Microbial rRNA sequencing analysis of evaporative cooler indoor environments located in the Great Basin Desert region of the United States

Recent studies conducted in the Great Basin Desert region of the United States have shown that skin test reactivity to fungal and dust mite allergens are increased in children with asthma or allergy living in homes with evaporative coolers (EC). The objective of this study was to determine if the increased humidity previously reported in EC homes leads to varying microbial populations compared to homes with air conditioners (AC). Children with physician-diagnosed allergic rhinitis living in EC or AC environments were recruited into the study. Air samples were collected from the child's bedroom for genomic DNA extraction and metagenomic analysis of bacteria and fungi using the Illumina MiSeq sequencing platform. The analysis of bacterial populations revealed no major differences between EC and AC sampling environments. The fungal populations observed in EC homes differed from AC homes. The most prevalent species discovered in AC environments belonged to the genera Cryptococcus (20%) and Aspergillus (20%). In contrast, the most common fungi identified in EC homes belonged to the order Pleosporales and included Alternaria alternata (32%) and Phoma spp. (22%). The variations in fungal populations provide preliminary evidence of the microbial burden children may be exposed to within EC environments in this region

Baseline Renal Function Predicts Hyponatremia in Liver Cirrhosis Patients Treated with Terlipressin for Variceal Bleeding

Objectives. Terlipressin is safely used for acute variceal bleeding. However, side effects, such as hyponatremia, although very rare, can occur. We investigated the development of hyponatremia in cirrhotic patients who had acute variceal bleeding treated with terlipressin and the identification of the risk factors associated with the development of hyponatremia. Design and Methods. This retrospective, case-control study investigated 88 cirrhotic patients who developed hyponatremia and 176 controls that did not develop hyponatremia and were matched in terms of age and gender during the same period following terlipressin administration. Results. The overall change in serum sodium concentration and the mean lowest serum sodium concentration were 3.44 ± 9.55 and 132.44 ± 8.78 mEq/L during treatment, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that baseline serum sodium was an independent positive predictor, and the presence of baseline serum creatinine, HBV, DM, creatinine, and shock on admission was independent negative predictors of hyponatremia (P<0.05). Conclusion. The presence of HBV, DM, the baseline serum sodium, shock on admission, and especially baseline creatinine may be predictive of the development of hyponatremia after terlipressin treatment. Therefore, physicians conduct vigilant monitoring associated with severe hyponatremia when cirrhotic patients with preserved renal function are treated with terlipressin for variceal bleeding

Inhibitory Effect of Corn Silk on Skin Pigmentation

In this study, the inhibitory effect of corn silk on melanin production was evaluated. This study was performed to investigate the inhibitory effect of corn silk on melanin production in Melan-A cells by measuring melanin production and protein expression. The corn silk extract applied on Melan-A cells at a concentration of 100 ppm decreased melanin production by 37.2% without cytotoxicity. This was a better result than arbutin, a positive whitening agent, which exhibited a 26.8% melanin production inhibitory effect at the same concentration. The corn silk extract did not suppress tyrosinase activity but greatly reduced the expression of tyrosinase in Melan-A cells. In addition, corn silk extract was applied to the human face with hyperpigmentation, and skin color was measured to examine the degree of skin pigment reduction. The application of corn silk extract on faces with hyperpigmentation significantly reduced skin pigmentation without abnormal reactions. Based on the results above, corn silk has good prospects for use as a material for suppressing skin pigmentation

Germline and somatic mtDNA mutations in mouse aging.

The accumulation of acquired mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) mutations with aging in somatic cells has been implicated in mitochondrial dysfunction and linked to age-onset diseases in humans. Here, we asked if somatic mtDNA mutations are also associated with aging in the mouse. MtDNA integrity in multiple organs and tissues in young and old (2-34 months) wild type (wt) mice was investigated by whole genome sequencing. Remarkably, no acquired somatic mutations were detected in tested tissues. However, we identified several non-synonymous germline mtDNA variants whose heteroplasmy levels (ratio of normal to mutant mtDNA) increased significantly with aging suggesting clonal expansion of inherited mtDNA mutations. Polg mutator mice, a model for premature aging, exhibited both germline and somatic mtDNA mutations whose numbers and heteroplasmy levels increased significantly with age implicating involvement in premature aging. Our results suggest that, in contrast to humans, acquired somatic mtDNA mutations do not accompany the aging process in wt mice

Summary of mtDNA mutations detected in wild type and <i>Polg</i> mice.

<p>Summary of mtDNA mutations detected in wild type and <i>Polg</i> mice.</p

Characterization of mtDNA mutations in homozygous <i>Polg</i> mice with aging.

<p>(A). Comparison of mean number of germline mutations in wt and <i>Polg</i> mice at young and old age (n = 31 for young wt, n = 8 for young <i>Polg</i>, n = 44 for old wt and n = 14 for old <i>Polg</i>). Error bars, mean ± SEM. Asterisk indicates a significant increase in the number of mutations per tissue in old <i>Polg</i> compared to the old wt (P < 0.05, Student’s t-test). (B). Mean heteroplasmy levels of non-synonymous germline mutations with ≥2% heteroplasmy in <i>Polg</i> mice (mean ± SEM; asterisk, P < 0.05, Student’s t-test). (C) Pie charts showing gene distributions of non-synonymous germline mutations in young <i>Polg</i> mice (2 months, left) and old <i>Polg</i> mice (9 months, right). (D) Bar graphs representing the mean heteroplasmy levels of non-synonymous germline mutations in protein-coding and RNA-coding genes in <i>Polg</i> mice (asterisks, P < 0.05, Student’s t-test). (E) Pie charts showing the distribution of shared and unique mtDNA mutations detected in single skin fibroblast (SF) clones in young and old <i>Polg</i> mice. (F) Mean heteroplasmy changes for non-synonymous somatic mutations with ≥15% heteroplasmy in <i>Polg</i> mice. Error bars, mean ± SEM. Asterisk, P < 0.05, Student’s t-test. (G) Changes in number of non-synonymous somatic mutations with heteroplasmy levels ≥ 15% among different gene types with <i>Polg</i> mice aging. Error bars, mean ± SEM. Asterisks, P < 0.05, Student’s t-test.</p