Aggerhinrichsen2356

Expression of HtNHX1 enhanced Al3+-trigged-secretion of citrate acids, rhizosphere acidification, and also reduced K+ efflux from root tissues. In contrast, expression of HtNHX2 prevented Al3+-trigged-decrease of H+ influx into root tissues. Al3+-induced damage of the cell wall extensibility at the root tips was impaired by either HtNHX1 or HtNHX2. Co-expression of HtNHX1 and HtNHX2 further improved rice growth, particularly under the Al3+ stress conditions. The results demonstrate that HtNHX1 and HtNHX2 improved rice tolerance to Al3+ via different mechanisms by altering the K+ and H+ fluxes and the cell wall structure.CONTEXT Across pregnancy, maternal serum cortisol levels increase up to 3-fold. It is not known whether maternal peripheral cortisol metabolism and clearance change across pregnancy or influence fetal cortisol exposure and development. OBJECTIVES The primary study objective was to compare maternal urinary glucocorticoid metabolites, as markers of cortisol metabolism and clearance, between the second and third trimester of pregnancy. Secondary objectives were to test associations of total maternal urinary glucocorticoid excretion, with maternal serum cortisol levels and offspring birth weight z score. DESIGN, PARTICIPANTS, AND SETTING A total of 151 women with singleton pregnancies, recruited from prenatal clinic at the Pittsburgh site of the Measurement of Maternal Stress (MOMS) study, had 24-hour urine collections during both the second and third trimesters. RESULTS Between the second and third trimester, total urinary glucocorticoid excretion increased (ratio of geometric means [RGM] 1.37, 95% CI 1.22-1.52, P less then .001), and there was an increase in calculated 5β-reductase compared to 5α-reductase activity (RGM 3.41, 95% CI 3.04-3.83, P less then .001). During the third trimester total urinary glucocorticoid excretion and serum cortisol were negatively correlated (r = -0.179, P = .029). Crizotinib Mean total urinary glucocorticoid excretion across both trimesters and offspring birth weight z score were positively associated (β = 0.314, P = .001). CONCLUSIONS The estimated activity of maternal enzymes responsible for cortisol metabolism change between the second and third trimester of pregnancy. Additionally, maternal peripheral metabolism and clearance of cortisol may serve as a novel mechanism affecting fetal cortisol exposure and growth. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Endocrine Society 2020.STUDY QUESTION Does the oestrogen receptor isoform, ER46, contribute to regulation of endometrial function? SUMMARY ANSWER ER46 is expressed in endometrial tissues, is the predominant ER isoform in first trimester decidua and is localised to the cell membrane of uterine natural killer (uNK) cells where activation of ER46 increases cell motility. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Oestrogens acting via their cognate receptors are essential regulators of endometrial function and play key roles in establishment of pregnancy. ER46 is a 46-kDa truncated isoform of full length ERα (ER66, encoded by ESR1) that contains both ligand- and DNA-binding domains. Expression of ER46 in the human endometrium has not been investigated previously. ER46 is located at the cell membrane of peripheral blood leukocytes and mediates rapid responses to oestrogens. uNK cells are a phenotypically distinct (CD56brightCD16-) population of tissue-resident immune cells that regulate vascular remodelling within the endometrium and decidua. We have shownetrium and provide unique insight into the importance of membrane-initiated signalling in modulating the impact of E2 on uNK cell function in women. Given the importance of uNK cells to regulating vascular remodelling in early pregnancy and the potential for selective targeting of ER46, this may be an attractive future therapeutic target in the treatment of reproductive disorders. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) These studies were supported by Medical Research Council (MRC) Programme Grants G1100356/1 and MR/N024524/1 to PTKS. H.O.D.C. was supported by MRC grant G1002033. The authors declare no competing interests related to the published work. © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.The European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is a critically endangered species, whose recruitment stocks have declined to nearly 1% compared to the late 70's. An amalgam of factors are responsible for this, amongst them migration barriers, pollution, habitat loss, parasite infection and overfishing. A lot of recent studies focus on aspects that can increase the mature silver eel escapement rate, such as identifying migration barriers and developing passage ways or addressing the impact of pollution on the eel's health. However, little attention is given to the eel's morphology in function of management measures. Worryingly, less than 50% of the currently installed management plans reach their goals, strongly indicating that more information is needed about the eel's ecology and behavior. Functional morphological studies provide insights in how species perform behaviors crucial for survival, such as feeding and locomotion, but also in how environmental changes can affect or limit such behaviors. Consequently, functional morphology represents an important biotic component that should be taken into account when making conservation decisions. Hence, here, we provide an overview of studies on the eel's morphology that do not only demonstrate its relation with ecology and behavior, but also provide information for developing and installing proper and more specific management measures. © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions please email journals.permissions@oup.com.Excessive secretion of inflammatory factors (cytokine storm) plays a significant role in