Factors influencing the development and carbohydrate metabolism of Echinococcus granulosus in dogs

Echinococcus granulosus adult worms, 35 days postinfection, were measured for dispersion in the intestines of 10 dogs, a range of morphological characters, and the excreted end products of carbohydrate catabolism following 4 hr incubation in vitro. Most worms were found in the proximal sections of the small intestine, but the pattern of dispersion differed between dogs. Worm development varied both between dogs and between different regions of the small intestine of individual dogs. Overall there was a high level of variability with no simple patterns. Worm metabolism was related to worm development and, also independently, to local population density within the intestine. Larger, more mature worms produced less lactate and, at higher densities. worms tended to produce more acetate and succinate (pathways with a higher energy yield than lactate) and less ethanol. Thus, both more developed worms and high population density are associated with a shift from cytosolic to mitochondrial metabolism. The variation between worm populations along the small intestine along with the observed variation between worm populations from sibling dogs infected with genetically identical parasites suggests that the local host environment has a significant effect on parasite development

Energetics, forces, and quantized conductance in jellium modeled metallic nanowires

Energetics and quantized conductance in jellium modeled nanowires are investigated using the local density functional based shell correction method, extending our previous study of uniform in shape wires [C. Yannouleas and U. Landman, J. Phys. Chem. B 101, 5780 (1997)] to wires containing a variable shaped constricted region. The energetics of the wire (sodium) as a function of the length of the volume conserving, adiabatically shaped constriction leads to formation of self selecting magic wire configurations. The variations in the energy result in oscillations in the force required to elongate the wire and are directly correlated with the stepwise variations of the conductance of the nanowire in units of 2e^2/h. The oscillatory patterns in the energetics and forces, and the correlated stepwise variation in the conductance are shown, numerically and through a semiclassical analysis, to be dominated by the quantized spectrum of the transverse states at the narrowmost part of the constriction in the wire.Comment: Latex/Revtex, 11 pages with 5 Postscript figure

Regulation of steroidogenesis in a primary pigmented nodular adrenocortical disease-associated adenoma leading to virilization and subclinical Cushing's syndrome

Context: Primary pigmented nodular adrenocortical disease (PPNAD) can lead to steroid hormone overproduction. Mutations in the cAMP protein kinase A regulatory subunit type 1A (PRKAR1A) are causative of PPNAD. Steroidogenesis in PPNAD can be modified through a local glucocorticoid feed-forward loop. Objective: Investigation of regulation of steroidogenesis in a case of PPNAD with virilization. Materials and methods : A 33-year-old woman presented with primary infertility due to hyperandrogenism. Elevated levels of testosterone and subclinical ACTH-independent Cushing's syndrome led to the discovery of an adrenal tumor, which was diagnosed as PPNAD. In vivo evaluation of aberrantly expressed hormone receptors showed no steroid response to known stimuli. Genetic analysis revealed a PRKAR1A protein-truncating Q28X mutation. After adrenalectomy, steroid levels normalized. Tumor cells were cultured and steroid

The urgent need for integrated science to fight COVID-19 pandemic and beyond

The COVID-19 pandemic has become the leading societal concern. The pandemic has shown that the public health concern is not only a medical problem, but also afects society as a whole; so, it has also become the leading scientifc concern. We discuss in this treatise the importance of bringing the world’s scientists together to fnd efective solu‑ tions for controlling the pandemic. By applying novel research frameworks, interdisciplinary collaboration promises to manage the pandemic’s consequences and prevent recurrences of similar pandemics

Scent-evoked nostalgia

Can scents evoke nostalgia; what might be the psychological implications of such an evocation? Participants sampled 12 scents and rated the extent to which each scent was familiar, arousing and autobiographically relevant, as well as the extent to which each scent elicited nostalgia. Participants who were high (compared to low) in nostalgia proneness reported more scent-evoked nostalgia, and scents elicited greater nostalgia to the extent that they were arousing, familiar and autobiographically relevant. Scent-evoked nostalgia predicted higher levels of positive affect, self-esteem, self-continuity, optimism, social connectedness and meaning in life. In addition, scent-evoked nostalgia was characterised by more positive emotions than either non-nostalgic autobiographical memories or non-nostalgic non-autobiographical memories. Finally, scent-evoked nostalgia predicted in-the-moment feelings of personal (general or object-specific) nostalgia. The findings represent a foray into understanding the triggers and affective signature of scent-evoked nostalgi

Mind-body practices and the self: yoga and meditation do not quiet the ego, but instead boost self-enhancement

Mind-body practices enjoy immense public and scientific interest. Yoga and meditation are highly popular. Purportedly, they foster well-being by “quieting the ego” or, more specifically, curtailing self-enhancement. However, this ego-quieting effect contradicts an apparent psychological universal, the self-centrality principle. According to this principle, practicing any skill renders it self-central, and self-centrality breeds self-enhancement. We examined those opposing predictions in the first tests of mind-body practices’ self-enhancement effects. Experiment 1 followed 93 yoga students over 15 weeks, assessing self-centrality and self-enhancement after yoga practice (yoga condition, n = 246) and without practice (control condition, n = 231). Experiment 2 followed 162 meditators over 4 weeks (meditation condition: n = 246; control condition: n = 245). Self-enhancement was higher in the yoga (Experiment 1) and meditation (Experiment 2) conditions, and those effects were mediated by greater self-centrality. Additionally, greater self-enhancement mediated mind-body practices’ well-being benefits. Evidently, neither yoga nor meditation quiet the ego; instead, they boost self-enhancement