Identification of genomic regions associated with differences in fleece type in Huacaya and Suri alpacas (Vicugna pacos)

The difference in fleece type is the distinguishing trait between the two types of alpacas (Vicugna pacos), Huacaya and Suri. The Suri fleece type has been found to be inherited dominantly over the Huacaya type, resulting in offspring with the Suri phenotype. The aim of our study was to map genomic regions associated with the two different fleece types. In this study, 91 alpacas (54 Huacayas and 37 Suris) from Germany and Switzerland were genotyped using the 76k alpaca SNP array. Only 59k chromosome-localised markers map to the alpaca reference assembly VicPac3.1, and after quality control 49 866 SNPs, were retained for population structure assessment and to conduct a genome-wide association study. Both principal component and neighbour-joining tree analysis showed that the two fleece-type cohorts overlapped rather than forming two distinct clusters. Genome-wide significantly associated markers were observed in the scaffold region of chromosome 16 (NW_021964192.1), which contains a cluster of keratin genes. A haplotype predominantly found in Suri alpacas has been identified which supports dominant inheritance. Variant filtering of nine whole-genome sequenced alpacas from both fleece types in the critical interval of 0.4 Mb did not reveal perfect segregation of either fleece type for specific variants. To our knowledge, this is the first study to use the recently developed species-specific SNP array to identify genomic regions associated with differences in fleece type in alpacas. There are still some limitations, such as the preliminary status of the reference assembly and the incomplete annotation of the alpaca genome.

The marginal gaps of sequentially milled lithium disilicate crowns using two different milling units

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to compare the marginal gaps of sequentially milled lithium disilicate (LDS) crowns using two different milling units.

METHODS

One lower left first molar typodont tooth prepared for an LDS crown by an undergraduate student in a simulation clinic was selected. The crown preparation was scanned by a TRIOS 3 scanner and twelve LDS crowns milled by an E4D (E4DM) and a Sirona inLab MC X5 (MCX5) milling unit using identical settings. The crowns were seated onto the original crown preparation and three vertical marginal gap measurements were taken at four locations (mid-buccal, mid-lingual, mid-mesial and mid-distal) using a stereomicroscope. The mean marginal gap (MMG) was calculated for each individual tooth surface and each crown.

RESULTS

The MMG for the E4DM (100.40 μm) was not significantly different to the MCX5 (101.08 μm) milling unit (P = 0.8809). In both units, there was a statistically significant trend of increasing MMG with sequentially milled crowns using the same burs (E4DM P = 0.0133; MCX5 P = 0.0240).

CONCLUSIONS

The E4DM and MCX5 milling units produced LDS crowns with similar MMG's and within a clinically acceptable range but with a trend of increasing MMG when analysed sequentially. © 2022 Australian Dental Association.

Failure of sterilization in a dental outpatient facility: Investigation, risk assessment, and management

In 2017, an incident of failed sterilization of dental instruments occurred at a large dental outpatient facility in Singapore. We aim to describe findings of the investigation of the sterilization breach incident, factors related to risk of viral transmission to the potentially affected patients, and the contact tracing process, patient management, and blood test results at a 6-month follow-up. A full assessment of the incident was immediately carried out. The factors related to risk of viral transmission due to affected instruments were analyzed using 3 keys points: breached step(s) and scale of the incident, prevalence of underlying bloodborne diseases and immunity in the Singapore population, health status of potential source patients, and type of dental procedure performed, and health status of affected patients and type of dental procedure received. Up to 72 affected instrument sets were used in 714 potentially affected patients who underwent noninvasive dental procedures. The investigation revealed that there was a lapse in the final step of steam sterilization, resulting in the use of incompletely sterilized items. The assessment determined that there was an extremely low risk of bloodborne virus transmission of diseases to the patients. At the 6-month follow-up, there were no infected/colonized cases found related to the incident. Lapses in the sterilization process for medical and dental instruments can happen, but a risk assessment approach is useful to manage similar incidents. Quick response and proper documentation of the sterilization process can prevent similar incidents.

