxicity. Gene expression profiles predicting sensitivity and resistance of tumor cells to induction by curcumin and AA were determined by microarray-based mRNA expressions, COMPARE, and hierarchical cluster analyses. Numerous genes involved in transcription (TFAM, TCERG1, RGS13, C11orf31), apoptosis-regulation (CRADD, CDK7, CDK19, CD81, TOM1) signal transduction (NR1D2, HMGN1, ABCA1, DE4ND4B, TRIM27) DNA repair (TOPBP1, RPA2), mRNA metabolism (RBBP4, HNRNPR, SRSF4, NR2F2, PDK1, TGM2), and transporter genes (ABCA1) correlated with cellular responsiveness to curcumin and ascorbic acid. In conclusion, this study shows the effect of the curcumin/AA combination and identifies several candidate genes that may regulate the response of varied cancer cells to curcumin and AA. PMID:28210221

AAS Oral History Project - Seeking Planetary Scientist

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buxner, Sanlyn; Holbrook, Jarita

2016-10-01

Now in its fourth year, the AAS Oral History Project has interviewed over 100 space scientists from all over the world. Led by the AAS Historical Astronomy Division (HAD) and partially funded by the American Institute of Physics Niels Bohr Library and ongoing support from the AAS, volunteers have collected oral histories from space scientists at professional meetings starting in 2015, including AAS, DPS, and the IAU general assembly. Each interview lasts one and a half to two hours and focuses on interviewees' personal and professional lives. Questions include those about one's family, childhood, strong influences on one's scientific career, career path, successes and challenges, perspectives on how astronomy is changing as a field, and advice to the next generation. Each interview is audio recorded and transcribed, the content of which is checked with each interviewee. Once complete, interview transcripts are posted online as part of a larger oral history library at https://www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories. We will present preliminary analysis of those interviewed including characterizing career status, age range, nationality, and primary field. Additionally, we will discuss trends beginning to emerge in analysis of participants' responses about data driven science and advice to the next generation. Future analysis will reveal a rich story of space scientists and will help the community address issues of diversity, controversies, and the changing landscape of science. We are actively recruiting individuals to be interviewed at this meeting from all stages of career from undergraduate students to retired and emeritus astronomers. We are especially interested in interviewing 40+E members of DPS. Contact Sanlyn Buxner to schedule an interview or to find out more information about the project (buxner@psi.edu). Contact Jarita Holbrook if you would like to become an interviewer for the project (astroholbrook@gmail.com).

Getting and Holding a Job with an Astronomy Degree

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guinan, E. F.

1995-12-01

This panel session will focus on a realistic assessment of the current and future employment opportunities for trained Astronomers. The development of strategies for finding worthwhile employment in today's \\it challenging\\ job market. Opportunities both within and without the traditional astronomy fields will be explored. Astronomy degrees can provide a broad training in related physical sciences, mathematics, computers, and innovative, new technologies while honing a person's ability to solve a wide spectrum of difficult and complex problems. With these skills, a number of past and present AAS members have found interesting and rewarding employment outside of mainstream Astronomy and in fields unrelated to Astronomy. This session will: \\hang 1. Summarize the results of the recent job survey conducted among AAS members. \\hang 2. Provide job search information from people who have recently found jobs and from experts who assist people with scientific and technical backgrounds to find jobs. \\hang 3. Focus attention on possible alternative careers.

Hippocampal damage causes retrograde but not anterograde memory loss for context fear discrimination in rats.

