248 research outputs found
Pathfinder cells provide a novel therapeutic intervention for acute kidney injury
Pathfinder cells (PCs) are a novel class of adult-derived cells that facilitate functional repair of host tissue. We used rat PCs to demonstrate that they enable the functional mitigation of ischemia reperfusion (I/R) injury in a mouse model of renal damage. Female C57BL/6 mice were subjected to 30 min of renal ischemia and treated with intravenous (i.v.) injection of saline (control) or male rat pancreas-derived PCs in blinded experimentation. Kidney function was assessed 14 days after treatment by measuring serum creatinine (SC) levels. Kidney tissue was assessed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) for markers of cellular damage, proliferation, and senescence (TUNEL, Ki67, p16ink4a, p21). Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was performed to determine the presence of any rat (i.e., pathfinder) cells in the mouse tissue. PC-treated animals demonstrated superior renal function at day 14 post-I/R, in comparison to saline-treated controls, as measured by SC levels (0.13 mg/dL vs. 0.23 mg/dL, p<0.001). PC-treated kidney tissue expressed significantly lower levels of p16ink4a in comparison to the control group (p=0.009). FISH analysis demonstrated that the overwhelming majority of repaired kidney tissue was mouse in origin. Rat PCs were only detected at a frequency of 0.02%. These data confirm that PCs have the ability to mitigate functional damage to kidney tissue following I/R injury. Kidneys of PC-treated animals showed evidence of improved function and reduced expression of damage markers. The PCs appear to act in a paracrine fashion, stimulating the host tissue to recover functionally, rather than by differentiating into renal cells. This study demonstrates that pancreatic-derived PCs from the adult rat can enable functional repair of renal damage in mice. It validates the use of PCs to regenerate damaged tissues and also offers a novel therapeutic intervention for repair of solid organ damage in situ
Tratamiento de fracturas diafisarias inestables de fémur con clavo intramedular encerrojado tipo FMRP
Un grupo de 26 fracturas conminutas de fémur, rotacionalmente inestables, fueron
tratadas con clavo intramedular encerrojado tipo FMRP. En 22 casos la conminución afectaba a más
del 50% de la cortical. Del total de enclavados, 22 fueron estáticos y 4 dinámicos. La consolidación
desde el punto de vista clínico y radiológico ocurrió en el 92% de los casos. En 2 casos se desarrolló
un pseudoartrosis. Sólo un paciente mostró un acortamiento mayor de 1 cm. Una angulación mayor
de 10° en cualquiera de los planos del espacio fue apreciada en 5 pacientes. No se produjo en
ningún caso deformidad rotacional. El clavo intramedular encerrojado ha aumentado las indicaciones
del enclavado intramedular en el tratamiento de las fracturas inestables de fémur. La incidencia
de infección y pseudoartrosis es baja. La estabilidad del montaje permite una movilización inmediata
del paciente, rehabilitación temprana y menor estancia intrahospitalaria. El clavo FMRP
disminuye el tiempo de fluoroscopia, un fresado con instrumentos flexibles y es más barato que
otros sistemas similares.Twenty six comminuted and rotationally unstable fractures of the femur were treated
with the FMBP intramedullary locked nail. Twenty two of the fractures had comminution involving
more than 50% of the cortex. Of the nailings, 22 were static and 4 dynamic. Clinical and
radiographic union occurred in 92% of cases. There were 2 nonunions. There was one case of deep
wound infection. Only one patient had a shortening greater than 1 cm. Angulation in any plane
greater than 10° was noted in 5 patients. There were no instances of rotatory deformities. The interlocking
nail has expanded the indications for the use of closed intramedullary nailing in the treatment
of unstable femoral fractures. The incidence of infection and nonunion is low. Stability of
the fractures allows immediate mobilization of the patients, early rehabilitation of the limb and
shorter hospital stay. The FMRP nail eliminated fluoroscopy, flexible reamers and is cheaper as
compared to other systems
Jockeying for position: the construction of masculine identities
In this paper we examine the construction of masculine identities within a real-life social situation. Using data from an extensive series of interviews with small groups of sixth-form (17-18-year-old) students attending a UK-based, single-sex independent school, the analysis looks at the action orientation of different constructions of identity. More specifically, it focuses upon how the identity talk of one particular group of students were oriented towards managing their subordinate status within the school. In a number of instances the identity of the `new man' was adopted as a strategy of resistance. However, it was found that the more common strategy involved buying back into values embodied within a more traditional definition of masculinity
On the algebraic K-theory of the complex K-theory spectrum
Let p>3 be a prime, let ku be the connective complex K-theory spectrum, and
let K(ku) be the algebraic K-theory spectrum of ku. We study the p-primary
homotopy type of the spectrum K(ku) by computing its mod (p,v_1) homotopy
groups. We show that up to a finite summand, these groups form a finitely
generated free module over a polynomial algebra F_p[b], where b is a class of
degree 2p+2 defined as a higher Bott element.Comment: Revised and expanded version, 42 pages
Going chiral: overlap versus twisted mass fermions
We compare the behavior of overlap fermions, which are chirally invariant,
and of Wilson twisted mass fermions at full twist in the approach to the chiral
limit. Our quenched simulations reveal that with both formulations of lattice
fermions pion masses of O(250 MeV) can be reached in practical applications.
