Health and Safety Events for Latino Families: Collaborating to Create \u3ci\u3eEl Día de los Niños Celebración\u3c/i\u3e

Latino immigrants to rural counties within North Carolina are at an increased risk for experiencing injury, health complications, and chronic illness. This is due largely to the fact that many new immigrants arrive with limited knowledge of the health and safety risks that are present in their communities. To reduce the incidence of injury and health complications, programs must be developed to increase local awareness of these risks. This article outlines the collaborative efforts of one rural North Carolina community to develop and implement a community-based health and safety event for Latino families

DNA methylation age is accelerated in alcohol dependence.

Alcohol dependence (ALC) is a chronic, relapsing disorder that increases the burden of chronic disease and significantly contributes to numerous premature deaths each year. Previous research suggests that chronic, heavy alcohol consumption is associated with differential DNA methylation patterns. In addition, DNA methylation levels at certain CpG sites have been correlated with age. We used an epigenetic clock to investigate the potential role of excessive alcohol consumption in epigenetic aging. We explored this question in five independent cohorts, including DNA methylation data derived from datasets from blood (n = 129, n = 329), liver (n = 92, n = 49), and postmortem prefrontal cortex (n = 46). One blood dataset and one liver tissue dataset of individuals with ALC exhibited positive age acceleration (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.0069, respectively), whereas the other blood and liver tissue datasets both exhibited trends of positive age acceleration that were not significant (p = 0.83 and p = 0.57, respectively). Prefrontal cortex tissue exhibited a trend of negative age acceleration (p = 0.19). These results suggest that excessive alcohol consumption may be associated with epigenetic aging in a tissue-specific manner and warrants further investigation using multiple tissue samples from the same individuals

Induction of Stress-Induced Renal Cellular Senescence In Vitro: Impact of Mouse Strain Genetic Diversity.

Cellular senescence, a stress-induced state of irreversible cell cycle arrest, is associated with organ dysfunction and age-related disease. While immortalized cell lines bypass key pathways of senescence, important mechanisms of cellular senescence can be studied in primary cells. Primary tubular epithelial cells (PTEC) derived from mouse kidney are highly susceptible to develop cellular senescence, providing a valuable tool for studying such mechanisms. Here, we tested whether genetic differences between mouse inbred strains have an impact on the development of stress-induced cellular senescence in cultured PTEC. Kidneys from 129S1, B6, NOD, NZO, CAST, and WSB mice were used to isolate PTEC. Cells were monitored for expression of typical senescence markers (SA-β-galactosidase, γ-H2AX+/Ki67-, expression levels of CDKN2A, lamin B1, IL-1a/b, IL-6, G/M-CSF, IFN-g, and KC) at 3 and 10 days after pro-senescent gamma irradiation. Clear differences were found between PTEC from different strains with the highest senescence values for PTEC from WSB mice and the lowest for PTEC from 129S1 mice. PTEC from B6 mice, the most commonly used inbred strain in senescence research, had a senescence score lower than PTEC from WSB and CAST mice but higher than PTEC from NZO and 129S1 mice. These data provide new information regarding the influence of genetic diversity and help explain heterogeneity in existing data. The observed differences should be considered when designing new experiments and will be the basis for further investigation with the goal of identifying candidate loci driving pro- or anti-senescent pathways

Composition of ex vivo perfusion solutions and kinetics define differential cytokine/chemokine secretion in a porcine cardiac arrest model of lung preservation

