1,752 research outputs found
Urinary Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1 Levels and Interstitial Changes in the Renal Cortex and Their Relationship with Loss of Renal Function in Renal Transplant Patients with Delayed Graft Function
Background: Inflammatory cell infiltration and residual areas of fibrosis in kidneys after renal transplantation can lead to functional abnormalities with long-term implications. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine urinary monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (uMCP-1) levels, relative cortical interstitial area (RCIA), and cortical tubulointerstitial macrophage infiltration in renal transplant patients with delayed graft function (DGF) and their possible correlation with graft outcome. Design: Patients were followed after biopsies for one year, and their renal function and structure were evaluated, as well as parameters of inflammatory process. Setting: Clinical Hospital of the School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto. Patients: Twenty-two cadaveric kidney transplant recipients with DGF were followed for one year. Measurements: Renal function, RCIA, macrophages infiltration and uMCP-1 levels were evaluated. Methods: Renal function was evaluated by plasma creatinine levels. RCIA was determined by morphometry. Immunohistochemical staining of macrophages was performed using an anti-CD68 monoclonal antibody. uMCP-1 levels were determined using a human MCP-1/CCL2 immunoassay kit. Results: There was a significant increase in uMCP-1 levels in transplant patients compared with controls ( p < 0.001). RCIA was 7.1% (6.4 to 9.2; median and 25th to 75th percentiles) in controls and 37.1% (28.1 to 43.7) in patients with kidney transplants ( p < 0.001). The patients who presented with a higher RCIA in the first biopsy showed higher levels of plasma creatinine one year after transplantation (r = 0.44; p < 0.05). The number of tubulointerstitial macrophages per 0.10 mm 2 grid field was higher in the renal cortex of transplant patients compared with the controls (19.4 (9.0 to 47.1) vs. 2.5 (1.8 to 3.4), p < 0.001). There was also a positive correlation between the RCIA and the number of tubulointerstitial macrophages in the renal cortex of these patients (r = 0.49; p < 0.001). Limitations: The number of patients studied was relatively small and may not be reflecting outcomes over a larger spectrum of kidney cadaveric transplants. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate increased levels of uMCP-1 in transplant patients with DGF, in addition to increased tubulointerstitial macrophage infiltration and RCIA, which could predict the outcome of renal function in these patients
Reference intervals for acetylated fetal hemoglobin in healthy newborns
The acetylated fetal hemoglobin (AcHbF)
derives from an enzyme-mediated post-translational
modification occurring on the N-terminal
glycine residues of g-chains. At present,
no established data are available on reference
intervals for AcHbF in newborns. A total of 92
healthy infants, with gestational age between
37 and 41 weeks were selected for the establishment
of AcHbF reference intervals. Blood
samples were collected by heel pricking, when
collecting routine neonatal screening, and the
hemoglobin pattern was analyzed by high-performance
liquid chromatography. AcHbF
results were then normalized for HbF content
in order to account for differences in hemoglobin
switch. No difference was found in AcHbF
values between genders (P=0.858). AcHbF
results were as follow: 12.8\ub10.8% (mean\ub1standard
deviation), reference interval: 11.3-14.3%.
This finding could facilitate further studies
aimed to assess the possible use of AcHbF, for
instance as a possible fetal metabolic biomarker
during pregnancy
Diffraction from carbon nanofiber arrays
We fabricate a square planar photonic crystal (PC) from carbon nanofibres (CNFs) using e-beam lithography and chemical vapour deposition and investigate the optical properties of this system. The system exhibit diffraction that is well described by diffraction theory. We measure the intensity of the (-1,0) and (-1,-1) diffraction spots as functions of angle of incidence. The radiation diagram obtained can be explained by interference between different diffraction beams. We observe a polarisation dependence of the intensity. In conclusion we suggest future applications of these structures
Evaluating biomass energy strategies for a UK eco-town with an MILP optimization model
Recent years have shown a marked interest in the construction of eco-towns, showcase
developments intended to demonstrate the best in ecologically-sensitive and energyefficient
construction. This paper examines one such development in the UK and
considers the role of biomass energy systems. We present an integrated resource modelling
framework that identifies an optimized low-cost energy supply system including the
choice of conversion technologies, fuel sources, and distribution networks. Our analysis
shows that strategies based on imported wood chips, rather than locally converted forestry
residues, burned in a mix of ICE and ORC combined heat and power facilities offer the most
promise. While there are uncertainties surrounding the precise environmental impacts of
these solutions, it is clear that such biomass systems can help eco-towns to meet their
target of an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions
CD56, HLA-DR, and CD45 recognize a subtype of childhood AML harboring CBFA2T3-GLIS2 fusion transcript
