The Jahamah Platform is a part of a structural depression called the Sirt basin, located in the northern central part of Libya. The Jahamah Platform spans latitude 〖29.95〗^° N to 〖30.55〗^° N and longitudes 〖19.32〗^° E to 〖19.77〗^° E with an estimated area of about 2,187 km2. Libyan Petroleum Institute provided the data of aeromagnetic that was used in this study. The data was used to study the structure beneath the Jahamah Platform by using Oasis montaj software. Various filters from the software have been applied to enhance determining the fault system within the study area. An RTP filter was applied to the magnetic data to construct a reduction to the pole anomaly map. The subsurface structural elements underneath the study area were identified using Total horizontal derivative (THD), CET analysis, and Euler deconvolution. 2-D forward modelling of the area was constructed based on gravity data, and then the basement depth was estimated to range from 2.2 km to 3.1 km based on the model. Based on the interpretation of the constructed maps, the area has a number of faults that trend in NE-SW, NNW-SSE, N-S and NW-SE and faults depth ranging between 790 m to 3102 m.
Studie je replikací experimentu, který přinesl podporu pro hypotézu, že lidé představující si konzumaci jídla sní následně méně jídla než lidé, kteří si konzumaci jídla nepředstavovali. Replikace byla provedena na vzorku 77 vysokoškolských studentů, kteří byli náhodně rozděleni do tří skupin podle různých druhů imaginace. V porovnání s replikovanou studií byl pro analýzy použit větší zkoumaný soubor, byla ověřována úspěšnost manipulace s nezávislou proměnnou a zkoumaným osobám za účast ve výzkumu nebyla nabízena žádná odměna. Na rozdíl od replikované studie nebyl zaznamenán statisticky významný vliv druhu imaginace konzumace jídla na jeho pozdější skutečnou konzumaci. Výsledky nepodporují výsledky původního experimentu a ukazují, že původní výsledky mohly být jen důsledkem náhody. Jsou potřeba další replikace, aby bylo zřejmé, zda je efekt imaginace konzumace na zkonzumované množství jídla skutečný. and This study is a replication of an experiment that has supported a hypothesis that people imagining a consumption of food before its real consumption eat less food than without the prior imagination. The sample consisted of 77 university students who were randomly assigned into three groups varying by amount of imagined objects being consumed. A larger sample has been collected, the level of predictor variable manipulation has been controlled and a no compensation has been offered to the participants in comparison to the replicated study. On the contrary to the primary study, no significant effect of the type of imagined consumption on the consecutive consumption has been found. Results do not support results of the original study and suggest the original study’s outcome might have been achieved at random. More replication is necessary to be able to assess whether the effect of imagination on food consumption is real.
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is believed to be a non-autoimmune metabolic disorder. However, there are increasing reports that some T2D patients have immune abnormalities. In addition, it is known that there are sex differences in the onset of diabetes and immune responses in humans. Spontaneously Diabetic Torii (SDT) rats, a non-obese T2D model, also have sex differences in the onset of diabetes, but the involvement of immune abnormalities in diabetes is unknown. In this study, we investigated immune abnormalities in SDT rats. Immune cell subset analysis was performed in male and female SDT rats and control Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats at 5, 11, and 17 weeks of age. Male and female SDT rats had swelling of the spleen and lymph nodes and a higher number of T cells and B cells in the blood, spleen, and lymph nodes than SD rats. Only male SDT rats developed diabetes at 17 weeks of age, and the number of classical and non-classical monocytes in the blood and spleen of male SDT rats was higher than that in male SD rats and female SDT rats that did not develop diabetes. Most of these findings were observed before the onset of diabetes (~11 weeks of age), suggesting that classical and non-classical monocytes may contribute to the development of diabetes in male SDT rats. In conclusion, SDT rats may be a useful T2D model involved in immune abnormalities, and further research will help elucidate the pathophysiology of T2D with immune abnormalities and develop new therapeutic agents.
