High-directivity acoustic antenna

Acoustic antenna with unique electronic steering control is used to identify and define aerodynamic noise sources in free field, particularly in wind tunnel which is quite reverberant. Provision is made for high directivity as well as improved discrimination against unwanted background noise such as reverberation or echoes

Analytical study of acousto/optical holography-interfacing methods for acoustical and optical holography NDT research

The international status of the art of acousto optical imaging techniques adaptable to nondestructive testing and, interfacing methods for acoustical and optical holography in nondestructive testing research are studied. Evaluation of 20 different techniques encompassed investigation of varieties of detectors and detection schemes, all of which are described and summarized. Related investigation is reported in an Appendix. Important remarks on image quality, factors to be considered in designing a particular system, and conclusions and recommendations are presented. Three bibliographies are included

TECHNIQUES IN OPTICAL DATA PROCESSING AND COHERENT OPTICS

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73477/1/j.1749-6632.1969.tb12651.x.pd

Production of Multiple Brain-Like Ganglioside Species Is Dispensable for Fas-Induced Apoptosis of Lymphoid Cells

Activation of an acid sphingomyelinase (aSMase) leading to a biosynthesis of GD3 disialoganglioside has been associated with Fas-induced apoptosis of lymphoid cells. The present study was undertaken to clarify the role of this enzyme in the generation of gangliosides during apoptosis triggered by Fas ligation. The issue was addressed by using aSMase-deficient and aSMase-corrected cell lines derived from Niemann-Pick disease (NPD) patients. Fas cross-linking elicited a rapid production of large amounts of complex a- and b-series species of gangliosides with a pattern and a chromatographic behavior as single bands reminiscent of brain gangliosides. The gangliosides were synthesized within the first ten minutes and completely disappeared within thirty minutes after stimulation. Noteworthy is the observation that GD3 was not the only ganglioside produced. The production of gangliosides and the onset of apoptotic hallmarks occurred similarly in both aSMase-deficient and aSMase-corrected NPD lymphoid cells, indicating that aSMase activation is not accountable for ganglioside generation. Hampering ganglioside production by inhibiting the key enzyme glucosylceramide synthase did not abrogate the apoptotic process. In addition, GM3 synthase-deficient lymphoid cells underwent Fas-induced apoptosis, suggesting that gangliosides are unlikely to play an indispensable role in transducing Fas-induced apoptosis of lymphoid cells

Protection of Stem Cell-Derived Lymphocytes in a Primate AIDS Gene Therapy Model after In Vivo Selection

Background: There is currently no effective AIDS vaccine, emphasizing the importance of developing alternative therapies. Recently, a patient was successfully transplanted with allogeneic, naturally resistant CCR5-negative (CCR5 delta 32) cells, setting the stage for transplantation of naturally resistant, or genetically modified stem cells as a viable therapy for AIDS. Hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) gene therapy using vectors that express various anti-HIV transgenes has also been attempted in clinical trials, but inefficient gene transfer in these studies has severely limited the potential of this approach. Here we evaluated HSC gene transfer of an anti-HIV vector in the pigtailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina) model, which closely models human transplantation. Methods and Findings: We used lentiviral vectors that inhibited both HIV-1 and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)/HIV-1 (SHIV) chimera virus infection, and also expressed a P140K mutant methylguanine methyltransferase (MGMT) transgene to select gene-modified cells by adding chemotherapy drugs. Following transplantation and MGMT-mediated selection we demonstrated transgene expression in over 7% of stem-cell derived lymphocytes. The high marking levels allowed us to demonstrate protection from SHIV in lymphocytes derived from gene-modified macaque long-term repopulating cells that expressed an HIV-1 fusion inhibitor. We observed a statistically significant 4-fold increase of gene-modified cells after challenge of lymphocytes from one macaque that received stem cells transduced with an anti-HIV vector (p<0.02, Student's t-test), but not in lymphocytes from a macaque that received a control vector. We also established a competitive repopulation assay in a second macaque for preclinical testing of promising anti-HIV vectors. The vectors we used were HIV-based and thus efficiently transduce human cells, and the transgenes we used target HIV-1 genes that are also in SHIV, so our findings can be rapidly translated to the clinic. Conclusions: Here we demonstrate the ability to select protected HSC-derived lymphocytes in vivo in a clinically relevant nonhuman primate model of HIV/SHIV infection. This approach can now be evaluated in human clinical trials in AIDS lymphoma patients. In this patient setting, chemotherapy would not only kill malignant cells, but would also increase the number of MGMTP140K-expressing HIV-resistant cells. This approach should allow for high levels of HIV-protected cells in AIDS patients to evaluate AIDS gene therapy

