Increasing the Inflammatory Competence of Macrophages with IL-6 or with Combination of IL-4 and LPS Restrains the Invasiveness of Pancreatic Cancer Cells

Recent studies suggest that pro-inflammatory type M1 macrophages inhibit tumor progression and that anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages enhance it. The aim of this study was to examine the interaction of type M1 and M2 macrophages with pancreatic cancer cells. We studied the migration rate of fluorescein stained pancreatic cancer cells on Matrigel cultured alone or with Granulocyte- Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor (GM-CSF) differentiated macrophages or with Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor (M-CSF) differentiated macrophages, skewing the phenotype towards pro- and anti-inflammatory direction, respectively. Macrophage differentiation was assessed with flow cytometry and the cytokine secretion in cell cultures with cytokine array. Both GM-CSF and M-CSF differentiated macrophages increased the migration rate of primary pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell line (MiaPaCa-2) and metastatic cell line (HPAF-II). Stimulation with IL6 or IL4+ LPS reversed the macrophages' increasing effect on the migration rate of Mi-aPaCa-2 completely and partly of HPAF-II. Co-culture with MiaPaCa-2 reduced the inflammatory cytokine secretion of GM-CSF differentiated macrophages. Co-culture of macrophages with pancreatic cancer cells seem to change the inflammatory cytokine profile of GM-CSF differentiated macrophages and this might explain why also GM-CSF differentiated macrophages promoted the invasion. Adding IL6 or IL4+ LPS to the cell culture with MiaPaCa-2 and GM-CSF or M-CSF differentiated macrophages increased the secretion of inflammatory cytokines and this could contribute to the reversion of the macrophage induced increase of cancer cell migration rate.Peer reviewe

Procedural content generation of virtual terrain for games

Abstract. Game developers use Procedural Content Generation (PCG) in aid of game development to reduce costs, reach better memory consumption, increase creativity, and augment our limited human imagination by generating content algorithmically. Virtual terrain is one of the main topics of PCG; how well do these techniques support the special needs of game level design? To answer this question, a literature review was conducted to analyse correlation between the capabilities of various PCG-techniques and the needs of level design patterns. We observed that techniques permitting higher degree of local control increased their applicability for virtual terrain in games and that traditional fractal techniques, such as the midpoint displacement method and noise-functions, performed poorly despite their popularity. Our foremost contributions to this field of study were new insights towards more suitable PCG-techniques for use in game development

Investigation of optimal parameters for finite element solution of the forward problem in magnetic field tomography based on magnetoencephalography

This paper presents an investigation of optimal parameters for finite element (FE) solution of the forward problem in magnetic field tomography (MFT) brain imaging based on magnetoencephalography (MEG). It highlights detailed analyses of the main parameters involved and evaluates their optimal values for various cases of FE model solutions (e.g., steady-state, transient, etc.). In each case, a detail study of some of the main parameters and their effects on FE solution and its accuracy are carefully tested and evaluated. These parameters include: total number and size of 3D FE elements used, number and size of elements used in surface discretisation (of both white and grey matters of the brain), number and size of elements used for approximation of current sources, number of anisotropic properties used in steady-state and transient solutions, and the time steps used in transient analyses. The optimal values of these parameters in relation to solution accuracy and mesh convergence criteria have been found and presented

Nitrogen and sulphur management: challenges for organic sources in temperate agricultural systems

A current global trend towards intensification or specialization of agricultural enterprises has been accompanied by increasing public awareness of associated environmental consequences. Air and water pollution from losses of nutrients, such as nitrogen (N) and sulphur (S), are a major concern. Governments have initiated extensive regulatory frameworks, including various land use policies, in an attempt to control or reduce the losses. This paper presents an overview of critical input and loss processes affecting N and S for temperate climates, and provides some background to the discussion in subsequent papers evaluating specific farming systems. Management effects on potential gaseous and leaching losses, the lack of synchrony between supply of nutrients and plant demand, and options for optimizing the efficiency of N and S use are reviewed. Integration of inorganic and organic fertilizer inputs and the equitable re-distribution of nutrients from manure are discussed. The paper concludes by highlighting a need for innovative research that is also targeted to practical approaches for reducing N and S losses, and improving the overall synchrony between supply and demand

Tea drinking and cognitive function in oldest-old Chinese

10.1007/s12603-012-0077-1The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging169754-75

Se oli kesä ja kuutamoilta, lavatanssit ja haitari soi:harmonikansoittajan kasvupolku tanssimusiikkiin

