IP-10 detection in urine is associated with lung diseases

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>blood cytokines and chemokines have been proposed as biomarkers for tuberculosis (TB). Recently, some immune mediators found in the urine of patients with renal dysfunctions have also been suggested as potential biomarkers. Finding biomarkers for TB in urine would present several advantages over blood in terms of collection and safety. The objective of this study was to investigate the presence of cytokines and chemokines in the urine of patients with pulmonary TB at the time of diagnosis. In a subgroup, the evaluation was also performed during TB treatment and at therapy completion. Patients with lung diseases other than TB, and healthy subjects were also enrolled.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>urine samples from 138 individuals, after exclusion of renal dysfunctions, were collected during an 18 month-period. Among them, 58 received a diagnosis of pulmonary TB, 28 resulted having lung diseases other than TB, and 34 were healthy subjects. Moreover, 18 TB patients, 9 of whom were tested 2 months after AFB smear sputum reversion and 9 of whom were cured of TB were also included. Cytokines and chemokines in urine were evaluated using a Cytometric-Bead-Array-Flex-Set. IP-10 detection in 49 subjects was also carried out in parallel by using an Enzyme Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-2, IL-8, MIP-1α, MIP-1β and RANTES were poorly detected in all urine samples. Conversely, IP-10 was consistently detected in urine and its level was significantly increased in patients with lung disease compared to healthy subjects (p < 0.001). Increased IP-10 levels were found in both pulmonary TB and lung diseases other than TB. Moreover lower IP-10 levels were found in cured-TB patients compared to the levels at the time of diagnosis, and this difference was close to significance (p = 0.06). Interestingly, we demonstrated a significant correlation between the data obtained by flow cytometry and ELISA (r²0.82, p < 0.0001).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>IP-10, in contrast to IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-2, IL-8, MIP-1α, MIP-1β and RANTES, is detectable in the urine of patients with pulmonary diseases in the absence of renal dysfunctions. Moreover, the IP-10 level in cured-TB patients is comparable to that found in healthy subjects. More studies are needed to further investigate the clinical utility of these findings.</p

Continuous Cooling Curves Diagrams of Propene/Ethylene Random Copolymers. The Role of Ethylene Counits in Mesophase Development

A simple method to investigate polymer crystallization during fast cooling, based on in situ temperature acquisition and ex-situ structural characterization, is proposed. The approach enables one to obtain the continuous cooling curve (CCC) diagrams, widely used in metallurgy but seldom adopted for semicrystalline polymers. This method is here exploited to gain new insights on polymorphic behavior of quenched polypropylene and its copolymers with ethylene. Experimental CCC diagrams, covering a wide range of crystallization temperatures in the domains of monoclinic structure and mesophase, are obtained for the first time. The role of counits in affecting the development of the mesophase upon fast cooling is assessed: the critical cooling rate above which a predominant fraction of mesomorphic form is generated significantly decreases with increasing comonomer concentration. This is due to the remarkable hindrance of ethylene counits on the crystallization kinetics of the R-form, which indirectly favors the development of the less affected mesophase. We expect that this concept can be extended to any kind of defects that disturbs the structuring of the monoclinic phase

Real-time WAXD detection of mesophase development during quenching of propene/ethylene copolymers

The real-time WAXD detection of mesophase development during quenching of propene/ethylene copolymers was investigated. Mechanical and optical properties of random copolymers of propene with \u3b1-olefins can accurately be customized through the control of chain microstructure. The polymer films around 250-300 \u3bcm thick, with a chromel-alumel \u3bc-thermocouple embedded in the midplane were prepared. The fast cooling experiments were performed in a home-built quenching device. The quenching was performed by blowing compressed air nearly perpendicularly to both sides of the sample through two small hoses. Wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) patterns were collected by a Pilatus 300 K-W pixel detector positioned at a sample-to-detector distance of 148 mm. 2\u3b8 scale calibration was performed using the reflections of an high crystallinity \u3b1-monoclinic i-PP sample. The imposed cooling rates were approximately 20 \ub0 C/s for the development of the monoclinic crystals and 160 \ub0C/s to obtain the mesomorphic for

In situ Rheo-SALS experiments on LDPE nanocomposites: A preliminary study

A preliminary study of Flow Induced Crystallization In LDPE nanocomposites containing a layered silicate nanofiller has been carried out by means of In situ Rheo-SALS technique. A good degree of exfoliation of the nanoclay into the polymer matrix was observed by TEM analysis. The first Rheo-SALS results clearly Indicate that the application of mild flow conditions strongly enhances the crystallization kinetics, both In nanocomposite and reference LDPE samples. Moreover, in the sheared nanocomposite the polymer crystals are highly oriented, much more than in the reference sample, thus suggesting that the presence of small amounts of exfoliated nanoclay favours the orientation of chain segments along the flow direction. The analysis of the Hv scattering patterns allowed extracting basic quantitative information on crystallization kinetics and spherulitlc morphology

Towards upscaling of La5.5 Wo11.25−δ manufacture for plasma spraying-thin film coated hydrogen permeable membranes

open10siLanthanum tungstate (La6 WO12 ) is a promising material for the development of hydrogen separation membranes, proton ceramic electrolyzer cells and protonic ceramic fuel cells due to its interesting transport properties and stability under different operation conditions. In order to improve the hydrogen transport through the La6 WO12 membranes, thin membranes should be manufactured. This work is based on the industrial production of La5.5 WO11.25−δ (LWO) powder by spray drying and the manufacturing of thin membranes by low-pressure plasma spraying (LPPS-TF) technique. LPPS-TF allows the production of dense thin films of high quality in an industrial scale. The powders produced by spray drying were morphological and electrochemically characterized. Hydrogen permeation fluxes of a membrane manufactured with these powders were evaluated and fluxes are similar to those reported previously for LWO powder produced in the lab scale. Finally, the transport properties of LWO thin films deposited on Al2 O3 indicate that LPPS-TF produces high-quality LWO films with potential for integration in different applications.openSonia Escolástico, Cecilia Solís, Antonio Comite, Fiorenza Azzurri, Malko Gindrat, Stefan Moser, Johannes Rauch, Gregory Szyndelman, Rajiv Damani, Jose Maria SerraEscolástico, Sonia; Solís, Cecilia; Comite, Antonio; Azzurri, Fiorenza; Gindrat, Malko; Moser, Stefan; Rauch, Johannes; Szyndelman, Gregory; Damani, Rajiv; Maria Serra, Jos