The identification of bacteria associated with periodontal disease and dental caries by enzymatic methods

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73856/1/j.1399-302X.1986.tb00322.x.pd

Effect of preoperative thoracic duct drainage on canine kidney transplantation

Chronic drainage of the thoracic duct to the esophagus was developed in dogs, and its efficacy in immunomodulation was tested using kidney transplantation. Compared to 9.7 days in the control, the mean animal survival was prolonged to 9.9 days, 17.8 days, and 18.5 days when TDD was applied preoperatively for 3 weeks, 6 weeks, and 9 weeks, respectively. Prolongation was significant after 6 weeks. Patency of the fistula was 93.5, 80.4, and 76.1% at respective weeks. Number of peripheral T-lymphocytes determined by a new monoclonal antibody diminished after 3 weeks. All animals were in normal health, requiring no special care for fluid, electrolyte, or protein replacement

Comparative characterization of mesenchymal stem cells from eGFP transgenic and non-transgenic mice

Abstract Background Adipose derived- and bone marrow-derived murine mesenchymal stem cells (mMSCs) may be used to study stem cell properties in an in vivo setting for the purposes of evaluating therapeutic strategies that may have clinical applications in the future. If these cells are to be used for transplantation, the question arises of how to track the administered cells. One solution to this problem is to transplant cells with an easily identifiable genetic marker such as enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP). This protein is fluorescent and therefore does not require a chemical substrate for identification and can be visualized in living cells. This study seeks to characterize and compare adipose derived- and bone marrow-derived stem cells from C57Bl/6 mice and eGFP transgenic C57Bl/6 mice. Results The expression of eGFP does not appear to affect the ability to differentiate along adipogenic or osteogenic lineages; however it appears that the tissue of origin can influence differentiation capabilities. The presence of eGFP had no effect on cell surface marker expression, and mMSCs derived from both bone marrow and adipose tissue had similar surface marker profiles. There were no significant differences between transgenic and non-transgenic mMSCs. Conclusion Murine adipose derived and bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells from non-transgenic and eGFP transgenic C57Bl/6 mice have very similar characterization profiles. The availability of mesenchymal stem cells stably expressing a genetic reporter has important applications for the advancement of stem cell research.</p

Neutrophils in cancer: neutral no more

Neutrophils are indispensable antagonists of microbial infection and facilitators of wound healing. In the cancer setting, a newfound appreciation for neutrophils has come into view. The traditionally held belief that neutrophils are inert bystanders is being challenged by the recent literature. Emerging evidence indicates that tumours manipulate neutrophils, sometimes early in their differentiation process, to create diverse phenotypic and functional polarization states able to alter tumour behaviour. In this Review, we discuss the involvement of neutrophils in cancer initiation and progression, and their potential as clinical biomarkers and therapeutic targets

Effective Rheology of Bubbles Moving in a Capillary Tube

We calculate the average volumetric flux versus pressure drop of bubbles moving in a single capillary tube with varying diameter, finding a square-root relation from mapping the flow equations onto that of a driven overdamped pendulum. The calculation is based on a derivation of the equation of motion of a bubble train from considering the capillary forces and the entropy production associated with the viscous flow. We also calculate the configurational probability of the positions of the bubbles.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Identification of Essential Sequences for Cellular Localization in BRMS1 Metastasis Suppressor

10 páginas, 5 figuras. PMID: 19649328 [PubMed] PMCID: PMC2713406BACKGROUND: Breast cancer metastasis suppressor 1 (BRMS1) reduces the number and the size of secondary tumours in a mouse model without affecting the growth of the primary foci upon its re-expression. Knockdown of BRMS1 expression associates with metastasis. The molecular details on BRMS1 mechanism of action include its ability to function as a transcriptional co-repressor and consistently BRMS1 has been described as a predominantly nuclear protein. Since cellular distribution could represent a potential mechanism of regulation, we wanted to characterize BRMS1 sequence motifs that might regulate its cellular distribution. According to its amino acids sequence, BRMS1 contain two putative nuclear localization signals, however none of them has been proved to work so far. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: By using well known in vivo assays to detect both nuclear import and export signal, we have characterized, in the present study, one functional nuclear localisation signal as necessary and sufficient to promote nuclear transport. Additionally, the outcome of a directed yeast two-hybrid assay identify importin alpha6 as a specific partner of BRMS1 thus speculating that BRMS1 nuclear import could be specifically mediated by the reported nuclear transporter. Besides, the combination of a computational searching approach along the utilization of a nuclear export assay, identified a functional motif within the BRMS1 sequence responsible for its nuclear export, that resulted not affected by the highly specific CRM1 inhibitor Leptomycin-B. Interspecies heterokaryon assay demonstrate the capability of BRMS1 to shuttle between the nuclear and cytosolic compartments CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results show for the first time that BRMS1 contains both nuclear import and export signals enabling its nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling. These findings contributes new data for the understanding of the BRMS1 functions and allow us to speculate that this phenomenon could represent a novel mechanism for regulating the activity of BRMS1 or its associated cytosolic partnersThis work was supported by Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología (Grant SAF2006-10269), Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Grant SAF2008-04048-E) and by a grant from Fundación Mutua Madrileña.Peer reviewe

