Electroacupuncture-induced neural activation detected by use of manganese-enhanced functional magnetic resonance imaging in rabbits

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of acupuncture on neural activity detected by use of manganese-enhanced functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and elucidate the relationship between somatic acupoint stimulation and brain activation. ANIMALS: 40 New Zealand White rabbits. PROCEDURE: Manganese-enhanced fMRI was performed in anesthetized rabbits manipulated with electroacupuncture (EA) on Zusanli (ST-36) and Yanglingquan (GB-34) acupoints. Image acquisition was performed on a 1.5T superconductive clinical scanner with a circular polarized extremity coil. T1-weighted images were acquired sequentially as follows: baseline, after mannitol injection, after manganese infusion, and 5 and 20 minutes after initiation of EA. RESULTS: Changes in focal neural activity were detected by use of manganese-enhanced fMRI. Stimulation on Zusanli (ST-36) for 5 minutes resulted in activation of the hippocampus, whereas stimulation on Yanglingquan (GB-34) resulted in activation of the hypothalamus, insula, and motor cortex. Activation became less specific after 20 minutes of EA. Furthermore, stimulation on ipsilateral acupoints led to bilateral brain activation. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Each acupoint has a corresponding cerebral linkage, and stimulation on these points resulted in time-dependent neural activation. Understanding the linkage between peripheral acupoint stimulation and central neural pathways may provide a useful guide for clinical applications of acupuncture.     

A Continuous Measurement of Swelling of Rice Starch During Heating

The changes in size distribution of rice starch granules during heating have been determined continuously using a polarised light microscope in combination with a hot stage and an image analysis system. The size of starch granules increased slightly as the temperature was raised from 35°C to 55°C, with a 3·9% increase in average area; however, a dramatic increase in size of starch granules occurred at 65°C. The swelling of the starch granules reached a maximum 54·7% increase in average area at 75°C which is coincidental with the peak temperature (T_p) of DSC thermograms. Starch granules proceeded to disrupt/dissolve above 75°C. Loss of birefringence occurred at a lower temperature than granule rupture.T_pappeared to be the critical point in the phase change between the stages of swelling and disruption/dissolution of rice starch granules during heating.     

Effects of chromated-phosphate treatment process on the green color protection of ma bamboo ( Dendrocalamus latiflorus )

Ma bamboo (Dendrocalamus latiflorus Munro) treated with chromated phosphate (CP) exhibits an excellent green color. To understand the effects of the treatment sequence of CrO₃ and H₃PO₄ and their interactions regarding green color protection, CrO₃-H₃PO₄ and H₃PO₄-CrO₃ two-step treatments plus a H₃PO₄-CrO₃-H₃PO₄ three-step treatment were carried out in this study. Results revealed that the treatment sequence of CrO₃ and H₃PO₄ definitely affects the effectiveness of bamboo color protection. Green color protection of ma bamboo culm could not be achieved by treating it with CrO₃ or H₃PO₄ alone or with the H₃PO₄-CrO₃ two-step treatment. Only by treating it with the CrO₃-H₃PO₄ two-step treatment or the H₃PO₄-CrO₃-H₃PO₄ three-step treatment did ma bamboo exhibit an excellent green color. The results indicated that bamboo reacts first with CrO₃ and then forms an insoluble complex with H₃PO₄, which produces the green color on its epidermis. Chlorophyll analyses demonstrated that chlorophyll is not a key factor for green color protection. The green pigment was also formed when chlorophyll-free bamboo was treated with 2% CP at 60°C for 3h.     

Mycoplasma hyorhinis in Taiwan: diagnosis and isolation of swine pneumonia pathogen

This study attempted to determine whether one multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is an effective adjunct method for diagnosing Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and Mycoplasma hyorhinis infection, and whether M. hyorhinis should be considered as an enzootic pneumonia or porcine respiratory disease complex pathogen in Taiwan. To our knowledge, this study is the first to isolate and identify M. hyorhinis as a porcine pathogen in Taiwan. A novel isolation method and a multiplex PCR test were applied to detect and isolate M. hyorhinis. The correlation of M. hyorhinis with swine pneumonia was also examined using a challenge test. Based on weight, 18 pigs were assigned to three groups and housed throughout the study in a specific-pathogen-free (SPF) facility and provided with aseptic feed and water. Groups 1 (n=6) and 2 (n=6) were challenged with 5mL M. hyorhinis culture via tracheal intubation on day 1. The M. hyorhinis strains ATIT-1, -3, and-7 were used to infect group 1 and the strain ATCC 27717 was used for group 2. Culture medium was replaced by phosphate-buffered saline in group 3 (n=6). All pigs were slaughtered on day 28, and their lungs were removed for examination of lesions. Of the six pigs in group 1 challenged with wild-type strains, two had typical mycoplasma pneumonia lesions. No gross lung lesions were observed in groups 2 and 3. Although further examination is necessary to confirm that wild-type strains can cause pneumonia, it appears that M. hyopneumoniae is no longer the only mycoplasma pathogen implicated in the diagnosis of swine enzootic pneumonia (SEP).     

