199 research outputs found
Las cĂ©lulas presentadoras de antĂgeno y su papel en el sĂndrome reproductivo y respiratorio porcino
Las cĂ©lulas presentadoras de antĂgeno son aquellas cĂ©lulas encargadas de capturar, procesar y presentar antĂgenos con la finalidad de lograr una respuesta inmune efectiva por parte del organismo. Su papel, como centinelas, es crucial durante el transcurso de diversas enfermedades infecciosas. El estudio de estas cĂ©lulas tras la infecciĂłn con el virus del SĂndrome Reproductivo y Respiratorio Porcino nos da informaciĂłn para abordar nuevas estrategias de control frente a esta enfermedad.Antigen presenting cells are able to capture, process and present antigens in order to develop an effective immune response. The role of these cells during infectious diseases is crucial to control the disease. Thus, the study of these cells after the infection with Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus gives us useful information on how to control this disease
Bases de la respuesta inflamatoria en la forma respiratoria del PRRS
El SĂndrome Reproductivo y Respiratorio Porcino (PRRS) es una enfermedad de distribuciĂłn mundial que causa graves pĂ©rdidas econĂłmicas al sector porcino. Este virus no sĂłlo es importante como agente causal del PRRS sino tambiĂ©n por su participaciĂłn en el desarrollo del Complejo Respiratorio Porcino. Su interacciĂłn con las defensas pulmonares, la alteraciĂłn de la respuesta inmune y su persistencia en los Ăłrganos linfoides conlleva a que los cerdos tengan dificultades para luchar contra la enfermedad.Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) is considered as the most economically important disease of the modern swine industry. The importance of this virus lies in not only being the causative agent of PRRSV, but also due to its implication in the onset of the Porcine Respiratory Disease Complex. The interaction of the virus with pulmonary defenses, the impairment of the immune response as well as the viral persistence in lymphoid organs make overcoming the disease diffi cult to infected pigs
Dual-curable stereolithography resins for superior thermomechanical properties
Stereolithography (SL) stands out as a relatively fast additive manufacturing method to produce thermoset components with high resolutions. The majority of SL resins consist of acrylate monomers which result in materials with cur-ing-induced shrinkage problems and this, in addition to the incomplete and non-uniform conversions reached in the SL process, results in poor mechanical properties. To address this issue, a dual-curing formulation was developed by mixing an epoxy monomer into a commercial multi-acrylate SL resin: the first curing stage is acrylate free-radical photopolymerization at ambient temperature, and the second curing stage is cationic epoxy homopolymerization at higher temperatures. The fully dual-cured materials are macroscopically homogeneous, with nanoscale domains observed by Atomic Force Mi-croscopy (AFM), and with unimodal tan delta peaks observed in Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA). The uncured material was storage stable at ambient conditions for at least 9 weeks since the epoxy part was virtually unreactive at these temper-atures. With the dual-cured materials, a nearly 10-fold increase in Youngâs modulus was achieved over the neat acrylate resin. At the thermal curing stage, the presence of diperoxyketal thermal radical initiator to the liquid formulation facilitated the polymerization of unreacted acrylates that remained from the SL process simultaneously with epoxy homopolymerization and helped the material attain improved properties
Swinging Atwood's Machine: Experimental and Theoretical Studies
A Swinging Atwood Machine (SAM) is built and some experimental results
concerning its dynamic behaviour are presented. Experiments clearly show that
pulleys play a role in the motion of the pendulum, since they can rotate and
have non-negligible radii and masses. Equations of motion must therefore take
into account the inertial momentum of the pulleys, as well as the winding of
the rope around them. Their influence is compared to previous studies. A
preliminary discussion of the role of dissipation is included. The theoretical
behaviour of the system with pulleys is illustrated numerically, and the
relevance of different parameters is highlighted. Finally, the integrability of
the dynamic system is studied, the main result being that the Machine with
pulleys is non-integrable. The status of the results on integrability of the
pulley-less Machine is also recalled.Comment: 37 page
Mathematical and Statistical Techniques for Systems Medicine: The Wnt Signaling Pathway as a Case Study
The last decade has seen an explosion in models that describe phenomena in
systems medicine. Such models are especially useful for studying signaling
pathways, such as the Wnt pathway. In this chapter we use the Wnt pathway to
showcase current mathematical and statistical techniques that enable modelers
to gain insight into (models of) gene regulation, and generate testable
predictions. We introduce a range of modeling frameworks, but focus on ordinary
differential equation (ODE) models since they remain the most widely used
approach in systems biology and medicine and continue to offer great potential.
We present methods for the analysis of a single model, comprising applications
of standard dynamical systems approaches such as nondimensionalization, steady
state, asymptotic and sensitivity analysis, and more recent statistical and
algebraic approaches to compare models with data. We present parameter
estimation and model comparison techniques, focusing on Bayesian analysis and
coplanarity via algebraic geometry. Our intention is that this (non exhaustive)
review may serve as a useful starting point for the analysis of models in
systems medicine.Comment: Submitted to 'Systems Medicine' as a book chapte
Intravascular Large B-Cell Lymphoma Genomic Profile Is Characterized by Alterations in Genes Regulating NF-ÎșB and Immune Checkpoints.
