Adsorption of Fibrinogen on Thin Oriented Poly(Tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) Fibres Studied by Scanning Force Microscopy

We have investigated fibrinogen adsorption on ordered poly(tetrafluoroethylene), PTFE, fibres deposited on hydrophilic and hydrophobic silicon substrates. Fibrinogen molecules appear to adsorb with their long axis perpendicular to the fibre direction for PTFE fibres having widths of less than 100 nm. On these thin fibres, fibrinogen apparently forms close packed bands or clusters, consisting of small integer numbers of molecules arranged parallel to each other. On broader (\u3e 100 nm) PTFE fibres, the fibrinogen forms two dimensional networks. The orientation of the molecules in these networks is random in the central flat part of the fibres but perpendicular to the fibre direction at the fibre edges. As a tentative explanation, we propose that the observed orientation may be linked to the radius of curvature of the fibre surface

Towards Accurate Partial Volume Correction - Perturbation for SPECT Resolution Estimation

The accuracy of quantitative SPECT imaging is limited by the Partial Volume Effect as a result of the relatively poor spatial resolution. There is currently no consensus on the optimal Partial Volume Correction (PVC) algorithm in the application of SPECT oncology imaging. Several promising candidates require information on the reconstructed resolution - usually in the form of the Point Spread Function (PSF). A particular challenge that SPECT poses for PVC is that the resolution is known to vary with position in the field-of-view, as well as with activity distribution and reconstruction method. In this work, we assessed the potential benefit of using perturbation to measure case-specific resolution for PVC. A small point source was used to measure the resolution in phantoms designed to replicate the issues encountered in oncology imaging, including anthropomorphic phantoms which had not previously been examined in perturbation applications. Results demonstrate that, provided that a sufficient number of iterations is used for image reconstruction, perturbation can be used to measure a case-specific PSF. When PVC is applied with this case-specific PSF, quantitative accuracy is improved compared with no correction or applying PVC with an inappropriate PSF

A Fourth Party Energy Provider for the Construction Value Chain: Identifying Needs and Establishing Requirements

Today’s building and energy management market is heterogeneous and complex. Most of the players in the construction market are not in possession of the managerial capability to fully control the dynamics that affect their energy costs in terms of energy sourcing and energy management. Moreover, construction industry needs to rely on a stronger technical and commercial expertise. On one hand, there is a need of an in-depth and extensive level of technical know-how that most of facility managers, property developers and building owners at private and public level scarcely hold. On the other hand, this industry is characterized by a fragmentation within the single tiers of the value chain. In this context, the paper aims at proposing a new vision of the building value chain towards a collaborative network led by a new player, namely the Fourth Party Energy Provider, acting as the “one-stop contracting and managing” operator, integrating resources, capabilities, best available technologies and practices for providing energy-efficient building solutions

Citrullinated proteins have increased immunogenicity and arthritogenicity and their presence in arthritic joints correlates with disease severity

Autoantibodies directed against citrulline-containing proteins have an impressive specificity of nearly 100% in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and have been suggested to be involved in the disease pathogenesis. The targeted epitopes are generated by a post-translational modification catalysed by the calcium-dependent enzyme peptidyl arginine deiminase (PAD), which converts positively charged arginine to polar but uncharged citrulline. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of citrullination on the immunogenicity of autoantigens as well as on potential arthritogenicity. Thus, immune responses to citrullinated rat serum albumin (Cit-RSA) and to unmodified rat serum albumin (RSA) were examined as well as arthritis development induced by immunisation with citrullinated rat collagen type II (Cit-CII) or unmodified CII. In addition, to correlate the presence of citrullinated proteins and the enzyme PAD4 with different stages of arthritis, synovial tissues obtained at different time points from rats with collagen-induced arthritis were examined immunohistochemically. Our results demonstrate that citrullination of the endogenous antigen RSA broke immunological tolerance, as was evident by the generation of antibodies directed against the modified protein and cross-reacting with the native protein. Furthermore we could demonstrate that Cit-CII induced arthritis with higher incidence and earlier onset than did the native counterpart. Finally, this study reveals that clinical signs of arthritis precede the presence of citrullinated proteins and the enzyme PAD4. As disease progressed into a more severe and chronic state, products of citrullination appeared specifically in the joints. Citrullinated proteins were detected mainly in extracellular deposits but could also be found in infiltrating cells and on the cartilage surface. PAD4 was detected in the cytoplasm of infiltrating mononuclear cells, from day 21 after immunisation and onwards. In conclusion, our data reveal the potency of citrullination to break tolerance against the self antigen RSA and to increase the arthritogenic properties of the cartilage antigen CII. We also show that citrullinated proteins and the enzyme PAD4 are not detectable in healthy joints, and that the appearance and amounts in arthritic joints of experimental animals are correlated with the severity of inflammation

