IL-17 producing lymphocytes cause dry eye and corneal disease with aging in RXRα mutant mouse

PURPOSE: To investigate IL-17 related mechanisms for developing dry eye disease in the Pinkie mouse strain with a loss of function RXRα mutation. METHODS: Measures of dry eye disease were assessed in the cornea and conjunctiva. Expression profiling was performed by single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to compare gene expression in conjunctival immune cells. Conjunctival immune cells were immunophenotyped by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. The activity of RXRα ligand 9-cis retinoic acid (RA) was evaluated in cultured monocytes and γδ T cells. RESULTS: Compared to wild type (WT) C57BL/6, Pinkie has increased signs of dry eye disease, including decreased tear volume, corneal barrier disruption, corneal/conjunctival cornification and goblet cell loss, and corneal vascularization, opacification, and ulceration with aging. ScRNA-seq of conjunctival immune cells identified γδ T cells as the predominant IL-17 expressing population in both strains and there is a 4-fold increased percentage of γδ T cells in Pinkie. Compared to WT, IL-17a, and IL-17f significantly increased in Pinkie with conventional T cells and γδ T cells as the major producers. Flow cytometry revealed an increased number of IL-17 CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that RXRα suppresses generation of dry eye disease-inducing IL-17 producing lymphocytes s in the conjunctiva and identifies RXRα as a potential therapeutic target in dry eye

Wave Propagation Through Non-Uniform Plasma

Increased energy demand has led to plans for building many new dams in the western Amazon, mostly in the Andean region. Historical data and mechanistic scenarios are used to examine potential impacts above and below six of the largest dams planned for the region, including reductions in downstream sediment and nutrient supplies, changes in downstream flood pulse, changes in upstream and downstream fish yields, reservoir siltation, greenhouse gas emissions and mercury contamination. Together, these six dams are predicted to reduce the supply of sediments, phosphorus and nitrogen from the Andean region by 69, 67 and 57% and to the entire Amazon basin by 64, 51 and 23%, respectively. These large reductions in sediment and nutrient supplies will have major impacts on channel geomorphology, floodplain fertility and aquatic productivity. These effects will be greatest near the dams and extend to the lowland floodplains. Attenuation of the downstream flood pulse is expected to alter the survival, phenology and growth of floodplain vegetation and reduce fish yields below the dams. Reservoir filling times due to siltation are predicted to vary from 106-6240 years, affecting the storage performance of some dams. Total CO2 equivalent carbon emission from 4 Andean dams was expected to average 10 Tg y-1 during the first 30 years of operation, resulting in a MegaWatt weighted Carbon Emission Factor of 0.139 tons C MWhr-1. Mercury contamination in fish and local human populations is expected to increase both above and below the dams creating significant health risks. Reservoir fish yields will compensate some downstream losses, but increased mercury contamination could offset these benefits

Use and traditional management of Anadenanthera colubrina (Vell.) Brenan in the semi-arid region of northeastern Brazil

The use and management of "angico" (Anadenanthera colubrina (Vell.) Brenan) by a rural community in northeastern Brazil was examined. By employing different techniques of data collection and population structure analysis, it was determined that this species had multiple uses within the local community (especially as timber and for other wood products), and that local management of this species is based on simple maintenance and harvesting of individuals in agroforest homegardens. The study of the population structure of this tree species indicated that management and conservation strategies must include the participation of the local community

GLUT1 expression in malignant tumors and its use as an immunodiagnostic marker

OBJECTIVE: To analyze glucose transporter 1 expression patterns in malignant tumors of various cell types and evaluate their diagnostic value by immunohistochemistry. INTRODUCTION: Glucose is the major source of energy for cells, and glucose transporter 1 is the most common glucose transporter in humans. Glucose transporter 1 is aberrantly expressed in several tumor types. Studies have implicated glucose transporter 1 expression as a prognostic and diagnostic marker in tumors, primarily in conjunction with positron emission tomography scan data. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry for glucose transporter 1 was performed in tissue microarray slides, comprising 1955 samples of malignant neoplasm from different cell types. RESULTS: Sarcomas, lymphomas, melanomas and hepatoblastomas did not express glucose transporter 1. Fortyseven per cent of prostate adenocarcinomas were positive, as were 29% of thyroid, 10% of gastric and 5% of breast adenocarcinomas. Thirty-six per cent of squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck were positive, as were 42% of uterine cervix squamous cell carcinomas. Glioblastomas and retinoblastomas showed membranous glucose transporter 1 staining in 18.6% and 9.4% of all cases, respectively. Squamous cell carcinomas displayed membranous expression, whereas adenocarcinomas showed cytoplasmic glucose transporter 1 expression. CONCLUSION: Glucose transporter 1 showed variable expression in various tumor types. Its absence in sarcomas, melanomas, hepatoblastomas and lymphomas suggests that other glucose transporters mediate the glycolytic pathway in these tumors. The data suggest that glucose transporter 1 is a valuable immunohistochemical marker that can be used to identify patients for evaluation by positron emission tomography scan. The function of cytoplasmic glucose transporter 1 in adenocarcinomas must be further examined

