Membrane binding proteins of coronaviruses

Coronaviruses (CoVs) infect many species causing a variety of diseases with a range of severities. Their members include zoonotic viruses with pandemic potential where therapeutic options are currently limited. Despite this diversity CoVs share some common features including the production, in infected cells, of elaborate membrane structures. Membranes represent both an obstacle and aid to CoV replication – and in consequence – virus-encoded structural and nonstructural proteins have membrane-binding properties. The structural proteins encounter cellular membranes at both entry and exit of the virus while the nonstructural proteins reorganize cellular membranes to benefit virus replication. Here, the role of each protein in membrane binding is described to provide a comprehensive picture of their role in the CoV replication cycle

Physical Performance and Skeletal Muscle Transcriptional Adaptations Are Not Impacted by Exercise Training Frequency in Mice with Lower Extremity Peripheral Artery Disease.

Exercise training is an important therapeutic strategy for lower extremity peripheral artery disease (PAD). However, the effects of different exercise frequency on physiological adaptations remain unknown. Thus, this study compared the effects of a 7-week moderate-intensity aerobic training performed either three or five times/week on skeletal muscle gene expression and physical performance in mice with PAD. Hypercholesterolemic male ApoE-deficient mice were subjected to unilateral iliac artery ligation and randomly assigned to sedentary or exercise training regimens either three or five times/week. Physical performance was assessed using a treadmill test to exhaustion. Expression of genes related to glucose and lipid metabolism, mitochondrial biogenesis, muscle fiber-type, angiogenesis, and inflammation was analyzed in non-ischemic and ischemic gastrocnemius muscles by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Physical performance was improved to the same extent in both exercise groups. For gene expression patterns, no statistical differences were observed between three or five times/week exercised mice, both in the non-ischemic and ischemic muscles. Our data show that exercising three to five times a week induces similar beneficial effects on performance. Those results are associated with muscular adaptations that remain identical between the two frequencies

Minimal window duration for accurate HRV recording in athletes

Heart rate variability (HRV) is non-invasive and commonly used for monitoring responses to training loads, fitness, or overreaching in athletes. Yet, the recording duration for aseries of RR-intervals varies from 1 to 15 min in the literature. The aim of the present work was to assess the minimum record duration to obtain reliableHRV results. RR-intervalsfrom 159 orthostatic tests (7 min supine, SU, followed by 6 min standing, ST) were analyzed. Reference windows were 4 min in SU (min 3–7) and 4 min in ST (min 9–13).Those windows were subsequently divided and the analyses were repeated on eight different fractioned windows: the first min (0–1), the second min (1–2), the third min (2–3),the fourth min (3–4), the first 2 min (0–2), the last 2 min (2–4), the first 3 min (0–3), and thelast 3 min (1–4). Correlation and Bland & Altman statistical analyses were systematically performed. The analysis window could be shortened to 0–2 instead of 0–4 for RMSSD only, whereas the 4-min window was necessary for LF and total power. Since there is a need for 1 min of baseline to obtain a steady signal prior the analysis window, we conclude that studies relying on RMSSD may shorten the windows to 3 min (=1+2)in SU or seated position only and to 6 min (=1+2 min SU plus 1+2 min ST) if there is an orthostatic test. Studies relying on time- and frequency-domain parameters need a minimum of 5 min (=1+4) min SU or seated position only but require 10 min (=1+4 minSU plus 1+4 min ST) for the orthostatic tes

Loop algorithm for Heisenberg models with biquadratic interaction and phase transitions in two dimensions

We present a new algorithm for quantum Monte Carlo simulation based on global updating with loops. While various theoretical predictions are confirmed in one dimension, we find, for S=1 systems on a square lattice with an antiferromagnetic biquadratic interaction, that the intermediate phase between the antiferromagnetic and the ferromagnetic phases is disordered and that the two phase transitions are both of the first order in contrast to the one-dimensional case. It is strongly suggested that the transition points coincide those at which the algorithm changes qualitatively.Comment: 4 pages including 4 figures, to appear in JPS

