The shape of the emotion

　The emotion is an active reaction with being eloquent of the emotions such as the change of the look with the physiological reaction which is strong in the automatic nerves system, the immune system, the endocrine system which occurs with the organolepty which the creature felt.However, the definition of the emotion is ambiguous.　It is different roughly every learning field and for it, there is not a strict distinction of the emotion and the feelings.　The handling depends on the interval of the research area and the researcher.There seems to be possibility to complicate the discussion of the concerning with anxiety, theamygdala which is the nucleus of the fear and a cerebral limbic system for the ambiguousness of the definition and to make difficult.　Therefore, we made a chart with the emotion , feelings and the mood, placing as the differentreaction. In the tunnel of the tube-like of the comparatively gently long lasting mood, the feelings were wavering but supposed that doing of the eloquent of the emotion which is a physiological reaction and an active reaction didn\u27t accompany.　On the other hand, it supposed that an emotion was accompanied by the reaction which is physiological which is strong in the automatic nerves system, the immune system, the endocrine system and doing of the eloquent of the emotion physiological strong, deviating from the feeling control by the ventromedial prefrontal cortex.　Moreover, it considered about the relation, too, about the amygdala which is the existence like a nucleus of the experience like an emotion and the chronic pain

Regulation of the unfolded protein response via S-nitrosylation of sensors of endoplasmic reticulum stress

Protein S-nitrosylation modulates important cellular processes, including neurotransmission, vasodilation, proliferation, and apoptosis in various cell types. We have previously reported that protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) is S-nitrosylated in brains of patients with sporadic neurodegenerative diseases. This modification inhibits PDI enzymatic activity and consequently leads to the accumulation of unfolded/misfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) lumen. Here, we describe S-nitrosylation of additional ER pathways that affect the unfolded protein response (UPR) in cell-based models of Parkinson's disease (PD). We demonstrate that nitric oxide (NO) can S-nitrosylate the ER stress sensors IRE1α and PERK. While S-nitrosylation of IRE1α inhibited its ribonuclease activity, S-nitrosylation of PERK activated its kinase activity and downstream phosphorylation/inactivation or eIF2α. Site-directed mutagenesis of IRE1α(Cys931) prevented S-nitrosylation and inhibition of its ribonuclease activity, indicating that Cys931 is the predominant site of S-nitrosylation. Importantly, cells overexpressing mutant IRE1α(C931S) were resistant to NO-induced damage. Our findings show that nitrosative stress leads to dysfunctional ER stress signaling, thus contributing to neuronal cell death

