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Understanding collective behavior in biological systems through potential field mechanisms
The question of strains in AA amyloidosis
Abstract The existence of transmissible amyloid fibril strains has long intrigued the scientific community. The strain theory originates from prion disorders, but here, we provide evidence of strains in systemic amyloidosis. Human AA amyloidosis manifests as two distinct clinical phenotypes called common AA and vascular AA. Glomerular amyloid deposition of the kidney defines the common form, while in the vascular type amyloid deposits are massive in the renal medulla and in arteries throughout the body, while glomeruli are spared. By electron microscopy the two types appeared morphologically different. The common type was composed of dispersed fibrils which tended to be clustered whereas the vascular type was composed of longer and more distinct less clustered fibrils. Staining with fluorescent amyloid binding ligands analyzed by hyperspectral microscopy showed differential staining patterns between the two groups supporting the notion of human AA amyloid strains. AA amyloid staining was significantly different from systemic AL amyloid. Both types of AA (common and vascular) and AL amyloid fibrils were isolated and used to seed mouse AA amyloid in groups of inflamed NMRI mice (n = 9–10 per group). All but two mice showed amyloid deposits in the spleen induced by the human seeds. Amyloid binding ligand analysis was applied on the splenic amyloid deposits and revealed no clear significant difference between mice seeded with AA fibrils from different donors being vascular or common, but the AA deposits of mice given AL fibrils showed significantly different amyloid fluorescent signals compared to all groups of mice receiving AA fibrils. The combined results support the hypothesis that AA amyloid fibril structures can vary depending on the seed and may manifest as amyloid strains.
A high-fat meal significantly impacts the bioavailability and biphasic absorption of cannabidiol (CBD) from a CBD-rich extract in men and women
Time-resolved momentum microscopy with fs-XUV photons at high repetition rates with flexible energy and time resolution
Abstract Time-resolved momentum microscopy is an emerging technique based on photoelectron spectroscopy for characterizing ultrafast electron dynamics and the out-of-equilibrium electronic structure of materials in the entire Brillouin zone with high efficiency. In this article, we introduce a setup for time-resolved momentum microscopy based on an energy-filtered momentum microscope coupled to a custom-made high-harmonic generation photon source driven by a multi-100 kHz commercial Yb-ultrafast laser that delivers fs pulses in the extreme ultraviolet range. The laser setup includes a nonlinear pulse compression stage employing spectral broadening in a Herriott-type bulk-based multi-pass cell. This element allows flexible tuning of the driving pulse duration, providing a versatile time-resolved momentum microscopy setup featuring two operational modes designed to enhance either the energy or time resolution. We show the capabilities of the system by tracing ultrafast electron dynamics in the conduction band valleys of a bulk crystal of the 2D semiconductor WS 2 . Using uncompressed driving laser pulses, we demonstrate an energy resolution better than (107 ± 2) meV, while compressed pulses lead to a time resolution better than (48.8 ± 17) fs.
Temperature Induced Unfolding and Compaction of Cytochrome <i>c</i> in the Same Aqueous Solutions
Evaluation of the Digital Ventilated Cage® system for circadian phenotyping
Abstract The study of circadian rhythms has been critically dependent upon analysing mouse home cage activity, typically employing wheel running activity under different lighting conditions. Here we assess a novel method, the Digital Ventilated Cage (DVC®, Tecniplast SpA, Italy), for circadian phenotyping. Based upon capacitive sensors mounted under black individually ventilated cages with inbuilt LED lighting, each cage becomes an independent light-controlled chamber. Home cage activity in C57BL/6J mice was recorded under a range of lighting conditions, along with circadian clock-deficient cryptochrome-deficient mice (Cry1 −/− , Cry2 −/− double knockout). C57BL/6J mice exhibited a 24 h period under light/dark conditions, with a free-running period of 23.5 h under constant dark, and period lengthening under constant light. Animals displayed expected phase shifting responses to jet-lag and nocturnal light pulses. Sex differences in circadian parameters and phase shifting responses were also observed. Cryptochrome-deficient mice showed subtle changes in activity under light/dark conditions and were arrhythmic under constant dark, as expected. Our results show the suitability of the DVC system for circadian behavioural screens, accurately detecting circadian period, circadian disruption, phase shifts and mice with clock defects. We provide an evaluation of the strengths and limitations of this method, highlighting how the use of the DVC for studying circadian rhythms depends upon the research requirements of the end user.
