Tissue Stresses in Stented Coronary Arteries with Different Geometries: Effect of the Relation Between Stent Length and Lesion Length

In-stent restenosis after stent deployment remains an obstruction in the long-term benefits of stenting. This study sought to investigate the influence of the relation between stent length and lesion length on the mechanics of the arterial wall with different geometries, including straight and tapered vessels. Results showed that when the length of the stent was longer than the lesion length, the maximum stress in plaque and vessel increased as the length of stent increased. When the length of the stent was shorter than the lesion length, the vessel stress induced by stent inflation was lower; both ends of the stenosis plaque could not be fully expanded. When the length of the stent was equal to the lesion length, the plaque and vessel stress induced by stent inflation was minimal, and stent foreshortening was minimal. Compared with the straight vessel, the stent implantation in the tapered vessel with the same stent length resulted in greater stress in vessel and plaque, an increased stent recoil, and a decreased stent foreshortening. When the length of the stent is equal to lesion length, it may be the reasonable choice for straight vessels and tapered vessels. Conclusions drawn from this article can help surgeons to choose appropriate stent lengths

Baicalin Protects Mice from Lethal Infection by Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli

Shiga-like toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157:H7 poses grave challenges to public health by its ability to cause severe colonic diseases and renal failure in both human and animals. Shiga-like toxins are the major pathogenic factor for some highly virulent E. coli expecially Shiga-like toxin 2. Conventional treatments such as antibiotics can facilitate the release of the toxin thus potentially exacerbate the diseases. Small molecule inhibitors and antibodies capable of neutralizing the toxins are the two major venues for the development of therapeutics against enterohemorrhagic serotype E. coli infection. While promising and potentially effective at clinical settings, these approaches need to overcome obstacles such as the limited routes of administration, responses from the host immune system, which are known to differ greatly among individuals. Our previous studies demonstrate that Baicalin (BAI), a flavonoid compound isolated from Scutellaria baicalensis protects against rStx2-induced cell cytotoxicity and also protects mice from lethal rStx2 challenges by inducing Stx2 to form inactive oligomers. In this manuscript, we present some exciting work showing that baicalin is an effective agent for therapeutic treatment of STEC O157:H7 infection

Tumor-targeting Salmonella typhimurium A1-R in combination with doxorubicin eradicate soft tissue sarcoma in a patient-derived orthotopic xenograft (PDOX) model.

A patient with high grade undifferentiated pleomorphic soft-tissue sarcoma from a striated muscle was grown orthotopically in the right biceps femoris muscle of mice to establish a patient-derived orthotopic xenograft (PDOX) model. Twenty PDOX mice were divided into 4 groups: G1, control without treatment; G2, Salmonella typhimurium (S. typhimurium)A1-R administered by intratumoral (i.t.) injection once a week for 4 weeks; G3, doxorubicin (DOX) administered by intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection once a week for 4 weeks; G4, S. typhimurium A1-R (i.t.) administered once a week for 2 weeks followed by i.p. doxorubicin once a week for 2 weeks. On day 25 from the initiation of treatment, tumor volume in G2, G3, and G4 was significantly lower than G1. Mice found without gross tumor included one mouse (20%) in G2; one mouse (20%) in G3; and 3 mice (60%) in G4. Body weight loss did not significantly differ between the 3 treated groups or from the untreated control. Histological examination revealed eradication of tumor only in G4 where mice were treated with S. typhimurium A1-R followed by DOX. Our present study indicates future clinical potential of combining S. typhimurium A1-R with chemotherapy such as DOX for soft tissue sarcoma patients

Identification of a differentially expressed gene, ACL, between Meishan × Large White and Large White × Meishan F1 hybrids and their parents

ATP-citrate lyase (ACL), one of the lipogenic enzymes, catalyses the formation of acetyl-coenzyme A (CoA) involved in the synthesis of fatty acid and cholesterol. In pig, very little is known about the ACL gene. In this work, the mRNA differential display technique was used to analyse the differences in gene expression between Meishan and Large White pigs and the F1 hybrids of both direct and reciprocal crosses. Our results show that among the differentially expressed genes ACL is up-regulated in the backfat of the F1 hybrids. After cloning and analysing the fulllength cDNA and the 870 bp 5'-flanking sequence of the porcine ACL gene, a C/T mutation at position -97 bp upstream of the transcription site was detected. Luciferase activity detection showed that this mutation changed the transcriptional activity. In F1 hybrids, the heterozygous genotype CT was more frequent than the homozygous genotypes CC and TT. Real-time PCR analysis showed that in Meishan pigs, ACL mRNA expression was more abundant in individuals with genotype CT than in those with genotype CC or TT or in Large White pigs. These results indicate that the C/T mutation affects ACL mRNA expression, probably via the activator protein 2

