1,766 research outputs found
Atypical hepatic vacuolated cell lesion in the white perch \u3cem\u3eMorone americana\u3c/em\u3e
This report details histopathological findings of atypical vacuolated hepatocytes in the white perch Morone americana. Vacuolated cell lesions have been reported from a number of species in association with degraded habitats, often in the presence of hepatic neoplasms. Extensive atypical vacuolated cell lesions assuming characteristic acinar or ductular configurations have been reported previously only from the winter flounder Pseudopleuronectes americanus. Light microscopic findings, utilizing a variety of histochemical stains, suggest the identical nature of this lesion to that of winter flounder. The discovery of this lesion in a free-swimming species, feeding throughout the water column, is in direct contrast to that of the bottom dwelling pleuronectid, feeding from and constantly in contact with potentially contaminated sediments. While the winter flounder has become the sentinel fish species for pollution monitoring on the northeast coast, increased surveillance of other species may prove atypical vacuolated cell lesions represent a common mechanism of chronic cellular injury in relation to impacted environments
Effects of methylprednisolone on exercise-induced increases of plasma levels of polymorphonuclear elastase and myeloperoxidase in man. Preliminary results
The aim of the present study was to verify whether a single oral dose of methylprednisolone could modulate the exercise-induced release of polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) elastase and myeloperoxidase. Four healthy, male subjects were submitted to a 20 min downhill run (â20%) at 60% VO2 max, 3 h after oral absorption of a placebo or a single dose of 32 mg methylprednisolone. A marked neutrophilia (+103% of basal PMN count; p < 0.02) was observed 3 h after methylprednisolone ingestion. During both exercise trials, placebo and methylprednisolone, PMN counts were increased by 46% and 19% (p < 0.05), respectively. The running test caused marked and significant (p < 0.05) increases in plasma myeloperoxidase concentration (MPO). The magnitude of MPO changes was the same in the two trials (+110%). Exercise also resulted in significant changes in plasma elastase concentration (EL) in both experimental conditions (placebo: +104%, p < 0.05; methylprednisolone: +338%, p < 0.005). Plasma elastase levels reached at the end of exercise on methylprednisolone were significantly higher than after placebo (p < 0.05). A significant relationship was found between EL and PMN in methylprednisolone trial only (r = 0.72; l0 < 0.005). These results showed that the transient exercise-induced release of elastase and myeloperoxidase were not decreased by methylprednisolone
Inflammatory response to strenuous muscular exercise in man
Based on the humoral and cellular changes occurring during strenuous muscular work in humans, the concept of inflammatory response to exercise (IRE) is developed. The main indices of IRE consist of signs of an acute phase response, leucocytosis and leucocyte activation, release of inflammatory mediators, tissue damage and cellular infiltrates, production of free radicals, activation of complement, and coagulation and fibrinolytic pathways. Depending on exercise intensity and duration, it seems likely that muscle and/or associated connective tissue damage, contact system activation due to shear stress on endothelium and endotoxaemia could be the triggering mechanisms of IRE. Although this phenomenon can be considered in most cases as a physiological process associated with tissue repair, exaggerated IRE could have physiopathological consequences. On the other hand, the influence of several factors such as age, sex, training, hormonal status, nutrition, anti-inflammatory drugs, and the extent to which IRE could be a potential risk for subjects undergoing intense physical training require further study
NIKA: A millimeter-wave kinetic inductance camera
Current generation millimeter wavelength detectors suffer from scaling limits
imposed by complex cryogenic readout electronics. To circumvent this it is
imperative to investigate technologies that intrinsically incorporate strong
multiplexing. One possible solution is the kinetic inductance detector (KID).
In order to assess the potential of this nascent technology, a prototype
instrument optimized for the 2 mm atmospheric window was constructed. Known as
the N\'eel IRAM KIDs Array (NIKA), it was recently tested at the Institute for
Millimetric Radio Astronomy (IRAM) 30-meter telescope at Pico Veleta, Spain.
