Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Autophagy in Hepatic Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury

Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury remains a major complication of liver resection, transplantation, and hemorrhagic shock. Although the mechanisms that contribute to hepatic I/R are complex and diverse involving the interaction of cell injury in hepatocytes, immune cells, and endothelium, mitochondrial dysfunction is a cardinal event culminating in hepatic reperfusion injury. Mitochondrial autophagy, so-called mitophagy, is a key cellular process that regulates mitochondrial homeostasis and eliminates damaged mitochondria in a timely manner. Growing evidence accumulates that I/R injury is attributed to defective mitophagy. This review aims to summarize the current understanding of autophagy and its role in hepatic I/R injury and highlight the various therapeutic approaches that have been studied to ameliorate injury.

from #Medicine via ola Kala on Inoreader http://ift.tt/1Q84H6H
via IFTTT

First evidence of the European wildcat ( Felis silvestris silvestris ) as definitive host of Angiostrongylus chabaudi

Abstract

Angiostrongylus chabaudi (Strongylida, Angiostrongylidae) is a parasitic nematode described for the first time last century from the pulmonary arteries of six European wildcats (Felis silvestris silvestris) in central Italy. Since then, this parasite remained practically unknown until recently, when immature A. chabaudi have been reported from one wildcat in Germany and two domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) in Italy. The present report describes the first record of A. chabaudi in Greece and, most importantly, the first known case of patent infection by A. chabaudi. The necropsy of a road-killed F. s. silvestris found near the lake Kerkini, in the municipality of Serres (Macedonia, Greece), revealed the presence of nematodes of both sexes in the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery of the heart. All parasites were mature adults and numerous eggs were present in the uteruses of females. The morphological characteristics of the parasites were consistent with those of A. chabaudi. Moreover, Angiostrongylus-like first stage larvae (L1) were present in the faeces of the animal that was negative for any other cardio-pulmonary parasite. Genetic examination of adult parasites and L1 confirmed the morphological identification as A. chabaudi. Histopathological examination of the lungs showed severe, multifocal to coalescing, chronic, interstitial granulomatous pneumonia due to the presence of adult parasites, larvae and eggs. These findings demonstrate for the first unequivocal time that this nematode reproduces in the European wildcat which should be ultimately considered a definitive host of A. chabaudi. Finally, the L1 of A. chabaudi are described here for the first time, opening new prospects for further studies on this neglected parasite.

from #Medicine via ola Kala on Inoreader http://ift.tt/1N9Bjau
via IFTTT

Incidence of Ascaris suum -specific antibodies in Austrian patients with suspected larva migrans visceralis (VLM) syndrome

Abstract

The pig roundworm, Ascaris suum, is commonly found in domestic pigs all over the world. The transmission to humans takes place by ingestion of infective A. suum eggs present in soil because pig manure is widely used as fertilizer. The possible role of A. suum in the human visceral larva migrans (VLM) syndrome has been discussed controversially during past decades, even though various case reports, particularly from Japan document pulmonal, hepatic and even cerebral symptoms caused by migrating A. suum larvae after ingestion of infected row meat (liver) or contaminated vegetables. We examined 4481 sera by A. suum immunoblot (As-IB) and 5301 sera by Toxocara-ELISA from patients with symptoms associated with the VLM syndrome during three consecutive years (2012–2014). The incidence of A. suum-specific antibodies was 13.2 %, the incidence of T. canis specific antibodies 12.9 % and from a part of the As-IB positive sera (n = 417) additional Toxocara serology was performed to demonstrate the specificity of our tests. Only 56 out of the 417 (13.4 %) sera showed antibodies to both helminth species demonstrating that double infections exist. Interestingly the age distribution of the patients showed that 2.8 % of the Ascaris-positive patients were younger than 21 years, while in the Toxocara-positive group 13.4 % were <21 years. These results are in accordance with a Dutch study suspecting different ways of transmission as cause for this interesting age distribution. Due to the fact that large amounts of untreated pig manure are used as fertilizer and that the expulsion of adult A. suum worms causing intestinal ascariosis is extremely rare in Central European countries, the zoonotic potential of A. suum is considerably underestimated. We suggest that the performance of reliable immunoserological tests, in all industrialized countries where pigs are raised and their manure is used as fertilizer, could help to assess the actual potential of A. suum as causative agent of the VLM syndrome in humans.

from #Medicine via ola Kala on Inoreader http://ift.tt/1QlUke6
via IFTTT

A mucin-like peptide from Fasciola hepatica induces parasite-specific Th1-type cell immunity

