Knowing Your Nose: Discovering How We Smell

Mammals can discern thousands of molecularly different odorants as well as changes in their concentrations. How the olfactory recognizes such a large number of smells was not very well understood. The initial perception of smell occurs in the olfactory epithelium, which transmits information to the major olfactory bulb, and ultimately to the olfactory cortex via olfactory sensory neurons. This is the basic structure of the olfactory system. We sought to find the underlying mechanisms and tools that allow for the translation of these chemical odorants into the perception of smell. Our studies focused on finding the separate families of olfactory receptors used in the olfactory epithelium to recognize the immense number of odorants. Our studies of the olfactory epithelium, the major olfactory bulb, and the OC have focused on how this immense amount of information from the olfactory sensory neurons is organized at various steps in the discrimination process. We have discovered a novel family of odorant receptors as well as many other subfamilies through genetic analysis. We have also discovered a highly organized stereotypical map in the olfactory epithelium and the major olfactory bulb, as well as distinct patterns of activation in the olfactory cortex. Through the ability to trace specific neuronal circuits, we have studied the distinct odorant receptors patterns when exposed to distinct odorant types or mixtures. Our research in the field of olfaction has led to many discoveries in both mechanisms of odor perception and how that perception is ultimately organized to perceive odor

Application of Microwave‐Assisted Technologies for the Analysis of Chlorinated Solvents in Rock Samples

It has been a direction for research of late to examine the extraction process of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from solid matrices. Removal of VOCs from a solid matrix can be challenging due to the nature of the analyte and that of the containing media. There are established techniques that have been employed in the past; however when dealing with matrices of low permeability, the established methods are not up to task. They fail due to one or more of the following reasons: prohibitive time requirements, which can be as high as eight weeks; cost due to solvent purchasing and disposal, labor, etc.; or negative bias resulting from analyte loss, a regularly experienced issue when measuring compounds of high volatility. The need for an efficient process, both in time and cost, that can avoid the all too common analyte loss or equally as serious issue of cross contamination is great. The wide spread appearance of these compounds coupled with their harmful effects makes the need to quantify them (and remediate if necessary) a high priority. The objective of this research project was to use microwave assisted technologies in the analysis of chlorinated solvents present in rock samples. The rock samples used in this research were collected from a sampling site in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The rock cores were from a dolostone aquifer, and as such possessed low permeability for analyte extraction while containing significant moisture internally in micropores. Through the use of microwave heating, purge-and-trap concentration, as well as cryotrap focusing, the technique allows obtaining results comparable to the established MAE-GC-μECD method without the additional cost of extraction solvent, as well as without the risk of analyte loss or sample cross-contamination from aliquot removal. Additionally, the method is more iv selective, as it allows the operator to monitor relevant ion fragments owing to the use of a mass selective detector. This selectivity is invaluable when performing extractions of environmental samples that often can be contaminated with numerous pollutants

O Curso de pós-graduação em linguagens e educação a distância: uma breve análise

TCC (especialização) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Linguagem e Educação a DistânciaO objetivo deste trabalho é verificar de que forma o curso de especialização em Linguagens e Educação a Distância da UFSC prepara para a formação nos recursos digitais. Por meio da pesquisa bibliográfica, pretendeu-se construir o referencial teórico em três títulos: educação a distância; educação a distância uma oportunidade facilitadora para a formação e a análise de dados intitulado em: curso de Especialização em Linguagens e Educação a Distância da UFSC. Para analisar o curso e encontrar os resultados, levantou-se categorias a fim de saber quais recursos digitais estão sendo utilizados. Assim, a partir desta pesquisa inferiu-se que os recursos digitais mais utilizados são: imagens, vídeos, áudios e textos.The objective of this paper is to verify how the UFSC Languages and Distance Education specialization course prepares for training in digital resources. Through the bibliographic research it was intended to build the theoretical framework in three titles: distance education; distance education a facilitating opportunity for training and data analysis entitled: UFSC Language and Distance Education Specialization course.To analyze the course and find the results, categories were raised to know which digital resources are being used. It was noticed during the research that the most used digital resources are: images, videos, audios and text