Industry/University Collaboration at the University of Michigan-Dearborn: A Focus on Relevant Technology

https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154106/1/kampfner1998.pd

Paternal Origins and Migratory Episodes of Domestic Sheep

The domestication and subsequent global dispersal of livestock are crucial events in human history, but the migratory episodes during the history of livestock remain poorly documented [1-3]. Here, we first developed a set of 493 novel ovine SNPs of the male-specific region of Y chromosome (MSY) by genome mapping. We then conducted a comprehensive genomic analysis of Y chromosome, mitochondrial DNA, and whole-genome sequence variations in a large number of 595 rams representing 118 domestic populations across the world. We detected four different paternal lineages of domestic sheep and resolved, at the global level, their paternal origins and differentiation. In Northern European breeds, several of which have retained primitive traits (e.g., a small body size and short or thin tails), and fat-tailed sheep, we found an overrepresentation of MSY lineages y-HC and y-HB, respectively. Using an approximate Bayesian computation approach, we reconstruct the demographic expansions associated with the segregation of primitive and fat-tailed phenotypes. These results together with archaeological evidence and historical data suggested the first expansion of early domestic hair sheep and the later expansion of fat-tailed sheep occurred ∼11,800-9,000 years BP and ∼5,300-1,700 years BP, respectively. These findings provide important insights into the history of migration and pastoralism of sheep across the Old World, which was associated with different breeding goals during the Neolithic agricultural revolution

Whole-Genome Resequencing of Worldwide Wild and Domestic Sheep Elucidates Genetic Diversity, Introgression, and Agronomically Important Loci

Domestic sheep and their wild relatives harbor substantial genetic variants that can form the backbone of molecular breeding, but their genome landscapes remain understudied. Here, we present a comprehensive genome resource for wild ovine species, landraces and improved breeds of domestic sheep, comprising high-coverage (similar to 16.10x) whole genomes of 810 samples from 7 wild species and 158 diverse domestic populations. We detected, in total, similar to 121.2 million single nucleotide polymorphisms, similar to 61 million of which are novel. Some display significant (P < 0.001) differences in frequency between wild and domestic species, or are private to continent-wide or individual sheep populations. Retained or introgressed wild gene variants in domestic populations have contributed to local adaptation, such as the variation in the HBB associated with plateau adaptation. We identified novel and previously reported targets of selection on morphological and agronomic traits such as stature, horn, tail configuration, and wool fineness. We explored the genetic basis of wool fineness and unveiled a novel mutation (chr25: T7,068,586C) in the 3 '-UTR of IRF2BP2 as plausible causal variant for fleece fiber diameter. We reconstructed prehistorical migrations from the Near Eastern domestication center to South-and-Southeast Asia and found two main waves of migrations across the Eurasian Steppe and the Iranian Plateau in the Early and Late Bronze Ages. Our findings refine our understanding of genome variation as shaped by continental migrations, introgression, adaptation, and selection of sheep

Proton-Boron Fusion Yield Increased by Orders of Magnitude with Foam Targets

A novel intense beam-driven scheme for high yield of the tri-alpha reaction 11B(p,{\alpha})2{\alpha} was investigated. We used a foam target made of cellulose triacetate (TAC, C_9H_{16}O_8) doped with boron. It was then heated volumetrically by soft X-ray radiation from a laser heated hohlraum and turned into a homogenous, and long living plasma. We employed a picosecond laser pulse to generate a high-intensity energetic proton beam via the well-known Target Normal Sheath Acceleration (TNSA) mechanism. We observed up to 10^{10}/sr {\alpha} particles per laser shot. This constitutes presently the highest yield value normalized to the laser energy on target. The measured fusion yield per proton exceeds the classical expectation of beam-target reactions by up to four orders of magnitude under high proton intensities. This enhancement is attributed to the strong electric fields and nonequilibrium thermonuclear fusion reactions as a result of the new method. Our approach shows opportunities to pursue ignition of aneutronic fusion