A C1 inhibitor ortholog from rock bream (Oplegnathus fasciatus): Molecular perspectives of a central regulator in terms of its genomic arrangement, transcriptional profiles and anti-protease activities of recombinant peptide

Umasuthan, N.,Bathige, S.D.N.K.,Revathy, K.S.,Wickramaarachchi, W.D.N.,Wan, Q.,Whang, I.,Kim, E.,Park, M.A.,Park, H.C.,Lee, J. Pergamon Press ; Elsevier Science 2014 DEVELOPMENTAL AND COMPARATIVE IMMUNOLOGY Vol.42 No.2

C1 inhibitor (C1Inh), a member of serpin superfamily, is a crucial regulator of the activation of various plasmatic cascades associated with immunity and inflammation. This study describes the identification and characterization of a C1Inh gene from rock bream Oplegnathus fasciatus (OfC1Inh) at structural, expressional and functional levels. The cDNA-(2245bp) and corresponding gDNA-sequences (5.2kbp) of OfC1Inh were isolated from rock bream transcriptome- and BAC-libraries, respectively. Predicted amino acid sequence of OfC1Inh revealed a two-domain architecture composed of an N-terminal region with two Ig-like domains and a C-terminal region with a serpin domain. Tertiary model of OfC1Inh disclosed its active site topology. In the multi-exonic genomic arrangement of OfC1Inh, it consisted of eleven exons disjoined by ten introns as observed in few other fish homologs. Our comparative analysis indicated that the teleostean C1Inhs were distinct from their non-teleostean vertebrate counterparts in terms of their (1) extended N-terminal domains, (2) evolutionary divergence and (3) exon-intron distribution. The OfC1Inh had a TATA-deficient promoter with a putative initiator element, and two tandemly arranged downstream promoter elements. Several components associated with the immune and inflammatory transcriptional activation were also predicted to exist in 5' flanking region of OfC1Inh. The exclusive mRNA levels in liver and moderate levels in extra-hepatic tissues intimated the diversified importance of OfC1Inh in rock bream physiology. We also provide an evidence for the involvement of OfC1Inh in immune balance, based on its modulated transcription upon different PAMP (lipopolysaccharide and poly I:C)- or pathogen (Streptococcus iniae and rock bream irido virus)-challenges. A recombinantly expressed fusion protein [(r)OfC1Inh] was employed in demonstrating the anti-protease function of OfC1Inh. The (r)OfC1Inh exhibited detectable inhibitory activity against C1 esterase and thrombin, where the anti-C1 esterase role was shown to be potentiated by heparin. Taken together, the results of this study provide the first line of evidence for the possible involvement of a teleostean C1Inh in fish immunity, based on its expressional response(s) and inhibitory properties against two enzymes involved in biological cascades.

Short term Efficacy of C0-C1 Mobilization in the Cervical Neutral Position in Upper Cervical Hypomobility: A Randomized Controlled Trial

César Hidalgo-García,José Miguel Tricás-Moreno,Orosia Lucha-López,Elena Estebanezde Miguel,Elena Bueno-Gracia,Silvia Pérez-Guillén,Pablo Fanlo-Mazas,Alazne Ruiz-de-Escudero,John Krauss 국제물리치료학회 2016 Journal of International Academy of Physical Ther Vol.7 No.1

The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of mobilization of C0-C1 and C7-T1 applied to asymptomatic individuals with reduced upper cervical rotation during the FRT. Design: parallel randomized controlled trial. 48 subjects(38.52 years±15.13) with C1-C2 rotation hypomobility in TFR joined the study and were randomized into three groups(C0, C7, control group). FRT in both directions was measured before and after the intervention. C0 intervention consisted of a dorsal translatoric mobilization of C0-C1 in the cervical neutral position. C7 intervention consisted of a ventral cranial translatoric mobilization of C7- T1 in neutral position and the control group maintained a supine position. C0 group experienced a FRT ROM to the restricted side increase of 17.64。(SD=4.55), that was significantly greater (P<0.001) than 5.95。 (SD=4.81) of the C7 group and 2.45。(SD=5.05) of the control group. The results showed that a dorsal translatoric mobilization of C0-C1 in neutral position restored the physiological FRT mobility in subjects with C1-C2 hypomobility and experienced statistical significant improvement in FRT as compared to a C7-T1 translatoric mobilization and a control group. (Level of evidence: 1b).