Intravascular large B-cell lymphoma (IVLBCL) is an uncommon lymphoma with an aggressive clinical course characterized by selective growth of tumor cells within the vessels. Its pathogenesis is still uncertain and there is little information on the underlying genomic alterations. In this study, we performed a clinicopathologic and next-generation sequencing analysis of 15 cases of IVLBCL using a custom panel for the detection of alterations in 68 recurrently mutated genes in B-cell lymphomagenesis. Six patients had evidence of hemophagocytic syndrome. Four patients presented concomitantly a solid malignancy. Tumor cells outside the vessels were observed in 7 cases, 2 with an overt diffuse large B-cell cell lymphoma. In 4 samples, tumor cells infiltrated lymphatic vessel in addition to blood capillaries. Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) was positive in tumor cells in 4 of 11 evaluable samples and in macrophages intermingled with tumor cells in 8. PD-L1 copy number gains were identified in a higher proportion of cases expressing PD-L1 than in negative tumors. The most frequently mutated gene was PIM1 (9/15, 60%), followed by MYD88L265P and CD79B (8/15, 53% each). In 6 cases, MYD88L265P and CD79B mutations were detected concomitantly. We also identified recurrent mutations in IRF4 , TMEM30A , BTG2 , and ETV6 loci (4/15, 27% each) and novel driver mutations in NOTCH2 , CCND3 , and GNA13 , and an IRF4 translocation in 1 case each. The mutational profile was similar in patients with and without evidence of hemophagocytic syndrome and in cases with or without dissemination of tumor cells outside the vessels. Our results confirm the relevance of mutations in B-cell receptor/nuclear factor-ÎșB signaling and immune escape pathways in IVLBCL and identify novel driver alterations. The similar mutational profile in tumors with extravascular dissemination suggests that these cases may also be considered in the spectrum of IVLBCL
Divergent Perturbation Series
Various perturbation series are factorially divergent. The behavior of their
high-order terms can be found by Lipatov's method, according to which they are
determined by the saddle-point configurations (instantons) of appropriate
functional integrals. When the Lipatov asymptotics is known and several lowest
order terms of the perturbation series are found by direct calculation of
diagrams, one can gain insight into the behavior of the remaining terms of the
series. Summing it, one can solve (in a certain approximation) various
strong-coupling problems. This approach is demonstrated by determining the
Gell-Mann - Low functions in \phi^4 theory, QED, and QCD for arbitrary coupling
constants. An overview of the mathematical theory of divergent series is
presented, and interpretation of perturbation series is discussed. Explicit
derivations of the Lipatov asymptotic forms are presented for some basic
problems in theoretical physics. A solution is proposed to the problem of
renormalon contributions, which hampered progress in this field in the late
1970s. Practical schemes for summation of perturbation series are described for
a coupling constant of order unity and in the strong-coupling limit. An
interpretation of the Borel integral is given for 'non-Borel-summable' series.
High-order corrections to the Lipatov asymptotics are discussed.Comment: Review article, 45 pages, PD
GrowthâFactor Free Multicomponent Nanocomposite Hydrogels That Stimulate Bone Formation
Synthetic osteoâpromoting materials that are able to stimulate and accelerate bone formation without the addition of exogenous cells or growth factors represent a major opportunity for an aging world population. A coâassembling system that integrates hyaluronic acid tyramine (HAâTyr), bioactive peptide amphiphiles (GHKâCu2+), and Laponite (Lap) to engineer hydrogels with physical, mechanical, and biomolecular signals that can be tuned to enhance bone regeneration is reported. The central design element of the multicomponent hydrogels is the integration of selfâassembly and enzymeâmediated oxidative coupling to optimize structure and mechanical properties in combination with the incorporation of an osteoâ and angioâpromoting segments to facilitate signaling. Spectroscopic techniques are used to confirm the interplay of orthogonal covalent and supramolecular interactions in multicomponent hydrogel formation. Furthermore, physicoâmechanical characterizations reveal that the multicomponent hydrogels exhibit improved compressive strength, stress relaxation profile, low swelling ratio, and retarded enzymatic degradation compared to the single component hydrogels. Applicability is validated in vitro using human mesenchymal stem cells and human umbilical vein endothelial cells, and in vivo using a rabbit maxillary sinus floor reconstruction model. Animals treated with the HAâTyrâHAâTyrâGHKâCu2+ hydrogels exhibit significantly enhanced bone formation relative to controls including the commercially available BioâOss
Xnrs and Activin Regulate Distinct Genes during Xenopus Development: Activin Regulates Cell Division
BACKGROUND: The mesoderm of the amphibian embryo is formed through an inductive interaction in which vegetal cells of the blastula-staged embryo act on overlying equatorial cells. Candidate mesoderm-inducing factors include members of the transforming growth factor type ÎČ family such as Vg1, activin B, the nodal-related proteins and derriĂšre. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPLE FINDINGS: Microarray analysis reveals different functions for activin B and the nodal-related proteins during early Xenopus development. Inhibition of nodal-related protein function causes the down-regulation of regionally expressed genes such as chordin, dickkopf and XSox17α/ÎČ, while genes that are mis-regulated in the absence of activin B tend to be more widely expressed and, interestingly, include several that are involved in cell cycle regulation. Consistent with the latter observation, cells of the involuting dorsal axial mesoderm, which normally undergo cell cycle arrest, continue to proliferate when the function of activin B is inhibited. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These observations reveal distinct functions for these two classes of the TGF-ÎČ family during early Xenopus development, and in doing so identify a new role for activin B during gastrulation
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