H1N1-induced acute pneumonia, and autophagy acts as a cell-intrinsic mechanism to regulate inflammation. Astragaloside IV (AS-IV), originating from the Astragalus root, possesses multiple pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammation. However, the influences of AS-IV on H1N1-induced autophagy and inflammation have still remained elusive. It has been reported that H1N1 infection leads to the accumulation of autophagosomes but obstructs autophagosomes incorporating into lysosomes, while in this study, it showed that AS-IV enhanced the autophagy activation in H1N1 infection. Furthermore, we found that AS-IV promoted H1N1-triggered formation of autophagosomes and autolysosomes. Additionally, it was noted that AS-IV did not affect viral replication, mRNA level of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), and pro-IL-1β protein level, whereas significantly decreased secretion of IL-1β, and chloroquine (CQ, as an inhibitor of autophagy) increased secretion of IL-1β in H1N1 infection. In conclusion, AS-IV stimulates the formation of autophagosomes and the fusion of autophagosome and lysosomes in H1N1 infection and it may lead to the decreased IL-1β secretion. © FEMS 2020.BACKGROUND The global spread of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) and Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) has prompted the reintroduction of colistin as a last-resort treatment. Although the recommended method for colistin susceptibility testing is broth microdilution (BMD), methods that are more rapid and easy to use are needed. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the performance of two commercial kits for colistin susceptibility testing Rapid Polymyxin™ NP (RP-NP) for CRE and Rapid Polymyxin™ Acinetobacter (RP-AB) for CRAB. METHODS A total of 76 CRE and 87 CRAB isolates were collected from hospitalized patients in Europe and Israel. The isolates were subcultured twice on 5% sheep blood in tryptic soy agar. We tested colistin susceptibility using the RP-NP and RP-AB kits and compared the results with those from BMD. RESULTS Of the CRE isolates, 25% (19/76) were resistant to colistin using BMD. Categorical agreement between RP-NP and BMD was 93.4% (71/76), major errors 1.8% (1/57) and very major errors 21.1% (4/19). Sensitivity was 78.9% and specificity was 98.2%. Of the CRAB isolates, 58.6% (51/87) were resistant to colistin by BMD. Categorical agreement between RP-AB and BMD was 59.8% (52/87), major errors 13.9% (5/36) and very major errors 58.8% (30/51). Sensitivity of RP-AB was 41.2% and specificity was 86.1%. CONCLUSIONS In many of the tested isolates, weak or inconclusive colour changes in the test wells caused difficulty in interpretation, resulting in an unacceptable rate of very major errors. © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email journals.permissions@oup.com.Importance Progress against premature death due to noncommunicable chronic disease (NCD) has stagnated. In the United States, county-level variation in NCD premature mortality has widened, which has impeded progress toward mortality reduction for the World Health Organization (WHO) 25 × 25 target. Objectives To estimate variations in county-level NCD premature mortality, to investigate factors associated with mortality, and to present the progress toward achieving the WHO 25 × 25 target by analyzing the trends in mortality. Design, Setting, and Participants This cross-sectional study focused on NCD premature mortality and its factors from 3109 counties using US mortality data for cause of death from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention WONDER databases and county-level characteristics data from multiple databases. Data were collected from January 1, 1999, through December 31, 2017, and analyzed from April 1 through October 28, 2019. Exposures County-level factors, including demographic composition, unty-level factors were associated with 71.83% variation in NCD mortality. Association with intercounty mortality was 19.51% for demographic features, 23.34% for socioeconomic composition, 16.40% for health care environment, and 40.75% for health-status characteristics. Conclusions and Relevance Given the stagnated trend of decline and increasing variations in NCD premature mortality, these findings suggest that the WHO 25 × 25 target appears to be unattainable, which may be related to broad failure by United Nations members to follow through on commitments of reducing socioeconomic inequalities. The increasing inequalities in mortality are alarming and warrant expanded multisectoral efforts to ameliorate socioeconomic disparities.Importance Comparative outcome data examining the association of dialysis initiation with hospital length of stay and intensity of care in older adults with kidney failure are scarce, and prior studies are limited to patients treated by nephrology teams. Objective To compare in-hospital days and intensity of care among older adults with kidney failure who were treated vs not treated with maintenance dialysis. Design, Setting, and Participants This population-based, retrospective cohort study included adults in Alberta, Canada, 65 years or older with kidney failure, defined by at least 2 consecutive outpatient estimated glomerular filtration rate values of less than 10 mL/min/1.73 m2 spanning a period of at least 90 days from May 15, 2002, to March 31, 2014. Data were analyzed from August 1, 2017, to August 29, 2019. Exposures Time-varying exposure to maintenance dialysis for treatment of kidney failure. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was rate of in-hospital days. Secondary outcomes included rates of hospital admissions, intensive care unit admissions, cardiopulmonary resuscitations, inpatient palliative care, and emergency department visits; risk of in-hospital death; and time to admission to long-term care.