Markov models for the evolution of duplicate genes, and microsatellites

Duplicate genes and microsatellites are two key sequences in the study of evolutionary genomics. Gene duplication has been identified as a central process driving functional change in genomes, since it creates functional redundancy in the genome and allows for subsequent mutation to occur in the absence of selective pressure. Microsatellites are rapidly evolving sequences which can be studied over much smaller timescales than most other sequences, and are thus key to the study of population demographics and forensic science. In this thesis we construct mathematical models for the evolution of duplicate genes, and microsatellites, respectively. We analyse the models in order to make scientific predictions, and derive the following novel results. We introduce and analyse a modified hazard function, which we use to investigate the preservation of gene duplicates. Further, we construct individual-level models, and present a framework for the extension to population-level models. Also, we construct mappings from mechanistically-motivated intuitive models for gene duplicate evolution, to less intuitive models, which have smaller state spaces and hence are more computationally tractable. Throughout this analysis, we make scientific predictions based on the properties of the models. We find that the pattern of gene duplicate preservation is more consistent with subfunctionalization than with neofunctionalization. This result is of particular scientific interest, since it is the opposite conclusion of earlier work in the gene duplication literature. ${Duplicate}$ ${genes}$ Several biological models exist for the evolution of a pair of duplicate genes after a duplication event, and it is believed that gene duplicates can evolve in different ways, according to one process, or a mix of processes. Subfunctionalization is a process under which the two duplicates can be preserved by dividing up the functions of the original gene between them. Here, we find that subfunctionalization is highly consistent with the pattern of gene duplicate preservation, in contrast to previous analysis in the literature. Another process important to gene duplicate evolution is neofunctionalization, under which both duplicates can be preserved when one copy mutates so as to produce some new beneficial function. Our analysis of neofunctionalization suggests that this process is not a significant contributor to the preservation of duplicates over the timescales during which regulatory subfunctionalization is resolved. Instead, it is likely that neofunctionalization occurs subsequent to previous subfunctionalization, which acts to preserve copies over the longer time frames required for rare beneficial mutations to have any significant probability of occurring. Analysis of genomic data using sub- and neofunctionalization models has thus far been relatively coarse-grained, with mathematical treatments usually focusing on the phenomenological features of gene duplicate evolution. In contrast, we develop mechanistically motivated Markov models, and fit directly to duplicate preservation data. We introduce a modified-cause-specific hazard function to analyse the preservation of gene duplicates. In the context of gene duplication, we refer to this as the pseudogenization rate, owing to the biological interpretation. We analyse the properties of the modified-cause-specific hazard rate in detail, including limit analysis of the general case, and discuss the shape properties of the specific case of the pseudogenization rate. Further, we extend our model for the evolution of a pair of gene duplicates to model a population of duplicate pairs, by modelling the birth of such pairs as a homogeneous Poisson process. We show that the age distribution of preserved duplicates follows an inhomogenous Poisson distribution, with its rate function depending on the individuallevel model. We then fit this distribution to count-data of surviving duplicates in the genomes of four animal species. Additionally, we extend the individual-level model to a model that includes the process of neofunctionalization, and next, to a model of subfunctionalization for families of gene duplicates. Finally, we map these intuitive models, to less intuitive but more computationally tractable models, and discuss a number of related computational considerations. ${Microsatellites}$ Microsatellites are repetitive regions of DNA where a short motif is repeated many times. Mutations in the number of repeat units occur frequently compared to point mutations and thus provide a useful source of genetic variation for studying recent events. Empirical studies have suggested that the rate of length-changing mutations due to slipped-strand mispairing may depend on the purity of the repeat units, i.e. how well they each match the motif. However, most studies that use microsatellite data are based on models that only track the number of repeat units. In order to address this gap, we introduce a series of models on a two-dimensional state-space (which are level-dependent quasi-birth-and-death processes) that track the length of the sequence as the level variable, and the number of interruptions (purity) as the phase variable. Our models account for the biological process of point mutation, and its observed effect on the rate of slipped-strand mispairing. We find that modelling microsatellite purity leads to some complications due to the nature of available data. In terms of the initial model, we discover what constitutes a state-dependent bias in the reporting of repeat sequences by Tandem Repeats Finder (or any similar software used to search whole-genomes for microsatellite sequences). Consequently, we construct a modified model such that all states fall into one of two categories - 'observable states', against which the reporting algorithm is unbiased, and 'unobservable states', which are never reported. We consider two approaches for treating the unobservable states, first to condition on the process being in the observable states, second to treat unobservable states as absorbing. Our initial analysis and underlying biological intuition suggest that transitions from the unobservable to observable states are very rare, and thus we ultimately treat the unobservable states as absorbing. Additionally, we extend the individual-level model to a population-level model by modelling the birth of microsatellites as a homogeneous Poisson process. We then derive the transient distribution of such model in terms of the individual-level process. This distribution has appropriate relative clock via the inclusion of point mutation. We fit this transient distribution to whole-genome derived sequence data, however we encounter some dificulties in the optimisation owing to the presence of many local optima. The standard approach for microsatellite models is to make the assumption that the empirical distribution is at equilibrium, and then to fit the stationary distribution to data. The key exception to this is the step-wise mutation model, which predicts infinite growth of the repeat number. Here we fit the above-mentioned transient distribution, and thus do not assume that the empirical distribution is at equilibrium. In contrast to the step-wise mutation model, our model does not predict infinite sequence lengths in the long run

