Thermal Properties of a Simulated Lunar Material in Air and in Vacuum

Thermal properties of simulated lunar material in air and in vacuu

The Bearing Capacity of Simulated Lunar Surfaces in Vacuum

The static bearing capacity of a granular material consisting of dry, crushed olivine basalt was determined in air and in a 10^(-6) mm Hg vacuum by means of cylindrical probes with a range of diameters. Samples with various particle size distributions (all below 35 mesh) were used for these tests. It was found that the packing density of these granular materials was the factor which had the greatest effect on the bearing capacity. The minimum bearing capacity of a loosely packed sample with a density of 1.25 g/cm^3 was about 0.1 kg/cm^2. The maximum bearing capacity of a densely packed sample with density of 2.1 g/cm^3 was about 7 kg/cm^2. The effects of vacuum were insignificant compared with the effect of packing density. Direct shear tests indicated the cohesion in a few densely packed samples to be 1-2 X 10^4 dynes/cm^2. For the small probes used, the cohesion was estimated to contribute 85 to 95% of the observed bearing capacity for the densely packed samples, but much less for the loosely packed samples

Differential patterns of PMN-elastase and type III procollagen peptide in knee joint effusions due to acute and chronic sports injuries

In 38 traumatic knee joint effusions the proteolytic enzyme PMN-elastase (PMN-E) and the repair marker procollagen III aminoterminal peptide (PIIINP) were determined. According to the period between trauma and first aspiration of the effusion, the patients were divided into 3 groups. Group I (17 patients; period between trauma and first aspiration not longer than 72 hours) showed high concentrations of PMN-E (up to 5400 ng/ml) and low concentrations of PIIINP (<13 U/ml). Group II (11 patients; aspiration within 4 to 14 days) had mean PMN-E and PIIINP concentrations of 125.6 ng/ml and 52.1 U/ ml, respectively. In group III (10 patients, aspiration after 14 days) mean PMN-E concentration was 123.8 ng/ml and mean PIIINP concentration was 63.4 U/ml. Graphic depiction of PMN-E and PIIINP levels in each individual sample as a function of time between trauma and fluid collection revealed highly increasing PMN-E levels during the first 24 posttraumatic hours, followed by rapidly decreasing levels within 72 hours post trauma, and no change after the 4th posttraumatic day. In contrast, PIIINP increased continuously up to the first posttraumatic week and stayed at high levels up to 90 days (end of the observation period). The differential patterns of PMN-E and PIIINP concentration in knee joint effusions may be useful in estimating the period between trauma and first treatment (aspiration of effusion) and should, therefore, be helpful in detecting degenerative lesions, which seem to be characterized by low PMN-E concomitantly with high PIIINP levels

Relic Neutralino Densities and Detection Rates with Nonuniversal Gaugino Masses

We extend previous analyses on the interplay between nonuniversalities in the gaugino mass sector and the thermal relic densities of LSP neutralinos, in particular to the case of moderate to large tan beta. We introduce a set of parameters that generalizes the standard unified scenario to cover the complete allowed parameter space in the gaugino mass sector. We discuss the physical significance of the cosmologically preferred degree of degeneracy between charginos and the LSP and study the effect this degree of degeneracy has on the prospects for direct detection of relic neutralinos in the next round of dark matter detection experiments. Lastly, we compare the fine tuning required to achieve a satisfactory relic density with the case of universal gaugino masses, as in minimal supergravity, and find it to be of a similar magnitude. The sensitivity of quantifiable measures of fine-tuning on such factors as the gluino mass and top and bottom masses is also examined.Comment: Uses RevTeX; 14 pages, 16 figure

Early clearance of Chikungunya virus in children is associated with a strong innate immune response

Chikungunya fever (CHIKF) is a global infectious disease which can affect a wide range of age groups. The pathological and immunological response upon Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection have been reported over the last few years. However, the clinical profile and immune response upon CHIKV infection in children remain largely unknown. In this study, we analyzed the clinical and immunological response, focusing on the cytokine/chemokine profile in a CHIKV-infected pediatric cohort from Sarawak, Malaysia. Unique immune mediators triggered upon CHIKV infection were identified through meta-analysis of the immune signatures between this pediatric group and cohorts from previous outbreaks. The data generated from this study revealed that a broad spectrum of cytokines/chemokines is up-regulated in a sub-group of virus-infected children stratified according to their viremic status during hospitalization. Furthermore, different immune mediator profiles (the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, chemokines and growth and other factors) were observed between children and adults. This study gives an important insight to understand the immune response of CHIKV infection in children and would aid in the development of better prognostics and clinical management for children

Network medicine for disease module identification and drug repurposing with the NeDRex platform

Traditional drug discovery faces a severe efficacy crisis. Repurposing of registered drugs provides an alternative with lower costs and faster drug development timelines. However, the data necessary for the identification of disease modules, i.e. pathways and sub-networks describing the mechanisms of complex diseases which contain potential drug targets, are scattered across independent databases. Moreover, existing studies are limited to predictions for specific diseases or non-translational algorithmic approaches. There is an unmet need for adaptable tools allowing biomedical researchers to employ network-based drug repurposing approaches for their individual use cases. We close this gap with NeDRex, an integrative and interactive platform for network-based drug repurposing and disease module discovery. NeDRex integrates ten different data sources covering genes, drugs, drug targets, disease annotations, and their relationships. NeDRex allows for constructing heterogeneous biological networks, mining them for disease modules, prioritizing drugs targeting disease mechanisms, and statistical validation. We demonstrate the utility of NeDRex in five specific use-cases

Co-expression of KLK6 and KLK10 as prognostic factors for survival in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Kallikreins play an important role in tumour microenvironment and as cancer biomarkers in different cancer entities. Previous studies suggested an upregulation of KLK10 and KLK6 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Therefore, we evaluated the clinicopathological role of these kallikreins and their value as biomarkers in PDAC

Cell Specific eQTL Analysis without Sorting Cells

The functional consequences of trait associated SNPs are often investigated using expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) mapping. While trait-associated variants may operate in a cell-type specific manner, eQTL datasets for such cell-types may not always be available. We performed a genome-environment interaction (GxE) meta-analysis on data from 5,683 samples to infer the cell type specificity of whole blood cis-eQTLs. We demonstrate that this method is able to predict neutrophil and lymphocyte specific cis-eQTLs and replicate these predictions in independent cell-type specific datasets. Finally, we show that SNPs associated with Crohn’s disease preferentially affect gene expression within neutrophils, including the archetypal NOD2 locus

Large-scale cis- and trans-eQTL analyses identify thousands of genetic loci and polygenic scores that regulate blood gene expression

Trait-associated genetic variants affect complex phenotypes primarily via regulatory mechanisms on the transcriptome. To investigate the genetics of gene expression, we performed cis- and trans-expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) analyses using blood-derived expression from 31,684 individuals through the eQTLGen Consortium. We detected cis-eQTL for 88% of genes, and these were replicable in numerous tissues. Distal trans-eQTL (detected for 37% of 10,317 trait-associated variants tested) showed lower replication rates, partially due to low replication power and confounding by cell type composition. However, replication analyses in single-cell RNA-seq data prioritized intracellular trans-eQTL. Trans-eQTL exerted their effects via several mechanisms, primarily through regulation by transcription factors. Expression of 13% of the genes correlated with polygenic scores for 1,263 phenotypes, pinpointing potential drivers for those traits. In summary, this work represents a large eQTL resource, and its results serve as a starting point for in-depth interpretation of complex phenotypes