Multiple levels of triggered factors and positive effect of cell-to-cell bottleneck in mutation repair of RNA viruses

Debilitating mutation in RNA viruses can be repaired via different mechanisms, while triggering factors of mutation repair were poorly understood. In this study, multiple levels of triggering factors of mutation repair was identified based on genetic damage of tRNA-like structure (TLS) in cucumber mosaic virus (CMV). TLS mutation in different RNAs of CMV distinctively impacted the pathogenicity and mutation repair. Relative quantity defect of RNA2 or quality defect of RNA3 resulting from TLS mutation was correlated with high rate of mutation repair, and TLS mutation of RNA1 failed to be repaired. However, TLS mutation of RNA1 can be repaired in the mixed inoculation with RNA2 having pre-termination mutation of 2b or at the low dose of original inoculation, especially around dilution end-point. Taken together, TLS mutation resulting into quality or quantity defect of viral genome or TLS mutation at low dose around dilution end-point was inclined to be repaired. In addition, different levels of mutation repair of TLS necessarily required the cell-to-cell movement, which implied the positive effect of cell-to-cell bottleneck on evolution of low-fitness virus, a phenomenon opposite to the Muller ratchet. This study provided important revelations on virus evolution and application of viral mild vaccine.

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Reactivity and personal control over stimulation supply

European Journal of Personality ◽

10.1002/per.2410020102 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 1-10 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Tatiana Klonowicz ◽

Grazyna Zawadzka

Keyword(s):

Residual Stress ◽

Individual Differences ◽

Task Performance ◽

Stimulus Presentation ◽

Personal Control ◽

High Reactivity ◽

High Rate ◽

Positive Effect ◽

Different Levels ◽

Low Rate

The experiment was designed to study the effect of personal control, operationalized in terms of choice between a more demanding and a less demanding task, on persons with different levels of reactivity. Subjects were randomly assigned and individually tested in a 2 (High reactivity/Low reactivity) × 2 (Low rate of stimulus presentation/ High rate of stimulus presentation) × 2 (Choice/No Choice) factorial experiment with 15 subjects per condition. The two principal dependent measures were the total number of correct responses in a serial RT task and the post‐task levels of anxiety, anger, and curiosity. The major finding was that while the availability of control had a positive effect on both task performance and affect, its role was situation‐specific, i.e. limited to the difficult task. Most probably the availability of control masks the variability of reaction due to individual differences in reactivity. However, high‐reactives are still left with the residual stress of unresolved emotions.

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PREVENTING VENOUS THROMBOSIS (VT) WITH HEPARIN ALONE OR WITH HEPARIN/DIHYDROERGOTAMINE AFTER ELECTIVE HIP REPLACEMENT, A DOUBLE-BLIND, RANDOMISED, VENOGRAM END-POINT COMPARISON

10.1055/s-0038-1643687 ◽

1987 ◽

Author(s):

J F Cade ◽

K W Mills ◽

A S Gallus ◽

W Murphy

Keyword(s):

Venous Thrombosis ◽

General Surgery ◽

Hip Replacement ◽

Low Dose ◽

Double Blind ◽

Randomised Study ◽

Sodium Heparin ◽

End Point ◽

Small Doses

Dihydro-ergotaraine (DHE) appears to be synergistic with small doses of hepari when used to prevent VT after general surgery. However, doubt remains whether DHEhas this effect in patients with elective hip replacement (THR). We have therefore compared the results of VT prophylaxis using sub-cutaneous (sc) low-dose heparinalone or sc heparin plus sc DHE in a double-blind, randomised, study of 126 patientshaving elective THR, 98 at centre (1)and 28 at centre (2).All received 5000 iu sodium heparin, hourly for 7 days, starting 2 hours before surgery at centre (1), or immediately after surgery at centre (2). Patients alsoreceived a separate 0.5 ml (0.5 mg) DHEorplacebo injection each time they receivedheparin. Patients had bilateral ascendingvenography on the 7th postoperativeday, and venograms were read before the treatment code was broken.These results do not support the presence of synergism between heparin and DHE in this situation.

