2,258 research outputs found
Donor pretreatment with FLT-3 ligand augments anti-donor CTL, NK and LAK cell activities within liver allografts and alters the pattern of intragraft apoptotic activity
Cytidine potentiates the inhibitory effect of brequinar sodium on concordant cardiac xenograft rejection
Body size and the risk of biliary tract cancer: a population-based study in China
Though obesity is an established risk factor for gall bladder cancer, its role in cancers of the extrahepatic bile ducts and ampulla of Vater is less clear, as also is the role of abdominal obesity. In a population-based case–control study of biliary tract cancer in Shanghai, China, odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for biliary tract cancer in relation to anthropometric measures, including body mass index (BMI) at various ages and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), adjusting for age, sex, and education. The study included 627 patients with biliary tract cancer (368 gall bladder, 191 bile duct, 68 ampulla of Vater) and 959 healthy subjects randomly selected from the population. A higher BMI at all ages, including early adulthood (ages 20–29 years), and a greater WHR were associated with an increased risk of gall bladder cancer. A high usual adult BMI (⩾25) was associated with a 1.6-fold risk of gall bladder cancer (95% CI 1.2–2.1, P for trend <0.001). Among subjects without gallstones, BMI was also positively associated with gall bladder cancer risk. Regardless of BMI levels, increasing WHR was associated with an excess risk of gall bladder cancer risk, with those having a high BMI (⩾25) and a high WHR (>0.90) having the highest risk of gall bladder cancer (OR=12.6, 95% CI 4.8–33.2), relative to those with a low BMI and WHR. We found no clear risk patterns for cancers of the bile duct and ampulla of Vater. These results suggest that both overall and abdominal obesity, including obesity in early adulthood, are associated with an increased risk of gall bladder cancer. The increasing prevalence of obesity and cholesterol stones in Shanghai seems at least partly responsible for the rising incidence of gall bladder cancer in Shanghai
How early can myocardial iron overload occur in Beta thalassemia major?
BACKGROUND: Myocardial siderosis is the most common cause of death in patients with beta thalassemia major(TM). This study aimed at investigating the occurrence, prevalence and severity of cardiac iron overload in a young Chinese population with beta TM.
METHODS AND RESULTS: We analyzed T2* cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and serum ferritin (SF) in 201 beta TM patients. The median age was 9 years old. Patients received an average of 13 units of blood per year. The median SF level was 4536 ng/ml and 165 patients (82.1%) had SF>2500 ng/ml. Myocardial iron overload was detected in 68 patients (33.8%) and severe myocardial iron overload was detected in 26 patients (12.6%). Twenty-two patients ≤10 years old had myocardial iron overload, three of whom were only 6 years old. No myocardial iron overload was detected under the age of 6 years. Median LVEF was 64% (measured by CMR in 175 patients). Five of 6 patients with a LVEF<56% and 8 of 10 patients with cardiac disease had myocardial iron overload.
CONCLUSIONS: The TM patients under follow-up at this regional centre in China patients are younger than other reported cohorts, more poorly-chelated, and have a high burden of iron overload. Myocardial siderosis occurred in patients younger than previously reported, and was strongly associated with impaired LVEF and cardiac disease. For such poorly-chelated TM patients, our data shows that the first assessment of cardiac T2* should be performed as early as 6 years old
A single sub-km Kuiper Belt object from a stellar Occultation in archival data
The Kuiper belt is a remnant of the primordial Solar System. Measurements of
its size distribution constrain its accretion and collisional history, and the
importance of material strength of Kuiper belt objects (KBOs). Small, sub-km
sized, KBOs elude direct detection, but the signature of their occultations of
background stars should be detectable. Observations at both optical and X-ray
wavelengths claim to have detected such occultations, but their implied KBO
abundances are inconsistent with each other and far exceed theoretical
expectations. Here, we report an analysis of archival data that reveals an
occultation by a body with a 500 m radius at a distance of 45 AU. The
probability of this event to occur due to random statistical fluctuations
within our data set is about 2%. Our survey yields a surface density of KBOs
with radii larger than 250 m of 2.1^{+4.8}_{-1.7} x 10^7 deg^{-2}, ruling out
inferred surface densities from previous claimed detections by more than 5
sigma. The fact that we detected only one event, firmly shows a deficit of
sub-km sized KBOs compared to a population extrapolated from objects with r>50
km. This implies that sub-km sized KBOs are undergoing collisional erosion,
just like debris disks observed around other stars.Comment: To appear in Nature on December 17, 2009. Under press embargo until
1800 hours London time on 16 December. 19 pages; 7 figure
In situ epitaxial MgB2 thin films for superconducting electronics
A thin film technology compatible with multilayer device fabrication is
critical for exploring the potential of the 39-K superconductor magnesium
diboride for superconducting electronics. Using a Hybrid Physical-Chemical
Vapor Deposition (HPCVD) process, it is shown that the high Mg vapor pressure
necessary to keep the MgB phase thermodynamically stable can be achieved
for the {\it in situ} growth of MgB thin films. The films grow epitaxially
on (0001) sapphire and (0001) 4H-SiC substrates and show a bulk-like of
39 K, a (4.2K) of A/cm in zero field, and a
of 29.2 T in parallel magnetic field. The surface is smooth with a
root-mean-square roughness of 2.5 nm for MgB films on SiC. This deposition
method opens tremendous opportunities for superconducting electronics using
MgB
Mesoscopic organization reveals the constraints governing C. elegans nervous system
One of the biggest challenges in biology is to understand how activity at the
cellular level of neurons, as a result of their mutual interactions, leads to
the observed behavior of an organism responding to a variety of environmental
stimuli. Investigating the intermediate or mesoscopic level of organization in
the nervous system is a vital step towards understanding how the integration of
micro-level dynamics results in macro-level functioning. In this paper, we have
considered the somatic nervous system of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans,
for which the entire neuronal connectivity diagram is known. We focus on the
organization of the system into modules, i.e., neuronal groups having
relatively higher connection density compared to that of the overall network.
