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Hede Reddy posted an update 6 months ago
The rising incidence of obesity and type 2 diabetes is contributing to the escalating burden of disease globally. These metabolic disorders are closely linked with diet and in particular with carbohydrate consumption; hence, it is important to understand the underlying mechanisms that influence carbohydrate metabolism. Amylase, the enzyme responsible for the digestion of starch, is coded by the genes AMY1A, AMY1B, and AMY1C (salivary amylase) and AMY2A and AMY2B (pancreatic amylase). Previous studies demonstrate wide variations in AMY1A copy numbers, which can be attributed to several genetic, nutritional, and geographical diversities seen in populations globally. Current literature suggests that AMY1A copy number variations are important in obesity and other cardiometabolic disorders through their effects on glucose and lipid homeostasis, inflammatory markers, and the gut microbiome. This review synthesizes the available evidence to improve understanding of the role of AMY1A in obesity and related cardiometabolic risk factors and disorders including insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular risk and inflammation, and the gut microbiome.High-throughput sequencing (HTS) is increasingly being used for the characterization and monitoring of biodiversity. If applied in a structured way, across broad geographical scales, it offers the potential for a much deeper understanding of global biodiversity through the integration of massive quantities of molecular inventory data generated independently at local, regional and global scales. The universality, reliability and efficiency of HTS data can potentially facilitate the seamless linking of data among species assemblages from different sites, at different hierarchical levels of diversity, for any taxonomic group and regardless of prior taxonomic knowledge. However, collective international efforts are required to optimally exploit the potential of site-based HTS data for global integration and synthesis, efforts that at present are limited to the microbial domain. To contribute to the development of an analogous strategy for the nonmicrobial terrestrial domain, an international symposium entitled “Next Generation Biodiversity Monitoring” was held in November 2019 in Nicosia (Cyprus). The symposium brought together evolutionary geneticists, ecologists and biodiversity scientists involved in diverse regional and global initiatives using HTS as a core tool for biodiversity assessment. In this review, we summarize the consensus that emerged from the 3-day symposium. We converged on the opinion that an effective terrestrial Genomic Observatories network for global biodiversity integration and synthesis should be spatially led and strategically united under the umbrella of the metabarcoding approach. Subsequently, we outline an HTS-based strategy to collectively build an integrative framework for site-based biodiversity data generation.Gold single-atom catalysts (SACs) exhibit outstanding reactivity in acetylene hydrochlorination to vinyl chloride, but their practical applicability is compromised by current synthesis protocols, using aqua regia as chlorine-based dispersing agent, and their high susceptibility to sintering on non-functionalized carbon supports at >500 K and/or under reaction conditions. Herein, a sustainable synthesis route to carbon-supported gold nanostructures in bimetallic catalysts is developed by employing salts as alternative chlorine source, allowing for tailored gold dispersion, ultimately reaching atomic level when using H2 PtCl6 . To rationalize these observations, several synthesis parameters (i.e., pH, Cl-content) as well as the choice of metal chlorides are evaluated, hinting at the key role of platinum in promoting a chlorine-mediated dispersion mechanism. This can be further extrapolated to redisperse large gold agglomerates (>70 nm) on carbon carriers into isolated atoms, which has important implications for catalyst regeneration. Another key role of platinum single atoms is to inhibit the sintering of their spatially isolated gold-based analogs up to 800 K and during acetylene hydrochlorination, without compromising the intrinsic activity of Au(I)-Cl active sites. Accordingly, exploiting cooperativity effects of a second metal is a promising strategy towards practical applicability of gold SACs, opening up exciting opportunities for multifunctional single-atom catalysis.
The reported prevalence of peripheral neuropathy in systemic sclerosis (SSc) is variable between 0.01% to 28%, probably due to differences in sample size, study design and population. Our aim is to determine the prevalence of large fiber peripheral neuropathy in SSc and to identify any contributing factors.
A prospective cross-sectional study of 60 SSc patients were evaluated for large fiber neuropathy using the modified clinical Total Neuropathy Score (cTNS) and nerve conduction study (NCS) of the upper and lower limbs. A combination of clinical (cTNS score≥2) and NCS criteria (≥2 abnormal nerves including 1 sural and NCS abnormalities consistent with individual nerves/nerve roots ) was used to diagnose peripheral neuropathy.
The majority had limited cutaneous subset (75%). Mean age was 55.73 (SD±13.04) years and mean disease duration was 8.61 (SD±8.09) years. PRT4165 Twenty-two (36.7%) had combined clinical and NCS criteria for peripheral neuropathy, 14 (23.3%) with symmetrical polyneuropathy and 8 (13.3%) with focal neuropathy. Symmetrical polyneuropathy patients had significantly lower hemoglobin levels (11.2 vs. 12.35g/L; P=.047). Serum vitamin B
levels were normal, therefore excluding vitamin B
deficiency. No other associations were found for both polyneuropathy and focal neuropathy with demography, co-morbid diseases and SSc disease factors such as Raynaud’s phenomenon and modified Rodnan skin score.
Large fiber neuropathy is common in SSc patients, which could contribute to non-lethal burden in SSc with sensory loss and muscle weakness. Apart from lower hemoglobin in polyneuropathy, there were no associations with disease-specific features or co-morbid diseases.
Large fiber neuropathy is common in SSc patients, which could contribute to non-lethal burden in SSc with sensory loss and muscle weakness. Apart from lower hemoglobin in polyneuropathy, there were no associations with disease-specific features or co-morbid diseases.