Communications between different cell types within a tissue are often critical for the proper functioning of an organ. In the central nervous system, interactions among neurons and glial cells are known to modulate neurotransmission, energy metabolism, extracellular ion homeostasis, and neuroprotection. Here we showed that bradykinin, a proinflammatory neuropeptide, can be detected by astrocytes, resulting in the secretion of cytokines that act on neurons.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTropical cyclone rainfall (TCR) extensively affects coastal communities, primarily through inland flooding. The impact of global climate changes on TCR is complex and debatable. This study uses an XGBoost machine learning model with 19-year meteorological data and hourly satellite precipitation observations to predict TCR for individual storms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFixed nitrogen species generated by the early Earth's atmosphere are thought to be critical to the emergence of life and the sustenance of early metabolisms. A previous study estimated nitrogen fixation in the Hadean Earth's N/CO-dominated atmosphere; however, that previous study only considered a limited chemical network that produces NO species (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPharmaceuticals are receiving increasing attention as emerging contaminants in the aquatic environment. Herein, we investigated the occurrence of 11 antidepressants, 6 antihistamines and 4 metabolites in treated wastewater effluents, rivers, stormwater, and seawater in Hong Kong, with special focus on chirality. The average levels of ∑pharmaceuticals ranged from 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiagnosis of eutrophication requires evidence of disturbance to the balance of organisms. We describe a tool, the Plankton Community Integrity Index (PCII), derived from the Plankton Index (PI) for tracking change in the seasonal patterns of abundance of diatom and dinoflagellate lifeforms when plotted in state space. The tool uses a nutrient-minimum reference period to interpret PCII values as status indicators, with values close to 1 indicating "High" status and 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
December 2023
Nonlinearity in photochemical systems is known to allow self-sustained oscillations, but they have received little attention in studies of planetary atmospheres. Here, we present a unique, self-oscillatory solution for ozone chemistry of an exoplanet from a numerical simulation using a fully coupled, three-dimensional (3D) atmospheric chemistry-radiation-dynamics model. Forced with nonvarying stellar insolation and emission flux of nitric oxide (NO), atmospheric ozone abundance oscillates by a factor of thirty over a multidecadal timescale.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFood Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess
December 2023
The presence of 3-monochloropropane-1,2 diol ester (3-MCPDE) and glycidyl ester (GE) in processed palm oils is of concern, as these oils are widely used for edible purposes. The mitigation method studied here optimizes the removal of chloride through water washing of crude palm oil (CPO), to limit the formation of 3-MCPDE. The contaminant removal obtained washing CPO supports the quantitative findings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAppl Psychol Health Well Being
February 2024
Positive coping (e.g., self-efficacy and positive reappraisal) and savoring could bear mental health implications under large-scale disasters such as COVID-19.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFood Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess
September 2023
The rising concern about the presence of 3-monochloropropane 1,2 diol ester (3-MCPDE) and glycidyl ester (GE) in food has prompted much research to be conducted. Some process modifications and the use of specific chemicals have been employed to mitigate both 3-MCPDE and GE. Alkalisation using NaOH, KOH, alkali metals or alkaline earth metals and post sparging with steam or ethanol and short path distillation have shown simultaneous mitigation of 51-91% in 3-MCPDE and of 13-99% in GE, both contaminants achieved below 1000 µg/kg.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe 3-Monochloropropane-1, 2-diol ester (3-MCPDE) and glycidyl ester (GE) are formed at high processing temperatures with the presence of respective precursors. Both are potentially harmful to humans, causing adverse health impacts including kidney damage, reproductive problems, and increased risk of cancer. The presence of 3-MCPDE and GE in palm oil is of particular concern because of its widespread use by the food industry.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Assist Reprod Genet
August 2023
Objective: We aimed to compare the telomere length in granulosa cells of the young normal and poor ovarian responder patients and elderly patients undergoing ovarian stimulation for IVF.
