Capture of particles of dust by convective flow

Interaction of particles of dust with vortex convective flows is under theoretical consideration. It is assumed that the volume fraction of solid phase is small, variations of density due to nonuniform distribution of particles and those caused by temperature nonisothermality of medium are comparable. Equations for the description of thermal buoyancy convection of a dusty medium are developed in the framework of the generalized Boussinesq approximation taking into account finite velocity of particle sedimentation. The capture of a cloud of dust particles by a vortex convective flow is considered, general criterion for the formation of such a cloud is obtained. The peculiarities of a steady state in the form of a dust cloud and backward influence of the solid phase on the carrier flow are studied in detail for a vertical layer heated from the sidewalls. It is shown that in the case, when this backward influence is essential, a hysteresis behavior is possible. The stability analysis of the steady state is performed. It turns out that there is a narrow range of governing parameters, in which such a steady state is stable.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures, published in Physics of Fluid

Transforming growth factors TGF- β1, TGF- β2 and TGF- β3 in the tissue of nasal polyps in different phenotypes of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps

Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSP) is a heterogenous disease. We have earlier detected differences in severity of clinical manifestations, cellular infiltration degree shown in nasal polyps, of eosinophil-to-neutrophil ratio, efficacy of intranasal glucocorticosteroid baseline therapy, and various inflammatory patterns for several cytokines on the mRNA expression level in different phenotypes with isolated CRSP cases, CRSP associated with respiratory allergy (RA), or non-allergic bronchial asthma.The purpose of this work was to study the cytokines of TGF-â family in the tissues of nasal polyps in patients with different CRSP phenotypes. The research involved 292 patients suffering from CRSP divided into 3 phenotypic groups. Group I consisted of patients with isolated CRSP free of associated BA and/or sensitization to atopic allergens. Group II included patients with CRSP combined with respiratory allergy and was further divided into two subgroups. I.e., Group 2a comprised patients with CRSP, allergic BA (aBA), and allergic rhinitis (AR), while the patients with CRSP, AR, and non-allergic BA were placed to the group 2b. The patients suffering from CRSP complicated with non-allergic BA were allocated to the group III. The patients with hypertrophic rhinitis served as control. The levels of TGF-â1, TGF-â2, and TGF-â3 proteins (pg/mg) were measured by means of multiplex immunoassay approach in supernates of tissue homogenates from nasal polyps removed by surgery, and in posterior parts of inferior nasal conchae. The total protein level was determined in tissue supernatant, with cytokine contents recalculated for the mg/ml protein concentration for standardization of measurements.In the control group, trace concentrations of all three growth factors were detected. Significant difference in protein contents was found for the studied cytokines, depending on CRSP phenotype. The levels of TGF-â1 and TGF-â2 were statistically lower in isolated CRSP than in other groups of comorbid CRSP patients. TGF-â1 and TGF-â2 concentrations were significantly lower in CRSP + allergic BA group IIa than in CRSP + nonallergic BA and CRSP + RA groups. The amount of TGF-â3 cytokine was maximal in CRSP + non-allergic BA group III compared to the patients with isolated CRSP of group I and CRSP + non-allergic BA group 2a.Conclusions.The high level of all three TGF-â isoforms in patients with CRSP compared to the control group suggested a high potential of mucous membranes of paranasal sinuses for active tissue remodeling followed by nasal polype formation.Different mechanisms were presumed for development of local pathological process in different clinical phenotypes of CRSP, depending on the comorbid pathology, especially, BA or respiratory disorders.Minimal TGF-â1 and TGF-â2 levels were detected in isolated CRSP.The highest concentrations of TGF-â1, TGF-â2, and TGF-â3 were discovered in the patients with CRSP accompanied by non-allergic BA as compared to the groups with isolated CRSP and CRSP+allergic BA.5. Determination of TGF-â1, TGF-â2, and TGF-â3 levels can serve as an additional criterion for differentiating between the mechanisms of mucous membrane damage in local pathological process in tissues of comorbid patients with different CRSP phenotypes

