Immune gene expression profiling of Proliferative Kidney Disease in rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss reveals a dominance of anti-inflammatory, antibody and T helper cell-like activities

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Characterization of BAFF and APRIL subfamily receptors in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Potential role of the BAFF/APRIL axis in the pathogenesis of proliferative kidney disease

We would like to thank Lucia González for technical assistance and Rosario Castro for producing some of the cDNAs used in this study. This work was supported by the European Research Council (ERC Starting Grant 2011 280469) and by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7) of the European Union (Grant Agreement 311993 TARGETFISH) and under the Horizon H2020 research and innovation programme (Grant H2020-634429 ParaFishControl). This work was also partially funded by project AGL2014-54456-JIN from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO). JWH was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant reference CRSII3_147649-1).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Acute Effects of Increased Joint Mobilization Treatment Duration on Ankle Function and Dynamic Postural Control in Female Athletes With Chronic Ankle Instability

Background:: Chronic ankle instability (CAI) is linked to mechanical and functional insufficiencies. Joint mobilization is purported to be effective at treating these deficits. Purpose:: To examine the effect of different treatment durations of a grade IV anterior-to-posterior ankle joint mobilization on weightbearing dorsiflexion range of motion (WB-DFROM), posterior talar glide (PG), and dynamic postural control in individuals with CAI. Study Design:: Controlled laboratory study. Methods:: A total of 48 female athletes (mean age, 22.8 ± 4.8 years) with unilateral CAI participated in this study. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 treatment conditions: 30 seconds, 60 seconds, and 120 seconds. Treatment was provided to the injured limb on 3 separate occasions 48 hours apart and consisted of a Maitland grade IV anterior-to-posterior talar joint mobilization based on the participant’s initial group assignment. WB-DFROM; PG; and the anterior (ANT), posteromedial (PM), and posterolateral (PL) reach directions of the Star Excursion Balance Test were measured bilaterally before and after each treatment. The uninjured limb acted as a control. Data were analyzed using 2-way mixed-model analyses of variance, and effect sizes were calculated through use of Hedges g. Results:: Significant differences were detected after all treatment sessions for all outcome measures (P ≤ .001) and between treatment groups after sessions 1, 2, and 3 for all outcome measures (P ≤ .001). Effect sizes were very large or huge for all treatment groups for WB-DFROM, PG, and ANT reach direction. Substantial variation was found in effect sizes for PM and PL measures. Conclusion:: Accessory mobilization is an effective treatment to induce acute changes in ankle motion and dynamic postural control in patients with CAI, with longer treatment durations conferring greater improvements. Clinical Relevance:: This study adds clarity to the use of joint mobilization treatments and will add to the current clinical practice strategy for patients with CAI

Optimal Generators for Quantum Sensing

We propose a computationally efficient method to derive the unitary evolution that a quantum state is most sensitive to. This allows one to determine the optimal use of an entangled state for quantum sensing, even in complex systems where intuition from canonical squeezing examples breaks down. In this paper we show that the maximal obtainable sensitivity using a given quantum state is determined by the largest eigenvalue of the quantum Fisher information matrix (QFIM) and, importantly, the corresponding evolution is uniquely determined by the coinciding eigenvector. Since we optimize the process of parameter encoding rather than focusing on state preparation protocols, our scheme is relevant for any quantum sensor. This procedure naturally optimizes multiparameter estimation by determining, through the eigenvectors of the QFIM, the maximal set of commuting observables with optimal sensitivity.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure

Immune response modulation upon sequential heterogeneous co-infection with Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae and VHSV in brown trout (Salmo trutta)

This work was supported by DEFRA [grant number F1198] in a joint project between SFIRC in Aberdeen, Scotland and CEFAS laboratory in Weymouth, England. Further funding to present this work at international conferences was granted to BG by European Association of Fish Pathologists (EAFP), British Society for Immunology (BSI), Fisheries Society of the British Isles (FSBI), European Society of Veterinary Virology (ESVV), and Aberdeen University Principal’s Excellence Fund. JWH was supported by the BBSRC (BB/K009125/1).Peer reviewedPostprin

Molecular characterization and expression analysis of four fish-specific CC chemokine receptors CCR4La, CCR4Lc1, CCR4Lc2 and CCR11 in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

ZQ was supported financially by the “Qinglan” project of Jiangsu Province and the Overseas Training Plan for Young and Middle-aged Teachers and Principals of College and Universities in Jiangsu Province, China. This work was partially supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31302221 and 31272666) and Jiangsu Province (BK2011418 and BK20151297). TW received funding from the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland (MASTS), a pooling initiative funded by the Scottish Funding Council (grant reference HR09011), and JWH was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant reference CRSII3_147649-1).Peer reviewedPostprin

Characterisation of arginase paralogues in salmonids and their modulation by immune stimulation/ infection

Acknowledgements OB was supported by a PhD studentship from the Marine Collaboration Research Forum (MarCRF), which is a collaboration between the University of Aberdeen and Marine Scotland Science, Marine Laboratory (MSS), and through Scottish Government project AQ0080. EW was supported by a PhD studentship from the Ministry of Science and Technology of Thailand and Mahasarakham University. TW received funding from the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland (MASTS), a pooling initiative funded by the Scottish Funding Council (grant reference HR09011), and JWH was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant reference CRSII3_147649-1).Peer reviewedPostprin

Recycling Argon through Metamorphic Reactions: the Record in Symplectites

The 40Ar/39Ar ages of metamorphic micas that crystallized at high temperatures are commonly interpreted as cooling ages, with grains considered to have lost 40Ar via thermally-driven diffusion into the grain boundary network. Recently reported laser-ablation data suggest that the spatial distribution of Ar in metamorphic micas does not always conform to the patterns predicted by diffusion theory and that despite high metamorphic temperatures, argon was not removed efficiently from the local system during metamorphic evolution. In the Western Gneiss Region (WGR), Norway, felsic gneisses preserve microtextural evidence for the breakdown of phengite to biotite and plagioclase symplectites during near isothermal decompression from c. 20–25 to c. 8–12 kbar at ~700°C. These samples provide an ideal natural laboratory to assess whether the complete replacement of one K-bearing mineral by another at high temperatures completely ‘resets’ the Ar clock, or whether there is some inheritance of 40Ar in the neo-crystallized phase. The timing of the high-temperature portion of the WGR metamorphic cycle has been well constrained in previous studies. However, the timing of cooling following the overprint is still much debated. In-situ laser ablation spot dating in phengite, biotite-plagioclase symplectites and coarser, texturally later biotite yielded 40Ar/39Ar ages that span much of the metamorphic cycle. Together these data show that despite residence at temperatures of ~700°C, Ar is not completely removed by diffusive loss or during metamorphic recrystallization. Instead, Ar released during phengite breakdown appears to be partially reincorporated into the newly crystallizing biotite and plagioclase (or is trapped in fluid inclusions in those phases) within a close system. Our data show that the microtextural and petrographic evolution of the sample being dated provides a critical framework in which local 40Ar recycling can be tracked, thus potentially allowing 40Ar/39Ar dates to be linked more accurately to metamorphic history