The Role of the Ocean in the Global Atmospheric Budget of Acetone

[1] Acetone is one of the most abundant carbonyl compounds in the atmosphere and it plays an important role in atmospheric chemistry. The role of the ocean in the global atmospheric acetone budget is highly uncertain, with past studies reaching opposite conclusions as to whether the ocean is a source or sink. Here we use a global 3-D chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem) simulation of atmospheric acetone to evaluate the role of air-sea exchange in the global budget. Inclusion of updated (slower) photolysis loss in the model means that a large net ocean source is not needed to explain observed acetone in marine air. We find that a simulation with a fixed seawater acetone concentration of 15 nM based on observations can reproduce the observed global patterns of atmospheric concentrations and air-sea fluxes. The Northern Hemisphere oceans are a net sink for acetone while the tropical oceans are a net source. On a global scale the ocean is in near-equilibrium with the atmosphere. Prescribing an ocean concentration of acetone as a boundary condition in the model assumes that ocean concentrations are controlled by internal production and loss, rather than by air-sea exchange. An implication is that the ocean plays a major role in controlling atmospheric acetone. This hypothesis needs to be tested by better quantification of oceanic acetone sources and sinks.Engineering and Applied Science

Moderate Effects of Hypoxic Training at Low and Supramaximal Intensities on Skeletal Muscle Metabolic Gene Expression in Mice.

The muscle molecular adaptations to different exercise intensities in combination with hypoxia are not well understood. This study investigated the effect of low- and supramaximal-intensity hypoxic training on muscle metabolic gene expression in mice. C57BL/6 mice were divided into two groups: sedentary and training. Training consisted of 4 weeks at low or supramaximal intensity, either in normoxia or hypoxia (FiO <sub>2</sub> = 0.13). The expression levels of genes involved in the hypoxia signaling pathway (Hif1a and Vegfa), the metabolism of glucose (Gys1, Glut4, Hk2, Pfk, and Pkm1), lactate (Ldha, Mct1, Mct4, Pdh, and Pdk4) and lipid (Cd36, Fabp3, Ucp2, Hsl, and Mcad), and mitochondrial energy metabolism and biogenesis (mtNd1, mtNd6, CytC, CytB, Pgc1a, Pgc1β, Nrf1, Tfam, and Cs) were determined in the gastrocnemius muscle. No physical performance improvement was observed between groups. In normoxia, supramaximal intensity training caused upregulation of major genes involved in the transport of glucose and lactate, fatty acid oxidation, and mitochondrial biogenesis, while low intensity training had a minor effect. The exposure to hypoxia changed the expression of some genes in the sedentary mice but had a moderate effect in trained mice compared to respective normoxic mice. In hypoxic groups, low-intensity training increased the mRNA levels of Mcad and Cs, while supramaximal intensity training decreased the mRNA levels of Mct1 and Mct4. The results indicate that hypoxic training, regardless of exercise intensity, has a moderate effect on muscle metabolic gene expression in healthy mice

The Effect of Two Speed Endurance Training Regimes on Performance of Soccer Players.

In order to better understand the specificity of training adaptations, we compared the effects of two different anaerobic training regimes on various types of soccer-related exercise performances. During the last 3 weeks of the competitive season, thirteen young male professional soccer players (age 18.5±1 yr, height 179.5±6.5 cm, body mass 74.3±6.5 kg) reduced the training volume by ~20% and replaced their habitual fitness conditioning work with either speed endurance production (SEP; n = 6) or speed endurance maintenance (SEM; n = 7) training, three times per wk. SEP training consisted of 6-8 reps of 20-s all-out running bouts followed by 2 min of passive recovery, whereas SEM training was characterized by 6-8 x 20-s all-out efforts interspersed with 40 s of passive recovery. SEP training reduced (p<0.01) the total time in a repeated sprint ability test (RSAt) by 2.5%. SEM training improved the 200-m sprint performance (from 26.59±0.70 to 26.02±0.62 s, p<0.01) and had a likely beneficial impact on the percentage decrement score of the RSA test (from 4.07±1.28 to 3.55±1.01%) but induced a very likely impairment in RSAt (from 83.81±2.37 to 84.65±2.27 s). The distance covered in the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery test level 2 was 10.1% (p<0.001) and 3.8% (p<0.05) higher after SEP and SEM training, respectively, with possibly greater improvements following SEP compared to SEM. No differences were observed in the 20- and 40-m sprint performances. In conclusion, these two training strategies target different determinants of soccer-related physical performance. SEP improved repeated sprint and high-intensity intermittent exercise performance, whereas SEM increased muscles' ability to maximize fatigue tolerance and maintain speed development during both repeated all-out and continuous short-duration maximal exercises. These results provide new insight into the precise nature of a stimulus necessary to improve specific types of athletic performance in trained young soccer players

