Comparative analysis of the toxicity of gold nanoparticles in zebrafish

The use of nanoparticles - particles that range in size from 1 to 100 nanometres - has become increasingly prevalent in recent years, bringing with it a variety of potential toxic effects. Zebrafish embryos were exposed during the 3-day post-fertilisation period to gold nanospheres (GSSs), gold nanorods (GNRs), gold nanorods coated with polystyrene-sulfate (PSS-GNRs), and gold nanorods coated with both polystyrene-sulfate and polyallamine hydrochloride (PAH/PSS-GNRs). All nanorods were stabilised with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). GNSs were the least toxic of the nanoparticles studied, with exposure resulting in no significant changes in mortality, hatching or heart rate. Exposure to GNRs and PSS-GNRs resulted in significant increases in mortality and significant decreases in hatching and heart rate. Treatment with GNRs caused significant changes in the expression of a variety of oxidative stress genes. The toxic effects of GNRs were ameliorated by coating them with polystyrene-sulfate and, to a more marked extent, with a double coating of polystyrene-sulfate and polyallamine hydrochloride

Impaired phloem loading in zmsweet13a,b,c sucrose transporter triple knock-out mutants in Zea mays

Crop yield is critical for human nutrition, yet the underlying machinery that ultimately determines yield potential is still not understood. Crop productivity under ideal conditions is determined by the efficiency with which plants intercept light, convert it into chemical energy, translocate photosynthates and convert these to storage products in harvestable organs (Zhu et al., 2010). In many crops, sucrose is the primary form for translocation inside the conduit (i.e. the phloem). A combination of SWEETmediated efflux from phloem parenchyma and subsequent secondary active sucrose import by SUT sucrose/H+ symporters is thought to create the driving force for pressure gradient-driven phloem transport and retrieval of sucrose leaking along the translocation path (Chen et al., 2015a)

Spectral Evidence for Emergent Order in Ba1−x_{1-x}Nax_xFe2_2As2_2

We report an angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy study of the iron-based superconductor family, Ba$_{1-x}$Na$_x$Fe$_2$As$_2$. This system harbors the recently discovered double-Q magnetic order appearing in a reentrant C$_4$ phase deep within the underdoped regime of the phase diagram that is otherwise dominated by the coupled nematic phase and collinear antiferromagnetic order. From a detailed temperature-dependence study, we identify the electronic response to the nematic phase in an orbital-dependent band shift that strictly follows the rotational symmetry of the lattice and disappears when the system restores C$_4$ symmetry in the low temperature phase. In addition, we report the observation of a distinct electronic reconstruction that cannot be explained by the known electronic orders in the system

Multi-Band Exotic Superconductivity in the New Superconductor Bi4O4S3

Resistivity, Hall effect and magnetization have been investigated on the new superconductor Bi4O4S3. A weak insulating behavior has been induced in the normal state when the superconductivity is suppressed. Hall effect measurements illustrate clearly a multiband feature dominated by electron charge carriers, which is further supported by the magnetoresistance data. Interestingly, a kink appears on the temperature dependence of resistivity at about 4 K at all high magnetic fields when the bulk superconductivity is completely suppressed. This kink can be well traced back to the upper critical field Hc2(T) in the low field region, and is explained as the possible evidence of residual Cooper pairs on the one dimensional chains.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Population density, water supply, and the risk of dengue fever in Vietnam: cohort study and spatial analysis.

BACKGROUND: Aedes aegypti, the major vector of dengue viruses, often breeds in water storage containers used by households without tap water supply, and occurs in high numbers even in dense urban areas. We analysed the interaction between human population density and lack of tap water as a cause of dengue fever outbreaks with the aim of identifying geographic areas at highest risk. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We conducted an individual-level cohort study in a population of 75,000 geo-referenced households in Vietnam over the course of two epidemics, on the basis of dengue hospital admissions (n = 3,013). We applied space-time scan statistics and mathematical models to confirm the findings. We identified a surprisingly narrow range of critical human population densities between around 3,000 to 7,000 people/km² prone to dengue outbreaks. In the study area, this population density was typical of villages and some peri-urban areas. Scan statistics showed that areas with a high population density or adequate water supply did not experience severe outbreaks. The risk of dengue was higher in rural than in urban areas, largely explained by lack of piped water supply, and in human population densities more often falling within the critical range. Mathematical modeling suggests that simple assumptions regarding area-level vector/host ratios may explain the occurrence of outbreaks. CONCLUSIONS: Rural areas may contribute at least as much to the dissemination of dengue fever as cities. Improving water supply and vector control in areas with a human population density critical for dengue transmission could increase the efficiency of control efforts. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary

Impact of Vitamin D Supplementation on Arterial Vasomotion, Stiffness and Endothelial Biomarkers in Chronic Kidney Disease Patients

