Multivariate analysis using high definition flow cytometry reveals distinct T cell repertoires between the fetal–maternal interface and the peripheral blood

The human T cell compartment is a complex system and while some information is known on repertoire composition and dynamics in the peripheral blood, little is known about repertoire composition at different anatomical sites. Here, we determine the T cell receptor beta variable (TRBV) repertoire at the decidua and compare it with the peripheral blood during normal pregnancy and pre-eclampsia. We found total T cell subset disparity of up to 58% between sites, including large signature TRBV expansions unique to the fetal–maternal interface. Defining the functional nature and specificity of compartment-specific T cells will be necessary if we are to understand localized immunity, tolerance, and pathogenesis

Superoxide Dismutase Reduces Creatinine and NGAL by Restoring Oxidative Balance during Sepsis

Sepsis-associated overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) during pathogen infection leads to overwhelming oxidative stress, which has been recognized as a primary contributor to acute kidney injury (AKI). Hence, antioxidant therapy has been widely explored in order to find an effective treatment for sepsis-related AKI, in particular by using endogenous antioxidant – superoxide dismutase (SOD). We assessed the effect of oral SOD on the alteration of AKI biomarkers (creatinine and Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin – NGAL) in endotoxin-induced septic murine. The animals were assigned as a healthy control, a septic control, and three treatment groups (250, 500, and 1000 IU oral SOD). Treatment of SOD was carried out by force-feeding for 16 weeks prior to intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The sepsis was assessed using the murine sepsis score (MSS) after 12 hours post-LPS injection, where the changes in plasma SOD, ROS, NO, creatinine, and NGAL were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). During sepsis, SOD was significantly decreased from its baseline level while other biomarkers were significantly increased (p<0.05) – except for NGAL. MSS exhibited a declining trend in SOD dosage-dependent manner, and was significantly different with that of septic control group at SOD dosage of 1000 IU (p<0.05). SOD treatment with a dosage as low as 250 IU could prevent the abnormal expression of the tested biomarkers during sepsis. There were significant reduction of plasma ROS, NO, creatine and NGAL in rats treated with 1000 IU SOD. Our study suggests the protective effect of SOD against sepsis-induced AKI by scavenging ROS and NO. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2022-06-02-06 Full Text: PD

Geostationary Coastal and Air Pollution Events (GeoCAPE) Filter Radiometer (FR)

The GeoCAPE Filter Radiometer (FR) Study is a different instrument type than all of the previous IDL GeoCape studies. The customer primary goals are to keep mass, volume and cost to a minimum while meeting the science objectives and maximizing flight opportunities by fitting on the largest number of GEO accommodations possible. Minimize total mission costs by riding on a commercial GEO satellite. For this instrument type, the coverage rate, km 2 min, was significantly increased while reducing the nadir ground sample size to 250m. This was accomplished by analyzing a large 2d area for each integration period. The field of view will be imaged on a 4k x 4k detector array of 15 micrometer pixels. Each ground pixel is spread over 2 x 2 detector pixels so the instantaneous field of view (IFOV) is 2048 X 2048 ground pixels. The baseline is, for each field of view 50 sequential snapshot images are taken, each with a different filter, before indexing the scan mirror to the next IFOV. A delta would be to add additional filters

Correlation of Microclimate of West Java on Caffeine and Chlorogenic acid in Coffea canephora var. robusta

Caffeine and chlorogenic acid (CGA) are two compounds that play a role in determining the quality of coffee. The amount of the two compounds may vary depending on the environment where they are grown. This study aimed to determine the correlation between the local microclimatic condition and the concentration of caffeine and CGA in green and roasted beans of Robusta coffee from six different cultivation areas in West Java, Indonesia (i.e., Ciamis, Tasikmalaya, Sumedang, Kuningan, Cianjur, and Bogor). Samples of green beans and roasted beans were extracted with 70% methanol for caffeine analysis and ethyl acetate for CGA analysis. Caffeine and CGA were analyzed by UV-HPLC using a C18 shimpack gist shimadzu column, with an isocratic elution of methanol:water (1:1) at a 1 mL/min flow rate. Detection was performed at  λ272 nm and λ324 nm for caffeine and chlorogenic acid, respectively. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to evaluate the correlation between microclimate with caffeine and chlorogenic acid. Results indicated that the concentration of caffeine ranged from 7.67 to 16.52% and 10.79 to 15.56% in the green and roasted bean coffee, respectively. The concentration of CGA ranged from 0.74 to 3.03% and 0.25 to 0.77% in the green and roasted bean coffee, respectively. Based on PCA analysis, the most influential microclimate on the caffeine concentration were the humidity, temperature, and altitude, with the total variance of PC1 and PC2 of  76.3%. However, there was no positive correlation between the measured microclimate and the CGA concentration. In conclusion, Robusta coffee's caffeine content is positively affected by the microclimatic condition (i.e., humidity, temperature, and altitude)

