372 research outputs found
Effects of Plant and Animal Natural Products on Mitophagy
No full textMitophagy is a protected cellular process that is essential for autophagic removal of damaged mitochondria and for preservation of a healthy mitochondrial population. In the last years, a particular interest has been devoted in studying the effects of natural compounds on mitophagy. Different natural compounds may modulate mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, the production of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species, the expression of mitophagy- and autophagy-related genes, and the activities of transcription factors which regulate the expression of mitochondrial proteins, thereby controlling mitochondrial damage and mitophagy. Remarkably, since mitochondrial function has a crucial role in the pathogenesis of various diseases (e.g., cancer, atherosclerosis, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, diabetes complications, Alzheimer's disease, and hepatic steatosis), these effects might have important therapeutic implications. In this review, preclinical studies investigating the role of different natural compounds in the modulation of mitophagy will be discussed
Eight New Sulfur Coordination Compounds Based on Group 12 Metal Ions with Variable Structures and Extraordinary Capacity for Iodine Adsorption: Synthesis, Structural Characterizations, and Density Functional Theory Calculations
No full textEight new sulfur-based coordination compounds ranging from 0D to 2D have been designed and synthesized. These compounds were created using bidentate flexible ligands based on methimazole with varying spacers of 2, 3, or 5 methylene groups (termed L2, L3, and L5). These compounds include [ZnBr2(L3)2]n (1), [Zn2Cl2(μ2-L3)(μ-L3)2(PF6)2] (2), [Cd2(N3)2(μ2-N3)2(μ2-L3)2] (3), [CdCl2(μ-L3)] (4), [CdCl2(L2)2]n (5), [CdBr2(L2)2]n (6), [HgBr2(L2)2]n (7), and {[Hg(L5)4]}n[ClO4]n (8), where Ln = 1, n-bis(1-methyl imidazole-2-thione)alkane. In the case of 1D polymers 1, 5, 6, and 7 with bridging bidentate ligands, the halides have not contributed to the expansion of the structures. In the centrosymmetric dimeric compound 2, with terminal chlorine groups, one of the ligands bridging two Zn(II) ions, while the other two display a chelating coordination mode. In the dimeric species of 3, the Cd(II) ions are connected by two bridging azides, while the remaining coordination sites of five-coordinate metal ions are satisfied by a chelating mode of the ligand and a terminal azide group, preventing the expansion of the structure. In the monomeric structure of 4, neither the ligand nor the halides are in their bridging mode. The longer spacer length of the ligand in 8 and the use of uncoordinated ClO4- anions lead to the formation of a 2D sulfur-rich structure with hca topology. These compounds were examined for their ability to adsorb iodine in both the vapor and solution phases. The maximum iodine uptake capacity in the solution ranged from 196.72 to 801.33 mg/g, setting an incredible record for such nonporous adsorbents. The effects of azide and chlorine on the geometry, electronic structures, and iodine adsorption capacity of complexes 3 and 4 were studied by using density functional theory (DFT) at the B3LYP/6-31G(d,p)/LANL2DZ level in both gas and solvent. These results were then compared with experimental data
Strong Scalability Studies for the 2-D Poisson Equation on the Taki 2021 Cluster with Historical Comparison
No full textThe new 2021 nodes in the cluster taki in the UMBC High Performance Computing Facility contain two 24core Intel Cascade Lake CPUs and 192 GB of memory per node, connected by an high-performance InfiniBand interconnect. Parallel performance studies for the memory-bound test problem of the Poisson equation in two spatial dimensions yield several conclusions: Strong scalability studies demonstrate excellent performance when using multiple nodes due to the low latency of the high-performance interconnect and good speedup when using all cores of the multi-core CPUs. For the largest numbers of processes per node, the runtime for the code is not significantly reduced, a typical behavior characteristic of memory-bound code. Comparisons to results on past clusters in HPCF bring out that core-per-core performance of serial code improvements has improved again, demonstrating the quality of the newest CPUs. Also node-per-node performance of parallel code continues to improve due to the larger number of cores available on a node. albeit we have fewer nodes in taki 2021 than we had in previous partitions.The hardware used in the computational studies is part of the UMBC High Performance Computing Facility (HPCF). The facility is supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation through the MRI program (grant nos. CNS–0821258, CNS–1228778, OAC–1726023, and CNS–1920079) and the SCREMS program (grant no. DMS–0821311), with additional substantial support from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). See hpcf.umbc.edu for more information on HPCF and the projects using its resources. Co-author Ehsan Shakeri was supported by UMBC as HPCF RA.https://userpages.umbc.edu/~gobbert/papers/PoissonHPCF20241.pd
Comparative proteome profiling in exosomes derived from porcine colostrum versus mature milk reveals distinct functional proteomes
No full textExosomes are membranous vesicles of endocytic origin, recently been considered as major players in cell-cell communication. Milk is highly complex, and diverse biocomponents provide adequate nutrition, transfer immunity, and promote adequate neonate development. Milk exosomes are suggested to have a key role in these processes, yet to be further explored, and the alteration of the exosomes' cargo in different stages of lactation stages is important for understanding the factors relevant in nursing and also for improving milk replacer products both for humans and animals. We isolated exosomes from porcine milk in different lactation stages and analyzed their content using a TMT-based high-resolution quantitative proteomic approach. Exosomes were isolated using ultracentrifugation coupled with size exclusion chromatography to enrich milk-derived exosomes in samples obtained at day 0, 7, and 14 after parturition, and characterized by nanoparticle tracking analysis, transmission electron microscopy, and Western blotting. Quantitative proteomics analysis revealed different proteome profiles for colostrum exosomes and milk exosomes. The functional analysis highlighted pathways related to the regulation of homeostasis to be upregulated in colostrum exosomes, and pathways such as endothelial cell development and lipid metabolism to be upregulated in mature milk exosomes. This study endorses the importance of exosomes as active biocomponents of milk and provides knowledge for future studies exploring their role in the regulation of immunity and growth of the newborn. Significance: The identified functional proteome and protein-protein interaction networks identified in our study help to elucidate the role of milk exosomes in different lactation periods. The results generated herein are of relevance for the basic understanding of their impact on the infant's development but also for bringing forward the manufacturing of milk replacers