PubMed

Lee, Justin Q; Sutherland, Robert J; McDonald, Robert J

2017-09-01

There is a substantial body of evidence that the hippocampus (HPC) plays and essential role in context discrimination in rodents. Studies reporting anterograde amnesia (AA) used repeated, alternating, distributed conditioning and extinction sessions to measure context fear discrimination. In addition, there is uncertainty about the extent of damage to the HPC. Here, we induced conditioned fear prior to discrimination tests and rats sustained extensive, quantified pre- or post-training HPC damage. Unlike previous work, we found that extensive HPC damage spares context discrimination, we observed no AA. There must be a non-HPC system that can acquire long-term memories that support context fear discrimination. Post-training HPC damage caused retrograde amnesia (RA) for context discrimination, even when rats are fear conditioned for multiple sessions. We discuss the implications of these findings for understanding the role of HPC in long-term memory. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene polymorphism and risk of chronic myelogenous leukemia: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

Li, Chen; Yichao, Jin; Jiaxin, Lin; Yueting, Zhang; Qin, Lu; Tonghua, Yang

2015-01-01

Reported evidence supports a role for methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) in the risk of chronic myelogenous leykemia (CML). However, these reports arrived at non-conclusive and even conflicting results regarding the association between two common MTHFR polymorphisms (C677T and A1298C) and CML risk. Thus, a meta-analysis was carried out to clarify a more precise association between these two polymorphisms and the CML risk by updating the available publications. Pooled odds ratios (OR) with corresponding 95% confidence interval (95% CI) and stratification analysis were performed to estimate the relationship between MTHFR polymorphisms and the risk of CML under different genetic comparison models. Data from the meta-analysis showed no significant association between MTHFR C677T polymorphism and CML risk. However, significant associations were found between MTHFR A1298C variants and CML risk under homozygous comparison model (CC vs AA, OR=1.62, 95% CI=1.11-2.36, p=0.01) and dominant comparison model (CC+AC vs AA, OR=1.68, 95% CI=1.17-2.43, p=0.005) in overall population; especially more obvious impacts were noticed for Asian populations in subgroup analysis for homozygous model (CC vs AA, OR=2.00, 95% CI=1.25-3.21, p=0.004) and dominant model (CC+AC vs AA, OR=2.49, 95% CI=1.42-4.36, p=0.001), but this did not apply in Caucasian populations. The results of this meta-analysis suggested no significant association between MTHFR C677T polymorphism and CML risk, while an increased CML risk was noticed for 1298C variant carriers, especially in Asian populations but not in Caucasian populations, which suggested ethnicity differences between MTHFR A1298C polymorphisms and risk of CML.

Ascending aorta dilatation rates in patients with tricuspid and bicuspid aortic stenosis: the COFRASA/GENERAC study.

PubMed

Kerneis, Caroline; Pasi, Nicoletta; Arangalage, Dimitri; Nguyen, Virginia; Mathieu, Tiffany; Verdonk, Constance; Codogno, Isabelle; Ou, Phalla; Duval, Xavier; Tubiana, Sarah; Cimadevilla, Claire; Vahanian, Alec; Messika-Zeitoun, And David

2017-07-25

Ascending aorta (AA) dilatation is common in aortic valve stenosis (AS) but data regarding AA progression, its determinants and impact of valve anatomy [bicuspid (BAV), or tricuspid (TAV)] are scarce. Asymptomatic AS patients enrolled in a prospective cohort (COFRASA/GENERAC) with at least 2 years of follow-up were considered in the present analysis. A transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and a computed tomography (CT) scan were performed at inclusion and yearly thereafter. We enrolled 195 patients [mean gradient 22 ± 11 mmHg, 42 BAV patients (22%)]. Mean aorta diameters assessed using TTE were 35 ± 4 and 36 ± 5 mm at the sinuses of Valsalva and tubular level, respectively. Ascending aorta diameter was >40 mm in 29% of patients (24% in TAV vs. 52% in BAV, P < 0.01). Determinants of AA diameters were age, sex, BSA, and BAV, but not AS severity. After a mean follow-up of 3.8 ± 1.5years, AA enlargement rate assessed using TTE was +0.18 ± 0.34 mm/year and +0.36 ± 0.54 mm/year at the Valsalva and tubular level, respectively. Determinants of the progression of AA size were smaller AA diameter (P < 0.01) but not baseline AS severity or valve anatomy (all P > 0.05). Only four patients presented an AA progression ≥2 mm/year. Correlations between TTE and CT scan were excellent (all r >0.74) and similar results were obtained using CT. During follow-up, two BAV patients underwent a combined AA surgery; no surgery was primarily performed for AA aneurysm and no dissection was observed. In this prospective cohort of AS patients determinants of AA diameters were age, sex, BSA, and valve anatomy but not AS severity. AA progression rates were low and not influenced by AS severity or valve anatomy. Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2017. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

