BDNF and trkB mRNA Expression in Neurons of the Neonatal Mouse Barrel Field Cortex: Normal Development and Plasticity after Cauterizing Facial Vibrissae

Development of the central somatosensory system is profoundly modulated by the sensory periphery. Cauterization of facial whiskers alters the segregation pattern of barrels in rodents only during a few days just after birth (critical period). Although a molecular basis of the segregation of barrel neurons and the critical period for the anatomical plasticity observed in layer IV barrel neuron is not clear yet, the accumulating evidence suggests that neurotrophins modulate synaptic connections including central nervous system. In this study, we showed by in situ hybridization that mouse barrel side neurons express brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mRNA and both catalytic and non-catalytic forms of trkB mRNA. Cautery of row C vibrissae on the right side of the face within 24 h after birth (post natal day 0, PND0) reduced the expression of BDNF and trkB mRNA from the division region between the contralateral row C barrels at PND7. The vibrissae in row A, C, and E were cauterized at PND0 followed by quantitative RT-PCR for BDNF and trkB mRNA with total RNA isolated from the barrel region at PND7. The result showed that BDNF, but not trkB, mRNA was increased several-fold in the contralateral barrel region. These data suggest that the expression of BDNF mRNA is differentially regulated between injured barrels and actively innervated barrels. The differential expression of the mRNA encoding neurotrophins and their receptors may be important in regulating the injury-dependent re-segregation of barrels.     

Prognostic Impact of Renal Dysfunction Does Not Differ According to the Clinical Profiles of Patients: Insight from the Acute Decompensated Heart Failure Syndromes (ATTEND) Registry

Background

Renal dysfunction associated with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) is associated with impaired outcomes. Its mechanism is attributed to renal arterial hypoperfusion or venous congestion, but its prognostic impact based on each of these clinical profiles requires elucidation.

Methods and Results

ADHF syndromes registry subjects were evaluated (N = 4,321). Logistic regression modeling calculated adjusted odds ratios (OR) for in-hospital mortality for patients with and without renal dysfunction. Renal dysfunction risk was calculated for subgroups with hypoperfusion-dominant (eg. cold extremities, a low mean blood pressure or a low proportional pulse pressure) or congestion-dominant clinical profiles (eg. peripheral edema, jugular venous distension, or elevated brain natriuretic peptide) to evaluate renal dysfunction''s prognostic impact in the context of the two underlying mechanisms. On admission, 2,150 (49.8%) patients aged 73.3±13.6 years had renal dysfunction. Compared with patients without renal dysfunction, those with renal dysfunction were older and had dominant ischemic etiology jugular venous distension, more frequent cold extremities, and higher brain natriuretic peptide levels. Renal dysfunction was associated with in-hospital mortality (OR 2.36; 95% confidence interval 1.75–3.18, p<0.001), and the prognostic impact of renal dysfunction was similar in subgroup of patients with hypoperfusion- or congestion-dominant clinical profiles (p-value for the interaction ranged from 0.104–0.924, and was always >0.05).

Conclusions

Baseline renal dysfunction was significantly associated with in-hospital mortality in ADHF patients. The prognostic impact of renal dysfunction was the same, regardless of its underlying etiologic mechanism.     

Gain of function by phosphorylation in Presenilin 1-mediated regulation of insulin signaling

During pregnancy, activation of the maternal immune system results in inflammation in the foetal nervous system. The causative agents are pro-inflammatory cytokines like interleukin-1β (IL-1β), produced by the foetus. In this study, we examine the effect of IL-1β on the proliferation and differentiation of neural progenitor cells (NPCs) to better understand its potential effects on the developing brain. We find that the IL-1β receptor (IL-1R1) is expressed in the ventral mesencephalon of the developing brain. Furthermore, IL-1R1 is expressed on Nestin-positive, Sox-2-positive NPCs. IL-1β treatment reduced the numbers of proliferating NPCs, an effect prevented by the IL-1R1 receptor antagonist. LDH and MTT assays, and western blot analysis for cleaved caspase 3 and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, confirmed that this was not due to an increase in cell death but rather an induction of differentiation. To further study the effects of IL-1β on cell fate determination, we differentiated NPCs in the presence and absence of IL-1β. Il-1β promoted gliogenesis and inhibited neurogenesis, an effect that required p38-MAPK kinase signalling. In summary, these data show that exposure of NPCs to IL-1β affects their development. This necessitates an examination of the consequences that maternal immune system activation during pregnancy has on the cellular architecture of the developing brain.     

Scale and system dependencies of indirect effects of large herbivores on phytophagous insects: a meta-analysis

An increasing number of studies are being conducted to examine the density- or trait-mediated indirect effects of large herbivores on phytophagous insects. However, these effects are highly context dependent and no general trends have been made clear. We conducted a meta-analysis focusing on three factors capable of affecting detection of the indirect effects of large herbivores on phytophagous insects: type of response variable, experimental scale, and characteristics of study organisms. Overall, large herbivores exerted a negative effect on insects, a trend that was prominent in studies using insect abundance as a response variable. No particular trends were observed in studies using herbivory rate as a variable, and these studies often focused on plant trait-mediated effects more than density-mediated ones. Experimental scale affected the strength of indirect effects: within-year or individual tree level experiments did not follow any trends, whereas 1–10 year experiments or 0–10 ha scale experiments show a negative impact on insects. Characteristics of large herbivores and growth forms of transmitter plants also contributed to variations in the observed effect size; negative effects were reported in livestock-grassland ecosystems and neutral effects in tree-dominated systems. There was a close association between response variable, experimental scale, and characteristics of study organisms, and these effects jointly contributed to the apparent trends. To predict the impacts of large herbivores at ecosystem level, it is necessary to eliminate these biases arising from study design and to evaluate the effect on insect densities at large spatial and temporal scales.     

