Central Retinal Venous Pressure in Eyes of Normal-Tension Glaucoma Patients with Optic Disc Hemorrhage

ObjectiveTo compare central retinal venous pressure (CRVP) among eyes with and without optic disc hemorrhage (ODH) in bilateral normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) patients and NTG eyes without an episode of ODH.MethodsIn this prospective study, 22 bilateral NTG patients showing a unilateral ODH and 29 bilateral NTG patients without an episode of ODH were included. Eyes were categorized into group A (n = 22, eyes with ODH), group B (n = 22, fellow eyes without ODH), and group C (n = 29, NTG eyes without an episode of ODH). A contact lens ophthalmodynamometer was used to measure CRVP and central retinal arterial pressure (CRAP).ResultsIntraocular pressure (IOP) measured on the day of contact lens ophthalmodynamometry showed no difference among groups. However, the mean baseline IOP in group A was significantly lower than that in group C (P = .008). The CRVP in group A (29.1 ± 10.8 mmHg) was significantly lower than that in group C (40.1 ± 8.8 mmHg, P = .001), but similar to that in group B (30.5 ± 8.7 mmHg, P = .409). A similar relationship was noted for CRAP. No significant eye-associated variable for ODH was found in group A and B by conditional logistic regression analysis (all P > 0.05). However, multivariate logistic regression analysis in groups A and C revealed that low mean baseline IOP (odds ratio [OR] = 0.69, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.49-0.98, P = 0.043) and low CRVP (OR = 0.88, 95% CI 0.80-0.95, P = 0.003) were associated with ODH.ConclusionsCRVP was lower in NTG eyes with ODH than in eyes without an episode of ODH, but similar to that of fellow eyes without ODH. These imply less likelihood of association between increased central retinal venous resistance and ODH.     

Aflatoxin Production by Aspergillus flavus as Related to Various Temperatures

Two aflatoxin-producing isolates of Aspergillus flavus were grown for 5 days on Wort media at 2, 7, 13, 18, 24, 29, 35, 41, 46, and 52 C. Maximal production of aflatoxins occurred at 24 C. Maximal growth of A. flavus isolates occurred at 29 and 35 C. The ratio of the production of aflatoxin B₁ to aflatoxin G₁ varied with temperature. Aflatoxin production was not related to growth rate of A. flavus; one isolate at 41 C, at almost maximal growth of A. flavus, produced no aflatoxins. At 5 days, no aflatoxins were produced at temperatures lower than 18 C or higher than 35 C. Color of CHCl₃ extracts appeared to be directly correlated with aflatoxin concentrations. A. flavus isolates grown at 2, 7, and 41 C for 12 weeks produced no aflatoxins. At 13 C, both isolates produced aflatoxins in 3 weeks, and one isolate produced increasing amounts with time. The second isolate produced increasing amounts through 6 weeks, but at 12 weeks smaller amounts of aflatoxins were recovered than at 6 weeks.     

发酵液中添加物对气含率的影响

气含率是史定气液接触面积和传质系数的重要因素,也是表示气液两相流体力学特征的重要参数。发酵液中添加物对气含率的影响,过去虽有一些研究,但范围非常狭窄．仅局限于部分无机或有机小分子添加物．与实际发酵过程存在着一定的差异．特别对天然营养物质的影响尚未有研究。同时由于气含率对物性的高度敏感性．使现有的气含率关联式已不能适用于发酵液中的所有添加物。Shah⑴则建议,鉴于气含率容易测量,根据某一特定体系进行的小试结果将比任何已知关联式所预测的要好。本文研究发酵过程中常用添加物对气含率的影响．并从理论上推导得出气含率的关联式。对研究发酵液中不同组分与氧传递速率的关系以及前文⑵中氧传质系数的计算均有重要意义。     

Inhibition of Acrosomal Enzymes by Gossypol Is Related to Its Antifertility Action

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Energy Expenditure Determined by Self-Reported Physical Activity Is Related to Body Fatness

