The usefulness of diagnostic imaging for the assessment of pain symptoms in temporomandibular disorders

SummaryThe causes of pain symptoms in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and masticatory muscle (MM) regions may not be determined by clinical examination alone. In this review, we document that pain symptoms of the TMJ and MM regions in patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) are associated with computed tomography and magnetic resonance (MR) findings of internal derangement, joint effusion, osteoarthritis, and bone marrow edema. However, it is emphasized that these imaging findings must not be regarded as the unique and dominant factors in defining TMJ pain. High signal intensity and prominent enhancement of the posterior disk attachment on fat saturation T2-weighted imaging and dynamic MR imaging with contrast material are closely correlated with the severity of TMJ pain. Magnetic transfer contrast, MR spectroscopy, diffusion tensor imaging, and ultrasonography findings have helped identify intramuscular edema and contracture as one of the causes of MM pain and fatigue. Recently, changes in brain as detected by functional MR neuroimaging have been associated with changes in the TMJ and MM regions. The thalamus, the primary somatosensory cortex, the insula, and the anterior and mid-cinglate cortices are most frequently associated with TMD pain

Trypanosoma evansi ima gen sličan genu za oligosaharil-transferazu klona I protozoona Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense.

Recent data has shown that there are strong indications that the putative oligosaccharyl transferase genes from Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense were conserved within the family Trypanosomatidae. Based on these findings, the study endeavored to determine if Trypanosoma evansi also possessed putative oligosaccharyl transferase (OST) clone I previously documented in Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense. Using the DNA hybridization method (Southern blot analyses), genomic DNAs of Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and Trypanosoma evansi were processed using the same set of restriction enzymes and subsequently hybridized by the same set of DNA probes designed from the reported nucleotide sequence of Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense putative oligosaccharyl transferase clone I. The results exhibited that Trypanosoma evansi also contains a gene similar to the reported Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense putative OST gene clone I, as shown by the successful hybridization of the DNA probes to their complementary nucleotide sequences in the genome of the Trypanosoma evansi species. In addition, the data also showed that Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and Trypanosoma evansi genomes shared some common restriction sites and loci within the genome of each individual parasite species.Nedavna istraživanja pokazala su da su geni za oligosaharil transferazu protozoona Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense vrlo dobro sačuvani unutar porodice Trypanosomatidae. Cilj istraživanja bio je otkriti je li ista pojava karakteristična za gen za oligosaharil transferazu klona I protozoona Trypanosoma evansi. Genomske DNA vrste Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense i vrste Trypanosoma evansi bile su pretražene hibridizacijom DNA (Southern Blot analizom) rabeći istu skupinu restrikcijskih enzima kao i iste probe za hibridizaciju DNA pripravljene na temelju objavljenog slijeda nukleotida za oligosaharil-transferazu klona I protozoona Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense. Rezultati su pokazali da Trypanosoma evansi također sadrži gen koji je vrlo sličan genu za oligosaharil-transferazu protozoona Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, što je dokazano uspješnom hibridizacijom DNA proba s komplementarnim nukleotidnim slijedovima u genomu vrste Trypanosoma evansi. Istraživanje je pokazalo da Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense i Trypanosoma evansi dijele i zajednička restrikcijska mjesta

Genomic Cloning and Sequence Analysis of Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense gene Encoding Putative N-glycosylation Enzyme