Mode Change of a Gamma-Ray Pulsar, PSR J2021+4026

Zhao, J.,Ng, C. W.,Lin, L. C. C.,Takata, J.,Cai, Y.,Hu, C.-P.,Yen, D. C. C.,Tam, P. H. T.,Hui, C. Y.,Kong, A. K. H.,Cheng, K. S. American Astronomical Society 2017 The Astrophysical journal Vol.842 No.1

<P>A glitch of a pulsar is known as a sudden increase in the spin frequency and spin-down rate (frequency time derivative), and it can be caused by a sudden release of the stress built up in the solid crust of the star or pinned vortices in the superfluid interior. PSR J2021+4026 is the first pulsar that shows a significant change in the gamma-ray flux and pulse profile at the glitch that occurred around 2011 October 16. We report the results of timing and spectral analysis of PSR J2021+4026 using similar to 8 yr Fermi. Large Area Telescope data. We find that the pulsar stayed at a high spin-down rate (similar to 4% higher than the pre-glitch value) and a low gamma-ray state (similar to 18% lower) for about 3 yr. after the glitch. Around 2014 December, the spin-down rate and gamma-ray flux gradually returned to pre-glitch values within a timescale of a. few months. The phase-resolved spectra and pulse profiles after the relaxation are also consistent with those before the glitch. The observed long-term evolution of the spin-down rate and the gamma-ray flux indicates that the glitch triggered a mode change in the global magnetosphere. We speculate that the glitch changed. the local magnetic field structure around the polar cap and/or the inclination angle of the. dipole axis, leading to. a change in the electric current circulating in the. magnetosphere.</P>

Regulation of cancer cell death by a novel compound, C604, in a c-Myc-overexpressing cellular environment

Jo, M.J.,Paek, A.R.,Choi, J.S.,Ok, C.Y.,Jeong, K.C.,Lim, J.H.,Kim, S.H.,You, H.J. North-Holland ; Elsevier Science Ltd 2015 european journal of pharmacology Vol.769 No.-

<P>The proto-oncogene c-Myc has been implicated in a variety of cellular processes, such as proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. Several c-Myc targets have been studied; however, selective regulation of c-Myc is not easy in cancer cells. Herein, we attempt to identify chemical compounds that induce cell death in c-Myc-overexpressing cells (STF-cMyc and STF-Control) by conducting MTS assays on approximately 4000 chemical compounds. One compound, C604, induced cell death in STF-cMyc cells but not STF-Control cells. Apoptotic proteins, including caspase-3 and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PAPP), were cleaved in C604-treated STF-cMyc cells. In addition, 5W620, HCT116 and NCI-H23 cells, which exhibit higher basal levels of c-Myc, underwent apoptotic cell death in response to C604, suggesting a role for C604 as an inducer of apoptosis in cancer cells with c-Myc amplification. C604 induced cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase in cells, which was not affected by apoptotic inhibitors. Interestingly, C604 induced accumulation of c-Myc and Cdc25A proteins. In summary, a chemical compound was identified that may induce cell death in cancer cells with c-Myc amplification specifically through an apoptotic pathway. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.</P>

Polyphasic delimitation of a filamentous marine genus, Capillus gen. nov. (Cyanobacteria, Oscillatoriaceae) with the description of two Brazilian species

Caires, Taiara A.,Lyra, Goia de M.,Hentschke, Guilherme S.,da Silva, Aaron Matheus S.,de Araujo, Valter L.,Sant'Anna, Celia L.,Nunes, Jose Marcos de C. The Korean Society of Phycology 2018 ALGAE Vol.33 No.4

Lyngbya C. Agardh ex Gomont is a nonheterocytous cyanobacterial genus whose evolutionary history is still poorly known. The traditionally defined Lyngbya has been demonstrated to be polyphyletic, including at least five distinct clades, some of which have been proposed as new genera. Intraspecific diversity is also clearly underestimated in Lyngbya due to the lack of unique morphological characters to differentiate species. In this study, we describe the new genus Capillus T. A. Caires, C. L. Sant'Anna et J. M. C. Nunes from benthic marine environments, including two new Brazilian species (here described as C. salinus T. A. Caires, C. L. Sant'Anna et J. M. C. Nunes, and C. tropicalis T. A. Caires, C. L. Sant'Anna et J. M. C. Nunes), and two species yet to be described, one of them from India (Capillus sp. 2.1), and the other from United States of America, based on strain PCC 7419. Capillus species presented cross-wise diagonal fragmentation, assisted or not by necridic cells, which has not been previously mentioned for Lyngbya. Ultrastructural analyses showed that C. salinus and C. tropicalis have numerous gas vesicles, which are rarely described for benthic marine species. The new genus formed a well-supported clade, and the D1-D1' and Box B secondary structures of internal transcribed spacer also supported the proposal of its new species. These findings help to clarify the diversity of species in the Lyngbya complex and the taxonomy of the group, and highlight the need of further floristic surveys in tropical coastal environments, which remain poorly studied.

