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Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by a number of features including the formation of inclusions, early synaptic degeneration and the selective loss of neurons. Molecules serving as links between these shared features have yet to be identified. Identifying candidates within the diseased microenvironment will open up novel avenues for therapeutic intervention. The transcription factor Elk-1 resides within multiple brain areas both in nuclear and extranuclear neuronal compartments. Interestingly, its de novo expression within a single dendrite initiates neuronal death. Given this novel regionalized function, we assessed whether extranuclear Elk-1 and/or phospho-Elk-1 (pElk-1) protein might be associated with a spectrum of human neurodegenerative disease cases including Lewy body Disease (e.g. Parkinson's), Alzheimer's disease, and Huntington's Disease. We first determined the importance of Elk-1 post-translational modifications on its ability to initiate regionalized cell death. We next screened human cases from three major neurodegenerative diseases to look for remarkable levels of Elk-1 and/or pElk-1 protein as well as their association with inclusions characteristic of these diseases. We compared our findings to age-matched control cases. We find that the ability of Elk-1 to initiate regionalized neuronal death depends on a specific phosphosite, T417. Furthermore, we find that T417(+) Elk-1 uniquely associates with several types of inclusions present in cases of human Lewy body Disease, Alzheimer's disease, and Huntington's Disease. These results suggest a molecular link between the presence of inclusions and neuronal loss that is shared across a spectrum of neurodegenerative disease.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) have been important monitoring targets in the atmosphere due to their deleterious biological effects. Pine needles have been used to monitor atmospheric pollutants. An analytical method was developed to measure 21 PAHs, 14 alkyl PAHs, 7 PCBs, and 23 OCPs in pine needles using ultrasonically assisted extraction and gas chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry (GC–MS/MS). The ranges of the lower limits of detection of PAHs, PCBs, and OCPs were 0.01–0.05, 0.02–0.06, and 0.01–0.07 μg/kg, respectively. The feasibility of the proposed method was validated by analyzing dust standard reference materials of the samples, which gave satisfactory results with a precision of 0.83%–7.80% (PAHs), 0.93%–4.78% (PCBs), and 0.73%–4.71% (OCPs), and an accuracy of 89.2%–102% (PAHs), 94.6%–109% (PCBs), and 99.4%–102% (OCPs). The PAHs, PCBs, and OCPS were determined from real pine needle samples using the developed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We previously devised an ultrasonographic evaluation to calculate subcutaneous tissue cross-sectional area (△CSA). The reliability and accuracy of this method were demonstrated in healthy individuals and in patients with lymphedema. The purpose of this study was to estimate the optimal cut-off value of the ratio of the △CSA of the involved side (lesion side) to the contralateral side for detecting breast cancer–related lymphedema (BCRL) using ultrasonography. Methods and Results: Ultrasonographic measurements were performed 290 times in 150 patients. BCRLD was defined as a confirmed difference of >2 cm in arm circumference. BCRL confirmed by a clinician (BCRLC) was defined as the patient group that included not only BCRLD but also patients with subcutaneous thickening and abnormal findings on lymphoscintigraphy, even if the difference in arm circumference was <2 cm. The △CSAs of both upper arms and forearms were calculated by measuring the thickness of the subcutaneous tissue at four locations using ultrasonography (superior, medial, inferior, lateral) at 10 cm above the elbow and 10 cm below the elbow. With a 1.35 △CSA ratio as the cut-off value for detecting BCRLD, the sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) were 0.88, 0.87, and 0.95, respectively. With a 1.20 △CSA ratio as the cut-off value for detecting BCRLC, the sensitivity, specificity, and AUC were 0.92, 0.89, and 0.97, respectively. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that a 1.20 △CSA ratio as determined using ultrasonography, corresponding to a tape measurement of 1.05 cm, can be considered as a diagnostic criterion for lymphedema. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During freeze‐drying, the degradation or eutectic melting of duck blood proteins can reduce the quality of duck blood gels. However, the interaction between proteins and polysaccharides during drying can improve protein‐based gel quality. Therefore, here, we investigated the physicochemical properties of heat‐induced gels of freeze‐dried duck blood (FDB) and FDB with different proportions of the polysaccharide konjac glucomannan (KG), which serves as a freeze‐denaturation inhibitor agent (FDA) or binder (BG). The pH and water‐holding capacity (WHC) of FDB + KG gels were higher than those of FDB gel without KG (control). Especially, the WHC increased from 11.00% for control to 55.65% for FDB gel with 1% KG as a BG. Consequently, cooking loss and texture parameters of FDB + KG gels decreased. The hardness of control was 2.14 kg, which significantly reduced to 0.12–0.87 kg with KG addition. The highest carbonyl content was observed in control gel, and the thiobarbituric acid reactive substance content was reduced by the addition of 1% KG as an FDA (T1) or 0.8% KG as an FDA with 0.2% KG as a BG (T2) (p < 0.05). These changes might be induced by the alteration of tertiary structure and thermodynamic stability of gels. In conclusion, 1% KG can be used as an FDA to improve the quality and physicochemical properties of heat‐induced gels of FDB. Optimized FDB gels with KG can be used as an innovative food ingredient to fortify nutrition and develop special dietary purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]