Vav1 inhibits RANKL-induced osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption

Vav1 is a Rho/Rac guanine nucleotide exchange factor primarily expressed in hematopoietic cells. In this study, we investigated the potential role of Vav1 in osteoclast (OC) differentiation by comparing the ability of bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMCs) obtained from Vav1-deficient (Vav1−/−) and wild-type (WT) mice to differentiate into mature OCs upon stimulation with macrophage colony stimulating factor and receptor activator of nuclear kappa B ligand in vitro. Our results suggested that Vav1 deficiency promoted the differentiation of BMMCs into OCs, as indicated by the increased expression of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase, cathepsin K, and calcitonin receptor. Therefore, Vav1 may play a negative role in OC differentiation. This hypothesis was supported by the observation of more OCs in the femurs of Vav1−/− mice than in WT mice. Furthermore, the bone status of Vav1−/− mice was analyzed in situ and the femurs of Vav1−/− mice appeared abnormal, with poor bone density and fewer number of trabeculae. In addition, Vav1-deficient OCs showed stronger adhesion to vitronectin, an αvβ3 integrin ligand important in bone resorption. Thus, Vav1 may inhibit OC differentiation and protect against bone resorption

The Evaluation of CP-001 (a Standardized Herbal Mixture of Houttuynia cordata

In the present study, the effect of CP-001, a standardized herbal mixture of Houttuynia cordata, Rehmannia glutinosa, Betula platyphylla, and Rubus coreanus, on cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzyme-mediated drug metabolism was investigated in vitro to evaluate the potential for herb-drug interactions. CP-001 was tested at concentrations of 1, 3, 10, 30, and 100 μg/mL. A CYP-specific substrate mixture was incubated with CP-001 in human liver microsomes, and the metabolites generated by each CYP-specific metabolic reaction were measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. CP-001 seemed to slightly inhibit some CYP isozymes, but the IC50 values for all CYP isozymes were greater than 100 μg/mL. Furthermore, CP-001 did not exhibit time-dependent CYP inhibitory activities, indicating that it does not act as a mechanism-based inactivator of CYP enzymes. In conclusion, the effects of CP-001 on CYP isozyme activities were negligible at the concentrations tested. Therefore, the likelihood of herbal mixture-drug interaction is considered minimal

Defect structure of BZCYYb17 and theoretical behavior and performance of SOFC’s with BZCYYb17 electrolyte

In this work, maximum power density of SOFC with BZCYYb17(BaZr0.1Ce0.7Y0.1Yb0.1O3-d) electrolyte as the function of thickness was calculated by integrating partial conductivities of charge carriers under various DC bias conditions at a fixed oxygen chemical potential gradient at both sides of the electrolyte. The partial conductivities were calculated by fitting various total conductivities in diverse thermodynamic conditions (temperature, partial pressure of oxygen and partial pressure of vapor) using equations from defect model. From the fitting, not only we can get the partial conductivities as a function of temperature, oxygen partial pressure and hydrogen partial pressure but also mobility of each carriers and reaction constant of oxidation and hydration. Spatial distribution of oxygen chemical potential and hydrogen chemical potential across the electrolyte were calculated based on Choudhury and Patterson’s model by considering zero electrode polarization. At positive voltage conditions corresponding to SOFC and SOEC, the high conductivity region near n-type to p-type transition was expanded, but ad negative cell voltage conditions, the low conductivity region near n-type to p-type transition was expanded. The current- voltage characteristics in different conditions with temperature and thickness dependence were calculated with vapor partial pressure of each electrode is 0.03, oxygen partial pressure of the cathode 0.21 and hydrogen partial pressure of the anode 0.97

Evaluation of the high temperature solid Oxide cells using La0.1Sr0.9Co0.8Fe0.2O3-δ

The performance of the SOCs using La0.1Sr0.9Co0.8Fe0.2O3-δ (LSCF1982) was characterized by I-V measurement and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The distribution function of relaxation times of EIS was used to analyze the polarization resistance of the cells. The fitting was performed using the appropriate equivalent circuit through DRT analysis. Furthermore, we co-electrolyzed CO2 and H2O to obtain H2 / CO syngas as well as water splitting. The composition of syngas was investigated by gas chromatography and controlled by varying in-let gas composition

On The Robustness of Channel Allocation in Joint Radar And Communication Systems: An Auction Approach

Joint radar and communication (JRC) is a promising technique for spectrum re-utilization, which enables radar sensing and data transmission to operate on the same frequencies and the same devices. However, due to the multi-objective property of JRC systems, channel allocation to JRC nodes should be carefully designed to maximize system performance. Additionally, because of the broadcast nature of wireless signals, a watchful adversary, i.e., a warden, can detect ongoing transmissions and attack the system. Thus, we develop a covert JRC system that minimizes the detection probability by wardens, in which friendly jammers are deployed to improve the covertness of the JRC nodes during radar sensing and data transmission operations. Furthermore, we propose a robust multi-item auction design for channel allocation for such a JRC system that considers the uncertainty in bids. The proposed auction mechanism achieves the properties of truthfulness, individual rationality, budget feasibility, and computational efficiency. The simulations clearly show the benefits of our design to support covert JRC systems and to provide incentive to the JRC nodes in obtaining spectrum, in which the auction-based channel allocation mechanism is robust against perturbations in the bids, which is highly effective for JRC nodes working in uncertain environments

Increased Immunoendocrine Cells in Intestinal Mucosa of Postinfectious Irritable Bowel Syndrome Patients 3 Years after Acute Shigella Infection - An Observation in a Small Case Control Study

PURPOSE: Postinfectiously irritable bowel syndrome (PI-IBS) develops in 3-30% of individuals with bacterial gastroenteritis. Recent studies demonstrated increases in inflammatory components in gut mucosa of PI-IBS patients even after complete resolution of infection. We aimed to investigate histological changes in colon and rectum of PI-IBS subjects after long term period of infection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We recruited PI-IBS subjects who had been diagnosed IBS after complete resolution of enteritis caused by shigellosis outbreak 3 years earlier. We compared unmatched four groups, PI-IBS (n = 4), non PI-IBS (n = 7), D-IBS (n = 7, diarrhea predominant type) and healthy controls (n = 10). All of them underwent colonoscopic biopsy at three areas, including descending colon (DC), sigmoid colon (SC) and rectum, which were assessed for 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)/peptide YY (PYY)-containing enterochromaffin (EC) cell, intraepithelial (IEL) and lamina propria T lymphocyte (CD3), CD8 lymphocytes, mast cells and CD68/calprotectin+ macrophages. RESULTS: All subjects had no structural or gross abnormalities at colonoscopy. In PI-IBS, 5-HT containing EC cells, PYY containing EC cells, IELs, CD3 lymphocytes, CD8 lymphocytes, mast cells, and CD68 + macrophages were increased compared to control (p < 0.05). In D-IBS, PYY containing EC cells, IELs, and CD3 lymphocytes were increased compared to control (p < 0.05). In PI-IBS, 5-HT containing EC cells tended to increase and PYY containing EC cells, CD8 lymphocytes, mast cells, and CD68+ macrophages were increased compared to non PI-IBS (p < 0.05). Calprotectin + marcrophages were decreased in PI-IBS, non PI-IBS and IBS compared to control. CONCLUSION: The immunoendocrine cells were sporadically increased in PI-IBS, non PI-IBS and D-IBS compared with control. Our findings in a very small number of patients suggest that mucosal inflammation may play a role in long-term PI-IBS, and that other sub-groups of IBS and larger scale studies are needed to confirm this observation.ope