1,264 research outputs found
The boundary cap: a source of neural crest stem cells that generate multiple sensory neuron subtypes
The boundary cap (BC) is a transient neural crest-derived group of cells located at the dorsal root entry zone (DREZ) that have been shown to differentiate into sensory neurons and glia in vivo. We find that when placed in culture, BC cells self-renew, show multipotency in clonal cultures and express neural crest stem cell (NCSCs) markers. Unlike sciatic nerve NCSCs, the BC-NCSC (bNCSCs) generates sensory neurons upon differentiation. The bNCSCs constitute a common source of cells for functionally diverse types of neurons, as a single bNCSC can give rise to several types of nociceptive and thermoreceptive sensory neurons. Our data suggests that BC cells comprise a source of multipotent sensory specified stem cells that persist throughout embryogenesis
Solution of generalized fractional reaction-diffusion equations
This paper deals with the investigation of a closed form solution of a
generalized fractional reaction-diffusion equation. The solution of the
proposed problem is developed in a compact form in terms of the H-function by
the application of direct and inverse Laplace and Fourier transforms.
Fractional order moments and the asymptotic expansion of the solution are also
obtained.Comment: LaTeX, 18 pages, corrected typo
Exceptional Laguerre and Jacobi polynomials and the corresponding potentials through Darboux-Crum Transformations
Simple derivation is presented of the four families of infinitely many shape
invariant Hamiltonians corresponding to the exceptional Laguerre and Jacobi
polynomials. Darboux-Crum transformations are applied to connect the well-known
shape invariant Hamiltonians of the radial oscillator and the
Darboux-P\"oschl-Teller potential to the shape invariant potentials of
Odake-Sasaki. Dutta and Roy derived the two lowest members of the exceptional
Laguerre polynomials by this method. The method is expanded to its full
generality and many other ramifications, including the aspects of generalised
Bochner problem and the bispectral property of the exceptional orthogonal
polynomials, are discussed.Comment: LaTeX2e with amsmath, amssymb, amscd 26 pages, no figure
Fractional reaction-diffusion equations
In a series of papers, Saxena, Mathai, and Haubold (2002, 2004a, 2004b)
derived solutions of a number of fractional kinetic equations in terms of
generalized Mittag-Leffler functions which provide the extension of the work of
Haubold and Mathai (1995, 2000). The subject of the present paper is to
investigate the solution of a fractional reaction-diffusion equation. The
results derived are of general nature and include the results reported earlier
by many authors, notably by Jespersen, Metzler, and Fogedby (1999) for
anomalous diffusion and del-Castillo-Negrete, Carreras, and Lynch (2003) for
reaction-diffusion systems with L\'evy flights. The solution has been developed
in terms of the H-function in a compact form with the help of Laplace and
Fourier transforms. Most of the results obtained are in a form suitable for
numerical computation.Comment: LaTeX, 17 pages, corrected typo
Book reviews
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45646/1/11199_2004_Article_BF00290970.pd
Mean platelet volume could be a promising biomarker to monitor dietary compliance in celiac disease
Background. Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune disease that develops in patients with a genetic predisposition, incurring a susceptibility to gluten-containing foods such as barley, wheat, and rye. The elimination of gluten from the diet is the main therapeutic approach and usually leads to clinical and laboratory improvement. There are no ideal markers that objectively assess dietary compliance in CD patients. Materials and methods. Sixty newly diagnosed CD patients (male/female: 43/17) and 40 healthy subjects (male/female: 23/17) were enrolled in this study. The diagnosis of CD was established by both histological findings of duodenum biopsy (total villous atrophy and lymphocytic infiltration) and positive antibodies against endomysium or gliadin. Results. A significantly higher mean platelet volume (MPV) was observed in the CD group compared with healthy subjects (8.45 +/- 0.96 fL versus 7.93 +/- 0.63 fL; p = 0.004). After introduction of a gluten-free diet, the MPV of CD patients in the dietary adherent group was significantly lower than that of the non-adherent group (8.09 +/- 0.6 fL versus 8.9 +/- 1.08 fL; p = 0.001). Overall dietary adherence rate was 71.6% (43/60 CD patients). In the dietary compliant group, initiation of gluten-free diet was associated with a significant decrease in MPV from base-line values (8.56 fL versus 8.25 fL; p = 0.008). In the non-adherent group, MPV on 3-month follow-up was higher than at base-line (8.05 fL versus 8.91 fL; p = 0.001). Conclusion. MPV could be a promising and easily available biomarker for monitoring of dietary adherence in CD patients at a low cost in comparison with other modalities.WoSScopu
The Case of the Fickle Fingers: How the PRDM9 Zinc Finger Protein Specifies Meiotic Recombination Hotspots in Humans
Recent discoveries have revealed the central role of PRDM9 in mammalian recombination. The precise function of this protein, however, remains poorly understood, as do the causes for its rapid evolution and its role in reproductive isolation
Pain thresholds and intensities of CRPS type I and neuropathic pain in respect to sex
Abstract Background and aims Healthy women have generally been found to have increased experimental pain perception and chronic pain has a higher prevalence in female as compared to male patients. However, no study has investigated whether pain intensity and pain perception thresholds are distinct or similar between sexes within various chronic pain entities. We investigated whether average pain intensities and pain thresholds assessed using quantitative sensory testing (QST) differed between women and men suffering from three distinct chronic pain conditions: Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS type I), peripheral nerve injury (PNI) or polyneuropathy (PNP), as compared to paired healthy volunteers. Methods QST data of 1252 patients (669 female, 583 male) with PNI (n=342), PNP (n=571) or CRPS (n=339), and average pain intensity reports from previously published studies were included. Absolute and z-values (adjusted for age and body region) of cold, heat, pressure (PPT) and pinprick pain thresholds were compared in generalized linear models with aetiology, duration of underlying pain disease and average pain intensity as fixed effects. Results Average pain intensity during the past four weeks did not differ between women and men, in both mean and range. In women absolute pain thresholds for cold, heat and pinprick were lower than in males across all diagnoses (pPeer reviewe
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