75 FR 65644 - Alaska Native Claims Selection

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-26

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [AA-11937, AA-11938, AA-11939, AA-11940, AA-11944, AA-11943, AA-11941, AA-11936, AA-11933, AA-11928, AA-11929, AA-11931, AA-11932; LLAK- 962000-L14100000-HY0000-P] Alaska Native Claims Selection AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior. ACTION...

Normal Muscle Oxygen Consumption and Fatigability in Sickle Cell Patients Despite Reduced Microvascular Oxygenation and Hemorheological Abnormalities

PubMed Central

Waltz, Xavier; Pichon, Aurélien; Lemonne, Nathalie; Mougenel, Danièle; Lalanne-Mistrih, Marie-Laure; Lamarre, Yann; Tarer, Vanessa; Tressières, Benoit; Etienne-Julan, Maryse; Hardy-Dessources, Marie-Dominique; Hue, Olivier; Connes, Philippe

2012-01-01

Background/Aim Although it has been hypothesized that muscle metabolism and fatigability could be impaired in sickle cell patients, no study has addressed this issue. Methods We compared muscle metabolism and function (muscle microvascular oxygenation, microvascular blood flow, muscle oxygen consumption and muscle microvascular oxygenation variability, which reflects vasomotion activity, maximal muscle force and local muscle fatigability) and the hemorheological profile at rest between 16 healthy subjects (AA), 20 sickle cell-hemoglobin C disease (SC) patients and 16 sickle cell anemia (SS) patients. Results Muscle microvascular oxygenation was reduced in SS patients compared to the SC and AA groups and this reduction was not related to hemorhelogical abnormalities. No difference was observed between the three groups for oxygen consumption and vasomotion activity. Muscle microvascular blood flow was higher in SS patients compared to the AA group, and tended to be higher compared to the SC group. Multivariate analysis revealed that muscle oxygen consumption was independently associated with muscle microvascular blood flow in the two sickle cell groups (SC and SS). Finally, despite reduced muscle force in sickle cell patients, their local muscle fatigability was similar to that of the healthy subjects. Conclusions Sickle cell patients have normal resting muscle oxygen consumption and fatigability despite hemorheological alterations and, for SS patients only, reduced muscle microvascular oxygenation and increased microvascular blood flow. Two alternative mechanisms can be proposed for SS patients: 1) the increased muscle microvascular blood flow is a way to compensate for the lower muscle microvascular oxygenation to maintain muscle oxygen consumption to normal values or 2) the reduced microvascular oxygenation coupled with a normal resting muscle oxygen consumption could indicate that there is slight hypoxia within the muscle which is not sufficient to limit mitochondrial respiration but increases muscle microvascular blood flow. PMID:23285055

"You Have to Approach Us Right": A Qualitative Framework Analysis for Recruiting African Americans into mHealth Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

James, Delores C. S.; Harville, Cedric, II; Efunbumi, Orisatalabi; Babazadeh, Ida; Ali, Sheriza

2017-01-01

Background: Despite the high ownership of smartphones, African Americans (AAs) remain underrepresented in health research and specifically mobile health (mHealth) research. This may be due to ineffective recruitment efforts. Purpose: To explore strategies for recruiting AAs into mHealth research and examine how these strategies may vary by gender…

Comprehensive Analysis and Characterization of Linear Antigenic Domains on HN Protein from Genotype VII Newcastle Disease Virus Using Yeast Surface Display System

PubMed Central

Li, Tao; Wang, Gaoling; Shi, Bingtian; Liu, Peixin; Si, Wei; Wang, Bin; Jiang, Li; Zhou, Lunjiang; Xiu, Jinsheng; Liu, Henggui