Tiivistelmä. Tämän pro gradu -tutkielman tarkoituksena oli selvittää harmonikansoittajien kehitystä tanssimuusikoiksi. Tutkielmassa tarkastellaan, millaiset seikat ovat johtaneet ja tukeneet tanssimuusikon uralle hakeutumista. Tutkielman aihe on tärkeä, koska aikaisempaa tutkimusmateriaalia ei juurikaan löydy Suomesta, ja koska harmonikkamusiikki suomalaisen tanssimusiikin erityisosa-alueena on musiikkikulttuurillisesti ainutlaatuinen. Tutkimuksen teoreettinen tausta muodostuu muusikon identiteetin käsitteen ja identiteetin kehittymisen ympärille. Musiikin oppimista on tarkasteltu formaalin, musiikkioppilaitoksessa tapahtuvan oppimisen lisäksi informaalina oppimisena, joka on tyypillistä populaarimusiikin piirissä. Tutkimus toteutettiin joulukuussa 2020. Tutkimukseen osallistuneet harmonikansoittajat ovat tanssimuusikkoja, joiden ura tanssimusiikin ammattilaisina vaihteli 10–40 vuoden välillä. Tutkimus on laadullinen ja haastattelumetodina on käytetty kerronnallista haastattelumenetelmää. Aineisto on analysoitu temaattista analyysia apuna käyttäen ja aineistosta nousi lopulta esille neljä pääteemaa. Tutkimustuloksista selvisi, että haastateltavien kasvupoluissa oli yhteneväisyyksiä. Tanssimusiikkiin on ikään kuin kasvettu, sillä sitä on kuultu lapsesta saakka. Lisäksi harmonikan osalta monella oli ollut kyseiseen soittimeen kosketuspintaa aivan lapsuudesta saakka, sillä soitin on löytynyt jo kotoa. Harmonikkaa oltiin lisäksi kuultu radiosta tai nähty televisiosta, mikä oli vaikuttanut soittimen valintaan. Keikkailu oli aloitettu nuorena ja suurimmalla osalla ammatillinen siirtyminen tanssimuusikoksi oli tapahtunut armeijan jälkeen. Tanssimusiikin soittaminen koettiin luonnollisena jatkumona harmonikansoittajana ja tanssimusiikki oli juuri mieleistä soitettavaa. Jokainen näki uransa jatkuvan tanssimuusikkona tulevaisuudessa

Analysis of the Effect of Operating Conditions on the Performance of a Direct Ammonia Fuel Cell Using Multiphysics Modelling

Understanding the physical and chemical basis of device operation is important for their development. While hydrogen fuel cells are a widely studied topic, direct ammonia fuel cells DAFCs are a smaller field with fewer studies. Although the theoretical voltage of a DAFC is approximately equal to that of a hydrogen fuel cell, the slow kinetics of the ammonia oxidation reaction hamper cell performance. Therefore, development of anode catalysts is especially needed for practical viability of the DAFCs. To study DAFC operation, specifically interactions between reaction kinetics and different transport phenomena, we developed a one dimensional model of a DAFC and performed a sensitivity analysis for several parameters related to the cell operating conditions e.g., temperature, relative humidity and properties e.g., catalyst loading . As expected, temperature and relative humidity were very important for cell power. However, while faster reaction kinetics improved the cell performance, simply increasing the catalyst loading did not always produce a comparable enhancement. These and other observations about the relative importance of the operating parameters should help to prioritize and guide future development of and research on DAFCs. Further studies are needed to understand and optimize e.g. humidity management in different scenario

Alternative oxidase confers nutritional limitation on Drosophila development

The mitochondrial alternative oxidase, AOX, present in most eukaryotes apart from vertebrates and insects, catalyzes the direct oxidation of ubiquinol by oxygen, by‐passing the terminal proton‐motive steps of the respiratory chain. Its physiological role is not fully understood, but it is proposed to buffer stresses in the respiratory chain similar to those encountered in mitochondrial diseases in humans. Previously, we found that the ubiquitous expression of AOX from Ciona intestinalis in Drosophila perturbs the development of flies cultured under low‐nutrient conditions (media containing only glucose and yeast). Here we tested the effects of a wide range of nutritional supplements on Drosophila development, to gain insight into the physiological mechanism underlying this developmental failure. On low‐nutrient medium, larvae contained decreased amounts of triglycerides, lactate, and pyruvate, irrespective of AOX expression. Complex food supplements, including treacle (molasses), restored normal development to AOX‐expressing flies, but many individual additives did not. Inhibition of AOX by treacle extract was excluded as a mechanism, since the supplement did not alter the enzymatic activity of AOX in vitro. Furthermore, antibiotics did not influence the organismal phenotype, indicating that commensal microbes were not involved. Fractionation of treacle identified a water‐soluble fraction with low solubility in ethanol, rich in lactate and tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates, which contained the critical activity. We propose that the partial activation of AOX during metamorphosis impairs the efficient use of stored metabolites, resulting in developmental failure.</p