Search Results (40)

Background/Objectives: Dental caries (DCs) and type 2 diabetes share common risk factors. Dental caries risk in type 2 diabetics (T2DM) shows contradictory results. The aim of this study was to determine if there is a difference in DC prevalence in adults with and without T2DM and whether body mass index (BMI) classes or glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels interfere in that difference. Methods: A total of 666 adults (n(T2DM) = 343; n(nT2DM) = 323), from Espinho Primary Health Care Center, were interviewed by calibrated observers. Data from clinical records were collected and oral health status was registered using WHO criteria. Inference analysis was conducted using non-parametric tests (α = 0.05). Results: A similar caries prevalence was found between the T2DM (98.2%) and nT2DM (98.8%) groups, with the T2DM group showing significantly higher tooth loss (p < 0.001), higher caries experience rerted as mean ± sd (17.7 ± 8.3 vs. 15.9 ± 7.8, p = 0.005), fewer decayed teeth (p < 0.001) and filled teeth (p = 0.016) compared to nT2DM. The most frequently identified comorbidity was hypertension (53.6%). Tobacco use (12.9%) was lower in T2DM (p < 0.001). The restorative and treatment indices indicated a significantly higher proportion of use of oral care services (p < 0.001) in T2DM individuals. The prevalence of the higher classes of BMI indicative of pre-obesity or obesity shows significant differences (p < 0.001). The differences found in the DMFT or each of its components for the prevalence or for the mean in HbA1c control were not statistically significant (p = 0.368, and 0.524, respectively). Conclusions: Adults with T2DM and higher BMI classes could be associated with a greater prevalence of DCs. The glycemic control of T2DM does not significantly influence DMFT score or each of its components. Full article

Background: Anti-glomerular basement membrane (anti-GBM) nephritis is mediated by autoantibodies and may progress to end-stage renal disease. Although its pathogenesis is not completely understood, dendritic cells (DCs) have been reported to play an important role in this process. Hypoxia-inducible factor-2α (HIF-2α) has been reported to have a regulatory effect on DCs under hypoxic conditions, while no research has investigated its role in autoimmune nephritis. Methods: Anti-GBM nephritis was induced in CD11c-specific HIF-2α-deficient and WT mice using nephrotoxic serum (NTS). All mice were divided into four groups: (i) WT+PBS, (ii) CD11c-Cre⁺ Hif2α^fl/fl+PBS, (iii) WT+NTS and (iv) CD11c-Cre⁺ Hif2α^fl/fl+NTS. Seven days after induction, renal function, immune cell infiltration and the expression levels of genes in the renal cortex were assessed in each group. Results: On day 7, the levels of serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen and the urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio were lower for mice with DC-specific deletion of HIF-2α compared with their WT counterparts (p < 0.05). Histopathological analysis showed that there was less crescent formation in the renal cortex with conditional HIF-2α knockout, and the infiltration of DCs and macrophages was also suppressed (p < 0.05). Genes related to antigen processing and presentation were found to be expressed differentially between the two groups, and the activation of the MAPK pathway was affected (p < 0.05). Western blot analysis validated that HIF-2α knockout inhibited the phosphorylation of p38 MAPK (p < 0.05). Conclusions: In this study, we observed a pro-inflammatory effect of HIF-2α in DCs in early anti-GBM nephritis, and the results suggested a regulating effect of HIF-2α on p38 MAPK pathways. Full article