Interleukin-6 increases vascular endothelial growth factor and angiogenesis in gastric carcinoma

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a proinflammatory cytokine associated with the disease status of gastric carcinoma (GC). Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a potent tumor angiogenic factor in GC. In this study, we attempted to clarify whether IL-6 can regulate VEGF and angiogenesis in GC. GC samples from 54 surgical specimens were subjected to immunohistochemical examination of IL-6, VEGF, and tumor microvessels, and results showed that IL-6 was positively correlated with VEGF expression and tumor vasculature. We determined VEGF expression in four GC cell lines by ELISA, revealing that GC cells can produce significant amount of VEGF with increasing dose and duration of IL-6 stimulation. Next, a luciferase reporter gene assay was employed to determine the signaling pathway driving the VEGF promoter by IL-6, which showed that the JAK/STAT pathway is involved in the stimulation of VEGF gene expression. The effects of IL-6 on angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo were evaluated by HUVEC studies and the Matrigel plug assay, respectively. Results showed that IL-6 effectively promoted HUVEC proliferation and tube formation in vitro and Matrigel plug vascularization in vivo, primarily by inducing VEGF in GC. This study provides evidence that the multifunctional cytokine, IL-6, may induce VEGF expression which increases angiogenesis in gastric carcinogenesis.     

Studies on Oxidation-Reduction Potentials (ORP) of Microbial Cultures

Aerobacter aerogenes No. 505 isolated from soil by Uyeda produced l-valine extracellularly by an aerobic shaking culture. Under anaerobic conditions the production of this amino acid was inhibited while lactic acid as well as a small amount of alanine were produced. The changes in ORP during the incubation under both conditions were investigated. When l-valine was the main product under aerobic conditions the ORP showed a constant value (rH 8.0) from 16 to 40 hr after inoculation. But when lactic acid was the main product and alanine was produced as the only amino acid under anaerobic conditions, the ORP drifted to rH 0 (zero). The phenomenon of the conversion of fermentation was shown clearly by the ORP of the culture broth.

The endpotentiai of lactic acid fermentation by Rhizopus G-36 was rH 13 to 14 when measured in the presence of trace amounts of redox dye mixtures. Without dyes, the rH was 18 to 22 and this fungal culture was slower in reaching endpotentials than bacterial cultures. It was postulated that the amount of redox substances exhibiting electromotive activity was not sufficient in this culture.

rH value 13 to 14 was not obtained under such conditions that lactic acid was not produced; that is in a medium with higher concentration of the nitrogen source in the presence of Fe²⁺ and Zn²⁺, or in a medium containing acetate in place of glucose as the carbon source.

Mycelia of Rhizopus G-36 after 36 hr-culture produced lactic acid even in the absence of oxygen. But unexpectedly, the ORP under anaerobic secondary culture was exactly the same as that in the aerobic shaking culture (rH 13.2).

A method for homogenization of the culture without secondary oxidation was improved. The ORP of anaerobically homogenized cultures was rH 11, and was thought to be due to the activities of all redox systems in the mycelium.

The respiration system of this strain was switched from cytochrome system to flavin system at the point of change in KGN-sensitivity. The ORP of this strain may be influenced by respiration through the flavin system.     

The Potential for Elimination of Racial-Ethnic Disparities in HIV Treatment Initiation in the Medicaid Population among 14 Southern States

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to explore the racial and ethnic disparities in initiation of antiretroviral treatment (ARV treatment or ART) among HIV-infected Medicaid enrollees 18–64 years of age in 14 southern states which have high prevalence of HIV/AIDS and high racial disparities in HIV treatment access and mortality.

Methods

We used Medicaid claims data from 2005 to 2007 for a retrospective cohort study. We compared frequency variances of HIV treatment uptake among persons of different racial- ethnic groups using univariate and multivariate methods. The unadjusted odds ratio was estimated through multinomial logistic regression. The multinomial logistic regression model was repeated with adjustment for multiple covariates.

Results

Of the 23,801 Medicaid enrollees who met criteria for initiation of ARV treatment, only one third (34.6%) received ART consistent with national guideline treatment protocols, and 21.5% received some ARV medication, but with sub-optimal treatment profiles. There was no significant difference in the proportion of people who received ARV treatment between black (35.8%) and non-Hispanic whites (35.7%), but Hispanic/Latino persons (26%) were significantly less likely to receive ARV treatment.

Conclusions

Overall ARV treatment levels for all segments of the population are less than optimal. Among the Medicaid population there are no racial HIV treatment disparities between Black and White persons living with HIV, which suggests the potential relevance of Medicaid to currently uninsured populations, and the potential to achieve similar levels of equality within Medicaid for Hispanic/Latino enrollees and other segments of the Medicaid population.     

甘薯品种营养成份与抗小象虫的相关性研究

通过田间和网室测定结果,抗小象虫较好的甘薯品种有抗虫1号、台农26、Tis2534、Ricin和鸡蛋黄;抗小象虫较弱的品种有新种花、惠红早、“329”、广薯15等。甘薯品种的营养成份与抗小象虫相关性分析结果表明,抗、感品种与粗纤维、粗脂肪含量无明显相关,与粗淀粉有显负相关,R1=-0．9935,而与粗蛋白和18种氨基酸总量有显正相关,R2=0．9741,R3=0．9621。表现粗淀粉含量高的品种,其虫害指敦较低,抗虫性强;而粗蛋白含量和18种氨基酸总量高的品种,其虫害指数较高,抗虫性则表现较弱。测定分析说明了甘薯品种营养成份与抗虫性存在一定的相关性。