809 research outputs found
Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy discriminates the response to microglial stimulation of wild type and Alzheimer's disease models.
Microglia activation has emerged as a potential key factor in the pathogenesis of Alzheimers disease. Metabolite levels assessed by magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) are used as markers of neuroinflammation in neurodegenerative diseases, but how they relate to microglial activation in health and chronic disease is incompletely understood. Using MRS, we monitored the brain metabolic response to lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-induced microglia activation in vivo in a transgenic mouse model of Alzheimers disease (APP/PS1) and healthy controls (wild-type (WT) littermates) over 4 hours. We assessed reactive gliosis by immunohistochemistry and correlated metabolic and histological measures. In WT mice, LPS induced a microglial phenotype consistent with activation, associated with a sustained increase in macromolecule and lipid levels (ML9). This effect was not seen in APP/PS1 mice, where LPS did not lead to a microglial response measured by histology, but induced a late increase in the putative inflammation marker myoinositol (mI) and metabolic changes in total creatine and taurine previously reported to be associated with amyloid load. We argue that ML9 and mI distinguish the response of WT and APP/PS1 mice to immune mediators. Lipid and macromolecule levels may represent a biomarker of activation of healthy microglia, while mI may not be a glial marker
Universal Level dynamics of Complex Systems
. We study the evolution of the distribution of eigenvalues of a
matrix subject to a random perturbation drawn from (i) a generalized Gaussian
ensemble (ii) a non-Gaussian ensemble with a measure variable under the change
of basis. It turns out that, in the case (i), a redefinition of the parameter
governing the evolution leads to a Fokker-Planck equation similar to the one
obtained when the perturbation is taken from a standard Gaussian ensemble (with
invariant measure). This equivalence can therefore help us to obtain the
correlations for various physically-significant cases modeled by generalized
Gaussian ensembles by using the already known correlations for standard
Gaussian ensembles.
For large -values, our results for both cases (i) and (ii) are similar to
those obtained for Wigner-Dyson gas as well as for the perturbation taken from
a standard Gaussian ensemble. This seems to suggest the independence of
evolution, in thermodynamic limit, from the nature of perturbation involved as
well as the initial conditions and therefore universality of dynamics of the
eigenvalues of complex systems.Comment: 11 Pages, Latex Fil
The impact of the level and distribution of methyl-esters of pectins on TLR2-1 dependent anti-inflammatory responses
Pectins have anti-inflammatory effects via Toll-like receptor (TLR) inhibition in a degree of methyl-esterification-(DM)-dependent manner. However, pectins also vary in distribution of methyl-esters over the galactumnic-acid (GalA) backbone (Degree of Blockiness - DB) and impact of this on anti-inflammatory capacity is unknown. Pectins mainly inhibit TLR2-1 but magnitude depends on both DM and DB. Low DM pectins (DM18/19) with both low (DB86) and high DB (DB94) strongly inhibit TLR2-1. However, pectins with intermediate DM (DM43/ DM49) and high DB (DB60), but not with low DB (DB33), inhibit TLR2-1 as strongly as low DM. High DM pectins (DM84/88) with DB71 and DB91 do not inhibit TLR2-1 strongly. Pectin-binding to TLR2 was confirmed by capture-ELISA. In human macrophages, low DM and intermediate DM pectins with high DB inhibited TLR2-1 induced IL-6 secretion. Both high number and blockwise distribution of non-esterified GalA in pectins are responsible for the anti-inflammatory effects via inhibition of TLR2-1
A Survey of Women in Academia and the role of a Multidisciplinary Professional Society
The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) is a global professional society of over 30,000 members with a mission to “Stimulate women to achieve full potential in careers as engineers and leaders, expand the image of the engineering profession as a positive force in improving the quality of life, and demonstrate the value of diversity”1. SWE is an organization that is deeply rooted in industry. The founding members were employed by firms that are a result of the industrial revolution, and thus the focus of its membership is on those that work for industry, consultants, and often themselves. This focus has unintentionally left a large population of its membership, the academic population, underrepresented and misunderstood. Early discussion at the board level in the mid 2000’s indicated a willingness for a paradigm shift. However, the representation of academics on the board and other leadership roles has been lacking. This can be attributed to the lower numbers of this group relative to the whole, as well as the requirements of tenure that do not support the time and dedication to such an endeavor. A small but influential group of members, including a former board member, and a few involved at various levels of the society have been working toward increasing opportunities for women in academia (WIA). Some of the initiatives have been the societal support of the WIA committee, the addition of