785 research outputs found
Mitochondrial Fatty Acid β-Oxidation Disorders: From Disease to Lipidomic StudiesâA Critical Review
ReviewThis article belongs to the Special Issue Lipid Metabolism in Pathology and Health.Fatty acid oxidation disorders (FAODs) are inborn errors of metabolism (IEMs) caused by defects in the fatty acid (FA) mitochondrial β-oxidation. The most common FAODs are characterized by the accumulation of medium-chain FAs and long-chain (3-hydroxy) FAs (and their carnitine derivatives), respectively. These deregulations are associated with lipotoxicity which affects several organs and potentially leads to life-threatening complications and comorbidities. Changes in the lipidome have been associated with several diseases, including some IEMs. In FAODs, the alteration of acylcarnitines (CARs) and FA profiles have been reported in patients and animal models, but changes in polar and neutral lipid profile are still scarcely studied. In this review, we present the main findings on FA and CAR profile changes associated with FAOD pathogenesis, their correlation with oxidative damage, and the consequent disturbance of mitochondrial homeostasis. Moreover, alterations in polar and neutral lipid classes and lipid species identified so far and their possible role in FAODs are discussed. We highlight the need of mass-spectrometry-based lipidomic studies to understand (epi)lipidome remodelling in FAODs, thus allowing to elucidate the pathophysiology and the identification of possible biomarkers for disease prognosis and an evaluation of therapeutic efficacy.This research was funded by FCT/MEC (PIDDAC) for their financial support to LAQVREQUIMTE (UIDB/50006/2020), CESAM (UIDP/50017/2020 + UIDB/50017/2020 + LA/P/0094/2020),
and the RNEM-Portuguese Mass Spectrometry Network (LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-402-022125), financed
by FCT/MCTES through national funds and, where applicable, co-financed by the FEDER, within
the PT2020 Partnership Agreement and Compete 2020. Ana Moreira thanks the research contract
under the research unit LAQV-REQUIMTE. InĂŞs M. S. Guerra (2021.04754.BD) and Helena B. Ferreira
(2020.04611.BD) are grateful to FCT for the PhD grants. Tânia Melo thanks the Junior Researcher contract
in the scope of the Individual Call to Scientific Employment Stimulus 2020 (CEECIND/01578/2020). The
authors are thankful to the COST Action EpiLipidNET, CA19105-Pan-European Network in Lipidomics,
and EpiLipidomics.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Restructuring of the "Macaronesia" biogeografic unit: a marine multi-taxon biogeographical approach
The Azores, Madeira, Selvagens, Canary Islands and Cabo Verde are commonly united under the term
âMacaronesiaâ. This study investigates the coherency and validity of Macaronesia as a biogeographic
unit using six marine groups with very different dispersal abilities: coastal fishes, echinoderms,
gastropod molluscs, brachyuran decapod crustaceans, polychaete annelids, and macroalgae. We found
no support for the current concept of Macaronesia as a coherent marine biogeographic unit. All marine
groups studied suggest the exclusion of Cabo Verde from the remaining Macaronesian archipelagos and thus, Cabo Verde should be given the status of a biogeographic subprovince within the West African
Transition province. We propose to redefine the Lusitanian biogeographical province, in which we
include four ecoregions: the South European Atlantic Shelf, the Saharan Upwelling, the Azores, and a
new ecoregion herein named Webbnesia, which comprises the archipelagos of Madeira, Selvagens and
the Canary Islandsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Cosmic acceleration from second order gauge gravity
We construct a phenomenological theory of gravitation based on a second order
gauge formulation for the Lorentz group. The model presents a long-range
modification for the gravitational field leading to a cosmological model
provided with an accelerated expansion at recent times. We estimate the model
parameters using observational data and verify that our estimative for the age
of the Universe is of the same magnitude than the one predicted by the standard
model. The transition from the decelerated expansion regime to the accelerated
one occurs recently (at ).Comment: RevTex4 15 pages, 1 figure. Accepted for publication in Astrophysics
& Space Scienc
A nonlinear hydrodynamical approach to granular materials
We propose a nonlinear hydrodynamical model of granular materials. We show
how this model describes the formation of a sand pile from a homogeneous
distribution of material under gravity, and then discuss a simulation of a
rotating sandpile which shows, in qualitative agreement with experiment, a
static and dynamic angle of repose.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figures, RevTeX4; minor changes to wording and some
additional discussion. Accepted by Phys. Rev.
