Effect of Diet on the Growth and Survival of Adrenalectomized Rats Treated with Corticosterone

Author Institution: Department of Anatomy, Medical College of Ohio at Toledo ; Bureau of Biological Research, Rutgers UniversityDietary protein content did not influence the life sustaining capacity of a daily 300 vg dose of corticosterone in adrenalectomized rats. A lower daily dosage of 150 ng was less effective when animals were fed a 5% casein diet. Depletion of body protein stores prior to adrenalectomy did not significantly alter the response pattern of animals maintained on a daily 300 fxg dose of corticosterone. Reducing the dietary protein content from 20% to 10% interfered with the capacity of the daily 150 /Jig dosage of corticosterone to support body weight gain in adrenalectomized rats. No significant changes in bod}^ weight were noted in adrenalectomized animals fed a 5% casein diet. Protein depletion had a favorable effect on this aspect of the hormone's activity when adrenalectomized rats were treated with the daily 300 ,ug dosage and refed 10% or 20% casein diets. Adrenalectomized animals maintained under these experimental conditions gained more weight than nondepleted animals fed the same diets

GHz QKD at telecom wavelengths using up-conversion detectors

We have developed a hybrid single photon detection scheme for telecom wavelengths based on nonlinear sum-frequency generation and silicon single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs). The SPAD devices employed have been designed to have very narrow temporal response, i.e. low jitter, which we can exploit for increasing the allowable bit rate for quantum key distribution. The wavelength conversion is obtained using periodically poled Lithium niobate waveguides (W/Gs). The inherently high efficiency of these W/Gs allows us to use a continuous wave laser to seed the nonlinear conversion so as to have a continuous detection scheme. We also present a 1.27GHz qubit repetition rate, one-way phase encoding, quantum key distribution experiment operating at telecom wavelengths that takes advantage of this detection scheme. The proof of principle experiment shows a system capable of MHz raw count rates with a QBER less than 2% and estimated secure key rates greater than 100 kbit/s over 25 km.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure

A role for the ELAV RNA-binding proteins in neural stem cells : stabilization of Msi1 mRNA

Post-transcriptional regulation exerted by neural-specific RNA-binding proteins plays a pivotal role in the development and maintenance of the nervous system. Neural ELAV proteins are key inducers of neuronal differentiation through the stabilization and/or translational enhancement of target transcripts bearing the AU-rich elements (AREs), whereas Musashi-1 maintains the stem cell proliferation state by acting as a translational repressor. Since the gene encoding Musashi-1 (Msi1) contains a conserved ARE in its 3' untranslated region, the authors focused on the possibility of a mechanistic relation between ELAV proteins and Musashi-1 in cell fate commitment. Colocalization of neural ELAV proteins with Musashi-1 clearly shows that ELAV proteins are expressed at early stages of neural commitment, whereas interaction studies demonstrate that neural ELAV proteins exert an ARE-dependent binding activity on the Msi1 mRNA. This binding activity has functional effects, since the ELAV protein family member HuD is able to stabilize the Msi1 ARE-contg. mRNA in a sequence-dependent way in a deadenylation/degrdn. assay. Furthermore activation of the neural ELAV proteins by phorbol esters in human SH-SY5Y cells is assocd. with an increase of Musashi-1 protein content in the cytoskeleton. The authors propose that ELAV RNA-binding proteins exert an important post-transcriptional control on Musashi-1 expression in the transition from proliferation to neural differentiation of stem/progenitor cells

Dementia Among Migrants and Ethnic Minorities in Italy: Rationale and Study Protocol of the ImmiDem Project

Introduction: Due to the ongoing demographic and epidemiological transitions, estimating the phenomenon of dementia in migrants and minority groups, exploring its characteristics and challenges and implementing dedicated healthcare policies, constitute emerging and urgent matters for Western countries. In the present paper we describe the rationale and design of the 'Dementia in immigrants and ethnic minorities living in Italy: clinical-epidemiological aspects and public health perspectives" (ImmiDem) project. Methods and analysis: Three main aims will be pursued by the ImmiDem project. First, a survey of all Italian dementia services will be conducted with dedicated questionnaires in order to estimate and describe the proportion and characteristics of migrants seeking help for cognitive disturbances. The different clinical approaches for diagnosing dementia and the challenges encountered in the assessment of cognitive functioning and in the provision of care in these groups of individuals will also be investigated. Second, record linkage procedures of data routinely collected in regional Health Information Systems will be conducted in order to identify and monitor migrant individuals with dementia living in the Lazio region. Third, tailored national and local care-coordination pathways and/or good practices dedicated to migrants affected by dementia and cognitive disorders will be identified and promoted. Ethics and dissemination: The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Italian National Institute of Health (protocol 10749; 5 April 2018). The project was launched in November 2018 and will end in November 2021. The findings of the project will be disseminated through scientific peer-reviewed journals as well as to the public via the Dementia Observatory website (https://demenze.iss.it)

NMR Metabolomics for Stem Cell type discrimination

Cell metabolism is a key determinant factor for the pluripotency and fate commitment of Stem Cells (SCs) during development, ageing, pathological onset and progression. We derived and cultured selected subpopulations of rodent fetal, postnatal, adult Neural SCs (NSCs) and postnatal glial progenitors, Olfactory Ensheathing Cells (OECs), respectively from the subventricular zone (SVZ) and the olfactory bulb (OB). Cell lysates were analyzed by proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H-NMR) spectroscopy leading to metabolites identification and quantitation. Subsequent multivariate analysis of NMR data by Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and Partial Least Square Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) allowed data reduction and cluster analysis. This strategy ensures the definition of specific features in the metabolic content of phenotypically similar SCs sharing a common developmental origin. The metabolic fingerprints for selective metabolites or for the whole spectra demonstrated enhanced peculiarities among cell types. The key result of our work is a neat divergence between OECs and the remaining NSC cells. We also show that statistically significant differences for selective metabolites characterizes NSCs of different ages. Finally, the retrived metabolome in cell cultures correlates to the physiological SC features, thus allowing an integrated bioengineering approach for biologic fingerprints able to dissect the (neural) SC molecular specificitie

Immunohistochemical and biochemical identification of MMP-2 in dentin

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play an important role in many biological and pathological processes because of their ability to degrade all extracellular matrix (ECM) components. The purpose of this study was to identify MMP-2 in human dentin by immunohistochemical and biochemical methods. Dentin cryo-fractured fragments were obtained from human sound teeth, partially decalcified in 0.5 M EDTA pH 7.4 for 30min and submitted to a pre-embedding immunolabeling technique, using primary monoclonal antibodies anti-MMP-2 and exposed to a secondary antibody conjugated with gold nano-particles. Observations were performed by means of a FEI-SEM. Furthermore,the presence of MMP-2 was correlatively assayed by a colorimetric assay system (Quantisir) that allows direct measurement of MMP-2 levels. The immunohistochemical analysis revealed an intricate three-dimensional network of type I collagen and positive immunolabeling patterns for MMP-2 showing its distribution along with the collagen fibrils. The colorimetric assay resulted in higher presence of MMP-2 in mineralized dentin, compared to the partially demineralized counterpart. The role and function of dentin MMPs is not well known, but they have shown to contribute to auto-degenerative processes in dentin, such as inflammation of dental pulp, progression of caries lesions. This study demonstrated using an immunohistochemical and a biochemical approach that MMP-2 is an intrinsic component of the human dentin organic matrix, with possible roles in dentin matrix turnover and degenerative processes