Endothelial-T cell crosstalk contributes to vascular injury in fatty liver disease

 

Cardiovascular complications are often the fundamental causes of death in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients. While there are known systemic mediators in NAFLD that may induce vascular inflammation, the mechanism of endothelial dysfunction remain understudied. In this work, we harnessed the replicative potential of blood outgrowth endothelial cells (BOECs) to develop personalized cell lines from NAFLD patients and healthy controls. Our transcriptomic analysis showed that the top interactome network enriched in NAFLD BOECs comprised of several C-C and C-X-C chemokine ligands involved in immune cell chemotaxis. We previously reported T cell infiltration in mouse model of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, and here, we confirmed enhanced endothelial chemokine signatures in arterial histological sections. To elucidate endothelial-immune crosstalk, we performed single-cell analysis on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and found T cell intensification in NAFLD patients compared to healthy controls. Our immunoprofiling by flow cytometry further revealed that NAFLD patients possessed higher levels CD8+ memory cells. Functionally, T cells, instead of monocytes, adhered more pronouncedly to NAFLD BOECs. In evaluating the CXCL12-CXCR4 axis in chemotaxis, CXCR4 antagonist (AMD3100) substantially modulated the migration of patient-derived CD8+ T cells towards NAFLD BOECs, which was not observed in healthy endothelial-T cell chemotaxis coculture. Finally, we validated NAFLD-associated endothelial dysfunction by enumerating two folds more circulating endothelial cells, a biomarker of vascular injury, in the blood samples of NAFLD patients than healthy controls. Our work provides insights for translation to restore blood vessel health and potentially mitigate adverse vascular events in NAFLD.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): Industrial Alignment Fund Pre-Positioning grant from the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore Endothelial-T cell crosstalk in NAFLD

POS1095 FOOD SOURCES OF DIETARY FIBRE AND RISK OF TOTAL KNEE REPLACEMENT RELATED TO SEVERE OSTEOARTHRITIS, THE SINGAPORE CHINESE HEALTH STUDY

Background:

Although fibre intake was inversely associated with the risk of symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (KOA) in a US study, this association was partially confounded by lower body mass index (BMI) in those with higher fibre intake.

Objectives:

We evaluated the association between fibre intake and its food sources, and the risk of total knee replacement (TKR) due to severe KOA.

Methods:

We used data from the Singapore Chinese Health Study, a prospective cohort study that recruited 63,257 participants aged 45-74 years from 1993 to 1998. At baseline, we assessed diet using a validated 165-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire, together with BMI and lifestyle factors. Incident TKR cases were identified via record linkage with nationwide hospital discharge database through 2017. We used multivariable Cox regression models to compute hazard ratio (HR) and the corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) for risk of TKR.

Results:

There were 2,816 cases of incident TKR due to severe KOA. Total fibre intake at baseline was not associated with risk of TKR after adjustment for confounders. Among the food sources of fibre, higher intake of legumes was associated with lower risk of TKR in dose-dependent manner; compared with those having the lowest quartile intake, HR (95% CI) was 0.86 (0.76, 0.96) for the highest quartile (p for trend = 0.004). This association was consistent after including BMI in the model, and homogenous across BMI categories. The consumption of other fibre sources, namely grain products, nuts and seeds, soy food, fruits and vegetables, was not associated with risk of TKR.

Conclusion:

Intake of legumes, but not total fibre, was associated with a reduced risk of TKR. Further research is needed to replicate our findings, and to evaluate possible biological mechanisms that could explain the effect of dietary legumes in pathogenesis or progression of KOA.

Table 1.

Hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) for risk of total knee replacement according to intake of fibre (only shown total fibre and legumes): The Singapore Chinese Health Study (1993-2017).