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Exploring the effectiveness of a COVID-19 contact tracing app using an agent-based model

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-79000-y ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jonatan Almagor ◽

Stefano Picascia

Keyword(s):

High Rate ◽

Contact Tracing ◽

Agent Based Model ◽

Agent Based ◽

The Social ◽

Behavioural Factors ◽

The Impact ◽

Different Levels ◽

User Rate

AbstractA contact-tracing strategy has been deemed necessary to contain the spread of COVID-19 following the relaxation of lockdown measures. Using an agent-based model, we explore one of the technology-based strategies proposed, a contact-tracing smartphone app. The model simulates the spread of COVID-19 in a population of agents on an urban scale. Agents are heterogeneous in their characteristics and are linked in a multi-layered network representing the social structure—including households, friendships, employment and schools. We explore the interplay of various adoption rates of the contact-tracing app, different levels of testing capacity, and behavioural factors to assess the impact on the epidemic. Results suggest that a contact tracing app can contribute substantially to reducing infection rates in the population when accompanied by a sufficient testing capacity or when the testing policy prioritises symptomatic cases. As user rate increases, prevalence of infection decreases. With that, when symptomatic cases are not prioritised for testing, a high rate of app users can generate an extensive increase in the demand for testing, which, if not met with adequate supply, may render the app counterproductive. This points to the crucial role of an efficient testing policy and the necessity to upscale testing capacity.

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Wheat Bread with Grape Seeds Micropowder: Impact on Dough Rheology and Bread Properties

Applied Rheology ◽

10.1515/arh-2020-0112 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

pp. 138-150

Author(s):

Veronika Valková ◽

Hana Ďúranová ◽

Jana Štefániková ◽

Michal Miškeje ◽

Marián Tokár ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wheat Flour ◽

Dough Rheology ◽

Wheat Bread ◽

Grape Seeds ◽

Rheological Analysis ◽

First Time ◽

Positive Effect ◽

Bread Properties ◽

Electronic Eye ◽

Different Levels

AbstractThe current study was designed to enhance the functionality of white bread by replacement of wheat flour with different levels (1%, 2%, 5%, and 8%) of grape seeds micropowder (GSMP) with nanosized particles (10 µm). Chemical composition of GSMP, volume and sensory attributes, evaluated with the panel of evaluators and an electronic nose (e-nose) and an electronic eye (e-eye) were investigated in the tested breads. It has been found out that GSMP contained appreciable amounts of flavonoids including catechin, epicatechin, gallic acid and minerals especially, Ca, K and Mg. The data from rheological analysis showed that the addition of GSMP (mainly at 5% and 8% levels) to the wheat flour had a positive effect on dough manifesting with rheology by increased dough stability. The volume of the experimental breads (above 1% concentration) was demonstrably declined (P < 0.0001) in comparison with the control bread. Sensory rating revealed that the bread fortified with 1% GSMP was judged by the consumer panelists as the most acceptable with the highest scores for all quality attributes which was also confirmed by the data of e-nose and e-eye. Our results suggest for the first time that 1% GSMP addition appears to be a promising functional ingredient to improve bread with required qualitative and sensory properties.

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Anti-inflammatory effects of short-term pioglitazone therapy in men with advanced diabetic nephropathy

AJP Renal Physiology ◽

10.1152/ajprenal.00289.2005 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 290 (3) ◽

pp. F600-F605 ◽

Cited By ~ 51

Author(s):

Rajiv Agarwal

Keyword(s):

