Explore the vast range of titles available.

Since persulfate salts are an important cause of occupational asthma (OA), we aimed to study the persistence of respiratory symptoms after a single exposure to ammonium persulfate (AP) in AP-sensitized mice. BALB/c mice received dermal applications of AP or dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) on days 1 and 8. On day 15, they received a single nasal instillation of AP or saline. Airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) was assessed using methacholine provocation, while pulmonary inflammation was evaluated in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), and total serum immunoglobulin E (IgE), IgG1 and IgG2a were measured in blood at 1, 4, 8, 24 hours and 4, 8, 15 days after the single exposure to the causal agent. Histological studies of lungs were assessed. AP-treated mice showed a sustained increase in AHR, lasting up to 4 days after the challenge. There was a significant increase in the percentage of neutrophils 8 hours after the challenge, which persisted for 24 hours in AP-treated mice. The extent of airway inflammation was also seen in the histological analysis of the lungs from challenged mice. Slight increases in total serum IgE 4 days after the challenge were found, while IgG gradually increased further 4 to 15 days after the AP challenge in AP-sensitized mice. In AP-sensitized mice, an Ig-independent response is induced after AP challenge. AHR appears immediately, but airway neutrophil inflammation appears later. This response decreases in time; at early stages only respiratory and inflammatory responses decrease, but later on immunological response decreases as well.

Transition metals participate in numerous enzymatic reactions and they are essential for survival in all living organisms. For this reason, bacterial pathogens have evolved dedicated machineries to effectively compete with their hosts and scavenge metals at the site of infection. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms controlling metal acquisition in the emerging human pathogen Mycoplasma genitalium. We observed a robust transcriptional response to metal starvation, and many genes coding for predicted lipoproteins and ABC-transporters were significantly up-regulated. Transcriptional analysis of a mutant strain lacking a metalloregulator of the Fur family revealed the activation of a full operon encoding a putative metal transporter system and a gene coding for a Histidine-rich lipoprotein (Hrl). We recognized a conserved sequence with dyad symmetry within the promoter region of the Fur-regulated genes. Mutagenesis of the predicted Fur operator within the hrl promoter abrogated Fur- and metal-dependent expression of a reporter gene. Metal starvation still impelled a strong transcriptional response in the fur mutant, demonstrating the existence of Fur-independent regulatory pathways controlling metal homeostasis. Finally, analysis of metal accumulation in the wild-type strain and the fur mutant by ICP-MS revealed an important role of Fur in nickel acquisition.

Population proteomics has a great potential to address evolutionary and ecological questions, but its use in wild populations of non-model organisms is hampered by uncontrolled sources of variation. Here we compare the response to temperature extremes of two geographically distant populations of a diving beetle species (Agabus ramblae) using 2-D DIGE. After one week of acclimation in the laboratory under standard conditions, a third of the specimens of each population were placed at either 4 or 27°C for 12 h, with another third left as a control. We then compared the protein expression level of three replicated samples of 2-3 specimens for each treatment. Within each population, variation between replicated samples of the same treatment was always lower than variation between treatments, except for some control samples that retained a wider range of expression levels. The two populations had a similar response, without significant differences in the number of protein spots over- or under-expressed in the pairwise comparisons between treatments. We identified exemplary proteins among those differently expressed between treatments, which proved to be proteins known to be related to thermal response or stress. Overall, our results indicate that specimens collected in the wild are suitable for proteomic analyses, as the additional sources of variation were not enough to mask the consistency and reproducibility of the response to the temperature treatments.

Background Breast cancer (BC) is the most common female cancer and the leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide. Alterations in epithelial cadherin (E-cadherin) expression and functions are associated to BC, but the underlying molecular mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. We have previously reported a novel human E-cadherin splice variant (E-cadherin variant) mRNA. Stable transfectants in MCF-7 human BC cells (MCF7Ecadvar) depicted fibroblast-like cell morphology, E-cadherin wild-type downregulation, and other molecular changes characteristic of the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition process, reduced cell-cell adhesion, and increased cell migration and invasion. In this study, a two-dimensional differential gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) combined with mass spectrometry (MS) protein identification and bioinformatics analyses were done to characterize biological processes and canonical pathways affected by E-cadherin variant expression. Results By 2D-DIGE and MS analysis, 50 proteins were found differentially expressed (≥ Δ1.5) in MCF7Ecadvar compared to control cells. Validation of transcript expression was done in the ten most overexpressed and underexpressed proteins. Bioinformatics analyses revealed that 39 of the 50 proteins identified had been previously associated to BC. Moreover, metabolic processes were the most affected, and glycolysis the canonical pathway most altered. The lactate dehydrogenase B (LDHB) was the highest overexpressed protein, and transcript levels were higher in MCF7Ecadvar than in control cells. In agreement with these findings, MCF7Ecadvar conditioned media had lower glucose and higher lactate levels than control cells. MCF7Ecadvar cell treatment with 5 mM of the glycolytic inhibitor 2-deoxy-glucose led to decreased cell viability, and modulation of LDHB expression in MCF7Ecadvar cells with a specific small interfering RNA resulted in decreased cell proliferation. Finally, a positive association between expression levels of the E-cadherin variant and LDHB transcripts was demonstrated in 21 human breast tumor tissues, and breast tumor samples with higher Ki67 expression showed higher LDHB mRNA levels. Conclusions Results from this investigation contributed to further characterize molecular changes associated to the novel E-cadherin splice variant expression in BC cells. They also revealed an association between expression of the novel variant and changes related to BC progression and aggressiveness, in particular those associated to cell metabolism.