Abstract

Fasciolosis, caused by the liver fluke Fasciola hepatica, is a major parasitic disease of livestock that causes significant economic losses worldwide. Although drugs are effective against liver flukes, they do not prevent reinfection, and continuous treatment is costly. Moreover, resistant fluke strains are emerging. In this context, vaccination is a good alternative since it provides a cost-effective long-term prevention strategy to control fasciolosis. In this paper, we evaluate the Fhmuc peptide as a potential vaccine against fasciolosis. This peptide derives from a mucin-like protein highly expressed in the infective stage of Fasciola hepatica. Mucin-like molecules expressed by parasites can contribute to several infection processes by protecting the parasite from host proteases and recognition by the immune system. We show that the Fhmuc peptide induces Th1-like immune responses specific for F. hepatica excretion-secretion products (FhESP) with a high production of IFNγ. We also investigated whether this peptide could protect animals from infection, and present preliminary data indicating that animals treated with Fhmuc exhibited reduced liver damage compared to non-immunised animals and that this protection was associated with a recruitment of B and T lymphocytes in the peritoneum, as well as eosinophils and mature dendritic cells. These results suggest that the mucin-like peptide Fhmuc could constitute a potential vaccine candidate against fasciolosis and pave the way towards the development of vaccines against parasites.

from #Medicine via ola Kala on Inoreader http://ift.tt/1QlUke0
via IFTTT

Sensors, Vol. 15, Pages 30784-30809: Sinusoidal Wave Estimation Using Photogrammetry and Short Video Sequences

The objective of the work is to model the shape of the sinusoidal shape of regular water waves generated in a laboratory flume. The waves are traveling in time and render a smooth surface, with no white caps or foam. Two methods are proposed, treating the water as a diffuse and specular surface, respectively. In either case, the water is presumed to take the shape of a traveling sine wave, reducing the task of the 3D reconstruction to resolve the wave parameters. The first conceived method performs the modeling part purely in 3D space. Having triangulated the points in a separate phase via bundle adjustment, a sine wave is fitted into the data in a least squares manner. The second method presents a more complete approach for the entire calculation workflow beginning in the image space. The water is perceived as a specular surface, and the traveling specularities are the only observations visible to the  cameras, observations that are notably single image. The depth ambiguity is removed given additional constraints encoded within the law of reflection and the modeled parametric surface. The observation and constraint equations compose a single system of equations that is solved with the method of least squares adjustment. The devised approaches are validated against the data coming from a capacitive level sensor and on physical targets floating on the surface. The outcomes agree to a high degree.

from #Medicine via ola Kala on Inoreader http://ift.tt/1N9BiTW
via IFTTT

Energies, Vol. 8, Pages 13894-13910: A Two-stage Optimal Network Reconfiguration Approach for Minimizing Energy Loss of Distribution Networks Using Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm

This study aimed to minimize energy losses in traditional distribution networks and microgrids through a network reconfiguration and phase balancing approach. To address this problem, an algorithm composed of a multi-objective function and operation constraints is proposed. Network connection matrices based on graph theory and the backward/forward sweep method are used to analyze power flow. A minimizing energy loss approach is developed for network reconfiguration and phase balancing, and the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is adopted to solve this optimal combination problem. The proposed approach is tested on the IEEE 37-bus test system and the first outdoor microgrid test bed established by the Institute of Nuclear Energy Research (INER) in Taiwan. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed two-stage approach can be applied in network reconfiguration to minimize energy loss.

from #Medicine via ola Kala on Inoreader http://ift.tt/1lDTSMD
via IFTTT

Nanomaterials, Vol. 5, Pages 2192-2202: Morphological, Chemical Surface, and Diffusive Transport Characterizations of a Nanoporous Alumina Membrane

Synthesis of a nanoporous alumina membrane (NPAM) by the two-step anodization method and its morphological and chemical surface characterization by analyzing Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) micrographs and X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) spectra is reported. Influence of electrical and diffusive effects on the NaCl transport across the membrane nanopores is determined from salt diffusion measurements performed with a wide range of NaCl concentrations, which allows the estimation of characteristic electrochemical membrane parameters such as the NaCl diffusion coefficient and the concentration of fixed charges in the membrane, by using an appropriated model and the membrane geometrical parameters (porosity and pore length). These results indicate a reduction of ~70% in the value of the NaCl diffusion coefficient through the membrane pores with respect to solution. The transport number of ions in the membrane pores (Na+ and Cl−, respectively) were determined from concentration potential measurements, and the effect of concentration-polarization at the membrane surfaces was also considered by comparing concentration potential values obtained with stirred solutions (550 rpm) and without stirring. From both kinds of results, a value higher than 0.05 M NaCl for the feed solution seems to be necessary to neglect the contribution of electrical interactions in the diffusive transport.

from #Medicine via ola Kala on Inoreader http://ift.tt/1O97xCp
via IFTTT