Patients with Alzheimer's disease have increased cellular amyloid uptake

Amyloid plaques are the main signature of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Beta-amyloid (Aβ) concentration in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF-Aβ) and the density of amyloid depositions have a strong negative correlation. However, AD patients have lower CSF-Aβ levels compared to cognitively normal people even after accounting for this correlation. The goal of this study was to infer variations of parameters in Aβ metabolism of AD patients that underlie this difference using data from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative cohort. We found that AD patients had dramatically increased rates of cellular amyloid uptake compared to individuals with normal cognition (NC). A group with late-onset mild cognitive impairment (LMCI) also exhibited stronger amyloid uptake, however this was less pronounced than in the AD group. Estimated parameters in the early-onset MCI group did not differ significantly from those in the NC group. Aβ cytotoxicity depends on both the amount of peptide internalized by cells and its intracellular degradation into toxic products. Based on our results, we speculate that AD and LMCI are associated with increased cellular amyloid uptake which leads to faster disease progression, whereas the early-onset MCI may be mediated by the increased production of toxic amyloid metabolites.

Analysis of CircRNAs and CircRNA-Associated Competing Endogenous RNA Networks in β-Thalassemia

The involvement of circRNAs in β-thalassemia and their actions on fetal hemoglobin (HbF) is unclear. Here, the circRNAs in β-thalassemia carriers with high HbF levels were comprehensively analyzed in comparison with healthy individuals. Differential expression of 2183 circRNAs was observed and their correlations with hematological parameters were investigated. Down-regulated has-circRNA-100466 had a strong negative correlation with HbF and HbA2. Bioinformatics was employed to construct a has-circRNA-100466‑associated competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network with the determination of hub genes and associated miRNAs. In combination with previous reports, the has-circRNA-100466▁miR-19b-3p▁SOX6 pathway was identified. The ceRNA network was verified by qRT-PCR on β-thalassemia samples and RNA immunoprecipitation of K562 cell lysates. Has-circRNA-100466, miR-19b-3p, and SOX6 were present together in anti-argonaute 2 immunoprecipitates, indicating involvement with HbF induction. Furthermore, spearman correlation coefficients revealed their significant correlations with HbF. In conclusion, a novel has-circRNA-100466▁miR-19b-3p▁SOX6 pathway was identified, providing insight into HbF induction and suggesting targets β-thalassemia treatment.

SHARPENING OF THERMAL SATELLITE IMAGERY FROM KLANG INDUSTRIAL AREA IN PENINSULAR MALAYSIA USING THE TSHARP APPROACH

Measuring high spatial/temporal industrial heat emission (IHE) is an important step in industrial climate studies. The availability of MODIS data products provides up endless possibilities for both large-area and long-term study. nevertheless, inadequate for monitoring industrial areas. Thus, Thermal sharpening is a common method for obtaining thermal images with higher spatial resolution regularly. In this study, the efficiency of the TsHARP technique for improving the low resolution of the MODIS data product was investigated using Landsat-8 TIR images over the Klang Industrial area in Peninsular Malaysia (PM). When compared to UAV TIR fine thermal images, sharpening resulted in mean absolute differences of about 25 °C, with discrepancies increasing as the difference between the ambient and target resolutions increased. To estimate IHE, the related factors (normalized) industrial area index as NDBI, NDSI, and NDVI were examined. The results indicate that IHE has a substantial positive correlation with NDBI and NDSI (R2 = 0.88 and 0.95, respectively), but IHE and NDVI have a strong negative correlation (R2 = 0.87). The results showed that MODIS LST at 1000 m resolution can be improved to 100 m with a significant correlation R2 = 0.84 and RMSE of 2.38 °C using Landsat 8 TIR images at 30 m, and MODIS LST at 1000 m resolution can still be improved to 100 m with significant correlation R2 = 0.89 and RMSE of 2.06 °C using aggregated Landsat-8 TIR at 100 m resolution. Similarly, Landsat-8 TIR at 100 m resolution was still improved to 30 m and used with aggregate UAV TIR at 5 m resolution with a significant correlation R2 = 0.92 and RMSE of 1.38 °C. Variation has been proven to have a significant impact on the accuracy of the model used. This result is consistent with earlier studies that utilized NDBI as a downscaling factor in addition to NDVI and other spectral indices and achieved lower RMSE than techniques that simply used NDVI. As a result, it is suggested that the derived IHE map is suitable for analyzing industrial thermal environments at 1:10,000 50,000 scales, and may therefore be used to assess the environmental effect.