Protocol with nine days of progesterone for fixed-time artificial insemination in Bos taurus cows adapted to the tropical weather

Três experimentos foram realizados para adaptar um protocolo de sincronização de estro e da ovulação para ser utilizado em programas de inseminação artificial em tempo fixo (IATF) em vacas taurinas tropicalmente adaptadas. No Exp. 1 (crossover), vacas pluríparas Curraleiro Pé-Duro (n= 12) receberam um dispositivo intravaginal contendo 1g de P4 por oito dias e 2mg de BE intramuscular (IM) no momento da inserção do dispositivo (dia 0). No dia da remoção do dispositivo (dia 8), as fêmeas receberam 150μg de D-cloprostenol sódico e 300UI de gonadotrofina coriônica equina (eCG) IM, sendo, então, divididas aleatoriamente para receber 1mg de BE no dia 8 (BE8) ou 1mg de BE no dia 9 (BE9). A aplicação de BE no D9 atrasou a ovulação em aproximadamente 15 horas (P0,05). No Experimento 3, os protocolos hormonais de IATF BE8 e P4D9 foram testados para a taxa de prenhez, alcançando 23% (10/43) e 20% (9/45), respectivamente (P>0,05). Embora o grupo P4D9 tenha mostrado avanço na proporção de animais que responderam ao protocolo quando comparado ao protocolo BE8, este não se refletiu em melhora na taxa de prenhez.Three experiments were performed to adapt a synchronization protocol of estrus synchronization and ovulation to be used in fixed time artificial insemination programs (FTAI) in tropically adapted Bos taurus cows. In Exp. 1 (crossover) multiparous Curraleiro Pé-Duro cows (n= 12) received an intravaginal device containing 1g of P4 for 8 days and 2mg of EB at the time of device insertion (Day 0). On the P4 device removal (Day 8) females received 150g of D-cloprostenol Sodic and 300IU of equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG). Then, they were randomly divided to receive 1mg of EB on Day 8 (EB8) or on Day 9 (EB9). EB9 delayed ovulation approximately 15 hours (P0.05). In Exp. 3, EB8 and P4D9 protocols were used to evaluate the pregnancy rate, reaching 23% (10/43) and 20% (9/45), respectively (P>0.05). Although P4D9 protocol has shown improvement in proportion of animals that responded to the protocol when compared to EB8 protocol, it was not able to improve pregnancy rate

Chronic Treatment with Ivabradine Does Not Affect Cardiovascular Autonomic Control in Rats