professional development opportunities targeting women in academic careers, providing recognition and awards, and aiding in networking opportunities. These all lead toward career advancement, making SWE more attractive to women engineers in the academe. To further our understanding of available opportunities and those opportunities that will make membership and active participation more attractive to members in academia, a survey was developed. Information gathered by the survey include demographics, perceived needs, and potential contributions the individual could make in furthering the creation of professional development opportunities for this population. This work is intended to share the results of this survey, using descriptive statistics, further developing our understanding of this underserved population within SWE
Проблема правової культури в історії філософсько-педагогічної думки
(uk) Стаття присвячена проблемі правової культури в історії філософсько-педагогічної думки
Impaired trophoblast invasion and increased numbers of immune cells at day 18 of pregnancy in the mesometrial triangle of type 1 diabetic rats
AbstractIntroductionType 1 diabetes (T1D) is associated with adverse pregnancy outcome, usually attributed to hyperglycemia. Recently, we showed that pregnancy outcome in normoglycemic T1D rats was characterized by decreased fetal and placental weight, suggesting impaired placental development. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that trophoblast invasion and spiral artery (SA) remodeling is impaired in T1D rats ant that this is associated with aberrant local presence of NK cells and macrophages in the mesometrial triangle (MT).MethodsPlacentae with MT from pregnant biobreeding diabetes-prone (BBDP; T1D model) rats, control biobreeding diabetes-resistant (BBDR) and Wistar-rats were dissected at day 18 of gestation and stained for trophoblast invasion, SA remodeling, uNK cells and macrophages.ResultsInterstitial trophoblast invasion and SA remodeling was impaired in BBDP-rats vs. control rats, coinciding with increased presence of NK cells and an increased iNOS+/CD206+ ratio of macrophages.DiscussionDecreased fetal and placental weight in BBDP-rats was associated with diminished interstitial trophoblast invasion and less optimal SA remodeling, increased numbers of NK cells and increased iNOS+/CD206+ macrophage ratio in the MT of BBDP-rats.ConclusionsThe impaired trophoblast invasion and SA remodeling may be due to an aberrant local immune-response and may result in damage to the fetal placenta and insufficient supply of nutrients towards the fetus with eventually decreased fetal weight as a consequence
Decidual memory T‐cell subsets and memory T‐cell stimulatory cytokines in early‐ and late‐onset preeclampsia
Problem: Preeclampsia is a major cause of fetal and maternal mortality and morbidity. Disturbed fetal-maternal immune tolerance, and therewith memory T cells, might be involved in its etiology. This study aims to give insight into memory T-cell populations and its associated cytokines in the decidual layers in early-onset preeclampsia (EO-PE) and late-onset preeclampsia (LO-PE). Method of Study: Lymphocytes were isolated from the decidua parietalis and basalis from EO-PE (n = 6), LO-PE (n = 8) and healthy (n = 15) pregnancies. CD4+ and CD8+ central- (CCR7+), effector- (CCR7−), tissue resident- (CD103+), and regulatory- (Foxp3+) memory cell (CD45RO+) populations and their activation status (CD69+) were analyzed using flow cytometry. qRT-PCR analysis was performed on decidua parietalis and basalis biopsies to detect mRNA expression of interferon-gamma, interleukin-1B, IL2, IL6, IL7, IL8, IL10, IL15, and IL23. Results: CD4+ central-memory (CM) cell proportions were lower in the decidua parietalis in LO-PE (P <.0001) and EO-PE (P <.01) compared to healthy pregnancies. CD8+ memory (P <.05) and CD8+ CM (P <.01) cell proportions were also lower in the decidua parietalis in EO-PE compared to healthy pregnancies. This was accompanied by higher IL15 (P <.05) and IL23 (P <.05) and lower IL7 (P <.05) mRNA expression in decidua basalis biopsies from EO-PE compared to healthy pregnancies, analyzed by qPCR. Conclusion: In conclusion, decidual memory T-cell proportions, their activation status, and associated cytokines are altered in preeclampsia and might therefore be involved in fetal-maternal immune tolerance and the pathophysiology of preeclampsia
Crossover from Poisson to Wigner-Dyson Level Statistics in Spin Chains with Integrability Breaking
We study numerically the evolution of energy-level statistics as an
integrability-breaking term is added to the XXZ Hamiltonian. For finite-length
chains, physical properties exhibit a cross-over from behavior resulting from
the Poisson level statistics characteristic of integrable models to behavior
corresponding to the Wigner-Dyson statistics characteristic of the
random-matrix theory used to describe chaotic systems. Different measures of
the level statistics are observed to follow different crossover patterns. The
range of numerically accessible system sizes is too small to establish with
certainty the scaling with system size, but the evidence suggests that in a
thermodynamically large system an infinitesimal integrability breaking would
lead to Wigner-Dyson behavior.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, Revtex
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