Functional profiles of growth-related genes during embryogenesis and postnatal development of chicken and mouse skeletal muscle

Reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed to measure myostatin, follistatin, activin-B gene expressions during chicken embryonic development. Strong myostatin expression was found in the early chicken embryos (E 0, E 1) and the developmental expression pattern of myostatin mRNA coincided with the periods of primary and secondary muscle fiber formation. Follistatin transcripts followed a linear expression pattern from E 0 to E 20, while activin-B had a quadratic pattern. The ontogeny of myostatin gene expression was nearly identical in satellite cells isolated from pectoralis major (PM) and biceps femoris (BF) muscles of chicken. Activin-B mRNA level in PM satellite cells was higher than in BF satellite cells at 72 h and 120 h (P \u3c 0.01). IGF-II mRNA level plateaued in PM satellite cells by 48 h after plating (P \u3c 0.05), and remained elevated until 144 h of culture. In ovo administration of rhIGF-I at E 3 shifted myostatin, follistatin, activin-B, and TGF-(32 gene expressions during chicken embryonic development. For example, myostatin mRNA from pectoralis muscles of rhIGF-I injected embryos increased on E 10 (∼2.5 fold) and remained high through E 13, whereas mRNA from control pectoralis muscles increased at E 9 and remained high until E 12. IGF-I, -II and IGF receptor-I mRNA and protein levels were determined in a wide variety of myostatin knockout mice tissues. IGF-I mRNA levels were not different between control and knockout mice tissues, whereas levels for IGF-II were significantly higher in myostatin knockout mice kidney and soleus muscles than that of control mice (P \u3c 0.01). IGF-Receptor-I mRNA levels from control mice heart (P \u3c 0.05) and kidney (P \u3c 0.01) were significantly higher than that of myostatin knockout mice, while levels were lower in control mice pectoralis muscle than that of knockout mice (P \u3c 0.01). The strongly IGF-II positive cells were more common in myostatin knockout mice and were seen in a few foci in control mice, while no consistent differences in IGF-II immunoreactivity were detected between the two groups of mice kidneys

Repeatability, Reproducibility and Agreement of Central Corneal Thickness Measurements by Two Noncontact Pachymetry Devices

This study was designed to assess the repeatability, reproducibility, and agreement of Noncontact Pachymetry (NPC) (Topcan TRK-2P) and the non-contact optical low coherence reflectometer (Lenstar LS 900) devices for measuring Central Corneal Thickness (CCT) of healthy corneas. A total of 82 healthy volunteers were evaluated. The first observer used both the TopconTRK-2P and Lenstar 900 devices while the second observer only used the TopconTRK-2P for the measurements. The measurements with either device were repeated three times for each patient, consecutively. The central corneal thickness measurements with the Topcon TRK-2P revealed mean ± Standard Deviation (SD) values of 553.1 ± 36.1 micrometer (µm) for the first observer and 552.3 ± 35.9µm for the second observer and the mean ± SD of CCT was 537.3 ± 34.8µm with the Lenstar 900. The difference between the CCT measurements of the observers using the Topcon TRK-2P (P = 0.142) was insignificant. However, significantly lower measurements were found with the Lenstar 900 compared with the Topcon TRK-2P (P ˂ 0.001). The central corneal thickness measurements obtained by the Topcon TRK-2P were found to have high repeatability for both observers with a lower SD, less than 1% Coefficient of Variation (CV) and higher than 0.99 Intra-Class Correlation Coefficient (ICC) (Observer 1: 3.77 SD, 0.68 CV and 0.995 ICC; the second observer: 3.58 SD, 0.65 CV and 0.995 ICC). There was an excellent inter-observer reproducibility between the two observers for Topcon TRK-2P with 2.71 SD, 0.49 CV, and 0.994 ICC. The Bland-Altman plot showed high agreement between the two devices. These results suggest that the TopconTRK-2P is a reliable device for evaluating CCT in healthy corneas compared with Lenstar 900

Repeatability, Reproducibility and Agreement of Central Corneal Thickness Measurements by Two Noncontact Pachymetry Devices

