The Uncoupling Protein 1 Gene (UCP1) Is Disrupted in the Pig Lineage: A Genetic Explanation for Poor Thermoregulation in Piglets

Piglets appear to lack brown adipose tissue, a specific type of fat that is essential for nonshivering thermogenesis in mammals, and they rely on shivering as the main mechanism for thermoregulation. Here we provide a genetic explanation for the poor thermoregulation in pigs as we demonstrate that the gene for uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) was disrupted in the pig lineage. UCP1 is exclusively expressed in brown adipose tissue and plays a crucial role for thermogenesis by uncoupling oxidative phosphorylation. We used long-range PCR and genome walking to determine the complete genome sequence of pig UCP1. An alignment with human UCP1 revealed that exons 3 to 5 were eliminated by a deletion in the pig sequence. The presence of this deletion was confirmed in all tested domestic pigs, as well as in European wild boars, Bornean bearded pigs, wart hogs, and red river hogs. Three additional disrupting mutations were detected in the remaining exons. Furthermore, the rate of nonsynonymous substitutions was clearly elevated in the pig sequence compared with the corresponding sequences in humans, cattle, and mice, and we used this increased rate to estimate that UCP1 was disrupted about 20 million years ago

Endothelial glycocalyx during early reperfusion in patients undergoing cardiac surgery

Peer reviewe

Length of Nutritional Transition Associates Negatively with Postnatal Growth in Very Low Birthweight Infants

Very low birthweight (VLBW

Sensory-motor performance in seven-year-old children born extremely preterm

Background: Children born preterm are prone to motor problems. Research on their motor performance has, however, rarely been integrated with sensory processing. Aim: To examine sensory-motor performance in children born extremely preterm (EPT). Method: In a longitudinal prospective cohort study, 49 EPT (born <28 gestational weeks; 32 boys and 17 girls) and 33 term-born (16 boys and 17 girls) children were assessed with six individual subtests from the Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests at the age of 7.0 to 7.3 years. Results: The rate of test z-scores indicating dysfunction [from - 2 standard deviations (SD) to <-1 SD for mild and <- 2 SD for moderate-to-severe] was significantly higher in EPT children than in term-born children in all the subtests. When comparing mean performance adjusted for gender and mother's education, EPT children performed worse than term-born children in Design Copying (z-score difference - 0.83; 95% confidence interval -1.32 to - 0.34), Motor Accuracy (- 0.82; -1.26 to - 0.38), Postural Praxis (- 0.95; -1.45 to - 0.45), Manual Form Perception (- 0.59; -1.12 to - 0.06), and Finger Identification (- 0.88; -1.45 to - 0.31). Additional adjustment for Full-Scale Intelligence Quotient rendered difference in Manual Form Perception non-significant. Conclusion: Seven-year-old EPT children perform worse than their term-born peers in tests for visual-motor, somatosensory, and motor planning performance.Peer reviewe

Length of Nutritional Transition Associates Negatively with Postnatal Growth in Very Low Birthweight Infants

Very low birthweight (VLBW

Old Textiles - New Possibilities

Textile research has become an important field of archaeology. Although the established analytical methods are often viewed as specialized, their integration with other interdisciplinary approaches allows us to deal with broader archaeological issues and provides the interpretational base for a much more comprehensive investigation of textiles in ancient times. Analyses of fibres, dyes, archaeobotanical and archaeozoological remains, as well as palaeoenvironmental and geo- chemical investigations, provide information about available resources, while tool studies, experimental testing, and visual grouping are approaches that explore the technology and techniques. Together, these approaches can provide new knowledge about textile production and consumption and, thereby, about people and society in ancient times

Heparin Binding Protein in Adult Heart Surgery

Background. Heparin binding protein (HBP) is released from neutrophilic secretory vesicles upon neutrophil adhesion on the endothelium. HBP mediates capillary hyperpermeability experimentally. In sepsis, HBP predicts organ dysfunction. Cardiopulmonary bypass induces neutrophil activation and hyperpermeability. We hypothesized that in cardiopulmonary bypass, HBP is released in the reperfused coronary circulation concomitantly with neutrophil adhesion. Methods. In 30 patients undergoing aortic valve replacement, concomitant blood samples were drawn from the coronary sinus and arterial line before aortic cross-clamping and 5 minutes after reperfusion to calculate transcoronary differences. Plasma HBP concentrations, neutrophil markers lactoferrin and myeloperoxidase, myocardial injury marker heart-type fatty acid binding protein, and leukocyte differential counts were measured. Results. Arterial HBP was 4.1 ng/mL (interquartile range [IQR], 3.6 to 5.3 ng/mL) preoperatively and 150.0 ng/mL (IQR, 108.2 to 188.6 ng/mL) after aortic declamping. HBP increased 39-fold, lactoferrin 16-fold, and myeloperoxidase fourfold during cardiopulmonary bypass. Before cardiopulmonary bypass, there were marginal transcoronary differences in HBP (1.4 ng/mL; IQR, -0.4 to 3.6 ng/mL; p = 0.001) and heart-type fatty acid binding protein (0.4 ng/mL; IQR, -0.04 to 3.5 ng/mL; p = 0.001) but not in the other indicators. During reperfusion, transcoronary HBP release (6.4 ng/mL; IQR, 1.8 to 13.7; ng/mL; p <0.001) was observed concomitantly with transcoronary neutrophil sequestration (-0.14 3 109/L; IQR, -0.28 to 0.01 3 109/L; p = 0.001) and transcoronary heart-type fatty acid binding protein release (6.9 ng/mL; IQR, 3.0 to 25.8 ng/mL; p <0.001). There were no transcoronary differences in lactoferrin or myeloperoxidase during reperfusion. Conclusions. Cardiopulmonary bypass results in substantial increase in circulating HBP. HBP is also released from the reperfused coronary circulation concomitantly with coronary neutrophil adhesion and myocardial injury. HBP may be one candidate for a humoral factor mediating capillary leak in cardiopulmonary bypass. (C) 2019 by The Society of Thoracic SurgeonsPeer reviewe