Methods: The main outcome measures granulosa cells telomere Length in the 3 study groups of patients undergoing IVF treatment in our center. 1) young normal responder patients (< 35 years); 2) young (< 35 years) poor ovarian responder patients; and 3) Elderly patients (40-45 years).
There is an urgent need for the identification as well as clinicopathological and functional characterization of potent prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Using immunohistochemistry and next-generation sequencing, we investigated the protein expression as well as clinicopathological and prognostic associations of serine protease inhibitor Kazal type 2 (SPINK2) in AML and examined its potential biological functions. High SPINK2 protein expression was an independent adverse biomarker for survival and an indicator of elevated therapy resistance and relapse risk.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProximity to telomeres (i) and high adenine and thymine (A + T) content (ii) are two factors associated with high mutation rates in human chromosomes. We have previously shown that >100 human genes when mutated to cause congenital hydrocephalus (CH) meet either factor (i) or (ii) at 91% matching, while two factors are poorly satisfied in human genes associated with familial Parkinson's disease (fPD) at 59%. Using the sets of mouse, rat, and human chromosomes, we found that 7 genes associated with CH were located on the X chromosome of mice, rats, and humans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an uncommon but aggressive hematological malignancy. The poor outcome is attributed to inadequate prognostic classification and limited treatment options. A thorough understanding on the genetic basis of pediatric AML is important for the development of effective approaches to improve outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe role of prostaglandins (PGs) in the ovulatory process is known. However, the role of the ATP binding cassette subfamily C member 4 (ABCC4), transmembrane PG carrier protein, in ovulation remains unknown. We report herein that ABCC4 expression is significantly upregulated in preovulatory human granulosa cells (GCs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The epidemiology and treatment of acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL) are changing. We have incorporated oral arsenic trioxide (oral-ATO) into induction/maintenance.
Methods: Newly-diagnosed APL from 1991 to 2021 divided into three 10-year periods were studied to define its epidemiology and how oral-ATO impacted on its outcome.
Global Biogeochem Cycles
September 2022
Multivariate Behav Res
December 2022
Redundancy analysis (RA) is a multivariate method that maximizes the mean variance of a set of criterion variables explained by a small number of redundancy variates (i.e., linear combinations of a set of predictor variables).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFReprod Biol Endocrinol
September 2022
Objective: Nowadays, different modes and timing of GnRH-agonist combined with hCG trigger, for final follicular maturation, have been described. While LH + FSH are the naturally occurring final follicular maturation trigger, hCG is commonly use during stimulated cycle, and recently the introduction of the Dual/Double trigger combines LH + FSH + hCG. In the present study we aim to investigate the messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of reproduction-related genes in human granulosa cells (GCs) exposed to the aforementioned different types and combinations of gonadotropins.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrevious studies suggested that the Amazon, the largest rainforest on Earth, changes from a CO sink to a CO source during the dry/fire season. However, the biospheric contributions to atmospheric CO are not well understood during the two main seasons, the dry/fire season and the wet season. In this article, we utilize Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 (OCO-2) Solar-Induced Fluorescence (SIF) to explore photosynthetic activity during the different seasons.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEarth Space Sci
November 2021
During its first seven years of operation, the Sample Analysis at Mars Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS) on board the rover has detected seven methane spikes above a low background abundance in Gale crater. The methane spikes are likely sourced by surface emission within or around Gale crater. Here, we use inverse Lagrangian modeling techniques to identify upstream emission regions on the Martian surface for these methane spikes at an unprecedented spatial resolution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHyperspectral infrared sounding contains information about clouds, which plays an important role in modulating Earth's climate. However, there is a great deal of uncertainty in modeling the radiative effect of clouds due to its complex dependence on various parameters. Therefore, cloudy scenarios are often neglected in retrievals of infrared spectral measurements and in data assimilation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrefibrotic primary myelofibrosis (Pre-PMF) has been classified as a separate entity of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). Pre-PMF is clinically heterogeneous but a specific prognostic model is lacking. Gene mutations have emerged as useful tools for stratification of myelofibrosis patients.
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