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Sample records for show increased susceptibility

  1. Myopes show increased susceptibility to nearwork aftereffects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciuffreda, K J; Wallis, D M

    1998-09-01

    Some aspects of accommodation may be slightly abnormal (or different) in myopes, compared with accommodation in emmetropes and hyperopes. For example, the initial magnitude of accommodative adaptation in the dark after nearwork is greatest in myopes. However, the critical test is to assess this initial accommodative aftereffect and its subsequent decay in the light under more natural viewing conditions with blur-related visual feedback present, if a possible link between this phenomenon and clinical myopia is to be considered. Subjects consisted of adult late- (n = 11) and early-onset (n = 13) myopes, emmetropes (n = 11), and hyperopes (n = 9). The distance-refractive state was assessed objectively using an autorefractor immediately before and after a 10-minute binocular near task at 20 cm (5 diopters [D]). Group results showed that myopes were most susceptible to the nearwork aftereffect. It averaged 0.35 D in initial magnitude, with considerably faster posttask decay to baseline in the early-onset (35 seconds) versus late-onset (63 seconds) myopes. There was no myopic aftereffect in the remaining two refractive groups. The myopes showed particularly striking accommodatively related nearwork aftereffect susceptibility. As has been speculated and found by many others, transient pseudomyopia may cause or be a precursor to permanent myopia or myopic progression. Time-integrated increased retinal defocus causing axial elongation is proposed as a possible mechanism.

  2. Female Nur77-deficient mice show increased susceptibility to diet-induced obesity.

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    Sonia Perez-Sieira

    Full Text Available Adipose tissue is essential in the regulation of body weight. The key process in fat catabolism and the provision of energy substrate during times of nutrient deprivation or enhanced energy demand is the hydrolysis of triglycerides and the release of fatty acids and glycerol. Nur77 is a member of the NR4A subfamily of nuclear receptors that plays an important metabolic role, modulating hepatic glucose metabolism and lipolysis in muscle. However, its endogenous role on white adipose tissue, as well as the gender dependency of these mechanisms, remains largely unknown. Male and female wild type and Nur77 deficient mice were fed with a high fat diet (45% calories from fat for 4 months. Mice were analyzed in vivo with the indirect calorimetry system, and tissues were analyzed by real-time PCR and Western blot analysis. Female, but not male Nur77 deficient mice, gained more weight and fat mass when compared to wild type mice fed with high fat diet, which can be explained by decreased energy expenditure. The lack of Nur77 also led to a decreased pHSL/HSL ratio in white adipose tissue and increased expression of CIDEA in brown adipose tissue of female Nur77 deficient mice. Overall, these findings suggest that Nur77 is an important physiological modulator of lipid metabolism in adipose tissue and that there are gender differences in the sensitivity to deletion of the Nur77 signaling. The decreased energy expenditure and the actions of Nur77 on liver, muscle, brown and white adipose tissue contribute to the increased susceptibility to diet-induced obesity in females lacking Nur77.

  3. Chimpanzees show a developmental increase in susceptibility to contagious yawning: a test of the effect of ontogeny and emotional closeness on yawn contagion.

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    Elainie Alenkær Madsen

    Full Text Available Contagious yawning has been reported for humans, dogs and several non-human primate species, and associated with empathy in humans and other primates. Still, the function, development and underlying mechanisms of contagious yawning remain unclear. Humans and dogs show a developmental increase in susceptibility to yawn contagion, with children showing an increase around the age of four, when also empathy-related behaviours and accurate identification of others' emotions begin to clearly evince. Explicit tests of yawn contagion in non-human apes have only involved adult individuals and examined the existence of conspecific yawn contagion. Here we report the first study of heterospecific contagious yawning in primates, and the ontogeny of susceptibility thereto in chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes verus. We examined whether emotional closeness, defined as attachment history with the yawning model, affected the strength of contagion, and compared the contagiousness of yawning to nose-wiping. Thirty-three orphaned chimpanzees observed an unfamiliar and familiar human (their surrogate human mother yawn, gape and nose-wipe. Yawning, but not nose-wiping, was contagious for juvenile chimpanzees, while infants were immune to contagion. Like humans and dogs, chimpanzees are subject to a developmental trend in susceptibility to contagious yawning, and respond to heterospecific yawn stimuli. Emotional closeness with the model did not affect contagion. The familiarity-biased social modulatory effect on yawn contagion previously found among some adult primates, seem to only emerge later in development, or be limited to interactions with conspecifics. The influence of the 'chameleon effect', targeted vs. generalised empathy, perspective-taking and visual attention on contagious yawning is discussed.

  4. The Aging Kidney: Increased Susceptibility to Nephrotoxicity

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    Wang, Xinhui; Bonventre, Joseph V.; Parrish, Alan R.

    2014-01-01

    Three decades have passed since a series of studies indicated that the aging kidney was characterized by increased susceptibility to nephrotoxic injury. Data from these experimental models is strengthened by clinical data demonstrating that the aging population has an increased incidence and severity of acute kidney injury (AKI). Since then a number of studies have focused on age-dependent alterations in pathways that predispose the kidney to acute insult. This review will focus on the mechanisms that are altered by aging in the kidney that may increase susceptibility to injury, including hemodynamics, oxidative stress, apoptosis, autophagy, inflammation and decreased repair. PMID:25257519

  5. Heterozygote loss of ACE2 is sufficient to increase the susceptibility to heart disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Wang; Patel, Vaibhav B; Parajuli, Nirmal; Fan, Dong; Basu, Ratnadeep; Wang, Zuocheng; Ramprasath, Tharmarajan; Kassiri, Zamaneh; Penninger, Josef M; Oudit, Gavin Y

    2014-08-01

    Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) metabolizes Ang II into Ang 1-7 thereby negatively regulating the renin-angiotensin system. However, heart disease in humans and in animal models is associated with only a partial loss of ACE2. ACE2 is an X-linked gene; and as such, we tested the clinical relevance of a partial loss of ACE2 by using female ACE2(+/+) (wildtype) and ACE2(+/-) (heterozygote) mice. Pressure overload in ACE2(+/-) mice resulted in greater LV dilation and worsening systolic and diastolic dysfunction. These changes were associated with increased myocardial fibrosis, hypertrophy, and upregulation of pathological gene expression. In response to Ang II infusion, there was increased NADPH oxidase activity and myocardial fibrosis resulting in the worsening of Ang II-induced diastolic dysfunction with a preserved systolic function. Ang II-mediated cellular effects in cultured adult ACE2(+/-) cardiomyocytes and cardiofibroblasts were exacerbated. Ang II-mediated pathological signaling worsened in ACE2(+/-) hearts characterized by an increase in the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and JNK1/2 and STAT-3 pathways. The ACE2(+/-) mice showed an exacerbated pressor response with increased vascular fibrosis and stiffness. Vascular superoxide and nitrotyrosine levels were increased in ACE2(+/-) vessels consistent with increased vascular oxidative stress. These changes occurred with increased renal fibrosis and superoxide production. Partial heterozygote loss of ACE2 is sufficient to increase the susceptibility to heart disease secondary to pressure overload and Ang II infusion. Heart disease in humans with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy is associated with a partial loss of ACE2. Heterozygote female ACE2 mutant mice showed enhanced susceptibility to pressure overload-induced heart disease. Heterozygote female ACE2 mutant mice showed enhanced susceptibility to Ang II-induced heart and vascular diseases. Partial loss of ACE2 is sufficient to enhance the susceptibility to

  6. Exposure to automotive pollution increases plasma susceptibility to oxidation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharman, James E; Coombes, Jeff S; Geraghty, Dominic P; Fraser, David I

    2002-01-01

    Low-density lipoprotein oxidation is implicated in the development of atherosclerosis. Plasma susceptibility to oxidation may be used as a marker of low-density lipoprotein oxidation and thus predict atherosclerotic risk. In this study the authors investigated the relationship between plasma susceptibility to oxidation and exposure to automotive pollution in a group of automobile mechanics (n = 16) exposed to high levels of automotive pollution, vs. matched controls (n = 13). The authors induced plasma oxidation by a free radical initiator and they determined susceptibility to oxidation by (1) change in absorbance at 234 nm, (2) lag time to conjugated diene formation, and (3) linear slope of the oxidation curve. Mechanics had significantly higher values (mean +/- standard error) for change in absorbance (1.60 +/- 0.05 vs. 1.36 +/- 0.05; p automotive pollutants increases plasma susceptibility to oxidation and may, in the long-term, increase the risk of developing atherosclerosis.

  7. Microbicide excipients can greatly increase susceptibility to genital herpes transmission in the mouse

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    Sun Mianmian

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Several active ingredients proposed as vaginal microbicides have been shown paradoxically to increase susceptibility to infection in mouse genital herpes (HSV-2 vaginal susceptibility models and in clinical trials. In addition, "inactive ingredients" (or excipients used in topical products to formulate and deliver the active ingredient might also cause epithelial toxicities that increase viral susceptibility. However, excipients have not previously been tested in susceptibility models. Methods Excipients commonly used in topical products were formulated in a non-toxic vehicle (the "HEC universal placebo", or other formulations as specified. Twelve hours after exposure to the excipient or a control treatment, mice were challenged with a vaginal dose of HSV-2, and three days later were assessed for infection by vaginal lavage culture to assess susceptibility. Results The following excipients markedly increased susceptibility to HSV-2 after a single exposure: 5% glycerol monolaurate (GML formulated in K-Y® Warming Jelly, 5% GML as a colloidal suspension in phosphate buffered saline, K-Y Warming Jelly alone, and both of its humectant/solvent ingredients (neat propylene glycol and neat PEG-8. For excipients formulated in the HEC vehicle, 30% glycerin significantly increased susceptibility, and a trend toward increased HSV-2 susceptibility was observed after 10% glycerin, and 0.1% disodium EDTA, but not after 0.0186% disodium EDTA. The following excipients did not increase susceptibility: 10% propylene glycol, 0.18%, methylparaben plus 0.02% propylparaben, and 1% benzyl alcohol. Conclusions As reported with other surfactants, the surfactant/emulsifier GML markedly increased susceptibility to HSV-2. Glycerin at 30% significantly increased susceptibility, and, undiluted propylene glycol and PEG-8 greatly increased susceptibility.

  8. Alzheimer skin fibroblasts show increased susceptibility to free radicals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tesco, G; Latorraca, S; Piersanti, P; Piacentini, S; Amaducci, L; Sorbi, S

    1992-11-01

    We have studied the response to toxic oxygen metabolites of fibroblasts derived from skin biopsies of 5 patients with familial (FAD) and 4 with sporadic (AD) Alzheimer's disease compared with those derived from 4 normal controls. Fibroblasts were damaged by the generation of oxygen metabolites during the enzymatic oxidation of acetaldehyde by 50 munits of xanthine-oxidase (Xo). To quantify cell damage we measured lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity in the culture medium and cell viability in fibroblast cultures. We found a significant increase in LDH activity in the FAD vs. controls and also in the AD vs. controls.

  9. Differential gene expression of two extreme honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies showing varroa tolerance and susceptibility.

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    Jiang, S; Robertson, T; Mostajeran, M; Robertson, A J; Qiu, X

    2016-06-01

    Varroa destructor, an ectoparasitic mite of honey bees (Apis mellifera), is the most serious pest threatening the apiculture industry. In our honey bee breeding programme, two honey bee colonies showing extreme phenotypes for varroa tolerance/resistance (S88) and susceptibility (G4) were identified by natural selection from a large gene pool over a 6-year period. To investigate potential defence mechanisms for honey bee tolerance to varroa infestation, we employed DNA microarray and real time quantitative (PCR) analyses to identify differentially expressed genes in the tolerant and susceptible colonies at pupa and adult stages. Our results showed that more differentially expressed genes were identified in the tolerant bees than in bees from the susceptible colony, indicating that the tolerant colony showed an increased genetic capacity to respond to varroa mite infestation. In both colonies, there were more differentially expressed genes identified at the pupa stage than at the adult stage, indicating that pupa bees are more responsive to varroa infestation than adult bees. Genes showing differential expression in the colony phenotypes were categorized into several groups based on their molecular functions, such as olfactory signalling, detoxification processes, exoskeleton formation, protein degradation and long-chain fatty acid metabolism, suggesting that these biological processes play roles in conferring varroa tolerance to naturally selected colonies. Identification of differentially expressed genes between the two colony phenotypes provides potential molecular markers for selecting and breeding varroa-tolerant honey bees. © 2016 The Royal Entomological Society.

  10. The BTNL2 G16071A gene polymorphism increases granulomatous disease susceptibility

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    Tong, Xiang; Ma, Yao; Niu, Xundong; Yan, Zhipeng; Liu, Sitong; Peng, Bo; Peng, Shifeng; Fan, Hong

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Objective: The butyrophilin-like 2 (BTNL2) G16071A gene polymorphism has been implicated in the susceptibility to granulomatous diseases, but the results were inconclusive. The objective of the current study was to precisely explore the relationship between BTNL2 G16071A gene polymorphism and granulomatous disease susceptibility by the meta-analysis including false-positive report probability (FPRP) test. Methods: A systematic literature search in the PubMed, Embase, and Wanfang databases, China National Knowledge Internet, and commercial Internet search engines was conducted to identify studies published up to April 1, 2016. The odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to assess the effect size. Statistical analysis was conducted using the STATA 12.0 software and FPRP test sheet. Results: In total, all 4324 cases and 4386 controls from 14 eligible studies were included in the current meta-analysis. By the overall meta-analysis, we found a significant association between BTNL2 G16071A gene polymorphism and granulomatous disease susceptibility (A vs G: OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.07–1.45, P = 0.005). The meta-regression analyses showed that a large proportion of the between-study heterogeneity was significantly attributed to the ethnicity (A vs G, P = 0.013) and the types of granulomatous diseases (A vs G, P = 0.002). By the subgroup meta-analysis, the BTNL2 G16071A gene polymorphism was associated with granulomatous disease susceptibility in Caucasians (A vs G: OR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.18–1.58, P susceptibility (A vs G: OR = 1.52, 95% CI = 1.39–1.66, P susceptibility (A vs G, FPRP susceptibility among Caucasians (A vs G, FPRP susceptibility, especially increasing the sarcoidosis susceptibility. In addition, the polymorphism may be greatly associated with likelihood of granulomatous diseases among Caucasians. PMID:27472712

  11. RNA interference of acetylcholinesterase in the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri, increases its susceptibility to carbamate and organophosphate insecticides.

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    Kishk, Abdelaziz; Hijaz, Faraj; Anber, Helmy A I; AbdEl-Raof, Tsamoh K; El-Sherbeni, AbdEl-Hakeem D; Hamed, Sobhy; Killiny, Nabil

    2017-11-01

    The Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Lividae) transmits the Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, which causes citrus greening disease or Huanglongbing, (HLB). To date, there is no efficient cure for HLB disease and the control of D. citri using insecticides became the most important tools for the management of HLB. However, the extensive use of insecticides could increase D. citri resistance to these insecticides. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of RNA interference of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) on the mortality and susceptibility of D. citri to the four major insecticides used in Florida. In this study, we used a consensus sequence derived from the two AChE genes and cholinesterase 2-like (ChE-2-like) gene to target all of the three genes. Treatment with dsRNA-AChE increased the mortality percentages of both nymphs and adults of D. citri. The mortality percentage increased with the increase in the concentration of applied dsRNA-AChE, and the highest mortality (> 60%) was observed at the highest applied concentration (125ng/μl). Treatments of nymphs or adults with dsRNA-AChE down-regulated the expression of the three targeted genes of D. citri. Silencing of AChE and ChE in D. citri nymphs increased the susceptibility of emerged adults to chlorpyrifos and carbaryl, which act as AChE inhibitors. However, treatment with dsRNA-AChE did not increase the susceptibility of emerged adults to imidacloprid, which acts as an agonist of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. In the same manner, treatment of adults with dsRNA-AChE increased their susceptibility to chlorpyrifos and carbaryl, but did not affect their susceptibility to imidacloprid. The ANOVA did not show any significant increase in susceptibility of D. citri adults to fenpropathrin after treatment with dsRNA-AChE, either as nymphs or as adults. However, simple linear regression showed that treatment with dsRNA-AChE increased D. citri susceptibility to fenpropathrin

  12. [Emotional stress-induced Shanghuo syndrome increases disease susceptibility].

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    Zhu, Si-Rui; Luo, Xiang; Li, Yi-Fang; Hiroshi, Kurihara; He, Rong-Rong

    2018-04-01

    Shanghuo(excessive internal heat) is a special organic state based on the concept of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM), commonly known as the abnormal heating syndrome of body in folks. With the acceleration of modern life rhythm and the increase of the social competition pressure, emotional stress has become an important cause for the spread of Shanghuo symptoms. What's more, Shanghuo can impact the body physiological functions to cause the onset, recurrence and progression of common diseases, harming the health of the body. According to the long-term research findings, the author found that Shanghuo referred to the imbalance of multiple physiological functions, such as nerve, immunity and metabolism, caused by emotional stress. "Shanghuo" is not a disease itself, but it can increase the susceptibility to a variety of diseases. This study reviewed the traditional medicine theory and the modern medical studies, and explored the relevance and correlation mechanisms between the Shanghuo symptoms and disease susceptibility, so as to provide a reference to improve the state of sub-health and prevent or treat modern diseases. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

  13. Sidestream smoke exposure increases the susceptibility of airway epithelia to adenoviral infection.

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    Priyanka Sharma

    Full Text Available Although significant epidemiological evidence indicates that cigarette smoke exposure increases the incidence and severity of viral infection, the molecular mechanisms behind the increased susceptibility of the respiratory tract to viral pathogens are unclear. Adenoviruses are non-enveloped DNA viruses and important causative agents of acute respiratory disease. The Coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor (CAR is the primary receptor for many adenoviruses. We hypothesized that cigarette smoke exposure increases epithelial susceptibility to adenovirus infection by increasing the abundance of apical CAR.Cultured human airway epithelial cells (CaLu-3 were used as a model to investigate the effect of sidestream cigarette smoke (SSS, mainstream cigarette smoke (MSS, or control air exposure on the susceptibility of polarized respiratory epithelia to adenoviral infection. Using a Cultex air-liquid interface exposure system, we have discovered novel differences in epithelial susceptibility between SSS and MSS exposures. SSS exposure upregulates an eight-exon isoform of CAR and increases adenoviral entry from the apical surface whilst MSS exposure is similar to control air exposure. Additionally, the level of cellular glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β is downregulated by SSS exposure and treatment with a specific GSK3β inhibitor recapitulates the effects of SSS exposure on CAR expression and viral infection.This is the first time that SSS exposure has been shown to directly enhance the susceptibility of a polarized epithelium to infection by a common respiratory viral pathogen. This work provides a novel understanding of the impact of SSS on the burden of respiratory viral infections and may lead to new strategies to alter viral infections. Moreover, since GSK3β inhibitors are under intense clinical investigation as therapeutics for a diverse range of diseases, studies such as these might provide insight to extend the use of clinically relevant

  14. Magnetic susceptibility: a proxy method of estimating increased pollution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kluciarova, D.; Gregorova, D.; Tunyi, I.

    2004-01-01

    A need for rapid and inexpensive (proxy) methods of outlining areas exposed to increased pollution by atmospheric particulates of industrial origin caused scientists in various fields to use and validate different non-traditional (or non-chemical) techniques. Among them, soil magnetometry seems to be a suitable tool. This method is based on the knowledge that ferrimagnetic particles, namely magnetite, are produced from pyrite during combustion of fossil fuel. Besides the combustion processes, magnetic particles can also originate from road traffic, for example, or can be included in various waste-water outlets. In our study we examine the magnetic susceptibility as a convenient measure of determining the concentration of (ferri) magnetic minerals by rapid and non-destructive means. We used for measure KLY-2 Kappabridge. Concentration of ferrimagnetic minerals in different soils is linked to pollution sources. Higher χ values were observed in soils on the territory in Istebne (47383x10 -6 SI ). The susceptibility anomaly may be caused by particular geological circumstances and can be related to high content of ferromagnetic minerals in the host rocks. Positive correlation of magnetic susceptibility are conditioned by industrial contamination mainly by metal working factories and by traffic. The proposed method can be successfully applied in determining heavy metal pollution of soils on the city territories. (authors)

  15. Aging increases the susceptibility to motor memory interference and reduces off-line gains in motor skill learning

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Roig, Marc; Ritterband-Rosenbaum, Anina; Jensen, Jesper Lundbye

    2014-01-01

    Declines in the ability to learn motor skills in older adults are commonly attributed to deficits in the encoding of sensorimotor information during motor practice. We investigated whether aging also impairs motor memory consolidation by assessing the susceptibility to memory interference and off...... greater susceptibility to memory interference and no off-line gains in motor skill learning. Performing B produced memory interference and reduced off-line gains only in the older group. However, older adults also showed deficits in memory consolidation independent of the interfering effects of B. Age......-related declines in motor skill learning are not produced exclusively by deficits in the encoding of sensorimotor information during practice. Aging also increases the susceptibility to memory interference and reduces off-line gains in motor skill learning after practice....

  16. Increased LDL susceptibility to oxidation accelerates future carotid artery atherosclerosis

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    Aoki Toshinari

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background We analyzed the causal relationship between LDL susceptibility to oxidation and the development of new carotid artery atherosclerosis over a period of 5 years. We previously described the determinants related to a risk of cardiovascular changes determined in a Japanese population participating in the Niigata Study, which is an ongoing epidemiological investigation of the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Methods We selected 394 individuals (169 males and 225 females who underwent a second carotid artery ultrasonographic examination in 2001 - 2002 for the present study. The susceptibility of LDL to oxidation was determined as the photometric absorbance and electrophoretic mobility of samples that had been collected in 1996 - 1997. The measurements were compared with ultrasonographic findings obtained in 2001 - 2002. Results The multivariate-adjusted model showed that age (odds ratio (OR, 1.034; 95% confidence interval (95%CI, 1.010 - 1.059, HbA1c (OR, 1.477; 95%CI, 0.980 - 2.225, and photometric O/N (OR, 2.012; 95%CI, 1.000 - 4.051 were significant variables that could independently predict the risk of new carotid artery atherosclerosis. Conclusion The susceptibility of LDL to oxidation was a significant parameter that could predict new carotid artery atherosclerosis over a 5-year period, and higher susceptibility was associated with a higher incidence of new carotid artery atherosclerosis.

  17. Communicating Zika Risk: Using Metaphor to Increase Perceived Risk Susceptibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Hang; Schuldt, Jonathon P

    2018-02-27

    Effectively communicating the risks associated with emerging zoonotic diseases remains an important challenge. Drawing on research into the psychological effects of metaphoric framing, we explore the conditions under which exposure to the "nation as a body" metaphor influences perceived risk susceptibility, behavioral intentions, and policy support in the context of Zika virus. In a between-subjects experiment, 354 U.S. adults were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions as part of a 2 (severity message: high vs. low) × 2 (U.S. framing: metaphoric vs. literal) design. Results revealed an interaction effect such that metaphoric (vs. literal) framing increased perceived risk susceptibility in the high-severity condition only. Further analyses revealed that perceived risk susceptibility and negative affect mediated the path between the two-way interaction and policy support and behavioral intentions regarding Zika prevention. Overall, these findings complement prior work on the influence of metaphoric framing on risk perceptions, while offering practical insights for risk communicators seeking to communicate about Zika and other zoonotic diseases. © 2018 Society for Risk Analysis.

  18. Tumor Necrosis Factor B (TNFB) Genetic Variants and Its Increased Expression Are Associated with Vitiligo Susceptibility

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    Laddha, Naresh C.; Dwivedi, Mitesh; Gani, Amina R.; Mansuri, Mohmmad Shoab; Begum, Rasheedunnisa

    2013-01-01

    Genetic polymorphisms in TNFB are involved in the regulation of its expression and are found to be associated with various autoimmune diseases. The aim of the present study was to determine whether TNFB +252A/G (rs909253) and exon 3 C/A (rs1041981) polymorphisms are associated with vitiligo susceptibility, and expression of TNFB and ICAM1 affects the disease onset and progression. We have earlier reported the role of TNFA in autoimmune pathogenesis of vitiligo, and we now show the involvement of TNFB in vitiligo pathogenesis. The two polymorphisms investigated in the TNFB were in strong linkage disequilibrium and significantly associated with vitiligo. TNFB and ICAM1 transcripts were significantly increased in patients compared to controls. Active vitiligo patients showed significant increase in TNFB transcripts compared to stable vitiligo. The genotype-phenotype analysis revealed that TNFB expression levels were higher in patients with GG and AA genotypes as compared to controls. Patients with the early age of onset and female patients showed higher TNFB and ICAM1 expression. Overall, our findings suggest that the increased TNFB transcript levels in vitiligo patients could result, at least in part, from variations at the genetic level which in turn leads to increased ICAM1 expression. For the first time, we show that TNFB +252A/G and exon 3 C/A polymorphisms are associated with vitiligo susceptibility and influence the TNFB and ICAM1 expression. Moreover, the study also emphasizes influence of TNFB and ICAM1 on the disease progression, onset and gender bias for developing vitiligo. PMID:24312346

  19. Prenatal ethanol exposure programs an increased susceptibility of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in female adult offspring rats

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shen, Lang; Liu, Zhongfen; Gong, Jun; Zhang, Li; Wang, Linlong; Magdalou, Jacques; Chen, Liaobin; Wang, Hui

    2014-01-01

    Prenatal ethanol exposure (PEE) induces dyslipidemia and hyperglycemia in fetus and adult offspring. However, whether PEE increases the susceptibility to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in offspring and its underlying mechanism remain unknown. This study aimed to demonstrate an increased susceptibility to high-fat diet (HFD)-induced NAFLD and its intrauterine programming mechanisms in female rat offspring with PEE. Rat model of intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) was established by PEE, the female fetus and adult offspring that fed normal diet (ND) or HFD were sacrificed. The results showed that, in PEE + ND group, serum corticosterone (CORT) slightly decreased and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and glucose increased with partial catch-up growth; In PEE + HFD group, serum CORT decreased, while serum IGF-1, glucose and triglyceride (TG) increased, with notable catch-up growth, higher metabolic status and NAFLD formation. Enhanced liver expression of the IGF-1 pathway, gluconeogenesis, and lipid synthesis as well as reduced expression of lipid output were accompanied in PEE + HFD group. In PEE fetus, serum CORT increased while IGF-1 decreased, with low body weight, hyperglycemia, and hepatocyte ultrastructural changes. Hepatic IGF-1 expression as well as lipid output was down-regulated, while lipid synthesis significantly increased. Based on these findings, we propose a “two-programming” hypothesis for an increased susceptibility to HFD-induced NAFLD in female offspring of PEE. That is, the intrauterine programming of liver glucose and lipid metabolic function is “the first programming”, and postnatal adaptive catch-up growth triggered by intrauterine programming of GC-IGF1 axis acts as “the second programming”. - Highlights: • Prenatal ethanol exposure increase the susceptibility of NAFLD in female offspring. • Prenatal ethanol exposure reprograms fetal liver’s glucose and lipid metabolism . • Prenatal ethanol exposure cause

  20. Prenatal ethanol exposure programs an increased susceptibility of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in female adult offspring rats

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shen, Lang; Liu, Zhongfen; Gong, Jun; Zhang, Li [Department of Pharmacology, Basic Medical School of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071 (China); Wang, Linlong [Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071 (China); Magdalou, Jacques [UMR 7561 CNRS-Nancy Université, Faculté de Médicine, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy (France); Chen, Liaobin [Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071 (China); Wang, Hui [Department of Pharmacology, Basic Medical School of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071 (China); Research Center of Food and Drug Evaluation, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071 (China)

    2014-01-15

    Prenatal ethanol exposure (PEE) induces dyslipidemia and hyperglycemia in fetus and adult offspring. However, whether PEE increases the susceptibility to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in offspring and its underlying mechanism remain unknown. This study aimed to demonstrate an increased susceptibility to high-fat diet (HFD)-induced NAFLD and its intrauterine programming mechanisms in female rat offspring with PEE. Rat model of intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) was established by PEE, the female fetus and adult offspring that fed normal diet (ND) or HFD were sacrificed. The results showed that, in PEE + ND group, serum corticosterone (CORT) slightly decreased and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and glucose increased with partial catch-up growth; In PEE + HFD group, serum CORT decreased, while serum IGF-1, glucose and triglyceride (TG) increased, with notable catch-up growth, higher metabolic status and NAFLD formation. Enhanced liver expression of the IGF-1 pathway, gluconeogenesis, and lipid synthesis as well as reduced expression of lipid output were accompanied in PEE + HFD group. In PEE fetus, serum CORT increased while IGF-1 decreased, with low body weight, hyperglycemia, and hepatocyte ultrastructural changes. Hepatic IGF-1 expression as well as lipid output was down-regulated, while lipid synthesis significantly increased. Based on these findings, we propose a “two-programming” hypothesis for an increased susceptibility to HFD-induced NAFLD in female offspring of PEE. That is, the intrauterine programming of liver glucose and lipid metabolic function is “the first programming”, and postnatal adaptive catch-up growth triggered by intrauterine programming of GC-IGF1 axis acts as “the second programming”. - Highlights: • Prenatal ethanol exposure increase the susceptibility of NAFLD in female offspring. • Prenatal ethanol exposure reprograms fetal liver’s glucose and lipid metabolism . • Prenatal ethanol exposure cause

  1. Entitlement Can Both Decrease and Increase Consumer Susceptibility to Social Influence

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Heide, Martine; Fennis, Bob; van Ittersum, Koert; Trampe, Debra; Diehl, Kristin; Yoon, Carolyn

    2015-01-01

    Two studies indicate that entitlement—a sense that one deserves special treatment and is exempt from normal social demands—can both buffer and boost consumers’ proneness to social influence. Specifically, Study 1 shows that entitlement reduces susceptibility to consistency appeals. Study 2, however,

  2. Persistent Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium Infection Increases the Susceptibility of Mice to Develop Intestinal Inflammation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bárbara M. Schultz

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Chronic intestinal inflammations are triggered by genetic and environmental components. However, it remains unclear how specific changes in the microbiota, host immunity, or pathogen exposure could promote the onset and exacerbation of these diseases. Here, we evaluated whether Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium infection increases the susceptibility to develop intestinal inflammation in mice. Two mouse models were used to evaluate the impact of S. Typhimurium infection: the chemical induction of colitis by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS and interleukin (IL-10−/− mice, which develop spontaneous intestinal inflammation. We observed that S. Typhimurium infection makes DSS-treated and IL-10−/− mice more susceptible to develop intestinal inflammation. Importantly, this increased susceptibility is associated to the ability of S. Typhimurium to persist in liver and spleen of infected mice, which depends on the virulence proteins secreted by Salmonella Pathogenicity Island 2-encoded type three secretion system (TTSS-2. Although immunization with a live attenuated vaccine resulted in a moderate reduction of the IL-10−/− mice susceptibility to develop intestinal inflammation due to previous S. Typhimurium infection, it did not prevent bacterial persistence. Our results suggest that persistent S. Typhimurium infection may increase the susceptibility of mice to develop inflammation in the intestine, which could be associated with virulence proteins secreted by TTSS-2.

  3. Association of STAT4 gene polymorphism with increased susceptibility of rheumatoid arthritis in a northern Chinese Han subpopulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Yi; Liu, Xu; Liu, Xia; Su, Yin; Li, Yanmei; Zhang, Xiaoping; Zhu, Lei; Wang, Shiyao; Wang, Tian; Jiang, Quan; Liu, Xiangyuan; Li, Xiaoxia; Huang, Cibo; Jia, Rulin; Lu, Xiaolan; Guo, Jianping; Li, Zhanguo

    2013-04-01

    Several studies have reported STAT4 polymorphism is strongly associated with increased susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, a study from China showed no association between STAT4 and RA susceptibility in a Chinese Han subpopulation. Since the northern Hans are known to be genetically different from the southern Hans, the aim of this study was to investigate the association of STAT4 polymorphism with RA in a large cohort of a northern Chinese Han subpopulation. 640 RA patients and 662 healthy controls were enrolled. DNA samples were genotyped for STAT4 rs7574865 by direct sequencing. The association of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs7574865 with RA susceptibility was calculated and the relationship between rs7574865 polymorphism and RA subgroups stratified by clinical features was estimated. We confirmed a significant association of STAT4 rs7574865 polymorphism with RA susceptibility in northern Chinese Han population. The frequency of the minor T allele in RA was significantly higher than in healthy controls (35.2% vs. 31.1%; P = 0.029, OR 1.2 [95% CI 1.02-1.41]). There was also a significant difference in the distribution of the genotypes of SNP rs7574865 between RA patients and healthy controls (P = 0.02). Stratification analyses showed no associations between the genetic risk and clinical/serologic features, but a potential high frequency of TT genotype in a rheumatoid factor-negative subgroup, although it did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.084, OR 2.01 [95% CI 0.91-4.45]). STAT4 rs7574865 is significantly associated with RA susceptibility in northern Chinese Han subpopulations. The genetic differences of Han subpopulations should be considered when genetic susceptibility for diseases is studied. © 2013 The Authors International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases © 2013 Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

  4. An interaction between NDE1 and high birth weight increases schizophrenia susceptibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wegelius, Asko; Pankakoski, Maiju; Tomppo, Liisa; Lehto, Ulriika; Lönnqvist, Jouko; Suvisaari, Jaana; Paunio, Tiina; Hennah, William

    2015-12-15

    Pre- and perinatal environmental factors have been shown to increase schizophrenia risk particularly when combined with genetic liability. The investigation of specific gene environment interactions in the etiology of psychiatric disorders has gained momentum. We used multivariate GEE regression modeling to investigate the interaction between genes of the DISC1 pathway and birth weight, in relation to schizophrenia susceptibility in a Finnish schizophrenia family cohort. The study sample consisted of 457 subjects with both genotype and birth weight information. Gender and place of birth were adjusted for in the models. We found a significant interaction between birth weight and two NDE1 markers in relation to increased schizophrenia risk: a four SNP haplotype spanning NDE1 (b=1.26, SE=0.5, p=0.012) and one of its constituent SNPs rs4781678 (b=1.33, SE=0.51, p=0.010). Specifically, high birth weight (>4000g) was associated with increased schizophrenia risk among subjects homozygous for the previously identified risk alleles. The study was based on a family study sample with high genetic loading for schizophrenia and thus our findings cannot directly be generalized as representing the general population. Our results suggest that the functions mediated by NDE1 during the early stages of neurodevelopment are susceptible to the additional disruptive effects of pre- and perinatal environmental factors associated with high birth weight, augmenting schizophrenia susceptibility. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  5. Pulmonary exposure to particles during pregnancy causes increased neonatal asthma susceptibility

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fedulov, Alexey V; Leme, Adriana; Yang, Zhiping

    2008-01-01

    Maternal immune responses can promote allergy development in offspring, as shown in a model of increased susceptibility to asthma in babies of ovalbumin (OVA)-sensitized and -challenged mother mice. We investigated whether inflammatory responses to air pollution particles (diesel exhaust particles...... inflammatory responses were evaluated 48 hours after exposure. Offspring of particle- or buffer-treated mothers were sensitized and aerosolized with OVA, followed by assays of airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) and allergic inflammation (AI). Nonpregnant females had the expected minimal response to "inert" TiO(2......). In contrast, pregnant mice showed robust and persistent acute inflammation after both TiO(2) and DEP. Genomic profiling identified genes differentially expressed in pregnant lungs exposed to TiO(2). Neonates of mothers exposed to TiO(2) (and DEP, but not PBS) developed AHR and AI, indicating that pregnancy...

  6. Deficiency of the Angiotensinase Aminopeptidase A Increases Susceptibility to Glomerular Injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Velez, Juan Carlos Q; Arif, Ehtesham; Rodgers, Jessalyn; Hicks, Megan P; Arthur, John M; Nihalani, Deepak; Bruner, Evelyn T; Budisavljevic, Milos N; Atkinson, Carl; Fitzgibbon, Wayne R; Janech, Michael G

    2017-07-01

    Aminopeptidase A (APA) is expressed in glomerular podocytes and tubular epithelia and metabolizes angiotensin II (AngII), a peptide known to promote glomerulosclerosis. In this study, we tested whether APA expression changes in response to progressive nephron loss or whether APA exerts a protective role against glomerular damage and during AngII-mediated hypertensive kidney injury. At advanced stages of FSGS, fawn-hooded hypertensive rat kidneys exhibited distinctly increased APA staining in areas of intact glomerular capillary loops. Moreover, BALB/c APA-knockout (KO) mice injected with a nephrotoxic serum showed persistent glomerular hyalinosis and albuminuria 96 hours after injection, whereas wild-type controls achieved virtually full recovery. We then tested the effect of 4-week infusion of AngII (400 ng/kg per minute) in APA-KO and wild-type mice. Although we observed no significant difference in achieved systolic BP, AngII-treated APA-KO mice developed a significant rise in albuminuria not observed in AngII-treated wild-type mice along with increased segmental and global sclerosis and/or collapse of juxtamedullary glomeruli, microcystic tubular dilation, and tubulointerstitial fibrosis. In parallel, AngII treatment significantly increased the kidney AngII content and attenuated the expression of podocyte nephrin in APA-KO mice but not in wild-type controls. These data show that deficiency of APA increases susceptibility to glomerular injury in BALB/c mice. The augmented AngII-mediated kidney injury observed in association with increased intrarenal AngII accumulation in the absence of APA suggests a protective metabolizing role of APA in AngII-mediated glomerular diseases. Copyright © 2017 by the American Society of Nephrology.

  7. Magnetic susceptibility measurements on Bi - Sn alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mustaffa bin Haji Abdullah

    1985-01-01

    Magnetic susceptibility measurements on eight samples of tin-rich and three samples of bismuth-rich Bi-Sn alloys were made from 85K to 300K by Faraday's method. The susceptibilities of the eight tin-rich samples are positive and greater than the susceptibility of pure tin. The values are approximately constant at low temperatures but decreasing a little bit with increasing temperature. This result is interpreted as due to the predominant contribution of the Pauli spin paramagnetic susceptibility. A small decrease in susceptibility with temperature is interpreted as due to the effect of the second order term in the expression for spin paramagnetic susceptibility. The fluctuation of the susceptibility for alloys of different composition is interpreted as due to the effect of the density of states at the Fermi levels. The three samples of bismuth-rich alloys show a transition to diamagnetic property, where the diamagnetism is increased with temperature. This result is predominant and due to the diamagnetic contribution from the ions. The increase in susceptibility with temperature is interpreted as due to an increase in the effective radii of the ions due to thermal expansion. (author)

  8. Air pollution increases forest susceptibility to wildfires: a case study for the San Bernardino Mountains in southern California

    Science.gov (United States)

    N.E. Grulke; R.A. Minnich; T. Paine; P. Riggan

    2010-01-01

    Many factors increase susceptibility of forests to wildfire. Among them are increases in human population, changes in land use, fire suppression, and frequent droughts. These factors have been exacerbating forest susceptibility to wildfires over the last century in southern California. Here we report on the significant role that air pollution has on increasing forest...

  9. SCC susceptibility evaluation of plastic deformed austenitic stainless steels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaneshima, Yoshiari; Totsuka, Nobuo; Arioka, Koji [Inst. of Nuclear Safety System Inc., Mihama, Fukui (Japan)

    2002-09-01

    Slow strain rate temperature (SSRT) tests were carried out to evaluate the SCC susceptibility of deformed SUS316 stainless steel in simulated primary water of pressurized water reactor (PWR). The influence of material hardness and temperature on SCC susceptibility was studied. From these tests following results were obtained. (1) Both of the total SCC and IGSCC susceptibilities increased as the hardness of deformed specimens increased. Especially over 250{approx}300HV area, this tendency remarkably increased. (2) The reduction ratio showed a plateau under 300HV area. However, over 300HV area, it decreased remarkably as the hardness increased, that is, the SCC susceptibility remarkably increased. (3) Based on the SSRT test results conducted at 320, 340 and 360degC, the total SCC susceptibility dependence on temperature was small and the IGSCC susceptibility was dependent on the temperature. From these results, the TGSCC susceptibility dependence on temperature was also small. The activation energy of total SCC and IGSCC susceptibility were calculated. (author)

  10. Alginate Microencapsulation of Human Islets Does Not Increase Susceptibility to Acute Hypoxia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hals, I. K.; Rokstad, A. M.; Strand, B. L.; Oberholzer, J.; Grill, V.

    2013-01-01

    Islet transplantation in diabetes is hampered by the need of life-long immunosuppression. Encapsulation provides partial immunoprotection but could possibly limit oxygen supply, a factor that may enhance hypoxia-induced beta cell death in the early posttransplantation period. Here we tested susceptibility of alginate microencapsulated human islets to experimental hypoxia (0.1–0.3% O2 for 8 h, followed by reoxygenation) on viability and functional parameters. Hypoxia reduced viability as measured by MTT by 33.8 ± 3.5% in encapsulated and 42.9 ± 5.2% in nonencapsulated islets (P microencapsulation of human islets does not increase susceptibility to acute hypoxia. This is a positive finding in relation to potential use of encapsulation for islet transplantation. PMID:24364039

  11. HSV-2-Driven Increase in the Expression of α4β7 Correlates with Increased Susceptibility to Vaginal SHIVSF162P3 Infection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goode, Diana; Truong, Rosaline; Villegas, Guillermo; Calenda, Giulia; Guerra-Perez, Natalia; Piatak, Michael; Lifson, Jeffrey D.; Blanchard, James; Gettie, Agegnehu; Robbiani, Melissa; Martinelli, Elena

    2014-01-01

    The availability of highly susceptible HIV target cells that can rapidly reach the mucosal lymphoid tissues may increase the chances of an otherwise rare transmission event to occur. Expression of α4β7 is required for trafficking of immune cells to gut inductive sites where HIV can expand and it is expressed at high level on cells particularly susceptible to HIV infection. We hypothesized that HSV-2 modulates the expression of α4β7 and other homing receptors in the vaginal tissue and that this correlates with the increased risk of HIV acquisition in HSV-2 positive individuals. To test this hypothesis we used an in vivo rhesus macaque (RM) model of HSV-2 vaginal infection and a new ex vivo model of macaque vaginal explants. In vivo we found that HSV-2 latently infected RMs appeared to be more susceptible to vaginal SHIVSF162P3 infection, had higher frequency of α4β7 high CD4+ T cells in the vaginal tissue and higher expression of α4β7 and CD11c on vaginal DCs. Similarly, ex vivo HSV-2 infection increased the susceptibility of the vaginal tissue to SHIVSF162P3. HSV-2 infection increased the frequencies of α4β7 high CD4+ T cells and this directly correlated with HSV-2 replication. A higher amount of inflammatory cytokines in vaginal fluids of the HSV-2 infected animals was similar to those found in the supernatants of the infected explants. Remarkably, the HSV-2-driven increase in the frequency of α4β7 high CD4+ T cells directly correlated with SHIV replication in the HSV-2 infected tissues. Our results suggest that the HSV-2-driven increase in availability of CD4+ T cells and DCs that express high levels of α4β7 is associated with the increase in susceptibility to SHIV due to HSV-2. This may persists in absence of HSV-2 shedding. Hence, higher availability of α4β7 positive HIV target cells in the vaginal tissue may constitute a risk factor for HIV transmission. PMID:25521298

  12. Gender-specific increase in susceptibility to metabolic syndrome of offspring rats after prenatal caffeine exposure with post-weaning high-fat diet

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Jing [Department of Pharmacology, Basic Medical School of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071 (China); Luo, Hanwen [Department of Pharmacology, Basic Medical School of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071 (China); Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071 (China); Wu, Yimeng; He, Zheng; Zhang, Li; Guo, Yu [Department of Pharmacology, Basic Medical School of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071 (China); Ma, Lu [Department of Epidemiology & Health Statistics, Public Health School of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071 (China); Magdalou, Jacques [UMR 7561 CNRS-NancyUniversité, Faculté de Médicine, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy (France); Chen, Liaobin [Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071 (China); Hubei Provincial Key Laboratory of Developmentally Originated Disease, Wuhan 430071 (China); Wang, Hui, E-mail: wanghui19@whu.edu.cn [Department of Pharmacology, Basic Medical School of Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071 (China); Hubei Provincial Key Laboratory of Developmentally Originated Disease, Wuhan 430071 (China)

    2015-05-01

    Prenatal caffeine exposure (PCE) alters the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenocortical (HPA) axis-associated neuroendocrine metabolic programming and induces an increased susceptibility to metabolic syndrome (MS) in intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) offspring rats. High-fat diet (HFD) is one of the main environmental factors accounting for the incidence of MS. In this study, we aimed to clarify the gender-specific increase in susceptibility to MS in offspring rats after PCE with post-weaning HFD. Maternal Wistar rats were administered with caffeine (120 mg/kg·d) from gestational day 11 until delivery. The offspring rats with normal diet or HFD were euthanized at postnatal week 24, and blood samples were collected. Results showed that PCE not only reduced serum adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and corticosterone levels, but also enhanced serum glucose, triglyceride and total cholesterol (TCH) concentrations in the offspring rats. Moreover, several interactions among PCE, HFD and gender were observed by a three-way ANOVA analysis. In PCE offspring, HFD could aggravate the degree of increased serum triglyceride level. Meanwhile, serum corticosterone levels of females were decreased more obviously than those of males in PCE offspring. The results also revealed interactions between HFD and gender in the levels of serum ACTH, triglyceride and TCH, which were changed more evidently in female HFD offspring. These results indicate that HFD could exacerbate the dysfunction of lipid metabolism and the susceptibility to MS induced by PCE, and the female offspring are more sensitive to HFD-induced neuroendocrine metabolic dysfunction than their male counterparts. - Highlights: • Caffeine induced HPA axis dysfunction in offspring rats fed by high-fat diet (HFD). • Caffeine induced an increased susceptibility to metabolic syndrome. • HFD aggravated susceptibility to metabolic syndrome induced by caffeine. • Female was more sensitive to HFD-induced neuroendocrine

  13. Gender-specific increase in susceptibility to metabolic syndrome of offspring rats after prenatal caffeine exposure with post-weaning high-fat diet

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Jing; Luo, Hanwen; Wu, Yimeng; He, Zheng; Zhang, Li; Guo, Yu; Ma, Lu; Magdalou, Jacques; Chen, Liaobin; Wang, Hui

    2015-01-01

    Prenatal caffeine exposure (PCE) alters the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenocortical (HPA) axis-associated neuroendocrine metabolic programming and induces an increased susceptibility to metabolic syndrome (MS) in intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) offspring rats. High-fat diet (HFD) is one of the main environmental factors accounting for the incidence of MS. In this study, we aimed to clarify the gender-specific increase in susceptibility to MS in offspring rats after PCE with post-weaning HFD. Maternal Wistar rats were administered with caffeine (120 mg/kg·d) from gestational day 11 until delivery. The offspring rats with normal diet or HFD were euthanized at postnatal week 24, and blood samples were collected. Results showed that PCE not only reduced serum adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and corticosterone levels, but also enhanced serum glucose, triglyceride and total cholesterol (TCH) concentrations in the offspring rats. Moreover, several interactions among PCE, HFD and gender were observed by a three-way ANOVA analysis. In PCE offspring, HFD could aggravate the degree of increased serum triglyceride level. Meanwhile, serum corticosterone levels of females were decreased more obviously than those of males in PCE offspring. The results also revealed interactions between HFD and gender in the levels of serum ACTH, triglyceride and TCH, which were changed more evidently in female HFD offspring. These results indicate that HFD could exacerbate the dysfunction of lipid metabolism and the susceptibility to MS induced by PCE, and the female offspring are more sensitive to HFD-induced neuroendocrine metabolic dysfunction than their male counterparts. - Highlights: • Caffeine induced HPA axis dysfunction in offspring rats fed by high-fat diet (HFD). • Caffeine induced an increased susceptibility to metabolic syndrome. • HFD aggravated susceptibility to metabolic syndrome induced by caffeine. • Female was more sensitive to HFD-induced neuroendocrine

  14. Manipulation of the Xanthophyll Cycle Increases Plant Susceptibility to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jun Zhou

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The xanthophyll cycle is involved in dissipating excess light energy to protect the photosynthetic apparatus in a process commonly assessed from non-photochemical quenching (NPQ of chlorophyll fluorescence. Here, it is shown that the xanthophyll cycle is modulated by the necrotrophic pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum at the early stage of infection. Incubation of Sclerotinia led to a localized increase in NPQ even at low light intensity. Further studies showed that this abnormal change in NPQ was closely correlated with a decreased pH caused by Sclerotinia-secreted oxalate, which might decrease the ATP synthase activity and lead to a deepening of thylakoid lumen acidification under continuous illumination. Furthermore, suppression (with dithiothreitol or a defect (in the npq1-2 mutant of violaxanthin de-epoxidase (VDE abolished the Sclerotinia-induced NPQ increase. HPLC analysis showed that the Sclerotinia-inoculated tissue accumulated substantial quantities of zeaxanthin at the expense of violaxanthin, with a corresponding decrease in neoxanthin content. Immunoassays revealed that the decrease in these xanthophyll precursors reduced de novo abscisic acid (ABA biosynthesis and apparently weakened tissue defense responses, including ROS induction and callose deposition, resulting in enhanced plant susceptibility to Sclerotinia. We thus propose that Sclerotinia antagonizes ABA biosynthesis to suppress host defense by manipulating the xanthophyll cycle in early pathogenesis. These findings provide a model of how photoprotective metabolites integrate into the defense responses, and expand the current knowledge of early plant-Sclerotinia interactions at infection sites.

  15. Alginate Microencapsulation of Human Islets Does Not Increase Susceptibility to Acute Hypoxia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. K. Hals

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Islet transplantation in diabetes is hampered by the need of life-long immunosuppression. Encapsulation provides partial immunoprotection but could possibly limit oxygen supply, a factor that may enhance hypoxia-induced beta cell death in the early posttransplantation period. Here we tested susceptibility of alginate microencapsulated human islets to experimental hypoxia (0.1–0.3% O2 for 8 h, followed by reoxygenation on viability and functional parameters. Hypoxia reduced viability as measured by MTT by 33.8±3.5% in encapsulated and 42.9±5.2% in nonencapsulated islets (P<0.2. Nonencapsulated islets released 37.7% (median more HMGB1 compared to encapsulated islets after hypoxic culture conditions (P<0.001. Glucose-induced insulin release was marginally affected by hypoxia. Basal oxygen consumption was equally reduced in encapsulated and nonencapsulated islets, by 22.0±6.1% versus 24.8±5.7%. Among 27 tested cytokines/chemokines, hypoxia increased the secretion of IL-6 and IL-8/CXCL8 in both groups of islets, whereas an increase of MCP-1/CCL2 was seen only with nonencapsulated islets. Conclusion. Alginate microencapsulation of human islets does not increase susceptibility to acute hypoxia. This is a positive finding in relation to potential use of encapsulation for islet transplantation.

  16. Increased susceptibility to cardiovascular effects of dihydrocapcaicin in resuscitated rats. Cardiovascular effects of dihydrocapsaicin

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fosgerau, Keld; Ristagno, Giuseppe; Jayatissa, Magdalena Niepsuj

    2010-01-01

    Survivors of a cardiac arrest often have persistent cardiovascular derangements following cardiopulmonary resuscitation including decreased cardiac output, arrhythmias and morphological myocardial damage. These cardiovascular derangements may lead to an increased susceptibility towards the extern...

  17. Increasing rate of daptomycin non-susceptible strains of Staphylococcus aureus in patients with atopic dermatitis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Izabela Błażewicz

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Introduction : Daptomycin is a cyclic lipopeptide that is bactericidal against Staphylococcus aureus , including methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA, vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus (VISA and vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA strains. Daptomycin exerts its antimicrobial effect by a calcium-dependent interaction with the cytoplasmic membrane resulting in depolarization, ion loss and rapid cell death. Unfortunately, loss of daptomycin susceptibility in S. aureus in the clinical setting has been noted. Aim : To evaluate the susceptibility profile to daptomycin among S. aureus strains isloted from patients with atopic dermatitis (AD. Another point was to correlate the results obtained by broth microdilution method and Etest, which is commonly applied in clinical setting. Material and methods : One hundred patients with the diagnosis of atopic dermatitis were microbiologically assessed for the carriage of S. aureus . Antimicrobial susceptibility tests were performed using broth-microdilution (BMD and Etests for daptomycin. Results : Staphylococcus aureus strains were isolated from the majority of our patients, either from the skin (73% or the anterior nares (75%. Six of the 100 nasal swabs (6% and 5 of the 100 skin swabs (5% were positive for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA. A total of 81 of 148 (54.7% daptomycin non-susceptible isolates of S. aureus were identified by BMD. Only 19 of 81 were also classified as non-susceptible by Etest. Conclusions : Clinicians and microbiologists should be aware of the possibility of the emergence of daptomycin non-susceptibility (or increase in minimal inhibitory concentration during prolonged therapy and closely monitor the susceptibility of persisting isolates that might be recovered during therapy.

  18. HSV-2-driven increase in the expression of α4β7 correlates with increased susceptibility to vaginal SHIV(SF162P3) infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goode, Diana; Truong, Rosaline; Villegas, Guillermo; Calenda, Giulia; Guerra-Perez, Natalia; Piatak, Michael; Lifson, Jeffrey D; Blanchard, James; Gettie, Agegnehu; Robbiani, Melissa; Martinelli, Elena

    2014-12-01

    The availability of highly susceptible HIV target cells that can rapidly reach the mucosal lymphoid tissues may increase the chances of an otherwise rare transmission event to occur. Expression of α4β7 is required for trafficking of immune cells to gut inductive sites where HIV can expand and it is expressed at high level on cells particularly susceptible to HIV infection. We hypothesized that HSV-2 modulates the expression of α4β7 and other homing receptors in the vaginal tissue and that this correlates with the increased risk of HIV acquisition in HSV-2 positive individuals. To test this hypothesis we used an in vivo rhesus macaque (RM) model of HSV-2 vaginal infection and a new ex vivo model of macaque vaginal explants. In vivo we found that HSV-2 latently infected RMs appeared to be more susceptible to vaginal SHIVSF162P3 infection, had higher frequency of α4β7high CD4+ T cells in the vaginal tissue and higher expression of α4β7 and CD11c on vaginal DCs. Similarly, ex vivo HSV-2 infection increased the susceptibility of the vaginal tissue to SHIVSF162P3. HSV-2 infection increased the frequencies of α4β7high CD4+ T cells and this directly correlated with HSV-2 replication. A higher amount of inflammatory cytokines in vaginal fluids of the HSV-2 infected animals was similar to those found in the supernatants of the infected explants. Remarkably, the HSV-2-driven increase in the frequency of α4β7high CD4+ T cells directly correlated with SHIV replication in the HSV-2 infected tissues. Our results suggest that the HSV-2-driven increase in availability of CD4+ T cells and DCs that express high levels of α4β7 is associated with the increase in susceptibility to SHIV due to HSV-2. This may persists in absence of HSV-2 shedding. Hence, higher availability of α4β7 positive HIV target cells in the vaginal tissue may constitute a risk factor for HIV transmission.

  19. HSV-2-driven increase in the expression of α4β7 correlates with increased susceptibility to vaginal SHIV(SF162P3 infection.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diana Goode

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The availability of highly susceptible HIV target cells that can rapidly reach the mucosal lymphoid tissues may increase the chances of an otherwise rare transmission event to occur. Expression of α4β7 is required for trafficking of immune cells to gut inductive sites where HIV can expand and it is expressed at high level on cells particularly susceptible to HIV infection. We hypothesized that HSV-2 modulates the expression of α4β7 and other homing receptors in the vaginal tissue and that this correlates with the increased risk of HIV acquisition in HSV-2 positive individuals. To test this hypothesis we used an in vivo rhesus macaque (RM model of HSV-2 vaginal infection and a new ex vivo model of macaque vaginal explants. In vivo we found that HSV-2 latently infected RMs appeared to be more susceptible to vaginal SHIVSF162P3 infection, had higher frequency of α4β7high CD4+ T cells in the vaginal tissue and higher expression of α4β7 and CD11c on vaginal DCs. Similarly, ex vivo HSV-2 infection increased the susceptibility of the vaginal tissue to SHIVSF162P3. HSV-2 infection increased the frequencies of α4β7high CD4+ T cells and this directly correlated with HSV-2 replication. A higher amount of inflammatory cytokines in vaginal fluids of the HSV-2 infected animals was similar to those found in the supernatants of the infected explants. Remarkably, the HSV-2-driven increase in the frequency of α4β7high CD4+ T cells directly correlated with SHIV replication in the HSV-2 infected tissues. Our results suggest that the HSV-2-driven increase in availability of CD4+ T cells and DCs that express high levels of α4β7 is associated with the increase in susceptibility to SHIV due to HSV-2. This may persists in absence of HSV-2 shedding. Hence, higher availability of α4β7 positive HIV target cells in the vaginal tissue may constitute a risk factor for HIV transmission.

  20. An increasing, potentially measles-susceptible population over time after vaccination in Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Hae Ji; Han, Young Woo; Kim, Su Jin; Kim, You-Jin; Kim, A-Reum; Kim, Joo Ae; Jung, Hee-Dong; Eom, Hye Eun; Park, Ok; Kim, Sung Soon

    2017-07-24

    In Korea, measles occurs mainly in infants measles infection. Age-specific measles seroprevalence was evaluated by performing enzyme immunoassays and plaque reduction-neutralization tests on 3050 subjects aged 0-50years (birth cohort 1964-2014) and 480 subjects aged 2-30years (birth cohort 1984-2012). The overall seropositivity and measles antibody concentrations were 71.5% and 1366mIU/mL, respectively. Progressive decline in antibody levels and seropositivity were observed over time after vaccination in infants, adolescents, and young adults. The accumulation of potentially susceptible individuals in the population was confirmed by comparing data from 2010 and 2014 seroprevalence surveys. The statistical correlation between measles incidence and measles seronegativity was determined. Waning levels of measles antibodies with increasing time post-vaccination suggests that measles susceptibility is potentially increasing in Korea. This trend may be related to limitations of vaccine-induced immunity in the absence of natural boosting by the wild virus, compared to naturally acquired immunity triggered by measles infection. This study provides an important view into the current measles herd immunity in Korea. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  1. Aging increases the susceptibility of hepatic inflammation, liver fibrosis and aging in response to high-fat diet in mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, In Hee; Xu, Jun; Liu, Xiao; Koyama, Yukinori; Ma, Hsiao-Yen; Diggle, Karin; You, Young-Hyun; Schilling, Jan M; Jeste, Dilip; Sharma, Kumar; Brenner, David A; Kisseleva, Tatiana

    2016-08-01

    We aimed to investigate whether aging increases the susceptibility of hepatic and renal inflammation or fibrosis in response to high-fat diet (HFD) and explore the underlying genetic alterations. Middle (10 months old) and old (20 months old) aged, male C57BL/6N mice were fed either a low-fat diet (4 % fat) or HFD (60 % fat) for 4 months. Young (3 months old) aged mice were included as control group. HFD-induced liver and kidney injuries were analyzed by serum and urine assay, histologic staining, immunohistochemistry, and reverse-transcription real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Total RNA sequencing with next-generation technology was done with RNA extracted from liver tissues. With HFD feeding, aged was associated with higher serum alanine aminotransferase levels, marked infiltration of hepatic macrophages, and increased expression of inflammatory cytokines (MCP1, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-12, IL-17A). Importantly, aged mice showed more advanced hepatic fibrosis and increased expression of fibrogenic markers (Col-I-α1, αSMA, TGF-β1, TGF-β2, TGFβRII, PDGF, PDGFRβII, TIMP1) in response to HFD. Aged mice fed on HFD also showed increased oxidative stress and TLR4 expression. In the total RNA seq and gene ontology analysis of liver, old-aged HFD group showed significant up-regulation of genes linked to innate immune response, immune response, defense response, inflammatory response compared to middle-aged HFD group. Meanwhile, aging and HFD feeding showed significant increase in glomerular size and mesangial area, higher urine albumin/creatinine ratio, and advanced renal inflammation or fibrosis. However, the difference of HFD-induced renal injury between old-aged group and middle-aged group was not significant. The susceptibility of hepatic fibrosis as well as hepatic inflammation in response to HFD was significantly increased with aging. In addition, aging was associated with glomerular alterations and increased renal inflammation or

  2. Hypoxia increases susceptibility of Pacific white shrimp to whitespot syndrome virus (WSSV

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Lehmann

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The present study aimed to evaluate the mortality, reactive oxygen species production (ROS and total hemocyte counts (THC of the marine shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei infected with the white spot syndrome virus (WSSV at three levels of oxygen saturation. For this, 360 shrimp (20±2g were distributed in 24 tanks (60L, divided in two groups (infected and non-infected, which were subjected to 30, 60 and 100% of dissolved oxygen saturation (in quadruplicate. During 96 hours after infection, daily hemolymph samples were collected for hemato-immunological parameter evaluation (THC and ROS and dead animals were removed and computed to assess cumulative mortality rates. In the infected group, animals subjected to 100% saturation showed higher ROS production (P<0.05 after 48 hours, while THC was significantly reduced (P<0.05, regardless of oxygen saturation. The hypoxia resulted in high mortality when compared to 100% saturation condition. In the uninfected group, no significant differences were observed in all evaluated parameters. Thus, the hypoxia condition increased the susceptibility of shrimp to the infection of WSSV, which may be partly related to the low ROS production showed by the animals subjected to 30% oxygen saturation.

  3. Intrauterine growth retardation increases the susceptibility of pigs to high-fat diet-induced mitochondrial dysfunction in skeletal muscle.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jingbo Liu

    Full Text Available It has been recognized that there is a relationship between prenatal growth restriction and the development of metabolic-related diseases in later life, a process involved in mitochondrial dysfunction. In addition, intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR increases the susceptibility of offspring to high-fat (HF diet-induced metabolic syndrome. Recent findings suggested that HF feeding decreased mitochondrial oxidative capacity and impaired mitochondrial function in skeletal muscle. Therefore, we hypothesized that the long-term consequences of IUGR on mitochondrial biogenesis and function make the offspring more susceptible to HF diet-induced mitochondrial dysfunction. Normal birth weight (NBW, and IUGR pigs were allotted to control or HF diet in a completely randomized design, individually. After 4 weeks of feeding, growth performance and molecular pathways related to mitochondrial function were determined. The results showed that IUGR decreased growth performance and plasma insulin concentrations. In offspring fed a HF diet, IUGR was associated with enhanced plasma leptin levels, increased concentrations of triglyceride and malondialdehyde (MDA, and reduced glycogen and ATP contents in skeletal muscle. High fat diet-fed IUGR offspring exhibited decreased activities of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD. These alterations in metabolic traits of IUGR pigs were accompanied by impaired mitochondrial respiration function, reduced mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA contents, and down-regulated mRNA expression levels of genes responsible for mitochondrial biogenesis and function. In conclusion, our results suggest that IUGR make the offspring more susceptible to HF diet-induced mitochondrial dysfunction.

  4. Intrauterine Growth Retardation Increases the Susceptibility of Pigs to High-Fat Diet-Induced Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Skeletal Muscle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jingbo; Chen, Daiwen; Yao, Ying; Yu, Bing; Mao, Xiangbing; He, Jun; Huang, Zhiqing; Zheng, Ping

    2012-01-01

    It has been recognized that there is a relationship between prenatal growth restriction and the development of metabolic-related diseases in later life, a process involved in mitochondrial dysfunction. In addition, intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) increases the susceptibility of offspring to high-fat (HF) diet-induced metabolic syndrome. Recent findings suggested that HF feeding decreased mitochondrial oxidative capacity and impaired mitochondrial function in skeletal muscle. Therefore, we hypothesized that the long-term consequences of IUGR on mitochondrial biogenesis and function make the offspring more susceptible to HF diet-induced mitochondrial dysfunction. Normal birth weight (NBW), and IUGR pigs were allotted to control or HF diet in a completely randomized design, individually. After 4 weeks of feeding, growth performance and molecular pathways related to mitochondrial function were determined. The results showed that IUGR decreased growth performance and plasma insulin concentrations. In offspring fed a HF diet, IUGR was associated with enhanced plasma leptin levels, increased concentrations of triglyceride and malondialdehyde (MDA), and reduced glycogen and ATP contents in skeletal muscle. High fat diet-fed IUGR offspring exhibited decreased activities of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD). These alterations in metabolic traits of IUGR pigs were accompanied by impaired mitochondrial respiration function, reduced mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) contents, and down-regulated mRNA expression levels of genes responsible for mitochondrial biogenesis and function. In conclusion, our results suggest that IUGR make the offspring more susceptible to HF diet-induced mitochondrial dysfunction. PMID:22523560

  5. SU-E-I-62: Reduction of Susceptibility Artifacts by Increasing the Bandwidth (BW) and Echo Train Length (ETL)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mavroidis, P; Boci, N; Kostopoulos, S; Ninos, C; Glotsos, D; Oikonomou, G; Bakas, A; Roka, V; Cavouras, D; Lavdas, E; Sakkas, G; Tsagkalis, A; Chatzivasileiou, V; Batsikas, G; Papanikolaou, N; Stathakis, S

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: The aim of this present study is to increase bandwidth (BW) and echo train length (ETL) in Proton Density Turbo Spin Echo (PD TSE) sequences with and without fat saturation (FS) as well as in Turbo Inversion Recovery Magnitude sequences (TIRM) in order to assess whether these sequences are capable of reducing susceptibility artifacts. Methods: We compared 1) TIRM coronal (COR) with the same sequence with increased both BW and ETL 2) Conventional PD TSE sagittal (SAG) with FS with an increased BW 3) Conventional PD TSE SAG without FS with an increased BW 4) Conventional PD TSE SAG without FS with increased both BW and ETL. A quantitative analysis was performed to measure the extent of the susceptibility artifacts. Furthermore, a qualitative analysis was performed by two radiologists in order to evaluate the susceptibility artifacts, image distortion and fat suppression. The depiction of cartilage, menisci, muscles, tendons and bone marrow were also qualitatively analyzed. Results: The quantitative analysis found that the modified TIRM sequence is significantly superior to the conventional one regarding the extent of the susceptibility artifacts. In the qualitative analysis, the modified TIRM sequence was superior to the corresponding conventional one in eight characteristics out of ten that were analyzed. The modified PD TSE with FS was superior to the corresponding conventional one regarding the susceptibility artifacts, image distortion and depiction of bone marrow and cartilage while achieving effective fat saturation. The modified PD TSE sequence without FS with a high (H) BW was found to be superior corresponding to the conventional one in the case of cartilage. Conclusion: Consequently, TIRM sequence with an increased BW and ETL is proposed for producing images of high quality and modified PD TSE with H BW for smaller metals, especially when FS is used

  6. Mean magnetic susceptibility regularized susceptibility tensor imaging (MMSR-STI) for estimating orientations of white matter fibers in human brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xu; van Zijl, Peter C M

    2014-09-01

    An increasing number of studies show that magnetic susceptibility in white matter fibers is anisotropic and may be described by a tensor. However, the limited head rotation possible for in vivo human studies leads to an ill-conditioned inverse problem in susceptibility tensor imaging (STI). Here we suggest the combined use of limiting the susceptibility anisotropy to white matter and imposing morphology constraints on the mean magnetic susceptibility (MMS) for regularizing the STI inverse problem. The proposed MMS regularized STI (MMSR-STI) method was tested using computer simulations and in vivo human data collected at 3T. The fiber orientation estimated from both the STI and MMSR-STI methods was compared to that from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Computer simulations show that the MMSR-STI method provides a more accurate estimation of the susceptibility tensor than the conventional STI approach. Similarly, in vivo data show that use of the MMSR-STI method leads to a smaller difference between the fiber orientation estimated from STI and DTI for most selected white matter fibers. The proposed regularization strategy for STI can improve estimation of the susceptibility tensor in white matter. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  7. Susceptibility to hippocampal kindling seizures is increased in aging C57 black mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kurt R. Stover

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The incidence of seizures increases with old age. Stroke, dementia and brain tumors are recognized risk factors for new-onset seizures in the aging populations and the incidence of these conditions also increased with age. Whether aging is associated with higher seizure susceptibility in the absence of the above pathologies remains unclear. We used classic kindling to explore this issue as the kindling model is highly reproducible and allows close monitoring of electrographic and motor seizure activities in individual animals. We kindled male young and aging mice (C57BL/6 strain, 2–3 and 18–22 months of age via daily hippocampal CA3 stimulation and monitored seizure activity via video and electroencephalographic recordings. The aging mice needed fewer stimuli to evoke stage-5 motor seizures and exhibited longer hippocampal afterdischarges and more frequent hippocampal spikes relative to the young mice, but afterdischarge thresholds and cumulative afterdischarge durations to stage 5 motor seizures were not different between the two age groups. While hippocampal injury and structural alterations at cellular and micro-circuitry levels remain to be examined in the kindled mice, our present observations suggest that susceptibility to hippocampal CA3 kindling seizures is increased with aging in male C57 black mice.

  8. Complementation of a pKM101 derivative that decreases resistance to UV killing but increases susceptibility to mutagenesis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Langer, P.J.; Perry, K.L.; Walker, G.C.

    1985-01-01

    The drug resistance plasmid pKM101 makes Escherichia coli resistant to the lethal effects of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation and more susceptible to mutagenesis by a variety of agents. The plasmid operon responsible for increasing mutagenesis has been termed mucAB (Mutagenesis, UV and chemical). The authors have isolated a derivative of pKM101 called pGW1975 which makes cells more sensitive to killing by UV but which retains the ability of pKM101 to increase susceptibility to methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) mutagenesis. pGW1975 increases UV mutagenesis less than pKM101 in a uvrA + strain but more than pKM101 in a uvrA - strain. muc - point and insertion mutants of pKM101 and pGW1975 complement to restore the plasmid-mediated: (i) ability to reactivate UV-irradiated phage, (ii) resistance to killing by UV, and (iii) level of susceptibility to UV mutagenesis. They have identified a 2.0 kb region of pKM101 which is responsible for the complementation and which maps counterclockwise of mucAB. (Auth)

  9. MicroRNA gene polymorphisms and environmental factors increase patient susceptibility to hepatocellular carcinoma.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yin-Hung Chu

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Micro RNAs (miRNAs are small RNA fragments that naturally exist in the human body. Through various physiological mechanisms, miRNAs can generate different functions for regulating RNA protein levels and balancing abnormalities. Abnormal miRNA expression has been reported to be highly related to several diseases and cancers. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs in miRNAs have been reported to increase patient susceptibility and affect patient prognosis and survival. We adopted a case-control research design to verify the relationship between miRNAs and hepatocellular carcinoma. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A total of 525 subjects, including 377 controls and 188 hepatocellular carcinoma patients, were selected. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP and real-time PCR were used to analyze miRNA146a (rs2910164, miRNA149 (rs2292832, miRNA196 (rs11614913, and miRNA499 (rs3746444 genetic polymorphisms between the control group and the case group. The results indicate that people who carry the rs3746444 CT or CC genotypes may have a significantly increased susceptibility to hepatocellular carcinoma (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.84, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.88-4.30. In addition, when combined with environmental risk factors, such as smoking and alcohol consumption, interaction effects were observed between gene polymorphisms and environmental factors (odds ratio [OR] = 4.69, 95% CI = 2.52-8.70; AOR = 3.38, 95% CI = 1.68-6.80. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that a significant association exists between miRNA499 SNPs and hepatocellular carcinoma. Gene-environment interactions of miRNA499 polymorphisms, smoking, and alcohol consumption might alter hepatocellular carcinoma susceptibility.

  10. Placing Antismoking Graphic Warning Posters at Retail Point-of-Sale Locations Increases Some Adolescents' Susceptibility to Future Smoking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shadel, William G; Martino, Steven C; Setodji, Claude; Dunbar, Michael; Kusuke, Daniela; Lanna, Serafina; Meyer, Amanda

    2017-12-13

    This experiment tested whether introducing graphic antitobacco posters at point-of-sale (POS) had any effect on adolescents' susceptibility to future cigarette smoking and whether these effects were moderated by adolescents' baseline risk of cigarette smoking. The study was conducted in the RAND StoreLab, a life-sized replica of a convenience store that was developed to experimentally evaluate how changing aspects of tobacco advertising displays in retail POS environments influence tobacco use risk and behavior during simulated shopping experiences. In this study, 441 adolescents were randomized to one of the four conditions in a 2 (graphic antismoking poster placed near the tobacco power wall: no, yes) × 2 (graphic antismoking poster placed near the cash register: no, yes) experimental design. The outcome of interest was susceptibility to future cigarette smoking. The addition of antismoking posters at POS led to a significant increase in future smoking susceptibility among those adolescents who already were at high risk for smoking in the future (p posters had no impact on committed never smokers, regardless of poster location; never smokers' susceptibility to future smoking was uniformly low across experimental conditions. Introducing graphic antismoking posters at POS may have the unintended effect of further increasing cigarette smoking susceptibility among adolescents already at risk. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  11. Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping in Parkinson's Disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langkammer, Christian; Pirpamer, Lukas; Seiler, Stephan; Deistung, Andreas; Schweser, Ferdinand; Franthal, Sebastian; Homayoon, Nina; Katschnig-Winter, Petra; Koegl-Wallner, Mariella; Pendl, Tamara; Stoegerer, Eva Maria; Wenzel, Karoline; Fazekas, Franz; Ropele, Stefan; Reichenbach, Jürgen Rainer; Schmidt, Reinhold; Schwingenschuh, Petra

    2016-01-01

    Quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) and R2* relaxation rate mapping have demonstrated increased iron deposition in the substantia nigra of patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the findings in other subcortical deep gray matter nuclei are converse and the sensitivity of QSM and R2* for morphological changes and their relation to clinical measures of disease severity has so far been investigated only sparsely. The local ethics committee approved this study and all subjects gave written informed consent. 66 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease and 58 control subjects underwent quantitative MRI at 3T. Susceptibility and R2* maps were reconstructed from a spoiled multi-echo 3D gradient echo sequence. Mean susceptibilities and R2* rates were measured in subcortical deep gray matter nuclei and compared between patients with PD and controls as well as related to clinical variables. Compared to control subjects, patients with PD had increased R2* values in the substantia nigra. QSM also showed higher susceptibilities in patients with PD in substantia nigra, in the nucleus ruber, thalamus, and globus pallidus. Magnetic susceptibility of several of these structures was correlated with the levodopa-equivalent daily dose (LEDD) and clinical markers of motor and non-motor disease severity (total MDS-UPDRS, MDS-UPDRS-I and II). Disease severity as assessed by the Hoehn & Yahr scale was correlated with magnetic susceptibility in the substantia nigra. The established finding of higher R2* rates in the substantia nigra was extended by QSM showing superior sensitivity for PD-related tissue changes in nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathways. QSM additionally reflected the levodopa-dosage and disease severity. These results suggest a more widespread pathologic involvement and QSM as a novel means for its investigation, more sensitive than current MRI techniques.

  12. The cytokine polymorphisms affecting Th1/Th2 increase the susceptibility to, and severity of, chronic ITP.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takahashi, Noriyuki; Saitoh, Takayuki; Gotoh, Nanami; Nitta, Yasuhiro; Alkebsi, Lobna; Kasamatsu, Tetsuhiro; Minato, Yusuke; Yokohama, Akihiko; Tsukamoto, Norifumi; Handa, Hiroshi; Murakami, Hirokazu

    2017-05-16

    T-helper cell type 1 (Th1) polarization in chronic immune thrombocytopenia (cITP) has been reported at the protein and mRNA levels. We evaluated the impact of Th1/Th2 cytokine and cytokine receptor functional polymorphisms on both susceptibility to, and severity of, cITP. We analysed IFN-γ + 874 T/A, IFN-γR -611G/A, IL-4 -590C/T, and IL-4Rα Q576R polymorphisms in 126 cITP patients (male/female: 34/92; median age: 47.7 years) and 202 healthy control donors. Genotyping was determined by PCR and direct sequencing. The Th1/Th2 ratio was detected in peripheral blood mononuclear cells via flow cytometry. cITP patients had a higher frequency of the IL-4Rα 576 non-QQ genotype compared to healthy subjects (P = 0.04). cITP patients with the IFN-γ +874 non-AA genotype (high expression type) showed more severe thrombocytopenia than those with the AA genotype (P Th1/Th2 ratio than control patients (P Th1/Th2 ratio (P Th1/Th2 increase the susceptibility to, and severity of, chronic ITP.

  13. Perinatal hypoxia increases susceptibility to high-altitude polycythemia and attendant pulmonary vascular dysfunction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Julian, Colleen Glyde; Gonzales, Marcelino; Rodriguez, Armando; Bellido, Diva; Salmon, Carlos Salinas; Ladenburger, Anne; Reardon, Lindsay; Vargas, Enrique; Moore, Lorna G

    2015-08-15

    Perinatal exposures exert a profound influence on physiological function, including developmental processes vital for efficient pulmonary gas transfer throughout the lifespan. We extend the concept of developmental programming to chronic mountain sickness (CMS), a debilitating syndrome marked by polycythemia, ventilatory impairment, and pulmonary hypertension that affects ∼10% of male high-altitude residents. We hypothesized that adverse perinatal oxygenation caused abnormalities of ventilatory and/or pulmonary vascular function that increased susceptibility to CMS in adulthood. Subjects were 67 male high-altitude (3,600-4,100 m) residents aged 18-25 yr with excessive erythrocytosis (EE, Hb concentration ≥18.3 g/dl), a preclinical form of CMS, and 66 controls identified from a community-based survey (n = 981). EE subjects not only had higher Hb concentrations and erythrocyte counts, but also lower alveolar ventilation, impaired pulmonary diffusion capacity, higher systolic pulmonary artery pressure, lower pulmonary artery acceleration time, and more frequent right ventricular hypertrophy, than controls. Compared with controls, EE subjects were more often born to mothers experiencing hypertensive complications of pregnancy and hypoxia during the perinatal period, with each increasing the risk of developing EE (odds ratio = 5.25, P = 0.05 and odds ratio = 6.44, P = 0.04, respectively) after other factors known to influence EE status were taken into account. Adverse perinatal oxygenation is associated with increased susceptibility to EE accompanied by modest abnormalities of the pulmonary circulation that are independent of increased blood viscosity. The association between perinatal hypoxia and EE may be due to disrupted alveolarization and microvascular development, leading to impaired gas exchange and/or pulmonary hypertension. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

  14. Mitochondrial vulnerability and increased susceptibility to nutrient-induced cytotoxicity in fibroblasts from leigh syndrome French canadian patients.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yan Burelle

    Full Text Available Mutations in LRPPRC are responsible for the French Canadian variant of Leigh Syndrome (LSFC, a severe disorder characterized biochemically by a tissue-specific deficiency of cytochrome c oxidase (COX and clinically by the occurrence of severe and deadly acidotic crises. Factors that precipitate these crises remain unclear. To better understand the physiopathology and identify potential treatments, we performed a comprehensive analysis of mitochondrial function in LSFC and control fibroblasts. Furthermore, we have used this cell-based model to screen for conditions that promote premature cell death in LSFC cells and test the protective effect of ten interventions targeting well-defined aspects of mitochondrial function. We show that, despite maintaining normal ATP levels, LSFC fibroblasts present several mitochondrial functional abnormalities under normal baseline conditions, which likely impair their capacity to respond to stress. This includes mitochondrial network fragmentation, impaired oxidative phosphorylation capacity, lower membrane potential, increased sensitivity to Ca2+-induced permeability transition, but no changes in reactive oxygen species production. We also show that LSFC fibroblasts display enhanced susceptibility to cell death when exposed to palmitate, an effect that is potentiated by high lactate, while high glucose or acidosis alone or in combination were neutral. Furthermore, we demonstrate that compounds that are known to promote flux through the electron transport chain independent of phosphorylation (methylene blue, dinitrophenol, or modulate fatty acid (L-carnitine or Krebs cycle metabolism (propionate are protective, while antioxidants (idebenone, N-acetyl cysteine, resveratrol exacerbate palmitate plus lactate-induced cell death. Collectively, beyond highlighting multiple alterations in mitochondrial function and increased susceptibility to nutrient-induced cytotoxicity in LSFC fibroblasts, these results raise

  15. High-risk human papillomavirus E7 expression reduces cell-surface MHC class I molecules and increases susceptibility to natural killer cells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bottley, G; Watherston, O G; Hiew, Y-L

    2007-01-01

    a role for E7 in tumour immune evasion. We show that knockdown of E7 expression in HPV16- and HPV18-transformed cervical carcinoma cells by RNA interference increased expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I at the cell surface and reduced susceptibility of these cells to natural...... killer (NK) cells. Tetracycline-regulated induction of HPV16 E7 resulted in reduced expression of cell surface MHC class I molecules and increased NK cell killing. Our results suggest that, for HPV-associated malignancies, reduced MHC class I expression is the result of an active immune evasion strategy...

  16. Does abnormal glycogen structure contribute to increased susceptibility to seizures in epilepsy?

    Science.gov (United States)

    DiNuzzo, Mauro; Mangia, Silvia; Maraviglia, Bruno; Giove, Federico

    2015-02-01

    Epilepsy is a family of brain disorders with a largely unknown etiology and high percentage of pharmacoresistance. The clinical manifestations of epilepsy are seizures, which originate from aberrant neuronal synchronization and hyperexcitability. Reactive astrocytosis, a hallmark of the epileptic tissue, develops into loss-of-function of glutamine synthetase, impairment of glutamate-glutamine cycle and increase in extracellular and astrocytic glutamate concentration. Here, we argue that chronically elevated intracellular glutamate level in astrocytes is instrumental to alterations in the metabolism of glycogen and leads to the synthesis of polyglucosans. Unaccessibility of glycogen-degrading enzymes to these insoluble molecules compromises the glycogenolysis-dependent reuptake of extracellular K(+) by astrocytes, thereby leading to increased extracellular K(+) and associated membrane depolarization. Based on current knowledge, we propose that the deterioration in structural homogeneity of glycogen particles is relevant to disruption of brain K(+) homeostasis and increased susceptibility to seizures in epilepsy.

