1,595 research outputs found
The Effects of Physical Activity on Stress-induced Cardiac Fibrosis
Purpose: This study examined whether routine physical activity limits stress-induced tissue remodeling processes that lead to cardiac fibrosis. The study also explored whether the cardiac urocortin 2/corticotropin releasing factor receptor 2β pathway was activated during physical activity and involved in reducing fibrotic processes.
Methods: C67BL/6J male mice were divided into four groups (n=8/group): sedentary/control, voluntary running/control, sedentary/stress and voluntary running/stress. Voluntary running groups were given 24-hour access to a running wheel in the home cage for 9 weeks. During the 9th week, stress groups were exposed to a 5-day resident-intruder stress paradigm that models human post-traumatic stress outcomes. Ventricular cardiac tissue was collected for analysis.
Results: Mice ran an average of 4.75 ± 1 km each night. Interestingly, running behavior essentially ceased following stress. Running distance dropped to 0.31 km following the 1st stress day. Some habituation to stress occurred, as running distance increased to 1.12 km by the 5th day of stress but remained significantly lower than pre-stress running distances and distances recorded in non-stressed mice. Quantitative RT-PCR showed small changes in ventricular urocortin 2 and CRF-R2β expression in the running groups. TGF-β, a signaling molecule known to induce fibrosis, had comparable expression levels across groups over controls.
Conclusion: Further work is planned to fully characterize urocortin 2/ CRF-R2β and fibrotic processes. Our running data lead us in a new direction, as we have stumbled upon a paradigm that will be useful to study underlying mechanisms by which stress exposure impairs physical activity behavior
Comments on the Links between su(3) Modular Invariants, Simple Factors in the Jacobian of Fermat Curves, and Rational Triangular Billiards
We examine the proposal made recently that the su(3) modular invariant
partition functions could be related to the geometry of the complex Fermat
curves. Although a number of coincidences and similarities emerge between them
and certain algebraic curves related to triangular billiards, their meaning
remains obscure. In an attempt to go beyond the su(3) case, we show that any
rational conformal field theory determines canonically a Riemann surface.Comment: 56 pages, 4 eps figures, LaTeX, uses eps
Cessation of Nightly Voluntary Wheel Running Activity Following Exposure to a Mouse Model of Posttraumatic Stress
Regular physical activity (PA) is well known to positively impact physical and mental health outcomes. In our work to examine cardiovascular benefits of PA in a mouse model of posttraumatic stress, we stumbled upon the reciprocal relationship between PA and stress exposure, wherein stress significantly reduced healthy levels of routine PA. The aim of the present studies was to define the parameters of our paradigm. C67BL/6J male mice were divided into four groups (n=8/group): sedentary/control, voluntary running/control, sedentary/stress, and voluntary running/stress. Voluntary running groups were given unlimited access to a running wheel for 9 weeks. Stress groups were then exposed to a 5-day resident-intruder social stress that models human posttraumatic stress. Running behavior essentially ceased following stress. Habituation to stress occurred, as running distance increased by the 5th day of stress but remained significantly low. A separate study examined a single exposure to resident-intruder social stress. Plasma corticosterone significantly increased while nightly running dropped significantly but returned to normal by the 3rd night post-stress. These studies show the sensitivity of habitual running behavior to stress exposure and suggest the utility of this mouse model in exploring the means by which stress negatively impacts routine PA
Scattering of dislocated wavefronts by vertical vorticity and the Aharonov-Bohm effect II: Dispersive waves
Previous results on the scattering of surface waves by vertical vorticity on
shallow water are generalized to the case of dispersive water waves. Dispersion
effects are treated perturbatively around the shallow water limit, to first
order in the ratio of depth to wavelength. The dislocation of the incident
wavefront, analogous to the Aharonov-Bohm effect, is still observed. At short
wavelengths the scattering is qualitatively similar to the nondispersive case.
At moderate wavelengths, however, there are two markedly different scattering
regimes according to wether the capillary length is smaller or larger than
times depth. The dislocation is characterized by a parameter that
depends both on phase and group velocity. The validity range of the calculation
is the same as in the shallow water case: wavelengths small compared to vortex
radius, and low Mach number. The implications of these limitations are
carefully considered.Comment: 30 pages, 11 figure
Resonant Magnetic Vortices
By using the complex angular momentum method, we provide a semiclassical
analysis of electron scattering by a magnetic vortex of Aharonov-Bohm-type.
