4,094 research outputs found
Inflammation and changes in cytokine levels in neurological feline infectious peritonitis.
Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is a progressive, fatal, predominantly Arthus-type immune-mediated disease that is triggered when cats are infected with a mutant enteric coronavirus. The disease presents variably with multiple organ failure, seizures, generalized effusion, or shock. Neurological FIP is clinically and pathologically more homogeneous than systemic 'wet' or 'dry' FIP; thus, comparison of cytokine profiles from cats with neurological FIP, wet FIP, and non-FIP neurological disease may provide insight into some baseline characteristics relating to the immunopathogenesis of neurological FIP. This study characterizes inflammation and changes in cytokines in the brain tissue of FIP-affected cats. Cellular infiltrates in cats with FIP included lymphocytes, plasma cells, neutrophils, macrophages, and eosinophils. IL-1 beta, IL-6, IL-12, IL-18, TNF-alpha, macrophage inhibitory protein (MIP)-1 alpha, and RANTES showed no upregulation in the brains of control cats, moderate upregulation in neurological FIP cats, and very high upregulation in generalized FIP cats. Transcription of IFN-gamma appeared upregulated in cats with systemic FIP and slightly downregulated in neurological FIP. In most cytokines tested, variance was extremely high in generalized FIP and much less in neurological FIP. Principal components analysis was performed in order to find the least number of 'components' that would summarize the cytokine profiles in cats with neurological FIP. A large component of the variance (91.7%) was accounted for by levels of IL-6, MIP-1 alpha, and RANTES. These findings provide new insight into the immunopathogenesis of FIP and suggest targets for immune therapy of this disease
Nanoscale deformation of a liquid surface
We study the interaction between a solid particle and a liquid interface. A semianalytical solution of the nonlinear equation that describes the interface deformation points out the existence of a bifurcation behavior for the apex deformation as a function of the distance. We show that the apex curvature obeys a simple power-law dependency on the deformation. Relationships between physical parameters disclose the threshold distance at which the particle can approach the liquid before capillarity provokes a "jump to contact". A prediction of the interface original position before deformation takes place, as well as the attraction force measured by an approaching probe, are produced. The results of our analysis agree with the force curves obtained from atomic force microscopy experiments over a liquid puddle
Soil bacterial communities are shaped by temporal and environmental filtering: evidence from a long‐term chronosequence
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/113766/1/emi12762.pd
Seasonality of reproduction of Piaractus brachypomus in South Bolivia
The reproductive period of Piaractus brachypomus is short in South Bolivia. This area is close to the Southern limit of the species and conditions favourable to its reproduction last for only a few months. In order to increase fry production, we studied the possibility of extending its spawning period in captivity
Traitement médical de l’endométriose douloureuse sans infertilité, RPC Endométriose CNGOF-HAS
OBJECTIVE: To provide clinical practice guidelines for the management of painful endometriosis in women without infertility.
METHODS: Systematic review of the literature literature since 2006, level of evidence rating, external proofreading and grading of the recommendation grade by an expert group according to HAS methodology.
RESULTS: Combined hormonal contraceptives (COP) and the levonorgestrel-releasing intra-uterin system (LNG-IUS) are recommended as first-line hormonal therapies for the treatment of painful endometriosis (grade B). Second-line therapy relies on oral desogestrel microprogestative, etonogestrel-releasing implant, GnRH analogs (GnRHa) and dienogest (grade C). It is recommended to use add-back therapy containing estrogen in association with GnRHa (grade B). After endometriosis surgery, hormonal treatment relying on COP or LNG-IUS is recommended to prevent pain recurrence (grade B). COP is recommended to reduce the risk of endometrioma recurrence after surgery (grade B) but the prescription of GnRHa is not recommended (grade C). Continuous COP is recommended in case of dysmenorrhea (grade B). GnRHa is not recommended as first line endometriosis treatment for adolescent girl because of the risk of bone demineralization (grade B). The management of endometriosis-induced chronic pain requires an interdisciplinary evaluation. Physical therapies improving the quality of life such as yoga, relaxation or osteopathy can be proposed (expert agreement). Promising medical alternatives are currently under preclinical and clinical evaluation
On uniformization of Burnside's curve
Main objects of uniformization of the curve are studied: its
Burnside's parametrization, corresponding Schwarz's equation, and accessory
parameters. As a result we obtain the first examples of solvable Fuchsian
equations on torus and exhibit number-theoretic integer -series for
uniformizing functions, relevant modular forms, and analytic series for
holomorphic Abelian integrals. A conjecture of Whittaker for hyperelliptic
curves and its hypergeometric reducibility are discussed. We also consider the
conversion between Burnside's and Whittaker's uniformizations.Comment: Final version. LaTeX, 23 pages, 1 figure. The handbook for elliptic
functions has been moved to arXiv:0808.348
Plasmon single- and multi-quantum excitation in free metal clusters as seen by photoelectron spectroscopy.