Eaten out of house and home:impacts of grazing on ground-dwelling reptiles in Australian grasslands and grassy woodlands

Large mammalian grazers can alter the biotic and abiotic features of their environment through their impacts on vegetation. Grazing at moderate intensity has been recommended for biodiversity conservation. Few studies, however, have empirically tested the benefits of moderate grazing intensity in systems dominated by native grazers. Here we investigated the relationship between (1) density of native eastern grey kangaroos, Macropus giganteus, and grass structure, and (2) grass structure and reptiles (i.e. abundance, richness, diversity and occurrence) across 18 grassland and grassy Eucalyptus woodland properties in south-eastern Australia. There was a strong negative relationship between kangaroo density and grass structure after controlling for tree canopy cover. We therefore used grass structure as a surrogate for grazing intensity. Changes in grazing intensity (i.e. grass structure) significantly affected reptile abundance, reptile species richness, reptile species diversity, and the occurrence of several ground-dwelling reptiles. Reptile abundance, species richness and diversity were highest where grazing intensity was low. Importantly, no species of reptile was more likely to occur at high grazing intensities. Legless lizards (Delma impar, D. inornata) were more likely to be detected in areas subject to moderate grazing intensity, whereas one species (Hemiergis talbingoensis) was less likely to be detected in areas subject to intense grazing and three species (Menetia greyii, Morethia boulengeri, and Lampropholis delicata) did not appear to be affected by grazing intensity. Our data indicate that to maximize reptile abundance, species richness, species diversity, and occurrence of several individual species of reptile, managers will need to subject different areas of the landscape to moderate and low grazing intensities and limit the occurrence and extent of high grazing

Synapse Clusters Are Preferentially Formed by Synapses with Large Recycling Pool Sizes

Synapses are distributed heterogeneously in neural networks. The relationship between the spatial arrangement of synapses and an individual synapse's structural and functional features remains to be elucidated. Here, we examined the influence of the number of adjacent synapses on individual synaptic recycling pool sizes. When measuring the discharge of the styryl dye FM1–43 from electrically stimulated synapses in rat hippocampal tissue cultures, a strong positive correlation between the number of neighbouring synapses and recycling vesicle pool sizes was observed. Accordingly, vesicle-rich synapses were found to preferentially reside next to neighbours with large recycling pool sizes. Although these synapses with large recycling pool sizes were rare, they were densely arranged and thus exhibited a high amount of release per volume. To consolidate these findings, functional terminals were marked by live-cell antibody staining with anti-synaptotagmin-1-cypHer or overexpression of synaptopHluorin. Analysis of synapse distributions in these systems confirmed the results obtained with FM 1–43. Our findings support the idea that clustering of synapses with large recycling pool sizes is a distinct developmental feature of newly formed neural networks and may contribute to functional plasticity

Effects of MASP-1 of the Complement System on Activation of Coagulation Factors and Plasma Clot Formation

BACKGROUND: Numerous interactions between the coagulation and complement systems have been shown. Recently, links between coagulation and mannan-binding lectin-associated serine protease-1 (MASP-1) of the complement lectin pathway have been proposed. Our aim was to investigate MASP-1 activation of factor XIII (FXIII), fibrinogen, prothrombin, and thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) in plasma-based systems, and to analyse effects of MASP-1 on plasma clot formation, structure and lysis. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We used a FXIII incorporation assay and specific assays to measure the activation products prothrombin fragment F1+2, fibrinopeptide A (FPA), and activated TAFI (TAFIa). Clot formation and lysis were assessed by turbidimetric assay. Clot structure was studied by scanning electron microscopy. MASP-1 activated FXIII and, contrary to thrombin, induced FXIII activity faster in the Val34 than the Leu34 variant. MASP-1-dependent generation of F1+2, FPA and TAFIa showed a dose-dependent response in normal citrated plasma (NCP), albeit MASP-1 was much less efficient than FXa or thrombin. MASP-1 activation of prothrombin and TAFI cleavage were confirmed in purified systems. No FPA generation was observed in prothrombin-depleted plasma. MASP-1 induced clot formation in NCP, affected clot structure, and prolonged clot lysis. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We show that MASP-1 interacts with plasma clot formation on different levels and influences fibrin structure. Although MASP-1-induced fibrin formation is thrombin-dependent, MASP-1 directly activates prothrombin, FXIII and TAFI. We suggest that MASP-1, in concerted action with other complement and coagulation proteins, may play a role in fibrin clot formation