  17. Susceptibility to hypoxia and breathing control changes after short-term cold exposures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lyudmila T. Kovtun

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Background . Hypoxia is the reduction of oxygen availability due to external or internal causes. There is large individual variability of response to hypoxia. Objective . The aim of this study was to define individual and typological features in susceptibility to hypoxia, its interrelation with hypoxic and hypercapnic ventilatory responses (HVR and HCVR, respectively and their changes after cold acclimation. Design . Twenty-four healthy men were tested. HVR and HCVR were measured by the rebreathing method during hypoxic and hypercapnic tests, respectively. These tests were carried out in thermoneutral conditions before and after cold exposures (nude, at 13°C, 2 h daily, for 10 days. Susceptibility to hypoxia (sSaO2 was determined as haemoglobin saturation slope during hypoxic test. Results . It was found that HVR and HCVR significantly increased and susceptibility to hypoxia (sSaO2 tended to decrease after cold acclimation. According to sSaO2 results before cold exposures, the group was divided into 3: Group 1 – with high susceptibility to hypoxia, Group 2 – medium and Group 3 – low susceptibility. Analysis of variances (MANOVA shows the key role of susceptibility to hypoxia and cold exposures and their interrelation. Posterior analysis (Fisher LSD showed significant difference in susceptibility to hypoxia between the groups prior to cold acclimation, while HVR and HCVR did not differ between the groups. After cold acclimation, susceptibility to hypoxia was not significantly different between the groups, while HCVR significantly increased in Groups 1 and 3, HVR significantly increased in Group 3 and HCVR, HVR did not change in Group 2. Conclusions . Short-term cold exposures caused an increase in functional reserves and improved oxygen supply of tissues in Group 1. Cold exposure hypoxia has caused energy loss in Group 3. Group 2 showed the most appropriate energy conservation reaction mode to cold exposures. No relation was found between

  18. Magnetic susceptibility of scandium-hydrogen and lutetium-hydrogen solid-solution alloys from 2 to 3000K

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stierman, R.J.

    1982-12-01

    Results for pure Sc show that the maximum and minimum in the susceptibility discovered earlier are enhanced as the impurity level of iron in scandium decreases. The Stoner enhancement factor, calculated from low-temperature heat capacity data, susceptibility data, and band-structure calculations show Sc to be a strongly enhanced paramagnet. Below 2 0 K, the magnetic anisotropy between the hard and easy directions of scandium decreases linearly with decreasing temperature, tending toward zero at 0 K. The large increase in the susceptibility of Sc at lower temperatures indicates magnetic ordering. Pure Lu and Lu-H alloys showed an anisotropy in susceptibility vs orientation; thus the samples were not random polycrystalline samples. Pure Lu shows the shallow maximum and minimum, but the increase in susceptibility at low temperatures is larger than previously observed. The susceptibility-composition dependence of the Lu-H alloys also did not match other data. The susceptibility-composition dependence does not match the composition dependence of the electronic specific heat constant below 150 K, showing the electronic specific heat is being affected by terms other than phonon-electron and pure electron-electron interactions

  19. Magnetic susceptibility in the edged topological disordered nanoscopic cylinder

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Faizabadi, Edris; Omidi, Mahboubeh

    2011-01-01

    The effects of edged topological disorder on magnetic susceptibility are investigated in a nanoscopic cylinder threaded by a magnetic flux. Persistent current versus even or odd number of electrons shows different signs in ordered and disordered cylinders and also in short or long ones. In addition, temperature-averaged susceptibility has only diamagnetic signs in strong regimes and it is associated with paramagnetic signs in ordered and weak disordered ones. Besides, in an edged topological disordered cylinder, the temperature-averaged susceptibility decreases by raising the temperature somewhat and then increasing initiates and finally at high temperature tends to zero as the ordered one. - Research highlights: → Magnetic susceptibility in one-dimensional topological disordered quantum ring. → Edged topological disorder effect on magnetic susceptibility in nanoscopic cylinder. → Edged topological disorder effect on temperature-averaged susceptibility in cylinder.

  20. Interleukin-15 promotes intestinal dysbiosis with butyrate deficiency associated with increased susceptibility to colitis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Meisel, Marlies; Mayassi, Toufic; Fehlner-Peach, Hannah; Koval, Jason C.; O' Brien, Sarah L.; Hinterleitner, Reinhard; Lesko, Kathryn; Kim, Sangman; Bouziat, Romain; Chen, Li; Weber, Christopher R.; Mazmanian, Sarkis K.; Jabri, Bana; Antonopoulos, Dionysios A.

    2016-09-20

    Dysbiosis resulting in gut-microbiome alterations with reduced butyrate production are thought to disrupt intestinal immune homeostasis and promote complex immune disorders. However, whether and how dysbiosis develops before the onset of overt pathology remains poorly defined. Interleukin 15 (IL-15) is upregulated in distressed tissue and its overexpression is thought to predispose susceptible individuals to and play a role in the pathogenesis of celiac disease and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). While the immunological roles of IL-15 have been largely studied, its potential impact on the microbiota remains unexplored. Analysis of 16S rRNA-based inventories of bacterial communities in mice overexpressing IL-15 in the intestinal epithelium (v-IL-15tg mice) shows distinct changes in the composition of the intestinal bacteria. While some alterations are specific to individual intestinal compartments, others are found across the ileum, cecum, and feces. In particular, IL-15 overexpression restructures the composition of the microbiota with a decrease in butyrate producing bacteria that is associated with a reduction in luminal butyrate levels across all intestinal compartments. Fecal microbiota transplant experiments of wild-type and v-IL-15tg microbiota into germ-free mice further indicate that diminishing butyrate concentration observed in the intestinal lumen of v-IL-15tg mice is the result of intrinsic alterations in the microbiota induced by IL-15. This reconfiguration of the microbiota is associated with increased susceptibility to dextran sodium sulfate induced colitis. Altogether, this study reveals that IL-15 impacts butyrate-producing bacteria and lowers butyrate levels in the absence of overt pathology, which represent events that precede and promote intestinal inflammatory diseases.

  1. Global stability of a susceptible-infected-susceptible epidemic model on networks with individual awareness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Ke-Zan; Xu Zhong-Pu; Zhu Guang-Hu; Ding Yong

    2014-01-01

    Recent research results indicate that individual awareness can play an important influence on epidemic spreading in networks. By local stability analysis, a significant conclusion is that the embedded awareness in an epidemic network can increase its epidemic threshold. In this paper, by using limit theory and dynamical system theory, we further give global stability analysis of a susceptible-infected-susceptible (SIS) epidemic model on networks with awareness. Results show that the obtained epidemic threshold is also a global stability condition for its endemic equilibrium, which implies the embedded awareness can enhance the epidemic threshold globally. Some numerical examples are presented to verify the theoretical results. (interdisciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology)

  2. Low-field susceptibilities of rare earth spin glass alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sarkissian, B.V.B.

    1977-01-01

    Static susceptibility in various applied fields and AC susceptibility data on Sc 13% Gd and Sc 4.5% Tb spin glass alloys are reported. The data show that the sharp peak at the freezing temperature, Tsub(g), normally observed in the low-field susceptibility of spin glasses containing 3d magnetic impurities is observed here in the case of Gd, which is an S state solute, but not for Tb. On the contrary, for the Sc-Tb alloy a rather rounded maximum is observed which becomes slightly sharper with increasing applied magnetic fields. (author)

  3. Influence of deformation on SCC susceptibility of austenitic stainless steel in PWR primary water

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaneshima, Yoshiari; Totsuka, Nobuo; Nakajima, Nobuo [Institute of Nuclear Safety System Inc., Mihama, Fukui (Japan)

    2001-09-01

    Slow strain rate tests (SSRT) were carried out to evaluate the SCC susceptibility of four types of austenitic stainless steels (SUS304, SUS316, SUS304L and SUS316L) in PWR primary water. The influence of deformation on SCC susceptibility of SUS316 was studied. All types of stainless steel were susceptible to SCC, and the SCC susceptibility varied depending on the steel type. The comparison of the SSRT results and tensile test in air based on the reduction of area measurement showed that the SCC susceptibility increased with increasing the degree of deformation. For explaining the influence of deformation on SCC susceptibility, it is necessary to evaluate both intergranular and transgranular fractures. (author)

  4. Taxonomy and antifungal susceptibility of clinically important Rasamsonia species

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Houbraken, J.; Giraud, S.; Meijer, M.

    2013-01-01

    In recent years, Geosmithia argillacea has been increasingly reported in humans and animals and can be considered an emerging pathogen. The taxonomy of Geosmithia was recently studied, and Geosmithia argillacea and related species were transferred to the new genus Rasamsonia. The diversity among...... reported clinical isolates from animal or human patients. Susceptibility tests showed that the antifungal susceptibility profiles of the four members of the R. argillacea complex are similar, and caspofungin showed significant activity in vitro, followed by amphotericin B and posaconazole. Voriconazole...

  5. Rhizosphere microbial communities from resistant and susceptible watermelon cultivars showed different response to fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum inoculation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhi, W.F.; Can, C.S.; Ling, C.; Hui, X.W.

    2015-01-01

    Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum (FON), a soil-borne pathogen of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), can cause substantial production losses worldwide. In this study, plate culture and PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) methods were used to evaluate the effects of inoculation of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. niveum on rhizosphere microbial communities of different watermelon cultivars to FON. Two methods indicated that the effects of watermelon rhizosphere microbial community of different resistance cultivars to FON were much different. Populations of culturable bacteria and actinomycetes in the rhizosphere of susceptible watermelon cultivar were significantly lower than in the resistant cultivar after inoculation (P<0.05), but the opposite result was observed for fungi. Principal component analysis of bacterial and fungal community structure also showed that the cultivar of FON-inoculated soil treatment were separated from the non-inoculated controls after inoculation, and there was clear discrimination between the susceptible cultivars and the resistant cultivars. Sequence analysis of specific bands from DGGE profiles showed that specific rhizosphere bacterial and fungal groups differed between watermelon cultivars after inoculation . Both methods demonstrated that different resistant watermelon cultivars occupied different rhizosphere microbial communities, and and disease suppression might be correlated with high microbial diversity. F. oxysporum f. sp. Niveum alters the structure and functional diversity of microbial communities associated with watermelon rhizosphere. (author)

  6. Immunological changes at point-of-lay increase susceptibility to Salmonella enterica Serovar enteritidis infection in vaccinated chickens.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claire E Johnston

    Full Text Available Chicken eggs are the main source of human Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis infection. S. Enteritidis infects the oviduct and ovary of the chicken leading to infection of developing eggs. Therefore, control in poultry production is a major public health priority. Vaccination of hens has proved successful in control strategies in United Kingdom leading to a 70% drop in human cases since introduced. However, as hens reach sexual maturity they become immunosuppressed and it has been postulated this leads to increased susceptibility to Salmonella infection. In this study we define the changes to the systemic and reproductive tract-associated immune system of hens throughout sexual development by flow cytometry and histology and determine changes in susceptibility to experimental S. Enteritidis challenge in naive and vaccinated hens. Changes to both systemic and local immune systems occur in chickens at sexual development around 140 days of age. The population of several leukocyte classes drop, with the greatest fall in CD4+ lymphocyte numbers. Within the developing reproductive tract there an organised structure of lymphocytic aggregates with γδ-T lymphocytes associated with the mucosa. At point-of-lay, this organised structure disappears and only scattered lymphocytes remain. Protection against Salmonella challenge is significantly reduced in vaccinated birds at point-of-lay, coinciding with the drop in CD4+ lymphocytes. Susceptibility to reproductive tract infection by Salmonella increased in vaccinated and naïve animals at 140 and 148 days of age. We hypothesise that the drop in γδ-T lymphocytes in the tract leads to decreased innate protection of the mucosa to infection. These findings indicate that systemic and local changes to the immune system increase the susceptibility of hens to S. Enteritidis infection. The loss of protective immunity in vaccinated birds demonstrates that Salmonella control should not rely on vaccination alone

  7. Nanotoxicity overview: nano-threat to susceptible populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yang; Zhang, Yi; Yan, Bing

    2014-02-28

    Due to the increasing applications of nanomaterials and nanotechnology, potential danger of nanoparticle exposure has become a critical issue. However, recent nanotoxicity studies have mainly focused on the health risks to healthy adult population. The nanotoxicity effects on susceptible populations (such as pregnant, neonate, diseased, and aged populations) have been overlooked. Due to the alterations in physiological structures and functions in susceptible populations, they often suffer more damage from the same exposure. Thus, it is urgent to understand the effects of nanoparticle exposure on these populations. In order to fill this gap, the potential effects of nanoparticles to pregnant females, neonate, diseased, and aged population, as well as the possible underlying mechanisms are reviewed in this article. Investigations show that responses from susceptible population to nanoparticle exposure are often more severe. Reduced protection mechanism, compromised immunity, and impaired self-repair ability in these susceptible populations may contribute to the aggravated toxicity effects. This review will help minimize adverse effects of nanoparticles to susceptible population in future nanotechnology applications.

  8. Nanotoxicity Overview: Nano-Threat to Susceptible Populations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yang Li

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Due to the increasing applications of nanomaterials and nanotechnology, potential danger of nanoparticle exposure has become a critical issue. However, recent nanotoxicity studies have mainly focused on the health risks to healthy adult population. The nanotoxicity effects on susceptible populations (such as pregnant, neonate, diseased, and aged populations have been overlooked. Due to the alterations in physiological structures and functions in susceptible populations, they often suffer more damage from the same exposure. Thus, it is urgent to understand the effects of nanoparticle exposure on these populations. In order to fill this gap, the potential effects of nanoparticles to pregnant females, neonate, diseased, and aged population, as well as the possible underlying mechanisms are reviewed in this article. Investigations show that responses from susceptible population to nanoparticle exposure are often more severe. Reduced protection mechanism, compromised immunity, and impaired self-repair ability in these susceptible populations may contribute to the aggravated toxicity effects. This review will help minimize adverse effects of nanoparticles to susceptible population in future nanotechnology applications.

  9. Magnetic susceptibility characterisation of superparamagnetic microspheres

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grob, David Tim; Wise, Naomi; Oduwole, Olayinka; Sheard, Steve

    2018-04-01

    The separation of magnetic materials in microsystems using magnetophoresis has increased in popularity. The wide variety and availability of magnetic beads has fuelled this drive. It is important to know the magnetic characteristics of the microspheres in order to accurately use them in separation processes integrated on a lab-on-a-chip device. To investigate the magnetic susceptibility of magnetic microspheres, the magnetic responsiveness of three types of Dynabeads microspheres were tested using two different approaches. The magnetophoretic mobility of individual microspheres is studied using a particle tracking system and the magnetization of each type of Dynabeads microsphere is measured using SQUID relaxometry. The magnetic beads' susceptibility is obtained at four different applied magnetic fields in the range of 38-70 mT for both the mobility and SQUID measurements. The susceptibility values in both approaches show a consistent magnetic field dependence.

  10. Secular trends in Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated in a tertiary-care hospital: increasing prevalence and accelerated decline in antimicrobial susceptibility

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodrigo de Carvalho Santana

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: INTRODUCTION Klebsiella pneumoniae has become an increasingly important etiologic agent of nosocomial infections in recent years. This is mainly due to the expression of virulence factors and development of resistance to several antimicrobial drugs. METHODS This retrospective study examines data obtained from the microbiology laboratory of a Brazilian tertiary-care hospital. To assess temporal trends in prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility, K. pneumoniae isolates were analyzed from 2000 to 2013. The relative frequencies of K. pneumoniae isolation were calculated among all Gram-negative bacilli isolated in each period analyzed. Susceptibility tests were performed using automated systems. RESULTS: From 2000-2006, K. pneumonia isolates comprised 10.7% of isolated Gram-negative bacilli (455/4260. From 2007-2013, this percentage was 18.1% (965/5331. Strictly considering isolates from bloodstream infections, the relative annual prevalence of K. pneumoniae increased from 14-17% to 27-32% during the same periods. A progressive decrease in K. pneumoniae susceptibility to all antimicrobial agents assessed was detected. Partial resistance was also observed to antimicrobial drugs that have been used more recently, such as colistin and tigecycline. CONCLUSIONS Our study indicates that K. pneumoniae has become a major pathogen among hospitalized patients and confirms its recent trend of increasing antimicrobial resistance.

  11. Increased susceptibility to metabolic dysregulation in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease is associated with impaired hypothalamic insulin signaling and elevated BCAA levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruiz, Henry H; Chi, Tiffany; Shin, Andrew C; Lindtner, Claudia; Hsieh, Wilson; Ehrlich, Michelle; Gandy, Sam; Buettner, Christoph

    2016-08-01

    Epidemiologic studies have demonstrated an association between diabetes and dementia. Insulin signaling within the brain, in particular within the hypothalamus regulates carbohydrate, lipid, and branched chain amino acid (BCAA) metabolism in peripheral organs such as the liver and adipose tissue. We hypothesized that cerebral amyloidosis impairs central nervous system control of metabolism through disruption of insulin signaling in the hypothalamus, which dysregulates glucose and BCAA homeostasis resulting in increased susceptibility to diabetes. We examined whether APP/PS1 mice exhibit increased susceptibility to aging or high-fat diet (HFD)-induced metabolic impairment using metabolic phenotyping and insulin-signaling studies. APP/PS1 mice were more susceptible to high-fat feeding and aging-induced metabolic dysregulation including disrupted BCAA homeostasis and exhibited impaired hypothalamic insulin signaling. Our data suggest that AD pathology increases susceptibility to diabetes due to impaired hypothalamic insulin signaling, and that plasma BCAA levels could serve as a biomarker of hypothalamic insulin action in patients with AD. Copyright © 2016 The Alzheimer's Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Endogenous and Exogenous KdpF Peptide Increases Susceptibility of Mycobacterium bovis BCG to Nitrosative Stress and Reduces Intramacrophage Replication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosas Olvera, Mariana; Vivès, Eric; Molle, Virginie; Blanc-Potard, Anne-Béatrice; Gannoun-Zaki, Laila

    2017-01-01

    Emerging antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria like Mycobacterium sp., poses a threat to human health and therefore calls for the development of novel antibacterial strategies. We have recently discovered that bacterial membrane peptides, such as KdpF, possess anti-virulence properties when overproduced in pathogenic bacterial species. Overproduction of the KdpF peptide in Mycobacterium bovis BCG decreased bacterial replication within macrophages, without presenting antibacterial activity. We propose that KdpF functions as a regulatory molecule and interferes with bacterial virulence, potentially through interaction with the PDIM transporter MmpL7. We demonstrate here that KdpF overproduction in M. bovis BCG, increased bacterial susceptibility to nitrosative stress and thereby was responsible for lower replication rate within macrophages. Moreover, in a bacterial two-hybrid system, KdpF was able to interact not only with MmpL7 but also with two membrane proteins involved in nitrosative stress detoxification (NarI and NarK2), and a membrane protein of unknown function that is highly induced upon nitrosative stress (Rv2617c). Interestingly, we showed that the exogenous addition of KdpF synthetic peptide could affect the stability of proteins that interact with this peptide. Finally, the exogenous KdpF peptide presented similar biological effects as the endogenously expressed peptide including nitrosative stress susceptibility and reduced intramacrophage replication rate for M. bovis BCG. Taken together, our results establish a link between high levels of KdpF and nitrosative stress susceptibility to further highlight KdpF as a potent molecule with anti-virulence properties. PMID:28428950

  13. [Susceptibility of natural populations of dengue vector to insecticides in Colombia].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santacoloma, Liliana; Chaves, Bernardo; Brochero, Helena Luisa

    2012-09-01

    Physiological resistance of natural population of Aedes aegypti to insecticides contribute to the decreased efficacy of chemical control as a main control strategy during dengue outbreaks. The susceptibility status of Ae. aegypti was assessed for the carbamate propoxur, the adulticide malathion and the larvicide temephos on 13 natural populations of Ae. aegypti immature forms were taken from 8 Colombian localities. These included the following: Bucaramanga (1), Sabana de Torres (2), Girardot (2), La Mesa (2), Villavicencio (2), Puerto López (2), San José del Guaviare (1) and Florencia (1). Susceptibility tests mainly consisted of the standardized bioassay outlined by WHO (1981) and CDC bottles (1998). Colorimetric tests were undertaken to determine enzyme levels possibly responsible for the reduction of susceptibility to organophosphate and carbamate insecticides. All specimens demonstrated susceptibility to malathion and propoxur insecticides. Four of the 13 populations revealed susceptibility to the temephos larvicide. Seven of 11 populations showed a limited increase in values for nonspecific esterase enzymes. The Bucaramanga population was the only one which showed an increase in the cytochrome P450 monooxygenases enzymes. Neither population was found with modified acetilcolinesterase. The widespread susceptibility to organophosphates used as adulticides indicated that malathion, the most used insecticide in Colombia, remains effective in interrupting the transmission of dengue. Physiological resistance to insecticides occurring in communities of a single township proved to be a localized phenomenon.

  14. Reduced salinity increases susceptibility of zooxanthellate jellyfish to herbicide toxicity during a simulated rainfall event

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klein, Shannon G.; Pitt, Kylie A.; Carroll, Anthony R.

    2016-01-01

    Accurately predicting how marine biota are likely to respond to changing ocean conditions requires accurate simulation of interacting stressors, exposure regimes and recovery periods. Jellyfish populations have increased in some parts of the world and, despite few direct empirical tests, are hypothesised to be increasing because they are robust to a range of environmental stressors. Here, we investigated the effects of contaminated runoff on a zooxanthellate jellyfish by exposing juvenile Cassiopea sp. medusae to a photosystem II (PSII) herbicide, atrazine and reduced salinity conditions that occur following rainfall. Four levels of atrazine (0ngL"−"1, 10ngL"−"1, 2μgL"−"1, 20μgL"−"1) and three levels of salinity (35 ppt, 25 ppt, 17 ppt) were varied, mimicking the timeline of light, moderate and heavy rainfall events. Normal conditions were then slowly re-established over four days to mimic the recovery of the ecosystem post-rain and the experiment continued for a further 7 days to observe potential recovery of the medusae. Pulse-amplitude modulated (PAM) chlorophyll fluorescence, growth and bell contraction rates of medusae were measured. Medusae exposed to the combination of high atrazine and lowest salinity died. After 3 days of exposure, bell contraction rates were reduced by 88% and medusae were 16% smaller in the lowest salinity treatments. By Day 5 of the experiment, all medusae that survived the initial pulse event began to recover quickly. Although atrazine decreased YII under normal salinity conditions, YII was further reduced when medusae were exposed to both low salinity and atrazine simultaneously. Atrazine breakdown products were more concentrated in jellyfish tissues than atrazine at the end of the experiment, suggesting that although bioaccumulation occurred, atrazine was metabolised. Our results suggest that reduced salinity may increase the susceptibility of medusae to herbicide exposure during heavy rainfall events. - Highlights:

  15. Knockout of a P-glycoprotein gene increases susceptibility to abamectin and emamectin benzoate in Spodoptera exigua.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zuo, Y-Y; Huang, J-L; Wang, J; Feng, Y; Han, T-T; Wu, Y-D; Yang, Y-H

    2018-02-01

    P-glycoprotein [P-gp or the ATP-binding cassette transporter B1 (ABCB1)] is an important participant in multidrug resistance of cancer cells, yet the precise function of this arthropod transporter is unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the importance of P-gp for susceptibility to insecticides in the beet armyworm (Spodoptera exigua) using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) gene-editing technology. We cloned an open reading frame (ORF) encoding the S. exigua P-gp protein (SeP-gp) predicted to display structural characteristics common to P-gp and other insect ABCB1 transporters. A knockout line with a frame shift deletion of four nucleotides in the SeP-gp ORF was established using the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing system to test its potential role in determining susceptibility to chemical insecticides or insecticidal proteins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Results from comparative bioassays demonstrate that knockout of SeP-gp significantly increases susceptibility of S. exigua by around threefold to abamectin and emamectin benzoate (EB), but not to spinosad, chlorfenapyr, beta-cypermethrin, carbosulfan indoxacarb, chlorpyrifos, phoxim, diafenthiuron, chlorfluazuron, chlorantraniliprole or two Bt toxins (Cry1Ca and Cry1Fa). Our data support an important role for SeP-gp in susceptibility of S. exigua to abamectin and EB and imply that overexpression of SeP-gp may contribute to abamectin and EB resistance in S. exigua. © 2017 The Royal Entomological Society.

  16. Antibiotic-induced shifts in the mouse gut microbiome and metabolome increase susceptibility to Clostridium difficile infection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Theriot, Casey M.; Koenigsknecht, Mark J.; Carlson, Paul E.; Hatton, Gabrielle E.; Nelson, Adam M.; Li, Bo; Huffnagle, Gary B.; Li, Jun; Young, Vincent B.

    2014-01-01

    Antibiotics can have significant and long lasting effects on the gastrointestinal tract microbiota, reducing colonization resistance against pathogens including Clostridium difficile. Here we show that antibiotic treatment induces substantial changes in the gut microbial community and in the metabolome of mice susceptible to C. difficile infection. Levels of secondary bile acids, glucose, free fatty acids, and dipeptides decrease, whereas those of primary bile acids and sugar alcohols increase, reflecting the modified metabolic activity of the altered gut microbiome. In vitro and ex vivo analyses demonstrate that C. difficile can exploit specific metabolites that become more abundant in the mouse gut after antibiotics, including primary bile acid taurocholate for germination, and carbon sources mannitol, fructose, sorbitol, raffinose and stachyose for growth. Our results indicate that antibiotic-mediated alteration of the gut microbiome converts the global metabolic profile to one that favors C. difficile germination and growth. PMID:24445449

  17. Collateral damage: rapid exposure-induced evolution of pesticide resistance leads to increased susceptibility to parasites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jansen, Mieke; Stoks, Robby; Coors, Anja; van Doorslaer, Wendy; de Meester, Luc

    2011-09-01

    Although natural populations may evolve resistance to anthropogenic stressors such as pollutants, this evolved resistance may carry costs. Using an experimental evolution approach, we exposed different Daphnia magna populations in outdoor containers to the carbamate pesticide carbaryl and control conditions, and assessed the resulting populations for both their resistance to carbaryl as well as their susceptibility to infection by the widespread bacterial microparasite Pasteuria ramosa. Our results show that carbaryl selection led to rapid evolution of carbaryl resistance with seemingly no cost when assessed in a benign environment. However, carbaryl-resistant populations were more susceptible to parasite infection than control populations. Exposure to both stressors reveals a synergistic effect on sterilization rate by P. ramosa, but this synergism did not evolve under pesticide selection. Assessing costs of rapid adaptive evolution to anthropogenic stress in a semi-natural context may be crucial to avoid too optimistic predictions for the fitness of the evolving populations. © 2011 The Author(s).

  18. Assessing increasing susceptibility to wildfire at the wildland-urban fringe in the western United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kinoshita, A. M.; Hogue, T. S.

    2013-05-01

    Much of the western U.S. is increasingly susceptible to wildfire activity due to drier conditions, elevated fuel loads, and expanding urbanization. As population increases, development pushes the urban boundary further into wildlands, creating more potential for human interaction at the wildland-urban interface (WUI), primarily from human ignitions and fire suppression policies. The immediate impacts of wildfires include vulnerability to debris flows, flooding, and impaired water quality. Fires also alter longer-term hydrological and ecosystem behavior. The current study utilizes geospatial datasets to investigate historical wildfire size and frequency relative to the WUI for a range of cities across western North America. California, the most populous state in the U.S., has an extensive fire history. The decennial population and acres burned for four major counties (Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Shasta) in California show that increasing wildfire size and frequency follow urbanization trends, with high correlation between the last decade of burned area, urban-fringe proximity, and increasing population. Ultimately, results will provide information on urban fringe communities that are most vulnerable to the risks associated with wildfire and post-fire impacts. In light of evolving land use policies (i.e. forest management and treatment, development at the urban-fringe) and climate change, it is critical to advance our knowledge of the implications that these conditions pose to urban centers, communicate risks to the public, and ultimately provide guidance for wildfire management.

  19. Quark number density and susceptibility calculation with one correction in mean field potential

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, S. Somorendro

    2016-01-01

    We calculate quark number density and susceptibility of a model which has one loop correction in mean field potential. The calculation shows continuous increasing in the number density and susceptibility up to the temperature T = 0.4 GeV. Then the value of number density and susceptibility approach to the lattice result for higher value of temperature. The result indicates that the calculated values of the model fit well and the result increase the temperature to reach the lattice data with the one loop correction in the mean field potential. (author)

  20. High-anxious individuals show increased chronic stress burden, decreased protective immunity, and increased cancer progression in a mouse model of squamous cell carcinoma.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Firdaus S Dhabhar

    Full Text Available In spite of widespread anecdotal and scientific evidence much remains to be understood about the long-suspected connection between psychological factors and susceptibility to cancer. The skin is the most common site of cancer, accounting for nearly half of all cancers in the US, with approximately 2-3 million cases of non-melanoma cancers occurring each year worldwide. We hypothesized that a high-anxious, stress-prone behavioral phenotype would result in a higher chronic stress burden, lower protective-immunity, and increased progression of the immuno-responsive skin cancer, squamous cell carcinoma. SKH1 mice were phenotyped as high- or low-anxious at baseline, and subsequently exposed to ultraviolet-B light (1 minimal erythemal dose (MED, 3 times/week, 10-weeks. The significant strengths of this cancer model are that it uses a normal, immunocompetent, outbred strain, without surgery/injection of exogenous tumor cells/cell lines, and produces lesions that resemble human tumors. Tumors were counted weekly (primary outcome, and tissues collected during early and late phases of tumor development. Chemokine/cytokine gene-expression was quantified by PCR, tumor-infiltrating helper (Th, cytolytic (CTL, and regulatory (Treg T cells by immunohistochemistry, lymph node T and B cells by flow cytometry, adrenal and plasma corticosterone and tissue vascular-endothelial-growth-factor (VEGF by ELISA. High-anxious mice showed a higher tumor burden during all phases of tumor development. They also showed: higher corticosterone levels (indicating greater chronic stress burden, increased CCL22 expression and Treg infiltration (increased tumor-recruited immuno-suppression, lower CTACK/CCL27, IL-12, and IFN-γ gene-expression and lower numbers of tumor infiltrating Th and CTLs (suppressed protective immunity, and higher VEGF concentrations (increased tumor angiogenesis/invasion/metastasis. These results suggest that the deleterious effects of high trait anxiety

  1. Candida tropicalis from veterinary and human sources shows similar in vitro hemolytic activity, antifungal biofilm susceptibility and pathogenesis against Caenorhabditis elegans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brilhante, Raimunda Sâmia Nogueira; Oliveira, Jonathas Sales de; Evangelista, Antônio José de Jesus; Serpa, Rosana; Silva, Aline Lobão da; Aguiar, Felipe Rodrigues Magalhães de; Pereira, Vandbergue Santos; Castelo-Branco, Débora de Souza Collares Maia; Pereira-Neto, Waldemiro Aquino; Cordeiro, Rossana de Aguiar; Sidrim, José Júlio Costa; Rocha, Marcos Fábio Gadelha

    2016-08-30

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro hemolytic activity and biofilm antifungal susceptibility of veterinary and human Candida tropicalis strains, as well as their pathogenesis against Caenorhabditis elegans. Twenty veterinary isolates and 20 human clinical isolates of C. tropicalis were used. The strains were evaluated for their hemolytic activity and biofilm production. Biofilm susceptibility to itraconazole, fluconazole, voriconazole, amphotericin B and caspofungin was assessed using broth microdilution assay. The in vivo evaluation of strain pathogenicity was investigated using the nematode C. elegans. Hemolytic factor was observed in 95% of the strains and 97.5% of the isolates showed ability to form biofilm. Caspofungin and amphotericin B showed better results than azole antifungals against mature biofilms. Paradoxical effect on mature biofilm metabolic activity was observed at elevated concentrations of caspofungin (8-64μg/mL). Azole antifungals were not able to inhibit mature C. tropicalis biofilms, even at the higher tested concentrations. High mortality rates of C. elegans were observed when the worms were exposed to with C. tropicalis strains, reaching up to 96%, 96h after exposure of the worms to C. tropicalis strains. These results reinforce the high pathogenicity of C. tropicalis from veterinary and human sources and show the effectiveness of caspofungin and amphotericin B against mature biofilms of this species. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. MDMA Decreases Gluatamic Acid Decarboxylase (GAD) 67-Immunoreactive Neurons in the Hippocampus and Increases Seizure Susceptibility: Role for Glutamate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huff, Courtney L.; Morano, Rachel L.; Herman, James P.; Yamamoto, Bryan K.; Gudelsky, Gary A.

    2016-01-01

    3,4-Methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA) is a unique psychostimulant that continues to be a popular drug of abuse. It has been well documented that MDMA reduces markers of 5-HT axon terminals in rodents, as well as humans. A loss of parvalbumin-immunoreactive (IR) interneurons in the hippocampus following MDMA treatment has only been documented recently. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that MDMA reduces glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) 67-IR, another biochemical marker of GABA neurons, in the hippocampus and that this reduction in GAD67-IR neurons and an accompanying increase in seizure susceptibility involve glutamate receptor activation. Repeated exposure to MDMA (3×10mg/kg, ip) resulted in a reduction of 37–58% of GAD67-IR cells in the dentate gyrus (DG), CA1, and CA3 regions, as well as an increased susceptibility to kainic acid-induced seizures, both of which persisted for at least 30 days following MDMA treatment. Administration of the NMDA antagonist MK-801 or the glutamate transporter type 1 (GLT-1) inducer ceftriaxone prevented both the MDMA-induced loss of GAD67-IR neurons and the increased vulnerability to kainic acid-induced seizures. The MDMA-induced increase in the extracellular concentration of glutamate in the hippocampus was significantly diminished in rats treated with ceftriaxone, thereby implicating a glutamatergic mechanism in the neuroprotective effects of ceftriaxone. In summary, the present findings support a role for increased extracellular glutamate and NMDA receptor activation in the MDMA-induced loss of hippocampal GAD67-IR neurons and the subsequent increased susceptibility to evoked seizures. PMID:27773601

  3. MDMA decreases glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) 67-immunoreactive neurons in the hippocampus and increases seizure susceptibility: Role for glutamate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huff, Courtney L; Morano, Rachel L; Herman, James P; Yamamoto, Bryan K; Gudelsky, Gary A

    2016-12-01

    3,4-Methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA) is a unique psychostimulant that continues to be a popular drug of abuse. It has been well documented that MDMA reduces markers of 5-HT axon terminals in rodents, as well as humans. A loss of parvalbumin-immunoreactive (IR) interneurons in the hippocampus following MDMA treatment has only been documented recently. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that MDMA reduces glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) 67-IR, another biochemical marker of GABA neurons, in the hippocampus and that this reduction in GAD67-IR neurons and an accompanying increase in seizure susceptibility involve glutamate receptor activation. Repeated exposure to MDMA (3×10mg/kg, ip) resulted in a reduction of 37-58% of GAD67-IR cells in the dentate gyrus (DG), CA1, and CA3 regions, as well as an increased susceptibility to kainic acid-induced seizures, both of which persisted for at least 30days following MDMA treatment. Administration of the NMDA antagonist MK-801 or the glutamate transporter type 1 (GLT-1) inducer ceftriaxone prevented both the MDMA-induced loss of GAD67-IR neurons and the increased vulnerability to kainic acid-induced seizures. The MDMA-induced increase in the extracellular concentration of glutamate in the hippocampus was significantly diminished in rats treated with ceftriaxone, thereby implicating a glutamatergic mechanism in the neuroprotective effects of ceftriaxone. In summary, the present findings support a role for increased extracellular glutamate and NMDA receptor activation in the MDMA-induced loss of hippocampal GAD67-IR neurons and the subsequent increased susceptibility to evoked seizures. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. A standing posture is associated with increased susceptibility to the sound-induced flash illusion in fall-prone older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stapleton, John; Setti, Annalisa; Doheny, Emer P; Kenny, Rose Anne; Newell, Fiona N

    2014-02-01

    Recent research has provided evidence suggesting a link between inefficient processing of multisensory information and incidence of falling in older adults. Specifically, Setti et al. (Exp Brain Res 209:375-384, 2011) reported that older adults with a history of falling were more susceptible than their healthy, age-matched counterparts to the sound-induced flash illusion. Here, we investigated whether balance control in fall-prone older adults was directly associated with multisensory integration by testing susceptibility to the illusion under two postural conditions: sitting and standing. Whilst standing, fall-prone older adults had a greater body sway than the age-matched healthy older adults and their body sway increased when presented with the audio-visual illusory but not the audio-visual congruent conditions. We also found an increase in susceptibility to the sound-induced flash illusion during standing relative to sitting for fall-prone older adults only. Importantly, no performance differences were found across groups in either the unisensory or non-illusory multisensory conditions across the two postures. These results suggest an important link between multisensory integration and balance control in older adults and have important implications for understanding why some older adults are prone to falling.

  5. Protein energy malnutrition decreases immunity and increases susceptibility to influenza infection in mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Andrew K; Cao, Weiping; Vora, Keyur P; De La Cruz, Juan; Shieh, Wun-Ju; Zaki, Sherif R; Katz, Jacqueline M; Sambhara, Suryaprakash; Gangappa, Shivaprakash

    2013-02-01

    Protein energy malnutrition (PEM), a common cause of secondary immune deficiency in children, is associated with an increased risk of infections. Very few studies have addressed the relevance of PEM as a risk factor for influenza. We investigated the influence of PEM on susceptibility to, and immune responses following, influenza virus infection using isocaloric diets providing either adequate protein (AP; 18%) or very low protein (VLP; 2%) in a mouse model. We found that mice maintained on the VLP diet, when compared to mice fed with the AP diet, exhibited more severe disease following influenza infection based on virus persistence, trafficking of inflammatory cell types to the lung tissue, and virus-induced mortality. Furthermore, groups of mice maintained on the VLP diet showed significantly lower virus-specific antibody response and a reduction in influenza nuclear protein-specific CD8(+) T cells compared with mice fed on the AP diet. Importantly, switching diets for the group maintained on the VLP diet to the AP diet improved virus clearance, as well as protective immunity to viral challenge. Our results highlight the impact of protein energy on immunity to influenza infection and suggest that balanced protein energy replenishment may be one strategy to boost immunity against influenza viral infections.

  6. Irgm1-deficient mice exhibit Paneth cell abnormalities and increased susceptibility to acute intestinal inflammation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Bo; Gulati, Ajay S; Cantillana, Viviana; Henry, Stanley C; Schmidt, Elyse A; Daniell, Xiaoju; Grossniklaus, Emily; Schoenborn, Alexi A; Sartor, R Balfour; Taylor, Gregory A

    2013-10-15

    Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic, immune-mediated, inflammatory disorder of the intestine that has been linked to numerous susceptibility genes, including the immunity-related GTPase (IRG) M (IRGM). IRGs comprise a family of proteins known to confer resistance to intracellular infections through various mechanisms, including regulation of phagosome processing, cell motility, and autophagy. However, despite its association with CD, the role of IRGM and other IRGs in regulating intestinal inflammation is unclear. We investigated the involvement of Irgm1, an ortholog of IRGM, in the genesis of murine intestinal inflammation. After dextran sodium sulfate exposure, Irgm1-deficient [Irgm1 knockout (KO)] mice showed increased acute inflammation in the colon and ileum, with worsened clinical responses. Marked alterations of Paneth cell location and granule morphology were present in Irgm1 KO mice, even without dextran sodium sulfate exposure, and were associated with impaired mitophagy and autophagy in Irgm1 KO intestinal cells (including Paneth cells). This was manifested by frequent tubular and swollen mitochondria and increased LC3-positive autophagic structures. Interestingly, these LC3-positive structures often contained Paneth cell granules. These results suggest that Irgm1 modulates acute inflammatory responses in the mouse intestine, putatively through the regulation of gut autophagic processes, that may be pivotal for proper Paneth cell functioning.

  7. Effects of phase constitution of Zr-Nb alloys on their magnetic susceptibilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nomura, Naoyuki; Tanaka, Yuko; Suyalatu; Kondo, Ryota; Doi, Hisashi; Tsutsumi, Yusuke; Hanawa, Takao

    2009-01-01

    The magnetic susceptibilities and microstructures of Zr-Nb binary alloys were investigated to develop a new metallic biomaterial with a low magnetic susceptibility for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The magnetic susceptibility was measured with a magnetic susceptibility balance, and the microstructure was evaluated with an X-ray diffractometer (XRD), an optical microscope (OM), and a transmission electron microscope (TEM). Zr-Nb alloys as-cast showed a minimum value of magnetic susceptibility between 3 and 9 mass% Nb, and the value abruptly increased up to 20 mass% Nb, followed by a gradual increase with the increase of the Nb content. XRD, OM, and TEM revealed that the minimum value of the susceptibility was closely related to the appearance of the athermal ω phase in the β phase. Since the magnetic susceptibility of Zr-3Nb alloy consisting of an α' phase was as low as that of Zr-9Nb alloy consisting of the β and ω phases, that of the ω phase was lower than that of the α' and β phases. When Zr-16Nb alloy was heat-treated, the isothermal ω phase appeared, and, simultaneously, the magnetic susceptibility decreased. Therefore, the ω phase contributes to the decrease of the magnetic susceptibility, independently of the formation process of the ω phase. The magnetic susceptibility of the Zr-3Nb alloy as-cast was almost one-third that of Ti-6Al-4V alloy, which is commonly used for medical implant devices. Zr-Nb alloys are useful for medical devices used under MRI. (author)

  8. Characterization of a JAZ7 activation-tagged Arabidopsis mutant with increased susceptibility to the fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thatcher, Louise F.; Cevik, Volkan; Grant, Murray; Zhai, Bing; Jones, Jonathan D.G.; Manners, John M.; Kazan, Kemal

    2016-01-01

    In Arabidopsis, jasmonate (JA)-signaling plays a key role in mediating Fusarium oxysporum disease outcome. However, the roles of JASMONATE ZIM-domain (JAZ) proteins that repress JA-signaling have not been characterized in host resistance or susceptibility to this pathogen. Here, we found most JAZ genes are induced following F. oxysporum challenge, and screening T-DNA insertion lines in Arabidopsis JAZ family members identified a highly disease-susceptible JAZ7 mutant (jaz7-1D). This mutant exhibited constitutive JAZ7 expression and conferred increased JA-sensitivity, suggesting activation of JA-signaling. Unlike jaz7 loss-of-function alleles, jaz7-1D also had enhanced JA-responsive gene expression, altered development and increased susceptibility to the bacterial pathogen Pst DC3000 that also disrupts host JA-responses. We also demonstrate that JAZ7 interacts with transcription factors functioning as activators (MYC3, MYC4) or repressors (JAM1) of JA-signaling and contains a functional EAR repressor motif mediating transcriptional repression via the co-repressor TOPLESS (TPL). We propose through direct TPL recruitment, in wild-type plants JAZ7 functions as a repressor within the JA-response network and that in jaz7-1D plants, misregulated ectopic JAZ7 expression hyper-activates JA-signaling in part by disturbing finely-tuned COI1-JAZ-TPL-TF complexes. PMID:26896849

  9. Prenatal ethanol exposure increases osteoarthritis susceptibility in female rat offspring by programming a low-functioning IGF-1 signaling pathway

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ni, Qubo; Tan, Yang; Zhang, Xianrong; Luo, Hanwen; Deng, Yu; Magdalou, Jacques; Chen, Liaobin; Wang, Hui

    2015-10-01

    Epidemiological evidence indicates that osteoarthritis (OA) and prenatal ethanol exposure (PEE) are both associated with low birth weight but possible causal interrelationships have not been investigated. To investigate the effects of PEE on the susceptibility to OA in adult rats that experienced intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), and to explore potential intrauterine mechanisms, we established the rat model of IUGR by PEE and dexamethasone, and the female fetus and 24-week-old adult offspring subjected to strenuous running for 6 weeks were sacrificed. Knee joints were collected from fetuses and adult offspring for histochemistry, immunohistochemistry and qPCR assays. Histological analyses and the Mankin score revealed increased cartilage destruction and accelerated OA progression in adult offspring from the PEE group compared to the control group. Immunohistochemistry showed reduced expression of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) signaling pathway components. Furthermore, fetuses in the PEE group experienced IUGR but exhibited a higher postnatal growth rate. The expression of many IGF-1 signaling components was downregulated, which coincided with reduced amounts of type II collagen in the epiphyseal cartilage of fetuses in the PEE group. These results suggest that PEE enhances the susceptibility to OA in female adult rat offspring by down-regulating IGF-1 signaling and retarding articular cartilage development.

  10. Seasonal fluctuation in susceptibility to insecticides within natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster. II. Features of genetic variation in susceptibility to organophosphate insecticides within natural populations of D. melanogaster.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miyo, Takahiro; Oguma, Yuzuru; Charlesworth, Brian

    2006-08-01

    To elucidate genetic variation in susceptibility to organophosphate insecticides within natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster, we conducted an analysis of variance for mortality data sets of isofemale lines (10-286 lines) used in the previous studies. Susceptibility of isofemale lines to the three organophosphate insecticides was continuously distributed within each natural population, ranging from susceptible to resistant. Analysis of variance showed highly significant variation among isofemale lines in susceptibility to each insecticide for each natural population. Significant genetic variances in susceptibility to the three chemicals were estimated for the Katsunuma population; 0.0529-0.2722 for malathion, 0.0492-0.1603 for prothiophos, and 0.0469-0.1696 for fenitrothion. Contrary to the consistent seasonal tendency towards an increase in mean susceptibility in the fall, reported in the previous study, genetic variances in susceptibility to the three organophosphates did not change significantly in 1997 but tended to increase by 2- to 5-times in 1998. We tested whether both the observed situations, maintenance and increase in genetic variance in organophosphate resistance, can be generated under circumstances in which the levels of resistance to the three organophosphates tended to decrease, by conducting a simulation analysis, based on the hypothesis that resistant genotypes have lower fitnesses than susceptible ones under the density-independent condition. The simulation analysis generally explained the pattern in the mean susceptibility and genetic variances in susceptibility to the three organophosphates, observed in the Katsunuma population of D. melanogaster. It was suggested that the differences in the frequencies of resistance genes in the summer population could affect the patterns in genetic variance in organophosphate resistance in the fall population.

  11. Thermomechanical processing of 5083 aluminum to increase strength without increasing susceptibility to stress corrosion cracking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Edstrom, C.M.; Blakeslee, J.J.

    1980-01-01

    5083 aluminium with 25% cold work must be processed above 215 0 C or below 70 0 C to avoid forming continuous precipitate in the grain boundaries which makes the material susceptible to stress corrosion cracking. Time at temperature above 215 0 C should be held to minimum (less than 30 min) to retain some strength from the 25% cold work

  12. Risk of leukemia in susceptible children exposed to preconception, in utero, and postnatal radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bross, I.D.J.; Natarajan, N.

    1974-01-01

    Further statistical analysis has clarified the hypothesis that there exists a susceptible subgroup of children who are prone to develop leukemia after exposure to low doses of diagnostic radiation which have no effect on normal insusceptible children. The susceptible group does not show marked increase in relative risk when there is no report of exposure. The risk of developing leukemia among the susceptible children with any of the three types of radiation exposure is markedly increased in the appropriate age groups. The data are concordant with a latent period of 4 to 7 years. (auth)

  13. Inhibition of sarcoplasmic Ca2+-ATPase increases caffeine- and halothane-induced contractures in muscle bundles of malignant hyperthermia susceptible and healthy individuals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roewer Norbert

    2005-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Malignant hyperthermia (MH is triggered by halogenated anaesthetics and depolarising muscle relaxants, leading to an uncontrolled hypermetabolic state of skeletal muscle. An uncontrolled sarcoplasmic Ca2+ release is mediated via the ryanodine receptor. A compensatory mechanism of increased sarcoplasmic Ca2+-ATPase activity was described in pigs and in transfected cell lines. We hypothesized that inhibition of Ca2+ reuptake via the sarcoplasmic Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA enhances halothane- and caffeine-induced muscle contractures in MH susceptible more than in non-susceptible skeletal muscle. Methods With informed consent, surplus muscle bundles of 7 MHS (susceptible, 7 MHE (equivocal and 16 MHN (non-susceptible classified patients were mounted to an isometric force transducer, electrically stimulated, preloaded and equilibrated. Following 15 min incubation with cyclopiazonic acid (CPA 25 μM, the European MH standard in-vitro-contracture test protocol with caffeine (0.5; 1; 1.5; 2; 3; 4 mM and halothane (0.11; 0.22; 0.44; 0.66 mM was performed. Data as median and quartiles; Friedman- and Wilcoxon-test for differences with and without CPA; p Results Initial length, weight, maximum twitch height, predrug resting tension and predrug twitch height of muscle bundles did not differ between groups. CPA increased halothane- and caffeine-induced contractures significantly. This increase was more pronounced in MHS and MHE than in MHN muscle bundles. Conclusion Inhibition of the SERCA activity by CPA enhances halothane- and caffeine-induced contractures especially in MHS and MHE skeletal muscle and may help for the diagnostic assignment of MH susceptibility. The status of SERCA activity may play a significant but so far unknown role in the genesis of malignant hyperthermia.

  14. Transgenic plants expressing the AaIT/GNA fusion protein show increased resistance and toxicity to both chewing and sucking pests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Shu-Min; Li, Jie; Zhu, Jin-Qi; Wang, Xiao-Wei; Wang, Cheng-Shu; Liu, Shu-Sheng; Chen, Xue-Xin; Li, Sheng

    2016-04-01

    The adoption of pest-resistant transgenic plants to reduce yield losses and decrease pesticide use has been successful. To achieve the goal of controlling both chewing and sucking pests in a given transgenic plant, we generated transgenic tobacco, Arabidopsis, and rice plants expressing the fusion protein, AaIT/GNA, in which an insecticidal scorpion venom neurotoxin (Androctonus australis toxin, AaIT) is fused to snowdrop lectin (Galanthus nivalis agglutinin, GNA). Compared with transgenic tobacco and Arabidopsis plants expressing AaIT or GNA, transgenic plants expressing AaIT/GNA exhibited increased resistance and toxicity to one chewing pest, the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera. Transgenic tobacco and rice plants expressing AaIT/GNA showed increased resistance and toxicity to two sucking pests, the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, and the rice brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens, respectively. Moreover, in the field, transgenic rice plants expressing AaIT/GNA exhibited a significant improvement in grain yield when infested with N. lugens. This study shows that expressing the AaIT/GNA fusion protein in transgenic plants can be a useful approach for controlling pests, particularly sucking pests which are not susceptible to the toxin in Bt crops. © 2015 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

  15. Variation of the dynamic susceptibility along an isochrone

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bailey, Nicholas; Schrøder, Thomas; Dyre, J. C.

    2014-01-01

    Koperwas et al. showed in a recent paper [Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 125701 (2013)] that the dynamic susceptibility χ4 as estimated by dielectric measurements for certain glass-forming liquids decreases substantially with increasing pressure along a curve of constant relaxation time. This observation...

  16. antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of Salmonella species

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    user

    ABSTRACT. Treatment of enteric fever is increasingly becoming very challenging due to the increasing wave of antibiotic resistance. This study is a review of the contemporary antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of. Salmonella species. The antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of Salmonella species to a wide range of.

  17. Immunological bases of increased susceptibility to invasive nontyphoidal Salmonella infection in children with malaria and anaemia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nyirenda, Tonney S; Mandala, Wilson L; Gordon, Melita A; Mastroeni, Pietro

    2017-12-15

    Malaria and anaemia are key underlying factors for iNTS disease in African children. Knowledge of clinical and epidemiological risk-factors for iNTS disease has not been paralleled by an in-depth knowledge of the immunobiology of the disease. Herein, we review human and animal studies on mechanisms of increased susceptibility to iNTS in children. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.. All rights reserved.

  18. Defense response of susceptible and resistant Biomphalaria alexandrina snails against Schistosoma mansoni infection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iman F. Abou-El-Naga

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available In Egypt, Biomphalaria alexandrina is the intermediate host for Schistosoma mansoni. The fates of Schistosoma miracidia in the snails varies between different species of Biomphalaria. The internal defense system is one of the factors that influence the susceptibility pattern of the snails. The interaction between Biomphalaria snails and S. mansoni needs to be identified for each species, and even between the members of the same species with different degrees of susceptibility. In the present study, the first generation of susceptible and resistant parents of B. alexandrina was examined histologically at the 30th day post exposure. The study includes the characterization of the immune response, as expressed by tissue reactions, of susceptible and resistant B. alexandrina snails against S. mansoni. It was also designed to determine the impact of the resistance increase in parent snails, on the mechanisms of interaction of their offspring against infection. The results showed that the infection rate of the offspring from the susceptible parents was 92%. No susceptible offspring was produced from the resistant parents. When the parents were of equal number of susceptible and resistant snails, they gave an offspring with an infection rate of 20%. Susceptible snails that had susceptible parents showed a higher degree of susceptibility than those that had both susceptible and resistant parents. A common feature of the resistant snails was the absence of any viable parasites. The tissue reactions of the resistant snails having only resistant parents occurred at the site of miracidial penetration. In resistant snails for which susceptible ones were included in their parents, the reactions occurred in the deep tissues. These results characterized the immune response of B. alexandrina snails against Schistosoma infection which was found to occur by two different mechanisms. One type of defense occurs in highly resistant snails, and employs direct

  19. Abrupt suspension of probiotics administration may increase host pathogen susceptibility by inducing gut dysbiosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Zhi; Liu, Wenshu; Ran, Chao; Hu, Jun; Zhou, Zhigang

    2016-01-01

    In this study, we investigated the risk associated with suspension of probiotics administration in tilapia, an animal model that may mimic immune-compromised conditions in humans. Tilapias were fed for 14 days using a probiotics-supplemented diet, followed by a three-day suspension of probiotics treatment and a subsequent challenge by Aeromonas hydrophila. Unexpectedly, the suspension of a probiotic strain Lactobacillus plantarum JCM1149 significantly triggered susceptibility of the host to A. hydrophila. We further observed that suspension of JCM1149 resulted in host gut microbiota dysbiosis and the subsequent disorder in the intestinal metabolites (bile acids, amino acids, and glucose) and damage in the intestinal epithelium, giving rise to a condition similar to antibiotics-induced gut dysbiosis, which collectively impaired tilapia’s gut health and resistance to pathogenic challenges. Additionally, we determined that JCM1149 adhered relatively poorly to tilapia intestinal mucosa and was rapidly released from the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) after suspension, with the rapid loss of probiotic strain probably being the direct cause of gut dysbiosis. Finally, three other probiotic Lactobacillus strains with low intestinal mucosa binding activity showed similar rapid loss phenotype following administration suspension, and induced higher host susceptibility to infection, indicating that the risk is a generic phenomenon in Lactobacillus. PMID:26983596

  20. Antepartum Antibiotic Treatment Increases Offspring Susceptibility to Experimental Colitis: A Role of the Gut Microbiota.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peris Mumbi Munyaka

    Full Text Available Postnatal maturation of the immune system is largely driven by exposure to microbes, and thus the nature of intestinal colonization may be associated with development of childhood diseases that may persist into adulthood. We investigated whether antepartum antibiotic (ATB therapy can increase offspring susceptibility to experimental colitis through alteration of the gut microbiota.Pregnant C57Bl/6 mice were treated with cefazolin at 160 mg/kg body weight or with saline starting six days before due date. At 7 weeks, fecal samples were collected from male offspring after which they received 4% dextran sulfate sodium (DSS in drinking water for 5 days. Disease activity index, histology, colonic IL-6, IL-1β and serum C-reactive protein (CRP were determined. The V3-V4 region of colonic and fecal bacterial 16S rRNA was sequenced. Alpha-, beta-diversity and differences at the phylum and genus levels were determined, while functional pathways of classified bacteria were predicted.ATB influenced fecal bacterial composition and hence bacterial functional pathways before induction of colitis. After induction of colitis, ATB increased onset of clinical disease, histologic score, and colonic IL-6. In addition, ATB decreased fecal microbial richness, changed fecal and colon microbial composition, which was accompanied by a modification of microbial functional pathways. Also, several taxa were associated with ATB at lower taxonomical levels.The results support the hypothesis that antepartum antibiotics modulate offspring intestinal bacterial colonization and increase susceptibility to develop colonic inflammation in a murine model of colitis, and may guide future interventions to restore physiologic intestinal colonization in offspring born by antibiotic-exposed mothers.

  1. Antepartum Antibiotic Treatment Increases Offspring Susceptibility to Experimental Colitis: A Role of the Gut Microbiota.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munyaka, Peris Mumbi; Eissa, N; Bernstein, Charles Noah; Khafipour, Ehsan; Ghia, Jean-Eric

    2015-01-01

    Postnatal maturation of the immune system is largely driven by exposure to microbes, and thus the nature of intestinal colonization may be associated with development of childhood diseases that may persist into adulthood. We investigated whether antepartum antibiotic (ATB) therapy can increase offspring susceptibility to experimental colitis through alteration of the gut microbiota. Pregnant C57Bl/6 mice were treated with cefazolin at 160 mg/kg body weight or with saline starting six days before due date. At 7 weeks, fecal samples were collected from male offspring after which they received 4% dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) in drinking water for 5 days. Disease activity index, histology, colonic IL-6, IL-1β and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) were determined. The V3-V4 region of colonic and fecal bacterial 16S rRNA was sequenced. Alpha-, beta-diversity and differences at the phylum and genus levels were determined, while functional pathways of classified bacteria were predicted. ATB influenced fecal bacterial composition and hence bacterial functional pathways before induction of colitis. After induction of colitis, ATB increased onset of clinical disease, histologic score, and colonic IL-6. In addition, ATB decreased fecal microbial richness, changed fecal and colon microbial composition, which was accompanied by a modification of microbial functional pathways. Also, several taxa were associated with ATB at lower taxonomical levels. The results support the hypothesis that antepartum antibiotics modulate offspring intestinal bacterial colonization and increase susceptibility to develop colonic inflammation in a murine model of colitis, and may guide future interventions to restore physiologic intestinal colonization in offspring born by antibiotic-exposed mothers.

  2. Influence of Radiation Damage and Isochronal Annealing on the Magnetic Susceptibility of Pu1-xAmx Alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McCall, Scott K.; Fluss, Michael J.; Chung, Brandon W.; Haire, Richard G.

    2008-01-01

    Results of radiation damage in Pu and Pu 1-x Am x alloys studied with magnetic susceptibility, χ(T), and resistivity are presented. Damage accumulated at low temperatures increases χ(T) for all measured alloys, with the trend generally enhanced as the lattice expands. There is a trend towards saturation observable in the damage induced magnetic susceptibility data. that is not evident in similar damage induced resistivity data taken on the same specimen. A comparison of isochronal annealing curves measured by both resistivity and magnetic susceptibility on a 4.3 at% Ga stabilized δ-Pu specimen show that Stage I annealing, where interstitials begin to move, is largely transparent to the magnetic measurement. This indicates that interstitials have little impact on the damage induced increase in the magnetic susceptibility. The isochronal annealing curves of the Pu 1-x Am x alloys do not show distinct annealing stages as expected for alloys. However, samples near 20% Am concentration show an unexpected increase in magnetization beginning when specimens are annealed to 35 K. This behavior is also reflected in a time dependent increase in the magnetic susceptibility of damaged specimens indicative of first order kinetics. These results suggest there may be a metastable phase induced by radiation damage and annealing in Pu 1-x Am x alloys. (authors)

  3. A Strong Immune Response in Young Adult Honeybees Masks Their Increased Susceptibility to Infection Compared to Older Bees

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bull, James C.; Ryabov, Eugene V.; Prince, Gill; Mead, Andrew; Zhang, Cunjin; Baxter, Laura A.; Pell, Judith K.; Osborne, Juliet L.; Chandler, Dave

    2012-01-01

    Honeybees, Apis mellifera, show age-related division of labor in which young adults perform maintenance (“housekeeping”) tasks inside the colony before switching to outside foraging at approximately 23 days old. Disease resistance is an important feature of honeybee biology, but little is known about the interaction of pathogens and age-related division of labor. We tested a hypothesis that older forager bees and younger “house” bees differ in susceptibility to infection. We coupled an infection bioassay with a functional analysis of gene expression in individual bees using a whole genome microarray. Forager bees treated with the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae s.l. survived for significantly longer than house bees. This was concomitant with substantial differences in gene expression including genes associated with immune function. In house bees, infection was associated with differential expression of 35 candidate immune genes contrasted with differential expression of only two candidate immune genes in forager bees. For control bees (i.e. not treated with M. anisopliae) the development from the house to the forager stage was associated with differential expression of 49 candidate immune genes, including up-regulation of the antimicrobial peptide gene abaecin, plus major components of the Toll pathway, serine proteases, and serpins. We infer that reduced pathogen susceptibility in forager bees was associated with age-related activation of specific immune system pathways. Our findings contrast with the view that the immunocompetence in social insects declines with the onset of foraging as a result of a trade-off in the allocation of resources for foraging. The up-regulation of immune-related genes in young adult bees in response to M. anisopliae infection was an indicator of disease susceptibility; this also challenges previous research in social insects, in which an elevated immune status has been used as a marker of increased disease

  4. The increased susceptibility of hematopoietic stem cells to Friend leukemia virus in the repopulating period

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hirashima, Kunitake; Kumatori, Toshiyuki

    1977-01-01

    The present study considers two fundamental problems of leukemia and stem cells: (1) whether the target cells for malignant transformation of Friend leukemia virus (FV) are the pluripotential stem cells; (2) whether the susceptibility of the target cell is changeable depending on the proliferating state of the cell. In the experiments, inbred 8- to 12-week-old C3H/He and BC3Fl hybrid mice were used. As target cells for FV, two candidate cell populations should be considered. These are the pluripotential stem cells expressed as CFUs and the committed stem cells expressed as erythropoietin-responsive cells (ERC). According to our preliminary experiments on the recovery patterns of CFUs or ERC, after a single 150 rads X-irradiation (X) or administration of 215 mg/kg of cyclophosphamide (CY), it was clear that the repopulation of CFUs was quite different from that of ERC. The target cells for FV-induced transformation are the stem cells expressed as CFUs and the susceptibility of these increases under conditions of active repopulation after X-irradiation and cyclophosphamide administration. After the irradiation especially, this effect is dose-dependent for doses over 25 rads at 2 weeks after irradiation. (Auth.)

  5. Acidosis increases the susceptibility of respiratory epithelial cells to Pseudomonas aeruginosa-induced cytotoxicity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torres, Iviana M; Demirdjian, Sally; Vargas, Jennifer; Goodale, Britton C; Berwin, Brent

    2017-07-01

    Bacterial infection can lead to acidosis of the local microenvironment, which is believed to exacerbate disease pathogenesis; however, the mechanisms by which changes in pH alter disease progression are poorly understood. We test the hypothesis that acidosis enhances respiratory epithelial cell death in response to infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa Our findings support the idea that acidosis in the context of P. aeruginosa infection results in increased epithelial cell cytotoxicity due to ExoU intoxication. Importantly, enforced maintenance of neutral pH during P. aeruginosa infection demonstrates that cytotoxicity is dependent on the acidosis. Investigation of the underlying mechanisms revealed that host cell cytotoxicity correlated with increased bacterial survival during an acidic infection that was due to reduced bactericidal activity of host-derived antimicrobial peptides. These findings extend previous reports that the activities of antimicrobial peptides are pH-dependent and provide novel insights into the consequences of acidosis on infection-derived pathology. Therefore, this report provides the first evidence that physiological levels of acidosis increase the susceptibility of epithelial cells to acute Pseudomonas infection and demonstrates the benefit of maintaining pH homeostasis during a bacterial infection. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

  6. In Vitro Susceptibility Test of Different Clinical Isolates against Ceftriaxone

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Syed Hakim Masood

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: Because of the prevailing penicillin resistance in microorganisms, broad spectrum cephalosporins are used empirically specially in developing countries. The aim of this study is to determine the susceptibility pattern of different gram positive and gram negative pathogens against third generation cephalosporin-ceftriaxone to explore the existing effectiveness of this antibiotic.Methods: 180 clinical isolates of different gram positive and gram negative pathogens including P.mirabilis, S. typhi P.aeruginosa, E. coli, S. aureus and Klebsiella were collected from blood and urine samples of in-patients. 30 isolates of all species were tested against each of six brands of ceftriaxone using in vitro sensitivity tests by disc diffusion method (NCCLS criteria. The susceptibility limit was ≥21 mm zone of inhibition, while moderately susceptible was considered at 20-14 mm, and those isolates which showed >13 mm or no zone of inhibition were resistant to this antibacterial drug.Results: Ceftriaxone was found most effective against S. aureus. While 96.1% of the isolates showed susceptibility towards ceftriaxone, followed by E. coli (95%, P. aeruginosa (92.7%, K. pneumonia (89.4% and S. typhi (87.2%. P. mirabilis showed lowest susceptibility amongst all the test organisms (83.8%.Conclusion: Ceftriaxone can be used as a drug of choice in infections caused by S. aureus, E. coli, P. aurigenosa, K. pneumonia and S. typhi. However, it should be used with other antimicrobial agents in order to increase its effectiveness against P. mirabilis.

  7. CISH and susceptibility to infectious diseases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khor, Chiea C; Vannberg, Fredrik O; Chapman, Stephen J; Guo, Haiyan; Wong, Sunny H; Walley, Andrew J; Vukcevic, Damjan; Rautanen, Anna; Mills, Tara C; Chang, Kwok-Chiu; Kam, Kai-Man; Crampin, Amelia C; Ngwira, Bagrey; Leung, Chi-Chiu; Tam, Cheuk-Ming; Chan, Chiu-Yeung; Sung, Joseph J Y; Yew, Wing-Wai; Toh, Kai-Yee; Tay, Stacey K H; Kwiatkowski, Dominic; Lienhardt, Christian; Hien, Tran-Tinh; Day, Nicholas P; Peshu, Nobert; Marsh, Kevin; Maitland, Kathryn; Scott, J Anthony; Williams, Thomas N; Berkley, James A; Floyd, Sian; Tang, Nelson L S; Fine, Paul E M; Goh, Denise L M; Hill, Adrian V S

    2010-06-03

    The interleukin-2-mediated immune response is critical for host defense against infectious pathogens. Cytokine-inducible SRC homology 2 (SH2) domain protein (CISH), a suppressor of cytokine signaling, controls interleukin-2 signaling. Using a case-control design, we tested for an association between CISH polymorphisms and susceptibility to major infectious diseases (bacteremia, tuberculosis, and severe malaria) in blood samples from 8402 persons in Gambia, Hong Kong, Kenya, Malawi, and Vietnam. We had previously tested 20 other immune-related genes in one or more of these sample collections. We observed associations between variant alleles of multiple CISH polymorphisms and increased susceptibility to each infectious disease in each of the study populations. When all five single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (at positions -639, -292, -163, +1320, and +3415 [all relative to CISH]) within the CISH-associated locus were considered together in a multiple-SNP score, we found an association between CISH genetic variants and susceptibility to bacteremia, malaria, and tuberculosis (P=3.8x10(-11) for all comparisons), with -292 accounting for most of the association signal (P=4.58x10(-7)). Peripheral-blood mononuclear cells obtained from adult subjects carrying the -292 variant, as compared with wild-type cells, showed a muted response to the stimulation of interleukin-2 production--that is, 25 to 40% less CISH expression. Variants of CISH are associated with susceptibility to diseases caused by diverse infectious pathogens, suggesting that negative regulators of cytokine signaling have a role in immunity against various infectious diseases. The overall risk of one of these infectious diseases was increased by at least 18% among persons carrying the variant CISH alleles. 2010 Massachusetts Medical Society

  8. Impact of Maspin Polymorphism rs2289520 G/C and Its Interaction with Gene to Gene, Alcohol Consumption Increase Susceptibility to Oral Cancer Occurrence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Po-Yu; Miao, Nae-Fang; Lin, Chiao-Wen; Chou, Ying-Erh; Yang, Shun-Fa; Huang, Hui-Chuan; Chang, Hsiu-Ju; Tsai, Hsiu-Ting

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to identify gene polymorphisms of mammary serine protease inhibitor (Maspin) specific to patients with oral cancer susceptibility and clinicopathological status. Three single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the Maspin gene from 741 patients with oral cancer and 601 non-cancer controls were analyzed by real-time PCR. The participants with G/G homozygotes or with G/C heterozygotes of Maspin rs2289520 polymorphism had a 2.07-fold (p = 0.01) and a 2.01-fold (p = 0.02) risk of developing oral cancer compared to those with C/C homozygotes. Moreover, gene-gene interaction increased the risk of oral cancer susceptibility among subjects expose to oral cancer related risk factors, including areca, alcohol, and tobacco consumption. G allele of Maspin rs2289520 polymorphism may be a factor that increases the susceptibility to oral cancer. The interactions of gene to oral cancer-related environmental risk factors have a synergetic effect that can further enhance oral cancer development.

  9. Effects of o-aminoazotoluene on liver regeneration and p53 activation in mice susceptible and resistant to hepatocarcinogenesis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Timofeeva, Olga A.; Eremeev, Artem V.; Goloshchapov, Andrey; Kalashnikova, Eugenia; Ilnitskaya, Svetlana; Setkov, Nikolai A.; Kobzev, Victor; Buzard, Gregory S.; Filipenko, Maxim L.; Kaledin, Vasily I.; Merkulova, Tatyana I.

    2008-01-01

    The susceptibility to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) varies greatly within human populations in response to environmental risk agents. The mechanisms underlying differential susceptibility are still largely unknown and need to be clarified to improve HCC chemoprevention and therapeutic treatment. Inbred rodent strains with established predispositions for hepatocarcinogenesis offer the opportunity to identify intrinsic susceptibility and resistance factors. Previously, we have characterized mouse strains showing differential susceptibility to o-aminoazotoluene (OAT) and established that susceptibility does not result from OAT metabolism or genotoxicity in the livers of resistant and susceptible mice. In this study we have found that OAT differently affects hepatocyte proliferation in mice after partial hepatectomy (PH). OAT inhibited hepatocyte proliferation by 60-80% in the livers of susceptible mice, whereas resistant mice showed less than 15% inhibition. The inhibition resulted in significant delay of hepatic mass recovery in susceptible mice. OAT induced p53 stabilization and transcriptional activation in response to carcinogen treatment to the same degree in both, susceptible and resistant mice. Taken together, our data support inhibition of hepatocyte proliferation as a major cause for increased mouse susceptibility to hepatocarcinogenesis, and acceleration of functional liver recovery may offer a way to increase resistance to hepatic neoplasms. These results may have relevance to clinical observations of HCCs and implications for HCC chemoprevention and treatment

  10. Diabetes increases susceptibility of primary cultures of rat proximal tubular cells to chemically induced injury

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhong Qing; Terlecky, Stanley R.; Lash, Lawrence H.

    2009-01-01

    Diabetic nephropathy is characterized by increased oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction. In the present study, we prepared primary cultures of proximal tubular (PT) cells from diabetic rats 30 days after an ip injection of streptozotocin and compared their susceptibility to oxidants (tert-butyl hydroperoxide, methyl vinyl ketone) and a mitochondrial toxicant (antimycin A) with that of PT cells isolated from age-matched control rats, to test the hypothesis that PT cells from diabetic rats exhibit more cellular and mitochondrial injury than those from control rats when exposed to these toxicants. PT cells from diabetic rats exhibited higher basal levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and higher mitochondrial membrane potential, demonstrating that the PT cells maintain the diabetic phenotype in primary culture. Incubation with either the oxidants or mitochondrial toxicant resulted in greater necrotic and apoptotic cell death, greater evidence of morphological damage, greater increases in ROS, and greater decreases in mitochondrial membrane potential in PT cells from diabetic rats than in those from control rats. Pretreatment with either the antioxidant N-acetyl-L-cysteine or a catalase mimetic provided equivalent protection of PT cells from both diabetic and control rats. Despite the greater susceptibility to oxidative and mitochondrial injury, both cytoplasmic and mitochondrial glutathione concentrations were markedly higher in PT cells from diabetic rats, suggesting an upregulation of antioxidant processes in diabetic kidney. These results support the hypothesis that primary cultures of PT cells from diabetic rats are a valid model in which to study renal cellular function in the diabetic state.

  11. Mice lacking neuropeptide Y show increased sensitivity to cocaine

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Gunnar; Woldbye, David Paul Drucker

    2012-01-01

    There is increasing data implicating neuropeptide Y (NPY) in the neurobiology of addiction. This study explored the possible role of NPY in cocaine-induced behavior using NPY knockout mice. The transgenic mice showed a hypersensitive response to cocaine in three animal models of cocaine addiction...

  12. Environmentally induced epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of disease susceptibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nilsson, Eric E; Skinner, Michael K

    2015-01-01

    Environmental insults, such as exposure to toxicants or nutritional abnormalities, can lead to epigenetic changes that are in turn related to increased susceptibility to disease. The focus of this review is on the transgenerational inheritance of such epigenetic abnormalities (epimutations), and how it is that these inherited epigenetic abnormalities can lead to increased disease susceptibility, even in the absence of continued environmental insult. Observations of environmental toxicant specificity and exposure-specific disease susceptibility are discussed. How epimutations are transmitted across generations and how epigenetic changes in the germline are translated into an increased disease susceptibility in the adult is reviewed with regard to disease etiology. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. In Vitro Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Pathogenic Leptospira Biofilm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vinod Kumar, Kirubakaran; Lall, Chandan; Raj, Ratchagadasse Vimal; Vedhagiri, Kumaresan; Sunish, Ittoop Pulikkottil; Vijayachari, Paluru

    2016-10-01

    Pathogenic Leptospira spp. are the causative agent of leptospirosis. Biofilm formation in leptospires is a new area of study, and its role in pathogenesis is not fully explored. As in other biofilm-forming bacteria, Leptospira biofilm may play a significant role in antibiotic resistance. In this study, the antimicrobial susceptibility of Leptospira biofilm was investigated by 96-well plate assay using Alamar Blue. Leptospira biofilm showed five to sixfold increase in resistance in all the strains used. The range of minimal bactericidal concentrations for penicillin G, ampicillin, tetracycline, and doxycycline was 1,600 U/ml, 800-1,600 μg/ml, 800-1,600 μg/ml, and 800-1,600 μg/ml, respectively. In agar substrate, the biofilm showed six- to sevenfold increase in resistance to antibiotics compared to planktonic cell. The present study emphasizes the importance of biofilm formation and its antibiotic susceptibility patterns. This could pave the way for devising appropriate strategy to prevent the occurrence of potential chronic leptospirosis in endemic areas and also during an outbreak situation.

  14. The histone deacetylase inhibitor vorinostat (SAHA) increases the susceptibility of uninfected CD4+ T cells to HIV by increasing the kinetics and efficiency of postentry viral events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lucera, Mark B; Tilton, Carisa A; Mao, Hongxia; Dobrowolski, Curtis; Tabler, Caroline O; Haqqani, Aiman A; Karn, Jonathan; Tilton, John C

    2014-09-01

    Latently infected cells remain a primary barrier to eradication of HIV-1. Over the past decade, a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms by which latency is established and maintained has led to the discovery of a number of compounds that selectively reactivate latent proviruses without inducing polyclonal T cell activation. Recently, the histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor vorinostat has been demonstrated to induce HIV transcription from latently infected cells when administered to patients. While vorinostat will be given in the context of antiretroviral therapy (ART), infection of new cells by induced virus remains a clinical concern. Here, we demonstrate that vorinostat significantly increases the susceptibility of CD4(+) T cells to infection by HIV in a dose- and time-dependent manner that is independent of receptor and coreceptor usage. Vorinostat does not enhance viral fusion with cells but rather enhances the kinetics and efficiency of postentry viral events, including reverse transcription, nuclear import, and integration, and enhances viral production in a spreading-infection assay. Selective inhibition of the cytoplasmic class IIb HDAC6 with tubacin recapitulated the effect of vorinostat. These findings reveal a previously unknown cytoplasmic effect of HDAC inhibitors promoting productive infection of CD4(+) T cells that is distinct from their well-characterized effects on nuclear histone acetylation and long-terminal-repeat (LTR) transcription. Our results indicate that careful monitoring of patients and ART intensification are warranted during vorinostat treatment and indicate that HDAC inhibitors that selectively target nuclear class I HDACs could reactivate latent HIV without increasing the susceptibility of uninfected cells to HIV. HDAC inhibitors, particularly vorinostat, are currently being investigated clinically as part of a "shock-and-kill" strategy to purge latent reservoirs of HIV. We demonstrate here that vorinostat increases the

  15. Reappearance and treatment of penicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus in a tertiary medical centre.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chabot, Matthew R; Stefan, Mihaela S; Friderici, Jennifer; Schimmel, Jennifer; Larioza, Julius

    2015-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to describe trends in the prevalence and treatment patterns of penicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (SA) infections. This was a cross-sectional study of MSSA isolates from blood cultures at a tertiary-care centre between 1 January 2003 and 31 December 2012. All blood cultures positive for MSSA drawn during the study period were used to calculate the prevalence of penicillin-susceptible SA. Repeat cultures were excluded if they were isolated within 6 weeks of the index culture. The analysis was then restricted to inpatient blood cultures to assess treatment patterns. Antibiotics administered 48-96 h after the culture were analysed. A total of 446 blood cultures positive for MSSA were included in the analysis. There was a distinct trend showing an increase in the percentage of penicillin-susceptible SA over 10 years from 13.2% (95% CI 4.1%-22.3%) in 2003 to 32.4% (95% CI 17.3%-47.5%) in 2012 (P trend penicillin use for penicillin-susceptible SA bacteraemia increased from 0.0% in 2003-04 to 50.0% in 2011-12 (P trend = 0.007). Over a decade, there was an ∼3-fold increase in penicillin susceptibility among MSSA blood cultures at a large tertiary-care facility. Although treatment with penicillin increased over the study period, only 50% of penicillin-susceptible SA was treated with penicillin in the final study period. This study suggests that while susceptibility to penicillin appears to be returning in SA, the use of penicillin for penicillin-susceptible SA bacteraemia is low. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  16. Susceptibility of anaerobic bacteria in Auckland: 1991-1996.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shore, K P; Pottumarthy, S; Morris, A J

    1999-11-12

    To determine the antimicrobial susceptibility of local anaerobic bacteria. The antimicrobial susceptibility of 357 obligate anaerobes collected between 1991 and 1997 was determined by a standard agar dilution method. Isolates tested included Bacteroides spp. 131, Fusobacterium spp. 12, Prevotella spp. 13, Veillonella spp. 5, Clostridium perfringens 27, other Clostridium spp. 29, Propionibacterium spp. 57, Actinomyces spp. 7, other non-sporing gram-positive bacilli 28 and Peptostreptococcus spp. 48. Ten antimicrobials were tested: penicillin, amoxycillin/ clavulanic acid, pipercillin/tazobactam, ceftriaxone, cefoxitin, cefotetan, imipenem, meropenem, clindamycin and metronidazole. Imipenem, pipercillin/tazobactam, meropenem and amoxycillin/clavulanic acid were active against virtually all anaerobes tested. Metronidazole was active against all anaerobic gram-negative bacteria and Clostridium spp., but had variable activity against other anaerobes. Cefoxitin was the most active cephalosporin against Bacteroides spp., with 76%, 64% and 15% of Bacteroides spp. being susceptible to cefoxitin, cefotetan and ceftriaxone, respectively. Penicillin had poor activity against anaerobic gram negative bacilli. Actinomyces and Propionibacterium spp. were susceptible to all antimicrobials tested except metronidazole. Variable results were obtained with other antimicrobial-organism combinations. Comparison of results with data from a previously published survey showed little change in susceptibility except for increased resistance of Bacteroides fragilis to ceftriaxone and Clostridium species (not C perfringens) to clindamycin. Our results update the local susceptibility profile of anaerobic bacteria and may be considered when choosing an antimicrobial agent for prophylaxis or treatment of anaerobic infections.