The elastase, which belongs to the serine protease family, hydrolyses various proteins and may be involved in the parasite invasion. In this study, complete sequence of elastase-1 (TsE) the nematode Trichinella spiralis (Owen, 1835) was cloned into the plasmid pcDNA3.1 as TsE DNA vaccine. After intramuscular vaccination, serum anti-Trichinella antibodies (IgG and subclass IgG1/IgG2a, and IgA), total and specific intestinal mucosal sIgA in mice vaccinated with pcDNA3.1/TsE were measured by ELISA. The results showed that vaccination with pcDNA3.1/TsE induced a systemic humoral immune response (high levels of serum IgG and subclass IgG1/IgG2a and IgA) and local intestinal mucosal immune responses (high levels of TsE-specific sIgA). Vaccination of mice with TsE DNA vaccine also triggered a systemic and local concomitant Th1/Th2 response, as demonstrated by significant elevation of Th1 (IFN-γ and IL-2) / Th2 (IL-4 and IL-10) cytokine levels after the spleen, mesenteric lymph node and Peyer's patch cells from vaccinated mice were stimulated with recombinant TsE (rTsE). The vaccination of mice with pcDNA3.1/TsE displayed a 17% reduction of intestinal adult worms and a 39% reduction of muscle larvae. Our results indicated that TsE DNA vaccine elicited a systemic concomitant Th1/Th2 response and an enteral local sIgA response, and produced a partial protection against infection with T. spiralis. The TsE may be regarded as a potential candidate vaccine target against Trichinella infection. The oral polyvalent vaccines should be developed to improve the protective efficacy of anti-Trichinella vaccines.
Uterine tubes (UTs) are essential during physiological reproduction. The most intriguing part of its wall is the mucosa. Apart from the epithelial cells vital for its normal function, the connective tissue lamina propria contains wide spaces whose function, morphology and structure are yet to be elucidated. The present study used bioptic samples from 25 premenopausal (mean age 48.3 years, σ=3.56) and 25 postmenopausal women (mean age 57.8 years, σ=7.79). In both study groups, samples were obtained from two anatomically distinct parts of the UT – ampulla and infundibulum with fimbriae. The specimens were processed for scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and immunohistochemical detection of podoplanin (clone D2-40) and VEGFR-3 – two markers of lymphatic endothelial cells. The results showed that specimens from premenopausal and postmenopausal women contain wide lymphatic spaces, also known as lymphatic lacunae. The most probable function of the lacunae in the fimbriae is oocyte pick-up upon ovulation thanks to their ability to get engorged with lymph, thus serving as an erectile-like tissue. The ampullary lacunae are probably responsible for tubal fluid maintenance and recirculation. These results indicate that they are vital for normal reproduction because tubal fluid dynamics are as important as fluid composition. Further research on this topic is highly warranted because more detailed insights into UT function have a great potential to refine the methods of reproductive medicine, e.g. in vitro fertilization (IVF), which are still far from optimal regarding fertility outcomes.
MEHMO syndrome is a rare X-linked syndrome characterized by Mental retardation, Epilepsy, Hypogenitalism, Microcephaly, and Obesity associated with the defect of protein synthesis caused by the EIF2S3 gene mutations. We hypothesized that the defect in protein synthesis could have an impact on the immune system. We describe immunologic phenotype and possible treatment outcomes in patient with MEHMO syndrome carrying a frameshift mutation (I465fs) in the EIF2S3 gene. The proband (currently 9-year-old boy) had normal IgG and IgM levels, but had frequent respiratory and urinary tract infections. On subcutaneous immunoglobulin therapy achieving supraphysiological IgG levels the frequency of infections significantly decreased in Poisson regression by 54.5 % (CI 33.2-89.7, p=0.017). The MEHMO patient had had frequent acute infections despite normal IgG and IgM serum levels and responded well to the immunoglobulin treatment., Ivana Trochanová, Daniela Staníková, Martina Škopková, Klaudia Haštová, Daniela Gašperíková, Juraj Staník, Peter Čižnár., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Mitochondria are considered central regulator of the aging process; however, majority of studies dealing with the impact of age on mitochondrial oxygen consumption focused on skeletal muscle concluding (although not uniformly) a general declining trend with advancing age. In addition, gender related differences in mitochondrial respiration have not been satisfactorily described yet. The aim of the present study was to evaluate mitochondrial oxygen consumption in various organs of aging male and female Fischer 344 rats at the ages of 6, 12 and 24 months. Mitochondrial respiration of homogenized (skeletal muscle, left and right heart ventricle, hippocampus, cerebellum, kidney cortex), gently mechanically permeabilized (liver) tissue or intact cells (platelets) was determined using high-resolution respirometry (oxygraphs O2k, Oroboros, Austria). The pattern of age-related changes differed in each tissue: in the skeletal muscle and kidney cortex of both sexes and in female heart, parameters of mitochondrial respiration significantly declined with age. Resting respiration of intact platelets displayed an increasing trend and it did not correlate with skeletal muscle respiratory states. In the heart of male rats and brain tissues of both sexes, respiratory states remained relatively stable over analyzed age categories with few exceptions of lower mitochondrial oxygen consumption at the age of 24 months. In the liver, OXPHOS capacity was higher in females than in males with either no difference between the ages of 6 and 24 months or even significant increase at the age of 24 months in the male rats. In conclusion, the results of our study indicate that the concept of general pattern of age-dependent decline in mitochondrial oxygen consumption across different organs and tissues could be misleading. Also, the statement of higher mitochondrial respiration in females seems to be conflicting, since the genderrelated differences may vary with the tissue studied, combination of substrates used and might be better detectable at younger ages than in old animals.
