Genetic relationships among American donkey populations: insights into the process of colonization.

This study presents the first insights into the genetic diversity and structure of the American donkey metapopulation. The primary objectives were to detect the main structural features underlying variability among American donkey populations, identify boundaries between differentiated gene pools, and draw the main colonization pathways since the introduction of donkeys into America in the 15th century. A panel of 14 microsatellite markers was applied for genotyping 350 American donkeys from 13 countries. The genetic structure of this metapopulation was analysed using descriptive statistics and Bayesian model-based methods. These populations were then compared to a database containing information on 476 individuals from 11 European breeds to identify the most likely ancestral donor populations. Results showed the presence of two distinct genetic pools, with confluence of the two in Colombia. The southern pool showed a unique genetic signature subsequent to an older founder event, but lacked any significant influence of modern gene flow from Europe. The northern pool, conversely, may have retained more ancestral polymorphisms and/or have experienced modern gene flow from Spanish breeds. The Andalusian and, to a lesser extent, the Catalan breeds have left a more pronounced footprint in some of the American donkey populations analysed.

Fiber-fed time-resolved photoluminescence for reduced process feedback time on thin-film photovoltaics.

Fiber-fed time-resolved photoluminescence is demonstrated as a tool for immediate process feedback after deposition of the absorber layer for CuInxGa(1-x)Se2 and Cu2ZnSnSe4 photovoltaic devices. The technique uses a simplified configuration compared to typical laboratory time-resolved photoluminescence in the delivery of the exciting beam, signal collection, and electronic components. Correlation of instrument output with completed device efficiency is demonstrated over a large sample set. The extraction of the instrument figure of merit, depending on both the initial luminescence intensity and its time decay, is explained and justified. Limitations in the prediction of device efficiency by this method, including surface effect, are demonstrated and discussed.

Chronic lithium downregulates cyclooxygenase-2 activity and prostaglandin E(2) concentration in rat brain.

Rats treated with lithium chloride for 6 weeks have been reported to demonstrate reduced turnover of arachidonic acid (AA) in brain phospholipids, and decreases in mRNA and protein levels, and enzyme activity, of AA-selective cytosolic phospholipase A(2)(cPLA(2)). We now report that chronic lithium administration to rats significantly reduced the brain protein level and enzyme activity of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), without affecting COX-2 mRNA. Lithium also reduced the brain concentration of prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)), a bioactive product of AA formed via the COX reaction. COX-1 and the Ca(2+)-independent iPLA(2) (type VI) were unaffected by lithium. These and prior results indicate that lithium targets a part of the AA cascade that involves cPLA(2) and COX-2. This effect may contribute to lithium's therapeutic action in bipolar disorder.

Chronic nutritional deprivation of n-3 alpha-linolenic acid does not affect n-6 arachidonic acid recycling within brain phospholipids of awake rats.

Using an in vivo fatty acid model and operational equations, we reported that esterified and unesterified concentrations of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22 : 6 n-3) were markedly reduced in brains of third-generation (F3) rats nutritionally deprived of alpha-linolenic acid (18 : 3 n-3), and that DHA turnover within phospholipids was reduced as well. The concentration of docosapentaenoic acid (DPA, 22 : 5 n-6), an arachidonic acid (AA, 20 : 4 n-6) elongation/desaturation product, was barely detectable in control rats but was elevated in the deprived rats. In the present study, we used the same in vivo model, involving the intravenous infusion of radiolabeled AA to demonstrate that concentrations of unesterified and esterified AA, and turnover of AA within phospholipids, were not altered in brains of awake F3-generation n-3-deficient rats, compared with control concentrations. Brain DPA-CoA could be measured in the deprived but not control rats, and AA-CoA was elevated in the deprived animals. These results indicated that AA and DHA are recycled within brain phospholipids independently of each other, suggesting that recycling is regulated independently by AA- and DHA-selective enzymes, respectively. Competition among n-3 and n-6 fatty acids within brain probably does not occur at the level of recycling, but at levels of elongation and desaturation (hence greater production of DPA during n-3 deprivation), or conversion to bioactive eicosanoids and other metabolites.

Altered ubiquitin/proteasome expression in anastomotic intimal hyperplasia.