Outcome-Driven Thresholds for Ambulatory Pulse Pressure in 9938 People Recruited from 11 Populations

Evidence-based thresholds for risk stratification based on pulse pressure (PP) are currently unavailable. To derive outcome-driven thresholds for the 24–h ambulatory PP, we analyzed 9938 people randomly recruited from 11 populations (47.3% women). After age stratification (≥60 years) and using average risk as reference, we computed multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) to assess risk by tenths of the PP distribution or risk associated with stepwise increasing (+1 mm Hg) PP levels. All adjustments included mean arterial pressure. Among 6028 younger participants (68,853 person-years), the risk of cardiovascular (HR, 1.58; P=0.011) or cardiac (HR, 1.52; P=0.056) events increased only in the top PP tenth (mean, 60.6 mm Hg). Using stepwise increasing PP levels, the lower boundary of the 95% confidence interval of the successive thresholds did not cross unity. Among 3910 older participants (39,923 person-years), risk increased (P≤0.028) in the top PP tenth (mean, 76.1 mm Hg). HRs were 1.30 and 1.62 for total and cardiovascular mortality, and 1.52, 1.69 and 1.40 for all cardiovascular, cardiac and cerebrovascular events. The lower boundary of the 95% confidence interval of the HRs associated with stepwise increasing PP levels crossed unity at 64 mm Hg. While accounting for all covariables, the top tenth of PP contributed less than 0.3% (generalized R2 statistic) to the overall risk among elderly. Thus, in randomly recruited people, ambulatory PP does not add to risk stratification below age 60; in the elderly, PP is a weak risk factor with levels below 64 mm Hg probably being innocuous

Association of Office and Ambulatory Blood Pressure With Mortality and Cardiovascular Outcomes

Importance Blood pressure (BP) is a known risk factor for overall mortality and cardiovascular (CV)-specific fatal and nonfatal outcomes. It is uncertain which BP index is most strongly associated with these outcomes. Objective To evaluate the association of BP indexes with death and a composite CV event. Design, Setting, and Participants Longitudinal population-based cohort study of 11 135 adults from Europe, Asia, and South America with baseline observations collected from May 1988 to May 2010 (last follow-ups, August 2006-October 2016). Exposures Blood pressure measured by an observer or an automated office machine; measured for 24 hours, during the day or the night; and the dipping ratio (nighttime divided by daytime readings). Main Outcomes and Measures Multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) expressed the risk of death or a CV event associated with BP increments of 20/10 mm Hg. Cardiovascular events included CV mortality combined with nonfatal coronary events, heart failure, and stroke. Improvement in model performance was assessed by the change in the area under the curve (AUC). Results Among 11 135 participants (median age, 54.7 years, 49.3% women), 2836 participants died (18.5 per 1000 person-years) and 2049 (13.4 per 1000 person-years) experienced a CV event over a median of 13.8 years of follow-up. Both end points were significantly associated with all single systolic BP indexes (P \u3c .001). For nighttime systolic BP level, the HR for total mortality was 1.23 (95% CI, 1.17-1.28) and for CV events, 1.36 (95% CI, 1.30-1.43). For the 24-hour systolic BP level, the HR for total mortality was 1.22 (95% CI, 1.16-1.28) and for CV events, 1.45 (95% CI, 1.37-1.54). With adjustment for any of the other systolic BP indexes, the associations of nighttime and 24-hour systolic BP with the primary outcomes remained statistically significant (HRs ranging from 1.17 [95% CI, 1.10-1.25] to 1.87 [95% CI, 1.62-2.16]). Base models that included single systolic BP indexes yielded an AUC of 0.83 for mortality and 0.84 for the CV outcomes. Adding 24-hour or nighttime systolic BP to base models that included other BP indexes resulted in incremental improvements in the AUC of 0.0013 to 0.0027 for mortality and 0.0031 to 0.0075 for the composite CV outcome. Adding any systolic BP index to models already including nighttime or 24-hour systolic BP did not significantly improve model performance. These findings were consistent for diastolic BP. Conclusions and Relevance In this population-based cohort study, higher 24-hour and nighttime blood pressure measurements were significantly associated with greater risks of death and a composite CV outcome, even after adjusting for other office-based or ambulatory blood pressure measurements. Thus, 24-hour and nighttime blood pressure may be considered optimal measurements for estimating CV risk, although statistically, model improvement compared with other blood pressure indexes was small

