290 research outputs found
In vitro cultured progenitors and precursors of cardiac cell lineages from human normal and post-ischemic hearts.
The demonstration of the presence of dividing primitive cells in damaged hearts has sparked increased interest about myocardium regenerative processes. We examined the rate and the differentiation of in vitro cultured resident cardiac primitive cells obtained from pathological and normal human hearts in order to evaluate the activation of progenitors and precursors of cardiac cell lineages in post-ischemic human hearts. The precursors and progenitors of cardiomyocyte, smooth muscle and endothelial lineage were identified by immunocytochemistry and the expression of characteristic markers was studied by western blot and RT-PCR.The amount of proteins characteristic for cardiac cells (alpha-SA and MHC, VEGFR-2 and FVIII, SMA for the precursors of cardiomyocytes, endothelial and smooth muscle cells, respectively) inclines toward an increase in both alpha-SA and MHC. The increased levels of FVIII and VEGFR2 are statistically significant, suggesting an important re-activation of neoangiogenesis. At the same time, the augmented expression of mRNA for Nkx 2.5, the trascriptional factor for cardiomyocyte differentiation, confirms the persistence of differentiative processes in terminally injured hearts.
Our study would appear to confirm the activation of human heart regeneration potential in pathological conditions and the ability of its primitive cells to maintain their proliferative capability in vitro. The cardiac cell isolation method we used could be useful in the future for studying modifications to the microenvironment that positively influence cardiac primitive cell differentiation or inhibit, or retard, the pathological remodeling and functional degradation of the heart
Coupling of bioelectrochemical toluene oxidation and trichloroethene reductive dechlorination for single-stage treatment of groundwater containing multiple contaminants
Bioremediation of groundwater contaminated by a mixture of aromatic hydrocarbons and chlorinated solvents is typically challenged because these contaminants are degraded via distinctive oxidative and reductive pathways, thus requiring different amendments and redox conditions. Here, we provided the proof-of-concept of a single-stage treatment of synthetic groundwater containing toluene and trichloroethene (TCE) in a tubular bioelectrochemical reactor, known as a âbioelectric wellâ. Toluene was degraded by a microbial bioanode (up to 150 ÎŒmol Lâ1 dâ1) with a polarized graphite anode (+0.2 V vs. SHE) serving as the terminal electron acceptor. The electric current deriving from microbially-driven toluene oxidation resulted in (abiotic) hydrogen production (at a stainless-steel cathode), which sustained the reductive dechlorination of TCE to less-chlorinated intermediates (i.e., cis-DCE, VC, and ETH), at a maximum rate of 500 ÎŒeq Lâ1 dâ1, in the bulk of the reactor. A phylogenetic and functional gene-based analysis of the âbioelectric wellâ confirmed the establishment of a microbiome harboring the metabolic potential for anaerobic toluene oxidation and TCE reductive dechlorination. However, Toluene degradation and current generation were found to be rate-limited by external mass transport phenomena, thus indicating the existing potential for further process optimization
A microcosm treatability study for evaluating wood mulch-based amendments as electron donors for trichloroethene (Tce) reductive dechlorination
In this study, wood mulch-based amendments were tested in a bench-scale microcosm experiment in order to assess the treatability of saturated soils and groundwater from an industrial site contaminated by chlorinated ethenes. Wood mulch was tested alone as the only electron donor in order to assess its potential for stimulating the biological reductive dechlorination. It was also tested in combination with millimetric iron filings in order to assess the ability of the additive to accelerate/improve the bioremediation process. The efficacy of the selected amendments was compared with that of unamended control microcosms. The results demonstrated that wood mulch is an effective natural and low-cost electron donor to stimulate the complete reductive dechlorination of chlorinated solvents to ethene. Being a side-product of the wood industry, mulch can be used in environmental remediation, an approach which perfectly fits the principles of circular economy and addresses the compelling needs of a sustainable and low environmental impact remediation. The efficacy of mulch was further improved by the co-presence of iron filings, which accelerated the conversion of vinyl chloride into the ethene by increasing the H2 availability rather than by catalyzing the direct abiotic dechlorination of contaminants. Chemical analyses were corroborated by biomolecular assays, which confirmed the stimulatory effect of the selected amendments on the abundance of Dehalococcoides mccartyi and related reductive dehalogenase genes. Overall, this paper further highlights the application potential and environmental sustainability of wood mulch-based amendments as low-cost electron donors for the biological treatment of chlorinated ethenes
The HELLAS2XMM survey. X. The bolometric output of luminous obscured quasars: The Spitzer perspective
Aims: We aim at estimating the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) and the
physical parameters related to the black holes harbored in eight high
X-ray-to-optical (F_X/F_R>10) obscured quasars at z>0.9 selected in the 2--10
keV band from the HELLAS2XMM survey.