Our comparison is done at a fixed value of the lattice spacing a=0.123 fm. A
number of quantities are measured such as hadron masses, pseudoscalar decay
constants and quark masses obtained from Ward identities. We also determine the
axial vector renormalization constants in the case of overlap fermions.Comment: 22 pages, 10 figure
A molecular dynamics study on the equilibrium magnetization properties and structure of ferrofluids
We investigate in detail the initial susceptibility, magnetization curves,
and microstructure of ferrofluids in various concentration and particle dipole
moment ranges by means of molecular dynamics simulations. We use the Ewald
summation for the long-range dipolar interactions, take explicitly into account
the translational and rotational degrees of freedom, coupled to a Langevin
thermostat. When the dipolar interaction energy is comparable with the thermal
energy, the simulation results on the magnetization properties agree with the
theoretical predictions very well. For stronger dipolar couplings, however, we
find systematic deviations from the theoretical curves. We analyze in detail
the observed microstructure of the fluids under different conditions. The
formation of clusters is found to enhance the magnetization at weak fields and
thus leads to a larger initial susceptibility. The influence of the particle
aggregation is isolated by studying ferro-solids, which consist of magnetic
dipoles frozen in at random locations but which are free to rotate. Due to the
artificial suppression of clusters in ferro-solids the observed susceptibility
is considerably lowered when compared to ferrofluids.Comment: 33 pages including 12 figures, requires RevTex
Acid pH activation of the PmrA/PmrB two-component regulatory system of Salmonella enterica
Acid pH often triggers changes in gene expression. However, little is known about the identity of the gene products that sense fluctuations in extracytoplasmic pH. The Gram-negative pathogen Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium experiences a number of acidic environments both inside and outside animal hosts. Growth in mild acid (pH 5.8) promotes transcription of genes activated by the response regulator PmrA, but the signalling pathway(s) that mediates this response has thus far remained unexplored. Here we report that this activation requires both PmrA's cognate sensor kinase PmrB, which had been previously shown to respond to Fe(3+) and Al(3+), and PmrA's post-translational activator PmrD. Substitution of a conserved histidine or of either one of four conserved glutamic acid residues in the periplasmic domain of PmrB severely decreased or abolished the mild acid-promoted transcription of PmrA-activated genes. The PmrA/PmrB system controls lipopolysaccharide modifications mediating resistance to the antibiotic polymyxin B. Wild-type Salmonella grown at pH 5.8 were > 100 000-fold more resistant to polymyxin B than organisms grown at pH 7.7. Our results suggest that protonation of the PmrB periplasmic histidine and/or of the glutamic acid residues activate the PmrA protein, and that mild acid promotes cellular changes resulting in polymyxin B resistance
Extreme Ultra-Violet Spectroscopy of the Lower Solar Atmosphere During Solar Flares
The extreme ultraviolet portion of the solar spectrum contains a wealth of
diagnostic tools for probing the lower solar atmosphere in response to an
injection of energy, particularly during the impulsive phase of solar flares.
These include temperature and density sensitive line ratios, Doppler shifted
emission lines and nonthermal broadening, abundance measurements, differential
emission measure profiles, and continuum temperatures and energetics, among
others. In this paper I shall review some of the advances made in recent years
using these techniques, focusing primarily on studies that have utilized data
from Hinode/EIS and SDO/EVE, while also providing some historical background
and a summary of future spectroscopic instrumentation.Comment: 34 pages, 8 figures. Submitted to Solar Physics as part of the
Topical Issue on Solar and Stellar Flare
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