2015-01-01

Circulation of genotype VII Newcastle disease virus (NDV) has posed a great threat for the poultry industry worldwide. Antibodies against Hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN), a membrane protein of NDV with critical roles in NDV infection, have been reported to provide chickens protection from NDV infection. In this study, we comprehensively analyzed the in vivo antibody responses against the linear antigenic domains of the HN protein from genotype VII NDV using a yeast surface display system. The results revealed four distinct regions of HN, P1 (1-52aa), P2 (53-192aa), P3 (193-302aa) and P4 (303-571aa), respectively, according to their antigenic potency. Analysis by FACS and ELISA assay indicated P2 to be the dominant linear antigenic domain, with the immunogenic potency to protect the majority of chickens from NDV challenge. In contrast, the P1, P3 and P4 domains showed weak antigenicity in vivo and could not protect chickens from NDV challenge. These results provide important insight into the characteristic of humoral immune responses elicited by HN of NDV in vivo. PMID:26121247

Analysis of N-acetylaminosugars by CE: a comparative derivatization study.

PubMed

Rustighi, Isabella; Campa, Cristiana; Rossi, Marco; Semeraro, Sabrina; Vetere, Amedeo; Gamini, Amelia

2009-08-01

N-linked or O-linked glycans derived from glycoprotein processing carry, an N-acetylglucosamine or an N-acetylgalactosamine respectively, at their reducing termini. The presence of the N-acetylamino group on C-2 of reducing sugar residues has been reported to hamper the derivatization reaction with a chromophore at the anomeric centre. In this paper N-acetyllactosamine, N-acetylglucosamine, N-acetylgalactosamine and several other neutral monosaccharides are coupled to three different dyes (4-aminobenzonitrile, 2-aminopyridine, 2-aminobenzoic acid (2-AA)) by reductive amination and analysed by CE with UV detection. The 2-AA derivatives showed the lowest concentration detection limits, varying approximately in the 2-3 muM range for the saccharides tested including the N-acetamido ones. The possibility to separate and detect with the same sensitivity ten 2-AA-labelled monosaccharides mainly found in mammalian or plant glycoproteins in a single CE run is highlighted. The analysis has been carried out in less than 25 min using the borate-complexation method in CZE mode. The influence of the strength of the acid used as catalyst in the chemical modification of the sugars with 2-AA is also shortly addressed.

Role of protein kinase C alpha in endothelin-1 stimulation of cytosolic phospholipase A2 and arachidonic acid release in cultured cat iris sphincter smooth muscle cells.

PubMed

Husain, S; Abdel-Latif, A A

1998-05-20

We have investigated the role and mechanism of protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms in endothelin-1 (ET-1)-induced arachidonic acid (AA) release in cat iris sphincter smooth muscle (CISM) cells. ET-1 increased AA release in a concentration (EC50=8 nM) and time-dependent (t1/2=1.2 min) manner. Cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2), but not phospholipase C (PLC), is involved in the liberation of AA in the stimulated cells. This conclusion is supported by the findings that ET-1-induced AA release is inhibited by AACOCF3, quinacrine and manoalide, PLA2 inhibitors, but not by U-73122, a PLC inhibitor, or by RHC-80267, a diacylglycerol lipase inhibitor. A role for PKC in ET-1-induced AA release is supported by the findings that the phorbol ester, PDBu, increased AA release by 96%, that prolonged treatment of the cells with PDBu resulted in the selective down regulation of PKCalpha and the complete inhibition of ET-1-induced AA release, and that pretreatment of the cells with staurosporine or RO 31-8220, PKC inhibitors, blocked the ET-1-induced AA release. Gö-6976, a compound that inhibits PKCalpha and beta specifically, blocked ET-1-induced AA release in a concentration-dependent manner with an IC50 value of 8 nM. Thymeatoxin (0.1 microM), a specific activator of PKCalpha, beta, and gamma induced a 150% increase in AA release. Treatment of the cells with ET-1 caused significant translocation of PKCalpha, but not PKCbeta, from cytosol to the particulate fraction. These results suggest that PKCalpha plays a critical role in ET-1-induced AA release in these cells. Immunochemical analysis revealed the presence of cPLA2, p42mapk and p44mapk in the CISM cells. The data presented are consistent with a role for PKCalpha, but not for p42/p44 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), in cPLA2 activation and AA release in ET-1-stimulated CISM cells since: (i) the PKC inhibitor, RO 31-8220, inhibited ET-1-induced AA release, cPLA2 phosphorylation and cPLA2 activity, but had no inhibitory effect on p42/p44 MAPK activation, (ii) genistein, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, inhibited ET-1-stimulated MAPK activity but had no inhibitory effect on AA release in the ET-1-stimulated cells. We conclude that in CISM cells, ET-1 activates PKCalpha, which activates cPLA2, which liberates AA for prostaglandin synthesis. Copyright 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