Comparative proteome profiling in exosomes derived from porcine colostrum versus mature milk
No full textWhole slide imaging systems for digital pathology
No full textDigital pathology is based on the use of digital images of tissues for diagnosis of diseases. In the emerging clinical practice of digital pathology, images of tissue slides are acquired with a high-resolution and high-throughput automated microscope, a so called Whole Slide Imaging (WSI) system. We designed, built and characterized a modular WSI platform for conducting two- and three-dimensional brightfield microscopy, the most common modality in this field
Impact of the ratio of n6:n3 fatty acids in the maternal diet on milk pig exosome proteome profiles
No full textOpium use, cigarette smoking, and alcohol consumption in relation to pancreatic cancer
No full textBackground and Aims: Although several studies have suggested opium as a risk factor for cancers of the esophagus, stomach, larynx, lung, and bladder, no previous study has examined the association of opium with pancreatic cancer. We aimed to study the association between opium use and risk of pancreatic cancer in Iran, using a case-control design. We also studied the association of cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption with pancreatic cancer, for which little information was available from this population. Methods: Cases and controls were selected from patients who were referred to 4 endoscopic ultrasound centers in Tehran, Iran. We recruited 316 histopathologically (all adenocarcinoma) and 41 clinically diagnosed incident cases of pancreatic cancer, as well as 328 controls from those with a normal pancreas in enodosonography from January 2011 to January 2015. We used logistic regression models to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: After adjustment for potential confounders, opium use (OR 1.91; 95% CI 1.06-3.43) and alcohol consumption (OR 4.16; 95% CI 1.86-9.31) were significantly associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer. We did not find an association between ever tobacco smoking and pancreatic cancer risk (OR 0.93; 95% CI 0.62-1.39). Conclusion: In our study, opium use and alcohol consumption were associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer, whereas cigarette smoking was not. Copyright © 2016 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved
Gastric atrophy and oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma: Possible interaction with dental health and oral hygiene habit
No full textBackground:Gastric fundal atrophy has been hypothesised to increase the risk of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), but studies have shown inconsistent results.Methods:We measured serum pepsinogen I (PGI) and pepsinogen II (PGII) among 293 incident cases and 524 matched neighbourhood controls in a high-risk area of Northern Iran. Conditional logistic regression model was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs).Results:After controlling for age, sex, residence area and other potential confounders, gastric atrophy (defined by a validated criterion, PGI <55 μg dl-1) was associated with a two-fold increased risk (OR=2.01, 95% CI: 1.18, 3.45) of OSCC in the absence of nonatrophic pangastritis (defined as PGII <11.8 μg dl-1). Stratification by PGII decreased the misclassification errors due to cancer-induced gastritis. Presence of both poor dental health, indicated by higher than median sum of decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT score), and gastric atrophy further increased the risk of OSCC (OR=4.15, 95% CI: 2.04, 8.42) with relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI) of 1.47 (95% CI: 1.15, 4.1). Coexistence of poor oral hygiene habit with gastric atrophy elevated OSCC risk eight times (OR=8.65, 95% CI: 3.65, 20.46) and the additive interaction index was marginally statistically significant (RERI=4.34, 95% CI: 1.07, 9.76).Conclusion:Gastric atrophy is a risk factor for OSCC, and poor dental health and oral hygiene habit may act synergistically in increasing the risk. © 2012 Cancer Research UK
Large body size and sedentary lifestyle during childhood and early adulthood and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in a high-risk population
No full textBackground: Little is known about the association of obesity and physical activity at young ages with subsequent risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Patients and methods: Between 2003 and 2007, we conducted a case-control study in a high-risk population in northeastern Iran. Three hundred ESCC cases and 571 matched controls were recruited. Each individual was shown a standard pictogram, to report body size at ages 15 and 30. Demographic and health-related information, including physical activity at these ages was also collected. Results: In the fully adjusted models, very obese body size (last two pictograms) at age 15 odds ratio (OR) 3.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3-7.7 and age 30 (OR 3.1; 95% CI 1.1-8.5) were associated with ESCC in women, but not in men. Sedentary work at age 15 (OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.3-8.3) and 30 (OR 18.2, 95% CI 3.9-86.2) were also associated with ESCC risk in women only. The increased risk in women at age 15 remained high after later reduction in body size, while women who became very obese only at age 30 did not show a significantly increased risk. Conclusion: These results highlight the importance of early lifestyle modifications in the context of cancer prevention, particularly in women. © Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society for Medical Oncology. All rights reserved
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