Активность

CONTEXT A common genetic variant near PPP1R3B (rs4841132G>A) has been associated with increased hepatic computed tomography (CT) attenuation, and with plasma levels of glucose and liver enzymes. OBJECTIVE To elucidate the association of rs4841132 with hepatic CT attenuation, and to test if synergistic effects modify the association of the variant with plasma glucose and liver enzymes. DESIGN Population-based cohort study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS The Copenhagen City Heart Study and the Copenhagen General Population Study combined, totaling 107,192 individuals from the Danish general population. Hepatic CT scans were available in 6,445 individuals. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Hepatic CT attenuation and plasma levels of glucose and liver enzymes. RESULTS The rs4841132 A-allele (rs4841132-A) was associated with higher hepatic CT attenuation (P=5×10-6). The probability of carrying rs4841132-A increased with higher hepatic CT attenuation in the range above 65 Hounsfield Units, but remained constant at the range below (P=4×10-8 for nonlinearity). Rs4841132-A was associated with up to 0.17 mmol/L higher plasma glucose in fasting individuals, but with up to 0.17 mmol/L lower glucose in postprandial individuals (P=6×10-5 for interaction between rs4841132 and time since last meal on plasma glucose). Finally, rs4841132-A was associated with up to 2 U/L higher plasma alanine transaminase (P=3×10-6). This association was not modified by adiposity, alcohol intake, or steatogenic genetic risk. CONCLUSIONS Rs4841132-A associates with higher hepatic CT attenuation in a distinctly nonlinear manner, and its association with plasma glucose depends on prandial status. The overall association pattern supports that rs4841132-A promotes hepatic glycogen synthesis postprandially. © Endocrine Society 2020. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail journals.permissions@oup.com.OBJECTIVES Numerous states within the USA have legalized cannabis for medical or non-medical (adult/recreational) use. With the increased availability and use of cannabis, occupational and environmental exposures to secondhand cannabis smoke (SHCS) raise concerns over whether non-users may be at risk for a ‘contact high’, impaired neurocognitive function, harm from irritants and carcinogens in smoke, or potentially failing a cannabis screening test. The extent of health effects from potential occupational exposure to SHCS is unknown. This is a study of occupational exposures to SHCS among law enforcement officers (LEOs) providing security at outdoor concerts on a college campus in a state where adult use of cannabis is legal. METHODS Investigators evaluated a convenience sample of LEOs’ potential exposure to SHCS and symptoms experienced while providing security during two open-air stadium rock-n-roll concerts on consecutive days in July 2018. During each event, full-shift area and LEO personal air samples weto OH-THC in the blood, which could be due to differences between the limits of detection for the tests employed. The ocular and respiratory symptoms reported by LEOs may be related to irritants in SHCS. However, the health effects of SHCS remain unclear, and further research concerning occupational and environmental exposures is warranted. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Occupational Hygiene Society 2020.Biology offers compelling proof that macroscopic “living materials” can emerge from reactions between diffusing biomolecules. Here, we show that molecular self-organization could be a similarly powerful approach for engineering functional synthetic materials. We introduce a programmable DNA embedded hydrogel that produces tunable patterns at the centimeter length scale. We generate these patterns by implementing chemical reaction networks through synthetic DNA complexes, embedding the complexes in the hydrogel, and triggering with locally applied input DNA strands. We first demonstrate ring pattern formation around a circular input cavity and show that the ring width and intensity can be predictably tuned. Then, we create patterns of increasing complexity, including concentric rings and non-isotropic patterns. Finally, we show “destructive” and “constructive” interference patterns, by combining several ring-forming modules in the gel and triggering them from multiple sources. We further show that computer simulations based on the reaction-diffusion model can predict and inform the programming of target patterns.Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for enzyme encapsulation-induced biomimetic mineralization under mild reaction conditions are commonly microporous and hydrophobic, which result in a rather high mass transfer resistance of the reactants and restrain the enzyme catalytic activity. Herein, we prepared a type of hierarchical porous and hydrophilic MOF through the biomimetic mineralization of enzymes, zinc ions, 2-methylimidazole, and lithocholic acid. The hierarchical porous structure accelerated the diffusion process of the reactants and the increased hydrophilicity conferred interfacial activity and increased the enzyme catalytic activity. selleck products The immobilized enzyme retained higher catalytic activity than the free enzyme and exhibited enhanced resistance to alkaline, organic, and high-temperature conditions. The nanobiocatalyst was reusable and showed long-term storage stability.Herein, we report the selective functionalization of nano-domains obtained by the self-assembly of a polystyrene-block-poly(vinyl benzyl azide) PS-b-PVBN3 copolymer synthesized in three steps. First, a polystyrene macro-initiator was synthesized, and then extended with vinyl benzyl chloride by nitroxide mediated polymerization to form polystyrene-block-poly(vinyl benzyl chloride) PS-b-PVBC. Nucleophilic substitution of vinyl benzyl chloride into a vinyl benzyl azide moiety is finally performed to obtain PS-b-PVBN3 which self-assembled into nano-domains of vinyl benzyl azide PVBN3. Click chemistry was then used to bind functional gold nanoparticles and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) on PVBN3 domains due to the specific anchoring at the surface of the nanopatterned film. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to observe the block copolymer self-assembly and the alignment of the gold nanoparticles at the surface of the PVBN3 nanodomains. Thorough X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis of the functional film showed evidence of the sequential grafting of nanoparticles and PNIPAM.