Myosin binding protein H-like (MYBPHL): a promising biomarker to predict atrial damage

Myosin binding protein H-like (MYBPHL) is a protein associated with myofilament structures in atrial tissue. The protein exists in two isoforms that share an identical amino acid sequence except for a deletion of 23 amino acids in isoform 2. In this study, MYBPHL was found to be expressed preferentially in atrial tissue. The expression of isoform 2 was almost exclusively restricted to the atria and barely detectable in the ventricle, arteria mammaria interna, and skeletal muscle. After atrial damage induced by cryo-or radiofrequency ablation, MYBPHL was rapidly and specifically released into the peripheral circulation in a time-dependent manner. The plasma MYBPHL concentration remained substantially elevated up to 24 hours after the arrival of patients at the intensive care unit. In addition, the recorded MYBPHL values were strongly correlated with those of the established biomarker CK-MB. In contrast, an increase in MYBPHL levels was not evident in patients undergoing aortic valve replacement or transcatheter aortic valve implantation. In these patients, the values remained virtually constant and never exceeded the concentration in the plasma of healthy controls. Our findings suggest that MYBPHL can be used as a precise and reliable biomarker to specifically predict atrial myocardial damage

Alterations in sperm long RNA contribute to the epigenetic inheritance of the effects of postnatal trauma

Abstract: Psychiatric diseases have a strong heritable component known to not be restricted to DNA sequence-based genetic inheritance alone but to also involve epigenetic factors in germ cells. Initial evidence suggested that sperm RNA is causally linked to the transmission of symptoms induced by traumatic experiences. Here, we show that alterations in long RNA in sperm contribute to the inheritance of specific trauma symptoms. Injection of long RNA fraction from sperm of males exposed to postnatal trauma recapitulates the effects on food intake, glucose response to insulin and risk-taking in adulthood whereas the small RNA fraction alters body weight and behavioural despair. Alterations in long RNA are maintained after fertilization, suggesting a direct link between sperm and embryo RNA

MachiBase: a Drosophila melanogaster 5′-end mRNA transcription database

MachiBase (http://machibase.gi.k.u-tokyo.ac.jp/) provides a comprehensive and freely accessible resource regarding Drosophila melanogaster 5′-end mRNA transcription at different developmental states, supporting studies on the variabilities of promoter transcriptional activities and gene-expression profiles in the fruitfly. The data were generated in conjunction with the recently developed high-throughput genome sequencer Illumina/Solexa using a newly developed 5′-end mRNA collection method

Internal states of model isotropic granular packings. III. Elastic properties

In this third and final paper of a series, elastic properties of numerically simulated isotropic packings of spherical beads assembled by different procedures and subjected to a varying confining pressure P are investigated. In addition P, which determines the stiffness of contacts by Hertz's law, elastic moduli are chiefly sensitive to the coordination number, the possible values of which are not necessarily correlated with the density. Comparisons of numerical and experimental results for glass beads in the 10kPa-10MPa range reveal similar differences between dry samples compacted by vibrations and lubricated packings. The greater stiffness of the latter, in spite of their lower density, can hence be attributed to a larger coordination number. Voigt and Reuss bounds bracket bulk modulus B accurately, but simple estimation schemes fail for shear modulus G, especially in poorly coordinated configurations under low P. Tenuous, fragile networks respond differently to changes in load direction, as compared to load intensity. The shear modulus, in poorly coordinated packings, tends to vary proportionally to the degree of force indeterminacy per unit volume. The elastic range extends to small strain intervals, in agreement with experimental observations. The origins of nonelastic response are discussed. We conclude that elastic moduli provide access to mechanically important information about coordination numbers, which escape direct measurement techniques, and indicate further perspectives.Comment: Published in Physical Review E 25 page

Obstructions to the Existence of Sasaki-Einstein Metrics

We describe two simple obstructions to the existence of Ricci-flat Kahler cone metrics on isolated Gorenstein singularities or, equivalently, to the existence of Sasaki-Einstein metrics on the links of these singularities. In particular, this also leads to new obstructions for Kahler-Einstein metrics on Fano orbifolds. We present several families of hypersurface singularities that are obstructed, including 3-fold and 4-fold singularities of ADE type that have been studied previously in the physics literature. We show that the AdS/CFT dual of one obstruction is that the R-charge of a gauge invariant chiral primary operator violates the unitarity bound.Comment: 35 pages, 1 figure; references and a footnote adde

Radiocaesium transfer and radiation exposure of frogs in Fukushima Prefecture

The International Commission on Radiological Protection has proposed an environmental assessment framework. This includes ionising radiation exposure assessment for different frog life-stages, but radiocaesium transfer parameters are unavailable. We collate data from the Fukushima Prefecture (contaminated by the Fukushima accident) and estimate radiocaesium concentration ratio (CR ) values for tadpoles and adult frogs, presenting the largest available amphibian CR dataset. In total, 513 adult frogs and 2540 tadpoles were analysed in 62 and 59 composite samples respectively. Results suggest that equilibrium was reached between water and amphibian radiocaesium activity concentrations circa one-year after the accident. Radiocaesium transfer to tadpoles was higher than to adult frogs. Dose rates were estimated for different life-stages and species in both the aquatic and terrestrial environment. Estimated dose rates to adults and tadpoles were typically similar because external exposure dominated for both organisms; frogspawn dose rates were estimated to be orders of magnitude lower than other life-stages. For the two sites assessed, which were outside of the most contaminated areas of the Fukushima Prefecture, estimated dose rates were below those anticipated to present a risk to wildlife populations; it is likely that dose rates in more contaminated areas were in excess of some effects benchmark values