70 research outputs found
Anemia amelioration by lactose infusion during trypanosomosis could be associated with erythrocytes membrane de-galactosylation
No full textAfrican trypanosomosis is a potentially fatal disease that is caused by extracellular parasitic protists known as African trypanosomes. These parasites inhabit the blood stream of their mammalian hosts and produce a number of pathological features, amongst which is anemia. Etiology of the anemia has been partly attributed to an autoimmunity-like mediated erythrophagocytosis of de-sialylated red blood cells (dsRBCs) by macrophages. Lactose infusion to infected animals has proven effective at delaying progression of the anemia. However, the mechanism of this anemia prevention is yet to be well characterized. Here, the hypothesis of a likely induced further modification of the dsRBCs was investigated. RBC membrane galactose (RBC m-GAL) and packed cell volume (PCV) were measured during the course of experimental trypanosomosis in mice infected with Trypanosoma congolense (stb 212). Intriguingly, while the membrane galactose on the RBCs of infected and lactose-treated mice (group D) decreased as a function of parasitemia, that of the lactose-untreated infected group (group C) remained relatively constant, as was recorded for the uninfected lactose-treated control (group B) animals. At the peak of infection, the respective cumulative percent decrease in PCV and membrane galactose were 30 and 185 for group D, and 84 and 13 for group C. From this observed inverse relationship between RBCs membrane galactose and PCV, it is logical to rationalize that the delay of anemia progression during trypanosomosis produced by lactose might have resulted from an induction of galactose depletion from dsRBCs, thereby preventing their recognition by the macrophages.Ahmadu Bello University Board of Research (ABUBR)Program for Promotion of Basic and Applied Researches for Innovations in Bio-oriented Industry (BRAIN)Strategic Japanese-French Cooperative Program by JST, SATREPSMinistry of Health and Welfare for the Control of Emerging and Reemerging Diseases in Japa
(R2111) Effect of Stenotic-Aneurysmal Arterial Regime on Unsteady Magnetohydrodynamic Non-Newtonian Blood Flow with Heat Radiation
No full textThe study aims to investigate the effect of magneto-hydrodynamic on a non-Newtonian unsteady blood flow with internal heat energy in the presence of blood ironic properties characterized by stenosis. The formulated mathematical equations resulted in differential forms and were solved analytically by Differential Transform Method. The obtained solutions were displayed by graphs showing different flow physiognomies like blood velocity, temperature profile, Nusselt number, wall shear stress and stream function.
The results indicated that velocity profile increases as magnetic field, Darcy number and aneurysmal artery rise, while it decreases as heat radiation, Reynold number, and Casson parameter speedup. The temperature profile increases as magnetic field, and Reynold number rise.
Furthermore, wall shear stress increases as heat radiation increases but drops as Reynold number accelerates. This happens due to the fact that magnetic field on blood flow increases the viscosity of the blood flow that bring rise in the Lorentz force and Reynolds number indicates the significant dominance of viscous forces over inertial forces, which keeps the flow in the laminar path
Comparative genomic analysis of two Chilean Renibacterium salmoninarum isolates and the type strain ATCC 33209T
No full textIndexación: Scopus.Two previously characterized Chilean isolates (H-2 and DJ2R), obtained from cage-cultured Atlantic salmon with clinical signs of bacterial kidney disease in southern Chile, were used (Bethke et al. 2016, 2017). The bacteria were routinely cultured in KDM-2 agar for 15–20 days at 15°C. For sequencing, genomic DNA of the two isolates was extracted using the InstaGene Purification Matrix (Bio-Rad) according to manufacturer instructions. The DJ2R genome was sequenced using an Illumina MiSeq platform with 2 ⨯ 250 paired-end reads by the AUSTRAL-omics Institute, hosted by the Universidad Austral de Chile (Valdivia, Chile). Using the same technology and parameters, H-2 genomic DNA was