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TERT-TP53 mutations: a novel biomarker pair for hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence and prognosis
Exploring imitation of within hand prehensile object manipulation using fMRI and graph theory analysis
Uncovering mercury accumulation and the potential for bacterial bioremediation in response to contamination in the Singalila National Park
Abstract Several recent investigations into montane regions have reported on excess mercury accumulation in high-altitude forest ecosystems. This study explored the Singalila National Park, located on the Singalila ridge of the Eastern Himalayas, revealing substantial mercury contamination. Particular focus was on Sandakphu (3636 m), the highest peak in West Bengal, India. It harboured 6.77 ± 0.01 mg/kg of total mercury in its topsoil. Further evidence was provided by accumulation in leaves (0.040 ± 0.01 mg/kg), and roots (0.150 ± 0.008 mg/kg) of local vegetation, litterfall (0.234 ± 0.019 mg/kg), mosses (0.367 ± 0.043 mg/kg), surface water from local lakes and waterbodies (0.010 ± 0.005 mg/l), fresh snow (0.014 ± 0.004 mg/l), and sleet (0.019 ± 0.009 mg/l). Samples from other points of varying elevation in the park also demonstrated contamination. The soil displayed a range of 0.068–5.28 mg/kg, while the mean concentration in leaves was 0.153 ± 0.105 mg/kg, roots was 0.106 ± 0.054 mg/kg, and leaf litter was 0.240 ± 0.112 mg/kg. Additionally, the microbial consortia isolated from the contaminated soil displayed a high tolerance to mercuric chloride, presumably gained through repeated and consistent exposure. Four high tolerance bacterial strains, MTS2C, MTS3A, MTS4B and MTS6A, were further characterized for potential use in bioremediation strategies. Their mercury removal capacities were determined to be 82.35%, 75.21%, 61.95%, and 37.47%, respectively. Overall, the findings presented provide evidence for a highly contaminated environment in the Singalila National Park, that poses significant ecological risk to the flora, fauna and local inhabitants of this biodiversity hotspot. This research also highlights the need for further exploration and monitoring of the Eastern Himalayas for its role as a sink for atmospheric mercury.
Identification of heat tolerant lentil genotypes through stress tolerance indices
Ion beam induced secondary electron tomography of acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylate/polycarbonate polymer blends for fused filament fabrication and injection moulding
Sequential testing with Xpert MTB/RIF assay for diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis in Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai University Hospital
Statistical-based detection of pilot contamination attack for NOMA in 5G networks
Abstract Fifth-generation (5G) communication technologies, such as millimeter wave communication, massive multiple-input-multiple-output and non-orthogonal-multiple-access (NOMA) are playing a pivotal role in promoting the modern applications of the Internet-of-Things. Using non-orthogonal resource allocation, NOMA can increase spectrum efficiency and achieve wide connectivity with low transmission delay and signaling cost. Despite the high potential of NOMA in 5G communications, NOMA is susceptible to a pilot contamination attack (PCA), in which an attacker resents the same pilot signals as authorized users. Currently, using the available detection methods in NOMA gives high false positive probability since the time-division-duplex or orthogonal resource block can be allocated by many authorized user. Since the pilot contamination attack changes the signal reception at the legitimate receiver, this work introduces a novel detection scheme for identifying Pilot Contamination attack (PCA) that statistically investigates the asymmetry in received signal power levels. The main idea of the proposed detection scheme is to use various statistical measurements for normal traffic attributes (CSI) as a reference profile. Then, compute the Mahalanobis distance between the reference profile and CSI for the incoming connection and use the probability of the uniform distribution to make the final detection decision. The performance of the proposed detection technique in terms of its detection rate and false positive probabilities has been evaluated through extensive simulation. The simulation results show that the proposed scheme succeeded in detecting the pilot contamination attack with a detection rate of up to 98% and a precision reached 97.88%.