BUCHOWSKI, MACIEJ S., KAREN M. TOWNSEND, KONG Y. CHEN, SARI A. ACRA, AND MING SUN. Energy expenditure determined by self-reported physical activity is related to body fatness. Obes. Res. 1999;7:23–33. Objective : Activity self-reports are a commonly used tool in assessing daily physical activity (PA) and associated energy expenditure (EE). This study examined the effect of relative body fatness (%BF) on differences between self-reported and measured duration and associated EE in healthy adults. Research Methods and Procedures: Men and women (n= 115, age 38±9 years), ranging in %BF from 7.9% to 58.9%, spent two separate days (normal and exercise) in a whole-room indirect calorimeter where EE was measured. While in the room calorimeter, subjects reported the type, intensity, and duration of each performed PA. The Compendium of Physical Activity was used to calculate the energy cost of each reported activity. The EE of all self-reported activities (EE_r) was categorized into four intensity levels, synchronized, and compared with EE from the room calorimeter (EE_m). Results : With increasing %BF, subjects significantly overestimated duration of more strenuous activities (≥4.5), while underestimating moderate activities (2.5 to 4.4 metabolic equivalents (METs)). Misreporting of duration and/or intensity caused an overestimation or underestimation of PA-associated EE at these levels. Reported EE sleep was lower than measured EE sleep, although both had similar durations. As a result, total EE_r was similar to EE_m. Discussion : Individual variability of daily total PA and associated EE generated from self-reports in adults is high. Persons with a higher %BF report duration and/or intensity of moderate to high levels of PA with lower accuracy than leaner individuals. We conclude using the Compendium of Physical Activity is not suitable for the accurate estimation of self-reported EE of AA in adults with a higher %BF.     

Cognitive Dissonance Resolution Is Related to Episodic Memory

The notion that our past choices affect our future behavior is certainly one of the most influential concepts of social psychology since its first experimental report in the 50 s, and its initial theorization by Festinger within the “cognitive dissonance” framework. Using the free choice paradigm (FCP), it was shown that choosing between two similarly rated items made subjects reevaluate the chosen items as more attractive and the rejected items as less attractive. However, in 2010 a major work by Chen and Risen revealed a severe statistical flaw casting doubt on most previous studies. Izuma and colleagues (2010) supplemented the traditional FCP with original control conditions and concluded that the effect observed could not be solely attributed to this methodological flaw. In the present work we aimed at establishing the existence of genuine choice-induced preference change and characterizing this effect. To do so, we replicated Izuma et al.’ study and added a new important control condition which was absent from the original study. Moreover, we added a memory test in order to measure the possible relation between episodic memory of choices and observed behavioral effects. In two experiments we provide experimental evidence supporting genuine choice-induced preference change obtained with FCP. We also contribute to the understanding of the phenomenon by showing that choice-induced preference change effects are strongly correlated with episodic memory.     

Circumpapillary Course of Retinal Pigment Epithelium Can Be Fit to Sine Wave and Amplitude of Sine Wave Is Significantly Correlated with Ovality Ratio of Optic Disc

The purpose of this study was to develop a method of quantifying the degree of optic disc tilt in normal eyes. This was a prospective, observational cross sectional study of 126 right eyes of 126 healthy volunteers. The optic disc tilt was determined from the circular peripapillary optical coherence tomographic (OCT) scan images. The course of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) layer in the peripapillary cross sectional scan images was fit to a sine wave curve, and the amplitude of the sine curve was used to reflect the degree of the optic disc tilt in the optical axis. The repeatability of the amplitude determinations was calculated. The correlation between the amplitude and the ovality ratio of the optic disc was determined. The correlation between the amplitude and the body height was also calculated. The mean amplitudewas 36.6 ± 17.5 pixels, which was significantly and inversely correlated with the ovality ratio of the optic disc (R = -0.59, P<0.001). The intra-rater and inter-rater correlation coefficients of the amplitude were significant high (P<0.001, both). The amplitude was significantly and inversely correlated with the body height (R = -0.38, P<0.001), but not with the axial length. In conclusion, a sine wave function can be used to describe the course of the RPE in the circumpapillary OCT images. The results indicate that the amplitude of the sine wave can be used to represent the degree of optic disc tilt. Thus, the sine wave analyses can be used as a quantifiable and repeatable method to determine the optic disc tilt.     

Oxidation of Various Substrates by Mitochondria as Related to the Concentration of Osmotics in the Medium

Wheat (Triticum aestivumL.) root mitochondria were used to investigate the effect of solute concentration in the medium on the rates of succinate, malate, -ketoglutarate, and glutamate oxidation; the corresponding values of the apparent Michaelis constant (K _M); and the changes in the organelle volumes. The oxidation rates and the K _M values for all substrates were lower in the 0.5 M sucrose solution than in the 0.3 M solution. Under high osmotic concentration, mitochondria did not shrink. On the contrary, in the absence of the substrate, mitochondria swelled more in the 0.5 M sucrose solution than in the 0.3 M solution. This effect was absent when the substrate was added. The authors conclude that the decrease in the oxidation rate imposed by sucrose was not related to the hindered influx of substrates caused by matrix contraction. Rather, the osmotic effect of sucrose is related to the changes in the structure of mitochondrial enzyme complexes.     