Isolation of Lawsonia intracellularis in Korea and reproduction of proliferative enteropathy in pigs and hamsters

Lawsonia intracellularis (L. intracellularis) was isolated from a Korean pig suffering acute proliferative enteropathy. In vitro culture conditions of L. intracellularis were established in McCoy cells. Pigs and hamsters experimentally infected with the pure culture of L. intracellularis reproduced clinical signs and intestinal lesions of proliferative enteropathy. The presence of L. intracellularis in the intestinal lesions was confirmed by immunohistochemistry with L. intracellularis-specific monoclonal antibodies.     

Utilization of polar metabolite profiling in the comparison of juvenile wood and compression wood in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda)

Juvenile wood (JW) of conifers is often associated with compression wood (CW), with which it is sometimes believed to be identical. To determine whether JW and CW can be distinguished metabolically, we compared gas chromatographic profiles of 25 polar metabolites from rooted cuttings of a single loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) clone raised in controlled environment chambers and subject to three treatments: (1) grown erect with minimal wind sway (control); (2) swayed by wind from oscillating fans; and (3) with 30-cm growth increments successively bent at an angle of 45 degrees to the vertical. Profiles were compared by principal component analysis. Substantial increases in abundances of coniferin and p-glucocoumaryl alcohol separated immature JW-forming xylem tissues of the control trees from the CW-forming xylem of the bent and swayed trees.     

A critical role for the innate immune signaling molecule IRAK-4 in T cell activation

IRAK-4 is a protein kinase that is pivotal in mediating signals for innate immune responses. Here, we report that IRAK-4 signaling is also essential for eliciting adaptive immune responses. Thus, in the absence of IRAK-4, in vivo T cell responses were significantly impaired. Upon T cell receptor stimulation, IRAK-4 is recruited to T cell lipid rafts, where it induces downstream signals, including protein kinase C activation through the association with Zap70. This signaling pathway was found to be required for optimal activation of nuclear factor kappaB. Our findings suggest that T cells use this critical regulator of innate immunity for the development of acquired immunity, suggesting that IRAK-4 may be involved in direct signal cross talk between the two systems.     

SV2 is the protein receptor for botulinum neurotoxin A

How the widely used botulinum neurotoxin A (BoNT/A) recognizes and enters neurons is poorly understood. We found that BoNT/A enters neurons by binding to the synaptic vesicle protein SV2 (isoforms A, B, and C). Fragments of SV2 that harbor the toxin interaction domain inhibited BoNT/A from binding to neurons. BoNT/A binding to SV2A and SV2B knockout hippocampal neurons was abolished and was restored by expressing SV2A, SV2B, or SV2C. Reduction of SV2 expression in PC12 and Neuro-2a cells also inhibited entry of BoNT/A, which could be restored by expressing SV2 isoforms. Finally, mice that lacked an SV2 isoform (SV2B) displayed reduced sensitivity to BoNT/A. Thus, SV2 acts as the protein receptor for BoNT/A.     

Finger joint performance of structural laminated bamboo member

The structural performance of finger-jointed laminated bamboo was investigated for two bamboo species by considering the finger length, profile orientation, lamination direction, culm growth height, and mechanical properties of bamboo materials. Based on the growth height variation and bamboo species, the best finger-jointed laminated bamboo was found for the lamina processed from the middle growth height of a moso bamboo culm with the finger profile shown on the width face of the beam. It was 38.7% higher in bending strength than the lowest group, with the lamina from the lower ma bamboo culm showing the finger profile on the thickness face of the beam. When considering the finger length and lamination orientation, the strongest finger-jointed laminated bamboo joined with an 18-mm finger, showing the finger profile on the width face of a vertically laminated beam was 50.1% higher in bending strength than the lowest group having a 12-mm finger showing the finger profile on the thickness face of a vertically laminated beam. The laminated ma bamboo showed higher finger-joint efficiency, 11.6%, than moso bamboo, and the members showing the finger profile on the width surface was 12.3% better in joint efficiency than that showing on the thickness surface of the beam.     

A conserved domain in axonal targeting of Kv1 (Shaker) voltage-gated potassium channels

Axonal voltage-gated potassium (Kv1) channels regulate action-potential invasion and hence transmitter release. Although evolutionarily conserved, what mediates their axonal targeting is not known. We found that Kv1 axonal targeting required its T1 tetramerization domain. When fused to unpolarized CD4 or dendritic transferrin receptor, T1 promoted their axonal surface expression. Moreover, T1 mutations eliminating Kvbeta association compromised axonal targeting, but not surface expression, of CD4-T1 fusion proteins. Thus, proper association of Kvbeta with the Kv1 T1 domain is essential for axonal targeting.