Oxidative Stress ◽

Diabetic Nephropathy ◽

Cardiovascular Risk ◽

High Rate ◽

Protein Carbonyls ◽

Open Label ◽

End Point ◽

Tnf Α ◽

Markers Of Oxidative Stress ◽

Wbc Count

Patients with diabetic nephropathy have a high rate of cardiovascular events and mortality. Nontraditional cardiovascular risk factors such as oxidative stress and inflammation are thought to be particularly important in mediating these events. Studies suggest that thiazolidinediones (TZDs) can reduce the level of nontraditional cardiovascular risk in people with or without diabetes mellitus. Whether this benefit occurs in patients with diabetic nephropathy is unknown. I hypothesized that the TZD pioglitazone will mitigate oxidative stress and inflammation compared with glipizide in patients with overt diabetic nephropathy. Markers of oxidative stress (plasma and urine albumin carbonyl and total protein carbonyls and malondialdehyde), inflammation [white blood cell (WBC) count, C-reactive protein (CRP), plasma IL-6, TNF-α], and plaque stability [matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9)] were measured in frozen samples obtained from patients with overt diabetic nephropathy participating in a randomized, open-label, blinded end-point, 16-wk trial with glipizide ( n = 22) or pioglitazone ( n = 22). Pioglitazone therapy in men with advanced diabetic nephropathy reduced WBC count by 1,125/μl ( P < 0.001), CRP by 41% ( P = 0.042), IL-6 by 38% ( P = 0.009), and MMP-9 by 29% ( P = 0.016). Specific differential reductions in WBC count of 1,251/μl ( P = 0.009) and reduction in IL-6 of 58% with pioglitazone ( P = 0.001) were seen compared with glipizide. There were no statistically significant changes observed with plasma TNF-α concentrations or markers of oxidative stress with either hypoglycemic agent. In conclusion, pioglitazone reduces proinflammatory markers in patients with overt diabetic nephropathy, which indicates potentially beneficial effects on overall cardiovascular risk. This surrogate end point needs to be confirmed in trials designed to demonstrate cardiovascular protection.

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Comparative assessment of the dynamics of the incidence of pulmonary and etraulmonary tuberculosis in St. Petersburg for half a century of observation

MedAlliance ◽

10.36422//23076348-2020-8-3-6-14 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 6-14

Keyword(s):

Control System ◽

Incidence Rate ◽

Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis ◽

High Rate ◽

Tb Control ◽

Complete Restoration ◽

Third Stage ◽

High Level ◽

Clinical Awareness ◽

Positive Effect

This article describes the results of comparative analysis of the dynamics of incidence of pulmonary tuberculo-sis (TBP), extrapulmonary extrarespiratory tuberculo-sis (TBER) and respiratory extrapulmonary tuberculosis (TBREP) in St. Petersburg (Leningrad) from 1970 to 2019. Throughout the 50 years of observation, epidemiological situation for TBP, especially for TBER, hasmuch improved, with incidence of the latter going down 30 times. Five stages (decades) were identified, within which the factors demonstrate practically the same impact, the growth rate of indicators was calculated for each stage (the value of indicators at the beginning of each stage taken as 100%).The first stage was a simultaneous reduction in the inci-dence rate in all categories of TB localization against the background of socio-economic factors positive effect and organization of effective and comprehensive an-ti-TB measures. In the second stage (1980ies, a period of growing socio-economic problems), the positive dynam-ics of TB incidence stopped and switched to stabilization at a low level. Indicators became more volatile, while TB dynamics by localization more and more desynchro-nized. Тhe third stage (1990iеs, a period of social and economic crisis) was char-acterised by a sharp increase of TB incidence, especially TBREP, with a switch to stabi-lization at a high level. The fourth stage (2000 through 2009, the beginning of TB control system restoration) demonstrated the indicators’ dynamics desynchroniza-tion: the incidence of TBP and TBREP has stabilized, and TBER continued to decline. The fifth stage (2009 through 2019, complete restoration of TB control system) showed a steady trend of incidence rate reduction and return of uniformity in incidence rate of various localizations.There is no increase in the proportion of extrapulmonary TB expected for the incidence decline. TBER incidence had been declining in most stages, with the exception of the 90ies, which could be explained by substandard work in identifying patients, and the rarity of TBER etiological verification. It is necessary to raise the clinical awareness of narrow specialists and general practitioners in the di-agnostic problems associated with TBER.The coincidence of the rate of TB incidence decrease in main localizations in the 1970ies and 2010s proves that a comprehensive state strategy to combat tuberculosis can provide a high rate of TB incidence decrease in various social layers with positive social and economic conditions of life of the population.