Germination of Aspergillus niger Conidia Is Triggered by Nitrogen Compounds Related to l-Amino Acids

Conidial germination is fundamentally important to the growth and dissemination of most fungi. It has been previously shown (K. Hayer, M. Stratford, and D. B. Archer, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 79:6924–6931, 2013, http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/AEM.02061-13), using sugar analogs, that germination is a 2-stage process involving triggering of germination and then nutrient uptake for hyphal outgrowth. In the present study, we tested this 2-stage germination process using a series of nitrogen-containing compounds for the ability to trigger the breaking of dormancy of Aspergillus niger conidia and then to support the formation of hyphae by acting as nitrogen sources. Triggering and germination were also compared between A. niger and Aspergillus nidulans using 2-deoxy-d-glucose (trigger), d-galactose (nontrigger in A. niger but trigger in A. nidulans), and an N source (required in A. niger but not in A. nidulans). Although most of the nitrogen compounds studied served as nitrogen sources for growth, only some nitrogen compounds could trigger germination of A. niger conidia, and all were related to l-amino acids. Using l-amino acid analogs without either the amine or the carboxylic acid group revealed that both the amine and carboxylic acid groups were essential for an l-amino acid to serve as a trigger molecule. Generally, conidia were able to sense and recognize nitrogen compounds that fitted into a specific size range. There was no evidence of uptake of either triggering or nontriggering compounds over the first 90 min of A. niger conidial germination, suggesting that the germination trigger sensors are not located within the spore.     

Cystatin C Is Not Causally Related to Coronary Artery Disease

Background

Strong and independent associations between plasma concentration of cystatin C and risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) suggests causal involvement of cystatin C.

Aim

The aim of our study was to assess whether there is a causal relationship between plasma concentration of cystatin C and risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) using a Mendelian Randomization approach.

Methods

We estimated the strength of association of plasma cystatin C on CAD risk and the strength of association of the strongest GWAS derived cystatin C SNP (rs13038305) on plasma cystatin C in the population-based Malmö Diet and Cancer Study (MDC) and thereafter the association between rs13038305 and CAD in the MDC (3200 cases of CAD and 24418 controls) and CARDIOGRAM (22233 cases of CAD and 64762 controls).

Results

Each standard deviation (SD) increment of plasma cystatin C was associated with increased risk of CAD (OR = 1.20, 95% CI 1.07–1.34) after full adjustment. Each copy of the major allele of rs13038305 was associated with 0.34 SD higher plasma concentration of cystatin C (P<1 x 10^-35), resulting in a power of >98% to detect a significant relationship between rs13038305 and CAD in MDC and CARDIOGRAM pooled. The odds ratio for CAD (per copy of the major rs13038305 allele) was 1.00 (0.94–1.07); P = 0.92 in MDC, 0.99 (0.96–1.03); P = 0.84 in CARDIOGRAM and 1.00 (0.97–1.03); P = 0.83 in MDC and CARDIOGRAM pooled.

Conclusion

Genetic elevation of plasma cystatin C is not related to altered risk of CAD, suggesting that there is no causal relationship between plasma cystatin C and CAD. Rather, the association between cystatin C and CAD appears to be due to the association of eGFR and CAD.     

Vax基因与视觉神经系统的早期发育

视觉神经系统的发育与形成是一个相当复杂的过程,其基因调控机理是神经发育生物学领域的研究热点.Vax基因家族是新近发现的一类与视觉神经系统发育密切相关的同源异型盒基因,调控前脑、眼原基、视泡、视柄以及视网膜的发育.Vax-1参与色素上皮和视柄的分化;Vax-2则在视网膜及视神经背腹轴建立方面起重要作用.Vax基因的研究将对阐明视觉神经系统发育调控机制提供新的认识.     