ASSOCIATION OF INTERLEUKIN-10 -1082 A/G (RS1800896) POLYMORPHISM WITH SUSCEPTIBILITY TO GASTRIC CANCER: META-ANALYSIS OF 6,101 CASES AND 8,557 CONTROLS.

PubMed

Namazi, Abolfazl; Forat-Yazdi, Mohammad; Jafari, Mohammadali; Farahnak, Soudabeh; Nasiri, Rezvan; Foroughi, Elnaz; Abolbaghaei, Seyed Mojtaba; Neamatzadeh, Hossein

2018-01-01

The promoter -1082 A/G (rs1800896) polymorphism of Interleukin-10 (IL-10) gene have been widely reported and considered to have a significant role on gastric cancer risk, but the results are inconsistent. To clarify the association, we conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the associations IL-10 -1082 A/G polymorphism with gastric cancer. Eligible articles were identified by searching databases including PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar up to August 03, 2017. Odds ratios (OR) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the association. A total of 30 case-control studies with 6,101 cases and 8,557 controls were included in this meta-analysis. Overall, a significant association between IL-10 -1082 A/G polymorphism and gastric cancer risk was observed under the allele model (G vs A: OR=1.305, 95% CI=1.076-1.584; P=0.007), heterozygote model and (GA vs AA: OR=1.252, 95% CI=1.252-1.054; P=0.011) and dominant model (GG+GA vs AA: OR=1.264, 95% CI=1.053-1.516; P=0.012). In the subgroup analysis by ethnicity, increased gastric cancer risk were found in Asians under the allele model (G vs A: OR=1.520, 95% CI=1.172-1.973; P=0.002), homozygote model (GG+GA vs AA: OR=1.571, 95% CI=1.023-2.414; P= 0.039), heterozygote model (GA vs AA: OR=1.465, 95% CI=1.192-1.801; P≤0.001) and dominant model (GG+GA vs AA: OR=1.448, 95% CI=1.152-1.821; P=0.002), but not among Caucasian and Latinos populations. These results suggested that the IL-10 -1082 A/G (rs1800896) polymorphism might contribute to the gastric cancer susceptibility, especially among Asians.

Earwax metabolomics: An innovative pilot metabolic profiling study for assessing metabolic changes in ewes during periparturition period

PubMed Central

Pereira, Julião; Marques Júnior, Jair Gonzalez; da Cunha, Paulo Henrique Jorge; Noronha Filho, Antônio Dionísio Feitosa; da Silva, Jessica Alves; Fioravanti, Maria Clorinda Soares; de Oliveira, Anselmo Elcana

