Identification of differentially expressed key genes of Longissimus lumborum samples from Portuguese Alentejano and Bísaro local pig breeds

Most of the swine industry nowadays is about productive and profitable fast-growing lean breeds raised under intensive conditions leading to meat and fat rich in saturated fatty acids. The Portuguese local Alentejano (AL) and Bísaro (BI) pig breeds present high intramuscular fat (IMF) content which contributes to highly appreciated pork products. These breeds have different ancestors: AL belongs to the Iberian group, presenting lower growth rates and higher lipid accretion and unsaturated fatty acids level when compared to BI, which belongs to the Celtic group, sharing ancestors with leaner breeds such as Large White and Landrace. The goal of this work was to compare the muscle gene expression profiles of AL and BI pig breeds to better understand the influence of the genetic background in the main metabolic processes occurring in the Longissimus lumborum (LL) muscle, namely in terms of lipid synthesis, muscle tissue formation, protein synthesis and cell proliferation. LL samples were obtained at slaughter, from adult AL and BI pigs with ~150kg body weight. Total RNA was extracted and sequenced for a transcriptome comparison analysis. A total of 250 genes were found to be differentially expressed (DE) in LL samples (q<0.05) conditional on breed, with 174 DE genes up-regulated in AL (log2(fold_change) = 0.65 to 7.03) and 76 in BI (log2(fold_change) = 0.63 to 4.53). Genes related to skeletal muscle development and function, such as MYH3, MYH13 or ACTN4, were significantly up-regulated in BI when compared to AL, which is in agreement with the higher muscle mass of the former breed. Genes involved in lipid metabolism were up-regulated in AL, including SCD (q=0.05), responsible for catalysing the reaction that introduces the first double bond into saturated fatty acyl-CoA substrates, which agrees with the higher unsaturation of fat tissues generally associated with the former breed. A functional enrichment analysis (metabolic pathways and GO enrichment) was performed for the DE genes and the identified functions included tissue development, cellular growth and proliferation, quantity of connective tissue and lipid metabolism. Potential regulators found that explain the observed gene expression changes in the dataset included molecules such as: ADORA2A, CEBPA, SMAD3 and PPARG (predicted to be activated in AL); HDAC and ASXL1 (predicted to be inhibited in AL)

Multiple Arthritis: Three in One

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Dielectric/metal/dielectric structures using copper as metal and MoO3 as dielectric for use as transparent electrode

Transparent conductive oxide/metal/oxide, where the oxide is MoO3 and the metal is Cu, is realized and characterized. The films are deposited by simple joule effect. It is shown that relatively thick Cu films are necessary for achieving conductive structures, what implies a weak transmission of the light. Such large thicknesses are necessary because Cu diffuses strongly into the MoO3 films. We show that the Cu diffusion can be strongly limited by sandwiching the Cu layer between two Al ultra-thin films (1.4 nm). The best structures are glass/MoO3 (20 nm)/Al (1.4 nm)/Cu (18 nm)/Al (1.4 nm)/MoO3 (35 nm). They exhibit a transmission of 70% at 590 nm and a resistivity of 5.0·10−4 Ω cm. A first attempt shows that such structures can be used as anode in organic photovoltaic cells

Leprosy and rheumatoid arthritis: consequence or association?

Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic granulomatous infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae with a high prevalence in some developing countries however, it is rarely seen in non-endemic regions. Arthritis has been described in all types of Hansen's disease. Chronic arthritis is known to exist even in paucibacillary forms, resolved or treated disease and in patients without reaction, suggesting a perpetuated inflammatory process. In these cases leprosy can mimic some autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. When a patient with a history of leprosy presents with a symmetric, distal, polyarthritis the diagnosis may not be linear. Possibly it is a rheumatoid-like leprous arthritis with M leprae acting as the trigger element for the chronic process or it is an overlap condition, with a concomitant rheumatoid arthritis? A case report of a patient with a chronic inflammatory arthritis with 10 years of evolution is presented. The differential diagnosis between leprous and rheumatoid arthritis is discussed