OBJECTIVE: Anastomotic intimal hyperplasia remains a leading mechanism of prosthetic arterial graft failure. Recent studies using messenger RNA differential display have demonstrated altered proteasome gene expression at the anastomoses in an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene canine carotid model. However, this technique is technically limited because of a paucity of available hyperplastic tissue at early time periods after arterial injury. Microarray gene chip technology offers a new and sensitive technique to assay early gene expression, requiring far less tissue for analysis. The purpose of this study was to screen for altered proteasome gene expression at 48 hours and 14 days after prosthetic arterial grafting. METHODS: Expanded polytetrafluoroethylene grafts (6-mm diameter, n = 9) were implanted into 25-kg mongrel dogs. The normal intervening carotid artery was used as control. At 48 hours and 14 days, RNA was extracted from the perianastomotic tissue and compared with RNA from the control carotid. Messenger RNA was then hybridized to microarray genomes screening for differential gene expression. RESULTS: Two 26S proteasome genes and five ubiquitin pathway genes were significantly underexpressed at 48 hours, among several hundred significantly expressed clones. The two 26S proteasome genes were 26S proteasomal subunit p55 (0.26), and 26S proteasomal subunit p40.5 (0.13). The underexpressed ubiquitin genes included ubiquitin (0.31), Nedd-4-like ubiquitin-protein ligase (0.30), ubiquitin conjugating enzyme UbcH2 (0.25), putative ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase UHX1 (0.11), and ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme UbcH7 (0.12). At 14 days, six ubiquitin genes were underexpressed, and 17 26S proteasome genes were significantly downregulated. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows decreased expression of the ubiquitin/proteasome pathway 48 hours after graft implantation and similar diminished expression patterns after 14 days. This early and sustained underexpression after arterial bypass may lead to altered cell cycle control and matrix protein signaling, contributing to the unregulated proliferation of smooth muscle cells and extracellular matrix in anastomotic intimal hyperplasia after prosthetic arterial grafting.

Comparison of the first file that fits at the apex, before and after early flaring.

The purpose of this study was to compare the first file that fits to the apex (FFFA) in each canal before and after early flaring to analyze if the size of file to fit to the apex would increase after flaring. One hundred mesial canals of lower first and second molars with complete apical formation and patent foramens were selected. The samples were randomly divided into two groups of 50 canals each. A file was fit to the apex in each canal and that size recorded. Radicular flaring was completed using Gates-Glidden drills in group 1 and Rapid Body Shapers in group 2. After flaring a file was again fit to the apex in the same manner as before and its size recorded. The mean diameter of FFFA before flaring (file diameters in mm x 10(-2)) was 14.46 (+/-4.12) and after 23.3 (+/-7.2) for group 1 (p < 0.001), whereas in group 2 the mean diameter of FFFA was 17.2 (+/-4.96) before and 25.6 (+/-6.36) after (p < 0.001). A Wilcoxon t test indicates a significant difference (p < 0.001) between the diameter of FFFA before and after flaring in both groups. The increase in diameter was approximately two file sizes for both groups. From this observation it is concluded that early radicular flaring increases the size file that is snug at the apex, and awareness of that difference gives the clinician a better sense of canal size. Early flaring of the canal provides better apical size information and with this awareness, a better decision can be made concerning the appropriate final diameter needed for complete apical shaping.

Chronic valproate treatment decreases the in vivo turnover of arachidonic acid in brain phospholipids: a possible common effect of mood stabilizers.

Both (Li(+)) and valproic acid (VPA) are effective in treating bipolar disorder, but the pathway by which either works, and whether it is common to both drugs, is not agreed upon. We recently reported, using an in vivo fatty acid model, that Li(+) reduces the turnover rate of the second messenger arachidonic acid (AA) by 80% in brain phospholipids of the awake rat, without changing turnover rates of docosahexaenoic or palmitic acid. Reduced AA turnover was accompanied by down-regulation of gene expression and protein levels of an AA-specific cytosolic phospholipase A(2) (cPLA(2)). To see if VPA had the same effect on AA turnover, we used our in vivo fatty acid model in rats chronically administered VPA (200 mg/kg, i.p. for 30 days). Like Li(+), VPA treatment significantly decreased AA turnover within brain phospholipids (by 28-33%), although it had no effect on cPLA(2) protein levels. Thus, both mood stabilizers, Li(+) and VPA have a common action in reducing AA turnover in brain phospholipids, albeit by different mechanisms.

Haloperidol downregulates phospholipase A(2) signaling in rat basal ganglia circuits.

Our laboratory has developed an in vivo method to quantitatively evaluate phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2))-mediated signal transduction in brain regions of rodents. In this method, quantitative autoradiography is used to identify brain uptake of intravenously injected, radiolabeled arachidonic acid ([3H]AA). Dopamine D(2) receptors are coupled to G-proteins that activate PLA(2), releasing AA from the stereospecifically numbered (sn) 2 position of phospholipids, and regional [3H]AA uptake is proportional to the rate of release. In the present experiment, the D(2) antagonist haloperidol (1.0 mg/kg i.p.) or the drug vehicle was administered to male adult rats for 21 days. Rats were infused 3 days later with 1.75 mCi/kg [3H]AA (i.v.), anesthetized and decapitated 20 min after infusion onset, and brains were processed for quantitative autoradiography. Chronic haloperidol significantly decreased [3H]AA incorporation in two primary dopaminergic basal ganglia-frontal cortex circuits, the mesocorticolimbic and nigrostriatal systems, while insignificant changes in AA incorporation were noted in other brain regions. These results suggest that one mechanism by which haloperidol exerts its effect is by downregulating D(2)-mediated PLA(2) signaling involving AA release in basal ganglia-frontal cortex circuitry.