Polyphasic delimitation of a filamentous marine genus, Capillus gen. nov. (Cyanobacteria, Oscillatoriaceae) with the description of two Brazilian species

Taiara A. Caires,Goia de M. Lyra,Guilherme S. Hentschke,Aaron Matheus S. da Silva,Valter L. de Araújo,Célia L. Sant’Anna,José Marcos de C. Nunes 한국조류학회I 2018 ALGAE Vol.33 No.4

Lyngbya C. Agardh ex Gomont is a nonheterocytous cyanobacterial genus whose evolutionary history is still poorlyknown. The traditionally defined Lyngbya has been demonstrated to be polyphyletic, including at least five distinctclades, some of which have been proposed as new genera. Intraspecific diversity is also clearly underestimated in Lyngbyadue to the lack of unique morphological characters to differentiate species. In this study, we describe the new genusCapillus T. A. Caires, C. L. Sant’Anna et J. M. C. Nunes from benthic marine environments, including two new Brazilianspecies (here described as C. salinus T. A. Caires, C. L. Sant’Anna et J. M. C. Nunes, and C. tropicalis T. A. Caires, C. L. Sant’Anna et J. M. C. Nunes), and two species yet to be described, one of them from India (Capillus sp. 2.1), and the otherfrom United States of America, based on strain PCC 7419. Capillus species presented cross-wise diagonal fragmentation,assisted or not by necridic cells, which has not been previously mentioned for Lyngbya. Ultrastructural analyses showedthat C. salinus and C. tropicalis have numerous gas vesicles, which are rarely described for benthic marine species. Thenew genus formed a well-supported clade, and the D1-D1′ and Box B secondary structures of internal transcribed spaceralso supported the proposal of its new species. These findings help to clarify the diversity of species in the Lyngbya complexand the taxonomy of the group, and highlight the need of further floristic surveys in tropical coastal environments,which remain poorly studied.

Knee joint line related to bony landmarks of the knee: a radiologic study in a Thai population

( S. Tantavisut ),( C. Amarase ),( S. Ngarmukos ),( C. Tanavalee ),( A. Tanavalee1 ) 대한슬관절학회 2022 대한슬관절학회지 Vol.34 No.-

Background: During revision total knee arthroplasty (TKA), knee joint line restoration may be difficult due to bone loss or structural changes. Although bony landmarks are consistent and can be used as references, there are limited data in Asian patients. We studied the knee joint line related to bony landmarks of the knee in a Thai population. Materials and methods: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of 140 healthy knees of Thai patients (70 males, 70 females) were investigated. In all knees, a perpendicular line from knee joint line to the medial epicondyle (distance A) and the lateral epicondyle (distance B) in the coronal plane were measured. In the sagittal plane, a perpendicular line from the knee joint line to the fibular head (distance C), the tibial tubercle (distance D), and the inferior patellar pole (distance E) were measured. The femoral transepicondylar width (FW) was measured along the transepicondylar axis. The ratios of distances A, B, C, D, and E related to FW were evaluated (epicondylar ratio). Results: The mean and standard deviation (SD) of distances A, B, C, D, E, and FW were 27.1 ± 2.7 mm, 21.7 ± 2.5 mm, 12.6 ± 3 mm, 21.3 ± 3.6 mm, 7.6 ± 4.8 mm, and 76.7 ± 3.99, respectively. There was wide variation of measured values, with statistically significant differences between genders in distances A, B, C, and FW. The mean and SD of epicondylar ratios A/FW, B/FW, C/FW, D/FW, and E/FW were 0.35 ± 0.02, 0.29 ± 0.02, 0.16 ± 0.05, 0.28 ± 0.04, and 0.09 ± 0.04, respectively. All epicondylar ratios demonstrated less variation than all measured distances, with statistical differences between genders in the A/FW and D/FW ratios. However, the B/FW ratio had the highest consistent mean value. In addition, it had narrower SD than the rest (0.29 ± 0.02; range, 0.22-0.33). Conclusions: In Thai knees, the measured distances from bony landmarks to the knee joint line had higher variation than the epicondylar ratio. Among all studied epicondylar ratios, the ratio between lateral epicondyle to joint line distance (distance B)/FW demonstrated the narrowest range of mean and SD values; therefore, this could be the most reliable landmark for intraoperative knee joint line verification by multiplying the FW of the patient by 0.29 to get distance B in that patient.

