A cell culture model using rat coronary artery adventitial fibroblasts to measure collagen production

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We have developed a rat cell model for studying collagen type I production in coronary artery adventitial fibroblasts. Increased deposition of adventitial collagen type I leads to stiffening of the blood vessel, increased blood pressure, arteriosclerosis and coronary heart disease. Although the source and mechanism of collagen deposition is yet unknown, the adventitia appears to play a significant role. To demonstrate the application of our cell model, cultured adventitial fibroblasts were treated with sex hormones and the effect on collagen production measured.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Hearts (10–12 weeks) were harvested and the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) was isolated and removed. Tissue explants were cultured and cells (passages 2–4) were confirmed as fibroblasts using immunohistochemistry. Optimal conditions were determined for cell tissue harvest, timing, proliferation and culture conditions. Fibroblasts were exposed to 10^-7M testosterone or 10^-7M estrogen for 24 hours and either immunostained for collagen type I or subjected to ELISA.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Results showed increased collagen staining in fibroblasts treated with testosterone compared to control and decreased staining with estrogen. ELISA results showed that testosterone increased collagen I by 20% whereas estrogen decreased collagen I by 15%.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Data demonstrates the usefulness of our cell model in studying the specific role of the adventitia apart from other blood vessel tissue in rat coronary arteries. Results suggest opposite effects of testosterone and estrogen on collagen synthesis in the rat coronary artery adventitial fibroblasts.</p

Characterization of SU-8 using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy

1

Optimizing the Information- Theoretic Partitioning of Simultaneous Transmit and Receive Phased Arrays

© 2018 IEEE. Phased array technology has progressed towards fully digital architectures over recent years. This has significantly increased the agility of phased arrays, which in turn has created a need to determine how to optimally configure these arrays for dynamic missions. Previous work on assigning signals to antennas in phased arrays has focused on minimizing measures of the sidelobes in the beam patterns produced by thinning or interleaving the array using genetic algorithms (GAs). This work explores a novel application of the GA to optimize the resolution of a narrowband imaging array with respect to the transmit/receive antenna partition when considering self-interference in a simultaneous-transmit-and-receive operation. The results demonstrate the GA\u27s effectiveness at finding optimal or near-optimal array partitions without exhaustively exploring the impractically large search space

Implementation Activities in Smoke-Free Public Housing: The Massachusetts Experience

A 2018 rule requiring federally-subsidized public housing authorities (PHAs) in the United States to adopt smoke-free policies (SFPs) has sparked interest in how housing agencies can best implement SFPs. However, to date, there is little quantitative data on the implementation of SFPs in public housing. Massachusetts PHAs were among the pioneers of SFPs in public housing, and many had instituted SFPs voluntarily prior to the federal rule. The aim of this study was to examine the adoption, implementation, and outcomes of SFPs instituted in Massachusetts PHAs prior to 2018 using a survey conducted that year. The survey asked if PHAs had SFPs and, if so, what activities were used to implement them: providing information sessions, offering treatment or referral for smoking cessation, soliciting resident input, training staff, partnering with outside groups, using a toolkit, and/or providing outdoor smoking areas. We used multivariable regression to investigate associations between implementation activities and respondent-reported policy outcomes (resident support, complaints about neighbors&rsquo; smoking, and the number of violations reported per year). Of 238 Massachusetts PHAs, 218 (91%) completed the survey and 161 had an SFP prior to 2018. Common implementation activities were offering smoking cessation treatment/referral (89%) and information sessions for residents (85%). Information sessions for residents were associated with higher resident support (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 4.3; 95%CI 1.2&ndash;15.3). Training staff (AOR 6.3, 95%CI 1.2&ndash;31.8) and engaging in &ge;5 implementation activities (AOR 4.1, 95%CI 1.2&ndash;14.1) were associated with fewer smoking-related complaints. Utilization of multiple implementation activities, especially ones that informed residents and trained PHA staff, was associated with more favorable policy outcomes. We identified five groups of PHAs that shared distinct patterns of SFP implementation activities. Our findings, documenting implementation activities and their associations with SFP outcomes among the early adopters of SPFs in Massachusetts public housing, can help inform best practices for the future implementation of SFPs in multiunit housing

Autochthonous and Allochthonous Carbon Cycling in a Eutrophic Flow-Through Wetland

Wetland environments are important sites for the cycling and retention of terrestrially derived organic matter and nutrients. Wetland treatment of agricultural runoff has been shown to improve water quality and promote carbon sequestration. However, the potential role of eutrophic wetlands as a source of algal loading contributing to downstream hypoxia has prompted interest in understanding algal productivity and export from these systems. This study, in the San Joaquin Valley, California, quantified a mass balance of carbon and nutrients within a seasonally-saturated constructed wetland receiving agricultural runoff, as well as quantifying autochthonous carbon production on four sampling dates during a year with minimal emergent vegetation. Results from this study show that the wetland was a net-sink for nutrients and particulate/dissolved organic carbon. Despite high concentrations of inflowing nutrients and high rates of primary productivity, high respiration rates limited net organic C production and export due to high heterotrophic activity. The addition of high C loads in inflowing water and moderate retention efficiencies, however, resulted in a positive C retention during most sampling dates. This study provides valuable insight into the connection between elevated carbon and nutrient inflows, their effects on autochthonous carbon production, and resulting carbon and nutrient outflows. © Society of Wetland Scientists 2014