Possible Involvement of Endothelin Peptides and L-Arginine-Nitric Oxide Pathway on the Effect of Endotoxin in the Rabbit Isolated Perfused Kidney

Escherichia coli endotoxin (LPS) when infused through the renal artery of the rabbit isolated perfused kidney prepared as constant pressure mode, caused a decrease in flow rate and kidney weight indicating its primary vasoconstrictor effect. This effect was predominant in kidneys from rabbits pretreated with LPS. Endothelin-1 at a concentration of 10−10 M and big endothelin-1 at a concentration of 10−8 M produced equal vasoconstrictor effects in kidney. Addition of endotheHn converting enzyme inhibitor, phosphoramidon, to the perfusion medium at a concentration of 10−6 M caused a reduction in the effects of both LPS and big ET-1 without altering the vasoconstrictor effect of ETol. However, addition of methylene blue (10−5 M), a soluble guanylate cyclase inhibitor and NG-nitro-L-arginine-methyl ester (10−6 M) to the perfusion medium caused a potentiation in the vasoconstrictor effect of LPS. Indomethacin at a concentration of 10−6 M did not alter the effect of LPS. These results were taken as evidence for the participation of endothelin peptides and the L-arginine-nitric oxide pathway in the effect ofLPS in rabbit isolated perfused kidney

Long-Range Dependence and Sea Level Forecasting

This study shows that the Caspian Sea level time series possess long range dependence even after removing linear trends, based on analyses of the Hurst statistic, the sample autocorrelation functions, and the periodogram of the series. Forecasting performance of ARMA, ARIMA, ARFIMA and Trend Line-ARFIMA (TL-ARFIMA) combination models are investigated. The forecast confidence bands and the forecast updating methodology, provided for ARIMA models in the literature, are modified for the ARFIMA models. Sample autocorrelation functions are utilized to estimate the differencing lengths of the ARFIM

Reduced adhesion of macrophages on anodized titanium with select nanotube surface features

One of the important prerequisites for a successful orthopedic implant apart from being osteoconductive is the elicitation of a favorable immune response that does not lead to the rejection of the implant by the host tissue. Anodization is one of the simplest surface modification processes used to create nanotextured and nanotubular features on metal oxides which has been shown to improve bone formation. Anodization of titanium (Ti) leads to the formation of TiO2 nanotubes on the surface, and the presence of these nanotubes mimics the natural nanoscale features of bone, which in turn contributes to improved bone cell attachment, migration, and proliferation. However, inflammatory cell responses on anodized Ti remains to be tested. It is hypothesized that surface roughness and surface feature size on anodized Ti can be carefully manipulated to control immune cell (specifically, macrophages) responses. Here, when Ti samples were anodized at 10 V in the presence of 1% hydrofluoric acid (HF) for 1 minute, nanotextured (nonnanotube) surfaces were created. When anodization of Ti samples was carried out with 1% HF for 10 minutes at 15 V, nanotubes with 40–50 nm diameters were formed, whereas at 20 V with 1% HF for 10 minutes, nanotubes with 60–70 nm diameters were formed. In this study, a reduced density of macrophages was observed after 24 hours of culture on nanotextured and nanotubular Ti samples which were anodized at 10, 15, and 20 V, compared with conventional unmodified Ti samples. This in vitro study thus demonstrated a reduced density of macrophages on anodized Ti, thereby providing further evidence of the greater efficacy of anodized Ti for orthopedic applications

Tc-Glutathione Complex (Tc -GSH) : Labelling, Chemical Characterization and Biodistribution in Rats

The chemical structure of 99mTc-GSH has been estabilished using the 99Tc isotope. Labeling of glutathione with technetium in the presence of stanous chloride gave a high yield result. In a comparative study between 99Tc and 99Tc glutathione, the Tc-GSH complex obtained was purified and characterized by uv, visible spectroscopy, HPLC, Biogel chromatography, mass and NMR spectroscopy. Stoichiometric analysis showed a 2 : 1 molar ratio of GSH/Tc for the reaction. The molecular mass assessed by mass spectroscopy was 727 Da corresponding to an oxo(bis) glutathione technetate. NMR studies demonstrated that each glutathione molecule was coordinated to technetium via cysteinyl sulfur and nitrogen atoms. The biodistribution of the complex was studied in normal rats. Blood clearance was rapid during the first hour involving a biexponential curve ( t1/2 (1) : 50 min, t1/2 (2) : 400 min ). No radioactive accumulation was found in any specific organ except kidney and bladder. All the activity excreted was found unchanged in urine. In conclusion, Tc-GSH displayed an anionic dimer form as GSH-Tc-GSH. We assume that the complex is a tetradentate (2N,2S) complex containing a pentavalent technetium coordinated by two thiol and nitrogen atoms of both GSH ligands, and an apical oxo group

Uniform Contribution of Supernova Explosions to the Chemical Enrichment of Abell 3112 out to R 200

The spatial distribution of the metals residing in the intra-cluster medium (ICM) of galaxy clusters records all the information on a cluster's nucleosynthesis and chemical enrichment history. We present measurements from a total of 1.2 Ms Suzaku XIS and 72 ks Chandra observations of the cool-core galaxy cluster Abell 3112 out to its virial radius (~1470 kpc). We find that the ratio of the observed supernova type Ia explosions to the total supernova explosions has a uniform distribution at a level of 12%–16% out to the cluster's virial radius. The observed fraction of type Ia supernova explosions is in agreement with the corresponding fraction found in our Galaxy and the chemical enrichment of our Galaxy. The non-varying supernova enrichment suggests that the ICM in cluster outskirts was enriched by metals at an early stage before the cluster itself was formed during a period of intense star formation activity. Additionally, we find that the 2D delayed detonation model CDDT produce significantly worse fits to the X-ray spectra compared to simple 1D W7 models. This is due to the relative overestimate of Si, and the underestimate of Mg in these models with respect to the measured abundances.United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NNX09AV65G)United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NNX10AV02G