sequenced by the Central Support Service for Experimental Research (SCSIE, Spanish acronym) at the University of Valencia (Valencia, Spain).This work was supported by funding of the Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (CONICYT, Chile) [Grant Numbers FONDAP No. 15110027 and FONDECYT No. 1150695]. J.B. also acknowledges support received by CONICYT [Doctoral Scholarship No. 21140421].Renibacterium salmoninarum, a slow-growing facultative intracellular pathogen belonging to the high C+G content Actinobacteria phylum, is the causative agent of bacterial kidney disease, a progressive granulomatous infection affecting salmonids worldwide. This Gram-positive bacterium has existed in the Chilean salmonid industry for >30 years, but little or no information is available regarding the virulence mechanisms and genomic characteristics of Chilean isolates. In this study, the genomes of two Chilean isolates (H-2 and DJ2R)were sequenced, and a search was conducted for genes and proteins involved in virulence and pathogenicity, andwecompare with the type strain ATCC 33209T genome. The genome sizes of H-2 and DJ2R are 3,155,332 bp and 3,155,228 bp, respectively. They genomes presented six ribosomal RNA, 46 transcription RNA, and 25 noncodingRNA, and both had the same 56.27% G+C content described for the type strain ATCC 33209 T. A total of 3,522 and 3,527 coding sequences were found for H-2 and DJ2R, respectively. Meanwhile, the ATCC 33209T type strain had 3,519 coding sequences. The in silico genome analysis revealed a genes related to tricarboxylic acid cycle, glycolysis, iron transport and others metabolic pathway. Also, the data indicated that R salmoninarum may have a variety of possible virulence-factor and antibiotic-resistance strategies. Interestingly, many of genes had high identities with Mycobacterium species, a known pathogenic Actin obacteria bacterium. In summary, this study provides the first insights into and initial steps towards understanding the molecular basis of antibiotic resistance, virulence mechanisms and host/environment adaptation in twoChilean R. salmoninarum isolates that contain proteins of which were similar to those of Mycobacterium. Furthermore, important information is presented that could facilitate the development of preventive and treatment measures against R. salmoninarum in Chile and worldwide. © The Author(s) 2018.https://academic.oup.com/gbe/article/10/7/1816/504777
The clinical and biological consequences of different FLT3 mutations in patients with AML
No full textCharacterisation of pathogenic markers in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) may benefit
patients through refinement of risk stratification, application of molecularly targeted
therapy and improved understanding of AML biology. Whilst the presence of an
internal tandem duplication (ITD) within the fms-like tyrosine kinase-3 (FLT3) gene is
known to predict adverse outcome in young adults with AML, the clinical significance
of activating mutations in the tyrosine kinase domain (TKD) of FLT3 is unclear.
Therefore, a highly sensitive and specific denaturing-HPLC technique was developed to
screen for FLT3/TKDs in 1339 young adult patients with AML. Mutations were
detected in 161 (12%) cases, with a high incidence in patients with inv(16) (24%;
P=.009), a group in which FLT3/ITDs are uncommon. Unlike FLT3/ITDs, FLT3/TKDs
were associated with a favourable long-term outcome with a 10-year overall survival
(OS) of 36% for FLT3 WT, 51% for FLT3/ITD-TKD+ and 24% for FLT3/ITD+TKDpatients
(P<.001). The relative FLT3/TKD mutant level was highly variable with the
favourable prognosis residing in those patients with greater than 25% mutant alleles
(10-year OS of 59%), possibly reflecting the stage at which the mutation is acquired.
The mechanism of FLT3 activation also influenced sensitivity to FLT3-inhibitor
induced cytotoxicity, with FLT3/ITD+ blast cells more sensitive than FLT3/TKD+ cells.
Following lentiviral transduction, FLT3/ITD-transduced 32Dcl3 and Ba/F3 cells
demonstrated more rapid proliferation than FLT3/TKD-transduced cells. In an NB4 cell
line model of ATRA-induced myeloid differentiation, the presence of a FLT3/ITD
inhibited differentiation unlike a FLT3/TKD mutation which increased differentiation.
