Equilibrium solutions of the shallow water equations

A statistical method for calculating equilibrium solutions of the shallow water equations, a model of essentially 2-d fluid flow with a free surface, is described. The model contains a competing acoustic turbulent {\it direct} energy cascade, and a 2-d turbulent {\it inverse} energy cascade. It is shown, nonetheless that, just as in the corresponding theory of the inviscid Euler equation, the infinite number of conserved quantities constrain the flow sufficiently to produce nontrivial large-scale vortex structures which are solutions to a set of explicitly derived coupled nonlinear partial differential equations.Comment: 4 pages, no figures. Submitted to Physical Review Letter

Landau-Ginzburg method applied to finite fermion systems: Pairing in Nuclei

Given the spectrum of a Hamiltonian, a methodology is developed which employs the Landau-Ginsburg method for characterizing phase transitions in infinite systems to identify phase transition remnants in finite fermion systems. As a first application of our appproach we discuss pairing in finite nuclei.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure

Serine / threonine protein phosphatase 5 (PP5) participates in the regulation of glucocorticoid receptor nucleocytoplasmic shuttling

BACKGROUND: In most cells glucocorticoid receptors (GR) reside predominately in the cytoplasm. Upon hormone binding, the GR translocates into the nucleus, where the hormone-activated GR-complex regulates the transcription of GR-responsive genes. Serine/threonine protein phosphatase type 5 (PP5) associates with the GR-heat-shock protein-90 complex, and the suppression of PP5 expression with ISIS 15534 stimulates the activity of GR-responsive reporter plasmids, without affecting the binding of hormone to the GR. RESULTS: To further characterize the mechanism by which PP5 affects GR-induced gene expression, we employed immunofluorescence microscopy to track the movement of a GR-green fluorescent fusion protein (GR-GFP) that retained hormone binding, nuclear translocation activity and specific DNA binding activity, but is incapable of transactivation. In the absence of glucocorticoids, GR-GFP localized mainly in the cytoplasm. Treatment with dexamethasone results in the efficient translocation of GR-GFPs into the nucleus. The nuclear accumulation of GR-GFP, without the addition of glucocorticoids, was also observed when the expression of PP5 was suppressed by treatment with ISIS 15534. In contrast, ISIS 15534 treatment had no apparent effect on calcium induced nuclear translocation of NFAT-GFP. CONCLUSION: These studies suggest that PP5 participates in the regulation of glucocorticoid receptor nucleocytoplasmic shuttling, and that the GR-induced transcriptional activity observed when the expression of PP5 is suppressed by treatment with ISIS 15534 results from the nuclear accumulation of GR in a form that is capable of binding DNA yet still requires agonist to elicit maximal transcriptional activation

Noninvasive ventilation in life-threatening asthma: A case series

Background The use of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) in severe acute asthma is controversial. A pH \ 60 mmHg, and altered mental status have been described as contraindications to NIV in acute asthma. We hypothesized that NIV was safe and effective in asthma patients with a pH \ 60 mmHg. Methods Following institutional review board approval, the medical records of subjects who received NIV for acute asthma in the emergency department between January 2010 and July 2012 were reviewed. Subjects were included if they had a pH \ 60 mmHg on either an arterial or venous blood gas. Primary outcome was need for endotracheal intubation. Results Sixty-two subjects received NIV for asthma, with 20 (mean age 42 ± 12 years, 62% male) meeting the inclusion criteria. Intubation was avoided in all 20 subjects, including nine (45%) with prior history of intubation due to asthma, eight (40%) who were obtunded, and three (15%) who were unresponsive upon arrival. Results are described as medians (ranges). Initial blood gas (80% venous) results were: pH 7.16 (6.89--7.27), PCO~2~ 77 (65--144) mmHg, and HCO~3~^−^ 27 (20--32) mmol/L. Repeat blood gases (45% venous) performed a median of 117 minutes later were: pH 7.31 (7.22--7.45), PCO~2~ 48 (31--63) mmHg, and HCO3 23 (19--31). Vomiting occurred in one patient; no other adverse events were noted. Conclusion We identified a small series of asthma patients with severe respiratory acidosis or altered mental status in whom NIV was safe and effective

Osteoprotegerin reduces osteoclast resorption activity without affecting osteogenesis on nanoparticulate mineralized collagen scaffolds.