Quartiles of energy-adjusted food intakeQ1Q2Q3Q4p for trend 1Total fibreMedian, g/day8.559.4312.1917.70Cases/ person-years528/ 275,050712/ 280,456767/ 284,394809/ 287,955Multivariate Model 11.001.08 (0.96, 1.21)1.12 (1.00, 1.26)1.18 (1.05, 1.32)0.003Multivariate Model 21.001.06 (0.95, 1.19)1.09 (0.97, 1.22)1.11 (0.99, 1.24)0.088LegumesMedian, g/day0.110.432.117.01Cases/ person-years638/ 280,170754/ 278,001756/ 280,407668/ 289,275Multivariate Model 11.000.97 (0.87, 1.09)0.95 (0.84, 1.06)0.84 (0.76, 0.94)<0.001Multivariate Model 21.000.98 (0.87, 1.09)0.94 (0.84, 1.06)0.86 (0.77, 0.96)0.004Multivariate Model 31.000.98 (0.87, 1.09)0.95 (0.84, 1.06)0.86 (0.76, 0.96)0.004

1Linear trend was tested by assigning to participants the median value of the quartile and treating this as a continuous variable. 2 The grain products included noodles and pasta, rice, bread and pancakes, breakfast cereals, biscuits and crackers.

Multivariate model 1: adjusted for age at interview, sex, year of interview, total energy intake, dialect, education level

Multivariate model 2: model 1 plus BMI, sitting duration, sleep, physical activity, smoking, history of hypertension, diabetes, coronary artery disease and stroke.

Multivariate model 3: model 2 plus grain products, legumes, nuts and seeds, soy food, fruits and vegetables.

Q = quartile

Disclosure of Interests:

None declared.

High-throughput organ-on-chip platform with integrated programmable fluid flow and real-time sensing for complex tissue models in drug development workflows

Drug development suffers from a lack of predictive and human-relevant in vitro models. Organ-on-chip (OOC) technology provides advanced culture capabilities to generate physiologically appropriate, human-based tissue in vitro, therefore providing a route to a predictive in vitro model. However, OOC technologies are often created at the expense of throughput, industry-standard form factors, and compatibility with state-of-the-art data collection tools. Here we present an OOC platform with advanced culture capabilities supporting a variety of human tissue models including liver, vascular, gastrointestinal, and kidney. The platform has 96 devices per industry standard plate and compatibility with contemporary high-throughput data collection tools. Specifically, we demonstrate programmable flow control over two physiologically relevant flow regimes: perfusion flow that enhances hepatic tissue function and high-shear stress flow that aligns endothelial monolayers. In addition, we integrate electrical sensors, demonstrating quantification of barrier function of primary gut colon tissue in real-time. We utilize optical access to the tissues to directly quantify renal active transport and oxygen consumption via integrated oxygen sensors. Finally, we leverage the compatibility and throughput of the platform to screen all 96 devices using high content screening (HCS) and evaluate gene expression using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). By combining these capabilities in one platform, physiologically-relevant tissues can be generated and measured, accelerating optimization of an in vitro model, and ultimately increasing predictive accuracy of in vitro drug screening.

[Establishment of animal models of epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor-related rashes]

OBJECTIVE

To establish animal models epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor-related skin rashes using cetuximab, gefitinib or erlotinib.

OBJECTIVE

Female SCID mice were randomly divided into blank control group and high-, moderate-, and low-dose cetuximab groups. The mice in control group received intraperitoneal injection of saline, and those in the 3 cetuximab groups were injected with 80, 40, and 20 mg/kg cetuximab (3 times a week for 4 weeks), respectively. The general skin appearance and skin pathologies of the mice were observed. Female BN rats were randomly divided into blank group, ovalbumin group, gefitinib group and erlotinib group, and in the latter 3 groups, the rats were given ovalbumin (1 mg), gefitinib (37.5 mg/kg), and erlotinib (23.5 mg/kg) by lavage once daily for 45 days, respectively. Skin pathologies of the rats were observed, and serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and other inflammatory factors were detected using ELISA.

OBJECTIVE

Intraperitoneal injection of cetuximab did not induce typical skin rashes, scabs or obvious skin inflammation in the mice. In female BN rats, lavage of gefitinib caused obvious skin rashes, scabs and exudation, and obvious inflammatory cell infiltration, keratinosis, spinous layer release and epidermal thickening were observed in the skin. No obvious skin inflammation were observed in the rats in the control, ovalbumin or erlotinib groups. While IgE (P=0.061) and TNF-α concentrations (P=0.057) did not differ significantly among the groups, serum levels of IL-6 was significantly higher in gefitinib group than in the blank control group (P=0.016) but similar between erlotinib group and the blank group (P=0.910).