  17. Scalar and pseudoscalar susceptibilities in nuclei

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ericson, Magda; Chanfray, Guy; Chanfray, Guy

    2003-01-01

    We study the two QCD susceptibilities of the nuclear medium in the linear σ model. The magnitude of the scalar one increases due to the mixing with the softer modes of the nucleon-hole excitations. The pseudoscalar susceptibility, follows the density evolution of the quark condensate and thus decreases in magnitude. At normal nuclear matter density the two susceptibilities become much close than in the vacuum, a consequence of the partial chiral symmetry restoration. (author)

  18. Increased susceptibility to structural acute kidney injury in a mouse model of presymptomatic cardiomyopathy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pleasant, LaTawnya; Ma, Qing; Devarajan, Mahima; Parameswaran, Priyanka; Drake, Keri; Siroky, Brian; Shay-Winkler, Kritton; Robbins, Jeffrey; Devarajan, Prasad

    2017-09-01

    The early events that signal renal dysfunction in presymptomatic heart failure are unclear. We tested the hypothesis that functional and mechanistic changes occur in the kidney that precede the development of symptomatic heart failure. We employed a transgenic mouse model with cardiomyocyte-specific overexpression of mutant α-B-crystallin that develops slowly progressive cardiomyopathy. Presymptomatic transgenic mice displayed an increase in serum creatinine (1.17 ± 0.34 vs. wild type 0.65 ± 0.16 mg/dl, P kidneys exhibited a twofold upregulation of the Ren1 gene, marked overexpression of renin protein in the tubules, and a worsened response to ischemia-reperfusion injury based on serum creatinine (2.77 ± 0.66 in transgenic mice vs. 2.01 ± 0.58 mg/dl in wild type, P kidney that occur in early presymptomatic heart failure, which increase the susceptibility to subsequent acute kidney injury. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

  19. 10′(Z),13′(E)-Heptadecadienylhydroquinone Inhibits Swarming and Virulence Factors and Increases Polymyxin B Susceptibility in Proteus mirabilis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Won-Bo; Yuan, Yu-Han; Hsueh, Po-Ren; Liaw, Shwu-Jen

    2012-01-01

    In this study, we demonstrated that 10′(Z), 13′(E)-heptadecadienylhydroquinone (HQ17-2), isolated from the lacquer tree, could decrease swarming motility and hemolysin activity but increase polymyxin B (PB) susceptibilityof Proteus mirabilis which is intrinsically highly-resistant to PB. The increased PB susceptibility induced by HQ17-2 was also observed in clinical isolates and biofilm-grown cells. HQ17-2 could inhibit swarming in the wild-type and rppA mutant but not in the rcsB mutant, indicating that HQ17-2 inhibits swarming through the RcsB-dependent pathway, a two-component signaling pathway negatively regulating swarming and virulence factor expression. The inhibition of hemolysin activity by HQ17-2 is also mediated through the RcsB-dependent pathway, because HQ17-2 could not inhibit hemolysin activity in the rcsB mutant. Moreover, the finding that HQ17-2 inhibits the expression of flhDC gene in the wild-type and rcsB-complemented strain but not in the rcsB mutant supports the notion. By contrast, HQ17-2 could increase PB susceptibility in the wild-type and rcsB mutant but not in the rppA mutant, indicating that HQ17-2 increases PB susceptibility through the RppA-dependent pathway, a signaling pathway positively regulating PB resistance. In addition, HQ17-2 could inhibit the promoter activities of rppA and pmrI, a gene positively regulated by RppA and involved in PB resistance, in the wild-type but not in the rppA mutant. The inhibition of rppA and pmrI expression caused lipopolysaccharide purified from HQ17-2-treated cells to have higher affinity for PB. Altogether, this study uncovers new biological effects of HQ17-2 and provides evidence for the potential of HQ17-2 in clinical applications. PMID:23029100

  20. Maternal geohelminth infections are associated with an increased susceptibility to geohelminth infection in children: a case-control study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raaj S Mehta

    Full Text Available Children of mothers infected with soil-transmitted helminths (STH may have an increased susceptibility to STH infection.We did a case-control study nested in a birth cohort in Ecuador. Data from 1,004 children aged 7 months to 3 years were analyzed. Cases were defined as children with Ascaris lumbricoides and/or Trichuris trichiura, controls without. Exposure was defined as maternal infection with A. lumbricoides and/or T. trichiura, detected during the third trimester of pregnancy. The analysis was restricted to households with a documented infection to control for infection risk. Children of mothers with STH infections had a greater risk of infection compared to children of uninfected mothers (adjusted OR 2.61, 95% CI: 1.88-3.63, p<0.001. This effect was particularly strong in children of mothers with both STH infections (adjusted OR: 5.91, 95% CI: 3.55-9.81, p<0.001. Newborns of infected mothers had greater levels of plasma IL-10 than those of uninfected mothers (p=0.033, and there was evidence that cord blood IL-10 was increased among newborns who became infected later in childhood (p=0.060.Our data suggest that maternal STH infections increase susceptibility to infection during early childhood, an effect that was associated with elevated IL-10 in cord plasma.

  1. CISH and Susceptibility to Infectious Diseases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khor, Chiea C.; Vannberg, Fredrik O.; Chapman, Stephen J.; Guo, Haiyan; Wong, Sunny H.; Walley, Andrew J.; Vukcevic, Damjan; Rautanen, Anna; Mills, Tara C.; Chang, Kwok-Chiu; Kam, Kai-Man; Crampin, Amelia C.; Ngwira, Bagrey; Leung, Chi-Chiu; Tam, Cheuk-Ming; Chan, Chiu-Yeung; Sung, Joseph J.Y.; Yew, Wing-Wai; Toh, Kai-Yee; Tay, Stacey K.H.; Kwiatkowski, Dominic; Lienhardt, Christian; Hien, Tran-Tinh; Day, Nicholas P.; Peshu, Nobert; Marsh, Kevin; Maitland, Kathryn; Scott, J. Anthony; Williams, Thomas N.; Berkley, James A.; Floyd, Sian; Tang, Nelson L.S.; Fine, Paul E.M.; Goh, Denise L.M.; Hill, Adrian V.S.

    2013-01-01

    Background The interleukin-2 (IL2)-mediated immune response is critical for host defence against infectious pathogens. CISH, a suppressor of cytokine signalling, controls IL2 signalling. Methods We tested for association between CISH polymorphisms and susceptibility to major infectious diseases (bacteremia, tuberculosis and severe malaria) in 8402 persons from the Gambia, Hong Kong, Kenya, Malawi, and Vietnam using a case-control design. We have previously tested twenty other immune-related genes in one or more of these sample collections. Results We observed associations between variant alleles of multiple CISH polymorphisms and increased susceptibility to each infectious disease in each of the study populations. When all five SNPs (CISH −639, −292, −163, +1320 and +3415) within the CISH-associated locus were considered together in a multi-SNP score, we found substantial support for an effect of CISH genetic variants on susceptibility to bacteremia, malaria, and tuberculosis (overall P=3.8 × 10−11) with CISH −292 being “responsible” for the majority of the association signal (P=4.58×10−7). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells of adult volunteers carrying the CISH −292 variant showed a muted response to IL2 stimulation — in the form of 25-40% less CISH — when compared with “control” cells lacking the −292 variant. Conclusions Variants of CISH are associated with susceptibility to diseases caused by diverse infectious pathogens, suggesting that negative regulators of cytokine signalling may play a major role in immunity against various infectious diseases. The overall risk of having one of these infectious diseases was found to be increased by at least 18 percent in individuals carrying the variant CISH alleles. PMID:20484391

  2. Effects of different aging statuses and strain rate on the adiabatic shear susceptibility of 2195 aluminum–lithium alloy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Y.; Tan, G.Y.; Chen, P.X.; Zhang, Q.M.

    2012-01-01

    The adiabatic shear susceptibility of 2195 aluminum–lithium alloy was investigated by means of split Hopkinson pressure bar. The stress collapse in true stress–true strain curves and true stress–time curves was observed. The adiabatic shear susceptibility of different aging statuses and strain rate were discussed by means of metallography observation. The critical strain, stress collapse time and formation energy of adiabatic shear bands were compared. The results show that different aging statuses and strain rate have significant influences on adiabatic shear behaviors of 2195 aluminum–lithium alloy. The peak-aged specimen has the highest adiabatic shearing susceptibility, while the under-aged specimen has the least adiabatic shear susceptibility. The susceptibility of adiabatic shearing increases with the increases of strain rate.

  3. Effects of different aging statuses and strain rate on the adiabatic shear susceptibility of 2195 aluminum-lithium alloy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang, Y. [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, Hunan (China); State Key Laboratory of Explosion Science and Technology, Beijing 100081 (China); Tan, G.Y., E-mail: yangyanggroup@163.com [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, Hunan (China); Chen, P.X. [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, Hunan (China); Zhang, Q.M. [State Key Laboratory of Explosion Science and Technology, Beijing 100081 (China)

    2012-06-01

    The adiabatic shear susceptibility of 2195 aluminum-lithium alloy was investigated by means of split Hopkinson pressure bar. The stress collapse in true stress-true strain curves and true stress-time curves was observed. The adiabatic shear susceptibility of different aging statuses and strain rate were discussed by means of metallography observation. The critical strain, stress collapse time and formation energy of adiabatic shear bands were compared. The results show that different aging statuses and strain rate have significant influences on adiabatic shear behaviors of 2195 aluminum-lithium alloy. The peak-aged specimen has the highest adiabatic shearing susceptibility, while the under-aged specimen has the least adiabatic shear susceptibility. The susceptibility of adiabatic shearing increases with the increases of strain rate.

  4. Short post-weaning social isolation induces long-term changes in the dopaminergic system and increases susceptibility to psychostimulants in female rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lampert, Carine; Arcego, Danusa Mar; de Sá Couto-Pereira, Natividade; Dos Santos Vieira, Aline; Toniazzo, Ana Paula; Krolow, Rachel; Garcia, Emily; Vendite, Deusa Aparecida; Calcagnotto, Maria Elisa; Dalmaz, Carla

    2017-10-01

    Childhood and adolescence are sensitive periods of development, marked by high brain maturation and plasticity. Exposure to early life stress, such as social isolation, is able to prompt changes in sensitive brain circuitries, essentially in the mesolimbic dopaminergic system and increase the risk for addictive behaviors later in life. Post-weaning social isolation can stimulate the consumption of rewarding substances, like drugs of abuse and palatable foods. However, most studies analyze long periods of social isolation and very little is known about the effects of a brief social isolation in a sensitive period of development and its association with palatable food on the reward system sensitization. Furthermore, females are more susceptible to the reinforcing effect of drugs than males. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the effects of a short post-weaning social isolation combined with a free access to a chronic high sugar diet (HSD) on the dopaminergic system, oxidative status and behavioral response to an amphetamine-like drug in adulthood. We used female Wistar rats that were socially isolated from post-natal days (PD) 21 to 35 and received free access to a HSD until PD 60. On PD 65, animals were submitted to a challenge with diethylpropion (DEP), an amphetamine-like drug and different responses were analyzed: locomotor activity, immmunocontent of dopamine related proteins, and the oxidative status in the striatum, before and after the DEP challenge. We showed that a short post-weaning social isolation (SI) increased the locomotor response to DEP, when compared with previous saline administration. Social isolation also increased dopamine transporter, tyrosine hydroxylase, and decreased dopamine D2 receptor immunocontent. Additionally, SI increased the overall oxidative status parameters after the challenge with DEP. Interestingly, the exposure to a HSD prevented the SI effects on locomotor response, but did not interfere in the dopaminergic

  5. Hot tearing susceptibility of binary Mg–Y alloy castings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Zhi; Huang, Yuanding; Srinivasan, Amirthalingam; Liu, Zheng; Beckmann, Felix; Kainer, Karl Ulrich; Hort, Norbert

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Quantitatively and qualitatively assessing hot tearing susceptibility for different alloys. ► Monitoring the hot tearing propagation process. ► Detecting the hot tearing initiation/onset temperature. ► Recording the stress and strain evolution during the casting solidification and the subsequent cooling. - Abstract: The influence of Y content on the hot tearing susceptibility (HTS) of binary Mg–Y alloys has been predicted using thermodynamic calculations based on Clyne and Davies model. The calculated results are compared with experimental results determined using a constrained rod casting (CRC) apparatus with a load cell and data acquisition system. Both thermodynamic calculations and experimental measurements indicate that the hot tearing susceptibility as a function of Y content follows the “λ” shape. The experimental results show that HTS first increases with increase in Y content, reaches the maximum at about 0.9 wt.%Y and then decreases with further increase the Y content. The maximum susceptibility observed in Mg–0.9 wt.%Y alloy is attributed to its coarsened columnar microstructure, large solidification range and small amount of eutectic at the time of hot tearing. The initiation of hot cracks is monitored during CRC experiments. It corresponds to a drop in load increment on the force curves. The critical solid fractions at which the hot cracks are initiated are in the range from 0.9 to 0.99. It is also found that it decreases with increasing the content of Y. The hot cracks propagate along the dendritic or grain boundaries through the interdendritic separation or tearing of interconnected dendrites. Some of the formed cracks are possible to be healed by the subsequent refilling of the remained liquids

  6. Incidence and Antibiotic Susceptibility Pattern of Bacterial Isolates ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In vitro antibiotic susceptibility tests showed that Pseudomonas aeruginosa was susceptible to ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin and gentamicin while the enteric bacteria were generally more resistant to ceftazidime, gentamicin and ciprofloxacin. Conclusion: The findings show that there is a high rate of wound infection in Kano, ...

  7. ABA suppresses Botrytis cinerea elicited NO production in tomato to influence H2O2 generation and increase host susceptibility

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anushen eSivakumaran

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Abscisic acid (ABA production has emerged a susceptibility factor in plant-pathogen interactions. This work examined the interaction of ABA with NO in tomato following challenge with the ABA-synthesising pathogen, Botrytis cinerea. Trace gas detection using a quantum cascade laser detected NO production within minutes of challenge with B. cinerea whilst photoacoustic laser detection detected ethylene production – an established mediator of defence against this pathogen - occurring after 6 h. Application of the NO generation inhibitor N-Nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME suppressed both NO and ethylene production and resistance against B. cinerea. The tomato mutant sitiens fails to accumulate ABA (abscisic acid, shows increased resistance to B. cinerea and we noted exhibited elevated NO and ethylene production. Exogenous application of L-NAME or ABA reduced NO production in sitiens and reduced resistance to B. cinerea. Increased resistance to B. cinerea in sitiens have previously been linked to increased reactive oxygen species (ROS generation but this was reduced in both L-NAME and ABA treated sitiens. Taken together, our data suggests that ABA can decreases resistance to B. cinerea via reduction of NO production which also suppresses both ROS and ethylene production.

  8. [Susceptibility and resistence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to antimicrobial agents].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gamero Delgado, M C; García-Mayorgas, A D; Rodríguez, F; Ibarra, A; Casal, M

    2007-06-01

    Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic microorganism that is frequently the cause of nosocomial infections. Multiple mechanisms are involved in its natural and acquired resistance to many of the antimicrobial agents commonly used in clinical practice. The objective of this study was to assess the susceptibility and resistance patterns of P. aeruginosa strains isolated in Hospital Reina Sofia between 2000 and 2005, as well as to analyze the differences between intrahospital and extrahospital isolates in 2005 and to compare the results with those obtained in other studies. A total of 3,019 strains of P. aeruginosa from different hospitals and nonhospital settings were evaluated, taking into consideration their degree of sensitivity to different antibiotics. The MICs were determined by means of the Wider I automated system (Soria Melguizo), taking into consideration the criteria of susceptibility and resistance recommended by MENSURA. Results of the analysis showed that P. aeruginosa maintained similar levels of antimicrobial susceptibility during the period 2000-2005, with increased susceptibility to amikacin, gentamicin and tobramycin. There were also important differences in the degree of susceptibility between intrahospital and extrahospital strains, except for imipenem and fosfomycin. The intrahospital difference in susceptibility was also evaluated, emphasizing the importance of periodically studying susceptibility and resistance patterns of P. aeruginosa in each setting in order to evaluate different therapeutic guidelines, as it is not always advisable to extrapolate data from different regions. These differences can be explained by the different use of antibiotics in each center and the geographic variations of the resistance mechanisms of P. aeruginosa.

  9. Future warmer seas: increased stress and susceptibility to grazing in seedlings of a marine habitat-forming species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernán, Gema; Ortega, María J; Gándara, Alberto M; Castejón, Inés; Terrados, Jorge; Tomas, Fiona

    2017-11-01

    Increases in seawater temperature are expected to have negative consequences for marine organisms. Beyond individual effects, species-specific differences in thermal tolerance are predicted to modify species interactions and increase the strength of top-down effects, particularly in plant-herbivore interactions. Shifts in trophic interactions will be especially important when affecting habitat-forming species such as seagrasses, as the consequences on their abundance will cascade throughout the food web. Seagrasses are a major component of coastal ecosystems offering important ecosystem services, but are threatened by multiple anthropogenic stressors, including warming. The mechanistic understanding of seagrass responses to warming at multiple scales of organization remains largely unexplored, especially in early-life stages such as seedlings. Yet, these early-life stages are critical for seagrass expansion processes and adaptation to climate change. In this study, we determined the effects of a 3 month experimental exposure to present and predicted mean summer SST of the Mediterranean Sea (25°C, 27°C, and 29°C) on the photophysiology, size, and ecology (i.e., plant-herbivore interactions) of seedlings of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica. Warming resulted in increased mortality, leaf necrosis, and respiration as well as lower carbohydrate reserves in the seed, the main storage organ in seedlings. Aboveground biomass and root growth were also limited with warming, which could hamper seedling establishment success. Furthermore, warming increased the susceptibility to consumption by grazers, likely due to lower leaf fiber content and thickness. Our results indicate that warming will negatively affect seagrass seedlings through multiple direct and indirect pathways: increased stress, reduced establishment potential, lower storage of carbohydrate reserves, and increased susceptibly to consumption. This work provides a significant step forward in understanding the

  10. Beyond network structure: How heterogeneous susceptibility modulates the spread of epidemics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smilkov, Daniel; Hidalgo, Cesar A; Kocarev, Ljupco

    2014-04-25

    The compartmental models used to study epidemic spreading often assume the same susceptibility for all individuals, and are therefore, agnostic about the effects that differences in susceptibility can have on epidemic spreading. Here we show that-for the SIS model-differential susceptibility can make networks more vulnerable to the spread of diseases when the correlation between a node's degree and susceptibility are positive, and less vulnerable when this correlation is negative. Moreover, we show that networks become more likely to contain a pocket of infection when individuals are more likely to connect with others that have similar susceptibility (the network is segregated). These results show that the failure to include differential susceptibility to epidemic models can lead to a systematic over/under estimation of fundamental epidemic parameters when the structure of the networks is not independent from the susceptibility of the nodes or when there are correlations between the susceptibility of connected individuals.

  11. [Antimicrobial susceptibility in Chile 2012].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cifuentes-D, Marcela; Silva, Francisco; García, Patricia; Bello, Helia; Briceño, Isabel; Calvo-A, Mario; Labarca, Jaime

    2014-04-01

    Bacteria antimicrobial resistance is an uncontrolled public health problem that progressively increases its magnitude and complexity. The Grupo Colaborativo de Resistencia, formed by a join of experts that represent 39 Chilean health institutions has been concerned with bacteria antimicrobial susceptibility in our country since 2008. In this document we present in vitro bacterial susceptibility accumulated during year 2012 belonging to 28 national health institutions that represent about 36% of hospital discharges in Chile. We consider of major importance to report periodically bacteria susceptibility so to keep the medical community updated to achieve target the empirical antimicrobial therapies and the control measures and prevention of the dissemination of multiresistant strains.

  12. Wound-induced pectin methylesterases enhance banana (Musa spp. AAA) susceptibility to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Li; Jiang, Shuang; Lin, Guimei; Cai, Jianghua; Ye, Xiaoxi; Chen, Houbin; Li, Minhui; Li, Huaping; Takác, Tomás; Samaj, Jozef; Xu, Chunxiang

    2013-05-01

    Recent studies suggest that plant pectin methylesterases (PMEs) are directly involved in plant defence besides their roles in plant development. However, the molecular mechanisms of PME action on pectins are not well understood. In order to understand how PMEs modify pectins during banana (Musa spp.)-Fusarium interaction, the expression and enzyme activities of PMEs in two banana cultivars, highly resistant or susceptible to Fusarium, were compared with each other. Furthermore, the spatial distribution of PMEs and their effect on pectin methylesterification of 10 individual homogalacturonan (HG) epitopes with different degrees of methylesterification (DMs) were also examined. The results showed that, before pathogen treatment, the resistant cultivar displayed higher PME activity than the susceptible cultivar, corresponding well to the lower level of pectin DM. A significant increase in PME expression and activity and a decrease in pectin DM were observed in the susceptible cultivar but not in the resistant cultivar when plants were wounded, which was necessary for successful infection. With the increase of PME in the wounded susceptible cultivar, the JIM5 antigen (low methyestrified HGs) increased. Forty-eight hours after pathogen infection, the PME activity and expression in the susceptible cultivar were higher than those in the resistant cultivar, while the DM was lower. In conclusion, the resistant and the susceptible cultivars differ significantly in their response to wounding. Increased PMEs and thereafter decreased DMs acompanied by increased low methylesterified HGs in the root vascular cylinder appear to play a key role in determination of banana susceptibility to Fusarium.

  13. Mitochondrial genetic background modulates bioenergetics and susceptibility to acute cardiac volume overload.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fetterman, Jessica L; Zelickson, Blake R; Johnson, Larry W; Moellering, Douglas R; Westbrook, David G; Pompilius, Melissa; Sammy, Melissa J; Johnson, Michelle; Dunham-Snary, Kimberly J; Cao, Xuemei; Bradley, Wayne E; Zhang, Jinju; Wei, Chih-Chang; Chacko, Balu; Schurr, Theodore G; Kesterson, Robert A; Dell'italia, Louis J; Darley-Usmar, Victor M; Welch, Danny R; Ballinger, Scott W

    2013-10-15

    Dysfunctional bioenergetics has emerged as a key feature in many chronic pathologies such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This has led to the mitochondrial paradigm in which it has been proposed that mtDNA sequence variation contributes to disease susceptibility. In the present study we show a novel animal model of mtDNA polymorphisms, the MNX (mitochondrial-nuclear exchange) mouse, in which the mtDNA from the C3H/HeN mouse has been inserted on to the C57/BL6 nuclear background and vice versa to test this concept. Our data show a major contribution of the C57/BL6 mtDNA to the susceptibility to the pathological stress of cardiac volume overload which is independent of the nuclear background. Mitochondria harbouring the C57/BL6J mtDNA generate more ROS (reactive oxygen species) and have a higher mitochondrial membrane potential relative to those with C3H/HeN mtDNA, independent of nuclear background. We propose this is the primary mechanism associated with increased bioenergetic dysfunction in response to volume overload. In summary, these studies support the 'mitochondrial paradigm' for the development of disease susceptibility, and show that the mtDNA modulates cellular bioenergetics, mitochondrial ROS generation and susceptibility to cardiac stress.

  14. Susceptibility Tensor Imaging (STI) of the Brain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Wei; Liu, Chunlei; Duong, Timothy Q.; van Zijl, Peter C.M.; Li, Xu

    2016-01-01

    Susceptibility tensor imaging (STI) is a recently developed MRI technique that allows quantitative determination of orientation-independent magnetic susceptibility parameters from the dependence of gradient echo signal phase on the orientation of biological tissues with respect to the main magnetic field. By modeling the magnetic susceptibility of each voxel as a symmetric rank-2 tensor, individual magnetic susceptibility tensor elements as well as the mean magnetic susceptibility (MMS) and magnetic susceptibility anisotropy (MSA) can be determined for brain tissues that would still show orientation dependence after conventional scalar-based quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) to remove such dependence. Similar to diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), STI allows mapping of brain white matter fiber orientations and reconstruction of 3D white matter pathways using the principal eigenvectors of the susceptibility tensor. In contrast to diffusion anisotropy, the main determinant factor of susceptibility anisotropy in brain white matter is myelin. Another unique feature of susceptibility anisotropy of white matter is its sensitivity to gadolinium-based contrast agents. Mechanistically, MRI-observed susceptibility anisotropy is mainly attributed to the highly ordered lipid molecules in myelin sheath. STI provides a consistent interpretation of the dependence of phase and susceptibility on orientation at multiple scales. This article reviews the key experimental findings and physical theories that led to the development of STI, its practical implementations, and its applications for brain research. PMID:27120169

  15. Increased brain iron deposition is a risk factor for brain atrophy in patients with haemodialysis: a combined study of quantitative susceptibility mapping and whole brain volume analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chai, Chao; Zhang, Mengjie; Long, Miaomiao; Chu, Zhiqiang; Wang, Tong; Wang, Lijun; Guo, Yu; Yan, Shuo; Haacke, E Mark; Shen, Wen; Xia, Shuang

    2015-08-01

    To explore the correlation between increased brain iron deposition and brain atrophy in patients with haemodialysis and their correlation with clinical biomarkers and neuropsychological test. Forty two patients with haemodialysis and forty one age- and gender-matched healthy controls were recruited in this prospective study. 3D whole brain high resolution T1WI and susceptibility weighted imaging were scanned on a 3 T MRI system. The brain volume was analyzed using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) in patients and to compare with that of healthy controls. Quantitative susceptibility mapping was used to measure and compare the susceptibility of different structures between patients and healthy controls. Correlation analysis was used to investigate the relationship between the brain volume, iron deposition and neuropsychological scores. Stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to explore the effect of clinical biomarkers on the brain volumes in patients. Compared with healthy controls, patients with haemodialysis showed decreased volume of bilateral putamen and left insular lobe (All P brain iron deposition is negatively correlated with the decreased volume of bilateral putamen (P brain iron deposition and dialysis duration was risk factors for brain atrophy in patients with haemodialysis. The decreased gray matter volume of the left insular lobe was correlated with neurocognitive impairment.

  16. Magnetic susceptibility of transition metal alloys with a hcp structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Volkenshtejn, N.V.; Galoshina, Eh.V.; Gorina, N.B.; Korenovskij, N.L.; Polyakova, V.P.; Savitskij, E.M.

    1978-01-01

    The angular dependence of the magnetic susceptibility of single crystals of Ru-Nb, Re-W and Os-Re alloys is investigated in the region of the hexagonal closely packed structure. The spin susceptibility is estimated on the basis of available data on the electron specific heat. The principal values of the orbital component of the susceptibility are determined under the assumption of isotopy of the spin contribution to the susceptibility. In Ru-Nb alloys the magnitudes of the orbital contributions and the susceptibility anisotropy are found to increase; in Re-W the spin contribution is noticeably greater whereas the orbital susceptibility is smaller, as is the anistropy. In the Os-Re alloy the orbital contributions increase and the susceptibility anisotropy is constant. It is suggested that the addition of the second component changes the overlapping of the d-electron wave functions

  17. Antimicrobial Susceptibility Patterns of Brachyspira Species Isolated in Taiwan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeh, Jih-Ching; Lo, Dan-Yuan; Chang, Shao-Kuang; Kuo, Hung-Chih

    2018-03-13

    Some members of the Brachyspira genus cause diseases such as swine dysentery (SD) and porcine intestinal (or colonic) spirochetosis. Severe economic losses are caused by decreased feed intake and increased feed conversion ratio, as well as costs associated with treatment and death. A loss of clinical efficacy of some antimicrobial agents authorized for treating SD has been observed in many countries. The aim of this study was to analyze the antimicrobial susceptibility of Brachyspira isolated from Taiwan and to investigate the mechanism of decreased susceptibility to macrolides. A total of 55 Brachyspira isolates obtained from the grower-finisher period were evaluated in this study. These isolates included B. hyodysenteriae (n = 37), B. murdochii (n = 11), B. pilosicoli (n = 5), B. intermedia (n = 1), and B. innocens (n = 1). Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed to examine 12 selected antimicrobial agents. The results showed that the 50% and 90% minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of the tested macrolides were all >256 μg/ml. The MIC 50 of lincomycin, tiamulin, carbadox, olaquindox, ampicillin, amoxicillin, doxycycline, oxytetracycline, and gentamicin were 32, 1, ≤0.125, ≤0.125, 0.5, 0.25, 2, 2, and 2 μg/ml. The genetic basis of the decreased susceptibility to tylosin and lincomycin in Brachyspira spp. was investigated and the results showed a possible connection to the mutations at position A2058 and G2032 of the 23S rRNA gene. These findings demonstrated that, in Taiwan, there may be a decrease in susceptibility of Brachyspira spp. to antimicrobials commonly used for the treatment of SD.

  18. Genetic control of susceptibility to apoptosis of thymocytes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mori, N.; Okumoto, M.; Morimoto, J.; Imai, S.; Matsuyama, T.; Takamori, Y.; Yagasaki, O.

    1992-01-01

    Genetic control of the susceptibility of thymocytes to radiation-induced apoptosis in mice was investigated by counting dead cells in a selected area of thymic cortex on histological specimens after whole-body X-irradiation. The number of dead cells increased almost linearly with doses in BALB/cHeA and STS/A mice. However, dead cell counts in BALB/cHeA mice were more than twice those in STS/A mice at each dose. C57BL/6N and B10.BR mice exhibited a sensitive phenotype similar to BALB/cHeA mice, while C3H/HeMsNrs and NFS/N mice showed a resistant phenotype similar to STS/A mice. Sex difference in the susceptibility of thymocytes to cell death was not recognized in BALB/cHeA and STS/A mice. Resistance was dominant over susceptibility in the progenies of reciprocal crosses between the two strains, indicating an autosomal inheritance. The segregation ratio of susceptible to resistant phenotype in the backcrosses of (BALB/cHeA X STS/A)F 1 with BALB/cHeA was not significantly different from 1 : 1 and all backcrosses of (BALB/cHeA X STS/A)F 1 with STS/A exhibited a resistant phenotype. The results demonstrated that the difference in the susceptibility of thymocytes to radiation-induced apoptosis in the two strains of mice is due to one major autosomal allele. (author)

  19. Medroxyprogesterone acetate and levonorgestrel increase genital mucosal permeability and enhance susceptibility to genital herpes simplex virus type 2 infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quispe Calla, N E; Vicetti Miguel, R D; Boyaka, P N; Hall-Stoodley, L; Kaur, B; Trout, W; Pavelko, S D; Cherpes, T L

    2016-11-01

    Depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) is a hormonal contraceptive especially popular in areas with high prevalence of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STI). Although observational studies identify DMPA as an important STI risk factor, mechanisms underlying this connection are undefined. Levonorgestrel (LNG) is another progestin used for hormonal contraception, but its effect on STI susceptibility is much less explored. Using a mouse model of genital herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection, we herein found that DMPA and LNG similarly reduced genital expression of the desmosomal cadherin desmoglein-1α (DSG1α), enhanced access of inflammatory cells to genital tissue by increasing mucosal epithelial permeability, and increased susceptibility to viral infection. Additional studies with uninfected mice revealed that DMPA-mediated increases in mucosal permeability promoted tissue inflammation by facilitating endogenous vaginal microbiota invasion. Conversely, concomitant treatment of mice with DMPA and intravaginal estrogen restored mucosal barrier function and prevented HSV-2 infection. Evaluating ectocervical biopsy tissue from women before and 1 month after initiating DMPA remarkably revealed that inflammation and barrier protection were altered by treatment identically to changes seen in progestin-treated mice. Together, our work reveals DMPA and LNG diminish the genital mucosal barrier; a first-line defense against all STI, but may offer foundation for new contraceptive strategies less compromising of barrier protection.

  20. Drought increases cowpea (Vigna unguiculata [L.] Walp.) susceptibility to cowpea severe mosaic virus (CPSMV) at early stage of infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, Rodolpho G G; Vasconcelos, Ilka M; Martins, Thiago F; Varela, Anna L N; Souza, Pedro F N; Lobo, Ana K M; Silva, Fredy D A; Silveira, Joaquim A G; Oliveira, Jose T A

    2016-12-01

    The physiological and biochemical responses of a drought tolerant, virus-susceptible cowpea genotype exposed to drought stress (D), infected by Cowpea severe mosaic virus (CPSMV) (V), and to these two combined stresses (DV), at 2 and 6 days post viral inoculation (DPI), were evaluated. Gas exchange parameters (net photosynthesis, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, and internal CO 2 partial pressure) were reduced in D and DV at 2 and 6 DPI compared to control plants (C). Photosynthesis was reduced by stomatal and biochemical limitations. Water use efficiency increased at 2 DPI in D, DV, and V, but at 6 DPI only in D and DV compared to C. Photochemical parameters (effective quantum efficiency of photosystem II and electron transport rate) decreased in D and DV compared to C, especially at 6 DPI. The potential quantum efficiency of photosystem II did not change, indicating reversible photoinhibition of photosystem II. In DV, catalase decreased at 2 and 6 DPI, ascorbate peroxidase increased at 2 DPI, but decreased at 6 DPI. Hydrogen peroxide increased at 2 and 6 DPI. Peroxidase increased at 6 DPI and chitinase at 2 and 6 DPI. β-1,3-glucanase decreased in DV at 6 DPI compared to V. Drought increased cowpea susceptibility to CPSMV at 2 DPI, as verified by RT-PCR. However, at 6 DPI, the cowpea plants overcome this effect. Likewise, CPSMV increased the negative effects of drought at 2 DPI, but not at 6 DPI. It was concluded that the responses to combined stresses are not additive and cannot be extrapolated from the study of individual stresses. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  1. Interleukin 1 alpha increases the susceptibility of rabbits to experimental viridans streptococcal endocarditis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dankert, J; Joldersma, W; Zaat, SAJ; van der Werff, J.

    Major predisposing conditions for infective endocarditis (IE) are the presence of a cardiac platelet-fibrin vegetation and of circulating bacteria with relatively low susceptibility to microbicidal activity of blood platelets. The influence of proinflammatory conditions on development of IE is

  2. Susceptibility tensor imaging (STI) of the brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Wei; Liu, Chunlei; Duong, Timothy Q; van Zijl, Peter C M; Li, Xu

    2017-04-01

    Susceptibility tensor imaging (STI) is a recently developed MRI technique that allows quantitative determination of orientation-independent magnetic susceptibility parameters from the dependence of gradient echo signal phase on the orientation of biological tissues with respect to the main magnetic field. By modeling the magnetic susceptibility of each voxel as a symmetric rank-2 tensor, individual magnetic susceptibility tensor elements as well as the mean magnetic susceptibility and magnetic susceptibility anisotropy can be determined for brain tissues that would still show orientation dependence after conventional scalar-based quantitative susceptibility mapping to remove such dependence. Similar to diffusion tensor imaging, STI allows mapping of brain white matter fiber orientations and reconstruction of 3D white matter pathways using the principal eigenvectors of the susceptibility tensor. In contrast to diffusion anisotropy, the main determinant factor of the susceptibility anisotropy in brain white matter is myelin. Another unique feature of the susceptibility anisotropy of white matter is its sensitivity to gadolinium-based contrast agents. Mechanistically, MRI-observed susceptibility anisotropy is mainly attributed to the highly ordered lipid molecules in the myelin sheath. STI provides a consistent interpretation of the dependence of phase and susceptibility on orientation at multiple scales. This article reviews the key experimental findings and physical theories that led to the development of STI, its practical implementations, and its applications for brain research. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  3. Susceptibility to emotional contagion for negative emotions improves detection of smile authenticity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manera, Valeria; Grandi, Elisa; Colle, Livia

    2013-01-01

    A smile is a context-dependent emotional expression. A smiling face can signal the experience of enjoyable emotions, but people can also smile to convince another person that enjoyment is occurring when it is not. For this reason, the ability to discriminate between felt and faked enjoyment expressions is a crucial social skill. Despite its importance, adults show remarkable individual variation in this ability. Revealing the factors responsible for these huge individual differences is a key challenge in this domain. Here we investigated, on a large sample of participants, whether individual differences in smile authenticity recognition are accounted for by differences in the predisposition to experience other people's emotions, i.e., by susceptibility to emotional contagion. Results showed that susceptibility to emotional contagion for negative emotions increased smile authenticity detection, while susceptibility to emotional contagion for positive emotions worsened detection performance, because it leaded to categorize most of the faked smiles as sincere. These findings suggest that susceptibility to emotional contagion plays a key role in complex emotion recognition, and point out the importance of analyzing the tendency to experience other people's positive and negative emotions as separate abilities.

  4. Increased Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF)-α and Its Promoter Polymorphisms Correlate with Disease Progression and Higher Susceptibility towards Vitiligo

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laddha, Naresh C.; Dwivedi, Mitesh; Begum, Rasheedunnisa

    2012-01-01

    Abstract Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF)-α, is a paracrine inhibitor of melanocytes, which plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of several autoimmune diseases including vitiligo, as abnormal immune responses have frequently been observed in vitiligo patients. Moreover, vitiligo patients show higher lesion levels of TNF-α. Genetic polymorphisms in the promoter region of TNF-α are involved in the regulation of its expression. The present study explores TNF-α promoter polymorphisms and correlates them with TNF-α transcript and protein levels in vitiligo patients and controls of Gujarat along with its effect on disease onset and progression. PCR-RFLP technique was used for genotyping of these polymorphisms in 977 vitiligo patients and 990 controls. TNF-α transcript and protein levels were measured by Real time PCR and ELISA respectively. The genotype and allele frequencies for the investigated polymorphisms were significantly associated with vitiligo patients. The study revealed significant increase in TNF-α transcript and protein levels in vitiligo patients compared to controls. In particular, haplotypes: AATCC, AACCT, AGTCT, GATCT, GATCC and AGCCT were found to increase the TNF-α levels in vitiligo patients. Analysis of TNF-α levels based on the gender and disease progression suggests that female patients and patients with active vitiligo had higher levels of TNF-α. Also, the TNF-α levels were high in patients with generalized vitiligo as compared to localized vitiligo. Age of onset analysis of the disease suggests that the haplotypes: AACAT, AACCT, AATCC and AATCT had a profound effect in the early onset of the disease. Moreover, the analysis suggests that female patients had an early onset of vitiligo. Overall, our results suggest that TNF-α promoter polymorphisms may be genetic risk factors for susceptibility and progression of the disease. The up-regulation of TNF-α transcript and protein levels in individuals with susceptible haplotypes advocates

  5. Distribution and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of methicillin ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Distribution and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates in a university Teaching hospital in Nigeria. ... Amoxycillin clavunanic acid and ciprofloxacin were most active with MRSA isolates showing 97% and 93.9% susceptibility to the two drugs respectively. Eighteen (54.5%) ...

  6. CovR Regulates Streptococcus mutans Susceptibility To Complement Immunity and Survival in Blood

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alves, Lívia A.; Nomura, Ryota; Mariano, Flávia S.; Harth-Chu, Erika N.; Stipp, Rafael N.; Nakano, Kazuhiko

    2016-01-01

    Streptococcus mutans, a major pathogen of dental caries, may promote systemic infections after accessing the bloodstream from oral niches. In this study, we investigate pathways of complement immunity against S. mutans and show that the orphan regulator CovR (CovRSm) modulates susceptibility to complement opsonization and survival in blood. S. mutans blood isolates showed reduced susceptibility to C3b deposition compared to oral isolates. Reduced expression of covRSm in blood strains was associated with increased transcription of CovRSm-repressed genes required for S. mutans interactions with glucans (gbpC, gbpB, and epsC), sucrose-derived exopolysaccharides (EPS). Consistently, blood strains showed an increased capacity to bind glucan in vitro. Deletion of covRSm in strain UA159 (UAcov) impaired C3b deposition and binding to serum IgG and C-reactive protein (CRP) as well as phagocytosis through C3b/iC3b receptors and killing by neutrophils. Opposite effects were observed in mutants of gbpC, epsC, or gtfBCD (required for glucan synthesis). C3b deposition on UA159 was abolished in C1q-depleted serum, implying that the classical pathway is essential for complement activation on S. mutans. Growth in sucrose-containing medium impaired the binding of C3b and IgG to UA159, UAcov, and blood isolates but had absent or reduced effects on C3b deposition in gtfBCD, gbpC, and epsC mutants. UAcov further showed increased ex vivo survival in human blood in an EPS-dependent way. Consistently, reduced survival was observed for the gbpC and epsC mutants. Finally, UAcov showed an increased ability to cause bacteremia in a rat model. These results reveal that CovRSm modulates systemic virulence by regulating functions affecting S. mutans susceptibility to complement opsonization. PMID:27572331

  7. Susceptibility of Eikenella corrodens to Newer Beta-Lactam Antibiotics

    OpenAIRE

    1981-01-01

    In vitro susceptibility testing of 28 strains of Eikenella corrodens by the agar dilution technique showed that all strains were uniformly susceptible to penicillin, ticarcillin, cefoxitin, cefotaxime, N-formimidoyl thienamycin, and moxalactam and resistant to clindamycin and cefadroxil. Cefoperazone, piperacillin, and mezlocillin showed good activity, with some strains relatively resistant. Bacampicillin and cefamandole showed relatively poor activity.

  8. Assessing landslide susceptibility by applying fuzzy sets, possibility evidence-based theories

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ibsen Chivatá Cárdenas

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available A landslide susceptibility model was developed for the city of Manizales, Colombia; landslides have been the city’s main environmental problem. Fuzzy sets and possibility and evidence-based theories were used to construct the mo-del due to the set of circumstances and uncertainty involved in the modelling; uncertainty particularly concerned the lack of representative data and the need for systematically coordinating subjective information. Susceptibility and the uncertainty were estimated via data processing; the model contained data concerning mass vulnerability and uncer-tainty. Output data was expressed on a map defined by linguistic categories or uncertain labels as having low, me-dium, high and very high susceptibility; this was considered appropriate for representing susceptibility. A fuzzy spec-trum was developed for classifying susceptibility levels according to perception and expert opinion. The model sho-wed levels of susceptibility in the study area, ranging from low to high susceptibility (medium susceptibility being mo-re frequent. This article shows the details concerning systematic data processing by presenting theories and tools regarding uncertainty. The concept of fuzzy parameters is introduced; this is useful in modelling phenomena regar-ding uncertainty, complexity and nonlinear performance, showing that susceptibility modelling can be feasible. The paper also shows the great convenience of incorporating uncertainty into modelling and decision-making. However, quantifying susceptibility is not suitable when modelling identified uncertainty because incorporating model output information cannot be reduced into exact or real numerical quantities when the nature of the variables is particularly uncertain. The latter concept is applicable to risk assessment.

  9. TGF-b2 induction regulates invasiveness of Theileria-transformed leukocytes and disease susceptibility.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marie Chaussepied

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Theileria parasites invade and transform bovine leukocytes causing either East Coast fever (T. parva, or tropical theileriosis (T. annulata. Susceptible animals usually die within weeks of infection, but indigenous infected cattle show markedly reduced pathology, suggesting that host genetic factors may cause disease susceptibility. Attenuated live vaccines are widely used to control tropical theileriosis and attenuation is associated with reduced invasiveness of infected macrophages in vitro. Disease pathogenesis is therefore linked to aggressive invasiveness, rather than uncontrolled proliferation of Theileria-infected leukocytes. We show that the invasive potential of Theileria-transformed leukocytes involves TGF-b signalling. Attenuated live vaccine lines express reduced TGF-b2 and their invasiveness can be rescued with exogenous TGF-b. Importantly, infected macrophages from disease susceptible Holstein-Friesian (HF cows express more TGF-b2 and traverse Matrigel with great efficiency compared to those from disease-resistant Sahiwal cattle. Thus, TGF-b2 levels correlate with disease susceptibility. Using fluorescence and time-lapse video microscopy we show that Theileria-infected, disease-susceptible HF macrophages exhibit increased actin dynamics in their lamellipodia and podosomal adhesion structures and develop more membrane blebs. TGF-b2-associated invasiveness in HF macrophages has a transcription-independent element that relies on cytoskeleton remodelling via activation of Rho kinase (ROCK. We propose that a TGF-b autocrine loop confers an amoeboid-like motility on Theileria-infected leukocytes, which combines with MMP-dependent motility to drive invasiveness and virulence.

  10. Susceptible-infected-recovered and susceptible-exposed-infected models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tome, Tania; De Oliveira, Mario J

    2011-01-01

    Two stochastic epidemic lattice models, the susceptible-infected-recovered and the susceptible-exposed-infected models, are studied on a Cayley tree of coordination number k. The spreading of the disease in the former is found to occur when the infection probability b is larger than b c = k/2(k - 1). In the latter, which is equivalent to a dynamic site percolation model, the spreading occurs when the infection probability p is greater than p c = 1/(k - 1). We set up and solve the time evolution equations for both models and determine the final and time-dependent properties, including the epidemic curve. We show that the two models are closely related by revealing that their relevant properties are exactly mapped into each other when p = b/[k - (k - 1)b]. These include the cluster size distribution and the density of individuals of each type, quantities that have been determined in closed forms.

  11. Behavioral characterization of a model of differential susceptibility to obesity induced by standard and personalized cafeteria diet feeding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gac, L; Kanaly, V; Ramirez, V; Teske, J A; Pinto, M P; Perez-Leighton, C E

    2015-12-01

    Despite the increase in obesity prevalence over the last decades, humans show large inter-individual variability for susceptibility to diet-induced obesity. Understanding the biological basis of this susceptibility could identify new therapeutic alternatives against obesity. We characterized behavioral changes associated with propensity to obesity induced by cafeteria (CAF) diet consumption in mice. We show that Balb/c mice fed a CAF diet display a large inter-individual variability in susceptibility to diet-induced obesity, such that based on changes in adiposity we can classify mice as obesity prone (OP) or obesity resistant (OR). Both OP and OR were hyperphagic relative to control-fed mice but caloric intake was similar between OP and OR mice. In contrast, OR had a larger increase in locomotor activity following CAF diet compared to OP mice. Obesity resistant and prone mice showed similar intake of sweet snacks, but OR ate more savory snacks than OP mice. Two bottle sucrose preference tests showed that OP decreased their sucrose preference compared to OR mice after CAF diet feeding. Finally, to test the robustness of the OR phenotype in response to further increases in caloric intake, we fed OR mice with a personalized CAF (CAF-P) diet based on individual snack preferences. When fed a CAF-P diet, OR increased their calorie intake compared to OP mice fed the standard CAF diet, but did not reach adiposity levels observed in OP mice. Together, our data show the contribution of hedonic intake, individual snack preference and physical activity to individual susceptibility to obesity in Balb/c mice fed a standard and personalized cafeteria-style diet. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Natural killer cells in obesity: impaired function and increased susceptibility to the effects of cigarette smoke.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    O'Shea, Donal

    2012-02-01

    BACKGROUND: Obese individuals who smoke have a 14 year reduction in life expectancy. Both obesity and smoking are independently associated with increased risk of malignancy. Natural killer cells (NK) are critical mediators of anti-tumour immunity and are compromised in obese patients and smokers. We examined whether NK cell function was differentially affected by cigarette smoke in obese and lean subjects. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Clinical data and blood were collected from 40 severely obese subjects (BMI>40 kg\\/m(2)) and 20 lean healthy subjects. NK cell levels and function were assessed using flow cytometry and cytotoxicity assays. The effect of cigarette smoke on NK cell ability to kill K562 tumour cells was assessed in the presence or absence of the adipokines leptin and adiponectin. NK cell levels were significantly decreased in obese subjects compared to lean controls (7.6 vs 16.6%, p = 0.0008). NK function was also significantly compromised in obese patients (30% +\\/- 13% vs 42% +\\/-12%, p = 0.04). Cigarette smoke inhibited NK cell ability to kill tumour cell lines (p<0.0001). NK cells from obese subjects were even more susceptible to the inhibitory effects of smoke compared to lean subjects (33% vs 28%, p = 0.01). Cigarette smoke prevented NK cell activation, as well as perforin and interferon-gamma secretion upon tumour challenge. Adiponectin but not leptin partially reversed the effects of smoke on NK cell function in both obese (p = 0.002) and lean controls (p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS\\/SIGNIFICANCE: Obese subjects have impaired NK cell activity that is more susceptible to the detrimental effects of cigarette smoke compared to lean subjects. This may play a role in the increase of cancer and infection seen in this population. Adiponectin is capable of restoring NK cell activity and may have therapeutic potential for immunity in obese subjects and smokers.

  13. Natural killer cells in obesity: impaired function and increased susceptibility to the effects of cigarette smoke.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    O'Shea, Donal

    2010-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Obese individuals who smoke have a 14 year reduction in life expectancy. Both obesity and smoking are independently associated with increased risk of malignancy. Natural killer cells (NK) are critical mediators of anti-tumour immunity and are compromised in obese patients and smokers. We examined whether NK cell function was differentially affected by cigarette smoke in obese and lean subjects. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Clinical data and blood were collected from 40 severely obese subjects (BMI>40 kg\\/m(2)) and 20 lean healthy subjects. NK cell levels and function were assessed using flow cytometry and cytotoxicity assays. The effect of cigarette smoke on NK cell ability to kill K562 tumour cells was assessed in the presence or absence of the adipokines leptin and adiponectin. NK cell levels were significantly decreased in obese subjects compared to lean controls (7.6 vs 16.6%, p = 0.0008). NK function was also significantly compromised in obese patients (30% +\\/- 13% vs 42% +\\/-12%, p = 0.04). Cigarette smoke inhibited NK cell ability to kill tumour cell lines (p<0.0001). NK cells from obese subjects were even more susceptible to the inhibitory effects of smoke compared to lean subjects (33% vs 28%, p = 0.01). Cigarette smoke prevented NK cell activation, as well as perforin and interferon-gamma secretion upon tumour challenge. Adiponectin but not leptin partially reversed the effects of smoke on NK cell function in both obese (p = 0.002) and lean controls (p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS\\/SIGNIFICANCE: Obese subjects have impaired NK cell activity that is more susceptible to the detrimental effects of cigarette smoke compared to lean subjects. This may play a role in the increase of cancer and infection seen in this population. Adiponectin is capable of restoring NK cell activity and may have therapeutic potential for immunity in obese subjects and smokers.

  14. Natural killer cells in obesity: impaired function and increased susceptibility to the effects of cigarette smoke.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Donal O'Shea

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Obese individuals who smoke have a 14 year reduction in life expectancy. Both obesity and smoking are independently associated with increased risk of malignancy. Natural killer cells (NK are critical mediators of anti-tumour immunity and are compromised in obese patients and smokers. We examined whether NK cell function was differentially affected by cigarette smoke in obese and lean subjects. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Clinical data and blood were collected from 40 severely obese subjects (BMI>40 kg/m(2 and 20 lean healthy subjects. NK cell levels and function were assessed using flow cytometry and cytotoxicity assays. The effect of cigarette smoke on NK cell ability to kill K562 tumour cells was assessed in the presence or absence of the adipokines leptin and adiponectin. NK cell levels were significantly decreased in obese subjects compared to lean controls (7.6 vs 16.6%, p = 0.0008. NK function was also significantly compromised in obese patients (30% +/- 13% vs 42% +/-12%, p = 0.04. Cigarette smoke inhibited NK cell ability to kill tumour cell lines (p<0.0001. NK cells from obese subjects were even more susceptible to the inhibitory effects of smoke compared to lean subjects (33% vs 28%, p = 0.01. Cigarette smoke prevented NK cell activation, as well as perforin and interferon-gamma secretion upon tumour challenge. Adiponectin but not leptin partially reversed the effects of smoke on NK cell function in both obese (p = 0.002 and lean controls (p = 0.01. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Obese subjects have impaired NK cell activity that is more susceptible to the detrimental effects of cigarette smoke compared to lean subjects. This may play a role in the increase of cancer and infection seen in this population. Adiponectin is capable of restoring NK cell activity and may have therapeutic potential for immunity in obese subjects and smokers.

  15. Anisotropy of susceptibility in rocks which are magnetically nonlinear even in low fields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hrouda, František; Chadima, Martin; Ježek, Josef

    2018-06-01

    Theory of the low-field anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) assumes a linear relationship between magnetization and magnetizing field, resulting in field-independent susceptibility. This is valid for diamagnetic and paramagnetic minerals by definition and also for pure magnetite, while in titanomagnetite, pyrrhotite and hematite the susceptibility may be clearly field-dependent even in low fields used in common AMS meter. Consequently, the use of the linear AMS theory is fully legitimate in the former minerals, but in principle incorrect in the latter ones. Automated measurement of susceptibility in 320 directions in variable low-fields ranging from 5 to 700 A m-1 was applied to more than 100 specimens of various pyrrhotite-bearing and titanomagnetite-bearing rocks. Data analysis showed that the anisotropic susceptibility remains well represented by an ellipsoid in the entire low-field span even though the ellipsoid increases its volume and eccentricity. The principal directions do not change their orientations with low-field in most specimens. Expressions for susceptibility as a function of field were found in the form of diagonal tensor whose elements are polynomials of low order. In a large proportion of samples, the susceptibility expressions can be further simplified to have one common skeleton polynomial.

  16. Changes in Amino Acid Profile in Roots of Glyphosate Resistant and Susceptible Soybean (Glycine max) Induced by Foliar Glyphosate Application.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moldes, Carlos Alberto; Cantarelli, Miguel Angel; Camiña, José Manuel; Tsai, Siu Mui; Azevedo, Ricardo Antunes

    2017-10-11

    Amino acid profiles are useful to analyze the responses to glyphosate in susceptible and resistant soybean lines. Comparisons of profiles for 10 amino acids (Asp, Asn, Glu, Gln, Ser, His, Gly, Thr, Tyr, Leu) by HPLC in soybean roots were performed in two near isogenic pairs (four varieties). Foliar application of glyphosate was made to soybean plants after 5 weeks of seeding. Roots of four varieties were collected at 0 and 72 h after glyphosate application (AGA) for amino acid analysis by HPLC. Univariate analysis showed a significant increase of several amino acids in susceptible as well as resistant soybean lines; however, amino acids from the major pathways of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) metabolism, such as Asp, Asn, Glu and Gln, and Ser, increased significantly in susceptible varieties at 72 h AGA. Multivariate analysis using principal component analysis (2D PCA and 3D PCA) allowed different groups to be identified and discriminated based on the soybean genetic origin, showing the amino acid responses on susceptible and resistant varieties. Based on the results, it is possible to infer that the increase of Asn, Asp, Glu, Gln, and Ser in susceptible varieties would be related to the deregulation of C and N metabolism, as well as changes in the growth mechanisms regulated by Ser.

  17. Lack of a Functioning P2X7 Receptor Leads to Increased Susceptibility to Toxoplasmic Ileitis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catherine M Miller

    Full Text Available Oral infection of C57BL/6J mice with the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii leads to a lethal inflammatory ileitis.Mice lacking the purinergic receptor P2X7R are acutely susceptible to toxoplasmic ileitis, losing significantly more weight than C57BL/6J mice and exhibiting much greater intestinal inflammatory pathology in response to infection with only 10 cysts of T. gondii. This susceptibility is not dependent on the ability of P2X7R-deficient mice to control the parasite, which they accomplish just as efficiently as C57BL/6J mice. Rather, susceptibility is associated with elevated ileal concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines, reactive nitrogen intermediates and altered regulation of elements of NFκB activation in P2X7R-deficient mice.Our data support the thesis that P2X7R, a well-documented activator of pro-inflammatory cytokine production, also plays an important role in the regulation of intestinal inflammation.

  18. Does Reactivating a Witnessed Memory Increase Its Susceptibility to Impairment by Subsequent Misinformation?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rindal, Eric J.; DeFranco, Rachel M.; Rich, Patrick R.; Zaragoza, Maria S.

    2016-01-01

    In a recent PNAS article, Chan and LaPaglia (2013) provided arguments and evidence to support the claim that reactivating a witnessed memory (by taking a test) renders the memory labile and susceptible to impairment by subsequent misinformation. In the current article, we argue that Chan and LaPaglia's (2013) findings are open to alternative…

  19. Prevalence and Antibiotic susceptibility pattern of Panton-Valentine ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec typing by two standard multiplex PCR assay, revealed an uncharacterized resistance element. Overall antibiotic susceptibility pattern showed relatively high degree of susceptibility,however 1 isolate demostrated multidrug resistant pattern, 37(74.0%)resistant to only penicillin, 5 to ...

  20. Age-Associated Changes in Estrogen Receptor Ratios Correlate with Increased Female Susceptibility to Coxsackievirus B3-Induced Myocarditis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andreas Koenig

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Sexual bias is a hallmark in various diseases. This review evaluates sexual dimorphism in clinical and experimental coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3 myocarditis, and how sex bias in the experimental disease changes with increased age. Coxsackieviruses are major causes of viral myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, which is more frequent and severe in men than women. Young male mice infected with CVB3 develop heart-specific autoimmunity and severe myocarditis. Females infected during estrus (high estradiol develop T-regulatory cells and when infected during diestrus (low estradiol develop autoimmunity similar to males. During estrus, protection depends on estrogen receptor alpha (ERα, which promotes type I interferon, activation of natural killer/natural killer T cells and suppressor cell responses. Estrogen receptor beta has opposing effects to ERα and supports pro-inflammatory immunity. However, the sexual dimorphism of the disease is significantly ameliorated in aged animals when old females become as susceptible as males. This correlates to a selective loss of the ERα that is required for immunosuppression. Therefore, sex-associated hormones control susceptibility in the virus-mediated disease, but their impact can alter with the age and physiological stage of the individual.

  1. Early Life Exposure to Chronic Intermittent Hypoxia Primes Increased Susceptibility to Hypoxia-Induced Weakness in Rat Sternohyoid Muscle During Adulthood

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fiona B Mcdonald

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Intermittent hypoxia is a feature of apnea of prematurity, chronic lung disease and sleep apnea. Despite the clinical relevance, the long-term effects of hypoxic exposure in early life on respiratory control are not well defined. We recently reported that exposure to chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH during postnatal development (pCIH causes upper airway muscle weakness in both sexes, which persists for several weeks. We sought to examine if there are persistent sex-dependent effects of pCIH on respiratory muscle function into adulthood and/or increased susceptibility to re-exposure to CIH in adulthood in animals previously exposed to CIH during postnatal development. We hypothesized that pCIH would cause long-lasting muscle impairment and increased susceptibility to subsequent hypoxia. Within 24 hours of delivery, pups and their respective dams were exposed to CIH: 90s of hypoxia reaching 5% O2 at nadir; once every 5 min, 8 hrs per day for 3 weeks. Sham groups were exposed to normoxia in parallel. Three groups were studied: sham; pCIH; and pCIH combined with adult CIH (p+aCIH, where a subset of the pCIH-exposed pups were re-exposed to the same CIH paradigm beginning at 13 weeks. Following gas exposures, sternohyoid and diaphragm muscle isometric contractile and endurance properties were examined ex vivo. There was no apparent lasting effect of pCIH on respiratory muscle function in adults. However, in both males and females, re-exposure to CIH in adulthood in pCIH-exposed animals caused sternohyoid (but not diaphragm weakness. Exposure to this paradigm of CIH in adulthood alone had no effect on muscle function. Persistent susceptibility in pCIH-exposed airway dilator muscle to subsequent hypoxic insult may have implications for the control of airway patency in adult humans exposed to intermittent hypoxic stress during early life.

  2. Early life exposure to chronic intermittent Hypoxia Primes Increased Susceptibility to Hypoxia-Induced Weakness in Rat Sternohyoid Muscle during adulthood.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    McDonald, Fiona B

    2016-03-01

    Intermittent hypoxia is a feature of apnea of prematurity (AOP), chronic lung disease, and sleep apnea. Despite the clinical relevance, the long-term effects of hypoxic exposure in early life on respiratory control are not well defined. We recently reported that exposure to chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) during postnatal development (pCIH) causes upper airway muscle weakness in both sexes, which persists for several weeks. We sought to examine if there are persistent sex-dependent effects of pCIH on respiratory muscle function into adulthood and\\/or increased susceptibility to re-exposure to CIH in adulthood in animals previously exposed to CIH during postnatal development. We hypothesized that pCIH would cause long-lasting muscle impairment and increased susceptibility to subsequent hypoxia. Within 24 h of delivery, pups and their respective dams were exposed to CIH: 90 s of hypoxia reaching 5% O2 at nadir; once every 5 min, 8 h per day for 3 weeks. Sham groups were exposed to normoxia in parallel. Three groups were studied: sham; pCIH; and pCIH combined with adult CIH (p+aCIH), where a subset of the pCIH-exposed pups were re-exposed to the same CIH paradigm beginning at 13 weeks. Following gas exposures, sternohyoid and diaphragm muscle isometric contractile and endurance properties were examined ex vivo. There was no apparent lasting effect of pCIH on respiratory muscle function in adults. However, in both males and females, re-exposure to CIH in adulthood in pCIH-exposed animals caused sternohyoid (but not diaphragm) weakness. Exposure to this paradigm of CIH in adulthood alone had no effect on muscle function. Persistent susceptibility in pCIH-exposed airway dilator muscle to subsequent hypoxic insult may have implications for the control of airway patency in adult humans exposed to intermittent hypoxic stress during early life.

  3. Susceptibility-Weighted Imaging and Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping in the Brain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Chunlei; Li, Wei; Tong, Karen A.; Yeom, Kristen W.; Kuzminski, Samuel

    2015-01-01

    Susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) is a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique that enhances image contrast by using the susceptibility differences between tissues. It is created by combining both magnitude and phase in the gradient echo data. SWI is sensitive to both paramagnetic and diamagnetic substances which generate different phase shift in MRI data. SWI images can be displayed as a minimum intensity projection that provides high resolution delineation of the cerebral venous architecture, a feature that is not available in other MRI techniques. As such, SWI has been widely applied to diagnose various venous abnormalities. SWI is especially sensitive to deoxygenated blood and intracranial mineral deposition and, for that reason, has been applied to image various pathologies including intracranial hemorrhage, traumatic brain injury, stroke, neoplasm, and multiple sclerosis. SWI, however, does not provide quantitative measures of magnetic susceptibility. This limitation is currently being addressed with the development of quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) and susceptibility tensor imaging (STI). While QSM treats susceptibility as isotropic, STI treats susceptibility as generally anisotropic characterized by a tensor quantity. This article reviews the basic principles of SWI, its clinical and research applications, the mechanisms governing brain susceptibility properties, and its practical implementation, with a focus on brain imaging. PMID:25270052

  4. Susceptibility-weighted imaging and quantitative susceptibility mapping in the brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Chunlei; Li, Wei; Tong, Karen A; Yeom, Kristen W; Kuzminski, Samuel

    2015-07-01

    Susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) is a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique that enhances image contrast by using the susceptibility differences between tissues. It is created by combining both magnitude and phase in the gradient echo data. SWI is sensitive to both paramagnetic and diamagnetic substances which generate different phase shift in MRI data. SWI images can be displayed as a minimum intensity projection that provides high resolution delineation of the cerebral venous architecture, a feature that is not available in other MRI techniques. As such, SWI has been widely applied to diagnose various venous abnormalities. SWI is especially sensitive to deoxygenated blood and intracranial mineral deposition and, for that reason, has been applied to image various pathologies including intracranial hemorrhage, traumatic brain injury, stroke, neoplasm, and multiple sclerosis. SWI, however, does not provide quantitative measures of magnetic susceptibility. This limitation is currently being addressed with the development of quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) and susceptibility tensor imaging (STI). While QSM treats susceptibility as isotropic, STI treats susceptibility as generally anisotropic characterized by a tensor quantity. This article reviews the basic principles of SWI, its clinical and research applications, the mechanisms governing brain susceptibility properties, and its practical implementation, with a focus on brain imaging. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Accuracy of magnetic resonance based susceptibility measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erdevig, Hannah E.; Russek, Stephen E.; Carnicka, Slavka; Stupic, Karl F.; Keenan, Kathryn E.

    2017-05-01

    Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is increasingly used to map the magnetic susceptibility of tissue to identify cerebral microbleeds associated with traumatic brain injury and pathological iron deposits associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. Accurate measurements of susceptibility are important for determining oxygen and iron content in blood vessels and brain tissue for use in noninvasive clinical diagnosis and treatment assessments. Induced magnetic fields with amplitude on the order of 100 nT, can be detected using MRI phase images. The induced field distributions can then be inverted to obtain quantitative susceptibility maps. The focus of this research was to determine the accuracy of MRI-based susceptibility measurements using simple phantom geometries and to compare the susceptibility measurements with magnetometry measurements where SI-traceable standards are available. The susceptibilities of paramagnetic salt solutions in cylindrical containers were measured as a function of orientation relative to the static MRI field. The observed induced fields as a function of orientation of the cylinder were in good agreement with simple models. The MRI susceptibility measurements were compared with SQUID magnetometry using NIST-traceable standards. MRI can accurately measure relative magnetic susceptibilities while SQUID magnetometry measures absolute magnetic susceptibility. Given the accuracy of moment measurements of tissue mimicking samples, and the need to look at small differences in tissue properties, the use of existing NIST standard reference materials to calibrate MRI reference structures is problematic and better reference materials are required.

  6. Seminational surveillance of fungemia in Denmark: notably high rates of fungemia and numbers of isolates with reduced azole susceptibility

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Arendrup, Maiken Cavling; Fuursted, Kurt; Gahrn-Hansen, Bente

    2005-01-01

    laboratory systems documented a continuous increase of candidemia cases since the early 1990s. For the 272 susceptibility-tested isolates, MICs of amphotericin B and caspofungin were within the limits expected for the species or genus. However, decreased azole susceptibility, defined as a fluconazole MIC...... of >8 microg/ml and/or itraconazole MIC of >0.125 microg/ml, was detected for 11 Candida isolates that were neither C. glabrata nor C. krusei. Including intrinsically resistant fungi, we detected decreased susceptibility to fluconazole and/or itraconazole in 87 (32%) current Danish bloodstream fungal...... isolates. We showed a continuous increase of fungemia in Denmark and an annual rate in 2003 to 2004 higher than in most other countries. The proportion of bloodstream fungal isolates with reduced susceptibility to fluconazole and/or itraconazole was also notably high....

  7. The susceptible-infected-recovered (SIR) model for viral marketing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ismail, Siti Suhaila; Akil, Ku Azlina Ku; Chulan, Majdah; Sharif, Noorzila

    2017-11-01

    Viral marketing is a marketing strategy utilizes social media to spread information about a product or services provided. It is the most powerful way to share information in a short amount of time. The objective of this study is to investigate the dynamic of viral marketing within a time duration in the point of view of mathematics. This study used the epidemiological model known as Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR). The model consists of a system of three differential equations with three state variables namely susceptible (S), infected (I) and recovered (R). It considers a case of SIR model with demography. Numerical experiments have been performed. The results show that viral marketing reaches its peak within two days. The online messages shared will become higher if the initial number of the infected individual has been increased.

  8. Nature of the magnetic susceptibility of dysprosium. Paramagnetic susceptibility of dysprosium - yttrium alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Demidov, V.G.; Levitin, R.Z.; Chistyakov, O.D.

    1976-01-01

    The paramagnetic susceptibility of single crystals of dysprosium-yttirum alloys is measured in the basal plane and along the hexagonal axis. It is shown that the susceptibility of the alloys obeys the Curie-Weiss law, the effective magnetic moments allong the different directions being the same and the paramagnetic Curie temperatures being different. The difference between the paramagnetic Curie temperatures in the basal plane and along the hexagonal axis is independent of the dysprosium concentration in the alloy. As a comparison with the theoretical models of magnetic anisotropy shows, this is an indication that the magnetic anisotropy of dysprosium - yttrium alloys is of a single-ion nature

  9. Susceptibility of Some Stone and Pome Fruit Rootstocks to Crown Gall

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Rhouma

    2005-12-01

    Full Text Available The susceptibility of different fruit rootstocks to crown gall disease was investigated in greenhouse and field experiments with numerous strains of Agrobacterium tumefaciens over three years. Plants were inoculated in the roots and shoots for pot experiments. Field experiments were performed in a naturally contaminated nursery plot. The genotypes Prunus dulcis and P. persica showed a high level of susceptibility to A. tumefaciens. Among the stone rootstocks, bitter almond was highly susceptible in all experiments. Apricot and Cadaman rootstocks displayed low susceptibility but larger galls, showing that there was no relation between rootstock susceptibility and gall size. Among pome rootstocks, quince BA29 was resistant to the disease, while MM106 was susceptible in potted trials; however, in the field essays, pome rootstocks did not become galled, possibly because the strains had selected for and adapted to stone rootstocks.

  10. Antimicrobial susceptibility profile of Listeria species isolated from ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The antimicrobial susceptibility profile of L. monocytogenes and other Listeria species isolated from some ready-to-eat (RTE) foods sold in Kano metropolis, north-western Nigeria was carried out using disc-diffusion method. The results obtained showed that L. monocytogenes was moderately susceptible to all the ...

  11. Antimicrobial susceptibility of anaerobic bacteria in New Zealand: 1999-2003.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, Sally A; Shore, Keith P; Paviour, Susan D; Holland, David; Morris, Arthur J

    2006-05-01

    Routine susceptibility testing of all anaerobic organisms is not advocated, but it is useful for laboratories to test periodically for anaerobic organisms and provide local susceptibility data to guide therapy. This study reports the national trend of antibiotic susceptibility of clinically significant anaerobes in New Zealand. Clinical isolates were tested using standardized methods against a range of antibiotics commonly used to treat anaerobic infections. Susceptibility was determined using NCCLS criteria. The change in susceptibility trends between this study and earlier studies was measured by comparing the geometric mean of the MIC. A total of 364 anaerobes were tested. Penicillin had poor activity against Bacteroides spp., Prevotella spp., Eubacterium spp., Clostridium tertium and Veillonella spp. In general, Fusobacterium spp., Bacteroides ureolyticus, Propionibacterium spp., Clostridium perfringens and anaerobic streptococci isolates, with the exception of Peptostreptococcus anaerobius, were penicillin susceptible. Amoxicillin/clavulanate showed good activity against most anaerobes, but resistance was seen with Bacteroides fragilis group and P. anaerobius isolates. Cefoxitin was more active than cefotetan, particularly against non-B. fragilis species, Eubacterium spp. and P. anaerobius. Meropenem and imipenem showed good activity against all anaerobes, with only 2 and 4% of Bacteroides spp., respectively, showing resistance. With the exception of Propionibacterium acnes isolates, which are predictably resistant, metronidazole was active against all anaerobes tested. There has been little change in susceptibility since 1997. Metronidazole, cefoxitin, piperacillin/tazobactam and amoxicillin/clavulanate remain good empirical choices when anaerobes are expected in our setting. No clinically relevant changes in susceptibility over time were found.

  12. Pre-Use Susceptibility to Ceftaroline in Clinical Staphylococcus aureus Isolates from Germany: Is There a Non-Susceptible Pool to be Selected?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Birgit Strommenger

    Full Text Available Ceftaroline is a new cephalosporin active against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA. Based on a representative collection of clinical S. aureus isolates from Germany, supplemented with isolates of clonal lineages ST228 and ST239, we demonstrate the in-vitro susceptibility towards ceftaroline prior to its introduction into clinical use for a total of 219 isolates. Susceptibility testing was performed by broth microdilution, disc diffusion and Etest, respectively. Results were interpreted according to EUCAST guidelines and showed considerable variance in dependence on clonal affiliation of the isolates tested. Among isolates of widespread hospital-associated lineages we found a high proportion of clinical isolates with MICs close to the EUCAST breakpoint (MIC50/90 1.0/1.5 mg/L; currently, interpretation of these "borderline" MICs is complicated by a lack of concordant susceptibility testing methods and reasonable breakpoint determination. Isolates of clonal lineages ST228 and ST239 demonstrated increased MIC50/90 values of 2.5/3.33 mg/L. Sequencing of mecA revealed no association of resistance to a specific mecA polymorphism, but rather reveals two regions in the non-penicillin-binding domain of PbP2a which displayed different combinations of mutations putatively involved in resistance development. This study provides national baseline data to (i adjust susceptibility testing methods and current breakpoints to clinical and epidemiological requirements, (ii evaluate current breakpoints with respect to therapeutic outcome and (iii monitor further resistance evolution.

  13. Antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of bacterial isolates from surgical ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    S. aureus and Streptococcus spp. showed maximum susceptibility (100%) to linezolid and vancomycin. Maximum susceptibility of E. coli was observed to ciprofloxacin (75.7%), followed by gentamicin (54.5%); of Klebsiella spp. to ceftriaxone and gentamicin (66.6% each), of Proteus spp. to gentamicin (70%) followed by ...

  14. Low vagally-mediated heart rate variability and increased susceptibility to ventricular arrhythmias in rats bred for high anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carnevali, Luca; Trombini, Mimosa; Graiani, Gallia; Madeddu, Denise; Quaini, Federico; Landgraf, Rainer; Neumann, Inga D; Nalivaiko, Eugene; Sgoifo, Andrea

    2014-04-10

    In humans, there is a documented association between anxiety disorders and cardiovascular disease. Putative underlying mechanisms may include an impairment of the autonomic nervous system control of cardiac function. The primary objective of the present study was to characterize cardiac autonomic modulation and susceptibility to arrhythmias in genetic lines of rats that differ largely in their anxiety level. To reach this goal, electrocardiographic recordings were performed in high-anxiety behavior (HAB, n=10) and low-anxiety behavior (LAB, n=10) rats at rest, during stressful stimuli and under autonomic pharmacological manipulations, and analyzed by means of time- and frequency-domain indexes of heart rate variability. During resting conditions, HAB rats displayed a reduced heart rate variability, mostly in terms of lower parasympathetic (vagal) modulation compared to LAB rats. In HAB rats, this relatively low cardiac vagal control was associated with smaller heart rate responsiveness to acute stressors compared to LAB counterparts. In addition, beta-adrenergic pharmacological stimulation induced a larger incidence of ventricular tachyarrhythmias in HABs compared to LABs. At sacrifice, a moderate increase in heart-body weight ratio was observed in HAB rats. We conclude that high levels of anxiety-related behavior in rats are associated with signs of i) impaired autonomic modulation of heart rate (low vagally-mediated heart rate variability), ii) poor adaptive heart rate responsiveness to stressful stimuli, iii) increased arrhythmia susceptibility, and iv) cardiac hypertrophy. These results highlight the utility of the HAB/LAB model for investigating the mechanistic basis of the comorbidity between anxiety disorders and cardiovascular disease. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Susceptibility of pathogenic and nonpathogenic Naegleria ssp

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Whiteman, L.Y.

    1988-01-01

    The susceptibility of four species of Naegleria amoebae to complement-mediated lysis was determined. The amoebicidal activity of normal human serum (NHS) and normal guinea pig serum (NGPS) for Naegleria amoebae was measured by an in vitro cytotoxicity assay. Release of radioactivity from amoebae labeled with 3 H-uridine and visual observation with a compound microscope were used as indices of lysis. Susceptibility or resistance to complement-mediated lysis in vitro correlated with the in vivo pathogenic potential. Nonpathogenic Naegleria amoebae were lysed at a faster rate and at higher cell concentrations than were pathogenic amoebae. Electrophoretic analysis of NHS incubated with pathogenic or nonpathogenic Naegleria spp. demonstrated that amoebae activate the complement cascade resulting in the production of C3 and C5 complement cleavage products. Treatment with papain or trypsin for 1 h, but not with sialidase, increase the susceptibility of highly pathogenic, mouse-passaged N. fowleri to lysis. Treatment with actinomycin D, cycloheximide or various protease inhibitors for 4 h did not increase susceptibility to lysis. Neither a repair process involving de novo protein synthesis nor a complement-inactivating protease appear to account for the increase resistance of N. fowleri amoebae to complement-mediated lysis. A binding study with 125 I radiolabeled C9 indicated that the terminal complement component does not remain stably bound to the membrane of pathogenic amoebae

  16. AC susceptibility and NQR measurements on CeCu6 below 5 mK

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jin, C.; Lee, D.M.; Pollack, L.; Smith, E.N.; Markert, J.T.; Maple, M.B.; Hinks, D.G.

    1994-01-01

    We have measured the zero field ac magnetic susceptibility of single and polycrystalline CeCu 6 samples down to 100 μK. For the single crystal sample, the susceptibility shows pronounced anisotropic behavior with respect to the crystal orientation. At ∼3 mK the susceptibility along two different crystal orientations shows a broad peak, and at 500 μK the susceptibility shows a second peak along one orientation and a plateau along the other. The susceptibility of the polycrystalline sample has a similar peak at 3 mK. NQR measurements are under way to study the Cu nuclear spin system in this compound in order to gain additional information about the nature of the peaks. (orig.)

  17. Allele-specific deletions in mouse tumors identify Fbxw7 as germline modifier of tumor susceptibility.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jesus Perez-Losada

    Full Text Available Genome-wide association studies (GWAS have been successful in finding associations between specific genetic variants and cancer susceptibility in human populations. These studies have identified a range of highly statistically significant associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs and susceptibility to development of a range of human tumors. However, the effect of each SNP in isolation is very small, and all of the SNPs combined only account for a relatively minor proportion of the total genetic risk (5-10%. There is therefore a major requirement for alternative routes to the discovery of genetic risk factors for cancer. We have previously shown using mouse models that chromosomal regions harboring susceptibility genes identified by linkage analysis frequently exhibit allele-specific genetic alterations in tumors. We demonstrate here that the Fbxw7 gene, a commonly mutated gene in a wide range of mouse and human cancers, shows allele-specific deletions in mouse lymphomas and skin tumors. Lymphomas from three different F1 hybrids show 100% allele-specificity in the patterns of allelic loss. Parental alleles from 129/Sv or Spretus/Gla mice are lost in tumors from F1 hybrids with C57BL/6 animals, due to the presence of a specific non-synonymous coding sequence polymorphism at the N-terminal portion of the gene. A specific genetic test of association between this SNP and lymphoma susceptibility in interspecific backcross mice showed a significant linkage (p = 0.001, but only in animals with a functional p53 gene. These data therefore identify Fbxw7 as a p53-dependent tumor susceptibility gene. Increased p53-dependent tumor susceptibility and allele-specific losses were also seen in a mouse skin model of skin tumor development. We propose that analysis of preferential allelic imbalances in tumors may provide an efficient means of uncovering genetic variants that affect mouse and human tumor susceptibility.

  18. Children's differential susceptibility to parenting: An experimental test of "for better and for worse".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slagt, Meike; Dubas, Judith Semon; van Aken, Marcel A G; Ellis, Bruce J; Deković, Maja

    2017-02-01

    Differential susceptibility theory proposes that a subset of individuals exist who display enhanced susceptibility to both negative (risk-promoting) and positive (development-enhancing) environments. This experiment represents the first attempt to directly test this assumption by exposing children in the experimental group to both negative and positive feedback using puppet role-plays. It thereby serves as an empirical test as well as a methodological primer for testing differential susceptibility. Dutch children (N=190, 45.3% girls) between the ages of 4 and 6years participated. We examined whether negative and positive feedback would differentially affect changes in positive and negative affect, in prosocial and antisocial intentions and behavior, depending on children's negative emotionality. Results show that on hearing negative feedback, children in the experimental group increased in negative affect and decreased in positive affect more strongly than children in the control group. On hearing positive feedback, children in the experimental group tended to increase in positive affect and decrease in prosocial behavior. However, changes in response to negative or positive feedback did not depend on children's negative emotionality. Moreover, using reliable change scores, we found support for a subset of "vulnerable" children but not for a subset of "susceptible" children. The findings offer suggestions to guide future differential susceptibility experiments. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Definition of a magnetic susceptibility of conglomerates with magnetite particles. Particularities of defining single particle susceptibility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandulyak, A. A.; Sandulyak, A. V.; Ershova, V.; Pamme, N.; Ngmasom, B.; Iles, A.

    2017-11-01

    Data of a magnetic susceptibility of ferro-and the ferrimagnetic particles of many technogenic, natural, special media are especially demanded for the solution of various tasks connected with purposeful magnetic impact on these particles. One of productive approaches to definition of a magnetic susceptibility χ of these particles consists in receiving experimental data of a susceptibility of disperse samples 〈 χ 〉 with a disperse phase of these particles. The paper expounds and analyses the results of experiments on defining (by Faraday method in a magnetic field with intensity H = 90-730 kA/m) the magnetic susceptibility 〈 χ 〉 of disperse samples (conglomerates) with a given volume ratio γ of magnetite particles (γ = 0.0065-0.25). The corresponding families of concentration and field dependences are provided alongside with discussing the applicability of linear and exponential functions to describe these dependences. We consider the possibility of defining single particles susceptibility χ (with simultaneous obtaining field dependence of this susceptibility) by the commonly used relation χ = 〈 χ 〉 /γ both at relatively small (preferable for accuracy reasons) values γ - to γ = 0.02…0.025, as well as at increased values γ - up to γ = 0.25. The data χ are provided depending on H and correlating with known data at H matter magnetic susceptibility χm (for the case when the particles are traditionally likened to balls with the characteristic for them demagnetising factor equalling 1/3) complies with the anticipated inverse function χm ∼ 1/H in the studied area H (where magnetization M expressed as M = χH reaches saturation M = Const).

  20. Investigation of potential non-HLA rheumatoid arthritis susceptibility loci in a European cohort increases the evidence for nine markers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Plant, Darren; Flynn, Edward; Mbarek, Hamdi; Dieudé, Philippe; Cornelis, François; Arlestig, Lisbeth; Dahlqvist, Solbritt Rantapää; Goulielmos, George; Boumpas, Dimitrios T; Sidiropoulos, Prodromos; Johansen, Julia S; Ørnbjerg, Lykke M; Hetland, Merete Lund; Klareskog, Lars; Filer, Andrew; Buckley, Christopher D; Raza, Karim; Witte, Torsten; Schmidt, Reinhold E; Worthington, Jane

    BACKGROUND: Genetic factors have a substantial role in determining development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and are likely to account for 50-60% of disease susceptibility. Genome-wide association studies have identified non-human leucocyte antigen RA susceptibility loci which associate with RA with

  1. Real-Time Optical Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fredborg, Marlene; Andersen, Klaus R; Jørgensen, Erik

    2013-01-01

    Rapid antibiotic susceptibility testing is in highly demand in health-care fields as antimicrobial resistant bacterial strains emerge and spread. Here we describe an optical screening system (oCelloScope), which based on time-lapse imaging of 96 bacteria-antibiotic combinations at a time......, introduces real-time detection of bacterial growth and antimicrobial susceptibility, with imaging material to support the automatically generated graphs. Automated antibiotic susceptibility tests of a monoculture showed statistically significant antibiotic effect within 6 minutes and within 30 minutes...... from multidrug-resistant pathogenic bacteria. The oCelloScope system can be employed for a broad range of applications within bacteriology and may present new vistas as a point-of-care instrument in both clinical and veterinarian settings....

  2. Finite perturbation studies of magnetic susceptibility and shielding with GIAO

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zaucer, M.; Pumpernik, D.; Hladnik, M.; Azman, A.

