Hyperglycemia and Hyperinsulinemia-Like Conditions Independently Induce Inflammatory Responses in Human Chondrocytes

To elucidate the mechanisms by which type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM2) constitutes a risk factor for the development and progression of osteoarthritis (OA), this work determined whether high glucose and/or high insulin, the hallmarks of DM2, are capable of activating the transcription factor, Nuclear Factor-κB (NF-κB), which plays a critical role in OA by inducing the expression of pro-inflammatory and catabolic genes. For this, we analyzed NF-κB activation by measuring the nuclear levels of p65 by western blot. As readouts of NF-κB activity, Interleukin-1β, Tumor Necrosis Factor-α, and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression were analyzed by real time RT-PCR and western blot. Culture of the human chondrocytic cell line, C28-I2, in high glucose (30 mM) increased nuclear NF-κB p65 levels in a time-dependent manner, relative to cells cultured in medium containing 10 mM glucose (regular culture medium). High glucose-induced NF-κB activation was inhibited by co-treatment with its specific inhibitor, Bay 11-7082, 5 µM. Culture of primary human chondrocytes under high glucose for 24 h increased IL-1β and TNF-α mRNA levels by 97% (p = 0.0066) and 85% (p = 0.0045), respectively, while iNOS mRNA and protein levels and NO production increased by 61% (p = 0.0017), 148% (p = 0.0089), and 70% (p = 0.049), respectively, relative to chondrocytes maintained in 10 mM glucose. Treatment of chondrocytic cells with 100 nM insulin was also sufficient to increase nuclear NF-κB p65 levels, independently of the glucose concentration in the culture medium. This study shows that hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia are independently sufficient to induce inflammatory responses in human chondrocytes, namely by activating NF-κB. This can be a relevant mechanism by which DM type 2 and other conditions associated with impaired glucose and insulin homeostasis, like obesity and the metabolic syndrome, contribute to the development and progression of OA.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The motion of two masses coupled to a massive spring

We discuss the classical motion of a spring of arbitrary mass coupled to two arbitrary massive blocks attached at its ends. A general approach to the problem is presented and some general results are obtained. Examples for which a simple elastic function can be inferred are discussed and the normal modes and normal frequencies obtained. An approximation procedure to the evaluation of the normel frequencies in the case of uniform elastic function and mass density is also discussed.Comment: Standard Latex file plus three eps figure

Monitoring the phenolics compounds of the 2G ethanol process.

Made available in DSpace on 2018-01-24T22:13:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 PMonitoringthePhenolicsCompounds....pdf: 681535 bytes, checksum: 7ab63cb1e84bf72f8e2fd6ddd0ff40da (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-01-23bitstream/item/171587/1/P-Monitoring-the-Phenolics-Compounds-....pd

Placing land cover pattern preferences on the map. Bridging methodological approaches of landscape preferences surveys and spatial pattern analysis

This paper presents an innovative methodological framework – Landscape Preferences Spatial Framework (LPSF) – which is able to translate landscape preferences, as expressed by various users, concerning possible land cover pattern compositions into land cover pattern preference maps. The innovative potential of the contribution lies in the exploration of a comprehensive methodical framework that facilitates the spatial representations of landscape demands by relevant user groups thus bridging the gap between landscape preference research and landscape planning. The LPSF developed here goes beyond the state of the art in translating local scale preference by people into regional scale planning settings. Throughout the paper the development and testing of the LPSF is described and explained. Although the paper focuses on the conceptual framework of the method, it also shows the results of its application in a case study

Use of acoustic energy in the processing of molten aluminium alloys

During the last years aluminium alloys have been gaining increased acceptance as structural materials in the automotive and aeronautical industries, mainly due to their light weight, good formability and corrosion resistance. However, improvement of mechanical properties is a constant in research activities, either by the development of new alloys or by microstructure manipulation. This presentation focuses a novel effective dynamic methodology to perform microstructural refinement / modification and degassing of light alloys, namely aluminium alloys, by applying acoustic energy to the melts. High intensity acoustic energy significantly improves the microstructure, therefore the mechanical properties of those alloys, avoiding the use of traditional chemically based degassing and refining techniques which are less effective and present significant environmental impact. Ultrasonic (US) vibration has proven to be extremely effective in degassing, controlling columnar dendritic structure, reducing the size of equiaxed grains and, under some conditions, producing globular grains and modifying the eutectic silicon cells in Al-Si alloys. The mechanisms of US processing of aluminium melts are discussed and experimental results on this field are presented.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT