Chronic Rejection in the Aorta Transplantation Model

Since the first successful heart transplantation in man in 1967, cardiac transplantation has become an accepted form of therapy for certain types of end-stage heart diseases.! After transplantation of a cadaveric heart graft, the immune system of the recipient will come in contact with donor cells. As clinical heart transplantation is an allogeneic type of grafting (genetically non-identical members of the same species), an immune response, which may result in graft rejection, will be inevitable. Of the foreign antigens that may be recognized by the immune system of the recipient, the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), in man the human leucocyte antigen (HLA) system, is the most important.2 - 4 In short, the HLA system consists of a group of closely linked genes, located on the short arm of chromosome-6 and divided in three regions, which encode class I and class II cell surface glycoproteins and several components of the complement system respectively. Class I is expressed on the surfaces of all nucleated cells. Class II is mainly expressed on antigen presenting cells (e.g, macrophages, dendritic cells, and B cells). After transplantation, T cell receptors of recipient CD4+ cells are able to recognize HLA class II, resulting in activation of type I and type 2 helper (THI and TH2) cells.' The activated THI cell start to preferentially synthesize and release interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferon-gamma (IFN-y). IL-2 stimulates CD8+ T cells to develop into mature cytotoxic effector cells. Binding of these cells to donor HLA class I may result in graft cell lysis. IFN-y is respo

Master of Science

thesisIn this research, I examined change in interest over the span of a semester-long online computer science course. Students enrolled in two semester-long online computer science courses were asked to provide demographic information about themselves, then complete a variety of survey measures as they worked through the online class materials. Traditional self-report assessments of interest and perceived competence were collected after each of the four class units had ended (i.e., “quarterly self-reportsâ€), and affective, in-the-moment assessments of interest and confusion were collected both at random intervals while students were logged into the class webpage (i.e., “experience-sampled questionnairesâ€) and after students had engaged with optional class examples and exercises (i.e., “event-sampled questionnairesâ€). In addition, click-level indicators of behavioral engagement were collected from the class server, indicating the extent to which students were engaging with optional (i.e., nongraded) class materials (e.g., class exercises). Utilizing a dynamical systems analysis approach, results suggested that interest, perceived competence, and confusion functioned as attractive (i.e., homeostatic) set points, in that they were fairly stable and resistant to change over time. In addition, there was evidence from the event-sampled data that higher levels of confusion at one time point were associated with increases in interest at a later time point. Thus, confusion and interest were positively coupled (i.e., increases in confusion were uniquely associated with increases in interest). However, the associations between interest, competence, and confusion were moderated by participant sex, the presence of a utility value intervention, and the difficulty of the class unit with which the student was engaging. For example, men exhibited greater stabilities of interest over time (as assessed via event-sampled questionnaires), and women exhibited greater stabilities of confusion over time (as assessed via experience-sampled questionnaires). In addition, there was evidence that an intervention aimed at enhancing students’ perceptions of utility value increased the degree of coupling between interest and confusion for female participants (i.e., for these participants, confusion was positively associated with changes in interest over time, and interest was negatively associated with changes in confusion over time). These results imply that men and women experience STEM courses differently

Adults Learning To Reflect: A Study Of The Assessment Of Private Learning

Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) is a process used by many postsecondary institutions to award academic credit to adult learners for knowledge derived from life experiences. For the most part, PLA has focused on occupational or work-related experiences. A few institutions have extended this assessment process to significant life experiences not related to work, such as divorce, job loss, or drug and alcohol recovery. However, we know relatively little about adult learners’ experiences in these programs. The life events that are often the focus of this process represent powerful, emotional experiences in the learners’ lives. For this reason, we sought to develop a deeper understanding of their experiences with such a process. In-depth interviews were conducted with six learners enrolled in an accelerated, degree-completion program at Covenant College. The adults’ experiences in the assessment module reflect a preoccupation with meeting its technical and instrumental challenges. While they describe strong emotions and feelings associated with this process, there is less evidence that the process facilitates a reworking of their prior experiences or greater self-awareness as learners

College Students’ Perceptions of Individuals with Anorexia Nervosa: Irritation and Admiration

