1,587 research outputs found
Intracellular Chloride Ions Regulate the Time Course of GABA-Mediated Inhibitory Synaptic Transmission
The time-dependent integration of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic currents is an important process for shaping the input - output profiles of individual excitable cells, and therefore the activity of neuronal networks. Here, we show that the decay time course of GABAergic inhibitory synaptic currents is considerably faster when recorded with physiological internal Cl- concentrations than with symmetrical Cl- solutions. This effect of intracellular Cl- is due to a direct modulation of the GABA(A) receptor that is independent of the net direction of current flow through the ion channel. As a consequence, the time window during which GABAergic inhibition can counteract coincident excitatory inputs is much shorter, under physiological conditions, than that previously measured using high internal Cl-. This is expected to have implications for neuronal network excitability and neurodevelopment, and for our understanding of pathological conditions, such as epilepsy and chronic pain, where intracellular Cl- concentrations can be altered
Hepatitis B and C co-Infection are independent predictors of progressive kidney disease in HIV-positive, antiretroviral-treated adults
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in HIV-positive individuals. Hepatitis C (HCV) co-infection has been associated with increased risk of CKD, but prior studies lack information on potential mechanisms. We evaluated the association between HCV or hepatitis B (HBV) co-infection and progressive CKD among 3,441 antiretroviral-treated clinical trial participants. Progressive CKD was defined as the composite of end-stage renal disease, renal death, or significant glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) decline (25% decline to eGFR 800,000 IU/ml had increased odds (OR 3.07; 95% CI 1.60–5.90). Interleukin-6, hyaluronic acid, and the FIB-4 hepatic fibrosis index were higher among participants who developed progressive CKD, but were no longer associated with progressive CKD after adjustment. Future studies should validate the relationship between HCV viremia and CKD
The psychological impact of prolonged disorders of consciousness on caregivers:a systematic review of quantitative studies
Objective:
Systematic review of the nature, frequency and severity of psychological experiences of people who have a close relationship with a person with a prolonged disorder of consciousness.
Data sources:
Cochrane Library, Web of Science, PsycINFO, PubMed, Embase®, MEDLINE®, Allied and Complementary Medicine™, were searched from inceptions until December 2016 with additional hand searching of reference lists of included articles.
Review methods:
Studies were included that used quantitative methodologies and psychological measures to investigate experiences. The PRISMA statement was followed with inclusion criteria set a priori. A data synthesis summarized psychological constructs studied.
Results:
A total of 18 studies (ranging between n = 16–487 participants) met the inclusion criteria with 15 of 18 studies focused on the primary caregiver. A total of 23 standardized psychological measures were identified to assess four primary psychological constructs: Loss and grief, psychological wellbeing changes, burden and use of coping strategies.
Conclusions:
Small sample sizes, limited variables and reliance on observational methods affected quality. Caregivers do find ways to manage independently, but some exhibit clinically significant psychological distress that does not change over time alone and may get worse
Egg shape in the Common Guillemot Uria aalge and Brunnich’s Guillemot U. lomvia: not a rolling matter?
The adaptive significance of avian egg shape is
poorly understood, and has been studied only in those
species producing pyriform (pear-shaped, or pointed) eggs:
waders and guillemots (murres) Uria spp., albeit to a
limited extent. In the latter, it is widely believed that the
pyriform shape has evolved to minimise their likelihood of
rolling off a cliff ledge: the idea being that the more
pointed the egg, the narrower the arc in which it rolls, and
the less likely it is it will fall from a cliff ledge. Previous
research also claimed that the rolling trajectory—the
diameter of the arc they describe—of Common Guillemot
U. aalge eggs is influenced not only by its shape but also
by its mass, with heavier (i.e. larger) eggs describing a
wider arc than lighter eggs. The finding that both shape and
mass determined the rolling trajectory of Common
Guillemot eggs (the shape–mass hypothesis) was used to
explain the apparent anomaly that Bru¨nnich’s Guillemot U.
lomvia produce eggs that are less pointed, yet breed on
narrower ledges than Common Guillemots. They are able
to do this, it was suggested, because Bru¨nnich’s Guillemot
eggs are smaller and lighter in mass than those of Common
Guillemots. However, since some populations of
Bru¨nnich’s Guillemots produce eggs that are as large or
larger than those of some Common Guillemot populations,
the shape–mass hypothesis predicts that that (1) larger (i.e.