Background:  : : is a haemoflagellate parasite of zoonotic significance. Aside from its public health importance, this parasite subspecies gained notoriety because of their effective system to circumvent the immune response of vertebrate host. The parasite cell surface is covered with millions of VSG dimers, which serve as an almost infinite repertoire of biomolecules needed for evasion of host immune system. Around two decades ago, it was resolved that all trypanosome VSG is associated with one or more N-linked oligosaccharides, with a range of structures including high mannose and complex types. This complex process of protein modification known as N-linked glycosylation is catalyzed by oligosaccharyl transferase (OST). In general, the incorporation of glycan structures can alter protein’s antigenic properties and recently it was established that glycan molecules associated with VSG were found to be important in several aspects of trypanosome-host interaction, especially during parasite evasion of the host defense mechanisms. Therefore, our major interest is to clone and characterize the trypanosome OST. Material, Methods and Results: The template genomic DNA for PCR amplification was extracted as described previously. In an attempt to clone Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense putative oligosaccharyl transferase, an amplicon of ~2000 bp was obtained having an open reading frame of 2057 bp and deduced primary structure composed of 685 amino acid residues (TbrOST II). Comparison of TbrOST II ORF with annotated putative oligosaccharyl transferase in the genome of other organisms revealed sequence identity to other kinetoplastid. TbrOST II had high nucleotide (Ns) and amino acid (As) sequence similarity with the genomes of T. brucei gambiense (Ns:99%; As:78%) and T. brucei (Ns:95-98%; As:77%-98%). There was also significant nucleotide and amino acid sequence identity in the genomes of T. cruzi (Ns:74%; As:63%), Leishmania infantum (Ns:70-83%; As:46-57%), L. braziliensis (Ns:69-81%; As:46-55%) and L. major (Ns:69-80%; As:46-57%). Sequence similarity (71-77%) from other origins was also exhibited. The nucleotide sequence alignments and analysis were performed using the Oxford University Mac Vector 6.5 sequence analysis software and CLC Workbench 5.6 software. Discussion: The nucleotide BLAST results indicate that sequence identity is higher between species of the same genus rather than of the same family. It is known that T. brucei, T. gambiense and T. rhodesiense are members of the Brucei-complex or Brucei group. Although T. brucei brucei has more similarities with T. brucei rhodesiense than T. brucei gambiense, these parasites are morphologically indistinguishable. This is the probable reason why high sequence identity was displayed by other subspecies of the Brucei group. In addition, the high percent identity possessed by TbrOST II with other trypansomatids agrees with the evolutionarily conserved characteristics of the established OST. The DNA sequence data of TbrOST II showing similar sequences in the genome of other organisms further corroborate the previous reports regarding the ubiquitous nature of OST in other life forms. Based on the size of the amplicon and significant percentage of nucleotide and amino acid sequence identity to homologues within the genome of related species and various organisms, the results strongly indicate that TbrOST II is a trypanosome oligosaccharyl transferase gene candidate that should be fully characterized and subjected to functional genomic studies. The study reports the molecular cloning and sequencing of a potential oligosaccharyl transferase gene in T. brucei rhodesiense (TbrOST II). The sequence data has been deposited in the GenBank with accession number GU475126.Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiens

A Double Planetary System around the Evolved Intermediate-Mass Star HD 4732

We report the detection of a double planetary system orbiting around the evolved intermediate-mass star HD 4732 from precise Doppler measurements at Okayama Astrophysical Observatory (OAO) and Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO). The star is a K0 subgiant with a mass of 1.7 M_sun and solar metallicity. The planetary system is composed of two giant planets with minimum mass of msini=2.4 M_J, orbital period of 360.2 d and 2732 d, and eccentricity of 0.13 and 0.23, respectively. Based on dynamical stability analysis for the system, we set the upper limit on the mass of the planets to be about 28 M_J (i>5 deg) in the case of coplanar prograde configuration.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

