234 research outputs found
Phase specific suppression of neutrophil function in hibernating Syrian hamster
Hibernation consists of alternating periods of reduced metabolism (torpor) with brief periods of metabolism similar to summer euthermia (arousal). The function of the innate immune system is reduced during hibernation, of which the underlying mechanisms are incompletely understood. Here, we studied neutrophil functionality during hibernation in Syrian hamsters. The inflammatory response to LPS-induced endotoxemia is inhibited in hibernation, partly mediated by reduced IL-6 production in early arousal. Furthermore, neutrophil pathogen binding, phagocytosis and oxidative burst is profoundly reduced in early arousal. Functionality of both summer and early arousal neutrophils was repressed in plasma from early arousal and mixed plasma from early arousal and summer euthermic, but restored by summer euthermic plasma, signifying that a plasma factor in early arousal inhibits TLR-recognition. Identification of the inhibiting factor may offer a target to modulate neutrophil function with relevance to (auto-)inflammatory diseases
Integrating isotopes and documentary evidence : dietary patterns in a late medieval and early modern mining community, Sweden
We would like to thank the Archaeological Research Laboratory, Stockholm University, Sweden and the Tandem Laboratory (Ă
ngström Laboratory), Uppsala University, Sweden, for undertaking the analyses of stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes in both human and animal collagen samples. Also, thanks to Elin Ahlin Sundman for providing the ÎŽ13C and ÎŽ15N values for animal references from VĂ€sterĂ„s. This research (BĂ€ckströmâs PhD employment at Lund University, Sweden) was supported by the Berit Wallenberg Foundation (BWS 2010.0176) and Jakob and Johan Söderbergâs foundation. The âSala projectâ (excavations and analyses) has been funded by Riksens Clenodium, Jernkontoret, Birgit and Gad Rausingâs Foundation, SAUâs Research Foundation, the Royal Physiographic Society of Lund, Berit Wallenbergs Foundation, Ă
ke Wibergs Foundation, Lars Hiertas Memory, Helge Ax:son Johnsonâs Foundation and The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Comment on:Plasma Pyruvate Kinase M2 as a marker of vascular inflammation in Giant Cell Arteritis: Reply
Beyond faith: Biomolecular evidence for changing urban economies in multiâfaith medieval Portugal
During the Middle Ages, Portugal witnessed unprecedented socioeconomic and religious changes under transitioning religious political rule. The implications of changing ruling powers for urban food systems and individual diets in medieval Portugal is poorly understood. This study aimed to elucidate the dietary impact of the Islamic and Christian conquests.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
The Small Satellites of Pluto as Observed by New Horizons
The New Horizons mission has provided resolved measurements of Pluto's moons
Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra. All four are small, with equivalent spherical
diameters of 40 km for Nix and Hydra and ~10 km for Styx and Kerberos.
They are also highly elongated, with maximum to minimum axis ratios of
2. All four moons have high albedos ( 50-90 %) suggestive of
a water-ice surface composition. Crater densities on Nix and Hydra imply
surface ages 4 Ga. The small moons rotate much faster than
synchronous, with rotational poles clustered nearly orthogonal to the common
pole directions of Pluto and Charon. These results reinforce the hypothesis
that the small moons formed in the aftermath of a collision that produced the
Pluto-Charon binary.Comment: in Science 351, aae0030 (2016
The influence of sex and diet on the characteristics of hibernation in Syrian hamsters
Research on deep hibernators almost exclusively uses species captured from the wild or from local breeding. An exception is Syrian hamster (Mesocricetus auratus), the only standard laboratory animal showing deep hibernation. In deep hibernators, several factors influence hibernation quality, including body mass, sex and diet. We examined hibernation quality in commercially obtained Syrian hamsters in relation to body mass, sex and a diet enriched in polyunsaturated fatty acids. Animals (M/F:30/30, 12 weeks of age) were obtained from Harlan (IN, USA) and individually housed at 21 A degrees C and L:D 14:10 until 20 weeks of age, followed by L:D 8:16 until 27 weeks. Then conditions were changed to 5 A degrees C and L:D 0:24 for 9 weeks to induce hibernation. Movement was continuously monitored with passive infrared detectors. Hamsters were randomized to control diet or a diet 3x enriched in linoleic acid from 16 weeks of age. Hamsters showed a high rate of premature death (n = 24, 40%), both in animals that did and did not initiate torpor, which was unrelated to body weight, sex and diet. Time to death (31.7 +/- 3.1 days, n = 12) or time to first torpor bout (36.6 +/- 1.6 days, n = 12) was similar in prematurely deceased hamsters. Timing of induction of hibernation and duration of torpor and arousal was unaffected by body weight, sex or diet. Thus, commercially obtained Syrian hamsters subjected to winter conditions showed poor survival, irrespective of body weight, sex and diet. These factors also did not affect hibernation parameters. Possibly, long-term commercial breeding from a confined genetic background has selected against the hibernation trait
Pandemic Boredom: Little Evidence That Lockdown-Related Boredom Affects Risky Public Health Behaviors Across 116 Countries
Some public officials have expressed concern that policies mandating collective public health behaviors (e.g., national/regional "lockdown ") may result in behavioral fatigue that ultimately renders such policies ineffective. Boredom, specifically, has been singled out as one potential risk factor for noncompliance. We examined whether there was empirical evidence to support this concern during the COVID-19 pandemic in a large cross-national sample of 63,336 community respondents from 116 countries. Although boredom was higher in countries with more COVID-19 cases and in countries that instituted more stringent lockdowns, such boredom did not predict longitudinal within-person decreases in social distancing behavior (or vice versa; n = 8,031) in early spring and summer of 2020. Overall, we found little evidence that changes in boredom predict individual public health behaviors (handwashing, staying home, self-quarantining, and avoiding crowds) over time, or that such behaviors had any reliable longitudinal effects on boredom itself. In summary, contrary to concerns, we found little evidence that boredom posed a public health risk during lockdown and quarantine
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