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Pericardial disease secondary to sarcoidosis is a rare clinical entity with no observational studies in previous research. Therefore, we evaluated reported cases of pericarditis because of sarcoidosis to further understand its diagnosis and management. We performed a systematic review of previous research until December 16, 2020 in MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Web of Science. Case reports and case series demonstrating pericardial involvement in sarcoidosis were included. Fourteen reports with a total of 27 patients were identified. Dyspnea (82%) was the most common presentation, with the lungs being the primary site of sarcoidosis in most patients (77%). The most frequently encountered pericardial manifestations were pericardial effusion (89%), constrictive pericarditis and cardiac tamponade (48%). Management of these patients included use of corticosteroids (82%), colchicine (11%), and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents (7%). Similar to the general population, the most common intervention in these patients was pericardiocentesis (59%), pericardial window (30%), and pericardiectomy (19%). Overall, the majority of this population (70%) achieved clinical improvement during median follow-up time of 8 months. In conclusion, the prevalence and incidence of sarcoid-induced pericarditial disease remain unclear. Clinical manifestations of pericardial involvement are variable, though many patients present with asymptomatic pericardial effusions. No consensus exists on the treatment of this special population, but corticosteroids and combination therapies are considered first-line therapies because of their efficacy in suppressing pericardial inflammation and underlying sarcoidosis. Patients with refractory cases of pericarditis may also benefit therapeutically from the addition of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, colchicine, and/or biologics.

Pericardiectomy is the recommended treatment for patients with recurrent pericarditis and refractory symptoms despite optimal anti-inflammatory therapy. We present a case of a 40-year-old woman who underwent total pericardiectomy after multiple episodes of pericarditis that was refractory to optimal guideline-derived medical therapy, including anti-inflammatory and biologic agents, who continued to have relapsing symptoms even after pericardiectomy. (Level of Difficulty: Intermediate.), Central Illustration

TMS5 encodes an RNase ZS1 protein that can process ubiquitin-60S ribosomal protein L40 family (UbL40) mRNAs to regulate thermo-sensitive genic male sterility in rice. Despite the importance of this protein, the structural characteristics and substrate recognition properties of RNase ZS1 remain unclear. Here, we found that the variations in several conservative amino acids alter the activation of RNase ZS1, and its recognition of RNA substrates depends on the structure of RNA. RNase ZS1 acts as a homodimer. The conserved amino acids in or adjacent to enzyme center play a critical role in the enzyme activity of RNase ZS1 and the conserved amino acids that far from active center have little impact on its enzyme activity. The cleavage efficiency of RNase ZS1 for pre-tRNA-MetCAU35 and UbL401 mRNA with cloverleaf-like structure was higher than that of pre-tRNA-AspAUC9 and UbL404 mRNA with imperfect cloverleaf-like structure. This difference implies that the enzyme activity of RNase ZS1 depends on the cloverleaf-like structure of the RNA. Furthermore, the RNase ZS1 activity was not inhibited by the 5' leader sequence and 3' CCA motif of pre-tRNA. These findings provide new insights for studying the cleavage characteristics and substrate recognition properties of RNase ZS.

Medicinal plants are increasingly being evaluated for the treatment of chronic disorders. This study was aimed at assessing anti-arthritic potential of Moringa oleifera (wild type). Different extracts of the plant leaves were prepared and evaluated for the presence and quantification of phytochemicals. The plant extracts were assessed for in vitro antioxidant activity by different methods followed by in vitro anti-inflammatory assays such as protein denaturation, membrane stabilization and anti-proteinase activities. The plant extracts were further assessed in Wistar rats by formaldehyde induced arthritis model at 150, 300 and 600 mg/kg dosage level. Chemical analysis showed that methanolic and aqueous extracts contained the highest total phenolic and flavonoid contents. Kaempferol, gallic acid, vanillic acid, coumaric acid and quercetin were detected and quantified in the plant extracts. It was found that the methanolic, aqueous and ethyl acetate extracts had exhibited the maximum in vitro antioxidant potential. These extracts also exhibited a decrease in protein denaturation, prevented lysis of red blood cell membranes and showed anti-proteinase activities. These extracts showed significant inhibition in paw inflammation and prevented arthritis induced anemia and weight loss in rats in dose dependent manner. The outcomes of this research indicated that all extracts of M. oleifera had exerted significant antioxidant and anti-arthritic potential in rats in dose dependent manner. Anti-arthritic activity of M. oleifera might be due to the scavenging of free radicals, inhibition of protein denaturation, membrane stabilization and anti-proteinase activity.