Chronic lead intoxication in a jaguar (Panthera onca) shot with round lead pellets - case report
ABSTRACT Lead is a heavy metal and an important cause of acute or chronic toxicosis in humans, domestic, and wild animals. This report aims to describe a case of chronic lead poisoning in a jaguar (Panthera onca) kept under human care that was rescued from the wild environment. The animal was rescued in poor condition in 2004 and kept under human care at the Belo Horizonte Zoological Garden (Minas Gerais, Brazil) until 2020, when it presented with anorexia, vomiting and ataxia. Over the past years the animal had episodes of anemia and increased serum urea and creatinine. Radiography demonstrated 21 radiopaque projectiles on the right side of the face. At necropsy there were multiple projectiles surrounded by fibrous tissue in the subcutaneous of the right side of the face, fibrinous peritonitis, multiple gastric ulcers, and melena. The lead dosage was performed using the atomic absorption spectrometry technique using renal tissue collected at necropsy, with a result of 908 ppb (Âľg/kg). The findings of projectiles associated with the dosage of lead above the reference limits allow the diagnosis of chronic intoxication in this case
Measurements of branching fraction ratios and CP-asymmetries in suppressed B^- -> D(-> K^+ pi^-)K^- and B^- -> D(-> K^+ pi^-)pi^- decays
We report the first reconstruction in hadron collisions of the suppressed
decays B^- -> D(-> K^+ pi^-)K^- and B^- -> D(-> K^+ pi^-)pi^-, sensitive to the
CKM phase gamma, using data from 7 fb^-1 of integrated luminosity collected by
the CDF II detector at the Tevatron collider. We reconstruct a signal for the
B^- -> D(-> K^+ pi^-)K^- suppressed mode with a significance of 3.2 standard
deviations, and measure the ratios of the suppressed to favored branching
fractions R(K) = [22.0 \pm 8.6(stat)\pm 2.6(syst)]\times 10^-3, R^+(K) =
[42.6\pm 13.7(stat)\pm 2.8(syst)]\times 10^-3, R^-(K)= [3.8\pm 10.3(stat)\pm
2.7(syst]\times 10^-3, as well as the direct CP-violating asymmetry A(K) =
-0.82\pm 0.44(stat)\pm 0.09(syst) of this mode. Corresponding quantities for
B^- -> D(-> K^+ pi^-)pi^- decay are also reported.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, accepted by Phys.Rev.D Rapid Communications for
Publicatio
Search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV
A search for a Higgs boson decaying into two photons is described. The
analysis is performed using a dataset recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC
from pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, which corresponds to an
integrated luminosity of 4.8 inverse femtobarns. Limits are set on the cross
section of the standard model Higgs boson decaying to two photons. The expected
exclusion limit at 95% confidence level is between 1.4 and 2.4 times the
standard model cross section in the mass range between 110 and 150 GeV. The
analysis of the data excludes, at 95% confidence level, the standard model
Higgs boson decaying into two photons in the mass range 128 to 132 GeV. The
largest excess of events above the expected standard model background is
observed for a Higgs boson mass hypothesis of 124 GeV with a local significance
of 3.1 sigma. The global significance of observing an excess with a local
significance greater than 3.1 sigma anywhere in the search range 110-150 GeV is
estimated to be 1.8 sigma. More data are required to ascertain the origin of
this excess.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters
Search for a W' boson decaying to a bottom quark and a top quark in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV
Results are presented from a search for a W' boson using a dataset
corresponding to 5.0 inverse femtobarns of integrated luminosity collected
during 2011 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV.
The W' boson is modeled as a heavy W boson, but different scenarios for the
couplings to fermions are considered, involving both left-handed and
right-handed chiral projections of the fermions, as well as an arbitrary
mixture of the two. The search is performed in the decay channel W' to t b,
leading to a final state signature with a single lepton (e, mu), missing
transverse energy, and jets, at least one of which is tagged as a b-jet. A W'
boson that couples to fermions with the same coupling constant as the W, but to
the right-handed rather than left-handed chiral projections, is excluded for
masses below 1.85 TeV at the 95% confidence level. For the first time using LHC
data, constraints on the W' gauge coupling for a set of left- and right-handed
coupling combinations have been placed. These results represent a significant
improvement over previously published limits.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters B. Replaced with version publishe
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