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Previous studies demonstrate an association between activation of the maternal immune system during pregnancy and increased risk of neurodevelopmental psychiatric conditions, such as schizophrenia and autism, in the offspring. Relatively recent findings also suggest that the gut microbiota plays an important role in shaping brain development and behavior. Here we show that maternal immune activation (MIA) accomplished by infection with a mouse-adapted influenza virus during pregnancy induced up-regulation of frontal cortex serotonin 5-HT2A receptor (5-HT2AR) density in the adult offspring, a phenotype previously observed in postmortem frontal cortex of schizophrenic subjects. 5-HT2AR agonist-induced head-twitch behavior was also augmented in this preclinical mouse model. Using the novel object recognition (NOR) test to evaluate cognitive performance, we demonstrate that MIA induced NOR deficits in adult offspring. Oral antibiotic treatment of prepubertal mice prevented this cognitive impairment, but not increased frontal cortex 5-HT2AR density or psychedelic-induced head-twitch behavior in adult MIA offspring. Additionally, gut microbiota transplantation from MIA mice produced behavioral deficits in antibiotic-treated mock mice. Adult MIA offspring displayed altered gut microbiota, and relative abundance of specific components of the gut microbiota, including Ruminococcaceae, correlated with frontal cortex 5-HT2AR density. Together, these findings provide a better understanding of basic mechanisms by which prenatal insults impact offspring brain function, and suggest gut-brain axis manipulation as a potential therapeutic approach for neurodevelopmental psychiatric conditions.Triggering events for acute aortic dissections are incompletely understood. We sought to investigate whether there is an association between admission for acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) to the University of Michigan Medical Center and the reported annual influenza activity by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. From 1996-2019 we had 758 patients admitted for ATAAD with 3.1 admissions per month during November-March and 2.5 admissions per month during April-October (p = 0.01). Influenza reporting data by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services became available in 2009. ATAAD admissions for the period 2009-2019 (n = 455) were 4.8 cases/month during peak influenza months compared to 3.5 cases/month during non-peak influenza months (p = 0.001). ATAAD patients admitted during influenza season had increased in-hospital mortality (11.0% vs. 5.8%, p = 0.024) and increased 30-day mortality (9.7 vs. 5.4%, p = 0.048). The results point to higher admission rates for ATAAD during months with above average influenza rates. Future studies need to investigate whether influenza virus infection affects susceptibility for aortic dissection, and whether this risk can be attenuated with the annual influenza vaccine in this patient population.This work examined the contamination of poly- and perfluorinated compounds (PFASs) in the water and sediment of the Baiyangdian Lake. The total concentration of PFASs in the surface water varied from 140.5 to 1828.5 ng/L, and the highest concentration of PFASs were observed near the entrance of Fuhe river. The topmost contaminant was sodium perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in the north and south of the Baiyangdian Lake respectively, which indicated different contamination sources. The total concentration of PFASs in the sediment varied from 0.48 to 30 ng/g, and the distribution of PFASs in the sediment was similar with that in the surface water. The concentrations of polyfluoroalkyl phosphoric diesters (diPAPs) were three to four orders of magnitude lower than those of perfluorocarboxylates (PFCAs) and PFSAs. Although the pore water and the surface water had similar ΣPFASs, the concentration of perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) in pore water was 1.4 to 4.4 times higher than that in surface water, and the concentration of perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA) in pore water was 20-70% that in surface water. The results of ecological risk assessment showed that the PFASs were currently of no immediate risk to the aquatic life.Regarding crystalline film growth on large lattice-mismatched substrates, there are two primary modes by which thin films grow on a crystal surface or interface. They are Volmer-Weber (VW island formation) mode and Stranski-Krastanov (SK layer-plus-island) mode. Since both growth modes end up in the formation of three-dimensional (3D) islands, fabrication of single crystalline films on lattice-mismatched substrates has been challenging. Here, we demonstrate another growth mode, where a buffer layer consisting of 3D islands initially forms and a relaxed two-dimensional (2D) layer subsequently grows on the buffer layer. This 3D-2D mode transition has been realized using impurities. We observed the 3D-2D mode transition for the case of ZnO film growth on 18%-lattice-mismatched sapphire substrates. First, nano-sized 3D islands grow with the help of nitrogen impurities. Then, the islands coalesce to form a 2D layer after cessation of the nitrogen supply, whereupon an increase in the surface energy may provide a driving force for the coalescence. Finally, the films grow in 2D mode, forming atomically flat terraces. We believe that our findings will offer new opportunities for high-quality film growth of a wide variety of materials that have no lattice-matched substrates.The tannase-producing Gram-positive bacterial species Streptococcus gallolyticus subsp. gallolyticus (Sgg) is an opportunistic pathogen of the human gut and strongly associated with colorectal cancer (CRC). A unique feature of Sgg is its ability to degrade tannic acids (TA). CB-5339 solubility dmso TA constitute an important part of the human diet with known anti-tumorigenic properties. Here, we examined whether Sgg is able to protect tumor cells from the toxic effect of TA and thus drive tumorigenesis indirectly. Human CRC cell lines (n = 8) were treated with increasing concentrations of TA. We confirmed the cytotoxic activity of TA in a dose-dependent manner. In virtually all cell lines, viability decreased significantly (>60% inhibition). Moreover, pyrogallol, the degradation product of TA, had no effect on the tested cell lines. This suggests a specific effect of TA. Cytotoxicity was due to necrosis and induction of senescence in residual cells. Finally, when TA was degraded by Sgg, the cytotoxic effect could be abolished. Tumor cells even responded with boosted cell proliferation, highlighting the impact of Sgg on CRC progression.