Orbital Variations of Biogenic CaCO3 and Opal Abundance in the Western and Central Equatorial Pacific Ocean During the Late Quaternary

Biogenic CaCO3 and opal abundances were measured in two piston cores (PC313 and PC5101) collected, respectively, along the equator in the western and central Pacific Ocean. The age model for core PC313, which extends to about 750 ka, was developed by comparing the oxygen isotope stratigraphy of planktonic foraminifera (N. dutetrei) to the SPECMAP stack. The age model for core PC5101, which extends to about 600 ka, was developed by stratigraphic correlation of CaCO3 contents to those in the well-dated core RC11-210 (Chuey et al. 1987). Both cores distinctly exhibited a series of CaCO3 and opal variations, which are mainly controlled by the orbital eccentricity cycle of about 100-kyr. The orbital-scale cyclic variations of CaCO3 and opal contents appear to be contrasting in both cores such that high CaCO3 and low opal contents occurred during the glacial periods. In contrast, during the interglacial periods, low CaCO3 and high opal contents occurred. Mostly remarkable is the distinct occurrence of a mid-Bruhnes event (MBE) at around 350 ka. The CaCO3 content was higher in core PC5101 than in core PC313 before the MBE, whereas biogenic opal abundance became higher in core PC5101 after the MBE. Such a characteristic discrepancy of biogenic (CaCO3 and opal) production, i.e., a succession of primary producers from coccolithophore to diatom, between cores PC313 and PC5101 may be attributed to the prevailing dominant hydrographic conditions (i.e., the South Equatorial Current), in the path of which both cores are located. The intensity of westward propagation might have been an important factor in contrasting biogenic production centering around the MBE

Multimodality Imaging Can Help to Doubt, Diagnose and Follow-Up Cardiac Mass

Primary cardiac lymphoma is a very rare form of lymphoma primarily or mainly involving the heart, as in the two cases presented in this report. Various imaging modalities, including coronary computed tomography angiography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography were useful for the characterization and diagnosis of cardiac mass. Pathologic confirmation was successful with endomyocardial biopsy under echocardiographic guidance, intra- and extracardiacally. In primary cardiac lymphoma, diagnosis using multiple modalities may be useful for mass characterization, and for response monitoring after chemotherapy

Determinants of gastric cancer screening attendance in Korea: a multi-level analysis

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited.Abstract Background We aimed to assess individual and area-level determinants of gastric cancer screening participation. Method Data on gastric cancer screening and individual-level characteristics were obtained from the 2007–2009 Fourth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The area-level variables were collected from the 2005 National Population Census, 2008 Korea Medical Association, and 2010 National Health Insurance Corporation. The data were analyzed using multilevel logistic regression models. Results The estimated participation rate in gastric cancer screening adhered to the Korea National Cancer Screening Program guidelines was 44.0% among 10,658 individuals aged over 40 years who were included in the analysis. Among the individual-level variables, the highest income quartile, a college or higher education level, living with spouse, having a private health insurance, limited general activity, previous history of gastric or duodenal ulcer, and not currently smoking were associated with a higher participation rate in gastric cancer screening. Urbanization showed a significant negative association with gastric cancer screening attendance among the area-level factors (odds ratio (OR) = 0.73; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.57-0.93 for the most urbanized quartile vs. least urbanized quartile). Conclusion There are differences in gastric cancer screening attendance according to both individual and regional area characteristics

Primary cilia mediate mitochondrial stress responses to promote dopamine neuron survival in a Parkinson’s disease model

A primary cilium is an antenna-like structure on the cell surface that plays a crucial role in sensory perception and signal transduction. Mitochondria, the ‘powerhouse’ of the cell, control cell survival, and death. The cellular ability to remove dysfunctional mitochondria through mitophagy is important for cell survival. We show here that mitochondrial stress, caused by respiratory complex inhibitors and excessive fission, robustly stimulates ciliogenesis in different types of cells including neuronal cells. Mitochondrial stress-induced ciliogenesis is mediated by mitochondrial reactive oxygen species generation, subsequent activation of AMP-activated protein kinase and autophagy. Conversely, abrogation of ciliogenesis compromises mitochondrial stress-induced autophagy, leading to enhanced cell death. In mice, treatment with mitochondrial toxin, MPTP elicits ciliary elongation and autophagy in the substantia nigra dopamine neurons. Blockade of cilia formation in these neurons attenuates MPTP-induced autophagy but facilitates dopamine neuronal loss and motor disability. Our findings demonstrate the important role of primary cilia in cellular pro-survival responses during mitochondrial stress. © 2019, The Author(s).1

Increased O-GlcNAcylation of Drp1 by amyloid-beta promotes mitochondrial fission and dysfunction in neuronal cells.

As a dynamic organelle, mitochondria continuously fuse and divide with adjacent mitochondria. Imbalance in mitochondria dynamics leads to their dysfunction, which implicated in neurodegenerative diseases. However, how mitochondria alteration and glucose defect contribute to pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is still largely unknown. Dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) is an essential regulator for mitochondria fission. Among various posttranslational modifications, O-GlcNAcylation plays a role as a sensor for nutrient and oxidative stress. In this study, we identified that Drp1 is regulated by O-GlcNAcylation in AD models. Treatment of Aβ as well as PugNAc resulted in mitochondrial fragmentation in neuronal cells. Moreover, we found that AD mice brain exhibits an upregulated Drp1 O-GlcNAcylation. However, depletion of OGT inhibited Drp1 O-GlcNAcylation in Aβ-treated cells. In addition, overexpression of O-GlcNAc defective Drp1 mutant (T585A and T586A) decreased Drp1 O-GlcNAcylation and Aβ-induced mitochondria fragmentation. Taken together, these finding suggest that Aβ regulates mitochondrial fission by increasing O-GlcNAcylation of Drp1

Proteomic analysis of pregnancy-related proteins from pig uterus endometrium during pregnancy

Many important molecular events associated with implantation and development occur within the female reproductive tract, especially within the uterus endometrium, during pregnancy periods. The endometrium includes the mucosal lining of the uterus, which provides a suitable site for implantation and development of a fertilized egg and fetus. To date, the molecular cascades in the uterus endometrium during pregnancy periods in pigs have not been elucidated fully. In this study, we compared the functional regulated proteins in the endometrium during pregnancy periods with those in non-pregnant conditions and investigated changes in expression patterns during pregnancy (days 40, 70, and 93) using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and western blotting. The functional regulated proteins were identified and discovered from differentially expressed proteins in the uterus endometrium during pregnancy. We discovered 820 protein spots in a proteomic analysis of uterus endometrium tissues with 2-DE gels. We identified 63 of the 98 proteins regulated differentially among non-pregnant and pregnant tissues (matched and unmatched spots). Interestingly, 10 of these 63 proteins are development-, cytoskeleton- and chaperon-related proteins such as transferrin, protein DJ-1, transgelin, galectin-1, septin 2, stathmin 1, cofilin 1, fascin 1, heat shock protein (HSP) 90β and HSP 27. The specific expression patterns of these proteins in the endometrium during pregnancy were confirmed by western blotting. Our results suggest that the expressions of these genes involved in endometrium function and endometrium development from early to late gestation are associated with the regulation of endometrium development for maintaining pregnancy