Background: Closed loop deep brain stimulation (clDBS) in Parkinson's disease (PD) using subthalamic (STN) neural feedback has been shown to be efficacious only in the acute post-operative setting, using externalized leads and stimulators. Objective: To determine feasibility of neural (N)clDBS using the clinical implanted neurostimulator (Activa™ PC + S, FDA IDE approved) and a novel beta dual threshold algorithm in tremor and bradykinesia dominant PD patients on chronic DBS. Methods: 13 PD subjects (20 STNs), on open loop (ol)DBS for 22 ± 7.8 months, consented to NclDBS driven by beta (13–30 Hz) power using a dual threshold algorithm, based on patient specific therapeutic voltage windows. Tremor was assessed continuously, and bradykinesia was evaluated after 20 min of NclDBS using a repetitive wrist flexion-extension task (rWFE). Total electrical energy delivered (TEED) on NclDBS was compared to olDBS using the same active electrode. Results: NclDBS was tolerated for 21.67 [21.10–26.15] minutes; no subject stopped early. Resting beta band power was measurable and similar between tremor and bradykinesia dominant patients. NclDBS improved bradykinesia and tremor while delivering only 56.86% of the TEED of olDBS; rWFE velocity (p = 0.003) and frequency (p

Industrial applications of Ionic liquids (ILs) in CO2 capture are still limited due to lack of research on CO2-ILs bubble dynamics. A CFD model was developed to understand CO2 bubble formation in the pool of ILs by coupling improved VOF (Volume of Fluid) method with FW–H (Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings) acoustic formulation. Conventional VOF method was improved by adding suitable drag force for CO2-ILs interaction and ILs viscosity was considered as a variable with dissolved CO2. The predicted results are in good agreement with experimental measurements. Based on current CFD model, distinct acoustics pressure signals were examined to characterize CO2 bubble formation stages (growth, necking, detachment). It was investigated that bubble diameter and detachment time were increased with increasing of orifice diameter. Moreover, effects of gas and ILs inlet velocities were explained by fluctuations in Reynolds number and acoustic pressure signals respectively. Higher dissolved CO2 quantity and earlier bubble detachment time were obtained in aqueous ILs than pure ILs. The results have potential to give some useful guidelines to design industrial gas distributor (multiple-holes) for CO2-ILs system.

Broad range transcriptional changes after pathogen invasion decide immune responses to these invaders. The responses of Capsicum annuum plants to bacterial pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum and high-temperature-high-humidity (HTHH) conditions are coordinated by different transcription factors. However, the basic molecular mechanism is not clear. The functions of different Capsicum annuum bZIP transcription factors (TFs) in plant defense are obscured in spite of their great importance in responses to biotic stress. In present study, we functionally characterized a nucleus localized bZIP TF, CabZIP53, for its involvement in pepper defense to Ralstonia solanacearum inoculation (RSI) and HTHH. CabZIP53 is transcriptionally induced in pepper plants by RSI or HTHH. Loss of function studies by Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) of CabZIP53 showed significantly impaired pepper basal defense against RSI, increased pathogen growth, decreased HTHH tolerance and hampered expression of immunity- and thermotolerance-associated marker genes such as CaHIR1, CaPR1, CaNPR1, CaABR1, CabZIP63 and CaHSP24 respectively. Similarly, transient overexpression of CabZIP53 mediated by Agrobacterium cells harbouring 35S::CabZIP53-HA in pepper leaves induced hypersensitive response (HR)-like mimic cell death, H2O2 accretion and up-regulated the immunity/thermotoelrance associated marker genes as well as CaWRKY6 CaWRKY40, CabZIP63 and CaCDPK15. qRT-PCR analysis revealed that CabZIP53 makes a positive feed back loop with CaWRKY40. In parallel, we determined that CabZIP53 was regulated directly by CaWRKY40 but indirectly by CaWRKY6. On the whole, our results suggest that CabZIP53 positively regulates plant immunity to RSI and tolerance against HTHH by means of transcriptional networks and positive feedback loops involving CaWRKY40.

Freezing of gait (FOG) is a devastating axial motor symptom in Parkinson's disease (PD) leading to falls, institutionalization, and even death. The response of FOG to dopaminergic medication and deep brain stimulation (DBS) is complex, variable, and yet to be optimized. Fundamental gaps in the knowledge of the underlying neurobiomechanical mechanisms of FOG render this symptom one of the unsolved challenges in the treatment of PD. Subcortical neural mechanisms of gait impairment and FOG in PD are largely unknown due to the challenge of accessing deep brain circuitry and measuring neural signals in real time in freely-moving subjects. Additionally, there is a lack of gait tasks that reliably elicit FOG. Since FOG is episodic, we hypothesized that dynamic features of subthalamic (STN) beta oscillations, or beta bursts, may contribute to the Freezer phenotype in PD during gait tasks that elicit FOG. We also investigated whether STN DBS at 60 Hz or 140 Hz affected beta burst dynamics and gait impairment differently in Freezers and Non-Freezers. Synchronized STN local field potentials, from an implanted, sensing neurostimulator (Activa® PC + S, Medtronic, Inc.), and gait kinematics were recorded in 12 PD subjects, off-medication during forward walking and stepping-in-place tasks under the following randomly presented conditions: NO, 60 Hz, and 140 Hz DBS. Prolonged movement band beta burst durations differentiated Freezers from Non-Freezers, were a pathological neural feature of FOG and were shortened during DBS which improved gait. Normal gait parameters, accompanied by shorter bursts in Non-Freezers, were unchanged during DBS. The difference between the mean burst duration between hemispheres (STNs) of all individuals strongly correlated with the difference in stride time between their legs but there was no correlation between mean burst duration of each STN and stride time of the contralateral leg, suggesting an interaction between hemispheres influences gait. These results suggest that prolonged STN beta burst durations measured during gait is an important biomarker for FOG and that STN DBS modulated long not short burst durations, thereby acting to restore physiological sensorimotor information processing, while improving gait.

