Perinatal hypoxia: different effects of the inhibitors of GABA transporters GAT1 and GAT3 on the initial velocity of [3H]GABA uptake by cortical, hippocampal, and thalamic nerve terminals

Aim To analyze the effects of highly selective blocker GAT1, NO-711, and substrate inhibitor GAT3, β-alanine, on the initial velocity of [3H]GABA uptake by cortical, hippocampal, and thalamic nerve terminals (synaptosomes) after perinatal hypoxia. Methods Animals were divided into two groups: control (n = 17) and hypoxia (n = 12). Rats in the hypoxia group underwent hypoxia and seizures (airtight chamber, 4% O2 and 96% N2) at the age of 10-12 postnatal days and were used in the experiments 8-9 weeks after hypoxia. Results In cortical synaptosomes, the effects of NO-711 (30 μΜ) and β-alanine (100 μΜ) on [3H]GABA uptake were similar in control and hypoxia groups. In hippocampal synaptosomes, NO-711 inhibited 84.3% of the initial velocity of [3H]GABA uptake in normal conditions and 80.1% after hypoxia, whereas the effect of β-alanine was increased after hypoxia from 14.4% to 22.1%. In thalamic synaptosomes, the effect of NO-711 was decreased by 79.6% in controls and by 70.9% in hypoxia group, whereas the effect of β-alanine was increased after hypoxia from 20.2% to 30.2%. Conclusions The effectiveness of β-alanine to influence GABA uptake was increased in hippocampal and thalamic nerve terminals as a result of perinatal hypoxia and the effectiveness of NO-711 in thalamic nerve terminals was decreased. These results may indicate changes in the ratio of active GAT1/GAT3 expressed in the plasma membrane of nerve terminals after perinatal hypoxia. We showed a possibility to modulate non-GAT1 GABA transporter activity in different brain regions by exogenous and endogenous β-alanin

B Lymphocyte Memory: Role of Stromal Cell Complement and FcγRIIB Receptors

To dissect the influence of CD21/CD35 and FcγRIIB in antigen retention and humoral memory, we used an adoptive transfer model in which antigen-primed B and T lymphocytes were given to sublethally irradiated wild-type mice or mice deficient in CD21/CD35 (Cr2−/−) or FcγRIIB receptors (FcγRIIB−/−). Cr2−/− chimeras showed impaired memory as characterized by a decrease in antibody titer, reduced frequency of antibody secreting cells, an absence of affinity maturation, and significantly reduced recall response. The impaired memory in Cr2−/− chimeras corresponded with the reduced frequency of antigen-specific memory B cells. Interestingly, FcγRIIB−/− chimeras showed a differential phenotype with impaired splenic but normal bone marrow responses. These data suggest that CD21/CD35 on stroma, including follicular dendritic cells, is critical to the maintenance of long-term B lymphocyte memory

Patients with mast cell activation symptoms and elevated baseline serum tryptase level have unique bone marrow morphology

Background: Patients with mast cell (MC) activation symptoms and elevated baseline serum tryptase level (MCAS-T) may not necessarily have a clonal MC disorder. Many are diagnosed with hereditary a-tryptasemia (HaT), a genetic trait characterized by autosomal dominant inheritance of multiple copies of TPSAB1 encoding a-tryptase and increased risk for severe anaphylaxis. Objective: The aim of our study was to identify and characterize bone marrow MC histopathologic features specific for MCAS-T. Methods: A total of 43 patients with MCAS-T underwent evaluation, including bone marrow biopsy, for a MC disorder. The results of the work-up for clonal MC disorders such as systemic mastocytosis and monoclonal MC activation syndrome were negative. Bone marrow MC histopathology was reviewed to identify characteristic features of MCAS-T. A subgroup of patients was available for tryptase genotyping. Results: Patients with MCAS-T showed unique morphologic and histologic features when compared with controls. MCs were larger (P < .01), hypogranular (P < .01), frequently detected in paratrabecular (P < .05) and perivascular (P < .01) locations, and associated with bone marrow eosinophilia (P < .01). A total of 10 patients who were available for tryptase genotyping were all confirmed to have HaT. This subgroup was representative of the larger MCAS-T cohort. Conclusion: We report unique bone marrow MC phenotypic and histopathologic changes in patients with MCAS-T. These morphologic changes are associated with an elevated tryptase level that has been confirmed to be caused by HaT in all patients available for testing. (J Allergy Clin Immunol 2021;147:1497-501.

