Comparing effects of interleukin-2 and interleukin-4 on the expression of MHC class II, CD80 and CD86 on polymorphonuclear neutrophils

Polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) have contributed only to the innate immune response, due to their phagocytosis activity. They have a short life time. Some studies of PMN cytokine production and expression of numerous cell surface proteins have suggested that PMN are likely to influence adaptive responses and may satisfy the criteria of antigen presenting cells. Flowcytometry was used in the present study for the detection of cell surface major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II, CD80 and CD86 required for antigen presentation and subsequent T-cell activation. Human peripheral blood neutrophils were used for this purpose. In vitro stimulation ofPMN with IL-2 or IL-4 for 24 h showed expression of MHC class II, CD80 and CD86. These observations, therefore, provide support to the hypothesis that human PMN have the potential to express molecules required for antigen presentation

The role of intraoperative ultrasound in the assessment of hepatic deposits in intra-abdominal malignancies

Introduction/backgroundThe liver is the most common site of metastatic disease with up to 40-50% of all cancers having the potentiality for sending liver metastasis during the disease. Consequently, there has been increasing value for surgical resection of hepatic deposits of different types of cancers. The need for accurate evaluation of the extent of hepatic metastasis was established for choosing the most suitable patients for surgery and in planning the extent of hepatic resection.AimThe aim of this study was to evaluate the role of intraoperative ultrasound (IOUS) in the detection of hepatic deposits in intra-abdominal malignancies with special emphasis on its accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity.Patients and methodsThis study was carried out on 30 patients who were admitted to the Gastrointestinal Surgery Unit, Main Alexandria University Hospital, with intra-abdominal malignancies for whom elective open surgical intervention was recommended in the period from 1 September 2017 till the 31 March 2018.ResultsThis study consisted of 17 (56.7%) men and 13 (43.3%) women. Their mean age at admission was 52.77 +/- 9.12 years. Six (20%) of the included patients were found to have hepatic lesions by using IOUS including the four (13.3%) cases already detected by preoperative imaging. Two (6.67%) cases were newly discovered in the operative room by using IOUS.ConclusionThis study has proved that IOUS demonstrates superior lesion detection over the various noninvasive preoperative imaging modalities causing significant impact on change of the planned surgical strategy

Kynurenine 3-Monooxygenase gene associated with Nicotine initiation and addiction: Analysis of novel regulatory features at 5' and 3'-Regions

© 2018 Aziz, Abdel-Salam, Al-Obaide, Alobydi and Al-Humaish. Tobacco smoking is widespread behavior in Qatar and worldwide and is considered one of the major preventable causes of ill health and death. Nicotine is part of tobacco smoke that causes numerous health risks and is incredibly addictive; it binds to the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR) in the brain. Recent studies showed α7nAChR involvement in the initiation and addiction of smoking. Kynurenic acid (KA), a significant tryptophan metabolite, is an antagonist of α7nAChR. Inhibition of kynurenine 3-monooxygenase enzyme encoded by KMO enhances the KA levels. Modulating KMO gene expression could be a useful tactic for the treatment of tobacco initiation and dependence. Since KMO regulation is still poorly understood, we aimed to investigate the 5' and 3'-regulatory factors of KMO gene to advance our knowledge to modulate KMO gene expression. In this study, bioinformatics methods were used to identify the regulatory sequences associated with expression of KMO. The displayed differential expression of KMO mRNA in the same tissue and different tissues suggested the specific usage of the KMO multiple alternative promoters. Eleven KMO alternative promoters identified at 5'-regulatory region contain TATA-Box, lack CpG Island (CGI) and showed dinucleotide base-stacking energy values specific to transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs). The structural features of regulatory sequences can influence the transcription process and cell type-specific expression. The uncharacterized LOC105373233 locus coding for non-coding RNA (ncRNA) located on the reverse strand in a convergent manner at the 3'-side of KMO locus. The two genes likely expressed by a promoter that lacks TATA-Box harbor CGI and two TFBSs linked to the bidirectional transcription, the NRF1, and ZNF14 motifs. We identified two types of microRNA (miR) in the uncharacterized LOC105373233 ncRNA, which are like hsa-miR-5096 and hsa-miR-1285-3p and can target the miR recognition element (MRE) in the KMO mRNA. Pairwise sequence alignment identified 52 nucleotides sequence hosting MRE in the KMO 3' UTR untranslated region complementary to the ncRNA LOC105373233 sequence. We speculate that the identified miRs can modulate the KMO expression and together with alternative promoters at the 5'-regulatory region of KMO might contribute to the development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic algorithm for tobacco smoking

Seismic Anisotropy Beneath the Afar Depression and Adjacent Areas: Implications for Mantle Flow

Shear wave splitting is a robust tool to infer the direction and strength of seismic anisotropy in the lithosphere and underlying asthenosphere. Previous shear wave splitting studies in the Afar Depression and adjacent areas concluded that either Precambrian sutures or vertical magmatic dikes are mostly responsible for the observed anisotropy. Here we report results of a systematic analysis of teleseismic shear wave splitting using all the available broadband seismic data recorded in the Afar Depression, Main Ethiopian Rift (MER), and Ethiopian Plateau. We found that while the ~450 measurements on the Ethiopian Plateau and in the MER show insignificant azimuthal variations with MER-parallel fast directions and thus can be explained by a single layer of anisotropy, the ~150 measurements in the Afar Depression reveal a systematic azimuthal dependence of splitting parameters with a π/2 periodicity, suggesting a two-layer model of anisotropy. The top layer is characterized by a relatively small (0.65 s) splitting delay time and a WNW fast direction that can be attributed to magmatic dikes within the lithosphere, and the lower layer has a larger (2.0 s) delay time and a NE fast direction. Using the spatial coherency of the splitting parameters obtained in the MER and on the Ethiopian Plateau, we estimated that the optimal depth of the source of anisotropy is centered at about 300 km, i.e., in the asthenosphere. The spatial and azimuthal variations of the observed anisotropy can best be explained by a NE directed flow in the asthenosphere beneath the MER and the Afar Depression

Classification of sedimentary and igneous rocks by laser induced breakdown spectroscopy and nanoparticle-enhanced laser induced breakdown spectroscopy combined with principal component analysis and graph theory

In this work, results are presented on the application of standard LIBS and Nanoparticle-Enhanced LIBS (NELIBS) to the classification of rocks (igneous and sedimentary). The classification of the spectra obtained with the two methods was performed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Graph Theory method. The results obtained confirmed the advantages of the LIBS technique in geological applications, showing that excellent classification of the rocks analyzed (more than 99% of the spectra correctly classified) can be obtained using standard LIBS coupled to Graph Theory analysis, while NELIBS spectra, analyzed with the same technique, provide acceptable results, but with 10% of the spectra not classified. These findings are particularly interesting given the application of the LIBS technique in investigating natural samples having porous and/or rough surfaces

Offender Assessment, Case Planning, and Referral to Community-Based Treatment: Effects of a Structured Process Improvement Initiative

This article is part of the supplement: Abstracts from the 2014 Addiction Health Services Research (AHSR) Conferenc