Kidney regeneration: common themes from the embryo to the adult

The vertebrate kidney has an inherent ability to regenerate following acute damage. Successful regeneration of the injured kidney requires the rapid replacement of damaged tubular epithelial cells and reconstitution of normal tubular function. Identifying the cells that participate in the regeneration process as well as the molecular mechanisms involved may reveal therapeutic targets for the treatment of kidney disease. Renal regeneration is associated with the expression of genetic pathways that are necessary for kidney organogenesis, suggesting that the regenerating tubular epithelium may be “reprogrammed” to a less-differentiated, progenitor state. This review will highlight data from various vertebrate models supporting the hypothesis that nephrogenic genes are reactivated as part of the process of kidney regeneration following acute kidney injury (AKI). Emphasis will be placed on the reactivation of developmental pathways and how our understanding of the resulting regeneration process may be enhanced by lessons learned in the embryonic kidney.Fil: Cirio, Maria Cecilia. University of Pittsburgh; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: de Groh, Eric D.. University of Pittsburgh; Estados UnidosFil: de Caestecker, Mark P.. Vanderbilt University; Estados UnidosFil: Davidson, Alan J.. The University of Auckland; Nueva ZelandaFil: Hukriede, Neil A.. University of Pittsburgh; Estados Unido

Integrated Optics: a Report on the 2nd OSA Topical Meeting

This report surveys the papers presented at the 2nd OSA Topical Meeting on Integrated Optics, which was held 21–24 January 1974 in New Orleans, La

Novel Microscopic Mechanism of Intermixing during Growth on Soft Metallic Substrates

Generic computer simulations using empiric interatomic potentials suggest a new, collective mechanism that could be responsible for mixing at heteroepitaxial interfaces. Even if single adsorbate atoms diffuse by hopping on the substrate surface and do not mix at the terraces, two-dimensional islands formed by nucleation may become unstable above a certain critical size and explode upwards forming clusters of several atomic layers. This process is accompanied by strong distortions of the underlying atomic layers, and on soft materials it can result in surface etching and incorporation of substrate atoms into the islands.Fil: Gomez, Liliana Maria. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Ingeniería y Agrimensura; ArgentinaFil: Slutzky, Claudia Marcela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química; ArgentinaFil: Ferron, Julio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química; ArgentinaFil: de la Figuera, J.. Sandia National Laboratories; Estados UnidosFil: Camarero, J.. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; EspañaFil: Vazquez de Parga, A.. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; EspañaFil: de Miguel, J.J.. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; EspañaFil: Miranda, R.. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; Españ

Higgs look-alikes at the LHC

The discovery of a Higgs particle is possible in a variety of search channels at the LHC. However the true identity of any putative Higgs boson will at first remain ambiguous, until one has experimentally excluded other possible assignments of quantum numbers and couplings. We quantify to what degree one can discriminate a Standard Model Higgs boson from "look-alikes" at, or close to, the moment of discovery at the LHC. We focus on the fully-reconstructible "golden" decay mode to a pair of Z bosons and a four-lepton final state, simulating sPlot-weighted samples of signal and background events. Considering both on-shell and off-shell Z's, we show how to utilize the full decay information from the events, including the distributions and correlations of the five relevant angular variables. We demonstrate how the finite phase space acceptance of any LHC detector sculpts the decay distributions, a feature neglected in previous studies. We use likelihood ratios to discriminate a Standard Model Higgs from look-alikes with other spins or nonstandard parity, CP, or form factors. For a benchmark resonance mass of 200 GeV/c^2, we achieve a median expected discrimination significance of 3 sigma with as few as 19 events, and even better discrimination for the off-shell decays of a 145 GeV/c^2 resonance.Comment: 39 pages, 55 figures, typos fixed, figures added, and minor clarification

Nodal involvement evaluation in advanced cervical cancer: a single institutional experience

