409 research outputs found
Monitoring the ageing of the cardiovascular system
This research developed a way of measuring blood flow through the capillaries and thereby monitoring the health of the endothelium, the inner lining of the blood vessels
Exact quantum jump approach to open systems in Bosonic and spin baths
A general method is developed which enables the exact treatment of the
non-Markovian quantum dynamics of open systems through a Monte Carlo simulation
technique. The method is based on a stochastic formulation of the von Neumann
equation of the composite system and employs a pair of product states following
a Markovian random jump process. The performance of the method is illustrated
by means of stochastic simulations of the dynamics of open systems interacting
with a Bosonic reservoir at zero temperature and with a spin bath in the strong
coupling regime.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
966-45 QT Dispersion in Essential Hypertension
Increased QT dispersion (QTd) reflects regional variation in ventricular repolarisation, and has been shown in heart failure and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy to relate to an increased incidence of sudden death. As essential hypertensives (EH) are also at increased risk of sudden death we aimed to determine whether increased QTd is found in those EH who are known to be at the highest risk of sudden death. In 50 EH we measured QTd (maximum corrected QT interval minus minimum corrected QT interval), echocardiographic left ventricular mass index (LVMI) (n=46 as 4 patients non-echogenic), office systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SSP, DSP), and 24 hour ambulatory systolic and diastolic blood pressure (24 SSP, 24 DSP) (n=40). Univariate analysis demonstrated no relationship between QTd and age, sex, height, weight, 24 SSP or 24 DBP. Significant relationships existed between QTd and LVMI (R2=0.25, P<0.001), SSP (R2=0.16, P<0.01), DSP (R2=0.08, P<0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed the only relationships to QTd were LVMI (p<0.01) and SSP (p<0.05). Excluding 4 patients with electro-cardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy (ECG-LVH) from the analysis a significant relationship between QTd and LVMI (R2=0.13, P<0.05) and SSP (R2=0.10, P<0.05) persists. These demonstrate that increased QTd is found in EH with the highest risk of sudden death (greatest SSP and LVMI). This relationship persists in the absence of ECG-LVH. Further study of QTd, as a predictor of sudden death in EH is warranted
Signal amplification on planar and gel-type sensor surfaces in surface plasmon resonance-based detection of prostate-specific antigen
This article describes surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based detection of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), comparing amplification with colloidal gold (10 nm diameter) and latex microspheres (120 nm diameter) on planar- and gel-type sensor surfaces. As matrix, 3% BSA in PBS was used. Experimental data were compared with model calculations that predict the SPR signal that results from covering of the different sensor surfaces with each of the particles used. Amplification with latex particles gave a higher signal than did that with colloidal gold. However, the limit of detection (LOD) attained by latex amplification was not as good as that obtained after gold amplification, and this was unexpected. LOD and sensitivity of the amplified PSA assays when performed with the planar-type sensor disc were equally good or better compared with those when performed with the gel-type sensor disc. Indirect evidence indicates a restricted accessibility of the gel layer on the gel-type sensor toward the colloidal gold. Application of colloidal gold led to a sensitivity increase of approximately three orders of magnitude compared with nonamplified detection. The corresponding LOD was approximately 0.15 ng PSA/ml, which is sufficient for measuring enhanced, clinically relevant PSA levels (>4 ng/ml)
Solubilization capacity of surfactant due to its different chain length of lipophile and hydrophile
The aim of the study is to look at the influence of different chain length of hydrophile and lipophile of the surfactants to their solubilization capacity. The solubilization capacity of surfactants with different chain lengths of lipophile and hydrophile has been performed by preparing somesolubilization form formulas, using several kinds of lipophilic chain length, i.e. cetyl (C-16), stearyl (C-18), and oleyl (C=18 with unsaturated chain) alcohols and ethyleneoxyde chain length of 2, 10 and 20 respectively. After preparation, the solubilited forms were then stored at temperature of 25O and 45OC, and observed if there were any solubilization occurred. The results have showed that it needs an optimum length of ethyleneoxyde to have better solubilization; at certain longer ethylenoxyde the longer the length of lipophilic chain, the more solubilization would be, therefore, unsaturated hydrocarbon chain caused diminution of solubilization; whatever the surfactant used as an agent of solubilization, storage at a higher room temperature would facilitate the solubilization to occur.Key words : surfactant, solubilizatio
