55 research outputs found
Characterization of the ligand binding of PGRP-L in half-smooth tongue sole ( Cynoglossus semilaevis ) by molecular dynamics and free energy calculation
Background: Peptidoglycan (PGN) recognition proteins (PGRPs) are
important pattern recognition receptors of the host innate immune
system that are involved in the immune defense against bacterial
pathogens. PGRPs have been characterized in several fish species. The
PGN-binding ability is important for the function of PGRPs. However,
the PGRP-PGN interaction mechanism in fish remains unclear. In the
present study, the 3-D model of a long PGRP of half-smooth tongue sole
(Cynoglossus semilaevis) (csPGRP-L), a marine teleost with great
economic value, was constructed through the comparative modeling
method, and the key amino acids involved in the interaction with
Lys-type PGNs and Dap-type PGNs were analyzed by molecular dynamics and
molecular docking methods. Results: csPGRP-L possessed a typical PGRP
structure, consisting of five \u3b2-sheets and four \u3b1-helices.
Molecular docking showed that the van der Waals forces had a slightly
larger contribution than Coulombic interaction in the csPGRP-L-PGN
complex. Moreover, the binding energies of csPGRP-L-PGNs computed by
MM-PBSA method revealed that csPGRP-L might selectively bind both types
of MTP-PGNs and MPP-PGNs. In addition, the binding energy of each
residue of csPGRP-L was also calculated, revealing that the residues
involved in the interaction with Lys-type PGNs were different from that
with Dap-type PGNs. Conclusions: The 3-D structure of csPGRP-L
possessed typical PGRP structure and might selectively bind both types
of MTP- and MPP-PGNs, which provided useful insights to understanding
the functions of fish PGRPs
Spatial distribution of tuberculosis and its association with meteorological factors in mainland China
BACKGROUND: The incidence of tuberculosis (TB) remains high worldwide. Current strategies will not eradicate TB by 2035; instead, by 2182 is more likely. Therefore, it is urgent that new risk factors be identified.
METHODS: An ecological study was conducted in 340 prefectures in China from 2005 to 2015. The spatial distribution of TB incidence was shown by clustering and hotspot analysis. The relationship between the distribution patterns and six meteorological factors was evaluated by the geographically weighted regression (GWR) model.
RESULTS: During the 11 years of the study period, TB incidence was persistently low in the east and high in the west. Local coefficients from the GWR model showed a positive correlation between TB incidence and yearly average rainfall (AR) but a negative correlation with other meteorological factors. Average relative humidity (ARH) was negatively correlated with the incidence of TB in all prefectures (p \u3c 0.05).
CONCLUSION: Meteorological factors may play an important role in the prevention and control of TB
No causal effect of telomere length on ischemic stroke and its subtypes: A Mendelian randomization study
Background: Epidemiological studies observing inconsistent associations of telomere length (TL) with ischemic stroke (IS) are susceptible to bias according to reverse causation and residual confounding. We aimed to assess the causal association between TL, IS, and the subtypes of IS, including large artery stroke (LAS), small vessel stroke (SVS), and cardioembolic stroke (CES) by performing a series of two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) approaches. Methods: Seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were involved as candidate instrumental variables (IVs), summarized from a genome-wide meta-analysis including 37,684 participants of European descent. We analyzed the largest ever genome-wide association studies of stroke in Europe from the MEGASTROKE collaboration with 40,585 stroke cases and 406,111 controls. The weighted median (WM), the penalized weighted median (PWM), the inverse variance weighted (IVW), the penalized inverse variance weighted (PIVW), the robust inverse variance weighted (RIVW), and the Mendelian randomization-Egger (MR-Egger) methods were conducted for the MR analysis to estimate a causal effect and detect the directional pleiotropy. Results: No significant association between genetically determined TL with overall IS, LAS, or CES were found (all p \u3e 0.05). SVS was associated with TL by the RIVW method (odds ratio (OR) = 0.72, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.54–0.97, p = 0.028), after excluding rs9420907, rs10936599, and rs2736100. Conclusions: By a series of causal inference approaches using SNPs as IVs, no strong evidence to support the causal effect of shorter TL on IS and its subtypes were found
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Impulsivity and craving in subjects with opioid use disorder on methadone maintenance treatment.
