Collagen XVIII/endostatin expression in experimental endotoxemic acute renal failure

Acute renal failure (ARF) is a frequent complication of Gram-negative sepsis, with a high risk of mortality. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ARF is associated with hemodynamic changes that are strongly influenced by the overproduction of nitric oxide (NO) through the cytokine-mediated up-regulation of inducible NO synthase. LPS-induced reductions in systemic vascular resistance paradoxically culminate in renal vasoconstriction. Collagen XVIII is an important component of the extracellular matrix expressed in basement membranes. Its degradation by matrix metalloproteases, cathepsins and elastases results in the formation of endostatin, claimed to have antiangiogenic activity and to be a prominent vasorelaxing agent. We evaluated the expression of endostatin/collagen XVIII in an endotoxemic ARF model. ARF was induced in C57BL/6 mice by intraperitoneal injection of LPS (10 mg/kg) followed by sacrifice 4 and 12 h later. Kidney tissue was the source of RNA and protein and the subject of histological analysis. As early as 4 h after LPS administration, blood urea, creatinine and NO levels were significantly increased compared to control. Endostatin/collagen XVIII mRNA levels were 0.71 times lower than sham-inoculated mice 4 h after LPS inoculation, returning to normal levels 12 h after LPS inoculation. Immunohistological examination revealed that acute injury caused by LPS leads to an increase of endostatin basement membrane staining in association with the decrease of CD31 endothelial basement membrane staining. These results indicate that in the early phase of endotoxemic ARF the endostatin levels were not regulated by gene expression, but by the metabolism of collagen XVIII

The mass spectrum of the Schwinger model with matrix product states

We show the feasibility of tensor network solutions for lattice gauge theories in Hamiltonian formulation by applying matrix product states algorithms to the Schwinger model with zero and non-vanishing fermion mass. We introduce new techniques to compute excitations in a system with open boundary conditions, and to identify the states corresponding to low momentum and different quantum numbers in the continuum. For the ground state and both the vector and scalar mass gaps in the massive case, the MPS technique attains precisions comparable to the best results available from other techniques.Comment: updated numerical results; accepted versio

The human dimension a review of human resources management issues in the tourism and hospitality industry

Human resources are often seen as one of the most important assets of tourism and hospitality organizations. Numerous studies have examined how employee performance can be managed to contribute to the organizational bottom line. This article is a structured review of the literature regarding key human resources management (HAM) issues in the tourism and hospitality industry. Based on this review, the authors offer an assessment of emerging trends in HRM and a summary of what has been advocated in the literature for managing employee performance

Strategies and performance of the CMS silicon tracker alignment during LHC Run 2

The strategies for and the performance of the CMS silicon tracking system alignment during the 2015–2018 data-taking period of the LHC are described. The alignment procedures during and after data taking are explained. Alignment scenarios are also derived for use in the simulation of the detector response. Systematic effects, related to intrinsic symmetries of the alignment task or to external constraints, are discussed and illustrated for different scenarios