The conservation tillage method is a more holistic method introduced in Hungary two decades ago. Its environmental benefits in agriculture were widely studied and documented. The impact of conservation tillage on soil compaction and penetration resistance remains debated, necessitating further research to clarify its long-term effects in different soil types and cropping systems. The present study evaluates the impact on soil penetration resistance following 16 years of implementation of six distinct tillage practices. The study was conducted at Józsefmajor Experimental and Training Farm (JM) of the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences near Hatvan. The study employed a randomized complete block design (RCBD) to evaluate six distinct tillage methods. These methods encompassed disking (D) at 12–14 cm depth, shallow cultivation (SC) at 18–20 cm depth, no-tilling (NT), deep cultivation (DC) at 22–25 cm depth, loosening (L) at 40–45 cm depth, and plowing (P) at 28–30 cm depth. In this study, soil compaction was assessed by measuring soil penetration resistance (SPR) at different depths (0–50 cm) and periods of the cropping year. Disking and NT significantly increased SPR between 10 and 20 cm, likely due to increased soil densification and reduced porosity in the absence of deep soil disturbance. While under sunflower cropping season significantly higher SPR was measured. In March 2021, the SPR at D and NT differed significantly from other measurement dates (September, October, November, and April). Regarding the difference between the depths, SPR increased with increasing depths in all treatment plots. The study findings revealed that NT and D tillage methods significantly increased soil penetration resistance in both cropping years, whereas L and P reduced SPR and enhanced the soil moisture storage potential of the soil particularly for the sunflower cropping period. The significance of the Spearman correlations observed suggested that SPR could be a valuable indicator of root growth potential under certain tillage conditions. Based on our results, we recommend the adoption of occasional deep soil loosening for reduced tillage systems (SC, D, DC, and NT) for both wheat and sunflower. This will create a compact-free zone for greater crop root proliferation, nutrient access, and SMC storage. Full article

The DC global electric circuit, GEC, was conceived by C.T.R. Wilson more than a century ago. Powered by thunderstorms and electrified shower clouds, an electric current I ~1 kA flows up into the ionosphere, maintaining the ionospheric potential V ~250 kV with respect to the Earth’s surface. The circuit is formed by the current I, flowing through the ionosphere all around the world, down through the atmosphere remote from the current sources (J ~2 pA/m² through a resistance R ~250 Ω), through the land and sea surface, and up to the thunderstorms as point discharge currents. This maintains a downward electric field E of magnitude ~130 V/m at the Earth’s surface away from thunderstorms and a charge Q ~−6.10⁵ C on the Earth’s surface. The theoretical modelling of ionospheric currents and the miniscule geomagnetic field perturbations (ΔB ~0.1 nT) which they cause, as derived by Denisenko and colleagues in recent years, are reviewed. The time constant of the GEC, τ = RC, where C is the capacitance of the global circuit capacitor, is estimated via three different methods to be ~7 to 12 min. The influence of stratus clouds in determining the value of τ is shown to be significant. Sudden excitations of the GEC by volcanic lightning in Iceland in 2011 and near the Tonga eruption in 2022 enable τ to be determined, from experimental observations, as ~10 min and 8 min, respectively. It has been suggested that seismic activity, or earthquake precursors, could produce large enough electric fields in the ionosphere to cause detectable effects, either by enhanced radon emission or by enhanced thermal emission from the earthquake region; a review of the quantitative estimates of these mechanisms shows that they are unlikely to produce sufficiently large effects to be detectable. Finally, some possible links between the topics discussed and human health are considered briefly. Full article

Background/Objectives. Bovine botulism, although relatively rare, presents significant economic losses due to high mortality rates and restrictions on livestock product trade. Vaccination remains the most effective strategy for preventing botulism-related mortality. This study evaluated the efficacy of a bivalent recombinant vaccine targeting the C-terminal portion of the heavy chain (Hc) of botulinum neurotoxin serotype C (BoNT/C) (Hc BoNT/C) and botulinum neurotoxin serotype D (BoNT/D) (Hc BoNT/D) in inducing neutralizing antibodies against these toxins and their mosaic variants BoNT/CD and BoNT/DC in cattle. This comparison aims to improve the design of an optimal recombinant vaccine for preventing bovine botulism caused by the most common serotypes. Methods. Twenty, four-month-old Holstein Friesian calves were randomly assigned to two groups of ten animals: vaccinated group and control group. Sera were collected at various time points to assess antibody titers using ELISA and neutralizing antibody titers using a mouse protection assay. Neutralizing antibody titers were compared to those obtained with a commercially available toxoid vaccine. Results. The recombinant vaccine elicited significant increases in anti-HcBoNT/C and anti-HcBoNT/D IgG antibody levels in vaccinated animals compared to controls animals with no adverse effects. Specifically, post-vaccination, the calves showed no local reactions (swelling, warmth) or behavioral changes suggestive of systemic illness. Neutralizing antibody titers against BoNT/C and BoNT/D were significantly higher in the recombinant vaccine group compared to the toxoid vaccine group. However, the recombinant vaccine showed lower neutralizing activity against BoNT/DC compared to the toxoid vaccine. Conclusions. The bivalent recombinant vaccine demonstrated promising immunogenicity in cattle, inducing high neutralizing antibody titers against BoNT/C and BoNT/D. While effective against these toxins, the lower efficacy against BoNT/DC highlights the need for further research to optimize the vaccine formulation, potentially by incorporating a BoNT/DC Hc component, to provide broader protection against bovine botulism. Full article

