Plos One
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There is increasing interest in the intrinsic activity in the resting brain, especially that of ultraslow and slow oscillations. Using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), electroencephalography (EEG), blood pressure (BP), respiration and heart rate recordings during 5 minutes of rest, combined with cross spectral and sliding cross correlation calculations, we identified a short-lasting coupling (duration [Formula: see text] s) between prefrontal oxyhemoglobin (HbO2) in the frequency band between 0.07 and 0.13 Hz and central EEG alpha and/or beta power oscillations in 8 of the 9 subjects investigated. The HbO2 peaks preceded the EEG band power peaks by 3.7 s in 6 subjects, with moderate or no coupling between BP and HbO2 oscillations. ⋯ These results indicate that slow precentral (de)oxyhemoglobin concentration oscillations during awake rest can be temporarily coupled with EEG fluctuations in sensorimotor areas and modulate the excitability level in the brains' motor areas, respectively. Therefore, this provides support for the idea that resting state networks fluctuate with frequencies of between 0.01 and 0.1 Hz (Mantini et.al. PNAS 2007).
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Descending serotonergic, noradrenergic, and dopaminergic systems project diffusely to sensory, motor and autonomic spinal cord regions. Using neonatal mice, this study examined monoaminergic modulation of visceral sensory input and sympathetic preganglionic output. Whole-cell recordings from sympathetic preganglionic neurons (SPNs) in spinal cord slice demonstrated that serotonin, noradrenaline, and dopamine modulated SPN excitability. ⋯ The general facilitation of SPN efferent excitability with simultaneous depression of visceral afferent-evoked motor output suggests that descending monoaminergic systems reconfigure spinal cord autonomic function away from visceral sensory influence. Coincident monoaminergic reductions in dorsal horn responses support a multifaceted modulatory shift in the encoding of spinal visceral afferent activity. Similar monoamine-induced changes have been observed for somatic sensorimotor function, suggesting an integrative modulatory response on spinal autonomic and somatic function.
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T-cells play an important role controlling immunity against pathogens and therefore influence the outcome of human diseases. Although most T-lymphocytes co-express either CD4 or CD8, a smaller T-cell subset found the in the human peripheral blood that expresses the αβ or γδ T-cell-receptor (TCR) lacks the CD4 and CD8 co-receptors. These double negative (DN) T-cells have been shown to display important immunological functions in human diseases. ⋯ However, the expression of CD69, an early activation marker, is selectively observed in DN T-cells. Interestingly, while αβ and γδ DN T-cells from patients with non-severe tuberculosis display a pro-inflammatory cytokine profile, characterized by enhanced IFN-γ, the γδ DN T-cells from patients with severe disease express a modulatory profile exemplified by enhanced interleukin-10 production. Overall, our findings suggest that αβ and γδ DN T-cell present disparate immunoregulatory potentials and seems to contribute to the development/maintenance of distinct clinical aspects of TB, as part of the complex immunological network triggered by the TB infection.
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Comparative Study
Differences in weight status and energy-balance related behaviors among schoolchildren across Europe: the ENERGY-project.
Current data on the prevalence of overweight and energy-balance behaviors among European children is necessary to inform overweight prevention interventions. ⋯ High levels and striking differences in overweight status and potential risk behaviors were found among schoolchildren across Europe.
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Cigarette smoke is the main risk factor for emphysema, which is a key pathology in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Low attenuation areas (LAA) in computed tomography (CT) images reflect emphysema, and the cumulative size distribution of LAA clusters follows a power law characterized by the exponent D. This property of LAA clusters can be explained by model simulation, where mechanical force breaks alveolar walls causing local heterogeneous lung tissue destruction. However, a longitudinal CT study has not investigated whether continuous smoking causes the spatially heterogeneous progression of emphysema. ⋯ Susceptibility to parenchymal destruction induced by continuous smoking is not uniform over the lung, but might be higher in local regions of relatively advanced emphysema. These could result in the spatially heterogeneous progression of emphysema in current smokers.