OSL DATING OF STONE LINE AND OTHER SURFACE FORMATIONS LOCATED IN LLANOS DE OVE­JAS, ANTIOQUIA, COLOMBIA

&nbsp; En este trabajo se presentan las primeras dataciones obtenidas en Colombia mediante la aplicación del método de datación de fotoluminiscencia el cual permite datar el último momento en que un material estuvo expuesto a la luz y tiene un rango de aplicación que en condiciones óptimas va de 6 a 800 000 años, lo cual le confere gran importancia para el estudio de depósitos del Cuaternario superior. La zona de estudio comprende el Llano de Ovejas que constituye uno de los altiplanos de la cordillera Central. Las da-taciones se realizaron en las formaciones superfciales del Llano de Ovejas con énfasis en la stoneline, un horizonte de acumulación de clastos con carácter regional. Además se realizaron algunas dataciones de depósitos aluviales y coluviales infrayacentes a la stoneline. Las primeras edades obtenidas en el país por el método de fotoluminiscencia son las edades de la stoneline que incluyen 30 900 ± 4 500, 24 100 ± 3 800 y 18 900 ± 2 300 años para los horizontes FSO 07-2, FSO 16-2A y FSO 19-2 respectivamente. Estas edades se enmarcan dentro del Último Máximo Glacial, p &nbsp; Palabras clave: superfcies de erosión, fotoluminiscencia, stoneline, Llano de Ovejas, estratigrafía, métodos de datación. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; This work marks the fst application of Photoluminescence (OSL- Optical Stimulated Luminescence) in Colombia. Photo-luminescence method allows the determination of the age of burial of materials with a range from 6 to 800 000 years under optimal conditions; the method is really important for the study of diverse quaternary deposits. Detailed feld work, aerial photo analysis and stratigraphic study of the study area were completed with emphasis on the stoneline, a regional horizon of clastic accumulation. The aim of this work was to achieve a better understanding of the paleoenvironmental conditions when the surface formations of the area were originated, as well as the evolution of the highlands and uplift of the Central Cordillera. The frst ages obtained in Colombia by photoluminescence correspond to the stoneline: 30 900 ± 4 500, 24 100 ± 3 800 and 18 900 ± 2 300 years for the horizons FSO 07-2, FSO 16-2A and FSO 19-2 respectively. These ages belong to the Last Pleniglacial, erosive period of dry and cold conditions with intermittent rain and scarce vegetation. Deposits below the stoneline where dated in 53 400 ± 5 900, 66 700 ± 14 000 and 36 000 ± 4 900 years at the horizons FSO 06-3, FSO 16-3 and FSO 19-3 respectively, which indicates they were formed during the humid period from 60 000 to 28 000 years BP. &nbsp; Key words: erosion surfaces, photoluminescence, stoneline, Llano de Ovejas, stratigraphy, dating methods, Central Cor­dillera &nbsp; &nbsp

Energy Reflection Symmetry of Lie-Algebraic Problems: Where the Quasiclassical and Weak Coupling Expansions Meet

We construct a class of one-dimensional Lie-algebraic problems based on sl(2) where the spectrum in the algebraic sector has a dynamical symmetry E -> - E. All 2j+1 eigenfunctions in the algebraic sector are paired, and inside each pair are related to each other by simple analytic continuation x -> ix, except the zero mode appearing if j is integer. At j-> infinity the energy of the highest level in the algebraic sector can be calculated by virtue of the quasiclassical expansion, while the energy of the ground state can be calculated as a weak coupling expansion. The both series coincide identically.Comment: Latex, 16 pages, 3 figures. Minor styllistic changes made, typos corrected, a remark on the energy-reflection symmetry in the quantum-algebraic Hamiltonians emerging in finite-difference problems added. Final version, to be published in Physical Review

