Anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol baseline plasma concentrations and their clinical correlate in gambling disorder.

Introduction: Different components of the endocannabinoid (eCB) system such as their most well-known endogenous ligands, anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), have been implicated in brain reward pathways. While shared neurobiological substrates have been described among addiction-related disorders, information regarding the role of this system in behavioral addictions such as gambling disorder (GD) is scarce.

Aims: Fasting plasma concentrations of AEA and 2-AG were analyzed in individuals with GD at baseline, compared with healthy control subjects (HC).

Associations with age and glomerular filtration rate in a referred population with chronic kidney disease: methods and baseline data from a UK multicentre cohort study (NURTuRE-CKD).

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is common but heterogenous and is associated with multiple adverse outcomes. The National Unified Renal Translational Research Enterprise (NURTuRE)-CKD cohort was established to investigate risk factors for clinically important outcomes in persons with CKD referred to secondary care.

Methods: Eligible participants with CKD stages G3-4 or stages G1-2 plus albuminuria >30 mg/mmol were enrolled from 16 nephrology centres in England, Scotland and Wales from 2017 to 2019.

A draft human pangenome reference.

Here the Human Pangenome Reference Consortium presents a first draft of the human pangenome reference. The pangenome contains 47 phased, diploid assemblies from a cohort of genetically diverse individuals. These assemblies cover more than 99% of the expected sequence in each genome and are more than 99% accurate at the structural and base pair levels.

Quantitative analysis of tRNA abundance and modifications by nanopore RNA sequencing.

Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) play a central role in protein translation. Studying them has been difficult in part because a simple method to simultaneously quantify their abundance and chemical modifications is lacking. Here we introduce Nano-tRNAseq, a nanopore-based approach to sequence native tRNA populations that provides quantitative estimates of both tRNA abundances and modification dynamics in a single experiment.

COPD lung studies of Nrf2 expression and the effects of Nrf2 activators.

Background: Nrf2 regulates cellular antioxidant defence in lung cells, including epithelial cells and alveolar macrophages (AM). The Nrf2/Keap-1 pathway can be modulated by activators with different modes of action; electrophilic compounds and protein-protein interaction (PPI) inhibitors. We assessed Nrf2 and Keap-1 protein and gene levels in COPD compared to controls and the effect of Nrf2 activators on COPD AM.

Accurate detection of mA RNA modifications in native RNA sequences.

The epitranscriptomics field has undergone an enormous expansion in the last few years; however, a major limitation is the lack of generic methods to map RNA modifications transcriptome-wide. Here, we show that using direct RNA sequencing, N-methyladenosine (mA) RNA modifications can be detected with high accuracy, in the form of systematic errors and decreased base-calling qualities. Specifically, we find that our algorithm, trained with mA-modified and unmodified synthetic sequences, can predict mA RNA modifications with ~90% accuracy.

A pilot study to assess the effect of acute exercise on brain glutathione.

The brain is highly susceptible to oxidative stress due to its high metabolic demand. Increased oxidative stress and depletion of glutathione (GSH) are observed with aging and many neurological diseases. Exercise training has the potential to reduce oxidative stress in the brain.

Inactivation of pathogenic microorganisms in freshwater using HSO/UV-A LED and HSO/M/UV-A LED oxidation processes.

Freshwater disinfection using photolytic and catalytic activation of peroxymonosulphate (PMS) through PMS/UV-A LED and PMS/M/UV-A LED [M = Fe or Co] processes was evaluated through the inactivation of three different bacteria: Escherichia coli (Gram-negative), Bacillus mycoides (sporulated Gram-positive), Staphylococcus aureus (non-sporulated Gram-positive), and the fungus Candida albicans. Photolytic and catalytic activation of PMS were effective in the total inactivation of the bacteria using 0.1 mM of PMS and M at neutral pH (6.

Synthesis and Antiproliferative Effect of Ethyl 4-[4-(4-Substituted Piperidin-1-yl)]benzylpyrrolo[1,2-a]quinoxalinecarboxylate Derivatives on Human Leukemia Cells.

Acute leukemia is a hematological malignancy with high incidence and recurrence rates and is characterized by an accumulation of blasts in bone marrow due to proliferation of immature lymphoid or myeloid cells associated with a blockade of differentiation. The heterogeneity of leukemia led us to look for new specific molecules for leukemia subtypes or for therapy-resistant cases. Among heterocyclic derivatives that attracted attention due to their wide range of biological activities, we focused our interest on the pyrrolo[1,2-a]quinoxaline heterocyclic framework that has been previously identified as an interesting scaffold for antiproliferative activities against various human cancer cell lines.

Resting pulmonary haemodynamics and shunting: a comparison of sea-level inhabitants to high altitude Sherpas.

The incidence of blood flow through intracardiac shunt and intrapulmonary arteriovenous anastomoses (IPAVA) may differ between Sherpas permanently residing at high altitude (HA) and sea-level (SL) inhabitants as a result of evolutionary pressure to improve gas exchange and/or resting pulmonary haemodynamics. To test this hypothesis we compared sea-level inhabitants at SL (SL-SL; n = 17), during acute isocapnic hypoxia (SL-HX; n = 7) and following 3 weeks at 5050 m (SL-HA; n = 8 non-PFO subjects) to Sherpas at 5050 m (n = 14). SpO2, heart rate, pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) and cardiac index (Qi) were measured during 5 min of room air breathing at SL and HA, during 20 min of isocapnic hypoxia (SL-HX; PETO2 = 47 mmHg) and during 5 min of hyperoxia (FIO2 = 1.