Two-End-Member Mixing in the Fluids Emitted From Mud Volcano Lei-Gong-Huo, Eastern Taiwan: Evidence From Sr Isotopes

Mud volcano is one of the most important conduits for deep seated materials to migrate upward in sedimentary basins, convergent margins, and subduction zones. Understanding their temporal and spatial characteristics and variations provides us the important information on fluid sources and chemical compositions at depth. Mud volcano Lei-Gong-Huo (MV LGH) is a unique mud volcano, which is located on the mélange formation lying on the andesitic volcanic arc. Fluids emitted from 46 mud pools in MV LGH in eastern Taiwan were sampled and their major trace constitutes as well as H, O, and Sr isotopes (87Sr/86Sr and δ88Sr) were measured. Major constitutes of the fluids are Cl−, Na, and Ca. Compared with seawater, LGH fluids have lower Cl−, δD, δ18O, Na/Cl, K/Cl, and Mg/Cl but higher Ca/Cl ratios, indicating water–rock interaction of igneous rock and the ancient seawater at the source region. This interpretation is further supported by Sr isotopes, which show low value of 87Sr/86Sr ratio down to 0.70708. The result of spatial distribution showing strong negative correlation between Na and Ca concentration as well as Ca and 87Sr/86Sr ratios indicates that two end-member mixing is the major chemical characteristic. The fluids interacting with igneous rock carry high Ca, high δ88Sr, low Na, and low 87Sr/86Sr ratio, while those interacting with sedimentary rock carry low Ca, low δ88Sr, high Na, and high 87Sr/86Sr ratio. The source from the igneous region dominates the eastern and southeastern parts of the mud pools while sedimentary source dominates the western and northwestern parts. Most mud pools show mixing behavior between the two sources. Some of the sedimentary-dominated mud pools reveal existence of residual ancient water as indicated by 87Sr/86Sr. The major factor to fractionate the stable Sr isotopes in LGH waters is the source lithology. In summary, fluids emitted by mud pools in LGH originate from two sources, which are water–rock interactions of igneous rock with the ancient seawater from the east and sedimentary rock from the west at depth, resulting from the complex geologic background of mélange formation.

A Critical Analysis of Effect of Projected Temperature and Rainfall for Differential Sowing of Maize Cultivars Under RCP4.5 and RCP6.0 Scenarios for Punjab

A simulation study was conducted for two cultivars of maize (PMH1 and PMH2) in four agroclimatic zones of Punjab state of India where climate change depicts a consistent rise in temperature and increased variability in amount and distribution of rainfall. The yield assessment was performed for four agroclimatic zones of Punjab comprising of seven locations because variability in temperature rise and rainfall existed from location to location. Corrected ensemble model weather data (temperature and rainfall) for RCP4.5 and RCP6.0 was used as an input in the calibrated and validated CERES-Maize model and yield was simulated for a period of 70 years. The simulated yield for near as well as far-future was statistically assessed to understand the yield trend in Punjab under current dates of sowing and the results indicated a strong negative correlation between the yield and the weather parameters under the two scenarios at the considered four agroclimatic zones of Punjab. An increase in maximum and minimum temperature was observed ranging 0-4°C and 3-8°C, respectively at all the agroclimatic zones except Faridkot (zone V) where the increase in minimum temperature was observed by 0-3°C during the crop growth season while the rainfall variability ranged from 200-800mm under both the scenarios. At agroclimatic zone II and zone III similar results were obtained with higher yields at later dates of sowing and the rainfall at agroclimatic zone III was higher under RCP6.0 (300-600mm) while the yields for agroclimatic zone IV and V (Abohar) with rainfall variation of 270-450mm and 200-400mm, respectively showed no yield increment. Maize at Faridkot performed well with higher yields at early sowing dates. Among the two cultivars PMH1 showed more high yield years than PMH2 for most of the years. The yield under differential sowing dates showed the first fortnight of June and end June to be the best sowing dates for most of the locations as the yield for these dates were higher for most of the years. Thus, the study can be further applied to decide the future sowing window of maize for the agricultural state like Punjab.