Measuring velocity of sound with nuclear resonant inelastic x-ray scattering

Nuclear resonant inelastic x-ray scattering is used to measure the projected partial phonon density of states of materials. A relationship is derived between the low-energy part of this frequency distribution function and the sound velocity of materials. Our derivation is valid for harmonic solids with Debye-like low-frequency dynamics. This method of sound velocity determination is applied to elemental, composite, and impurity samples which are representative of a wide variety of both crystalline and noncrystalline materials. Advantages and limitations of this method are elucidated

Interaction Between Supersonic Disintegrating Liquid Jets and Their Shock Waves

The use of additional spectral filtration for dual-energy (DE) imaging using a dual-source CT (DSCT) system was investigated and its effect on the material-specific DEratio was evaluated for several clinically relevant materials. The x-ray spectra, data acquisition, and reconstruction processes for a DSCT system (Siemens Definition) were simulated using information provided by the system manufacturer, resulting in virtual DE images. The factory-installed filtration for the 80 kV spectrum was left unchanged to avoid any further reductions in tube output, and only the filtration for the high-energy spectrum was modified. Only practical single-element filter materials within the atomic number range of 40?Z?83 were evaluated, with the aim of maximizing the separation between the two spectra, while maintaining similar noise levels for high- and low-energy images acquired at the same tube current. The differences between mean energies and the ratio of the 140 and 80 kV detector signals, each integrated below 80 keV, were evaluated. The simulations were performed for three attenuation scenarios: Head, body, and large body. The large body scenario was evaluated for the DE acquisition mode using the 100 and 140 kV spectra. The DEratio for calcium hydroxyapatite (simulating bone or calcifications), iodine, and iron were determined for CTimages simulated using the modified and factory-installed filtration. Several filter materials were found to perform well at proper thicknesses, with tin being a good practical choice. When imagenoise was matched between the low- and high-energy images, the spectral difference in mean absorbed energy using tin was increased from 25.7 to 42.7 keV (head), from 28.6 to 44.1 keV (body), and from 20.2 to 30.2 keV (large body). The overlap of the signal spectra for energies below 80 keV was reduced from 78% to 31% (head), from 93% to 27% (body), and from 106% to 79% (large body). The DEratio for the body attenuation scenario increased from 1.45 to 1.91 (calcium), from 1.84 to 3.39 (iodine), and from 1.73 to 2.93 (iron) with the additional tin filtration compared to the factory filtration. This use of additional filtration for one of the x-ray tubes used in dual-source DECT dramatically increased the difference between material-specific DE ratios, e.g., from 0.39 to 1.48 for calcium and iodine or from 0.28 to 1.02 for calcium and iron. Because the ability to discriminate between different materials in DE imaging depends primarily on the differences in DE ratios, this increase is expected to improve the performance of any material-specific DECT imaging task. Furthermore, for the large patient size and in conjunction with a 100/140 kV acquisition, the use of additional filtration decreased noise in the low-energy images and increased contrast in the DE image relative to that obtained with 80/140 kV and no additional filtration

RXTE Studies of Long-Term X-ray Spectral Variations in 4U 1820-30

We present the results of detailed spectral studies of the ultra-compact low mass X-ray binary (LMXB) 4U 1820-30 carried out with the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) during 1996-7. 4U 1820-30 is an ``atoll'' source X-ray burster (XRB) located in the globular cluster NGC 6624. It is known to have an 11 minute binary period and a ~176 day modulation in its 2--12 keV flux. Observations were made with the PCA and HEXTE instruments on RXTE at roughly one-month intervals to sample this long-term period and study flux-related spectral changes. There are clear correlations between our fitted spectral parameters and both the broad-band (2--50 keV) flux and the position in the color-color diagram, as described by the parameter S_a introduced by Mendez et al. (1999). In addition, we find a strong correlation between the position in the color-color diagram and the frequencies of the kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations (kHz QPOs) reported by Zhang et al. (1998). This lends further support to the notion that evidence for the last stable orbit in the accretion disk of 4U 1820-30 has been observed. For a model consisting of Comptonization of cool photons by hot electrons plus an additional blackbody component, we report an abrupt change in the spectral parameters at the same accretion rate at which the kHz QPOs disappear. For a model consisting of a multicolor disk blackbody plus a cut-off power law, we find that the inner disk radius reaches a minimum at the same accretion rate at which the kHz QPO frequency saturates, as expected if the disk reaches the last stable orbit. Both models face theoretical and observational problems when interpreted physically for this system.Comment: 39 pages, 11 figures, accepted to the Astrophysical Journa

Nuclear Inelastic X-Ray Scattering of FeO to 48 GPa

The partial density of vibrational states has been measured for Fe in compressed FeO (w\"ustite) using nuclear resonant inelastic x-ray scattering. Substantial changes have been observed in the overall shape of the density of states close to the magnetic transiton around 20 GPa from the paramagnetic (low pressure) to the antiferromagnetic (high pressure) state. Our data indicate a substantial softening of the aggregate sound velocities far below the transition, starting between 5 and 10 GPa. This is consistent with recent radial x-ray diffraction measurements of the elastic constants in FeO. The results indicate that strong magnetoelastic coupling in FeO is the driving force behind the changes in the phonon spectrum of FeO.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure