Experimental characterisation of porcine subcutaneous adipose tissue under blunt impact up to irreversible deformation

A deeper understanding of the mechanical characteristics of adipose tissue under large deformation is important for the analysis of blunt force trauma, as adipose tissue alters the stresses and strains that are transferred to subjacent tissues. Hence, results from drop tower tests of subcutaneous adipose tissue are presented (i) to characterise adipose tissue behaviour up to irreversible deformation, (ii) to relate this to the microstructural configuration, (iii) to quantify this deformation and (iv) to provide an analytical basis for computational modelling of adipose tissue under blunt impact. The drop tower experiments are performed exemplarily on porcine subcutaneous adipose tissue specimens for three different impact velocities and two impactor geometries. An approach based on photogrammetry is used to derive 3D representations of the deformation patterns directly after the impact. Median values for maximum impactor acceleration for tests with a flat cylindrical impactor geometry at impact velocities of 886~mm/s, 1253~mm/s and 2426~mm/s amount to 61.1~g, 121.6~g and 264.2~g, respectively, whereas thickness reduction of the specimens after impact amount to 16.7%, 30.5% and 39.3%, respectively. The according values for tests with a spherically shaped impactor at an impact velocity of 1253~mm/s are 184.2~g and 78.7%. Based on these results, it is hypothesised that, in the initial phase of a blunt impact, adipose tissue behaviour is mainly governed by the behaviour of the lipid inside the adipocytes, whereas for further loading, contribution of the extracellular collagen fibre network becomes more dominant

Growth Abnormalities in Children with Chronic Hepatitis B or C

Background. It has been suggested that chronic hepatitis B infection leads to growth impairment, but data are inconsistent and underlying factors are not defined. Methods. Children and adolescents with chronic hepatitis B (HBV) or C (HCV) were retrospectively evaluated for growth, weight, antiviral treatment, biochemical signs of liver inflammation, route of infection, and HBV DNA, respectively. Results. In all, 135 children (mean age 6.1 years, 81 male, 54 female) with HBV (n = 78) or HCV (n = 57) were studied. Route of infection was vertical in 50%, parenteral in 11%, and unknown in 39%. ALT levels were above 1.5 times above normal in 30% while 70% had normal/near normal transaminases. 80% were Caucasian, 14% Asian, 1% black, and 4% unknown. Mean baseline height measured in SDS was significantly lower in the study population than in noninfected children (boys −1.2, girls −0.4, P < 0.01). 28 children were below 2 standard deviations of the norm while 5 were above 2 standard deviations. SDS measures in relation to individual factors were as follows: elevated ALT: boys −1.4, females −0.5 (P < 0.01), ALT normal/near normal: boys +0.4, females +0.6; parenteral transmission: boys −3.3, girls −0.9 (P < 0.01), vertical transmission: boys −0.2, females −0.2. Antiviral treatment itself or HBV-DNA load did not reach statistically significant differences. Conclusions. Chronic HBV or HCV may lead to compromised growth which is mostly influenced by liver inflammation. Our data may argue for early antiviral treatment in children with significant ALT elevation

Population genetic data for 17 Y STR markers from Benghazi (East Libya)

The seventeen Y-STR loci included in the AmpF‘STR1 YfilerTM PCR Amplification kit (DYS19, DYS389I,DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS385a/b, DYS438, DYS439, DYS437, DYS448, DYS458,DYS456, DYS635, and Y-GATA-H4) were used to type a sample population of 238 males from eastern Libya (Benghazi region). Of 238 observed haplotypes, 214 were unique (90%) and 24 (10%) were found more than once. The 17 loci gave a discriminating power of 0.999. DYS458 showed the highest diversity as a single-locus marker (0.73). Allelic frequencies and gene diversities for each Y-STR locus were determined. The high haplotype diversity and discrimination capacity (0.996) demonstrate the utility of these loci for human identification in forensic applications. Comparative analysis with Y-STR datasets of relevant populations and submission of the haplotypes to the Y-STR Haplotype Reference Database (YHRD) was undertaken

FDG-PET imaging, EEG and sleep phenotypes as translational biomarkers for research in Alzheimer's disease

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Allele Frequencies of 15 STR Loci (Identifiler™ Kit) in Basque-Americans

Individuals with Basque ancestry form a historically and culturally important minority of the population of the western United States. Allele frequencies for the 15 autosomal STRs in the AmpFlSTR® Identifiler® PCR Amplification Kit (Applied Biosystems) from 156 unrelated self-identified Basque individuals born in the United States are presented. Allele frequencies were used to calculate parameters commonly used in genetics and forensics including power of discrimination (PD), power of exclusion (PE), polymorphic information content (PIC), and expected heterozygosity (He). The sample population was also compared with the European Basque population and the major American ethnicities

Maximum likelihood estimation of locus-specific mutation rates in Y-chromosome short tandem repeats

Motivation: Y-chromosome short tandem repeats (Y-STRs) are widely used for population studies, forensic purposes and, potentially, the study of disease, therefore knowledge of their mutation rate is valuable. Here we show a novel method for estimation of site-specific Y-STR mutation rates from partial phylogenetic information, via the maximum likelihood framework

Analysis of Y chromosome STR haplotypes in the European part of Russia reveals high diversities but non-significant genetic distances between populations

A total of 17 Y-specific STR loci were studied in 12 districts of the European part of Russia aiming to ascertain the amount of substructure required for the construction of a representative regional database. All groups exhibited high haplotype diversities but low inter-population variance as measured by an analysis of molecular variance. However, when Western Russia is taken as a whole, the genetic distances to the neighbouring populations were significant. Whereas gradual change in the Y chromosome pool exists between Russia and the Slavic-speaking populations to the West, remarkable discontinuities were observed with neighbouring populations in the East, North and South

Early-Onset and Robust Amyloid Pathology in a New Homozygous Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease

BACKGROUND: Transgenic mice expressing mutated amyloid precursor protein (APP) and presenilin (PS)-1 or -2 have been successfully used to model cerebral beta-amyloidosis, one of the characteristic hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. However, the use of many transgenic lines is limited by premature death, low breeding efficiencies and late onset and high inter-animal variability of the pathology, creating a need for improved animal models. Here we describe the detailed characterization of a new homozygous double-transgenic mouse line that addresses most of these issues. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The transgenic mouse line (ARTE10) was generated by co-integration of two transgenes carrying the K670N/M671L mutated amyloid precursor protein (APP(swe)) and the M146V mutated presenilin 1 (PS1) both under control of a neuron-specific promoter. Mice, hemi- as well as homozygous for both transgenes, are viable and fertile with good breeding capabilities and a low rate of premature death. They develop robust AD-like cerebral beta-amyloid plaque pathology with glial inflammation, signs of neuritic dystrophy and cerebral amyloid angiopathy. Using our novel image analysis algorithm for semi-automatic quantification of plaque burden, we demonstrate an early onset and progressive plaque deposition starting at 3 months of age in homozygous mice with low inter-animal variability and 100%-penetrance of the phenotype. The plaques are readily detected in vivo by PiB, the standard human PET tracer for AD. In addition, ARTE10 mice display early loss of synaptic markers and age-related cognitive deficits. By applying a gamma-secretase inhibitor we show a dose dependent reduction of soluble amyloid beta levels in the brain. CONCLUSIONS: ARTE10 mice develop a cerebral beta-amyloidosis closely resembling the beta-amyloid-related aspects of human AD neuropathology. Unifying several advantages of previous transgenic models, this line particularly qualifies for the use in target validation and for evaluating potential diagnostic or therapeutic agents targeting the amyloid pathology of AD

Y-chromosomal STRs haplotypes in the Taiwanese Paiwan population

The distribution of Y-chromosomal short tandem repeat (Y-STR) haplotypes was determined in a population of Taiwanese Paiwan aboriginals. Using 17 Y-STR markers, a total of 135 haplotypes were observed, 102 of which were unique. The overall haplotype diversity for the 17 Y-STR loci tested was 0.9922 and the discrimination capacity was 0.6490. In addition, three novel intermediate alleles at the DYS448 locus were also found