Analysis of LMP and TAP polymorphisms by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism in rheumatoid arthritis

5 pages, 1 figure, 2 tables.-- PMID: 9536820 [PubMed].-- PMCID: PMC1752462.Full-text version available Open Access via PubMed Central at: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=9536820[Objective] The aim of this study was to investigate the relation between the polymorphism of large molecular weight proteasome (LMP) (LMP2-LMP7) and transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) (TAP1-TAP2) genes and rheumatoid arthritis (RA).[Methods] Sixty RA patients and 102 ethnically matched unrelated healthy subjects were typed for LMP, TAP, and disease associated HLA-DRB1 alleles by using a new strategy based on polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) with amplification created restriction sites.[Results] The polymorphism of LMP (LMP2-LMP7) and TAP (TAP1-TAP2) genes was examined in shared epitope positive and negative RA patients and controls. No significant differences in the LMP or TAP allele frequencies were observed between the total patient and control groups or the patients and controls positive or negative for the shared epitope.[Conclusion] The data suggest that the polymorphisms of LMP and TAP genes do not have an important influence in the pathogenesis of RA, although larger studies will be needed to provide more conclusive evidence on the role of these genes in RA. A new, highly reliable strategy for typing LMP alleles is also described.This work was supported by SAF93-0021 and SAF97-0046 grants from Plan Nacional de I+D (CICYT). A Nieto has a fellowship from FIS nº95/5333.Peer reviewe

Illuminating the threat: a decade-long analysis of light pollution in major Colombian urban centres using satellite imagery

La contaminación lumínica es una forma de degradación ambiental que aumenta cada vez más en todo el mundo y afecta el entorno natural, la flora, la fauna y varios aspectos de la vida humana. A pesar de la creciente preocupación por esta problemática, en Colombia su estudio es aún muy limitado. Aquí analizamos de forma exhaustiva la expansión de la luz nocturna artificial en las principales ciudades de Colombia entre el 2012 y el 2022. Se evidenció así un aumento en los niveles de contaminación lumínica en las áreas urbanas de Bogotá, Barranquilla y Cartagena, en tanto que en las de Medellín, Cali y Bucaramanga disminuyó la radiancia promedio. Sin embargo, en todas las ciudades consideradas en el estudio la cobertura de áreas iluminadas aumentó, con un evidente incremento espacial del fenómeno. En el caso de Bogotá, se analizó detalladamente el fenómeno a nivel de localidades y, a partir de datos externos, se verificaron, además, las relaciones del aumento de la contaminación lumínica con la instalación de nuevas luminarias, el cambio a tecnologías LED, y el crecimiento de la densidad poblacional y el producto interno bruto de la ciudad.Light pollution is a form of environmental degradation present throughout the world that affects the natural environment, flora, fauna, and various aspects of human life. Despite the growing concern about this problem, its study in Colombia is still minimal. Here we present a comprehensive analysis of the expansion of artificial nighttime lighting in the main Colombian cities between 2012 and 2022. According to the analysis, light pollution levels in the urban areas of Bogotá, Barranquilla, and Cartagena increased, while in Medellín, Cali, and Bucaramanga, they decreased. However, all the cities evaluated experienced an expansion in the coverage of illuminated areas revealing an evident spatial increase of the problem. In the case of Bogotá, the phenomenon was studied at the locality level. Additionally, we used external data to analyze the relationship between increased light pollution and the installation of new luminaires, the change to LED technologies, and the growing population density and gross domestic product (GDP) in the city. Our results provide valuable information on the threat of light pollution in Colombia and the need to take measures to help control the associated environmental degradation

A New Time Series Similarity Measure and Its Smart Grid Applications

Many smart grid applications involve data mining, clustering, classification, identification, and anomaly detection, among others. These applications primarily depend on the measurement of similarity, which is the distance between different time series or subsequences of a time series. The commonly used time series distance measures, namely Euclidean Distance (ED) and Dynamic Time Warping (DTW), do not quantify the flexible nature of electricity usage data in terms of temporal dynamics. As a result, there is a need for a new distance measure that can quantify both the amplitude and temporal changes of electricity time series for smart grid applications, e.g., demand response and load profiling. This paper introduces a novel distance measure to compare electricity usage patterns. The method consists of two phases that quantify the effort required to reshape one time series into another, considering both amplitude and temporal changes. The proposed method is evaluated against ED and DTW using real-world data in three smart grid applications. Overall, the proposed measure outperforms ED and DTW in accurately identifying the best load scheduling strategy, anomalous days with irregular electricity usage, and determining electricity users' behind-the-meter (BTM) equipment.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures conferenc

Genetic polymorphisms of RANTES, IL1-A, MCP-1 and TNF-A genes in patients with prostate cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Inflammation has been implicated as an etiological factor in several human cancers, including prostate cancer. Allelic variants of the genes involved in inflammatory pathways are logical candidates as genetic determinants of prostate cancer risk. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether single nucleotide polymorphisms of genes that lead to increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines are associated with an increased prostate cancer risk.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A case-control study design was used to test the association between prostate cancer risk and the polymorphisms <it>TNF-A</it>-308 A/G (rs 1800629), <it>RANTES</it>-403 G/A (rs 2107538), <it>IL1-A</it>-889 C/T (rs 1800587) and <it>MCP-1 </it>2518 G/A (rs 1024611) in 296 patients diagnosed with prostate cancer and in 311 healthy controls from the same area.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Diagnosis of prostate cancer was significantly associated with <it>TNF-A </it>GA + AA genotype (OR, 1.61; 95% CI, 1.09–2.64) and <it>RANTES </it>GA + AA genotype (OR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.09–2.38). A alleles in <it>TNF-A </it>and <it>RANTES </it>influenced prostate cancer susceptibility and acted independently of each other in these subjects. No epistatic effect was found for the combination of different polymorphisms studied. Finally, no overall association was found between prostate cancer risk and <it>IL1-A </it>or <it>MCP-1 </it>polymorphisms.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results and previously published findings on genes associated with innate immunity support the hypothesis that polymorphisms in proinflammatory genes may be important in prostate cancer development.</p

Role of IL-1β in experimental cystic fibrosis upon P. aeruginosa Infection

Cystic fibrosis is associated with increased inflammatory responses to pathogen challenge. Here we revisited the role of IL-1β in lung pathology using the experimental F508del-CFTR murine model on C57BL/6 genetic background (Cftrtm1eur or d/d), on double deficient for d/d and type 1 interleukin-1 receptor (d/d X IL-1R1-/-), and antibody neutralization. At steady state, young adult d/d mice did not show any signs of spontaneous lung inflammation. However, IL-1R1 deficiency conferred partial protection to repeated P. aeruginosa endotoxins/LPS lung instillation in d/d mice, as 50% of d/d mice succumbed to inflammation, whereas all d/d x IL-1R1-/- double mutants survived with lower initial weight loss and less pulmonary collagen and mucus production, suggesting that the absence of IL-1R1 signaling is protective in d/d mice in LPS-induced lung damage. Using P. aeruginosa acute lung infection we found heightened neutrophil recruitment in d/d mice with higher epithelial damage, increased bacterial load in BALF, and augmented IL-1β and TNF-α in parenchyma as compared to WT mice. Thus, F508del-CFTR mice show enhanced IL-1β signaling in response to P. aeruginosa. IL-1β antibody neutralization had no effect on lung homeostasis in either d/d or WT mice, however P. aeruginosa induced lung inflammation and bacterial load were diminished by IL-1β antibody neutralization. In conclusion, enhanced susceptibility to P. aeruginosa in d/d mice correlates with an excessive inflammation and with increased IL-1β production and reduced bacterial clearance. Further, we show that neutralization of IL-1β in d/d mice through the double mutation d/d x IL-1R1-/- and in WT via antibody neutralization attenuates inflammation. This supports the notion that intervention in the IL-1R1/IL-1β pathway may be detrimental in CF patients

Determinación de los niveles de colesterol Ldl comparando el método precipitado vs la fórmula de friedewald en caninos

e l objetivo del presente estudio fue comparar el método de precipitación con el método de fórmula de Friedewald para la determinación de colesterol L d L en caninos. Para ello, se tomaron muestras de sangre de 185 caninos adultos en estado de ayuno de diferente raza y sexo. s e determinaron los niveles de colesterol L d L mediante el método precipitado y pos - teriormente con el método de Friedewald. Los resultados fueron analizados estadísticamente mediante an O va de una vía. e l método precipitado reportó valores en mg/dl de: 52,40 promedio; 2,66 mínimo; 132,67 máximo; 130,01 rango y 24,29 de desviación estándar. Por su parte, ;;; y los valores del método de Friedewald en mg/dl fueron: 65,19 promedio; 4,55 mínimo; 184,20 máximo; 179,65 rango y 31,51 de desviación estándar. e l valor de p en el test F fue menor a 0.05, indicando diferencia estadísticamente significativa entre los dos métodos analizados con un nivel de confianza del 95,0%. e n conclusión se recomienda utilizar el método precipitado para la determinación de los niveles de colesterol L d L en caninos

COMPARACIÓN DE LOS NIVELES SÉRICOS DE TSH Y T4 LIBRE EN BOVINOS

El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo determinar los niveles de TSH y T4 libre (T4L) en bovinos, diferenciados por género y edad, y conocer su comportamiento frente a dichas variables. Se obtuvieron 133 muestras de sangre de bovinos F1 en estado de ayuno y con ellas se establecieron cuatro grupos (36 machos y 20 hembras menores de 18 meses y 47 machos y 30 hembras mayores de 24 meses). Se determinaron los niveles de TSH y T4L mediante inmunoensayo enzimático. Los valores promedio de TSH (μUI/ml) fueron de 1,86 para las hembras jóvenes y adultas, 1,88 para los machos jóvenes y 1,99 para los machos adultos. El valor P del test F fue mayor a 0,05 en todos los grupos y, por lo tanto, no hay diferencia estadísticamente significativa, con una confiabilidad del 95%. Los valores promedio de T4L (ng/dl) para hembras jóvenes, hembras adultas, machos jóvenes y machos adultos fueron de 0,84; 0,62; 0,67 y 0,85, respectivamente. El valor P del test F fue menor a 0,05 en todos los grupos, indicando diferencia estadísticamente significativa, con 95% de confiabilidad. En conclusión, no se encontraron efectos de sexo y edad sobre las concentraciones de TSH, mientras que los niveles de T4L exhiben diferencia significativa entre estas variables; en efecto, entre los bovinos jóvenes, las hembras tienen niveles más elevados; por su parte, en los adultos, son los machos los que presentan valores superiores

A Strategy to Solve the Multistage Transmission Expansion Planning Problem

In this letter, a heuristic to reduce the combinatorial search space (CSS) of the multistage transmission expansion planning (MTEP) problem is presented. The aim is to solve the MTEP modeled like a mixed binary linear programming (MBLP) problem using a commercial solver with a low computational time. The heuristic uses the solution of several static transmission expansion planning problems to obtain the reduced CSS. Results using some test and real systems show that the use of the reduced CSS solves the MTEP problem with better solutions compared to other strategies in the literature.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP