401 research outputs found
The role of microRNAs in animal physiology and pathology
MicroRNAs are a class of small, evolutionarily conserved, endogenous RNAs, capable of controlling gene expression. MicroRNAs are transcribed by RNA polymerases II and III, generating precursors that undergo a series of cleavage events to form mature microRNA. They play an important regulatory role in animals at the posttranscriptional levels by targeting mRNAs for direct cleavage of mRNAs or repression of mRNA translation. The main biological function of miRNA is the post-translation regulation of cells, like: proliferation and differentiation, cell death, fat metabolism, neuronal patterning and angiogenesis. These molecules are the main regulators of biological features of economic interest, including body growth, muscle development, signaling transduction, fat deposition, and immunology. In this review, we summarize the existing knowledge about miRNAs synthesis, mechanisms for regulation of the genome their functions in animals physiology and the implications associated with dysfunction and dysregulation
P01.22. Identification of a peptide biomarker from bromelain, an extract of ananas comosus merr, using LC-SRM/MS
Home parenteral nutrition with an omega-3-fatty-acid-enriched MCT/LCT lipid emulsion in patients with chronic intestinal failure (the HOME study):study protocol for a randomized, controlled, multicenter, international clinical trial
BACKGROUND: Home parenteral nutrition (HPN) is a life-preserving therapy for patients with chronic intestinal failure (CIF) indicated for patients who cannot achieve their nutritional requirements by enteral intake. Intravenously administered lipid emulsions (ILEs) are an essential component of HPN, providing energy and essential fatty acids, but can become a risk factor for intestinal-failure-associated liver disease (IFALD). In HPN patients, major effort is taken in the prevention of IFALD. Novel ILEs containing a proportion of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) could be of benefit, but the data on the use of n-3 PUFA in HPN patients are still limited. METHODS/DESIGN: The HOME study is a prospective, randomized, controlled, double-blind, multicenter, international clinical trial conducted in European hospitals that treat HPN patients. A total of 160 patients (80 per group) will be randomly assigned to receive the n-3 PUFA-enriched medium/long-chain triglyceride (MCT/LCT) ILE (Lipidem/Lipoplus® 200 mg/ml, B. Braun Melsungen AG) or the MCT/LCT ILE (Lipofundin® MCT/LCT/Medialipide® 20%, B. Braun Melsungen AG) for a projected period of 8 weeks. The primary endpoint is the combined change of liver function parameters (total bilirubin, aspartate transaminase and alanine transaminase) from baseline to final visit. Secondary objectives are the further evaluation of the safety and tolerability as well as the efficacy of the ILEs. DISCUSSION: Currently, there are only very few randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the use of ILEs in HPN, and there are very few data at all on the use of n-3 PUFAs. The working hypothesis is that n-3 PUFA-enriched ILE is safe and well-tolerated especially with regard to liver function in patients requiring HPN. The expected outcome is to provide reliable data to support this thesis thanks to a considerable number of CIF patients, consequently to broaden the present evidence on the use of ILEs in HPN. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, ID: NCT03282955. Registered on 14 September 2017
Measurement of the Beam Asymmetry in the Forward Direction for pi0 Photoproduction
Photoproduction of neutral pions has been studied with the CBELSA/TAPS
detector for photon energies between 0.92 and 1.68~GeV at the electron
accelerator ELSA. The beam asymmetry~ has been extracted for of the ~meson and for . The new beam asymmetry data improve the world database for
photon energies above 1.5~GeV and, by covering the very forward region, extend
previously published data for the same reaction by our collaboration. The
angular dependence of shows overall good agreement with the SAID
parameterization.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, published in Phys. Rev. C, included LEPS data
and MAID 2007 predictions for comparison with our dat
Photoproduction of Neutral Pions off Protons
Photoproduction of neutral pions has been studied with the CBELSA/TAPS
detector in the reaction for photon energies between 0.85
and 2.50 GeV. The mesons are observed in their dominant neutral decay
mode: . For the first time, the differential cross
sections cover the very forward region, . A
partial-wave analysis of these data within the Bonn-Gatchina framework observes
the high-mass resonances (2190), (2080), and (2070).Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, minor modifications to PWA sectio
Photoproduction of meson pairs: First measurement of the polarization observable I^s
The polarization observable I^s, a feature exclusive to the acoplanar
kinematics of multi-meson final states produced via linearly polarized photons,
has been measured for the first time. Results for the reaction g p -> p pi0 eta
are presented for incoming photon energies between 970 MeV and 1650 MeV along
with the beam asymmetry I^c. The comparably large asymmetries demonstrate a
high sensitivity of I^s to the dynamics of the reaction. Fits using
Bonn-Gatchina partial wave analysis demonstrate that the new polarization
observables carry significant information on the contributing partial waves.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, v2 to appear in Phys. Lett.
