Cellular actors, Toll-like receptors, and local cytokine profile in acute coronary syndromes

Aims Inflammation plays a key role in acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Toll-like receptors (TLR) on leucocytes mediate inflammation and immune responses. We characterized leucocytes and TLR expression within coronary thrombi and compared cytokine levels from the site of coronary occlusion with aortic blood (AB) in ACS patients. Methods and results In 18 ACS patients, thrombi were collected by aspiration during primary percutaneous coronary intervention. Thrombi and AB from these patients as well as AB from 10 age-matched controls without coronary artery disease were assessed by FACS analysis for cellular distribution and TLR expression. For further discrimination of ACS specificity, seven non-coronary intravascular thrombi and eight thrombi generated in vitro were analysed. In 17 additional patients, cytokine levels were determined in blood samples from the site of coronary occlusion under distal occlusion and compared with AB. In coronary thrombi from ACS, the percentage of monocytes related to the total leucocyte count was greater than in AB (47 vs. 20%, P = 0.0002). In thrombi, TLR-4 and TLR-2 were overexpressed on CD14-labelled monocytes, and TLR-2 was increased on CD66b-labelled granulocytes, in comparison with leucocytes in AB. In contrast, in vitro and non-coronary thrombi exhibited no overexpression of TLR-4. Local blood samples taken under distal occlusion revealed elevated concentrations of chemokines (IL-8, MCP-1, eotaxin, MIP-1α, and IP-10) and cytokines (IL-1ra, IL-6, IL-7, IL-12, IL-17, IFN-α, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor) regulating both innate and adaptive immunity (all P < 0.05). Conclusion In ACS patients, monocytes accumulate within thrombi and specifically overexpress TLR-4. Together with the local expression patterns of chemokines and cytokines, the increase of TLR-4 reflects a concerted activation of this inflammatory pathway at the site of coronary occlusion in AC

Optimasi Portofolio Resiko Menggunakan Model Markowitz MVO Dikaitkan dengan Keterbatasan Manusia dalam Memprediksi Masa Depan dalam Perspektif Al-Qur`an

Risk portfolio on modern finance has become increasingly technical, requiring the use of sophisticated mathematical tools in both research and practice. Since companies cannot insure themselves completely against risk, as human incompetence in predicting the future precisely that written in Al-Quran surah Luqman verse 34, they have to manage it to yield an optimal portfolio. The objective here is to minimize the variance among all portfolios, or alternatively, to maximize expected return among all portfolios that has at least a certain expected return. Furthermore, this study focuses on optimizing risk portfolio so called Markowitz MVO (Mean-Variance Optimization). Some theoretical frameworks for analysis are arithmetic mean, geometric mean, variance, covariance, linear programming, and quadratic programming. Moreover, finding a minimum variance portfolio produces a convex quadratic programming, that is minimizing the objective function ðð¥with constraintsð ð 𥠥 ðandð´ð¥ = ð. The outcome of this research is the solution of optimal risk portofolio in some investments that could be finished smoothly using MATLAB R2007b software together with its graphic analysis

Search for supersymmetry in events with one lepton and multiple jets in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

Peer reviewe

Search for anomalous couplings in boosted WW/WZ -> l nu q(q)over-bar production in proton-proton collisions at root s=8TeV

Peer reviewe

Age-related differences in agility and speed performances between the first team and youth players in male amateur soccer

Ziel dieser Studie war es, die altersspezifischen Unterschiede zwischen männlichen Kampfmannschaftsspielern und Nachwuchsspielern im Amateurfußball in Hinblick auf die lineare Sprintschnelligkeit, die planbare Richtungswechselgeschwindigkeit, sowie die unvorhersehbare Richtungswechselgeschwindigkeit („agility“) festzustellen. Zugleich wurde überprüft, ob es einen Zusammenhang zwischen den einzelnen Fähigkeiten gibt und wie groß dieser ist. 16 Spieler aus der Kampfmannschaft und 10 Jugendspieler nahmen an der Studie teil und absolvierten 3 verschiedene Tests, jeweils mit und ohne Ball. Es zeigten sich bei allen sechs Testungen signifikante Unterschiede (p< 0.05) zwischen Kampfmannschafts- und Nachwuchsspielern. Außer bei den Testungen von vorhersehbarer und nicht- vorhersehbarer Richtungswechselgeschwindigkeit mit Ball, waren die Kampfmannschaftsspieler im Durchschnitt bei allen Tests schneller. Es konnte ebenso ein signifikanter, moderater Zusammenhang (r= 0.7; R2= 0.49) zwischen der linearen Sprintschnelligkeit, sowie der unvorhersehbaren Richtungswechselgeschwindigkeit ohne Ball festgestellt werden. Bei denselben Testungen mit Ball trat ebenso ein signifikanter, moderater Zusammenhang (r= 0.52; R2= 0.27) auf. Da der Anteil der gemeinsamen Varianz mit 27% aber geringer ausfällt als ohne Ball (49%), lässt sich daraus schließen, dass die Leistung auch sehr von den technischen Qualitäten (mit Ball) abhängig ist und dementsprechend auch Unterschiede in Hinblick auf die lineare Sprintschnelligkeit und der unvorhersehbaren Richtungswechselgeschwindigkeit bestehen.The aim of this study was to compare male amateur soccer players in different age groups and thus, with a different standard of play in linear sprinting speed, change–of–direction speed and agility performance. The main research question is, therefore, if there is a relation between those skills, especially between agility and linear sprinting speed. In total, sixteen first team players and ten youth players from the same club participated and completed three different tests for assessing each ability without and with dribbling a ball. There are statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) between first team players and youth players in all tests except for agility performance testing with a ball (p= 0.200) and in the change –of–direction test with a ball (p= 0.11), whereas the first team players always yielded faster results. Furthermore, there is a statistically significant (p < 0.05) moderate correlation between linear sprinting and agility performance without a ball displayed Pearson´s coefficient r= 0.7 and the common variance R2= 0.49. There is also a significant moderate correlation between sprinting and agility performance (r= 0.52; R2= 0.27) while dribbling a ball. Because of the lower common variance of 27%, it could be assumed that it does make a difference in the performance if a ball is included or not and that agility and sprinting with a ball are different physical qualities