2017-01-01

Important metabolic changes occur during transition period of late pregnancy and early lactation to meet increasing energy demands of the growing fetus and for milk production. The aim of this investigation is to present an innovative and non-invasive tool using ewe earwax sample analysis to assess the metabolic profile in ewes during late pregnancy and early lactation. In this work, earwax samples were collected from 28 healthy Brazilian Santa Inês ewes divided into 3 sub-groups: 9 non-pregnant ewes, 6 pregnant ewes in the last 30 days of gestation, and 13 lactating ewes ≤ 30 days postpartum. Then, a range of metabolites including volatile organic compounds (VOC), amino acids (AA), and minerals were profiled and quantified in the samples by applying headspace gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, high performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry, and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry, respectively. As evident in our results, significant changes were observed in the metabolite profile of earwax between the studied groups where a remarkable elevation was detected in the levels of non-esterified fatty acids, alcohols, ketones, and hydroxy urea in the VOC profile of samples obtained from pregnant and lactating ewes. Meanwhile, a significant decrease was detected in the levels of 9 minerals and 14 AA including essential AA (leucine, phenyl alanine, lysine, isoleucine, threonine, valine), conditionally essential AA (arginine, glycine, tyrosine, proline, serine), and a non-essential AA (alanine). Multivariate analysis using robust principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis was successfully applied to discriminate the three study groups using the variations of metabolites in the two stress states (pregnancy and lactation) from the healthy non-stress condition. The innovative developed method was successful in evaluating pre- and post-parturient metabolic changes using earwax and can in the future be applied to recognize markers for diagnosis, prevention, and intervention of pregnancy complications in ewes. PMID:28841695

Earwax metabolomics: An innovative pilot metabolic profiling study for assessing metabolic changes in ewes during periparturition period.

PubMed

Shokry, Engy; Pereira, Julião; Marques Júnior, Jair Gonzalez; da Cunha, Paulo Henrique Jorge; Noronha Filho, Antônio Dionísio Feitosa; da Silva, Jessica Alves; Fioravanti, Maria Clorinda Soares; de Oliveira, Anselmo Elcana; Antoniosi Filho, Nelson Roberto

2017-01-01

Important metabolic changes occur during transition period of late pregnancy and early lactation to meet increasing energy demands of the growing fetus and for milk production. The aim of this investigation is to present an innovative and non-invasive tool using ewe earwax sample analysis to assess the metabolic profile in ewes during late pregnancy and early lactation. In this work, earwax samples were collected from 28 healthy Brazilian Santa Inês ewes divided into 3 sub-groups: 9 non-pregnant ewes, 6 pregnant ewes in the last 30 days of gestation, and 13 lactating ewes ≤ 30 days postpartum. Then, a range of metabolites including volatile organic compounds (VOC), amino acids (AA), and minerals were profiled and quantified in the samples by applying headspace gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, high performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry, and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry, respectively. As evident in our results, significant changes were observed in the metabolite profile of earwax between the studied groups where a remarkable elevation was detected in the levels of non-esterified fatty acids, alcohols, ketones, and hydroxy urea in the VOC profile of samples obtained from pregnant and lactating ewes. Meanwhile, a significant decrease was detected in the levels of 9 minerals and 14 AA including essential AA (leucine, phenyl alanine, lysine, isoleucine, threonine, valine), conditionally essential AA (arginine, glycine, tyrosine, proline, serine), and a non-essential AA (alanine). Multivariate analysis using robust principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis was successfully applied to discriminate the three study groups using the variations of metabolites in the two stress states (pregnancy and lactation) from the healthy non-stress condition. The innovative developed method was successful in evaluating pre- and post-parturient metabolic changes using earwax and can in the future be applied to recognize markers for diagnosis, prevention, and intervention of pregnancy complications in ewes.

Impact of feed counterion addition and cyclone type on aerodynamic behavior of alginic-atenolol microparticles produced by spray drying.

PubMed

Ceschan, Nazareth Eliana; Bucalá, Verónica; Ramírez-Rigo, María Verónica; Smyth, Hugh David Charles