OBJECTIVE

Intraperitoneal injection of cetuximab can not induce epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor-related skin rashes in SCID mice. Lavage of gefitinib, but not erlotinib, can be used to establish models of epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor-related rashes in BN rats.

Quantum circuits with many photons on a programmable nanophotonic chip

Growing interest in quantum computing for practical applications has led to a surge in the availability of programmable machines for executing quantum algorithms1,2. Present-day photonic quantum computers3-7 have been limited either to non-deterministic operation, low photon numbers and rates, or fixed random gate sequences. Here we introduce a full-stack hardware-software system for executing many-photon quantum circuit operations using integrated nanophotonics: a programmable chip, operating at room temperature and interfaced with a fully automated control system. The system enables remote users to execute quantum algorithms that require up to eight modes of strongly squeezed vacuum initialized as two-mode squeezed states in single temporal modes, a fully general and programmable four-mode interferometer, and photon number-resolving readout on all outputs. Detection of multi-photon events with photon numbers and rates exceeding any previous programmable quantum optical demonstration is made possible by strong squeezing and high sampling rates. We verify the non-classicality of the device output, and use the platform to carry out proof-of-principle demonstrations of three quantum algorithms: Gaussian boson sampling, molecular vibronic spectra and graph similarity8. These demonstrations validate the platform as a launchpad for scaling photonic technologies for quantum information processing.

The clinical atlas of cardiomyopathies: data from the prospective DZHK TORCH study

Introduction

Cardiomyopathies (CMPs) are leading causes of heart failure (HF) and sudden cardiac death (SCD). Comparative data of the multiple cardiomyopathy forms are largely missing. The TranslatiOnal Registry for CardiomyopatHies (TORCH) is the largest prospective multicentre CMP registry world-wide. Enrolled patients are comprehensively phenotyped by clinical examinations, state-of-the-art imaging, and molecular investigations. In this study, we present the baseline and 1-year follow-up data.

Methods

TORCH is a national, prospective, multicentre registry within the German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK) and includes 2300 patients with non-ischemic (primary and secondary) CMP from 20 centres. The minimum follow up was one year. The DZHK-wide harmonization of datasets and SOPs ensure a high level of data quality and comparability across different CMP forms.

Results

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) has the highest prevalence with 64% of all enrolled patients, followed by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) with 16%. At baseline, patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) were treated more often with ICD implantation and showed high rates of adequate ICD therapies (65.8%, p&lt;0.05 and 47.8%, p&lt;0.05, respectively). The prevalence of stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) was in multivariate analysis significantly higher (p&lt;0.05) in left ventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathy (LVNC, 14.9%), while atrial fibrillation was lower than in other cardiomyopathy forms. Patients with amyloidosis had the worst outcome (HR: 6; 95% CI: 2.5–14.5, P&lt;0.05) with annual mortality of &gt;15% and 12% receiving heart transplantation. In DCM, reverse remodelling with improvement of functional parameters and biomarkers was more often observed in idiopathic and inflammatory cases compared to familial ones. HCM patients had the most favourable outcome.

Conclusion and outlook

TORCH is the largest prospective study focusing on CMPs. We provided for the first time prospectively the clinical data of patients with diverse cardiomyopathies with outcome. Furthermore, comparing the different CMP forms on the clinical and molecular level will be an important step to enable translational research projects.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK)

Correlations of changes in inflammatory factors, glucose and lipid metabolism indicators and adiponectin with alterations in intestinal flora in rats with coronary heart disease

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to explore the correlations of changes in inflammatory factors, glucose and lipid metabolism indicators and adiponectin with alterations in intestinal flora in rats with coronary heart disease.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 30 male specific pathogen-free rats were randomly assigned into two groups, including: blank group (n=15) and coronary heart disease group (n=15). The rats in the coronary heart disease group were given high-fat diets and pituitrin to establish the model of coronary heart disease. Meanwhile, rats in the blank group were administered with an equal volume of double-distilled water. The alterations in the intestinal flora of rats were detected in the two groups, respectively. In addition, the changes in the levels of inflammatory factors, glucose and lipid metabolism indicators, adiponectin, creatine kinase (CK) and its isoenzyme, as well as troponin, were also examined.

