5,010 research outputs found
Effects of magnesium treatment in a model of internal capsule lesion in spontaneously hypertensive rats
<p><b>Background and Purpose:</b> The study aim was to assess the effects of magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) administration on white matter damage in vivo in spontaneously hypertensive rats.</p>
<p><b>Methods:</b> The left internal capsule was lesioned by a local injection of endothelin-1 (ET-1; 200 pmol) in adult spontaneously hypertensive rats. MgSO4 was administered (300 mg/kg SC) 30 minutes before injection of ET-1, plus 200 mg/kg every hour thereafter for 4 hours. Infarct size was measured by T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (day 2) and histology (day 11), and functional recovery was assessed on days 3 and 10 by the cylinder and walking-ladder tests.</p>
<p><b>Results:</b> ET-1 application induced a small, localized lesion within the internal capsule. Despite reducing blood pressure, MgSO4 did not significantly influence infarct volume (by magnetic resonance imaging: median, 2.1 mm3; interquartile range, 1.3 to 3.8, vs 1.6 mm3 and 1.2 to 2.1, for the vehicle-treated group; by histology: 0.3 mm3 and 0.2 to 0.9 vs 0.3 mm3 and 0.2 to 0.5, respectively). Significant forelimb and hindlimb motor deficits were evident in the vehicle-treated group as late as day 10. These impairments were significantly ameliorated by MgSO4 in both cylinder (left forelimb use, P<0.01 and both-forelimb use, P<0.03 vs vehicle) and walking-ladder (right hindlimb score, P<0.02 vs vehicle) tests.</p>
<p><b>Conclusions:</b> ET-1–induced internal capsule ischemia in spontaneously hypertensive rats represents a good model of lacunar infarct with small lesion size, minimal adverse effects, and a measurable motor deficit. Despite inducing mild hypotension, MgSO4 did not significantly influence infarct size but reduced motor deficits, supporting its potential utility for the treatment of lacunar infarct.</p>
Surface morphology and magnetic anisotropy in (Ga,Mn)As
Atomic Force Microscopy and Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction measurements
have revealed the presence of ripples aligned along the direction
on the surface of (Ga,Mn)As layers grown on GaAs(001) substrates and buffer
layers, with periodicity of about 50 nm in all samples that have been studied.
These samples show the strong symmetry breaking uniaxial magnetic anisotropy
normally observed in such materials. We observe a clear correlation between the
amplitude of the surface ripples and the strength of the uniaxial magnetic
anisotropy component suggesting that these ripples might be the source of such
anisotropy.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. Replaced with published versio
Association of anaemia in primary care patients with chronic kidney disease: cross sectional study of quality improvement in chronic kidney disease (QICKD) trial data.
BACKGROUND: Anaemia is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease and treating anaemia in chronic kidney disease (CKD) may improve outcomes. However, little is known about the scope to improve primary care management of anaemia in CKD. METHODS: An observational study (N = 1,099,292) with a nationally representative sample using anonymised routine primary care data from 127 Quality Improvement in CKD trial practices (ISRCTN5631023731). We explored variables associated with anaemia in CKD: eGFR, haemoglobin (Hb), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), iron status, cardiovascular comorbidities, and use of therapy which associated with gastrointestinal bleeding, oral iron and deprivation score. We developed a linear regression model to identify variables amenable to improved primary care management.
RESULTS: The prevalence of Stage 3-5 CKD was 6.76%. Hb was lower in CKD (13.2 g/dl) than without (13.7 g/dl). 22.2% of people with CKD had World Health Organization defined anaemia; 8.6% had Hb ≤ 11 g/dl; 3% Hb ≤ 10 g/dl; and 1% Hb ≤ 9 g/dl. Normocytic anaemia was present in 80.5% with Hb ≤ 11; 72.7% with Hb ≤ 10 g/dl; and 67.6% with Hb ≤ 9 g/dl; microcytic anaemia in 13.4% with Hb ≤ 11 g/dl; 20.8% with Hb ≤ 10 g/dl; and 24.9% where Hb ≤ 9 g/dl. 82.7% of people with microcytic and 58.8% with normocytic anaemia (Hb ≤ 11 g/dl) had a low ferritin (<100 ug/mL). Hypertension (67.2% vs. 54%) and diabetes (30.7% vs. 15.4%) were more prevalent in CKD and anaemia; 61% had been prescribed aspirin; 73% non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs); 14.1% warfarin 12.4% clopidogrel; and 53.1% aspirin and NSAID. 56.3% of people with CKD and anaemia had been prescribed oral iron. The main limitations of the study are that routine data are inevitably incomplete and definitions of anaemia have not been standardised.
CONCLUSIONS: Medication review is needed in people with CKD and anaemia prior to considering erythropoietin or parenteral iron. Iron stores may be depleted in over >60% of people with normocytic anaemia. Prescribing oral iron has not corrected anaemia
An upper limit on the contribution of accreting white dwarfs to the type Ia supernova rate
There is wide agreement that Type Ia supernovae (used as standard candles for
cosmology) are associated with the thermonuclear explosions of white dwarf
stars. The nuclear runaway that leads to the explosion could start in a white
dwarf gradually accumulating matter from a companion star until it reaches the
Chandrasekhar limit, or could be triggered by the merger of two white dwarfs in
a compact binary system. The X-ray signatures of these two possible paths are
very different. Whereas no strong electromagnetic emission is expected in the
merger scenario until shortly before the supernova, the white dwarf accreting
material from the normal star becomes a source of copious X-rays for ~1e7 yr
before the explosion. This offers a means of determining which path dominates.
Here we report that the observed X-ray flux from six nearby elliptical galaxies
and galaxy bulges is a factor of ~30-50 less than predicted in the accretion
scenario, based upon an estimate of the supernova rate from their K-band
luminosities. We conclude that no more than ~5 per cent of Type Ia supernovae
in early type galaxies can be produced by white dwarfs in accreting binary
systems, unless their progenitors are much younger than the bulk of the stellar
population in these galaxies, or explosions of sub-Chandrasekhar white dwarfs
make a significant contribution to the supernova rate.Comment: 10 pages, 1 tabl
Young Stellar Nuclei in the Lenticular Galaxies. I. NGC 1023 and NGC 7332
As a result of bidimensional spectroscopy of the central parts of two nearby
lenticular galaxies, NGC 1023 and NGC 7332, undertaken with the Multi-Pupil
Field Spectrograph of the 6m telescope of the Special Astrophysical
Observatory, their chemically decoupled stellar nuclei are found to be
substantially younger than the surrounding bulges: the mean age of the nuclear
stellar populations is 7 billion years in NGC 1023 and 2.5 +/- 0.5 billion
years in NGC 7332. The morphological analysis undertaken by Seifert and Scorza
(1996) for NGC 7332 and by us for NGC 1023 has revealed a existence of separate
circumnuclear stellar disks with the radius of 80 pc in NGC 1023 and of 400 pc
in NGC 7332; probably, the intermediate-age stellar populations are related to
these structures.Comment: LATEX, 24 pages, + 19 Postscript figures. Accepted to Astronomical
Journal, June issu
Stellar kinematics for the central spheroid in the Polar Disk Galaxy NGC4650A
We have obtained high angular resolution, high signal-to-noise spectra of the
Calcium triplet absorption lines on the photometric axes of the stellar
spheroid in the polar disk galaxy NGC4650A. Along the major axis, the observed
rotation and velocity dispersion measurements show the presence of a
kinematically decoupled nucleus, and a flat velocity dispersion profile. The
minor axis kinematics is determined for the first time: along this direction
some rotation is measured, and the velocity dispersion is nearly constant and
slightly increases at larger distances from the center. The new high resolution
kinematic data suggest that the stellar component in NGC4650A resembles a
nearly-exponential oblate spheroid supported by rotation. The main implications
of these results on the previous mass models for NGC4650A are discussed.
Moreover, the new kinematic data set constraints on current models for the
formation scenarios of Polar Ring Galaxies (PRGs), supporting a slow accretion
rather then a secondary strong dissipative event.Comment: 25 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
Microscopic analysis of the valence band and impurity band theories of (Ga,Mn)As
We analyze microscopically the valence and impurity band models of
ferromagnetic (Ga,Mn)As. We find that the tight-binding Anderson approach with
conventional parameterization and the full potential LDA+U calculations give a
very similar picture of states near the Fermi energy which reside in an
exchange-split sp-d hybridized valence band with dominant orbital character of
the host semiconductor; this microscopic spectral character is consistent with
the physical premise of the k.p kinetic-exchange model. On the other hand, the
various models with a band structure comprising an impurity band detached from
the valence band assume mutually incompatible microscopic spectral character.
By adapting the tight-binding Anderson calculations individually to each of the
impurity band pictures in the single Mn impurity limit and then by exploring
the entire doping range we find that a detached impurity band does not persist
in any of these models in ferromagnetic (Ga,Mn)As.Comment: 29 pages, 25 figure
Absolute frequency measurements of 85Rb nF7/2 Rydberg states using purely optical detection
A three-step laser excitation scheme is used to make absolute frequency
measurements of highly excited nF7/2 Rydberg states in 85Rb for principal
quantum numbers n=33-100. This work demonstrates the first absolute frequency
measurements of rubidium Rydberg levels using a purely optical detection
scheme. The Rydberg states are excited in a heated Rb vapour cell and Doppler
free signals are detected via purely optical means. All of the frequency
measurements are made using a wavemeter which is calibrated against a GPS
disciplined self-referenced optical frequency comb. We find that the measured
levels have a very high frequency stability, and are especially robust to
electric fields. The apparatus has allowed measurements of the states to an
accuracy of 8.0MHz. The new measurements are analysed by extracting the
modified Rydberg-Ritz series parameters.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, submitted to New. J. Phy
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