Collagen concentration and biomechanical properties of samples from the lower uterine cervix in relation to age and parity in non-pregnant women

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>During normal pregnancy the cervix has a load bearing function. The cervical tissue consists mainly of an extracellular matrix (ECM) rich in collagen; important for the biomechanical properties. The aim of the present study was to evaluate how the biomechanical strength of samples from the distal cervix is associated with collagen content in relation to age and parity. This study demonstrates a method to investigate cervical tissue from women who still have their uterus in situ.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cervical punch biopsies (2 × 15 mm) were obtained from 57 healthy women (median age: 39 years, range: 29-49 years). Biomechanical tensile testing was performed, and collagen concentration (as % of dry defatted weight (DDW)) and content (mg of collagen per mm of specimen length) was determined. Histomorphometry was used to determine the volume densities of extracellular matrix and smooth muscle cells. Smooth muscle cells were identified by immunohistochemistry. Finally, orientation of collagen fibers was estimated. Data are given as mean +/- SD.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean collagen concentration (62.2 +/- 6.6%) increased with age (0.5% per year, r = 0.45, p = 0.003) and decreased with parity (1.7% per birth, r = -0.45, p = 0.033). Maximum load was positively correlated with collagen content (mg of collagen per mm of specimen length) (r = 0.76, p < 0.001). Normalized maximum stiffness was increased with age (r = 0.32, p = 0.017), whereas no correlation was found with regard to parity. In tissue samples with a length of approximately one cm, volume density of smooth muscle cells increased gradually from 8.9% in the distal part near the epithelium, to 15.5% in the proximal part (p < 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The present study shows that cervical collagen concentration increases with age and decreases with parity in non-pregnant women. In addition, collagen stiffness increased with age, whereas no change in collagen tensile strength with respect to age and parity was found. These results show that collagen contributes to cervical tissue tensile strength and age and parity should be considered confounding factors.</p

Cancer Induces Cardiomyocyte Remodeling and Hypoinnervation in the Left Ventricle of the Mouse Heart

Cancer is often associated with cachexia, cardiovascular symptoms and autonomic dysregulation. We tested whether extracardiac cancer directly affects the innervation of left ventricular myocardium. Mice injected with Lewis lung carcinoma cells (tumor group, TG) or PBS (control group, CG) were analyzed after 21 days. Cardiac function (echocardiography), serum levels of TNF-α and Il-6 (ELISA), structural alterations of cardiomyocytes and their innervation (design-based stereology) and levels of innervation-related mRNA (quantitative RT-PCR) were analysed. The groups did not differ in various functional parameters. Serum levels of TNF-α and Il-6 were elevated in TG. The total length of axons in the left ventricle was reduced. The number of dense core vesicles per axon profile was reduced. Decreased myofibrillar volume, increased sarcoplasmic volume and increased volume of lipid droplets were indicative of metabolic alterations of TG cardiomyocytes. In the heart, the mRNA level of nerve growth factor was reduced whereas that of β1-adrenergic receptor was unchanged in TG. In the stellate ganglion of TG, mRNA levels of nerve growth factor and neuropeptide Y were decreased and that of tyrosine hydroxylase was increased. In summary, cancer induces a systemic pro-inflammatory state, a significant reduction in myocardial innervation and a catabolic phenotype of cardiomyocytes in the mouse. Reduced expression of nerve growth factor may account for the reduced myocardial innervation

Materialien für die zu erwartende Reform des deutschen Münzwesens.

Mode of access: Internet.Bound with: [1] Materialien für die zu erwartende Reform des deutschen Münzwesens / L.A. Brüel -- [2] Drei Aufsätze über das Münzwesen, abgedruckt aus der allgemeinen preussischen Staatszeitung : mit Rücksicht auf beabsichtete Münzvereine / Johann Gottfried Hoffmann -- [3] Beiträge zur Lehre vom Gelde / Joh. Chr. Ravit -- [4] Gold- und Silberfrage / Friedrich Keller -- [5] Staatsschulden und staatspapiere mit besonderer Rücksicht auf Grossbritainien, Frankreich, Oestreich, Preussen und Russland : eine Uebersicht für Staatsbeamte, Capitalisten und Kaufleute / Carl Adolf Lex -- [6] Zukunft des metrischen Systems und die deutsche Münz-, Maass- und Gewichts-Einigung / Wilhelm Nördlinger -- [7] Notes relating to the gold and silver coinage -- [8] Arbitrage, vollständige Darstellung von Calculationen der neueren Cours-Verhältnisse von Wechseln und Staats-Effekten in Frankfurt am Main und in den mit dieser Stadt in Verbindung stehenden Handelsstädten / L. Wallerstein -- [9] Ueber das Münzwesen

Measurement and prediction of voice support and room gain

Objective acoustic parameters have been measured in 30 school classrooms. These parameters include usual descriptors of the acoustic quality from the listeners’ standpoint, such as reverberation time, speech transmission index, and background noise level, and two descriptors of the acoustic properties for a speaker: Voice support and room gain. This paper describes the measurement method for these two parameters and presents a prediction model for voice support and room gain derived from the diffuse field theory. The voice support for medium-sized classrooms with volumes between 100 and 250 m3 and good acoustical quality lies in the range between _14 and _9 dB, whereas the room gain is in the range between 0.2 and 0.5 dB. The prediction model for voice support describes the measurements in the classrooms with a coefficient of determination of 0.84 and a standard deviation of 1.2 dB