Background: Cardiovascular events are frequent and vascular endothelial function is abnormal in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). We demonstrated endothelial dysfunction with vitamin D deficiency in CKD patients; however the impact of cholecalciferol supplementation on vascular stiffness and vasomotor function, endothelial and bone biomarkers in CKD patients with low 25-hydroxy vitamin D [25(OH)D] is unknown, which this study investigated. Methods: We assessed non-diabetic patients with CKD stage 3/4, age 17–80 years and serum 25(OH)D ,75 nmol/L. Brachial artery Flow Mediated Dilation (FMD), Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV), Augmentation Index (AI) and circulating blood biomarkers were evaluated at baseline and at 16 weeks. Oral 300,000 units cholecalciferol was administered at baseline and 8-weeks. Results: Clinical characteristics of 26 patients were: age 50614 (mean61SD) years, eGFR 41611 ml/min/1.73 m2, males 73%, dyslipidaemia 36%, smokers 23% and hypertensives 87%. At 16-week serum 25(OH)D and calcium increased (43616 to 84629 nmol/L, p,0.001 and 2.3760.09 to 2.4260.09 mmol/L; p = 0.004, respectively) and parathyroid hormone decreased (10.868.6 to 7.464.4; p = 0.001). FMD improved from 3.163.3% to 6.163.7%, p = 0.001. Endothelial biomarker concentrations decreased: E-Selectin from 566662123 to 525662058 pg/mL; p = 0.032, ICAM-1, 3.4560.01 to 3.1061.04 ng/mL; p = 0.038 and VCAM-1, 54633 to 42633 ng/mL; p = 0.006. eGFR, BP, PWV, AI, hsCRP, von Willebrand factor and Fibroblast Growth Factor-23, remained unchanged. Conclusion: This study demonstrates for the first time improvement of endothelial vasomotor and secretory functions with vitamin D in CKD patients without significant adverse effects on arterial stiffness, serum calcium or FGF-23. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT0200571

Neuroendocrine carcinoma of the seminal vesicles presenting with Lambert Eaton syndrome: a case report

Lambert Eaton syndrome may be the initial symptom of a seminal vesicle mass. Diagnosis needs to be obtained by transrectal biopsy and chemotherapy may delay progression of the tumor

All clinically-relevant blood components transmit prion disease following a single blood transfusion: a sheep model of vCJD

Variant CJD (vCJD) is an incurable, infectious human disease, likely arising from the consumption of BSE-contaminated meat products. Whilst the epidemic appears to be waning, there is much concern that vCJD infection may be perpetuated in humans by the transfusion of contaminated blood products. Since 2004, several cases of transfusion-associated vCJD transmission have been reported and linked to blood collected from pre-clinically affected donors. Using an animal model in which the disease manifested resembles that of humans affected with vCJD, we examined which blood components used in human medicine are likely to pose the greatest risk of transmitting vCJD via transfusion. We collected two full units of blood from BSE-infected donor animals during the pre-clinical phase of infection. Using methods employed by transfusion services we prepared red cell concentrates, plasma and platelets units (including leucoreduced equivalents). Following transfusion, we showed that all components contain sufficient levels of infectivity to cause disease following only a single transfusion and also that leucoreduction did not prevent disease transmission. These data suggest that all blood components are vectors for prion disease transmission, and highlight the importance of multiple control measures to minimise the risk of human to human transmission of vCJD by blood transfusion

Brain enhancement through cognitive training: A new insight from brain connectome

Owing to the recent advances in neurotechnology and the progress in understanding of brain cognitive functions, improvements of cognitive performance or acceleration of learning process with brain enhancement systems is not out of our reach anymore, on the contrary, it is a tangible target of contemporary research. Although a variety of approaches have been proposed, we will mainly focus on cognitive training interventions, in which learners repeatedly perform cognitive tasks to improve their cognitive abilities. In this review article, we propose that the learning process during the cognitive training can be facilitated by an assistive system monitoring cognitive workloads using electroencephalography (EEG) biomarkers, and the brain connectome approach can provide additional valuable biomarkers for facilitating leaners' learning processes. For the purpose, we will introduce studies on the cognitive training interventions, EEG biomarkers for cognitive workload, and human brain connectome. As cognitive overload and mental fatigue would reduce or even eliminate gains of cognitive training interventions, a real-time monitoring of cognitive workload can facilitate the learning process by flexibly adjusting difficulty levels of the training task. Moreover, cognitive training interventions should have effects on brain sub-networks, not on a single brain region, and graph theoretical network metrics quantifying topological architecture of the brain network can differentiate with respect to individual cognitive states as well as to different individuals' cognitive abilities, suggesting that the connectome is a valuable approach for tracking the learning progress. Although only a few studies have exploited the connectome approach for studying alterations of the brain network induced by cognitive training interventions so far, we believe that it would be a useful technique for capturing improvements of cognitive function