A Study of PM 10, PM 2.5 Concentrations in the Atmospheric Air in Kraków, Poland

The air in Kraków is one of the most polluted in Europe. Polish standards for notification and alert levels for PM10 particulate matterare one of the the highest in Europe and exceed the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) for safe daily concentrations by several times. The article presents the results of airborne dust measurements in three districts of Kraków. The study hasshown that the concentration of PM2.5 and PM10 particulate matter exceeded the annual average permissible levels. Empirical measurements of PM2.5 show significantly higher air pollution values than the data notified by stationary monitoring stations installed intwo locations. The high value of Pearson linear correlation coefficient confirms that weather conditions have a significant impact on airquality in Kraków. Wind speed in the autumn and winter seasons has by far the greatest influence on air quality in al. Krasińskiego,in the Ruczaj and Kurdwanów districts. A strong negative correlation was displayed. Manual measurements should be used to verifydata obtained from air monitoring stations. It is to be expected that, in Kraków, air purity will improve due to the implementation ofan anti-smog resolution and subsidies for the replacement of obsolete heating systems with more environmentally friendly solutions.

Disinfection by 1% sodium hypochlorite through cold fogging: an innovative appropriate technology against COVID-19 in public health

Background: SARS-CoV-2 is an enveloped virus with a fragile outer lipid envelope that makes it more susceptible to disinfectants compared to non-enveloped viruses. In this article, dispensation through cold Fogger was innovated as a measure against aerosol-based transmission of COVID-19 in large, enclosed spaces like hospitals, nursing homes, isolation centers and quarantine facilities.Methods: Ecological exploratory to study 1% sodium hypochlorite through cold fogging as an innovative appropriate technology. Study setting included medical college in Western Maharashtra and the selected COVID-19 hospitals Statistical analysis-The data was collated in MS excel and analysed using IBM SPSS version 23.0.Results: Average of 2.9 % HCWs got infected in hospitals where the innovation was used to disinfect, as compared to infections rates of 21.5% in other premier health institutes. There was strong negative correlation between percentage of health care infected and liters of sodium hypochlorite used with R2=0.56. Also, on applying Spearman correlation coefficient there was good negative correlation (-0.8).Conclusions: This appropriate technology has shown significant reduction in infection, with antecedent benefit of decreased morbidity and mortality of precious trained manpower. It gives much better dis-infection at 07 times less the cost and can be conveniently used for dis-infection against COVID-19 at the very periphery of primary health care delivery done at Sub-centres and PHCs.

Employing Google Trends to Assess Concussion Search Popularity, Seasonality, and Association With High School Sports Participation

ObjectiveThis investigation employs 2004–2020 Google Trends data to correlate concussion search popularity and high school sports participation while assessing search seasonality and factors associated with search escalation.BackgroundEvents linked to concussions, from news to entertainment, altered public perception of concussions and discouraged high-risk activities. Such sentiment likely promoted high school football's 2004–2018 8% decrease in participation, despite simultaneous 8% increase for sports overall. Google Trends (GT) analysis calculates distinct subjects' popularity scores (0–100) by normalizing Google search frequency with other subjects in the same topic. With 35% of patients researching their conditions using Google, tracking concussion popularity scores allows robust analysis of event-driven fluctuation, seasonal variation, and sports impact.Design/MethodsWorldwide GT analysis was conducted for the disease topic “Concussion” with the categorical filter “Health” from 2004 to 2020. This period's monthly popularity scores with annual averages and annual high school sports participation data were subsequently obtained from Google Trends and the National Federation of State High School Associations, respectively.ResultsConcurrence of significant score changes with CTE studies' publication, release of 2015 film Concussion, and the COVID-19 pandemic validates GT's measurement of public interest. From 2006 to 2016, Pearson's correlation coefficients demonstrated strong negative correlation between GT popularity scores for “Concussion” with total number of high school football participants overall (R2 = 0.8553) and participants per school (R2 = 0.9533). Confirming football-related seasonality, one-way ANOVA regression analysis concluded 2004–2020's mean change in month-specific popularity score is not the same (p = 3.193E-08), and months during football season had statistically significant variability (September: p = 4.389E-05) with elevated average z-scores.ConclusionsCoupled with ANOVA regression and normalized analyses, strong negative correlations between concussion popularity score and high school football participation produce quantitative measures of a long-suspected relationship. Tracking concussion popularity and seasonality with Google Trends provides insight into how, when, and why patients are educating themselves online.