PENINGKATAN KETERAMPILAN BERBAHASA INGGRIS BAGI KARANGTARUNA DAN IBU-IBU PKK DESA SUNTEN JAYA

Bahasa Inggris masih dianggap sebagai bahasa ketiga setelah bahasa persatuan Indonesia dan bahasa Ibu. Dalam kondisi saat ini, ketika berbagai daerah di seluruh dunia sudah terkoneksi ke dalam jaringan global, Bahasa Inggris mutlak dikuasai. Bahasa Inggris merupakan bahasa utama yang dapat menghubungkan seluruh warga dunia. Sebagai bahasa pengantar yang memudahkan terjadinya pertukaran berbagai potensi yang dimiliki sebuah desa, membuka peluang menumbuhkan minat warga dunia berkunjung, atau membuka kemungkinan investasi, atau bertransaksi membeli sumber kekayaan daerah. Karena itu, melalui kegiatan pengabdian kepada masyarakat dosen Sastra Inggris Universitas Kebangsaan Republik Indonesia bertujuan untuk memberikan keterampilan berbahasa Inggris kepada pemuda yang tergabung dalam Karang Taruna dan Ibu-ibu anggota Pembinaan Kesejahteraan Keluarga (PKK) desa Sunten Jaya Lembang Kabupaten Bandung Barat. Kegiatan PkM dilakukan dengan menggunakan metode ceramah dan diskusi untuk memberikan pemahaman dan pengajaran yang tepat berkenaan dengan simbol-simbol Bahasa Inggris yang harus dipahami. Hasil yang diperoleh dari kegiatan ini adalah muncul kesadaran perlunya memiliki keterampilan berbahasa Inggris, agar dapat mempromosikan Sunten Jaya sebagai kawasan pertanian yang layak dijadikan sebagai destinasi wisata.DOI: https://doi.org/10.32897/abdimasusb.v4i1.269

A novel evaluation of density differences in subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue layers in pregnancy using elastography

Introduction: Chronic inflammation leads to adipose tissue (AT) fibrosis through excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix proteins. An increasing degree of fibrosis in AT is associated with increasing body mass index (BMI) and insulin resistance. Anecdotally AT has been observed to vary with ease of ultrasound penetration on medical examinations. Ultrasound strain elastography (SE) is a useful tool in assessing fibrosis in liver disease but has not previously been used to assess AT fibrosis. This study assesses the variance in density of the two anatomical layers of subcutaneous AT, superficial subcutaneous adipose tissue (SSAT) and deep subcutaneous adipose tissue (DSAT) in pregnancy using SE. Method: Women (n = 210) recruited in early pregnancy. Density of SSAT and DSAT were assessed using SE at five-time points throughout pregnancy and post-partum. Semi-quantitative density measures were achieved using two methods, strain values (SV) of the two layers and ImageJ software to calculate the percentage colour pixels in the elastography image and correlated with the SSAT/DSAT thickness and BMI. Results: Adipose tissue demonstrated a difference in density with the SSAT layer being denser than DSAT. Correlation of tissue density measures with BMI was poor. There was slight change of AT density during pregnancy with a tendency towards harder SSAT and softer DSAT in the third trimester. Post-partum SSAT became softer associated with an increase in SSAT thickness. Conclusion: Elastography demonstrated density differences in adipose tissue. SE is a new method of assessing the AT demonstrating density differences in adipose tissue. Information on AT density may determine AT fibrosis and be valuable for metabolic disease risk

Infection and Vaccine Induced Spike Antibody Responses Against SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern in COVID-19-Naïve Children and Adults.

Although a more efficient adaptive humoral immune response has been proposed to underlie the usually favorable outcome of pediatric COVID-19, the breadth of viral and vaccine cross-reactivity toward the ever-mutating Spike protein among variants of concern (VOCs) has not yet been compared between children and adults. We assessed antibodies to conformational Spike in COVID-19-naïve children and adults vaccinated by BNT162b2 and ChAdOx1, and naturally infected with SARS-CoV-2 Early Clade, Delta, and Omicron. Sera were analyzed against Spike including naturally occurring VOCs Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron BA.1, BA.2, BA.5, BQ.1.1, BA2.75.2, and XBB.1, and variants of interest Epsilon, Kappa, Eta, D.2, and artificial mutant Spikes. There was no notable difference between breadth and longevity of antibody against VOCs in children and adults. Vaccinated individuals displayed similar immunoreactivity profiles across variants compared with naturally infected individuals. Delta-infected patients had an enhanced cross-reactivity toward Delta and earlier VOCs compared to patients infected by Early Clade SARS-CoV-2. Although Omicron BA.1, BA.2, BA.5, BQ.1.1, BA2.75.2, and XBB.1 antibody titers were generated after Omicron infection, cross-reactive binding against Omicron subvariants was reduced across all infection, immunization, and age groups. Some mutations, such as 498R and 501Y, epistatically combined to enhance cross-reactive binding, but could not fully compensate for antibody-evasive mutations within the Omicron subvariants tested. Our results reveal important molecular features central to the generation of high antibody titers and broad immunoreactivity that should be considered in future vaccine design and global serosurveillance in the context of limited vaccine boosters available to the pediatric population