Age-dependent different action of curcumin in thyroid of rat.

The aging is associated with alterations in the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroidal axis which can lead to hypothyreosis. Our previous investigations has shown that polyphenol curcumin can enhance the manifestation of hypothyreosis in rats simultaneous treated with propylthiouracil. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between age-related changes and curcumin action in the thyroid of old rats. To this end, morphometric and radioimmunological methods were used. The study was conducted on 3- and 18-month-old male Wistar rats. The experimental rats were treated daily for 30 days by gavage with 100 mg/kg b.w. of curcumin. There were observed age-related changes in morphology and endocrine function of the thyroid. It was increase in the percentages of large follicles and significant decrease in FT3 level in 18-month-old rats in comparison to 3-month ones. Curcumin treatment lead to significant increase in FT3 and FT4 levels in 3-month-old experimental rats, but the level of FT3 significantly decreased in 18-month-old rats after curcumin administration. Our results show that curcumin activity depends on the functional condition of the rat thyroid which changes with age. This compound exerts stimulatory influence on the secretory function of the thyroid gland in young rats, but has rather weak antithyroid activity in old animals

Awareness of dangers of using e-cigarettes among society

E-cigarettes were introduced as a new way of quitting smoking and became a popular alternative to regular cigarettes. For a long time, e-cigarettes were considered harmless, however year after a year, new facts about their adverse effects are being discovered. This year in the USA, using e-cigarettes caused a lot of deaths among their users because of the newly discovered disease called EVALI. According to this, we decided to make a research on awareness of dangers associated with using e-cigarettes. We prepared a survey with 283 responses and analyzed literature related to the topic. Responses showed that 71,4% used to smoke cigarettes. Moreover, 81,6% uses or has used e-cigarettes in the past, however, only 4,9% consider them harmless. The most common reasons for using e-cigarettes are: variety of liquid flavors (58,4%), desire to try something new (52,8%) and stress relief (32,9%). Quitting smoking was motivation only for 24,2% of responders. The fact that 72,3% do not plan to quit vaping is an alarming sign. Analysis of literature confirmed results of our survey, showing that there is a group of people using e-cigarettes although they have never smoked. Mostly they are under 20 years old. Results of our study imply the necessity of taking up actions aimed to increase society awareness of dangers associated with using e-cigarettes and to do more research on vaping side effects

Root-inhabiting fungi in alien plant species in relation to invasion status and soil chemical properties

In order to recognize interactions between alien vascular plants and soil microorganisms and thus better understand the mechanisms of plant invasions, we examined the mycorrhizal status, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonization rate, arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) morphology and presence of fungal root endophytes in 37 non-native species in Central Europe.We also studied the AMF diversity and chemical properties of soils from under these species. The plant and soil materials were collected in southern Poland. We found that 35 of the species formed AM and their mycorrhizal status depended on species identity. Thirty-three taxa had AM of Arum-type alone. Lycopersicon esculentum showed intermediate AM morphology and Eragrostis albensis developed both Arum and Paris. The mycelia of dark septate endophytes (DSE) were observed in 32 of the species, while sporangia of Olpidium spp. were found in the roots of 10. Thirteen common and worldwide occurring AMF species as well as three unidentified spore morphotypes were isolated from trap cultures established with the soils from under the plant species. Claroideoglomus claroideum, Funneliformis mosseae and Septoglomus constrictum were found the most frequently. The presence of root-inhabiting fungi and the intensity of their colonization were not correlated with soil chemical properties, plant invasion status, their local abundance and habitat type. No relationships were also found between the presence of AMF, DSE and Olpidium spp. These suggest that other edaphic conditions, plant and fungal species identity or the abundance of these fungi in soils might have an impact on the occurrence and intensity of fungal root colonization in the plants under study

Do the impacts of alien invasive plants differ from expansive native ones? : an experimental study on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi communities