    1977-01-01

    The magnetic susceptibility tensor and proton and fluorine magnetic shielding tensors are calculated for F 2 and (FHF) - using an ab initio finite perturbation method with gauge-invariant atomic orbitals (GIAO). The discussion of the basis set deficiency shows that the calculated values for the susceptibilities are reliable. Simple additivity (Pascal rule) for the susceptibility is confirmed. (orig.) [de

  3. Silver and Nitrate Oppositely Modulate Antimony Susceptibility through Aquaglyceroporin 1 in Leishmania (Viannia) Species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrade, Juvana M; Baba, Elio H; Machado-de-Avila, Ricardo A; Chavez-Olortegui, Carlos; Demicheli, Cynthia P; Frézard, Frédéric; Monte-Neto, Rubens L; Murta, Silvane M F

    2016-08-01

    Antimony (Sb) resistance in leishmaniasis chemotherapy has become one of the major challenges to the control of this spreading worldwide public health problem. Since the plasma membrane pore-forming protein aquaglyceroporin 1 (AQP1) is the major route of Sb uptake in Leishmania, functional studies are relevant to characterize drug transport pathways in the parasite. We generated AQP1-overexpressing Leishmania guyanensis and L. braziliensis mutants and investigated their susceptibility to the trivalent form of Sb (Sb(III)) in the presence of silver and nitrate salts. Both AQP1-overexpressing lines presented 3- to 4-fold increased AQP1 expression levels compared with those of their untransfected counterparts, leading to an increased Sb(III) susceptibility of about 2-fold. Competition assays using silver nitrate, silver sulfadiazine, or silver acetate prior to Sb(III) exposure increased parasite growth, especially in AQP1-overexpressing mutants. Surprisingly, Sb(III)-sodium nitrate or Sb(III)-potassium nitrate combinations showed significantly enhanced antileishmanial activities compared to those of Sb(III) alone, especially against AQP1-overexpressing mutants, suggesting a putative nitrate-dependent modulation of AQP1 activity. The intracellular level of antimony quantified by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry showed that the concomitant exposure to Sb(III) and nitrate favors antimony accumulation in the parasite, increasing the toxicity of the drug and culminating with parasite death. This is the first report showing evidence of AQP1-mediated Sb(III) susceptibility modulation by silver in Leishmania and suggests the potential antileishmanial activity of the combination of nitrate salts and Sb(III). Copyright © 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  4. Neonatal maternal separation increases susceptibility to experimental colitis and acute stress exposure in male mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isabella M. Fuentes

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Experiencing early life stress can result in maladjusted stress response via dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and serves as a risk factor for developing chronic pelvic pain disorders. We investigated whether neonatal maternal separation (NMS would increase susceptibility to experimental colitis or exposure to acute or chronic stress. Male mice underwent NMS from postnatal day 1–21 and as adults were assessed for open field behavior, hindpaw sensitivity, and visceromotor response (VMR to colorectal distension (CRD. VMR was also measured before and after treatment with intracolonic trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS or exposure to acute or chronic water avoidance stress (WAS. Myeloperoxidase (MPO activity, proinflammatory gene and corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF receptor expression were measured in distal colon. Baseline VMR was not affected by NMS, but undergoing CRD increased anxiety-like behaviors and mechanical hindpaw sensitivity of NMS mice. Treatment with TNBS dose-dependently decreased body weight and survival only in NMS mice. Following TNBS treatment, IL-6 and artemin mRNA levels were decreased in the distal colon of NMS mice, despite increased MPO activity. A single WAS exposure increased VMR during CRD in NMS mice and increased IL-6 mRNA and CRF2 protein levels in the distal colon of naïve mice, whereas CRF2 protein levels were heightened in NMS colon both at baseline and post-WAS exposure. Taken together, these results suggest that NMS in mice disrupts inflammatory- and stress-induced gene expression in the colon, potentially contributing towards an exaggerated response to specific stressors later in life.

  5. Changes in human dendritic cell number and function in severe obesity may contribute to increased susceptibility to viral infection.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    O'Shea, D

    2013-02-26

    Dendritic cells (DCs) are key immune sentinels linking the innate and adaptive immune systems. DCs recognise danger signals and initiate T-cell tolerance, memory and polarisation. They are critical cells in responding to a viral illness. Obese individuals have been shown to have an impaired response to vaccinations against virally mediated conditions and to have an increased susceptibility to multi-organ failure in response to viral illness. We investigated if DCs are altered in an obese cohort (mean body mass index 51.7±7.3 kg m(-2)), ultimately resulting in differential T-cell responses. Circulating DCs were found to be significantly decreased in the obese compared with the lean cohort (0.82% vs 2.53%). Following Toll-like receptor stimulation, compared with lean controls, DCs generated from the obese cohort upregulated significantly less CD83 (40% vs 17% mean fluorescence intensity), a molecule implicated in the elicitation of T-cell responses, particularly viral responses. Obese DCs produced twofold more of the immunosuppressive cytokine interleukin (IL)-10 than lean controls, and in turn stimulated fourfold more IL-4-production from allogenic naive T cells. We conclude that obesity negatively impacts the ability of DCs to mature and elicit appropriate T-cell responses to a general stimulus. This may contribute to the increased susceptibility to viral infection observed in severe obesity.International Journal of Obesity advance online publication, 26 February 2013; doi:10.1038\\/ijo.2013.16.

  6. Effectiveness of clean-up procedures on stain susceptibility of different orthodontic adhesives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Swati Pundlik Mane

    2014-01-01

    Conclusion: Chemical-cure adhesive showed higher stain susceptibility than light-cure adhesive in all clean-up procedures. Both adhesives would show less stain susceptibility with polishing step with rubber cup and pumice.

  7. The interaction of BDNF and NTRK2 gene increases the susceptibility of paranoid schizophrenia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zheng Lin

    Full Text Available The association between BDNF gene functional Val66Met polymorphism rs6265 and the schizophrenia is far from being consistent. In addition to the heterogeneous in schizophrenia per se leading to the inconsistent results, the interaction among multi-genes is probably playing the main role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, but not a single gene. Neurotrophic tyrosine kinase receptor 2 (NTRK2 is the high-affinity receptor of BDNF, and was reported to be associated with mood disorders, though no literature reported the association with schizophrenia. Thus, in the present study, total 402 patients with paranoid schizophrenia (the most common subtype of schizophrenia and matched 406 healthy controls were recruited to investigate the role of rs6265 in BDNF, three polymorphisms in NTRK2 gene (rs1387923, rs2769605 and rs1565445 and their interaction in the susceptibility to paranoid schizophrenia in a Chinese Han population. We did not observe significant differences in allele and genotype frequencies between patients and healthy controls for all four polymorphisms separately. The haplotype analysis also showed no association between haplotype of NTRK2 genes (rs1387923, rs2769605, and rs1565445 and paranoid schizophrenia. However, we found the association between the interaction of BDNF and NTRK2 with paranoid schizophrenia by using the MDR method followed by conventional statistical analysis. The best gene-gene interaction model was a three-locus model (BDNF rs6265, NTRK2 rs1387923 and NTRK2 rs2769605, in which one low-risk and three high-risk four-locus genotype combinations were identified. Our findings implied that single polymorphism of rs6265 rs1387923, rs2769605, and rs1565445 in BDNF and NTRK2 were not associated with the development of paranoid schizophrenia in a Han population, however, the interaction of BDNF and NTRK2 genes polymorphisms (BDNF-rs6265, NTRK2-rs1387923 and NTRK2-rs2769605 may be involved in the susceptibility to paranoid

  8. The interaction of BDNF and NTRK2 gene increases the susceptibility of paranoid schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Zheng; Su, Yousong; Zhang, Chengfang; Xing, Mengjuan; Ding, Wenhua; Liao, Liwei; Guan, Yangtai; Li, Zezhi; Cui, Donghong

    2013-01-01

    The association between BDNF gene functional Val66Met polymorphism rs6265 and the schizophrenia is far from being consistent. In addition to the heterogeneous in schizophrenia per se leading to the inconsistent results, the interaction among multi-genes is probably playing the main role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, but not a single gene. Neurotrophic tyrosine kinase receptor 2 (NTRK2) is the high-affinity receptor of BDNF, and was reported to be associated with mood disorders, though no literature reported the association with schizophrenia. Thus, in the present study, total 402 patients with paranoid schizophrenia (the most common subtype of schizophrenia) and matched 406 healthy controls were recruited to investigate the role of rs6265 in BDNF, three polymorphisms in NTRK2 gene (rs1387923, rs2769605 and rs1565445) and their interaction in the susceptibility to paranoid schizophrenia in a Chinese Han population. We did not observe significant differences in allele and genotype frequencies between patients and healthy controls for all four polymorphisms separately. The haplotype analysis also showed no association between haplotype of NTRK2 genes (rs1387923, rs2769605, and rs1565445) and paranoid schizophrenia. However, we found the association between the interaction of BDNF and NTRK2 with paranoid schizophrenia by using the MDR method followed by conventional statistical analysis. The best gene-gene interaction model was a three-locus model (BDNF rs6265, NTRK2 rs1387923 and NTRK2 rs2769605), in which one low-risk and three high-risk four-locus genotype combinations were identified. Our findings implied that single polymorphism of rs6265 rs1387923, rs2769605, and rs1565445 in BDNF and NTRK2 were not associated with the development of paranoid schizophrenia in a Han population, however, the interaction of BDNF and NTRK2 genes polymorphisms (BDNF-rs6265, NTRK2-rs1387923 and NTRK2-rs2769605) may be involved in the susceptibility to paranoid schizophrenia.

  9. Finding of coagulase negative staphylococci in the herd with an increased number of somatic cells in milk and their antimicrobial susceptibility

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katić Vera

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS are generally considered to be opportunistic pathogens. Controlling CNS mastitis is difficult because the epidemiology is not clear, and the CNS group consists of about 40 different Staphylococcus species. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of coagulasenegative staphylococci in milk of the cows with subclinical mastitis, as well as to determine different CNS species isolated from quarter milk samples for their susceptibility to antimicrobials used commonly for mastitis therapy. On the farm where there was found an increase of somatic cells in bulk milk, 112 dairy cows were examined by mastitis test. From 52 udder quarters where mastitis test showed an increase of somatic cells, milk samples were taken for bacteriological examination. For isolating the causes of mastitis there was used blood agar. Identification of the causative agents of mastitis was carried out on the basis of colony appearance on blood agar and their physiological characteristics. Coagulasepositive staphylococci sensitivity which cause mastitis was tested by Kirby Bauer method. For susceptibility testing there were used commercially produced discs containing: 10 IU penicillin, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (20 +10 μg, cloxacillin 25 μg, 30 μg amoxicillin, cephalexin 30 μg, ceftiofur 30 μg, 15 μg lincomycin, gentamicin and tetracycline 30 μg. The sensitivity of microorganisms was evaluated on the basis of inhibition zone diameter recommended by the manufacturer and was labeled as sensitive (S moderately sensitive (I or resistant (R. Coagulase-negative staphylococci were isolated from 61.53% of samples from cows with subclinical mastitis, making them the most common cause of subclinical mastitis. The highest resistance of coagulase-negative staphylococci was found to penicillin G (58.33% of isolates. Full sensitivity of coagulase-negative staphylococci was found to amoxicillin / clavulanic acid (100% of

  10. Extended biofilm susceptibility assay for Staphylococcus aureus bovine mastitis isolates: evidence for association between genetic makeup and biofilm susceptibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melchior, M B; van Osch, M H J; Lam, T J G M; Vernooij, J C M; Gaastra, W; Fink-Gremmels, J

    2011-12-01

    Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most prevalent causes of bovine mastitis. The antimicrobial treatment of this disease is currently based on antimicrobial susceptibility tests according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute standards. However, various authors have shown a discrepancy between the results of this standard susceptibility test and the actual cure rate of the applied antimicrobial treatment. Increasing evidence suggests that in vivo biofilm formation by Staph. aureus, which is not assessed in the antimicrobial susceptibility tests, is associated with this problem, resulting in disappointing cure rates, especially for infections of longer duration. Previous data obtained with a limited number of strains showed that the extended biofilm antimicrobial susceptibility (EBS) assay reveals differences between strains, which cannot be derived from a standard susceptibility test or from a 24-h biofilm susceptibility test. The objective of this study was to test a collection of Staph. aureus bovine mastitis strains in the EBS assay and to model the effect of antimicrobial exposure, duration of antimicrobial exposure, and genotype profile of the strains on antimicrobial susceptibility. With the results from a previous study with the same collection of strains, the effect of genotype represented by accessory gene regulator gene (agr-type), the presence of insertional sequence 257 (IS257), intercellular adhesion (ica), and the β-lactamase (blaZ) gene were entered as explanatory factors in a logistic regression model. The agr locus of Staph. aureus controls the expression of most of the virulence factors, represses the transcription of several cell wall-associated proteins, and activates several exoproteins during the post-exponential phase. The IS257 gene has been related to biofilm formation in vitro and was found earlier in 50% of the agr-type 2 strains. The ica gene cluster encodes for the production of an extracellular polysaccharide adhesin, termed

  11. Lifelong susceptibility to acoustic trauma: Changing patterns of chochlear damage over the life span of the mouse

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Henry, K.R.

    1983-01-01

    Age-related differences in susceptibility to noise-induced threshold shift (NITS) were examined over the entire life span of the CBA/J mouse. Mice of varying ages were given a single 5-min exposure to a 124-dB octave-band (12-24 kHz) noise. Susceptibility began at 15-16 days postpartum and increased rapidly until approximately 20 days of age. During this phase, NITS (as measured by increased action potential threshold) was greatest at 16 kHz. Overall susceptibility was consistently high from 20 to 90 days. During this phase, NITS became most severe at 32 kHz. From 120 days until beyond the end of its acturarial life span (527 days), NITS no longer occured at 2-16 kHz, but the 64-kHz response retained its susceptibility to acoustic trauma. Mice at 20 and 60 days of age showed the same pattern of decreasing susceptibility as the intensity of the noise exposure was reduced to 114 and 104 dB, indicating that the absence of a tightly restricted critical period is not peculiar to a particular sound pressure level.

  12. Western High-Fat Diet Consumption during Adolescence Increases Susceptibility to Traumatic Stress while Selectively Disrupting Hippocampal and Ventricular Volumes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalyan-Masih, Priya; Vega-Torres, Julio David; Haddad, Elizabeth; Rainsbury, Sabrina; Baghchechi, Mohsen

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Psychological trauma and obesity co-occur frequently and have been identified as major risk factors for psychiatric disorders. Surprisingly, preclinical studies examining how obesity disrupts the ability of the brain to cope with psychological trauma are lacking. The objective of this study was to determine whether an obesogenic Western-like high-fat diet (WD) predisposes rats to post-traumatic stress responsivity. Adolescent Lewis rats (postnatal day 28) were fed ad libitum for 8 weeks with either the experimental WD diet (41.4% kcal from fat) or the control diet (16.5% kcal from fat). We modeled psychological trauma by exposing young adult rats to a cat odor threat. The elevated plus maze and the open field test revealed increased psychological trauma-induced anxiety-like behaviors in the rats that consumed the WD when compared with control animals 1 week after undergoing traumatic stress (p < 0.05). Magnetic resonance imaging showed significant hippocampal atrophy (20% reduction) and lateral ventricular enlargement (50% increase) in the animals fed the WD when compared with controls. These volumetric abnormalities were associated with behavioral indices of anxiety, increased leptin and FK506-binding protein 51 (FKBP51) levels, and reduced hippocampal blood vessel density. We found asymmetric structural vulnerabilities to the WD, particularly the ventral and left hippocampus and lateral ventricle. This study highlights how WD consumption during adolescence impacts key substrates implicated in post-traumatic stress disorder. Understanding how consumption of a WD affects the developmental trajectories of the stress neurocircuitry is critical, as stress susceptibility imposes a marked vulnerability to neuropsychiatric disorders. PMID:27844058

  13. Micafungin induced apoptosis in Candida parapsilosis independent of its susceptibility to micafungin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fazal Shirazi

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available We hypothesized that the cell wall inhibitor micafungin (MICA induces apoptosis in both MICA-susceptible (MICA-S and MICA–non-susceptible (MICA-NS Candida parapsilosis. Antifungal activity and apoptosis were analyzed in MICA-S and MICA-NS C. parapsilosis strains following exposure to micafungin for 3 h at 37°C in RPMI 1640 medium. Apoptosis was characterized by detecting phosphatidylserine externalization (PS, plasma membrane integrity, reactive oxygen species (ROS generation, mitochondrial membrane potential changes, adenosine triphosphate (ATP release, and caspase-like activity. Apoptosis was detected in MICA exposed (0.25 to 1 mg/L susceptible C. parapsilosis strains and was associated with apoptosis of 20-52% of analyzed cells versus only 5-30% of apoptosis in MICA-NS cells exposed to micafungin (0.5 to 2 mg/L; P = 0.001. The MICA antifungal activity was correlated with apoptotic cells showing increased dihydrorhodamine-123 staining (indicating ROS production, Rh-123 staining (decreased mitochondrial membrane potential, elevated ATP, and increased metacaspase activity. In conclusion, MICA is pro-apoptotic in MICA-S cells, but still exerts apoptotic effects in MICA –NS C. parapsilosis.

  14. Diamagnetic susceptibility of a confined donor in inhomogeneous quantum dots

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rahmani, K; Zorkani, I; Jorio, A

    2011-01-01

    The binding energy and diamagnetic susceptibility χ dia are estimated for a shallow donor confined to move in GaAs-GaAlAs inhomogeneous quantum dots. The calculation was performed within the effective mass approximation and using the variational method. The results show that the binding energy and the diamagnetic susceptibility χ dia depend strongly on the core radius and the shell radius. We have demonstrated that there is a critical value of the ratio of the inner radius to the outer radius which may be important for nanofabrication techniques. The binding energy E b shows a minimum for a critical value of this ratio depending on the value of the outer radius and shows a maximum when the donor is placed at the center of the spherical layer. The diamagnetic susceptibility is more sensitive to variations of the radius for a large spherical layer. The binding energy and diamagnetic susceptibility depend strongly on the donor position.

  15. Pyrethroid resistance in Anopheles gambiae leads to increased susceptibility to the entomopathogenic fungi Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Knols Bart GJ

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Entomopathogenic fungi are being investigated as a new mosquito control tool because insecticide resistance is preventing successful mosquito control in many countries, and new methods are required that can target insecticide-resistant malaria vectors. Although laboratory studies have previously examined the effects of entomopathogenic fungi against adult mosquitoes, most application methods used cannot be readily deployed in the field. Because the fungi are biological organisms it is important to test potential field application methods that will not adversely affect them. The two objectives of this study were to investigate any differences in fungal susceptibility between an insecticide-resistant and insecticide-susceptible strain of Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto, and to test a potential field application method with respect to the viability and virulence of two fungal species Methods Pieces of white polyester netting were dipped in Metarhizium anisopliae ICIPE-30 or Beauveria bassiana IMI391510 mineral oil suspensions. These were kept at 27 ± 1°C, 80 ± 10% RH and the viability of the fungal conidia was recorded at different time points. Tube bioassays were used to infect insecticide-resistant (VKPER and insecticide-susceptible (SKK strains of An. gambiae s.s., and survival analysis was used to determine effects of mosquito strain, fungus species or time since fungal treatment of the net. Results The resistant VKPER strain was significantly more susceptible to fungal infection than the insecticide-susceptible SKK strain. Furthermore, B. bassiana was significantly more virulent than M. anisopliae for both mosquito strains, although this may be linked to the different viabilities of these fungal species. The viability of both fungal species decreased significantly one day after application onto polyester netting when compared to the viability of conidia remaining in suspension. Conclusions The insecticide

  16. Pyrethroid resistance in Anopheles gambiae leads to increased susceptibility to the entomopathogenic fungi Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    Background Entomopathogenic fungi are being investigated as a new mosquito control tool because insecticide resistance is preventing successful mosquito control in many countries, and new methods are required that can target insecticide-resistant malaria vectors. Although laboratory studies have previously examined the effects of entomopathogenic fungi against adult mosquitoes, most application methods used cannot be readily deployed in the field. Because the fungi are biological organisms it is important to test potential field application methods that will not adversely affect them. The two objectives of this study were to investigate any differences in fungal susceptibility between an insecticide-resistant and insecticide-susceptible strain of Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto, and to test a potential field application method with respect to the viability and virulence of two fungal species Methods Pieces of white polyester netting were dipped in Metarhizium anisopliae ICIPE-30 or Beauveria bassiana IMI391510 mineral oil suspensions. These were kept at 27 ± 1°C, 80 ± 10% RH and the viability of the fungal conidia was recorded at different time points. Tube bioassays were used to infect insecticide-resistant (VKPER) and insecticide-susceptible (SKK) strains of An. gambiae s.s., and survival analysis was used to determine effects of mosquito strain, fungus species or time since fungal treatment of the net. Results The resistant VKPER strain was significantly more susceptible to fungal infection than the insecticide-susceptible SKK strain. Furthermore, B. bassiana was significantly more virulent than M. anisopliae for both mosquito strains, although this may be linked to the different viabilities of these fungal species. The viability of both fungal species decreased significantly one day after application onto polyester netting when compared to the viability of conidia remaining in suspension. Conclusions The insecticide-resistant mosquito strain was susceptible

  17. In Vitro Antibiotic Susceptibility Studies Of Bacteria Associated With ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In vitro tests of the susceptibility of isolates of bacterial keratitis pathogens to antibiotics were carried out in this study. Staphylococcus aureus was the most frequently isolated organisms followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus pneumoniae. Antibiotic sensitivity testing showed a high susceptibility to ...

  18. Cold thyroid nodules show a marked increase in proliferation markers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krohn, Knut; Stricker, Ingo; Emmrich, Peter; Paschke, Ralf

    2003-06-01

    Thyroid follicular adenomas and adenomatous thyroid nodules are a frequent finding in geographical areas with iodine deficiency. They occur as hypofunctioning (scintigraphically cold) or hyperfunctioning (scintigraphically hot) nodules. Their predominant clonal origin suggests that they result from clonal expansion of a single cell, which is very likely the result of a prolonged increase in proliferation compared with non-affected surrounding cells. To test whether increased cell proliferation is detectable in cold thyroid nodules, we studied paraffin-embedded tissue from 40 cold thyroid nodules and their surrounding normal thyroid tissue for the occurrence of the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and Ki-67 (MIB-1 antibody) epitopes as markers for cell proliferation. All 40 thyroid nodules were histologically well characterized and have been studied for molecular characteristics before. The labeling index (number of labeled cells versus total cell number) for nodular and surrounding tissue was calculated. In 33 cold thyroid nodules a significant (p thyroid nodules a significant (p thyroid epithelial cell proliferation is a uniform feature common to most cold nodules. However, the increase of proliferation markers shows a heterogeneity that is not correlated with histopathologic, molecular, or clinical characteristics.

  19. Risk modification of colorectal cancer susceptibility by interleukin-8 -251T>A polymorphism in Malaysians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mustapha, Mohd Aminudin; Shahpudin, Siti Nurfatimah Mohd; Aziz, Ahmad Aizat Abdul; Ankathil, Ravindran

    2012-06-07

    To investigate the allele and genotype frequencies and associated risk of interleukin (IL)-8 -251T>A polymorphism on colorectal cancer (CRC) susceptibility risk. Peripheral blood samples of 255 normal controls and 255 clinically and histopathologically confirmed CRC patients were genotyped for IL-8 -251T>A polymorphism employing allele-specific polymerase chain reaction. The relative association of variant allele and genotypes with CRC susceptibility risk was determined by calculating the odds ratios (ORs). Corresponding χ² tests on the CRC patients and controls were carried out and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were determined using Fisher's exact test. The allele frequencies and its risk association were calculated using FAMHAP, haplotype association analysis software. On comparing the frequencies of genotypes of patients and controls, the homozygous variant AA was significantly higher in CRC patients (P = 0.002) compared to controls. Investigation on the association of the polymorphic genotypes with CRC susceptibility risk, showed that the homozygous variant IL-8 -251AA had a significantly increased risk with OR 3.600 (95% CI: 1.550-8.481, P = 0.001). In the case of allele frequencies, variant allele A of IL-8 -251 showed a significantly increased risk of CRC predisposition with OR 1.32 (95% CI: 1.03-1.69, P = 0.003). Variant allele and genotype of IL-8 (-251T>A) was significantly associated with CRC susceptibility risk and could be considered as a high-risk variant for CRC predisposition.

  20. Elevated Expression of GlpT and UhpT via FNR Activation Contributes to Increased Fosfomycin Susceptibility in Escherichia coli under Anaerobic Conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurabayashi, Kumiko; Tanimoto, Koichi; Fueki, Shinobu; Tomita, Haruyoshi

    2015-01-01

    Because a shortage of new antimicrobial agents is a critical issue at present, and with the spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens, the use of fosfomycin to treat infections is being revisited as a “last-resort option.” This drug offers a particular benefit in that it is more effective against bacteria growing under oxygen-limited conditions, unlike other commonly used antimicrobials, such as fluoroquinolones and aminoglycosides. In this study, we showed that Escherichia coli strains, including enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), were more susceptible to fosfomycin when grown anaerobically than when grown aerobically, and we investigated how the activity of this drug was enhanced during anaerobic growth of E. coli. Our quantitative PCR analysis and a transport assay showed that E. coli cells grown under anaerobic conditions had higher levels of expression of glpT and uhpT, encoding proteins that transport fosfomycin into cells with their native substrates, i.e., glycerol-3-phosphate and glucose-6-phosphate, and led to increased intracellular accumulation of the drug. Elevation of expression of these genes during anaerobic growth requires FNR, a global transcriptional regulator that is activated under anaerobic conditions. Purified FNR bound to DNA fragments from regions upstream of glpT and uhpT, suggesting that it is an activator of expression of glpT and uhpT during anaerobic growth. We concluded that the increased antibacterial activity of fosfomycin toward E. coli under anaerobic conditions can be attributed to elevated expression of GlpT and UhpT following activation of FNR, leading to increased uptake of the drug. PMID:26248376

  1. Susceptibility, likelihood to be diagnosed, worry and fear for contracting Lyme disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fogel, Joshua; Chawla, Gurasees S

    Risk perception and psychological concerns are relevant for understanding how people view Lyme disease. This study investigates the four separate outcomes of susceptibility, likelihood to be diagnosed, worry, and fear for contracting Lyme disease. University students (n=713) were surveyed about demographics, perceived health, Lyme disease knowledge, Lyme disease preventive behaviors, Lyme disease history, and Lyme disease miscellaneous variables. We found that women were associated with increased susceptibility and fear. Asian/Asian-American race/ethnicity was associated with increased worry and fear. Perceived good health was associated with increased likelihood to be diagnosed, worry, and fear. Correct knowledge was associated with increased susceptibility and likelihood to be diagnosed. Those who typically spend a lot of time outdoors were associated with increased susceptibility, likelihood to be diagnosed, worry, and fear. In conclusion, healthcare providers and public health campaigns should address susceptibility, likelihood to be diagnosed, worry, and fear about Lyme disease, and should particularly target women and Asians/Asian-Americans to address any possible misconceptions and/or offer effective coping strategies. Copyright © 2016 King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Tobacco Marketing, E-cigarette Susceptibility, and Perceptions among Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicksic, Nicole E; Snell, L Morgan; Rudy, Alyssa K; Cobb, Caroline O; Barnes, Andrew J

    2017-09-01

    Understanding the impact of tobacco marketing on e-cigarette (EC) susceptibility and perceptions is essential to inform efforts to mitigate tobacco product burden on public health. Data were collected online in 2016 from 634 conventional cigarette (CC) smokers and 393 non-smokers using a convenience sample from Amazon Mechanical Turk. Logistic regression models, stratified by smoking status and adjusted for socio-demographics, examined the relationship among tobacco advertisements and coupons, EC and CC susceptibility, and EC perceptions. Among non-smokers, increased exposure to tobacco advertising and receiving tobacco coupons was significantly related to measures of EC and CC susceptibility (p marketing reduce EC use by decreasing susceptibility.

  3. Ertapenem susceptibility of extended spectrum beta-lactamase-producing organisms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Selby Edward B

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Infections caused by multiply drug resistant organisms such as extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae are increasing. Carbapenems (imipenem and meropenem are the antibiotics commonly used to treat these agents. There is limited clinical data regarding the efficacy of the newest carbapenem, ertapenem, against these organisms. Ertapenem susceptibility of ESBL-producing E. coli and K. pneumoniae clinical isolates were evaluated and compared to imipenem to determine if imipenem susceptibility could be used as a surrogate for ertapenem susceptibility. Methods 100 ESBL isolates (n = 34 E. coli and n = 66 K. pneumoniae collected from 2005–2006 clinical specimens at WRAMC were identified and tested for susceptibility by Vitek Legacy [bioMerieux, Durham, NC]. Ertapenem susceptibility was performed via epsilometer test (E-test [AB Biodisk, Solna, Sweden]. Results 100% of ESBL isolates tested were susceptible to ertapenem. 100% of the same isolates were also susceptible to imipenem. Conclusion These results, based on 100% susceptibility, suggest that ertapenem may be an alternative to other carbapenems for the treatment of infections caused by ESBL-producing E. coli and K. pneumoniae. Clinical outcomes studies are needed to determine if ertapenem is effective for the treatment of infection caused by these organisms. However, due to lack of resistant isolates, we are unable to conclude whether imipenem susceptibility accurately predicts ertapenem susceptibility.

  4. Prion disease susceptibility is affected by β-structure folding propensity and local side-chain interactions in PrP

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, M. Qasim; Sweeting, Braden; Mulligan, Vikram Khipple; Arslan, Pharhad Eli; Cashman, Neil R.; Pai, Emil F.; Chakrabartty, Avijit

    2010-01-01

    Prion diseases occur when the normally α-helical prion protein (PrP) converts to a pathological β-structured state with prion infectivity (PrPSc). Exposure to PrPSc from other mammals can catalyze this conversion. Evidence from experimental and accidental transmission of prions suggests that mammals vary in their prion disease susceptibility: Hamsters and mice show relatively high susceptibility, whereas rabbits, horses, and dogs show low susceptibility. Using a novel approach to quantify conformational states of PrP by circular dichroism (CD), we find that prion susceptibility tracks with the intrinsic propensity of mammalian PrP to convert from the native, α-helical state to a cytotoxic β-structured state, which exists in a monomer–octamer equilibrium. It has been controversial whether β-structured monomers exist at acidic pH; sedimentation equilibrium and dual-wavelength CD evidence is presented for an equilibrium between a β-structured monomer and octamer in some acidic pH conditions. Our X-ray crystallographic structure of rabbit PrP has identified a key helix-capping motif implicated in the low prion disease susceptibility of rabbits. Removal of this capping motif increases the β-structure folding propensity of rabbit PrP to match that of PrP from mouse, a species more susceptible to prion disease. PMID:21041683

  5. Prion disease susceptibility is affected by beta-structure folding propensity and local side-chain interactions in PrP.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, M Qasim; Sweeting, Braden; Mulligan, Vikram Khipple; Arslan, Pharhad Eli; Cashman, Neil R; Pai, Emil F; Chakrabartty, Avijit

    2010-11-16

    Prion diseases occur when the normally α-helical prion protein (PrP) converts to a pathological β-structured state with prion infectivity (PrP(Sc)). Exposure to PrP(Sc) from other mammals can catalyze this conversion. Evidence from experimental and accidental transmission of prions suggests that mammals vary in their prion disease susceptibility: Hamsters and mice show relatively high susceptibility, whereas rabbits, horses, and dogs show low susceptibility. Using a novel approach to quantify conformational states of PrP by circular dichroism (CD), we find that prion susceptibility tracks with the intrinsic propensity of mammalian PrP to convert from the native, α-helical state to a cytotoxic β-structured state, which exists in a monomer-octamer equilibrium. It has been controversial whether β-structured monomers exist at acidic pH; sedimentation equilibrium and dual-wavelength CD evidence is presented for an equilibrium between a β-structured monomer and octamer in some acidic pH conditions. Our X-ray crystallographic structure of rabbit PrP has identified a key helix-capping motif implicated in the low prion disease susceptibility of rabbits. Removal of this capping motif increases the β-structure folding propensity of rabbit PrP to match that of PrP from mouse, a species more susceptible to prion disease.

  6. Secondhand smoke exposure and other correlates of susceptibility to smoking: a propensity score matching approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McIntire, Russell K; Nelson, Ashlyn A; Macy, Jonathan T; Seo, Dong-Chul; Kolbe, Lloyd J

    2015-09-01

    Secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure is responsible for numerous diseases of the lungs and other bodily systems among children. In addition to the adverse health effects of SHS exposure, studies show that children exposed to SHS are more likely to smoke in adolescence. Susceptibility to smoking is a measure used to identify adolescent never-smokers who are at risk for smoking. Limited research has been conducted on the influence of SHS on susceptibility to smoking. The purpose of this study was to determine a robust measure of the strength of correlation between SHS exposure and susceptibility to smoking among never-smoking U.S. adolescents. This study used data from the 2009 National Youth Tobacco Survey to identify predictors of susceptibility to smoking in the full (pre-match) sample of adolescents and a smaller (post-match) sample created by propensity score matching. Results showed a significant association between SHS exposure and susceptibility to smoking among never-smoking adolescents in the pre-match (OR=1.47) and post-match (OR=1.52) samples. The odds ratio increase after matching suggests that the strength of the relationship was underestimated in the pre-match sample. Other significant correlates of susceptibility to smoking identified include: gender, race/ethnicity, personal income, smoke-free home rules, number of smoking friends, perception of SHS harm, perceived benefits of smoking, and exposure to pro-tobacco media messages. The use of propensity score matching procedures reduced bias in the post-match sample, and provided a more robust estimate of the influence of SHS exposure on susceptibility to smoking, compared to the pre-match sample estimates. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Strain, Sex, and Open-Field Behavior: Factors Underlying the Genetic Susceptibility to Helplessness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Padilla, Eimeira; Barrett, Douglas W.; Shumake, Jason D.; Gonzalez-Lima, F.

    2009-01-01

    Learned helplessness represents a failure to escape after exposure to inescapable stress and may model human psychiatric disorders related to stress. Previous work has demonstrated individual differences in susceptibility to learned helplessness. In this study, we assessed different factors associated with this susceptibility, including strain, sex, and open-field behavior. Testing of three rat strains (Holtzman, Long-Evans, and Sprague-Dawley) revealed that Holtzman rats were the most susceptible to helplessness. Holtzman rats not only had the longest escape latencies following inescapable shock, but also showed spontaneous escape deficits in the absence of prior shock when tested with a fixed-ratio 2 (FR2) running response. Moreover, when tested with fixed-ratio 1 (FR1) running—an easy response normally unaffected by helplessness training in rats—inescapable shock significantly increased the escape latencies of Holtzman rats. Within the Holtzman strain, we confirmed recent findings that females showed superior escape performance and therefore appeared more resistant to helplessness than males. However, regression and covariance analyses suggest that this sex difference may be explained by more baseline ambulatory activity among females. In addition, some indices of novelty reactivity (greater exploration of novel vs. familiar open-field) predicted subsequent helpless behavior. In conclusion, Holtzman rats, and especially male Holtzman rats, have a strong predisposition to become immobile when stressed which interferes with their ability to learn active escape responses. The Holtzman strain therefore appears to be a commercially available model for studying susceptibility to helplessness in males, and novelty-seeking may be a marker of this susceptibility. PMID:19428642

  8. Effect of structural transition on magnetic susceptibility of tantalum carbide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lipatnikov, V.N.; Gusev, A.I.; Rempel', A.A.; Shvejkin, G.P.

    1987-01-01

    Ordering of carbon atoms and vacancies in nonmetal sublattice of TaC y is investigated for the first time by methods of magnetic susceptibility and structural neutron diffraction analysis. Measurements of magnetic susceptibility were conducted on high-sensitive magnetic scales in temperature interval of 300 - 1300 K with holding at each temperature up to the establishment of constant, nonchanging in the course of time value of susceptibility x. When investigating x-hardened tantalum carbide within the interval of TaC 0.82 - TaC 0.85 compositions under the conditions of slow heating, it was observed nonrecorded earlier irreversible decrease of susceptibility at temperature of 960 - 1000 K. With further temperature increase T>T tr it was observed at first even and than uneven increase of x value at a temperature of T tr equal to 1090, 1130 and 1150 K for TaC 0.82 , TaC 0.83 and TaC 0.85 respectively. The measuring of magnetic susceptibility of the same samples at temperature decrease reveals the presence of susceptibility temperature hysteresis in the interval of 1070 - 1090, 1100 - 1130 and 1120 - 1150 for TaC 0.82 , TaC 0.83 and TaC 0.85 . Reversible susceptibility jump corresponding to the temperature hysteresis range at dependences of x(T), is connected with equilibrium structural phase transition of order-disorder

  9. Mitochondrial Genetic Background Modulates Bioenergetics and Susceptibility to Acute Cardiac Volume – Overload

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fetterman, Jessica L.; Zelickson, Blake R.; Johnson, Larry W.; Moellering, Douglas R.; Westbrook, David G.; Pompilius, Melissa; Sammy, Melissa J.; Johnson, Michelle; Dunham-Snary, Kimberly J.; Cao, Xuemei; Bradley, Wayne E.; Zhang, Jinju; Wei, Chih-Chang; Chacko, Balu; Schurr, Theodore G.; Kesterson, Robert A.; Dell’Italia, Louis J.; Darley-Usmar, Victor M.; Welch, Danny R.; Ballinger, Scott W.

    2013-01-01

    Synopsis Dysfunctional bioenergetics has emerged as a key feature in many chronic pathologies such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This has led to the mitochondrial paradigm in which it has been proposed that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence variation contributes to disease susceptibility. In this study we present a novel animal model of mtDNA polymorphisms, the mitochondrial nuclear exchange mouse (MNX), in which the mtDNA from C3H/HeN mouse has been inserted onto the C57/BL6 nuclear background and vice versa to test this concept. Our data show a major contribution of the C57/BL6 mtDNA to the susceptibility to the pathological stress of cardiac volume overload which is independent of the nuclear background. Mitochondria harboring the C57/BL6J mtDNA generate more reactive oxygen species (ROS) and have a higher mitochondrial membrane potential relative to those having the C3H/HeN mtDNA, independent of nuclear background. We propose this is the primary mechanism associated with increased bioenergetic dysfunction in response to volume overload. In summary, these studies support the “mitochondrial paradigm” for the development of disease susceptibility, and show that the mtDNA modulates, cellular bioenergetics, mitochondrial reactive oxygen species generation and susceptibility to cardiac stress. PMID:23924350

  10. Magnon heat capacity and magnetic susceptibility of the spin Lieb lattice

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yarmohammadi, Mohsen, E-mail: m.yarmohammadi69@gamil.com

    2016-11-01

    Using linear response theory, Heisenberg model Hamiltonian and Green's function technique, the influences of Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI), external magnetic field and next-nearest-neighbor (NNN) coupling on the density of magnon modes (DMM), the magnetic susceptibility (MS) and the magnon heat capacity (MHC) of a spin Lieb lattice, a face-centered square lattice, are investigated. The results reveal a band gap in the DMM and we witness an extension in the bandwidth and an increase in the number of van-Hove singularities as well. As a notable point, besides the magnetic nature which includes ferromagnetism in spin Lieb-based nanosystems, MS is investigated. Further, we report a Schottky anomaly in the MHC. The results show that the effects of the magnetic field on the MHC and MS have different behaviors in two temperature regions. In the low temperature region, MHC and MS increase when the magnetic field strength increases. On the other hand, the MHC and MS reduce with increasing the magnetic field strength in the high temperature region. Also comprehensive numerical modelling of the DMM, the MS and the MHC of a spin Lieb lattice yields excellent qualitative agreement with the experimental data. - Highlights: • Theoretical calculation of density of states of the spin Lieb lattice. • The investigation of the effect of external magnetic field on the magnon heat capacity and magnetic susceptibility. • The investigation of the effect of NNN coupling and the DMI strength on the magnon heat capacity and magnetic susceptibility.

  11. Glutathione maintenance mitigates age-related susceptibility to redox cycling agents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicholas O. Thomas

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Isolated hepatocytes from young (4–6 mo and old (24–26 mo F344 rats were exposed to increasing concentrations of menadione, a vitamin K derivative and redox cycling agent, to determine whether the age-related decline in Nrf2-mediated detoxification defenses resulted in heightened susceptibility to xenobiotic insult. An LC50 for each age group was established, which showed that aging resulted in a nearly 2-fold increase in susceptibility to menadione (LC50 for young: 405 μM; LC50 for old: 275 μM. Examination of the known Nrf2-regulated pathways associated with menadione detoxification revealed, surprisingly, that NAD(PH: quinone oxido-reductase 1 (NQO1 protein levels and activity were induced 9-fold and 4-fold with age, respectively (p=0.0019 and p=0.018; N=3, but glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4 declined by 70% (p=0.0043; N=3. These results indicate toxicity may stem from vulnerability to lipid peroxidation instead of inadequate reduction of menadione semi-quinone. Lipid peroxidation was 2-fold higher, and GSH declined by a 3-fold greater margin in old versus young rat cells given 300 µM menadione (p2-fold reduction in cell death, suggesting that the age-related increase in menadione susceptibility likely stems from attenuated GSH-dependent defenses. This data identifies cellular targets for intervention in order to limit age-related toxicological insults to menadione and potentially other redox cycling compounds.

  12. Increased susceptibility to otitis media in a Splunc1-deficient mouse model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartlett, Jennifer A.; Meyerholz, David K.; Wohlford-Lenane, Christine L.; Naumann, Paul W.; Salzman, Nita H.; McCray, Paul B.

    2015-01-01

    ABSTRACT Otitis media (inflammation of the middle ear) is one of the most common diseases of early childhood. Susceptibility to otitis is influenced by a number of factors, including the actions of innate immune molecules secreted by the epithelia lining the nasopharynx, middle ear and Eustachian tube. The SPLUNC1 (short palate, lung, nasal epithelial clone 1) protein is a highly abundant secretory product of the mammalian nasal, oral and respiratory mucosa that is thought to play a multifunctional role in host defense. In this study we investigated Splunc1 expression in the ear of the mouse, and examined whether this protein contributes to overall host defense in the middle ear and/or Eustachian tube. We found that Splunc1 is highly expressed in both the surface epithelium and in submucosal glands in these regions in wild-type mice. In mice lacking Splunc1, we noted histologically an increased frequency of otitis media, characterized by the accumulation of leukocytes (neutrophils with scattered macrophages), proteinaceous fluid and mucus in the middle ear lumens. Furthermore, many of these mice had extensive remodeling of the middle ear wall, suggesting a chronic course of disease. From these observations, we conclude that loss of Splunc1 predisposes mice to the development of otitis media. The Splunc1−/− mouse model should help investigators to better understand both the biological role of Splunc1 as well as host defense mechanisms in the middle ear. PMID:25765466

  13. Global metabolic analyses identify key differences in metabolite levels between polymyxin-susceptible and polymyxin-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maifiah, Mohd Hafidz Mahamad; Cheah, Soon-Ee; Johnson, Matthew D; Han, Mei-Ling; Boyce, John D; Thamlikitkul, Visanu; Forrest, Alan; Kaye, Keith S; Hertzog, Paul; Purcell, Anthony W; Song, Jiangning; Velkov, Tony; Creek, Darren J; Li, Jian

    2016-02-29

    Multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii presents a global medical crisis and polymyxins are used as the last-line therapy. This study aimed to identify metabolic differences between polymyxin-susceptible and polymyxin-resistant A. baumannii using untargeted metabolomics. The metabolome of each A. baumannii strain was measured using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Multivariate and univariate statistics and pathway analyses were employed to elucidate metabolic differences between the polymyxin-susceptible and -resistant A. baumannii strains. Significant differences were identified between the metabolic profiles of the polymyxin-susceptible and -resistant A. baumannii strains. The lipopolysaccharide (LPS) deficient, polymyxin-resistant 19606R showed perturbation in specific amino acid and carbohydrate metabolites, particularly pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) and tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates. Levels of nucleotides were lower in the LPS-deficient 19606R. Furthermore, 19606R exhibited a shift in its glycerophospholipid profile towards increased abundance of short-chain lipids compared to the parent polymyxin-susceptible ATCC 19606. In contrast, in a pair of clinical isolates 03-149.1 (polymyxin-susceptible) and 03-149.2 (polymyxin-resistant, due to modification of lipid A), minor metabolic differences were identified. Notably, peptidoglycan biosynthesis metabolites were significantly depleted in both of the aforementioned polymyxin-resistant strains. This is the first comparative untargeted metabolomics study to show substantial differences in the metabolic profiles of the polymyxin-susceptible and -resistant A. baumannii.

  14. Improving the quark number susceptibilities for staggered fermions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gavai, Rajiv V.

    2003-01-01

    Quark number susceptibilities approach their ideal gas limit at sufficiently high temperatures. As in the case of other thermodynamic quantities, this limit itself is altered substantially on lattices with small temporal extent, N t = 4-8, making it thus difficult to check the validity of perturbation theory. Unlike other observables, improving susceptibilities or number densities is subject to constraints of current conservation and absence of chemical potential (μ) dependent divergences. We construct such an improved number density and susceptibility for staggered fermions and show that they approximate the continuum ideal gas limit better on small temporal lattices

  15. Intersite interactions and susceptibility in mixed valence systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xiaoqian Wang; Gao Lin; Bingjian Ni; Fusui Liu.

    1985-10-01

    This paper considers the effect of intersite processes on the susceptibility in mixed valence system. The method of thermodynamical perturbation used in this paper can also be generalized to study other properties of mixed valence system. The general formula of partition function of two-site interactions for the mixed valence system is given. The numerical calculations show that the intersite interaction is large enough to explain the minimum of susceptibility discovered in experiments. The different types of our theoretical curves predict that the susceptibility should exhibit a rich variety of behaviour at low temperature for various materials. (author)

  16. [Susceptibility surveillance of clinical isolates to fluoroquinolone antimicrobial agents from 2003 to 2008: post-marketing study of prulifloxacin].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawai, Shin; Yoshida, Atsushi; Okazaki, Mitsuhiro; Tsujihara, Yoshito; Inuzuka, Kazuhisa; Takeuchi, Kazuhide; Yamashita, Naoko; Onodera, Makoto; Hiraishi, Toru; Ida, Takashi; Maebashi, Kazunori

    2010-06-01

    Yearly changes in the susceptibility of clinical isolates to ulifloxacin (UFX) and other fluoroquinolones were examined through surveys over 3 periods. In the first survey, 534 strains derived from 19 species were collected from clinical specimens during 6 months from December 2003 to May 2004. In the same way, 805 strains were collected from December 2005 to May 2006 in the second survey, and 863 strains were from December 2007 to May 2008 in the third survey. Over these 3 study periods, the susceptibilities of fluoroquinolones against methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were decreased. The isolation frequency of levofloxacin-nonsusceptible strain was increased from 0% to 11.8% and from 14.6% to 20.8%, respectively. MIC90s of UFX against these pathogens were also increased, but its MIC90 for E. coli was 2 to 4 times lower than that of levofloxacin. On the other hand, the susceptibility of strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae to UFX was increased. Among the fluoroquinolones tested, UFX showed the most potent activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and no changes in the MIC90s occurred during the surveillance. Although one strain of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolated in the third study period showed levofloxacin-resistance (MIC, 8 microg/mL), there were nearly no changes in the MIC90s of any agents tested including UFX against S. pneumoniae during the surveillance. As for other bacterial species, a tendency to increase in resistance to UFX was not observed. The activity of UFX against Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp. was superior/equal to those of fluoroquinolones tested.

  17. Preliminary soil-slip susceptibility maps, southwestern California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morton, Douglas M.; Alvarez, Rachel M.; Campbell, Russell H.; Digital preparation by Bovard, Kelly R.; Brown, D.T.; Corriea, K.M.; Lesser, J.N.

    2003-01-01

    This group of maps shows relative susceptibility of hill slopes to the initiation sites of rainfall-triggered soil slip-debris flows in southwestern California. As such, the maps offer a partial answer to one part of the three parts necessary to predict the soil-slip/debris-flow process. A complete prediction of the process would include assessments of “where”, “when”, and “how big”. These maps empirically show part of the “where” of prediction (i.e., relative susceptibility to sites of initiation of the soil slips) but do not attempt to show the extent of run out of the resultant debris flows. Some information pertinent to “when” the process might begin is developed. “When” is determined mostly by dynamic factors such as rainfall rate and duration, for which local variations are not amenable to long-term prediction. “When” information is not provided on the maps but is described later in this narrative. The prediction of “how big” is addressed indirectly by restricting the maps to a single type of landslide process—soil slip-debris flows. The susceptibility maps were created through an iterative process from two kinds of information. First, locations of sites of past soil slips were obtained from inventory maps of past events. Aerial photographs, taken during six rainy seasons that produced abundant soil slips, were used as the basis for soil slip-debris flow inventory. Second, digital elevation models (DEM) of the areas that were inventoried were used to analyze the spatial characteristics of soil slip locations. These data were supplemented by observations made on the ground. Certain physical attributes of the locations of the soil-slip debris flows were found to be important and others were not. The most important attribute was the mapped bedrock formation at the site of initiation of the soil slip. However, because the soil slips occur in surficial materials overlying the bedrocks units, the bedrock formation can only serve as

  18. Does obesity increase susceptibility to ozone? Respiratory, behavioral, and metabolic assessments in Brown Norway rats

    Science.gov (United States)

    There may be a link between obesity and susceptibility to the respiratory, cardiovascular, and other health effects of air pollutants. Furthermore, it has been proposed that some air pollutants are obesogenic and may contribute to obesity. In view of the epidemic growth of obesit...

  19. Prolonged hypoxia increases survival even in Zebrafish (Danio rerio showing cardiac arrhythmia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renate Kopp

    Full Text Available Tolerance towards hypoxia is highly pronounced in zebrafish. In this study even beneficial effects of hypoxia, specifically enhanced survival of zebrafish larvae, could be demonstrated. This effect was actually more pronounced in breakdance mutants, which phenotypically show cardiac arrhythmia. Breakdance mutants (bre are characterized by chronically reduced cardiac output. Despite an about 50% heart rate reduction, they become adults, but survival rate significantly drops to 40%. Normoxic bre animals demonstrate increased hypoxia inducible factor 1 a (Hif-1α expression, which indicates an activated hypoxic signaling pathway. Consequently, cardiovascular acclimation, like cardiac hypertrophy and increased erythrocyte concentration, occurs. Thus, it was hypothesized, that under hypoxic conditions survival might be even more reduced. When bre mutants were exposed to hypoxic conditions, they surprisingly showed higher survival rates than under normoxic conditions and even reached wildtype values. In hypoxic wildtype zebrafish, survival yet exceeded normoxic control values. To specify physiological acclimation, cardiovascular and metabolic parameters were measured before hypoxia started (3 dpf, when the first differences in survival rate occurred (7 dpf and when survival rate plateaued (15 dpf. Hypoxic animals expectedly demonstrated Hif-1α accumulation and consequently enhanced convective oxygen carrying capacity. Moreover, bre animals showed a significantly enhanced heart rate under hypoxic conditions, which reached normoxic wildtype values. This improvement in convective oxygen transport ensured a sufficient oxygen and nutrient supply and was also reflected in the significantly higher mitochondrial activity. The highly optimized energy metabolism observed in hypoxic zebrafish larvae might be decisive for periods of higher energy demand due to organ development, growth and increased activity. However, hypoxia increased survival only during a

  20. Antimicrobial Susceptibility Patterns of Brachyspira Species Isolated from Swine Herds in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mirajkar, Nandita S.; Davies, Peter R.

    2016-01-01

    Outbreaks of swine dysentery, caused by Brachyspira hyodysenteriae and the recently discovered “Brachyspira hampsonii,” have reoccurred in North American swine herds since the late 2000s. Additionally, multiple Brachyspira species have been increasingly isolated by North American diagnostic laboratories. In Europe, the reliance on antimicrobial therapy for control of swine dysentery has been followed by reports of antimicrobial resistance over time. The objectives of our study were to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility trends of four Brachyspira species originating from U.S. swine herds and to investigate their associations with the bacterial species, genotypes, and epidemiological origins of the isolates. We evaluated the susceptibility of B. hyodysenteriae, B. hampsonii, Brachyspira pilosicoli, and Brachyspira murdochii to tiamulin, valnemulin, doxycycline, lincomycin, and tylosin by broth microdilution and that to carbadox by agar dilution. In general, Brachyspira species showed high susceptibility to tiamulin, valnemulin, and carbadox, heterogeneous susceptibility to doxycycline, and low susceptibility to lincomycin and tylosin. A trend of decreasing antimicrobial susceptibility by species was observed (B. hampsonii > B. hyodysenteriae > B. murdochii > B. pilosicoli). In general, Brachyspira isolates from the United States were more susceptible to these antimicrobials than were isolates from other countries. Decreased antimicrobial susceptibility was associated with the genotype, stage of production, and production system from which the isolate originated, which highlights the roles of biosecurity and husbandry in disease prevention and control. Finally, this study also highlights the urgent need for Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute-approved clinical breakpoints for Brachyspira species, to facilitate informed therapeutic and control strategies. PMID:27252458

  1. Antimicrobial Susceptibility Patterns of Brachyspira Species Isolated from Swine Herds in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mirajkar, Nandita S; Davies, Peter R; Gebhart, Connie J

    2016-08-01

    Outbreaks of swine dysentery, caused by Brachyspira hyodysenteriae and the recently discovered "Brachyspira hampsonii," have reoccurred in North American swine herds since the late 2000s. Additionally, multiple Brachyspira species have been increasingly isolated by North American diagnostic laboratories. In Europe, the reliance on antimicrobial therapy for control of swine dysentery has been followed by reports of antimicrobial resistance over time. The objectives of our study were to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility trends of four Brachyspira species originating from U.S. swine herds and to investigate their associations with the bacterial species, genotypes, and epidemiological origins of the isolates. We evaluated the susceptibility of B. hyodysenteriae, B. hampsonii, Brachyspira pilosicoli, and Brachyspira murdochii to tiamulin, valnemulin, doxycycline, lincomycin, and tylosin by broth microdilution and that to carbadox by agar dilution. In general, Brachyspira species showed high susceptibility to tiamulin, valnemulin, and carbadox, heterogeneous susceptibility to doxycycline, and low susceptibility to lincomycin and tylosin. A trend of decreasing antimicrobial susceptibility by species was observed (B. hampsonii > B. hyodysenteriae > B. murdochii > B. pilosicoli). In general, Brachyspira isolates from the United States were more susceptible to these antimicrobials than were isolates from other countries. Decreased antimicrobial susceptibility was associated with the genotype, stage of production, and production system from which the isolate originated, which highlights the roles of biosecurity and husbandry in disease prevention and control. Finally, this study also highlights the urgent need for Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute-approved clinical breakpoints for Brachyspira species, to facilitate informed therapeutic and control strategies. Copyright © 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  2. Assessment of Groundwater Susceptibility to Non-Point Source Contaminants Using Three-Dimensional Transient Indexes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yong; Weissmann, Gary S; Fogg, Graham E; Lu, Bingqing; Sun, HongGuang; Zheng, Chunmiao

    2018-06-05

    Groundwater susceptibility to non-point source contamination is typically quantified by stable indexes, while groundwater quality evolution (or deterioration globally) can be a long-term process that may last for decades and exhibit strong temporal variations. This study proposes a three-dimensional (3- d ), transient index map built upon physical models to characterize the complete temporal evolution of deep aquifer susceptibility. For illustration purposes, the previous travel time probability density (BTTPD) approach is extended to assess the 3- d deep groundwater susceptibility to non-point source contamination within a sequence stratigraphic framework observed in the Kings River fluvial fan (KRFF) aquifer. The BTTPD, which represents complete age distributions underlying a single groundwater sample in a regional-scale aquifer, is used as a quantitative, transient measure of aquifer susceptibility. The resultant 3- d imaging of susceptibility using the simulated BTTPDs in KRFF reveals the strong influence of regional-scale heterogeneity on susceptibility. The regional-scale incised-valley fill deposits increase the susceptibility of aquifers by enhancing rapid downward solute movement and displaying relatively narrow and young age distributions. In contrast, the regional-scale sequence-boundary paleosols within the open-fan deposits "protect" deep aquifers by slowing downward solute movement and displaying a relatively broad and old age distribution. Further comparison of the simulated susceptibility index maps to known contaminant distributions shows that these maps are generally consistent with the high concentration and quick evolution of 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP) in groundwater around the incised-valley fill since the 1970s'. This application demonstrates that the BTTPDs can be used as quantitative and transient measures of deep aquifer susceptibility to non-point source contamination.

  3. Characteristics of Japanese inflammatory bowel disease susceptibility loci.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arimura, Yoshiaki; Isshiki, Hiroyuki; Onodera, Kei; Nagaishi, Kanna; Yamashita, Kentaro; Sonoda, Tomoko; Matsumoto, Takayuki; Takahashi, Atsushi; Takazoe, Masakazu; Yamazaki, Keiko; Kubo, Michiaki; Fujimiya, Mineko; Imai, Kohzoh; Shinomura, Yasuhisa

    2014-08-01

    There are substantial differences in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) genetics depending on the populations examined. We aimed to identify Japanese population-specific or true culprit susceptibility genes through a meta-analysis of past genetic studies of Japanese IBD. For this study, we reviewed 2,703 articles. The review process consisted of three screening stages: we initially searched for relevant studies and then relevant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Finally, we adjusted them for the meta-analysis. To maximize our chances of analysis, we introduced proxy SNPs during the first stage. To minimize publication bias, no significant SNPs and solitary SNPs without pairs were combined to be reconsidered during the third stage. Additionally, two SNPs were newly genotyped. Finally, we conducted a meta-analysis of 37 published studies in 50 SNPs located at 22 loci corresponding to the total number of 4,853 Crohn's disease (CD), 5,612 ulcerative colitis (UC) patients, and 14,239 healthy controls. We confirmed that the NKX2-3 polymorphism is associated with common susceptibility to IBD and that HLA-DRB1*0450 alleles increase susceptibility to CD but reduce risk for UC while HLA-DRB1*1502 alleles increase susceptibility to UC but reduce CD risk. Moreover, we found individual disease risk loci: TNFSF15 and TNFα to CD and HLA-B*5201, and NFKBIL1 to UC. The genetic risk of HLA was substantially high (odds ratios ranged from 1.54 to 2.69) while that of common susceptibility loci to IBD was modest (odds ratio ranged from 1.13 to 1.24). Results indicate that Japanese IBD susceptibility loci identified by the meta-analysis are closely associated with the HLA regions.

  4. Effect of inoculum size on the antibiotic susceptibilities of β-lactamase positive isolates of Moraxella catarrhalis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Vraneš

    2005-08-01

    Full Text Available It is well known that bacteria producing β-lactamases in general show marked inoculum effect in susceptibility testing. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of inoculum size on the susceptibility of β-lactamase positive strains of M. catarrhalis to oral β-lactam and non β-lactam antibiotics. MICs of antibiotics were determined by a twofold microdilution technique with two different inoculum sizes were tested: 5x 105 CFU/ml -standard inoculum and 5 x107 CFU/ml -high inoculum. The highest increase (4-fold was observed with penicillins alone (amoxycillin and ampicillin or combined with inhibitor and ceftibuten, followed by older cephalosporins, erithromycine and chloramphenicol ( 2-fold. Tetracycline did not show a significant increase in MIC when a higher inoculum size was applied. In spite of the increase in MIC with high inoculum all strains were still susceptible to amoxycillin combined with clavulanate. MICs of cephalosporins were also below the resistance breakpoint for most of the strains at the higher inoculum. Based on that, we can conclude that therapeutic implications of the inoculum effect were not significant.These data suggest that high inocula should be used to determine MICs of ampicillin and amoxycillin for M. catarrhalis but that this precaution is unnecessary with the cephalosporins tested or with amoxycillin/clavulanate

  5. Ciprofloxacin susceptibility of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from keratitis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lomholt, JA; Kilian, Mogens

    2003-01-01

    keratitis, endophthalmitis, contact lens associated red eye (CLARE), and contact lens storage cases showed MIC values below 1 mg/l. Several allelic forms of gyrA and a single variation in the mexR gene product were detected in 10 ciprofloxacin susceptible strains. CONCLUSIONS: The vast majority of eye......AIM: To examine the ciprofloxacin susceptibility of 106 Pseudomonas aeruginosa eye isolates from the United Kingdom, Denmark, India, the United States, and Australia, and to determine the molecular mechanisms of resistance. METHODS: Ciprofloxacin susceptibility was tested by an agar dilution method...... isolates of P aeruginosa from European countries are fully susceptible to ciprofloxacin and the concentration of ciprofloxacin eye drops used for local treatment (3000 mg/l) exceeds MIC values for strains recorded as resistant. Mutations in more than one target gene were associated with higher MIC values....

  6. Ciprofloxacin susceptibility of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from keratitis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lomholt, JA; Kilian, Mogens

    2003-01-01

    AIM: To examine the ciprofloxacin susceptibility of 106 Pseudomonas aeruginosa eye isolates from the United Kingdom, Denmark, India, the United States, and Australia, and to determine the molecular mechanisms of resistance. METHODS: Ciprofloxacin susceptibility was tested by an agar dilution method...... keratitis, endophthalmitis, contact lens associated red eye (CLARE), and contact lens storage cases showed MIC values below 1 mg/l. Several allelic forms of gyrA and a single variation in the mexR gene product were detected in 10 ciprofloxacin susceptible strains. CONCLUSIONS: The vast majority of eye...... isolates of P aeruginosa from European countries are fully susceptible to ciprofloxacin and the concentration of ciprofloxacin eye drops used for local treatment (3000 mg/l) exceeds MIC values for strains recorded as resistant. Mutations in more than one target gene were associated with higher MIC values....

  7. Antimicrobial resistance and susceptibility testing of anaerobic bacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schuetz, Audrey N

    2014-09-01

    Infections due to anaerobic bacteria can be severe and life-threatening. Susceptibility testing of anaerobes is not frequently performed in laboratories, but such testing is important to direct appropriate therapy. Anaerobic resistance is increasing globally, and resistance trends vary by geographic region. An overview of a variety of susceptibility testing methods for anaerobes is provided, and the advantages and disadvantages of each method are reviewed. Specific clinical situations warranting anaerobic susceptibility testing are discussed. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  8. Increased susceptibility to infectious salmon anemia virus (ISAv) in Lepeophtheirus salmonis – infected Atlantic salmon

    Science.gov (United States)

    The salmon louse and infectious salmon anemia virus (ISAv) are the two most significant pathogens of concern to the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) aquaculture industry. However, the interactions between sea lice and ISAv, as well as the impact of a prior sea lice infection on the susceptibility of th...

  9. Linear and nonlinear optical susceptibilities in a laterally coupled quantum-dot–quantum-ring system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zeng, Zaiping; Garoufalis, Christos S.; Baskoutas, Sotirios

    2014-01-01

    Linear and nonlinear optical susceptibilities in a laterally coupled quantum-dot–quantum-ring system have been theoretically studied. In general, we find that the structure parameters of the coupled system significantly affect the optical susceptibilities. The enhancement of the coupling effects between the dot and ring is found to increase considerably the optical susceptibilities and redshift drastically the transition energies. Comparing to the linear susceptibility, the nonlinear optical susceptibility is found to be more sensitive to the variation of the structure parameters. A comprehensive analysis of the electron probability density movement with respect to the modification of the structure parameters is provided, which offers a unique perspective of the ground-state localization. - Highlights: • Optical susceptibilities in a quantum-dot–quantum-ring system are studied. • The structure parameters significantly affect the optical susceptibilities. • The enhancement of the coupling effects increases the optical susceptibilities. • The nonlinear susceptibility is more sensitive to the change in structure parameters. • A comprehensive analysis of the electron probability density movement is provided

  10. Patient Susceptibility to Candidiasis—A Potential for Adjunctive Immunotherapy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davidson, Linda; Netea, Mihai G.; Kullberg, Bart Jan

    2018-01-01

    Candida spp. are colonizing fungi of human skin and mucosae of the gastrointestinal and genitourinary tract, present in 30–50% of healthy individuals in a population at any given moment. The host defense mechanisms prevent this commensal fungus from invading and causing disease. Loss of skin or mucosal barrier function, microbiome imbalances, or defects of immune defense mechanisms can lead to an increased susceptibility to severe mucocutaneous or invasive candidiasis. A comprehensive understanding of the immune defense against Candida is essential for developing adjunctive immunotherapy. The important role of underlying genetic susceptibility to Candida infections has become apparent over the years. In most patients, the cause of increased susceptibility to fungal infections is complex, based on a combination of immune regulation gene polymorphisms together with other non-genetic predisposing factors. Identification of patients with an underlying genetic predisposition could help determine which patients could benefit from prophylactic antifungal treatment or adjunctive immunotherapy. This review will provide an overview of patient susceptibility to mucocutaneous and invasive candidiasis and the potential for adjunctive immunotherapy. PMID:29371502

  11. Patient Susceptibility to Candidiasis—A Potential for Adjunctive Immunotherapy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Linda Davidson

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Candida spp. are colonizing fungi of human skin and mucosae of the gastrointestinal and genitourinary tract, present in 30–50% of healthy individuals in a population at any given moment. The host defense mechanisms prevent this commensal fungus from invading and causing disease. Loss of skin or mucosal barrier function, microbiome imbalances, or defects of immune defense mechanisms can lead to an increased susceptibility to severe mucocutaneous or invasive candidiasis. A comprehensive understanding of the immune defense against Candida is essential for developing adjunctive immunotherapy. The important role of underlying genetic susceptibility to Candida infections has become apparent over the years. In most patients, the cause of increased susceptibility to fungal infections is complex, based on a combination of immune regulation gene polymorphisms together with other non-genetic predisposing factors. Identification of patients with an underlying genetic predisposition could help determine which patients could benefit from prophylactic antifungal treatment or adjunctive immunotherapy. This review will provide an overview of patient susceptibility to mucocutaneous and invasive candidiasis and the potential for adjunctive immunotherapy.

  12. Dynamic insecticide susceptibility changes in Florida populations of Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Psyllidae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tiwari, Siddharth; Killiny, Nabil; Stelinski, Lukasz L

    2013-02-01

    Five field populations of Diaphorina citri Kuwayama from various regions of Florida were evaluated in 2011 for resistance to commonly used insecticides. Three diagnostic doses (LD50, LD75, and LD95), developed in 2009 using a laboratory susceptible population, were used to measure changes in susceptibility levels of field-collected populations as compared with a susceptible laboratory population. Further reductions in the susceptibility levels of D. citri to chlorpyriphos and fenpropathrin were determined, compared with results obtained in 2010. Mean percent mortality obtained from all five locations was significantly lower than observed with the laboratory susceptible population for all insecticides tested. Previously, expression of five CYP4 genes was implicated in contributing to insecticide metabolism in D. citri. In the current study, we compared the relative expression of these five CYP4 genes and their associated levels of protein expression among field-collected and laboratory susceptible populations. Expression of all CYP4 genes investigated was higher in field-collected populations when normalized against the laboratory susceptible population. There was an increased signal of a band corresponding to a 45 kDa protein in four of the five field populations as measured by the Western blot assay, which suggests increased production of cytochrome P450 enzymes. The current results indicate that insecticide resistance continues to increase in Florida populations ofD. citri, particularly to chlorpyriphos and fenpropathrin. However, there was no further decrease in susceptibility of Florida populations of D. citri to neonicotinoid insecticides in 2011 as compared with previous years.

  13. Study of the magnetic susceptibilities of some plutonium derivatives

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raphael, G.

    1969-06-01

    We present a detailed description of an automatic recording apparatus for magnetic susceptibility measurement of radioactive samples in the temperature range 4 K - 1200 K. We have measured the magnetic susceptibility of various plutonium compounds: - PuO 2 , Pu 2 O 3 , PuO 2-x , - PuS, Pu 2 S 3 , Pu 3 S 4 , (U x Pu 1-x )S - PuN - PuC 1-x (N,O,H,vacancy), Pu 2 C 3 , (U 0.85 Pu 0.15 )C. The curves of susceptibilities versus temperature show many magnetic transitions. The interpretation of these results shows the existence of magnetic moments carried by the 5 f electrons and localized on the metallic sites as well as the great influence of the 'crystal field' in all these compounds. (author) [fr

  14. Magnetic susceptibility of molecular carbon: nanotubes and fullerite

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ramirez, A P; Haddon, R C; Zhou, O; Fleming, R M; Zhang, J; McClure, S M; Smalley, R E [AT T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ (United States)

    1994-07-01

    Elemental carbon can be synthesized in a variety of geometrical forms, from three-dimensional extended structures (diamond) to finite molecules (C[sub 60] fullerite). Results are presented here on the magnetic susceptibility of the least well-understood members of this family, nanotubes and C[sub 60] fullerite. (1) Nanotubes represent the cylindrical form of carbon, intermediate between graphite and fullerite. They are found to have significantly larger orientation-averaged susceptibility, on a per carbon basis, than any other form of elemental carbon. This susceptibility implies an average band structure among nanotubes similar to that of graphite. (2) High-resolution magnetic susceptibility data on C[sub 60] fullerite near the molecular orientational-ordering transition at 259 K show a sharp jump corresponding to 2.5 centimeter-gram-second parts per million per mole of C[sub 60]. This jump directly demonstrates the effect of an intermolecular cooperative transition on an intramolecular electronic property, where the susceptibility jump may be ascribed to a change in the shape of the molecule due to lattice forces.

  15. Magnetic susceptibilities of integrable quantum ladders

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Soo A; Lee, K.

    2001-01-01

    As an extension of previous studies, we consider the magnetic susceptibilities of a coupled spin chain model at low temperature and of a more realistic model at low temperature and of a more realistic model having a t-J ladder structure at zero temperature. The magnetic susceptibilities for both models are obtained numerically when the coupling constant is greater than its critical value. In this region, the ladders behave as a single chain for H c and as two independent chains for H>H c , showing a divergence at H c . This divergence is expected to smear out at a finite temperature

  16. Increased susceptibility to chemotherapeutic alkylating agents of mice deficient in DNA repair methyltransferase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shiraishi, A; Sakumi, K; Sekiguchi, M

    2000-10-01

    O(6)-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase plays vital roles in preventing induction of mutations and cancer as well as cell death related to alkylating agents. Mice defective in the MGMT: gene, encoding the methyltransferase, were used to evaluate cell death-inducing and tumorigenic activities of therapeutic agents which have alkylation potential. MGMT(-/-) mice were considerably more sensitive to dacarbazine, a monofunctional triazene, than were wild-type mice, in terms of survival. When dacarbazine was administered i.p. to 6-week-old mice and survival at 30 days was enumerated, LD(50) values of MGMT(-/-) and MGMT(+/+) mice were 20 and 450 mg/kg body wt, respectively. Increased sensitivity of MGMT(-/-) mice to 1-(4-amino-2-methyl-5-pyrimidinyl)methyl-3-(2-chloroethyl)-3-nitrosou rea (ACNU), a bifunctional nitrosourea, was also noted. On the other hand, there was no difference in survival of MGMT(+/+) and MGMT(-/-) mice exposed to cyclophosphamide, a bifunctional nitrogen mustard. It appears that dacarbazine and ACNU produce O(6)-alkylguanine as a major toxic lesion, while cyclophosphamide yields other types of modifications in DNA which are not subjected to the action of the methyltransferase. MGMT(-/-) mice seem to be less refractory to the tumor-inducing effect of dacarbazine than are MGMT(+/+) mice. Thus, the level of O(6)-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase activity is an important factor when determining susceptibility to drugs with the potential for alkylation.

  17. Field-impressed anisotropy of susceptibility in iron-terbium thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stephenson, A.; Booth, N.A.

    1995-01-01

    Two thin films of Fe 1-x Tb x where x=0.17 and 0.23 are shown to exhibit the effect of field-impressed anisotropy. After application of a direct field of 80 mT, which gives them an isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM) in their plane, the anisotropy of initial susceptibility differs from that measured after the films have been tumble-demagnetized. By subtracting the susceptibility results of the tumble-demagnetized state from those obtained after the application of the 80 mT direct field, it is shown that the effect of this field is to decrease the susceptibility measured along the former applied field direction and to increase the susceptibility at right angles to this. The effect is almost certainly due to changes in domain alignment. Even though these films contain many domains, the above results are similar to those previously obtained for single-domain γFe 2 O 3 and magnetite particles. The sense of the effect is opposite to that for multi-domain magnetite particles where the susceptibility has been found to increase along the previously applied field direction. ((orig.))

  18. Effects of electron transitions on the susceptibility of Cd3Mg

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sereda, Yu.P.

    1988-01-01

    The monotone susceptibility component has been examined at 4.2-420 K for Cd 1-x Mg x ordering single crystals for 0.18 < x < 0.33. The temperature and concentration curves for the susceptibility components show features related to structural and electronic topological transitions. The susceptibility anomalies at the electron-transition points are correlated with the boundaries to the existence of the allotropic forms

  19. Soil susceptibility to compaction under use conditions in southern Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Mazurana

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT The degree of soil compaction is intensified by its inadequate management, compaction being variable depending on soil type since even under identical management conditions, different types have different abilities to withstand load. The objective of this study was to evaluate the susceptibility to compaction of different classes of soils under no-tillage (NT croping system compared to the original condition. Thus, i soils with the same source material have distinct resistance to compression with increased NT adoption time; ii the most sensitive indicators of this change are the ratios mass:volume and volume:volume and; iii there is a relationship between resistance and compaction susceptibility with the amount and type of oxide. Soil samples were collected in areas under NT and under natural condition in order to assess the impact imposed by the NT on the attributes density and porosity, precompression stress and compressibility index and relate them to the oxide type of, and content in, the soils under study. The results show that the density and macroporosity were those most affected by the NT agricultural use, regardless of soil type, that is, its dynamic is related more to soil use and less to mineralogical characteristics. The soil resistance and compaction susceptibility were higher in soil developed in basalt, followed by those developed in sandstone and granite. Both the organic matter content and type and concentration of iron oxides were related to the soil resistance and susceptibility to compaction.

  20. Genetic architecture of intrinsic antibiotic susceptibility.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hany S Girgis

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available Antibiotic exposure rapidly selects for more resistant bacterial strains, and both a drug's chemical structure and a bacterium's cellular network affect the types of mutations acquired.To better characterize the genetic determinants of antibiotic susceptibility, we exposed a transposon-mutagenized library of Escherichia coli to each of 17 antibiotics that encompass a wide range of drug classes and mechanisms of action. Propagating the library for multiple generations with drug concentrations that moderately inhibited the growth of the isogenic parental strain caused the abundance of strains with even minor fitness advantages or disadvantages to change measurably and reproducibly. Using a microarray-based genetic footprinting strategy, we then determined the quantitative contribution of each gene to E. coli's intrinsic antibiotic susceptibility. We found both loci whose removal increased general antibiotic tolerance as well as pathways whose down-regulation increased tolerance to specific drugs and drug classes. The beneficial mutations identified span multiple pathways, and we identified pairs of mutations that individually provide only minor decreases in antibiotic susceptibility but that combine to provide higher tolerance.Our results illustrate that a wide-range of mutations can modulate the activity of many cellular resistance processes and demonstrate that E. coli has a large mutational target size for increasing antibiotic tolerance. Furthermore, the work suggests that clinical levels of antibiotic resistance might develop through the sequential accumulation of chromosomal mutations of small individual effect.

  1. Susceptibility profiles of Nocardia isolates based on current taxonomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schlaberg, Robert; Fisher, Mark A; Hanson, Kimberley E

    2014-01-01

    The genus Nocardia has undergone rapid taxonomic expansion in recent years, and an increasing number of species are recognized as human pathogens. Many established species have predictable antimicrobial susceptibility profiles, but sufficient information is often not available for recently described organisms. Additionally, the effectiveness of sulfonamides as first-line drugs for Nocardia has recently been questioned. This led us to review antimicrobial susceptibility patterns for a large number of molecularly identified clinical isolates. Susceptibility results were available for 1,299 isolates representing 39 different species or complexes, including 11 that were newly described, during a 6-year study period. All tested isolates were susceptible to linezolid. Resistance to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) was rare (2%) except among Nocardia pseudobrasiliensis (31%) strains and strains of the N. transvalensis complex (19%). Imipenem susceptibility varied for N. cyriacigeorgica and N. farcinica, as did ceftriaxone susceptibility of the N. nova complex. Resistance to more than one of the most commonly used drugs (amikacin, ceftriaxone, TMP-SMX, and imipenem) was highest for N. pseudobrasiliensis (100%), N. transvalensis complex (83%), N. farcinica (68%), N. puris (57%), N. brasiliensis (51%), N. aobensis (50%), and N. amikacinitolerans (43%). Thus, while antimicrobial resistance can often be predicted, susceptibility testing should still be considered when combination therapy is warranted, for less well characterized species or those with variable susceptibility profiles, and for patients with TMP-SMX intolerance.

  2. Determination of antifungal susceptibility patterns among the clinical isolates of Candida species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kamiar Zomorodian

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Context: Candida species are opportunistic yeasts that cause infections ranging from simple dermatosis to potentially life-threatening fungemia. The emergence of resistance to antifungal drugs has been increased in the past two decades. Aim: the present study we determined to find out the susceptibility profiles of clinical isolates of Candida species against four antifungal drugs, including amphotericin B, ketoconazole, fluconazole and itraconazole. Materials and Methods: Antifungal susceptibility testing of the yeasts was done in accordance with the proposed guidelines for antifungal disk diffusion susceptibility testing of yeasts based on the CLSI document M44-A. Results: A total of 206 yeast isolates were assessed. Among the evaluated Candida species, the highest rates of resistance to ketoconazole were seen in Candida glabrata (16.6% and Candida albicans (3.2%. Susceptibility and intermediate response to fluconazole were seen in 96.6% and 3.4% of the Candida isolates, respectively. A total of 19 (9.2% yeast isolates showed petite phenomenon including 11 C. glabrata, 3 C. albicans, 2 Candida dubliniensis and one isolate of each Candida krusei and Candida parapsilosis. Conclusion: The high number of petite mutation in the isolated yeasts should be seriously considered since it may be one of the reasons of antifungal treatment failure.

  3. Harmonic and static susceptibilities of YBa2Cu3O7

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishida, T.; Goldfarb, R.B.; Okayasu, S.; Kazumata, Y.; Franz, J.; Arndt, T.; Schauer, W.

    1993-01-01

    Intergranular properties of the sintered superconductor YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 have been studied in terms of complex harmonic magnetic susceptibility χ n χ n ' - iχ n '' (n integer) as well as DC susceptibility χ dc . As functions of temperature T, χ 1 ' and χ 1 '' depend on both the AC magnetic-field amplitude H ac and the magnitude of a superimposed DC field H dc . Only odd-harmonic susceptibilities are observed below the critical temperature, T c , for zero H dc while both odd and even harmonics are observed for nonzero H dc . With T constant, odd-harmonic susceptibilities are even functions of H dc , whereas even-harmonic susceptibilities are odd functions of H dc . Experimental intergranular characteristics of χ n ' and χ n '' are in good agreement with theoretical predictions from a simplified Kim model of magnetization. In contrast, even-harmonic susceptibilities measured for a GdBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 thin film and an YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 single crystal are not prominent due to missing weak links, whereas odd-harmonic susceptibilities are remarkable. A survey of several models for the harmonic response of superconductors is presented. The DC susceptibility curve for the zero-field-cooled YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 sample, χ ZFC (T), has a two-step structure arising from intra- and inter-granular components, similar to χ 1 '. DC susceptibility measured upon warming, χ FCW (T), shows a negative peak near T c for the sample cooled rapidly in small DC fields. DC susceptibility measured upon cooling, χ FCC (T), does not show a peak. A negative peak is not seen in measurements on a powdered sample. The negative peak can be explained by intergranular flux depinning upon warming. (orig.)

  4. Interventions on Metabolism: Making Antibiotic-Susceptible Bacteria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernando Baquero

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Antibiotics act on bacterial metabolism, and antibiotic resistance involves changes in this metabolism. Interventions on metabolism with drugs might therefore modify drug susceptibility and drug resistance. In their recent article, Martin Vestergaard et al. (mBio 8:e01114-17, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.01114-17 illustrate the possibility of converting intrinsically resistant bacteria into susceptible ones. They reported that inhibition of a central metabolic enzyme, ATP synthase, allows otherwise ineffective polymyxin antibiotics to act on Staphylococcus aureus. The study of the intrinsic resistome of bacterial pathogens has shown that several metabolic genes, including multigene transcriptional regulators, contribute to antibiotic resistance. In some cases, these genes only marginally increase antibiotic resistance, but reduced levels of susceptibility might be critical in the evolution or resistance under low antibiotic concentrations or in the clinical response of highly resistant bacteria. Drug interventions on bacterial metabolism might constitute a critical adjuvant therapy in combination with antibiotics to ensure susceptibility of pathogens with intrinsic or acquired antimicrobial resistance.

  5. Defense response of susceptible and resistant Biomphalaria alexandrina snails against Schistosoma mansoni infection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iman F. Abou-El-Naga

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available In Egypt, Biomphalaria alexandrina is the intermediate host for Schistosoma mansoni. The fates of Schistosoma miracidia in the snails varies between different species of Biomphalaria. The internal defense system is one of the factors that influence the susceptibility pattern of the snails. The interaction between Biomphalaria snails and S. mansoni needs to be identified for each species, and even between the members of the same species with different degrees of susceptibility. In the present study, the first generation of susceptible and resistant parents of B. alexandrina was examined histologically at the 30th day post exposure. The study includes the characterization of the immune response, as expressed by tissue reactions, of susceptible and resistant B. alexandrina snails against S. mansoni. It was also designed to determine the impact of the resistance increase in parent snails, on the mechanisms of interaction of their offspring against infection. The results showed that the infection rate of the offspring from the susceptible parents was 92%. No susceptible offspring was produced from the resistant parents. When the parents were of equal number of susceptible and resistant snails, they gave an offspring with an infection rate of 20%. Susceptible snails that had susceptible parents showed a higher degree of susceptibility than those that had both susceptible and resistant parents. A common feature of the resistant snails was the absence of any viable parasites. The tissue reactions of the resistant snails having only resistant parents occurred at the site of miracidial penetration. In resistant snails for which susceptible ones were included in their parents, the reactions occurred in the deep tissues. These results characterized the immune response of B. alexandrina snails against Schistosoma infection which was found to occur by two different mechanisms. One type of defense occurs in highly resistant snails, and employs direct

  6. Structural properties and magnetic susceptibility of iron-intercalated titanium ditelluride

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pleshchev, V.G.; Titov, A.N.; Titova, S.G.; Kuranov, A.V.