The measurement resulted in the imaging of a number of sources, including
planets, quasars, and galaxies. The images for Mars, radio star MWC349, quasar
3C345, and galaxy M87 are presented. From these results, the optical NEP was
calculated to be around WHz. A factor of 10
improvement is expected to be readily feasible by improvements in the detector
materials and reduction of performance-degrading spurious radiation.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic
Comparing [CII], HI, and CO dynamics of nearby galaxies
The HI and CO components of the interstellar medium (ISM) are usually used to
derive the dynamical mass M_dyn of nearby galaxies. Both components become too
faint to be used as a tracer in observations of high-redshift galaxies. In
those cases, the 158 m line of atomic carbon [CII] may be the only way to
derive M_dyn. As the distribution and kinematics of the ISM tracer affects the
determination of M_dyn, it is important to quantify the relative distributions
of HI, CO and [CII]. HI and CO are well-characterised observationally, however,
for [CII] only very few measurements exist. Here we compare observations of CO,
HI, and [CII] emission of a sample of nearby galaxies, drawn from the HERACLES,
THINGS and KINGFISH surveys. We find that within R_25, the average [CII]
exponential radial profile is slightly shallower than that of the CO, but much
steeper than the HI distribution. This is also reflected in the integrated
spectrum ("global profile"), where the [CII] spectrum looks more like that of
the CO than that of the HI. For one galaxy, a spectrally resolved comparison of
integrated spectra was possible; other comparisons were limited by the
intrinsic line-widths of the galaxies and the coarse velocity resolution of the
[CII] data. Using high-spectral-resolution SOFIA [CII] data of a number of star
forming regions in two nearby galaxies, we find that their [CII] linewidths
agree better with those of the CO than the HI. As the radial extent of a given
ISM tracer is a key input in deriving M_dyn from spatially unresolved data, we
conclude that the relevant length-scale to use in determining M_dyn based on
[CII] data, is that of the well-characterised CO distribution. This length
scale is similar to that of the optical disk.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journa
The Music Therapist in School as Outsider
This essay examines the institutional commonalities among several schools in which I have worked as a music therapist, illustrating how thinking about my role as an outsider has informed my therapeutic approach. I refer to the broader concept of the outsider as it relates to both fictional and historical figures and in particular to Sherly Williams's article 'The Therapist as Outsider: The Truth of the Stranger' (1999) in which she compares the therapist to the archetypal figures of the fool and the seer. Finally, I link these ideas to Winnicott's concept of play, presenting the music therapist's role in school as that of an advocate for fostering creative impulses, which can at times be at odds with (or perhaps complementary to) the central educational aims of the school
Recommended from our members
Impact of particles on the Planck HFI detectors: Ground-based measurements and physical interpretation
The Planck High Frequency Instrument (HFI) surveyed the sky continuously from
August 2009 to January 2012. Its noise and sensitivity performance were
excellent, but the rate of cosmic ray impacts on the HFI detectors was
unexpectedly high. Furthermore, collisions of cosmic rays with the focal plane
produced transient signals in the data (glitches) with a wide range of
characteristics. A study of cosmic ray impacts on the HFI detector modules has
been undertaken to categorize and characterize the glitches, to correct the HFI
time-ordered data, and understand the residual effects on Planck maps and data
products. This paper presents an evaluation of the physical origins of glitches
observed by the HFI detectors. In order to better understand the glitches
observed by HFI in flight, several ground-based experiments were conducted with
flight-spare HFI bolometer modules. The experiments were conducted between 2010
and 2013 with HFI test bolometers in different configurations using varying
particles and impact energies. The bolometer modules were exposed to 23 MeV
protons from the Orsay IPN TANDEM accelerator, and to Am and Cm
-particle and Fe radioactive X-ray sources. The calibration data
from the HFI ground-based preflight tests were used to further characterize the
glitches and compare glitch rates with statistical expectations under
laboratory conditions. Test results provide strong evidence that the dominant
family of glitches observed in flight are due to cosmic ray absorption by the
silicon die substrate on which the HFI detectors reside. Glitch energy is
propagated to the thermistor by ballistic phonons, while there is also a
thermal diffusion contribution. The implications of these results for future
satellite missions, especially those in the far-infrared to sub-millimetre and
millimetre regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, are discussed.Comment: 11 pages, 13 figure
- âŠ