1,955 research outputs found
A new player in cartilage homeostasis: adiponectin induces nitric oxide synthase type II and pro-inflammatory cytokines in chondrocytes
SummaryObjectiveRecent studies revealed a close connection between adipose tissue, adipokines and articular degenerative inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA). The goal of this work was to investigate the activity of adiponectin in human and murine chondrocytes and to study its functional role in the modulation of nitric oxide synthase type II (NOS2). For completeness, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, MMP-3, MMP-9, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), leukotriene B4 (LTB4), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF)-α and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) accumulation have been evaluated in adiponectin-stimulated chondrocytes cell culture supernatants.MethodsMurine ATDC5 cell line, C28/I2, C20A4, TC28a2 human immortalized chondrocytes, and human cultured chondrocytes were used. Nitrite accumulation was determined by Griess reaction. Adiponectin receptors (AdipoRs) expression was evaluated by immunofluorescence microscopy and confirmed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. NOS2 expression was evaluated by Western blot analysis whereas cytokines, prostanoids and metalloproteinases production was evaluated by specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays.ResultsHuman and murine chondrocytes express functional AdipoRs. Adiponectin induces NOS2. This effect is inhibited by aminoguanidine, dexamethasone and by a selective inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. In addition, adiponectin is able to increase IL-6, MMP-3, MMP-9 and MCP-1 by murine cultured chondrocytes whereas it was unable to modulate TNF-α, IL-1β, MMP-2, TIMP-1, PGE2 and LTB4 release.ConclusionsThese results bind more closely the interactions between fat-derived adipokines and articular inflammatory diseases, and suggest that adiponectin is a novel key element in the maintenance of cartilage homeostasis which might be considered as a potential therapeutical target in joint degenerative diseases
Transesterificação de óleo de soja com diversos catalisadores alcalinos.
Amostras de óleo de soja neutralizado e seco foram transesterificadas com etanol comercial a 99,5% na presença de quantidades equivalentes de hidróxido, metóxido, etóxido e gliceróxido de sódio como catalisadores. Com o uso dos três alcóxidos obteve-se a separação do glicerol formado durante a reação, o que não ocorreu com o uso de hidróxido de sódio. O rendimento de sódio, como catalisador na transesterificação, apresenta vantagens econômicas e tecnológicas quando comparado com o hidróxido de sódio.bitstream/item/65433/1/CTAA-DOCUMENTOS-12-TRANSESTERIFICACAO-DE-OLEO-DE-SOJA-COM-DIVERSOS-CATALISADORES-ALCALINOS-FL-021.pd
Óleos de macaúba: uma alternativa para a oleoquímica.
bitstream/item/118253/1/oleos-de-macauba.pd
DecidArch: Playing Cards as Software Architects
Teaching software architecture is a challenge because of the difficulty to expose students to actual meaningful design situations. Games can provide a useful illustration of the design decision making process, and teach students the power of team interaction for making sound decisions. We introduce a game –DecidArch– developed to achieve three learning objectives: 1) create awareness about the rationale involved in design decision making, 2) enable appreciation of the reasoning behind candidate design decisions proposed by others, and 3) create awareness about interdependencies between design decisions. The game has been played by 22 groups with a total of 83 players, all of them students of the VU software architecture course. We present some of the lessons learned, both from our observation and through participant survey. We conclude that the game well supports our three learning objectives, and we identify several improvement points for future game editions
The importance of ultrasound findings in the study of anal pain
ABSTRACT
Objective: endoanal ultrasonography can detect organic causes
of anal pain without pathology on physical examination. The
aim of this study is to evaluate the importance of endoanal ultrasonography
in the diagnosis and therapeutic management of idiopathic
and functional anal pain.
Material and methods: retrospective study, between 15
March 2005 and 15 June 2008, of all patients with proctalgia
and normal examination or with alterations not responsible for
anal pain at proctologic exam that have undergone an endoanal
ultrasonography.
Results: a total of 90 patients were analyzed, with a mean
age of 50.5 years, 58% were female. Twenty-three patients had
functional anal pain clinic criteria. Endoanal ultrasonography revealed
alterations in 49% of patients. The primary findings were
changes in sphincters in 14 patients, followed by anal sepsis in 12
patients, anal fissure in 10 patients, perirectal lesions in 6 patients
and ulcer of the anal canal in 2 patients. Of the patients with
sphincter defects, 5 patients had criteria of chronic anal pain. In
this group of patients, no differences were found in manometric
and defecographic results between the different ultrasound abnormalities.
Conclusions: the endoanal ultrasonography detected occult
organic lesions to proctologic examination, in half the patients
with anal pain. Ultrasound abnormalities were found in 22% of
patients with functional anal pain. However, there was no correlation
between ultrasound findings and physiological studies, and
therefore could not find etiological or pathogenic factors of functional
anal pain
Scaling Properties of Random Walks on Small-World Networks
Using both numerical simulations and scaling arguments, we study the behavior
of a random walker on a one-dimensional small-world network. For the properties
we study, we find that the random walk obeys a characteristic scaling form.
These properties include the average number of distinct sites visited by the
random walker, the mean-square displacement of the walker, and the distribution
of first-return times. The scaling form has three characteristic time regimes.
At short times, the walker does not see the small-world shortcuts and
effectively probes an ordinary Euclidean network in -dimensions. At
intermediate times, the properties of the walker shows scaling behavior
characteristic of an infinite small-world network. Finally, at long times, the
finite size of the network becomes important, and many of the properties of the
walker saturate. We propose general analytical forms for the scaling properties
in all three regimes, and show that these analytical forms are consistent with
our numerical simulations.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures, two-column format. Submitted to PR
Virtualization of set-top-box devices in next generation SDN-NFV networks: the INPUT project perspective
Due to the emergence of Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) paradigms, coupled with a hyper-connectivity communication paradigm, the \u201csoftwarisation\u201d of the Internet infrastructure and of its network management framework is gaining increasing popularity. This is the target of the INPUT platform, a novel infrastructure and paradigm supporting Future Internet personal cloud services in a more scalable and sustainable way, and with innovative addedvalue capabilities. The INPUT technologies enable next-generation cloud applications to go beyond classical service models, and even replace physical Smart Devices, usually placed in users\u2019 homes (e.g., set-top boxes), with their virtual images, providing them to users \u201cas a Service\u201d. In this paper we present the Virtual set-top box from both architectural and functional points of view, demonstrating the feasibility of the softwarized SDN/NFV paradigm joined with the fog-computing approach to support personal cloud services
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