The role of leukotriene receptor blockers in the treatment of allergic rhinitis in combination with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps

Background. Leukotrienes play an important role in the pathogenesis of allergic rhinitis (AR) and eosinophilic type of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). There is a phenotype of CRSwNP in combination with AR, which has specifics of local inflammation.The aim of our study was to investigate the efficacy of using an antileukotriene drug in the treatment of AR in combination with CRSwNP.Materials and methods. 63 patients with AR and bilateral CRSwNP after endoscopic bilateral polypotomy were randomly divided into 2 groups. In the 1st group 32 people (age 50.28 ± 1.37 years) were prescribed a basic therapy with nasal spray of mometasone furoate at a daily dose of 400 µg in combination with montelukast 1 tab. 10 mg at night, in the 2nd group 31 people (age 50.31 ± 1, 16 years old) received only mometasone furoate monotherapy. Endoscopic examination of the nasal cavity was performed once every 3 months. The follow-up period was 1 year.Results. After 3 months in the 1st group of patients there was a recurrence of polyp growth was observed in 25% of cases, in the 2nd group in 35.5% of patients (p < 0.05). After 6 months, the number of relapses of CRSwNP decreased to 15.6% of cases in group 1 and to 22.6% in group 2 (p < 0.05). After 9 months in group 1 recurrence of NP was recorded in 12.5% of patients and nasal polyps were completely absent during endoscopic examination in 9.4% of cases, in the 2nd group, relapse was detected in 19.35% of patients (p < 0.05). 1 year after surgery, in group 1, relapse of NP was found in 12.5% of patients with AR and in 12.5% of cases was remission of the pathological process with cancellation of basic therapy. In group 2, recurrence of NP was in 16.1% of cases, there were no reasons for withdraw treatment of intranasal glucocorticosteroids in this group.Discussion. The clinical effectiveness of the addition of Montelukast to basic therapy has been reflected in a reduction in the growth rate of polyposic vegetation, the number of repeated operations and the stabilization of the flow of chronic inflammatory process.Conclusions. In the case of the clinical phenotype of AR with CRSwNP, the addition of a leukotriene receptor blocker montelukast to the basic therapy of intranasal glucocorticosteroids made it possible to improve drug control of both diseases and reduce the frequency of CRSwNP relapses

STUDY OF THE EFFICIENCY AND SAFETY OF MYCOPHENOLATE MOFETIL THERAPY IN PATIENTSWITH SYSTEMIC SCLERODERMA

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is one of the major causes of death in systemic scleroderma (SSD). Treatment of these patients remains difficult and controversial. Mycophenolate mofetil (MPM) has been in vitro shown to inhibit overproduction of type I collagen and hence may be effective against SSD. Objective: to study the efficiency and safety of MPM therapy in patients with SSD and clinically relevant ILD in an open-label prospective study. Subjects and methods. Ten patients with SSD (7 and 3 with its diffuse and limited forms, respectively) and ILD were given MPM in combination with glucocorticoids (mean daily dose was 10+4 mg). The mean MPM therapy duration was 11.4+1.3 months. The Rodnan total skin thickness score, flexion index, forced vital capacity (FVC), diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO), and European Scleroderma Study Group (EScSG) activity index were estimated and a 6-minute walk test (6MWT) was carried out before and after MPM therapy. Results. After therapy, the whole group showed a significant reduction in skin scores from 12.9+9.8 to 5.6+3.2 (p=0.036) and EScSG from 3.9+1.4 to 2.25+1.03 (p=0.015) and an increase in exercise tolerance from 446+155 to 535+78 m (p=0.03) as evidenced by 6MWT. The degree of flexion contractures decreased from 15+21 to 3.7+11.3 mm (p>0.05). FVC (77.8+18.7% versus 73.8+11.3%) and DLCO (45+14.4% versus 42+16.4%) were significantly unchanged. A 10% or more clinically significant fall was noted in FVC and DLCO in 3 and 1 patients, respectively. In the remaining patients, the lung functional test results remained stable. MPM tolerability was satisfactory. All the patients completed their course of treatment. Conclusion. Stabilization of lung function with higher exercise tolerance and significantly reduced skin density allow therapy with MPM in combination with low-dose glucocorticoids to be regarded as an effective and well-tolerated treatment in patients with ILD in the presence of SS