The impact of system nonlinearities in the problem of optimal PMU placement for power system state estimation

In PMU-based state estimation, a linear measurement model with phasors of both state variables and measurements expressed in rectangular coordinates has proven efficiency. The rectangular coordinate formulation is also used in optimal PMU placement problem aimed at providing the power system state estimation with the most informative measurements. In this case, it is assumed that the linearity of the measurement model ensures the optimality of the found placement of PMUs for any steady-state operating condition of the power system. The results presented in this paper show that this is not the case

Degradation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons by Co-Culture of Pleurotus ostreatus Florida and Azospirillum brasilense

Bacterial-fungal interactions are important in the functioning of natural ecosystems. We examined possible synergistic or antagonistic effects during the degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by a fungal&ndash;bacterial co-culture. Bacteria and fungi were grown in a liquid nutrient medium supplemented with PAH substrates. The degradation of PAHs and the identification of metabolites were checked by HPLC. Enzyme activities were spectrophotometrically measured with test substrates. Compared to monocultures, the co-culture yielded higher mycelium dry weights and higher numbers of bacterial colony-forming units (CFUs). Both organisms and their co-culture transformed three- and four-ring PAHs into the corresponding quinones. The degradation of PAHs was accompanied by the production of fungal extracellular laccase and versatile peroxidase, whose activities were higher in the co-culture than they were in the monocultures. The presence of exogenous indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) boosted PAH degradation and enzyme production. The xylotrophic basidiomycete Pleurotus ostreatus Florida and the plant-growth-promoting rhizobacterium Azospirillum brasilense exerted a positive mutual effect, including increases in mycelium dry weight, number of CFUs, degradation of PAHs, and production of fungal extracellular enzymes. IAA may be a factor in the interactions of P. ostreatus Florida with A. brasilense

The hair follicle barrier to involvement by malignant melanoma

BACKGROUND: Melanoma characteristically grows within the epidermis along the dermal-epidermal junction, sometimes extending outward up to several centimeters beyond the foci of invasive tumors. Although follicular involvement by malignant melanoma is widely recognized, to the authors\u27 knowledge no previously published data address this phenomenon. METHODS: To examine the growth characteristics of in situ melanomas in relation to the hair follicle microanatomy, the authors analyzed 100 cases of primary cutaneous melanomas (61 in situ and 39 invasive melanomas with significant in situ components) obtained from pathology clinical archives. RESULTS: Eighty-two (82%) cases of melanoma in situ demonstrated tumor cells within \u3eor=1 hair follicles. Of those, 57 (69.5%) cases demonstrated the tumor cells only within the infundibulum. Extension of the tumor cells down to the isthmus was observed in 24 cases (29.3%). In only 1 exceptional case (1%) were tumor cells detected beneath the level of the hair follicle bulge. CONCLUSIONS: The authors postulate that a physiologic barrier restricts the intraepithelial spread of melanoma tumor cells at or beyond the level of the stem cell niche in the hair follicle bulge. Although the nature of this barrier remains to be elucidated, the distinct biologic characteristics of the hair follicle bulge may provide clues to understanding this phenomenon

Analysis of methods for assessing the drilling tool performance

The analysis of methods for assessing the drilling tool performance using various methods was performed. The applicability of the methods was assessed. Methods based on periodic comparative tests were examined in detail. The technical level and operational efficiency of the drilling tool is determined by the resource (tool driftage), drilling speed, durability, power supplied to the bottom of the well. The correct choice of a drilling tool is ultimately determined by economic assessments. The specific drilling costs are proposed to be determined taking into account the cost of one machine hour, the sharpening of crowns and the average mechanical drilling speed

Motor and auditory priming in a lexical decision task with action and sound verbs

According to embodied cognition theories, concepts are represented in sensory and motor brain systems. These sensory-motor representations can give rise to priming effects. Action verbs (e.g., to push) presumably have a higher association with motor features, and sound verbs (e.g., to buzz) with auditory features. This study assesses whether motor and auditory primes differentially influence the lexical decision of action and sound verbs. Seventy-five healthy Russian-speaking adults participated in the experiment. An online lexical decision task with cross-modal priming was administered. Participants were presented with meaningless primes such as a video clip of a moving hand (motor prime), a bike bell sound (auditory prime), or a static video clip (neutral prime). Then they saw a verb (an action verb, a sound verb, or a pseudoverb) and had to report whether or not it was a real word by pressing a button on the keyboard. Linear mixed effect models indicated no effect of the prime type on response accuracy or speed for any verb type. However, intransitive verbs elicited less accurate responses than transitive and optional-transitive verbs overall, regardless of the prime type. Moreover, participants responded slower for pseudoverbs than for real verbs. The results do not suggest differential category specific effects for action- and soundrelated verbs in a lexical decision task. However, the results for intransitive verbs support the facilitation through complexity hypothesis. Our findings do not support embodied cognition theories, but await further replication. Recommendations and future directions are discussed