Prevalence of Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms in Patients with Degenerative Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms: Results from the Prospective ACTA Study

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Biochemical Validation of the Older Australian’s Food Frequency Questionnaire Using Carotenoids and Vitamin E

Background: Validation of a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) is important, as inaccurate and imprecise information may affect the association between dietary exposure and health outcomes. Objective: This study assessed the validity of the Older Australian’s FFQ against plasma carotenoids and Vitamin E. Methods: A random subsample (n = 150) of 2420 participants in the Hunter Community Study, aged 55–85 years, were included. Correlations between crude and energy-adjusted FFQ estimates of carotenoids, Vitamin E, and fruit and vegetables with corresponding biomarkers were determined. Percentages of participants correctly classified in the same quartile, and in the same ± 1 quartile, by the two methods were calculated. Results: Significant correlations (P < 0.05) were observed for α-carotene (r = 0.26–0.28), β-carotene (r = 0.21–0.25), and β-cryptoxanthin (r = 0.21–0.23). Intakes of fruits and vegetables also showed similar correlations with these plasma carotenoids. Lycopene was only significantly correlated with fruit and vegetable intakes (r = 0.19–0.23). Weak correlations were observed for lutein + zeaxanthin (r = 0.12–0.16). For Vitamin E, significant correlation was observed for energy-adjusted FFQ estimate and biomarker (r = 0.20). More than 68% of individuals were correctly classified within the same or adjacent quartile, except for lutein + zeaxanthin. Conclusion: With the exception of lutein + zeaxanthin, the Older Australian’s FFQ provides reasonable rankings for individuals according to their carotenoids, Vitamin E, fruit and vegetable intakes.     

Target RNA capture and cleavage by the Cmr type III-B CRISPR–Cas effector complex

The effector complex of the Cmr/type III-B CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat)–Cas (CRISPR-associated) system cleaves RNAs recognized by the CRISPR RNA (crRNA) of the complex and includes six protein subunits of unknown functions. Using reconstituted Pyrococcus furiosus Cmr complexes, we found that each of the six Cmr proteins plays a critical role in either crRNA interaction or target RNA capture. Cmr2, Cmr3, Cmr4, and Cmr5 are all required for formation of a crRNA-containing complex detected by native gel electrophoresis, and the conserved 5′ repeat sequence tag and 5′-OH group of the crRNA are essential for the interaction. Interestingly, capture of the complementary target RNA additionally requires both Cmr1 and Cmr6. In detailed functional studies, we determined that P. furiosus Cmr complexes cleave target RNAs at 6-nucleotide (nt) intervals in the region of complementarity, beginning 5 nt downstream from the crRNA tag and continuing to within ∼14 nt of the 3′ end of the crRNA. Our findings indicate that Cmr3 recognizes the signature crRNA tag sequence (and depends on protein–protein interactions with Cmr2, Cmr4, and Cmr5), each Cmr4 subunit mediates a target RNA cleavage, and Cmr1 and Cmr6 mediate an essential interaction between the 3′ region of the crRNA and the target RNA.     

Disclosing respiratory co-infections: a broad-range panel assay for avian respiratory pathogens on a nanofluidic PCR platform

Respiratory syndromes (RS) are among the most significant pathological conditions in edible birds and are caused by complex coactions of pathogens and environmental factors. In poultry, low pathogenic avian influenza A viruses, metapneumoviruses, infectious bronchitis virus, infectious laryngotracheitis virus, Mycoplasma spp. Escherichia coli and/or Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale in turkeys are considered as key co-infectious agents of RS. Aspergillus sp., Pasteurella multocida, Avibacterium paragallinarum or Chlamydia psittaci may also be involved in respiratory outbreaks. An innovative quantitative PCR method, based on a nanofluidic technology, has the ability to screen up to 96 samples with 96 pathogen-specific PCR primers, at the same time, in one run of real-time quantitative PCR. This platform was used for the screening of avian respiratory pathogens: 15 respiratory agents, including viruses, bacteria and fungi potentially associated with respiratory infections of poultry, were targeted. Primers were designed and validated for SYBR green real-time quantitative PCR and subsequently validated on the Biomark high throughput PCR nanofluidic platform (Fluidigm©, San Francisco, CA, USA). As a clinical assessment, tracheal swabs were sampled from turkeys showing RS and submitted to this panel assay. Beside systematic detection of E. coli, avian metapneumovirus, Mycoplasma gallisepticum and Mycoplasma synoviae were frequently detected, with distinctive co-infection patterns between French and Moroccan flocks. This proof-of-concept study illustrates the potential of such panel assays for unveiling respiratory co-infection profiles in poultry.     

Laugh yourself to sleep: memory consolidation for humorous information

There is extensive evidence that emotional information is better remembered than neutral information across long delays, especially if the delay interval contains an opportunity for sleep. However, as prior studies have focused on memory for negative stimuli, it is unclear whether positive memories benefit from time and sleep as well. To investigate the consolidation of positive memories, the current study examined differences in memory for humorous and non-humorous cartoons. While prior evidence demonstrates that humorous information is preferentially remembered relative to non-humorous information over brief delays, it is unknown whether this benefit lasts across longer delay intervals or whether sleep is important for lasting humor memories to form. Thus, we tested memory for 27 cartoons across 12-h delay periods containing either sleep or wakefulness. Results indicate that humor’s enhancing effect on recall memory is robust across a 12-h delay and that a period of sleep facilitates this effect over wakefulness when cartoons are novel to participants and ranked based on subjective emotional ratings. Further, in accordance with previous studies that reveal diminished emotional reactivity to stimuli following sleep, in a supplemental experiment, we found that sleep reduced subjective ratings of humor, arousal, and positivity of humorous cartoons. These findings provide preliminary evidence that sleep’s impact on negative emotional memory consolidation and emotional reactivity can be extended to positive stimuli as well.