In the present study, we have investigated the role of antimalarial drug halofantrine (HF) in inducing the sterile protection against challenges with sporozoites of the live infectious Plasmodium yoelii (Killick-Kendrick, 1967) in Swiss mice malaria model. We observed that during the first to third sequential sporozoite inoculation cycles, blood-stage patency remains the same in the control and chemoprophylaxis under HF drug cover (CPS-HF) groups. However, a delayed blood-stage infection was observed during the fourth and fifth sporozoite challenges and complete sterile protection was produced following the sixth sporozoite challenge in CPS-HF mice. We also noticed a steady decline in liver stage parasite load after 3th to 6th sporozoite challenge cycle in CPS-HF mice. CPS-HF immunisation results in a significant up-regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-12 and iNOS) and down-regulation of anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10 and TGF-β) mRNA expression in hepatic mononuclear cells (HMNC) and spleen cells in the immunised CPS-HF mice (after 6th sporozoite challenge) compared to control. Overall, our study suggests that the repetitive sporozoite inoculation under HF drug treatment develops a strong immune response that confers protection against subsequent challenges with sporozoites of P. yoelii.
Perinatal hypoxia is still one of the greatest threats to the
newborn child, even in developed countries. However, there is
a lack of works which summarize up-to-date information about
that huge topic. Our review covers a broader spectrum of recent
results from studies on mechanisms leading to hypoxia-induced
injury. It also resumes possible primary causes and observed
behavioral outcomes of perinatal hypoxia. In this review, we
recognize two types of hypoxia, according to the localization of
its primary cause: environmental and placental. Later we analyze
possible pathways of prenatal hypoxia-induced injury including
gene expression changes, glutaminergic excitatory damage (and
a role of NMDA receptors in it), oxidative stress with ROS and
RNS production, inflammation and apoptosis. Moreover, we focus
on the impact of these pathophysiological changes on the
structure and development of the brain, especially on its regions:
corpus striatum and hippocampus. These brain changes of the
offspring lead to impairments in their postnatal growth and
sensorimotor development, and in their motor functions, activity,
emotionality and learning ability in adulthood. Later we compare
various animal models used to investigate the impact of prenatal
and postnatal injury (hypoxic, ischemic or combinatory) on living
organisms, and show their advantages and limitations.
The healthy development of the fetus depends on the exact course of pregnancy and delivery. Therefore, prenatal hypoxia remains between the greatest threats to the developing fetus. Our study aimed to assess the impact of prenatal hypoxia on postnatal development and behavior of the rats, whose mothers were exposed to hypoxia (10.5 % O2) during a critical period of brain development on GD20 for 12 h. This prenatal insult resulted in a delay of sensorimotor development of hypoxic pups compared to the control group. Hypoxic pups also had lowered postnatal weight which in males persisted up to adulthood. In adulthood, hypoxic males showed anxiety-like behavior in the OF, higher sucrose preference, and lower levels of grimace scale (reflecting the degree of negative emotions) in the immobilization chamber compared to the control group. Moreover, hypoxic animals showed hyperactivity in EPM and LD tests, and hypoxic females had reduced sociability compared to the control group. In conclusion, our results indicate a possible relationship between prenatal hypoxia and changes in sociability, activity, and impaired emotion regulation in ADHD, ASD, or anxiety disorders. The fact that changes in observed parameters are manifested mostly in males confirms that male sex is more sensitive to prenatal insults.