Purpose: To assess the usefulness of different imaging techniques in the detection of nodal involvement in patients with advanced cervical carcinoma. Moreover, to analyze the correlation between the presurgical (FIGO) and postsurgical (pTNM) staging classifications. Materials and Methods: All patients diagnosed with advanced cervical cancer (FIGO Stages IIB-IV) from 2005 to 2012 were selected. The medical charts of 51 patients that underwent presurgical assessment with posterior surgical staging by means of paraaortic lymphadenectomy, were reviewed. Nodal status assessment by computed tomography scan (CT scan), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and sonography was compared, as well as the size given in imaging techniques compared to the final pathologic report information. Results: Presurgical analysis by CT scan, MRI, PET, and sonography showed pelvic nodal involvement in 51.3% of patients, and para-aortic involvement in 30.8% of cases. CT scan showed positive pelvic nodes in 35% of cases, but pathologic confirmation was observed in just 17.6% of cases. However, MRI resulted in higher rates of up to 48.8% of cases. Concerning para-aortic nodal involvement, CT scan showed positive nodes in 25% of cases, MRI in 3.2% of cases, and the pathologic report in 15.6% of cases. The authors found significant differences between staging groups among both classifications (FIGO vs. pTNM; p < 0.001). Eight cases (15.7%) were understaged by FIGO classification. Conclusions: Despite all imaging techniques available, none has demonstrated to be efficient enough to avoid the systematic study of para-aortic nodal status by means of surgical evaluatio

Protein palmitoylation plays an important role in Trichomonas vaginalis adherence

The flagellated protozoan parasite Trichomonas vaginalis is the etiologic agent of trichomoniasis, the most common non-viral sexually transmitted infection worldwide. As an obligate extracellular pathogen, adherence to epithelial cells is critical for parasite survival within the human host and a better understanding of this process is a prerequisite for the development of therapies to combat infection. In this sense, recent work has shown S-acylation as a key modification that regulates pathogenesis in different protozoan parasites. However, there are no reports indicating whether this post-translational modification is a mechanism operating in T. vaginalis. In order to study the extent and function of S-acylation in T. vaginalis biology, we undertook a proteomic study to profile the full scope of S-acylated proteins in this parasite and reported the identification of 363 proteins involved in a variety of biological processes such as protein transport, pathogenesis related and signaling, among others. Importantly, treatment of parasites with the palmitoylation inhibitor 2-bromopalmitate causes a significant decrease in parasite: Parasite aggregation as well as adherence to host cells suggesting that palmitoylation could be modifying proteins that are key regulators of Trichomonas vaginalis pathogenesis.Fil: Nievas, Yésica Romina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas "Dr. Raúl Alfonsín" (sede Chascomús). Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas "Dr. Raúl Alfonsín" (sede Chascomús); ArgentinaFil: Vashisht, Ajay A.. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Corvi, Maria Martha. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas "Dr. Raúl Alfonsín" (sede Chascomús). Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas "Dr. Raúl Alfonsín" (sede Chascomús); ArgentinaFil: Metz, Sebastián Darío. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas "Dr. Raúl Alfonsín" (sede Chascomús). Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas "Dr. Raúl Alfonsín" (sede Chascomús); ArgentinaFil: Johnson, Patricia J. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Wohlschlegel, James A.. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: de Miguel, Natalia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas "Dr. Raúl Alfonsín" (sede Chascomús). Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas "Dr. Raúl Alfonsín" (sede Chascomús); Argentin

Dynamic simulations in SixTrack

The DYNK module allows element settings in SixTrack to be changed on a turn-by-turn basis. This document contains a technical description of the DYNK module in SixTrack. It is mainly intended for a developer or advanced user who wants to modify the DYNK module, for example by adding more functions that can be used to calculate new element settings, or to add support for new elements that can be used with DYNK.Comment: Submission to CERN yellow report / conference proceeding, the 2015 collimation tracking code worksho

