1,017 research outputs found
Divergent expression of claudin -1, -3, -4, -5 and -7 in developing human lung
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Claudins are the main components of tight junctions, structures which are associated with cell polarity and permeability. The aim of this study was to analyze the expression of claudins 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7 in developing human lung tissues from 12 to 40 weeks of gestation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>47 cases were analyzed by immunohistochemisty for claudins 1, 3, 4, 5 and 7. 23 cases were also investigated by quantitative RT-PCR for claudin-1, -3 and -4.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Claudin-1 was expressed in epithelium of bronchi and large bronchioles from week 12 onwards but it was not detected in epithelium of developing alveoli. Claudin-3, -4 and -7 were strongly expressed in bronchial epithelium from week 12 to week 40, and they were also expressed in alveoli from week 16 to week 40. Claudin-5 was expressed strongly during all periods in endothelial cells. It was expressed also in epithelium of bronchi from week 12 to week 40, and in alveoli during the canalicular period. RT-PCR analyses revealed detectable amounts of RNAs for claudins 1, 3 and 4 in all cases studied.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Claudin-1, -3, -4, -5, and -7 are expressed in developing human lung from week 12 to week 40 with distinct locations and in divergent quantities. The expression of claudin-1 was restricted to the bronchial epithelium, whereas claudin-3, -4 and -7 were positive also in alveolar epithelium as well as in the bronchial epithelium. All claudins studied are linked to the development of airways, whereas claudin-3, -4, -5 and -7, but not claudin-1, are involved in the development of acinus and the differentiation of alveolar epithelial cells.</p
Very-high-energy gamma radiation associated with the unshocked wind of the Crab pulsar
We show that the relativistic wind in the Crab pulsar, which is commonly
thought to be invisible in the region upstream of the termination shock at R <
0.1 pc, in fact could be directly observed through its inverse Compton gamm-ray
emission. The search for such specific component of radiation in the gamma-ray
spectrum of the Crab can provide unique information about the unshocked pulsar
wind that is not accessible at other wavelengths.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures, to appear in one of the April issues of MNRA
Unstable states in QED of strong magnetic fields
We question the use of stable asymptotic scattering states in QED of strong
magnetic fields. To correctly describe excited Landau states and photons above
the pair creation threshold the asymptotic fields are chosen as generalized
Licht fields. In this way the off-shell behavior of unstable particles is
automatically taken into account, and the resonant divergences that occur in
scattering cross sections in the presence of a strong external magnetic field
are avoided. While in a limiting case the conventional electron propagator with
Breit-Wigner form is obtained, in this formalism it is also possible to
calculate -matrix elements with external unstable particles.Comment: Revtex, 7 pages. To appear in Phys. Rev. D53(2
Probing For New Physics and Detecting non linear vacuum QED effects using gravitational wave interferometer antennas
Low energy non linear QED effects in vacuum have been predicted since 1936
and have been subject of research for many decades. Two main schemes have been
proposed for such a 'first' detection: measurements of ellipticity acquired by
a linearly polarized beam of light passing through a magnetic field and direct
light-light scattering. The study of the propagation of light through an
external field can also be used to probe for new physics such as the existence
of axion-like particles and millicharged particles. Their existence in nature
would cause the index of refraction of vacuum to be different from unity in the
presence of an external field and dependent of the polarization direction of
the light propagating. The major achievement of reaching the project
sensitivities in gravitational wave interferometers such as LIGO an VIRGO has
opened the possibility of using such instruments for the detection of QED
corrections in electrodynamics and for probing new physics at very low
energies. In this paper we discuss the difference between direct birefringence
measurements and index of refraction measurements. We propose an almost
parasitic implementation of an external magnetic field along the arms of the
VIRGO interferometer and discuss the advantage of this choice in comparison to
a previously proposed configuration based on shorter prototype interferometers
which we believe is inadequate. Considering the design sensitivity in the
strain, for the near future VIRGO+ interferometer, of in the range 40 Hz Hz leads to a variable
dipole magnet configuration at a frequency above 20 Hz such that Tm/ for a `first' vacuum non linear QED detection
Activated Magnetospheres of Magnetars
Like the solar corona, the external magnetic field of magnetars is twisted by
surface motions of the star. The twist energy is dissipated over time. We
discuss the theory of this activity and its observational status. (1) Theory
predicts that the magnetosphere tends to untwist in a peculiar way: a bundle of
electric currents (the "j-bundle") is formed with a sharp boundary, which
shrinks toward the magnetic dipole axis. Recent observations of shrinking hot
spots on magnetars are consistent with this behavior. (2) Continual discharge
fills the j-bundle with electron-positron plasma, maintaining a nonthermal
corona around the neutron star. The corona outside a few stellar radii strongly
interacts with the stellar radiation and forms a "radiatively locked" outflow
with a high e+- multiplicity. The locked plasma annihilates near the apexes of
the closed magnetic field lines. (3) New radiative-transfer simulations suggest
a simple mechanism that shapes the observed X-ray spectrum from 0.1 keV to 1
MeV: part of the thermal X-rays emitted by the neutron star are reflected from
the outer corona and then upscattered by the inner relativistic outflow in the
j-bundle, producing a beam of hard X-rays.Comment: 23 pages, 7 figures; review chapter in the proceedings of ICREA
Workshop on the High-Energy Emission from Pulsars and Their Systems, Sant
Cugat, Spain, April 201
Sustained release formulations of rhVEGF<sub>165</sub> produce a durable response in a murine model of peripheral angiogenesis
The Crab Nebula: interpretation of CHANDRA observations
We interpret the observed X-ray morphology of the central part of the Crab
Nebula (torus + jets) in terms of the standard theory by Kennel and Coroniti
(1984). The only new element is the inclusion of anisotropy in the energy flux
from the pulsar in the theory. In the standard theory of relativistic winds,
the Lorentz factor of the particles in front of the shock that terminates the
pulsar relativistic wind depends on the polar angle as
, where and . The plasma flow in the wind is isotropic. After the
passage of the pulsar wind through the shock, the flow becomes subsonic with a
roughly constant (over the plerion volume) pressure ,
where is the plasma particle density and is the mean particle
energy. Since , a low-density region filled with the
most energetic electrons is formed near the equator. A bright torus of
synchrotron radiation develops here. Jet-like regions are formed along the
pulsar rotation axis, where the particle density is almost four orders of
magnitude higher than that in the equatorial plane, because the particle energy
there is four orders of magnitude lower. The energy of these particles is too
low to produce detectable synchrotron radiation. However, these quasi-jets
become comparable in brightness to the torus if additional particle
acceleration takes place in the plerion. We also present the results of our
study of the hydrodynamic interaction between an anisotropic wind and the
interstellar medium. We compare the calculated and observed distributions of
the volume intensity of X-ray radiation.Comment: 38 pages, 5 figures. To be published in Astronomy Letters, 2002, N 6,
p.
Differential Roles of Cardiomyocyte and Macrophage Peroxisome Proliferator–Activated Receptor γ in Cardiac Fibrosis
OBJECTIVE—Cardiac fibrosis is an important component of diabetic cardiomyopathy. Peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor γ (PPARγ) ligands repress proinflammatory gene expression, including that of osteopontin, a known contributor to the development of myocardial fibrosis. We thus investigated the hypothesis that PPARγ ligands could attenuate cardiac fibrosis
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