We show that this mesoscopic feature cannot be explained exclusively in terms
of considerations, such as optimizing for resource constraints (viz., total
wiring cost) and communication efficiency (i.e., network path length).
Comparison with other complex networks designed for efficient transport (of
signals or resources) implies that neuronal networks form a distinct class.
This suggests that the principal function of the network, viz., processing of
sensory information resulting in appropriate motor response, may be playing a
vital role in determining the connection topology. Using modular spectral
analysis, we make explicit the intimate relation between function and structure
in the nervous system. This is further brought out by identifying functionally
critical neurons purely on the basis of patterns of intra- and inter-modular
connections. Our study reveals how the design of the nervous system reflects
several constraints, including its key functional role as a processor of
information.Comment: Published version, Minor modifications, 16 pages, 9 figure
Feasibility of an in situ measurement device for bubble size and distribution
The feasibility of in situ measurement device for bubble size and distribution was explored. A novel in situ probe measurement system, the EnviroCam™, was developed. Where possible, this probe incorporated strengths, and minimized weaknesses of historical and currently available real-time measurement methods for bubbles. The system was based on a digital, high-speed, high resolution, modular camera system, attached to a stainless steel shroud, compatible with standard Ingold ports on fermenters. Still frames and/or video were produced, capturing bubbles passing through the notch of the shroud. An LED light source was integral with the shroud. Bubbles were analyzed using customized commercially available image analysis software and standard statistical methods. Using this system, bubble sizes were measured as a function of various operating parameters (e.g., agitation rate, aeration rate) and as a function of media properties (e.g., viscosity, antifoam, cottonseed flour, and microbial/animal cell broths) to demonstrate system performance and its limitations. For selected conditions, mean bubble size changes qualitatively compared favorably with published relationships. Current instrument measurement capabilities were limited primarily to clear solutions that did not contain large numbers of overlapping bubbles
Design and testing of hydrophobic core/hydrophilic shell nano/micro particles for drug-eluting stent coating
In this study, we designed a novel drug-eluting coating for vascular implants consisting of a core coating of the anti-proliferative drug docetaxel (DTX) and a shell coating of the platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor monoclonal antibody SZ-21. The core/shell structure was sprayed onto the surface of 316L stainless steel stents using a coaxial electrospray process with the aim of creating a coating that exhibited a differential release of the two drugs. The prepared stents displayed a uniform coating consisting of nano/micro particles. In vitro drug release experiments were performed, and we demonstrated that a biphasic mathematical model was capable of capturing the data, indicating that the release of the two drugs conformed to a diffusion-controlled release system. We demonstrated that our coating was capable of inhibiting the adhesion and activation of platelets, as well as the proliferation and migration of smooth muscle cells (SMCs), indicating its good biocompatibility and anti-proliferation qualities. In an in vivo porcine coronary artery model, the SZ-21/DTX drug-loaded hydrophobic core/hydrophilic shell particle coating stents were observed to promote re-endothelialization and inhibit neointimal hyperplasia. This core/shell particle-coated stent may serve as part of a new strategy for the differential release of different functional drugs to sequentially target thrombosis and in-stent restenosis during the vascular repair process and ensure rapid re-endothelialization in the field of cardiovascular disease
Regulation of neutrophil senescence by microRNAs
Neutrophils are rapidly recruited to sites of tissue injury or infection, where they protect against invading pathogens. Neutrophil functions are limited by a process of neutrophil senescence, which renders the cells unable to respond to chemoattractants, carry out respiratory burst, or degranulate. In parallel, aged neutrophils also undergo spontaneous apoptosis, which can be delayed by factors such as GMCSF. This is then followed by their subsequent removal by phagocytic cells such as macrophages, thereby preventing unwanted inflammation and tissue damage. Neutrophils translate mRNA to make new proteins that are important in maintaining functional longevity. We therefore hypothesised that neutrophil functions and lifespan might be regulated by microRNAs expressed within human neutrophils. Total RNA from highly purified neutrophils was prepared and subjected to microarray analysis using the Agilent human miRNA microarray V3. We found human neutrophils expressed a selected repertoire of 148 microRNAs and that 6 of these were significantly upregulated after a period of 4 hours in culture, at a time when the contribution of apoptosis is negligible. A list of predicted targets for these 6 microRNAs was generated from http://mirecords.biolead.org and compared to mRNA species downregulated over time, revealing 83 genes targeted by at least 2 out of the 6 regulated microRNAs. Pathway analysis of genes containing binding sites for these microRNAs identified the following pathways: chemokine and cytokine signalling, Ras pathway, and regulation of the actin cytoskeleton. Our data suggest that microRNAs may play a role in the regulation of neutrophil senescence and further suggest that manipulation of microRNAs might represent an area of future therapeutic interest for the treatment of inflammatory disease
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