New age constraints on metamorphism, metasomatism and gold mineralisation at Plutonic Gold Mine, Marymia Inlier, Western Australia

The Plutonic Well Greenstone Belt (PWGB) is located in the Marymia Inlier between the Yilgarn and Pilbara cratons in Western Australia, and hosts a series of major Au deposits. The main episode of Au mineralisation in the PWGB was previously interpreted to have either accompanied, or shortly followed, peak metamorphism in the late Archean at ca 2650 Ma with a later, minor, event associated with the Capricorn Orogeny. Here we present new Pb isotope model ages for sulfides and Rb–Sr ages for mica, as well as a new 207Pb–206Pb age for titanite for samples from the Plutonic Gold Mine (Plutonic) at the southern end of the PWGB. The majority of the sulfides record Proterozoic Pb isotope model ages (2300–2100 Ma), constraining a significant Au mineralising event at Plutonic that occurred >300 Myr later than previously thought. A Rb–Sr age of 2296 ± 99 Ma from muscovite in an Au-bearing sample records resetting or closure of the Rb–Sr system in muscovite at about the same time. A younger Rb–Sr age of 1779 ± 46 Ma from biotite from the same sample may record further cooling, or resetting during a late-stage episode of metasomatism in the PWGB. This could have been associated with the 1820–1770 Ma Capricorn Orogeny, or a late-stage hydrothermal event potentially constrained by a new 207Pb–206Pb age of 1725 ± 26 Ma for titanite in a chlorite–carbonate vein. This titanite age correlates with a pre-existing age for a metasomatic event dated at 1719 ± 14 Ma by U–Pb ages of zircon overgrowths in a sample from the Marymia Deposit. Based on the Pb-isotope data presented here, Au mineralising events in the PWGB are inferred to have occurred at ca 2630, 2300–2100 Ma, during the Glenburgh and Capricorn orogenies, and 1730–1660 Ma. The 2300–2100 Ma event, which appears to have been significant based on the amount of sulfide of this age, correlates with the inferred age for rifting of the Marymia Inlier from the northern margin of the Yilgarn Craton. The texturally-later visible Au may have been deposited during the Glenburgh and Capricorn orogenies

Immune consequences of exercise in hypoxia: A narrative review.

Immune outcomes are key mediators of many health benefits of exercise and are determined by exercise type, dose (frequency/duration, intensity), and individual characteristics. Similarly, reduced availability of ambient oxygen (hypoxia) modulates immune functions depending on the hypoxic dose and the individual capacity to respond to hypoxia. How combined exercise and hypoxia (e.g., high-altitude training) sculpts immune responses is not well understood, although such combinations are becoming increasingly popular. Therefore, in this paper, we summarize the impact on immune responses of exercise and of hypoxia, both independently and together, with a focus on specialized cells in the innate and adaptive immune system. We review the regulation of the immune system by tissue oxygen levels and the overlapping and distinct immune responses related to exercise and hypoxia, then we discuss how they may be modulated by nutritional strategies. Mitochondrial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory mechanisms underlie many of the adaptations that can lead to improved cellular metabolism, resilience, and overall immune functions by regulating the survival, differentiation, activation, and migration of immune cells. This review shows that exercise and hypoxia can impair or complement/synergize with each other while regulating immune system functions. Appropriate acclimatization, training, and nutritional strategies can be used to avoid risks and tap into the synergistic potentials of the poorly studied immune consequences of exercising in a hypoxic state