Methods: We use IRAC and MIPS 24 micron observations, along with optical and
Ks-band photometry, to obtain the SEDs of the sources. The observed SEDs are
modeled using a combination of an elliptical template and torus emission (using
the phenomenological templates of Silva et al. 2004) for six sources associated
with passive galaxies; for two point-like sources, the empirical SEDs of red
quasars are adopted. The bolometric luminosities and the M_BH-L_K relation are
used to provide an estimate of the masses and Eddington ratios of the black
holes residing in these AGN.
Results: All of our sources are detected in the IRAC and MIPS (at 24 micron)
bands. The SED modeling described above is in good agreement with the observed
near- and mid-infrared data. The derived bolometric luminosities are in the
range ~10^45-10^47 erg s^-1, and the median 2--10 keV bolometric correction is
~25, consistent with the widely adopted value derived by Elvis et al. (1994).
For the objects with elliptical-like profiles in the K_s band, we derive high
stellar masses (0.8-6.2)X10^11 Mo, black hole masses in the range
(0.2-2.5)X10^9 Mo, and Eddington ratios L/L_Edd<0.1, suggesting a low-accretion
phase.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, A&A accepted. Typo corrected in the titl
The HELLAS2XMM Survey. XII. The infrared/sub-millimeter view of an X-ray selected Type 2 quasar at z=2
We present multi-wavelength observations (from optical to sub-millimeter,
including Spitzer and SCUBA) of H2XMMJ 003357.2-120038 (also GD158_19), an
X-ray selected, luminous narrow-line (Type 2) quasar at z=1.957 selected from
the HELLAS2XMM survey. Its broad-band properties can be reasonably well modeled
assuming three components: a stellar component to account for the optical and
near-IR emission, an AGN component (i.e., dust heated by an accreting active
nucleus), dominant in the mid-IR, with an optical depth at 9.7 micron along the
line of sight (close to the equatorial plane of the obscuring matter) of
tau(9.7)=1 and a full covering angle of the reprocessing matter (torus) of 140
degrees, and a far-IR starburst component (i.e., dust heated by star formation)
to reproduce the wide bump observed longward of 70 micron. The derived
star-formation rate is about 1500 solar masses per year. The overall modeling
indicates that GD158_19 is a high-redshift X-ray luminous, obscured quasar with
coeval powerful AGN activity and intense star formation. It is probably caught
before the process of expelling the obscuring gas has started, thus quenching
the star formation.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication by MNRA
The VVDS type-1 AGN sample: The faint end of the luminosity function
In a previous paper (Gavignaud et al. 2006), we presented the type-1 Active
Galactic Nuclei (AGN) sample obtained from the first epoch data of the
VIMOS-VLT Deep Survey (VVDS). The sample consists of 130 faint, broad-line AGN
with redshift up to z=5 and 17.5< I <24.0, selected on the basis of their
spectra. In this paper we present the measurement of the Optical Luminosity
Function up to z=3.6 derived from this sample, we compare our results with
previous results from brighter samples both at low and at high redshift. Our
data, more than one magnitude fainter than previous optical surveys, allow us
to constrain the faint part of the luminosity function up to high redshift. By
combining our faint VVDS sample with the large sample of bright AGN extracted
from the SDSS DR3 (Richards et al., 2006b) and testing a number of different
evolutionary models, we find that the model which better represents the
combined luminosity functions, over a wide range of redshift and luminosity, is
a luminosity dependent density evolution (LDDE) model, similar to those derived
from the major X-surveys. Such a parameterization allows the redshift of the
AGN space density peak to change as a function of luminosity and explains the
excess of faint AGN that we find at 1.0< z <1.5. On the basis of this model we
find, for the first time from the analysis of optically selected samples, that
the peak of the AGN space density shifts significantly towards lower redshift
going to lower luminosity objects. This result, already found in a number of
X-ray selected samples of AGN, is consistent with a scenario of "AGN cosmic
downsizing", in which the density of more luminous AGN, possibly associated to
more massive black holes, peaks earlier in the history of the Universe, than
that of low luminosity ones.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, submitted to A&
Role of gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues in metastatic male breast cancer: Results from a pooled analysis