This study was designed to assess the repeatability, reproducibility, and agreement of Noncontact Pachymetry (NPC) (Topcan TRK-2P) and the non-contact optical low coherence reflectometer (Lenstar LS 900) devices for measuring Central Corneal Thickness (CCT) of healthy corneas. A total of 82 healthy volunteers were evaluated. The first observer used both the TopconTRK-2P and Lenstar 900 devices while the second observer only used the TopconTRK-2P for the measurements. The measurements with either device were repeated three times for each patient, consecutively. The central corneal thickness measurements with the Topcon TRK-2P revealed mean ± Standard Deviation (SD) values of 553.1 ± 36.1 micrometer (µm) for the first observer and 552.3 ± 35.9µm for the second observer and the mean ± SD of CCT was 537.3 ± 34.8µm with the Lenstar 900. The difference between the CCT measurements of the observers using the Topcon TRK-2P (P = 0.142) was insignificant. However, significantly lower measurements were found with the Lenstar 900 compared with the Topcon TRK-2P (P ˂ 0.001). The central corneal thickness measurements obtained by the Topcon TRK-2P were found to have high repeatability for both observers with a lower SD, less than 1% Coefficient of Variation (CV) and higher than 0.99 Intra-Class Correlation Coefficient (ICC) (Observer 1: 3.77 SD, 0.68 CV and 0.995 ICC; the second observer: 3.58 SD, 0.65 CV and 0.995 ICC). There was an excellent inter-observer reproducibility between the two observers for Topcon TRK-2P with 2.71 SD, 0.49 CV, and 0.994 ICC. The Bland-Altman plot showed high agreement between the two devices. These results suggest that the TopconTRK-2P is a reliable device for evaluating CCT in healthy corneas compared with Lenstar 900

Political aspects of Alevis-Kzilbach in Turkey : AKP opening or good concealed sunnization ?

Mon travail porte sur les relations qui existent entre le parti actuellement au pouvoir en Turquie, l'AKP, et la communauté alévie. Dans ce cadre, il se propose de définir sociologiquement et historiquement les caractéristiques de cette communauté et d'examiner l'attitude politique du gouvernement turc vis-à-vis des Alévis principalement depuis le processus dit "d'ouverture"My work has to do with the relationship between the current ruling party in Turkey, the AKP, and the Alevi community. In this context, it proposes to define sociologically and historically the characteristics of this community and to examine the political attitude of the Turkish government towards the Alevis mainly since the so-called "open" proces

Språkutvecklande arbetssätt i förskolan : Arbetssätt och bemötande vid andraspråksinlärning

Vårt undersökningsområde innefattar barns inlärning av ett nytt språk. Med vår undersökning har vi försökt få fram hur två utvalda förskolor arbetar för att stimulera barnens utveckling i det svenska språket och tagit del av pedagogernas tankar kring deras sätt att arbeta. Vi har intervjuat några pedagoger för att ta reda på hur dessa förhåller sig till barnens flerspråkighet och hur de bemöter barn som väljer att tala sitt modersmål i förskolan. Som grund för denna studie ligger tre kvalitativa intervjuer samt observationer av två språkutvecklande aktiviteter. Genom vår undersökning har vi kommit fram till att det inte krävs några särskilda aktiviteter, utan att det räcker om barnet får träna språket i vardagliga situationer. Det som gynnar majoritetsbarn gynnar även minoritetsbarn. Av informanternas svar framstår tydlighet, upprepning, variation och trygghet som viktiga faktorer vid arbete med barn som har ett annat modersmål än svenska. I de båda förskolorna är pedagogerna medvetna om modersmålets betydelse vid inlärning av ett nytt språk. För att stimulera barnets kunskaper i modersmålet arbetar de på olika sätt. I den ena förskolan använder pedagogerna och barnen sitt modersmål i verksamheten medan man i den andra förskolan försöker höja statusen på språket genom att intressera sig för barnets språk. De uppmuntrar även föräldrarna att hjälpa sina barn att utveckla sitt hemspråk genom att läsa och tala med barnen

Evaluation of the recurrence rate for pterygium treated with conjunctival autograft

WOS: 000335660000014PubMed ID: 24509650The aim of this study was to evaluate the recurrence rate for the conjunctival autografts in the treatment of primary pterygium. Thirty-six eyes of 36 patients with the diagnosis of primary pterygium underwent surgical excision and were treated with conjunctival autografts. Complications, recurrence rate, and final appearance of the cases were evaluated prospectively. Complications were observed in five cases; three eyes with Dellen ulcer and two cases with a Tenon's cyst in the superior temporal quadrant. Recurrence was detected in three cases in the study group. The onset of recurrence was 4.5 months. Higher complication rates were detected among the patient group below 54 years old than in the patient group aged 54 years or over, 22.2 % vs 5.6 % respectively (p = 0.338). Complications were more frequent among male patients than among female patients, 22.2 % vs 5.6 % respectively (p = 0.338). Recurrence was detected in four cases (8 %), with an average recurrence time of 4.5 months. We suggest that conjunctival autografting is an effective technique in primary pterygium in terms of low recurrence rate. Increasing patient age is associated with significantly less risk of recurrence and complication

Control of Modular Multilevel Converter under Unequal Arm Capacitor Values

This paper presents analysis and control of the modular multilevel converter under unequal arm voltages shared by the capacitors. The effect of deviation between the instantaneous values of two DC-link capacitor voltages on the control algorithm is investigated in this paper. The control algorithm consists of the sorting method with the power decoupling, phase shifted pulse width modulation and measured arm voltages in process. This controller is modified in order for taking the voltage differences shared by the arm capacitors into consideration. The submodule and DC-link capacitors are estimated by using an analytical expression derived. The results of Matlab simulation obtained on the five-level modular multilevel converter are compared to the experimental ones