11,752 research outputs found
Towards in vivo g-ratio mapping using MRI: unifying myelin and diffusion imaging
The g-ratio, quantifying the comparative thickness of the myelin sheath
encasing an axon, is a geometrical invariant that has high functional relevance
because of its importance in determining neuronal conduction velocity. Advances
in MRI data acquisition and signal modelling have put in vivo mapping of the
g-ratio, across the entire white matter, within our reach. This capacity would
greatly increase our knowledge of the nervous system: how it functions, and how
it is impacted by disease. This is the second review on the topic of g-ratio
mapping using MRI. As such, it summarizes the most recent developments in the
field, while also providing methodological background pertinent to aggregate
g-ratio weighted mapping, and discussing pitfalls associated with these
approaches. Using simulations based on recently published data, this review
demonstrates the relevance of the calibration step for three myelin-markers
(macromolecular tissue volume, myelin water fraction, and bound pool fraction).
It highlights the need to estimate both the slope and offset of the
relationship between these MRI-based markers and the true myelin volume
fraction if we are really to achieve the goal of precise, high sensitivity
g-ratio mapping in vivo. Other challenges discussed in this review further
evidence the need for gold standard measurements of human brain tissue from ex
vivo histology. We conclude that the quest to find the most appropriate MRI
biomarkers to enable in vivo g-ratio mapping is ongoing, with the potential of
many novel techniques yet to be investigated.Comment: Will be published as a review article in Journal of Neuroscience
Methods as parf of the Special Issue with Hu Cheng and Vince Calhoun as Guest
Editor
Quasinormal modes in kink excitations and kink-antikink interactions: a toy model
We study excitations and collisions of kinks in a scalar field theory where
the potential has two minima with symmetry. The field potential is
designed to create a square well potential in the stability equation of the
kink excitations. The stability equation is analogous to the Schr\"{o}dinger
equation, and therefore we use quantum mechanics techniques to study the
system. We modify the square well potential continuously, which allows the
excitation to tunnel and consequently turns the normal modes of the kink into
quasinormal modes. We study the effect of this transition, leading to energy
leak, on isolated kink excitations. Finally, we investigate kink-antikink
collisions and the resulting scaling and fractal structure of the resonance
windows considering both normal and quasinormal modes and compare the results.Comment: 23 pages, 11 figure
Preliminary assessment of various additives on the specific reactivity of anti- rHBsAg monoclonal antibodies
Background: Antibodies have a wide application in diagnosis and treatment. In order to maintain optimal stability of various functional parts of antibodies such as antigen binding sites, several approaches have been suggested. Using additives such as polysaccharides and polyols is one of the main methods in protecting antibodies against aggregation or degradation in the formulation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the protective effect of various additives on the specific reactivity of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against recombinant HBsAg (rHBsAg) epitopes. Methods: To estimate the protective effect of different additives on the stability of antibody against conformational epitopes (S3 antibody) and linear epitopes (S7 and S11 antibodies) of rHBsAg, heat shock at 37°C was performed in liquid and solid phases. Environmental factors were considered to be constant. The specific reactivity of antibodies was evaluated using ELISA method. The data were analyzed using SPSS software by Mann-Whitney nonparametric test with the confidence interval of 95%. Results: Our results showed that 0.25 M sucrose, 0.04 M trehalose and 0.5% BSA had the most protective effect on maintaining the reactivity of mAbs (S3) against conformational epitopes of rHBsAg. Results obtained from S7 and S11 mAbs against linear characteristics showed minor differences. The most efficient protective additives were 0.04 M trehalose and 1 M sucrose. Conclusion: Nowadays, application of appropriate additives is important for increasing the stability of antibodies. It was concluded that sucrose, trehalose and BSA have considerable effects on the specific reactivity of anti rHBsAg mAbs during long storage. © 2015, Avicenna Journal of Medical Biotechnology. All rights reserved
Isolation of keratinophilic fungi and aerobic actinomycetes from park soils in Gorgan, North of Iran
Background: Keratinophilic fungi are a group of fungi that colonize in various keratinous substrates and degrade them to the components with low molecular weight. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of keratinophilic fungi and aerobic Actinomycetes in soil of city parks in Gorgan. Objectives: In this study, we surveyed the city park soils of Gorgan (a northern province of Iran) to determine the identities and diversity of soil aerobic Actinomycetes, keratinophilic and non-keratinophilic fungi. Materials and Methods: A total of 244 soil samples were collected from 22 diferent parks of Gorgan, North of Iran. The samples were collected from the superfcial layer with depth not exceeding than 0-10 cm in sterile polyethylene bags. We used hair bait technique for isolation keratinophilic fungi. The colonies identifed by macroscopic and microscopic characterization after slide culturing. Actinomycetes were isolated by antibiotic dilution methods and detected by using physiological tests such as Lysozyme, Casein, Xanthine, Hypoxanthine, Gelatin, Urea Broth, and modifed acid-fast stain. Results: Totally, 75 isolates of aerobic Actinomycetes were detected that Actinomadura madurae and Nocardia asteroides were the most prevalent strains, with 14.66 and 28% prevalence respectively. Microsporum gypseum was more frequent than other keratinophilic fungi (22.96%) and Aspergillus spp. was the most species of saprophyte fungi (15.92%). Conclusions: This study showed that the collected soil from studied areas was rich of keratinophilic fungi and Actinomycetes, therefore hygiene protocol should be taken to prevent the spread of pathogenic and saprophytes fungi in the environment of susceptible person. © 2013, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences
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