Differential brainstem connectivity according to sex and menopausal status in healthy men and women.

Background Brainstem nuclei play a critical role in both ascending monoaminergic modulation of cortical function and arousal, and in descending bulbospinal pain modulation. Even though sex-related differences in the function of both systems have been reported in animal models, a complete understanding of sex differences, as well as menopausal effects, in brainstem connectivity in humans is lacking. This study evaluated resting-state connectivity of the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN), right and left locus coeruleus complex (LCC), and periaqueductal gray (PAG) according to sex and menopausal status in healthy individuals.

Janus Graft Block Copolymers: Design of a Polymer Architecture for Independently Tuned Nanostructures and Polymer Properties.

The graft-through synthesis of Janus graft block copolymers (GBCPs) from branched macromonomers composed of various combinations of homopolymers is presented. Self-assembly of GBCPs resulted in ordered nanostructures with ultra-small domain sizes down to 2.8 nm (half-pitch).

Evidence for recombination in natural populations of porcine circovirus type 2 in Hong Kong and mainland China.

Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) belongs to the family Circoviridae, and is the causative agent of post-weaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS) in pigs. In this study, phylogenetic analyses of three complete PCV2 genomic sequences from Hong Kong suggest that natural recombination happened among different lineages of PCV2. A preliminary investigation of the parental strains of these potential recombinants was carried out using bootscanning.