Adverse complications like metabolic disorders, neurotoxicity, and low central nervous system (CNS) penetration are associated with the long-term use of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF). Therefore, some modifications are required to enhance neurological functions using silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). This study aimed to evaluate the neuroprotective impact of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs)-conjugated TDF as AgNPs-TDF on the hippocampal microanatomy and some neuro-biomarkers of diabetic rats. Forty-two male Sprague-Dawley rats, with an average weight of 250 ± 13 g, were divided into non-diabetic and diabetic groups. They were further divided into 3 groups each (n = 7): non-diabetic control (NC), non-diabetic + TDF (NTF), and non-diabetic + TDF + silver nanoparticles (NTS), as well as diabetic control (DC), diabetic + TDF (DTF), and diabetic + TDF + silver nanoparticles (DTS). The characterization of AgNPs-TDF was assessed, and the conjugates were administered to the diabetic rats, followed by behavioral testing and biochemical, immunohistochemical, and microanatomy analyses of the hippocampus. The results showed that the administration of AgNPs-TDF significantly reduced the blood glucose level, malondialdehyde (MDA), and inflammatory biomarker concentrations in DTS compared with the DTF and DC groups. Furthermore, AgNPs-TDF administration significantly increased the levels of tissue superoxide dismutase (SOD), reduced glutathione (GSH), and insulin-like growth factor-1 in DTS compared with the DTF and DC groups. In addition, the DTS group revealed a monomorphic pattern of dark-stained neuronal nuclei similar to the control group and showed neuroprotective effects on hippocampal microanatomy compared with the DTF group. This study shows that AgNPs-TDF restores various alterations in the hippocampus and improves cognitive functions in diabetic rats. Full article

Hepatoblastoma is the most common primary liver malignancy in children, with metabolic reprogramming playing a critical role in its progression due to the liver’s intrinsic metabolic functions. Enhanced glycolysis, glutaminolysis, and fatty acid synthesis have been implicated in hepatoblastoma cell proliferation and survival. In this study, we screened for altered overexpression of metabolic enzymes in hepatoblastoma tumors at tissue and single-cell levels, establishing and validating a hepatoblastoma tumor expression metabolic score using machine learning. Starting from the Mammalian Metabolic Enzyme Database, bulk RNA sequencing data from GSE104766 and GSE131329 datasets were analyzed using supervised methods to compare tumors versus adjacent liver tissue. Differential expression analysis identified 287 significantly regulated enzymes, 59 of which were overexpressed in tumors. Functional enrichment in the KEGG metabolic database highlighted a network enriched in amino acid metabolism, as well as carbohydrate, steroid, one-carbon, purine, and glycosaminoglycan metabolism pathways. A metabolic score based on these enzymes was validated in an independent cohort (GSE131329) and applied to single-cell transcriptomic data (GSE180665), predicting tumor cell status with an AUC of 0.98 (sensitivity 0.93, specificity 0.94). Elasticnet model tuning on individual marker expression revealed top tumor predictive markers, including FKBP10, ATP1A2, NT5DC2, UGT3A2, PYCR1, CKB, GPX7, DNMT3B, GSTP1, and OXCT1. These findings indicate that an activated metabolic transcriptional program, potentially influencing epigenetic functions, is observed in hepatoblastoma tumors and confirmed at the single-cell level. Full article