A Ride with Listeria monocytogenes: A Trojan Horse

Listeriosis, a disease caused by Listeria monocytogenes- a facultative, intracellular bacterium, spreads through contaminated food. It affects epithelial cells and macrophages and has a mortality rate of about 30%. The bacterium can cross the blood brain barrier, causing meningitis, and the placental barrier, causing abortion. Some mechanisms for entry into cells include the InlA- E-cadherin adhesion and InlB-Met pathway. hly, one of the many genes activated during infection, leads to the production of Listeriolysin O (LLO). LLO and two distinct phospholipases are indispensable to the spread of Listeria. Phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) activates a host protein kinase C (PKC), which facilitates the escape of the bacterium from the primary vacuole, along with LLO. Once inside the cell’s cytoplasm, Listeria replicates. At this point, both the original bacterium and the daughter cells use Act A protein to exploit the cell’s machinery to polymerize actin. Actin-based motility propels the Listeria throughout the cell and facilitates its intercellular spread. Current curative methods include ampicillin, gentamicin, and chloramphenicol, reserved for life threatening infections. Treatment via plant extracts of Pluchea quitoc is in the experimental stage. This review focuses on tracking the progression of the L. monocytogenes bacterium from its entry to spread

Which growth standards should be used to identify large- and small-for-gestational age infants of mothers with type 1 diabetes? A pre-specified analysis of the CONCEPTT trial.

BACKGROUND: Offspring of women with type 1 diabetes are at increased risk of fetal growth patterns which are associated with perinatal morbidity. Our aim was to compare rates of large- and small-for-gestational age (LGA; SGA) defined according to different criteria, using data from the Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Type 1 Diabetes Pregnancy Trial (CONCEPTT). METHODS: This was a pre-specified analysis of CONCEPTT involving 225 pregnant women and liveborn infants from 31 international centres ( ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01788527; registered 11/2/2013). Infants were weighed immediately at birth and GROW, INTERGROWTH and WHO centiles were calculated. Relative risk ratios, sensitivity and specificity were used to assess the different growth standards with respect to perinatal outcomes, including neonatal hypoglycaemia, hyperbilirubinaemia, respiratory distress, neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission and a composite neonatal outcome. RESULTS: Accelerated fetal growth was common, with mean birthweight percentiles of 82.1, 85.7 and 63.9 and LGA rates of 62, 67 and 30% using GROW, INTERGROWTH and WHO standards respectively. Corresponding rates of SGA were 2.2, 1.3 and 8.9% respectively. LGA defined according to GROW centiles showed stronger associations with preterm delivery, neonatal hypoglycaemia, hyperbilirubinaemia and NICU admission. Infants born > 97.7th centile were at highest risk of complications. SGA defined according to INTERGROWTH centiles showed slightly stronger associations with perinatal outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: GROW and INTERGROWTH standards performed similarly and identified similar numbers of neonates with LGA and SGA. GROW-defined LGA and INTERGROWTH-defined SGA had slightly stronger associations with neonatal complications. WHO standards underestimated size in preterm infants and are less applicable for use in type 1 diabetes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov . number NCT01788527 . Trial registered 11/2/2013

Dietary Intervention in Pregnant Women with Gestational Diabetes; Protocol for the DiGest Randomised Controlled Trial.

Funder: Wellcome TrustGestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) annually affects 35,000 pregnancies in the United Kingdom, causing suboptimal health outcomes to the mother and child. Obesity and excessive gestational weight gain are risk factors for GDM. The Institute of Medicine recommends weight targets for women that are overweight and obese, however, there are no clear guidelines for women with GDM. Observational data suggest that modest weight loss (0.6-2 kg) after 28 weeks may reduce risk of caesarean section, large-for-gestational-age (LGA), and maternal postnatal glycaemia. This protocol for a multicentre randomised double-blind controlled trial aims to identify if a fully controlled reduced energy diet in GDM pregnancy improves infant birthweight and reduces maternal weight gain (primary outcomes). A total of 500 women with GDM (National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) 2015 criteria) and body mass index (BMI) ≥25 kg/m2 will be randomised to receive a standard (2000 kcal/day) or reduced energy (1200 kcal/day) diet box containing all meals and snacks from 28 weeks to delivery. Women and caregivers will be blinded to the allocations. Food diaries, continuous glucose monitoring, and anthropometry will measure dietary compliance, glucose levels, and weight changes. Women will receive standard antenatal GDM management (insulin/metformin) according to NICE guidelines. The secondary endpoints include caesarean section rates, LGA, and maternal postnatal glucose concentrations

Erratum: Dietary Intervention in Pregnant Women with Gestational Diabetes; Protocol for the DiGest Randomised Controlled Trial; Nutrients 2020, 12, 1165.