    1997-01-01

    Structural peculiarities and magnetic susceptibility of titanium ditelluride, intercalated by iron, are studied. It is established that the basic motive of crystal structure by intercalation is preserved and the iron atoms are locates in the van der Waals gaps in positions with octahedral coordination. It is shown that the magnetic susceptibility of the Fe 0.25 TiT 2 sample increases approximately by 20 times. The magnetic susceptibility for the Fe 0.33 TiTe 2 samples becomes even much higher

  7. Quantitative susceptibility mapping of human brain at 3T: a multisite reproducibility study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, P-Y; Chao, T-C; Wu, M-L

    2015-03-01

    Quantitative susceptibility mapping of the human brain has demonstrated strong potential in examining iron deposition, which may help in investigating possible brain pathology. This study assesses the reproducibility of quantitative susceptibility mapping across different imaging sites. In this study, the susceptibility values of 5 regions of interest in the human brain were measured on 9 healthy subjects following calibration by using phantom experiments. Each of the subjects was imaged 5 times on 1 scanner with the same procedure repeated on 3 different 3T systems so that both within-site and cross-site quantitative susceptibility mapping precision levels could be assessed. Two quantitative susceptibility mapping algorithms, similar in principle, one by using iterative regularization (iterative quantitative susceptibility mapping) and the other with analytic optimal solutions (deterministic quantitative susceptibility mapping), were implemented, and their performances were compared. Results show that while deterministic quantitative susceptibility mapping had nearly 700 times faster computation speed, residual streaking artifacts seem to be more prominent compared with iterative quantitative susceptibility mapping. With quantitative susceptibility mapping, the putamen, globus pallidus, and caudate nucleus showed smaller imprecision on the order of 0.005 ppm, whereas the red nucleus and substantia nigra, closer to the skull base, had a somewhat larger imprecision of approximately 0.01 ppm. Cross-site errors were not significantly larger than within-site errors. Possible sources of estimation errors are discussed. The reproducibility of quantitative susceptibility mapping in the human brain in vivo is regionally dependent, and the precision levels achieved with quantitative susceptibility mapping should allow longitudinal and multisite studies such as aging-related changes in brain tissue magnetic susceptibility. © 2015 by American Journal of Neuroradiology.

  8. Worldwide trends show oropharyngeal cancer rates increasing

    Science.gov (United States)

    NCI scientists report that the incidence of oropharyngeal cancer significantly increased during the period 1983-2002 among people in countries that are economically developed. Oropharyngeal cancer occurs primarily in the middle part of the throat behind t

  9. Trends towards lower antimicrobial susceptibility and characterization of acquired resistance among clinical isolates of Brachyspira hyodysenteriae in Spain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hidalgo, Álvaro; Carvajal, Ana; Vester, Birte; Pringle, Märit; Naharro, Germán; Rubio, Pedro

    2011-07-01

    The antimicrobial susceptibility of clinical isolates of Brachyspira hyodysenteriae in Spain was monitored, and the underlying molecular mechanisms of resistance were investigated. MICs of tylosin, tiamulin, valnemulin, lincomycin, and tylvalosin were determined for 87 B. hyodysenteriae isolates recovered from 2008 to 2009 by broth dilution. Domain V of the 23S rRNA gene and the ribosomal protein L3 gene were sequenced in 20 isolates for which the tiamulin MIC was ≥ 4 μg/ml, presenting decreased susceptibility, and in 18 tiamulin-susceptible isolates (MIC ≤ 0.125 μg/ml), and all isolates were typed by multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeats analysis. A comparison with antimicrobial susceptibility data from 2000 to 2007 showed an increase in pleuromutilin resistance over time, doubling the number of isolates with decreased susceptibility to tiamulin. No alteration in susceptibility was detected for lincomycin, and the MIC of tylosin remained high (MIC(50) > 128 μg/ml). The decreased susceptibility to tylosin and lincomycin can be explained by mutations at position A2058 of the 23S rRNA gene (Escherichia coli numbering). A2058T was the predominant mutation, but A2058G also was found together with a change of the neighboring base pair at positions 2057 to 2611. The role of additional point mutations in the vicinity of the peptidyl transferase center and mutations in the L3 at amino acids 148 and 149 and their possible involvement in antimicrobial susceptibility are considered. An association between G2032A and high levels of tiamulin and lincomycin MICs was found, suggesting an increasing importance of this mutation in antimicrobial resistance of clinical isolates of B. hyodysenteriae.

  10. Review of magnetic susceptibility logging and its application to uranium exploration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    George, D.C.; Scott, J.H.

    1982-01-01

    Borehole measurement of magnetic susceptibility can show anomalies associated with mineralization or alteration. The detection of small anomalies is necessary, so efforts have been made in recent years to improve the sensitivity and the stability of magnetic susceptibility logging tools. Typical tools contain a single coil constructed as a solenoid wound on ferrite rods about 30cm long. The coil is heated to a constant temperature to reduce drift, and careful design is necessary to optimize temperature control and to maximize sensitivity. Measurements of coil resistance and inductance, which indicate conductivity and susceptibility, are made using a Maxwell bridge circuit. Circuit analysis shows that conductivity measurements are difficult and that stringent requirements are placed on phase stability of measurement circuitry. Corrections to the observed log are necessary to account for borehole size. The response of the tool to a thin zones of anomalous susceptibility is double peaked and a set of curves has been developed for interpretation. Calibrations of the tools are made by measuring the tool's response in models of known susceptibility

  11. Neisseria gonorrhoeae strain with reduced susceptibilities to extended-spectrum cephalosporins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Duylinh; Gose, Severin; Castro, Lina; Chung, Kathleen; Bernstein, Kyle; Samuel, Micheal; Bauer, Heidi; Pandori, Mark

    2014-07-01

    The spread of Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains with reduced susceptibility to extended-spectrum cephalosporins is an increasing public health threat. Using Etest and multiantigen sequence typing, we detected sequence type 1407, which is associated with reduced susceptibilities to extended-spectrum cephalosporins, in 4 major populated regions in California, USA, in 2012.

  12. The relationship of motion sickness susceptibility to learned autonomic control for symptom suppression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cowings, P. S.; Toscano, W. B.

    1982-01-01

    Twenty-four men were randomly assigned to four equal groups matched in terms of their Coriolis Sickness Susceptibility Index (CSSI). Two groups of subjects were highly susceptible to motion sickness, and two groups were moderately susceptible. All subjects were given six C551 tests at 5-d intervals. Treatment Groups I (highly susceptible) and II (moderately susceptible) were taught to control their autonomic responses, using a training method called autogenic-feedback training (AFT) before the third, fourth, and fifth CSSI tests. Control groups III (highly susceptible) and IV (moderately susceptible) received no treatment. Results showed that both treatment groups significantly improved performance on CSSI tests after training; neither of the control groups changed significantly. Highly and moderately susceptible subjects in the two treatment groups improved at comparable rates. Highly susceptible control group subjects did not habituate across tests as readily as the moderately susceptible controls.

  13. Molecular Characterization of Reduced Susceptibility to Biocides in Clinical Isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fei Lin

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Active efflux is regarded as a common mechanism for antibiotic and biocide resistance. However, the role of many drug efflux pumps in biocide resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii remains unknown. Using biocide-resistant A. baumannii clinical isolates, we investigated the incidence of 11 known/putative antimicrobial resistance efflux pump genes (adeB, adeG, adeJ, adeT1, adeT2, amvA, abeD, abeM, qacE, qacEΔ1, and aceI and triclosan target gene fabI through PCR and DNA sequencing. Reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR was conducted to assess the correlation between the efflux pump gene expression and the reduced susceptibility to triclosan or chlorhexidine. The A. baumannii isolates displayed high levels of reduced susceptibility to triclosan, chlorhexidine, benzalkonium, hydrogen peroxide, and ethanol. Most tested isolates were resistant to multiple antibiotics. Efflux resistance genes were widely distributed and generally expressed in A. baumannii. Although no clear relation was established between efflux pump gene expression and antibiotic resistance or reduced biocide susceptibility, triclosan non-susceptible isolates displayed relatively increased expression of adeB and adeJ whereas chlorhexidine non-susceptible isolates had increased abeM and fabI gene expression. Increased expression of adeJ and abeM was also demonstrated in multiple antibiotic resistant isolates. Exposure of isolates to subinhibitory concentrations of triclosan or chlorhexidine induced gene expression of adeB, adeG, adeJ and fabI, and adeB, respectively. A point mutation in FabI, Gly95Ser, was observed in only one triclosan-resistant isolate. Multiple sequence types with the major clone complex, CC92, were identified in high level triclosan-resistant isolates. Overall, this study showed the high prevalence of antibiotic and biocide resistance as well as the complexity of intertwined resistance mechanisms in clinical isolates of A. baumannii, which highlights the

  14. Combined analysis of 19 common validated type 2 diabetes susceptibility gene variants shows moderate discriminative value and no evidence of gene-gene interaction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sparsø, T; Grarup, N; Andreasen, C.

    2009-01-01

    study; and additional type 2 diabetic patients and glucose-tolerant individuals. The case-control studies involved 4,093 type 2 diabetic patients and 5,302 glucose-tolerant individuals. RESULTS: Single-variant analyses demonstrated allelic odds ratios ranging from 1.04 (95% CI 0.98-1.11) to 1.33 (95% CI...... analysis of the 19 validated variants enables detection of subgroups at substantially increased risk of type 2 diabetes; however, the discrimination between glucose-tolerant and type 2 diabetes individuals is still too inaccurate to achieve clinical value.......AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: The list of validated type 2 diabetes susceptibility variants has recently been expanded from three to 19. The variants identified are common and have low penetrance in the general population. The aim of the study is to investigate the combined effect of the 19 variants by applying...

  15. Mannose-binding lectin polymorphisms and susceptibility to infection in systemic lupus erythematosus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Garred, P; Madsen, H O; Halberg, P

    1999-01-01

    To determine whether variant alleles in the coding portion of the mannose-binding lectin (MBL) gene are associated with increased susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and concomitant infections.......To determine whether variant alleles in the coding portion of the mannose-binding lectin (MBL) gene are associated with increased susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and concomitant infections....

  16. Transforming Growth Factor β/Activin signaling in neurons increases susceptibility to starvation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wen-Bin Alfred Chng

    Full Text Available Animals rely on complex signaling network to mobilize its energy stores during starvation. We have previously shown that the sugar-responsive TGFβ/Activin pathway, activated through the TGFβ ligand Dawdle, plays a central role in shaping the post-prandial digestive competence in the Drosophila midgut. Nevertheless, little is known about the TGFβ/Activin signaling in sugar metabolism beyond the midgut. Here, we address the importance of Dawdle (Daw after carbohydrate ingestion. We found that Daw expression is coupled to dietary glucose through the evolutionarily conserved Mio-Mlx transcriptional complex. In addition, Daw activates the TGFβ/Activin signaling in neuronal populations to regulate triglyceride and glycogen catabolism and energy homeostasis. Loss of those neurons depleted metabolic reserves and rendered flies susceptible to starvation.

  17. Transforming Growth Factor β/Activin signaling in neurons increases susceptibility to starvation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chng, Wen-Bin Alfred; Koch, Rafael; Li, Xiaoxue; Kondo, Shu; Nagoshi, Emi; Lemaitre, Bruno

    2017-01-01

    Animals rely on complex signaling network to mobilize its energy stores during starvation. We have previously shown that the sugar-responsive TGFβ/Activin pathway, activated through the TGFβ ligand Dawdle, plays a central role in shaping the post-prandial digestive competence in the Drosophila midgut. Nevertheless, little is known about the TGFβ/Activin signaling in sugar metabolism beyond the midgut. Here, we address the importance of Dawdle (Daw) after carbohydrate ingestion. We found that Daw expression is coupled to dietary glucose through the evolutionarily conserved Mio-Mlx transcriptional complex. In addition, Daw activates the TGFβ/Activin signaling in neuronal populations to regulate triglyceride and glycogen catabolism and energy homeostasis. Loss of those neurons depleted metabolic reserves and rendered flies susceptible to starvation.

  18. Reactivating dynamics for the susceptible-infected-susceptible model: a simple method to simulate the absorbing phase

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macedo-Filho, A.; Alves, G. A.; Costa Filho, R. N.; Alves, T. F. A.

    2018-04-01

    We investigated the susceptible-infected-susceptible model on a square lattice in the presence of a conjugated field based on recently proposed reactivating dynamics. Reactivating dynamics consists of reactivating the infection by adding one infected site, chosen randomly when the infection dies out, avoiding the dynamics being trapped in the absorbing state. We show that the reactivating dynamics can be interpreted as the usual dynamics performed in the presence of an effective conjugated field, named the reactivating field. The reactivating field scales as the inverse of the lattice number of vertices n, which vanishes at the thermodynamic limit and does not affect any scaling properties including ones related to the conjugated field.

  19. Co-trimoxazole susceptibility tests improved with separate trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole disks.

    OpenAIRE

    Amyes, S G

    1981-01-01

    It is impossible to test accurately bacterial susceptibility to the trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole combination co-trimoxazole with a single combined susceptibility disk. However, a variety of factors still affect the result even when separate trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole disks are used. Experiments with separate disks showed that the optimum conditions for testing the susceptibilities of enterobacteria to these drugs were to flood-seed an agar plate with an inoculum of 10(4) to 10(5) orga...

  20. Influence of edge effects on single event upset susceptibility of SOI SRAMs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gu, Song; Liu, Jie; Zhao, Fazhan; Zhang, Zhangang; Bi, Jinshun; Geng, Chao; Hou, Mingdong; Liu, Gang; Liu, Tianqi; Xi, Kai

    2015-01-01

    An experimental investigation of the single event upset (SEU) susceptibility for heavy ions at tilted incidence was performed. The differences of SEU cross-sections between tilted incidence and normal incidence at equivalent effective linear energy transfer were 21% and 57% for the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) static random access memories (SRAMs) of 0.5 μm and 0.18 μm feature size, respectively. The difference of SEU cross-section raised dramatically with increasing tilt angle for SOI SRAM of deep-submicron technology. The result of CRÈME-MC simulation for tilted irradiation of the sensitive volume indicates that the energy deposition spectrum has a substantial tail extending into the low energy region. The experimental results show that the influence of edge effects on SEU susceptibility cannot be ignored in particular with device scaling down

  1. The mediational pathway among parenting styles, attachment styles and self-regulation with addiction susceptibility of adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeinali, Ali; Sharifi, Hassanpasha; Enayati, Mirsalahadine; Asgari, Parviz; Pasha, Gohlamreza

    2011-09-01

    The purpose of present study was to create and test a model that illustrates variables that influence the development of addiction susceptibility and determine how different styles of parenting may indirectly influence the addiction susceptibility of children through the mediators of attachment style and self-regulation. Using random cluster sampling, 508 adolescent high school boys and girls aged 14-19 years were enrolled. Data were analyzed using structural equations modeling (path analysis). The results showed that authoritative and permissive parenting styles were associated with secure attachment whereas authoritarian and neglectful parenting styles were associated with insecure attachment. Insecure attachment was associated with a low level of self-regulation whereas secure attachment was associated with a high level of self-regulation. We found that a low level of self-regulation increased the adolescent's addiction susceptibility whereas a high level of self-regulation decreased their addiction susceptibility. The findings of present study suggest the authoritative and permissive parenting styles as the most efficient styles and authoritarian and neglectful parenting styles as the most inefficient styles in terms of addiction susceptibility. Accordingly, efficient parenting style training to parents should be the main goal of drug demand reduction program.

  2. Susceptibility of clinical isolates of uropathogenic bacteria from ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Resistance of uropathogens to antibiotics has been on increase and responsible for increased mortality and morbidity among patients. Clinical isolates (22) of uropathogenic bacteria comprising Escherichia coli, Klebsiella Pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis and Staphylococcus aureus were tested for susceptibility to standard ...

  3. Immunogenetics and genetic susceptibility in the pathogenesis of autoimmune hepatitis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Das Anup K

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available vAutoimmune hepatitis is a progressive liver disease. Its pathogenesis is unclear, but needs a ‘trigger’ to initiate the disease in a genetically susceptible person. The susceptibility is partly related to MHCII class genes, and more so with human leukocyte antigen (HLA. Several mechanisms have been proposed which, however, cannot fully explain the immunologic findings in autoimmune hepatitis. The susceptibility to any autoimmune disease is determined by several factors where genetic and immunological alterations, along with, environmental factor are active. MHCII antigens as a marker for AIH, or a predictor of treatment response and prognosis has been investigated. Since MHCII antigens show significant ethnic heterogeneity, mutations in MHCII may merely act as only precursors of the surface markers of immune cells, which can be of significance, because the changes in HLA and MHC are missing in certain populations. One such marker is the CTLA-4 (CD152 gene mutation, reported in the phenotypes representing susceptibility to AIH. Other candidate genes of cytokines, TNF, TGF-beta1 etc, have also been investigated but with unvalidated results. Paediatric AIH show differences in genetic susceptibility. Genetic susceptibility or resistance to AIH may be associated with polypeptides in DRB1 with certain amino-acid sequences. Understanding which genes are implicated in genesis and/or disease progression will obviously help to identify key pathways in AIH and provide better insights into its pathogenesis. But studies to identify responsible genes are complex because of the complex trait of AIH.

  4. Topological susceptibility from twisted mass fermions using spectral projectors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cichy, K. [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Zeuthen (Germany). John von Neumann-Inst. fuer Computing NIC; Poznan Univ. (Poland). Faculty of Physics; Garcia-Ramos, E. [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Zeuthen (Germany). John von Neumann-Inst. fuer Computing NIC; Humboldt-Universitaet, Berlin (Germany); Jansen, K. [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Zeuthen (Germany). John von Neumann-Inst. fuer Computing NIC; Shindler, A. [Forschungszentrum Juelich (Germany). IAS; Forschungszentrum Juelich (Germany). IKP; Forschungszentrum Juelich (Germany). JCHP; Collaboration: European Twisted Mass Collaboration

    2013-12-15

    We discuss the computation of the topological susceptibility using the method of spectral projectors and dynamical twisted mass fermions. We present our analysis concerning the O(a)- improvement of the topological susceptibility and we show numerical results for N{sub f}=2 and N{sub f}=2+1+1 flavours, performing a study of the quark mass dependence in terms of leading order chiral perturbation theory.

  5. Decrease in Hydrogen Embrittlement Susceptibility of 10B21 Screws by Bake Aging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kuan-Jen Chen

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available The effects of baking on the mechanical properties and fracture characteristics of low-carbon boron (10B21 steel screws were investigated. Fracture torque tests and hydrogen content analysis were performed on baked screws to evaluate hydrogen embrittlement (HE susceptibility. The diffusible hydrogen content within 10B21 steel dominated the fracture behavior of the screws. The fracture torque of 10B21 screws baked for a long duration was affected by released hydrogen. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS result showed that hydrogen content decreased with increasing baking duration, and thus the HE susceptibility of 10B21 screws improved. Diffusible hydrogen promoted crack propagation in high-stress region. The HE of 10B21 screws can be prevented by long-duration baking.

  6. The Interaction of TXNIP and AFq1 Genes Increases the Susceptibility of Schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Yousong; Ding, Wenhua; Xing, Mengjuan; Qi, Dake; Li, Zezhi; Cui, Donghong

    2017-08-01

    Although previous studies showed the reduced risk of cancer in patients with schizophrenia, whether patients with schizophrenia possess genetic factors that also contribute to tumor suppressor is still unknown. In the present study, based on our previous microarray data, we focused on the tumor suppressor genes TXNIP and AF1q, which differentially expressed in patients with schizophrenia. A total of 413 patients and 578 healthy controls were recruited. We found no significant differences in genotype, allele, or haplotype frequencies at the selected five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs2236566 and rs7211 in TXNIP gene; rs10749659, rs2140709, and rs3738481 in AF1q gene) between patients with schizophrenia and controls. However, we found the association between the interaction of TXNIP and AF1q with schizophrenia by using the MDR method followed by traditional statistical analysis. The best gene-gene interaction model identified was a three-locus model TXNIP (rs2236566, rs7211)-AF1q (rs2140709). After traditional statistical analysis, we found the high-risk genotype combination was rs2236566 (GG)-rs7211(CC)-rs2140709(CC) (OR = 1.35 [1.03-1.76]). The low-risk genotype combination was rs2236566 (GT)-rs7211(CC)-rs2140709(CC) (OR = 0.67 [0.49-0.91]). Our finding suggested statistically significant role of interaction of TXNIP and AF1q polymorphisms (TXNIP-rs2236566, TXNIP-rs7211, and AF1q-rs2769605) in schizophrenia susceptibility.

  7. Mtf-1 lymphoma-susceptibility locus affects retention of large thymocytes with high ROS levels in mice after γ-irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maruyama, Masaki; Yamamoto, Takashi; Kohara, Yuki; Katsuragi, Yoshinori; Mishima, Yukio; Aoyagi, Yutaka; Kominami, Ryo

    2007-01-01

    Mouse strains exhibit different susceptibilities to γ-ray-induced thymic lymphomas. Our previous study identified Mtf-1 (metal responsive transcription factor-1) as a candidate susceptibility gene, which is involved in the radiation-induced signaling pathway that regulates the cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). To reveal the mechanism for the increased susceptibility conferred by Mtf-1 locus, we examined early effects of γ-ray on ROS levels in vivo and its difference between Mtf-1 susceptible and resistant congenic mice. Here, we show the detection of clonally growing thymocytes at 4 weeks after irradiation, indicating the start of clonal expansion at a very early stage. We also show that large thymocytes with higher ROS levels and a proliferation capacity were more numerous in the Mtf-1 susceptible mice than the resistant mice when examined at 7 days after irradiation, although such tendency was not found in mice lacking one allele of Bcl11b tumor suppressor gene. This high retention of the large thymocytes, at a high risk for ROS-induced mutation, is a compensatory proliferation and regeneration response to depletion of the thymocytes after irradiation and the response is likely to augment the development of prelymphoma cells leading to thymic lymphomas

  8. Rapid Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Using Forward Laser Light Scatter Technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayden, Randall T; Clinton, Lani K; Hewitt, Carolyn; Koyamatsu, Terri; Sun, Yilun; Jamison, Ginger; Perkins, Rosalie; Tang, Li; Pounds, Stanley; Bankowski, Matthew J

    2016-11-01

    The delayed reporting of antimicrobial susceptibility testing remains a limiting factor in clinical decision-making in the treatment of bacterial infection. This study evaluates the use of forward laser light scatter (FLLS) to measure bacterial growth for the early determination of antimicrobial susceptibility. Three isolates each (two clinical isolates and one reference strain) of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were tested in triplicate using two commercial antimicrobial testing systems, the Vitek2 and the MicroScan MIC panel, to challenge the BacterioScan FLLS. The BacterioScan FLLS showed a high degree of categorical concordance with the commercial methods. Pairwise comparison with each commercial system serving as a reference standard showed 88.9% agreement with MicroScan (two minor errors) and 72.2% agreement with Vitek (five minor errors). FLLS using the BacterioScan system shows promise as a novel method for the rapid and accurate determination of antimicrobial susceptibility. Copyright © 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  9. Trends towards Lower Antimicrobial Susceptibility and Characterization of Acquired Resistance among Clinical Isolates of Brachyspira hyodysenteriae in Spain ▿

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hidalgo, Álvaro; Carvajal, Ana; Vester, Birte; Pringle, Märit; Naharro, Germán; Rubio, Pedro

    2011-01-01

    The antimicrobial susceptibility of clinical isolates of Brachyspira hyodysenteriae in Spain was monitored, and the underlying molecular mechanisms of resistance were investigated. MICs of tylosin, tiamulin, valnemulin, lincomycin, and tylvalosin were determined for 87 B. hyodysenteriae isolates recovered from 2008 to 2009 by broth dilution. Domain V of the 23S rRNA gene and the ribosomal protein L3 gene were sequenced in 20 isolates for which the tiamulin MIC was ≥4 μg/ml, presenting decreased susceptibility, and in 18 tiamulin-susceptible isolates (MIC ≤ 0.125 μg/ml), and all isolates were typed by multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeats analysis. A comparison with antimicrobial susceptibility data from 2000 to 2007 showed an increase in pleuromutilin resistance over time, doubling the number of isolates with decreased susceptibility to tiamulin. No alteration in susceptibility was detected for lincomycin, and the MIC of tylosin remained high (MIC50 > 128 μg/ml). The decreased susceptibility to tylosin and lincomycin can be explained by mutations at position A2058 of the 23S rRNA gene (Escherichia coli numbering). A2058T was the predominant mutation, but A2058G also was found together with a change of the neighboring base pair at positions 2057 to 2611. The role of additional point mutations in the vicinity of the peptidyl transferase center and mutations in the L3 at amino acids 148 and 149 and their possible involvement in antimicrobial susceptibility are considered. An association between G2032A and high levels of tiamulin and lincomycin MICs was found, suggesting an increasing importance of this mutation in antimicrobial resistance of clinical isolates of B. hyodysenteriae. PMID:21555771

  10. Antifungal susceptibility profiles of 1698 yeast reference strains revealing potential emerging human pathogens.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marie Desnos-Ollivier

    Full Text Available New molecular identification techniques and the increased number of patients with various immune defects or underlying conditions lead to the emergence and/or the description of novel species of human and animal fungal opportunistic pathogens. Antifungal susceptibility provides important information for ecological, epidemiological and therapeutic issues. The aim of this study was to assess the potential risk of the various species based on their antifungal drug resistance, keeping in mind the methodological limitations. Antifungal susceptibility profiles to the five classes of antifungal drugs (polyens, azoles, echinocandins, allylamines and antimetabolites were determined for 1698 yeast reference strains belonging to 992 species (634 Ascomycetes and 358 Basidiomycetes. Interestingly, geometric mean minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs of all antifungal drugs tested were significantly higher for Basidiomycetes compared to Ascomycetes (p<0.001. Twenty four strains belonging to 23 species of which 19 were Basidiomycetes seem to be intrinsically "resistant" to all drugs. Comparison of the antifungal susceptibility profiles of the 4240 clinical isolates and the 315 reference strains belonging to 53 shared species showed similar results. Even in the absence of demonstrated in vitro/in vivo correlation, knowing the in vitro susceptibility to systemic antifungal agents and the putative intrinsic resistance of yeast species present in the environment is important because they could become opportunistic pathogens.

  11. Polymyxins: Antimicrobial susceptibility concerns and therapeutic options

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V Balaji

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The increasing prevalence of multidrug-resistant nosocomial pathogens such as Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae poses a great challenge to the treating physicians. The paucity of newer effective antimicrobials has led to renewed interest in the polymyxin group of drugs, as a last resort for treatment of gram-negative bacterial infections. There is a dearth of information on the pharmacological properties of colistin, leading to difficulties in selecting the right dose, dosing interval, and route of administration for treatment, especially in critically-ill patients. The increasing use of colistin over the last few years necessitates the need for accurate and reliable in vitro susceptibility testing methods. Development of heteroresistant strains as a result of colistin monotherapy is also a growing concern. There is a compelling need from the clinicians to provide options for probable and possible colistin combination therapy for multidrug-resistant bacterial infections in the ICU setting. Newer combination drug synergy determination tests are being developed and reported. There are no standardized recommendations from antimicrobial susceptibility testing reference agencies for the testing and interpretation of these drug combinations. Comparison and analysis of these reported methodologies may help to understand and assist the microbiologist to choose the best method that produces accurate results at the earliest. This will help clinicians to select the appropriate combination therapy. In this era of multidrug resistance it is important for the microbiology laboratory to be prepared, by default, to provide timely synergistic susceptibility results in addition to routine susceptibility, if warranted. Not as a favour or at request, but as a responsibility.

  12. Density-independent population projection trajectories of chromosome-substituted lines resistant and susceptible to organophosphate insecticides in Drosophila melanogaster

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miyo Takahiro

    2004-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Seasonal fluctuations in susceptibility to organophosphate insecticides were observed in the Katsunuma population of Drosophila melanogaster for two consecutive years; susceptibility to three organophosphates tended to increase in the fall. To examine the hypothesis that variation in fitness among resistant and susceptible genotypes could trigger the change of genetic constitution within the fall population, we investigated density-independent population projection trajectories starting from single adult females with characteristics of chromosome-substituted lines resistant and susceptible to the three organophosphates. Results Density-independent population projection trajectories, expressed as the ratios of the number of each chromosome-substituted line to that of line SSS, for which all chromosomes were derived from the susceptible line, showed significant declines in numbers with time for all the resistant chromosome-substituted lines. Conclusion The declining tendency in the density-independent population projection trajectories of the resistant chromosome-substituted lines could explain the simultaneous decline in the levels of resistance to the three organophosphates, observed in the Katsunuma population in the fall.

  13. GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE WITH APPLICATIONS IN SUSCEPTIBLE-INFECTIOUS-SUSCEPTIBLE MODELS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ilea, M; Turnea, M; Arotăriţei, D; Rotariu, Mariana; Popescu, Marilena

    2015-01-01

    Practical significance of understanding the dynamics and evolution of infectious diseases increases continuously in contemporary world. The mathematical study of the dynamics of infectious diseases has a long history. By incorporating statistical methods and computer-based simulations in dynamic epidemiological models, it could be possible for modeling methods and theoretical analyses to be more realistic and reliable, allowing a more detailed understanding of the rules governing epidemic spreading. To provide the basis for a disease transmission, the population of a region is often divided into various compartments, and the model governing their relation is called the compartmental model. To present all of the information available, a graphical user interface provides icons and visual indicators. The graphical interface shown in this paper is performed using the MATLAB software ver. 7.6.0. MATLAB software offers a wide range of techniques by which data can be displayed graphically. The process of data viewing involves a series of operations. To achieve it, I had to make three separate files, one for defining the mathematical model and two for the interface itself. Considering a fixed population, it is observed that the number of susceptible individuals diminishes along with an increase in the number of infectious individuals so that in about ten days the number of individuals infected and susceptible, respectively, has the same value. If the epidemic is not controlled, it will continue for an indefinite period of time. By changing the global parameters specific of the SIS model, a more rapid increase of infectious individuals is noted. Using the graphical user interface shown in this paper helps achieving a much easier interaction with the computer, simplifying the structure of complex instructions by using icons and menus, and, in particular, programs and files are much easier to organize. Some numerical simulations have been presented to illustrate theoretical

  14. Penicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus: susceptibility testing, resistance rates and outcome of infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hagstrand Aldman, Malin; Skovby, Annette; I Påhlman, Lisa

    2017-06-01

    Staphylococcus aureus (SA) is an important human pathogen that causes both superficial and invasive infections. Penicillin is now rarely used in the treatment of SA infections due to widespread resistance and a concern about the accuracy of existing methods for penicillin susceptibility testing. The aims of the present study were to determine the frequency of penicillin-susceptible SA isolates from blood and wound cultures in Lund, Sweden, and to evaluate methods for penicillin testing in SA. We also wanted to investigate if penicillin-susceptible isolates are associated with higher mortality. Hundred blood culture isolates collected 2008/2009, 140 blood culture isolates from 2014/2015, and 141 superficial wound culture strains from 2015 were examined. Penicillin susceptibility was tested with disk diffusion according to EUCAST guidelines, and results were confirmed with a cloverleaf assay and PCR amplification of the BlaZ gene. Patient data for all bacteraemia cases were extracted from medical records. The disk diffusion method with assessment of both zone size and zone edge appearance had high accuracy in our study. About 57% of bacteraemia isolates from 2008/2009 were sensitive to penicillin compared to 29% in 2014/2015 (p penicillin susceptible. There was no difference in co-morbidity or mortality rates between patients with penicillin resistant and penicillin sensitive SA bacteraemia. Disk-diffusion is a simple and reliable method to detect penicillin resistance in SA, and susceptibility rates are significant. Penicillin has many theoretical advantages and should be considered in the treatment of SA bacteraemia when susceptible.

  15. Suitable reference tissues for quantitative susceptibility mapping of the brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Straub, Sina; Schneider, Till M; Emmerich, Julian; Freitag, Martin T; Ziener, Christian H; Schlemmer, Heinz-Peter; Ladd, Mark E; Laun, Frederik B

    2017-07-01

    Since quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) quantifies magnetic susceptibility relative to a reference value, a suitable reference tissue has to be available to compare different subjects and stages of disease. To find such a suitable reference tissue for QSM of the brain, melanoma patients with and without brain metastases were measured. Twelve reference regions were chosen and assessed for stability of susceptibility values with respect to multiple intra-individual and inter-individual measurements, age, and stage of disease. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), the internal capsule and one region in the splenium of the corpus callosum are the regions with the smallest standard deviations of the mean susceptibility value. The mean susceptibility is 0.010 ± 0.014 ppm for CSF in the atrium of the lateral ventricles (csf post ), -0.060 ± 0.019 ppm for the posterior limb of the internal capsule (ci2), and -0.008 ± 0.019 ppm for the splenium of the corpus callosum. csf post and ci2 show nearly no dependence on age or stage of disease, whereas some other regions, e.g., the red nucleus, show moderate dependence on age or disease. The internal capsule and CSF appear to be the most suitable reference regions for QSM of the brain in the melanoma patients studied. Both showed virtually no dependence on age or disease and small variations among patients. Magn Reson Med 78:204-214, 2017. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

  16. Ranking alloys for susceptibility to MIC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scott, P.J.B.; Davies, M.; Goldie, J.

    1991-01-01

    This paper reports that laboratory experiments demonstrate that alloys containing 6 to 9% Mo are susceptible to microbiologically influenced corrosion attack. They also demonstrate that corrosion behavior in batch cultures do not correlate well with standard ferric chloride and pitting potential tests of the same alloys. In recent years, there has been an increasing awareness of the incidence of plant equipment failures caused by microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC). This has led to the search for suitable testing techniques to look for MIC, which, in turn, has expanded the list of known susceptible alloys. Faced with field failures, the normal response has been to upgrade the alloy of construction. There is, for example, a common belief that the addition of more molybdenum to austenitic stainless steels conveys immunity (or at least increased resistance) to MIC. The basis for this is an extrapolation of localized corrosion data. The supposed correlation between molybdenum content and resistance to MIC has not yet been supported by a comprehensive testing program

  17. Nodal infection in Markovian susceptible-infected-susceptible and susceptible-infected-removed epidemics on networks are non-negatively correlated.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cator, E; Van Mieghem, P

    2014-05-01

    By invoking the famous Fortuin, Kasteleyn, and Ginibre (FKG) inequality, we prove the conjecture that the correlation of infection at the same time between any pair of nodes in a network cannot be negative for (exact) Markovian susceptible-infected-susceptible (SIS) and susceptible-infected-removed (SIR) epidemics on networks. The truth of the conjecture establishes that the N-intertwined mean-field approximation (NIMFA) upper bounds the infection probability in any graph so that network design based on NIMFA always leads to safe protections against malware spread. However, when the infection or/and curing are not Poisson processes, the infection correlation between two nodes can be negative.

  18. Nodal infection in Markovian susceptible-infected-susceptible and susceptible-infected-removed epidemics on networks are non-negatively correlated

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cator, E.; Van Mieghem, P.

    2014-05-01

    By invoking the famous Fortuin, Kasteleyn, and Ginibre (FKG) inequality, we prove the conjecture that the correlation of infection at the same time between any pair of nodes in a network cannot be negative for (exact) Markovian susceptible-infected-susceptible (SIS) and susceptible-infected-removed (SIR) epidemics on networks. The truth of the conjecture establishes that the N-intertwined mean-field approximation (NIMFA) upper bounds the infection probability in any graph so that network design based on NIMFA always leads to safe protections against malware spread. However, when the infection or/and curing are not Poisson processes, the infection correlation between two nodes can be negative.

  19. Low maternal care exacerbates adult stress susceptibility in the chronic mild stress rat model of depression

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Henningsen, Kim; Johannesen, Mads Dyrvig; Bouzinova, Elena

    2012-01-01

    In the present study we report the finding that the quality of maternal care, in early life, increased the susceptibility to stress exposure in adulthood, when rats were exposed to the chronic mild stress paradigm. Our results indicate that high, as opposed to low maternal care, predisposed rats...... to a differential stress-coping ability. Thus rats fostered by low maternal care dams became more prone to adopt a stress-susceptible phenotype developing an anhedonic-like condition. Moreover, low maternal care offspring had lower weight gain and lower locomotion, with no additive effect of stress. Subchronic...... exposure to chronic mild stress induced an increase in faecal corticosterone metabolites, which was only significant in rats from low maternal care dams. Examination of glucocorticoid receptor exon 17 promoter methylation in unchallenged adult, maternally characterized rats, showed an insignificant...

  20. Susceptibility to antimicrobial agents among bovine mastitis pathogens isolated from North American dairy cattle, 2002-2010.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindeman, Cynthia J; Portis, Ellen; Johansen, Lacie; Mullins, Lisa M; Stoltman, Gillian A

    2013-09-01

    Approximately 8,000 isolates of Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus dysgalactiae, Streptococcus uberis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli, isolated by 25 veterinary laboratories across North America between 2002 and 2010, were tested for in vitro susceptibility to beta-lactam, macrolide, and lincosamide drugs. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of the beta-lactam drugs remained low against most of the Gram-positive strains tested, and no substantial changes in the MIC distributions were seen over time. Of the beta-lactam antimicrobial agents tested, only ceftiofur showed good in vitro activity against E. coli. The MICs of the macrolides and lincosamides also remained low against Gram-positive mastitis pathogens. While the MIC values given by 50% of isolates (MIC50) for erythromycin and pirlimycin and the streptococci were all low (≤0.5 µg/ml), the MIC values given by 90% of isolates (MIC90) were higher and more variable, but with no apparent increase over time. Staphylococcus aureus showed little change in erythromycin susceptibility over time, but there may be a small, numerical increase in pirlimycin MIC50 and MIC90 values. Overall, the results suggest that mastitis pathogens in the United States and Canada have not shown any substantial changes in the in vitro susceptibility to beta-lactam, macrolide, and lincosamide drugs tested over the 9 years of the study.

  1. Discrete time Markov chains (DTMC) susceptible infected susceptible (SIS) epidemic model with two pathogens in two patches

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lismawati, Eka; Respatiwulan; Widyaningsih, Purnami

    2017-06-01

    The SIS epidemic model describes the pattern of disease spread with characteristics that recovered individuals can be infected more than once. The number of susceptible and infected individuals every time follows the discrete time Markov process. It can be represented by the discrete time Markov chains (DTMC) SIS. The DTMC SIS epidemic model can be developed for two pathogens in two patches. The aims of this paper are to reconstruct and to apply the DTMC SIS epidemic model with two pathogens in two patches. The model was presented as transition probabilities. The application of the model obtain that the number of susceptible individuals decreases while the number of infected individuals increases for each pathogen in each patch.

  2. Landslide Susceptibility Statistical Methods: A Critical and Systematic Literature Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mihir, Monika; Malamud, Bruce; Rossi, Mauro; Reichenbach, Paola; Ardizzone, Francesca

    2014-05-01

    Landslide susceptibility assessment, the subject of this systematic review, is aimed at understanding the spatial probability of slope failures under a set of geomorphological and environmental conditions. It is estimated that about 375 landslides that occur globally each year are fatal, with around 4600 people killed per year. Past studies have brought out the increasing cost of landslide damages which primarily can be attributed to human occupation and increased human activities in the vulnerable environments. Many scientists, to evaluate and reduce landslide risk, have made an effort to efficiently map landslide susceptibility using different statistical methods. In this paper, we do a critical and systematic landslide susceptibility literature review, in terms of the different statistical methods used. For each of a broad set of studies reviewed we note: (i) study geography region and areal extent, (ii) landslide types, (iii) inventory type and temporal period covered, (iv) mapping technique (v) thematic variables used (vi) statistical models, (vii) assessment of model skill, (viii) uncertainty assessment methods, (ix) validation methods. We then pulled out broad trends within our review of landslide susceptibility, particularly regarding the statistical methods. We found that the most common statistical methods used in the study of landslide susceptibility include logistic regression, artificial neural network, discriminant analysis and weight of evidence. Although most of the studies we reviewed assessed the model skill, very few assessed model uncertainty. In terms of geographic extent, the largest number of landslide susceptibility zonations were in Turkey, Korea, Spain, Italy and Malaysia. However, there are also many landslides and fatalities in other localities, particularly India, China, Philippines, Nepal and Indonesia, Guatemala, and Pakistan, where there are much fewer landslide susceptibility studies available in the peer-review literature. This

  3. The association between miR-499 polymorphism and cancer susceptibility: a meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Zhongfei; Zhang, Enjiao; Duan, Weiyi; Sun, Changfu; Bai, Shuang; Tan, Xuexin

    2015-01-01

    MicroRNAs are a class of new noncoding RNA that play important roles in the pathogenesis of tumor. Rs3746444 in miR-499 is suggested to be associated with cancer susceptibility. In the present study, we assess the association between miR-499 rs3746444 polymorphism and cancer susceptibility through a meta-analysis. We searched relevant articles from the PubMed and Embase databases. We screened all the resulting articles for adherence to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The associations between miR-499 polymorphism and cancer susceptibility were estimated by computing the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). All analyses were performed using Stata software. There are 18 datasets included in the analysis. Statistically significant associations were found between the miR-499 rs3746444 polymorphism and susceptibility to cancer (GG versus AA: OR =1.24, 95% CI: 1.01-1.52; G versus A: OR =1.11, 95% CI: 1.01-1.23). A subsequent analysis, on the basis of ethnicity for the population characteristic, showed that Asians had increased susceptibility to cancer (GG versus AA: OR =1.32, 95% CI: 1.09-1.59; GG + AG versus AA: OR = 1.17, 95% CI: 1.01-1.37). In the subgroup analysis of tumor type, none of the genetic models had statistically significant results. The meta-regression suggested that race and cancer types are not the source of heterogeneity in the present meta-analysis. No publication bias was detected by either the inverted funnel plot or Egger's test. Rs3746444 in miR-499 might be related to susceptibility to cancer.

  4. Magnetic susceptibility measuring probe utilizing a compensation coil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bonnet, Jean; Fournet, Julien.

    1978-01-01

    This invention concerns a magnetic susceptibility measuring probe. It is used, inter alia, in logging, to wit continuous logging of the magnetic susceptibility of the ground throughout the length of a bore hole. The purpose of this invention is to increase the sensitivity of this type of probe by creating a side focusing effect . To this end, it provides for the use of a compensation winding, coaxial with the measurement winding and arranged symmetrically to the latter with respect to the centre of the induction windings [fr

  5. Detection of superparamagnetic particles in soils developed on basalts using frequency- and amplitude-dependent magnetic susceptibility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grison, H.; Petrovsky, E.; Kapicka, A.

    2016-12-01

    In rock, soil and environmental studies dealing with magnetic methods, the frequency-dependent magnetic susceptibility (κFD%) is parameter generally accepted as a tool for identification of ultrafine superparamagnetic (SP) particles. This parameter became an indicator of pedogenic magnetic fraction (increased pedogenesis). Despite the number of studies using this parameter, knowledge about threshold values of κFD% is not clear enough and this parameter may be misinterpreted. Moreover, in strongly magnetic soils, magnetic signal of the SP (mostly pedogenic) minerals may be masked by dominant lithological signal, carried by coarse-grain mineral fraction; therefore, influence of pedogenesis is hard to detect. The aim of this contribution is to compare results in determination of ultrafine SP magnetic particles in soils determined using different instruments: (a) Bartington MS2B dual-frequency meter, and (b) more sensitive AGICO Kappameter MFK1-FA. The values of the κFD % obtained by the Bartington MS2B varied from 0.9 to 5.8% (mass-specific magnetic susceptibility from 119 to 1533 × 10-8 m3/kg) while the AGICO MFK1-FA varied from 3.7 to 8.2% (mass-specific magnetic susceptibility from 295 to 1843 × 10-8 m3/kg). Although both instruments suggest significant portion of SP magnetic particles, the results can't be interpreted using the generally accepted threshold values based on Bartington data. However, our results suggest that relation between the mass-specific magnetic susceptibility and κFD% along whole soil profile may serve as suitable tool in discriminating between lithogenic and pedogenic control of magnetic fraction in the soil profile. Moreover, we propose new concept of identification of SP particles, based on field-dependent magnetic susceptibility. Its behaviour shows distinct features with significant change at amplitudes of about 100 A/m. Below this value, susceptibility decreases with increasing amplitude, reflecting saturation of magnetization due

  6. Inhibition or knockdown of ABC transporters enhances susceptibility of adult and juvenile schistosomes to Praziquantel.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ravi S Kasinathan

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Parasitic flatworms of the genus Schistosoma cause schistosomiasis, a neglected tropical disease that affects hundreds of millions. Treatment of schistosomiasis depends almost entirely on the drug praziquantel (PZQ. Though essential to treating and controlling schistosomiasis, a major limitation of PZQ is that it is not active against immature mammalian-stage schistosomes. Furthermore, there are reports of field isolates with heritable reductions in PZQ susceptibility, and researchers have selected for PZQ-resistant schistosomes in the laboratory. P-glycoprotein (Pgp; ABCB1 and other ATP binding cassette (ABC transporters remove a wide variety of toxins and xenobiotics from cells, and have been implicated in multidrug resistance (MDR. Changes in ABC transporter structure or expression levels are also associated with reduced drug susceptibility in parasitic helminths, including schistosomes. Here, we show that the activity of PZQ against schistosome adults and juveniles ex vivo is potentiated by co-administration of either the highly potent Pgp inhibitor tariquidar or combinations of inhibitors targeting multiple ABC multidrug transporters. Adult worms exposed to sublethal PZQ concentrations remain active, but co-administration of ABC transporter inhibitors results in complete loss of motility and disruption of the tegument. Notably, juvenile schistosomes (3-4 weeks post infection, normally refractory to 2 µM PZQ, become paralyzed when transporter inhibitors are added in combination with the PZQ. Experiments using the fluorescent PZQ derivative (R-PZQ-BODIPY are consistent with the transporter inhibitors increasing effective intraworm concentrations of PZQ. Adult worms in which expression of ABC transporters has been suppressed by RNA interference show increased responsiveness to PZQ and increased retention of (R-PZQ-BODIPY consistent with an important role for these proteins in setting levels of PZQ susceptibility. These results indicate that

  7. Weights of Evidence Method for Landslide Susceptibility Mapping in Takengon, Central Aceh, Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pamela; Sadisun, Imam A.; Arifianti, Yukni

    2018-02-01

    Takengon is an area prone to earthquake disaster and landslide. On July 2, 2013, Central Aceh earthquake induced large numbers of landslides in Takengon area, which resulted in casualties of 39 people. This location was chosen to assess the landslide susceptibility of Takengon, using a statistical method, referred to as the weight of evidence (WoE). This WoE model was applied to indicate the main factors influencing the landslide susceptible area and to derive landslide susceptibility map of Takengon. The 251 landslides randomly divided into two groups of modeling/training data (70%) and validation/test data sets (30%). Twelve thematic maps of evidence are slope degree, slope aspect, lithology, land cover, elevation, rainfall, lineament, peak ground acceleration, curvature, flow direction, distance to river and roads used as landslide causative factors. According to the AUC, the significant factor controlling the landslide is the slope, the slope aspect, peak ground acceleration, elevation, lithology, flow direction, lineament, and rainfall respectively. Analytical result verified by using test data of landslide shows AUC prediction rate is 0.819 and AUC success rate with all landslide data included is 0.879. This result showed the selective factors and WoE method as good models for assessing landslide susceptibility. The landslide susceptibility map of Takengon shows the probabilities, which represent relative degrees of susceptibility for landslide proneness in Takengon area.

  8. Investigation of irradiation induced inter-granular stress corrosion cracking susceptibility on austenitic stainless steels for PWR by simulated radiation induced segregation materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yonezawa, Toshio; Fujimoto, Koji; Kanasaki, Hiroshi; Iwamura, Toshihiko [Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Takasago R and D Center, Takasago, Hyogo (Japan); Nakada, Shizuo; Ajiki, Kazuhide [Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Kobe Shipyard and Machinery Works, Kobe, Hyogo (Japan); Urata, Sigeru [General Office of Nuclear and Fossil Power Production, Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc., Osaka (Japan)

    2000-07-01

    An Irradiation Assisted Stress Corrosion Cracking (IASCC) has not been found in Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs). However, the authors have investigated on the possibility of IASCC so as to be able to estimate the degradation of PWR plants up to the end of their lifetime. In this study, the authors melted the test alloys whose bulk compositions simulated the grain boundary compositions of irradiated Type 304 and Type 316 CW stainless steels. Low chromium, high nickel and silicon (12%Cr-28%Ni-3%Si) steel showed high susceptibility to PWSCC (Primary Water Stress Corrosion Cracking) by SSRT (Slow Strain Rate Tensile) test in simulated PWR primary water. PWSCC susceptibility of the test steels increases with a decrease of chromium content and a increase of nickel and silicon contents. The aged test steel included coherent M{sub 23}C{sub 6} carbides with matrices at the grain boundaries showed low PWSCC susceptibility. This tendency is in very good agreement with that of the PWSCC susceptibility of nickel based alloys X-750 and 690. From these results, if there is the possibility of IASCC for austenitic stainless steels in PWRs, in the future, the IASCC shall be caused by the PWSCC as a result of irradiation induced grain boundary segregation. (author)

  9. Serotonin depletion increases seizure susceptibility and worsens neuropathological outcomes in kainate model of epilepsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maia, Gisela H; Brazete, Cátia S; Soares, Joana I; Luz, Liliana L; Lukoyanov, Nikolai V

    2017-09-01

    Serotonin is implicated in the regulation of seizures, but whether or not it can potentiate the effects of epileptogenic factors is not fully established. Using the kainic acid model of epilepsy in rats, we tested the effects of serotonin depletion on (1) susceptibility to acute seizures, (2) development of spontaneous recurrent seizures and (3) behavioral and neuroanatomical sequelae of kainic acid treatment. Serotonin was depleted by pretreating rats with p-chlorophenylalanine. In different groups, kainic acid was injected at 3 different doses: 6.5mg/kg, 9.0mg/kg or 12.5mg/kg. A single dose of 6.5mg/kg of kainic acid reliably induced status epilepticus in p-chlorophenylalanine-pretreated rats, but not in saline-pretreated rats. The neuroexcitatory effects of kainic acid in the p-chlorophenylalanine-pretreated rats, but not in saline-pretreated rats, were associated with the presence of tonic-clonic convulsions and high lethality. Compared to controls, a greater portion of serotonin-depleted rats showed spontaneous recurrent seizures after kainic acid injections. Loss of hippocampal neurons and spatial memory deficits associated with kainic acid treatment were exacerbated by prior depletion of serotonin. The present findings are of particular importance because they suggest that low serotonin activity may represent one of the major risk factors for epilepsy and, thus, offer potentially relevant targets for prevention of epileptogenesis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. IL1B and DEFB1 Polymorphisms Increase Susceptibility to Invasive Mold Infection After Solid-Organ Transplantation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wojtowicz, A.; Gresnigt, M.S.; Lecompte, T.; Bibert, S.; Manuel, O.; Joosten, L.A.B.; Rueger, S.; Berger, C.; Boggian, K.; Cusini, A.; Garzoni, C.; Hirsch, H.H.; Weisser, M.; Mueller, N.J.; Meylan, P.R.; Steiger, J.; Kutalik, Z.; Pascual, M.; Delden, C. van; Veerdonk, F.L. van de; Bochud, P.Y.

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in immune genes have been associated with susceptibility to invasive mold infection (IMI) among hematopoietic stem cell but not solid-organ transplant (SOT) recipients. METHODS: Twenty-four SNPs from systematically selected genes were genotyped

  11. Protein energy malnutrition increases arginase activity in monocytes and macrophages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corware, Karina; Yardley, Vanessa; Mack, Christopher; Schuster, Steffen; Al-Hassi, Hafid; Herath, Shanthi; Bergin, Philip; Modolell, Manuel; Munder, Markus; Müller, Ingrid; Kropf, Pascale

    2014-01-01

    Protein energy malnutrition is commonly associated with immune dysfunctions and is a major factor in susceptibility to infectious diseases. In this study, we evaluated the impact of protein energy malnutrition on the capacity of monocytes and macrophages to upregulate arginase, an enzyme associated with immunosuppression and increased pathogen replication. Our results show that monocytes and macrophages are significantly increased in the bone marrow and blood of mice fed on a protein low diet. No alteration in the capacity of bone marrow derived macrophages isolated from malnourished mice to phagocytose particles, to produce the microbicidal molecule nitric oxide and to kill intracellular Leishmania parasites was detected. However, macrophages and monocytes from malnourished mice express significantly more arginase both in vitro and in vivo. Using an experimental model of visceral leishmaniasis, we show that following protein energy malnutrition, the increased parasite burden measured in the spleen of these mice coincided with increased arginase activity and that macrophages provide a more permissive environment for parasite growth. Taken together, these results identify a novel mechanism in protein energy malnutrition that might contributes to increased susceptibility to infectious diseases by upregulating arginase activity in myeloid cells.

  12. Effects of tissue susceptibility on brain temperature mapping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maudsley, Andrew A; Goryawala, Mohammed Z; Sheriff, Sulaiman

    2017-02-01

    A method for mapping of temperature over a large volume of the brain using volumetric proton MR spectroscopic imaging has been implemented and applied to 150 normal subjects. Magnetic susceptibility-induced frequency shifts in gray- and white-matter regions were measured and included as a correction in the temperature mapping calculation. Additional sources of magnetic susceptibility variations of the individual metabolite resonance frequencies were also observed that reflect the cellular-level organization of the brain metabolites, with the most notable differences being attributed to changes of the N-Acetylaspartate resonance frequency that reflect the intra-axonal distribution and orientation of the white-matter tracts with respect to the applied magnetic field. These metabolite-specific susceptibility effects are also shown to change with age. Results indicate no change of apparent brain temperature with age from 18 to 84 years old, with a trend for increased brain temperature throughout the cerebrum in females relative for males on the order of 0.1°C; slightly increased temperatures in the left hemisphere relative to the right; and a lower temperature of 0.3°C in the cerebellum relative to that of cerebral white-matter. This study presents a novel acquisition method for noninvasive measurement of brain temperature that is of potential value for diagnostic purposes and treatment monitoring, while also demonstrating limitations of the measurement due to the confounding effects of tissue susceptibility variations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Effect of microstructure on the sulphide stress cracking susceptibility of a high strength pipeline steel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ramirez, E. [Centro de Investigacion en Ingenieria y Ciencias Aplicadas-UAEM, Av. Universidad 1001, 62209-Cuernavaca, Mor. (Mexico); Gonzalez-Rodriguez, J.G. [Centro de Investigacion en Ingenieria y Ciencias Aplicadas-UAEM, Av. Universidad 1001, 62209-Cuernavaca, Mor. (Mexico)], E-mail: ggonzalez@uaem.mx; Torres-Islas, A.; Serna, S. [Centro de Investigacion en Ingenieria y Ciencias Aplicadas-UAEM, Av. Universidad 1001, 62209-Cuernavaca, Mor. (Mexico); Campillo, B. [Intituto de Ciencias Fisicas-Facultad de Quimicas-Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico Cuernavaca, Mor. (Mexico); Dominguez-Patino, G. [Centro de Investigacion en Ingenieria y Ciencias Aplicadas-UAEM, Av. Universidad 1001, 62209-Cuernavaca, Mor. (Mexico); Juarez-Islas, J.A. [Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales-Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Circuito Exterior S/N, Cd. Universitaria, C.P. 04510, Mexico, D.F. (Mexico)

    2008-12-15

    The sulphide stress cracking (SSC) susceptibility of a newly developed high strength microalloyed steel with three different microstructures has been evaluated using the slow strain rate testing (SSRT) technique. Studies were complemented with potentiodynamic polarization curves and hydrogen permeation measurements. Material included a C-Mn steel having Ni, Cu, and Mo as main microalloying elements with three microstructures: martensitic, ferritic and ferritic + bainitic. Testing temperatures included 25, 50, 70 and 90 deg. C. Detailed SEM observations of the microstructure and fracture surfaces were done to identify possible degradation mechanisms. The results showed that in all cases, the corrosion rate, number of hydrogen atoms at the surface and the percentage reduction in area increased with temperature. The steel with a martensitic microstructure had the highest SSC susceptibility at all temperatures, whereas the ferritic steels were susceptible only at 25 deg. C, and the most likely mechanism is hydrogen embrittlement assisted by anodic dissolution.

  14. Clinical Presentation and Antibiotic Susceptibility of Contact Lens Associated Microbial Keratitis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hesam Hedayati

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. In recent years, the number of contact lens wearers has dramatically increased in Iran, particularly in youngsters. The purpose of current study was to assess the clinical presentation and antibiotic susceptibility of contact lens related microbial keratitis in Ahvaz, southwest of Iran. Methodology. A cross-sectional investigation of 26 patients (33 eyes with contact lens induced corneal ulcers who were admitted to Imam Khomeini Hospital, Ahwaz City, from June 2012 to June 2013 was done. In order to study microbial culture and susceptibility of corneal ulcers, all of them were scraped. Results. Eight samples were reported as sterile. Pseudomonas aeruginosa (80% in positive cultures was the most widely recognized causative organism isolated. This is followed by Staphylococcus aureus 12% and Enterobacter 8%. The results showed that 84% of the microorganism cases were sensitive to ciprofloxacin, while imipenem, meropenem, and ceftazidime were the second most effective antibiotics (76%. Conclusion. Results of current study show the importance of referring all contact lens wearers with suspected corneal infection to ophthalmologists for more cure. The corneal scraping culture and contact lens solution should be performed to guide antibiotic therapy.

  15. The mediational pathway among parenting styles, attachment styles and self-regulation with addiction susceptibility of adolescents*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeinali, Ali; Sharifi, Hassanpasha; Enayati, Mirsalahadine; Asgari, Parviz; Pasha, Gohlamreza

    2011-01-01

    BACKGROUND: The purpose of present study was to create and test a model that illustrates variables that influence the development of addiction susceptibility and determine how different styles of parenting may indirectly influence the addiction susceptibility of children through the mediators of attachment style and self-regulation. METHODS: Using random cluster sampling, 508 adolescent high school boys and girls aged 14-19 years were enrolled. Data were analyzed using structural equations modeling (path analysis). RESULTS: The results showed that authoritative and permissive parenting styles were associated with secure attachment whereas authoritarian and neglectful parenting styles were associated with insecure attachment. Insecure attachment was associated with a low level of self-regulation whereas secure attachment was associated with a high level of self-regulation. We found that a low level of self-regulation increased the adolescent's addiction susceptibility whereas a high level of self-regulation decreased their addiction susceptibility. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of present study suggest the authoritative and permissive parenting styles as the most efficient styles and authoritarian and neglectful parenting styles as the most inefficient styles in terms of addiction susceptibility. Accordingly, efficient parenting style training to parents should be the main goal of drug demand reduction program. PMID:22973379

  16. acetyltransferases: Influence on Lung Cancer Susceptibility

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Lung cancer remains a major health challenge in the world. It is the commonest cause of cancer mortality in men, it has been suggested that genetic susceptibility may contribute to the major risk factor, with increasing prevalence of smoking. Lung cancer has reached epidemic proportions in India. Recently indoor air ...

  17. Children with dyslexia show cortical hyperactivation in response to increasing literacy processing demands

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frøydis eMorken

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available This fMRI study aimed to examine how differences in literacy processing demands may affect cortical activation patterns in 11- to 12-year-old children with dyslexia as compared to children with typical reading skills. 11 children with and 18 without dyslexia were assessed using a reading paradigm based on different stages of literacy development. In the analyses, six regions showed an interaction effect between group and condition in a factorial ANOVA. These regions were selected as regions of interest for further analyses. Overall, the dyslexia group showed cortical hyperactivation compared to the typical group. The difference between the groups tended to increase with increasing processing demands. Differences in cortical activation were not reflected in in-scanner reading performance. The six regions further grouped into three patterns, which are discussed in terms of processing demands, compensatory mechanisms, orthography and contextual facilitation. We conclude that the observed hyperactivation is chiefly a result of compensatory activity, modulated by other factors.

  18. Susceptibility and resistance to deltamethrin of wild and domestic populations of Triatoma infestans (Reduviidae: Triatominae in Bolivia: new discoveries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stéphanie Depickère

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Bolivia is a high-endemic country for Chagas disease, for which the principal vector is Triatoma infestans (Triatominae. This is a mainly domestic species that is also found in the wild environment. Recently, an increasing number of studies have shown the importance of Triatominae resistance to insecticides, especially in Bolivia. Data regarding the susceptibility/resistance of wild and domestic populations of T. infestans to deltamethrin are presented. For the first time, domestic populations of the department of Santa Cruz were tested, showing low resistance. Although most of the wild populations were found to be susceptible to deltamethrin, three populations from three departments showed a mortality rate of less than 100%. This result is emphasised here.

  19. Retrieval of high-order susceptibilities of nonlinear metamaterials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Zhi-Yu; Qiu Jin-Peng; Chen Hua; Mo Jiong-Jiong; Yu Fa-Xin

    2017-01-01

    Active metamaterials embedded with nonlinear elements are able to exhibit strong nonlinearity in microwave regime. However, existing S -parameter based parameter retrieval approaches developed for linear metamaterials do not apply in nonlinear cases. In this paper, a retrieval algorithm of high-order susceptibilities for nonlinear metamaterials is derived. Experimental demonstration shows that, by measuring the power level of each harmonic while sweeping the incident power, high-order susceptibilities of a thin-layer nonlinear metamaterial can be effectively retrieved. The proposedapproach can be widely used in the research of active metamaterials. (paper)

  20. Iron Deprivation Affects Drug Susceptibilities of Mycobacteria Targeting Membrane Integrity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rahul Pal

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Multidrug resistance (MDR acquired by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB through continuous deployment of antitubercular drugs warrants immediate search for novel targets and mechanisms. The ability of MTB to sense and become accustomed to changes in the host is essential for survival and confers the basis of infection. A crucial condition that MTB must surmount is iron limitation, during the establishment of infection, since iron is required by both bacteria and humans. This study focuses on how iron deprivation affects drug susceptibilities of known anti-TB drugs in Mycobacterium smegmatis, a “surrogate of MTB.” We showed that iron deprivation leads to enhanced potency of most commonly used first line anti-TB drugs that could be reverted upon iron supplementation. We explored that membrane homeostasis is disrupted upon iron deprivation as revealed by enhanced membrane permeability and hypersensitivity to membrane perturbing agent leading to increased passive diffusion of drug and TEM images showing detectable differences in cell envelope thickness. Furthermore, iron seems to be indispensable to sustain genotoxic stress suggesting its possible role in DNA repair machinery. Taken together, we for the first time established a link between cellular iron and drug susceptibility of mycobacteria suggesting iron as novel determinant to combat MDR.

  1. Nonlinear electromagnetic susceptibilities of unmagnetized plasmas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoon, Peter H.

    2005-01-01

    Fully electromagnetic nonlinear susceptibilities of unmagnetized plasmas are analyzed in detail. Concrete expressions of the second-order nonlinear susceptibility are found in various forms in the literature, usually in connection with the discussions of various three-wave decay processes, but the third-order susceptibilities are rarely discussed. The second-order susceptibility is pertinent to nonlinear wave-wave interactions (i.e., the decay/coalescence), whereas the third-order susceptibilities affect nonlinear wave-particle interactions (i.e., the induced scattering). In the present article useful approximate analytical expressions of these nonlinear susceptibilities that can be readily utilized in various situations are derived

  2. Possible Association of IL-4 VNTR Polymorphism with Susceptibility to Preeclampsia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saeedeh Salimi

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Preeclampsia (PE is a pregnancy-specific disorder that results in maternal mortality and morbidity. Growing evidence indicated that cytokines are involved in the pathogenesis of PE and interleukin-4 VNTR polymorphism could be implicated in altering the PE risk. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible association between IL-4 VNTR polymorphism and susceptibility to PE in Iranian population for the first time. Genetic polymorphism was evaluated in 192 PE and 186 healthy control women by polymerase chain reaction method. We found that the VNTR polymorphism of IL-4 gene has significantly increased the risk of preeclampsia (RP2/RP1 versus RP1/RP1, OR, 2.8 [95% CI, 1.7 to 8.8]; P=0.0001 and RP2/RP2 versus RP1/RP1; P=0.002. The results showed that carriage of IL-4 VNTR RP2 allele has positive association with preeclampsia susceptibility.

  3. Antibiotic susceptibility profiles for mastitis treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hinckley, L S; Benson, R H; Post, J E; DeCloux, J C

    1985-10-01

    Susceptibility tests were performed on milk samples representing prevalent mastitis infections in certain herds. Susceptibility patterns of the same bacterial species from several mastitis infections in the same herd were consistent. The herd antibiotic susceptibility profiles were used as a basis for selecting antibiotics for treatment of all such mastitis cases in that herd. A high degree of correlation was seen between the susceptibility test results and treatment results. Susceptibility patterns of the same bacterial species from mastitis infections in different herds varied greatly, which indicated that any one antibiotic would not work equally well against the same bacterial infection in every herd. Therefore, treatment should be selected on the basis of susceptibility test results. When both Streptococcus and Staphylococcus mastitis occurred in the same herd, the susceptibility patterns for the 2 bacterial species varied widely. Therefore, for herds that experienced both streptococcal and staphylococcal mastitis, antibiotics to which both bacterial species were susceptible were used for treatment.

  4. Antimicrobial susceptibility of clinical isolates of anaerobic bacteria in Ontario, 2010-2011.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marchand-Austin, Alex; Rawte, Prasad; Toye, Baldwin; Jamieson, Frances B; Farrell, David J; Patel, Samir N

    2014-08-01

    The local epidemiology of antimicrobial susceptibility patterns in anaerobic bacteria is important in guiding the empiric treatment of infections. However, susceptibility data are very limited on anaerobic organisms, particularly among non-Bacteroides organisms. To determine susceptibility profiles of clinically-significant anaerobic bacteria in Ontario Canada, anaerobic isolates from sterile sites submitted to Public Health Ontario Laboratory (PHOL) for identification and susceptibility testing were included in this study. Using the E-test method, isolates were tested for various antimicrobials including, penicillin, cefoxitin, clindamycin, meropenem, piperacillin-tazobactam and metronidazole. The MIC results were interpreted based on guidelines published by Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. Of 2527 anaerobic isolates submitted to PHOL, 1412 were either from sterile sites or bronchial lavage, and underwent susceptibility testing. Among Bacteroides fragilis, 98.2%, 24.7%, 1.6%, and 1.2% were resistant to penicillin, clindamycin, piperacillin-tazobactam, and metronidazole, respectively. Clostridium perfringens was universally susceptible to penicillin, piperacillin-tazobactam, and meropenem, whereas 14.2% of other Clostridium spp. were resistant to penicillin. Among Gram-positive anaerobes, Actinomyces spp., Parvimonas micra and Propionibacterium spp. were universally susceptible to β-lactams. Eggerthella spp., Collinsella spp., and Eubacterium spp. showed variable resistance to penicillin. Among Gram-negative anaerobes, Fusobacterium spp., Prevotella spp., and Veillonella spp. showed high resistance to penicillin but were universally susceptible to meropenem and piperacillin-tazobactam. The detection of metronidazole resistant B. fragilis is concerning as occurrence of these isolates is extremely rare. These data highlight the importance of ongoing surveillance to provide clinically relevant information to clinicians for empiric management of

  5. Vaginal microbicides: detecting toxicities in vivo that paradoxically increase pathogen transmission

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abusuwwa Raed

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Microbicides must protect against STD pathogens without causing unacceptable toxic effects. Microbicides based on nonoxynol-9 (N9 and other detergents disrupt sperm, HSV and HIV membranes, and these agents are effective contraceptives. But paradoxically N9 fails to protect women against HIV and other STD pathogens, most likely because it causes toxic effects that increase susceptibility. The mouse HSV-2 vaginal transmission model reported here: (a Directly tests for toxic effects that increase susceptibility to HSV-2, (b Determines in vivo whether a microbicide can protect against HSV-2 transmission without causing toxicities that increase susceptibility, and (c Identifies those toxic effects that best correlate with the increased HSV susceptibility. Methods Susceptibility was evaluated in progestin-treated mice by delivering a low-dose viral inoculum (0.1 ID50 at various times after delivering the candidate microbicide to detect whether the candidate increased the fraction of mice infected. Ten agents were tested – five detergents: nonionic (N9, cationic (benzalkonium chloride, BZK, anionic (sodium dodecylsulfate, SDS, the pair of detergents in C31G (C14AO and C16B; one surface active agent (chlorhexidine; two non-detergents (BufferGel®, and sulfonated polystyrene, SPS; and HEC placebo gel (hydroxyethylcellulose. Toxic effects were evaluated by histology, uptake of a 'dead cell' dye, colposcopy, enumeration of vaginal macrophages, and measurement of inflammatory cytokines. Results A single dose of N9 protected against HSV-2 for a few minutes but then rapidly increased susceptibility, which reached maximum at 12 hours. When applied at the minimal concentration needed for brief partial protection, all five detergents caused a subsequent increase in susceptibility at 12 hours of ~20–30-fold. Surprisingly, colposcopy failed to detect visible signs of the N9 toxic effect that increased susceptibility at 12 hours. Toxic

  6. Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping of Human Brain Reflects Spatial Variation in Tissue Composition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Wei; Wu, Bing; Liu, Chunlei

    2011-01-01

    Image phase from gradient echo MRI provides a unique contrast that reflects brain tissue composition variations, such as iron and myelin distribution. Phase imaging is emerging as a powerful tool for the investigation of functional brain anatomy and disease diagnosis. However, the quantitative value of phase is compromised by its nonlocal and orientation dependent properties. There is an increasing need for reliable quantification of magnetic susceptibility, the intrinsic property of tissue. In this study, we developed a novel and accurate susceptibility mapping method that is also phase-wrap insensitive. The proposed susceptibility mapping method utilized two complementary equations: (1) the Fourier relationship of phase and magnetic susceptibility; and (2) the first-order partial derivative of the first equation in the spatial frequency domain. In numerical simulation, this method reconstructed the susceptibility map almost free of streaking artifact. Further, the iterative implementation of this method allowed for high quality reconstruction of susceptibility maps of human brain in vivo. The reconstructed susceptibility map provided excellent contrast of iron-rich deep nuclei and white matter bundles from surrounding tissues. Further, it also revealed anisotropic magnetic susceptibility in brain white matter. Hence, the proposed susceptibility mapping method may provide a powerful tool for the study of brain physiology and pathophysiology. Further elucidation of anisotropic magnetic susceptibility in vivo may allow us to gain more insight into the white matter microarchitectures. PMID:21224002

  7. Low-temperature susceptibility of concentrated magnetic fluids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pshenichnikov, Alexander F.; Lebedev, Alexander V.

    2004-09-01

    The initial susceptibility of concentrated magnetic fluids (ferrocolloids) has been experimentally investigated at low temperatures. The results obtained indicate that the interparticle dipole-dipole interactions can increase the susceptibility by several times as compared to the Langevin value. It is shown that good agreement between recent theoretical models and experimental observations can be achieved by introducing a correction for coefficients in the series expansion of susceptibility in powers of density and aggregation parameter. A modified equation for equilibrium susceptibility is offered to sum over corrections made by Kalikmanov (Statistical Physics of Fluids, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2001) and by B. Huke and M. Lücke (Phys. Rev. E 67, 051403, 2003). The equation gives good quantitative agreement with the experimental data in the wide range of temperature and magnetic particles concentration. It has been found that in some cases the magnetic fluid solidification occurs at temperature several tens of kelvins higher than the crystallization temperature of the carrier liquid. The solidification temperature of magnetic fluids is independent of particle concentration (i.e., magneto-dipole interparticle interactions) and dependent on the surfactant type and carrier liquid. This finding allows us to suggest that molecular interactions and generation of some large-scale structure from colloidal particles in magnetic fluids are responsible for magnetic fluid solidification. If the magnetic fluid contains the particles with the Brownian relaxation mechanism of the magnetic moment, the solidification manifests itself as the peak on the "susceptibility-temperature" curve. This fact proves the dynamic nature of the observed peak: it arises from blocking the Brownian mechanism of the magnetization relaxation.

  8. Wave Vector Dependent Susceptibility at T>Tc in a Dipolar Ising Ferromagnet

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Als-Nielsen, Jens Aage; Holmes, L. M:; Guggenheim, H. J.

    1974-01-01

    The wave-vector-dependent susceptibility of LiTbF4 has been investigated by means of neutron scattering. The observations show a singularity of the susceptibility near wave vector Q=0 which is characteristic of the dipolar Coulomb interaction and good agreement with theory is obtained...

  9. Characterization of tissue magnetic susceptibility-induced distortions for MRIgRT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stanescu, T.; Wachowicz, K.; Jaffray, D. A.

    2012-01-01

    using an annular phantom mimicking the water-air and water-oil χ interfaces. For quadratic geometries, the magnitude of field distortion increased rapidly with the size of the inhomogeneity up to about 10 mm and then tended to plateau. This trend became more evident for materials with a larger Δχ relative to water. The simulations showed only a slight increase in the maximum distortion values when the B 0 orientation was varied with regard to the shape of the χ inhomogeneity. In the case of patient anatomy, the largest distortion values arose at the air-soft-tissue interface. Considering the two MR-linac system configurations and comparing the field distortion values corresponding to all organ structures, the distortions tended to be larger for the biplanar magnet. The authors provide a reference table with ppm values which can be used to easily evaluate the geometric distortions for patient data as a function of B 0 and the strength of the encoding gradient. Conclusions: The susceptibility distortions were quantified as a function of multiple parameters such as the χ inhomogeneity size and shape, the magnitude of B 0 and the readout gradient, and the orientation of B 0 with respect to the sample geometry. The analysis was performed for several anatomical sites and corresponding to two B 0 orientations as featured by MR-linac systems.

  10. Characterization of tissue magnetic susceptibility-induced distortions for MRIgRT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanescu, T; Wachowicz, K; Jaffray, D A

    2012-12-01

    phantom mimicking the water-air and water-oil χ interfaces. For quadratic geometries, the magnitude of field distortion increased rapidly with the size of the inhomogeneity up to about 10 mm and then tended to plateau. This trend became more evident for materials with a larger Δχ relative to water. The simulations showed only a slight increase in the maximum distortion values when the B(0) orientation was varied with regard to the shape of the χ inhomogeneity. In the case of patient anatomy, the largest distortion values arose at the air-soft-tissue interface. Considering the two MR-linac system configurations and comparing the field distortion values corresponding to all organ structures, the distortions tended to be larger for the biplanar magnet. The authors provide a reference table with ppm values which can be used to easily evaluate the geometric distortions for patient data as a function of B(0) and the strength of the encoding gradient. The susceptibility distortions were quantified as a function of multiple parameters such as the χ inhomogeneity size and shape, the magnitude of B(0) and the readout gradient, and the orientation of B(0) with respect to the sample geometry. The analysis was performed for several anatomical sites and corresponding to two B(0) orientations as featured by MR-linac systems.

  11. Novel disease susceptibility factors for fungal necrotrophic pathogens in Arabidopsis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dobón, Albor; Canet, Juan Vicente; García-Andrade, Javier; Angulo, Carlos; Neumetzler, Lutz; Persson, Staffan; Vera, Pablo

    2015-04-01

    Host cells use an intricate signaling system to respond to invasions by pathogenic microorganisms. Although several signaling components of disease resistance against necrotrophic fungal pathogens have been identified, our understanding for how molecular components and host processes contribute to plant disease susceptibility is rather sparse. Here, we identified four transcription factors (TFs) from Arabidopsis that limit pathogen spread. Arabidopsis mutants defective in any of these TFs displayed increased disease susceptibility to Botrytis cinerea and Plectosphaerella cucumerina, and a general activation of non-immune host processes that contribute to plant disease susceptibility. Transcriptome analyses revealed that the mutants share a common transcriptional signature of 77 up-regulated genes. We characterized several of the up-regulated genes that encode peptides with a secretion signal, which we named PROVIR (for provirulence) factors. Forward and reverse genetic analyses revealed that many of the PROVIRs are important for disease susceptibility of the host to fungal necrotrophs. The TFs and PROVIRs identified in our work thus represent novel genetic determinants for plant disease susceptibility to necrotrophic fungal pathogens.

  12. Novel disease susceptibility factors for fungal necrotrophic pathogens in Arabidopsis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Albor Dobón

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Host cells use an intricate signaling system to respond to invasions by pathogenic microorganisms. Although several signaling components of disease resistance against necrotrophic fungal pathogens have been identified, our understanding for how molecular components and host processes contribute to plant disease susceptibility is rather sparse. Here, we identified four transcription factors (TFs from Arabidopsis that limit pathogen spread. Arabidopsis mutants defective in any of these TFs displayed increased disease susceptibility to Botrytis cinerea and Plectosphaerella cucumerina, and a general activation of non-immune host processes that contribute to plant disease susceptibility. Transcriptome analyses revealed that the mutants share a common transcriptional signature of 77 up-regulated genes. We characterized several of the up-regulated genes that encode peptides with a secretion signal, which we named PROVIR (for provirulence factors. Forward and reverse genetic analyses revealed that many of the PROVIRs are important for disease susceptibility of the host to fungal necrotrophs. The TFs and PROVIRs identified in our work thus represent novel genetic determinants for plant disease susceptibility to necrotrophic fungal pathogens.

  13. Anti-oxidant defence mechanism in vitiliginous skin increases with skin type

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Briganti, S.; Caron-Schreinemachers, A.-L. D. B.; Picardo, M.; Westerhof, W.

    2012-01-01

    Background Vitiligo skin shows different burning capacity in people with different phototype. In normal skin antioxidant status is correlated to skin phototype, but unexpectedly it appears that there is a gradual decrease in burning susceptibility of depigmented skin of individuals with increasing

  14. Analysis of triclosan-selected Salmonella enterica mutants of eight serovars revealed increased aminoglycoside susceptibility and reduced growth rates.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ulrike Rensch

    Full Text Available The biocide triclosan (TRC is used in a wide range of household, personal care, veterinary, industrial and medical products to control microbial growth. This extended use raises concerns about a possible association between the application of triclosan and the development of antibiotic resistance. In the present study we determined triclosan mutant prevention concentrations (MPC for Salmonella enterica isolates of eight serovars and investigated selected mutants for their mechanisms mediating decreased susceptibility to triclosan. MPCTRC values were 8-64-fold higher than MIC values and ranged between 1-16 µg/ml. The frequencies at which mutants were selected varied between 1.3 x 10(-10-9.9 x 10(-11. Even if MIC values of mutants decreased by 3-7 dilution steps in the presence of the efflux pump inhibitor Phe-Arg-β-naphtylamide, only minor changes were observed in the expression of genes encoding efflux components or regulators, indicating that neither the major multidrug efflux pump AcrAB-TolC nor AcrEF are up-regulated in triclosan-selected mutants. Nucleotide sequence comparisons confirmed the absence of alterations in the regulatory regions acrRA, soxRS, marORAB, acrSE and ramRA of selected mutants. Single bp and deduced Gly93→Val amino acid exchanges were present in fabI, the target gene of triclosan, starting from a concentration of 1 µg/ml TRC used for MPC determinations. The fabI genes were up to 12.4-fold up-regulated. Complementation experiments confirmed the contribution of Gly93→Val exchanges and fabI overexpression to decreased triclosan susceptibility. MIC values of mutants compared to parent strains were even equal or resulted in a more susceptible phenotype (1-2 dilution steps for the aminoglycoside antibiotics kanamycin and gentamicin as well as for the biocide chlorhexidine. Growth rates of selected mutants were significantly lower and hence, might partly explain the rare occurrence of Salmonella field isolates exhibiting

  15. Personality traits as potential susceptibility markers : Differential susceptibility to support among parents

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Slagt, M.; Dubas, J.S.; Denissen, J.J.A.; Deković, M.; van Aken, M.A.G.

    2015-01-01

    In this study, we examined whether parents are differentially susceptible to support from their spouse and adolescent child depending on their personality traits, and whether differences in susceptibility to support among parents, in turn, are linked to the quality of support parents give to their

  16. Effect of Chemical Composition on Susceptibility to Weld Solidification Cracking in Austenitic Weld Metal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kadoi, Kota; Shinozaki, Kenji

    2017-12-01

    The influence of the chemical composition, especially the niobium content, chromium equivalent Creq, and nickel equivalent Nieq, on the weld solidification cracking susceptibility in the austenite single-phase region in the Schaeffler diagram was investigated. Specimens were fabricated using the hot-wire laser welding process with widely different compositions of Creq, Nieq, and niobium in the region. The distributions of the susceptibility, such as the crack length and brittle temperature range (BTR), in the Schaeffler diagram revealed a region with high susceptibility to solidification cracking. Addition of niobium enhanced the susceptibility and changed the distribution of the susceptibility in the diagram. The BTR distribution was in good agreement with the distribution of the temperature range of solidification (Δ T) calculated by solidification simulation based on Scheil model. Δ T increased with increasing content of alloying elements such as niobium. The distribution of Δ T was dependent on the type of alloying element owing to the change of the partitioning behavior. Thus, the solidification cracking susceptibility in the austenite single-phase region depends on whether the alloy contains elements. The distribution of the susceptibility in the region is controlled by the change in Δ T and the segregation behavior of niobium with the chemical composition.

  17. Pregnancy and Susceptibility to Infectious Diseases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elisabeth Sappenfield

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available To summarize the literature regarding susceptibility of pregnant women to infectious diseases and severity of resulting disease, we conducted a review using a PubMed search and other strategies. Studies were included if they reported information on infection risk or disease outcome in pregnant women. In all, 1454 abstracts were reviewed, and a total of 85 studies were included. Data were extracted regarding number of cases in pregnant women, rates of infection, risk factors for disease severity or complications, and maternal outcomes. The evidence indicates that pregnancy is associated with increased severity of some infectious diseases, such as influenza, malaria, hepatitis E, and herpes simplex virus (HSV infection (risk for dissemination/hepatitis; there is also some evidence for increased severity of measles and smallpox. Disease severity seems higher with advanced pregnancy. Pregnant women may be more susceptible to acquisition of malaria, HIV infection, and listeriosis, although the evidence is limited. These results reinforce the importance of infection prevention as well as of early identification and treatment of suspected influenza, malaria, hepatitis E, and HSV disease during pregnancy.