A low resting heart rate (HR) would be of great benefit in cardiovascular diseases. Ivabradine a novel selective inhibitor of hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide gated (HCN) channels- has emerged as a promising HR lowering drug. Its effects on the autonomic HR control are little known. This study assessed the effects of chronic treatment with ivabradine on the modulatory, reflex and tonic cardiovascular autonomic control and on the renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA). Male Wistar rats were divided in 2 groups, receiving intraperitoneal injections of vehicle (VEH) or ivabradine (IVA) during 7 or 8 consecutive days. Rats were submitted to vessels cannulation to perform arterial blood pressure (AP) and HR recordings in freely moving rats. Time series of resting pulse interval and systolic AP were used to measure cardiovascular variability parameters. We also assessed the baroreflex, chemoreflex and the Bezold-Jarish reflex sensitivities. To better evaluate the effects of ivabradine on the autonomic control of the heart, we performed sympathetic and vagal autonomic blockade. As expected, ivabradine treated rats showed a lower resting (VEH: 362 +/- 16 bpm vs. IVA: 260 +/- 14 bpm, p = 0.0005) and intrinsic HR (VEH: 369 +/- 9 bpm vs. IVA: 326 +/- 11 bpm, p = 0.0146). However, the chronic treatment with ivabradine did not change normalized HR spectral parameters LF (nu) (VEH: 24.2 +/- 4.6 vs. IVA: 29.8 +/- 6.4p > 0.05)HF (nu) (VEH: 75.1 +/- 3.7 vs. IVA: 69.2 +/- 5.8p > 0.05), any cardiovascular reflexes, neither the tonic autonomic control of the HR (tonic sympathovagal indexVEH: 0.91 +/- 0.02 vs. IVA: 0.88 +/- 0.03, p = 0.3494). We performed the AP, HR and RSNA recordings in urethane-anesthetized rats. The chronic treatment with ivabradine reduced the resting HR (VEH: 364 +/- 12 bpm vs. IVA: 207 +/- 11 bpm, p < 0.0001), without affecting RSNA (VEH: 117 +/- 16 vs. IVA: 120 +/- 9 spikes/s, p = 0.9100) and mean arterial pressure (VEH: 70 +/- 4 vs. IVA: 77 +/- 6 mmHg, p = 0.3293). Our results suggest that, in health rats, the long-term treatment with ivabradine directly reduces the HR without changing the RSNA modulation and the reflex and tonic autonomic control of the heart.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq)Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES)Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG)Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto (UFOP)Universidade Federal do Triangulo Mineiro (UFTM), BrazilUniv Fed Ouro Preto, Inst Exact & Biol Sci, Dept Biol Sci, Lab Cardiovasc Physiol, Ouro Preto, BrazilUniv Fed Ouro Preto, CBIOL NUPEB, Grad Program Biol Sci, Ouro Preto, BrazilUniv Fed Minas Gerais, Inst Biol Sci, Dept Physiol & Biophys, Lab Hypertens, Belo Horizonte, MG, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Inst Sci & Technol, Biomed Engn Lab, Sao Jose Dos Campos, BrazilUniv Uberaba, Dept Physiol, Uberaba, BrazilUniv Milan, Osped Maggiore Policlin, IRCCS Ca Granda Fdn, Dept Clin Sci & Community Hlth, Milan, ItalyFed Univ Trianaulo Pvlineiro, Inst Biol & Nat Sci, Dept Physiol, Uberaba, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Inst Sci & Technol, Biomed Engn Lab, Sao Jose Dos Campos, BrazilCNPq: 400851/2014-8Web of Scienc

Broadband photocurrent enhancement in a-Si:H solar cells with plasmonic back reflectors

The authors acknowledge Francesco Ruffino for the AFM measurements. This work was funded by the EU FP7 Marie Curie Action FP7-PEOPLE-2010-ITN through the PROPHET project (Grant No. 264687), the bilateral CNR/AVCR project "Photoresponse of nanostructures for advanced photovoltaic applications", the MIUR project Energetic (Grant no. PON02_00355_3391233) and by the Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT-MEC) through the Strategic Project PEst-C/CTM/LA0025/2013-14 and the research project PTDC/CTM-ENE/2514/2012.Plasmonic light trapping in thin film silicon solar cells is a promising route to achieve high efficiency with reduced volumes of semiconductor material. In this paper, we study the enhancement in the opto-electronic performance of thin a-Si:H solar cells due to the light scattering effects of plasmonic back reflectors (PBRs), composed of self-assembled silver nanoparticles (NPs), incorporated on the cells' rear contact. The optical properties of the PBRs are investigated according to the morphology of the NPs, which can be tuned by the fabrication parameters. By analyzing sets of solar cells built on distinct PBRs we show that the photocurrent enhancement achieved in the a-Si:H light trapping window (600 - 800 nm) stays in linear relation with the PBRs diffuse reflection. The best-performing PBRs allow a pronounced broadband photocurrent enhancement in the cells which is attributed not only to the plasmon-assisted light scattering from the NPs but also to the front surface texture originated from the conformal growth of the cell material over the particles. As a result, remarkably high values of J(sc) and V-oc are achieved in comparison to those previously reported in the literature for the same type of devices. (C)2014 Optical Society of Americapublishersversionpublishe