BACKGROUND: Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) is effective in decreasing opioid use or facilitating abstinence. Previous studies using small opioid use disorder samples suggest that cognitive impairments including impulsivity and executive functions may partially improve on MMT, but a range of deficits may persist. However, systematic assessments with larger samples are needed to confirm the profile of cognitive functions on MMT. METHODS: We assessed four types of impulsivity (delay discounting, reflection impulsivity, risk taking and motoric impulsivity), executive functioning (spatial working memory, paired associative learning and strategic planning) and drug cue-induced craving in a relatively large population (115 MMT patients, 115 healthy controls). The relationships between impulsivity, drug cue-induced craving and addiction-related variables were also assessed. RESULTS: Delay discounting, as well as drug cue-induced craving was increased in patients, while motoric impulsivity was lower than in controls. Paired associative learning was additionally impaired, which was explained by increased depression and anxiety levels in patients. Within the MMT group, the delay discounting and drug-cue induced craving scores were positively correlated with self-reported urgency, but unrelated to methadone dosage, duration on methadone, withdrawal symptoms, or presence of nicotine dependence. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight increased delay discounting and cue-induced craving in MMT patients suggesting a potential role for trait effects in delay discounting. Although previous smaller studies have shown impaired executive function, in our large sample size on chronic MMT we only observed impaired associative learning related to depressive and anxiety symptoms highlighting a role for managing comorbid symptoms to further optimize cognitive function
The association between normal BMI with central adiposity and proinflammatory potential immunoglobulin G N-Glycosylation
Background: The mechanism by which normal body mass index (BMI) with central adiposity (NWCA) increases the risk of the diseases has not been completely elucidated. The inflammatory role of immunoglobulin G (IgG) N-glycosylation in obesity defined by BMI or central adiposity defined by waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) was reported, respectively. We undertook this three-center cross-sectional study to determine the association between the IgG N-glycans and NWCA. Methods: The participants were categorized into four different phenotypes: normal BMI with normal WHR (NW), normal BMI with central adiposity (NWCA), obesity with normal WHR (ONCA) and obesity with central adiposity (OCA). The IgG N-glycans were analyzed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography analysis of released glycans, and differences among groups were compared. Results: In total, 17 out of 24 initial IgG N-glycans were significantly different among the four groups (NW, ONCA, NWCA and OCA) (P\u3c0.05/6*78=0.0001). The changes of IgG glycans in central obesity (12 GPs) were more than those in obesity (3 GPs). In addition, lower galactosylation and bisecting GlcNAc and higher fucosylation were associated with increased risk of NWCA. Conclusion: Central obesity was involved in more changes of IgG N-glycosylation representing stronger inflammation than obesity, which might make a greater contribution to the risk of related disorders. NWCA was associated with an increased pro-inflammatory of IgG N-glycosylation, which was accompanied by the development of central obesity and other related disorders
Association of suboptimal health status with intestinal microbiota in Chinese youths
Suboptimal health status (SHS), a physical state between health and disease, is a subclinical and reversible stage of chronic disease. Previous studies have shown alterations in the intestinal microbiota in patients with some chronic diseases. This study aimed to investigate the association between SHS and intestinal microbiota in a case-control study with 50 SHS individuals and 50 matched healthy controls. Intestinal microbiota was analysed by MiSeq 250PE. Alpha diversity of intestinal microbiota in SHS individuals was higher compared with that of healthy controls (Simpson index, W = 2238, P = .048). Beta diversity was different between SHS and healthy controls (P = .018). At the phylum level, the relative abundance of Verrucomicrobia was higher in the SHS group than that in the controls (W = 2201, P = .049). Compared with that of the control group, nine genera were significantly higher and five genera were lower in abundance in the SHS group (all P \u3c .05). The intestinal microbiota, analysed by a random forest model, was able to distinguish individuals with SHS from the controls, with an area under the curve of 0.79 (95% confidence interval: 0.77-0.81). We demonstrated that the alteration of intestinal microbiota occurs with SHS, an early stage of disease, which might shed light on the importance of intestinal microbiota in the primary prevention of noncommunicable chronic diseases