  18. Susceptibility analysis of landslide in Chittagong City Corporation Area, Bangladesh

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sourav Das

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available In Chittagong city, landslide phenomena is the most burning issue which causes great problems to the life and properties and it is increasing day by day and becoming one of the main problems of city life. On 11 June 2007, a massive landslide happened in Chittagong City Corporation (CCC area, a large number of foothill settlements and slums were demolished; more than 90 people died and huge resource destruction took place. It is therefore essential to analyze the landslide susceptibility for CCC area to prepare mitigation strategies as well as assessing the impacts of climate change. To assess community susceptibility of landslide hazard, a landslide susceptibility index map has been prepared using analytical hierarchy process (AHP model based on geographic information system (GIS and remote sensing (RS and its susceptibility is analyzed through community vulnerability assessment tool (CVAT. The major findings of the research are 27% of total CCC area which is susceptible to landslide hazard and whereas 6.5 sq.km areas are found very highly susceptible. The landslide susceptible areas of CCC have also been analyzed in respect of physical, social, economic, environmental and critical facilities and it is found that the overall CCC area is highly susceptible to landslide hazard. So the findings of the research can be utilized to prioritize risk mitigation investments, measures to strengthen the emergency preparedness and response mechanisms for reducing the losses and damages due to future landslide events. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ije.v4i2.12635 International Journal of Environment Vol.4(2 2015: 157-181

  19. Working memory in schizophrenia: behavioral and neural evidence for reduced susceptibility to item-specific proactive interference.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaller, Christoph P; Loosli, Sandra V; Rahm, Benjamin; Gössel, Astrid; Schieting, Stephan; Hornig, Tobias; Hennig, Jürgen; Tebartz van Elst, Ludger; Weiller, Cornelius; Katzev, Michael

    2014-09-15

    Susceptibility to item-specific proactive interference (PI) contributes to interindividual differences in working memory (WM) capacity and complex cognition relying on WM. Although WM deficits are a well-recognized impairment in schizophrenia, the underlying pathophysiological effects on specific WM control functions, such as the ability to resist item-specific PI, remain unknown. Moreover, opposing hypotheses on increased versus reduced PI susceptibility in schizophrenia are both justifiable by the extant literature. To provide first insights into the behavioral and neural correlates of PI-related WM control in schizophrenia, a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment was conducted in a sample of 20 patients and 20 well-matched control subjects. Demands on item-specific PI were experimentally manipulated in a recent-probes task (three runs, 64 trials each) requiring subjects to encode and maintain a set of four target items per trial. Compared with healthy control subjects, schizophrenia patients showed a significantly reduced PI susceptibility in both accuracy and latency measures. Notably, reduced PI susceptibility in schizophrenia was not associated with overall WM impairments and thus constituted an independent phenomenon. In addition, PI-related activations in inferior frontal gyrus and anterior insula, typically assumed to support PI resistance, were reduced in schizophrenia, thus ruling out increased neural efforts as a potential cause of the patients' reduced PI susceptibility. The present study provides first evidence for a diminished vulnerability of schizophrenia patients to item-specific PI, which is presumably a consequence of the patients' more efficient clearing of previously relevant WM traces and the accordingly reduced likelihood for item-specific PI to occur. Copyright © 2014 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Reversion of High-level Mecillinam Resistance to Susceptibility in Escherichia coli During Growth in Urine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elisabeth Thulin

    2017-09-01

    This is the first example describing conditional resistance where a genetically stable antibiotic resistance can be phenotypically reverted to susceptibility by metabolites present in urine. These findings have several important clinical implications regarding the use of mecillinam to treat UTIs. First, they suggest that mecillinam can be used to treat also those clinical strains that are identified as MecR in standard laboratory tests. Second, the results suggest that testing of mecillinam susceptibility in the laboratory ought to be performed in media that mimics urine to obtain clinically relevant susceptibility testing results. Third, these findings imply that changes in patient behavior, such as increased water intake or use of diuretics to reduce urine osmolality and increased intake of cysteine, might induce antibiotic susceptibility in an infecting MecR E. coli strain and thereby increase treatment efficiency.

  1. Insecticide susceptibility of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in Central Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nwane Philippe

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus, 1762 and Aedes albopictus (Skuse, 1894 are the main vectors of dengue (DENV and chikungunya (CHIKV viruses worldwide. As there is still no vaccine or specific treatment for DENV and CHIKV, vector control remains the cornerstone of prevention and outbreak control. Unfortunately, vector control programs are facing operational challenges with mosquitoes becoming resistant to commonly used insecticides in several areas through the world. Throughout Central Africa no recent data are available susceptible/resistant status of either vector species since the introduction/arrival of Ae. albopictus in this area. We therefore studied the level of resistance of these two major vectors to insecticides commonly used in Africa for mosquito control. Results Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus were sampled in six urban localities of Cameroon (Garoua, Bertoua, Yaoundé, Bafia, Buea and Gabon (Libreville. Larval bioassays, carried out to determine the lethal concentrations (LC50 and LC95 and resistance ratios (RR50 and RR95 suggested that both vector species were susceptible to Bti (Bacillus thuringiensis var israeliensis and temephos. Bioassays were also performed on adults using WHO diagnostic test kits to assess phenotypic resistance to deltamethrin, DDT, fenitrothion and propoxur. These experiments showed that one population of Ae. aegypti (Libreville and two populations of Ae. albopictus (Buea and Yaoundé were resistant to DDT (mortality 36% to 71%. Resistance to deltamethrin was also suspected in Ae. albopictus from Yaoundé (83% mortality. All other field mosquito populations were susceptible to deltamethrin, DDT, fenitrothion and propoxur. No increase in the knockdown times (Kdt50 and Kdt95 was noted in the Yaoundé resistant population compared to other Ae. albopictus populations, suggesting the possible involvement of metabolic resistance to deltamethrin and DDT. Conclusion In view of the recent increase in

  2. Evaluation of the susceptibility to corrosion by pites of supermartensitic stainless steel with different superficial finishing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Freitas, Mario Jose Bueno de Souza

    2015-01-01

    The objective of this study is to evaluate the susceptibility by pitting corrosion in a supermartensitic stainless steel (13%Cr) with different surface finishes, in an environment that simulates the conditions found in the range of the Brazilian marine subsoil before the dense layer of salt - the so-called pre-salt. In this study were conducted electrochemical tests of potentiodynamic anodic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in environment containing 35, 50 and 190 g/L of NaCl and dissolved oxygen concentrations <10, 100 and 500ppb. Were also used the techniques of Moessbauer spectroscopy and EDS (Energy Dispersive Spectrometry) coupled to a scanning electron microscope (SEM) for microstructural characterization of 13%Cr steel. It was observed by the electrochemical tests, the increase in the concentration of chloride ions in solution makes the studied steel more susceptible to localized corrosion. It was also observed that the material showed less susceptibility to pitting corrosion when its surface was less rough. (author)

  3. Association of breast cancer risk with genetic variants showing differential allelic expression: Identification of a novel breast cancer susceptibility locus at 4q21

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adoue, Véronique; Michailidou, Kyriaki; Canisius, Sander; Lemaçon, Audrey; Droit, Arnaud; Andrulis, Irene L; Anton-Culver, Hoda; Arndt, Volker; Baynes, Caroline; Blomqvist, Carl; Bogdanova, Natalia V.; Bojesen, Stig E.; Bolla, Manjeet K.; Bonanni, Bernardo; Borresen-Dale, Anne-Lise; Brand, Judith S.; Brauch, Hiltrud; Brenner, Hermann; Broeks, Annegien; Burwinkel, Barbara; Chang-Claude, Jenny; Couch, Fergus J.; Cox, Angela; Cross, Simon S.; Czene, Kamila; Darabi, Hatef; Dennis, Joe; Devilee, Peter; Dörk, Thilo; Dos-Santos-Silva, Isabel; Eriksson, Mikael; Fasching, Peter A.; Figueroa, Jonine; Flyger, Henrik; García-Closas, Montserrat; Giles, Graham G.; Goldberg, Mark S.; González-Neira, Anna; Grenaker-Alnæs, Grethe; Guénel, Pascal; Haeberle, Lothar; Haiman, Christopher A.; Hamann, Ute; Hallberg, Emily; Hooning, Maartje J.; Hopper, John L.; Jakubowska, Anna; Jones, Michael; Kabisch, Maria; Kataja, Vesa; Lambrechts, Diether; Marchand, Loic Le; Lindblom, Annika; Lubinski, Jan; Mannermaa, Arto; Maranian, Mel; Margolin, Sara; Marme, Frederik; Milne, Roger L.; Neuhausen, Susan L.; Nevanlinna, Heli; Neven, Patrick; Olswold, Curtis; Peto, Julian; Plaseska-Karanfilska, Dijana; Pylkäs, Katri; Radice, Paolo; Rudolph, Anja; Sawyer, Elinor J.; Schmidt, Marjanka K.; Shu, Xiao-Ou; Southey, Melissa C.; Swerdlow, Anthony; Tollenaar, Rob A.E.M.; Tomlinson, Ian; Torres, Diana; Truong, Thérèse; Vachon, Celine; Van Den Ouweland, Ans M. W.; Wang, Qin; Winqvist, Robert; Investigators, kConFab/AOCS; Zheng, Wei; Benitez, Javier; Chenevix-Trench, Georgia; Dunning, Alison M.; Pharoah, Paul D. P.; Kristensen, Vessela; Hall, Per; Easton, Douglas F.; Pastinen, Tomi; Nord, Silje; Simard, Jacques

    2016-01-01

    There are significant inter-individual differences in the levels of gene expression. Through modulation of gene expression, cis-acting variants represent an important source of phenotypic variation. Consequently, cis-regulatory SNPs associated with differential allelic expression are functional candidates for further investigation as disease-causing variants. To investigate whether common variants associated with differential allelic expression were involved in breast cancer susceptibility, a list of genes was established on the basis of their involvement in cancer related pathways and/or mechanisms. Thereafter, using data from a genome-wide map of allelic expression associated SNPs, 313 genetic variants were selected and their association with breast cancer risk was then evaluated in 46,451 breast cancer cases and 42,599 controls of European ancestry ascertained from 41 studies participating in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium. The associations were evaluated with overall breast cancer risk and with estrogen receptor negative and positive disease. One novel breast cancer susceptibility locus on 4q21 (rs11099601) was identified (OR = 1.05, P = 5.6x10-6). rs11099601 lies in a 135 kb linkage disequilibrium block containing several genes, including, HELQ, encoding the protein HEL308 a DNA dependant ATPase and DNA Helicase involved in DNA repair, MRPS18C encoding the Mitochondrial Ribosomal Protein S18C and FAM175A (ABRAXAS), encoding a BRCA1 BRCT domain-interacting protein involved in DNA damage response and double-strand break (DSB) repair. Expression QTL analysis in breast cancer tissue showed rs11099601 to be associated with HELQ (P = 8.28x10-14), MRPS18C (P = 1.94x10-27) and FAM175A (P = 3.83x10-3), explaining about 20%, 14% and 1%, respectively of the variance inexpression of these genes in breast carcinomas. PMID:27792995

  4. Association of breast cancer risk with genetic variants showing differential allelic expression: Identification of a novel breast cancer susceptibility locus at 4q21.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamdi, Yosr; Soucy, Penny; Adoue, Véronique; Michailidou, Kyriaki; Canisius, Sander; Lemaçon, Audrey; Droit, Arnaud; Andrulis, Irene L; Anton-Culver, Hoda; Arndt, Volker; Baynes, Caroline; Blomqvist, Carl; Bogdanova, Natalia V; Bojesen, Stig E; Bolla, Manjeet K; Bonanni, Bernardo; Borresen-Dale, Anne-Lise; Brand, Judith S; Brauch, Hiltrud; Brenner, Hermann; Broeks, Annegien; Burwinkel, Barbara; Chang-Claude, Jenny; Couch, Fergus J; Cox, Angela; Cross, Simon S; Czene, Kamila; Darabi, Hatef; Dennis, Joe; Devilee, Peter; Dörk, Thilo; Dos-Santos-Silva, Isabel; Eriksson, Mikael; Fasching, Peter A; Figueroa, Jonine; Flyger, Henrik; García-Closas, Montserrat; Giles, Graham G; Goldberg, Mark S; González-Neira, Anna; Grenaker-Alnæs, Grethe; Guénel, Pascal; Haeberle, Lothar; Haiman, Christopher A; Hamann, Ute; Hallberg, Emily; Hooning, Maartje J; Hopper, John L; Jakubowska, Anna; Jones, Michael; Kabisch, Maria; Kataja, Vesa; Lambrechts, Diether; Le Marchand, Loic; Lindblom, Annika; Lubinski, Jan; Mannermaa, Arto; Maranian, Mel; Margolin, Sara; Marme, Frederik; Milne, Roger L; Neuhausen, Susan L; Nevanlinna, Heli; Neven, Patrick; Olswold, Curtis; Peto, Julian; Plaseska-Karanfilska, Dijana; Pylkäs, Katri; Radice, Paolo; Rudolph, Anja; Sawyer, Elinor J; Schmidt, Marjanka K; Shu, Xiao-Ou; Southey, Melissa C; Swerdlow, Anthony; Tollenaar, Rob A E M; Tomlinson, Ian; Torres, Diana; Truong, Thérèse; Vachon, Celine; Van Den Ouweland, Ans M W; Wang, Qin; Winqvist, Robert; Zheng, Wei; Benitez, Javier; Chenevix-Trench, Georgia; Dunning, Alison M; Pharoah, Paul D P; Kristensen, Vessela; Hall, Per; Easton, Douglas F; Pastinen, Tomi; Nord, Silje; Simard, Jacques

    2016-12-06

    There are significant inter-individual differences in the levels of gene expression. Through modulation of gene expression, cis-acting variants represent an important source of phenotypic variation. Consequently, cis-regulatory SNPs associated with differential allelic expression are functional candidates for further investigation as disease-causing variants. To investigate whether common variants associated with differential allelic expression were involved in breast cancer susceptibility, a list of genes was established on the basis of their involvement in cancer related pathways and/or mechanisms. Thereafter, using data from a genome-wide map of allelic expression associated SNPs, 313 genetic variants were selected and their association with breast cancer risk was then evaluated in 46,451 breast cancer cases and 42,599 controls of European ancestry ascertained from 41 studies participating in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium. The associations were evaluated with overall breast cancer risk and with estrogen receptor negative and positive disease. One novel breast cancer susceptibility locus on 4q21 (rs11099601) was identified (OR = 1.05, P = 5.6x10-6). rs11099601 lies in a 135 kb linkage disequilibrium block containing several genes, including, HELQ, encoding the protein HEL308 a DNA dependant ATPase and DNA Helicase involved in DNA repair, MRPS18C encoding the Mitochondrial Ribosomal Protein S18C and FAM175A (ABRAXAS), encoding a BRCA1 BRCT domain-interacting protein involved in DNA damage response and double-strand break (DSB) repair. Expression QTL analysis in breast cancer tissue showed rs11099601 to be associated with HELQ (P = 8.28x10-14), MRPS18C (P = 1.94x10-27) and FAM175A (P = 3.83x10-3), explaining about 20%, 14% and 1%, respectively of the variance inexpression of these genes in breast carcinomas.

  5. Embryonic development of human lice: rearing conditions and susceptibility to spinosad

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gastón Mougabure Cueto

    2006-05-01

    Full Text Available The embryonic development of human lice was evaluated according to the changes in the morphology of the embryo observed through the transparent chorion. Based on ocular and appendage development, three stages of embryogenesis were established: early, medium, and late. Influence of temperature and relative humidity (RH on the laboratory rearing of Pediculus humanus capitis eggs was assessed. The optimal ranges for temperature and RH were 27-31°C and 45-75%. The susceptibility of human louse eggs to insecticide spinosad (a macrocyclic lactone was assessed by immersion method. The results showed similar susceptibility to spinosad in early, medium, and late stages of head lice eggs. In addition, this study showed similar susceptibility of head and body lice eggs to spinosad, an insecticide that has not been used as pediculicide in Argentina (lethal concentration 50: 0.01%.

  6. A laboratory study of susceptibility of methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bukhari, M.H.; Iqbal, N.; Naeem, S.; Qureshi, G.R.; Naveed, I.A.; Iqbal, A.; Khatoon, N.

    2004-01-01

    Objective: To study the mode of infection, incidence of methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and their susceptibility against glycopeptides and fucidic acid, so that awareness may be created for consultants against such notorious rapidly spreading bacteria and recommendation can be made for their prevention and control. Methods: The specimens from various infections suspected on clinical ground were processed by standard methods and antibiotic susceptibility testing of all the 350 S. aureus and 135 MRSA isolates was done by using modified Kirby Bauer Disc diffusion technique. Results: Of 350 positive S.aureus cultures, 135 were found to be Methicillin resistant (38.5%) which showed susceptibility 96%, 94% and 86% to Vancomycin, Teicoplanin and Fucidic acid respectively. Conclusion: This study showed a high incidence of MRSA at Mayo Hospital Lahore, Glycopeptides and Fucidic acid were found to be valuable antibiotics against MRSA. (author)

  7. Temporal percolation of the susceptible network in an epidemic spreading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valdez, Lucas Daniel; Macri, Pablo Alejandro; Braunstein, Lidia Adriana

    2012-01-01

    In this work, we study the evolution of the susceptible individuals during the spread of an epidemic modeled by the susceptible-infected-recovered (SIR) process spreading on the top of complex networks. Using an edge-based compartmental approach and percolation tools, we find that a time-dependent quantity ΦS(t), namely, the probability that a given neighbor of a node is susceptible at time t, is the control parameter of a node void percolation process involving those nodes on the network not-reached by the disease. We show that there exists a critical time t(c) above which the giant susceptible component is destroyed. As a consequence, in order to preserve a macroscopic connected fraction of the network composed by healthy individuals which guarantee its functionality, any mitigation strategy should be implemented before this critical time t(c). Our theoretical results are confirmed by extensive simulations of the SIR process.

  8. Apparent competition in canopy trees determined by pathogen transmission rather than susceptibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richard Cobb; Ross Meentemeyer; David Rizzo

    2010-01-01

    Epidemiological theory predicts that asymmetric transmission, susceptibility, and mortality within a community will drive pathogen and disease dynamics. These epidemiological asymmetries can result in apparent competition, where a highly infectious host reduces the abundance of less infectious or more susceptible members in a community via a shared pathogen. We show...

  9. Speciation and antibiotic susceptibility patterns of coagulase-negative staphylococci.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, D J; Kaplan, R L; Landau, W; Trenholme, G M

    1982-08-01

    During a six month period, 191 isolates of coagulase-negative staphylococci from blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid and heart valves were identified to species level and tested for antimicrobial susceptibility. Seventy-one percent of isolates were Staphylococcus epidermidis, 8% Staphylococcus warneri, 7% Staphylococcus hominis, 7% Staphylococcus haemolyticus, 4% Staphylococcus capitis, 2% Staphylococcus saprophyticus and 1% Staphylococcus cohnii. Approximately 4% of isolates were felt to be associated with infection. Overall, 18% of isolates were susceptible to penicillin G, 61% oxacillin, 98% cephalothin, 98% cefamandole, 72% cefotaxime, 95% cefsulodin, 76% gentamicin, 64% clindamycin and 98% rifampicin. All isolates were susceptible to vancomycin. Vancomycin, rifampicin, cephalothin and cefamandole showed excellent activity against oxacillin-resistant isolates. With one exception, speciation was not helpful in determining whether or not an isolate was associated with infection.

  10. Migraine aura: retracting particle-like waves in weakly susceptible cortex.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Markus A Dahlem

    Full Text Available Cortical spreading depression (SD has been suggested to underlie migraine aura. Despite a precise match in speed, the spatio-temporal patterns of SD observed in animal cortex and aura symptoms mapped to the cortical surface ordinarily differ in aspects of size and shape. We show that this mismatch is reconciled by utilizing that both pattern types bifurcate from an instability point of generic reaction-diffusion models. To classify these spatio-temporal pattern we suggest a susceptibility scale having the value sigma = 1 at the instability point. We predict that human cortex is only weakly susceptible to SD (sigma1, and potentially silent aura occurring below a second bifurcation point at sigma = 0 on the susceptible scale.

  11. Studies on the Identification of Constituents in Ethanol Extract of Radix Glycyrrhizae and Their Anti-Primary Hepatoma Cell Susceptibility

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jie Liu

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this paper is to study the chemical constituents of Radix Glycyrrhizae and to apply the resulting natural products in the study of drug susceptibility of hepatoma cells so as to provide a scientific basis for quality standards and clinical application of medicinal Radix Glycyrrhizae. Chromatographic materials were used for isolation and purification; structural identification was performed based on physicochemical properties and spectral data. MTT colorimetry was used to detect the proliferation inhibition rate against primary hepatoma cells by natural products, and flow cytometry was used to detect the changes in cell cycle progression. Five compounds were isolated and identified, namely, liquiritigenin (1, liquiritin (2, isoliquiritigenin (3, betulinic acid (4, and oleanolic acid (5. In the study, 5-FU (5-fluorouracil is used as a positive control to the hepatoma cells. Primary hepatoma cells were highly susceptible to 5-FU and liquiritigenin, both of which markedly inhibited the proliferation of hepatoma cells; flow cytometry results showed an increase in G0/G1 phase cells, a decrease in S phase cells, and a relative increase in G2/M phase cells. Primary hepatoma cells are highly susceptible to liquiritigenin, a natural product; the testing of tumor cell susceptibility is of important significance to the improvement of therapeutic effect of cancer.

  12. Individual Differences in Cue-Induced Motivation and Striatal Systems in Rats Susceptible to Diet-Induced Obesity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, Mike J F; Burghardt, Paul R; Patterson, Christa M; Nobile, Cameron W; Akil, Huda; Watson, Stanley J; Berridge, Kent C; Ferrario, Carrie R

    2015-08-01

    Pavlovian cues associated with junk-foods (caloric, highly sweet, and/or fatty foods), like the smell of brownies, can elicit craving to eat and increase the amount of food consumed. People who are more susceptible to these motivational effects of food cues may have a higher risk for becoming obese. Further, overconsumption of junk-foods leading to the development of obesity may itself heighten attraction to food cues. Here, we used a model of individual susceptibility to junk-foods diet-induced obesity to determine whether there are pre-existing and/or diet-induced increases in attraction to and motivation for sucrose-paired cues (ie, incentive salience or 'wanting'). We also assessed diet- vs obesity-associated alterations in mesolimbic function and receptor expression. We found that rats susceptible to diet-induced obesity displayed heightened conditioned approach prior to the development of obesity. In addition, after junk-food diet exposure, those rats that developed obesity also showed increased willingness to gain access to a sucrose cue. Heightened 'wanting' was not due to individual differences in the hedonic impact ('liking') of sucrose. Neurobiologically, Mu opioid receptor mRNA expression was lower in striatal 'hot-spots' that generate eating or hedonic impact only in those rats that became obese. In contrast, prolonged exposure to junk-food resulted in cross-sensitization to amphetamine-induced locomotion and downregulation of striatal D2R mRNA regardless of the development of obesity. Together these data shed light on individual differences in behavioral and neurobiological consequences of exposure to junk-food diets and the potential contribution of incentive sensitization in susceptible individuals to greater food cue-triggered motivation.

  13. Individual Differences in Cue-Induced Motivation and Striatal Systems in Rats Susceptible to Diet-Induced Obesity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, Mike JF; Burghardt, Paul R; Patterson, Christa M; Nobile, Cameron W; Akil, Huda; Watson, Stanley J; Berridge, Kent C; Ferrario, Carrie R

    2015-01-01

    Pavlovian cues associated with junk-foods (caloric, highly sweet, and/or fatty foods), like the smell of brownies, can elicit craving to eat and increase the amount of food consumed. People who are more susceptible to these motivational effects of food cues may have a higher risk for becoming obese. Further, overconsumption of junk-foods leading to the development of obesity may itself heighten attraction to food cues. Here, we used a model of individual susceptibility to junk-foods diet-induced obesity to determine whether there are pre-existing and/or diet-induced increases in attraction to and motivation for sucrose-paired cues (ie, incentive salience or ‘wanting’). We also assessed diet- vs obesity-associated alterations in mesolimbic function and receptor expression. We found that rats susceptible to diet-induced obesity displayed heightened conditioned approach prior to the development of obesity. In addition, after junk-food diet exposure, those rats that developed obesity also showed increased willingness to gain access to a sucrose cue. Heightened ‘wanting’ was not due to individual differences in the hedonic impact (‘liking’) of sucrose. Neurobiologically, Mu opioid receptor mRNA expression was lower in striatal ‘hot-spots’ that generate eating or hedonic impact only in those rats that became obese. In contrast, prolonged exposure to junk-food resulted in cross-sensitization to amphetamine-induced locomotion and downregulation of striatal D2R mRNA regardless of the development of obesity. Together these data shed light on individual differences in behavioral and neurobiological consequences of exposure to junk-food diets and the potential contribution of incentive sensitization in susceptible individuals to greater food cue-triggered motivation. PMID:25761571

  14. Limited Susceptibility of Cynomolgus Monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) to Leprosy after Experimental Administration of Mycobacterium leprae

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walsh, Gerald P.; Dela Cruz, Eduardo C.; Abalos, Rodolfo M.; Tan, Esterlina V.; Fajardo, Tranquilino T.; Villahermosa, Laarni G.; Cellona, Roland V.; Balagon, Maria V.; White, Valerie A.; Saunderson, Paul R.; Walsh, Douglas S.

    2012-01-01

    Cynomolgus monkeys are a useful model for human tuberculosis, but susceptibility to M. leprae is unknown. A cynomolgus model of leprosy could increase understanding of pathogenesis—importantly, neuritis and nerve-damaging reactions. We administered viable Mycobacterium leprae to 24 cynomolgus monkeys by three routes, with a median follow-up period of 6 years (range = 1–19 years) involving biopsies, nasal smears, antiphenolic glycolipid-1 (PGL-1) antibody serology, and lepromin skin testing. Most developed evanescent papules at intradermal M. leprae inoculation sites that, on biopsy, showed a robust cellular immune response akin to a lepromin skin test reaction; many produced PGL-1 antibodies. At necropsy, four monkeys, without cutaneous or gross neurological signs of leprosy but with elevated PGL-1 antibodies, including three with nasal smears (+) for acid fast bacilli (AFB), showed histological features, including AFB, suggestive of leprosy at several sites. Overall, however, cynomolgus monkeys seem minimally susceptible to leprosy after experimental M. leprae administration. PMID:22855766

  15. In vivo Host Environment Alters Pseudomonas aeruginosa Susceptibility to Aminoglycoside Antibiotics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Xiaolei; Dong, Yuanyuan; Fan, Zheng; Liu, Chang; Xia, Bin; Shi, Jing; Bai, Fang; Jin, Yongxin; Cheng, Zhihui; Jin, Shouguang; Wu, Weihui

    2017-01-01

    During host infection, Pseudomonas aeruginosa coordinately regulates the expression of numerous genes to adapt to the host environment while counteracting host clearance mechanisms. As infected patients take antibiotics, the invading bacteria encounter antibiotics in the host milieu. P. aeruginosa is highly resistant to antibiotics due to multiple chromosomally encoded resistant determinants. And numerous in vitro studies have demonstrated the regulatory mechanisms of antibiotic resistance related genes in response to antibiotics. However, it is not well-known how host environment affects bacterial response to antibiotics. In this study, we found that P. aeruginosa cells directly isolated from mice lungs displayed higher susceptibility to tobramycin than in vitro cultured bacteria. In vitro experiments demonstrated that incubation with A549 and differentiated HL60 (dHL60) cells sensitized P. aeruginosa to tobramycin. Further studies revealed that reactive oxygen species produced by the host cells contributed to the increased bacterial susceptibility. At the same concentration of tobramycin, presence of A549 and dHL60 cells resulted in higher expression of heat shock proteins, which are known inducible by tobramycin. Further analyses revealed decreased membrane potential upon incubation with the host cells and modification of lipopolysaccharide, which contributed to the increased susceptibility to tobramycin. Therefore, our results demonstrate that contact with host cells increased bacterial susceptibility to tobramycin. PMID:28352614

  16. Brain mitochondria from DJ-1 knockout mice show increased respiration-dependent hydrogen peroxide consumption

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pamela Lopert

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Mutations in the DJ-1 gene have been shown to cause a rare autosomal-recessive genetic form of Parkinson’s disease (PD. The function of DJ-1 and its role in PD development has been linked to multiple pathways, however its exact role in the development of PD has remained elusive. It is thought that DJ-1 may play a role in regulating reactive oxygen species (ROS formation and overall oxidative stress in cells through directly scavenging ROS itself, or through the regulation of ROS scavenging systems such as glutathione (GSH or thioredoxin (Trx or ROS producing complexes such as complex I of the electron transport chain. Previous work in this laboratory has demonstrated that isolated brain mitochondria consume H2O2 predominantly by the Trx/Thioredoxin Reductase (TrxR/Peroxiredoxin (Prx system in a respiration dependent manner (Drechsel et al., Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2010. Therefore we wanted to determine if mitochondrial H2O2 consumption was altered in brains from DJ-1 deficient mice (DJ-1−/−. Surprisingly, DJ-1−/− mice showed an increase in mitochondrial respiration-dependent H2O2 consumption compared to controls. To determine the basis of the increased H2O2 consumption in DJ1−/− mice, the activities of Trx, Thioredoxin Reductase (TrxR, GSH, glutathione disulfide (GSSG and glutathione reductase (GR were measured. Compared to control mice, brains from DJ-1−/− mice showed an increase in (1 mitochondrial Trx activity, (2 GSH and GSSG levels and (3 mitochondrial glutaredoxin (GRX activity. Brains from DJ-1−/− mice showed a decrease in mitochondrial GR activity compared to controls. The increase in the enzymatic activities of mitochondrial Trx and total GSH levels may account for the increased H2O2 consumption observed in the brain mitochondria in DJ-1−/− mice perhaps as an adaptive response to chronic DJ-1 deficiency.

  17. AGING AND SUSCEPTIBILITY TO TOLUENE IN RATS: A PHARMACOKINETIC, BIOMARKER, AND PHYSIOLOGICAL APPROACH.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aging adults are a growing segment of the U.S. population and are likely to exhibit increased susceptibility to many environmental toxicants. However, there is little information on the susceptibility of the aged to toxicants. The toxicity of toluene has been well characterized i...

  18. The Leukotriene B4/BLT1 Axis Is a Key Determinant in Susceptibility and Resistance to Histoplasmosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Secatto, Adriana; Soares, Elyara Maria; Locachevic, Gisele Aparecida; Assis, Patricia Aparecida; Paula-Silva, Francisco Wanderlei Garcia; Serezani, Carlos Henrique; de Medeiros, Alexandra Ivo; Faccioli, Lúcia Helena

    2014-01-01

    The bioactive lipid mediator leukotriene B4 (LTB4) greatly enhances phagocyte antimicrobial functions against a myriad of pathogens. In murine histoplasmosis, inhibition of the LT-generating enzyme 5-lypoxigenase (5-LO) increases the susceptibility of the host to infection. In this study, we investigated whether murine resistance or susceptibility to Histoplasma capsulatum infection is associated with leukotriene production and an enhancement of in vivo and/or in vitro antimicrobial effector function. We show that susceptible C57BL/6 mice exhibit a higher fungal burden in the lung and spleen, increased mortality, lower expression levels of 5-LO and leukotriene B4 receptor 1 (BLT1) and decreased LTB4 production compared to the resistant 129/Sv mice. Moreover, we demonstrate that endogenous and exogenous LTs are required for the optimal phagocytosis of H. capsulatum by macrophages from both murine strains, although C57BL/6 macrophages are more sensitive to the effects of LTB4 than 129/Sv macrophages. Therefore, our results provide novel evidence that LTB4 production and BLT1 signaling are required for a histoplasmosis-resistant phenotype. PMID:24465479

  19. The study of past damaging hydrogeological events for damage susceptibility zonation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. Petrucci

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available Damaging Hydrogeological Events are defined as periods during which phenomena, such as landslides, floods and secondary floods, cause damage to people and the environment.

    A Damaging Hydrogeological Event which heavily damaged Calabria (Southern Italy between December 1972, and January 1973, has been used to test a procedure to be utilised in the zonation of a province according to damage susceptibility during DHEs. In particular, we analyzed the province of Catanzaro (2391 km2, an administrative district composed of 80 municipalities, with about 370 000 inhabitants.

    Damage, defined in relation to the reimbursement requests sent to the Department of Public Works, has been quantified using a procedure based on a Local Damage Index. The latter, representing classified losses, has been obtained by multiplying the value of the damaged element and the percentage of damage affecting it.

    Rainfall has been described by the Maximum Return Period of cumulative rainfall, for both short (1, 3, 5, 7, 10 consecutive days and long duration (30, 60, 90, 180 consecutive days, recorded during the event.

    Damage index and population density, presumed to represent the location of vulnerable elements, have been referred to Thiessen polygons associated to rain gauges working at the time of the event.

    The procedure allowed us to carry out a preliminary classification of the polygons composing the province according to their susceptibility to damage during DHEs. In high susceptibility polygons, severe damage occurs during rainfall characterised by low return periods; in medium susceptibility polygons maximum return period rainfall and induced damage show equal levels of exceptionality; in low susceptibility polygons, high return period rainfall induces a low level of damage.

    The east and west sectors of the province show the highest susceptibility, while polygons of the N-NE sector show the lowest

  20. Effects of thermal aging and stress triaxiality on PWSCC initiation susceptibility of nickel-based Alloy 600

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yoo, Seung Chang; Choi, Kyoung Joon; Kim, Tae Ho; Kim, Ji Hyun [Dept. of Nuclear Science and Engineering, School of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-10-15

    In present study, effects of thermal aging and triaxial stress were investigated in terms of primary water stress corrosion cracking susceptibility. The thermal aging was applied via heat treatment at 400°C and triaxial stress was applied via notched tensile test specimen. The crack initiation time of each specimen were then measured by direct current potential drop method during slow strain rate test at primary water environment. Alloys with 10 years thermal aging exhibited the highest susceptibility to stress corrosion cracking and asreceived specimen shows lowest susceptibility. The trend was different with triaxial stress applied; 20 years thermal aging specimen shows highest susceptibility and as-received specimen shows lowest. It would be owing to change of precipitate morphology during thermal aging and different activated slip system in triaxial stress state.

  1. Mechanisms of induced susceptibility to Diplodia tip blight in drought-stressed Austrian pine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sherwood, Patrick; Villari, Caterina; Capretti, Paolo; Bonello, Pierluigi

    2015-05-01

    Plants experiencing drought stress are frequently more susceptible to pathogens, likely via alterations in physiology that create favorable conditions for pathogens. Common plant responses to drought include the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the accumulation of free amino acids (AAs), particularly proline. These same phenomena also frequently occur during pathogenic attack. Therefore, drought-induced perturbations in AA and ROS metabolism could potentially contribute to the observed enhanced susceptibility. Furthermore, nitrogen (N) availability can influence AA accumulation and affect plant resistance, but its contributions to drought-induced susceptibility are largely unexplored. Here we show that drought induces accumulation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in Austrian pine (Pinus nigra Arnold) shoots, but that shoot infection by the blight and canker pathogen Diplodia sapinea (Fr.) Fuckel leads to large reductions in H2O2 levels in droughted plants. In in vitro assays, H2O2 was toxic to D. sapinea, and the fungus responded to this oxidative stress by increasing catalase and peroxidase activities, resulting in substantial H2O2 degradation. Proline increased in response to drought and infection when examined independently, but unlike all other AAs, proline further increased in infected shoots of droughted trees. In the same tissues, the proline precursor, glutamate, decreased significantly. Proline was found to protect D. sapinea from H2O2 damage, while also serving as a preferred N source in vitro. Fertilization increased constitutive and drought-induced levels of some AAs, but did not affect plant resistance. A new model integrating interactions of proline and H2O2 metabolism with drought and fungal infection of plants is proposed. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  2. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency does not increase the susceptibility of sperm to oxidative stress induced by H2O2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roshankhah, Shiva; Rostami-Far, Zahra; Shaveisi-Zadeh, Farhad; Movafagh, Abolfazl; Bakhtiari, Mitra; Shaveisi-Zadeh, Jila

    2016-12-01

    Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is the most common human enzyme defect. G6PD plays a key role in the pentose phosphate pathway, which is a major source of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH). NADPH provides the reducing equivalents for oxidation-reduction reductions involved in protecting against the toxicity of reactive oxygen species such as H 2 O 2 . We hypothesized that G6PD deficiency may reduce the amount of NADPH in sperms, thereby inhibiting the detoxification of H 2 O 2 , which could potentially affect their motility and viability, resulting in an increased susceptibility to infertility. Semen samples were obtained from four males with G6PD deficiency and eight healthy males as a control. In both groups, motile sperms were isolated from the seminal fluid and incubated with 0, 10, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 120 µM concentrations of H 2 O 2 . After 1 hour incubation at 37℃, sperms were evaluated for motility and viability. Incubation of sperms with 10 and 20 µM H 2 O 2 led to very little decrease in motility and viability, but motility decreased notably in both groups in 40, 60, and 80 µM H 2 O 2 , and viability decreased in both groups in 40, 60, 80, and 120 µM H 2 O 2 . However, no statistically significant differences were found between the G6PD-deficient group and controls. G6PD deficiency does not increase the susceptibility of sperm to oxidative stress induced by H 2 O 2 , and the reducing equivalents necessary for protection against H 2 O 2 are most likely produced by other pathways. Therefore, G6PD deficiency cannot be considered as major risk factor for male infertility.

  3. Grey matter correlates of susceptibility to scams in community-dwelling older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duke Han, S; Boyle, Patricia A; Yu, Lei; Arfanakis, Konstantinos; James, Bryan D; Fleischman, Debra A; Bennett, David A

    2016-06-01

    Susceptibility to scams is a significant issue among older adults, even among those with intact cognition. Age-related changes in brain macrostructure may be associated with susceptibility to scams; however, this has yet to be explored. Based on previous work implicating frontal and temporal lobe functioning as important in decision making, we tested the hypothesis that susceptibility to scams is associated with smaller grey matter volume in frontal and temporal lobe regions in a large community-dwelling cohort of non-demented older adults. Participants (N = 327, mean age = 81.55, mean education = 15.30, 78.9 % female) completed a self-report measure used to assess susceptibility to scams and an MRI brain scan. Results indicated an inverse association between overall grey matter and susceptibility to scams in models adjusted for age, education, and sex; and in models further adjusted for cognitive function. No significant associations were observed for white matter, cerebrospinal fluid, or total brain volume. Models adjusted for age, education, and sex revealed seven clusters showing smaller grey matter in the right parahippocampal/hippocampal/fusiform, left middle temporal, left orbitofrontal, right ventromedial prefrontal, right middle temporal, right precuneus, and right dorsolateral prefrontal regions. In models further adjusted for cognitive function, results revealed three significant clusters showing smaller grey matter in the right parahippocampal/hippocampal/fusiform, right hippocampal, and right middle temporal regions. Lower grey matter concentration in specific brain regions may be associated with susceptibility to scams, even after adjusting for cognitive ability. Future research is needed to determine whether grey matter reductions in these regions may be a biomarker for susceptibility to scams in old age.

  4. Polymyxin susceptibility testing, interpretative breakpoints and resistance mechanisms: An update.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakthavatchalam, Yamuna Devi; Pragasam, Agila Kumari; Biswas, Indranil; Veeraraghavan, Balaji

    2018-03-01

    Emerging multidrug-resistant (MDR) nosocomial pathogens are a great threat. Polymyxins, an old class of cationic polypeptide antibiotic, are considered as last-resort drugs in treating infections caused by MDR Gram-negative bacteria. Increased use of polymyxins in treating critically ill patients necessitates routine polymyxin susceptibility testing. However, susceptibility testing both of colistin and polymyxin B (PMB) is challenging. In this review, currently available susceptibility testing methods are briefly discussed. The multicomponent composition of colistin and PMB significantly influences susceptibility testing. In addition, poor diffusion in the agar medium, adsorption to microtitre plates and the synergistic effect of the surfactant polysorbate 80 with polymyxins have a great impact on the performance of susceptibility testing methods This review also describes recently identified chromosomal resistance mechanisms, including modification of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) with 4-amino-4-deoxy-l-arabinose (L-Ara4-N) and phosphoethanolamine (pEtN) resulting in alteration of the negative charge, as well as the plasmid-mediated colistin resistance determinants mcr-1, mcr-1.2, mcr-2 and mcr-3. Copyright © 2017 International Society for Chemotherapy of Infection and Cancer. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Brief report: personality correlates of susceptibility to peer influence in adolescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stautz, Kaidy; Cooper, Andrew

    2014-06-01

    Adolescents show a heightened susceptibility to peer influence compared to adults. Individual differences in this susceptibility exist, yet there has been little effort to link these with broader personality processes. Reward sensitivity and impulsive behaviour are also heightened in adolescence and could affect the tendency to be influenced by peers. This study examined associations between self-reported resistance to peer influence, facets of reward sensitivity and impulsivity, and subjective social status in a sample of 269 British sixth form students (mean age 16.79). Multiple regression analyses showed that negative and positive urgency were significantly negatively associated with resistance to peer influence. The relationship between negative urgency and resistance was moderated by subjective social status, such that individuals reporting low status showed a stronger negative relationship. Results suggest that a susceptibility to peer influence is linked with a tendency to act impulsively when in heightened emotional states. Adolescents high in negative urgency who feel lower in their social hierarchy may be particularly vulnerable. Copyright © 2014 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility of laser-hardened 4140 steel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tsay, L.W.; Lin, Z.W. [Nat. Taiwan Ocean Univ., Keelung (Taiwan). Inst. of Mater. Eng.; Shiue, R.K. [Institute of Materials Sciences and Engineering, National Dong Hwa University, Hualien, Taiwan (Taiwan); Chen, C. [Institute of Materials Sciences and Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan (Taiwan)

    2000-10-15

    Slow strain rate tensile (SSRT) tests were performed to investigate the susceptibility to hydrogen embrittlement of laser-hardened AISI 4140 specimens in air, gaseous hydrogen and saturated H{sub 2}S solution. Experimental results indicated that round bar specimens with two parallel hardened bands on opposite sides along the loading axis (i.e. the PH specimens), exhibited a huge reduction in tensile ductility for all test environments. While circular-hardened (CH) specimens with 1 mm hardened depth and 6 mm wide within the gauge length were resistant to gaseous hydrogen embrittlement. However, fully hardened CH specimens became susceptible to hydrogen embrittlement for testing in air at a lower strain rate. The strength of CH specimens increased with decreasing the depth of hardened zones in a saturated H{sub 2}S solution. The premature failure of hardened zones in a susceptible environment caused the formation of brittle intergranular fracture and the decrease in tensile ductility. (orig.)

  7. How heterogeneous susceptibility and recovery rates affect the spread of epidemics on networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Gou

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, an extended heterogeneous SIR model is proposed, which generalizes the heterogeneous mean-field theory. Different from the traditional heterogeneous mean-field model only taking into account the heterogeneity of degree, our model considers not only the heterogeneity of degree but also the heterogeneity of susceptibility and recovery rates. Then, we analytically study the basic reproductive number and the final epidemic size. Combining with numerical simulations, it is found that the basic reproductive number depends on the mean of distributions of susceptibility and disease course when both of them are independent. If the mean of these two distributions is identical, increasing the variance of susceptibility may block the spread of epidemics, while the corresponding increase in the variance of disease course has little effect on the final epidemic size. It is also shown that positive correlations between individual susceptibility, course of disease and the square of degree make the population more vulnerable to epidemic and avail to the epidemic prevalence, whereas the negative correlations make the population less vulnerable and impede the epidemic prevalence. Keywords: Networks, Heterogeneity, Susceptibility, Recovery rates, Correlation, The basic reproductive number, The final epidemic size

  8. Antimicrobial susceptibilities of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae isolated from pigs with swine erysipelas in Japan, 1988-1998.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamamoto, K; Kijima, M; Yoshimura, H; Takahashi, T

    2001-03-01

    The susceptibility to 21 antimicrobial agents of 214 strains of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae isolated from pigs affected with swine erysipelas in Japan between 1988 and 1998 was determined. Ampicillin, cloxacillin, benzylpenicillin, ceftiofur, tylosin, enrofloxacin and danofloxacin were the most active agents [minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs); doxycycline were detected. The susceptibilities to dihydrostreptomycin and oxytetracycline tended to decrease. Investigation of the differences in antimicrobial susceptibility of the 214 strains according to their serotypes, sources, isolation years and regions, showed that the strains resistant to dihydrostreptomycin were most frequently found in the strains of serotype 1a and in strains from septicaemic cases. Strains resistant to oxytetracycline were detected in all serotypes and all sources, and most of the strains resistant to erythromycin were detected in the strains of serotype 2. The frequency of strains resistant to dihydrostreptomycin gradually increased from 1988 to 1996, but then decreased between 1997 and 1998. The frequency of strains resistant to oxytetracycline was remained more than 38% from 1988 to 1998. It was suggested that the strains resistant to dihydrostreptomycin and oxytetracycline were distributed over almost all districts of Japan.

  9. FXR-deficiency confers increased susceptibility to torpor

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cariou, Bertrand; Bouchaert, Emmanuel; Abdelkarim, Mouaadh; Dumont, Julie; Caron, Sandrine; Fruchart, Jean-Charles; Burcelin, Remy; Kuipers, Folkert; Staels, Bart

    2007-01-01

    The role of the nuclear receptor FXR in adaptive thermogenesis was investigated using FXR-deficient mice. Despite elevated serum bile acid concentrations and increased mRNA expression profiles of thermogenic genes in brown adipose tissue, FXR-deficiency did not alter energy expenditure under basal

  10. Confined Brownian motion of individual magnetic nanoparticles on a chip: Characterization of magnetic susceptibility.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Ommering, K.; Nieuwenhuis, J.H.; IJzendoorn, van L.J.; Koopmans, B.; Prins, M.W.J.

    2006-01-01

    An increasing number of biomedical applications requires detailed knowledge of the magnetic susceptibility of individual particles. With conventional techniques it is very difficult to analyze individual particles smaller than 1 µm. The authors demonstrate how the susceptibility of individual

  11. Non-asthmatic patients show increased exhaled nitric oxide concentrations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beatriz M. Saraiva-Romanholo

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: Evaluate whether exhaled nitric oxide may serve as a marker of intraoperative bronchospasm. INTRODUCTION: Intraoperative bronchospasm remains a challenging event during anesthesia. Previous studies in asthmatic patients suggest that exhaled nitric oxide may represent a noninvasive measure of airway inflammation. METHODS: A total of 146,358 anesthesia information forms, which were received during the period from 1999 to 2004, were reviewed. Bronchospasm was registered on 863 forms. From those, three groups were identified: 9 non-asthmatic patients (Bronchospasm group, 12 asthmatics (Asthma group and 10 subjects with no previous airway disease or symptoms (Control group. All subjects were submitted to exhaled nitric oxide measurements (parts/billion, spirometry and the induced sputum test. The data was compared by ANOVA followed by the Tukey test and Kruskal-Wallis followed by Dunn's test. RESULTS: The normal lung function test results for the Bronchospasm group were different from those of the asthma group (p <0.05. The median percentage of eosinophils in induced sputum was higher for the Asthma [2.46 (0.45-6.83] compared with either the Bronchospasm [0.55 (0-1.26] or the Control group [0.0 (0] (p <0.05; exhaled nitric oxide followed a similar pattern for the Asthma [81.55 (57.6-86.85], Bronchospasm [46.2 (42.0 -62.6] and Control group [18.7 (16.0-24.7] (p< 0.05. CONCLUSIONS: Non-asthmatic patients with intraoperative bronchospasm detected during anesthesia and endotracheal intubation showed increased expired nitric oxide.

  12. Genetic architecture for susceptibility to gout in the KARE cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shin, Jimin; Kim, Younyoung; Kong, Minyoung; Lee, Chaeyoung

    2012-06-01

    This study aimed to identify functional associations of cis-regulatory regions with gout susceptibility using data resulted from a genome-wide association study (GWAS), and to show a genetic architecture for gout with interaction effects among genes within each of the identified functions. The GWAS was conducted with 8314 control subjects and 520 patients with gout in the Korea Association REsource cohort. However, genetic associations with any individual nucleotide variants were not discovered by Bonferroni multiple testing in the GWAS (P>1.42 × 10(-7)). Genomic regions enrichment analysis was employed to identify functional associations of cis-regulatory regions. This analysis revealed several biological processes associated with gout susceptibility, and they were quite different from those with serum uric acid level. Epistasis for susceptibility to gout was estimated using entropy decomposition with selected genes within each biological process identified by the genomic regions enrichment analysis. Some epistases among nucleotide sequence variants for gout susceptibility were found to be larger than their individual effects. This study provided the first evidence that genetic factors for gout susceptibility greatly differed from those for serum uric acid level, which may suggest that research endeavors for identifying genetic factors for gout susceptibility should not be heavily dependent on pathogenesis of uric acid. Interaction effects between genes should be examined to explain a large portion of phenotypic variability for gout susceptibility.

  13. Physiological and pathological adaptations in dairy cows that may increase susceptibility to periparturient diseases and disorders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan J. Loor

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Dairy cows undergo tremendous metabolic and physiological adaptations around parturition to support lactation. The liver  is central to many of these processes, including gluconeogenesis and metabolism of fatty acids mobilized from adipose tis-  sue. Fat accumulation may impair normal functions of the liver and increase ketogenesis, which in turn may predispose cows  to other metabolic abnormalities. Several aspects of dietary management and body condition may alter these adaptations,  affect dry matter intake, and increase or decrease susceptibility to periparturient health problems. Overfeeding energy dur-  ing the dry period is a prominent risk factor. Considerable progress has been made in recent years in describing the adap-  tive changes in the liver and other organs in normal and abnormal states, but this knowledge has not yet identified unequiv-  ocally the key steps that might be compromised during development of metabolic disorders. The potential role of signaling  compounds, such as the inflammatory cytokines released in response to environmental stressors, infectious challenge, and  oxidative stress, in the pathogenesis of periparturient disease is under investigation. New techniques such as functional  genomics, using cDNA or oligonucleotide microarrays, as well as proteomics and metabolomics, provide additional high-  throughput tools to determine the effects of nutrition, management, or stressors on tissue function in development of dis-  ease. Integrative approaches should be fruitful in unraveling the complex interactions of metabolism, immune activation,  stress physiology, and endocrinology that likely underlie development of periparturient disease. 

  14. Droughts may increase susceptibility of prairie dogs to fleas: Incongruity with hypothesized mechanisms of plague cycles in rodents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eads, David A.; Biggins, Dean E.; Long, Dustin H.; Gage, Kenneth L.; Antolin, Michael F.

    2016-01-01

    Plague is a reemerging, rodent-associated zoonosis caused by the flea-borne bacterium Yersinia pestis. As a vector-borne disease, rates of plague transmission may increase when fleas are abundant. Fleas are highly susceptible to desiccation under hot-dry conditions; we posited that their densities decline during droughts. We evaluated this hypothesis with black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) in New Mexico, June–August 2010–2012. Precipitation was relatively plentiful during 2010 and 2012 but scarce during 2011, the driest spring–summer on record for the northeastern grasslands of New Mexico. Unexpectedly, fleas were 200% more abundant in 2011 than in 2010 and 2012. Prairie dogs were in 27% better condition during 2010 and 2012, and they devoted 287% more time to grooming in 2012 than in 2011. During 2012, prairie dogs provided with supplemental food and water were in 23% better condition and carried 40% fewer fleas. Collectively, these results suggest that during dry years, prairie dogs are limited by food and water, and they exhibit weakened defenses against fleas. Long-term data are needed to evaluate the generality of whether droughts increase flea densities and how changes in flea abundance during sequences of dry and wet years might affect plague cycles in mammalian hosts.

  15. Susceptibility testing of fish cell lines for virus isolation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ariel, Ellen; Skall, Helle Frank; Olesen, Niels Jørgen

    2009-01-01

    and laboratories, but also between lineages of the same cell line. To minimise the occurrence of false negatives in a cell culture based surveillance system, we have investigated methods, to select cell lineages that are relatively superior in their susceptibility to a panel of virus isolates. The procedures...... cell lineages, we increased the number of isolates of each virus, propagated stocks in a given cell line and tested all lineages of that line in use in the laboratory. Testing of relative cell line susceptibility between laboratories is carried out annually via the Inter-laboratory Proficiency Test...... sensitivity for surveillance purposes within a cell line and between laboratories.In terms of economic and practical considerations as well as attempting to approach a realistic test system, we suggest the optimal procedure for susceptibility testing of fish cell lines for virus isolation to be a combination...

  16. Prevalence of and susceptibility to cigarette smoking among female students aged 13 to 15 years in Vietnam, 2007.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Minh, Hoang Van; Hai, Phan Thi; Giang, Kim Bao; Kinh, Ly Ngoc

    2010-01-01

    Recent reports show a sharp increase in smoking rates among girls. We describe prevalence of cigarette smoking and susceptibility to cigarette smoking among female students aged 13 to 15 years in Vietnam and examine the associated factors. We used data from female secondary school students aged 13 to 15 years (grades 8-10) from the 2007 Global Youth Tobacco Survey that was conducted in 9 provinces in Vietnam. We used multivariate logistic regression analysis to determine associations between independent variables with smoking status and susceptibility to smoking. Prevalence of cigarette smoking among girls was 1.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.9-1.5), and 1.5% (95% CI, 1.2-1.9) of girls were susceptible to smoking. Having friends who smoke was the strongest predictor of both smoking status and susceptibility to smoking. Attendance at school classes that described the harmful effects of smoking had significant effects in reducing cigarette smoking. Girls who were exposed to billboard cigarette advertising were more likely to be susceptible to smoking than were those who had not seen advertisements. Our findings highlight the need for pursuing school-based intervention programs in Vietnam and for countering tobacco advertising and marketing practices that target young women.

  17. Insecticide susceptibility of the dengue vector Aedes aegypti (Diptera: culicidae in Makkah City, Saudi Arabia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Al Thbiani Aziz

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To examine the insecticide susceptibility of Aedes aegypti (Ae. aegypti from various sites in Makkah City, Saudi Arabia. Methods: This was examined based on WHO standard procedures. Results: The larvae of Ae. aegypti were susceptible to all larvicides examined, but this susceptibility was more pronounced in wild populations, which tended to show tolerance to icon. Icon was the most effective larvicide with LC 50 values of 0.007 ppm and 0.012 ppm for the laboratory and field strains, respectively. Ae. aegypti adults exposed to lambda-cyhalothrin showed a low mortality rate in comparison with those exposed to deltamethrin and cyfluthrin. Conclusions: The results of the present study indicate differential susceptibility between field and laboratory larval populations. Wild larvae are less susceptible to insecticide treatments than their laboratory-bred counterparts. Taken together, these results suggest that tolerance and the tendency toward resistance to commonly used insecticides are present in Ae. aegypti populations throughout Makkah City, Saudi Arabia.

  18. Remarkable increase of Neisseria gonorrhoeae with decreased susceptibility of azithromycin and increase in the failure of azithromycin therapy in male gonococcal urethritis in Sendai in 2015.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yasuda, Mitsuru; Ito, Shin; Hatazaki, Kyoko; Deguchi, Takashi

    2016-12-01

    The antimicrobial resistance of Neisseria gonorrhoeae is a serious problem worldwide. In this study, we examined the susceptibility of N. gonorrhoeae isolated from male gonococcal urethritis in Sendai in 2014 and 2015. Furthermore, of all cases, we investigated the clinical efficacy of a single 2-g dose of extended-release azithromycin (AZM-SR) in the treatment of male gonococcal urethritis retrospectively. Sixty N. gonorrhoeae strains in 2014 and 54 strains in 2015 were isolated from male gonococcal urethritis and stored each year. The MIC of AZM was ≥1 mg/L in 4 strains (6.7%) in 2014 and in 13 strains (24.1%) in 2015 and the number of strains having ≥1 mg/L MIC increased significantly (P = 0.016). Microbiological efficacy was evaluated in 32 and 29 of these patients, and the rates of treatment success were 93.8% and 79.3%, respectively. All of the treatment failures were caused by strains having a MIC of AZM of ≥0.5 mg/L. In particular, the increase in the isolates having a MIC of AZM of ≥1 mg/L was remarkable. Therefore, it was thought that the increase in these strains was the reason for the increase in treatment failures in 2015. Because no other drug is effective, it is currently necessary to use AZM-SR to treat gonococcal infections caused by ceftriaxone-resistant strains or patients allergic to ceftriaxone. To prevent a further increase in resistance to AZM, we should not use AZM-SR to treat normal cases of gonococcal infection. Copyright © 2016 Japanese Society of Chemotherapy and The Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Detection and assessment of flood susceptible irrigation networks in Licab, Nueva Ecija, Philippines using LiDAR DTM

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alberto, R. T.; Hernando, P. J. C.; Tagaca, R. C.; Celestino, A. B.; Palado, G. C.; Camaso, E. E.; Damian, G. B.

    2017-09-01

    Climate change has wide-ranging effects on the environment and socio-economic and related sectors which includes water resources, agriculture and food security, human health, terrestrial ecosystems, coastal zones and biodiversity. Farmers are under pressure to the changing weather and increasing unpredictable water supply. Because of rainfall deficiencies, artificial application of water has been made through irrigation. Irrigation is a basic determinant of agriculture because its inadequacies are the most powerful constraints on the increase of agricultural production. Irrigation networks are permanent and temporary conduits that supply water to agricultural areas from an irrigation source. Detection of irrigation networks using LiDAR DTM, and flood susceptible assessment of irrigation networks could give baseline information on the development and management of sustainable agriculture. Map Gully Depth (MGD) in Whitebox GAT was used to generate the potential irrigation networks. The extracted MGD was overlaid in ArcGIS as guide in the digitization of potential irrigation networks. A flood hazard map was also used to identify the flood susceptible irrigation networks in the study area. The study was assessed through field validation of points which were generated using random sampling method. Results of the study showed that most of the detected irrigation networks have low to moderate susceptibility to flooding while the rest have high susceptibility to flooding which is due to shifting weather. These irrigation networks may cause flood when it overflows that could also bring huge damage to rice and other agricultural areas.

  20. Elderly individuals with increased risk of falls show postural balance impairment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Márcio Rogério de Oliveira

    Full Text Available Introduction Falls are a serious public health problem. Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate whether elderly individuals with increased risk of falls have a postural balance deficit, evaluated using a force platform during a one-leg stance. Materials and methods The sample consisted of 94 physically independent elderly individuals from the EELO project. The instruments used were the Downton scale, in order to assess the risk as well as the history of falls, and the force platform to measure postural balance through parameters from the center of pressure (COP. Results Elderly individuals were split into two groups according to the score observed with the Downton scale: G1 — low fall risk (score ≤ 2 — and G2 — high fall risk (score > 2. No differences were observed between the groups concerning gender (P > 0.05, Chi Square test. On the other hand, individuals from G2 showed postural instability when compared to individuals from G1, and individuals from G2 showed higher values in all COP parameters analysed (Mann-Whitney test, P < 0.05. Conclusion It can be concluded that the Downton scale has sensitivity for identifying individuals with balance impairment as well as a risk of falls. Therefore, it may be suggested that this scale may be useful in primary health care for detecting falls in the elderly.

  1. Dielectric susceptibility of classical Coulomb systems. II

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choquard, Ph.; Piller, B.; Rentsch, R.

    1987-01-01

    This paper deals with the shape dependence of the dielectric susceptibility (equivalently defined, in a canonical ensemble, by the mean square fluctuation of the electric polarization or by the second moment of the charge-charge correlation function) of classical Coulomb systems. The concept of partial second moment is introduced with the aim of analyzing the contributions to the total susceptibility of pairs of particles of increasing separation. For a disk-shaped one-component plasma with coupling parameter γ=2 it is shown, numerically and algebraically for small and large systems, that (1) the correlation function of two particles close to the edge of the disk decays as the inverse of the square of their distance, and (2) the susceptibility is made up of a bulk contribution, which saturates rapidly toward the Stillinger-Lovett value, and of surface contribution, which varies on the scale of the disk diameter and is described by a new law called the arc sine law. It is also shown that electrostatics and statistical mechanics with shape-dependent thermodynamic limits are consistent for the same model in a strip geometry, whereas the Stillinger-Lovett sum rule is verified for a boundary-free geometry such as the surface of a sphere. Some results of extensive computer simulations of one- and two-component plasmas in circular and elliptic geometries are shown. Anisotropy effects on the susceptibilities are clearly demonstrated and the arc sine law for a circular plasma is well confirmed

  2. Transthyretin knockout mice display decreased susceptibility to AMPA-induced neurodegeneration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nunes, Ana Filipa; Montero, Maria; Franquinho, Filipa

    2009-01-01

    Transthyretin (TTR) has been regarded as a neuroprotective protein given that TTR knockout (KO) mice display increased susceptibility for amyloid beta deposition and memory deficits during aging. In parallel, TTR KO mice have increased levels of neuropeptide Y (NPY), which promotes neuroprotectio...

  3. Biomarkers of susceptibility: State of the art and implications for occupational exposure to engineered nanomaterials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iavicoli, Ivo; Leso, Veruscka; Schulte, Paul A.

    2016-01-01

    Rapid advances and applications in nanotechnology are expected to result in increasing occupational exposure to nano-sized materials whose health impacts are still not completely understood. Scientific efforts are required to identify hazards from nanomaterials and define risks and precautionary management strategies for exposed workers. In this scenario, the definition of susceptible populations, which may be at increased risk of adverse effects may be important for risk assessment and management. The aim of this review is to critically examine available literature to provide a comprehensive overview on susceptibility aspects potentially affecting heterogeneous responses to nanomaterials workplace exposure. Genetic, genotoxic and epigenetic alterations induced by nanomaterials in experimental studies were assessed with respect to their possible function as determinants of susceptibility. Additionally, the role of host factors, i.e. age, gender, and pathological conditions, potentially affecting nanomaterial toxicokinetic and health impacts, were also analysed. Overall, this review provides useful information to obtain insights into the nanomaterial mode of action in order to identify potentially sensitive, specific susceptibility biomarkers to be validated in occupational settings and addressed in risk assessment processes. The findings of this review are also important to guide future research into a deeper characterization of nanomaterial susceptibility in order to define adequate risk communication strategies. Ultimately, identification and use of susceptibility factors in workplace settings has both scientific and ethical issues that need addressing. - Highlights: • To define susceptible populations is important for risk assessment and management; • Genetic susceptibility may influence the individual response to nanomaterial exposure; • Susceptibility factors in workplace settings have both scientific and ethical issues.

  4. Biomarkers of susceptibility: State of the art and implications for occupational exposure to engineered nanomaterials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Iavicoli, Ivo, E-mail: ivo.iavicoli@unina.it [Department of Public Health, Division of Occupational Medicine, University of Naples Federico II, Via S. Pansini 5, 80131 Naples (Italy); Leso, Veruscka, E-mail: veruscka@email.it [Institute of Public Health, Section of Occupational Medicine, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Largo Francesco Vito 1, 00168 Rome (Italy); Schulte, Paul A., E-mail: pas4@cdc.gov [National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4676 Columbia Parkway, MS C-14, Cincinnati, OH 45226 (United States)

    2016-05-15

    Rapid advances and applications in nanotechnology are expected to result in increasing occupational exposure to nano-sized materials whose health impacts are still not completely understood. Scientific efforts are required to identify hazards from nanomaterials and define risks and precautionary management strategies for exposed workers. In this scenario, the definition of susceptible populations, which may be at increased risk of adverse effects may be important for risk assessment and management. The aim of this review is to critically examine available literature to provide a comprehensive overview on susceptibility aspects potentially affecting heterogeneous responses to nanomaterials workplace exposure. Genetic, genotoxic and epigenetic alterations induced by nanomaterials in experimental studies were assessed with respect to their possible function as determinants of susceptibility. Additionally, the role of host factors, i.e. age, gender, and pathological conditions, potentially affecting nanomaterial toxicokinetic and health impacts, were also analysed. Overall, this review provides useful information to obtain insights into the nanomaterial mode of action in order to identify potentially sensitive, specific susceptibility biomarkers to be validated in occupational settings and addressed in risk assessment processes. The findings of this review are also important to guide future research into a deeper characterization of nanomaterial susceptibility in order to define adequate risk communication strategies. Ultimately, identification and use of susceptibility factors in workplace settings has both scientific and ethical issues that need addressing. - Highlights: • To define susceptible populations is important for risk assessment and management; • Genetic susceptibility may influence the individual response to nanomaterial exposure; • Susceptibility factors in workplace settings have both scientific and ethical issues.

  5. Prevalence and Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci isolated from Bovine Mastitis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kaliwal B.B.

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available The study was carried out to investigate the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility of Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci isolated from Bovine Mastitis in and around Dharwad region. A total of 310 samples were screened and 180 confirmed Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci were obtained. The antimicrobial susceptibility of Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci against 10 antimicrobial agents was tested using the disc diffusion method. The highest numbers of Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci were susceptible to ceftriaxone 83.88% followed by cefotaxime 79.41%, methicillin 76.47%, ciprofloxacin 73.52%, erythromycin 70.05%, amikacin 66.11%, gentamycin 42.94%, amoxicillin 36.76%, ampicillin 29.41%, and the lowest susceptibility was shown in penicillin 23.23% . The results indicated that the increase in prevalence and antibiotic resistance pattern of the Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci isolated from bovine mastitis exhibited the highest degree of susceptible to ceftriaxone of all the tested antimicrobial agents. [Vet. World 2011; 4(4.000: 158-161

  6. Antimicrobial Susceptibility/Resistance of Streptococcus Pneumoniae

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karcic, Emina; Aljicevic, Mufida; Bektas, Sabaheta; Karcic, Bekir

    2015-01-01

    Introduction: Pneumococcal infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, whose treatment is threatened with an increase in the number of strains resistant to antibiotic therapy. Goal: The main goal of this research was to investigate the presence of antimicrobial susceptibility/resistance of S. pneumoniae. Material and methods: Taken are swabs of the nose and nasopharynx, eye and ear. In vitro tests that were made in order to study the antimicrobial resistance of pneumococci are: disk diffusion method and E-test. Results: The resistance to inhibitors of cell wall synthesis was recorded at 39.17%, protein synthesis inhibitors 19.67%, folate antagonists 47.78% and quinolone in 1.11%. S. pneumoniae has shown drug resistance to erythromycin in 45%, clindamycin in 45%, chloramphenicol–0.56%, rifampicin–6.11%, tetracycline–4.67%, penicillin-G in 4.44%, oxacillin in 73.89%, ciprofloxacin in 1.11% and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in 5.34% of cases. Conclusion: The highest resistance pneumococcus showed to erythromycin, clindamycin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and these should be avoided in the treatment. The least resistance pneumococcus showed to tetracycline, rifampicin, chloramphenicol, penicillin-G and ciprofloxacin. PMID:26236165

  7. Antifungal susceptibility and phylogeny of opportunistic members of the order mucorales.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vitale, Roxana G; de Hoog, G Sybren; Schwarz, Patrick; Dannaoui, Eric; Deng, Shuwen; Machouart, Marie; Voigt, Kerstin; van de Sande, Wendy W J; Dolatabadi, Somayeh; Meis, Jacques F; Walther, Grit

    2012-01-01

    The in vitro susceptibilities of 66 molecularly identified strains of the Mucorales to eight antifungals (amphotericin B, terbinafine, itraconazole, posaconazole, voriconazole, caspofungin, micafungin, and 5-fluorocytosine) were tested. Molecular phylogeny was reconstructed based on the nuclear ribosomal large subunit to reveal taxon-specific susceptibility profiles. The impressive phylogenetic diversity of the Mucorales was reflected in susceptibilities differing at family, genus, and species levels. Amphotericin B was the most active drug, though somewhat less against Rhizopus and Cunninghamella species. Posaconazole was the second most effective antifungal agent but showed reduced activity in Mucor and Cunninghamella strains, while voriconazole lacked in vitro activity for most strains. Genera attributed to the Mucoraceae exhibited a wide range of MICs for posaconazole, itraconazole, and terbinafine and included resistant strains. Cunninghamella also comprised strains resistant to all azoles tested but was fully susceptible to terbinafine. In contrast, the Lichtheimiaceae completely lacked strains with reduced susceptibility for these antifungals. Syncephalastrum species exhibited susceptibility profiles similar to those of the Lichtheimiaceae. Mucor species were more resistant to azoles than Rhizopus species. Species-specific responses were obtained for terbinafine where only Rhizopus arrhizus and Mucor circinelloides were resistant. Complete or vast resistance was observed for 5-fluorocytosine, caspofungin, and micafungin. Intraspecific variability of in vitro susceptibility was found in all genera tested but was especially high in Mucor and Rhizopus for azoles and terbinafine. Accurate molecular identification of etiologic agents is compulsory to predict therapy outcome. For species of critical genera such as Mucor and Rhizopus, exhibiting high intraspecific variation, susceptibility testing before the onset of therapy is recommended.

  8. Possible origins of the susceptibility contrast in the brain. Presidential award proceedings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fukunaga, Masaki; Li, T.Q.; Lee, J.; Matsuura, Eiji; Gelderen, P.V.; Zwart, J.A. de; Merkle, H.; Duyn, J.H.

    2011-01-01

    The magnetic susceptibility contrast derived from high resolution T 2 *-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging at ultra high field strength has been used to reveal laminar contrast in the gray matter (GM) and fiber bundle-like structure in the white matter (WM) of the human brain. This contrast has been attributed to subtle variations in the magnetic properties of brain tissue, which possibly reflect varying iron and myelin content and haemoglobin in the microvasculature. To investigate the origin of this contrast, MRI data from postmortem brain samples were compared with histological staining for iron and myelin. The laminar susceptibility variations in GM strongly correlate with local iron content, which generally co-localized with myelin. On the other hand, fiber bundles in white matter, shows strong susceptibility contrast in the absence of iron while myelin is high. The results suggest that iron contributes significantly to susceptibility contrast across the cortical GM, but myelin is the dominant source of susceptibility in WM bundles. (author)

  9. Degree of Tissue Differentiation Dictates Susceptibility to BRAF-Driven Colorectal Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kevin Tong

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Oncogenic mutations in BRAF are believed to initiate serrated colorectal cancers; however, the mechanisms of BRAF-driven colon cancer are unclear. We find that oncogenic BRAF paradoxically suppresses stem cell renewal and instead promotes differentiation. Correspondingly, tumor formation is inefficient in BRAF-driven mouse models of colon cancer. By reducing levels of differentiation via genetic manipulation of either of two distinct differentiation-promoting factors (Smad4 or Cdx2, stem cell activity is restored in BRAFV600E intestines, and the oncogenic capacity of BRAFV600E is amplified. In human patients, we observe that reduced levels of differentiation in normal tissue is associated with increased susceptibility to serrated colon tumors. Together, these findings help resolve the conditions necessary for BRAF-driven colon cancer initiation. Additionally, our results predict that genetic and/or environmental factors that reduce tissue differentiation will increase susceptibility to serrated colon cancer. These findings offer an opportunity to identify susceptible individuals by assessing their tissue-differentiation status.

  10. Azasordarins: Susceptibility of Fluconazole-Susceptible and Fluconazole-Resistant Clinical Isolates of Candida spp. to GW 471558

    OpenAIRE

    Cuenca-Estrella, Manuel; Mellado, Emilia; Díaz-Guerra, Teresa M.; Monzón, Araceli; Rodríguez-Tudela, Juan L.

    2001-01-01

    The in vitro activity of the azasordarin GW 471558 was compared with those of amphotericin B, flucytosine, itraconazole, and ketoconazole against 177 clinical isolates of Candida spp. GW 471558 showed potent activity against Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, and Candida tropicalis, even against isolates with decreased susceptibility to azoles. Candida krusei, Candida parapsilosis, Candida lusitaniae, and Candida guilliermondii are resistant to GW 471558 in vitro (MICs, >128 μg/ml).

  11. Focal hemodynamic patterns of status epilepticus detected by susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aellen, Jerome; Kottke, Raimund; Springer, Elisabeth; Weisstanner, Christian; El-Koussy, Marwan; Schroth, Gerhard; Wiest, Roland; Gralla, Jan; Verma, Rajeev K. [University of Bern, University Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, University Hospital Bern and Inselspital, Bern (Switzerland); Abela, Eugenio; Schindler, Kaspar [University of Bern, Department of Neurology, Inselspital, Bern (Switzerland); Buerki, Sarah E. [Inselspital, Department of Neuropaediatrics, University Children' s Hospital, Bern (Switzerland)

    2014-11-15

    To investigate pathological findings in the susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) of patients experiencing convulsive (CSE) or non-convulsive status epilepticus (NCSE) with focal hyperperfusion in the acute setting. Twelve patients (six with NCSE confirmed by electroencephalogram (EEG) and six patients with CSE with seizure event clinically diagnosed) underwent MRI in this acute setting (mean time between onset of symptoms and MRI was 3 h 8 min), including SWI, dynamic susceptibility contrast MR imaging (DSC) and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). MRI sequences were retrospectively evaluated and compared with EEG findings (10/12 patients), and clinical symptoms. Twelve out of 12 (100 %) patients showed a focal parenchymal area with pseudo-narrowed cortical veins on SWI, associated with focal hyperperfused areas (increased cerebral blood flow (CBF) and mean transit time (MTT) shortening), and cortical DWI restriction in 6/12 patients (50 %). Additionally, these areas were associated with ictal or postical EEG patterns in 8/10 patients (80 %). Most frequent acute clinical findings were aphasia and/or hemiparesis in eight patients, and all of them showed pseudo-narrowed veins in those parenchymal areas responsible for these symptoms. In this study series with CSE and NCSE patients, SWI showed focally pseudo-narrowed cortical veins in hyperperfused and ictal parenchymal areas. Therefore, SWI might have the potential to identify an ictal region in CSE/NCSE. (orig.)

  12. Focal hemodynamic patterns of status epilepticus detected by susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aellen, Jerome; Kottke, Raimund; Springer, Elisabeth; Weisstanner, Christian; El-Koussy, Marwan; Schroth, Gerhard; Wiest, Roland; Gralla, Jan; Verma, Rajeev K.; Abela, Eugenio; Schindler, Kaspar; Buerki, Sarah E.

    2014-01-01

    To investigate pathological findings in the susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) of patients experiencing convulsive (CSE) or non-convulsive status epilepticus (NCSE) with focal hyperperfusion in the acute setting. Twelve patients (six with NCSE confirmed by electroencephalogram (EEG) and six patients with CSE with seizure event clinically diagnosed) underwent MRI in this acute setting (mean time between onset of symptoms and MRI was 3 h 8 min), including SWI, dynamic susceptibility contrast MR imaging (DSC) and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). MRI sequences were retrospectively evaluated and compared with EEG findings (10/12 patients), and clinical symptoms. Twelve out of 12 (100 %) patients showed a focal parenchymal area with pseudo-narrowed cortical veins on SWI, associated with focal hyperperfused areas (increased cerebral blood flow (CBF) and mean transit time (MTT) shortening), and cortical DWI restriction in 6/12 patients (50 %). Additionally, these areas were associated with ictal or postical EEG patterns in 8/10 patients (80 %). Most frequent acute clinical findings were aphasia and/or hemiparesis in eight patients, and all of them showed pseudo-narrowed veins in those parenchymal areas responsible for these symptoms. In this study series with CSE and NCSE patients, SWI showed focally pseudo-narrowed cortical veins in hyperperfused and ictal parenchymal areas. Therefore, SWI might have the potential to identify an ictal region in CSE/NCSE. (orig.)

  13. In vitro susceptibility of Helicobacter pullorum strains to different antimicrobial agents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ceelen, Liesbeth; Decostere, Annemie; Devriese, Luc A; Ducatelle, Richard; Haesebrouck, Freddy

    2005-01-01

    The in vitro activity of 13 antimicrobial agents against 23 Helicobacter pullorum strains from poultry (21) and human (two) origin, and one human H. canadensis strain was tested by the agar dilution method. With the H. pullorum strains, monomodal distributions of Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MICs) were seen with lincomycin, doxycycline, gentamicin, tobramycin, erythromycin, tylosin, metronidazole, and enrofloxacin in concentration ranges considered as indicating susceptibility in other bacteria. The normal susceptibility level for nalidixic acid was situated at or slightly above the MIC breakpoints proposed for Campylobacteriaceae. Ampicillin, ceftriaxone, and sulphamethoxazole-trimethoprim showed poor activity against H. pullorum. For the H. canadensis strain, a similar susceptibility pattern was seen, except for nalidixic acid and enrofloxacin, whose MIC of >512 and 8 microg/ml, respectively, indicated resistance of this agent. With spectinomycin, a bimodal distribution of the MICs was noted for the tested strains; eight H. pullorum isolates originating from one flock showed acquired resistance (MIC>512 microg/ml).

  14. Loss of Myh14 Increases Susceptibility to Noise-Induced Hearing Loss in CBA/CaJ Mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaolong Fu

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available MYH14 is a member of the myosin family, which has been implicated in many motile processes such as ion-channel gating, organelle translocation, and the cytoskeleton rearrangement. Mutations in MYH14 lead to a DFNA4-type hearing impairment. Further evidence also shows that MYH14 is a candidate noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL susceptible gene. However, the specific roles of MYH14 in auditory function and NIHL are not fully understood. In the present study, we used CRISPR/Cas9 technology to establish a Myh14 knockout mice line in CBA/CaJ background (now referred to as Myh14−/− mice and clarify the role of MYH14 in the cochlea and NIHL. We found that Myh14−/− mice did not exhibit significant hearing loss until five months of age. In addition, Myh14−/− mice were more vulnerable to high intensity noise compared to control mice. More significant outer hair cell loss was observed in Myh14−/− mice than in wild type controls after acoustic trauma. Our findings suggest that Myh14 may play a beneficial role in the protection of the cochlea after acoustic overstimulation in CBA/CaJ mice.

  15. The association between miR-499 polymorphism and cancer susceptibility: a meta-analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xu Z

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Zhongfei Xu, Enjiao Zhang, Weiyi Duan, Changfu Sun, Shuang Bai, Xuexin Tan Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Stomatology, China Medical University, Shenyang, People’s Republic of China Background: MicroRNAs are a class of new noncoding RNA that play important roles in the pathogenesis of tumor. Rs3746444 in miR-499 is suggested to be associated with cancer susceptibility. In the present study, we assess the association between miR-499 rs3746444 polymorphism and cancer susceptibility through a meta-analysis. Methods: We searched relevant articles from the PubMed and Embase databases. We screened all the resulting articles for adherence to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The associations between miR-499 polymorphism and cancer susceptibility were estimated by computing the odds ratios (ORs and 95% confidence intervals (CIs. All analyses were performed using Stata software. Results: There are 18 datasets included in the analysis. Statistically significant associations were found between the miR-499 rs3746444 polymorphism and susceptibility to cancer (GG versus AA: OR =1.24, 95% CI: 1.01–1.52; G versus A: OR =1.11, 95% CI: 1.01–1.23. A subsequent analysis, on the basis of ethnicity for the population characteristic, showed that Asians had increased susceptibility to cancer (GG versus AA: OR =1.32, 95% CI: 1.09–1.59; GG + AG versus AA: OR = 1.17, 95% CI: 1.01–1.37. In the subgroup analysis of tumor type, none of the genetic models had statistically significant results. The meta-regression suggested that race and cancer types are not the source of heterogeneity in the present meta-analysis. No publication bias was detected by either the inverted funnel plot or Egger’s test. Conclusion: Rs3746444 in miR-499 might be related to susceptibility to cancer. Keywords: microRNA, single-nucleotide polymorphism, tumor, risk factor

  16. Identification of highly susceptible individuals in complex networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Shaoting; Teng, Xian; Pei, Sen; Yan, Shu; Zheng, Zhiming

    2015-08-01

    Identifying highly susceptible individuals in spreading processes is of great significance in controlling outbreaks. In this paper, we explore the susceptibility of people in susceptible-infectious-recovered (SIR) and rumor spreading dynamics. We first study the impact of community structure on people's susceptibility. Although the community structure can reduce the number of infected people for same infection rate, it will not significantly affect nodes' susceptibility. We find the susceptibility of individuals is sensitive to the choice of spreading dynamics. For SIR spreading, since the susceptibility is highly correlated to nodes' influence, the topological indicator k-shell can better identify highly susceptible individuals, outperforming degree, betweenness centrality and PageRank. In contrast, in rumor spreading model, where nodes' susceptibility and influence have no clear correlation, degree performs the best among considered topological measures. Our finding highlights the significance of both topological features and spreading mechanisms in identifying highly susceptible population.

  17. Susceptibility of central Red Sea corals during a major bleaching event

    KAUST Repository

    Furby, Kathryn A.

    2013-01-04

    A major coral bleaching event occurred in the central Red Sea near Thuwal, Saudi Arabia, in the summer of 2010, when the region experienced up to 10-11 degree heating weeks. We documented the susceptibility of various coral taxa to bleaching at eight reefs during the peak of this thermal stress. Oculinids and agaricids were most susceptible to bleaching, with up to 100 and 80 % of colonies of these families, respectively, bleaching at some reefs. In contrast, some families, such as mussids, pocilloporids, and pectinids showed low levels of bleaching (<20 % on average). We resurveyed the reefs 7 months later to estimate subsequent mortality. Mortality was highly variable among taxa, with some taxa showing evidence of full recovery and some (e. g., acroporids) apparently suffering nearly complete mortality. The unequal mortality among families resulted in significant change in community composition following the bleaching. Significant factors in the likelihood of coral bleaching during this event were depth of the reef and distance of the reef from shore. Shallow reefs and inshore reefs had a higher prevalence of bleaching. This bleaching event shows that Red Sea reefs are subject to the same increasing pressures that reefs face worldwide. This study provides a quantitative, genus-level assessment of the vulnerability of various coral groups from within the Red Sea to bleaching and estimates subsequent mortality. As such, it can provide valuable insights into the future for reef communities in the Red Sea. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

  18. An in-depth characterization of the major psoriasis susceptibility locus identifies candidate susceptibility alleles within an HLA-C enhancer element.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alex Clop

    Full Text Available Psoriasis is an immune-mediated skin disorder that is inherited as a complex genetic trait. Although genome-wide association scans (GWAS have identified 36 disease susceptibility regions, more than 50% of the genetic variance can be attributed to a single Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC locus, known as PSORS1. Genetic studies indicate that HLA-C is the strongest PSORS1 candidate gene, since markers tagging HLA-Cw*0602 consistently generate the most significant association signals in GWAS. However, it is unclear whether HLA-Cw*0602 is itself the causal PSORS1 allele, especially as the role of SNPs that may affect its expression has not been investigated. Here, we have undertaken an in-depth molecular characterization of the PSORS1 interval, with a view to identifying regulatory variants that may contribute to disease susceptibility. By analysing high-density SNP data, we refined PSORS1 to a 179 kb region encompassing HLA-C and the neighbouring HCG27 pseudogene. We compared multiple MHC sequences spanning this refined locus and identified 144 candidate susceptibility variants, which are unique to chromosomes bearing HLA-Cw*0602. In parallel, we investigated the epigenetic profile of the critical PSORS1 interval and uncovered three enhancer elements likely to be active in T lymphocytes. Finally we showed that nine candidate susceptibility SNPs map within a HLA-C enhancer and that three of these variants co-localise with binding sites for immune-related transcription factors. These data indicate that SNPs affecting HLA-Cw*0602 expression are likely to contribute to psoriasis susceptibility and highlight the importance of integrating multiple experimental approaches in the investigation of complex genomic regions such as the MHC.