Integration of all FSSIM components within SEAMLESS-IF and a stand alone Graphical User Interface for FSSIM
Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Land Economics/Use,
Spatiotemporal dynamics of wild herbivore species richness and occupancy across a savannah rangeland:Implications for conservation
Private lands are critical for maintaining biodiversity beyond protected areas. Across Kenyan rangelands, wild herbivores frequently coexist with people and their livestock. Human population and livestock numbers are projected to increase dramatically over the coming decades. Therefore, a better understanding of wildlife-livestock interactions and their consequences for biodiversity conservation on private lands is needed. We used a Bayesian hierarchical, multi-species and multi-year occupancy model on aerial survey data of 15 wild-herbivore species, spanning 15 years (2001–2016) to investigate a) spatiotemporal trends in species occurrence and richness across a mosaic of properties with different land uses in Laikipia County, central Kenya; and b) the effects of distance to water, vegetation and livestock relative abundance on species occurrence and richness. Although mean herbivore species richness varied little over time, we observed high spatial variation in species occurrence across Laikipia, mainly driven by negative effects of high livestock relative abundance. As expected, ‘wildlife friendly’ properties had higher herbivore species richness than other areas. However, high variability suggests that some pastoral properties support rich herbivore communities. The area occupied by five species with global conservation concerns (reticulated giraffe, Grevy's zebra, Beisa Oryx, Defassa waterbuck and gerenuk) and for which Laikipia County is one of the last refuges was <50% across years. We conclude that ‘wildlife friendly’ properties remain crucial for conservation, although some pastoralist areas offer suitable habitats for wild herbivores. Effective management of stocking rates is critical for maintaining ecosystems able to sustain livestock and wildlife on private lands, ensuring protection for endangered species
Post-mortem tissue biopsies obtained at minimally invasive autopsy: An RNA-quality analysis
Introduction: Bereaved relatives often refuse to give consent for post-mortem investigation of deceased cancer patients, mainly because of the mutilation due to conventional au
Bumpy black holes from spontaneous Lorentz violation
We consider black holes in Lorentz violating theories of massive gravity. We
argue that in these theories black hole solutions are no longer universal and
exhibit a large number of hairs. If they exist, these hairs probe the
singularity inside the black hole providing a window into quantum gravity. The
existence of these hairs can be tested by future gravitational wave
observatories. We generically expect that the effects we discuss will be larger
for the more massive black holes. In the simplest models the strength of the
hairs is controlled by the same parameter that sets the mass of the graviton
(tensor modes). Then the upper limit on this mass coming from the inferred
gravitational radiation emitted by binary pulsars implies that hairs are likely
to be suppressed for almost the entire mass range of the super-massive black
holes in the centers of galaxies.Comment: 40 pages, 4 figure
Reversed polarized delivery of an aquaporin-2 mutant causes dominant nephrogenic diabetes insipidus
Vasopressin regulates body water conservation by redistributing aquaporin-2 (AQP2) water channels from intracellular vesicles to the apical surface of renal collecting ducts, resulting in water reabsorption from urine. Mutations in AQP2 cause autosomal nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (NDI), a disease characterized by the inability to concentrate urine. Here, we report a frame-shift mutation in AQP2 causing dominant NDI. This AQP2 mutant is a functional water channel when expressed in Xenopus oocytes. However, expressed in polarized renal cells, it is misrouted to the basolateral instead of apical plasma membrane. Additionally, this mutant forms heterotetramers with wild-type AQP2 and redirects this complex to the basolateral surface. The frame shift induces a change in the COOH terminus of AQP2, creating both a leucine- and a tyrosine-based motif, which cause the reversed sorting of AQP2. Our data reveal a novel cellular phenotype in dominant NDI and show that dominance of basolateral sorting motifs in a mutant subunit can be the molecular basis for disease
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