IFN-gamma is associated with risk of Schistosoma japonicum infection in China.

Before the start of the schistosomiasis transmission season, 129 villagers resident on a Schistosoma japonicum-endemic island in Poyang Lake, Jiangxi Province, 64 of whom were stool-positive for S. japonicum eggs by the Kato method and 65 negative, were treated with praziquantel. Forty-five days later the 93 subjects who presented for follow-up were all stool-negative. Blood samples were collected from all 93 individuals. S. japonicum soluble worm antigen (SWAP) and soluble egg antigen (SEA) stimulated IL-4, IL-5 and IFN-gamma production in whole-blood cultures were measured by ELISA. All the subjects were interviewed nine times during the subsequent transmission season to estimate the intensity of their contact with potentially infective snail habitats, and the subjects were all re-screened for S. japonicum by the Kato method at the end of the transmission season. Fourteen subjects were found to be infected at that time. There was some indication that the risk of infection might be associated with gender (with females being at higher risk) and with the intensity of water contact, and there was evidence that levels of SEA-induced IFN-gamma production were associated with reduced risk of infection

Involvement of autophagy in the effect of exercise on left ventricular hypertrophy induced by high fat diet in rats

Chaired Posters PresentationObjectives: Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) associated with obesity increases the morbidity and mortality of cardiovascular disease, which could be attenuated by exercise in overweight and hypertensive patients. The lysosomal degradation pathway − autophagy is reportedly mediated the beneficial effect of exercise on glucose and lipid homeostasis. The present study aimed to investigate the involvement of autophagy in the effect of exercise on LVH induced by high fat diet in rats. Methods: Female adult SD rats were divided into 4 groups namely: (i) high fat diet (HFD), (ii) HFD+exercise, (iii) exercise, (iv) control. Rats in the HFD groups were orally fed with high-fat chow (30% fat) daily for 12 weeks, and rats in the exercise groups had exercise with a motorized wheel in the last 4 weeks. Noninvasive measures of systolic pressure and fat composition were assessed, respectively by tail cuff and MRI. The expression of markers for cardiac hypertrophy and the protein expression in autophagic pathway were determined by quantitative real time-PCR and western blot, respectively. Statistical significance was at p<0.05 with ANOVA analysis followed by post-hoc tests. Results: Rats fed with HFD had LVH (increased heart weight and LV/ RV+septum ratio) with higher levels of body weight, arterial pressures and fat composition than that of the control rat. In addition, the QTc interval and the diameter and disarray of ventricular myocytes were significantly increased in the HFD group, supported by elevated levels of the expression of hypertrophic markers (ANP, BNP, β-MHC). These parameters were attenuated by exercise in the HFD-fed rats. Moreover, we found elevated levels of LC3II in the HFD heart, which were also attenuated by exercise, suggesting an involvement of autophagy in the beneficial effect of exercise. Furthermore, the expression level of AMPKα was also increased in the exercise groups. Conclusion: We demonstrated that exercise lowers the body weight and attenuates the HFD-induced LVH in rats, which probably involves autophagy. Future studies will focus on the role of autophagy in the pathogenesis.published_or_final_versio

Magnetically tunable properties related with carriers density in self-doped La1−xMnO3/y wt %Nb-SrTiO3 heteroepitaxial junctions

The self-doped La1−xMnO3 (x=0.1 and 0.3) thin films deposited on Nb-doped (wt % y) SrTiO3 (y=0.05 and 0.8) crystals to form heteroepitaxial junctions have been prepared by the pulse laser deposition method. The current-voltage loops of junction were measured at several fixed magnetic fields for the temperature from 10 to 300 K. We have focused on the effects of doping level and annealing time on the magnetically tunable property of the junction. The results show that these junctions have a typical temperature-dependent rectifying characteristics and asymmetrical hysteresis. The magnetically tunable property of the junction was related with the annealing time for the self-doped La1−xMnO3−δ thin film and the doping level in the Nb-doped SrTiO3 (STON) crystal. In the self-doped La0.9MnO3/0.05-STON junction annealed at 900 °C for 5 h, the relative ratio of voltage [Vb(0)−Vb(H)] /Vb(0) is about 70% at H=6 T and T=70 K for I=0.1 mA, showing a large magnetically tunable property. These results reveal the great potential of the manganites in configuring artificial devices.published_or_final_versio

Sorafenib dose escalation is not uniformly associated with blood pressure elevations in normotensive patients with advanced malignancies.