Comportamento de agregação de Phyllophaga cuyabana (Moser) (Coleoptera: Melolonthidae): relações entre locais escolhidos para o acasalamento e a distribuição da progênie

The aggregation behavior of Phyllophaga cuyabana (Moser) was studied and the hypothesis that the cluster distribution of larvae of this pest into the soil is related to the sites where females from the previous generation had aggregated for mating was investigated. Field observations and greenhouse experiments carried out in Londrina County, State of Paraná, South Brazil, indicated that: a) during flight, adult females of P. cuyabana select plants, which are more conspicuous for landing and/or attracting males; b) tall plants, nearby soybean fields, might be preferred because female adults do not move far from the mating sites before digging themselves into the soil to lay eggs; c) high density of eggs and larvae occurs close to the adult aggregation sites. There is a negative correlation between larval density in the soil and distance from adult aggregation sites.Foi estudado o comportamento de agregação de Phyllophaga cuyabana (Moser) e investigada a hipótese de que a distribuição agrupada das larvas dessa praga no solo está relacionada aos sítios onde as fêmeas da geração anterior se agregaram para acasalamento. Observações de campo e experimentos de casa-de-vegetação no estado do Paraná, indicaram que: a) durante a revoada, fêmeas adultas de P. cuyabana selecionam as plantas mais conspícuas para pousar e atrair os machos; b) plantas altas, próximas de lavouras de soja, podem ser preferidas uma vez que os adultos não se movem para longe dos sítios de acasalamento antes de se enterrarem no solo para ovipositar; c) altas densidades de ovos e larvas ocorrem próximas aos locais de agregação; d) há uma correlação negativa entre a densidade larval no solo e a distância dos sítios de agregação de adultos.53754

Effect of liquid-phase surface tension on hydrodynamics of a three-phase airlift reactor with an enlarged degassing zone

The effect of the addition of ethanol (10 g/l) to the liquid-phase on gas and solids holdup, circulation and mixing times and interstitial liquid velocity in a threephase airlift reactor was investigated. The airlift reactor (60 l) is of the concentric draught-tube type with an enlarged degassing zone. Ca-alginate beads were used as solid-phase and airflow rate (from 1.9 to 90.2 l/min) and solids loading (0-30% (v/v)) were manipulated. Riser and downcomer gas holdup were found to increase with the addition of ethanol, leading to a decrease on the relative solids holdup. The presence of ethanol seems to have no influence on the circulation time. On the other hand, mixing time variation depends on the solids loading and airflow rate. Riser and downcomer interstitial liquid velocity are lower for ethanol solution than for water.Junta Nacional de Investigação Científica e Tecnológica (JNICT) - PRAXIS/2/2.1/ BIO/1061/95 , grant GGP XXI/BD/2937/96

Hydrodynamic studies in an airlift reactor with an enlarged degassing zone

The hydrodynamic behaviour of a 60 l threephase airlift bioreactor, of the concentric draught tube type, with an enlarged degassing zone has been studied. Ca-alginate beads were used as the solid phase. Airflow rate (from 1.9 to 90.2 l/min), solids loading (0% to 40% (v/v)) and solids density (1016 and 1038 kg/m³) were manipulated and their influence on solids and gas holdup, circulation and mixing times and in the interstitial liquid velocity was determined. Riser and downcomer solids holdup was found to decrease with the increase of airflow rate and to increase with solids loading and density. On the contrary, gas holdup in the riser and in the downcomer increased with airflow rate and decreased with solids loading and density. By increasing airflow rate, a decrease in circulation time was observed while the effects of solids loading and density were negligible. Mixing time decreased with airflow rate, increased with solids density, in the studied range, and presented a maximum for solids loading of approximately 20% (v/v).Junta Nacional de Investigação Científica e Tecnológica (JNICT) Instituto de Biotecnologia e Química Fina (IBQF) - GGP XXI/BD/2937/9