Clinical value of determination of epidermal growth factor in the blood and urine of children with pyelonephritis

Objective: to study the value of epidermal growth factor (EGF) in the serum and urine of patients with chronic pyelonephritis (CP) depending on the clinical form and features of the disease. Eighty patients aged 6 to 16 years, including 65 who were in clinical and laboratory remission, were examined. In addition to traditional nephrological examination, the serum and urinary levels of EGF, transforming growth factor-Pj (TGF-Pj), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), and interleukins (IL)-4, IL-10, and IL-12 were determined by a standard set of solid-phase enzyme immunoassay. There was a statistically significant decrease in serum and urinary EGF level in children having a history of frequent CP exacerbations and a disease duration of more than 5-7 years. An antagonistic relationship was found between of EGF and the profibrotic cytokine TGF-Pj. On the contrary, EGF is strongly related to IGF-1 having antiapoptotic properties. In the patients with latent CP, the serum and urinary EGF levels were significantly lower than in those with recurrent CP. In patients with a history of transient hypoisostenuria, the serum level of EGF did not differ from the normal ones whereas its urinary level was significantly decreased. Conclusion. Significantly low serum and urinary EGF levels were noted in the patients who had an unfavorable disease and were although in clinical and laboratory remission documented by the clinical and laboratory examination traditionally accepted in nephrourological practice

Engineering of 3D self-directed quantum dot ordering in multilayer InGaAs/GaAs nanostructures by means of flux gas composition

Lateral ordering of InGaAs quantum dots on the GaAs (001) surface has been achieved in earlier reports, resembling an anisotropic pattern. In this work, we present a method of breaking the anisotropy of ordered quantum dots (QDs) by changing the growth environment. We show experimentally that using As(2) molecules instead of As(4) as a background flux is efficient in controlling the diffusion of distant Ga adatoms to make it possible to produce isotropic ordering of InGaAs QDs over GaAs (001). The control of the lateral ordering of QDs under As(2) flux has enabled us to improve their optical properties. Our results are consistent with reported experimental and theoretical data for structure and diffusion on the GaAs surface.NSF[DMR-0520550]U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)Ministry of Education and Science of UkraineMinistry of Education and Science of Ukraine[M/175-2007