Background: Male breast cancer is a rare malignancy. Despite the lack of prospectively generated data from trials in either the adjuvant or metastatic setting, patients are commonly treated with hormone therapies. Much controversy exists over the use of gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues in metastatic male breast cancer patients. We conducted this study to provide more concrete ground on the use of gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues in this setting. Methods: We herein present results from a pooled analysis including 60 metastatic male breast cancer patients treated with either an aromatase inhibitor or cyproterone acetate as a monotherapy (23 patients) or combined with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue (37 patients). Results: Overall response rate was 43.5 % in patients treated with monotherapy and 51.3 % with combination therapy (p = 0.6). Survival outcomes favored combination therapy in terms of median progression-free survival (11.6 months versus 6 months; p = 0.05), 1-year progression-free survival rate (43.2 % versus 21.7 %; p = 0.05), median overall survival (29.7 months versus 22 months; p = 0.05), and 2-year survival rate (64.9 % versus 43.5 %; p = 0.05). Conclusions: In metastatic male breast cancer patients, the combined use of gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues and aromatase inhibitors or antiandrogens seems to be associated with greater efficacy, particularly in terms of survival outcomes, compared with monotherapy. Collectively, these results encourage considering these agents in the metastatic setting
Cosmology with exponential potentials
We examine in the context of general relativity the dynamics of a spatially
flat Robertson-Walker universe filled with a classical minimally coupled scalar
field \phi of exponential potential ~ e^{-\mu\phi} plus pressureless baryonic
matter. This system is reduced to a first-order ordinary differential equation,
providing direct evidence on the acceleration/deceleration properties of the
system. As a consequence, for positive potentials, passage into acceleration
not at late times is generically a feature of the system, even when the
late-times attractors are decelerating. Furthermore, the structure formation
bound, together with the constraints on the present values of \Omega_{m},
w_{\phi} provide, independently of initial conditions and other parameters,
necessary conditions on \mu. Special solutions are found to possess intervals
of acceleration. For the almost cosmological constant case w_{\phi} ~ -1, as
well as, for the generic late-times evolution, the general relation
\Omega_{\phi}(w_{\phi}) is obtained.Comment: RevTex4, 9 pages, 2 figures, References adde
Association of Genetic Markers with CSF Oligoclonal Bands in Multiple Sclerosis Patients
Objective:to explore the association between genetic markers and Oligoclonal Bands (OCB) in the Cerebro Spinal Fluid (CSF) of Italian Multiple Sclerosis patients.Methods:We genotyped 1115 Italian patients for HLA-DRB1*15 and HLA-A*02. In a subset of 925 patients we tested association with 52 non-HLA SNPs associated with MS susceptibility and we calculated a weighted Genetic Risk Score. Finally, we performed a Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) with OCB status on a subset of 562 patients. The best associated SNPs of the Italian GWAS were replicated in silico in Scandinavian and Belgian populations, and meta-analyzed.Results:HLA-DRB1*15 is associated with OCB+: p = 0.03, Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.6, 95% Confidence Limits (CL) = 1.1-2.4. None of the 52 non-HLA MS susceptibility loci was associated with OCB, except one SNP (rs2546890) near IL12B gene (OR: 1.45; 1.09-1.92). The weighted Genetic Risk Score mean was significantly (p = 0.0008) higher in OCB+ (7.668) than in OCB- (7.412) patients. After meta-analysis on the three datasets (Italian, Scandinavian and Belgian) for the best associated signals resulted from the Italian GWAS, the strongest signal was a SNP (rs9320598) on chromosome 6q (p = 9.4Ă10-7) outside the HLA region (65 Mb).Discussion:genetic factors predispose to the development of OCB
Herschel-ATLAS: Far-infrared properties of radio-loud and radio-quiet quasars
This is pre-copyedited, author-produced pdf of an article accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society following peer review. The version of record, E. Kalfountzou, et al., âHerschel-ATLAS: Far-infrared properties of radio-loud and radio-quiet quasarsâ, MNRAS, Vol 42(2): 1181-1196, first published online June 11, 2014, is available online via doi: 10.1093/mnras/stu782 Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society.We have constructed a sample of radio-loud and radio-quiet quasars from the Faint Images Radio Sky at Twenty-one centimetres and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7, over the Herschel-ATLAS Phase 1 area (9h, 12h and 14 h . 5 ). Using a stacking analysis, we find a significant correlation between the far-infrared (FIR) luminosity and 1.4-GHz luminosity for radio-loud quasars. Partial correlation analysis confirms the intrinsic correlation after removing the redshift contribution, while for radio-quiet quasars, no partial correlation is found. Using a single-temperature grey-body model, we find a general trend of lower dust temperatures in case of radio-loud quasars compared to radio-quiet quasars. Also, radio-loud quasars are found to have almost constant mean values of dust mass along redshift and optical luminosity bins. In addition, we find that radio-loud quasars at lower optical luminosities tend to have on average higher FIR and 250-ÎŒm luminosity with respect to radio-quiet quasars with the same optical luminosites. Even if we use a two-temperature grey-body model to describe the FIR data, the FIR luminosity excess remains at lower optical luminosities. These results suggest that powerful radio jets are associated with star formation especially at lower accretion ratesPeer reviewe
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