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Hormesis is central to toxicology, pharmacology and risk assessment

Human & Experimental Toxicology ◽

10.1177/0960327109363973 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 29 (4) ◽

pp. 249-261 ◽

Cited By ~ 163

Author(s):

Edward J Calabrese

Keyword(s):

Risk Assessment ◽

Dose Response ◽

Low Dose ◽

Assessment Practices ◽

Biological Organization ◽

Setting Process ◽

Toxicological Research ◽

Multiple Levels ◽

Dose Responses ◽

Chemical Class

This paper summarizes numerous conceptual and experimental advances over the past two decades in the study of hormesis. Hormesis is now generally accepted as a real and reproducible biological phenomenon, being highly generalized and independent of biological model, endpoint measured and chemical class/physical stressor. The quantitative features of the hormetic dose response are generally highly consistent, regardless of the model and mechanism, and represent a quantitative index of biological plasticity at multiple levels of biological organization. The hormetic dose-response model has been demonstrated to make far more accurate predictions of responses in low dose zones than either the threshold or linear at low dose models. Numerous therapeutic agents widely used by humans are based on the hormetic dose response and its low dose stimulatory characteristics. It is expected that as low dose responses come to dominate toxicological research that risk assessment practices will incorporate hormetic concepts in the standard setting process.

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High rate of renal relapse in 71 patients with Wegener's granulomatosis under maintenance of remission with low-dose methotrexate

Arthritis & Rheumatism ◽

10.1002/art.10459 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 47 (3) ◽

pp. 326-332 ◽

Cited By ~ 81

Author(s):

Eva Reinhold-Keller ◽

Claudia O. E. Fink ◽

Karen Herlyn ◽

Wolfgang L. Gross ◽

Kirsten de Groot

Keyword(s):

Wegener’S Granulomatosis ◽

Low Dose ◽

Wegener's Granulomatosis ◽

High Rate ◽

Dose Methotrexate ◽

Renal Relapse ◽

Maintenance Of Remission

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The Influence of Heuristic judgments in Social Media on Corporate Reputation: A Study in Spanish Leader Companies

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12041640 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 1640 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Luis Manuel Cerdá Suárez ◽

Jesús Perán López ◽

Belén Cambronero Saiz

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Corporate Reputation ◽

Cognitive Biases ◽

Managerial Performance ◽

Economic Agents ◽

Using Data ◽

Business And Management ◽

Positive Effect ◽

Different Levels ◽

High Uncertainty

From a corporate-side perspective, the communication of reputational actions and news of companies becomes critical for success. However, in communication, business, and management studies, heuristics can be understood as simple cognitive processes that allow assessments, predictions, and decisions to be made quickly and efficiently by consumers and economic agents. This aspect can sometimes lead to cognitive biases, especially when little information is available or in situations of high uncertainty. The aim of this research is to investigate the influence of heuristic judgments in social media on corporate reputation ratings obtained in Spanish leader companies. Using data collected in Spain, this paper analyzes the influence of heuristics concerning news items on corporate reputation, measured by the Monitor Empresarial de Reputación Corporativa (MERCO) Index. The main finding of this paper is that the total number of news items has a positive effect on corporate reputation, particularly in the categories of culture-values, results/image, expansion, and sponsorship/donations. Additionally, this work serves as a repository of knowledge applicable to similar situations considering the specificities of each particular case. The importance to intervene on certain variables at different levels of managerial performance is described and implications for companies are discussed in these pages.

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Influence of reproductive qualities on dairy productivity of cows of the Simmental breed

E3S Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/e3sconf/202128504005 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 285 ◽

pp. 04005

Author(s):

Maria Grinchuk ◽

Yulia Nesterova

Keyword(s):

Milk Production ◽

Milk Yield ◽

Mass Fraction ◽

Milk Protein ◽

Production Performance ◽

Dry Period ◽

Milk Productivity ◽

Service Period ◽

Positive Effect ◽

Different Levels

The aim of work is to explore influence of first fruitful insemination, service period and dry period to dairy productivity of Simmental cows. The research is aimed at studying the milk production of Simmental cows with different levels of reproductive qualities. The result of the research, a relation was established between the age of the first fruitful insemination, the duration of the service period, the duration of the dry period and milk production performance. It has been established that the age of the first fruitful insemination at 18-24 months has the most beneficial effect on subsequent milk production. The service period of 90-120 days has a positive effect to an increase in milk yield per 305 days of lactation, the longer service period negatively affects to the mass fraction of fat. With an increase in the duration of the dry period, the mass fraction of fat increases, but milk yield decreases. The influence of reproductive qualities to the milk protein is negligible. It was revealed that the age of the first insemination at 18-24 months is the most profitable for production. According to the results of the research, it can be judged that reproductive qualities, in combination with other factors, affect the milk productivity of Simmental cows.

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