European Space Agency experiments on thermodiffusion of fluid mixtures in space

Abstract.: This paper describes the European Space Agency (ESA) experiments devoted to study thermodiffusion of fluid mixtures in microgravity environment, where sedimentation and convection do not affect the mass flow induced by the Soret effect. First, the experiments performed on binary mixtures in the IVIDIL and GRADFLEX experiments are described. Then, further experiments on ternary mixtures and complex fluids performed in DCMIX and planned to be performed in the context of the NEUF-DIX project are presented. Finally, multi-component mixtures studied in the SCCO project are detailed

Actin binding to WH2 domains regulates nuclear import of the multifunctional actin regulator JMY

© The Author(s), 2012. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Molecular Biology of the Cell 23 (2012): 853-863, doi:10.1091/mbc.E11-12-0992.Junction-mediating and regulatory protein (JMY) is a regulator of both transcription and actin filament assembly. In response to DNA damage, JMY accumulates in the nucleus and promotes p53-dependent apoptosis. JMY's actin-regulatory activity relies on a cluster of three actin-binding Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome protein homology 2 (WH2) domains that nucleate filaments directly and also promote nucleation activity of the Arp2/3 complex. In addition to these activities, we find that the WH2 cluster overlaps an atypical, bipartite nuclear localization sequence (NLS) and controls JMY's subcellular localization. Actin monomers bound to the WH2 domains block binding of importins to the NLS and prevent nuclear import of JMY. Mutations that impair actin binding, or cellular perturbations that induce actin filament assembly and decrease the concentration of monomeric actin in the cytoplasm, cause JMY to accumulate in the nucleus. DNA damage induces both cytoplasmic actin polymerization and nuclear import of JMY, and we find that damage-induced nuclear localization of JMY requires both the WH2/NLS region and importin β. On the basis of our results, we propose that actin assembly regulates nuclear import of JMY in response to DNA damage.This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, an American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship (J.B.Z.), the Robert Day Allen Fellowship Fund (J.B.Z.), and a National Science Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship (B.B.)

Time course of changes in bone resorption markers during pamidronate therapy in breast cancer patients with bone metastases

The paper gives the results of evaluating the time course of changes in the level of bone resorption markers (S-CTx and dPir) in pami- dronate-treated patients with bone metastases from breast cancer. It shows the relationship of these markers to clinical and X-ray find- ings. The markers were not found to be of high clinical significance as a means for diagnosing bone metastases and estimating treat- ment trends

Primary idiopathic hypertrophic osteoarthropathy in a child: characteristics of the disease with a case report

The paper gives the data available in the literature on the relatively rare disease hypertrophic osteoarthropathy (HOA). This syndrome includes symptoms, such as clubbed fingers (hypertrophy of the distal phalanges), periostosis (subperiosteal new bone formation along the distal diaphysis of the long bones with further progression in the proximal direction) and arthritis, as well as skin changes (pachydermia) that are not an obligate sign. There is information concerning the pathogenesis, clinical, laboratory, and instrumental manifestations of this disease. The paper describes a clinical case of primary HOA in a teenager who has been misdiagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). It shows the necessity of including HOA in the spectrum of differential diagnosis in children with articular involvement since HOA may resemble JIA in its clinical manifestations. Patients with primary HOA who have been misdiagnosed with JIA have a long ineffective experience with immunosuppressive and sometimes even glucocorticoid therapies. The specific features that can distinguish the full form of primary HOA from chronic arthritis is the absence of inflammatory changes in the synovial fluid, the presence of clubbed fingers, pachydermia and the lack of morning stiffness