Background: Reproductive performance is critical in the pig industry, and improved sow performance could lead to increased economic benefits. GWAS and ROH analyses based on SNP array data were conducted to identify the breed-specific genetic architecture underlying the variation in NBA and TNB. Methods: A total of 7488 breeding pigs with phenotypic data from 1586 Duroc, 2256 Landrace, and 3646 Yorkshire breeds, along with 76,756 SNP markers from Korean grand-grand-parent (GGP) breeding farms, were used. Results: In the Duroc breeds, SNPs on SSC 9 and 17 were found to be associated with the SIDT2 and TGM2 genes, respectively. In the Landrace breed, PPP1R9A, LMTK2, and GTF2H3 on SSCs 9, 3, and 14, respectively, were associated with both TNB and NBA. With the Yorkshire breed genome, GRID1, DLGAP2, ZZEF1, PARG, RNF17, and NDUFAF5 in SSCs 14, 15, 12, 14, 11, and 17, respectively, were associated with NBA and TNB traits. These genes have distinct functions, ranging from synaptic transmission and cytoskeletal organization to DNA repair and cellular energy production. In the Duroc breed, six genes identified in the ROH islands were associated with various biological pathways, molecular functions, and cellular components. NT5DC1 was associated with metaphyseal chondrodysplasia, CRTAC1 with ion binding, CFAP43 with spermatogenic failure, CASC3 with intracellular mRNA localization, ERC2 with cellular component organization, and FOCAD with Focadhesin. In the Landrace and Yorkshire breeds, PDE6D was associated with GTPase inhibitor activity. Conclusions: Through GWAS and ROH analyses, we identified breed-specific SNP markers associated with NBA and TNB in three breed genotypes, providing insights for improving reproductive performance efficiency and contributing to future breeding strategies. Full article

Background: Ulcerative colitis is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting the colon. During chronic inflammation of epithelial cells, lipid metabolism via pro-inflammatory eicosanoids is known to modify the immune response. Methods: Starting from the Mammalian Metabolic Database, the expression of metabolic enzymes was investigated in two independent cohorts from transcriptome datasets GSE38713 and GSE11223, which analyzed ulcerative colitis tissue samples from the digestive tract. Results: In the first cohort, 145 differentially expressed enzymes were identified as significantly regulated between ulcerative colitis tissues and normal controls. Overexpressed enzymes were selected to tune an Elastic Net model in the second cohort. Using the best parameters, the model achieved a prediction accuracy for ulcerative colitis with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.79. Twenty-two metabolic enzymes were found to be commonly overexpressed in both independent cohorts, with decreasing Elastic Net predictive coefficients as follows: LIPG (3.98), PSAT1 (3.69), PGM3 (2.74), CD38 (2.28), BLVRA (1.99), CBR3 (1.94), NT5DC2 (1.76), PHGDH (1.71), GPX7 (1.58), CASP1 (1.56), ASRGL1 (1.4), SOD3 (1.25), CHST2 (0.965), CHST11 (0.95), KYNU (0.94), PLAG2G7 (0.92), SRM (0.87), PTGS2 (0.80), LPIN1 (0.47), ME1 (0.31), PTGDS (0.14), and ADA (0.13). Functional enrichment analysis using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database highlighted the main implications of these enzymes in cysteine and methionine metabolism (adjusted p-value = 0.01), arachidonic acid and prostaglandin metabolism (adjusted p-value = 0.01), and carbon metabolism (adjusted p-value = 0.04). A metabolic score based on the transcriptional activation of the validated twenty-two enzymes was found to be significantly greater in Ulcerative colitis samples compared to healthy donor samples (p-value = 1.52 × 10⁻⁸). Conclusions: A metabolic expression score was established and reflects the implications of heterogeneous metabolic pathway deregulations in the digestive tract of patients with ulcerative colitis. Full article