Necdin, a p53-Target Gene, Is an Inhibitor of p53-Mediated Growth Arrest

In vitro, cellular immortalization and transformation define a model for multistep carcinogenesis and current ongoing challenges include the identification of specific molecular events associated with steps along this oncogenic pathway. Here, using NIH3T3 cells, we identified transcriptionally related events associated with the expression of Polyomavirus Large-T antigen (PyLT), a potent viral oncogene. We propose that a subset of these alterations in gene expression may be related to the early events that contribute to carcinogenesis. The proposed tumor suppressor Necdin, known to be regulated by p53, was within a group of genes that was consistently upregulated in the presence of PyLT. While Necdin is induced following p53 activation with different genotoxic stresses, Necdin induction by PyLT did not involve p53 activation or the Rb-binding site of PyLT. Necdin depletion by shRNA conferred a proliferative advantage to NIH3T3 and PyLT-expressing NIH3T3 (NIHLT) cells. In contrast, our results demonstrate that although overexpression of Necdin induced a growth arrest in NIH3T3 and NIHLT cells, a growing population rapidly emerged from these arrested cells. This population no longer showed significant proliferation defects despite high Necdin expression. Moreover, we established that Necdin is a negative regulator of p53-mediated growth arrest induced by nutlin-3, suggesting that Necdin upregulation could contribute to the bypass of a p53-response in p53 wild type tumors. To support this, we characterized Necdin expression in low malignant potential ovarian cancer (LMP) where p53 mutations rarely occur. Elevated levels of Necdin expression were observed in LMP when compared to aggressive serous ovarian cancers. We propose that in some contexts, the constitutive expression of Necdin could contribute to cancer promotion by delaying appropriate p53 responses and potentially promote genomic instability

Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049

Feline low-grade alimentary lymphoma: an emerging entity and a potential animal model for human disease

Background: Low-grade alimentary lymphoma (LGAL) is characterised by the infiltration of neoplastic T-lymphocytes, typically in the small intestine. The incidence of LGAL has increased over the last ten years and it is now the most frequent digestive neoplasia in cats and comprises 60 to 75% of gastrointestinal lymphoma cases. Given that LGAL shares common clinical, paraclinical and ultrasonographic features with inflammatory bowel diseases, establishing a diagnosis is challenging. A review was designed to summarise current knowledge of the pathogenesis, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of feline LGAL. Electronic searches of PubMed and Science Direct were carried out without date or language restrictions. Results: A total of 176 peer-reviewed documents were identified and most of which were published in the last twenty years. 130 studies were found from the veterinary literature and 46 from the human medicine literature. Heterogeneity of study designs and outcome measures made meta-analysis inappropriate. The pathophysiology of feline LGAL still needs to be elucidated, not least the putative roles of infectious agents, environmental factors as well as genetic events. The most common therapeutic strategy is combination treatment with prednisolone and chlorambucil, and prolonged remission can often be achieved. Developments in immunohistochemical analysis and clonality testing have improved the confidence of clinicians in obtaining a correct diagnosis between LGAL and IBD. The condition shares similarities with some diseases in humans, especially human indolent T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder of the gastrointestinal tract. Conclusions: The pathophysiology of feline LGAL still needs to be elucidated and prospective studies as well as standardisation of therapeutic strategies are needed. A combination of conventional histopathology and immunohistochemistry remains the current gold-standard test, but clinicians should be cautious about reclassifying cats previously diagnosed with IBD to lymphoma on the basis of clonality testing. Importantly, feline LGAL could be considered to be a potential animal model for indolent digestive T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder, a rare condition in human medicine

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries