Chinese herbal medicine and prednisone increase proportion of splenic CD4+CD25-FOXP3+ cells and alleviate glomerular lesion in MRL/LPRmice

Objective: This study investigated the effects of Chinese herbal medicine and prednisone onCD4+FoxP3+ T cells (Tregs) and Th17 cells in the MRL/lpr mouse model of systemic lupus erythematosus.Methods: MRL/lpr mice were treated with herbal medicine (yin-nourishing and heat-clearing therapy), prednisone, and a combination of both for 7 weeks. The proportions of CD4+CD25-FOXP3+ cells, CD4+CD25-FOXP3+ cells, and CD4+IL-17+ cells in splenic mononuclear cell suspension were determined by flow cytometry. Histological slices of kidneys were stained by H&E, PAS, and Masson’s method. Activity indexes (AI) of glomerular lesions were scored.Results: The result showed that both herbal medicine and prednisone significantly increased the proportion of CD4+CD25-FOXP3+ cells (P<0.05), but lowered the proportion of CD4+CD25-FOXP3+ cells (P<0.05) and CD4+IL-17+ cells (P<0.05) in MRL/lpr mice. Consequently, CD4+CD25-FOXP3+ cells became dominant CD4+ FoxP3+ cells after either treatment. AIl the glomerular lesions in both herbal medicine group and prednisone group were significantly lower than those in the model group (P<0.05). AI was positively related with the proportion of CD4+IL-17+ cells (Spearman's rho= 0.4958, P＜0.05), but was negatively correlated with the proportions of CD4+Foxp3+ cells(Spearman's rho= -0.5934，P＜0.05) and CD4+CD25-FOXP3+ cells (Spearman's rho= -0.5914，P＜0.05).Conclusion: Both Chinese herbal medicine and prednisone significantly enhanced the proportion of CD4+CD25-FOXP3+ cells and reduced the proportion of Th17 cells in lupus-prone MRL/lpr mice. Increased proportion of CD4+CD25-FOXP3+ cells was correlated with less severe glomerular lesions, indicating that CD4+CD25-FOXP3+ cells might play a regulatory role in the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus.Keywords: Systemic lupus erythematosus; regulatory T cells; Herbal medicine; Prednison

A Statistical Study on Photospheric Magnetic Nonpotentiality of Active Regions and Its Relationship with Flares during Solar Cycles 22-23

A statistical study is carried out on the photospheric magnetic nonpotentiality in solar active regions and its relationship with associated flares. We select 2173 photospheric vector magnetograms from 1106 active regions observed by the Solar Magnetic Field Telescope at Huairou Solar Observing Station, National Astronomical Observatories of China, in the period of 1988-2008, which covers most of the 22nd and 23rd solar cycles. We have computed the mean planar magnetic shear angle (\bar{\Delta\phi}), mean shear angle of the vector magnetic field (\bar{\Delta\psi}), mean absolute vertical current density (\bar{|J_{z}|}), mean absolute current helicity density (\bar{|h_{c}|}), absolute twist parameter (|\alpha_{av}|), mean free magnetic energy density (\bar{\rho_{free}}), effective distance of the longitudinal magnetic field (d_{E}), and modified effective distance (d_{Em}) of each photospheric vector magnetogram. Parameters \bar{|h_{c}|}, \bar{\rho_{free}}, and d_{Em} show higher correlation with the evolution of the solar cycle. The Pearson linear correlation coefficients between these three parameters and the yearly mean sunspot number are all larger than 0.59. Parameters \bar{\Delta\phi}, \bar{\Delta\psi}, \bar{|J_{z}|}, |\alpha_{av}|, and d_{E} show only weak correlations with the solar cycle, though the nonpotentiality and the complexity of active regions are greater in the activity maximum periods than in the minimum periods. All of the eight parameters show positive correlations with the flare productivity of active regions, and the combination of different nonpotentiality parameters may be effective in predicting the flaring probability of active regions.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in Solar Physic

Sound absorption of a micro-perforated panel backed by an irregular-shaped cavity

In the pursuit of more effective noise control devices, the cavity backed micro-perforated panel absorber (CBMPPA) is developed in this study. A CBMPPA differs from the conventional micro-perforated panel (MPP) absorber in that the MPP is backed by a trapezoidal cavity, which allows more effective vibroacoustic coupling between the MPP and the cavity. A two-dimensional theoretical model is established and tested both numerically and experimentally. Based on the verified theoretical model, sound absorption performance of a trapezoidal CBMPPA is investigated numerically. Results show that the shape of the backing cavity can significantly alter the sound absorption mechanisms and frequency distribution of overall sound absorption coefficient of the absorber. Further analyses show that acoustic modes that are initially decoupled from the MPP in the rectangular configuration are coupled with the air motion in the MPP, which accounts for the change in absorption pattern of the trapezoidal CBMPPA. By the same token, it also provides the flexibility for tuning the effective absorption range of the absorber. Due to the varying impedance matching conditions, the absorption performance of the trapezoidal CBMPPA exhibits obvious local characteristics over the MPP surface, which contrasts with the spatially uniform absorption in the conventional MPP absorber.link_to_subscribed_fulltex