Furthermore, FLT3/ITD-transduced CD34 positive haematopoietic stem cells showed
greater cytokine-free survival of colony forming cells than FLT3/TKD-transduced cells.
Signalling studies also revealed that a FLT3/ITD induced stronger STAT5 activation
than a FLT3/TKD mutation. This unexpected genotype-phenotype relationship is of
direct relevance to current clinical decision making in AML, and may also provide
insights into mechanisms of chemoresistance
Rate of torque development and striatal shape in individuals with prodromal Huntington's disease
No full textIndexación ScopusThe aim of the present study was to quantify explosive joint torque or the ability to develop joint torque rapidly, typically measured as the rate of torque development, in individuals with prodromal Huntington’s disease and healthy controls and its associations with measures of disease burden and striatal pathology. Twenty prodromal Huntington’s disease and 19 healthy control individuals volunteered for this study. Plantar flexor isometric rate of torque development values were evaluated using isokinetic dynamometry. Pathological changes in striatal shape were evaluated using magnetic resonance imaging. Disease burden was evaluated using the disease burden score and cytosine-adenine-guanine age product score. No statistical differences in the rate of torque development were observed between individuals with prodromal Huntington’s disease and healthy controls. However, significant associations were observed between the rate of torque development values and measures of disease burden (r = −0.42 to −0.69) and striatal pathology (r = 0.71–0.60) in individuals with prodromal Huntington’s disease. We found significant associations between lower rate of torque development values and greater striatal shape deflation and disease burden and striatal pathology in individuals with prodromal Huntington’s disease. While no significant differences in the rate of torque development were found between prodromal Huntington’s disease and healthy controls, the noted associations suggest that differences may emerge as the disease advances, which should be investigated longitudinally in future studies. © 2020, The Author(s).https://www-nature-com.recursosbiblioteca.unab.cl/articles/s41598-020-72042-
Author Correction: A detailed map of Higgs boson interactions by the ATLAS experiment ten years after the discovery
No full textIn the version of this article initially published, the ATLAS Collaboration
author names, affiliations and acknowledgements were omitted and
have now been included in the HTML and PDF versions of the article
Discovery of three strongly lensed quasars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
No full textIndexación ScopusWe present the discovery of three quasar lenses in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, selected using two novel photometry-based selection techniques. The J0941+0518 system, with two point sources separated by 5.46 arcsec on either side of a galaxy, has source and lens redshifts 1.54 and 0.343. Images of J2257+2349 show two point sources separated by 1.67 arcsec on either side of an E/S0 galaxy. The extracted spectra show two images of the same quasar at zs = 2.10. SDSS J1640+1045 has two quasar spectra at zs = 1.70 and fits to the SDSS and Pan-STARRS images confirm the presence of a galaxy between the two point sources. We observed 56 photometrically selected lens candidates in this follow-up campaign, confirming three new lenses, re-discovering one known lens, and ruling out 36 candidates, with 16 still inconclusive. This initial campaign demonstrates the power of purely photometric selection techniques in finding lensed quasars. © 2018 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society.https://academic-oup-com.recursosbiblioteca.unab.cl/mnrasl/article/477/1/L70/493519
SNhunt151: An explosive event inside a dense cocoon
No full textIndexación ScopusSNhunt151 was initially classified as a supernova (SN) impostor (nonterminal outburst of a massive star). It exhibited a slow increase in luminosity, lasting about 450 d, followed by a major brightening that reaches MV ≈ -18 mag. No source is detected to MV ≳ -13 mag in archival images at the position of SNhunt151 before the slow rise. Low-to-mid-resolution optical spectra obtained during the pronounced brightening show very little evolution, being dominated at all times by multicomponent Balmer emission lines, a signature of interaction between the material ejected in the new outburst and the pre-existing circumstellar medium. We also analysed mid-infrared images from the Spitzer Space Telescope, detecting a source at the transient position in 2014 and 2015. Overall, SNhunt151 is spectroscopically a Type IIn SN, somewhat similar to SN 2009ip. However, there are also some differences, such as a slow pre-discovery rise, a relatively broad light-curve peak showing a longer rise time (~50 d), and a slower decline, along with a negligible change in the temperature around the peak (T ≤ 104 K). We suggest that SNhunt151 is the result of an outburst, or an SN explosion, within a dense circumstellar nebula, similar to those embedding some luminous blue variables like η Carinae and originating from past mass-loss events. © 2017 The Author(s).https://authors.library.caltech.edu/85510/1/sty009.pd