Bromelain Inhibits Allergic Sensitization and Murine Asthma via Modulation of Dendritic Cells
The incidence of atopic conditions has increased in industrialized countries. Persisting symptoms and concern for drug side-effects lead patients toward adjunctive treatments such as phytotherapy. Previously, we have shown that Bromelain (sBr), a mixture of cysteine proteases from pineapple, Ananas comosus, inhibits ovalbumin (OVA)-induced murine model of allergic airway disease (AAD). However, sBr’s effect on development of AAD when treatment is administered throughout OVA-alum sensitization was unknown and is the aim of the present study. C57BL/6J mice were sensitized with OVA/alum and challenged with 7 days OVA aerosol. sBr 6 mg/kg/0.5 ml or PBS vehicle were administered throughout sensitization. Lung, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), spleen, and lymph nodes were processed for flow cytometry and OVA-specific IgE was determined via ELISA. sBr treatment throughout OVA-alum sensitization significantly reduced the development of AAD (BAL eosinophils and lymphocytes). OVA-specific IgE and OVA TET+ cells were decreased. sBr reduced CD11c+ dendritic cell subsets, and in vitro treatment of DCs significantly reduced CD44, a key receptor in both cell trafficking and activation. sBr was shown to reduce allergic sensitization and the generation of AAD upon antigen challenge. These results provide additional insight into sBr's anti-inflammatory and antiallergic properties and rationale for translation into the clinical arena
Quasi-free photoproduction of eta-mesons of the neutron
Quasi-free photoproduction of eta-mesons off nucleons bound in the deuteron
has been measured with the CBELSA/TAPS detector for incident photon energies up
to 2.5 GeV at the Bonn ELSA accelerator. The eta-mesons have been detected in
coincidence with recoil protons and recoil neutrons, which allows a detailed
comparison of the quasi-free n(gamma,eta)n and p(gamma,eta)p reactions. The
excitation function for eta-production off the neutron shows a pronounced
bump-like structure at W=1.68 GeV (E_g ~ 1 GeV), which is absent for the
proton.Comment: accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let
In-medium mass from the reaction
Data on the photoproduction of mesons on nuclei have been
re-analyzed in a search for in-medium modifications. The data were taken with
the Crystal Barrel(CB)/TAPS detector system at the ELSA accelerator facility in
Bonn. First results from the analysis of the data set were published by D.
Trnka et al. in Phys. Rev. Lett 94 (2005) 192303 \cite{david}, claiming a
lowering of the mass in the nuclear medium by 14 at normal nuclear
matter density. The extracted line shape was found to be sensitive to
the background subtraction. For this reason a re-analysis of the same data set
has been initiated and a new method has been developed to reduce the background
and to determine the shape and absolute magnitude of the background directly
from the data. Details of the re-analysis and of the background determination
are described. The signal on the target, extracted in the
re-analysis, does not show a deviation from the corresponding line shape on a
target, measured as reference. The earlier claim of an in-medium mass
shift is thus not confirmed. The sensitivity of the line shape to
different in-medium modification scenarios is discussed.Comment: 13 pages and 11 figures, submitted for publicatio
Modification of the -Meson Lifetime in Nuclear Matter
The photo production of mesons on the nuclei C, Ca, Nb and Pb has
been measured using the Crystal Barrel/TAPS detector at the ELSA tagged photon
facility in Bonn. The dependence of the meson cross section on the
nuclear mass number has been compared with three different types of models, a
Glauber analysis, a BUU analysis of the Giessen theory group and a calculation
by the Valencia theory group. In all three cases, the inelastic width
is found to be at normal nuclear matter density for an
average 3-momentum of 1.1 GeV/c. In the restframe of the meson, this
inelastic width corresponds to a reduction of the lifetime by
a factor . For the first time, the momentum dependent N
cross section has been extracted from the experiment and is in the range of 70
mb.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
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