A series of ethanolamine based deep eutectic solvents (DESs), which have strong basicity, were firstly applied in wheat straw pretreatment. Typically, choline chloride: monoethanolamine (C:M) as the best solvent among these DESs can remove 71.4% lignin and reserve 93.7% cellulose (70 °C, L/S mass ratio of 20:1, 9 h), and improve the enzymatic hydrolysis of residue, i.e., 89.8% cellulose and 62.0% xylan conversion. The pretreatment capacity of C:M is comparable to other solvents while C:M has several advantages, e.g., lower cost with cheap materials and simpler preparation process, mild conditions and lower polysaccharide loss. The XRD, SEM and FT-IR results verified that the polysaccharide conversion and sugars yield were enhanced by the removal of lignin in the pretreatment process. The basic ethanolamine based DESs are promising solvents for industrial application of wheat straw pretreatment.

The photodegradation of ascorbic acid (AH2) in the presence of nicotinamide (NA) at pH 2.0–12.0 has been studied using a 30 W UV radiation source. The reaction follows first-order kinetics and the values of apparent first-order rate constants (kobs) at 1 × 10−3 M NA concentration range from 1.17 (pH 2.0) to 3.61 × 10−3 min−1 (pH 12.0). The values of these rate constants (k0) in the absence of NA range from 0.50 (pH 2.0) to 1.75 × 10−3 min−1 (pH 12.0), indicating that the values of kobs for the photodegradation of AH2 in the presence of NA are about 2 fold compared to those of the AH2 alone. The second-order rate constants (k') for the photochemical interaction of AH2 and NA are in the range of 0.67 (pH 2.0) and 1.86 × 10−3 M−1 min−1 (pH 12.0). The k'-pH profile shows a gradual increase in the rate as a function of pH. This is due to the ionization of AH2 to give ascorbyl anions (AH−) which are more susceptible to photodegradation compared to the neutral molecule (AH2). NA appears to undergo photochemical interaction with AH2 during the reaction by acting as an electron acceptor to enhance its rate of photodegradation. The concentrations of AH2 and NA in degraded solutions have been determined by a two-component spectrometric method at 243 and 261 nm (pH 2.0) with a precision of ±2%. The method has been validated and the results are comparable to the HPLC method.

Extensive transcriptional reprogramming after pathogen attack determines immunity to these invaders and plant development. Zinc finger (ZNF) transcription factors regulate important processes in plants such as development, vegetative activities and plant immunity. Despite their immense significance, majority of ZNF transcription factors (TF) involved in pepper immunity and resistance to heat stress have not been focused much. Herein, we identified and functionally characterized CaZNF830 in pepper defense against Ralstonia solanacearum inoculation (RSI) and tolerance to high temperature and high humidity (HTHH). Transient expression analysis of CaZNF830-GFP fusion protein in tobacco leaves revealed its localization to the nucleus. Transcription of CaZNF830 is induced in pepper plants upon RSI or HTHH. Consistent with this, fluorometric GUS enzymatic assay driven by pCaZNF830 presented significantly enhanced activity under RSI and HTHH in comparison with the control plants. The silencing of CaZNF830 by virus induced gene silencing (VIGS) significantly compromised pepper immunity against RSI with enhanced growth of Ralstonia solanacearum in pepper plants. Silencing of CaZNF830 also impaired tolerance to HTHH coupled with decreased expression levels of immunity and thermo-tolerance associated marker genes including CaHIR1, CaNPR1, CaPR1, CaABR1 and CaHSP24. By contrast, the transient over-expression of CaZNF830 in pepper leaves by infiltration of GV3101 cells containing 35S::CaZNF830-HA induced HR mimic cell death, H2O2 accumulation and activated the transcriptions of the tested defense-relative or thermo-tolerance associated marker genes. RT-PCR and immune-blotting assay confirmed the stable expression of HA-tagged CaZNF830 mRNA and protein in pepper. All these results suggest that CaZNF830 acts as a positive regulator of plant immunity against RSI or tolerance to HTHH, it is induced by RSI or HTHH and consequently activate pepper immunity against RSI or tolerance to HTHH by directly or indirectly transcriptional modulation of many defense-linked genes.