In this paper, we present the simulation of 5 different heart failures with the help of the Cardiovascular Simulation Toolbox (CVST) proposed by O. Barnea et al. at Tel-Aviv University. This is a modified version of the CVST, proposed by G.Ortiz; here, we show that the pathological failures can be covered by this tool. We varied the value of the tool blocks, included the results of the hemodynamic parameters and the P-V loop curves for each disease and compared them to the medical data to prove the effectiveness of the simulation. Based on these changes, we achieved an effective simulation of the following heart failures in the CVST: Diastolic Heart Failure (DHF), Systolic Heart Failure (SHF), Right Ventricle Heart Failure (RVHF), Low Output Heart Failure (LOHF) and High Output Heart Failure (HOHF).

BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and m-xylene,p-xylene, and o-xylene) are significant urban air pollutants. This study examines BTEX variability across 7 European countries using data from 22 monitoring sites in different urban settings (urban background, traffic, industry, and suburban background). Results indicate that the relative abundance of BTEX in urban areas follows the order toluene > benzene > m,p-xylene > o-xylene > ethylbenzene, with median mixing ratios of 266 ± 152, 163 ± 74, 129 ± 88, 53 ± 35, and 45 ± 27 ppt during the years 2017–2022, respectively. Seasonal trends show benzene had similar median concentrations across urban background, traffic, and industrial sites, indicating mixed sources. Toluene levels were highest in traffic and industrial areas, highlighting road traffic and industrial emissions. Ethylbenzene and xylenes showed equivalent levels in traffic and industrial areas but were lower in urban backgrounds. Peak BTEX levels occurred during morning and evening rush hours, linked to traffic, heating, and atmospheric stagnation. B/T ratios ranged from 0.29 ± 0.11 to 1.35 ± 0.95, and X/E ratios ranged from 1.75 ± 0.91 to 3.68 ± 0.30, indicating primary pollution from local traffic, followed by solvents, coatings, and biomass burning. Lifetime cancer risk from BTEX exposure was below the definite risk threshold (10−4) but above the permissible risk level (10−6), suggesting moderate risk from benzene and ethylbenzene, particularly in traffic and industrial areas. Additionally, the health index of BTEX at monitoring sites was generally lower than the threshold limit value, suggesting a low non-carcinogenic risk overall. This study offers essential insights into BTEX pollution in urban European environments.

BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m,p,o-xylene) are significant urban air pollutants. This study examines BTEX variability across seven European countries using data from 22 monitoring sites in different urban settings (urban background, traffic, industry, and suburban background). Results indicate that the relative abundance of BTEX in urban areas follows the order: toluene > benzene > m,p-xylene > o-xylene > ethylbenzene, with mean mixing ratios of 391 ± 451, 252 ± 324, 222 ± 297, 92 ± 119, and 78 ± 107 ppt from 2017 to 2022, respectively. Seasonal trends show benzene had similar median concentrations across urban background, traffic, and industrial sites, indicating mixed sources. Toluene levels were highest in traffic and industrial areas, highlighting road traffic and industrial emissions. Ethylbenzene and xylenes showed equivalent levels in traffic and industrial areas but were lower in urban backgrounds. Peak BTEX levels occurred during morning and evening rush hours, linked to traffic, heating, and atmospheric stagnation. B/T ratios ranged from 0.29 ± 0.11 to 1.35 ± 0.95, and X/E ratios ranged from 1.75 ± 0.91 to 3.68 ± 0.30, indicating primary pollution from local traffic, followed by solvents, coatings, and biomass burning. Lifetime Cancer Risk (LCR) values for BTEX exposure were below the definite risk threshold (10−4) but above the permissible risk level (10−6), suggesting moderate risk from benzene and ethylbenzene, particularly in traffic and industrial areas. This study offers essential insights into BTEX pollution in European urban environments.

This study applied Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) to PM 10 speciation datasets from 24 urban sites across six European countries (France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland) to perform a detailed source apportionment (SA) analysis. By using a consistent source apportionment tool for all datasets, the study enhances the comparability of PM 10 SA results across urban Europe. The results identified seven major PM 10 sources including road traffic, biomass burning, crustal/mineral sources, secondary aerosols, industrial emissions, sea salt, and heavy oil combustion (HOC). Road traffic emerged as the predominant source of PM 10 in urban areas, with contributions varying by location, but representing as much as 41% in high-traffic zones. Biomass burning was detected at 23 sites, contributing 8% to 41% on yearly averages, with substantial increase in winter. Crustal sources were present at all sites (3–33%). Industrial sources contributed relatively less PM 10 mass, which was identified at 10 sites with contributions ranging from 2% to 14%. Secondary inorganic and organic aerosol, consisting primarily of ammonium nitrates and sulfates, and organic matter, formed a portion of the PM 10 mass (5–41%). These secondary factors are primarily influenced by anthropogenic emissions, including the various combustion processes. Sea salt, predominantly found in coastal areas, contributed between 4% and 21%, reflecting the impact of the marine environments on air quality. This source was very often ‘aged’ (mixed with anthropogenic pollutants from different origins). Additionally, HOC, especially emits from shipping activities, and traced by V and Ni, was also a frequent contributing source (2–15% for 9 sites), indicating a need for more stringent emission controls. The chemical comparison is performed which indicates road traffic and secondary aerosols, showed consistent chemical profiles across sites, while industrial, HOC, and crustal sources displayed significant site-specific variability. These findings underscore the need for tailored air quality strategies according to local sources of emissions and the importance of long-term PM speciation monitoring for effective pollution control.