Human vascular smooth muscle cells of diabetic origin exhibit increased proliferation, adhesion, and migration.

PURPOSE: Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) experience progressive macrovascular atherosclerosis and intimal hyperplastic restenosis with increased frequency as compared with nondiabetic patients. These observations suggest that vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) behave in a phenotypically different and more aggressive manner in diabetic patients. In this study, we compared the in vitro rates of proliferation, adhesion, and migration of human VSMCs obtained from diabetic and nondiabetic patients. METHODS: Human VSMC cultures were isolated from 23 diabetic patients (9 artery, 14 vein) and 15 nondiabetic patients (9 artery, 6 vein) with extensive lower extremity atherosclerosis. All patients were between 61 and 78 years of age (average: 68.4 years [diabetic]; 67.3 years [nondiabetic]). All diabetic patients had type 2 DM. Vascular specimens were obtained at the time of amputation from infragenicular arteries and during arterial revascularization from saphenous veins. Cells from passages 2 and 3 were assayed for their proliferative capacity with total DNA fluorescence photometry and for adhesion and migration with a modified Boyden chamber. RESULTS: The average duration of diabetes was 11.6 +/- 4.1 years. The average number of diabetic complications (retinopathy, neuropathy, nephropathy, coronary artery disease) was 2.8 +/- 0.7 per patient. Diabetic VSMCs exhibited abnormal morphology in cell culture with loss of the normal hill and valley configuration. Proliferation was significantly increased in VSMCs of diabetic origin (156 +/- 57 absorption units) as compared with those of nondiabetic origin (116 +/- 42 absorption units) (P <.001). Diabetic VSMCs demonstrated significantly greater adhesion (63.6 +/- 24 per high-power field vs 37.9 +/- 13 per high-power field; P =.002) and migration (397 +/- 151 per low-power field vs 121 +/- 99 per low-power field; P =.001) rates. CONCLUSIONS: Diabetic VSMCs exhibit significantly increased rates of proliferation, adhesion, and migration as well as abnormal cell culture morphology suggestive of abnormal contact inhibition. These observations of human VSMCs in culture are consistent with the increased rate of infragenicular atherosclerosis and the increased rates of restenosis observed clinically in diabetic patients. The atherosclerosis- and intimal hyperplasia-promoting behavior exhibited appears to be intrinsic to the DM-VSMC phenotype and must be considered when designing methods to limit atherosclerosis and intimal hyperplasia in diabetic patients.

Cytomegalovirus esophagitis as a treatable complication of systemic sclerosis.

We report the case of a 51-year-old woman with a connective tissue disease of 8 years duration. She had been taking corticosteroids at a dose of 1 mg/kg/day and azathioprine at a dose of 3 mg/kg/day for 1 month. Given the clinical suspicion of systemic sclerosis (limited form of scleroderma), she was studied according to a protocol including endoscopy to assess the degree to which the underlying disease had affected the gastrointestinal tract. Endoscopy revealed a asymptomatic severe esophagitis and a subsequent biopsy disclosed the presence of cytomegalovirus. Cytomegalovirus pneumonia was also detected. Both processes were successfully managed with intravenous ganciclovir (5 mg/kg/12 hr) for 21 days. This report is a case of cytomegalovirus involving the esophagus in association with systemic sclerosis in a patient immunosuppressed because of drugs that she had been taking. This complication can be asymptomatic and is amenable to treatment.

Nutritional deprivation of alpha-linolenic acid decreases but does not abolish turnover and availability of unacylated docosahexaenoic acid and docosahexaenoyl-CoA in rat brain.

