1,263 research outputs found
Phenotypic heterogeneity of peripheral monocytes in healthy dogs
Monocytes are key cells of the innate immune system. Their phenotypic and functional roles have been investigated in humans, mice and other animals, such as the rat, pig and cow. To date, detailed phenotypic analysis of monocytes has not been undertaken in dogs. Two important surface markers in human monocytes are CD14 and MHC class II (MHC II). By flow cytometry, we demonstrated that canine monocytes can be subdivided into three separate populations: CD14posMHC IIneg, CD14posMHC IIpos and CD14negMHC IIpos. Both light and transmission electron microscopy confirmed the monocytic identity of all three populations. The CD14posMHC IIneg population could be distinguished on an ultrastructural level by their smaller size, the presence of more numerous, larger granules, and more pseudopodia than both of the other populations
Light hadron spectroscopy with O(a) improved dynamical fermions
We present the first results for the static quark potential and the light
hadron spectrum using dynamical fermions at using an O(a) improved
Wilson fermion action together with the standard Wilson plaquette action for
the gauge part. Sea quark masses were chosen such that the pseudoscalar-vector
mass ratio, m_PS/m_V$, varies from 0.86 to 0.67. Finite-size effects are
studied by using three different volumes, 8^3\cdot 24, 12^3\cdot 24 and
16^3\cdot 24. Comparing our results to previous ones obtained using the
quenched approximation, we find evidence for sea quark effects in quantities
like the static quark potential and the vector-pseudoscalar hyperfine
splitting.Comment: 38 pages, 14 Postscript figure, LaTe
Should Hypopharynx Cancer Continue to be Included in “Multi-Head and Neck” Trials within the RTOG?
Purpose/Objective(s): It is becoming increasingly evident that the behavior of cancers from different subsites of the head and neck varies greatly despite similar histologic appearance. As current head and neck trials are focusing more on a risk-based approach, it is unclear into which trials patients with hypopharyngeal primaries (HP) should be included. Thus, we undertook to examine whether patients with HP perform as well as oropharyngeal primaries (OP) in the definitive setting and whether HP perform as well as larynx primaries (LX) in the post-operative setting in the multi-institutional setting. American Society for Therapeutic Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) 52nd Annual Meeting October 31 - November 4, San Diego, C
Breastfeeding, asthma, and allergy : a tale of two cities
BACKGROUND: The effect of breastfeeding duration on subsequent asthma and allergy remains the subject of much controversy.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether differences in study design or disease-related exposure modification were the cause of the differences in study findings.
METHOD: The data from two cohorts, the Childhood Asthma Prevention Study (CAPS) from Australia and the Barn Allergi Miljo Stockholm cohort from Sweden, which had reported different findings on the association between breastfeeding and asthma, were combined. For this analysis, the definitions for breastfeeding, asthma, and allergy were harmonized. Subjects were included if they had at least one parent with wheeze or asthma and had a gestational age of more than 36 wks (combined n = 882). The risk of disease-related exposure modification was assessed using survival analysis.
RESULTS: Breastfeeding reduced the risk of asthma at 4/5 and 8 yrs of age in children with a family history of asthma. The effect was stronger in the Swedish cohort. Breastfeeding had no effect on the prevalence of sensitization to inhaled allergens in this cohort with a family history of asthma but was a risk factor for sensitization to cow's milk, peanuts, and eggs in the CAPS cohort at 4/5 yrs and in the combined cohort at 8 yrs. There was no evidence to support the existence of disease-related exposure modification in either cohort.
CONCLUSION: These findings point to the importance of harmonization of features of study design, including subject selection criteria and variable definitions, in resolving epidemiological controversies such as those surrounding the impact of breastfeeding on asthma and allergic sensitization.National Health and Medical Research Council of AustraliaStockholm County CouncilHjärt- och LungfondenThe Swedish Asthma and Allergy AssociationVetenskapsrådetThe Centre for Allergy research Karolinska InstitutetManuscrip
Quenched QCD with O(a) improvement: I. The spectrum of light hadrons
We present a comprehensive study of the masses of pseudoscalar and vector
mesons, as well as octet and decuplet baryons computed in O(a) improved
quenched lattice QCD. Results have been obtained using the non-perturbative
definition of the improvement coefficient c_sw, and also its estimate in
tadpole improved perturbation theory. We investigate effects of improvement on
the incidence of exceptional configurations, mass splittings and the parameter
J. By combining the results obtained using non-perturbative and tadpole
improvement in a simultaneous continuum extrapolation we can compare our
spectral data to experiment. We confirm earlier findings by the CP-PACS
Collaboration that the quenched light hadron spectrum agrees with experiment at
the 10% level.Comment: 36 pages, 7 postscript figures, REVTEX; typo in Table XVIII
corrected; extended discussion of finite-size effects in sections III and
VII; version to appear in Phys. Rev.
The relation between 13CO(2-1) line width in molecular clouds and bolometric luminosity of associated IRAS sources
We search for evidence of a relation between properties of young stellar
objects (YSOs) and their parent molecular clouds to understand the initial
conditions of high-mass star formation. A sample of 135 sources was selected
from the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) Point Source Catalog, on the
basis of their red color to enhance the possibility of discovering young
sources. Using the Kolner Observatorium fur SubMillimeter Astronomie (KOSMA)
3-m telescope, a single-point survey in 13CO(2-1) was carried out for the
entire sample, and 14 sources were mapped further. Archival mid-infrared (MIR)
data were compared with the 13CO emissions to identify evolutionary stages of
the sources. A 13CO observed sample was assembled to investigate the
correlation between 13CO line width of the clouds and the luminosity of the
associated YSOs. We identified 98 sources suitable for star formation analyses
for which relevant parameters were calculated. We detected 18 cores from 14
mapped sources, which were identified with eight pre-UC HII regions and one UC
HII region, two high-mass cores earlier than pre-UC HII phase, four possible
star forming clusters, and three sourceless cores. By compiling a large (360
sources) 13CO observed sample, a good correlation was found between the 13CO
line width of the clouds and the bolometric luminosity of the associated YSOs,
which can be fitted as a power law: lg(dV13/km/s)=-0.023+0.135lg(Lbol/Lsolar).
Results show that luminous (>10^3Lsolar) YSOs tend to be associated with both
more massive and more turbulent (dV13>2km/s) molecular cloud structures.Comment: Accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysics; this version: sent to
publisher; 13 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables, 1 online appendi
Brief of Amici Curiae Committee of Interns and Residents SEIU; Doctors Council SEIU; and Korean American Medical Association in Support of Respondent
Student clinic at Seattle University School of Law files amicus brief in employment discrimination retaliation case before the U.S. Supreme Court; brief warns of the adverse consequences weak anti-retaliation protections will have on public healt
Effects of non-perturbatively improved dynamical fermions in QCD at fixed lattice spacing
We present results for the static inter-quark potential, lightest glueballs,
light hadron spectrum and topological susceptibility using a non-perturbatively
improved action on a lattice at a set of values of the bare
gauge coupling and bare dynamical quark mass chosen to keep the lattice size
fixed in physical units ( fm). By comparing these measurements with a
matched quenched ensemble, we study the effects due to two degenerate flavours
of dynamical quarks. With the greater control over residual lattice spacing
effects which these methods afford, we find some evidence of charge screening
and some minor effects on the light hadron spectrum over the range of quark
masses studied (). More substantial differences between
quenched and unquenched simulations are observed in measurements of topological
quantities.Comment: 53 pages, LaTeX/RevTeX, 16 eps figures; corrected clover action
expression and various typos, no results change
Characterisation of the Immunophenotype of Dogs with Primary Immune-Mediated Haemolytic Anaemia
Immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia (IMHA) is reported to be the most common autoimmune disease of dogs, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality in affected animals. Haemolysis is caused by the action of autoantibodies, but the immunological changes that result in their production have not been elucidated.To investigate the frequency of regulatory T cells (Tregs) and other lymphocyte subsets and to measure serum concentrations of cytokines and peripheral blood mononuclear cell expression of cytokine genes in dogs with IMHA, healthy dogs and dogs with inflammatory diseases.19 dogs with primary IMHA, 22 dogs with inflammatory diseases and 32 healthy control dogs.Residual EDTA-anti-coagulated blood samples were stained with fluorophore-conjugated monoclonal antibodies and analysed by flow cytometry to identify Tregs and other lymphocyte subsets. Total RNA was also extracted from peripheral blood mononuclear cells to investigate cytokine gene expression, and concentrations of serum cytokines (interleukins 2, 6 10, CXCL-8 and tumour necrosis factor α) were measured using enhanced chemiluminescent assays. Principal component analysis was used to investigate latent variables that might explain variability in the entire dataset.There was no difference in the frequency or absolute numbers of Tregs among groups, nor in the proportions of other lymphocyte subsets. The concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines were greater in dogs with IMHA compared to healthy controls, but the concentration of IL-10 and the expression of cytokine genes did not differ between groups. Principal component analysis identified four components that explained the majority of the variability in the dataset, which seemed to correspond to different aspects of the immune response.The immunophenotype of dogs with IMHA differed from that of dogs with inflammatory diseases and from healthy control dogs; some of these changes could suggest abnormalities in peripheral tolerance that permit development of autoimmune disease. The frequency of Tregs did not differ between groups, suggesting that deficiency in the number of these cells is not responsible for development of IMHA
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