946 research outputs found
Comparison of acid and alkaline hydrogen-bromine fuel cell systems
The Conference abstracts' website is located at https://ecs.confex.com/ecs/224/webprogram/Paper20002.htmlSession - Vanadium Redox Systems 2 and Other Redox Systems 1: abstract no. 1674The hydrogen bromine (H2-Br2) fuel cell system is an attractive system for electrical energy storage because of its high round-trip conversion efficiency, high power density capability, and anticipated low costs. The hydrogen-bromine fuel cell system can be operated in the acid or alkaline modes. The charge and discharge electrode reactions in an acid H2-Br2 fuel cell system are as follows …postprin
MRAP deficiency impairs adrenal progenitor cell differentiation and gland zonation.
Melanocortin 2 receptor accessory protein (MRAP) is a single transmembrane domain accessory protein and a critical component of the hypothamo-pituitary-adrenal axis. MRAP is highly expressed in the adrenal gland and is essential for adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH) receptor expression and function. Human loss-of-function mutations in MRAP cause familial glucocorticoid (GC) deficiency (FGD) type 2 (FGD2), whereby the adrenal gland fails to respond to ACTH and to produce cortisol. In this study, we generated Mrap-null mice to study the function of MRAP in vivo. We found that the vast majority of Mrap-/- mice died at birth but could be rescued by administration of corticosterone to pregnant dams. Surviving Mrap-/- mice developed isolated GC deficiency with normal mineralocorticoid and catecholamine production, recapitulating FGD2. The adrenal glands of adult Mrap-/- mice were small, with grossly impaired adrenal capsular morphology and cortex zonation. Progenitor cell differentiation was significantly impaired, with dysregulation of WNT4/β-catenin and sonic hedgehog pathways. These data demonstrate the roles of MRAP in both steroidogenesis and the regulation of adrenal cortex zonation. This is the first mouse model of isolated GC deficiency and reveals the role of MRAP in adrenal progenitor cell regulation and cortex zonation.-Novoselova, T. V., Hussain, M., King, P. J., Guasti, L., Metherell, L. A., Charalambous, M., Clark, A. J. L., Chan, L. F. MRAP deficiency impairs adrenal progenitor cell differentiation and gland zonation
Recommended from our members
Cathelicidin preserves intestinal barrier function in polymicrobial sepsis.
ObjectivesThe intestinal epithelium compartmentalizes the sterile bloodstream and the commensal bacteria in the gut. Accumulating evidence suggests that this barrier is impaired in sepsis, aggravating systemic inflammation. Previous studies reported that cathelicidin is differentially expressed in various tissues in sepsis. However, its role in sepsis-induced intestinal barrier dysfunction has not been investigated.DesignTo examine the role of cathelicidin in polymicrobial sepsis, cathelicidin wild-(Cnlp+/+) and knockout (Cnlp-/-) mice underwent cecal-ligation and puncture (CLP) followed by the assessment of septic mortality and morbidity as well as histological, biochemical, immunological, and transcriptomic analyses in the ileal tissues. We also evaluated the prophylactic and therapeutic efficacies of vitamin D3 (an inducer of endogenous cathelicidin) in the CLP-induced murine polymicrobial sepsis model.ResultsThe ileal expression of cathelicidin was increased by three-fold after CLP, peaking at 4 h. Knockout of Cnlp significantly increased 7-day mortality and was associated with a higher murine sepsis score. Alcian-blue staining revealed a reduced number of mucin-positive goblet cells, accompanied by reduced mucin expression. Increased number of apoptotic cells and cleavage of caspase-3 were observed. Cnlp deletion increased intestinal permeability to 4kD fluorescein-labeled dextran and reduced the expression of tight junction proteins claudin-1 and occludin. Notably, circulating bacterial DNA load increased more than two-fold. Transcriptome analysis revealed upregulation of cytokine/inflammatory pathway. Depletion of Cnlp induced more M1 macrophages and neutrophils compared with the wild-type mice after CLP. Mice pre-treated with cholecalciferol (an inactive form of vitamin D3) or treated with 1alpha, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (an active form of VD3) had decreased 7-day mortality and significantly less severe symptoms. Intriguingly, the administration of cholecalciferol after CLP led to worsened 7-day mortality and the associated symptoms.ConclusionsEndogenous cathelicidin promotes intestinal barrier integrity accompanied by modulating the infiltration of neutrophils and macrophages in polymicrobial sepsis. Our data suggested that 1alpha, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 but not cholecalciferol is a potential therapeutic agent for treating sepsis
Alkaline-based hydrogen bromine fuel cell
The hydrogen bromine (H2-Br2) fuel cell system is an attractive system for electrical energy storage because of its high round-trip conversion efficiency, high power density capability, and anticipated low costs. The hydrogen-bromine fuel cell system can be operated in the acid or alkaline modes as shown by below ...postprin
Intravenous magnesium sulphate for aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: an updated systemic review and meta-analysis
Inequalities in the prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors in Brazilian slum populations: A cross-sectional study