We applied our in vivo fatty acid method to examine concentrations, incorporation, and turnover rates of docosahexaenoic acid (22:6 n-3) in brains of rats subject to a dietary deficiency of alpha-linolenic acid (18:3 n-3) for three generations. Adult deficient and adequate rats of the F3 generation were infused intravenously with [4, 5-(3)H]docosahexaenoic acid over 5 min, after which brain uptake and distribution of tracer were measured. Before infusion, the plasma 22:6 n-3 level was 0.2 nmol ml(-1) in 18:3 n-3-deficient compared with 10.6 nmol ml(-1) in control rats. Brain unesterified 22:6 n-3 was not detectable, whereas docosahexaenoyl-CoA content was reduced by 95%, and 22:6 n-3 content in different phospholipid classes was reduced by 83-88% in deficient rats. Neither plasma or brain arachidonic acid (20:4 n-6) level was significantly changed with diet. Docosapentaenoic acid (22:5 n-6) reciprocally replaced 22:6 n-3 in brain phospholipids. Calculations using operational equations from our model indicated that 22:6 n-3 incorporation from plasma into brain was reduced 40-fold by 18:3 n-3 deficiency. Recycling of 22:6 n-3 due to deacylation-reacylation within phospholipids was reduced by 30-70% with the deficient diet, but animals nevertheless continued to produce 22:6 n-3 and docosahexaenoyl-CoA for brain function. We propose that functional brain effects of n-3 deficiency reflect altered ratios of n-6 to n-3 fatty acids.

Endotoxin induces structure-function alterations of rat liver peroxisomes: Kupffer cells released factors as possible modulators.

We report that endotoxin treatment results in decreased amounts of peroxisomes as well as changes in structure and function of peroxisomal membranes. Peroxisomes isolated from the liver of control and treated animals showed a marked decrease in total protein, but no significant alteration in the sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) protein profile. However, the Western blot study of the peroxisomal beta-oxidation enzymes and catalase showed an increase in those enzymes in the peroxisomal peak of normal density in endotoxin-treated rats. Disintegration of peroxisomal membranes by carbonate treatment from endotoxin-treated liver and change in the fluidity of peroxisomal membranes suggests alterations in peroxisomal membrane structure. No such alterations were found in mitochondrial or microsomal membranes of endotoxin-treated livers. The lipid analysis of these organelles showed that the only organelle affected was the peroxisome, with a significant decrease in the phospholipid and cholesterol concentrations. To understand the mechanism of endotoxin-mediated alterations in peroxisomes, we studied the possible role of Kupffer cell secreted soluble factors (tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF-alpha]) on the peroxisomal structure/function. Inactivation/elimination of Kupffer cells by gadolinium chloride before endotoxin treatment did not normalize the overall peroxisomal protein amount and the lipid composition of isolated peroxisomes. However, the levels of individual protein amount in remaining peroxisomes were normalized. Endotoxin also decreased peroxisomal beta-oxidation, and this was partially restored with gadolinium treatment. These results clearly show that peroxisomes are severely affected by endotoxin treatment and suggest that the damage to this organelle may contribute, at least in part, to endotoxin-induced hepatic cytotoxicity.

Effect of porosity on small-diameter vascular graft healing.

Experimental studies have reported that complete healing of small-diameter expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) grafts occurs only if the porosity of the graft is increased, thereby allowing ingrowth of perigraft capillaries yielding endothelial cells. This study investigates the effects of varied graft porosity on the healing characteristics of 2-mm internal diameter (ID) ePTFE grafts interposed in the rabbit common carotid artery. Four groups were evaluated: Group A (n = 8) standard (30-microm pores) ePTFE grafts; Group B (n = 8) increased porosity (60-microm pores) ePTFE grafts; Group C (n = 8) standard ePTFE; and Group D (n = 8) 60-microm ePTFE external graft surface was externally coated with an impermeable layer of polyurethane. Patency was 100% for all groups at 8 weeks. At explantation, the neointima was composed of primarily modified smooth muscle cells. Endothelial cells were only identified at the perianastomotic region using the endothelial cell-specific antibody CD31. The impermeable external polyurethane coating of ePTFE grafts had no effect on neointima formation, regardless of porosity.

Ensayo clínico prospectivo de parámetros basados en la función de las prótesis parciales removibles en Ni-Ti versus Cr-Co / Prospective clinical test on parameters based in the function of removable partial prosthesis of Ni-Ti versus Cr-Co

Este trabajo presenta un ensayo clínico piloto sobre prótesis parciales removibles realizadas en una aleación superelástica de Ni- Ti comparando su funcionamiento con prótesis de igual diseño construidas en Cr-Co. Los parámetros valorados en clínica por el investigador fueron la retención, estabilidad, ajuste, estética, higiene de la prótesis y cambios en la mucosa oral. El comportamiento de la prótesis era anotado en una escala graduada en cada uno de los parámetros. Los resultados indicaron un mejor funcionamiento de las prótesis parciales removibles de Ni-Ti en la variable retención (t = 5,11; p 0,001) y una mejor estética en las prótesis de Cr-Co (Z = - 3,72; p= 0,0002). El resto de los parámetros tuvieron unos resultados similares en los dos tipos de aleaciones. Este trabajo nos permite concluir que la aleación de Ni-Ti es una aleación con un buen funcionamiento, por lo que puede ser empleada en clínica (AU)

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