Dielectric Properties of Highly Oriented Pb0.65Ba0.35ZrO3 Thin Films

J.S. Kim,J. S. Choi,J. H. Lee,S. H. Kim,S. H. Jeon,I. R. Hwang,B. H. Park,T.J. Choi,S.H. Shin,J.C. Lee,이명재,S. A. Seo,I. K. Yoo 한국물리학회 2005 THE JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY Vol.47 No.2

Pb0.65Ba0.35ZrO3 (PBZ) thin films [1] were grown on MgO (001) substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). We compared the structural and dielectric properties of PBZ thin films grown at various temperatures. A high c.axis orientation appeared in PBZ thin film grown at a deposition temperature of 550 C. The c.axis-oriented PBZ thin film also showed the largest tunability among all the PBZ thin films in capacitance-voltage measurements. The tunability and dielectric loss of the PBZ thin film were 20 % and 0.00959, respectively. In addition, we compared the temperature coefficient of capacitance (TCC) of a PBZ thin film with that of a Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 (BST) thin film, which is a well-known material applicable to tunable microwave devices. We confirmed that the TCC value of a PBZ thin film was three times smaller than that of a BST thin film. Pb0.65Ba0.35ZrO3 (PBZ) thin films [1] were grown on MgO (001) substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). We compared the structural and dielectric properties of PBZ thin films grown at various temperatures. A high c.axis orientation appeared in PBZ thin film grown at a deposition temperature of 550 C. The c.axis-oriented PBZ thin film also showed the largest tunability among all the PBZ thin films in capacitance-voltage measurements. The tunability and dielectric loss of the PBZ thin film were 20 % and 0.00959, respectively. In addition, we compared the temperature coefficient of capacitance (TCC) of a PBZ thin film with that of a Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 (BST) thin film, which is a well-known material applicable to tunable microwave devices. We confirmed that the TCC value of a PBZ thin film was three times smaller than that of a BST thin film.

Search for a very light NMSSM Higgs boson produced in decays of the 125 GeV scalar boson and decaying into τ leptons in pp collisions at s = 8 $$ \sqrt{s}=8 $$ TeV

Khachatryan, V.,Sirunyan, A. M.,Tumasyan, A.,Adam, W.,Asilar, E.,Bergauer, T.,Brandstetter, J.,Brondolin, E.,Dragicevic, M.,Erö,, J.,Flechl, M.,Friedl, M.,Frü,hwirth, R.,Ghete, V. M.,Hartl, C. Springer-Verlag 2016 Journal of high energy physics Vol.2016 No.1

<P>A search for a very light Higgs boson decaying into a pair of tau leptons is presented within the framework of the next-to-minimal supersymmetric standard model. This search is based on a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions collected by the CMS experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. The signal is defined by the production of either of the two lightest scalars, h(1) or h(2), via gluon-gluon fusion and subsequent decay into a pair of the lightest Higgs bosons, a(1) or h(1). The h(1) or h(2) boson is identified with the observed state at a mass of 125 GeV. The analysis searches for decays of the a(1) (h(1)) states into pairs of tau leptons and covers a mass range for the a(1) (h(1)) boson of 4 to 8 GeV. The search reveals no significant excess in data above standard model background expectations, and an upper limit is set on the signal production cross section times branching fraction as a function of the a(1) (h(1)) boson mass. The 95% confidence level limit ranges from 4.5 pb at m(a1) (m(h1)) = 8 GeV to 10.3 pb at m(a1) (m(h1)) = 5 GeV.</P>

Densification and microstructure of lead zirconate titanate ceramics fabricated from a triol sol?gel powder

C. Sangsubun,A. Watcharapasorn,S. Jiansirisomboon 한국물리학회 2008 Current Applied Physics Vol.8 No.1

Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) nano-powder was prepared by a triol sol–gel process. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy results showed that as-synthesized amorphous powder started to crystallize at the calcination temperature above 500 C. The crystalline powder was formed into pellets and sintered at temperatures between 900 and 1300 C. Co-existence of tetragonal and rhombohedral phase was observed in all ceramics. Microstructural investigation of PZT ceramics showed that uniform grain size distribution with average grain size of 0.8–2.5 lm were received with sintering temperature up to 1200 C. Further increasing the temperature caused abnormal grain growth with the grain as large as 13.5 lm. An attempt to optimize densification with uniform grain size distribution was also performed by varying heating rate and holding time during sintering. It was found that dense (97%) sol–gel derived PZT ceramic with uniform microstructure was achieved at 1100 C with a heating rate of 5 C min1 and 6 h dwell time. 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) nano-powder was prepared by a triol sol–gel process. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy results showed that as-synthesized amorphous powder started to crystallize at the calcination temperature above 500 C. The crystalline powder was formed into pellets and sintered at temperatures between 900 and 1300 C. Co-existence of tetragonal and rhombohedral phase was observed in all ceramics. Microstructural investigation of PZT ceramics showed that uniform grain size distribution with average grain size of 0.8–2.5 lm were received with sintering temperature up to 1200 C. Further increasing the temperature caused abnormal grain growth with the grain as large as 13.5 lm. An attempt to optimize densification with uniform grain size distribution was also performed by varying heating rate and holding time during sintering. It was found that dense (97%) sol–gel derived PZT ceramic with uniform microstructure was achieved at 1100 C with a heating rate of 5 C min1 and 6 h dwell time. 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.