Plasma S-Adenosylmethionine is Associated with Lung Injury in COVID-19

ObjectiveS-Adenosylmethionine (SAM) and S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) are indicators of global transmethylation and may play an important role as markers of severity of COVID-19.MethodsThe levels of plasma SAM and SAH were determined in patients admitted with COVID-19 (n = 56, mean age = 61). Lung injury was identified by computed tomography (CT) in accordance with the CT0-4 classification.ResultsSAM was found to be a potential marker of lung damage risk in COVID-19 patients (SAM > 80 nM; CT3,4 vs. CT 0-2: relative ratio (RR) was 3.0; p = 0.0029). SAM/SAH > 6.0 was also found to be a marker of lung injury (CT2-4 vs. CT0,1: RR = 3.47, p = 0.0004). Interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels were associated with SAM (ρ = 0.44, p = 0.01) and SAH (ρ = 0.534, p = 0.001) levels.ConclusionsHigh SAM levels and high methylation index are associated with the risk of lung injury in COVID-19 patients. The association of SAM and SAH with IL-6 indicates an important role of transmethylation in the development of cytokine imbalance in COVID-19 cases.

Effects of Glymes on the Distribution of Mg(B10H10) and Mg(B12H12) from the Thermolysis of Mg(BH4)2

We examined the effects of concentrations and identities of various glymes, from monoglyme up to tetraglyme, on H2 release from the thermolysis of Mg(BH4)2 at 160–200 °C for 8 h. 11B NMR analysis shows major products of Mg(B10H10) and Mg(B12H12); however, their relative ratio is highly dependent both on the identity and concentration of the glyme to Mg(BH4)2. Selective formation of Mg(B10H10) was observed with an equivalent of monoglyme and 0.25 equivalent of tetraglyme. However, thermolysis of Mg(BH4)2 in the presence of stoichiometric or greater equivalent of glymes can lead to unselective formation of Mg(B10H10) and Mg(B12H12) products or inhibition of H2 release.

Effects of Oxide Inclusions on Texture of 1235 Al-Alloy after Deformation

Texture characteristics of compressed 1235 Al-alloy treated by different purification methods are studied by electron backscattered diffraction. The effects of oxide inclusions on texture components of material are studied as well. The main textures in hot-compressed 1235 Al-alloy are Cube texture, R texture, Gross texture, Brass texture, and Rotated cube texture. The lower the content of oxide inclusions in the material, the smaller the total relative ratio of textures. The total relative ratio of textures goes to the smallest by 1.8 % in high-efficient purified 1235 Al-alloy by oxide inclusion content of 0.051 %. The purification results have obvious effects on types and percentage of texture in the deformed alloy. With the decreasing content of oxide inclusion, the ratio of deformation texture decreases and recrystallization texture increases. Brass texture is gradually replaced by Goss texture in the deformation textures. R texture is the main texture in recrystallization textures. Therefore, reducing the content of oxide inclusions is effective for improving the hot deformation properties of 1235 Al-alloy.

RANKL/OPG ratio regulates odontoclastogenesis in damaged dental pulp

Bone-resorbing osteoclasts are regulated by the relative ratio of the differentiation factor, receptor activator NF-kappa B ligand (RANKL) and its decoy receptor, osteoprotegerin (OPG). Dental tissue-localized-resorbing cells called odontoclasts have regulatory factors considered as identical to those of osteoclasts; however, it is still unclear whether the RANKL/OPG ratio is a key factor for odontoclast regulation in dental pulp. Here, we showed that odontoclast regulators, macrophage colony-stimulating factor-1, RANKL, and OPG were detectable in mouse pulp of molars, but OPG was dominantly expressed. High OPG expression was expected to have a negative regulatory effect on odontoclastogenesis; however, odontoclasts were not detected in the dental pulp of OPG-deficient (KO) mice. In contrast, damage induced odontoclast-like cells were seen in wild-type pulp tissues, with their number significantly increased in OPG-KO mice. Relative ratio of RANKL/OPG in the damaged pulp was significantly higher than in undamaged control pulp. Pulp damages enhanced hypoxia inducible factor-1α and -2α, reported to increase RANKL or decrease OPG. These results reveal that the relative ratio of RANKL/OPG is significant to pulpal odontoclastogenesis, and that OPG expression is not required for maintenance of pulp homeostasis, but protects pulp from odontoclastogenesis caused by damages.