Excited-state vibrational dynamics toward the polaron in methylammonium lead iodide perovskite
No full textIndexación: Scopus.Hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites have attractive optoelectronic properties including exceptional solar cell performance. The improved properties of perovskites have been attributed to polaronic effects involving stabilization of localized charge character by structural deformations and polarizations. Here we examine the Pb-I structural dynamics leading to polaron formation in methylammonium lead iodide perovskite by transient absorption, time-domain Raman spectroscopy, and density functional theory. Methylammonium lead iodide perovskite exhibits excited-state coherent nuclear wave packets oscillating at ~20, 43, and 75 cm-1 which involve skeletal bending, in-plane bending, and c-axis stretching of the I-Pb-I bonds, respectively. The amplitudes of these wave packet motions report on the magnitude of the excited-state structural changes, in particular, the formation of a bent and elongated octahedral PbI6 4- geometry. We have predicted the excited-state geometry and structural changes between the neutral and polaron states using a normal-mode projection method, which supports and rationalizes the experimental results. This study reveals the polaron formation via nuclear dynamics that may be important for efficient charge separation. © 2018 The Author(s).https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-04946-
The impact of climatic variability over the period 1961- 1990 on the soil water balance of upland soils in the North East Arid Zone of Nigeria
No full textOver the period 1961 – 90 the North East Arid Zone of Nigeria experienced a decline
in annual rainfall totals and increased aridity which placed increasing pressure on
rain fed, millet-based farming systems. The changes in seasonal rainfall total and
distribution have been examined and it has been shown that the rate of decline has
been consistent across the region. The decline has been dominated by reduction in
the number of rain days during the middle of the rainy season and there is no
evidence of a significant change in the length of the growing season. Over the same
time period, there has been a small, but significant, increase in mean air temperature
which has resulted in a small increase in potential evapotranspiration. Other climatic
parameters (vapour pressure, solar radiation and wind speed) appear to have
remained stable, although the paucity and dubious quality of much of the historical
meteorological data make rigorous statistical analysis difficult.
A water balance model (BALANCE) developed by the author, was calibrated for a
millet crop grown on a typical sandy loam soil in Maiduguri (Nigeria). The model
was necessarily parsimonious, but was shown to perform well when calibrated
against observed soil water content. However, the empirical nature and high
sensitivity of key parameters relating to bare soil evaporation and drainage mean that
it is difficult to parameterise the model by laboratory, or independent field
measurements.
Applying the calibrated model to daily rainfall and average evapotranspiration data
from Nguru (Nigeria) for the period 1961 – 93 showed that, with the exception of
extreme drought years, the increased aridity would have had little impact on the
viability of traditional millet and millet-cowpea intercropping systems prior to the
early 1980s. However, after that date, predicted seasonal millet transpiration, and
hence predicted yields, have declined, and long duration cowpea intercrops, which
were traditionally matured on residual soil moisture after the millet harvest have had
insufficient water.
Whilst the BALANCE model has been useful in examining the impact of climatic
variability on agro-hydrology, it is not a crop physiological model and the interaction
between soil water and crop development is poorly represented. The model cannot, therefore be applied with confidence to investigate the potential yield benefits of
physical or agronomic interventions to alleviate the impacts of aridity. Although
more complex models exist to do this, they require detailed parameterisation of the
crop physiology, which was not possible within the scope of this study
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