Post-Stenotic Recirculating Flow May Cause Hemodynamic Perforator Infarction

Background and Purpose The primary mechanism underlying paramedian pontine infarction (PPI) is atheroma obliterating the perforators. Here, we encountered a patient with PPI in the post-stenotic area of basilar artery (BA) without a plaque, shown, by high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (HR-MRI). We performed an experiment using a 3D-printed BA model and a particle image velocimetry (PIV) to explore the hemodynamic property of the post-stenotic area and the mechanism of PPI. Methods 3D-model of a BA stenosis was reconstructed with silicone compound using a 3D printer based on the source image of HR-MRI. Working fluid seeded with fluorescence particles was used and the velocity of those particles was measured horizontally and vertically. Furthermore, microtubules were inserted into the posterior aspect of the model to measure the flow rates of perforators (pre- and post-stenotic areas). The flow rates were compared between the microtubules. Results A recirculating flow was observed from the post-stenotic area in both directions forming a spiral shape. The velocity of the flow in these regions of recirculation was about one-tenth that of the flow in other regions. The location of recirculating flow well corresponded with the area with low-signal intensity at the time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography and the location of PPI. Finally, the flow rate through the microtubule inserted into the post-stenotic area was significantly decreased comparing to others (P<0.001). Conclusions Perforator infarction may be caused by a hemodynamic mechanism altered by stenosis that induces a recirculation flow. 3D-printed modeling and PIV are helpful understanding the hemodynamics of intracranial stenosis.114Ysciescopu

Structural design of a double layered porous hydrogel for effective mass transport.

Mass transport in porous materials is universal in nature, and its worth attracts great attention in many engineering applications. Plant leaves, which work as natural hydraulic pumps for water uptake, have evolved to have the morphological structure for fast water transport to compensate large water loss by leaf transpiration. In this study, we tried to deduce the advantageous structural features of plant leaves for practical applications. Inspired by the tissue organization of the hydraulic pathways in plant leaves, analogous double-layered porous models were fabricated using agarose hydrogel. Solute transport through the hydrogel models with different thickness ratios of the two layers was experimentally observed. In addition, numerical simulation and theoretical analysis were carried out with varying porosity and thickness ratio to investigate the effect of structural factors on mass transport ability. A simple parametric study was also conducted to examine unveiled relations between structural factors. As a result, the porosity and thickness ratio of the two layers are found to govern the mass transport ability in double-layered porous materials. The hydrogel models with widely dispersed pores at a fixed porosity, i.e., close to a homogeneously porous structure, are mostly turned out to exhibit fast mass transport. The present results would provide a new framework for fundamental design of various porous structures for effective mass transport. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.open1

Structural design of a double layered porous hydrogel for effective mass transport.

Mass transport in porous materials is universal in nature, and its worth attracts great attention in many engineering applications. Plant leaves, which work as natural hydraulic pumps for water uptake, have evolved to have the morphological structure for fast water transport to compensate large water loss by leaf transpiration. In this study, we tried to deduce the advantageous structural features of plant leaves for practical applications. Inspired by the tissue organization of the hydraulic pathways in plant leaves, analogous double-layered porous models were fabricated using agarose hydrogel. Solute transport through the hydrogel models with different thickness ratios of the two layers was experimentally observed. In addition, numerical simulation and theoretical analysis were carried out with varying porosity and thickness ratio to investigate the effect of structural factors on mass transport ability. A simple parametric study was also conducted to examine unveiled relations between structural factors. As a result, the porosity and thickness ratio of the two layers are found to govern the mass transport ability in double-layered porous materials. The hydrogel models with widely dispersed pores at a fixed porosity, i.e., close to a homogeneously porous structure, are mostly turned out to exhibit fast mass transport. The present results would provide a new framework for fundamental design of various porous structures for effective mass transport. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.open112sciescopu

The anomalous U(1) global symmetry and flavors from an SU(5) x SU(5)′' GUT in Z12−IZ_{12-I} orbifold compactification

In string compactifications, frequently there appears the anomalous U(1) gauge symmetry which belonged to E8$\times$E8 of the heterotic string. This anomalous U(1) gauge boson obtains mass at the compactification scale, just below $10^{18\,}$GeV, by absorbing one pseudoscalar (corresponding to the model-independent axion) from the second rank anti-symmetric tensor field $B_{MN}$. Below the compactification scale, there results a global symmetry U(1)$_{\rm anom}$ whose charge $Q_{\rm anom}$ is the original gauge U(1) charge. This is the most natural global symmetry, realizing the "invisible" axion. This global symmetry U(1)$_{\rm anom}$ is suitable for a flavor symmetry. In the simplest compactification model with the flipped SU(5) grand unification, we calculate all the low energy parameters in terms of the vacuum expectation values of the standard model singlets.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figur