  19. Effects of disruption of heat shock genes on susceptibility of Escherichia coli to fluoroquinolones

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    Morioka Mizue

    2003-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background It is well known that expression of certain bacterial genes responds rapidly to such stimuli as exposure to toxic chemicals and physical agents. It is generally believed that the proteins encoded in these genes are important for successful survival of the organism under the hostile conditions. Analogously, the proteins induced in bacterial cells exposed to antibiotics are believed to affect the organisms' susceptibility to these agents. Results We demonstrated that Escherichia coli cells exposed to levofloxacin (LVFX, a fluoroquinolone (FQ, induce the syntheses of heat shock proteins and RecA. To examine whether the heat shock proteins affect the bactericidal action of FQs, we constructed E. coli strains with mutations in various heat shock genes and tested their susceptibility to FQs. Mutations in dnaK, groEL, and lon increased this susceptibility; the lon mutant exhibited the greatest effects. The increased susceptibility of the lon mutant was corroborated by experiments in which the gene encoding the cell division inhibitor, SulA, was subsequently disrupted. SulA is induced by the SOS response and degraded by the Lon protease. The findings suggest that the hypersusceptibility of the lon mutant to FQs could be due to abnormally high levels of SulA protein resulting from the depletion of Lon and the continuous induction of the SOS response in the presence of FQs. Conclusion The present results show that the bactericidal action of FQs is moderately affected by the DnaK and GroEL chaperones and strongly affected by the Lon protease. FQs have contributed successfully to the treatment of various bacterial infections, but their widespread use and often misuse, coupled with emerging resistance, have gradually compromised their utility. Our results suggest that agents capable of inhibiting the Lon protease have potential for combination therapy with FQs.

  20. Identification and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing of Anaerobic Bacteria: Rubik's Cube of Clinical Microbiology?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gajdács, Márió; Spengler, Gabriella; Urbán, Edit

    2017-11-07

    Anaerobic bacteria have pivotal roles in the microbiota of humans and they are significant infectious agents involved in many pathological processes, both in immunocompetent and immunocompromised individuals. Their isolation, cultivation and correct identification differs significantly from the workup of aerobic species, although the use of new technologies (e.g., matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry, whole genome sequencing) changed anaerobic diagnostics dramatically. In the past, antimicrobial susceptibility of these microorganisms showed predictable patterns and empirical therapy could be safely administered but recently a steady and clear increase in the resistance for several important drugs (β-lactams, clindamycin) has been observed worldwide. For this reason, antimicrobial susceptibility testing of anaerobic isolates for surveillance purposes or otherwise is of paramount importance but the availability of these testing methods is usually limited. In this present review, our aim was to give an overview of the methods currently available for the identification (using phenotypic characteristics, biochemical testing, gas-liquid chromatography, MALDI-TOF MS and WGS) and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (agar dilution, broth microdilution, disk diffusion, gradient tests, automated systems, phenotypic and molecular resistance detection techniques) of anaerobes, when should these methods be used and what are the recent developments in resistance patterns of anaerobic bacteria.

  1. Comparison of transcriptome profiles by Fusarium oxysporum inoculation between Fusarium yellows resistant and susceptible lines in Brassica rapa L.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miyaji, Naomi; Shimizu, Motoki; Miyazaki, Junji; Osabe, Kenji; Sato, Maho; Ebe, Yusuke; Takada, Satoko; Kaji, Makoto; Dennis, Elizabeth S; Fujimoto, Ryo; Okazaki, Keiichi

    2017-12-01

    Resistant and susceptible lines in Brassica rapa have different immune responses against Fusarium oxysporum inoculation. Fusarium yellows caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. conglutinans (Foc) is an important disease of Brassicaceae; however, the mechanism of how host plants respond to Foc is still unknown. By comparing with and without Foc inoculation in both resistant and susceptible lines of Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa var. pekinensis), we identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the bulked inoculated (6, 12, 24, and 72 h after inoculation (HAI)) and non-inoculated samples. Most of the DEGs were up-regulated by Foc inoculation. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR showed that most up-regulated genes increased their expression levels from 24 HAI. An independent transcriptome analysis at 24 and 72 HAI was performed in resistant and susceptible lines. GO analysis using up-regulated genes at 24 HAI indicated that Foc inoculation activated systemic acquired resistance (SAR) in resistant lines and tryptophan biosynthetic process and responses to chitin and ethylene in susceptible lines. By contrast, GO analysis using up-regulated genes at 72 HAI showed the overrepresentation of some categories for the defense response in susceptible lines but not in the resistant lines. We also compared DEGs between B. rapa and Arabidopsis thaliana after F. oxysporum inoculation at the same time point, and identified genes related to defense response that were up-regulated in the resistant lines of Chinese cabbage and A. thaliana. Particular genes that changed expression levels overlapped between the two species, suggesting that they are candidates for genes involved in the resistance mechanisms against F. oxysporum.

  2. Tensor Susceptibilities of the Vacuum from Constituent Quarks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Broniowski, W.; Polyakov, M.; Goeke, K.; Hyun-Chul Kim

    1998-01-01

    We show that the constituent quark model leads to simple expression for the isoscalar and isovector tensor susceptibilities of the vacuum. The found values are negative and of magnitude compatible with QCD-sum-rule parametrizations of spectral densities in appropriate L=1-meson channels. (author)

  3. Tensor Susceptibilities of the Vacuum from Constituent Quarks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Broniowski, W [The H. Niewodniczanski Institute of Nuclear Physics, Cracow (Poland); Polyakov, M; Goeke, K [Institute for Theoretical Physics II, Ruhr-Universitaet-Bochum, Bochum (Germany); Kim, Hyun-Chul [Pusan National University, Department of Physics, Pusan (Korea, Republic of)

    1998-05-15

    We show that the constituent quark model leads to simple expression for the isoscalar and isovector tensor susceptibilities of the vacuum. The found values are negative and of magnitude compatible with QCD-sum-rule parametrizations of spectral densities in appropriate L=1-meson channels. (author)

  4. Evaluation of semisolid agar method for antifungal susceptibility test of T. rubrum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sultana Razia

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Background: With increasing fungal disease many newer antifungal drugs are available with different spectrum of activ­ity. Antifungal susceptibility test will help clinicians for selection of effective drug and thereby treatment of patient. Objective: The study was undertaken to perform a simple screening drug susceptibility test of T. rnbrum by Semi Solid Agar Antifungal Susceptibility (SAAS Method: Perfonnance of susceptibility method was assessed by comparing the MICs of three commonly prescribed antifungal agents namely- tluconazole (FCZ, itraconazole (ITZ and terbinafine (TER to the CLSI (Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute recommended M-38, a broth microdilution method. Results: In SAAS method, among twenty nine T. rubrum, twenty five (86.2% were susceptible (MIC range 0.5-64 µg/ml to Fluconazole (FCZ and four (13.7% were resistant (MIC value >64 µg/ml. In broth microdilution method, among twenty nine T. rubrum, twenty six (89.6% were susceptible (MIC range 0.3-64 µg/ml to FCZ and three (10.3% were resistant (MIC value >64 µg/ml. In case of both ITZ and TER, all were susceptible (MIC range 0.3-64 µg/ml to both methods. The SAAS method demonstrated the susceptibility pattern of T. rubrum against FCZ, ITZ and TER usually within 72 to 96 hours after organism isolation and results were concordance with the results of CLSI broth microdilution method. Conclusion: Though it is a newer method with proper standardization of the test method, SAAS method is simple and easily applicable screening method for susceptibility testing of antifungal agents against dermatophytes in any microbiology laboratories.

  5. A new discrete dipole kernel for quantitative susceptibility mapping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milovic, Carlos; Acosta-Cabronero, Julio; Pinto, José Miguel; Mattern, Hendrik; Andia, Marcelo; Uribe, Sergio; Tejos, Cristian

    2018-09-01

    Most approaches for quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) are based on a forward model approximation that employs a continuous Fourier transform operator to solve a differential equation system. Such formulation, however, is prone to high-frequency aliasing. The aim of this study was to reduce such errors using an alternative dipole kernel formulation based on the discrete Fourier transform and discrete operators. The impact of such an approach on forward model calculation and susceptibility inversion was evaluated in contrast to the continuous formulation both with synthetic phantoms and in vivo MRI data. The discrete kernel demonstrated systematically better fits to analytic field solutions, and showed less over-oscillations and aliasing artifacts while preserving low- and medium-frequency responses relative to those obtained with the continuous kernel. In the context of QSM estimation, the use of the proposed discrete kernel resulted in error reduction and increased sharpness. This proof-of-concept study demonstrated that discretizing the dipole kernel is advantageous for QSM. The impact on small or narrow structures such as the venous vasculature might by particularly relevant to high-resolution QSM applications with ultra-high field MRI - a topic for future investigations. The proposed dipole kernel has a straightforward implementation to existing QSM routines. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Low-field susceptibilities of rare-earth spin glass alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sarkissian, B.V.B.

    1978-01-01

    The low-field AC susceptibilities of the dilute rare-earth spin glass alloys Sc-Gd, Sc-Tb, Pr-Tb and Pr-Gd are reported and compared with low-field DC susceptibilities of the same samples. The similarities between their behaviour and that of Au-Fe spin glass alloys is also considered. When single-ion anisotropy is important, this can cause a dramatic broadening of the sharp peak. Broadening in the AC peak has also observed as the frequency of the deriving field is increased. These data can be qualitatively discussed in terms of a recent magnetic-cluster model for spin glasses. (author)

  7. Drug susceptibility of fungi isolated from ICU patients

    Science.gov (United States)

    Modrzewska, Barbara D; Kurnatowska,, Anna J; Khalid, Katarzyna

    Candida species can be a reason of infections associated with high morbidity and mortality. The risk of invasive candidosis for patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) is increased due to immunosuppressive states, prolonged length of stay, broad-spectrum antibiotics and Candida colonization. The aim of the study was to determine selected properties of fungi isolated from patients treated in the ICUs of hospitals in Lodz. The materials were collected from the oral cavity, the tracheostomy or endotracheal tube and urine from 16 children and 35 adult. In total, 127 samples were examined to differentiate the fungal strains with used morphological and biochemical methods. Candida species were isolated from adult patients (82.9%), but were not isolated from any of the children; C. albicans was the predominant fungus (61.7%), much less frequent were C. glabrata (12.8%), C. tropicalis (6.4%) and C. kefyr, C. dubliniensis (4.3% each).The susceptibility of fungi to antimycotic drugs revealed that almost all of the strains were susceptible to nystatin (97.9%) and to amphotericin B (72.3%), and resistant to fluconazole (72.3%) and ketoconazole (57.5%). No isolation of fungi from children remaining in ICU may be an evidence of high sanitary regime at these wards; fungi from the genus Candida are the etiological factors for ICU infections; 3/5 of them are caused by C. albicans, mostly of the code 2 576 174, characteristic for strains isolated from hospitalized patients; it is necessary to determine the species of the fungus and its susceptibility to drugs, which allows to conduct effective therapy; prophylactic administration of fluconazole leads to an increase in the number of strains resistant to this chemotherapeutic agent; in the antifungal local treatment, nystatin should be a drug of choice as the drug to which most fungi are susceptible.

  8. Source-water susceptibility assessment in Texas—Approach and methodology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ulery, Randy L.; Meyer, John E.; Andren, Robert W.; Newson, Jeremy K.

    2011-01-01

    and time; that increased levels of COC-producing activities within a source area may increase susceptibility to COC exposure; and that natural and manmade conditions within the source area may increase, decrease, or have no observable effect on susceptibility to COC exposure. Incorporating these assumptions, eight SWSA components were defined: identification, delineation, intrinsic susceptibility, point- and nonpoint-source susceptibility, contaminant occurrence, area-of-primary influence, and summary components. Spatial datasets were prepared to represent approximately 170 attributes or indicators used in the assessment process. These primarily were static datasets (approximately 46 gigabytes (GB) in size). Selected datasets such as PWS surface-water-intake or groundwater-well locations and potential source of contamination (PSOC) locations were updated weekly. Completed assessments were archived, and that database is approximately 10 GB in size. SWSA components currently (2011) are implemented in the Source Water Assessment Program-Decision Support System (SWAP-DSS) computer software, specifically developed to produce SWSAs. On execution of the software, the components work to identify the source of water for the well or intake, assess intrinsic susceptibility of the water- supply source, assess susceptibility to contamination with COCs from point and nonpoint sources, identify any previous detections of COCs from existing water-quality databases, and summarize the results. Each water-supply source's susceptibility is assessed, source results are weighted by source capacity (when a PWS has multiple sources), and results are combined into a single SWSA for the PWS.'SWSA reports are generated using the software; during 2003, more than 6,000 reports were provided to PWS operators and the public. The ability to produce detailed or summary reports for individual sources, and detailed or summary reports for a PWS, by COC or COC group was a unique capability of SWAP

  9. Association between VEGF polymorphisms (936c/t, -460t/c and -634g/c) with haplotypes and coronary heart disease susceptibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Xia; Liu, Lili; Niu, Jiamin; Yang, Jun; Zhang, Zengtang; Zhang, Zhiqiang

    2015-01-01

    Our aim was to investigate the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and coronary heart disease (CHD) susceptibility in Chinese Han population. 144 CHD patients and 150 healthy individuals were enrolled in the study. Three SNPs (936C/T, -460T/C and -634G/C) of VEGF were chose and then were genotyped with Sequenom time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS). Odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to evaluate the association of genotypes and haplotypes and CHD susceptibility. The frequencies of -460T/C CC genotype (13.6%) was found higher in the case group than that of control group (6.7%), which indicated that CC genotype was a risk factor for CHD (OR=2.50, 95% CI=1.10-5.68). Correspondently, the C allele appeared to increase the risk of CHD (OR=1.54, 95% CI=1.07-2.22). For -634G/C polymorphism, the risk of the CC genotype carrier for CHD increased 2.24 fold compared to the wild genotype. Moreover, -634G/CC allele was significantly associated with CHD susceptibility (OR=1.65, 95% CI=1.15-2.36). In addition, +936C/T CT genotype and C allele appeared to be a genetic-susceptibility factors for CHD (OR=2.43, 95% CI=1.44-4.10; OR=1.95, 95% CI=1.26-3.02). The haplotype analysis showed that T-C-T, C-C-C and C-G-C haplotypes all could increase the risk for CHD (OR: 2.43, 2.77 and 2.33). we concluded VEGF polymorphisms were associated with CHD susceptibility. Moreover, the haplotypes of T-C-T, C-C-C and C-G-C all could increase the risk for CHD.

  10. Genetic and Functional Evidence Supports LPAR1 as a Susceptibility Gene for Hypertension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Ke; Ma, Lu; Li, Yang; Wang, Fang; Zheng, Gu-Yan; Sun, Zhijun; Jiang, Feng; Chen, Yundai; Liu, Huirong; Dang, Aimin; Chen, Xi; Chun, Jerold; Tian, Xiao-Li

    2015-09-01

    Essential hypertension is a complex disease affected by genetic and environmental factors and serves as a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Serum lysophosphatidic acid correlates with an elevated blood pressure in rats, and lysophosphatidic acid interacts with 6 subtypes of receptors. In this study, we assessed the genetic association of lysophosphatidic acid receptors with essential hypertension by genotyping 28 single-nucleotide polymorphisms from genes encoding for lysophosphatidic acid receptors, LPAR1, LPAR2, LPAR3, LPAR4, LPAR5, and LPAR6 and their flanking sequences, in 3 Han Chinese cohorts consisting of 2630 patients and 3171 controls in total. We identified a single-nucleotide polymorphism, rs531003 in the 3'-flanking genomic region of LPAR1, associated with hypertension (the Bonferroni corrected P=1.09×10(-5), odds ratio [95% confidence interval]=1.23 [1.13-1.33]). The risk allele C of rs531003 is associated with the increased expression of LPAR1 and the susceptibility of hypertension, particularly in those with a shortage of sleep (P=4.73×10(-5), odds ratio [95% confidence interval]=1.75 [1.34-2.28]). We further demonstrated that blood pressure elevation caused by sleep deprivation and phenylephrine-induced vasoconstriction was both diminished in LPAR1-deficient mice. Together, we show that LPAR1 is a novel susceptibility gene for human essential hypertension and that stress, such as shortage of sleep, increases the susceptibility of patients with risk allele to essential hypertension. © 2015 American Heart Association, Inc.

  11. Brain Metastases from Lung Cancer Show Increased Expression of DVL1, DVL3 and Beta-Catenin and Down-Regulation of E-Cadherin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anja Kafka

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The susceptibility of brain to secondary formation from lung cancer primaries is a well-known phenomenon. In contrast, the molecular basis for invasion and metastasis to the brain is largely unknown. In the present study, 31 brain metastases that originated from primary lung carcinomas were analyzed regarding over expression of Dishevelled-1 (DVL1, Dishevelled-3 (DVL3, E-cadherin (CDH1 and beta-catenin (CTNNB1. Protein expressions and localizations were analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Genetic alterations of E-cadherin were tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR/loss of heterozygosity (LOH. Heteroduplex was used to investigate mutations in beta-catenin. DVL1 and DVL3 showed over expression in brain metastasis in 87.1% and 90.3% of samples respectively. Nuclear staining was observed in 54.8% of cases for DVL1 and 53.3% for DVL3. The main effector of the Wnt signaling, beta-catenin, was up-regulated in 56%, and transferred to the nucleus in 36% of metastases. When DVL1 and DVL3 were up-regulated the number of cases with nuclear beta-catenin significantly increased (p = 0.0001. Down-regulation of E-cadherin was observed in 80% of samples. Genetic analysis showed 36% of samples with LOH of the CDH1. In comparison to other lung cancer pathologies, the diagnoses adenocarcinoma and small cell lung cancer (SCLC were significantly associated to CDH1 LOH (p = 0.001. Microsatellite instability was detected in one metastasis from adenocarcinoma. Exon 3 of beta-catenin was not targeted. Altered expression of Dishevelled-1, Dishevelled-3, E-cadherin and beta-catenin were present in brain metastases which indicates that Wnt signaling is important and may contribute to better understanding of genetic profile conditioning lung cancer metastasis to the brain.

  12. STrategically Acquired Gradient Echo (STAGE) imaging, part I: Creating enhanced T1 contrast and standardized susceptibility weighted imaging and quantitative susceptibility mapping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yongsheng; Liu, Saifeng; Wang, Yu; Kang, Yan; Haacke, E Mark

    2018-02-01

    To provide whole brain grey matter (GM) to white matter (WM) contrast enhanced T1W (T1WE) images, multi-echo quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM), proton density (PD) weighted images, T1 maps, PD maps, susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI), and R2* maps with minimal misregistration in scanning times creating enhanced GM/WM contrast (the T1WE). The proposed T1WE image was created from a combination of the proton density weighted (6°, PDW) and T1W (24°) images and corrected for RF transmit field variations. Prior to the QSM calculation, a multi-echo phase unwrapping strategy was implemented using the unwrapped short echo to unwrap the longer echo to speed up computation. R2* maps were used to mask deep grey matter and veins during the iterative QSM calculation. A weighted-average sum of susceptibility maps was generated to increase the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). The proposed T1WE image has a significantly improved CNR both for WM to deep GM and WM to cortical GM compared to the acquired T1W image (the first echo of 24° scan) and the T1MPRAGE image. The weighted-average susceptibility maps have 80±26%, 55±22%, 108±33% SNR increases across the ten subjects compared to the single echo result of 17.5ms for the putamen, caudate nucleus, and globus pallidus, respectively. STAGE imaging offers the potential to create a standardized brain imaging protocol providing four pieces of quantitative tissue property information and multiple types of qualitative information in just 5min. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  13. Clinico-mycological and Antifungal Susceptibility Profiles of Candiduria in A Tertiary Care Hospital From South India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dinoop Korol Ponnambath

    2017-10-01

    .9% cases of candiduria The most common species identified was Candida albicans (n=53, 52.4%. The commonest non-albicans Candida species causing significant candiduria cases were C. glabrata and C. tropicalis (n=18, 17.8% each. The antifungal susceptibility testing revealed an overall 94% susceptibility to amphotericin B, 89% susceptibility to flucytosine, 84% & 88% susceptibility to azoles, fluconazole and voriconazole respectively with 90% susceptibility to caspofungin. Significant high linear correlation existed between fluconazole and voriconazole resistance for C. glabrata, C. albicans and C.tropicalis. [Pearson’s correlation coefficient, C. glabrata [r =1.00 (p<0.001], C. albicans [r=0.91 (p<0.001] and C.tropicalis [r=0.79 (p<0.001]. Conclusion: C. albicans was found to the commonest species in our Tertiary Care Center in contrast to the reporting of non-albicans Candida species as the commonest species in most other recent studies. Determination of the antifungal susceptibility profile showed increasing trend of resistance to most antifungal agents, particularly azoles.

  14. Susceptibility of SCADA systems and the energy sector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goike, Lindsay

    The research in this paper focused on analyzing SCADA systems in the energy sector for susceptibility to cyber attacks, in furtherance of providing suggestions to mitigate current and future cyber attacks. The research will be addressing the questions: how are SCADA systems susceptible to cyber attacks, and what are the suggested ways to mitigate both current and future cyber attacks. The five main categories of security vulnerabilities facing current SCADA systems were found to be: connectivity to the Internet, failure to plan, interdependency of sectors, numerous different types of threats, and outdated software. Some of the recommendations mentioned to mitigate current and future risks were: virtual private networks, risk assessments, increased physical security, updating of software, and firewalls.

  15. Antimicrobial susceptibility of clinically isolated anaerobic bacteria in a University Hospital Centre Split, Croatia in 2013.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Novak, Anita; Rubic, Zana; Dogas, Varja; Goic-Barisic, Ivana; Radic, Marina; Tonkic, Marija

    2015-02-01

    Anaerobic bacteria play a significant role in many endogenous polymicrobial infections. Since antimicrobial resistance among anaerobes has increased worldwide, it is useful to provide local susceptibility data to guide empirical therapy. The present study reports recent data on the susceptibility of clinically relevant anaerobes in a University Hospital Centre (UHC) Split, Croatia. A total of 63 Gram-negative and 59 Gram-positive anaerobic clinical isolates from various body sites were consecutively collected from January to December 2013. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using standardized methods and interpreted using EUCAST criteria. Patient's clinical and demographic data were recorded by clinical microbiologist. Among 35 isolates of Bacteroides spp., 97.1% were resistant to penicillin (PCN), 5.7% to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (AMC), 8.6% to piperacillin/tazobactam (TZP), 29.0% to clindamycin (CLI) and 2.9% to metronidazole (MZ). Percentages of susceptible strains to imipenem (IPM), meropenem (MEM) and ertapenem (ETP) were 94.3. Resistance of other Gram-negative bacilli was 76.0% to PCN, 8.0% to AMC, 12.0% to TZP, 28.0% to CLI and 8% to MZ. All other Gram-negative strains were fully susceptible to MEM and ETP, while 96.0% were susceptible to IPM. Clostridium spp. isolates were 100% susceptible to all tested antibiotics except to CLI (two of four tested isolates were resistant). Propionibacterium spp. showed resistance to CLI in 4.3%, while 100% were resistant to MZ. Among other Gram-positive bacilli, 18.2% were resistant to PCN, 9.1% to CLI and 54.5% to MZ, while 81.8% of isolates were susceptible to carbapenems. Gram-positive cocci were 100% susceptible to all tested antimicrobials except to MZ, where 28.6% of resistant strains were recorded. Abdomen was the most common source of isolates (82.5%). The most prevalent types of infection were abscess (22.1%), sepsis (14.8%), appendicitis (13.9%) and peritonitis (6.6%). Twenty four patients (19

  16. Unexpected effects of azole transporter inhibitors on antifungal susceptibility in Candida glabrata and other pathogenic Candida species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nagayoshi, Yohsuke; Miyazaki, Taiga; Shimamura, Shintaro; Nakayama, Hironobu; Minematsu, Asuka; Yamauchi, Shunsuke; Takazono, Takahiro; Nakamura, Shigeki; Yanagihara, Katsunori; Kohno, Shigeru; Mukae, Hiroshi; Izumikawa, Koichi

    2017-01-01

    The pathogenic fungus Candida glabrata is often resistant to azole antifungal agents. Drug efflux through azole transporters, such as Cdr1 and Cdr2, is a key mechanism of azole resistance and these genes are under the control of the transcription factor Pdr1. Recently, the monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) inhibitor clorgyline was shown to inhibit the azole efflux pumps, leading to increased azole susceptibility in C. glabrata. In the present study, we have evaluated the effects of clorgyline on susceptibility of C. glabrata to not only azoles, but also to micafungin and amphotericin B, using wild-type and several mutant strains. The addition of clorgyline to the culture media increased fluconazole susceptibility of a C. glabrata wild-type strain, whereas micafungin and amphotericin B susceptibilities were markedly decreased. These phenomena were also observed in other medically important Candida species, including Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis, Candida tropicalis, and Candida krusei. Expression levels of CDR1, CDR2 and PDR1 mRNAs and an amount of Cdr1 protein in the C. glabrata wild-type strain were highly increased in response to the treatment with clorgyline. However, loss of Cdr1, Cdr2, Pdr1, and a putative clorgyline target (Fms1), which is an ortholog of human MAO-A, or overexpression of CDR1 did not affect the decreased susceptibility to micafungin and amphotericin B in the presence of clorgyline. The presence of other azole efflux pump inhibitors including milbemycin A4 oxime and carbonyl cyanide 3-chlorophenylhydrazone also decreased micafungin susceptibility in C. glabrata wild-type, Δcdr1, Δcdr2, and Δpdr1 strains. These findings suggest that azole efflux pump inhibitors increase azole susceptibility but concurrently induce decreased susceptibility to other classes of antifungals independent of azole transporter functions.

  17. Anaerobic bacteraemia revisited: species and susceptibilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ng, Lily S Y; Kwang, Lee Ling; Rao, Suma; Tan, Thean Yen

    2015-01-01

    This retrospective study was performed to evaluate the frequency of anaerobic bacteraemia over a 10-year period, and to provide updated antibiotic susceptibilities for the more clinically relevant anaerobes causing blood stream infection. Data were retrieved from the laboratory information system for the period 2003 to 2012. During this time, blood cultures were inoculated in Bactec™ Plus vials (BD, USA) and continuously monitored in the Bactec™ 9000 blood culture system (BD, USA). Anaerobic organisms were identified using commercial identification kits, predominantly API 20 A (bioMérieux, France) supplemented with Vitek ANC cards (bioMérieux, France) and AN-Ident discs (Oxoid, United Kingdom). A representative subset of isolates were retrieved from 2009 to 2011 and antimicrobial susceptibilities to penicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanate, clindamycin, imipenem, moxifloxacin, piperacillin-tazobactam and metronidazole were determined using the Etest method. Anaerobes comprised 4.1% of all positive blood culture with 727 obligate anaerobes recovered over the 10-year period, representing a positivity rate of 0.35%. The only significant change in anaerobe positivity rates occurred between 2003 and 2004, with an increase of 0.2%. The Bacteroides fragilis group (45%) were the predominant anaerobic pathogens, followed by Clostridium species (12%), Propioniobacterium species (11%) and Fusobacterium species (6%). The most active in vitro antibiotics were imipenem, piperacillin-tazobactam, amoxicillin-clavulanate and metronidazole, with susceptibilities of 95.0%, 93.3%, 90.8% and 90.8% respectively. Resistance was high to penicillin, clindamycin and moxifl oxacin. However, there were apparent differences for antibiotic susceptibilities between species. This study indicates that the anaerobes comprise a small but constant proportion of bloodstream isolates. Antibiotic resistance was high to some antibiotics, but metronidazole, the beta-lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitors and

  18. Changing Epidemiological Characteristics of Hepatitis A in Zhejiang Province, China: Increased Susceptibility in Adults.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhifang Wang

    Full Text Available Hepatitis A is a common acute hepatitis caused by hepatitis A virus (HAV. Annually, it affects 1.4 million people worldwide. Between 1991 and 1994, HAV infections were highly endemic in Zhejiang Province (China, with 78,720 reported HAV infections per year. Hepatitis A vaccine came on the market in 1995 and was implemented for voluntary immunization. Since 2008, hepatitis A vaccine has been integrated into the national childhood routine immunization program.To understand the current epidemiological profile of hepatitis A in Zhejiang Province since hepatitis A vaccine has been available for nearly two decades.This study used the 2005-2014 National Notifiable Diseases Reporting System data to evaluate the incidence rate of notified hepatitis A cases in Zhejiang Province.The overall trend of incidence rate of notified hepatitis A cases significantly decreased from 2005 to 2014 (P< 0.001. During the study period, the reported incidence rate in individuals aged ≤19 years declined to the historically lowest record in 2014. Compared with individuals aged ≤19 years, those aged ≥20 years showed the highest incidence rate (P< 0.001. Majority of HAV infected cases were Laborers, accounting for approximately 70% of reported cases.Childhood immunization strategy with hepatitis A vaccine seemed to be effective in decreasing notified hepatitis A incidence rate in individuals aged ≤19 years. Those aged ≥20 years were observed to be the most susceptible population. The vast majority of hepatitis A cases were notified among Laborers. Therefore, we strongly suggest that future preventive and control measures should focus more on adults, particularly Laborers, in addition to the current childhood hepatitis A vaccination programme.

  19. Antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of bacteria isolated from patients with urinary tract infection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khan, I.U.; Mirza, I.A.; Ikram, A.; Afzal, A.; Ali, S.; Hussain, A.; Ghafoor, T.

    2014-01-01

    To determine the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of bacterial pathogens in the patients of urinary tract infection reporting at a tertiary care hospital. Study Design: Laboratory based study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Microbiology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi, from January to December 2012. Methodology: A total of 440 culture positive bacterial isolates from 1110 urine samples; submitted over a period of one year were included in this study. Identification of bacterial isolates was done by standard biochemical profile of the organisms. The antimicrobial susceptibility of culture positive bacterial isolates was performed by disk diffusion method as recommended by Clinical Laboratory Standard Institute guidelines (CLSI). Results: Out of the 440 culture positive urine samples, 152 (34.6%) were from indoor patients whereas 288 (65.4%) from outdoor patients. Gram negative bacteria accounted for 414 (94%) of the total isolates while rest of the 26 (6%) were Gram positive bacteria. The most prevalent bacterial isolate was Escherichia (E.) coli 270 (61.3%) followed by Pseudomonas (P.) aeruginosa 52 (12%) and Klebsiella (K.) pneumoniae 42 (9.5%). The susceptibility pattern of E. coli showed that 96.2% of the bacterial isolates were sensitive to imipenem, 85.1% to amikacin, 80.7% to piperacillin/tazobactam and 72.6% to nitrofurantoin. In case of P. aeruginsosa, 73% bacterial isolates were sensitive to tazobactam/piperacillin, 69.2% to sulbactam/cefoperazone and 65.38% to imipenem. The antibiogram of K. pneumoniae has revealed that 76.1% of the bacterial isolates were sensitive to imipenem and 52.3% to piperacillin/tazobactam. Nitrofurantoin and imipenem were the most effective antimicrobials amongst the Enterococcus spp. as 92.3% showed susceptibility to this bacterial isolate. Conclusion: Majority of the bacterial isolates were sensitive to imipenem and piperacillin/tazobactam while susceptibility to most of the commonly used oral

  20. RNA interference of two glutathione S-transferase genes, Diaphorina citri DcGSTe2 and DcGSTd1, increases the susceptibility of Asian citrus psyllid (Hemiptera: Liviidae) to the pesticides fenpropathrin and thiamethoxam.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Xiudao; Killiny, Nabil

    2018-03-01

    The Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama, is an important agricultural pest of citrus globally. Foliar application of chemical insecticides is the most widely used option for reducing D. citri populations. Knockdown of glutathione S-transferase (GST) in several insect species leads to increased susceptibility to insecticides; however, information about the detoxifying role of GST genes in D. citri is unavailable. Via a sequence homology search, we isolated and characterized three DcGST genes (DcGSTd1, DcGSTe1 and DcGSTe2) from D. citri. Phylogenetic analysis grouped DcGSTd1 into the delta class of GST genes, whereas DcGSTe1 and DcGSTe2 were clustered in the epsilon clade. Gene expression analysis revealed that chlorpyrifos treatment increased the mRNA levels of DcGSTe1 and fenpropathrin enhanced the expression level of DcGSTd1, while DcGSTe2 was significantly up-regulated after exposure to thiamethoxam at a dose of 30% lethal concentration (LC30). RNA interference (RNAi) of DcGSTe2 and DcGSTd1 followed by an insecticide bioassay increased the mortalities of thiamethoxam-treated psyllids by 23.0% and fenpropathrin-treated psyllids by 15.0%. In contrast, knockdown of DcGSTe1 did not significantly increase the susceptibility of D. citri to any of these three insecticides. Further, feeding with double-stranded RNA (dsDcGSTe2-d1) interfusion co-silenced DcGSTe2 and DcGSTd1 expression in D. citri, and led to an increase of susceptibility to both fenpropathrin and thiamethoxam. The findings suggest that DcGSTe2 and DcGSTd1 play unique roles in detoxification of the pesticides thiamethoxam and fenpropathrin. In addition, co-silencing by creating a well-designed dsRNA interfusion against multiple genes was a good RNAi strategy in D. citri. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

  1. Susceptibility Genes in Thyroid Autoimmunity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoshiyuki Ban

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available The autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITD are complex diseases which are caused by an interaction between susceptibility genes and environmental triggers. Genetic susceptibility in combination with external factors (e.g. dietary iodine is believed to initiate the autoimmune response to thyroid antigens. Abundant epidemiological data, including family and twin studies, point to a strong genetic influence on the development of AITD. Various techniques have been employed to identify the genes contributing to the etiology of AITD, including candidate gene analysis and whole genome screening. These studies have enabled the identification of several loci (genetic regions that are linked with AITD, and in some of these loci, putative AITD susceptibility genes have been identified. Some of these genes/loci are unique to Graves' disease (GD and Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT and some are common to both the diseases, indicating that there is a shared genetic susceptibility to GD and HT. The putative GD and HT susceptibility genes include both immune modifying genes (e.g. HLA, CTLA-4 and thyroid specific genes (e.g. TSHR, Tg. Most likely, these loci interact and their interactions may influence disease phenotype and severity.

  2. Antimicrobial susceptibility of Haemophilus parasuis and Histophilus somni from pigs and cattle in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aarestrup, Frank Møller; Seyfarth, Anne Mette; Angen, Øystein

    2004-01-01

    A total of 52 Haemophilus parasuis and 80 Histophilus somni isolates were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility by MIC-determinations. None of the isolates were resistant to ampicillin, ceftiofur, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, florphenicol, penicillin, spectinomycin, tetracycline, tiamulin......, or tilmicosin. Two H. parasuis isolates were resistant to trimethoprim + sulfamethoxazole. Six H. parasuis isolates had reduced susceptibility (0.06-0.5 mug/ml) to ciprofloxacin and 10 reduced susceptibility to TMP + sulfamethoxazole (1-2 mug/ml). This study showed that Danish isolates of H. parasuis and H...

  3. Sex-specific differences in pathogen susceptibility in honey bees (Apis mellifera).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Retschnig, Gina; Williams, Geoffrey R; Mehmann, Marion M; Yañez, Orlando; de Miranda, Joachim R; Neumann, Peter

    2014-01-01

    Sex-related differences in susceptibility to pathogens are a common phenomenon in animals. In the eusocial Hymenoptera the two female castes, workers and queens, are diploid and males are haploid. The haploid susceptibility hypothesis predicts that haploid males are more susceptible to pathogen infections compared to females. Here we test this hypothesis using adult male (drone) and female (worker) honey bees (Apis mellifera), inoculated with the gut endoparasite Nosema ceranae and/or black queen cell virus (BQCV). These pathogens were chosen due to previously reported synergistic interactions between Nosema apis and BQCV. Our data do not support synergistic interactions between N. ceranae and BQCV and also suggest that BQCV has limited effect on both drone and worker health, regardless of the infection level. However, the data clearly show that, despite lower levels of N. ceranae spores in drones than in workers, Nosema-infected drones had both a higher mortality and a lower body mass than non-infected drones, across all treatment groups, while the mortality and body mass of worker bees were largely unaffected by N. ceranae infection, suggesting that drones are more susceptible to this pathogen than workers. In conclusion, the data reveal considerable sex-specific differences in pathogen susceptibility in honey bees and highlight the importance of ultimate measures for determining susceptibility, such as mortality and body quality, rather than mere infection levels.

  4. A two-hour antibiotic susceptibility test by ATP-bioluminescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    March Rosselló, Gabriel Alberto; García-Loygorri Jordán de Urries, María Cristina; Gutiérrez Rodríguez, María Purificación; Simarro Grande, María; Orduña Domingo, Antonio; Bratos Pérez, Miguel Ángel

    2016-01-01

    The antibiotic susceptibility test (AST) in Clinical Microbiology laboratories is still time-consuming, and most procedures take 24h to yield results. In this study, a rapid antimicrobial susceptibility test using ATP-bioluminescence has been developed. The design of method was performed using five ATCC collection strains of known susceptibility. This procedure was then validated against standard commercial methods on 10 strains of enterococci, 10 staphylococci, 10 non-fermenting gram negative bacilli, and 13 Enterobacteriaceae from patients. The agreement obtained in the sensitivity between the ATP-bioluminescence method and commercial methods (E-test, MicroScan and VITEK2) was 100%. In summary, the preliminary results obtained in this work show that the ATP-bioluminescence method could provide a fast and reliable AST in two hours. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and Sociedad Española de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología Clínica. All rights reserved.

  5. Susceptibility of Phelipanche and Orobanche species to AAL-toxin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Zélicourt, Axel; Montiel, Grégory; Pouvreau, Jean-Bernard; Thoiron, Séverine; Delgrange, Sabine; Simier, Philippe; Delavault, Philippe

    2009-10-01

    Fusarium and Alternaria spp. are phytopathogenic fungi which are known to be virulent on broomrapes and to produce sphinganine-analog mycotoxins (SAMs). AAL-toxin is a SAM produced by Alternaria alternata which causes the inhibition of sphinganine N-acyltransferase, a key enzyme in sphingolipid biosynthesis, leading to accumulation of sphingoid bases. These long chain bases (LCBs) are determinant in the occurrence of programmed cell death (PCD) in susceptible plants. We showed that broomrapes are sensitive to AAL-toxin, which is not common plant behavior, and that AAL-toxin triggers cell death at the apex of the radicle as well as LCB accumulation and DNA laddering. We also demonstrated that three Lag1 homologs, encoding components of sphinganine N-acyltransferase in yeast, are present in the Orobanche cumana genome and two of them are mutated leading to an enhanced susceptibility to AAL-toxin. We therefore propose a model for the molecular mechanism governing broomrape susceptibility to the fungus Alternaria alternata.

  6. Susceptibility contrast imaging of CO2-induced changes in the blood volume of the human brain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rostrup, Egill; Larsson, H B; Toft, P B

    1996-01-01

    PURPOSE: To investigate changes in the regional cerebral blood volume (rCBV) in human subjects during rest and hypercapnia by MR imaging, and to compare the results from contrast-enhanced and noncontrast-enhanced susceptibility-weighted imaging. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Five healthy volunteers (aged...... to be in accordance with results obtained by other methods. Noncontrast functional MR (fMR) imaging showed signal increases in gray matter, but also inconsistent changes in some white matter regions. CONCLUSION: In this experiment, contrast-enhanced imaging seemed to show a somewhat higher sensitivity towards changes...

  7. Characterization of susceptible chiasma configurations that increase the risk for maternal nondisjunction of chromosome 21.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lamb, N E; Feingold, E; Savage, A; Avramopoulos, D; Freeman, S; Gu, Y; Hallberg, A; Hersey, J; Karadima, G; Pettay, D; Saker, D; Shen, J; Taft, L; Mikkelsen, M; Petersen, M B; Hassold, T; Sherman, S L

    1997-09-01

    Recent studies of trisomy 21 have shown that altered levels of recombination are associated with maternal non-disjunction occurring at both meiosis I (MI) and meiosis II (MII). To comprehend better the association of recombination with nondisjunction, an understanding of the pattern of meiotic exchange, i.e. the exchange of genetic material at the four-strand stage during prophase, is required. We examined this underlying exchange pattern to determine if specific meiotic configurations are associated with a higher risk of non-disjunction than others. We examined the crossover frequencies of chromosome 21 for three populations: (i) normal female meiotic events; (ii) meiotic events leading to MI non-disjunction; and (iii) those leading to MII non-disjunction. From these crossover frequencies, we estimated the array of meiotic tetrads that produced the observed crossovers. Using this approach, we found that nearly one-half of MI errors were estimated to be achiasmate. The majority of the remaining MI bivalents had exchanges that clustered at the telomere. In contrast, exchanges occurring among MII cases clustered at the pericentromeric region of the chromosome. Unlike the single exchange distributions, double exchanges from the non-disjoined populations seemed to approximate the distribution in the normal population. These data suggest that the location of certain exchanges makes a tetrad susceptible to non-disjunction. Specifically, this susceptibility is associated with the distance between the centromere and closest exchange. This result challenges the widely held concept that events occurring at MII are largely independent of events occurring at MI, and suggests that all non-disjunction events may be initiated during MI and simply resolved at either of the two meiotic stages.

  8. Bleaching increases likelihood of disease on Acropora palmata (Lamarck) in Hawksnest Bay, St John, US Virgin Islands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muller, E. M.; Rogers, C. S.; Spitzack, A. S.; van Woesik, R.

    2008-03-01

    Anomalously high water temperatures may enhance the likelihood of coral disease outbreaks by increasing the abundance or virulence of pathogens, or by increasing host susceptibility. This study tested the compromised-host hypothesis, and documented the relationship between disease and temperature, through monthly monitoring of Acropora palmata colonies from May 2004 to December 2006, in Hawksnest Bay, St John, US Virgin Islands (USVI). Disease prevalence and the rate of change in prevalence showed a positive linear relationship with water temperature and rate of change in water temperature, respectively, but only in 2005 during prolonged periods of elevated temperature. Both bleached and unbleached colonies showed a positive relationship between disease prevalence and temperature in 2005, but the average area of disease-associated mortality increased only for bleached corals, indicating host susceptibility, rather than temperature per se, influenced disease severity on A. palmata.

  9. Sleep disruption increases seizure susceptibility: Behavioral and EEG evaluation of an experimental model of sleep apnea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hrnčić, Dragan; Grubač, Željko; Rašić-Marković, Aleksandra; Šutulović, Nikola; Šušić, Veselinka; Bjekić-Macut, Jelica; Stanojlović, Olivera

    2016-03-01

    Sleep disruption accompanies sleep apnea as one of its major symptoms. Obstructive sleep apnea is particularly common in patients with refractory epilepsy, but causing factors underlying this are far from being resolved. Therefore, translational studies regarding this issue are important. Our aim was to investigate the effects of sleep disruption on seizure susceptibility of rats using experimental model of lindane-induced refractory seizures. Sleep disruption in male Wistar rats with implanted EEG electrodes was achieved by treadmill method (belt speed set on 0.02 m/s for working and 0.00 m/s for stop mode, respectively). Animals were assigned to experimental conditions lasting 6h: 1) sleep disruption (sleep interrupted, SI; 30s working and 90 s stop mode every 2 min; 180 cycles in total); 2) activity control (AC, 10 min working and 30 min stop mode, 9 cycles in total); 3) treadmill chamber control (TC, only stop mode). Afterwards, the animals were intraperitoneally treated with lindane (L, 4 mg/kg, SI+L, AC+L and TC+L groups) or dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO, SIc, ACc and TCc groups). Convulsive behavior was assessed by seizure incidence, latency time to first seizure, and its severity during 30 min after drug administration. Number and duration of ictal periods were determined in recorded EEGs. Incidence and severity of lindane-induced seizures were significantly increased, latency time significantly decreased in animals undergoing sleep disruption (SI+L group) compared with the animals from TC+L. Seizure latency was also significantly decreased in SI+L compared to AC+L groups. Number of ictal periods were increased and duration of it presented tendency to increase in SI+L comparing to AC+L. No convulsive signs were observed in TCc, ACc and SIc groups, as well as no ictal periods in EEG. These results indicate sleep disruption facilitates induction of epileptic activity in rodent model of lindane-epilepsy enabling translational research of this phenomenon. Copyright

  10. Sinkhole Susceptibility Analysis for Karapinar/konya via Multi Criteria Decision

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarı, F.

    2017-11-01

    Sinkholes are being a natural hazard which threads economic and human life. Sudden occurrence characteristic of sinkholes make it unable to escape. There are a lot of factor that activate sinkholes such as geology, irrigation, land use and human related factors. In Karapınar, Konya, there are over 200 sinkholes and this count is getting increased in recent years. Especially active agricultural lands, decreasing ground water level, extreme irrigation by 55267 water wells increase the risk factor of Karapınar. Nowadays, considering the economic contribution of Karapınar to Turkey economy in the field of agriculture, solar energy fields and thermal reactor which will be planned in next few years, prediction of sinkholes and searching for preventation ways are being more important issue. In this study, sinkhole susceptibility map via AHP was carried out for Karapınar in Konya. Slope, land use, elevation, geology, water wells, distance to roads and settlements criteria are included to determine susceptibility. The weights are calculated with AHP for each criterion and generated susceptibility map is overlapped with existing sinkholes. Suggestions and results are shared for this study.

  11. SINKHOLE SUSCEPTIBILITY ANALYSIS FOR KARAPINAR/KONYA VIA MULTI CRITERIA DECISION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Sarı

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Sinkholes are being a natural hazard which threads economic and human life. Sudden occurrence characteristic of sinkholes make it unable to escape. There are a lot of factor that activate sinkholes such as geology, irrigation, land use and human related factors. In Karapınar, Konya, there are over 200 sinkholes and this count is getting increased in recent years. Especially active agricultural lands, decreasing ground water level, extreme irrigation by 55267 water wells increase the risk factor of Karapınar. Nowadays, considering the economic contribution of Karapınar to Turkey economy in the field of agriculture, solar energy fields and thermal reactor which will be planned in next few years, prediction of sinkholes and searching for preventation ways are being more important issue. In this study, sinkhole susceptibility map via AHP was carried out for Karapınar in Konya. Slope, land use, elevation, geology, water wells, distance to roads and settlements criteria are included to determine susceptibility. The weights are calculated with AHP for each criterion and generated susceptibility map is overlapped with existing sinkholes. Suggestions and results are shared for this study.

  12. Susceptibility Status of The Malaria Vector Anopheles Arabiensis To ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: Increasing insecticide resistancein the major anopheline vectors remain the main obstacle for malaria control programmes in African countries including Sudan. Objectives: To assess the susceptibility status of Anopheles arabiensis the malaria vector to different classes of insecticides in Khartoum State.

  13. IL1B and DEFB1 Polymorphisms Increase Susceptibility to Invasive Mold Infection After Solid-Organ Transplantation

    OpenAIRE

    Wójtowicz, Agnieszka; Gresnigt, Mark S.; Lecompte, Thanh; Bibert, Stephanie; Manuel, Oriol; Joosten, Leo A.B.; Rüeger, Sina; Berger, Christoph; Boggian, Katia; Cusini, Alexia; Garzoni, Christian; Hirsch, Hans H.; Weisser, Maja; Mueller, Nicolas J.; Meylan, Pascal R.

    2017-01-01

    Background. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in immune genes have been associated with susceptibility to invasive mold infection (IMI) among hematopoietic stem cell but not solid-organ transplant (SOT) recipients. Methods. Twenty-four SNPs from systematically selected genes were genotyped among 1101 SOT recipients (715 kidney transplant recipients, 190 liver transplant recipients, 102 lung transplant recipients, 79 heart transplant recipients, and 15 recipients of other transplants) fro...

  14. Susceptibility of various cell lines to Neospora caninum tachyzoites cultivation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khordadmehr, M.,

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Neospora caninum is a coccidian protozoan parasite which is a major cause of bovine abortions and neonatal mortality in cattle, sheep, goat and horse. Occasionally, cultured cells are used for isolation and multiplication of the agent in vitro with several purposes. In this study the tachyzoite yields of N. caninum were compared in various cell cultures as the host cell lines. Among the cell cultures tested, two presented good susceptibility to the agent: cell lines Vero and MA-104. SW742 and TLI (in vitro suspension culture of lymphoid cells infected with Theileria lestoquardi showed moderate sensitivity. No viable tachyzoite were detected in the culture of MDCK and McCoy cell lines. These results demonstrate that MA-104 and SW742 cells present adequate susceptibility to N. caninum compared to Vero cells, which have been largely used to multiply the parasite in vitro. Moreover, these have easy manipulation, fast multiplication and relatively low nutritional requirements. In addition, the result of this study showed that TLI cell line as a suspension cell culture is susceptible to Nc-1 tachyzoites infection and could be used as an alternative host cell line for tachyzoites culture in vitro studies.

  15. Multifractal magnetic susceptibility distribution models of hydrothermally altered rocks in the Needle Creek Igneous Center of the Absaroka Mountains, Wyoming

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. E. Gettings

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Magnetic susceptibility was measured for 700 samples of drill core from thirteen drill holes in the porphyry copper-molybdenum deposit of the Stinkingwater mining district in the Absaroka Mountains, Wyoming. The magnetic susceptibility measurements, chemical analyses, and alteration class provided a database for study of magnetic susceptibility in these altered rocks. The distribution of the magnetic susceptibilities for all samples is multi-modal, with overlapping peaked distributions for samples in the propylitic and phyllic alteration class, a tail of higher susceptibilities for potassic alteration, and an approximately uniform distribution over a narrow range at the highest susceptibilities for unaltered rocks. Samples from all alteration and mineralization classes show susceptibilities across a wide range of values. Samples with secondary (supergene alteration due to oxidation or enrichment show lower susceptibilities than primary (hypogene alteration rock. Observed magnetic susceptibility variations and the monolithological character of the host rock suggest that the variations are due to varying degrees of alteration of blocks of rock between fractures that conducted hydrothermal fluids. Alteration of rock from the fractures inward progressively reduces the bulk magnetic susceptibility of the rock. The model introduced in this paper consists of a simulation of the fracture pattern and a simulation of the alteration of the rock between fractures. A multifractal model generated from multiplicative cascades with unequal ratios produces distributions statistically similar to the observed distributions. The reduction in susceptibility in the altered rocks was modelled as a diffusion process operating on the fracture distribution support. The average magnetic susceptibility was then computed for each block. For the purpose of comparing the model results with observation, the simulated magnetic susceptibilities were then averaged over the same

  16. Multifractal magnetic susceptibility distribution models of hydrothermally altered rocks in the Needle Creek Igneous Center of the Absaroka Mountains, Wyoming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gettings, M.E.

    2005-01-01

    Magnetic susceptibility was measured for 700 samples of drill core from thirteen drill holes in the porphyry copper-molybdenum deposit of the Stinkingwater mining district in the Absaroka Mountains, Wyoming. The magnetic susceptibility measurements, chemical analyses, and alteration class provided a database for study of magnetic susceptibility in these altered rocks. The distribution of the magnetic susceptibilities for all samples is multi-modal, with overlapping peaked distributions for samples in the propylitic and phyllic alteration class, a tail of higher susceptibilities for potassic alteration, and an approximately uniform distribution over a narrow range at the highest susceptibilities for unaltered rocks. Samples from all alteration and mineralization classes show susceptibilities across a wide range of values. Samples with secondary (supergene) alteration due to oxidation or enrichment show lower susceptibilities than primary (hypogene) alteration rock. Observed magnetic susceptibility variations and the monolithological character of the host rock suggest that the variations are due to varying degrees of alteration of blocks of rock between fractures that conducted hydrothermal fluids. Alteration of rock from the fractures inward progressively reduces the bulk magnetic susceptibility of the rock. The model introduced in this paper consists of a simulation of the fracture pattern and a simulation of the alteration of the rock between fractures. A multifractal model generated from multiplicative cascades with unequal ratios produces distributions statistically similar to the observed distributions. The reduction in susceptibility in the altered rocks was modelled as a diffusion process operating on the fracture distribution support. The average magnetic susceptibility was then computed for each block. For the purpose of comparing the model results with observation, the simulated magnetic susceptibilities were then averaged over the same interval as the

  17. Selection of media for antimicrobial susceptibility testing of fish pathogenic bacteria

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dalsgaard, Inger

    2001-01-01

    3, Diagnostic Sensitivity Test Agar) have been used in addition to media (Brain Heart Infusion Agar, Heart Infusion Agar, Columbia Blood Agar) normally utilized for cultivating fastidious bacteria. When testing marine pathogens, sodium chloride or seawater has been included in the media. Media...... pattern in fish pathogenic bacteria. The American guideline from The National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) recommends Mueller-Hinton Agar for susceptibility testing of human pathogens and this validated medium appears to be adequate for the rapidly growing fish pathogens. Following......The available data concerning antimicrobial susceptibility testing of fish pathogens showed that there is no consensus to the basal medium currently being employed. Different media recommended for susceptibility testing of human pathogens (Mueller-Hinton Agar, Tryptone Soya Agar, Antibiotic Medium...

  18. Selection of media for antimicrobial susceptibility testing of fish pathogenic bacteria

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dalsgaard, Inger

    2001-01-01

    The available data concerning antimicrobial susceptibility testing of fish pathogens showed that there is no consensus to the basal medium currently being employed. Different media recommended for susceptibility testing of human pathogens (Mueller-Hinton Agar, Tryptone Soya Agar, Antibiotic Medium...... 3, Diagnostic Sensitivity Test Agar) have been used in addition to media (Brain Heart Infusion Agar, Heart Infusion Agar, Columbia Blood Agar) normally utilized for cultivating fastidious bacteria. When testing marine pathogens, sodium chloride or seawater has been included in the media. Media...... normally used for cultivation of pathogens with specific growth requirements like Flavobacterium species and Renibacterium salmoninarum have been used for susceptibility testing. The Mueller-Hinton Agar and different modifications of this medium was used most frequently in published studies on resistant...

  19. The association of folate pathway and DNA repair polymorphisms with susceptibility to childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goričar, Katja; Erčulj, Nina; Faganel Kotnik, Barbara; Debeljak, Maruša; Hovnik, Tinka; Jazbec, Janez; Dolžan, Vita

    2015-05-15

    Genetic factors may play an important role in susceptibility to childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The aim of our study was to evaluate the associations of genetic polymorphisms in folate pathway and DNA repair genes with susceptibility to ALL. In total, 121 children with ALL and 184 unrelated healthy controls of Slovenian origin were genotyped for 14 polymorphisms in seven genes of folate pathway, base excision repair and homologous recombination repair (TYMS, MTHFR, OGG1, XRCC1, NBN, RAD51, and XRCC3). In addition, the exon 6 of NBN was screened for the presence of mutations using denaturing high performance liquid chromatography. Twelve polymorphisms were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in controls and their genotype frequencies were in agreement with those reported in other Caucasian populations. Among the investigated polymorphisms and mutations, NBN Glu185Gln significantly decreased susceptibility to B-cell ALL (p=0.037), while TYMS 3R allele decreased susceptibility to T-cell ALL (p=0.011). Moreover, significantly decreased susceptibility to ALL was observed for MTHFR TA (p=0.030) and RAD51 GTT haplotypes (p=0.016). Susceptibility to ALL increased with the increasing number of risk alleles (ptrend=0.007). We also observed significant influence of hOGG-RAD51 and NBN-RAD51 interactions on susceptibility to ALL. Our results suggest that combination of several polymorphisms in DNA repair and folate pathways may significantly affect susceptibility to childhood ALL. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Discussion of Various Susceptibilities within Thermal and Dense Quantum Chromodynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu Shu-Sheng; Shi Yuan-Mei; Yang You-Chang; Cui Zhu-Fang; Zong Hong-Shi

    2015-01-01

    It is commonly accepted that the system undergoes a crossover at high temperature and low chemical potential beyond the chiral limit case, and the properties of the crossover region are important for researchers to understand the nature of strong interacting matters of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). Since at present there is no exact order of parameters of the phase transitions beyond the chiral limit, QCD susceptibilities are widely used as indicators. In this work various susceptibilities are discussed in the framework of Dyson–Schwinger equations. The results show that different kinds of susceptibilities give the same critical end point, which is the bifurcation point of the crossover region and the first order phase transition line of QCD. Nevertheless, different pseudocritical points are found in the temperature axis. We think that defining a critical band is more suitable in the crossover region. (paper)

  1. Susceptibility to eating disorders among collegiate female student-athletes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLester, Cherilyn N; Hardin, Robin; Hoppe, Stephanie

    2014-01-01

    Research has suggested that the prevalence of young women with eating disorders (EDs) is increasing, but determining the exact prevalence of EDs within the female student-athlete (FS-A) population is difficult. Looking at certain traits may help us to identify their level of susceptibility to developing an ED. To determine the susceptibility of FS-As to EDs in relation to self-concept, including self-esteem and body image. Cross-sectional study. Athletic training and health centers at National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I, II, and III institutions via e-mail questionnaire correspondence. A total of 439 FS-As from 17 participating institutions completed the questionnaires. The sample was primarily white (83.1%) and underclass (61.8%). The questionnaire consisted of 4 parts: 3 subscales of the Eating Disorder Inventory-2, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Body Cathexis Scale, and demographic items. A total of 6.8% of FS-As were susceptible to anorexia and 1.8% were susceptible to bulimia. The majority of FS-As (61%) reported normal self-esteem levels, whereas 29.4% had high self-esteem. Overall, 64.5% were satisfied and 23% were very satisfied with their body image. These results are generally positive in that they suggest FS-As have high levels of self-concept and are at low risk to develop EDs. However, these findings do not mean that all concerns should be dismissed. Although more than 90% of the respondents were not susceptible to an ED, there are still FS-As who may be. Athletic departments should evaluate their FS-As' levels of self-concept so that their susceptibility to EDs can be addressed. The emotional aspect of health care should be included in providing holistic care for student-athletes. Athletic trainers often are the primary health care providers for FS-As, so they should be made aware of this concern.

  2. Spectroscopic AC susceptibility imaging (sASI) of magnetic nanoparticles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ficko, Bradley W.; Nadar, Priyanka M.; Diamond, Solomon G.

    2015-01-01

    This study demonstrates a method for alternating current (AC) susceptibility imaging (ASI) of magnetic nanoparticles (mNPs) using low cost instrumentation. The ASI method uses AC magnetic susceptibility measurements to create tomographic images using an array of drive coils, compensation coils and fluxgate magnetometers. Using a spectroscopic approach in conjunction with ASI, a series of tomographic images can be created for each frequency measurement set and is termed sASI. The advantage of sASI is that mNPs can be simultaneously characterized and imaged in a biological medium. System calibration was performed by fitting the in-phase and out-of-phase susceptibility measurements of an mNP sample with a hydrodynamic diameter of 100 nm to a Brownian relaxation model (R 2 =0.96). Samples of mNPs with core diameters of 10 and 40 nm and a sample of 100 nm hydrodynamic diameter were prepared in 0.5 ml tubes. Three mNP samples were arranged in a randomized array and then scanned using sASI with six frequencies between 425 and 925 Hz. The sASI scans showed the location and quantity of the mNP samples (R 2 =0.97). Biological compatibility of the sASI method was demonstrated by scanning mNPs that were injected into a pork sausage. The mNP response in the biological medium was found to correlate with a calibration sample (R 2 =0.97, p<0.001). These results demonstrate the concept of ASI and advantages of sASI. - Highlights: • Development of an AC susceptibility imaging model. • Comparison of AC susceptibility imaging (ASI) and susceptibility magnitude imaging (SMI). • Demonstration of ASI and spectroscopic ASI (sASI) using three different magnetic nanoparticle types. • SASI scan separation of three different magnetic nanoparticles samples using 5 spectroscopic frequencies. • Demonstration of biological feasibility of sASI

  3. Antifungal susceptibility testing of vaginal candida isolates: the broth microdilution method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahmoudi Rad M

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available "n Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE AR-SA MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} Background: Vulvovaginal candidiasis is a common mucosal infection among immunocompetent, healthy women, and is caused by opportunistic yeasts that belong to genus Candida. In this study, we isolated and identified the Candida species in the vagina of patients who admitted in Gynecology Department of Mahdieh Hospital in Tehran, Iran to evaluate the in vitro activities of fluconazole, miconazole, itraconazole and flucytosine against 191 clinical Candida isolates by the NCCLS microdilution method."n"nMethods: 191 Candida were isolated from vaginal secretions and identified with conventional mycological methods in the diagnosis of Candida species. The identity of all strains was confirmed genotypically by multiplex PCR. In vitro susceptibility testing of vaginal Candida isolates was performed by the NCCLS broth microdilution method. The results were read at 48 h."n"nResults: Most C. albicans isolates (>90% were sensitive in vitro to the antifungal agents tested. Most C. glabrata isolates showed sensitivity to miconazole and then flucytosine while they were more resistant to Itraconazole and fluconazole. Many isolates of C. tropicalis were susceptible to miconazole and then fluconazole. They showed a little resistance to

  4. Possible individual variation in susceptibility to radiation-induced genetic changes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gentner, N.E.; Walker, J.A.

    1990-01-01

    Several studies have shown variation between individuals in radiosensitivity. A person could have a high level of cytogenetic indicator because of high exposure or high susceptibility. To relate spontaneous cytogenetic end-points to dose it is advisable to have a measure of both the spontaneous level and of induced susceptibility. These end points need to be compared in irradiated persons who have developed cancer versus those who have not, as a guide to what end points are appropriate for susceptibility to radiogenic cancer. The use of inbred rodent strains may not be appropriate to derive specific locus mutation data relevant to the human situation, in which large differences in susceptibility appear to exist. Variability in response because of differential DNA repair capacity should be kept in mind when evaluating existing human data. For accident situations, using acute exposures for testing susceptibility may be appropriate, but to be relevant to low dose, low dose rate exposures, more use of protracted dose delivery in testing is recommended. There is a need for international collaborative study where these different tests are done on the same donors at the same time. It might now be prudent for radiation protection to take into account the occurrence of critical groups in the population on the basis of their increased radiation sensitivity. (12 refs., 3 figs.)

  5. Assessments on landslide susceptibility in the Tseng-wen reservoir watershed, Taiwan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yu-Chin; Chen, Yung-Chau; Chen, Wen-Fu

    2014-05-01

    (high human development). Among considered factors, slope, distance to river, NDVI, and maximum hourly rainfall are the major influence factors for landslide susceptibility. The results show that the accuracy of predicted landslide area is 74.74% and AUC is 0.82 corresponding to typhoon Morakot. Comparing model predicted with actual landslide areas, it shows that the predicted accuracy is 93% for high or high-intermediate level landslide area. It suggests that a landslide susceptibility map, depicted by this assessment model, is applicable on landslide prediction.

  6. Susceptible-infected-susceptible epidemics on networks with general infection and cure times

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cator, E.; van de Bovenkamp, R.; Van Mieghem, P.

    2013-06-01

    The classical, continuous-time susceptible-infected-susceptible (SIS) Markov epidemic model on an arbitrary network is extended to incorporate infection and curing or recovery times each characterized by a general distribution (rather than an exponential distribution as in Markov processes). This extension, called the generalized SIS (GSIS) model, is believed to have a much larger applicability to real-world epidemics (such as information spread in online social networks, real diseases, malware spread in computer networks, etc.) that likely do not feature exponential times. While the exact governing equations for the GSIS model are difficult to deduce due to their non-Markovian nature, accurate mean-field equations are derived that resemble our previous N-intertwined mean-field approximation (NIMFA) and so allow us to transfer the whole analytic machinery of the NIMFA to the GSIS model. In particular, we establish the criterion to compute the epidemic threshold in the GSIS model. Moreover, we show that the average number of infection attempts during a recovery time is the more natural key parameter, instead of the effective infection rate in the classical, continuous-time SIS Markov model. The relative simplicity of our mean-field results enables us to treat more general types of SIS epidemics, while offering an easier key parameter to measure the average activity of those general viral agents.

  7. Magnetic susceptibility as a simple tracer for fluvial sediment source ascription during storm events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rowntree, Kate M; van der Waal, Bennie W; Pulley, Simon

    2017-06-01

    Sediment tracing using a single tracer, low frequency magnetic susceptibility (X lf ), was used to apportion suspended sediment to geologically defined source areas and to interpret sediment source changes during flood events in the degraded catchment of the Vuvu River, a headwater tributary of the Mzimbubu River, South Africa. The method was tested as a simple tool for use by catchment managers concerned with controlling erosion. The geology of the 58 km 2 catchment comprises two distinct formations: basalt in the upper catchment with a characteristically high magnetic susceptibility and shales with a low magnetic susceptibility in the lower catchment. Application of an unmixing model incorporating a Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis showed that X lf provided a means to assign the proportion of each geological province contributing to the river's sediment load. Grab water samples were collected at ten-minute intervals during flood events for subsequent analysis of suspended sediment concentration and the magnetic susceptibility of the filtered sediment. Two floods are presented in detail, the first represents a significant event at the start of the wet season (max. discharge 32 m 3  s -1 ); the second was a smaller flood (max discharge 14 m 3  s -1 ) that occurred a month later. Suspended sediment concentrations during the twelve monitored events showed a characteristic decline over the wet season. The main source of suspended sediment was shown to be from the mudstones in the lower catchment, which contributed 86% of the total measured load. The sediment dynamics during the two floods monitored in detail were quite different from each other. In the first the sediment concentration was high (11 g L -1 ), peaking after the flood peak. The X lf value increased during the event, indicating that contribution to the sediment load from basalt in the upper catchment increased during the recession limb. In the second, smaller flood the sediment peak (6 g L -1

  8. School bullying and susceptibility to smoking among never-tried cigarette smoking students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azagba, Sunday

    2016-04-01

    Bullying involvement has been linked with substance use; however, less is known about its relationship with pre-initiation stages of adolescent cigarette smoking behavior. This study examined the association between bullying involvement and smoking susceptibility among never tried or experimented with cigarette smoking students. Susceptibility to cigarette smoking in adolescence is a strong predictor of subsequent smoking initiation. A cross-sectional data on Canadian adolescent and youth were drawn from the 2012/2013 Youth Smoking Survey (n=28,843). Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between bullying and smoking susceptibility among never-smoking students. About 21% self-reported involvement in bullying (as a bully, victim or both). Middle school students (grades 6-8) reported more involvement in bullying (24%) than those in grades 9-12 (16%). The multivariable analyses showed that the association between bullying and smoking susceptibility was significantly different by grade level. Middle school students involved in bullying had higher odds of smoking susceptibility compared to uninvolved students (bully, adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=2.54, 95% CI=1.73-3.74; victim, AOR=1.29, 95% CI=1.11-1.48; bully-victim, AOR=2.19, 95% CI=1.75-2.74). There were no significant associations between all subgroups of bullying and smoking susceptibility for grades 9-12 students. Students involved in bullying were more susceptible to smoking, although patterns of association varied by grade level. In particular, the findings highlight that non-smoking middle school students involved in bullying were susceptible to future smoking. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Increased Hypothalamic Inflammation Associated with the Susceptibility to Obesity in Rats Exposed to High-Fat Diet

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaoke Wang

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Inflammation has been implicated in the hypothalamic leptin and insulin resistance resulting defective food intake during high fat diet period. To investigate hypothalamic inflammation in dietary induced obesity (DIO and obesity resistant (DIO-R rats, we established rat models of DIO and DIO-R by feeding high fat diet for 10 weeks. Then we switched half of DIO and DIO-R rats to chow food and the other half to high fat diet for the following 8 weeks to explore hypothalamic inflammation response to the low fat diet intervention. Body weight, caloric intake, HOMA-IR, as well as the mRNA expression of hypothalamic TLR4, NF-κB, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in DIO/HF rats were significantly increased compared to DIO-R/HF and CF rats, whereas IL-10 mRNA expression was lower in both DIO/HF and DIO-R/HF rats compared with CF rats. Switching to chow food from high fat diet reduced the body weight and improved insulin sensitivity but not affecting the expressions of studied inflammatory genes in DIO rats. Take together, upregulated hypothalamic inflammation may contribute to the overeating and development of obesity susceptibility induced by high fat diet. Switching to chow food had limited role in correcting hypothalamic inflammation in DIO rats during the intervention period.

  10. Susceptibility tensor imaging and tractography of collagen fibrils in the articular cartilage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Hongjiang; Gibbs, Eric; Zhao, Peida; Wang, Nian; Cofer, Gary P; Zhang, Yuyao; Johnson, G Allan; Liu, Chunlei

    2017-11-01

    To investigate the B 0 orientation-dependent magnetic susceptibility of collagen fibrils within the articular cartilage and to determine whether susceptibility tensor imaging (STI) can detect the 3D collagen network within cartilage. Multiecho gradient echo datasets (100-μm isotropic resolution) were acquired from fixed porcine articular cartilage specimens at 9.4 T. The susceptibility tensor was calculated using phase images acquired at 12 or 15 different orientations relative to B 0 . The susceptibility anisotropy of the collagen fibril was quantified and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was compared against STI. 3D tractography was performed to visualize and track the collagen fibrils with DTI and STI. STI experiments showed the distinct and significant anisotropic magnetic susceptibility of collagen fibrils within the articular cartilage. STI can be used to measure and quantify susceptibility anisotropy maps. Furthermore, STI provides orientation information of the underlying collagen network via 3D tractography. The findings of this study demonstrate that STI can characterize the orientation variation of collagen fibrils where diffusion anisotropy fails. We believe that STI could serve as a sensitive and noninvasive marker to study the collagen fibrils microstructure. Magn Reson Med 78:1683-1690, 2017. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

  11. Differential Susceptibility to the Environment: Are Developmental Models Compatible with the Evidence from Twin Studies?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Del Giudice, Marco

    2016-01-01

    According to models of differential susceptibility, the same neurobiological and temperamental traits that determine increased sensitivity to stress and adversity also confer enhanced responsivity to the positive aspects of the environment. Differential susceptibility models have expanded to include complex developmental processes in which genetic…

  12. Susceptibility to a metal under global warming is shaped by thermal adaptation along a latitudinal gradient.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dinh Van, Khuong; Janssens, Lizanne; Debecker, Sara; De Jonge, Maarten; Lambret, Philippe; Nilsson-Örtman, Viktor; Bervoets, Lieven; Stoks, Robby

    2013-09-01

    Global warming and contamination represent two major threats to biodiversity that have the potential to interact synergistically. There is the potential for gradual local thermal adaptation and dispersal to higher latitudes to mitigate the susceptibility of organisms to contaminants and global warming at high latitudes. Here, we applied a space-for-time substitution approach to study the thermal dependence of the susceptibility of Ischnura elegans damselfly larvae to zinc in a common garden warming experiment (20 and 24 °C) with replicated populations from three latitudes spanning >1500 km in Europe. We observed a striking latitude-specific effect of temperature on the zinc-induced mortality pattern; local thermal adaptation along the latitudinal gradient made Swedish, but not French, damselfly larvae more susceptible to zinc at 24 °C. Latitude- and temperature-specific differences in zinc susceptibility may be related to the amount of energy available to defend against and repair damage since Swedish larvae showed a much stronger zinc-induced reduction of food intake at 24 °C. The pattern of local thermal adaptation indicates that the predicted temperature increase of 4 °C by 2100 will strongly magnify the impact of a contaminant such as zinc at higher latitudes unless there is thermal evolution and/or migration of lower latitude genotypes. Our results underscore the critical importance of studying the susceptibility to contaminants under realistic warming scenarios taking into account local thermal adaptation across natural temperature gradients. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  13. Enhanced Dentate Neurogenesis after Brain Injury Undermines Long-Term Neurogenic Potential and Promotes Seizure Susceptibility

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eric J. Neuberger

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Hippocampal dentate gyrus is a focus of enhanced neurogenesis and excitability after traumatic brain injury. Increased neurogenesis has been proposed to aid repair of the injured network. Our data show that an early increase in neurogenesis after fluid percussion concussive brain injury is transient and is followed by a persistent decrease compared with age-matched controls. Post-injury changes in neurogenesis paralleled changes in neural precursor cell proliferation and resulted in a long-term decline in neurogenic capacity. Targeted pharmacology to restore post-injury neurogenesis to control levels reversed the long-term decline in neurogenic capacity. Limiting post-injury neurogenesis reduced early increases in dentate excitability and seizure susceptibility. Our results challenge the assumption that increased neurogenesis after brain injury is beneficial and show that early post-traumatic increases in neurogenesis adversely affect long-term outcomes by exhausting neurogenic potential and enhancing epileptogenesis. Treatments aimed at limiting excessive neurogenesis can potentially restore neuroproliferative capacity and limit epilepsy after brain injury.

  14. Distinct susceptibility of HIV vaccine vector-induced CD4 T cells to HIV infection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niu, Qingli; Hou, Wei; Churchyard, Gavin; Nitayaphan, Sorachai; Pitisuthithum, Punnee; Rerks-Ngarm, Supachai; Franchini, Genoveffa

    2018-01-01

    The concerns raised from adenovirus 5 (Ad5)-based HIV vaccine clinical trials, where excess HIV infections were observed in some vaccine recipients, have highlighted the importance of understanding host responses to vaccine vectors and the HIV susceptibility of vector-specific CD4 T cells in HIV vaccination. Our recent study reported that human Ad5-specific CD4 T cells induced by Ad5 vaccination (RV156A trial) are susceptible to HIV. Here we further investigated the HIV susceptibility of vector-specific CD4 T cells induced by ALVAC, a canarypox viral vector tested in the Thai trial RV144, as compared to Ad5 vector-specific CD4 T cells in the HVTN204 trial. We showed that while Ad5 vector-specific CD4 T cells were readily susceptible to HIV, ALVAC-specific CD4 T cells in RV144 PBMC were substantially less susceptible to both R5 and X4 HIV in vitro. The lower HIV susceptibility of ALVAC-specific CD4 T cells was associated with the reduced surface expression of HIV entry co-receptors CCR5 and CXCR4 on these cells. Phenotypic analyses identified that ALVAC-specific CD4 T cells displayed a strong Th1 phenotype, producing higher levels of IFN-γ and CCL4 (MIP-1β) but little IL-17. Of interest, ALVAC and Ad5 vectors induced distinct profiles of vector-specific CD8 vs. CD4 T-cell proliferative responses in PBMC, with ALVAC preferentially inducing CD8 T-cell proliferation, while Ad5 vector induced CD4 T-cell proliferation. Depletion of ALVAC-, but not Ad5-, induced CD8 T cells in PBMC led to a modest increase in HIV infection of vector-specific CD4 T cells, suggesting a role of ALVAC-specific CD8 T cells in protecting ALVAC-specific CD4 T cells from HIV. Taken together, our data provide strong evidence for distinct HIV susceptibility of CD4 T cells induced by different vaccine vectors and highlight the importance of better evaluating anti-vector responses in HIV vaccination. PMID:29474461

  15. Identification and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing of Anaerobic Bacteria: Rubik’s Cube of Clinical Microbiology?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gajdács, Márió; Spengler, Gabriella; Urbán, Edit

    2017-01-01

    Anaerobic bacteria have pivotal roles in the microbiota of humans and they are significant infectious agents involved in many pathological processes, both in immunocompetent and immunocompromised individuals. Their isolation, cultivation and correct identification differs significantly from the workup of aerobic species, although the use of new technologies (e.g., matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry, whole genome sequencing) changed anaerobic diagnostics dramatically. In the past, antimicrobial susceptibility of these microorganisms showed predictable patterns and empirical therapy could be safely administered but recently a steady and clear increase in the resistance for several important drugs (β-lactams, clindamycin) has been observed worldwide. For this reason, antimicrobial susceptibility testing of anaerobic isolates for surveillance purposes or otherwise is of paramount importance but the availability of these testing methods is usually limited. In this present review, our aim was to give an overview of the methods currently available for the identification (using phenotypic characteristics, biochemical testing, gas-liquid chromatography, MALDI-TOF MS and WGS) and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (agar dilution, broth microdilution, disk diffusion, gradient tests, automated systems, phenotypic and molecular resistance detection techniques) of anaerobes, when should these methods be used and what are the recent developments in resistance patterns of anaerobic bacteria. PMID:29112122

  16. Susceptibility Testing

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Marker Bicarbonate (Total CO2) Bilirubin Blood Culture Blood Gases Blood Ketones Blood Smear Blood Typing Blood Urea ... hours depending on the method used. There are commercial tests available that offer rapid susceptibility testing and ...

  17. Antimicrobial susceptibility of porcine Brachyspira hyodysenteriae and Brachyspira pilosicoli isolated in Sweden between 1990 and 2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Background The anaerobic spirochetes Brachyspira hyodysenteriae and Brachyspira pilosicoli cause diarrheal diseases in pigs. Their fastidious nature has hampered standardization of methods for antimicrobial susceptibility testing. For monitoring of antimicrobial susceptibility wild type cutoff values are needed to define where the wild type distribution of MICs ends and no approved cutoffs are available for Brachyspira spp. In this study antimicrobial susceptibility data for both species (in total 906 isolates) were compiled and analyzed and wild type cut off values for B. hyodysenteriae proposed. Methods The MICs of tiamulin, valnemulin, tylosin, tylvalosin, doxycycline and lincomycin were determined by broth dilution in brain heart infusion broth supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum. Results The compiled MICs from the broth dilution tests of the B. hyodysenteriae type strain, B78T (ATCC® 27164T), showed that the method yields reproducible results. In an international perspective the frequencies of isolates with decreased antimicrobial susceptibility were low among both B. hyodysenteriae and B. pilosicoli. However, in B. pilosicoli a constant level of 10-15% isolates with tiamulin MICs >4 μg/ml was detected between 2002 and 2010 and in B. hyodysenteriae a gradual increase in tiamulin MICs was seen between 1990 and 2003 although this increase has ceased during the last years. The wild type cutoff values proposed for B. hyodysenteriae are: tiamulin >0.25 μg/ml, valnemulin >0.125 μg/ml, tylosin >16 μg/ml, tylvalosin >1 μg/ml, lincomycin >1 μg/ml and doxycycline >0.5 μg/ml. Conclusions The broth dilution method used in this study has over the years generated tightly grouped MIC populations for the field isolates and reproducible results for the control strain B78T and is therefore a suitable antimicrobial susceptibility test method for monitoring of Brachyspira spp. Here we propose wild type cutoff values for six antimicrobial agents for B. hyodysenteriae

  18. Antimicrobial susceptibility of porcine Brachyspira hyodysenteriae and Brachyspira pilosicoli isolated in Sweden between 1990 and 2010.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pringle, Märit; Landén, Annica; Unnerstad, Helle Ericsson; Molander, Benedicta; Bengtsson, Björn

    2012-09-21

    The anaerobic spirochetes Brachyspira hyodysenteriae and Brachyspira pilosicoli cause diarrheal diseases in pigs. Their fastidious nature has hampered standardization of methods for antimicrobial susceptibility testing. For monitoring of antimicrobial susceptibility wild type cutoff values are needed to define where the wild type distribution of MICs ends and no approved cutoffs are available for Brachyspira spp. In this study antimicrobial susceptibility data for both species (in total 906 isolates) were compiled and analyzed and wild type cut off values for B. hyodysenteriae proposed. The MICs of tiamulin, valnemulin, tylosin, tylvalosin, doxycycline and lincomycin were determined by broth dilution in brain heart infusion broth supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum. The compiled MICs from the broth dilution tests of the B. hyodysenteriae type strain, B78T (ATCC® 27164T), showed that the method yields reproducible results. In an international perspective the frequencies of isolates with decreased antimicrobial susceptibility were low among both B. hyodysenteriae and B. pilosicoli. However, in B. pilosicoli a constant level of 10-15% isolates with tiamulin MICs >4 μg/ml was detected between 2002 and 2010 and in B. hyodysenteriae a gradual increase in tiamulin MICs was seen between 1990 and 2003 although this increase has ceased during the last years. The wild type cutoff values proposed for B. hyodysenteriae are: tiamulin >0.25 μg/ml, valnemulin >0.125 μg/ml, tylosin >16 μg/ml, tylvalosin >1 μg/ml, lincomycin >1 μg/ml and doxycycline >0.5 μg/ml. The broth dilution method used in this study has over the years generated tightly grouped MIC populations for the field isolates and reproducible results for the control strain B78T and is therefore a suitable antimicrobial susceptibility test method for monitoring of Brachyspira spp. Here we propose wild type cutoff values for six antimicrobial agents for B. hyodysenteriae tested by broth dilution based on MIC

  19. Antimicrobial susceptibility of porcine Brachyspira hyodysenteriae and Brachyspira pilosicoli isolated in Sweden between 1990 and 2010

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pringle Märit

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The anaerobic spirochetes Brachyspira hyodysenteriae and Brachyspira pilosicoli cause diarrheal diseases in pigs. Their fastidious nature has hampered standardization of methods for antimicrobial susceptibility testing. For monitoring of antimicrobial susceptibility wild type cutoff values are needed to define where the wild type distribution of MICs ends and no approved cutoffs are available for Brachyspira spp. In this study antimicrobial susceptibility data for both species (in total 906 isolates were compiled and analyzed and wild type cut off values for B. hyodysenteriae proposed. Methods The MICs of tiamulin, valnemulin, tylosin, tylvalosin, doxycycline and lincomycin were determined by broth dilution in brain heart infusion broth supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum. Results The compiled MICs from the broth dilution tests of the B. hyodysenteriae type strain, B78T (ATCC® 27164T, showed that the method yields reproducible results. In an international perspective the frequencies of isolates with decreased antimicrobial susceptibility were low among both B. hyodysenteriae and B. pilosicoli. However, in B. pilosicoli a constant level of 10-15% isolates with tiamulin MICs >4 μg/ml was detected between 2002 and 2010 and in B. hyodysenteriae a gradual increase in tiamulin MICs was seen between 1990 and 2003 although this increase has ceased during the last years. The wild type cutoff values proposed for B. hyodysenteriae are: tiamulin >0.25 μg/ml, valnemulin >0.125 μg/ml, tylosin >16 μg/ml, tylvalosin >1 μg/ml, lincomycin >1 μg/ml and doxycycline >0.5 μg/ml. Conclusions The broth dilution method used in this study has over the years generated tightly grouped MIC populations for the field isolates and reproducible results for the control strain B78T and is therefore a suitable antimicrobial susceptibility test method for monitoring of Brachyspira spp. Here we propose wild type cutoff values for six antimicrobial

  20. Real-time and quantitative isotropic spatial resolution susceptibility imaging for magnetic nanoparticles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pi, Shiqiang; Liu, Wenzhong; Jiang, Tao

    2018-03-01

    The magnetic transparency of biological tissue allows the magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) to be a promising functional sensor and contrast agent. The complex susceptibility of MNPs, strongly influenced by particle concentration, excitation magnetic field and their surrounding microenvironment, provides significant implications for biomedical applications. Therefore, magnetic susceptibility imaging of high spatial resolution will give more detailed information during the process of MNP-aided diagnosis and therapy. In this study, we present a novel spatial magnetic susceptibility extraction method for MNPs under a gradient magnetic field, a low-frequency drive magnetic field, and a weak strength high-frequency magnetic field. Based on this novel method, a magnetic particle susceptibility imaging (MPSI) of millimeter-level spatial resolution (<3 mm) was achieved using our homemade imaging system. Corroborated by the experimental results, the MPSI shows real-time (1 s per frame acquisition) and quantitative abilities, and isotropic high resolution.

