Inhibition of REV-ERBs stimulates microglial amyloid-beta clearance and reduces amyloid plaque deposition in the 5XFAD mouse model of Alzheimer\u27s disease

A promising new therapeutic target for the treatment of Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD) is the circadian system. Although patients with AD are known to have abnormal circadian rhythms and suffer sleep disturbances, the role of the molecular clock in regulating amyloid-beta (Aβ) pathology is still poorly understood. Here, we explored how the circadian repressors REV-ERBα and β affected Aβ clearance in mouse microglia. We discovered that, at Circadian time 4 (CT4), microglia expressed higher levels of the master clock protein BMAL1 and more rapidly phagocytosed fibrillary A

Investigation of single nucleotide polymorphisms in porcine candidate genes for blood component traits in pigs

This study used 209 public single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays for 151 candidate genes of pigs to analyse their association with nine blood component traits (insulin-like growth factor-I, insulin, immuno globulin, lymphocyte, monocyte, eosinophil, basophil, neutrophil and atypical lymph) in 209 Korean native pigs and Yorkshire F2 hybrids. Of these, 52 SNPs in 49 candidate genes showed significant association with one or more blood component traits. Nineteen of these SNPs were found to be present in blood component QTL regions. The 49 candidate genes corresponding to 52 SNPs with significant effects were detected and used for gene ontology analysis to understand the function of the candidate genes at molecular level. Based on functional classification (biological process, cellular components, and molecular function) of annotated candidates, 34 candidate genes (11 genes of IGF-1, 9 of IS, 9 of IG, 6 of NP, and 3 of EP) were detected. Additionally, eight genes (PSMB4, PSME3, MAPKAPK3, CTLA4, CUL7, GGT1, IDH3B, and RXRB) interacting with four immune pathways (immune system, adaptive immune system, Class I MHC-mediated antigen processing and presentation, and antigen processing: ubiquitination and proteasome degradation) were found through pathway and network analyses. The eight candidate genes identified in this study are included in class I MHC-mediated antigen pathway, which is an important factor that determines the success of organ transplantation in addition to the improvement of diseases and immunity of pigs. Therefore, these genes can potentially be used in heterogeneous organ research in future research.Keywords: Association analysis, gene network, pathway, SNP, swin

Simultaneous dual-frequency radio observations of S5 0716+714: A search for intraday variability with the Korean VLBI Network

This study aims to search for the existence of intraday variability (IDV) of BL Lac object S5 0716+714 at high radio frequencies for which the interstellar scintillation effect is not significant. Using the 21-meter radio telescope of the Korean VLBI Network (KVN), we present results of multi-epoch simultaneous dual-frequency radio observations. Single-dish observations of S5 0716+714 were simultaneously conducted at 21.7 GHz (K-band) and 42.4 GHz (Q-band), with a high cadence of 30-60 minute intervals.We observed four epochs between December 2009 and June 2010. Over the whole set of observation epochs, S5 0716+714 showed significant inter-month variations in flux density at both the K- and Q-bands, with modulation indices of approximately 19% for the K-band and approximately 36% for the Q-band. In all epochs, no clear intraday variability was detected at either frequency. The source shows monotonic flux density increase in epochs 1 and 3 and monotonic flux density decrease in epochs 2 and 4. In the flux density increasing phases, the flux densities at the Q-band increase more rapidly. In the decreasing phase, no significant flux density difference is seen at the two frequencies. The situation could be different close to flux density peaks that we did not witness in our observations. We find an inverted spectrum with mean spectral indices of -0.57+-0.13 in epoch 1 and -0.15+-0.11 in epoch 3. On the other hand, we find relatively steep indices of +0.24+-0.14 and +0.17+-0.18 in epochs 2 and 4, respectively. We conclude that the frequency dependence of the variability and the change of the spectral index are caused by source-intrinsic effects rather than by any extrinsic scintillation effect.Comment: 6 pages and 4 figures and 4 table