Hypertension after treatment with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor inhibitors is associated with superior treatment outcomes for advanced cancer patients. To determine whether increased sorafenib doses cause incremental increases in blood pressure (BP), we measured 12-h ambulatory BP in 41 normotensive advanced solid tumor patients in a randomized dose-escalation study. After 7 days' treatment (400 mg b.i.d.), mean diastolic BP (DBP) increased in both study groups. After dose escalation, group A (400 mg t.i.d.) had marginally significant further increase in 12-h mean DBP (P = 0.053), but group B (600 mg b.i.d.) did not achieve statistically significant increases (P = 0.25). Within groups, individuals varied in BP response to sorafenib dose escalation, but these differences did not correlate with changes in steady-state plasma sorafenib concentrations. These findings in normotensive patients suggest BP is a complex pharmacodynamic biomarker of VEGF inhibition. Patients have intrinsic differences in sensitivity to sorafenib's BP-elevating effects

Effect of applied magnetic field on the rectifying characteristics in self-doped La0.9MnO3/0.8 wt %Nb-SrTiO3 heteroepitaxial junctions

The epitaxial self-doped La0.9MnO3 thin film was deposited on a 0.8 wt %Nb-doped SrTiO3 substrate by pulse laser deposition method to form a bilayer p-n junction with an area of 8 mm2. The isothermal current-voltage loops measured from 10 to 380 K with an interval of 10 K in applied magnetic fields up to 7 T show typical temperature-dependent rectifying characteristic and asymmetrical hysteresis. The effect of magnetic field on the rectifying property is very small for the temperature above 150 K and a strong asymmetrical effect on the rectifying property below 150 K. In the low temperature region, although the diffusive voltage Vd is not affected by the applied magnetic field, the breakdown voltage Vb decreases with the increasing of magnetic field. At 10 K, the relative ratio of voltage [Vb(0)−Vb(7 T)]/Vb(0) is about 14%, showing a magnetically tunable property. These results reveal the great potential of the manganites in configuring artificial devices.published_or_final_versio

Absolute quantitation of DNA methylation of 28 candidate genes in prostate cancer using pyrosequencing

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Aberrant DNA methylation plays a pivotal role in carcinogenesis and its mapping is likely to provide biomarkers for improved diagnostic and risk assessment in prostate cancer (PCa). We quantified and compared absolute methylation levels among 28 candidate genes in 48 PCa and 29 benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) samples using the pyrosequencing (PSQ) method to identify genes with diagnostic and prognostic potential. RARB, HIN1, BCL2, GSTP1, CCND2, EGFR5, APC, RASSF1A, MDR1, NKX2-5, CDH13, DPYS, PTGS2, EDNRB, MAL, PDLIM4, HLAa, ESR1 and TIG1 were highly methylated in PCa compared to BPH (p < 0.001), while SERPINB5, CDH1, TWIST1, DAPK1, THRB, MCAM, SLIT2, CDKN2a and SFN were not. RARB methylation above 21% completely distinguished PCa from BPH. Separation based on methylation level of SFN, SLIT2 and SERPINB5 distinguished low and high Gleason score cancers, e.g. SFN and SERPINB5 together correctly classified 81% and 77% of high and low Gleason score cancers respectively. Several genes including CDH1 previously reported as methylation markers in PCa were not confirmed in our study. Increasing age was positively associated with gene methylation (p < 0.0001). Accurate quantitative measurement of gene methylation in PCa appears promising and further validation of genes like RARB, HIN1, BCL2, APC and GSTP1 is warranted for diagnostic potential and SFN, SLIT2 and SERPINB5 for prognostic potential

A quantitative link between microplastic instability and macroscopic deformation behaviors in metallic glasses

Based on mechanical instability of individual shear transformation zones (STZs), a quantitative link between the microplastic instability and macroscopic deformation behavior of metallic glasses was proposed. Our analysis confirms that macroscopic metallic glasses comprise a statistical distribution of STZ embryos with distributed values of activation energy, and the microplastic instability of all the individual STZs dictates the macroscopic deformation behavior of amorphous solids. The statistical model presented in this paper can successfully reproduce the macroscopic stress-strain curves determined experimentally and readily be used to predict strain-rate effects on the macroscopic responses with the availability of the material parameters at a certain strain rate, which offer new insights into understanding the actual deformation mechanism in amorphous solids. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.published_or_final_versio

A quantitative link between microplastic instability and macroscopic deformation behaviors in metallic glasses

2009-2010 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

The effects of a supermarket-based intervention on the nutritional quality of private-label foods: a prospective study

Private-label products, products owned by supermarkets, are a growing area of the food supply. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of an intervention that provided an Australian supermarket ('intervention supermarket') with comparative nutrition data to improve the healthiness of their private-label range. Between 2015 and 2016, the intervention supermarket received reports that ranked the nutritional quality of their products against competitors. Changes in the nutrient content (sodium, sugar, saturated fat, energy and Health Star Rating) of products from the intervention supermarket between 2015 and 2018 were compared against changes achieved for three comparators (private-label products from two other supermarkets and branded products). The intervention supermarket achieved a significantly greater reduction in the sodium content of their products relative to all three comparators, which ranged between -104 and -52 mg/100 g (all p 0.05). Providing comparative nutrition information to a supermarket may be ineffective in improving the healthiness of their private-label products, likely due to competing factors that play a role in the decision-making process behind product reformulation and product discontinuation/innovation

Low-temperature switching fatigue behavior of ferroelectric SrBi₂Ta₂O[sub 9] thin films

Author name used in this publication: Z. G. LiuAuthor name used in this publication: H. L. W. ChanAuthor name used in this publication: C. L. Choy2003-2004 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe