2,358 research outputs found
Activation of Serine One-Carbon Metabolism by Calcineurin A beta 1 Reduces Myocardial Hypertrophy and Improves Ventricular Function
Background In response to pressure overload, the heart develops ventricular hypertrophy that progressively decompensates and leads to heart failure. This pathological hypertrophy is mediated, among others, by the phosphatase calcineurin and is characterized by metabolic changes that impair energy production by mitochondria. Objectives The authors aimed to determine the role of the calcineurin splicing variant CnAβ1 in the context of cardiac hypertrophy and its mechanism of action. Methods Transgenic mice overexpressing CnAβ1 specifically in cardiomyocytes and mice lacking the unique C-terminal domain in CnAβ1 (CnAβ1Δi12 mice) were used. Pressure overload hypertrophy was induced by transaortic constriction. Cardiac function was measured by echocardiography. Mice were characterized using various molecular analyses. Results In contrast to other calcineurin isoforms, the authors show here that cardiac-specific overexpression of CnAβ1 in transgenic mice reduces cardiac hypertrophy and improves cardiac function. This effect is mediated by activation of serine and one-carbon metabolism, and the production of antioxidant mediators that prevent mitochondrial protein oxidation and preserve ATP production. The induction of enzymes involved in this metabolic pathway by CnAβ1 is dependent on mTOR activity. Inhibition of serine and one-carbon metabolism blocks the beneficial effects of CnAβ1. CnAβ1Δi12 mice show increased cardiac hypertrophy and declined contractility. Conclusions The metabolic reprogramming induced by CnAβ1 redefines the role of calcineurin in the heart and shows for the first time that activation of the serine and one-carbon pathway has beneficial effects on cardiac hypertrophy and function, paving the way for new therapeutic approaches
GloPID-R report on chikungunya, o\u27nyong-nyong and Mayaro virus, part 5: Entomological aspects
The GloPID-R (Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness) chikungunya (CHIKV), o\u27nyong-nyong (ONNV) and Mayaro virus (MAYV) Working Group has been established to investigate natural history, epidemiology and clinical aspects of infection by these viruses. Here, we present a report dedicated to entomological aspects of CHIKV, ONNV and MAYV. Recent global expansion of chikungunya virus has been possible because CHIKV established a transmission cycle in urban settings using anthropophilic vectors such as Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti. MAYV and ONNV have a more limited geographic distribution, being confined to Africa (ONNV) and central-southern America (MAYV). ONNV is probably maintained through an enzootic cycle that has not been characterized yet, with Anopheles species as main vectors and humans as amplification hosts during epidemics. MAYV is transmitted by Haemagogus species in an enzootic cycle using non-human primates as the main amplification and maintenance hosts, and humans becoming sporadically infected when venturing in or nearby forest habitats. Here, we focused on the transmission cycle and natural vectors that sustain circulation of these viruses in their respective locations. The knowledge of the natural ecology of transmission and the capacity of different vectors to transmit these viruses is crucial to understand CHIKV emergence, and to assess the risk that MAYV and ONNV will expand on wide scale using anthropophilic mosquito species not normally considered primary vectors. Finally, the experts identified knowledge gaps and provided adapted recommendations, in order to address future entomological investigations in the right direction
Liquid volume fraction and residence time distribution in an open-structure random packed column with counter current flow
Feeding dehydrated alfalfa increases polyunsaturated fatty acids concentration in Marchigiana beef muscle
Beef meat is a low fat food (<5% fat). However, the fatty acid composition of beef is relatively saturated (approximately 45-50%). The polyunsaturated/saturated fatty acids (P/S) ratio in beef is approximately 0.1, the ideal being about 0.4 (Department of Health, 1994). This can cause critical comments to beef meat related to human health
Retinal and choroidal thickness measurements using spectral domain optical coherence tomography in anterior and intermediate uveitis.
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Indagine sul comportamento di Co- Creazione degli studenti: il ruolo della Web Communication e delle tecnologie digitali come driver per l’Università 4.0. Una review sistematica della letteratura
Le tecnologie digitali ampliano l’orizzonte dell’innovazione didattica richiedendo l’integrazione di modelli organizzativi e tecnologici. L’università 4.0 necessità di supporto e stimolo da parte del sistema istituzionale per intraprendere il processo di cambiamento sul fronte della didattica. Il nostro lavoro intende indagare, attraverso una analisi sistematica della letteratura, le azioni da proporre al sistema universitario, al fine di attivare uno sviluppo efficiente e condiviso di esperienze, infrastrutture e percorsi didattici. L’obiettivo è esaminare la relazione esistente tra le diverse variabili che attivano il processo di co-creazione e allinearle con gli istituti di istruzione universitaria. Il paper evidenzia inoltre ciò che costituisce la soddisfazione degli studenti a livello di esperienza universitaria ed esamina l’influenza della soddisfazione complessiva sul comportamento di co-creazione, al fine di migliorare la qualità dell’offerta universitaria e la reputazione dell’università stessa. I risultati ottenuti possono riassumersi in sinergie profonde tra soddisfazione dello studente, comunicazione partecipativa e comportamenti di co-creazione, spinti da fattori tecnologici e digitali avanzati
Local energy transfer rate and kinetic processes: the fate of turbulent energy in two-dimensional Hybrid Vlasov-Maxwell numerical simulations
The nature of the cross-scale connections between the inertial range turbulent energy cascade and the small-scale kinetic processes in collisionless plasmas is explored through the analysis of two-dimensional Hybrid Vlasov-Maxwell numerical simulation (HVM), with α particles, and through a proxy of the turbulent energy transfer rate, namely the Local Energy Transfer rate (LET). Correlations between pairs of variables, including those related to kinetic processes and to deviation from Maxwellian distributions, are first evidenced. Then, the general properties and the statistical scaling laws of the LET are described, confirming its reliability for the description of the turbulent cascade and revealing its textured topology. Finally, the connection between such proxy and the diag- nostic variables is explored using conditional averaging, showing that several quantities are enhanced in the presence of large positive energy flux, and reduced near sites of neg- ative flux. These observations can help determining which processes are involved in the dissipation of energy at small scales, as for example ion-cyclotron or mirror instabilities typically associated with perpendicular anisotropy of temperature
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