COMPATIBILITY OF FLUOROCHROME LABELING PROTOCOL WITH RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY TO STUDY BONE FORMATION

Oral Communication presented at the ";Forum des Jeunes Chercheurs";, Brest (France) 2011

An evaluation of outlet calibration methods: a contribution to the study on collective action for water management below the outlet, Hakra 6-R Distributary

Irrigation management / Water management / Measurement / Calibrations / Watercourses / Distributary canals / Irrigation canals / Discharges / Irrigation design / Flow / Pakistan / Hakra

Atrial fibrillation in healthy adolescents after highly caffeinated beverage consumption: two case reports

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Energy drinks and highly caffeinated drinks comprise some of the fastest growing products of the beverage industry, often targeting teenagers and young adults. Cardiac arrhythmias in children related to high caffeine consumption have not been well described in the literature. This case series describes the possible association between the consumption of highly caffeinated drinks and the subsequent development of atrial fibrillation in the adolescent population.</p> <p>Case presentations</p> <p>We report the cases of two Caucasian adolescent boys of 14 and 16 years of age at the time of presentation, each without a significant cardiac history, who presented with palpitations or vague chest discomfort or both after a recent history of excessive caffeine consumption. Both were found to have atrial fibrillation on electrocardiogram; one patient required digoxin to restore a normal sinus rhythm, and the other self-converted after intravenous fluid administration.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>With the increasing popularity of energy drinks in the pediatric and adolescent population, physicians should be aware of the arrhythmogenic potential associated with highly caffeinated beverage consumption. It is important for pediatricians to understand the lack of regulation in the caffeine content and other ingredients of these high-energy beverages and their complications so that parents and children can be educated about the risk of cardiac arrhythmias with excessive energy drink consumption.</p

Critical Role of Arcuate Y4 Receptors and the Melanocortin System in Pancreatic Polypeptide-Induced Reduction in Food Intake in Mice

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic polypeptide (PP) is a potent anti-obesity agent known to inhibit food intake in the absence of nausea, but the mechanism behind this process is unknown. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we demonstrate that in response to i.p. injection of PP in wild type but not in Y4 receptor knockout mice, immunostaining for the neuronal activation marker c-Fos is induced specifically in neurons of the nucleus tractus solitarius and the area postrema in the brainstem, notably in cells also showing immunostaining for tyrosine hydroxylase. Importantly, strong c-Fos activation is also detected in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (ARC), particularly in neurons that co-express alpha melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH), the anorexigenic product of the proopiomelanocortin (POMC) gene. Interestingly, other hypothalamic regions such as the paraventricular nucleus, the ventromedial nucleus and the lateral hypothalamic area also show c-Fos induction after PP injection. In addition to c-Fos activation, PP injection up-regulates POMC mRNA expression in the ARC as detected by in situ hybridization. These effects are a direct consequence of local Y4 signaling, since hypothalamus-specific conditional Y4 receptor knockout abolishes PP-induced ARC c-Fos activation and blocks the PP-induced increase in POMC mRNA expression. Additionally, the hypophagic effect of i.p. PP seen in wild type mice is completely absent in melanocortin 4 receptor knockout mice. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Taken together, these findings show that PP reduces food intake predominantly via stimulation of the anorexigenic α-MSH signaling pathway, and that this effect is mediated by direct action on local Y4 receptors within the ARC, highlighting a potential novel avenue for the treatment of obesity

Decreased CSF Levels of beta-Amyloid in Patients With Cortical Superficial Siderosis

Background: Cortical superficial siderosis (cSS) represents a key neuroimaging marker of cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) that is associated with intracranial hemorrhages and cognitive impairment. Nevertheless, the association between cSS and core cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers for dementia remain unclear. Methods: One hundred and one patients with probable (79%, 80/101) or possible (21%, 21/101) CAA according to the modified Boston criteria and mild cognitive impairment according to Petersen criteria were prospectively included between 2011 and 2016. CSF analyses of ß-amyloid 42, ß-amyloid 40, total tau and phosphorylated tau were performed using sandwich-type enzyme-linked immunosorbent-assay. All patients received MRI and Mini-Mental-State Examination (MMSE). Logistic regression analysis was used to adjust for possible confounders. Results: cSS was present in 61% (62/101). Of those, 53% (33/62) had disseminated cSS and 47% (29/62) focal cSS. ß-amyloid 42 was lower in patients with cSS than in patients without cSS (OR 0.2; 95% CI 0.08–0.6; p = 0.0052) and lower in patients with disseminated cSS than in those with focal cSS (OR 0.02; 95% CI 0.003–0.2; p = 0.00057). Presence of cSS had no association with regard to ß-amyloid 40, total tau and phosphorylated tau. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that the presence and extent of cSS are associated with reduced CSF ß-amyloid 42 levels. Further studies are needed to investigate the underlying mechanisms of this association

Novel rat Alzheimer's disease models based on AAV-mediated gene transfer to selectively increase hippocampal Aβ levels

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by a decline in cognitive function and accumulation of amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) in extracellular plaques. Mutations in amyloid precursor protein (APP) and presenilins alter APP metabolism resulting in accumulation of Aβ42, a peptide essential for the formation of amyloid deposits and proposed to initiate the cascade leading to AD. However, the role of Aβ40, the more prevalent Aβ peptide secreted by cells and a major component of cerebral Aβ deposits, is less clear. In this study, virally-mediated gene transfer was used to selectively increase hippocampal levels of human Aβ42 and Aβ40 in adult Wistar rats, allowing examination of the contribution of each to the cognitive deficits and pathology seen in AD.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors encoding BRI-Aβ cDNAs were generated resulting in high-level hippocampal expression and secretion of the specific encoded Aβ peptide. As a comparison the effect of AAV-mediated overexpression of APPsw was also examined. Animals were tested for development of learning and memory deficits (open field, Morris water maze, passive avoidance, novel object recognition) three months after infusion of AAV. A range of impairments was found, with the most pronounced deficits observed in animals co-injected with both AAV-BRI-Aβ40 and AAV-BRI-Aβ42. Brain tissue was analyzed by ELISA and immunohistochemistry to quantify levels of detergent soluble and insoluble Aβ peptides. BRI-Aβ42 and the combination of BRI-Aβ40+42 overexpression resulted in elevated levels of detergent-insoluble Aβ. No significant increase in detergent-insoluble Aβ was seen in the rats expressing APPsw or BRI-Aβ40. No pathological features were noted in any rats, except the AAV-BRI-Aβ42 rats which showed focal, amorphous, Thioflavin-negative Aβ42 deposits.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results show that AAV-mediated gene transfer is a valuable tool to model aspects of AD pathology <it>in vivo</it>, and demonstrate that whilst expression of Aβ42 alone is sufficient to initiate Aβ deposition, both Aβ40 and Aβ42 may contribute to cognitive deficits.</p

An ATP-binding cassette-type cysteine transporter in Campylobacter jejuni inferred from the structure of an extracytoplasmic solute receptor protein

Campylobacter jejuni is a Gram-negative food-borne pathogen associated with gastroenteritis in humans as well as cases of the autoimmune disease Guillain Barre syndrome. C. jejuni is asaccharolytic because it lacks an active glycolytic pathway for the use of sugars as a carbon source. This suggests an increased reliance on amino acids as nutrients and indeed the genome sequence of this organism indicates the presence of a number of amino acid uptake systems. Cj0982, also known as CjaA, is a putative extracytoplasmic solute receptor for one such uptake system as well as a major surface antigen and vaccine candidate. The crystal structure of Cj0982 reveals a two-domain protein with density in the enclosed cavity between the domains that clearly defines the presence of a bound cysteine ligand. Fluorescence titration experiments were used to demonstrate that Cj0982 binds cysteine tightly and specifically with a K-d of similar to 10(-7) M consistent with a role as a receptor for a high- affinity transporter. These data imply that Cj0982 is the binding protein component of an ABC-type cysteine transporter system and that cysteine uptake is important in the physiology of C. jejuni

FHIT gene therapy prevents tumor development in Fhit-deficient mice

The tumor suppressor gene FHIT spans a common fragile site and is highly susceptible to environmental carcinogens. FHIT inactivation and loss of expression is found in a large fraction of premaligant and malignant lesions. In this study, we were able to inhibit tumor development by oral gene transfer, using adenoviral or adenoassociated viral vectors expressing the human FHIT gene, in heterozygous Fhit+/- knockout mice, that are prone to tumor development after carcinogen exposure. We therefore suggest that FHIT gene therapy could be a novel clinical approach not only in treatment of early stages of cancer, but also in prevention of human cancer

Dataset after seven years simulating hybrid energy systems with Homer Legacy

Homer Legacy software is a well-known software for simulation of small hybrid systems that can be used for both design and research. This dataset is a set of files generated by Homer Legacy bringing the simulation results of hybrid energy systems over the last seven years, as a consequence of the research work led by Dr. Alexandre Beluco, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, in southern Brazil. The data correspond to twelve papers published in the last seven years. Two of them describe hydro PV hybrid systems with photovoltaic panels operating on the water surface of reservoirs. One of these twelve papers suggests the modeling of hydropower plants with reservoirs and the other the modeling of pumped hydro storage, and a third still uses these models in a place that could receive both the two types of hydroelectric power plant. The other simulated hybrid systems include wind turbines, diesel generators, batteries, among other components. This data article describes the files that integrate this dataset and the papers that have been published presenting the hybrid systems under study and discussing the results. The files that make up this dataset are available on Mendeley Data repository at https://doi.org/10.17632/ybxsttf2by.2