Background: Stigmatizing attitudes against anorexia nervosa (AN) may act as barriers to treatment. Aims: Evaluated college students’ perceptions of AN as compared to major depressive disorder (MDD). Method: One-hundred two female undergraduates read vignettes describing targets with mild or severe MDD or AN, then rated biological, vanity, and self-responsibility attributions; feelings of admiration, sympathy, and anger; and behavioral dispositions toward coercion into treatment, imitation, and social distance. Results: AN was perceived more negatively than MDD in terms of vanity attributions, self-responsibility attributions, and feelings of anger, but more positively in terms of admiration and imitation. Conclusions: This research demonstrates stigma-related mixed messages received by individuals with AN, which might be useful in improving eating disorders mental health literacy

Bedrijfsbeëindiging in de land- en tuinbouw

Vroeg of laat krijgt elke ondernemer er mee te maken: de bedrijfsbeëindiging. Voor sommigen is het een strategisch genomen beslissing, anderen worden er toe gedwongen. Een deel van de ondernemers heeft moeite met het accepteren er van. Een goede planning en bewustwording van het proces in financieel, sociaal en emotioneel opzicht kan vaak een problematisch einde voorkome

Sodium deprivation and salt intake activate separate neuronal subpopulations in the nucleus of the solitary tract and the parabrachial complex

Salt intake is an established response to sodium deficiency, but the brain circuits that regulate this behavior remain poorly understood. We studied the activation of neurons in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) and their efferent target nuclei in the pontine parabrachial complex (PB) in rats during sodium deprivation and after salt intake. After 8-day dietary sodium deprivation, immunoreactivity for c-Fos (a neuronal activity marker) increased markedly within the aldosterone-sensitive neurons of the NTS, which express the enzyme 11-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (HSD2). In the PB, c-Fos labeling increased specifically within two sites that relay signals from the HSD2 neurons to the forebrain—the pre-locus coeruleus and the innermost region of the external lateral parabrachial nucleus. Then, 1–2 hours after sodium-deprived rats ingested salt (a hypertonic 3% solution of NaCl), c-Fos immunoreactivity within the HSD2 neurons was virtually eliminated, despite a large increase in c-Fos activation in the surrounding NTS (including the A2 noradrenergic neurons) and area postrema. Also after salt intake, c-Fos activation increased within pontine nuclei that relay gustatory (caudal medial PB)and viscerosensory (rostral lateral PB) information from the NTS to the forebrain. Thus, sodium deficiency and salt intake stimulate separate subpopulations of neurons in the NTS, which then transmit this information to the forebrain via largely separate relay nuclei in the PB complex. These findings offer new perspectives on the roles of sensory information from the brainstem in the regulation of sodium appetite

Biodiversiteit op akkers roept verschillende reacties op

Mengteelten, zoals gerst-erwt of rogge-erwt, vergroten de biodiversiteit van akkers. In dit artikel is de belevingswaarde van dergelijke akkers beschreven. Een vraag die hierbij aan de orde komt is of dergelijke biodiverse akkers ook de waarde van het Nederlandse landschap vergroten

Metal coordinating inhibitors of Rift Valley fever virus replication

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a veterinary and human pathogen and is an agent of bioterrorism concern. Currently, RVFV treatment is limited to supportive care, so new drugs to control RVFV infection are urgently needed. RVFV is a member of the order Bunyavirales, whose replication depends on the enzymatic activity of the viral L protein. Screening for RVFV inhibitors among compounds with divalent cation-coordinating motifs similar to known viral nuclease inhibitors identified 47 novel RVFV inhibitors with selective indexes from 1.1-103 and 50% effective concentrations of 1.2-56 μM in Vero cells, primarily α-Hydroxytropolones and N-Hydroxypyridinediones. Inhibitor activity and selective index was validated in the human cell line A549. To evaluate specificity, select compounds were tested against a second Bunyavirus, La Crosse Virus (LACV), and the flavivirus Zika (ZIKV). These data indicate that the α-Hydroxytropolone and N-Hydroxypyridinedione chemotypes should be investigated in the future to determine their mechanism(s) of action allowing further development as therapeutics for RVFV and LACV, and these chemotypes should be evaluated for activity against related pathogens, including Hantaan virus, severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus