1,348 research outputs found
Preferential mobilization and egress of Type 1 and Type 3 innate lymphocytes in response to exercise and hypoxia
The study examined the effect of exercise and hypoxia on the mobilization and egress of innate lymphocytes (ILCs) and adaptive T cell populations in the blood. The ILCs have emerged as a critical population of cells in immune regulation at mucosal surfaces in animals and humans. Eleven healthy male subjects performed (i) 45 min of exercise at 50% VO2 peak on a cycle ergometer under normoxia and (ii) hypoxia, or (iii) while resting in hypoxia. Blood samples were obtained pre-exercise, immediately post-exercise and 60 min post-exercise and were analyzed by flow cytometry to examine the type 1 and type 3 ILCs and CD4+ and CD8+ naive and memory cell populations. There was a significant increase in the number of type 1 (NK cells) and type 3 ILC22 cells in the blood in response to exercise under normal oxygen conditions followed by a significant egress of these cells following the cessation of exercise. Exercise performed under hypoxic conditions abrogated the mobilization response of NK cells and ILC22 cells. Type 3 LTi cells were mobilized into the blood only under hypoxic rest conditions. No significant changes were observed when we analysed total CD4+ and CD8+T cell populations or the naive and memory subsets. This study highlights that distinct innate populations are mobilised under different environmental conditions and types of stress
The estrogen-induced miR-19 downregulates secretory leucoprotease inhibitor expression in monocytes
Compared to females, males are more susceptible to acute viral and other respiratory tract infections that display greater severity and higher mortality. In contrast, females tend to fare worse with chronic inflammatory diseases. Circulating 17β-estradiol (E2) is a female-specific factor that may influence the progression of human lung diseases. Here we hypothesize that E2 modulates the inflammatory response of monocytes through microRNA (miRNA)-based modulation of secretory leucoprotease inhibitor (SLPI), an antiprotease with immunomodulatory effects. Monocytic cells were treated ± E2, and differentially expressed miRNAs were identified using PCR profiling. Cells were transfected with miRNA mimics or antimiRs and SLPI mRNA and protein levels were quantified. Luciferase activity assay using wildtype and ΔmiR-19a/b-SLPI3'UTR reporter constructs and chromatin immunoprecipitation on E2-treated monocytes were performed. E2 downregulated SLPI and upregulated miR-19 expression in monocytes. Transfection with premiR-19b reduced SLPI mRNA and protein levels and this effect was abrogated using antimiRs against miR-19b. miR-19b directly binds the SLPI 3'UTR. The mechanism responsible for E2-mediated upregulation of miR-19 occurs via increased MIR17HG promoter activity mediated by c-MYC. Overall E2 decreases SLPI expression in human monocytic cells, via changes in miRNA expression and highlights the potential for estrogen to modulate the innate immune system
How Do Spouses Share their Full Income in Russia?: Identification of the Sharing Rule Using Self-reported Income
Accepté dans une version révisée par la Review of Income and WealthInternational audienceThe paper applies the collective model to the analysis of intra-household inequality using self-reported income scales and provides a test for its assumptions. We assume a correspondence between the income level that household members report and their true income sharing. Using Russian data, we first show that this assumption is supported by the data, and then use couples who report the same level of income to identify the full sharing rule for the whole sample. From simulations for an average couple living in the Urals, we find that a full income share of 45% is allocated to the wife
Infrared properties of exotic superconductors
The infrared spectra of the non-traditional superconductors share certain
common features. The lack of a gap signature at and the residual
conductivity are the consequence of a d-wave order parameter. The high
materials, the organic conductors and the heavy Fermion materials have a strong
mid-infrared absorption band which can be interpreted as strong coupling of the
carriers to electronic degrees of freedom which leads to a breakdown of the
Fermi liquid picture. The cuprates and the organic charge transfer salts are
unique in possessing an intrinsic low dimensionality. The charge transport
normal to the highly conducting direction is incoherent down to the lowest
temperatures and frequencies.Comment: 10 pages 11 figures, From the proceedings of the First Euroconference
on Anomalous Complex Superconductors, Heraklion, Crete. Sept 1998, to be
published in Physica
Planck Oscillators in the Background Dark Energy
We consider a model for an underpinning of the universe: there are
oscillators at the Planck scale in the background dark energy. Starting from a
coherent array of such oscillators it is possible to get a description from
elementary particles to Black Holes including the usual Hawking-Beckenstein
theory. There is also a description of Gravitation in the above model which
points to a unified description with electromagnetism.Comment: 18 pages latex; talk at the Max Born Symposium 2009, Wrocla
Using the health belief model to explore users' perceptions of `being safe and secure' in the world of technology mediated financial transactions
Confidence Intervals for Diffusion Index Forecasts and Inference for Factor-Augmented Regressions
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73839/1/j.1468-0262.2006.00696.x.pd
α1-Antitrypsin deficiency
1-Antitrypsin deficiency (A1ATD) is an inherited disorder caused by mutations in SERPINA1, leading to liver and lung disease. It is not a rare disorder but frequently goes underdiagnosed or misdiagnosed as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or cryptogenic liver disease. The most frequent disease-associated mutations include the S allele and the Z allele of SERPINA1, which lead to the accumulation of misfolded α1-antitrypsin in hepatocytes, endoplasmic reticulum stress, low circulating levels of α1-antitrypsin and liver disease. Currently, there is no cure for severe liver disease and the only management option is liver transplantation when liver failure is life-threatening. A1ATD-associated lung disease predominately occurs in adults and is caused principally by inadequate protease inhibition. Treatment of A1ATD-associated lung disease includes standard therapies that are also used for the treatment of COPD, in addition to the use of augmentation therapy (that is, infusions of human plasma-derived, purified α1-antitrypsin). New therapies that target the misfolded α1-antitrypsin or attempt to correct the underlying genetic mutation are currently under development
Social Networking Technology, Social Network Composition, and Reductions in Substance Use Among Homeless Adolescents
Peer-based prevention programs for homeless youth are complicated by the potential for reinforcing high-risk behaviors among participants. The goal of this study is to understand how homeless youth could be linked to positive peers in prevention programming by understanding where in social and physical space positive peers for homeless youth are located, how these ties are associated with substance use, and the role of social networking technologies (e.g., internet and cell phones) in this process. Personal social network data were collected from 136 homeless adolescents in Los Angeles, CA. Respondents reported on composition of their social networks with respect to: home-based peers and parents (accessed via social networking technology; e.g., the internet, cell phone, texting), homeless peers and agency staff (accessed face-to-face) and whether or not network members were substance-using or non-substance-using. Associations between respondent’s lifetime cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine use and recent (previous 30 days) alcohol and marijuana use were assessed by the number of non-substance-using versus substance-using ties in multivariate linear regression models. 43% of adolescents reported a non-substance-using home-based tie. More of these ties were associated with less recent alcohol use. 62% of adolescents reported a substance-using homeless tie. More of these ties were associated with more recent marijuana use as well as more lifetime heroin and methamphetamine use. For homeless youth, who are physically disconnected from positive peers, social networking technologies can be used to facilitate the sorts of positive social ties that effective peer-based prevention programs require
Decaying Superheavy Dark Matter and Subgalactic Structure of the Universe
The collisionless cold dark matter (CCDM) model predicts overly dense cores
in dark matter halos and overly abundant subhalos. We show that the idea that
CDM are decaying superheavy particles which produce ultra-high energy cosmic
rays with energies beyond the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin cutoff may simultaneously
solve the problem of subgalactic structure formation in CCDM model. In
particular, the Kuzmin-Rubakov's decaying superheavy CDM model may give an
explanation to the smallness of the cosmological constant and a new thought to
the CDM experimental search.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure. Add a new paragraph on the production of UHECR.
References added. Final version which is to appear in Phys.Lett.
- …