SplicingFactory – Splicing diversity analysis for transcriptome data

SummaryAlternative splicing contributes to the diversity of RNA found in biological samples. Current tools investigating patterns of alternative splicing check for coordinated changes in the expression or relative ratio of RNA isoforms. However, the molecular process of splicing is stochastic and changes in RNA isoform heterogeneity for a gene might arise between samples or conditions. Here we present a tool for the characterization and analysis of RNA heterogeneity using isoform level expression measurements.Availability and implementationThe SplicingFactory package is freely available under the GPL-3.0 license from Bioconductor (https://bioconductor.org) for Windows, MacOS and [email protected]

Biogas Production from Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Spent Mushroom Substrate with Different Livestock Manure

Spent mushroom substrate (SMS) is defined as the biomass waste generated during industrial mushroom cultivation. Utilization of SMS has been extensively researched and has immense potential as a sustainable substrate for generating biogas that can offset fossil fuel use. This closed loop energy generation process that can be set up in mushroom plants will reduce the dependence on fossil fuels and has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which will benefit the environment. Anaerobic co-digestion of SMS with different agricultural wastes such as livestock manure would result in enhanced biogas production. In this study, the anaerobic co-digestion of SMS was carried out by combing yellow back fungus SMS along with chicken, dairy and pig manure. SMS combined with chicken manure yielded a slightly higher cumulative methane yield when compared with the combination of dairy manure and pig manure. Factors such as the total solids (TS) and the relative ratio of manure to SMS loading had a significant impact on the cumulative methane yield, volatile solids removal, with a particularly prominent synergistic effect. The synergistic effect was also closely related to the C/N ratio, and under experimental conditions (TS = 15%, SMS relative ratio of 50% and C/N ratio = 25.6), the cumulative methane yield of SMS with chicken manure (CM) was increased by 414% compared with that obtained using SMS or CM separately. We carried out a multiple linear regression (MLR) analysis, a statistical technique that uses several explanatory variables to predict the outcome of a response variable. Our analysis concluded that by using operating conditions (TS = 15%, and SMS ratio = 38.9), we were able to achieve the maximum cumulative methane yield (CMY).

Efficacy of Sinus Tarsal Approach Compared With Conventional L-Shaped Lateral Approach in the Treatment of Calcaneal Fractures: A Meta-Analysis

Background: This study aims to compare the efficacy of the sinus tarsal approach (STA) with that of the conventional L-shaped lateral approach (CLSLA) in the treatment of calcaneal fractures by meta-analysis.Methods: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, and China Wanfang database were searched to collect clinical randomized or non-randomized controlled trials of STA and CLSLA in the treatment of calcaneal fractures from January 2010 to May 2020. The data were analyzed by Stata 15.0 software.Results: A total of 12 clinical trials were included, all of which were retrospective studies, including 961 patients. The results showed that when STA was compared with CLSLA, there was no difference in operation time with mean difference (MD) = −5.51 [95% confidence interval (CI): −12.57 to 1.55, P > 0.05], less bleeding during operation with MD = −18.49 (95% CI:−23.79 to −13.18), no difference in Böhler angle after an operation with MD = 0.78 (95% CI: −0.09 to 1.65) and in Gissane angle with MD = −0.07 (95% CI: −1.90 to 1.77), no difference in American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society score with MD = 2.16 (95% CI: −1.07 to 5.38), higher-excellent and better rate of Maryland food function with relative ratio = 1.12 (95% CI: 1.04 to 1.20), and lower of incidence of postoperative complications with relative ratio = 0.23 (95% CI: 0.14–0.37).Conclusion: STA was more effective than CLSLA in the treatment of calcaneal fractures. Moreover, STA had advantages in less intraoperative bleeding, higher-excellent and better rate of Maryland foot function, lower incidence of postoperative complications, and higher safety.

The Effects of Elasticity of Demand For Product Quality And Discount Rate In Dual-Channel Supply Chains

This research employed a development model investigating offline and online demand functions in the dual-channel supply chain (DCSC) structure by Widodo He explains that the DCSC structure has a problem determining each channel’s prices and proposes a mathematical model approach between offline channels and online channels. The critical parameter is the relative ratio of customer acceptance on the online and the offline channels. Besides using the relative ratio of customer acceptance on the online and the offline channels, this research employed an additional variable, namely the elasticity of demand for quality and discount rate. Adding a new variable to the DCSC structure increases profit systems. This study aimed to investigate the best prices for offline and online channels to get optimal profits. Therefore, optimal prices were discovered for consumers and companies with the two sales structures running simultaneously. The model development profits showe that profits in both offline and online channels increased. In the current condition, the offline channels tended to dominate. However, the analysis of this study showed that online sales could control the sales structures. The overall profits of IDR 2,532,106.00 were obtained by setting a price of IDR 87,296.00 on offline channels and Rp. 89,300.00 on the online channel.