Plasmons are investigated in free nanoscale Na, Mg, and K metal clusters using synchrotron radiation-based x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The core levels for which the response from bulk and surface atoms can be resolved are probed over an extended binding energy range to include the plasmon loss features. In all species the features due to fundamental plasmons are identified, and in Na and K also those due to either the first order plasmon overtones or sequential plasmon excitation are observed. These features are discussed in view of earlier results for planar macroscopic samples and free clusters of the same materials
High Levels of DEK Autoantibodies in Sera of Patients With Polyarticular Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis and With Early Disease Flares Following Cessation of Anti–Tumor Necrosis Factor Therapy
© 2017 The Authors. Arthritis & Rheumatology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American College of Rheumatology. Objective: The nuclear oncoprotein DEK is an autoantigen associated with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), especially the oligoarticular subtype. DEK is a secreted chemotactic factor. Abundant levels of DEK and DEK autoantibodies are found in inflamed synovium in JIA. We undertook this study to further characterize the nature of DEK autoantibodies in screening serum samples from 2 different cohorts that consisted mostly of patients with JIA. Methods: DEK autoantibody levels were analyzed in sera from 33 JIA patients, 13 patients with other inflammatory conditions, and 11 healthy controls, as well as in 89 serum samples from JIA patients receiving anti–tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapy. Recombinant His-tagged full-length DEK protein (1–375 amino acids [aa]) and the 187–375-aa and 1–350-aa His-tagged DEK fragments made in a baculovirus system were used for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunoblotting. The C-terminal 25-aa fragment of DEK was expressed in a glutathione S-transferase–tagged vector. ELISA results were calculated as area under the curve by the trapezoidal rule. Results: DEK autoantibody levels were significantly higher in patients with polyarticular JIA than in those with oligoarticular JIA, and were higher in patients with polyarticular JIA who had more active disease after cessation of anti-TNF therapy. Immunoblotting against the C-terminal 25-aa fragment of DEK confirmed that this section of the DEK molecule is the most immunogenic domain. Conclusion: DEK autoantibody levels are higher in patients with polyarticular JIA than in those with oligoarticular JIA, and higher in patients who have disease flares after cessation of anti-TNF therapy. The C-terminal 25-aa fragment is the most immunogenic portion of DEK. These findings are significant with respect to the nature of DEK autoantibodies, their contribution to JIA pathogenesis, and their implications for JIA management
Can environmental constraints determine random patterns of plant species co-occurrence?
Plant community ecologists use the null model approach to infer assembly processes
from observed patterns of species co-occurrence. In about a third of published
studies, the null hypothesis of random assembly cannot be rejected.
When this occurs, plant ecologists interpret that the observed random pattern
is not environmentally constrained – but probably generated by stochastic processes.
The null model approach (using the C-score and the discrepancy index)
was used to test for random assembly under two simulation algorithms. Logistic
regression, distance-based redundancy analysis, and constrained ordination were
used to test for environmental determinism (species segregation along environmental
gradients or turnover and species aggregation). This article introduces
an environmentally determined community of alpine hydrophytes that presents
itself as randomly assembled. The pathway through which the random pattern
arises in this community is suggested to be as follows: Two simultaneous environmental processes, one leading to species aggregation and the other leading
to species segregation, concurrently generate the observed pattern, which results
to be neither aggregated nor segregated – but random. A simulation study supports
this suggestion. Although apparently simple, the null model approach seems to assume that a single ecological factor prevails or that if several factors
decisively influence the community, then they all exert their influence in the
same direction, generating either aggregation or segregation. As these assumptions are unlikely to hold in most cases and assembly processes cannot be
inferred from random patterns, we would like to propose plant ecologists to
investigate specifically the ecological processes responsible for observed random
patterns, instead of trying to infer processes from patternsThis research and publication was possible
thanks to a postdoctoral fellowship at The
Open University (UK) and the project “Development of the recovery plan for A.
rioxana in la Rioja. Measures of research,
monitoring and control (University of
Salamanca)”, both funded by the Regional
Government of La Rioja (Spain
PyElph - a software tool for gel images analysis and phylogenetics
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This paper presents PyElph, a software tool which automatically extracts data from gel images, computes the molecular weights of the analyzed molecules or fragments, compares DNA patterns which result from experiments with molecular genetic markers and, also, generates phylogenetic trees computed by five clustering methods, using the information extracted from the analyzed gel image. The software can be successfully used for population genetics, phylogenetics, taxonomic studies and other applications which require gel image analysis. Researchers and students working in molecular biology and genetics would benefit greatly from the proposed software because it is free, open source, easy to use, has a friendly Graphical User Interface and does not depend on specific image acquisition devices like other commercial programs with similar functionalities do.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>PyElph software tool is entirely implemented in Python which is a very popular programming language among the bioinformatics community. It provides a very friendly Graphical User Interface which was designed in six steps that gradually lead to the results. The user is guided through the following steps: image loading and preparation, lane detection, band detection, molecular weights computation based on a molecular weight marker, band matching and finally, the computation and visualization of phylogenetic trees. A strong point of the software is the visualization component for the processed data. The Graphical User Interface provides operations for image manipulation and highlights lanes, bands and band matching in the analyzed gel image. All the data and images generated in each step can be saved. The software has been tested on several DNA patterns obtained from experiments with different genetic markers. Examples of genetic markers which can be analyzed using PyElph are RFLP (Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism), AFLP (Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism), RAPD (Random Amplification of Polymorphic DNA) and STR (Short Tandem Repeat). The similarity between the DNA sequences is computed and used to generate phylogenetic trees which are very useful for population genetics studies and taxonomic classification.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>PyElph decreases the effort and time spent processing data from gel images by providing an automatic step-by-step gel image analysis system with a friendly Graphical User Interface. The proposed free software tool is suitable for researchers and students which do not have access to expensive commercial software and image acquisition devices.</p
- …