The authors would like to correct an error in a recent published paper [...]

Maternal Exercise Intervention in Obese Pregnancy Improves the Cardiovascular Health of the Adult Male Offspring

OBJECTIVE Obesity during pregnancy is associated with an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease in the offspring. With increased numbers of women entering pregnancy overweight or obese, there is a requirement for targeted interventions to reduce disease risk in future generations. Using an established murine model of maternal obesity during pregnancy, we investigated if a treadmill exercise intervention in the mother could improve offspring cardiac health and explored potential underlying mechanisms. METHODS A 20-minute treadmill exercise intervention protocol was performed 5 days a week in diet-induced obese female C57BL/6 mice 1 week prior to, and up to E17 of pregnancy. All male offspring were weaned onto a control diet and studied at 8 weeks of age when their cardiovascular physiology was assessed by in vivo echocardiography and non-invasive tail cuff plethysmography. Cardiomyocyte cell area, re-expression of fetal genes and the expression of calcium handling and sympathetic activation proteins were determined. RESULTS At 8 weeks, there was no difference in bodyweight or fat mass between groups. Offspring of obese dams developed pathologic cardiac hypertrophy, hypertension and cardiac dysfunction characterized by reduced ejection fraction (p< 0.001). Maternal exercise prevented cardiac hypertrophy and dysfunction but failed to prevent hypertension. These offspring of exercised dams also had enhanced (p< 0.001) levels of calcium handling proteins and a sympathetic-activated inotropic response. CONCLUSIONS Exercise in obese pregnancy was beneficial to offspring cardiac function and structure but did not influence hypertension suggesting they are programmed by separate mechanistic pathways. These data suggest combination interventions in obese pregnancies will be required to improve all aspects of the cardiovascular health of the next generation.This work received funding from the British Heart Foundation, the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme , MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit award and British Heart Foundation Studentship. Wellcome Trust

Magnetic imaging of ion-irradiation patterned Co/Pt multilayers using complementary electron and photon probes

The three-dimensional magnetic structure and reversal mechanism of patterned Co/Pt multilayers, were imaged using complementary Lorentz transmission electron microscopy (LTEM) (in-plane component) and magnetic transmission x-ray microscopy (M-TXM) (perpendicular magnetization). The Co/Pt films with perpendicular anisotropy were patterned by ion irradiation through a stencil mask to produce in-plane magnetization in the irradiated regions. The boundaries of the patterns, defined by the transition from out-of-plane to in-plane magnetization, were found to be determined by the stencil mask, whilst the scale of the magnetic reversal by the physical microstructure. The nucleation fields were substantially reduced to 50 Oe for the in-plane regions and 1 kOe for the perpendicular regions, comparing to 4.5 kOe for the as-grown film. The perpendicular reversals were found to always originate at the pattern boundaries

Maternal Obesity in Pregnancy Developmentally Programs Adipose Tissue Inflammation in Young, Lean Male Mice Offspring.

Obesity during pregnancy has a long-term effect on the health of the offspring including risk of developing the metabolic syndrome. Using a mouse model of maternal diet-induced obesity, we employed a genome-wide approach to investigate the microRNA (miRNA) and miRNA transcription profile in adipose tissue to understand mechanisms through which this occurs. Male offspring of diet-induced obese mothers, fed a control diet from weaning, showed no differences in body weight or adiposity at 8 weeks of age. However, offspring from the obese dams had up-regulated cytokine (Tnfα; P < .05) and chemokine (Ccl2 and Ccl7; P < .05) signaling in their adipose tissue. This was accompanied by reduced expression of miR-706, which we showed can directly regulate translation of the inflammatory proteins IL-33 (41% up-regulated; P < .05) and calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase 1D (30% up-regulated; P < .01). We conclude that exposure to obesity during development primes an inflammatory environment in adipose tissue that is independent of offspring adiposity. Programming of adipose tissue miRNAs that regulate expression of inflammatory signaling molecules may be a contributing mechanism.This work was supported by Funding sources: National Council for the Improvement of Higher Education (CAPES - Brazil - BEX 10 594/13–2); National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq – Brazil – PDE/204416/ 2014–0); Medical Research Council (MC UU 12012/4 and MC UU12012/5), BBSRC (BB/M001636/1) and the Wellcome Trust (089940/Z/09/Z).This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from the Endocrine Society via http://dx.doi.org/10.1210/en.2016-131