7,007 research outputs found
Investigating The Role Of Toll Like Receptor-4 (Tlr-4) In Goats
The objectives of this study were to evaluate gene polymorphism and transcription of TLR-4 and to assess the effects of LPS exposure on gene expression and signaling in neutrophils from Spanish and Boer goats. To study genetic polymorphisms, gene segments using primers specific for TLR-4 were amplified
BRCA1 Forms a Functional Complex with γ-H2AX as a Late Response to Genotoxic Stress
Following genotoxic stress, the histone H2AX becomes phosphorylated at serine 139 by the ATM/ATR family of kinases. The tumor suppressor BRCA1, also phosphorylated by ATM/ATR kinases, is one of several proteins that colocalize with phospho-H2AX (γ-H2AX) at sites of active DNA repair. Both the precise mechanism and the purpose of BRCA1 recruitment to sites of DNA damage are unknown. Here we show that BRCA1 and γ-H2AX form an acid-stable biochemical complex on chromatin after DNA damage. Maximal association of BRCA1 with γ-H2AX correlates with reduced global γ-H2AX levels on chromatin late in the repair process. Since BRCA1 is known to have E3 ubiquitin ligase activity in vitro, we examined H2AX for evidence of ubiquitination. We found that H2AX is ubiquitinated at lysines 119 and 119 in vivo and that blockage of 26S proteasome function stabilizes γ-H2AX levels within cells. When BRCA1 levels were reduced, ubiquitination of H2AX was also reduced, and the cells retained higher levels of phosphorylated H2AX. These results indicate that BRCA1 is recruited into stable complexes with γ-H2AX and that the complex is involved in attenuation of the γ-H2AX repair signal after DNA damage
The oxidative stability of omega-3 oil-in-water nanoemulsion systems suitable for functional food enrichment: A systematic review of the literature
There is growing demand for functional food products enriched with long chain omega-3 fatty acids (LCω3PUFA). Nanoemulsions, systems with extremely small droplet sizes have been shown to increase LCω3PUFA bioavailability. However, nanoemulsion creation and processing methods may impact on the oxidative stability of these systems. The present systematic review collates information from studies that evaluated the oxidative stability of LCω3PUFA nanoemulsions suitable for use in functional foods. The systematic search identified seventeen articles published during the last 10 years. Researchers used a range surfactants and antioxidants to create systems which were evaluated from 7 to 100 days of storage. Nanoemulsions were created using synthetic and natural emulsifiers, with natural sources offering equivalent or increased oxidative stability compared to synthetic sources, which is useful as consumers are demanding natural, cleaner label food products. Equivalent vegetarian sources of LCω3PUFA found in fish oils such as algal oils are promising as they provide direct sources without the need for conversion in the human metabolic pathway. Quillaja saponin is a promising natural emulsifier that can produce nanoemulsion systems with equivalent/increased oxidative stability in comparison to other emulsifiers. Further studies to evaluate the oxidative stability of quillaja saponin nanoemulsions combined with algal sources of LCω3PUFA are warranted
Recruitment of ethnic minority patients to a cardiac rehabilitation trial: The Birmingham Rehabilitation Uptake Maximisation (BRUM) study [ISRCTN72884263]
Background: Concerns have been raised about low participation rates of people from minority ethnic groups
in clinical trials. However, the evidence is unclear as many studies do not report the ethnicity of participants and
there is insufficient information about the reasons for ineligibility by ethnic group. Where there are data, there
remains the key question as to whether ethnic minorities more likely to be ineligible (e.g. due to language) or
decline to participate. We have addressed these questions in relation to the Birmingham Rehabilitation Uptake
Maximisation (BRUM) study, a randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing a home-based with a hospital-based
cardiac rehabilitation programme in a multi-ethnic population in the UK.
Methods: Analysis of the ethnicity, age and sex of presenting and recruited subjects for a trial of cardiac
rehabilitation in the West-Midlands, UK.
Participants: 1997 patients presenting post-myocardial infarction, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty
or coronary artery bypass graft surgery.
Data collected: exclusion rates, reasons for exclusion and reasons for declining to participate in the trial by ethnic
group.
