Atorvastatin induces associated reductions in platelet P-selectin, oxidized low-density lipoprotein, and interleukin-6 in patients with coronary artery diseases.

The development and progression of atherosclerosis comprises various processes, such as endothelial dysfunction, chronic inflammation, thrombus formation, and lipid profile modification. Statins are 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors that have pleiotropic effects in addition to cholesterol-lowering properties. However, the mechanisms of these effects are not completely understood. Here, we investigated whether atorvastatin affects the levels of malondialdehyde-modified low-density lipoprotein (MDALDL), an oxidized LDL, the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6), or platelet P-selectin, a marker of platelet activation, relative to that of LDL cholesterol (LDL-C). Forty-eight patients with coronary artery disease and hyperlipidemia were separated into two groups that were administered with (atorvastatin group) or without (control group) atorvastatin. The baseline MDA-LDL level in all participants significantly correlated with LDL-C (r = 0.71, P < 0.01) and apolipoprotein B levels (r = 0.66, P < 0.01). Atorvastatin (10 mg/day) significantly reduced the LDL-C level within 4 weeks and persisted for a further 8 weeks of administration. Atorvastatin also reduced the MDA-LDL level within 4 weeks and further reduced it over the next 8 weeks. Platelet P-selectin expression did not change until 4 weeks of administration and then significantly decreased at 12 weeks, whereas the IL-6 level was gradually, but not significantly, reduced at 12 weeks. In contrast, none of these parameters significantly changed in the control group within these time frames. The reduction (%) in IL-6 between 4 and 12 weeks after atorvastatin administration significantly correlated with that of MDALDL and of platelet P-selectin (r = 0.65, P < 0.05 and r = 0.70, P < 0.05, respectively). These results suggested that the positive effects of atorvastatin on the LDL-C oxidation, platelet activation and inflammation that are involved in atherosclerotic processes are exerted in concert after lowering LDL-C

Transcranial electrical and magnetic stimulation (tES and TMS) for addiction medicine: A consensus paper on the present state of the science and the road ahead

There is growing interest in non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) as a novel treatment option for substance-use disorders (SUDs). Recent momentum stems from a foundation of preclinical neuroscience demonstrating links between neural circuits and drug consuming behavior, as well as recent FDA-approval of NIBS treatments for mental health disorders that share overlapping pathology with SUDs. As with any emerging field, enthusiasm must be tempered by reason; lessons learned from the past should be prudently applied to future therapies. Here, an international ensemble of experts provides an overview of the state of transcranial-electrical (tES) and transcranial-magnetic (TMS) stimulation applied in SUDs. This consensus paper provides a systematic literature review on published data – emphasizing the heterogeneity of methods and outcome measures while suggesting strategies to help bridge knowledge gaps. The goal of this effort is to provide the community with guidelines for best practices in tES/TMS SUD research. We hope this will accelerate the speed at which the community translates basic neuroscience into advanced neuromodulation tools for clinical practice in addiction medicine

Acute sensitivity of DNA replication to reduction in dNTP pools following Mec1ATR inactivation

Inactivation of Mec1, the budding yeast ATR, results in a permanent S phase arrest followed by a fatal mitotic catastrophe. The mec1 S phase arrest was proposed to stem from a defect in the Mec1-Rad53-Dun1 dependent removal of Sml1, a conserved inhibitor of ribonucleotide reductase (RNR), at the onset of S phase: According to this view, Sml1 removal and the ensuing RNR activation would promote the dNTP production necessary for genome duplication. In support for this view, dNTP levels in hypomorphic mec1 or rad53 mutants and a dun1� strain were shown to be reduced by as much as 46% compared to a MEC1 control strain. Notably however, nearly all analyses on a lethal mec1 allele (e.g. mec1� or mec1-kd [kinase dead]) have been performed in a strain background that was either deleted for SML1 or over-expressing RNR1, a requirement for maintaining viability of a mutant lacking Mec1's essential function. As a result, while it is clear that absence of Mec1 causes dNTP pool to decrease, the true extent of the reduction and whether it would be sufficient to account for the replication arrest remain elusive. Here, we addressed these questions utilizing a temperature sensitive mutant, mec1-4, which maintains its viability at permissive temperature in an otherwise wild-type background, circumventing the need to exogenously manipulate Sml1 and/or RNR activity. Results show that Mec1 inactivation leads to an S phase arrest and a ~17% reduction in dNTP pool; expression of a novel suppressor, GIS2 (glucose inhibition of gluconeogenic growth suppressor 2), rescues the arrest and partially restores the dNTP pool to ~ 93% of a control. Unexpectedly modest effects of mec1 and GIS2 on dNTP levels demonstrate that the arrest does result from a severe depletion of dNTP pool as assumed, but a heightened sensitivity to its availabilit

Using a bioaerosol personal sampler in combination with real-time PCR analysis for rapid detection of airborne viruses

We have recently developed a new personal sampler and demonstrated its feasibility for detection of viable airborne microorganisms including bacteria, fungi and viruses. To accelerate the time-consuming analytical procedure involving 2-5 days of biological testing, we employed a real-time PCR protocol in conjunction with the personal sampler for collection of airborne viruses. The advantage of this approach is that if the presence of a particular pathogen in the air is detected by the PCR, the remaining collecting liquid can be further analysed by more time-consuming biological methods to estimate the number of airborne infectious/live microorganisms. As sampling of bioaerosols in natural environments is likely to be associated with substantial contamination by a range of microorganisms commonly existing in an ambient air, an investigation of the specificity of detection by targeted PCR analysis is required. Here we present the results of the study on the detection of Influenza virus in the ambient air contaminated with high concentrations of bacteria and fungi using real-time PCR protocol. The combined sampling PCR detection method was found to be fully feasible for the rapid (similar to 2.5 h) and highly specific (no cross-reactivity) identification of the labile airborne virus in the air containing elevated concentrations of other microorganisms

A three-dimensional cellular automata model for dendrite growth with various crystallographic orientations during solidification

A three-dimensional (3-D) cellular automata (CA) model coupled with the finite-element (FE) method has been proposed to simulate dendrite growth with various crystallographic orientations during solidification. The model introduces a new tracking neighborhood method to resolve the mesh dependency caused by the cubic lattice in the CA model for simulating 3-D dendrite growth. The migration of the solid–liquid (SL) interface is associated with the dendritic preferential orientation and the driving force for the phase transition. The latter is obtained from a thermodynamics database. The local curvature and anisotropy of the surface energy are also incorporated to describe the growth kinetics of the SL interface. The solute transfer is calculated using the FE method. A numerical simulation has been performed on a Fe-1.5 wt pct C alloy. The grain morphologies with various crystallographic orientations and the solute distribution during isothermal solidification are studied and discussed. The simulation results are compared with analytical solutions and experimental results, which are in good agreement

Accuracy of replication in the polymerase chain reaction. Comparison between Thermotoga maritima DNA polymerase and Thermus aquaticus DNA polymerase

For certain applications of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), it may be necessary to consider the accuracy of replication. The breakthrough that made PCR user friendly was the commercialization of Thermus aquaticus (Taq) DNA polymerase, an enzyme that would survive the high temperatures needed for DNA denaturation. The development of enzymes with an inherent 3' to 5' exonuclease proofreading activity, lacking in Taq polymerase, would be an improvement when higher fidelity is needed. We used the forward mutation assay to compare the fidelity of Taq polymerase and Thermotoga maritima (ULTMA™) DNA polymerase, an enzyme that does have proofreading activity. We did not find significant differences in the fidelity of either enzyme, even when using optimal buffer conditions, thermal cycling parameters, and number of cycles (0.2% and 0.13% error rates for ULTMA™ and Taq, respectively, after reading about 3,000 bases each). We conclude that for sequencing purposes there is no difference in using a DNA polymerase that contains an inherent 3' to 5' exonuclease activity for DNA amplification. Perhaps the specificity and fidelity of PCR are complex issues influenced by the nature of the target sequence, as well as by each PCR component