Motion-corrected reconstruction of parametric images from dynamic PET data with the Synergistic Image Reconstruction Framework (SIRF)

Motion correction has been added to a PET-MR reconstruction tool, SIRF, by incorporating a registration package, NiftyReg. New functionality has been demonstrated in the context of estimating kinetic parameters in the left temporal lobe, comparing direct and indirect reconstructions and evaluating the impact of using motion correction.Principal component analysis was used to detect motion and to determine time frames, while STIR's parametric-OSEM was used to perform the motion-corrected direct parametric reconstruction.It was found that the variance in the left temporal lobe decreased when motion correction was performed, and the same was true of direct reconstructions compared to indirect.With SIRF, the entirety of the demonstrated functionality can be performed from a single Matlab or Python script

Hemopexin and α1-microglobulin heme scavengers with differential involvement in preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction

Hemopexin and α1-microglobulin act as scavengers to eliminate free heme-groups responsible for hemoglobin-induced oxidative stress. The present study evaluated maternal and fetal plasma concentrations of these scavengers in the different phenotypes of placenta-mediated disorders. Singleton pregnancies with normotensive fetal growth restriction [FGR] (n = 47), preeclampsia without FGR (n = 45) and preeclampsia with FGR (n = 51) were included prospectively as well as uncomplicated pregnancies (n = 49). Samples were collected at delivery and ELISA analysis was applied to measure the hemopexin and α1-microglobulin concentrations. In maternal blood in preeclampsia with and without FGR, hemopexin was significantly lower (p = 0.003 and p<0.001, respectively) and α1-microglobulin was significantly higher (p<0.001 in both) whereas no difference existed in normotensive FGR mothers compared to controls. In contrast, in fetal blood in growth restricted fetuses with and without preeclampsia, both hemopexin and α1-microglobulin were significantly lower (p<0.001 and p = 0.001 for hemopexin, p = 0.016 and p = 0.013 for α1-microglobulin, respectively) with no difference in fetuses from preeclampsia without FGR in comparison to controls. Thus, hemopexin and α1-microglobulin present significantly altered concentrations in maternal blood in the maternal disease -preeclampsia- and in cord blood in the fetal disease -FGR-, which supports their differential role in placenta-mediated disorders in accordance with the clinical presentation of these disorders

Polymorphism in killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors and human leukocyte antigen-c and predisposition to preeclampsia in Ethiopian pregnant women population.

INTRODUCTION: Preeclampsia (PE) is a human specific pregnancy-related syndrome of unknown etiology that affects 2-8 % of pregnancies. Polymorphism in maternal Killer Cell Immunoglobulin-like Receptors (KIRs) and the ligand fetal Human Leukocyte Antigen-C (HLA-C) may predispose pregnant mothers for PE due to defective trophoblast invasion into the maternal decidua. Our study aimed to investigate the association between maternal KIR and fetal HLA-C polymorphism and PE in Ethiopian pregnant women. METHODS: We included a total of 288 (157 controls and 131 PE cases) in a case-controls study at Adama Regional Referral Hospital, Ethiopia. The KIR and HLA-C genotyping was done using traditional polymerase chain reaction on genomic DNA extracted form maternal venous and cord blood followed by 2% agarose gel electrophoresis. RESULTS: The statistical associations between variables were evaluated using Pearson's Chi-square test. P < 0.05, with 95 % confidence interval was considered statistically significant. A significant association was observed between the KIR2DS1 and PE, with a higher frequency (60.5 %) of the gene in the control group. Similarly, a significant association was observed between KIR AA genotype and PE, with a higher frequency (38.2 %) of this genotype in the PE group. Ethiopians share the same risk genotype for PE as seen in previous African and European studies, namely homozygosity of a maternal KIR AA genotype. However, Ethiopians differ from other East African populations by sharing the same protective KIR2DS1 gene as Europeans