heavier) eggs of both guillemot species will be more
pyriform (pointed) in shape, and (2) that eggs of the two
species of same mass should be similarly pointed. We
tested these predictions and found: (1) only a weak, positive
association between egg volume and pointedness in
both guillemot species (\3% of the variation in egg shape
explained by egg volume), and (2) no evidence that eggs of
the two species of similar mass were more similar in shape:
regardless of their mass, Brunnich’s Guillemot eggs were
less pointed than Common Guillemot eggs. Overall, our
results call into question the long-held belief that protection
from rolling is the main selective factor driving guillemot
egg shape
Definitions for Loss of Domain: An International Delphi Consensus of Expert Surgeons
BACKGROUND: No standardized written or volumetric definition exists for 'loss of domain' (LOD). This limits the utility of LOD as a morphological descriptor and as a predictor of peri- and postoperative outcomes. Consequently, our aim was to establish definitions for LOD via consensus of expert abdominal wall surgeons. METHODS: A Delphi study involving 20 internationally recognized abdominal wall reconstruction (AWR) surgeons was performed. Four written and two volumetric definitions of LOD were identified via systematic review. Panelists completed a questionnaire that suggested these definitions as standardized definitions of LOD. Consensus on a preferred term was pre-defined as achieved when selected by ≥80% of panelists. Terms scoring <20% were removed. RESULTS: Voting commenced August 2018 and was completed in January 2019. Written definition: During Round 1, two definitions were removed and seven new definitions were suggested, leaving nine definitions for consideration. For Round 2, panelists were asked to select all appealing definitions. Thereafter, common concepts were identified during analysis, from which the facilitators advanced a new written definition. This received 100% agreement in Round 3. Volumetric definition: Initially, panelists were evenly split, but consensus for the Sabbagh method was achieved. Panelists could not reach consensus regarding a threshold LOD value that would preclude surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Consensus for written and volumetric definitions of LOD was achieved from 20 internationally recognized AWR surgeons. Adoption of these definitions will help standardize the use of LOD for both clinical and academic activities
Physical Stress, Not Biotic Interactions, Preclude an Invasive Grass from Establishing in Forb-Dominated Salt Marshes
Biological invasions have become the focus of considerable concern and ecological research, yet the relative importance of abiotic and biotic factors in controlling the invasibility of habitats to exotic species is not well understood. Spartina species are highly invasive plants in coastal wetlands; however, studies on the factors that control the success or failure of Spartina invasions across multiple habitat types are rare and inconclusive.We examined the roles of physical stress and plant interactions in mediating the establishment of the smooth cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora, in a variety of coastal habitats in northern China. Field transplant experiments showed that cordgrass can invade mudflats and low estuarine marshes with low salinity and frequent flooding, but cannot survive in salt marshes and high estuarine marshes with hypersaline soils and infrequent flooding. The dominant native plant Suaeda salsa had neither competitive nor facilitative effects on cordgrass. A common garden experiment revealed that cordgrass performed significantly better when flooded every other day than when flooded weekly. These results suggest that physical stress rather than plant interactions limits cordgrass invasions in northern China.We conclude that Spartina invasions are likely to be constrained to tidal flats and low estuarine marshes in the Yellow River Delta. Due to harsh physical conditions, salt marshes and high estuarine marshes are unlikely to be invaded. These findings have implications for understanding Spartina invasions in northern China and on other coasts with similar biotic and abiotic environments
Positively selected modifications in the pore of TbAQP2 allow pentamidine to enter Trypanosoma brucei
Mutations in the Trypanosoma brucei aquaporin AQP2 are associated with resistance
to pentamidine and melarsoprol. We show that TbAQP2 but not TbAQP3 was positively selected
for increased pore size from a common ancestor aquaporin. We demonstrate that TbAQP2’s
unique architecture permits pentamidine permeation through its central pore and show how
specific mutations in highly conserved motifs affect drug permeation. Introduction of key TbAQP2
amino acids into TbAQP3 renders the latter permeable to pentamidine. Molecular dynamics
demonstrates that permeation by dicationic pentamidine is energetically favourable in TbAQP2,
driven by the membrane potential, although aquaporins are normally strictly impermeable for ionic
species. We also identify the structural determinants that make pentamidine a permeant although
most other diamidine drugs are excluded. Our results have wide-ranging implications for
optimising antitrypanosomal drugs and averting cross-resistance. Moreover, these new insights in
aquaporin permeation may allow the pharmacological exploitation of other members of this
ubiquitous gene family
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