Study on detoxification property of alkaline-modified MoO42--H2O2 decontaminants against PhSMe under subzero environment

The decontaminant activated by MoO42- (MoO42--H2O2) suitable for subzero environment shows strong oxidizing ability and weak nucleophilicity due to its acid. In this paper, in order to improve nucleophilicity and retain oxidation of MoO42--H2O2 as far as possible, NH3 and NaOH were used as alkaline modifiers, and PhSMe was used as a simulant of HD to study the oxidation rate and products of sulfides by alkaline-modified MoO42--H2O2 below zero. Results showed that the reaction rate constants decreased with the increase of pH in both NH3 and NaOH modified MoO42--H2O2 at -20°C, and the relative ratio of sulfone to sulfoxide increased especially at pH>9. The reaction activation energy Ea of PhSMe oxidation in the alkaline-modified MoO42--H2O2 decontaminants was lower than that in the MoO42--H2O2 decontaminant, which indicated that the sensitivity of the oxidation reaction rate to temperature in MoO42--H2O2 was reduced after modification.

Activation of invariant natural killer T cells ameliorates doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity in mice

Objective Doxorubicin (DOX) is one of the most important anticancer agents and widely used to treat cancers but clinical utility of DOX is limited for its dose-dependent cardiotoxicity. The precise mechanism of DOX-induced cardiotoxicity is still not fully understood but it has been reported that cardiac inflammation is involved in the cardiotoxicity. Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells, a unique subset of T lymphocytes that recognize glycolipid antigens and secrete a large amount of both Th1 and Th2 cytokines on activation, have been shown to play crucial roles in the regulation of immune responses. However, it remains unclear whether iNKT cells are involved in DOX-induced cardiotoxicity. Methods and results Male C57BL/6J mice were administered DOX (20mg/kg body weight; n=28) or vehicle (Vehicle; n=6). DOX-administered mice were further divided into 2 groups; those treated with α-galactosylceramide (αGC, 0.1μg/g body weight; DOX-αGC; n=14), which specifically activates iNKT cells, or those treated with PBS (DOX-PBS; n=14) by intraperitoneal injections (twice; 4 days before and 3 days after DOX administration).An echocardiography conducted at 14 days after DOX/Vehicle administration revealed that LV fractional shortening was significantly reduced in the DOX-PBS compared to the Vehicle (49.3±0.8% vs. 59.2±1.7%, P<0.05), and this decrease was completely attenuated in the DOX-αGC (57.7±1.3%, P<0.05 vs. DOX-PBS)without affecting LV end-diastolic diameter. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that the ratio of iNKT cells to mononuclear cells infiltrated into the heart tissue was significantly increased in the DOX+αGC compared to the Vehicle and the DOX+PBS (1.00±0.09% vs. 0.54±0.09% and 0.71±0.07%, P<0.05). Immuno-histochemistry revealed that the infiltration number of Iba1+macrophages in the heart tissue was significantly elevated in the DOX+αGC compared to the Vehicle and the DOX+PBS (55.4±3.2 cells/mm2 vs. 21.7±2.0 cells/mm2 and 37.5±5.9 cells/mm2, P<0.05) The ratio of fibrosis area to the heart tissue was markedly higher in the DOX-PBS than in Vehicle (4.3±0.5% vs. 2.2±0.1%, P<0.05), and this increase was completely attenuated in the DOX-αGC (2.8±0.1%, P<0.05 vs.DOX-PBS).Real-time PCR analysis revealed that mRNA expressions of M2 macrophage markers (Arginase 1 and Retnla) and IL-4 were significantly enhanced in the DOX+αGC compared to the DOX+PBS (Arginase 1: 2.5±0.4 vs. 1.6±0.3 [relative ratio to the Vehicle], P=0.08; Retnla: 2.4±0.5 vs. 1.1±0.2 [relative ratio to the Vehicle], P<0.05; IL-4: 1.0±0.3 vs. 8.94±2.8 [relative ratio to the DOX+PBS], P<0.05), while those of M1 macrophage markers (iNOS and MCP-1) did not change among all groups. Conclusions Activation of iNKT cells ameliorates DOX-induced cardiotoxicity in mice via enhanced M2 macrophage polarization with the upregulation of IL-4 and reducing cardiac fibrosis. iNKT cell activation can be a novel preventive strategy against DOX-induced cardiotoxicity. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: Foundation. Main funding source(s): Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (18lm0203001j0002) and JSPS KAKENHI (18K15834).