Down-regulation of core 1 β1,3-galactosyltransferase and Cosmc by Th2 cytokine alters O-glycosylation of IgA1

Background. Patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN) have an increased amount of abnormally O-glycosylated IgA1 in circulation, in glomerular deposits and produced by tissue cells in vitro. Although increased production of Th2 cytokines by peripheral blood lymphocytes and a functional abnormality of core 1 β1,3-galactosyltransferase (C1β3Gal-T) have been proposed as mechanisms underlying pathogenesis of IgAN, they are still obscure and are not connected

Femtosecond nonlinear ultrasonics in gold probed with ultrashort surface plasmons

Fundamental interactions induced by lattice vibrations on ultrafast time scales become increasingly important for modern nanoscience and technology. Experimental access to the physical properties of acoustic phonons in the THz frequency range and over the entire Brillouin zone is crucial for understanding electric and thermal transport in solids and their compounds. Here, we report on the generation and nonlinear propagation of giant (1 percent) acoustic strain pulses in hybrid gold/cobalt bilayer structures probed with ultrafast surface plasmon interferometry. This new technique allows for unambiguous characterization of arbitrary ultrafast acoustic transients. The giant acoustic pulses experience substantial nonlinear reshaping already after a propagation distance of 100 nm in a crystalline gold layer. Excellent agreement with the Korteveg-de Vries model points to future quantitative nonlinear femtosecond THz-ultrasonics at the nano-scale in metals at room temperature

The inflammatory response in transgastric surgery: gastric content leak leads to localized inflammatory response and higher adhesive disease

Risk of gastric spillage during transgastric surgery is a potential complication of NOTES procedures. The aim of this study was to determine risk outcomes from gastric spillage in a rat survival model by measuring local and systemic inflammatory markers, adhesive disease, and morbidity. We performed a minilaparotomy with needle aspiration of 2 ml of gastric contents mixed with 2 ml of sterile saline (study group, SG) or 4 ml of sterile saline (control group, CG) injected into the peritoneal cavity of 60 male rats. Inflammatory markers (TNFα, IL-6, and IL-10) were analyzed at 1, 3, 6, and 24 h postoperatively by obtaining plasma levels and peritoneal washings. At necropsy, the peritoneal cavity was examined grossly for adhesions. Adhesions were seen more frequently in the SG versus the CG (100% vs. 33.3%, p < 0.014). There was a significant difference in the peritoneal TNFα levels in the SG compared with the CG, which peaked 1 h after surgery (p < 0.02). Both peritoneal IL-6 and IL-10 levels were higher in the SG versus the CG, which peaked 3 h after surgery (p < 0.005 and p < 0.001, respectively). All peritoneal inflammatory markers returned to undetectable levels at 24 h for both groups. Plasma cytokines were undetectable at all time intervals. The inflammatory response was found to be a localized and not systemic event, with plasma cytokine levels remaining normal while peritoneal washings revealed a brisk, short-lived localized inflammatory response. There was a significantly higher rate of adhesive disease in the SG compared with the CG; this, however did not translate into a difference in apparent clinical outcome. We conclude that gastric leakage in this NOTES rodent model induces a localized inflammatory response, followed by mild to moderate adhesive disease. This may be important in human NOTES