Background Social and environmental risk factors in informal settlements and slums may contribute to increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study assesses the socioeconomic inequalities in CVD risk factors in Brazil comparing slum and non-slum populations. Methods Responses from 94,114 individuals from the 2019 Brazilian National Health Survey were analysed. The United Nations Human Settlements Programme definition of a slum was used to identify slum inhabitants. Six behavioural risk factors, four metabolic risk factors and doctor-diagnosed CVD were analysed using Poisson regression models adjusting for socioeconomic characteristics. Results Compared to urban non-slum inhabitants, slum inhabitants were more likely to: have low (less than five days per week) consumption of fruits (APR: 1.04, 95%CI 1.01–1.07) or vegetables (APR: 1.08, 95%CI 1.05–1.12); drink four or more alcoholic drinks per day (APR: 1.05, 95%CI 1.03–1.06); and be physically active less than 150 minutes per week (APR: 1.03, 95%CI 1.01–1.04). There were no differences in the likelihoods of doctor-diagnosed metabolic risk factors or CVD between the two groups in adjusted models. There was a higher likelihood of behavioural and metabolic risk factors among those with lower education, with lower incomes, and the non-White population. Conclusions Brazilians living in slums are at higher risk of behavioural risk factors for CVD, suggesting local environments might impact access to and uptake of healthy behaviours
Does publication bias inflate the apparent efficacy of psychological treatment for major depressive disorder? A systematic review and meta-analysis of US national institutes of health-funded trials
Background The efficacy of antidepressant medication has been shown empirically to be overestimated due to publication bias, but this has only been inferred statistically with regard to psychological treatment for depression. We assessed directly the extent of study publication bias in trials examining the efficacy of psychological treatment for depression. Methods and Findings We identified US National Institutes of Health grants awarded to fund randomized clinical trials comparing psychological treatment to control conditions or other treatments in patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder for the period 1972–2008, and we determined whether those grants led to publications. For studies that were not published, data were requested from investigators and included in the meta-analyses. Thirteen (23.6%) of the 55 funded grants that began trials did not result in publications, and two others never started. Among comparisons to control conditions, adding unpublished studies (Hedges’ g = 0.20; CI95% -0.11~0.51; k = 6) to published studies (g = 0.52; 0.37~0.68; k = 20) reduced the psychotherapy effect size point estimate (g = 0.39; 0.08~0.70) by 25%. Moreover, these findings may overestimate the "true" effect of psychological treatment for depression as outcome reporting bias could not be examined quantitatively. Conclusion The efficacy of psychological interventions for depression has been overestimated in the published literature, just as it has been for pharmacotherapy. Both are efficacious but not to the extent that the published literature would suggest. Funding agencies and journals should archive both original protocols and raw data from treatment trials to allow the detection and correction of outcome reporting bias. Clinicians, guidelines developers, and decision makers should be aware that the published literature overestimates the effects of the predominant treatments for depression
Distributed Fine-Grained Traffic Speed Prediction for Large-Scale Transportation Networks based on Automatic LSTM Customization and Sharing
Short-term traffic speed prediction has been an important research topic in
the past decade, and many approaches have been introduced. However, providing
fine-grained, accurate, and efficient traffic-speed prediction for large-scale
transportation networks where numerous traffic detectors are deployed has not
been well studied. In this paper, we propose DistPre, which is a distributed
fine-grained traffic speed prediction scheme for large-scale transportation
networks. To achieve fine-grained and accurate traffic-speed prediction,
DistPre customizes a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model with an appropriate
hyperparameter configuration for a detector. To make such customization process
efficient and applicable for large-scale transportation networks, DistPre
conducts LSTM customization on a cluster of computation nodes and allows any
trained LSTM model to be shared between different detectors. If a detector
observes a similar traffic pattern to another one, DistPre directly shares the
existing LSTM model between the two detectors rather than customizing an LSTM
model per detector. Experiments based on traffic data collected from freeway
I5-N in California are conducted to evaluate the performance of DistPre. The
results demonstrate that DistPre provides time-efficient LSTM customization and
accurate fine-grained traffic-speed prediction for large-scale transportation
networks.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables, Euro-par 2020 conferenc
Constraints on Nucleon Decay via "Invisible" Modes from the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory
Data from the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory have been used to constrain the
lifetime for nucleon decay to ``invisible'' modes, such as n -> 3 nu. The
analysis was based on a search for gamma-rays from the de-excitation of the
residual nucleus that would result from the disappearance of either a proton or
neutron from O16. A limit of tau_inv > 2 x 10^{29} years is obtained at 90%
confidence for either neutron or proton decay modes. This is about an order of
magnitude more stringent than previous constraints on invisible proton decay
modes and 400 times more stringent than similar neutron modes.Comment: Update includes missing efficiency factor (limits change by factor of
2) Submitted to Physical Review Letter
- …