Brain responses to stimuli mimicking dental treatment among non‐phobic individuals: A meta‐analysis

Numerous neuroimaging studies have attempted to identify how the brain responds to stimuli mimicking dental treatment in normal non‐phobic individuals. However, results were sometimes inconsistent due to small sample sizes and methodological variations. This meta‐analysis employs standardized procedures to summarize data from previous studies to identify brain regions that were consistently activated across studies, elicited by stimuli such as pictures, sounds, or audiovisual footage mimicking those encountered during dental treatments. A systematic literature search was carried out using PubMed and Scopus. The meta‐analysis analyzed data from 120 healthy subjects from seven neuroimaging studies. We assessed the risk of bias among the included studies with the Risk of Bias Assessment Tool for Nonrandomized Studies. One study appeared to have a high risk of selection bias, whereas the others were considered to have a low risk of bias. Results revealed three clusters of activation with cluster sizes ranging from 768 mm³ to 1,424 mm³. Stimuli mimicking dental treatment consistently activated the bilateral anterior insula; right dorsal anterior cingulate, putamen, and medial prefrontal cortex; and left claustrum. This study confirmed that audio and/or visual stimuli mimicking dental treatment consistently activated the fear‐related brain regions among healthy subjects, mostly consistent with activations from general anxiety but without the involvement of the amygdala.     

Association of 2B-adrenergic receptor gene polymorphism with disturbances of cardiac conduction

In this work we for the first time revealed on clinical - genetic material association between hereditary disturbances of cardiac conduction and polymorphism of 2-adrenergic receptor gene.     

A novel beta-thalassemia frameshift mutation (codon 14/15), detectable by direct visualization of abnormal restriction fragment in amplified genomic DNA

A new frameshift mutation due to an insertion of G between codon 14/15 of the beta-globin gene was found in two unrelated Chinese patients with Cooley's anemia. The first patient (W.S.) was homozygous for haplotype 5 (Chinese) and carried a codon 41/42 (four base pair deletion) mutant, while the second patient (C.K.) was homozygous for haplotype 2 (Chinese), and also had a codon 17 (A----T) nonsense mutation. Molecular cloning and M13 sequencing of the beta gene in patient W.S. revealed that the new mutant was found in a beta-globin gene framework type 3 (Asian). Direct sequencing was performed on polymerase chain reaction-amplified genomic DNA from patient C.K. With the new mutation, an additional BstNI or EcoRII recognition site is generated and the abnormal restriction fragment (134 basepair) can be directly visualized on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the amplified genomic DNA.     

Application of Near-IR Spectroscopy to Analysis of Kemantane Drug Substance

Pharmaceutical Chemistry Journal - Near-IR spectroscopy is a promising analytical method in pharmacy. It was shown that it can be used as a rapid method for confirming the identity and analyzing...     

Induction of rainbow trout MH class I and accessory proteins by viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus

Major histocompatibility (MH) class I receptors are glycoproteins which play a critical role during responses to intracellular pathogens by presenting endogenous peptides to cytotoxic T cell lymphocytes (CD8+). To date, little is known about MH class I regulation at the protein level during viral infections in fish. In this study, we characterised the MH class I pathway response to polyinosinic–polycytidylic acid (poly I:C) and upon infection with viral haemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) genotype IVa using the rainbow trout monocyte/macrophage cell line RTS11. A 14-day challenge with VHSV IVa at 14 °C demonstrated enhanced expression of the class I heavy chain, β2 microglobulin (β2M) and tapasin, while the expression of other accessory molecules ERp57 and calreticulin remained unchanged. However, when infection occurred at 2 °C no change in expression levels of any of these molecules was observed. β2M accumulated in the media of RTS11 over time, however the β2M concentrations were 2 fold higher in cultures infected with VHSV 14 days post infection. Strikingly, when cells were maintained at 2 °C the secretion of β2M was significantly reduced in both infected and non-infected cultures. These results indicate that VHSV infection alters the kinetics of β2M release as well as the expression of MH class I and suggests that cellular immunity against VHSV can be compromised at low temperatures which may increase host susceptibility to this virus during the winter.     

PD-L2 is a second ligand for PD-1 and inhibits T cell activation

Programmed death I (PD-I)-deficient mice develop a variety of autoimmune-like diseases, which suggests that this immunoinhibitory receptor plays an important role in tolerance. We identify here PD-1 ligand 2 (PD-L2) as a second ligand for PD-1 and compare the function and expression of PD-L1 and PD-L2. Engagement of PD-1 by PD-L2 dramatically inhibits T cell receptor (TCR)-mediated proliferation and cytokine production by CD4+ T cells. At low antigen concentrations, PD-L2-PD-1 interactions inhibit strong B7-CD28 signals. In contrast, at high antigen concentrations, PD-L2-PD-1 interactions reduce cytokine production but do not inhibit T cell proliferation. PD-L-PD-1 interactions lead to cell cycle arrest in G0/G1 but do not increase cell death. In addition, ligation of PD-1 + TCR leads to rapid phosphorylation of SHP-2, as compared to TCR ligation alone. PD-L expression was up-regulated on antigen-presenting cells by interferon gamma treatment and was also present on some normal tissues and tumor cell lines. Taken together, these studies show overlapping functions of PD-L1 and PD-L2 and indicate a key role for the PD-L-PD-1 pathway in regulatingT cell responses.     

Ecological and hygienic evaluation of the lignin by-products utilization

Main trends in utilization of lignin wastes formed in complex wood processing are discussed. Toxicological and hygienic characteristics of lignins and products of their biotransformation and chlorination are presented. Ecology and hygiene of fertilizers, preserving agents, and construction materials based on lignins are evaluated.