BackgroundEx vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) uses continuous normothermic perfusion to reduce ischemic damage and to improve post-transplant outcomes, specifically for marginal donor lungs after the donation after circulatory death. Despite major efforts, the optimal perfusion protocol and the composition of the perfusate in clinical lung transplantation have not been identified. Our study aims to compare the concentration levels of cytokine/chemokine in different perfusion solutions during EVLP, after 1 and 9 h of cold static preservation (CSP) in a porcine cardiac arrest model, and to correlate inflammatory parameters to oxygenation capacities.MethodsFollowing cardiac arrest, the lungs were harvested and were categorized into two groups: immediate (I-EVLP) and delayed EVLP (D-EVLP), after 1 and 9 h of CSP, respectively. The D-EVLP lungs were perfused with either Steen or modified Custodiol-N solution containing only dextran (CD) or dextran and albumin (CDA). The cytokine/chemokine levels were analyzed at baseline (0 h) and after 1 and 4 h of EVLP using Luminex-based multiplex assays.ResultsWithin 4 h of EVLP, the concentration levels of TNF-α, IL-6, CXCL8, IFN-γ, IL-1α, and IL-1β increased significantly (P < 0.05) in all experimental groups. The CD solution contained lower concentration levels of TNF-α, IL-6, CXCL8, IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-12, IL-10, IL-4, IL-1RA, and IL-18 (P < 0.05) compared with those of the Steen solution. The concentration levels of all experimental groups have correlated negatively with the oxygenation capacity values (P < 0.05). Protein concentration levels did not reach statistical significance for I-EVLP vs. D-EVLP and CD vs. CDA solutions.ConclusionIn a porcine cardiac arrest model, a longer period of CSP prior to EVLP did not result in an enhanced protein secretion into perfusates. The CD solution reduced the cytokine/chemokine secretion most probably by iron chelators and/or by the protecting effects of dextran. Supplementing with albumin did not further reduce the cytokine/chemokine secretion into perfusates. These findings may help in optimizing the preservation procedure of the lungs, thereby increasing the donor pool of organs

Comparison of Illumina and Oxford Nanopore Technology for genome analysis of Francisella tularensis, Bacillus anthracis, and Brucella suis

Background Bacterial epidemiology needs to understand the spread and dissemination of strains in a One Health context. This is important for highly pathogenic bacteria such as Bacillus anthracis, Brucella species, and Francisella tularensis. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) has paved the way for genetic marker detection and high-resolution genotyping. While such tasks are established for Illumina short-read sequencing, Oxford Nanopore Technology (ONT) long-read sequencing has yet to be evaluated for such highly pathogenic bacteria with little genomic variations between strains. In this study, three independent sequencing runs were performed using Illumina, ONT flow cell version 9.4.1, and 10.4 for six strains of each of Ba. anthracis, Br. suis and F. tularensis. Data from ONT sequencing alone, Illumina sequencing alone and two hybrid assembly approaches were compared. Results As previously shown, ONT produces ultra-long reads, while Illumina produces short reads with higher sequencing accuracy. Flow cell version 10.4 improved sequencing accuracy over version 9.4.1. The correct (sub-)species were inferred from all tested technologies, individually. Moreover, the sets of genetic markers for virulence, were almost identical for the respective species. The long reads of ONT allowed to assemble not only chromosomes of all species to near closure, but also virulence plasmids of Ba. anthracis. Assemblies based on nanopore data alone, Illumina data alone, and both hybrid assemblies correctly detected canonical (sub-)clades for Ba. anthracis and F. tularensis as well as multilocus sequence types for Br. suis. For F. tularensis, high-resolution genotyping using core-genome MLST (cgMLST) and core-genome Single-Nucleotide-Polymorphism (cgSNP) typing produced highly comparable results between data from Illumina and both ONT flow cell versions. For Ba. anthracis, only data from flow cell version 10.4 produced similar results to Illumina for both high-resolution typing methods. However, for Br. suis, high-resolution genotyping yielded larger differences comparing Illumina data to data from both ONT flow cell versions. Conclusions In summary, combining data from ONT and Illumina for high-resolution genotyping might be feasible for F. tularensis and Ba. anthracis, but not yet for Br. suis. The ongoing improvement of nanopore technology and subsequent data analysis may facilitate high-resolution genotyping for all bacteria with highly stable genomes in future.Peer Reviewe

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See the introduction by Falk Heinrich

Electroporation of cDNA/Morpholinos to targeted areas of embryonic CNS in Xenopus