Decaying Dark Matter in Supersymmetric Model and Cosmic-Ray Observations

We study cosmic-rays in decaying dark matter scenario, assuming that the dark matter is the lightest superparticle and it decays through a R-parity violating operator. We calculate the fluxes of cosmic-rays from the decay of the dark matter and those from the standard astrophysical phenomena in the same propagation model using the GALPROP package. We reevaluate the preferred parameters characterizing standard astrophysical cosmic-ray sources with taking account of the effects of dark matter decay. We show that, if energetic leptons are produced by the decay of the dark matter, the fluxes of cosmic-ray positron and electron can be in good agreements with both PAMELA and Fermi-LAT data in wide parameter region. It is also discussed that, in the case where sizable number of hadrons are also produced by the decay of the dark matter, the mass of the dark matter is constrained to be less than 200-300 GeV in order to avoid the overproduction of anti-proton. We also show that the cosmic gamma-ray flux can be consistent with the results of Fermi-LAT observation if the mass of the dark matter is smaller than nearly 4 TeV.Comment: 24 pages, 5 figure

Neutrophils in cancer: neutral no more

Neutrophils are indispensable antagonists of microbial infection and facilitators of wound healing. In the cancer setting, a newfound appreciation for neutrophils has come into view. The traditionally held belief that neutrophils are inert bystanders is being challenged by the recent literature. Emerging evidence indicates that tumours manipulate neutrophils, sometimes early in their differentiation process, to create diverse phenotypic and functional polarization states able to alter tumour behaviour. In this Review, we discuss the involvement of neutrophils in cancer initiation and progression, and their potential as clinical biomarkers and therapeutic targets

Anti-cancer drug validation: the contribution of tissue engineered models

Abstract Drug toxicity frequently goes concealed until clinical trials stage, which is the most challenging, dangerous and expensive stage of drug development. Both the cultures of cancer cells in traditional 2D assays and animal studies have limitations that cannot ever be unraveled by improvements in drug-testing protocols. A new generation of bioengineered tumors is now emerging in response to these limitations, with potential to transform drug screening by providing predictive models of tumors within their tissue context, for studies of drug safety and efficacy. Considering the NCI60, a panel of 60 cancer cell lines representative of 9 different cancer types: leukemia, lung, colorectal, central nervous system (CNS), melanoma, ovarian, renal, prostate and breast, we propose to review current Bstate of art^ on the 9 cancer types specifically addressing the 3D tissue models that have been developed and used in drug discovery processes as an alternative to complement their studyThis article is a result of the project FROnTHERA (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000023), supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). This article was also supported by the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation HORIZON 2020 (H2020) under grant agreement n° 668983 — FoReCaST. FCT distinction attributed to Joaquim M. Oliveira (IF/00423/2012) and Vitor M. Correlo (IF/01214/2014) under the Investigator FCT program is also greatly acknowledged.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Childhood emotional trauma and cyberbullying perpetration among emerging adults: a multiple mediation model of the role of problematic social media use and psychopathology

Research suggests that a small minority of social media users experience problems as a result of their online use. The purpose of the present study was to examine the association of cyberbullying perpetration and problematic social media use with childhood emotional trauma, Cluster B (narcissistic, histrionic, antisocial, and borderline) personality traits, dissociative experiences (DEs), depression, and self-esteem in a nonclinical undergraduate sample. A total of 344 university students volunteered to complete a questionnaire that included measures on the aforementioned dimensions. Thirty-eight percent of the participants had emotional neglect and 27% had emotional abuse, while 44% of them demonstrated at least one cyberbullying perpetration behavior. Results indicated that cyberbullying perpetrators had higher scores on problematic social media use, dissociative experiences, Cluster B traits, depression and childhood emotional trauma, and lower on self-esteem. Path analysis demonstrated that, while adjusting for gender and age, childhood emotional trauma was directly and indirectly associated with cyberbullying perpetration via Cluster B traits. Moreover, depression and dissociation were directly associated with problematic social media use. The findings of this study emphasize the important direct role of childhood emotional trauma and pathological personality traits on cyberbullying perpetration