Dexamethasone and RU24858 induce survival and growth factor receptor bound protein 2, leukotriene B4 receptor 1 and annexin-1 expression in primary human neutrophils

Glucocorticoids are widely used anti-inflammatory medication in diseases like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Glucocorticoids can either activate (transactivation) or inhibit (transrepression) transcription. RU24858 was introduced as a dissociated glucocorticoid and it has been reported to transrepress but not to transactivate. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of RU24858 and dexamethasone in human neutrophils. RU24858 delayed spontaneous neutrophil apoptosis and further enhanced GM-CSF- induced neutrophil survival to a similar extent as dexamethasone. Like dexamethasone RU24858 also reduced CXCL8 and MIP-1α. Unexpectedly however, RU24858 increased the expression of the glucocorticoid-inducible genes BLT-1, Annexin-1 and Grb-2 in neutrophils to a similar level as seen with dexamethasone. We have shown here that dexamethasone and RU24858 both increase Grb-2, BLT1 and Annexin-1 expression and inhibit CXCL8 and MIP-1α production. This suggests that RU24858 was not able to dissociate between transactivation and transrepression in human neutrophils but enhanced neutrophil survival. © the author(s), publisher and licensee Libertas Academica Ltd

Collaborative SLAM based on WiFi fingerprint similarity and motion information

Abstract Simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) has been extensively researched in past years particularly with regard to range-based or visual-based sensors. Instead of deploying dedicated devices that use visual features, it is more pragmatic to exploit the radio features to achieve this task, due to their ubiquitous nature and the widespread deployment of the Wi-Fi wireless network. This article presents a novel approach for collaborative simultaneous localization and radio fingerprint mapping (C-SLAM-RF) in large unknown indoor environments. The proposed system uses received signal strengths (RSS) from Wi-Fi access points (APs) in the existing infrastructure and pedestrian dead reckoning (PDR) from a smartphone, without a prior knowledge about map or distribution of AP in the environment. We claim a loop closure based on the similarity of the two radio fingerprints. To further improve the performance, we incorporate the turning motion and assign a small uncertainty value to a loop closure if a matched turning is identified. The experiment was done in an area of 130 m by 70 m and the results show that our proposed system is capable of estimating the tracks of four users with an accuracy of 0.6 m with Tango-based PDR and 4.76 m with a step counter-based PDR

Characteristics of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis -associated cough:a case-control study

Abstract Background: Most patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) complain of cough. IPF-associated cough is widely characterized as dry or non-productive. The aim of this study was to compare chronic cough in early stage IPF patients to cough in subjects with chronic cough from a community-based sample and, especially, to investigate whether cough in IPF is less productive than chronic cough in a community-based sample. Methods: The IPF cough population consisted of 46 biopsy-confirmed patients who complained of chronic cough. Control population consisted of subjects with chronic cough, gathered by a community-based email survey sent to public service employees and the Finnish Pensioners’ Federation. A case-control setting was applied by having four age, gender, and smoking-status matched subjects from the community sample for each IPF cough patient. A cough specific quality of life questionnaire (Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ)) was filled in by all subjects. The LCQ questionnaire contains 19 questions, each question is scored from 1 to 7 and total score from 3 to 21 with a smaller value indicating more severe impairment. Results: The sputum production frequency, as assessed by LCQ question 2, was 5.0 (3.0-6.0) in the IPF chronic cough population and 5.0 (3.0–6.0) in the community-based chronic cough population (median and interquartile range p= 0.72). The LCQ total score was 14.8 (11.5-18.1) in the IPF chronic cough population and 15.4 (13.0–17.5) in the community-based chronic cough population (p=0.76). The domain impact scores were physical, 4.9 (3.9–6.1) vs. 5.1 (4.5–5.6) (p=0.80); psychological, 4.6 (3.7–5.9) vs. 4.7 (3.9–5.7) (p=0.90); and social, 5.5 (3.7–6.5) vs. 5.5 (4.5–6.3) (p=0.84), respectively. Furthermore, cough response to paint or fumes, cough disturbing sleep, and cough frequency per day did not differ between the groups. Conclusion: Cough in early stage IPF patients was not distinguishable from chronic cough in the community-based population by LCQ. Especially, there was no difference in the self-reported frequency of cough-associated sputum production

Reticulation pattern without honeycombing on high-resolution CT is associated with the risk of disease progression in interstitial lung diseases

Abstract Background: The disease course of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is progressive and occasionally, other types of interstitial lung disease (ILD) may progress similarly to IPF. This study aimed to evaluate risk factors for disease progression within 24 months in patients with various ILDs. Methods: This prospective study obtained 97 patients with a suspected ILD who underwent a transbronchial lung cryobiopsy. The extent of several high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) patterns was assessed. Due to the inclusion criteria the study population presented a low extent of honeycombing and definite usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) pattern on HRCT suggesting an early stage of ILD. Disease progression within 24 months despite treatment was defined as a relative decline of ≥ 10% in forced vital capacity (FVC), or a relative decline in FVC of ≥ 5% and one of the three additional criteria: (1) a decline in diffusion capacity to carbon monoxide (DLCO) ≥ 15%; (2) increased fibrosis on HRCT; (3) progressive symptoms, or progressive symptoms and increased fibrosis on HRCT. The same definition was utilized in patients with IPF and other ILDs. Risk factors for disease progression were evaluated in a multivariable logistic regression model. Results: Disease progression was revealed in 52% of the patients with ILD, 51% of the patients with IPF, and 53% of the patients with other types of ILD. A high extent of reticulation on HRCT (Odds ratio [OR] 3.11, 95% Confidence interval [CI] 1.21–7.98, P = 0.019) and never smoking (OR 3.11, CI 1.12–8.63, P = 0.029) were associated with disease progression whereas platelet count (OR 2.06 per 100 units increase, CI 0.96–4.45, P = 0.065) did not quite reach statistical significance. Conclusion: Higher extent of reticulation on HRCT and never smoking appeared to associate with the risk of disease progression within 24 months in ILD patients without honeycombing. Approximately half of the patients with ILD revealed disease progression, and similar proportions were observed in patients with IPF and in other types of ILD