2016-12-01

The inhalatory route has emerged as an interesting non-invasive alternative for drug delivery. This allows both pulmonary (local) and systemic treatments (via alveolar absorption). Further advantages in terms of stability, dose and patient preference have often lead researchers to focus on dry powder inhaler delivery systems. Atenolol is an antihypertensive drug with low oral bioavailability and gastrointestinal side effects. Because atenolol possesses adequate permeation across human epithelial membranes, it has been proposed as a good candidate for inhalatory administration. In a previous work, atenolol was combined with alginic acid (AA) and microparticles were developed using spray-drying (SD) technology. Different AA/atenolol ratios, total feed solid content and operative variables were previously explored. In order to improve particle quality for inhalatory administration and the SD yield, in this work the AA acid groups not neutralized by atenolol were kept either free or neutralized to pH∼7 and two different SD cyclones were used. Particle morphology, flow properties, moisture uptake and in vitro aerosolization behavior at different pressure drops were studied. When the AA acid groups were neutralized, particle size decreased as a consequence of the lower feed viscosity. The SD yield and in vitro particle deposition significantly increased when a high performance cyclone was employed, and even when lactose carrier particles were not used. Although the in vitro particle deposition decreased when the storage relative humidity increased, the developed SD powders showed adequate characteristics to be administered by inhalatory route up to storage relative humidities of about 60%. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Genome-wide analysis of basic/helix-loop-helix gene family in peanut and assessment of its roles in pod development.

PubMed

Gao, Chao; Sun, Jianlei; Wang, Chongqi; Dong, Yumei; Xiao, Shouhua; Wang, Xingjun; Jiao, Zigao

2017-01-01

The basic/helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proteins constitute a superfamily of transcription factors that are known to play a range of regulatory roles in eukaryotes. Over the past few decades, many bHLH family genes have been well-characterized in model plants, such as Arabidopsis, rice and tomato. However, the bHLH protein family in peanuts has not yet been systematically identified and characterized. Here, 132 and 129 bHLH proteins were identified from two wild ancestral diploid subgenomes of cultivated tetraploid peanuts, Arachis duranensis (AA) and Arachis ipaensis (BB), respectively. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that these bHLHs could be classified into 19 subfamilies. Distribution mapping results showed that peanut bHLH genes were randomly and unevenly distributed within the 10 AA chromosomes and 10 BB chromosomes. In addition, 120 bHLH gene pairs between the AA-subgenome and BB-subgenome were found to be orthologous and 101 of these pairs were highly syntenic in AA and BB chromosomes. Furthermore, we confirmed that 184 bHLH genes expressed in different tissues, 22 of which exhibited tissue-specific expression. Meanwhile, we identified 61 bHLH genes that may be potentially involved in peanut-specific subterranean. Our comprehensive genomic analysis provides a foundation for future functional dissection and understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of bHLH transcription factors in peanuts.

Large scale intercomparison of aerosol trace element analysis by different analytical methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bombelka, E.; Richter, F.-W.; Ries, H.; Wätjen, U.

1984-04-01

The general agreement of PIXE analysis with other methods (INAA, XRF, AAS, OES-ICP, and PhAA) is very good based on the analysis of filter pieces taken from 250 aerosol samples. It is better than 5% for Pb and Zn, better than 10% for V, Cr, and Mn, indicating that the accuracy of PIXE analysis can be within 10%. For elements such as Cd and Sb, difficult to analyze by PIXE because of their low mass content in the sample, the agreement is given mainly by the reproducibility of the method (20% to 30%). Similar agreement is found for sulfur, after taking account of the depth distribution of the aerosol in the filter.

Analysis of abietic acid and dehydroabietic acid residues in raw ducks and cooked ducks.

PubMed

Zhu, Yongzhi; Zhang, Suzhen; Geng, Zhiming; Wang, Daoying; Liu, Fang; Zhang, Muhan; Bian, Huan; Xu, Weimin

2014-10-01

Rosin was once widely used for removal of duck feathers in China and is still being used secretly in some poultry processing enterprises. Abietic acid (AA) and dehydroabietic acid (DHAA) are the major compounds of rosin. In the present study, 90 duck samples were collected for investigation of AA and DHAA residues. Abietic acid and DHAA were simultaneously detected in 13 out 40 raw ducks, 8 out of 26 water-boiled salted ducks, and 7 out of 24 roasted ducks, respectively. In positive samples, averages of AA were significantly higher than those of DHAA in positive samples of the 3 types of ducks (P < 0.05). Averages of AA and DHAA in positive raw ducks were significantly higher than those in positive roasted ducks (P < 0.05). The results indicated that almost one-third of raw ducks were defeathered by means of rosin-containing defeathering agent, and cooking processes could reduce the AA and DHAA residues to some extent, but could not eliminate them completely. ©2014 Poultry Science Association Inc.