Geo-Hazard Detection and Monitoring Using SAR and Optical Images in a Snow-Covered Area: The Menyuan (China) Test Site
In this work, we combine SAR and optical images for geo-hazard detection and monitoring in Western China. An extremely small baseline of C-band SAR image pairs acquired from Sentinel-1A at Menyuan, China, is analyzed. Apart from the large area of coseismal deformation, we proposed an earthquake-derived landslide detecting method by removing the coseismal deformation with polynomial fitting, then the detected moving areas were confirmed with Chinese Gaofen-1 optical satellite images. Sentinel-1A C-band interferograms show about a 7-cm line of sight movement caused by the MS 6.4 Menyuan earthquake; meanwhile, several features indicative of ground movement were detected by the proposed method and demonstrated by the Gaofen-1 optical images; the interpretation of high-resolution optical data complemented the goal of better understanding the behavior of geo-hazard disasters. InSAR time series analysis provides an opportunity for continuous monitoring of geo-hazards in remote areas, while the optical image method is easily affected by decorrelation due to snowfall
A Study of the Distribution of the Threshed Mixture by a Double Longitudinal Axial Flow Corn Threshing Device
In order to determine the distribution pattern of the threshed mixture in the double longitudinal axial flow threshing device, single-factor experiments were conducted on the self-developed experimental platform for the double longitudinal axis threshing device. The experimental factors included drum speed, threshing clearance, and feed rate. The variations in the distribution of the threshed material along the axial and radial directions were examined. The results indicate that the mixed material after threshing exhibits uneven distribution both axially and radially. Along the axial direction, the mass of corn kernels initially increases and then decreases and is predominantly distributed in the front one-third section of the drum. Meanwhile, the mass of corn cobs continuously increases. In the radial direction, the mass of corn kernels and cobs is higher in the middle and on both sides, with the corn kernels being most concentrated in the middle and the corn cobs mostly on the sides. Combining the corn kernel breakage rate and the unthreshed rate, the optimal operating conditions were determined as follows: a drum speed of 400 r/min, a concave clearance of 50 mm, and a feed rate of 16 kg/s
Characterization of the ligand binding of PGRP-L in half-smooth tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis) by molecular dynamics and free energy calculation
Background: Peptidoglycan (PGN) recognition proteins (PGRPs) are important pattern recognition receptors of the host innate immune system that are involved in the immune defense against bacterial pathogens. PGRPs have been characterized in several fish species. The PGN-binding ability is important for the function of PGRPs. However, the PGRP-PGN interaction mechanism in fish remains unclear. In the present study, the 3-D model of a long PGRP of half-smooth tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis) (csPGRP-L), a marine teleost with great economic value, was constructed through the comparative modeling method, and the key amino acids involved in the interaction with Lys-type PGNs and Dap-type PGNs were analyzed by molecular dynamics and molecular docking methods.
Results: csPGRP-L possessed a typical PGRP structure, consisting of five β-sheets and four α-helices. Molecular docking showed that the van der Waals forces had a slightly larger contribution than Coulombic interaction in the csPGRP-L-PGN complex. Moreover, the binding energies of csPGRP-L-PGNs computed by MM-PBSA method revealed that csPGRP-L might selectively bind both types of MTP-PGNs and MPP-PGNs. In addition, the binding energy of each residue of csPGRP-L was also calculated, revealing that the residues involved in the interaction with Lys-type PGNs were different from that with Dap-type PGNs.
Conclusions: The 3-D structure of csPGRP-L possessed typical PGRP structure and might selectively bind both types of MTP- and MPP-PGNs, which provided useful insights to understanding the functions of fish PGRPs
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