Background: Blastomere injection of mRNA or antisense oligonucleotides has proven effective in analyzing early gene function in Xenopus. However, functional analysis of genes involved in neuronal differentiation and axon pathfinding by this method is often hampered by earlier function of these genes during development. Therefore, fine spatio-temporal control of over-expression or knock-down approaches is required to specifically address the role of a given gene in these processes

Minderung von Treibhausgas-Emissionen der Landwirtschaft

In dem Bericht werden der Treibhausgas (THG)-Ausstoß der sächsischen Landwirtschaft, die bisher erbrachten Klimaschutzleistungen und die Minderungspotenziale bis zum Jahr 2020 dargestellt. Für den gewählten Bilanzkreis hat die sächsische Landwirtschaft ca. 7,6 % zum THG-Ausstoß in Sachsen beigetragen. Im Vergleich zum Jahr 2000 konnte der THG-Ausstoß um ca. 5 % vermindert werden. Bis zum Jahr 2020 könnte ein THG-Minderungspotenzial von weiteren etwa 5 % erschlossen werden. Die Veröffentlichung richtet sich vorrangig an Fachleute aus der Landwirtschaft, aber auch an die Verbraucher, die ebenfalls einen Beitrag zur Minderung des THG-Ausstoßes leisten können

Effect of everolimus-based drug regimens on CMV-specific T-cell functionality after renal transplantation: 12-month ATHENA subcohort-study results

Post-transplant cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections and increased viral replication are associated with CMV-specific T-cell anergy. In the ATHENA-study, de-novo everolimus (EVR) with reduced-exposure tacrolimus (TAC) or cyclosporine (CyA) showed significant benefit in preventing CMV infections in renal transplant recipients as compared to standard TAC + mycophenolic acid (MPA). However, immunomodulatory mechanisms for this effect remain largely unknown. Ninety patients from the ATHENA-study completing the 12-month visit on-treatment (EVR + TAC n = 28; EVR + CyA n = 19; MPA + TAC n = 43) were included in a posthoc analysis. Total lymphocyte subpopulations were quantified. CMV-specific CD4 T cells were determined after stimulation with CMV-antigen, and cytokine-profiles and various T-cell anergy markers were analyzed using flow cytometry. While 25.6% of MPA + TAC-treated patients had CMV-infections, no such events were reported in EVR-treated patients. Absolute numbers of lymphocyte subpopulations were comparable between arms, whereas the percentage of regulatory T cells was significantly higher with EVR + CyA versus MPA + TAC (p = 0.019). Despite similar percentages of CMV-specific T cells, their median expression of CTLA-4 and PD-1 was lower with EVR + TAC (p < 0.05 for both) or EVR + CyA (p = 0.045 for CTLA-4) compared with MPA + TAC. Moreover, mean percentages of multifunctional CMV-specific T cells were higher with EVR + TAC (27.2%) and EVR + CyA (29.4%) than with MPA + TAC (19.0%). In conclusion, EVR-treated patients retained CMV-specific T-cell functionality, which may contribute to enhanced protection against CMV infections

How Variable Are Cold Pools?

Cold pools formed by precipitating convective clouds are an important source of mesoscale temperature variability. However, their sub-mesoscale (100 m–10 km) structure has not been quantified, impeding validation of numerical models and understanding of their atmospheric and societal impacts. We assess temperature variability in observed and simulated cold pools using variograms calculated from dense network observations collected during a field experiment and in high-resolution case-study and idealized simulations. The temperature variance in cold pools is enhanced for spatial scales between ∼5 and 15 km compared to pre-cold pool conditions, but the magnitude varies strongly with cold pool evolution and environment. Simulations capture the overall cold pool variogram shape well but underestimate the magnitude of the variability, irrespective of model resolution. Temperature variograms outside of cold pool periods are represented by the range of simulations evaluated here, suggesting that models misrepresent cold pool formation and/or dissipation processes