Collagen mRNA levels changes during colorectal cancer carcinogenesis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Invasive growth of epithelial cancers is a complex multi-step process which involves dissolution of the basement membrane. Type IV collagen is a major component in most basement membranes. Type VII collagen is related to anchoring fibrils and is found primarily in the basement membrane zone of stratified epithelia. Immunohistochemical studies have previously reported changes in steady-state levels of different α(IV) chains in several epithelial cancer types. In the present study we aimed to quantitatively determine the mRNA levels of <it>type IV collagen (α1/α4/α6) </it>and <it>type VII collagen (α1) </it>during colorectal cancer carcinogenesis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using quantitative RT-PCR, we have determined the mRNA levels for <it>α1(IV), α4(IV), α6(IV), and α1(VII) </it>in colorectal cancer tissue (n = 33), adenomas (n = 29) and in normal tissue from the same individuals. In addition, corresponding tissue was examined from healthy volunteers (n = 20). mRNA levels were normalized to <it>β-actin</it>. Immunohistochemical analysis of the distributions of type IV and type VII collagens were performed on normal and affected tissues from colorectal cancer patients.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The <it>α1(IV) </it>and <it>α1(VII) </it>mRNA levels were statistically significantly higher in colorectal cancer tissue (p < 0.001) as compared to corresponding tissue from healthy controls. This is an early event as tissue from adenomas also displayed a higher level. There were small changes in the levels of <it>α4(IV)</it>. The level of <it>α6(IV) </it>was 5-fold lower in colorectal cancer tissue as compared to healthy individuals (p < 0.01). The localisation of type IV and type VII collagen was visualized by immunohistochemical staining.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results suggest that the down-regulation of <it>α6(IV</it>) mRNA coincides with the acquisition of invasive growth properties, whereas <it>α1(IV) </it>and <it>α1(VII) </it>mRNAs were up-regulated already in dysplastic tissue. There are no differences in collagen expression between tissues from healthy individuals and normal tissues from affected individuals.</p

Phylogenetic groups and cephalosporin resistance genes of Escherichia coli from diseased food-producing animals in Japan

A total of 318 Escherichia coli isolates obtained from different food-producing animals affected with colibacillosis between 2001 and 2006 were subjected to phylogenetic analysis: 72 bovine isolates, 89 poultry isolates and 157 porcine isolates. Overall, the phylogenetic group A was predominant in isolates from cattle (36/72, 50%) and pigs (101/157, 64.3%) whereas groups A (44/89, 49.4%) and D (40/89, 44.9%) were predominant in isolates from poultry. In addition, group B2 was not found among diseased food-producing animals except for a poultry isolate. Thus, the phylogenetic group distribution of E. coli from diseased animals was different by animal species. Among the 318 isolates, cefazolin resistance (minimum inhibitory concentrations: ≥32 μg/ml) was found in six bovine isolates, 29 poultry isolates and three porcine isolates. Of them, 11 isolates (nine from poultry and two from cattle) produced extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL). The two bovine isolates produced blaCTX-M-2, while the nine poultry isolates produced blaCTX-M-25 (4), blaSHV-2 (3), blaCTX-M-15 (1) and blaCTX-M-2 (1). Thus, our results showed that several types of ESBL were identified and three types of β-lactamase (SHV-2, CTX-M-25 and CTX-M-15) were observed for the first time in E. coli from diseased animals in Japan

Materials Characterization Using Acoustic Nonlinearity Parameters and Harmonic Generation: Effects of Crystalline and Amorphous Structures

The importance of nonlinearity in the description of material behavior is gaining widespread attention. Nonlinearity plays a major, if not dominating, role in a number of material properties. For example, properties that are important in engineering design such as thermal expansion or the pressure dependence of optical refraction are inherently nonlinear [1]. New assembley techniques such as the use of ultrasonic gauges to determine the loading of critical fasteners depend upon nonlinear properties of the fasteners [2]. Areas of considerable fundamental interest in nonlinearity include lattice dynamics [3], radiation stress in solids [4,5], and nonlinear optics [6

Interplay of non-linear elasticity and dislocation-induced superfluidity in solid Helium-4

The mechanism of the roughening induced partial depinning of gliding dislocations from Helium-3 impurities is proposed as an alternative to the standard "boiling off". We give a strong argument that Helium-3 remains bound to dislocations even at large temperatures due to very long equilibration times. A scenario leading to the similarity between elastic and superfluid responses of solid Helium-4 is also discussed. Its main ingredient is a strong suppression of the superfluidity along dislocation cores by dislocation kinks (D. Aleinikava, et. al., arXiv:0812.0983). These kinks, on one hand, determine the temperature and Helium-3 dependencies of the generalized shear modulus and, on the other hand, control the superfluid response. Several proposals for theoretical and experimental studies of solid Helium-4 are suggested.Comment: final version accepted to the special JLTP issue on Supersolid, 16 pages, 6 figures: typos corrected, more explanations give