Background/Objectives: Lung cancer remains a global health concern, with substantial variation in patient survival. Despite advances in detection and treatment, the genetic basis for the divergent outcomes is not understood. We investigated germline polymorphisms that modulate overall survival in 1464 surgically resected lung adenocarcinoma patients. Methods: A multivariable Cox proportional hazard model was used to assess the association of more than seven million polymorphisms with overall survival at the 60-month follow-up, considering age, sex, pathological stage, decade of surgery and principal components as covariates. Genes in which variants were identified were studied in silico to investigate functional roles. Results: Six germline variants passed the genome-wide significance threshold. These single nucleotide polymorphisms were mapped to non-coding (intronic) regions on chromosomes 2, 3, and 5. The minor alleles of rs13000315, rs151212827, and rs190923216 (chr. 2, 3 and 5, respectively) were found to be independent negative prognostic factors. All six variants have been reported to regulate the expression of nine genes, seven of which are protein-coding, in different tissues. Survival-associated variants on chromosomes 2 and 3 were already reported to regulate the expression of NT5DC2 and NAGK, with high expression associated with the minor alleles. High NT5DC2 and NAGK expression in lung adenocarcinoma tissue was already shown to correlate with poor overall survival. Conclusions: This study highlights a potential regulatory role of the identified polymorphisms in influencing outcome and suggests a mechanistic link between these variants, gene expression regulation, and lung adenocarcinoma prognosis. Validation and functional studies are warranted to elucidate the mechanisms underlying these associations. Full article

A decline in rainfall as a source of agricultural water has affected and will continue to affect sustainable crop production globally including in Hungary. Conservation of the greatest water reservoir is important for the sustainable development of agriculture in Hungary. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the different tillage methods on soil moisture content, grain yield, and root weight of wheat (Triticum aestivum) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus) under rainfed conditions. A field study was conducted at the Józsefmajor Experimental and Training Farm (JM) of the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences near Hatvan. The experiment consisted of six tillage treatments: disking (D, 16 cm), shallow cultivation (SC, 20 cm), no-till (NT), deep cultivation (DC, 25 cm), loosening (L, 45 cm), and plowing (P, 30 cm). Soil moisture content (SMC) was measured monthly, and grain yield and root weight were measured at the end of the cropping period. Our results showed no significant difference in SMC between conservation and conventional tillage methods in 2018. However, in 2021, greater SMC was significantly conserved under NT compared to P. Regarding the sampling date, a significant increase in moisture with time was observed. A significantly lower SMC was observed on 3 June 2019 between L and D. while on the 9 September 2020, SMC significantly differed between P and all the other treatments (D, SC, NT, DC, and L). Interestingly in 2018, SMC was significantly lower at 10–20 cm depth between L and D. Notably the effect of depth on SMC was observed as moisture significantly increased with increasing depth in all tillage treatments. Root weight was greatest at DC (1.54 t ha⁻¹) in 2018 and under L (3.89 t ha⁻¹) in 2021. Similarly, wheat grain yield was greatest at DC (2.48 t ha⁻¹) in 2018, while sunflower yield in 2021 was greatest at L (3.86 t ha⁻¹). It is comprehensible that conservation tillage methods such as L and NT can increase SMC and grain yield. Full article

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) non-invasively provides important information about human brain electrophysiology. The growing use of optically pumped magnetometers (OPM) for MEG, as opposed to fixed arrays of cryogenic sensors, has opened the door for innovation in system design and use cases. For example, cryogenic MEG systems are housed in large, shielded rooms to provide sufficient space for the system dewar. Here, we investigate the performance of OPM recordings inside of a cylindrical shield with a 1 × 2 m² footprint. The efficacy of shielding was measured in terms of field attenuation and isotropy, and the value of post hoc noise reduction algorithms was also investigated. Localization accuracy was quantified for 104 OPM sensors mounted on a fixed helmet array based on simulations and recordings from a bespoke current dipole phantom. Passive shielding attenuated the vector field magnitude to 50.0 nT at direct current (DC), to 16.7 pT/√Hz at power line, and to 71 fT/√Hz (median) in the 10–200 Hz range. Post hoc noise reduction provided an additional 5–15 dB attenuation. Substantial field isotropy remained in the volume encompassing the sensor array. The consistency of the isotropy over months suggests that a field nulling solution could be readily applied. A current dipole phantom generating source activity at an appropriate magnitude for the human brain generated field fluctuations on the order of 0.5–1 pT. Phantom signals were localized with 3 mm localization accuracy, and no significant bias in localization was observed, which is in line with performance for cryogenic and OPM MEG systems. This validation of the performance of a small footprint MEG system opens the door for lower-cost MEG installations in terms of raw materials and facility space, as well as mobile imaging systems (e.g., truck-based). Such implementations are relevant for global adoption of MEG outside of highly resourced research and clinical institutions. Full article

The interactions of the different factors in differently tilled faba bean agroecosystems are still insufficiently studied and evaluated. For these reasons, we studied the results of a long-term field experiment, which was carried out in the Research Station of Vytautas Magnus University, Agriculture Academy (Lithuania). The aim of this study is to comprehensively evaluate the effect of the deep ploughing (DP), shallow ploughing (SP), deep cultivation, chiseling (DC), shallow cultivation-disking (SC), and no-tillage (NT) systems for the faba bean agroecosystem on the complex interactions of the indices, the relations among the indices, and the strength of the impact; the study employs the integrated evaluation method, which uses the complex evaluation index (CEI). CEI values showed that the NT system had a greater effect on the increase of soil aggregate stability (61%), the decrease of CO₂ emissions (12%), and the increase of seed yield (6%) than the DP system. However, the NT system had 36% and 20% higher effect on weed density and biomass increase than DP. CEI values of the DP system were often minimal, i.e., close to 1, which showed the DP system’s ineffectiveness. Full article

This article presents the basic principles for an Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) IoT-based isotropic meter implementation, which can measure magnetic flux density from 100 nT up to 10 μT. The identical sensor probes are used for isotropic field measurements in the X, Y, and Z planes. The prototype has a flat response across the frequency range from 40 Hz to 10 kHz, detecting and measuring several magnetic field sources. The proposed low-cost meter can measure fields from the power supply network and its harmonic frequencies in the operating frequency band. The proposed magnetic flux density meter circuit is simple to implement and the measured field can be displayed on any mobile device with Wi-Fi connectivity. An Arduino board with the embedded Wi-Fi Nina module is responsible for data transferring from the sensor to the cloud as a complete IoT solution, supported by the Blynk application via Android and iOS operating systems or web interface. In addition, an ELF energy harvesting (EH) circuit was also proposed in our study for the utilization of the alternating magnetic fields (50 Hz) derived from the operation of several consumer devices such as transformers, power supplies, hair dryers, etc. using low-consumption applications. Experimental measurements showed that the (DC) harvesting voltage can reach up to 4.2 volts from the magnetic field of 33 μΤ, caused by the operation of an electric hair dryer and can fully charge the 100 μF storage capacitor (C_s) of the proposed EH system in about 3 min. Full article

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are highly toxic proteins that require high-affinity immunocapture reagents for use in endopeptidase-based assays. Here, 30 novel and 2 earlier published llama single-domain antibodies (VHHs) against the veterinary-relevant BoNT serotypes C and D were yeast-produced. These VHHs recognized 10 independent antigenic sites, and many cross-reacted with the BoNT/DC and CD mosaic variants. As VHHs are highly suitable for genetically linking to increase antigen-binding affinity, 52 VHH multimers were produced and their affinity for BoNT/C, D, DC, and CD was determined. A selection of 15 multimers with high affinity (K_D < 0.1 nM) was further shown to be resilient to a high salt wash that is used for samples from complex matrices and bound native BoNTs from culture supernatants as shown by Endopep-MS. High-affinity multimers suitable for further development of a highly sensitive Endopep-MS assay include four multimers that bind both BoNT/D and CD with K_D of 14–99 pM, one multimer for BoNT/DC (65 pM) that also binds BoNT/C (75 pM), and seven multimers for BoNT/C (<1–19 pM), six of which also bind BoNT/DC with lower affinity (93–508 pM). In addition to application in diagnostic tests, these VHHs could be used for the development of novel therapeutics for animals or humans. Full article