6,068 research outputs found
Evaluation of renal perfusion in hyperthyroid cats before and after radioiodine treatment
Background: Hyperthyroidism and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are common in elderly cats. Consequently, both diseases often occur concurrently. Furthermore, renal function is affected by thyroid status. Because changes in renal perfusion play an important role in functional renal changes in hyperthyroid cats, investigation of renal perfusion may provide novel insights.
Objectives: To evaluate renal perfusion in hyperthyroid cats with contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS).
Animals: A total of 42 hyperthyroid cats was included and evaluated before and 1 month after radioiodine treatment.
Methods: Prospective intrasubject clinical trial of contrast-enhanced ultrasound using a commercial contrast agent (SonoVue) to evaluate renal perfusion. Time-intensity curves were created, and perfusion parameters were calculated by off-line software. A linear mixed model was used to examine differences between pre-and post-treatment perfusion parameters.
Results: An increase in several time-related perfusion parameters was observed after radioiodine treatment, indicating a decreased blood velocity upon resolution of the hyperthyroid state. Furthermore, a small post-treatment decrease in peak enhancement was present in the renal medulla, suggesting a lower medullary blood volume.
Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound indicated a higher cortical and medullary blood velocity and higher medullary blood volume in hyperthyroid cats before radioactive treatment in comparison with 1-month post-treatment control
MLPG_R method for modelling 2D flows of two immiscible fluids
This is a first attempt to develop the Meshless Local Petrov-Galerkin method with Rankine source solution (MLPG_R method) to simulate multiphase flows. In this paper, we do not only further develop the MLPG_R method to model two-phase flows but also propose two new techniques to tackle the associated challenges. The first technique is to form an equation for pressure on the explicitly identified interface between different phases by considering the continuity of the pressure and the discontinuity of the pressure gradient (i.e. the ratio of pressure gradient to fluid density), the latter reflecting the fact that the normal velocity is continuous across the interface. The second technique is about solving the algebraic equation for pressure, which gives reasonable solution not only for the cases with low density ratio but also for the cases with very high density ratio, such as more than 1000. The numerical tests show that the results of the newly developed two-phase MLPG_R method agree well with analytical solutions and experimental data in the cases studied. The numerical results also demonstrate that the newly developed method has a second-order convergent rate in the cases for sloshing motion with small amplitudes
Measurement of the Atmospheric Muon Spectrum from 20 to 3000 GeV
The absolute muon flux between 20 GeV and 3000 GeV is measured with the L3
magnetic muon spectrometer for zenith angles ranging from 0 degree to 58
degree. Due to the large exposure of about 150 m2 sr d, and the excellent
momentum resolution of the L3 muon chambers, a precision of 2.3 % at 150 GeV in
the vertical direction is achieved.
The ratio of positive to negative muons is studied between 20 GeV and 500
GeV, and the average vertical muon charge ratio is found to be 1.285 +- 0.003
(stat.) +- 0.019 (syst.).Comment: Total 32 pages, 9Figure
The Cyst Nematode SPRYSEC Protein RBP-1 Elicits Gpa2- and RanGAP2-Dependent Plant Cell Death
Plant NB-LRR proteins confer robust protection against microbes and metazoan
parasites by recognizing pathogen-derived avirulence (Avr) proteins that are
delivered to the host cytoplasm. Microbial Avr proteins usually function as
virulence factors in compatible interactions; however, little is known about the
types of metazoan proteins recognized by NB-LRR proteins and their relationship
with virulence. In this report, we demonstrate that the secreted protein RBP-1
from the potato cyst nematode Globodera pallida elicits defense
responses, including cell death typical of a hypersensitive response (HR),
through the NB-LRR protein Gpa2. Gp-Rbp-1 variants from
G. pallida populations both virulent and avirulent to
Gpa2 demonstrated a high degree of polymorphism, with
positive selection detected at numerous sites. All Gp-RBP-1
protein variants from an avirulent population were recognized by Gpa2, whereas
virulent populations possessed Gp-RBP-1 protein variants both
recognized and non-recognized by Gpa2. Recognition of Gp-RBP-1
by Gpa2 correlated to a single amino acid polymorphism at position 187 in the
Gp-RBP-1 SPRY domain. Gp-RBP-1 expressed
from Potato virus X elicited Gpa2-mediated defenses that required Ran
GTPase-activating protein 2 (RanGAP2), a protein known to interact with the Gpa2
N terminus. Tethering RanGAP2 and Gp-RBP-1 variants via fusion
proteins resulted in an enhancement of Gpa2-mediated responses. However,
activation of Gpa2 was still dependent on the recognition specificity conferred
by amino acid 187 and the Gpa2 LRR domain. These results suggest a two-tiered
process wherein RanGAP2 mediates an initial interaction with pathogen-delivered
Gp-RBP-1 proteins but where the Gpa2 LRR determines which
of these interactions will be productive
A search for the decay modes B+/- to h+/- tau l
We present a search for the lepton flavor violating decay modes B+/- to h+/-
tau l (h= K,pi; l= e,mu) using the BaBar data sample, which corresponds to 472
million BBbar pairs. The search uses events where one B meson is fully
reconstructed in one of several hadronic final states. Using the momenta of the
reconstructed B, h, and l candidates, we are able to fully determine the tau
four-momentum. The resulting tau candidate mass is our main discriminant
against combinatorial background. We see no evidence for B+/- to h+/- tau l
decays and set a 90% confidence level upper limit on each branching fraction at
the level of a few times 10^-5.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
A change in the optical polarization associated with a gamma-ray flare in the blazar 3C 279
It is widely accepted that strong and variable radiation detected over all
accessible energy bands in a number of active galaxies arises from a
relativistic, Doppler-boosted jet pointing close to our line of sight. The size
of the emitting zone and the location of this region relative to the central
supermassive black hole are, however, poorly known, with estimates ranging from
light-hours to a light-year or more. Here we report the coincidence of a
gamma-ray flare with a dramatic change of optical polarization angle. This
provides evidence for co-spatiality of optical and gamma-ray emission regions
and indicates a highly ordered jet magnetic field. The results also require a
non-axisymmetric structure of the emission zone, implying a curved trajectory
for the emitting material within the jet, with the dissipation region located
at a considerable distance from the black hole, at about 10^5 gravitational
radii.Comment: Published in Nature issued on 18 February 2010. Corresponding
authors: Masaaki Hayashida and Greg Madejsk
Measurement of W Polarisation at LEP
The three different helicity states of W bosons produced in the reaction e+
e- -> W+ W- -> l nu q q~ at LEP are studied using leptonic and hadronic W
decays. Data at centre-of-mass energies \sqrt s = 183-209 GeV are used to
measure the polarisation of W bosons, and its dependence on the W boson
production angle. The fraction of longitudinally polarised W bosons is measured
to be 0.218 \pm 0.027 \pm 0.016 where the first uncertainty is statistical and
the second systematic, in agreement with the Standard Model expectation
Search for Charged Higgs Bosons in e+e- Collisions at \sqrt{s} = 189 GeV
A search for pair-produced charged Higgs bosons is performed with the L3
detector at LEP using data collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 188.6 GeV,
corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 176.4 pb^-1. Higgs decays into a
charm and a strange quark or into a tau lepton and its associated neutrino are
considered. The observed events are consistent with the expectations from
Standard Model background processes. A lower limit of 65.5 GeV on the charged
Higgs mass is derived at 95 % confidence level, independent of the decay
branching ratio Br(H^{+/-} -> tau nu)
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