A Trio of Giant Planets Orbiting Evolved Star HD 184010

We report the discovery of a triple-giant-planet system around an evolved star HD 184010 (HR 7421, HIP 96016). This discovery is based on observations from Okayama Planet Search Program, a precise radial velocity survey, undertaken at Okayama Astrophysical Observatory between 2004 April and 2021 June. The star is K0 type and located at beginning of the red-giant branch. It has a mass of $1.35_{-0.21}^{+0.19} M_{\odot}$, a radius of $4.86_{-0.49}^{+0.55} R_{\odot}$, and a surface gravity $\log g$ of $3.18_{-0.07}^{+0.08}$. The planetary system is composed of three giant planets in a compact configuration: The planets have minimum masses of $M_{\rm{b}}\sin i = 0.31_{-0.04}^{+0.03} M_{\rm{J}}$, $M_{\rm{c}}\sin i = 0.30_{-0.05}^{+0.04} M_{\rm{J}}$, and $M_{\rm{d}}\sin i = 0.45_{-0.06}^{+0.04} M_{\rm{J}}$, and orbital periods of $P_{\rm{b}}=286.6_{-0.7}^{+2.4}\ \rm{d}$, $P_{\rm{c}}=484.3_{-3.5}^{+5.5}\ \rm{d}$, and $P_{\rm{d}}=836.4_{-8.4}^{+8.4}\ \rm{d}$, respectively, which are derived from a triple Keplerian orbital fit to three sets of radial velocity data. The ratio of orbital periods are close to$P_{\rm{d}}:P_{\rm{c}}:P_{\rm{b}} \sim 21:12:7$, which means the period ratios between neighboring planets are both lower than$2:1$. The dynamical stability analysis reveals that the planets should have near-circular orbits. The system could remain stable over 1 Gyr, initialized from co-planar orbits, low eccentricities ($e=0.05$), and planet masses equal to the minimum mass derived from the best-fit circular orbit fitting. Besides, the planets are not likely in mean motion resonance. HD 184010 system is unique: it is the first system discovered to have a highly evolved star ($\log g < 3.5$cgs) and more than two giant planets all with intermediate orbital periods ($10^2\ \rm{d} < P < 10^3\ \rm{d}$).Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures, Published in PAS

A double planetary system around the evolved intermediate-mass star HD 4732

We report the detection of a double planetary system orbiting around the evolved intermediate-mass star HD 4732 from precise Doppler measurements at Okayama Astrophysical Observatory and Australian Astronomical Observatory. The star is a K0 subgiant with a mass of 1.7 M⊙ and solar metallicity. The planetary system is composed of two giant planets with minimum mass of m sin i = 2.4 MJ, orbital period of 360.2 days and 2732 days, and eccentricity of 0.13 and 0.23, respectively. Based on dynamical stability analysis for the system, we set the upper limit on the mass of the planets to be about 28 MJ (i greater than 5°) in the case of coplanar prograde configuration

A pair of giant planets around the evolved intermediate-mass star hd 47366: multiple circular orbits or a mutually retrograde configuration

We report the detection of a double planetary system around the evolved intermediate-mass star HD 47366 from precise radial-velocity measurements at the Okayama Astrophysical Observatory, Xinglong Station, and Australian Astronomical Observatory. The star is a K1 giant with a mass of 1.81 ± 0.13 Me, a radius of 7.30 ± 0.33 Re, and solar metallicity. The planetary system is composed of two giant planets with minimum masses of 1.75 +0.20 to -0.17 MJ and 1.86 +0.16 to -0.15 MJ, orbital periods of 363.3 +2.5 to -2.4 days and 684.7 +5.0 to -4.9 days and eccentricities of 0.089 +0.079 to -0.060 and 0.278 +0.067 to -0.094, respectively, which are derived by a double Keplerian orbital fit to the radial-velocity data. The system adds to the population of multi-giant-planet systems with relatively small orbital separations, which are preferentially found around evolved intermediate-mass stars. Dynamical stability analysis for the system revealed, however, that the best-fit orbits are unstable in the case of a prograde configuration. The system could be stable if the planets were in 2:1 mean-motion resonance, but this is less likely, considering the observed period ratio and eccentricity. A present possible scenario for the system is that both of the planets have nearly circular orbits, namely the eccentricity of the outer planet is less than ∼0.15, which is just within 1.4σ of the best-fit value, or the planets are in a mutually retrograde configuration with a mutual orbital inclination larger than 160°

Isolation and function of mouse tissue resident vascular precursors marked by myelin protein zero

Newly identified tissue-resident vascular precursor cells are recruited into growing vessels and contribute to vasculogenesis in adult mice