DATACIÓN POR FOTOLUMINISCENCIA DE LA STONELINE Y OTRAS FORMACIONES SUPERFICIALES DEL LLANO DE OVEJAS, CORDILLERA CENTRAL, ANTIOQUIA

&nbsp; This work marks the fst application of Photoluminescence (OSL- Optical Stimulated Luminescence) in Colombia. Photo-luminescence method allows the determination of the age of burial of materials with a range from 6 to 800 000 years under optimal conditions; the method is really important for the study of diverse quaternary deposits. Detailed feld work, aerial photo analysis and stratigraphic study of the study area were completed with emphasis on the stoneline, a regional horizon of clastic accumulation. The aim of this work was to achieve a better understanding of the paleoenvironmental conditions when the surface formations of the area were originated, as well as the evolution of the highlands and uplift of the Central Cordillera. The frst ages obtained in Colombia by photoluminescence correspond to the stoneline: 30 900 ± 4 500, 24 100 ± 3 800 and 18 900 ± 2 300 years for the horizons FSO 07-2, FSO 16-2A and FSO 19-2 respectively. These ages belong to the Last Pleniglacial, erosive period of dry and cold conditions with intermittent rain and scarce vegetation. Deposits below the stoneline where dated in 53 400 ± 5 900, 66 700 ± 14 000 and 36 000 ± 4 900 years at the horizons FSO 06-3, FSO 16-3 and FSO 19-3 respectively, which indicates they were formed during the humid period from 60 000 to 28 000 years BP. &nbsp; Key words: erosion surfaces, photoluminescence, stoneline, Llano de Ovejas, stratigraphy, dating methods, Central Cor­dillera &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; En este trabajo se presentan las primeras dataciones obtenidas en Colombia mediante la aplicación del método de datación de fotoluminiscencia el cual permite datar el último momento en que un material estuvo expuesto a la luz y tiene un rango de aplicación que en condiciones óptimas va de 6 a 800 000 años, lo cual le confere gran importancia para el estudio de depósitos del Cuaternario superior. La zona de estudio comprende el Llano de Ovejas que constituye uno de los altiplanos de la cordillera Central. Las da-taciones se realizaron en las formaciones superfciales del Llano de Ovejas con énfasis en la stoneline, un horizonte de acumulación de clastos con carácter regional. Además se realizaron algunas dataciones de depósitos aluviales y coluviales infrayacentes a la stoneline. Las primeras edades obtenidas en el país por el método de fotoluminiscencia son las edades de la stoneline que incluyen 30 900 ± 4 500, 24 100 ± 3 800 y 18 900 ± 2 300 años para los horizontes FSO 07-2, FSO 16-2A y FSO 19-2 respectivamente. Estas edades se enmarcan dentro del Último Máximo Glacial, p &nbsp; Palabras clave: superfcies de erosión, fotoluminiscencia, stoneline, Llano de Ovejas, estratigrafía, métodos de datación. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp

The Dusty Tori of Nearby QSOs as Constrained by High-Resolution Mid-IR Observations

We present mid-infrared (MIR; 7.5–13.5 μm) imaging and spectroscopy observations obtained with the CanariCam (CC) instrument on the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio CANARIAS for a sample of 20 nearby, MIR bright and X-ray luminous quasi-stellar objects (QSOs). We find that for the majority of QSOs the MIR emission is unresolved at angular scales ∼0.3 arcsec, corresponding to physical scales ≲ 600 pc. We find that the higher-spatial resolution CC spectra have similar shapes to those obtained with Spitzer/IRS, and hence we can assume that the spectra are not heavily contaminated by extended emission in the host galaxy. We thus take advantage of the higher signal-to-noise ratio Spitzer/IRS spectra, as a fair representation of the nuclear emission, to decompose it into a combination of active galactic nuclei (AGN), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and stellar components. In most cases, the AGN is the dominant component, with a median contribution of 85 per cent of the continuum light at MIR (5–15 μm) within the IRS slit. This IR AGN emission is well reproduced by clumpy torus models. We find evidence for significant differences in the parameters that describe the dusty tori of QSOs when compared with the same parameters of Seyfert 1 and 2 nuclei. In particular, we find a lower number of clouds (N0 ≲ 12), steeper radial distribution of clouds (q ∼ 1.5–3.0) and clouds that are less optically thick (τV ≲ 100) than in Seyfert 1, which could be attributed to dusty structures that have been partially evaporated and piled up by the higher radiation field in QSOs. We find that the combination of the angular width σtorus, viewing angle i, and number of clouds along the equatorial line, N0, produces large escape probabilities (Pesc \u3e 2 per cent) and low geometrical covering factors (f2 ≲ 0.6), as expected for AGN with broad lines in their optical spectra

