807 research outputs found
IL-21 enhances influenza vaccine responses in aged macaques with suppressed SIV infection.
Natural aging and HIV infection are associated with chronic low-grade systemic inflammation, immune senescence, and impaired antibody responses to vaccines such as the influenza (flu) vaccine. We investigated the role of IL-21, a CD4+ T follicular helper cell (Tfh) regulator, on flu vaccine antibody response in nonhuman primates (NHPs) in the context of age and controlled SIV mac239 infection. Three doses of the flu vaccine with or without IL-21-IgFc were administered at 3-month intervals in aged SIV+ NHPs following virus suppression with antiretroviral therapy. IL-21-treated animals demonstrated higher day 14-postboost antibody responses, which associated with expanded CD4+ T central memory cells and peripheral Tfh-expressing (pTfh-expressing) T cell immunoreceptor with Ig and ITIM domains (TIGIT), expanded activated memory B cells, and contracted CD11b+ monocytes. Draining lymph node (LN) tissue from IL-21-treated animals revealed direct association between LN follicle Tfh density and frequency of circulating TIGIT+ pTfh cells. We conclude that IL-21 enhances flu vaccine-induced antibody responses in SIV+ aged rhesus macaques (RMs), acting as an adjuvant modulating LN germinal center activity. A strategy to supplement IL-21 in aging could be a valuable addition in the toolbox for improving vaccine responses in an aging HIV+ population
Validation Aspects of Water Treatment Systems for Pharmaceutical Products
The goal of conducting validation is to demonstrate that a process, when operated within established limits, produces a product of consistent and specified quality with a high degree of assurance. Validation of water treatment systems is necessary to obtain water with all desired quality attributes. This also provides a framework to establish a total control over the process which monitors safety, efficacy and ultimately, the process outcomes. The present overview is an attempt to discuss various aspects of validation including different approaches, components of water treatment systems, equipment qualifications, phases of performance testing, documentation and post-validation monitoring.Keywords: Validation; Water treatment systems; Quality attributes; Pharmaceutical product
The alignment of galaxy spin with the shear field in observations
Tidal torque theory suggests that galaxies gain angular momentum in the
linear stage of structure formation. Such a theory predicts alignments between
the spin of haloes and tidal shear field. However, non-linear evolution and
angular momentum acquisition may alter this prediction significantly. In this
paper, we use a reconstruction of the cosmic shear field from observed peculiar
velocities combined with spin axes extracted from galaxies within () from 2MRS
catalog, to test whether or not galaxies appear aligned with principal axes of
shear field. Although linear reconstructions of the tidal field have looked at
similar issues, this is the first such study to examine galaxy alignments with
velocity-shear field. Ellipticals in the 2MRS sample, show a statistically
significant alignment with two of the principal axes of the shear field. In
general, elliptical galaxies have their short axis aligned with the axis of
greatest compression and perpendicular to the axis of slowest compression.
Spiral galaxies show no signal. Such an alignment is significantly strengthened
when considering only those galaxies that are used in velocity field
reconstruction. When examining such a subsample, a weak alignment with the axis
of greatest compression emerges for spiral galaxies as well. This result
indicates that although velocity field reconstructions still rely on fairly
noisy and sparse data, the underlying alignment with shear field is strong
enough to be visible even when small numbers of galaxies are considered -
especially if those galaxies are used as constraints in the reconstruction.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, accepted in MNRA
Comparative study of efficacy and safety of intravenous ferric carboxy maltose versus iron sucrose in treatment of postpartum iron deficiency anemia
Background: As postpartum iron deficiency anemia is observed in about 65% of women in India, it is the major contributing factor and indirect cause of maternal death. Postpartum anemia may lead to postpartum depression, stress, anxiety and cognitive impairment. Adequate treatment of anemia in postpartum period will have improved life quality in women in child bearing age so this study was designed with the objective to compare the safety and efficacy of intravenous FCM versus iron sucrose in treatment of postpartum iron deficiency anemia.Methods: It was a prospective observational study of postpartum women (within 10 days of delivery) with iron deficiency anemia (7-9 gm%) who delivered in LG hospital, Ahmedabad. A sample size of 215 women was estimated based on prevalence of anemia which is 65% among postpartum women in India including dropout rate of 10% which were further divided into 2 groups. Group 1: iron sucrose group, Group 2: ferric carboxy maltose group.Results: FCM has greater rise in Hb, less side effects, and easy administration of dose as compared to iron sucrose. The rise in Hb with FCM as compared to iron sucrose is (4.6 versus 3.5 respectively).Conclusions: FCM has more safety and efficacy as compared to iron sucrose in treatment of postpartum iron deficiency anemia
Late-time acceleration in Higher Dimensional Cosmology
We investigate late time acceleration of the universe in higher dimensional
cosmology. The content in the universe is assumed to exert pressure which is
different in the normal and extra dimensions. Cosmologically viable solutions
are found to exist for simple forms of the equation of state. The parameters of
the model are fixed by comparing the predictions with supernovae data. While
observations stipulate that the matter exerts almost vanishing pressure in the
normal dimensions, we assume that, in the extra dimensions, the equation of
state is of the form . For appropriate choice
of parameters, a late time acceleration in the universe occurs with and
being approximately -0.46 and 0.76 respectively.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure
Green Tea Consumption Reduces Oxidative Stress in Parkinson’s Disease Patients
Oxidative stress is one of the underlying causes of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Because of its antioxidant effect, we hypothesize that green tea consumption (3 cups daily for 3 months) would improve antioxidant status and reduces oxidative damage in Parkinson’s disease. Fifteen subjects who were within the first five years of PD, on stable PD medication, and not regular green tea consumers were recruited. Iron status, oxidative stress and PD status were evaluated before and after 3 months of green tea consumption. Hemoglobin, serum iron, iron saturation and ferritin concentrations were used to assess iron status. Antioxidant enzymes including catalase, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were measured to determine antioxidant status. Lipid peroxidation and protein carbonyls were measured as oxidative damage markers. There were no changes in total motor scores of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), PDQ-39 total scores and various iron status markers after 3 months. Catalase (p \u3c 0.05) and SOD activities (p \u3c 0.005) were increased significantly indicating an improvement of antioxidant status. Both lipid peroxidation and protein carbonyls decreased by ~52% (p \u3c 0.01) with green tea consumption, indicating less oxidative stress. In conclusion, 3 cups of green tea consumption for 3 months can improve antioxidant status and reduce oxidative damage in PD patients. Further studies are needed to determine if these changes result in slowing the disease progression
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