The presence of CBFA2T3‐GLIS2 fusion gene has been identified in childhood Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). In view of the genomic studies indicating a distinct gene expression profile, we evaluated the role of immunophenotyping in characterizing a rare subtype of AML‐CBFA2T3‐GLIS2 rearranged. Immunophenotypic data were obtained by studying a cohort of 20 pediatric CBFA2T3‐GLIS2‐AML and 77 AML patients not carrying the fusion transcript. Enrolled cases were included in the Associazione Italiana di Ematologia Oncologia Pediatrica (AIEOP) AML trials and immunophenotypes were compared using different statistical approaches. By multiple computational procedures, we identified two main core antigens responsible for the identification of the CBFA2T3‐GLIS2‐AML. CD56 showed the highest performance in single marker evaluation (AUC = 0.89) and granted the most accurate prediction when used in combination with HLA‐DR (AUC = 0.97) displaying a 93% sensitivity and 99% specificity. We also observed a weak‐to‐negative CD45 expression, being exceptional in AML. We here provide evidence that the combination of HLA‐DR negativity and intense bright CD56 expression detects a rare and aggressive pediatric AML genetic lesion improving the diagnosis performance
Effects of Bariatric Surgery on COVID-19: a Multicentric Study from a High Incidence Area
Introduction: The favorable effects of bariatric surgery (BS) on overall pulmonary function and obesity-related comorbidities could influence SARS-CoV-2 clinical expression. This has been investigated comparing COVID-19 incidence and clinical course between a cohort of patients submitted to BS and a cohort of candidates for BS during the spring outbreak in Italy. Materials and Methods: From April to August 2020, 594 patients from 6 major bariatric centers in Emilia-Romagna were administered an 87-item telephonic questionnaire. Demographics, COVID-19 incidence, suggestive symptoms, and clinical outcome parameters of operated patients and candidates to BS were compared. The incidence of symptomatic COVID-19 was assessed including the clinical definition of probable case, according to World Health Organization criteria. Results: Three hundred fifty-three operated patients (Op) and 169 candidates for BS (C) were finally included in the statistical analysis. While COVID-19 incidence confirmed by laboratory tests was similar in the two groups (5.7% vs 5.9%), lower incidence of most of COVID-19-related symptoms, such as anosmia (p: 0.046), dysgeusia (p: 0.049), fever with rapid onset (p: 0.046) were recorded among Op patients, resulting in a lower rate of probable cases (14.4% vs 23.7%; p: 0.009). Hospitalization was more frequent in C patients (2.4% vs 0.3%, p: 0.02). One death in each group was reported (0.3% vs 0.6%). Previous pneumonia and malignancies resulted to be associated with symptomatic COVID-19 at univariate and multivariate analysis. Conclusion: Patients submitted to BS seem to develop less severe SARS-CoV-2 infection than subjects suffering from obesity
Sub-diffractional, volume-confined polaritons in a natural hyperbolic material: hexagonal boron nitride
Strongly anisotropic media where the principal components of the dielectric
tensor have opposite signs are called hyperbolic. Such materials length exhibit
unique nanophotonic properties enabled by the highly directional propagation of
slow-light modes localized at deeply sub-diffractional scales. While artificial
hyperbolic metamaterials have been demonstrated, they suffer from high
plasmonic losses and require complex nanofabrication, which in turn induces the
size-dependent limitations on optical confinement. The low-loss, mid-infrared,
natural hyperbolic material, hexagonal boron nitride is an attractive
alternative. We observe four series of multiple (up to seven) 'hyperbolic
polariton' modes in boron nitride nanocones in two spectral bands. The resonant
modes obey the predicted aspect ratio dependence and exhibit record-high
quality factors (Q up to 283) in the strong confinement regime (lambda/86 in
the smallest structures). These observations assert hexagonal boron nitride as
a promising platform for studying novel regimes of light-matter interactions
and nanophotonic device engineering
Measurement of the cross-section and charge asymmetry of bosons produced in proton-proton collisions at TeV with the ATLAS detector
This paper presents measurements of the and cross-sections and the associated charge asymmetry as a
function of the absolute pseudorapidity of the decay muon. The data were
collected in proton--proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV with
the ATLAS experiment at the LHC and correspond to a total integrated luminosity
of 20.2~\mbox{fb^{-1}}. The precision of the cross-section measurements
varies between 0.8% to 1.5% as a function of the pseudorapidity, excluding the
1.9% uncertainty on the integrated luminosity. The charge asymmetry is measured
with an uncertainty between 0.002 and 0.003. The results are compared with
predictions based on next-to-next-to-leading-order calculations with various
parton distribution functions and have the sensitivity to discriminate between
them.Comment: 38 pages in total, author list starting page 22, 5 figures, 4 tables,
submitted to EPJC. All figures including auxiliary figures are available at
https://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/STDM-2017-13
Search for chargino-neutralino production with mass splittings near the electroweak scale in three-lepton final states in √s=13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector
A search for supersymmetry through the pair production of electroweakinos with mass splittings near the electroweak scale and decaying via on-shell W and Z bosons is presented for a three-lepton final state. The analyzed proton-proton collision data taken at a center-of-mass energy of √s=13 TeV were collected between 2015 and 2018 by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1. A search, emulating the recursive jigsaw reconstruction technique with easily reproducible laboratory-frame variables, is performed. The two excesses observed in the 2015–2016 data recursive jigsaw analysis in the low-mass three-lepton phase space are reproduced. Results with the full data set are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations. They are interpreted to set exclusion limits at the 95% confidence level on simplified models of chargino-neutralino pair production for masses up to 345 GeV
- …