Haemodynamic and Clinical Assessment of Lateral Marginal Vein Excision in Patients with a Predominantly Venous Malformation of the Lower Extremity

ObjectiveThe purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of the surgical excision of lateral marginal veins (LMVs) in patients with a venous malformation (VM) affecting the lower extremity.MethodsPreoperative and postoperative air plethysmography (APG), CEAP classification C scores, and venous clinical severity scores (VCSS) of the 25 VM patients who underwent LMV excision were compared.ResultsAfter LMV excision, venous haemodynamic parameters revealed significantly increased ejection fraction (EF, 33.2 S.D.18.5% vs. 39.7 S.D.21.2%, P=.020), and reduced venous volume (VV, 235.0 S.D.141.8ml vs. 198.0 S.D.114.1ml, P=.016) and residual venous fraction (RVF, 62.4 S.D. 26.6% vs. 56.9 S.D. 25.3%, P=.046). Clinical assessments of affected limbs revealed significantly improved mean CEAP C scores and VCSS (preoperative score, 4.4 S.D.1.7 vs. postoperative score 2.4 S.D.1.7, P=.026) after LMV excision versus preoperative data.ConclusionHaemodynamic and clinical improvements were observed in patients with lower extremity VM after LMV excision

Charge-spin correlation in van der Waals antiferromagenet NiPS3

Strong charge-spin coupling is found in a layered transition-metal trichalcogenide NiPS3, a van derWaals antiferromagnet, from our study of the electronic structure using several experimental and theoretical tools: spectroscopic ellipsometry, x-ray absorption and photoemission spectroscopy, and density-functional calculations. NiPS3 displays an anomalous shift in the optical spectral weight at the magnetic ordering temperature, reflecting a strong coupling between the electronic and magnetic structures. X-ray absorption, photoemission and optical spectra support a self-doped ground state in NiPS3. Our work demonstrates that layered transition-metal trichalcogenide magnets are a useful candidate for the study of correlated-electron physics in two-dimensional magnetic material.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figur

Core-Level X-Ray Photoemission Satellites in Ruthenates: A New Mechanism Revealing the Mott Transition

Ru 3d core-level x-ray photoemission spectra of various ruthenates are examined. They show in general two-peak structures, which can be assigned as the screened and unscreened peaks. The screened peak is absent in a Mott insulator, but develops into a main peak in the metallic regime. This spectral behavior is well explained by the dynamical mean-field theory calculation for the single-band Hubbard model with on-site core-hole potential using the exact diagonalization method. The new mechanism of the core-level photoemission satellite can be utilized to reveal the Mott transition phenomenon in various strongly correlated electron systems, especially in nano-scale devices and phase-separated materials.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, submitted to PR

Low electronic conductivity of Li7La3Zr2 O12 solid electrolytes from first principles

Lithium-rich garnets such as Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) are promising solid electrolytes with potential application in all-solid-state batteries that use lithium-metal anodes. The practical use of garnet electrolytes is limited by pervasive lithium-dendrite growth, which leads to short-circuiting and cell failure. One proposed mechanism of lithium-dendrite growth is the direct reduction of lithium ions to lithium metal within the electrolyte, and lithium garnets have been suggested to be particularly susceptible to this dendrite-growth mechanism due to high electronic conductivities relative to other solid electrolytes. The electronic conductivities of LLZO and other lithium-garnet solid electrolytes, however, are not yet well characterized. Here, we present a general scheme for calculating the intrinsic electronic conductivity of a nominally insulating material under variable synthesis conditions from first principles, and apply this to the prototypical lithium-garnet LLZO. Our model predicts that under typical battery operating conditions, electron and hole mobilities are low (<1cm2V-1s-1), and bulk electron and hole carrier concentrations are negligible, irrespective of initial synthesis conditions or dopant levels. These results suggest that the bulk electronic conductivity of LLZO is not sufficiently high to cause bulk lithium-dendrite growth during cell operation, and that any non-negligible electronic conductivity in lithium garnet samples is likely due to extended defects or surface contributions