Results: Significantly more patients of South Asian ethnicity were excluded (52% of 'South Asian' v 36% 'White
European' and 36% 'Other', p < 0.001). This difference in eligibility was primarily due to exclusion on the basis of
language (i.e. the inability to speak English or Punjabi). Of those eligible, similar proportions were recruited from
the different ethnic groups (white, South Asian and other). There was a marked difference in eligibility between
people of Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi origin
Climate effects and stature since 1800
During the last 30 years, economic and social historians have collected and analysed large amounts of anthropometric data in order to explore key aspects of the human past. Attention has also been devoted to the examination of factors that can exert an influence on stature. This article outlines the different ways in which climate might influence stature, either directly or indirectly. It then uses Geographical Information System (GIS) software to explore the relationship between variations in temperature and precipitation and the average heights of men in France, India, Mexico, Spain and the United States (US) over the last two centuries. It is possible to observe an influence of climate on stature in some countries, especially during the nineteenth century, but the relationship weakens across time and largely disappears in recent decades. The attenuation of this relationship is attributed to a process of “technophysio evolution” as countries modernised and developed economically
Is the test of senior friendly ⁄child resistant packaging ethical?
Research has documented the drastic reduction of unintentional poisonings of children since the introduction of child resistant (CR) packaging. However, studies also indicate that consumers report difficulty using CR packages, in part because tests which determine the ‘senior friendliness’ of CR designs that are used throughout the world disallow people with ‘overt or obvious’ disabilities from being test subjects. Our review of drug package usability suggests that the current tests of CR packaging can and should be revised to correct this problem. We use US legislation, regulation and data to exemplify these points, but the conclusions are applicable to all protocols that include the exclusionary provision
Continuum Coupling and Single-Nucleon Overlap Integrals
The presence of a particle continuum, both of a resonant and non-resonant
character, can significantly impact spectroscopic properties of weakly bound
nuclei and excited nuclear states close to, and above, the particle emission
threshold. In the framework of the continuum shell model in the complex
momentum-plane, the so-called Gamow Shell Model, we discuss salient effects of
the continuum coupling on the one-neutron overlap integrals and the associated
spectroscopic factors in neutron-rich helium and oxygen nuclei. In particular,
we demonstrate a characteristic near-threshold energy dependence of the
spectroscopic factors for different l-waves. We show also that the realistic
radial overlap functions, which are needed for the description of transfer
reactions, can be generated by single-particle wave functions of the
appropriately chosen complex potential.Comment: 9 figures; 23 pages; corrected version; accepted in Nuclear Physics
Quantum anti-Zeno effect without wave function reduction
We study the measurement-induced enhancement of the spontaneous decay (called
quantum anti-Zeno effect) for a two-level subsystem, where measurements are
treated as couplings between the excited state and an auxiliary state rather
than the von Neumann's wave function reduction. The photon radiated in a fast
decay of the atom, from the auxiliary state to the excited state, triggers a
quasi-measurement, as opposed to a projection measurement. Our use of the term
"quasi-measurement" refers to a "coupling-based measurement". Such frequent
quasi-measurements result in an exponential decay of the survival probability
of atomic initial state with a photon emission following each
quasi-measurement. Our calculations show that the effective decay rate is of
the same form as the one based on projection measurements. What is more
important, the survival probability of the atomic initial state which is
obtained by tracing over all the photon states is equivalent to the survival
probability of the atomic initial state with a photon emission following each
quasi-measurement to the order under consideration. That is because the
contributions from those states with photon number less than the number of
quasi-measurements originate from higher-order processes.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure
Mergers of multi-metallic globular clusters: The role of dynamics
Hubble Space Telescope observations of globular clusters (GCs) in the
Antennae galaxy show clusters of clusters, or regions in the galaxy that span
hundreds of parsecs, where many of the GCs are doomed to collide, and
eventually merge. Several such objects appear likely to present a significant
range in ages, hence possibly metallicities, and their merger could plausibly
lead to multi-metallic GCs. Here we explore this process with direct-summation
N-body simulations with GPU hardware. Our results reveal that colliding GCs
with different metallicities and ages can produce a GC with multiplicity and
occupation fractions not unlike those observed in multi-metallic clusters. In
our simulations, the merged clusters have a phase with a larger amount of
flattening than average, as a consequence of rapid rotation- thus suggesting
that relatively recent mergers may play a role in producing highly flattened,
multi-metallic clusters. We additionally explore the role of the King parameter
of the cluster in the occupation fractions with a set of 160 direct-summation
simulations and find that for equal size clusters the King parameter of the
progenitor clusters determines the occupation fractions in the merger product,
while in unequal size mergers the size of the clusters dominates the
distribution of stars in the new GC. In particular, we find that the observed
distribution of populations in Omega Cen can be described to some extent with
our dynamical models.Comment: Accepted for publication MNRA
- …