Isolated Diastolic Hypertension in the IDACO Study: An Age-Stratified Analysis Using 24-Hour Ambulatory Blood Pressure Measurements

The prognostic implications of isolated diastolic hypertension (IDH), as defined by 2017 American College of Cardiology (ACC)/American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines, have not been tested using ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitor thresholds (ie, 24-hour mean systolic BP \u3c125 mm Hg and diastolic BP ≥75 mm Hg). We analyzed data from 11 135 participants in the IDACO (International Database on Ambulatory Blood Pressure in Relation to Cardiovascular Outcomes). Using 24-hour mean ambulatory BP monitor values, we performed Cox regression testing independent associations of IDH with death or cardiovascular events. Analyses were conducted in the cohort overall, as well as after age stratification (\u3c50 years versus ≥50 years). The median age at baseline was 54.7 years and 49% were female. Over a median follow-up of 13.8 years, 2836 participants died, and 2049 experienced a cardiovascular event. Overall, irrespective of age, IDH on 24-hour ambulatory BP monitor defined by 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association criteria was not significantly associated with death (hazard ratio, 0.95 [95% CI, 0.79–1.13]) or cardiovascular events (hazard ratio, 1.14 [95% CI, 0.94–1.40]), compared with normotension. However, among the subgroup \u3c50 years old, IDH was associated with excess risk for cardiovascular events (2.87 [95% CI, 1.72–4.80]), with evidence for effect modification based on age (P interaction \u3c0.001). In conclusion, using ambulatory BP monitor data, this study suggests that IDH defined by 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association criteria is not a risk factor for cardiovascular disease in adults aged 50 years or older but is a risk factor among younger adults. Thus, age is an important consideration in the clinical management of adults with IDH

Comparison of Ultrasonic and CO2 Laser Pretreatment Methods on Enzyme Digestibility of Corn Stover

To decrease the cost of bioethanol production, biomass recalcitrance needs to be overcome so that the conversion of biomass to bioethanol becomes more efficient. CO2 laser irradiation can disrupt the lignocellulosic physical structure and reduce the average size of fiber. Analyses with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, specific surface area, and the microstructure of corn stover were used to elucidate the enhancement mechanism of the pretreatment process by CO2 laser irradiation. The present work demonstrated that the CO2 laser had potential to enhance the bioconversion efficiency of lignocellulosic waste to renewable bioethanol. The saccharification rate of the CO2 laser pretreatment was significantly higher than ultrasonic pretreatment, and reached 27.75% which was 1.34-fold of that of ultrasonic pretreatment. The results showed the impact of CO2 laser pretreatment on corn stover to be more effective than ultrasonic pretreatment

Stochastic pump effect and geometric phases in dissipative and stochastic systems

The success of Berry phases in quantum mechanics stimulated the study of similar phenomena in other areas of physics, including the theory of living cell locomotion and motion of patterns in nonlinear media. More recently, geometric phases have been applied to systems operating in a strongly stochastic environment, such as molecular motors. We discuss such geometric effects in purely classical dissipative stochastic systems and their role in the theory of the stochastic pump effect (SPE).Comment: Review. 35 pages. J. Phys. A: Math, Theor. (in press