No studies have compared so far the effects of alien invasive and expansive native (widespread, mono-dominant) plants on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Four global or European most successful invaders (Impatiens glandulifera, Reynoutria japonica, Rudbeckia laciniata, Solidago gigantea) and two expansive plants native to Europe (Artemisia vulgaris, Phalaris arundinacea) were grown in pots to elucidate the magnitude and direction of changes in AMF abundance, species richness, and species composition in soils from under multispecies native vegetation. In a second stage, the effects of these changes on a native plant, Plantago lanceolata, were assessed. Plant species identity had larger impact on AMF abundance, species richness, and species composition as well as on P. lanceolata than origin of the species (alien vs. native). This could be due to the character of AMF relationships with the plants, i.e., their mycorrhizal status and dependency on AMF. However, the alterations induced by the plant species in soil chemical properties rather than in AMF community were the major drivers of differences in shoot mass and photosynthetic performance of P. lanceolata. We determined that the plants produced species-specific effects on soil properties that, in turn, resulted in species-specific soil feedbacks on the native plant. These effects were not consistent within groups of invaders or natives

School Alienation: A Construct Validation Study

Early identification of school alienation is of great importance for students’ educational outcomes and successful participation in society. This study examined the psychometric characteristics of a newly developed assessment instrument, the School Alienation Scale (SALS), to measure school alienation among primary and secondary school students. The SALS consists of three school-related domains, namely, classmates, teachers, and learning. Based on the responses of Swiss (1) and Luxembourgish (2) students from two schoolspecific cohorts — primary (grade 4; n1=486, n2=503) and secondary schools (grade 7; n1=550, n2=534), we assessed instrument reliability, validity, and cross-cultural equivalence. The scale showed evidence of reliability and internal validity across two samples, confirming that the hypothesized first-order three-factor model fits the data better than several alternative models. The results of measurement invariance tests revealed that the measurement model operated equally well for primary and secondary school students in both countries. The construct validity of the SALS was additionally supported by demonstrated criterion-related validity. Specifically, school alienation domains were negatively associated with positive attitudes to and enjoyment in school; social problems in school were positively related to alienation from classmates and teachers. Our key contributions to the measurement of school alienation are the disclosure of the core domains of school alienation, development of a reliable and valid instrument, and justification for its use. Therefore, the results of this study have important implications for further theoretical work in alienation research and contribute to comparative research by examining the construct of school alienation in different educational settings

Digoxin, an Overlooked Agonist of RORγ/RORγT

Digoxin was one of the first identified RORγT receptor inverse agonists inhibiting the differentiation of Th17 cells. However, this compound exhibits inhibitory activity at relatively high concentrations that mediate cytotoxic effects. We previously identified several cardenolides that are structurally similar to digoxin that were able to induce RORγ/RORγT-dependent transcription. These observations encouraged us to reanalyze the effects of digoxin on RORγ/RORγT-dependent transcription at low, noncytotoxic concentrations. Digoxin induced RORγ/RORγT-dependent transcription in HepG2 and Th17 cells. Furthermore, analysis of the transcriptomes of Th17 cells cultured in the presence of digoxin revealed the induction of the expression of numerous Th17-specific genes, including IL17A/F, IL21, IL22, IL23R, CCR4, and CCR6. Thus, our study, which includes data obtained from intact cells, indicates that digoxin, similar to other cardenolides, is a potent RORγ/RORγT receptor activator and that its structure may serve as a starting point for the design of dedicated molecules that can be used in the development of adoptive cell therapy (ACT)

Exome-wide association study to identify rare variants influencing COVID-19 outcomes : Results from the Host Genetics Initiative

Publisher Copyright: Copyright: © 2022 Butler-Laporte et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Host genetics is a key determinant of COVID-19 outcomes. Previously, the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative genome-wide association study used common variants to identify multiple loci associated with COVID-19 outcomes. However, variants with the largest impact on COVID-19 outcomes are expected to be rare in the population. Hence, studying rare variants may provide additional insights into disease susceptibility and pathogenesis, thereby informing therapeutics development. Here, we combined whole-exome and whole-genome sequencing from 21 cohorts across 12 countries and performed rare variant exome-wide burden analyses for COVID-19 outcomes. In an analysis of 5,085 severe disease cases and 571,737 controls, we observed that carrying a rare deleterious variant in the SARS-CoV-2 sensor toll-like receptor TLR7 (on chromosome X) was associated with a 5.3-fold increase in severe disease (95% CI: 2.75–10.05, p = 5.41x10-7). This association was consistent across sexes. These results further support TLR7 as a genetic determinant of severe disease and suggest that larger studies on rare variants influencing COVID-19 outcomes could provide additional insights.Peer reviewe