Notes

Huge cardio-arterial aneurysm like a characteristic involving coronavirus-related inflamed symptoms.
Influenza A virus (IAV) infection during pregnancy causes severe maternal and perinatal complications, despite a lack of vertical transmission of IAV across the placenta. Here, we demonstrate a significant alteration in the maternal vascular landscape that underpins the maternal and downstream fetal pathology to IAV infection in mice. In IAV infection of nonpregnant mice, the local lung inflammatory response was contained to the lungs and was self-resolving, whereas in pregnant mice, virus dissemination to major maternal blood vessels, including the aorta, resulted in a peripheral "vascular storm," with elevated proinflammatory and antiviral mediators and the influx of Ly6Clow and Ly6Chigh monocytes, plus neutrophils and T cells. This vascular storm was associated with elevated levels of the adhesion molecules ICAM and VCAM and the pattern-recognition receptors TLR7 and TLR9 in the vascular wall, resulting in profound vascular dysfunction. The sequalae of this IAV-driven vascular storm included placental growth retardation and intrauterine growth restriction, evidence of placental and fetal brain hypoxia, and increased circulating cell free fetal DNA and soluble Flt1. In contrast, IAV infection in nonpregnant mice caused no obvious alterations in endothelial function or vascular inflammation. Therefore, IAV infection during pregnancy drives a significant systemic vascular alteration in pregnant dams, which likely suppresses critical blood flow to the placenta and fetus. This study in mice provides a fundamental mechanistic insight and a paradigm into how an immune response to a respiratory virus, such as IAV, is likely to specifically drive maternal and fetal pathologies during pregnancy.Drought alters carbon (C) allocation within trees, thereby impairing tree growth. Recovery of root and leaf functioning and prioritized C supply to sink tissues after drought may compensate for drought-induced reduction of assimilation and growth. It remains unclear if C allocation to sink tissues during and following drought is controlled by altered sink metabolic activities or by the availability of new assimilates. Understanding such mechanisms is required to predict forests' resilience to a changing climate. We investigated the impact of drought and drought release on C allocation in a 100-y-old Scots pine forest. GSK-3 inhibitor We applied 13CO2 pulse labeling to naturally dry control and long-term irrigated trees and tracked the fate of the label in above- and belowground C pools and fluxes. Allocation of new assimilates belowground was ca. 53% lower under nonirrigated conditions. A short rainfall event, which led to a temporary increase in the soil water content (SWC) in the topsoil, strongly increased the amounts of C transported belowground in the nonirrigated plots to values comparable to those in the irrigated plots. This switch in allocation patterns was congruent with a tipping point at around 15% SWC in the response of the respiratory activity of soil microbes. These results indicate that the metabolic sink activity in the rhizosphere and its modulation by soil moisture can drive C allocation within adult trees and ecosystems. Even a subtle increase in soil moisture can lead to a rapid recovery of belowground functions that in turn affects the direction of C transport in trees.It has proven difficult to identify the underlying genes in complex autoimmune diseases. Here, we use forward genetics to identify polymorphisms in the vitamin D receptor gene (Vdr) promoter, controlling Vdr expression and T cell activation. We isolated these polymorphisms in a congenic mouse line, allowing us to study the immunomodulatory properties of VDR in a physiological context. Congenic mice overexpressed VDR selectively in T cells, and thus did not suffer from calcemic effects. VDR overexpression resulted in an enhanced antigen-specific T cell response and more severe autoimmune phenotypes. In contrast, vitamin D3-deficiency inhibited T cell responses and protected mice from developing autoimmune arthritis. Our observations are likely translatable to humans, as Vdr is overexpressed in rheumatic joints. Genetic control of VDR availability codetermines the proinflammatory behavior of T cells, suggesting that increased presence of VDR at the site of inflammation might limit the antiinflammatory properties of its ligand.Fishers with individual catch quota, but limited control over the mix of species caught, depend on trade and catch-quota balancing allowances to fully utilize their quota without discarding. However, these allowances can theoretically lead to overfishing if total allowable catches (TACs) are consistently exceeded. This study investigates usage of balancing allowances by the Icelandic demersal fleet over 2001-2017, for over 1,900 vessels. When a vessel's demersal catch exceeds owned and leased quota for a given species, the gap can be bridged by borrowing quota from the subsequent fishing period or transforming unutilized quota in other species, restricted by limits. Conversely, excess quota can be saved or transformed into quota for species where there is a shortfall. We found evidence that balancing behavior is frequently similar across the fleet. Transformations are consistent with indicators of a general quota shortage and potential for arbitrage caused by differences in conversion ratios used for transformation and lease prices. Larger companies contribute more to these patterns. Nevertheless, TAC overages are generally modest especially in recent years-key reasons appear to be the tightening of vessel transformation limits and the central role of Atlantic cod, which is the main target species but cannot be persistently overfished due to a specific prohibition on positive transformations into the species. These results show how the tailored design of the Icelandic catch-quota balancing system has helped in balancing economic and ecological goals of management. We suggest policy changes that could further reduce ecological risks, e.g., prioritizing between-year transfers over transformations.Size is a key to locomotion. In insects, miniaturization leads to fundamental changes in wing structure and kinematics, making the study of flight in the smallest species important for basic biology and physics, and, potentially, for applied disciplines. However, the flight efficiency of miniature insects has never been studied, and their speed and maneuverability have remained unknown. We report a comparative study of speeds and accelerations in the smallest free-living insects, featherwing beetles (Coleoptera Ptiliidae), and in larger representatives of related groups of Staphylinoidea. Our results show that the average and maximum flight speeds of larger ptiliids are extraordinarily high and comparable to those of staphylinids that have bodies 3 times as long. This is one of the few known exceptions to the "Great Flight Diagram," according to which the flight speed of smaller organisms is generally lower than that of larger ones. The horizontal acceleration values recorded in Ptiliidae are almost twice as high as even in Silphidae, which are more than an order of magnitude larger.
Website: https://www.selleckchem.com/GSK-3.html