Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4) expression on polymorphonuclear neutrophil leukocytes during perinatal period of dairy cow

To establish a foundation for further researches on the improvement of polymorphonuclear neutrophil leukocytes (PMN) functions in dairy cow during perinatal period, the counting of PMN, as well as the mRNA and protein expression of toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4) on PMN was studied during this critical period. Blood samples were taken 21, 14 and 7 days, and at calving (0) day before expected calving time, and 7, 14 and 21 days after calving. The PMN changes were measured by automatic blood cell analyzer, and mRNA and protein expression of TLR-4 were analyzed by quantity real-time PCR (RT-PCR) and western blot. The results show that the quantity of neutrophil leukocytes reached the peak (3.12 ± 0.26 × 109, p<0.05) at 0 day. The mRNA expression of TLR-4 was down-regulated from the -21days before calving to the 14 day after calving (P<0.01). The protein of expression TLR-4 was lower from 7 to 14 days. The down-regulation of TLR-4 expression may be the major factor of PMN dysfunction of cows from 7 to 14 days after calving.Keywords: Cow, hematology, perinatals period, toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4) pathwayAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(16), pp. 2100-210

catena-Poly[[bis­(pyridine-κN)nickel(II)]-μ-oxalato-κ4 O 1,O 2:O 1′,O 2′]

The title compound, [Ni(C2O4)(C5H5N)2]n, was synthesized under hydro­(solvo)thermal conditions. The NiII atom, lying on a twofold rotation axis, has an octa­hedral coordination geometry involving two N atoms from two pyridine ligands and four O atoms from two oxalate ligands. The Ni atoms are connected by the tetra­dentate bridging oxalate ligands into a one-dimensional zigzag chain

APOE Gene Associated with Dementia-Related Traits, Depression, and Anxiety in the Hispanic Population

Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD), a main cause of dementia, is commonly seen in aging populations with a strong genetic component. AD is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders; it is a genetically and clinically heterogeneous disease. Specific demographic factors and genetic variants have been identified in non-Hispanic populations; however, limited studies have observed the Hispanic population. Therefore, we focused on investigating a known gene, APOE, associated with AD-related phenotypes and two psychiatric diseases (depression and anxiety) within the U.S. Hispanic population in our current study. A total of 1382 subjects were studied based on data collected from the Texas Alzheimer\u27s Research and Care Consortium (TARCC, N = 1320) and the Initial Study of Longevity and Dementia from the Rio Grande Valley (ISLD-RGV, N = 62). Questionnaires regarding demographics, medical history, and blood/saliva samples were collected. We genotyped the APOE gene. The current findings indicated that APOE-ε4 was associated with not only AD (p \u3c 0.0001) but also with anxiety (p \u3c 0.0001) and depression (p = 0.0004). However, APOE-ε3 was associated with depression (p = 0.002) in the Hispanic population. We provide additional evidence in which APOE-ε4 increased the risk for AD in Hispanics. For the first time, APOE alleles show increased risks for anxiety and depression in Hispanics. Further research is warranted to confirm the current findings

Nucleon-nucleon interaction in the 3S1^3S_1-3D1^3D_1 coupled channel for a pion mass of 469 MeV

In this work, we apply the relativistic chiral nuclear force to describe the state-of-the-art lattice simulations of the nucleon-nucleon scattering amplitude. In particular, we focus on the $^3S_1$-$^3D_1$ coupled channel for a pion mass of 469 MeV. We show that at leading order the relativistic chiral nuclear force can only describe $\delta_{3S1}$ and $\varepsilon_1$ up to $T_\mathrm{lab.}\approx10$ MeV, while at the next-to-leading order it can do much better up to $T_\mathrm{lab}=200$ MeV. However, at the next-to-next-to-leading order, the description deteriorates, which can be attributed to the fact that the pion-mass dependence of the pion-nucleon couplings $c_{1,2,3,4}$ may not be negligible. Furthermore, all the studies consistently yield negative $\delta_{3D1}$, contrary to the lattice QCD results which are positive but consistent with zero. The present study is relevant to a better understanding of the lattice QCD nucleon-nucleon force and more general baryon-baryon interactions.Comment: Accepted for publication in PL

High-fidelity Facial Avatar Reconstruction from Monocular Video with Generative Priors

High-fidelity facial avatar reconstruction from a monocular video is a significant research problem in computer graphics and computer vision. Recently, Neural Radiance Field (NeRF) has shown impressive novel view rendering results and has been considered for facial avatar reconstruction. However, the complex facial dynamics and missing 3D information in monocular videos raise significant challenges for faithful facial reconstruction. In this work, we propose a new method for NeRF-based facial avatar reconstruction that utilizes 3D-aware generative prior. Different from existing works that depend on a conditional deformation field for dynamic modeling, we propose to learn a personalized generative prior, which is formulated as a local and low dimensional subspace in the latent space of 3D-GAN. We propose an efficient method to construct the personalized generative prior based on a small set of facial images of a given individual. After learning, it allows for photo-realistic rendering with novel views and the face reenactment can be realized by performing navigation in the latent space. Our proposed method is applicable for different driven signals, including RGB images, 3DMM coefficients, and audios. Compared with existing works, we obtain superior novel view synthesis results and faithfully face reenactment performance.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