  1. Mapping Landslides Susceptibility in a Traditional Northern Nigerian City

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oluwafemi, Olawale A.; Yakubu, Tahir A.; Muhammad, Mahmud U.; Shitta, Nyofo; Akinwumiju, Akinola S.

    2018-05-01

    As a result of dearth of relevant information about Landslides Susceptibility in Nigeria, the monitoring and assessment appears intractable. Hence, the study developed a Remote Sensing approach to mapping landslides susceptibility, landuse and landcover analysis in Jos South LGA, Plateau State, Nigeria. Field Observation, SPOT 5 2009 and 2012, ASTER DEM 2009, Geological Map 2006, Topographical Map 1966 were used to map Landslide Susceptibility and Landuse /Lancover Analysis in the study area. Geospatial Analytical Operations employed using ArcGIS 10.3 and Erdas Imagine 2014 include Spatial Modeling, Vectorization, Pre-lineament Extraction, Image Processing among others. Result showed that 72.38 % of the study area is underlain by granitic rocks. The landuse/cover types delineated for the study area include floodplain (29.27 %), farmland (23.96 %), sparsely vegetated land (15.43 %), built up area (13.65 %), vegetated outcrop (8.48 %), light vegetation (5.37 %), thick vegetation (2.39 %), water body (0.58 %), plantation (0.50 %) and mining pond (0.37 %). Landslide Susceptibility Analysis also revealed that 87 % of the study area is relatively at low to very low risk of landslide event. While only 13 % of the study area is at high to very high risk of landslide event. The study revealed that the susceptibility of landslide event is very low in the study area. However, possible landslide event in the hot spots could be pronounced and could destabilize the natural and man-made environmental systems of the study area.

  2. Magnetic Susceptibility and Heavy Metals in Guano from South Sulawesi Caves

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rifai, H.; Putra, R.; Fadila, M. R.; Erni, E.; Wurster, C. M.

    2018-04-01

    Measurement of some magnetic properties have been performed on vertical profile from South Sulawesi caves (Mampu and Bubau) by using low cost, rapid, sensitive and non destructive magnetic method. The aim is to attempt to use magnetic characters as a fingerprint for anthropogenic pollution in the caves. Guano samples were collected every 5 cm at a certain section of Mampu and Bubau cave, South Sulawesi, starting from surface through 300 cm in depth of mampu Cave and 30 cm of Bubau Cave. The magnetic parameters such as magnetic susceptibility and percentage frequency dependence susceptibility were measured using the Bartington MS2-MS2B instruments and supported by X-Ray Fluoroscence (XRF) to know their element composition. The results show that the samples had variations in magnetic susceptibility from 3.5 to 242.6 x 10‑8 m3/kg for Mampu Cave and from 8.6 to 106.5 x 10‑8 m3/kg for Bubau Cave and also magnetic domain. Then, the XRF results show that the caves contain several heavy metals. Magnetic and heavy metal analyses showing that the magnetic minerals in caves are lithogenic (Fe-bearing minerals) in origin and anthropogenic (Zn content) in the caves.

  3. Multidisciplinary approach to evaluate landslide susceptibility along highway in northern Calabria, Italy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muto, Francesco; Conforti, Massimo; Critelli, Salvatore; Fabbricatore, Davide; Filomena, Luciana; Rago, Valeria; Robustelli, Gaetano; Scarciglia, Fabio; Versace, Pasquale

    2014-05-01

    ), that are a unique combination of the predisposing factors. Subsequently, the landslide area is determined within each UCU and the landslide density is computed. The outcome of the study was a classification of the study area into four susceptibility classes, ranked from low to very high. The results showed that the 33% of the study area is characterized by a high to very high degree of susceptibility. The validation procedure results, obtained by crossing the group of the landslide of validation set with the susceptibility map, showed that the predictive model is generally satisfactory; therefore, over 75% of the landslide of validation set is correctly classified falling in high and very high susceptibility classes. The consistency of the model is also suggested by computing the seed cell area index (SCAI) because the high and very high susceptibility classes have very low SCAI values, whereas the SCAI values of the very low and low susceptibility classes are very high. Finally, the landslide susceptibility map provides the baseline information for further evaluations of landslide hazards and related risks.

  4. Heterogeneity of pulmonary perfusion as a mechanistic image-based phenotype in emphysema susceptible smokers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alford, Sara K; van Beek, Edwin J R; McLennan, Geoffrey; Hoffman, Eric A

    2010-04-20

    Recent evidence suggests that endothelial dysfunction and pathology of pulmonary vascular responses may serve as a precursor to smoking-associated emphysema. Although it is known that emphysematous destruction leads to vasculature changes, less is known about early regional vascular dysfunction which may contribute to and precede emphysematous changes. We sought to test the hypothesis, via multidetector row CT (MDCT) perfusion imaging, that smokers showing early signs of emphysema susceptibility have a greater heterogeneity in regional perfusion parameters than emphysema-free smokers and persons who had never smoked (NS). Assuming that all smokers have a consistent inflammatory response, increased perfusion heterogeneity in emphysema-susceptible smokers would be consistent with the notion that these subjects may have the inability to block hypoxic vasoconstriction in patchy, small regions of inflammation. Dynamic ECG-gated MDCT perfusion scans with a central bolus injection of contrast were acquired in 17 NS, 12 smokers with normal CT imaging studies (SNI), and 12 smokers with subtle CT findings of centrilobular emphysema (SCE). All subjects had normal spirometry. Quantitative image analysis determined regional perfusion parameters, pulmonary blood flow (PBF), and mean transit time (MTT). Mean and coefficient of variation were calculated, and statistical differences were assessed with one-way ANOVA. MDCT-based MTT and PBF measurements demonstrate globally increased heterogeneity in SCE subjects compared with NS and SNI subjects but demonstrate similarity between NS and SNI subjects. These findings demonstrate a functional lung-imaging measure that provides a more mechanistically oriented phenotype that differentiates smokers with and without evidence of emphysema susceptibility.

  5. Alterations of OprD in Carbapenem-Intermediate and -Susceptible Strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolated from Patients with Bacteremia in a Spanish Multicenter Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cabot, Gabriel; Rodríguez, Cristina; Roman, Elena; Tubau, Fe; Macia, María D.; Moya, Bartolomé; Zamorano, Laura; Suárez, Cristina; Peña, Carmen; Domínguez, María A.; Moncalián, Gabriel; Oliver, Antonio; Martínez-Martínez, Luis

    2012-01-01

    We investigated the presence of OprD mutations in 60 strains of metallo-ß-lactamase-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa intermediately susceptible (IS [n = 12]; MIC = 8 μg/ml) or susceptible (S [n = 48]; MICs ≤ 1 to 4 μg/ml) to imipenem and/or meropenem that were isolated from patients with bacteremia in order to evaluate their impact on carbapenem susceptibility profiles. The presence of mutations in oprD was detected by sequencing analysis. OprD expression was assessed by both outer membrane protein (OMP) analysis and real-time PCR (RT-PCR). Fourteen (23%) isolates had an OprD identical to that of PAO1, and OprD modifications were detected in 46 isolates (77%). Isolates were classified as OprD “full-length types” (T1 [n = 40, including both wild-type OprD and variants showing several polymorphisms]) and OprD “deficient types” (T2 [n = 3 for OprD frameshift mutations] and T3 [n = 17 for premature stop codons in oprD]). RT-PCR showed that 5 OprD type T1 isolates presented reduced transcription of oprD (0.1- to 0.4-fold compared to PAO1), while oprD levels increased more than 2-fold over that seen with PAO1 in 4 OprD type T1 isolates. A total of 50% of the isolates belonging to OprD “deficient types” were susceptible to both carbapenems, and 40% were susceptible to meropenem and intermediately susceptible to imipenem. Only one isolate (5%) within this group was intermediately susceptible to both carbapenems, and one (5%) was susceptible to imipenem and intermediately susceptible to meropenem. We concluded that OprD inactivating mutations in clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa are not restricted only to carbapenem-resistant isolates but are also found in isolates with imipenem or meropenem MICs of only 0.06 to 4 μg/ml. PMID:22290967

  6. Polygenic susceptibility to testicular cancer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Litchfield, Kevin; Mitchell, Jonathan S; Shipley, Janet

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND: The increasing incidence of testicular germ cell tumour (TGCT) combined with its strong heritable basis suggests that stratified screening for the early detection of TGCT may be clinically useful. We modelled the efficiency of such a personalised screening approach, based on genetic...... known TGCT susceptibility variants. The diagnostic performance of testicular biopsy and non-invasive semen analysis was also assessed, within a simulated combined screening programme. RESULTS: The area under the curve for the TGCT PRS model was 0.72 with individuals in the top 1% of the PRS having...

  7. Impurity states and the diamagnetic susceptibility of a donor in a GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs Triangular Quantum Well under hydrostatic pressure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalpana, Panneer Selvam; Jayakumar, Kalyanasundaram

    2017-11-01

    We study the effect of Γ-X band crossover due to the application of hydrostatic pressure of a hydrogenic donor confined in a Triangular GaAs/Al1-xGaxAs Quantum Well (TQW) for x = 0.3 and the diamagnetic susceptibility (χdia) for such an impurity in 1s and some few low lying excited states have been investigated. The Schrodinger equation has been solved using variational technique in the effective mass approximation. The results show that the diamagnetic susceptibility (χdia) of a hydrogenic donor abruptly increases at a particular pressure for 1s and 2p± states but a steady increase for 2s state as a function of applied pressure.

  8. Radiation-sensitive genetically susceptible pediatric sub-populations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kleinerman, Ruth A. [National Cancer Institute, NIH, DHHS, Radiation Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, Rockville, MD (United States)

    2009-02-15

    Major advances in pediatric cancer treatment have resulted in substantial improvements in survival. However, concern has emerged about the late effects of cancer therapy, especially radiation-related second cancers. Studies of childhood cancer patients with inherited cancer syndromes can provide insights into the interaction between radiation and genetic susceptibility to multiple cancers. Children with retinoblastoma (Rb), neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS), and nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome (NBCCS) are at substantial risk of developing radiation-related second and third cancers. A radiation dose-response for bone and soft-tissue sarcomas has been observed in hereditary Rb patients, with many of these cancers occurring in the radiation field. Studies of NF1 patients irradiated for optic pathway gliomas have reported increased risks of developing another cancer associated with radiotherapy. High relative risks for second and third cancers were observed for a cohort of 200 LFS family members, especially children, possibly related to radiotherapy. Children with NBCCS are very sensitive to radiation and develop multiple basal cell cancers in irradiated areas. Clinicians following these patients should be aware of their increased genetic susceptibility to multiple primary malignancies enhanced by sensitivity to ionizing radiation. (orig.)

  9. Evaluation of antibiotic susceptibility in wound infections: A pilot study from Bangladesh

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roy, Sushmita; Ahmed, Mejbah Uddin; Uddin, Bhuiyan Mohammad Mahtab; Ratan, Zubair Ahmed; Rajawat, Monali; Mehta, Varshil; Zaman, Sojib Bin

    2017-01-01

    Introduction: Infections due to antibiotic resistant bacteria have increased alarmingly in both developed and developing countries. Unrestrained and rapidly spreading bacterial growth has turned the management of wound infections into a serious challenge. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of different bacterial pathogens and their antibiotic susceptibility in various types of wound infections. Methods:  A cross-sectional study was conducted to collect 105 wound swabs. All isolated bacteria were identified based on colony characteristics, gram stain and standard biochemical tests, and antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) with the disc diffusion method. Descriptive statistics were used to present the study findings, and all analyses were performed using Stata Version 13. Results:  The rate of isolation of bacteria was 92.3%. Staphylococcus aureus was found to be the most frequent isolate (55.7%), followed by Escherichia coli (23.7%), Pseudomonas spp. (8.2%), and Streptococcus pyogenes (7.2%). Gram-positive bacteria were mostly (60%) found sensitive to vancomycin, azithromycin, gentamicin, imipenem, cefixime, and ceftriaxone in this study. Among the Gram-negative bacteria, Escherichia coli (>60%) showed sensitivity to cefixime, azithromycin, cefuroxime, ceftriaxone, cefotaxime, gentamycin, and ceftazidime. Conclusions: The diversity of isolated bacteria and their susceptibility patterns signify a need to implement a proper infection control strategy, which can be achieved by carrying out antibiotic sensitivity tests of the isolates. PMID:29527295

  10. Comparative susceptibility of Salmonella Typhimurium biofilms of different ages to disinfectants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Hui San; Townsend, Kirsty M; Fenwick, Stan G; Maker, Garth; Trengove, Robert D; O'Handley, Ryan M

    2010-10-01

    There is a general consensus that with increasing age a biofilm shows increased resistance to antimicrobials. In this study the susceptibility of 3-, 5- and 7-day-old Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium biofilms to disinfectants was evaluated. It was hypothesized that 7-day-old biofilms would be more resistant to disinfectants compared to 3- and 5-day-old biofilms. Biofilms were formed using the MBEC™ system and treated with six chemical disinfectants for 1 and 5 min. Four disinfectants at the highest concentration available showed 100% reduction in viable cells from all ages of biofilms after exposure for 5 min, and ethanol at 70% v/v was the least effective against biofilms, followed by chlorhexidine gluconate (CG). At the recommended user concentrations, only sodium hypochlorite showed 100% reduction in viable cells from all ages of biofilms. Benzalkonium chloride and CG were the least effective against biofilms, followed by quaternary ammonium compound which only showed 100% reduction in viable cells from 5-day-old biofilms. Overall, the results from this study do not display enhanced resistance in 7-day-old biofilms compared to 3- and 5-day-old biofilms. It is concluded that under the conditions of this study, the age of biofilm did not contribute to resistance towards disinfectants. Rather, the concentration of disinfectant and an increased contact time were both shown to play a role in successful sanitization.

  11. Insecticide susceptibility of Aedes albopictus and Ae. aegypti from Brazil and the Swiss-Italian border region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suter, Tobias; Crespo, Mônica Maria; de Oliveira, Mariana Francelino; de Oliveira, Thaynan Sama Alves; de Melo-Santos, Maria Alice Varjal; de Oliveira, Cláudia Maria Fontes; Ayres, Constância Flávia Junqueira; Barbosa, Rosângela Maria Rodrigues; Araújo, Ana Paula; Regis, Lêda Narcisa; Flacio, Eleonora; Engeler, Lukas; Müller, Pie; Silva-Filha, Maria Helena Neves Lobo

    2017-09-19

    Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus are two highly invasive mosquito species, both vectors of several viruses, including dengue, chikungunya and Zika. While Ae. aegypti is the primary vector in the tropics and sub-tropics, Ae. albopictus is increasingly under the public health watch as it has been implicated in arbovirus-transmission in more temperate regions, including continental Europe. Vector control using insecticides is the pillar of most control programmes; hence development of insecticide resistance is of great concern. As part of a Brazilian-Swiss Joint Research Programme we set out to assess whether there are any signs of existing or incipient insecticide resistance primarily against the larvicide Bacillus thuringiensis svar. israelensis (Bti), but also against currently applied and potentially alternative insecticides in our areas, Recife (Brazil) and the Swiss-Italian border region. Following World Health Organization guidelines, dose-response curves for a range of insecticides were established for both colonized and field caught Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus. The larvicides included Bti, two of its toxins, Cry11Aa and Cry4Ba, Lysinibacillus sphaericus, Vectomax CG®, a formulated combination of Bti and L. sphaericus, and diflubenzuron. In addition to the larvicides, the Swiss-Italian Ae. albopictus populations were also tested against five adulticides (bendiocarb, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, malathion, permethrin and λ-cyhalothrin). Showing a similar dose-response, all mosquito populations were fully susceptible to the larvicides tested and, in particular, to Bti which is currently used both in Brazil and Switzerland. In addition, there were no signs of incipient resistance against Bti as larvae were equally susceptible to the individual toxins, Cry11Aa and Cry4Ba. The field-caught Swiss-Italian populations were susceptible to the adulticides tested but DDT mortality rates showed signs of reduced susceptibility. The insecticides currently used for

  12. Effect of long-term voluntary exercise wheel running on susceptibility to bacterial pulmonary infections in a mouse model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    van de Weert-van Leeuwen, Pauline B; de Vrankrijker, Angélica M M; Fentz, Joachim

    2013-01-01

    moderate exercise has many health benefits, healthy mice showed increased bacterial (P. aeruginosa) load and symptoms, after regular voluntary exercise, with perseverance of the phagocytic capacity of monocytes and neutrophils. Whether patients, suffering from bacterial infectious diseases, should......Regular moderate exercise has been suggested to exert anti-inflammatory effects and improve immune effector functions, resulting in reduced disease incidence and viral infection susceptibility. Whether regular exercise also affects bacterial infection susceptibility is unknown. The aim...... of this study was to investigate whether regular voluntary exercise wheel running prior to a pulmonary infection with bacteria (P. aeruginosa) affects lung bacteriology, sickness severity and phagocyte immune function in mice. Balb/c mice were randomly placed in a cage with or without a running wheel. After 28...

  13. Biomarkers of susceptibility: State of the art and implications for occupational exposure to engineered nanomaterials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iavicoli, Ivo; Leso, Veruscka; Schulte, Paul A.

    2016-01-01

    Rapid advances and applications in nanotechnology are expected to result in increasing occupational exposure to nano-sized materials whose health impacts are still not completely understood. Scientific efforts are required to identify hazards from nanomaterials and define risks and precautionary management strategies for exposed workers. In this scenario, the definition of susceptible populations, which may be at increased risk of adverse effects may be important for risk assessment and management. The aim of this review is to critically examine available literature to provide a comprehensive overview on susceptibility aspects potentially affecting heterogeneous responses to nanomaterials workplace exposure. Genetic, genotoxic and epigenetic alterations induced by nanomaterials in experimental studies were assessed with respect to their possible function as determinants of susceptibility. Additionally, the role of host factors, i.e. age, gender, and pathological conditions, potentially affecting nanomaterial toxicokinetic and health impacts, were also analysed. Overall, this review provides useful information to obtain insights into the nanomaterial mode of action in order to identify potentially sensitive, specific susceptibility biomarkers to be validated in occupational settings and addressed in risk assessment processes. The findings of this review are also important to guide future research into a deeper characterization of nanomaterial susceptibility in order to define adequate risk communication strategies. Ultimately, identification and use of susceptibility factors in workplace settings has both scientific and ethical issues that need addressing. PMID:26724381

  14. Multiplex immunoassay of lower genital tract mucosal fluid from women attending an urban STD clinic shows broadly increased IL1ß and lactoferrin.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gregory T Spear

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: More than one million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs occur each day. The immune responses and inflammation induced by STDs and other frequent non-STD microbial colonizations (i.e. Candida and bacterial vaginosis can have serious pathologic consequences in women including adverse pregnancy outcomes, infertility and increased susceptibility to infection by other pathogens. Understanding the types of immune mediators that are elicited in the lower genital tract by these infections/colonizations can give important insights into the innate and adaptive immune pathways that are activated and lead to strategies for preventing pathologic effects. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: 32 immune mediators were measured by multiplexed immunoassays to assess the immune environment of the lower genital tract mucosa in 84 women attending an urban STD clinic. IL-3, IL-1ß, VEGF, angiogenin, IL-8, ß2Defensin and ß3Defensin were detected in all subjects, Interferon-α was detected in none, while the remaining mediators were detected in 40% to 93% of subjects. Angiogenin, VEGF, FGF, IL-9, IL-7, lymphotoxin-α and IL-3 had not been previously reported in genital mucosal fluid from women. Strong correlations were observed between levels of TNF-α, IL-1ß and IL-6, between chemokines IP-10 and MIG and between myeloperoxidase, IL-8 and G-CSF. Samples from women with any STD/colonization had significantly higher levels of IL-8, IL-3, IL-7, IL-1ß, lactoferrin and myeloperoxidase. IL-1ß and lactoferrin were significantly increased in gonorrhea, Chlamydia, cervicitis, bacterial vaginosis and trichomoniasis. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These studies show that mucosal fluid in general appears to be an environment that is rich in immune mediators. Importantly, IL-1ß and lactoferrin are biomarkers for STDs/colonizations providing insights into immune responses and pathogenesis at this mucosal site.

  15. SadA-Expressing Staphylococci in the Human Gut Show Increased Cell Adherence and Internalization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luqman, Arif; Nega, Mulugeta; Nguyen, Minh-Thu; Ebner, Patrick; Götz, Friedrich

    2018-01-09

    A subgroup of biogenic amines, the so-called trace amines (TAs), are produced by mammals and bacteria and can act as neuromodulators. In the genus Staphylococcus, certain species are capable of producing TAs through the activity of staphylococcal aromatic amino acid decarboxylase (SadA). SadA decarboxylates aromatic amino acids to produce TAs, as well as dihydroxy phenylalanine and 5-hydroxytryptophan to thus produce the neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin. SadA-expressing staphylococci were prevalent in the gut of most probands, where they are part of the human intestinal microflora. Furthermore, sadA-expressing staphylococci showed increased adherence to HT-29 cells and 2- to 3-fold increased internalization. Internalization and adherence was also increased in a sadA mutant in the presence of tryptamine. The α2-adrenergic receptor is required for enhanced adherence and internalization. Thus, staphylococci in the gut might contribute to gut activity and intestinal colonization. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. On the susceptibility of adaptive memory to false memory illusions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howe, Mark L; Derbish, Mary H

    2010-05-01

    Previous research has shown that survival-related processing of word lists enhances retention for that material. However, the claim that survival-related memories are more accurate has only been examined when true recall and recognition of neutral material has been measured. In the current experiments, we examined the adaptive memory superiority effect for different types of processing and material, measuring accuracy more directly by comparing true and false recollection rates. Survival-related information and processing was examined using word lists containing backward associates of neutral, negative, and survival-related critical lures and type of processing (pleasantness, moving, survival) was varied using an incidental memory paradigm. Across four experiments, results showed that survival-related words were more susceptible than negative and neutral words to the false memory illusion and that processing information in terms of its relevance to survival independently increased this susceptibility to the false memory illusion. Overall, although survival-related processing and survival-related information resulted in poorer, not more accurate, memory, such inaccuracies may have adaptive significance. These findings are discussed in the context of false memory research and recent theories concerning the importance of survival processing and the nature of adaptive memory. Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Non-susceptible landslide areas in Italy and in the Mediterranean region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marchesini, I.; Ardizzone, F.; Alvioli, M.; Rossi, M.; Guzzetti, F.

    2014-08-01

    We used landslide information for 13 study areas in Italy and morphometric information obtained from the 3-arcseconds shuttle radar topography mission digital elevation model (SRTM DEM) to determine areas where landslide susceptibility is expected to be negligible in Italy and in the landmasses surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. The morphometric information consisted of the local terrain slope which was computed in a square 3 × 3-cell moving window, and in the regional relative relief computed in a circular 15 × 15-cell moving window. We tested three different models to classify the "non-susceptible" landslide areas, including a linear model (LNR), a quantile linear model (QLR), and a quantile, non-linear model (QNL). We tested the performance of the three models using independent landslide information presented by the Italian Landslide Inventory (Inventario Fenomeni Franosi in Italia - IFFI). Best results were obtained using the QNL model. The corresponding zonation of non-susceptible landslide areas was intersected in a geographic information system (GIS) with geographical census data for Italy. The result determined that 57.5% of the population of Italy (in 2001) was located in areas where landslide susceptibility is expected to be negligible. We applied the QNL model to the landmasses surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, and we tested the synoptic non-susceptibility zonation using independent landslide information for three study areas in Spain. Results showed that the QNL model was capable of determining where landslide susceptibility is expected to be negligible in the validation areas in Spain. We expect our results to be applicable in similar study areas, facilitating the identification of non-susceptible landslide areas, at the synoptic scale.

  18. Transfer of innate resistance and susceptibility to Leishmania donovani infection in mouse radiation bone marrow chimaeras

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Crocker, P.R.; Blackwell, J.M.; Bradley, D.J. (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (UK))

    1984-07-01

    Reciprocal radiation bone marrow chimaeras were made between H-2-compatible strains of mice innately resistant or susceptible to visceral leishmaniasis. In initial experiments, susceptibility but not resistance to Leishmania donovani could be transferred with donor bone marrow into irradiated recipients. In subsequent experiments it was possible to transfer both resistance and susceptibility. This was achieved either by selecting more radiosensitive mouse strains as susceptible recipients, or alternatively by increasing the irradiation dose for the susceptible recipients used in the initial experiments. Using the higher irradiation dose, successful transfer of resistance and susceptibility between congenic mice carrying the Lshsup(r) and Lshsup(s) alleles on the more radioresistant B10 genetic background provided firm evidence that the results obtained in this study were specifically related to expression of the Lsh gene. It is concluded that Lsh gene-controlled resistance and susceptibility to L. donovani is determined by bone marrow-derived cells. The cell type(s) involved is likely to be of the macrophage lineage.

  19. Transfer of innate resistance and susceptibility to Leishmania donovani infection in mouse radiation bone marrow chimaeras

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crocker, P.R.; Blackwell, J.M.; Bradley, D.J.

    1984-01-01

    Reciprocal radiation bone marrow chimaeras mere made between H-2-compatible strains of mice innately resistant or susceptible to visceral leishmaniasis. In initial experiments, susceptibility but not resistance to Leishmania donovani could be transferred with donor bone marrow into irradiated recipients. In subsequent experiments it was possible to transfer both resistance and susceptibility. This was achieved either by selecting more radiosensitive mouse strains as susceptible recipients, or alternatively by increasing the irradiation dose for the susceptible recipients used in the initial experiments. Using the higher irradiation dose, successful transfer of resistance and susceptibility between congenic mice carrying the Lshsup(r) and Lshsup(s) alleles on the more radioresistant B10 genetic background provided firm evidence that the results obtained in this study were specifically related to expression of the Lsh gene. It is concluded that Lsh gene-controlled resistance and susceptibility to L. donovani is determined by bone marrow-derived cells. The cell type(s) involved is likely to be of the macrophage lineage. (author)

  20. Carcinogen susceptibility is regulated by genome architecture and predicts cancer mutagenesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    García-Nieto, Pablo E; Schwartz, Erin K; King, Devin A; Paulsen, Jonas; Collas, Philippe; Herrera, Rafael E; Morrison, Ashby J

    2017-10-02

    The development of many sporadic cancers is directly initiated by carcinogen exposure. Carcinogens induce malignancies by creating DNA lesions (i.e., adducts) that can result in mutations if left unrepaired. Despite this knowledge, there has been remarkably little investigation into the regulation of susceptibility to acquire DNA lesions. In this study, we present the first quantitative human genome-wide map of DNA lesions induced by ultraviolet (UV) radiation, the ubiquitous carcinogen in sunlight that causes skin cancer. Remarkably, the pattern of carcinogen susceptibility across the genome of primary cells significantly reflects mutation frequency in malignant melanoma. Surprisingly, DNase-accessible euchromatin is protected from UV, while lamina-associated heterochromatin at the nuclear periphery is vulnerable. Many cancer driver genes have an intrinsic increase in carcinogen susceptibility, including the BRAF oncogene that has the highest mutation frequency in melanoma. These findings provide a genome-wide snapshot of DNA injuries at the earliest stage of carcinogenesis. Furthermore, they identify carcinogen susceptibility as an origin of genome instability that is regulated by nuclear architecture and mirrors mutagenesis in cancer. © 2017 The Authors.

  1. Studies on maize inbred lines susceptibility to herbicides

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefanović Lidija

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the analysis of results obtained during long- term studies on the response of maize inbred lines to herbicides. Under the agroecological conditions of Zemun Polje the response (reaction of maize inbred lines to herbicides of different classes was investigated. Biological tests were performed and some agronomic, morphological, physiological and biochemical parameters were determined when the response of maize inbred lines to herbicides was estimated. The use of active ingredients of herbicides from triazine, acetanilide, thiocarbamate to new chemical groups (sulfonylurea etc., have been resulted in changes in weed suppression and susceptibility of inbred lines. Obtained results show that effects of herbicides on susceptible maize genotypes can be different: they can slowdown the growth and development and affect the plant height; they can also affect the stages of the tassel and ear development and at the end they can reduced grain yield of the tested inbreds. Numerous studies confirmed the existence of differences in susceptibility level of maize genotypes in relation to herbicides. According to gained results the recommendations for growers are made on the possibility of the application of new herbicides in the hybrid seed production.

  2. Effect of feeding broilers diets differing in susceptible phytate content

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natalie K. Morgan

    2016-03-01

    phytate hydrolysis. Hydrolysis of phytate was greater (P < 0.05 in the gizzard of birds fed the diets supplemented with phytase, regardless of the concentration of susceptible phytate in the diet. Phytase supplementation resulted in improved BWG (P < 0.001 and FCR (P = 0.001, increased P solubility (P < 0.001 in the gizzard, Ca and P solubility (P < 0.001 in the jejunum and ileum and Ca and P concentration (P < 0.001 and strength (P < 0.001 in the tibia and femur. Pepsin activity was higher in birds fed the diets supplemented with phytase (P < 0.001 and was greater (P = 0.031 in birds fed the high susceptible phytate diets compared with the low susceptible phytate diets. Findings from this study suggest that there may be a measure more meaningful to animal nutritionists than measurements of total phytate.

  3. Differential Susceptibility Experiments: Going beyond Correlational Evidence--Comment on beyond Mental Health, Differential Susceptibility Articles

    Science.gov (United States)

    van IJzendoorn, Marinus H.; Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J.

    2012-01-01

    Reviewing the studies on differential susceptibility presented in this section, we argue that the time is ripe to go beyond correlational designs to differential susceptibility experiments. In such experiments, randomization prevents hidden moderator effects on the environment and guarantees the independence of moderator and outcome, while the…

  4. Changes in bacillus thuringiensis tolerance levels due to hybridization of Bt-tolerant and susceptible silkworm populations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Begumad, H.A.; Hassana, E.; Dingleb, J.; Alshehic, A.A.

    2012-01-01

    Males and females of a Bt-tolerant mulberry silkworm (Bombyx mori L.) population were crossed with females and males of a Bt-susceptible population, to produce Bt-tolerant silkworm hybrids, and to determine the expression of the Bt-tolerance pattern in the F 1 hybrids. It was observed that when a Bt-tolerant (42% larval mortality) female (BtT ) silkworm was crossed with a Bt-susceptible (85% larval mortality) male (BtS ), the resultant F 1 offspring showed lower levels of Bt-tolerance (87% larval mortality). On the other hand, when a Bt-tolerant male (BtT ) was crossed with a Bt-susceptible female (BtS ), the F 1 hybrid showed higher levels of Bt-tolerance (35% larval mortality) characteristic. The probit statistics showed that both hybrids expressed Bt-tolerance or susceptible levels similar to their male parents. These different patterns of Bt-tolerance in F 1 hybrids might be due to the transferring of a Bt-tolerant gene, from the parents to offspring, through the homozygotic male (ZZ) silkworm. (author)

  5. Mapping Magnetic Susceptibility Anisotropies of White Matter in vivo in the Human Brain at 7 Tesla

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xu; Vikram, Deepti S; Lim, Issel Anne L; Jones, Craig K; Farrell, Jonathan A.D.; van Zijl, Peter C. M.

    2012-01-01

    High-resolution magnetic resonance phase- or frequency- shift images acquired at high field show contrast related to magnetic susceptibility differences between tissues. Such contrast varies with the orientation of the organ in the field, but the development of quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) has made it possible to reproducibly image the intrinsic tissue susceptibility contrast. However, recent studies indicate that magnetic susceptibility is anisotropic in brain white matter and, as such, needs to be described by a symmetric second-rank tensor (χ¯¯). To fully determine the elements of this tensor, it would be necessary to acquire frequency data at six or more orientations. Assuming cylindrical symmetry of the susceptibility tensor in myelinated white matter fibers, we propose a simplified method to reconstruct the susceptibility tensor in terms of a mean magnetic susceptibility, MMS = (χ∥ + 2χ⊥)/3 and a magnetic susceptibility anisotropy, MSA = χ∥ − χ⊥, where χ∥ and χ⊥ are susceptibility parallel and perpendicular to the white matter fiber direction, respectively. Computer simulations show that with a practical head rotation angle of around 20°–30°, four head orientations suffice to reproducibly reconstruct the tensor with good accuracy. We tested this approach on whole brain 1×1×1 mm3 frequency data acquired from five healthy subjects at 7 T. The frequency information from phase images collected at four head orientations was combined with the fiber direction information extracted from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to map the white matter susceptibility tensor. The MMS and MSA were quantified for regions in several large white matter fiber structures, including the corona radiata, posterior thalamic radiation and corpus callosum. MMS ranged from −0.037 to −0.053 ppm (referenced to CSF being about zero). MSA values could be quantified without the need for a reference and ranged between 0.004 and 0.029 ppm, in line with

  6. Lithium inclusion in indium metal-organic frameworks showing increased surface area and hydrogen adsorption

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mathieu Bosch

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Investigation of counterion exchange in two anionic In-Metal-Organic Frameworks (In-MOFs showed that partial replacement of disordered ammonium cations was achieved through the pre-synthetic addition of LiOH to the reaction mixture. This resulted in a surface area increase of over 1600% in {Li [In(1,3 − BDC2]}n and enhancement of the H2 uptake of approximately 275% at 80 000 Pa at 77 K. This method resulted in frameworks with permanent lithium content after repeated solvent exchange as confirmed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Lithium counterion replacement appears to increase porosity after activation through replacement of bulkier, softer counterions and demonstrates tuning of pore size and properties in MOFs.

  7. A GIS-based extended fuzzy multi-criteria evaluation for landslide susceptibility mapping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feizizadeh, Bakhtiar; Shadman Roodposhti, Majid; Jankowski, Piotr; Blaschke, Thomas

    2014-12-01

    Landslide susceptibility mapping (LSM) is making increasing use of GIS-based spatial analysis in combination with multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) methods. We have developed a new multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) method for LSM and applied it to the Izeh River basin in south-western Iran. Our method is based on fuzzy membership functions (FMFs) derived from GIS analysis. It makes use of nine causal landslide factors identified by local landslide experts. Fuzzy set theory was first integrated with an analytical hierarchy process (AHP) in order to use pairwise comparisons to compare LSM criteria for ranking purposes. FMFs were then applied in order to determine the criteria weights to be used in the development of a landslide susceptibility map. Finally, a landslide inventory database was used to validate the LSM map by comparing it with known landslides within the study area. Results indicated that the integration of fuzzy set theory with AHP produced significantly improved accuracies and a high level of reliability in the resulting landslide susceptibility map. Approximately 53% of known landslides within our study area fell within zones classified as having "very high susceptibility", with the further 31% falling into zones classified as having "high susceptibility".

  8. RSRC1 and CPZ gene polymorphisms with neuroblastoma susceptibility in Chinese children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Jue; Liu, Wei; Zhu, Jinhong; Zhang, Jiao; Wang, Feng-Hua; Liang, Jiang-Hua; Zeng, Jia-Hang; Wang, Hui; Xia, Huimin; He, Jing

    2018-07-01

    Two new neuroblastoma susceptibility loci at 3q25 (RSRC1 rs6441201 G > A) and 4p16 (CPZ rs3796725 T > C and rs3796727 A > G) were identified by a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving Italians, African Americans and European Americans. In this case-control study with 393 neuroblastoma cases and 812 controls, we investigated the association between these three polymorphisms and neuroblastoma susceptibility in Chinese population. We found that participants harboring the RSRC1 rs6441201A allele were associated with an increased risk of neuroblastoma (AA vs. GG: adjusted OR = 1.55, 95% CI = 1.03-2.34, P = 0.036). No significant association between the CPZ polymorphisms (rs3796725 T > C and rs3796727A > G) and neuroblastoma susceptibility was observed. In conclusion, our results confirm that the RSRC1 rs6441201A allele is associated with neuroblastoma susceptibility in Chinese population. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Something's missing: need fulfillment and self-expansion as predictors of susceptibility to infidelity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewandowski, Gary W; Ackerman, Robert A

    2006-08-01

    The present authors investigated whether an individual's motivations that are related to need fulfillment and self-expansion within a romantic relationship can predict self-reported susceptibility to infidelity. A sample of 109 college students (50 men, 59 women) who were in dating relationships completed questionnaires that assessed 5 types of variables of need fulfillment (i.e., intimacy, companionship, sex, security, and emotional involvement), 3 types of self-expansion variables (i.e., self-expansion, inclusion of the other in the self, and potential for self-expansion), and susceptibility to infidelity. As the present authors predicted, both sets of predictors (need fulfillment and self-expansion) significantly contributed to the variance in susceptibility to infidelity. The present findings indicated the possibility that, when a relationship is not able to fulfill needs or provide ample self-expansion for an individual, his or her susceptibility to infidelity increases.

  10. Diabetes increases the susceptibility to acute kidney injury after myocardial infarction through augmented activation of renal Toll-like receptors in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohno, Kouhei; Kuno, Atsushi; Murase, Hiromichi; Muratsubaki, Shingo; Miki, Takayuki; Tanno, Masaya; Yano, Toshiyuki; Ishikawa, Satoko; Yamashita, Tomohisa; Miura, Tetsuji

    2017-12-01

    Acute kidney injury (AKI) after acute myocardial infarction (MI) worsens the prognosis of MI patients. Although type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major risk factor of AKI after MI, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here, we examined the roles of renal Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in the impact of DM on AKI after MI. MI was induced by coronary artery ligation in Otsuka-Long-Evans-Tokushima fatty (OLETF) rats, a rat DM model, and Long-Evans-Tokushima-Otsuka (LETO) rats, nondiabetic controls. Sham-operated rats served as no-MI controls. Renal mRNA levels of TLR2 and myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) were significantly higher in sham-operated OLETF rats than in sham-operated LETO rats, although levels of TLR1, TLR3, and TLR4 were similar. At 12 h after MI, protein levels of kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1) and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) in the kidney were elevated by 5.3- and 4.0-fold, respectively, and their mRNA levels were increased in OLETF but not LETO rats. The increased KIM-1 and NGAL expression levels after MI in the OLETF kidney were associated with upregulated expression of TLR1, TLR2, TLR4, MyD88, IL-6, TNF-α, chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2, and transforming growth factor-β 1 and also with activation of p38 MAPK, JNK, and NF-κB. Cu-CPT22, a TLR1/TLR2 antagonist, administered before MI significantly suppressed MI-induced upregulation of KIM-1, TLR2, TLR4, MyD88, and chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 levels and activation of NF-κB, whereas NGAL levels and IL-6 and TNF-α expression levels were unchanged. The results suggest that DM increases the susceptibility to AKI after acute MI by augmented activation of renal TLRs and that TLR1/TLR2-mediated signaling mediates KIM-1 upregulation after MI. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This is the first report to demonstrate the involvement of Toll-like recpetors (TLRs) in diabetes-induced susceptibility to acute kidney injury after acute myocardial infarction. We propose that the TLR1/TLR2

  11. Phosphorylcholine impairs susceptibility to biofilm formation of hydrogel contact lenses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Selan, Laura; Palma, Stefano; Scoarughi, Gian Luca; Papa, Rosanna; Veeh, Richard; Di Clemente, Daniele; Artini, Marco

    2009-01-01

    To compare silicone-hydrogel, poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA), and phosphorylcholine-coated (PC-C) contact lenses in terms of their susceptibility to biofilm formation by Staphylococcus epidermidis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Laboratory investigation. Biofilm formation on colonized test lenses was evaluated with confocal microscopy and in vitro antibiotic susceptibility assays. The results of the latter assays were compared with those performed on planktonic cultures of the same organism. For both microorganisms, sessile colonies on silicone-hydrogel and pHEMA lenses displayed lower antibiotic susceptibility than their planktonic counterparts. In contrast, the susceptibility of cultures growing on PC-C lenses was comparable with that for planktonic cultures. In particular, minimum inhibitory concentration for Tazocin (piperacillin plus tazobactam; Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Aprilia, Italy; S. epidermidis) and gentamicin (P. aeruginosa) was identical, either in the presence of PC-C support or in planktonic cultures (Tazocin, aeruginosa) was two-fold higher for PC-C lenses (0.4 mug/ml) with respect to planktonic cultures (0.2 mug/ml). Confocal microscopy of lenses colonized for 24 hours with P. aeruginosa green fluorescent protein-expressing cells revealed a sessile colonization on silicone-hydrogel lens and a few isolated bacterial cells scattered widely over the surface of the PC-C lens. An increase in antibiotic susceptibility of bacterial cultures was associated with diminished bacterial adhesion. Our results indicate that PC-C lenses seem to be more resistant than silicone-hydrogel and pHEMA lenses to bacterial adhesion and colonization. This feature may facilitate their disinfection.

  12. Initial magnetic susceptibility of the diluted magnetopolymer elastic composites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borin, D.Yu.; Odenbach, S.

    2017-01-01

    In this work diluted magnetopolymer elastic composites based on magnetic microparticles are experimentally studied. Considered samples have varied concentration of the magnetic powder and different structural anisotropy. Experimental data on magnetic properties are accomplished by microstructural observations performed using X-Ray tomography. Influence of the particles amount and structuring effects on the initial magnetic susceptibility of the composites as well as the applicability of the Maxwell-Garnett approximation, which is widely used in considerations of magnetopolymer elastic composites, are evaluated. It is demonstrated that the approximation works well for diluted samples containing randomly distributed magnetic particles and for the diluted samples with chain-like structures oriented perpendicular to an externally applied field, while it fails to predict the susceptibility of the samples with structures oriented parallel to the field. Moreover, it is shown, that variation of the chains morphology does not significantly change the composite initial magnetic susceptibility. - Highlights: • The Maxwell-Garnet prediction works well for the diluted isotropic composites. • The Maxwell-Garnet prediction can be used for composites with structures oriented perpendicular to an applied field. • Chains oriented parallel to an applied field significantly increase the composite initial magnetic susceptibility. • The number and thickness of chains is not of the highest importance for the diluted composites. • The crucial reason of the observed effect is expected to be the demagnetisation factor of the chains.

  13. Susceptibility to chemical insecticides of two Brazilian populations of the visceral leishmaniasis vector Lutzomyia longipalpis (Diptera: Psychodidae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexander, B; Barros, V C; de Souza, S F; Barros, S S; Teodoro, L P; Soares, Z R; Gontijo, N F; Reithinger, R

    2009-10-01

    To investigate the insecticide susceptibility of two geographically separated Lutzomyia longipalpis populations (Lapinha and Montes Claros) with different histories of insecticide exposure (i.e. no exposure and repeated exposure, respectively). (i) Bioassay monitoring of sand fly survival over time when exposed to a range of insecticides; and (ii) analysis of the level of insecticide detoxification enzymes in individual sand flies caught at both study sites. Insecticides tested were the organophosphates malathion and fenitrothion and the pyrethroids lambda-cyhalothrin, permethrin and deltamethrin. Survival analyses showed that whilst there was no overall significant difference in susceptibility of both populations to organophosphates, Lapinha sand flies were significantly more susceptible to pyrethroids than those from Montes Claros. Multiple regression analyses also showed that insecticide susceptibility in both locations varied with sand fly sex. The relative susceptibilities of the two sand fly populations to tested insecticides were also compared. Thus, Montes Claros sand flies were most susceptible to malathion, followed by fenitrothion, deltamethrin and permethrin. Those from Lapinha were most susceptible to lambda-cyhalothrin, followed by malathion, permethrin, deltamethrin and fenitrothion. Biochemical analyses demonstrated that Montes Claros sand flies had significantly lower insecticide detoxification enzyme activity than Lapinha sand flies. Our results are the first record of significantly reduced susceptibility to the insecticides used in control of wild populations of Lu. longipalpis. They demonstrate the importance of evaluating chemicals against this species by conventional bioassay and microplate assays before and during spraying programmes.

  14. Toxicogenetics: In Search of Host Susceptibility to Environmental Toxicants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gelareh eAlam

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Heavy metals, various pesticide and herbicides are implicated as risk factors for human health. Paraquat, maneb, and rotenone, carbamate and organophospherous insecticides are examples of toxicants for which acute and chronic exposure are associated with multiple neurological disorders including Parkinson’s disease (PD. Nevertheless, the role of pesticide exposure in neurodegenerative diseases is not clear-cut, as there are inconsistencies in both the epidemiological and preclinical research. The aim of this short review is to show that the inconsistencies are related to individual differences in susceptibility to the effects of neurotoxicants, individual differences that can be traced to the genetic constitution of the individuals and animals studies, i.e., host-based susceptibility.

  15. Landslide susceptibility assessment using logistic regression and its comparison with a rock mass classification system, along a road section in the northern Himalayas (India)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Das, Iswar; Sahoo, Sashikant; van Westen, Cees; Stein, Alfred; Hack, Robert

    2010-02-01

    Landslide studies are commonly guided by ground knowledge and field measurements of rock strength and slope failure criteria. With increasing sophistication of GIS-based statistical methods, however, landslide susceptibility studies benefit from the integration of data collected from various sources and methods at different scales. This study presents a logistic regression method for landslide susceptibility mapping and verifies the result by comparing it with the geotechnical-based slope stability probability classification (SSPC) methodology. The study was carried out in a landslide-prone national highway road section in the northern Himalayas, India. Logistic regression model performance was assessed by the receiver operator characteristics (ROC) curve, showing an area under the curve equal to 0.83. Field validation of the SSPC results showed a correspondence of 72% between the high and very high susceptibility classes with present landslide occurrences. A spatial comparison of the two susceptibility maps revealed the significance of the geotechnical-based SSPC method as 90% of the area classified as high and very high susceptible zones by the logistic regression method corresponds to the high and very high class in the SSPC method. On the other hand, only 34% of the area classified as high and very high by the SSPC method falls in the high and very high classes of the logistic regression method. The underestimation by the logistic regression method can be attributed to the generalisation made by the statistical methods, so that a number of slopes existing in critical equilibrium condition might not be classified as high or very high susceptible zones.

  16. Implementation of landslide susceptibility maps in Lower Austria as part of risk governance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bell, Rainer; Petschko, Helene; Bauer, Christian; Glade, Thomas; Granica, Klaus; Heiss, Gerhard; Leopold, Philip; Pomaroli, Gilbert; Proske, Herwig; Schweigl, Joachim

    2013-04-01

    , the number of susceptibility classes, their colour and naming, as well as on the instructions for actions referring to each susceptibility class respectively. All susceptibility maps showed very good validation results. Both, the WofE and the GAM slide susceptibility map showed high median AUROC values of 0.9 and the geomorphological plausibility proved to be very good in both cases. Due to these results it was concluded the stakeholders should take the decision which of the two slide susceptibility maps should be used. This decision was performed as a blind test providing resulting maps and their respective performance measures but coded with a color so that the stakeholders did not know which maps were produced by whom and with which method. This presentation is thus focusing on a detailed description of all these aspects and it is discussed how this participative approach led to a high acceptance of the final landslide susceptibility maps by the stakeholders. Consequently these maps are going to be implemented in the spatial planning strategies soon.

  17. Evaluating Susceptibility to Commercial Fungicide of Endophytic Fungi Isolated from Roses (Rosa hybrida

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ingrid Carolina Corredor Perilla

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Fungal endophytes have shown their potential as biocontrol agents; however, their application in commercial fields remains limited. Continuously applying fungicides to crops (specifically to roses may have harmful effects on endophyte growth. Endophytic fungi were isolated from R. hybrida and their susceptibility to fungicides regularly used for controlling important pathogens was analysed. This was performed in vitro, mixing several fungicide concentrations with standard medium for fungal endophytes; growth inhibition was then measured. The susceptibility of Botrytis cinerea (3015 strain, one of the most important pathogens affecting roses in Colombia, was also assessed using the same protocols. Active ingredients, such as boscalid, captan, iprodione and pyrimethanyl, showed susceptibility ranging from not sensitive (³73.75% to regularly sensitive (³48.75% - <61.25% for 45.45% of the fungal endophytes assessed. Endophytic fungi were highly susceptible to fungicides such as pyrimethanyl, carboxin plus thiram, fludioxonyl plus ciprodinyl and prochloraz. B. cinerea (3015 strain presented high susceptibility (<23.75% to fungicides such as pyrimethanyl, carboxin and thiram, fludioxonil and ciprodinyl, prochloraz. Although B. cinerea showed the greatest growth in controls, the endophytic fungi being assessed grew better in different media with fungicides. The results revealed some of these fungal endophytes’ potential for integrated pest management (IPM in roses in Colombia (3002, 3003, 3004, 3005 and 3006 strains, taking into account correct application time, application frequency and both fungal endophyte and fungicide dosage which may greatly limit fungal endophyte growth.

  18. Clinical applications of susceptibility weighted MR imaging of the brain - a pictorial review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thomas, Bejoy; Somasundaram, Sivaraman; Thamburaj, Krishnamoorthy; Kesavadas, Chandrasekharan; Kumar Gupta, Arun; Bodhey, Narendra K.; Raman Kapilamoorthy, Tirur

    2008-01-01

    Susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) is a novel magnetic resonance (MR) technique that exploits the magnetic susceptibility differences of various tissues, such as blood, iron and calcification. This pictorial review covers many clinical conditions illustrating its usefulness. SWI consists of using both magnitude and phase images from a high-resolution, three-dimensional fully velocity-compensated gradient echo sequence. Phase mask is created from the MR phase images, and multiplying these with the magnitude images increase the conspicuity of the smaller veins and other sources of susceptibility effects, which is depicted using minimal intensity projection (minIP). The phase images are useful in differentiating between diamagnetic and paramagnetic susceptibility effects of calcium and blood, respectively. This unique MR sequence will help in detecting occult low flow vascular lesions, calcification and cerebral microbleed in various pathologic conditions and aids in characterizing tumors and degenerative diseases of the brain. This sequence also can be used to visualize normal brain structures with conspicuity. Susceptibility-weighted imaging is useful in differentiating and characterizing diverse brain pathologies. (orig.)

  19. Alterations in the transcriptome and antibiotic susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus grown in the presence of diclofenac

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    Background Diclofenac is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) which has been shown to increase the susceptibility of various bacteria to antimicrobials and demonstrated to have broad antimicrobial activity. This study describes transcriptome alterations in S. aureus strain COL grown with diclofenac and characterizes the effects of this NSAID on antibiotic susceptibility in laboratory, clinical and diclofenac reduced-susceptibility (DcRS) S. aureus strains. Methods Transcriptional alterations in response to growth with diclofenac were measured using S. aureus gene expression microarrays and quantitative real-time PCR. Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by agar diffusion MICs and gradient plate analysis. Ciprofloxacin accumulation was measured by fluorescence spectrophotometry. Results Growth of S. aureus strain COL with 80 μg/ml (0.2 × MIC) of diclofenac resulted in the significant alteration by ≥2-fold of 458 genes. These represented genes encoding proteins for transport and binding, protein and DNA synthesis, and the cell envelope. Notable alterations included the strong down-regulation of antimicrobial efflux pumps including mepRAB and a putative emrAB/qacA-family pump. Diclofenac up-regulated sigB (σB), encoding an alternative sigma factor which has been shown to be important for antimicrobial resistance. Staphylococcus aureus microarray metadatabase (SAMMD) analysis further revealed that 46% of genes differentially-expressed with diclofenac are also σB-regulated. Diclofenac altered S. aureus susceptibility to multiple antibiotics in a strain-dependent manner. Susceptibility increased for ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin and norfloxacin, decreased for oxacillin and vancomycin, and did not change for tetracycline or chloramphenicol. Mutation to DcRS did not affect susceptibility to the above antibiotics. Reduced ciprofloxacin MICs with diclofenac in strain BB255, were not associated with increased drug accumulation. Conclusions The results of

  20. Soil characterization using patterns of magnetic susceptibility versus effective radium concentration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Girault

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Low-field magnetic susceptibility χm and effective radium concentration ECRa, obtained from radon emanation, have been measured in the laboratory with 129 soil samples from Nepal. Samples along horizontal profiles in slope debris or terrace scarps showed rather homogeneous values of both χm and ECRa. One sample set, collected vertically on a lateritic terrace scarp, had homogeneous values of ECRa while χm increased by a factor of 1 to 10 for residual soils and topsoils. However, for a set of samples collected on three imbricated river terraces, values of ECRa, homogeneous over a given terrace, displayed a gradual increase from younger to older terraces. By contrast, χm showed more homogeneous mean values over the three terraces, with a larger dispersion, however, for the younger one. Similarly, Kathmandu sediments exhibited a large increase in ECRa from sand to clay layers, while χm increased moderately. The combination of χm and ECRa, thus, provides a novel tool to characterize quantitatively various soil groups and may be of interest to distinguish modes of alteration or deposition histories.

  1. Prevalence & susceptibility to fluconazole of Candida species causing vulvovaginitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohanty, Srujana; Xess, Immaculata; Hasan, Fahmi; Kapil, Arti; Mittal, Suneeta; Tolosa, Jorge E

    2007-09-01

    Vulvovaginal candidiasis is an important cause of morbidity in women of reproductive age. This study was carried out to determine the species prevalence and susceptibility pattern to fluconazole of yeasts isolated from the vagina of symptomatic women. This prospective study was conducted in a rural primary health care center of north India from May 2003 to April 2004 and included 601 married, sexually active women (18-49 yr) with the self reported symptoms of vaginal discharge and/or genital itching and/or genital burning. Specific aetiology of the genitourinary symptoms including candidal infection were determined. Specimens from the lateral wall of vagina were subjected to direct wet mount microscopy and fungal culture on Sabouraud's dextrose agar. Susceptibility testing to fluconazole was carried out using broth microdilution method. Yeasts were isolated in 111 (18.5%) women and these consisted of Candida glabrata (56, 50.4%), C. albicans (39, 35.1%), C. tropicalis (12, 10.8%), C. krusei (3, 2.7%) and C. parapsilosis (1, 0.9%). Susceptibility testing carried out on 30 representative isolates (15 C. glabrata, 10 C. albicans, 4 C. tropicalis and 1 C. parapsilosis) revealed that 21 isolates (70%) were susceptible (MIC, < or = 8 microg/ml) to fluconazole while 9 (30%) were susceptible-dose dependent (S-DD, MIC 16-32 microg/ml). Our findings suggest a low prevalence of fluconazole resistance in vaginal candida isolates in our population. However, a high prevalence of non-albicans candida species and increased dose-dependent resistance in these isolates necessitates vigilance since this may warrant a change in the optimal therapy of non-albicans candida vaginitis.

  2. Susceptibility of Sogatella furcifera and Laodelphax striatellus (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) to Six Insecticides in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Kai; Zhang, Wei; Zhang, Shuai; Wu, Shun-Fan; Ban, Lan-Feng; Su, Jian-Ya; Gao, Cong-Fen

    2014-10-01

    The whitebacked planthopper, Sogatella furcifera (Horváth), and small brown planthopper, Laodelphax striatellus (Fallén), both are important crop pests throughout China, especially in rice. Application of chemical insecticides is the major control practice. Consequently, insecticide resistance has become an urgent issue. In this study, resistance levels to six conventional insecticides were evaluated for these two species collected from major occurring areas of China. Additionally, imidacloprid- (resistance ratio [RR] = 10.4-fold) and buprofezin (RR = 15.1-fold)-resistant strains of whitebacked planthopper were obtained through laboratory selections for cross-resistance profiling and synergism assessment to understand resistance mechanisms. The results showed that all tested populations of both species exhibited low to high levels of resistance to chlorpyrifos, while remaining susceptible to thiamethoxam. Three of the 14 whitebacked planthopper populations showed low to moderate resistance to imidacloprid, while all small brown planthopper populations reminded susceptible. All small brown planthopper and whitebacked planthopper (except one) populations showed at least moderate resistance (RR = 10.1-271.1) to buprofezin. All small brown planthopper populations remained susceptible to pymetrozine and nitenpyram, and all whitebacked planthopper populations remained susceptible to isoprocarb. The imidacloprid-resistant whitebacked planthopper strain showed no significant cross-resistance to other tested insecticides. However, the buprofezin-resistant strain exhibited a low-level cross-resistance (CR = 3.1) to imidacloprid. Piperonyl butoxide, triphenyl phosphate, and diethylmaleate displayed no synergism effect on the resistant whitebacked planthopper strains. © 2014 Entomological Society of America.

  3. Variations in Endosymbiont Infection Between Buprofezin-Resistant and Susceptible Strains of Laodelphax striatellus (Fallén).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yongteng; Liu, Xiangdong; Guo, Huifang

    2018-06-01

    The endosymbionts Wolbachia and Rickettsia have been shown to be correlated with the insecticide resistance of mosquito and whitefly. The small brown planthopper (SBPH), Laodelphax striatellus, harbours many species of endosymbionts, and has developed a high resistance to buprofezin in China. In this study, we examined the species and the infection incidences of endosymbionts in a buprofezin-resistant (BR) strain, a buprofezin-susceptible (BS) strain, and the BR strain after exposure to buprofezin, and we also investigated the change in buprofezin susceptibility after removal of Wolbachia from the BR strain. The results showed that Wolbachia infection incidences were 100% in both the BR and BS strains, but the Wolbachia density in the BR strain was significantly higher than that in the BS strain. There were no significant differences in Arsenophonus infection incidence between the two strains. However, the infection incidence of Serratia and double infection incidence of Serratia + Wolbachia in the BR strain were significantly higher than that in the BS strain. After the BR strain was exposed to 1200 mg/L buprofezin, the infection incidence of Arsenophonus in the surviving individuals increased, and the infection rate of Serratia did not differ, but the double infection incidence of Serratia + Wolbachia decreased. And when a Wolbachia-infected line originating from the BR strain was cleared of Wolbachia, its susceptibility to buprofezin increased. The results suggest that Serratia and Wolbachia infection might improve the buprofezin resistance of SBPH.

  4. Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Haemophilus parasuis from pigs in the United Kingdom and Spain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de la Fuente, A J Martín; Tucker, A W; Navas, J; Blanco, M; Morris, S J; Gutiérrez-Martín, C B

    2007-02-25

    A total of 30 British and 30 Spanish Haemophilus parasuis isolates were tested for their susceptibility to 19 of the antimicrobials currently used in swine practice with a broth microdilution method in order to know the emergence of resistance against these compounds in this porcine pathogen. All the British isolates were susceptible to penicillin, ceftiofur, erythromycin, tilmicosin, enrofloxacin, and florfenicol, and most of them were susceptible to the remaining antimicrobials (the highest resistance rate found was of 20% to neomycin). In contrast, all the Spanish isolates were susceptible exclusively to florfenicol, and high proportions of resistance were encountered for penicillin, ampicillin, oxytetracycline, erythromycin, tilmicosin, tiamulin and trimethoprim+sulphamethoxazole; in addition, a bimodal or multimodal distribution, or tailing of Spanish isolates over the MIC range was observed for clindamycin, sulphonamides and tylosine tartrate, suggesting the development of acquired resistance. In addition, several multiresistance patterns were found among the Spanish isolates, 23.3% of them being resistant to at least eight antimicrobials, the same rate as that encountered for those being susceptible to all antimicrobials tested. This study showed that in general British H. parasuis isolates are susceptible to antimicrobial agents routinely used for treatment of porcine respiratory diseases; however, the Spanish isolates need a more continuous surveillance of their susceptibility patterns.

  5. Iota(1440), anomalous Ward identities, and topological susceptibility for QCD

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williams, P.G.

    1986-01-01

    Anomalous Ward identities for QCD are comprehensively analyzed taking into account contributions of all known pseudoscalar mesons, including the iota(1440 MeV) which is a possible glueball candidate. Implications for the standard resolution of the U(1) problem are examined by imposing the important and crucial constraint of positivity for the topological susceptibility. The pure Yang-Mills susceptibility: a quantity relevant in quenched lattice calculations: is shown to increase quite considerably in the presence of the iota, while the total susceptibility is reduced and may even vanish. Allowed ranges for the axial couplings are delineated and two classes of solution emerge: one corresponding to an iota with suppressed singlet axial coupling; the other to a large eta'-like coupling. It may be possible to discriminate between these two alternatives by measurements of the branching ratio for iota→KK-barπ: values near 100% give suppressed couplings; values below 50% unsuppressed ones

  6. Comparison of E-test with other conventional susceptibility testing methods for ciprofloxacin and gentamicin against gram negative enteric bacilli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ogbolu, D O; Terry-Alli, O A; Daini, O A; Olabiyi, F A; Igharo, E A

    2012-06-01

    Increasing antibiotic resistance in Gram negative bacteria has led to the need for a faster and reliable method for determining antimicrobial susceptibility testing. In a resource poor setting like ours, it's also important to look for methods that will be clinically and economically beneficial to the patient. This study was aimed at evaluating the Epsilometer test (E-test) and conventional methods for determining antimicrobial susceptibility of isolates of Gram-negative enteric bacteria to ciprofloxacin and gentamicin. Disc diffusion, E-test, broth dilution and agar dilution methods were performed on 54 bacterial isolates. Using the E-test, 88.9% of bacterial isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin, 92.6% were resistant using broth microdilution, 96.3% were resistant using agar dilution and 72.2% were resistant using disc diffusion. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC50) of isolates for gentamicin showed significant difference for all the techniques (p 0.05). Both E-test and broth dilution methods showed high levels of agreement (p > 0.05), there were low levels of agreement between E-test and agar dilution method (p < 0.05), especially at MIC50. The E-test can therefore be considered a reliable method to determine antimicrobial susceptibility testing and it gives results which are at least as accurate as those obtained by the broth dilution method.

  7. Antibiotic Susceptibility Pattern of Aerobic and Anaerobic Bacteria Isolated From Surgical Site Infection of Hospitalized Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akhi, Mohammad Taghi; Ghotaslou, Reza; Beheshtirouy, Samad; Asgharzadeh, Mohammad; Pirzadeh, Tahereh; Asghari, Babak; Alizadeh, Naser; Toloue Ostadgavahi, Ali; Sorayaei Somesaraei, Vida; Memar, Mohammad Yousef

    2015-07-01

    Surgical Site Infections (SSIs) are infections of incision or deep tissue at operation sites. These infections prolong hospitalization, delay wound healing, and increase the overall cost and morbidity. This study aimed to investigate anaerobic and aerobic bacteria prevalence in surgical site infections and determinate antibiotic susceptibility pattern in these isolates. One hundred SSIs specimens were obtained by needle aspiration from purulent material in depth of infected site. These specimens were cultured and incubated in both aerobic and anaerobic condition. For detection of antibiotic susceptibility pattern in aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, we used disk diffusion, agar dilution, and E-test methods. A total of 194 bacterial strains were isolated from 100 samples of surgical sites. Predominant aerobic and facultative anaerobic bacteria isolated from these specimens were the members of Enterobacteriaceae family (66, 34.03%) followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (26, 13.4%), Staphylococcus aureus (24, 12.37%), Acinetobacter spp. (18, 9.28%), Enterococcus spp. (16, 8.24%), coagulase negative Staphylococcus spp. (14, 7.22%) and nonhemolytic streptococci (2, 1.03%). Bacteroides fragilis (26, 13.4%), and Clostridium perfringens (2, 1.03%) were isolated as anaerobic bacteria. The most resistant bacteria among anaerobic isolates were B. fragilis. All Gram-positive isolates were susceptible to vancomycin and linezolid while most of Enterobacteriaceae showed sensitivity to imipenem. Most SSIs specimens were polymicrobial and predominant anaerobic isolate was B. fragilis. Isolated aerobic and anaerobic strains showed high level of resistance to antibiotics.

  8. Risk factors for tobacco susceptibility in an orthodontic population: An exploratory study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jashinsky, Jared Michael; Liles, Sandy; Schmitz, Katy; Ding, Ding; Hovell, Melbourne

    2017-08-01

    Tobacco use is related to increased periodontal disease, tooth loss, and decreased success of orthodontic appliances, and it may inhibit orthodontic tooth movement. Most smokers start during adolescence. Since most cessation attempts fail, prevention appears necessary. A cross-sectional sample of orthodontic patients reported hypothesized risk factors for smoking and susceptibility to tobacco use initiation. Exploratory analyses regressed susceptibility to tobacco initiation on each hypothesized predictor variable in a separate logistic model that included a standard set of covariates. Significant odds ratios (OR) were found for the presence of a smoker in the home (OR, 2.168; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.144-4.107), a friend having no-smoking rules in his or her home and car (OR, 0.337; 95% CI, 0.128-0.886), having been offered a cigarette (OR, 4.526; 95% CI, 1.190-17.207), and exposure to tobacco advertisements (OR, 1.910; 95% CI, 1.044-3.496). Peer, family, and environmental factors appear to increase children's susceptibility to smoking in orthodontic populations. Attention to such factors could help dental clinicians to more effectively identify susceptible young patients in need of antismoking advice. Prospective and experimental studies are required to confirm the role that dental clinicians might play in youth smoking prevention. Copyright © 2017 American Association of Orthodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Low signal-to-noise FDEM in-phase data: Practical potential for magnetic susceptibility modelling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delefortrie, Samuël; Hanssens, Daan; De Smedt, Philippe

    2018-05-01

    test case whereby the in-phase responses of a multi-receiver FDEM instrument are calibrated through downhole susceptibility data. Our results show that, while it is possible to derive approximate susceptibility profiles from FDEM data, robust quantitative analysis hinges on appropriate calibration of the responses.

  10. Heritable susceptibility factors for the development of cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Au, William W.

    2006-01-01

    High frequencies of inherited DNA sequence variations (polymorphisms) are found in the human population. The involvement of polymorphic genes (especially for chemical metabolism and DNA repair) in the development of cancer is under intensive investigation. In our studies, we have irradiated blood lymphocytes from normal non-smokers with γ-rays or UV-light to investigate genotypes and DNA repair functions. We found that XRCC1 399Gln and XRCC3 241Met were deficient in the repair of γ-ray- but not UV-light-induced DNA damage that led to the expression of chromosome aberrations; therefore the variant genotypes are defective in base excision repair. The reverse was found with XPD 312Asn and XPD 751Gln; therefore they are defective in nucleotide excision repair. XRCC1 194Trp, OGG1 326Cys and APE1 148Glu had no DNA repair deficiency based on our experimental conditions. In another study, we investigated the role of some of these genes on the development of lung cancer. We found a significant increase of chromosome aberrations in patients and controls that had the XPD 751Gln and GSTM1 null genotypes, indicating a mechanistic causation of the disease. Therefore, inheritance of susceptibility genes can have significant impact on disease burden in the population. On the other hand, there are many questions that need to be addressed in order to evaluate the impact of susceptibility on cancer. These questions include the understanding of combinations of different polymorphic genes for susceptibility and of specific disease susceptibility for different ethnic populations. (author)

  11. Effect of tensile stress on the 3D reversible and irreversible differential magnetic susceptibilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mao, Weihua; Atherton, David L.

    2001-01-01

    Magnetic hysteresis loops in three orthogonal directions are measured for a line pipe steel sample while the external magnetic field is applied in a direction perpendicular to the tensile stress direction. The total magnetization vector is calculated. This tends to the stress direction when tensile stress is applied. The reversible and irreversible differential magnetic susceptibilities are derived. It is found that the susceptibilities in all three directions are enhanced with increasing tensile stress, although the increase in the stress direction is much larger than in the other directions. [copyright] 2001 American Institute of Physics

  12. [Comparison of microdilution and disk diffusion methods for the detection of fluconazole and voriconazole susceptibility against clinical Candida glabrata isolates and determination of changing susceptibility with new CLSI breakpoints].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hazırolan, Gülşen; Sarıbaş, Zeynep; Arıkan Akdağlı, Sevtap

    2016-07-01

    Candida albicans is the most frequently isolated species as the causative agent of Candida infections. However, in recent years, the isolation rate of non-albicans Candida species have increased. In many centers, Candida glabrata is one of the commonly isolated non-albicans species of C.glabrata infections which are difficult-to-treat due to decreased susceptibility to fluconazole and cross-resistance to other azoles. The aims of this study were to determine the in vitro susceptibility profiles of clinical C.glabrata isolates against fluconazole and voriconazole by microdilution and disk diffusion methods and to evaluate the results with both the previous (CLSI) and current species-specific CLSI (Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute) clinical breakpoints. A total of 70 C.glabrata strains isolated from clinical samples were included in the study. The identification of the isolates was performed by morphologic examination on cornmeal Tween 80 agar and assimilation profiles obtained by using ID32C (BioMérieux, France). Broth microdilution and disk diffusion methods were performed according to CLSI M27-A3 and CLSI M44-A2 documents, respectively. The results were evaluated according to CLSI M27-A3 and M44-A2 documents and new vs. species-specific CLSI breakpoints. By using both previous and new CLSI breakpoints, broth microdilution test results showed that voriconazole has greater in vitro activity than fluconazole against C.glabrata isolates. For the two drugs tested, very major error was not observed with disk diffusion method when microdilution method was considered as the reference method. Since "susceptible" category no more exists for fluconazole vs. C.glabrata, the isolates that were interpreted as susceptible by previous breakpoints were evaluated as susceptible-dose dependent by current CLSI breakpoints. Since species-specific breakpoints remain yet undetermined for voriconazole, comparative analysis was not possible for this agent. The results obtained

  13. Assessing MRI susceptibility artefact through an indicator of image distortion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Illanes Alfredo

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Susceptibility artefacts in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI caused by medical devices can result in a severe degradation of the MR image quality. The quantification of susceptibility artefacts is regulated by the ASTM standard which defines a manual method to assess the size of an artefact. This means that the estimated artefact size can be user dependent. To cope with this problem, we propose an algorithm to automatically quantify the size of such susceptibility artefacts. The algorithm is based on the analysis of a 3D surface generated from the 2D MR images. The results obtained by the automatic algorithm were compared to the manual measurements performed by study participants. The results show that the automatic and manual measurements follow the same trend. The clear advantage of the automated algorithm is the absence of the inter- and intra-observer variability. In addition, the algorithm also detects the slice containing the largest artefact which was not the case for the manual measurements.

  14. Susceptibility of irradiated Galleria mellonella F1Larvae to Entomopathogenic Nematodes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salem, H.M.; Rizk, S.A.; Sayed, R.M.; Hussein, M.A; Hafez, S.E

    2008-01-01

    Combined effect of substerilizing doses of gamma radiation (40 and 100 Gy) and different concentrations of entomopathogenic nematodes (20, 40, 60, and 80 IJs) on the greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella was studied. The 4th larval instar resulted from irradiated male parent pupae mated with normal female were tested for susceptibility to Heterorhabditis bacteriophora BA1 and Steinernema carpocapsae BA2. The mortality rate of the larvae increased by increrasing radiation dose and nematode concentrations. The reproduction of both nematode strains decreased significantly with increasing the treatments (radiation dose and nematode concentrations). In addition, exposure to gamma radiation and entomopathogenic nematodes significantly decreased the total haemocyte count (THC) of the larvae with increasing radiation doses (40 and 100 Gy) and both nematode strains concentrations (20 and 40 IJs) and reached the minimal count at the combiend effect. Finally, larvae were more susceptible to Steinernema carpocapsa than Heterorhabditis bacteriophora. (author)

  15. Application of an advanced fuzzy logic model for landslide susceptibility analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Biswajeet Pradhan

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study is to evaluate the susceptibility of landslides at Klang valley area, Malaysia, using a Geographic Information System (GIS and remote sensing. Landslide locations were identified in the study area from interpretation of aerial photographs and from field surveys. Topographical and geological data and satellite images were collected, processed, and constructed into a spatial database using GIS and image processing. A data derived model (frequency ratio and a knowledge-derived model (fuzzy operator were combined for landslide susceptibility analysis. The nine factors that influence landslide occurrence were extracted from the database and the frequency ratio coefficient for each factor was computed. Using the factors and the identified landslide, the fuzzy membership values were calculated. Then fuzzy algebraic operators were applied to the fuzzy membership values for landslide susceptibility mapping. Finally, the produced map was verified by comparing with existing landslide locations for calculating prediction accuracy. Among the fuzzy operators, in the case in which the gamma operator (l = 0.8 showed the best accuracy (91% while the case in which the fuzzy algebraic product was applied showed the worst accuracy (79%.

  16. [Susceptibility of yeasts to antifungal agents in Kaunas University of Medicine Hospital].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skrodeniene, Erika; Dambrauskiene, Asta; Vitkauskiene, Astra

    2006-01-01

    The aim of this study was to determine the species of yeast and their susceptibility to antifungal agents isolated from clinical specimens of patients treated in Kaunas University of Medicine Hospital. A total of 142 yeasts isolated from various clinical specimens of patients hospitalized in Kaunas University of Medicine Hospital were included in this study. All yeasts were cultivated on Sabouraud dextrose agar and identified using either CHROM agar or API 20C AUX system. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of fluconazole, itraconazole, and amphotericin B were determined by the ATB FUNGUS 2 agar microdilution test. In all clinical specimens except blood, Candida albicans was the most frequently isolated yeast (65.5%, pyeast strains showed resistance to fluconazole. Nearly one-fourth of Candida albicans strains (24.7%) and 23.2% of all isolated yeast strains showed resistance to itraconazole. Almost all of fluconazole-resistant (93.3%) and 12.6% of fluconazole-susceptible yeast were found to be resistant to itraconazole (pyeast strains were susceptible to amphotericin B. Candida albicans strains were significantly frequently resistant to fluconazole than non-albicans Candida species (15.1% and 4.1%, respectively, pyeast isolated in Kaunas University of Medicine Hospital. There was determined that yeasts resistant to fluconazole were commonly resistant to itraconazole too. All isolated yeast strains were susceptible to amphotericin B.

  17. Revisiting the health effects of psychological stress—its influence on susceptibility to ionizing radiation: a mini-review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Bing; Katsube, Takanori; Begum, Nasrin; Nenoi, Mitsuru

    2016-01-01

    Both psychological stress (PS) and ionizing radiation (IR) cause varied detrimental effects on humans. There has been no direct evidence so far showing PS alone could cause cancer; however, long-lasting PS may affect our overall health and ability to cope with cancer. Due to their living conditions and occupations, some people may encounter concurrent exposure to both PS and IR to a high extent. In addition to possible health effects resulting directly from exposure to IR on these people, fear of IR exposure is also a cause of PS. The question of whether PS would influence susceptibility to IR, radiocarcinogenesis in particular, is of great concern by both the academic world and the public. Recently, investigations using animal PS models demonstrated that PS could modulate susceptibility to IR, causing increased susceptibility to radiocarcinogenesis in Trp53-heterozygous mice, hematological toxicity in peripheral blood and elevated chromosome aberration (dicentrics) frequency in splenocytes of Trp53–wild-type mice. To actively reduce health risk from exposure to IR, further studies are needed to cumulate more evidence and provide insights into the mechanisms underlying the alterations in susceptibility due to PS modulation. This mini-review gives a general overview of the significance of PS effects on humans and experimental animals, with a special focus on summarizing the latest weight-of-evidence approaches to radiobiological studies on PS-induced alterations in susceptibility in experimental animal models. The susceptibility being investigated is mainly in the context of the impact of the modulatory effect of PS on radiocarcinogenesis; we seek to improve understanding of the combined effects of exposure to both PS and IR in order to facilitate, via active intervention, strategies for radiation risk reduction

  18. A major genetic component of BSE susceptibility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juling, Katrin; Schwarzenbacher, Hermann; Williams, John L; Fries, Ruedi

    2006-01-01

    Background Coding variants of the prion protein gene (PRNP) have been shown to be major determinants for the susceptibility to transmitted prion diseases in humans, mice and sheep. However, to date, the effects of polymorphisms in the coding and regulatory regions of bovine PRNP on bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) susceptibility have been considered marginal or non-existent. Here we analysed two insertion/deletion (indel) polymorphisms in the regulatory region of bovine PRNP in BSE affected animals and controls of four independent cattle populations from UK and Germany. Results In the present report, we show that two previously reported 23- and 12-bp insertion/deletion (indel) polymorphisms in the regulatory region of bovine PRNP are strongly associated with BSE incidence in cattle. Genotyping of BSE-affected and control animals of UK Holstein, German Holstein, German Brown and German Fleckvieh breeds revealed a significant overrepresentation of the deletion alleles at both polymorphic sites in diseased animals (P = 2.01 × 10-3 and P = 8.66 × 10-5, respectively). The main effect on susceptibility is associated with the 12-bp indel polymorphism. Compared with non-carriers, heterozygous and homozygous carriers of the 12-bp deletion allele possess relatively higher risks of having BSE, ranging from 1.32 to 4.01 and 1.74 to 3.65 in the different breeds. These values correspond to population attributable risks ranging from 35% to 53%. Conclusion Our results demonstrate a substantial genetic PRNP associated component for BSE susceptibility in cattle. Although the BSE risk conferred by the deletion allele of the 12-bp indel in the regulatory region of PRNP is substantial, the main risk factor for BSE in cattle is environmental, i.e. exposure to feedstuffs contaminated with the infectious agent. PMID:17014722

  19. A major genetic component of BSE susceptibility

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Williams John L

    2006-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Coding variants of the prion protein gene (PRNP have been shown to be major determinants for the susceptibility to transmitted prion diseases in humans, mice and sheep. However, to date, the effects of polymorphisms in the coding and regulatory regions of bovine PRNP on bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE susceptibility have been considered marginal or non-existent. Here we analysed two insertion/deletion (indel polymorphisms in the regulatory region of bovine PRNP in BSE affected animals and controls of four independent cattle populations from UK and Germany. Results In the present report, we show that two previously reported 23- and 12-bp insertion/deletion (indel polymorphisms in the regulatory region of bovine PRNP are strongly associated with BSE incidence in cattle. Genotyping of BSE-affected and control animals of UK Holstein, German Holstein, German Brown and German Fleckvieh breeds revealed a significant overrepresentation of the deletion alleles at both polymorphic sites in diseased animals (P = 2.01 × 10-3 and P = 8.66 × 10-5, respectively. The main effect on susceptibility is associated with the 12-bp indel polymorphism. Compared with non-carriers, heterozygous and homozygous carriers of the 12-bp deletion allele possess relatively higher risks of having BSE, ranging from 1.32 to 4.01 and 1.74 to 3.65 in the different breeds. These values correspond to population attributable risks ranging from 35% to 53%. Conclusion Our results demonstrate a substantial genetic PRNP associated component for BSE susceptibility in cattle. Although the BSE risk conferred by the deletion allele of the 12-bp indel in the regulatory region of PRNP is substantial, the main risk factor for BSE in cattle is environmental, i.e. exposure to feedstuffs contaminated with the infectious agent.

  20. Susceptibility to Eating Disorders Among Collegiate Female Student–Athletes

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLester, Cherilyn N.; Hardin, Robin; Hoppe, Stephanie

    2014-01-01

    Context: Research has suggested that the prevalence of young women with eating disorders (EDs) is increasing, but determining the exact prevalence of EDs within the female student–athlete (FS-A) population is difficult. Looking at certain traits may help us to identify their level of susceptibility to developing an ED. Objective: To determine the susceptibility of FS-As to EDs in relation to self-concept, including self-esteem and body image. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Athletic training and health centers at National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I, II, and III institutions via e-mail questionnaire correspondence. Patients or Other Participants: A total of 439 FS-As from 17 participating institutions completed the questionnaires. The sample was primarily white (83.1%) and underclass (61.8%). Main Outcome Measure(s): The questionnaire consisted of 4 parts: 3 subscales of the Eating Disorder Inventory-2, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Body Cathexis Scale, and demographic items. Results: A total of 6.8% of FS-As were susceptible to anorexia and 1.8% were susceptible to bulimia. The majority of FS-As (61%) reported normal self-esteem levels, whereas 29.4% had high self-esteem. Overall, 64.5% were satisfied and 23% were very satisfied with their body image. Conclusions: These results are generally positive in that they suggest FS-As have high levels of self-concept and are at low risk to develop EDs. However, these findings do not mean that all concerns should be dismissed. Although more than 90% of the respondents were not susceptible to an ED, there are still FS-As who may be. Athletic departments should evaluate their FS-As' levels of self-concept so that their susceptibility to EDs can be addressed. The emotional aspect of health care should be included in providing holistic care for student–athletes. Athletic trainers often are the primary health care providers for FS-As, so they should be made aware of this concern. PMID:24762233