The effects and measures of auricular acupressure and interactive multimedia for smoking cessation in college students.

PubMed

Yeh, Mei-Ling; Wang, Pei-Lan; Lin, Jaung-Geng; Chung, Mei-Ling

2014-01-01

The earlier one starts to smoke, the more likely it is that one's tobacco use will increase. Either auricular acupressure or multimedia education could improve physiological health status and reduce smoking for young smokers. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a 10-week auricular acupressure (AA) and interactive multimedia (IM) on smoking cessation in college smokers. A pre- and posttest control research design with two experiments (AA and IM) and one control was used. Thirty-two participants were in each of three groups. A significant difference from pretest to posttest among three groups was exhibited on carbon monoxide (CO), cotinine, and nicotine dependence. Scheffe's post hoc test found significances on CO in the AA between the IM and the control and cotinine and nicotine dependence between the AA and the control. After controlling the covariates, the main effect of the group was no difference in all outcomes. The interventions, especially AA, may contribute to a decrease of CO, cotinine, and nicotine dependence along with the time change. An analysis without controlling influences may overestimate interventional effects.

Systemic AA amyloidosis in the red fox (Vulpes vulpes).

PubMed

Rising, Anna; Cederlund, Ella; Palmberg, Carina; Uhlhorn, Henrik; Gaunitz, Stefan; Nordling, Kerstin; Ågren, Erik; Ihse, Elisabet; Westermark, Gunilla T; Tjernberg, Lars; Jörnvall, Hans; Johansson, Jan; Westermark, Per

2017-11-01

Amyloid A (AA) amyloidosis occurs spontaneously in many mammals and birds, but the prevalence varies considerably among different species, and even among subgroups of the same species. The Blue fox and the Gray fox seem to be resistant to the development of AA amyloidosis, while Island foxes have a high prevalence of the disease. Herein, we report on the identification of AA amyloidosis in the Red fox (Vulpes vulpes). Edman degradation and tandem MS analysis of proteolyzed amyloid protein revealed that the amyloid partly was composed of full-length SAA. Its amino acid sequence was determined and found to consist of 111 amino acid residues. Based on inter-species sequence comparisons we found four residue exchanges (Ser31, Lys63, Leu71, Lys72) between the Red and Blue fox SAAs. Lys63 seems unique to the Red fox SAA. We found no obvious explanation to how these exchanges might correlate with the reported differences in SAA amyloidogenicity. Furthermore, in contrast to fibrils from many other mammalian species, the isolated amyloid fibrils from Red fox did not seed AA amyloidosis in a mouse model. © 2017 The Protein Society.

Streptomyces albus: A New Cell Factory for Non-Canonical Amino Acids Incorporation into Ribosomally Synthesized Natural Products.

PubMed

Lopatniuk, Mariia; Myronovskyi, Maksym; Luzhetskyy, Andriy

2017-09-15

The incorporation of noncanonical amino acids (ncAAs) with different side chains into a peptide is a promising technique for changing the functional properties of that peptide. Of particular interest is the incorporation of ncAAs into peptide-derived natural products to optimize their biophysical properties for medical and industrial applications. Here, we present the first instance of ncAA incorporation into the natural product cinnamycin in streptomycetes using the orthogonal pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase/tRNA Pyl pair from Methanosarcina barkeri. This approach allows site-specific incorporation of ncAAs via the read-through of a stop codon by the suppressor tRNA Pyl , which can carry different pyrrolysine analogues. Five new deoxycinnamycin derivatives were obtained with three distinct pyrrolysine analogues incorporated into diverse positions of the antibiotic. The combination of partial hydrolysis and MS/MS fragmentation analysis was used to verify the exact position of the incorporation events. The introduction of ncAAs into different positions of the peptide had opposite effects on the peptide's biological activity.