Accurate relativistic chiral nucleon-nucleon interaction up to NNLO

We construct a relativistic chiral nucleon-nucleon interaction up to the next-to-next-to-leading order in covariant baryon chiral perturbation theory. We show that a good description of the $np$ phase shifts up to $T_\mathrm{lab}=200$ MeV and even higher can be achieved with a $\tilde{\chi}^2/\mathrm{d.o.f.}$ less than 1. Both the next-to-leading order results and the next-to-next-to-leading order results describe the phase shifts equally well up to $T_\mathrm{lab}=200$ MeV, but for higher energies, the latter behaves better, showing satisfactory convergence. The relativistic chiral potential provides the most essential inputs for relativistic ab initio studies of nuclear structure and reactions, which has been in need for almost two decades.Comment: Accepted for publication in PRL. Uncertainty estimates updated and comparison with the Granada PWA adde

Bis(2,2′-bipyridine)(2-hy­droxy-2,2-diphenyl­acetato)­copper(II) nitrate dihydrate

In the title complex, [Cu(C14H11O3)(C10H8N2)2]NO3·2H2O, the CuII atom is coordinated by four N atoms from two 2,2′-bipyridine ligands and two O atoms from one benzilate ligand in a distorted octa­hedral geometry. A supra­molecular network is formed via inter­molecular O—H⋯O and C—H⋯O hydrogen-bonding inter­actions. π–π stacking inter­actions between neighboring pyridine rings are also present, the centroid—centroid distance being 3.808 (2) Å

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome could be an underestimated variant of “reversible neurological deficits” in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

BACKGROUND: Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) has been increasingly identified in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) owing to the advance in neuroimaging techniques. Prompt diagnosis is pivotal to improve its outcome. To analyze the clinical and radiographic profile of PRES in patients with SLE and search for the appropriate treatment strategy PRES in SLE. METHODS: SLE patients who fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for PRES from August 2008 to January 2011 were evaluated at baseline, and followed to determine clinical outcomes. Data were analysis on clinical characteristics, laboratory abnormalities, treatment details, and outcomes. RESULTS: Ten episodes of PRES in patients with SLE were identified. All patients were female, mean age of onset was 22.93 ± 2.48 years, and SLEDAI at the onset of PRES were 25.8 ± 5.7. All cases had acute onset of headache, altered mental status, stupor, vomiting, cortical blindness and seizures. Neurological symptoms were the initial manifestation of SLE in three cases. Head magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated posterior white matter edema involving the parietal, temporal and occipital lobes, which were more conspicuous on T2 weighted spin echo and diffusion-weighted MR imaging (DWI) than on computed tomography (CT) scan. Complete clinical and radiographic recovery was observed in 8 patients after prompt treatment with corticosteroids. CONCLUSIONS: PRES might be due to lupus per se besides other traditional causative factors such as hypertension. PRES might be an underestimated variant of “reversible neurological deficits” in SLE. Prompt recognition and timely management is important to prevent permanent neurological deficits

Modified Sequential Therapy Regimen versus Conventional Triple Therapy for Helicobacter Pylori Eradication in Duodenal Ulcer Patients in China: A Multicenter Clinical Comparative Study

Objective. Antimicrobial resistance has decreased eradication rates for Helicobacter pylori infection worldwide. To observe the effect of eradicating Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) and the treatment of duodenal ulcer by 2 kinds of modified sequential therapy through comparing with that of 10-day standard triple therapy. Methods. A total of 210 patients who were confirmed in duodenal ulcer active or heal period by gastroscopy and H. pylori positive confirmed by rapid urease test, serum anti-H. pylori antibody (ELASE), or histological examination enrolled in the study. All the patients were randomly divided into three groups: group A (70 cases) and group B (70 cases) were provided 10-day modified sequential therapy; group C (70 cases) was provided 10-day standard triple therapy. Patients of group A received 20 mg of Esomeprazole, 500 mg of Clarithromycin for the first 5 days, followed by 20 mg of Esomeprazole, 500 mg of Clarithromycin, and 1000 mg of Amoxicillin for the remaining 5 days. Group B received 20 mg of Esomeprazole, 1000 mg of Amoxicillin for the first 5 days, followed by 20 mg of Esomeprazole, 500 mg of Clarithromycin, and 1000 mg of Amoxicillin for the remaining 5 days. Group C received 20 mg of Esomeprazole, 500 mg of Clarithromycin, and 1000 mg of Amoxicillin for standard 10-day therapy. All drugs were given twice daily. H. pylori eradication rate was checked four to eight weeks after taking the medicine by using a 13C urea breath test. In the first, second, third, seventh, twenty-first, thirty-fifth days respectively, the symptoms of patients such as epigastric gnawing, burning pain, and acidity were evaluated simultaneously. Results. Overall, 210 patients accomplished all therapy schemes, 9 case patients were excluded. The examination result indicated that the H. pylori eradication rate of each group was as follows: group A 92.5% (62/67), group B 86.8% (59/68), and group C 78.8% (52/66). The H. pylori eradication rate of group A was slightly higher than group B (P < 0.05) and both of them were obviously higher than group C (P < 0.05). Modified sequential therapy was significantly more effective in patients with clarithromycin-resistant strains (80%/67% versus 31%; P = 0.02). Symptoms improvement: all the three groups could improve the symptoms such as epigastric gnawing, burning pain, and acidity since the first day. There was no significant difference in total score descending of symptoms between each group (P > 0.05). Conclusions. All the three therapy schemes could alleviate symptoms of duodenal ulcer patients in China efficiently. But as far as eradicating H. pylori is concerned, the modified sequential therapy was better than standard triple therapy, especially the therapy scheme used in group A