36 research outputs found
Linking complement C3 and B cells in nasal polyposis
Nasal polyposis often is characterized by a persistent inflammation of the sinonasal mucosa, disease recurrence after medical or surgical intervention, and asthma comorbidity. Dysregulated complement activation may contribute to immunologic alterations and disease. To date, there is only scattered knowledge on the source and regulation of the central complement factors in the pathogenesis of nasal polyps. Here, we aim to study complement signatures, especially the C3-C3aR axis, and focus on cellular sources and targets in nasal polyps. Expression of complement factors, including C3, C5, and the anaphylatoxin receptors, was analyzed in nasal polyp tissue samples, the corresponding inferior turbinates, and healthy controls using transcriptomic methods and protein measurements. Distinct patterns of complement expression were found in nasal polyps compared to controls, characterized by an increased C3 activation and an increase in C3aR-bearing cells. In contrast, no difference was shown for epithelial-dependent C3 production. Besides low intracellular C3-expression levels for lymphocytes in general, we could identify an enlarged B lymphocyte population in nasal polyps displaying high amounts of intracellular C3. Our data suggest a prominent role for the C3-C3aR-axis in nasal polyps and, for the first time, describe a B cell population containing high levels of intracellular C3, suggesting a new role of B cells in the maintenance of the inflammation by complement
A Spread-Spectrum SQUID Multiplexer
The Transition-Edge Sensors (TES) is a mature, high-resolution x-ray
spectrometer technology that provides a much higher efficiency than dispersive
spectrometers such as gratings and crystal spectrometers. As larger arrays are
developed, time-division multiplexing schemes operating at MHz frequencies are
being replaced by microwave SQUID multiplexers using frequency-division
multiplexing at GHz frequencies. However, the multiplexing factor achievable
with microwave SQUIDs is limited by the high slew rate on the leading edge of
x-ray pulses. In this paper, we propose a new multiplexing scheme for
high-slew-rate TES x-ray calorimeters: the spread-spectrum SQUID multiplexer,
which has the potential to enable higher multiplexing factors, especially in
applications with lower photon arrival rates.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, Submitted to the Journal of Low Temperature
Physics (Proceedings of the 17th International Workshop on Low Temperature
Detectors
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Cytokine expression in subjects with Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis positive blood cultures and a meta-analysis of cytokine expression in Crohn's disease.
OBJECTIVES: 1) Culture Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (MAP)from blood, 2) assess infection persistence, 3) determine Crohn's disease (CD) cytokine expression, 4) compare CD cytokine expression to tuberculosis, and 5) perform a meta-analysis of cytokine expression in CD. METHODS: The Temple University/Abilene Christian University (TU/ACU) study had a prospective case control design with 201 subjects including 61 CD patients and 140 non-CD controls. The culture methods included MGIT, TiKa and Pozzato broths, and were deemed MAP positive, if IS900 PCR positive. A phage amplification assay was also performed to detect MAP. Cytokine analysis of the TU/ACU samples was performed using Simple Plex cytokine reagents on the Ella ELISA system. Statistical analyses were done after log transformation using the R software package. The meta-analysis combined three studies. RESULTS: Most subjects had MAP positive blood cultures by one or more methods in 3 laboratories. In our cytokine study comparing CD to non-CD controls, IL-17, IFNγ and TNFα were significantly increased in CD, but IL-2, IL-5, IL-10 and GM-CSF were not increased. In the meta-analysis, IL-6, IL-8 and IL-12 were significantly increased in the CD patients. CONCLUSION: Most subjects in our sample had MAP infection and 8 of 9 subjects remained MAP positive one year later indicating persistent infection. While not identical, cytokine expression patterns in MAP culture positive CD patients in the TU/ACU study showed similarities (increased IL-17, IFNγ and TNFα) to patterns of patients with Tuberculosis in other studies, indicating the possibilities of similar mechanisms of pathogen infection and potential strategies for treatment
The Consensus from the Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (MAP) Conference 2017.
On March 24 and 25, 2017 researchers and clinicians from around the world met at Temple University in Philadelphia to discuss the current knowledge of Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (MAP) and its relationship to human disease. The conference was held because of shared concern that MAP is a zoonotic bacterium that poses a threat not only to animal health but also human health. In order to further study this problem, the conferees discussed ways to improve MAP diagnostic tests and discussed potential future anti-MAP clinical trials. The conference proceedings may be viewed on the www.Humanpara.org website. A summary of the salient work in this field is followed by recommendations from a majority of the conferees
DMRadio-m: A Search for the QCD Axion Below eV
The QCD axion is one of the most compelling candidates to explain the dark
matter abundance of the universe. With its extremely small mass (), axion dark matter interacts as a classical field rather
than a particle. Its coupling to photons leads to a modification of Maxwell's
equations that can be measured with extremely sensitive readout circuits.
DMRadio-m is a next-generation search for axion dark matter below
eV using a T static magnetic field, a coaxial inductive pickup, a
tunable LC resonator, and a DC-SQUID readout. It is designed to search for QCD
axion dark matter over the range (). The primary
science goal aims to achieve DFSZ sensitivity above neV (30
MHz), with a secondary science goal of probing KSVZ axions down to
(10 MHz).Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures. Updated to fix small errors and correct
acknowledgement
Microwave multiplexing on the Keck Array
We describe an on-sky demonstration of a microwave-multiplexing readout
system in one of the receivers of the Keck Array, a polarimetry experiment
observing the cosmic microwave background at the South Pole. During the austral
summer of 2018-2019, we replaced the time-division multiplexing readout system
with microwave-multiplexing components including superconducting microwave
resonators coupled to radio-frequency superconducting quantum interference
devices at the sub-Kelvin focal plane, coaxial-cable plumbing and amplification
between room temperature and the cold stages, and a SLAC Microresonator Radio
Frequency system for the warm electronics. In the range 5-6 GHz, a single
coaxial cable reads out 528 channels. The readout system is coupled to
transition-edge sensors, which are in turn coupled to 150-GHz slot-dipole
phased-array antennas. Observations began in April 2019, and we report here on
an initial characterization of the system performance.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figures, Accepted by the Journal of Low Temperature
Physics (Proceedings of the 18th International Workshop on Low Temperature
Detectors