Intra-Specific Variability in Whorl Growth-Rate among Land Gastropods with Conispirally-Coiled Shells

For most conispirally-coiled Gastropods with determinate growth, the geometry of spirally-winding whorls is usually constrained by a strong negative correlation between whorl growth rate and the number of whorls reached at adulthood, as originally reported by the late S.J. Gould. Yet, beyond the tight control of shell-shape at the species level – resulting from this constraint – what about the amplitude of the intra-specific variability of whorl growth-rate, partly contributing to the variability of the overall shell-size at the species level? I address the issue by designing and implementing a new, indirect method for routinely evaluating whorl growth-rate, thereby aiming at considerably saving measurement time, and making it possible to easily achieve repeated measurements across samples large enough to reach statistical significance. This approach was applied to a series of eight common land snail species. The amplitude of intra-specific variability in whorl growth, evaluated this way, proves: (i) being markedly different among the eight investigated species (by a factor that can exceed 2x); (ii) being, yet, high enough, in all cases, to require compensating variations in the adult number of whorls, so as to limit the resulting consequences on the amplitude of the intra-specific variability of adult shell-size. Despite those marked differences in the amplitudes of intra-specific variability of whorl growth-rate among species, no significant relationship was observed between intraspecific variability of whorl growth rate and species-specific shell-shape types (discoidal/globular/elongate) and only weak positive relationship was observed with species-specific typical shell sizes. However, a rather strong positive correlation was found, as expected, between the degree of intra-specific variability of the whorl growth-rate and the degree of intra-specific variability of the number of whorls reached at adulthood (with the yet unexplained exception of one among the eight investigated species).

Vitamins a and D Enhance the Expression of Ror-γ-Targeting MiRNAs in a Mouse Model of Multiple Sclerosis

Background: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. Autoreactive T cells including cells with a Th17 phenotype are critical players in MS pathogenesis. In this study, we investigated the effects of VitA/D on miRNAs expression involved in Th17 development neuroinflammation using (EAE). Methods: EAE was induced in C57BL/6 mice and received IP injections of vitamins A, D or their combination starting one day before the immunization and continued every other day for 30 days. Animals were scored for 30 days. Percentages of Th17 cells were measured in splenocytes following in vitro re-stimulation with MOG using intracellular staining and flow cytometry. Expression of miR-98-5p and Let-7a-5p, two miRNAs that are known to target Ror-t and Ror-t was measured in MOG-stimulated splenocytes as well as in spinal cord tissues using real-time RT-PCR. Results: Treated mice showed decreased frequency of Th17 cells in their spleens following in vitro re-stimulation with antigen, also lower expression of IL17 and Ror-t in their in CNS and splenocytes. Vitamin A and vitamin D-treated splenocytes showed significant upregulation of miR-98-5p in 24 hour and 48 hours time-points and Let-7a-5p expression was induced at 48-hour post-treatment in MOG-treated cells, which showed a strong negative correlation with splenocyte Ror-t levels. Conclusion: Our data suggest that treatment with vitamins A and D can decreased differentiation of Th17 phenotype. This is likely due to upregulation of Ror-t-targeting miRNAs, miR-98-5p and Let-7a-5p following treatment. These findings point to a potential protective role for miRNAs in the context of autoimmune neuroinflammation.