A Hemodynamic Reaction to the Orthostatic Load in Schoolgirls with Various Behavioral and Blood Circulation Types

The cardiovascular system was studied in 9- to 10-year-old schoolgirls with various types of behavior and types of blood circulation during orthostatic load. The relation between the hemodynamic and behavioral types was defined. Girls of type A behavior have two extreme types of blood circulation (hypo- and hyperkinetic), while girls of type B behavior are characterized by a eukinetic type of circulation. Due to this, the reaction of schoolgirls with pattern A behavior depends on the initial hemodynamic type. It is suggested that hemodynamic shifts in persons with the extreme types of blood circulation are compensated for as a result of intense efforts of either cardiac or vascular components of homeostasis maintenance, which may cause the risk of coronary heart diseases in persons with type A behavior.     

Polarity in Migrating Neurons Is Related to a Mechanism Analogous to Cytokinesis

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Maintenance of Glia in the Optic Lamina Is Mediated by EGFR Signaling by Photoreceptors in Adult Drosophila

The late onset of neurodegeneration in humans indicates that the survival and function of cells in the nervous system must be maintained throughout adulthood. In the optic lamina of the adult Drosophila, the photoreceptor axons are surrounded by multiple types of glia. We demonstrated that the adult photoreceptors actively contribute to glia maintenance in their target field within the optic lamina. This effect is dependent on the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) ligands produced by the R1-6 photoreceptors and transported to the optic lamina to act on EGFR in the lamina glia. EGFR signaling is necessary and sufficient to act in a cell-autonomous manner in the lamina glia. Our results suggest that EGFR signaling is required for the trafficking of the autophagosome/endosome to the lysosome. The loss of EGFR signaling results in cell degeneration most likely because of the accumulation of autophagosomes. Our findings provide in vivo evidence for the role of adult neurons in the maintenance of glia and a novel role for EGFR signaling in the autophagic flux.     

Genetic Relationship of Brassicaceae Hybrids with Various Resistance to Blackleg Is Disclosed by the Use of Molecular Markers

Brassica napus is an important oil source. Its narrow gene pool can be widened by interspecific hybridization with the Brassicaceae species. One of the agronomically important traits, that can be transferred through the hybridization, is the resistance to blackleg, a dangerous disease mainly caused by Leptosphaeria maculans. Hybrid individuals can be analyzed with various molecular markers, including Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR). We investigated the genetic similarity of 32 Brassicaceae hybrids and 19 parental components using SSR markers to reveal their genetic relationship. Furthermore, we compared the field resistance to blackleg of the interspecific progenies. The tested set of 15 SSR markers proved to be useful in revealing the genetic distances in the Brassicaceae hybrids and species. However, genetic similarity of the studied hybrids could not be correlated with the level of field resistance to L. maculans. Moreover, our studies confirmed the usefulness of the Brassicaceae hybrids in terms of blackleg management.     

Inner Nuclear Layer Thickening Is Inversley Proportional to Retinal Ganglion Cell Loss in Optic Neuritis

Aim

To examine the relationship between retinal ganglion cell loss and changes in the inner nuclear layer (INL) in optic neuritis (ON).

Methods

36 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with a history of ON and 36 age and sex-matched controls underwent Optical Coherence Tomography. The paramacular retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), combined ganglion cell and inner plexiform layers (GCL/IPL) and inner nuclear layer (INL) thickness were measured at 36 points around the fovea. To remove inter-subject variability, the difference in thickness of each layer between the ON and fellow eye of each patient was calculated. A topographic analysis was conducted.

Results

The INL of the ON patients was thicker than the controls (42.9µm versus 39.6µm, p=0.002). ON patients also had a thinner RNFL (27.8µm versus 32.2µm, p<0.001) and GCL/IPL (69.3µm versus 98.1µm, p<0.001). Among the controls, there was no correlation between RNFL and GCL/IPL as well as RNFL and INL, but a positive correlation was seen between GCL/IPL and INL (r=0.65, p<0.001). In the ON group, there was a positive correlation between RNFL and GCL/IPL (r=0.80, p<0.001) but a negative correlation between RNFL and INL (r=-0.61, p<0.001) as well as GCL/IPL and INL (r=-0.44, p=0.007). The negative correlation between GCL/IPL and INL strengthened in the ON group when inter-subject variability was removed (r=-0.75, p<0.001). Microcysts within the INL were present in 5 ON patients, mainly in the superior and infero-nasal paramacular regions. While patients with microcysts lay at the far end of the correlation curve between GCL/IPL and INL (i.e. larger INL and smaller GCL/IPL compared to other patients), their exclusion did not affect the correlation (r= -0.76, p<0.001).

Conclusions

INL enlargement in MS-related ON is associated with the severity of GCL loss. This is a continuous relationship and patients with INL microcysts may represent the extreme end of the scale.