The instructive capabilities of extracellular matrix-inspired materials for osteoprogenitor differentiation have sparked interest in understanding modulation of other cell types within the bone regenerative microenvironment. We previously demonstrated that nanoparticulate mineralized collagen glycosaminoglycan (MC-GAG) scaffolds efficiently induced osteoprogenitor differentiation and bone healing. In this work, we combined adenovirus-mediated delivery of osteoprotegerin (AdOPG), an endogenous anti-osteoclastogenic decoy receptor, in primary human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) with MC-GAG to understand the role of osteoclast inactivation in augmentation of bone regeneration. Simultaneous differentiation of osteoprogenitors on MC-GAG and osteoclast progenitors resulted in bidirectional positive regulation. AdOPG expression did not affect osteogenic differentiation alone. In the presence of both cell types, AdOPG-transduced hMSCs on MC-GAG diminished osteoclast-mediated resorption in direct contact; however, osteoclast-mediated augmentation of osteogenic differentiation was unaffected. Thus, the combination of OPG with MC-GAG may represent a method for uncoupling osteogenic and osteoclastogenic differentiation to augment bone regeneration

Association between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Inflammation: A Twin Study

The association of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with cardiovascular disease risk may be mediated by inflammation. Our objective was to examine the association between PTSD and measures of inflammation and to determine whether these associations are due to shared familial or genetic factors. We measured lifetime history of PTSD using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV in 238 male middle-aged military veteran twin pairs (476 individuals), selected from the Vietnam Era Twins Registry, who were free of cardiovascular disease at baseline. We assessed inflammation using levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), interleukin 6 (IL-6), fibrinogen, white blood cells, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1). Geometric mean levels and percent differences by PTSD were obtained from mixed-model linear regression analyses with adjustment for potential confounders. Within-pair analysis was conducted to adjust for shared family environment and genetics (monozygotic pairs). Overall, 12.4% of participants had a lifetime history of PTSD. Adjusted mean levels of hsCRP and ICAM-1 were significantly higher among those with vs. without PTSD [hsCRP: 1.75 vs. 1.31 mg/l (33% difference); ICAM-1: 319 vs. 293 ng/ml (9% difference)]. Adjustment for depression rendered the association of PTSD with hsCRP non-statistically significant. For IL-6, no consistent association was seen. Within-pair analysis produced associations that were similar in direction for all three markers but lesser in magnitude for hsCRP and IL-6. There was no evidence of interaction by zygosity. Elevated hsCRP and ICAM-1 are associated with PTSD, and these associations may be confounded by shared non-genetic, antecedent familial and environmental factors

Expression and localization of estrogen receptor-β in annulus cells of the human intervertebral disc and the mitogenic effect of 17-β-estradiol in vitro

BACKGROUND: Recent evidence suggests that estrogens exert effects in different tissues throughout the body, and that the estrogen receptor β (ERβ) may be important for the action of estrogen (17-β-estradiol) on the skeleton. The cellular localization of ERβ in the human intervertebral disc, however, has not yet been explored. METHODS: Human disc tissue and cultured human disc cells were used for immunocytochemical localization of ERβ. mRNA was isolated from cultured human disc cells, and RT-PCR amplification of ERβ was employed to document molecular expression of this receptor. Cultured human disc cells were tested to determine if 17-β-estradiol stimulated cell proliferation. RESULTS: In this report data are presented which provide evidence for ERβ gene expression in human intervertebral disc cells in vivo and in vitro. Culture of annulus cells in the presence of 10(-7) M 17-β-estradiol significantly increased cell proliferation. CONCLUSIONS: These data provide new insight into the biology of cells in the annulus of the intervertebral disc