RESULTS

Statistically, significant differences in the levels of glucose and lipid metabolism indicators low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (p=0.040), total cholesterol (TC) (p=0.039), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (p=0.044), triglyceride (TG) (p=0.000) and blood glucose (p=0.046) were observed between the rats in the coronary heart disease group and blank group. The content of all the glucose and lipid metabolism indicators (except HDL) in coronary heart disease group was significantly higher than the blank group (p<0.05). The rats in the coronary heart disease group had evidently higher levels of CK (p=0.000) and its isoenzyme (p=0.019), as well as troponin (p=0.021), than those in the blank group. The level of serum adiponectin in rats in coronary heart disease group was distinctly lower than that in the blank group, showing statistically significant differences (p<0.05). Besides, the levels of the inflammatory factors interleukin (IL)-2 (p=0.011), transforming growth factor (TGF)-β (p=0.048), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) (p=0.025) and IL-6 (p=0.038) in rats in the coronary heart disease group were dramatically higher than those in blank group. Rats in coronary heart disease group had remarkably more Actinobacteria, Desulfovibrio, Aristipus and Escherichia coli in the intestine. Meanwhile, the abundance of Flavobacterium, Burkhofer and some probiotics increased significantly in the intestine of rats in blank group (p<0.05). The changes in the abundance of Actinobacteria, Desulfovibrio, Aristipus and Escherichia coli in the intestine of rats were probably correlated with increased levels of glucose and lipid metabolism indicators, inflammatory factors and adiponectin in coronary heart disease group. Moreover, the abundance of intestinal probiotics such as Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus in rats in coronary heart disease group was notably lower than that in blank group (p<0.05). The decline in the abundance of such intestinal probiotics as Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus was correlated with the changes in the levels of glucose and lipid metabolism indicators, inflammatory factors and adiponectin. In addition, decreased levels of probiotics weakened normal physiological functions of the intestine and promoted disease progression.

CONCLUSIONS

Inflammatory factors, glucose and lipid metabolism indicators and adiponectin have evident changes in rats with coronary heart disease, which may be correlated with the alterations in the intestinal flora.

Broadband quadrature-squeezed vacuum and nonclassical photon number correlations from a nanophotonic device

We report demonstrations of both quadrature-squeezed vacuum and photon number difference squeezing generated in an integrated nanophotonic device. Squeezed light is generated via strongly driven spontaneous four-wave mixing below threshold in silicon nitride microring resonators. The generated light is characterized with both homodyne detection and direct measurements of photon statistics using photon number-resolving transition-edge sensors. We measure 1.0(1) decibels of broadband quadrature squeezing (~4 decibels inferred on-chip) and 1.5(3) decibels of photon number difference squeezing (~7 decibels inferred on-chip). Nearly single temporal mode operation is achieved, with measured raw unheralded second-order correlations g ⁽²⁾ as high as 1.95(1). Multiphoton events of over 10 photons are directly detected with rates exceeding any previous quantum optical demonstration using integrated nanophotonics. These results will have an enabling impact on scaling continuous variable quantum technology.

Neuroimaging in Zoonotic Outbreaks Affecting the Central Nervous System: Are We Fighting the Last War?

When preparing for the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and its effects on the CNS, radiologists should be familiar with neuroimaging appearances in past zoonotic infectious disease outbreaks. Organisms that have crossed the species barrier from animals to humans include viruses such as Hendra, Nipah, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, and influenza, as well as bacteria and others. Brain CT and MR imaging findings have included cortical abnormalities, microinfarction in the white matter, large-vessel occlusion, and features of meningitis. In particular, the high sensitivity of diffusion-weighted MR imaging in detecting intracranial abnormalities has been helpful in outbreaks. Although the coronaviruses causing the previous Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome outbreak and the current coronavirus disease 19 pandemic are related, it is important to be aware of their similarities as well as potential differences. This review describes the neuroimaging appearances of selected zoonotic outbreaks so that neuroradiologists can better understand the current pandemic and potential future outbreaks.