Geomagnetic activity and polar surface air temperature variability

Here we use the ERA-40 and ECMWF operational surface level air temperature data sets from 1957 to 2006 to examine polar temperature variations during years with different levels of geomagnetic activity, as defined by the A(p) index. Previous modeling work has suggested that NOx produced at high latitudes by energetic particle precipitation can eventually lead to detectable changes in surface air temperatures (SATs). We find that during winter months, polar SATs in years with high A(p) index are different than in years with low A(p) index; the differences are statistically significant at the 2-sigma level and range up to about +/- 4.5 K, depending on location. The temperature differences are larger when years with wintertime Sudden Stratospheric Warmings (SSWs) are excluded. We take into account solar irradiance variations, unlike previous analyses of geomagnetic effects in ERA-40 and operational data. Although we cannot conclusively show that the polar SAT patterns are physically linked by geomagnetic activity, we conclude that geomagnetic activity likely plays a role in modulating wintertime surface air temperatures. We tested our SAT results against variation in the Quasi Biennial Oscillation, the El Nino Southern Oscillation and the Southern Annular Mode. The results suggested that these were not driving the observed polar SAT variability. However, significant uncertainty is introduced by the Northern Annular Mode, and we cannot robustly exclude a chance linkage between sea surface temperature variability and geomagnetic activity

Comprehensive analysis of the major histocompatibility complex in systemic sclerosis identifies differential HLA associations by clinical and serological subtypes

Objective: The greatest genetic effect reported for systemic sclerosis (SSc) lies in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) locus. Leveraging the largest SSc genome-wide association study, we aimed to fine-map this region to identify novel human leucocyte antigen (HLA) genetic variants associated with SSc susceptibility and its main clinical and serological subtypes. Methods: 9095 patients with SSc and 17 584 controls genome-wide genotyped were used to impute and test single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across the MHC, classical HLA alleles and their composite amino acid residues. Additionally, patients were stratified according to their clinical and serological status, namely, limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis (lcSSc), diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc), anticentromere (ACA), antitopoisomerase (ATA) and anti-RNApolIII autoantibodies (ARA). Results: Sequential conditional analyses showed nine SNPs, nine classical alleles and seven amino acids that modelled the observed associations with SSc. This confirmed previously reported associations with HLA-DRB1∗11:04 and HLA-DPB1∗13:01, and revealed a novel association of HLA-B∗08:01. Stratified analyses showed specific associations of HLA-DQA1∗02:01 with lcSSc, and an exclusive association of HLA-DQA1∗05:01 with dcSSc. Similarly, private associations were detected in HLA-DRB1∗08:01 and confirmed the previously reported association of HLA-DRB1∗07:01 with ACA-positive patients, as opposed to the HLA-DPA1∗02:01 and HLA-DQB1∗03:01 alleles associated with ATA presentation. Conclusions: This study confirms the contribution of HLA class II and reveals a novel association of HLA class I with SSc, suggesting novel pathways of disease pathogenesis. Furthermore, we describe specific HLA associations with SSc clinical and serological subtypes that could serve as biomarkers of disease severity and progression