Regge poles of the -matrix are associated with surface waves orbiting around
the vortex and supported by a magnetic field discontinuity. Rapid variations of
sharp characteristic shapes can be observed on scattering cross sections. They
correspond to quasibound states which are Breit-Wigner-type resonances
associated with surface waves and which can be considered as quantum analogues
of acoustic whispering-gallery modes. Such a resonant magnetic vortex could
provide a new kind of artificial atom while the semiclassical approach
developed here could be profitably extended in various areas of the physics of
vortices.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure
Uniform bounds on complexity and transfer of global properties of Nash functions
We show that the complexity of semialgebraic sets and mappings can be used to parametrize Nash sets and mappings by Nash families. From this we deduce uniform bounds on the complexity of Nash functions that lead to first-order descriptions of many properties of Nash functions and a good behaviour under real closed field extension (e.g. primary decomposition). As a distinguished application, we derive the solution of the extension and global equations problems over arbitrary real closed fields, in particular over the field of real algebraic numbers. This last fact and a technique of change of base are used to prove that the Artin-Mazur description holds for abstract Nash functions on the real spectrum of any commutative ring, and solve extension and global equations in that abstract setting. To complete the view, we prove the idempotency of the real spectrum and an abstract version of the separation problem. We also discuss the conditions for the rings of abstract Nash functions to be noetherian
C-peptide, Na+,K+-ATPase, and Diabetes
Na+,K+-ATPase is an ubiquitous membrane enzyme
that allows the extrusion of three sodium ions from the cell
and two potassium ions from the extracellular fluid. Its activity
is decreased in many tissues of streptozotocin-induced
diabetic animals. This impairment could be at least partly
responsible for the development of diabetic complications.
Na+,K+-ATPase activity is decreased in the red blood cell
membranes of type 1 diabetic individuals, irrespective of the
degree of diabetic control. It is less impaired or even normal
in those of type 2 diabetic patients. The authors have
shown that in the red blood cells of type 2 diabetic patients,
Na+,K+-ATPase activity was strongly related to blood C-peptide
levels in non–insulin-treated patients (in whom C-peptide
concentration reflects that of insulin) as well as in
insulin-treated patients. Furthermore, a gene-environment
relationship has been observed. The alpha-1 isoform of the
enzyme predominant in red blood cells and nerve tissue is
encoded by the ATP1A1 gene.Apolymorphism in the intron
1 of this gene is associated with lower enzyme activity in patients
with C-peptide deficiency either with type 1 or type
2 diabetes, but not in normal individuals. There are several
lines of evidence for a low C-peptide level being responsible
for low Na+,K+-ATPase activity in the red blood cells.
Short-term C-peptide infusion to type 1 diabetic patients
restores normal Na+,K+-ATPase activity. Islet transplantation,
which restores endogenous C-peptide secretion, enhances
Na+,K+-ATPase activity proportionally to the rise
in C-peptide. This C-peptide effect is not indirect. In fact,
incubation of diabetic red blood cells with C-peptide at
physiological concentration leads to an increase of Na+,K+-ATPase activity. In isolated proximal tubules of rats or
in the medullary thick ascending limb of the kidney, C-peptide stimulates in a dose-dependent manner Na+,K+-ATPase activity. This impairment in Na+,K+-ATPase activity,
mainly secondary to the lack of C-peptide, plays probably
a role in the development of diabetic complications.
Arguments have been developed showing that the diabetesinduced
decrease in Na+,K+-ATPase activity compromises
microvascular blood flow by two mechanisms: by affecting
microvascular regulation and by decreasing red blood cell
deformability, which leads to an increase in blood viscosity.
C-peptide infusion restores red blood cell deformability
and microvascular blood flow concomitantly with Na+,K+-ATPase activity. The defect in ATPase is strongly related to
diabetic neuropathy. Patients with neuropathy have lower
ATPase activity than those without. The diabetes-induced
impairment in Na+,K+-ATPase activity is identical in red
blood cells and neural tissue. Red blood cell ATPase activity
is related to nerve conduction velocity in the peroneal
and the tibial nerve of diabetic patients. C-peptide infusion
to diabetic rats increases endoneural ATPase activity in rat.
Because the defect in Na+,K+-ATPase activity is also probably
involved in the development of diabetic nephropathy and
cardiomyopathy, physiological C-peptide infusion could be
beneficial for the prevention of diabetic complications
<i>Cocconeis molesta</i> Kütz., <i>C. diaphana</i> W.Sm. and <i>C. dirupta</i> W.Greg. (Bacillariophyta): type material, ambiguities and possible synonymies
F.T. Kützing introduced Cocconeis molesta with only an uninformative description and a poor illustration: C. molesta has small, oblong valves and is an epiphyte. Another species, Cocconeis diaphana, described by William Smith, is said to have larger valves than C. molesta, with frustules that are relatively oblong. Smith described two forms: one with a distinct fascia on its raphe valve (var. β), the other without this feature. A third species, Cocconeis dirupta was described by Gregory, who expressed doubts that it differed from C. diaphana. Finally, Cocconeis molesta var. crucifera Grunow was first introduced in Van Heurck’s Atlas but was subsequently treated by Van Heurck as a synonym of C. molesta. No previous account has examined the type material of these species. In this paper, we undertake that task and examine type slides and raw material in order to discriminate these different taxa. We conclude by recognizing three species: Cocconeis molesta Kütz., C. diaphana W.Sm. and C. dirupta W.Greg. Cocconeis diaphana var. β is considered to be a synonym of C. dirupta and C. molesta var. crucifera is considered to be a synonym of C. molesta. Lectotypes are designated for C. diaphana and C. dirupta
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