RITUXIMAB DELAYS WOUND HEALING AND DECREASES WHITE BLOOD CELL COUNT IN MALE MICE

ABSTRACTObjective: The aims of this research are to evaluate the effect of rituximab on wound healing, some hematological parameters, histological changes inwound healing, and histopathological changes in some organs in male mice.Methods: Totally, 15 adult male mice (25-30 g) were enrolled in this study. Animals were kept in the animal house College of Medicine/Universityof Babylon, and the temperature was controlled on 25°C and 14 hrs light and 10 hrs dark cycles. The animals were provided with standard diet andwater ad libitum. The animals were divided randomly into 3 groups, five mice in each group, Group 1 (control group) received no treatment, Group 2received rituximab 1 m/kg, IP, at days 0, 5, and 10 after wounding, in Group 3, rituximab was topically applied to the wound at days 0, 5, and 10 afterwounding.Results: The results yield that the wound healing significantly decreased (p<0.05) in Groups 2 and 3 as compared to control group. While the resultsregarding white blood cells (WBCs) count, there is a significant decrease in WBC count in Group 2 (p>0.05). Platelets and red blood cell count insignificantly increased in Group 3 as compared to control group (p<0.05). There were no histopathological changes in the skin, kidneys, and spleen.In liver, nonsignificant histopathological changes (p>0.05) found in Group 2 and 3 as compared to control group.Conclusion: Rituximab delays wound healing and reduces WBC count in male mice.Keywords: Rituximab, Wound healing, Lymphocyte, CD20, White blood cells, Mice

Focused Local Search for Random 3-Satisfiability

A local search algorithm solving an NP-complete optimisation problem can be viewed as a stochastic process moving in an 'energy landscape' towards eventually finding an optimal solution. For the random 3-satisfiability problem, the heuristic of focusing the local moves on the presently unsatisfiedclauses is known to be very effective: the time to solution has been observed to grow only linearly in the number of variables, for a given clauses-to-variables ratio $\alpha$ sufficiently far below the critical satisfiability threshold $\alpha_c \approx 4.27$. We present numerical results on the behaviour of three focused local search algorithms for this problem, considering in particular the characteristics of a focused variant of the simple Metropolis dynamics. We estimate the optimal value for the ``temperature'' parameter $\eta$ for this algorithm, such that its linear-time regime extends as close to $\alpha_c$ as possible. Similar parameter optimisation is performed also for the well-known WalkSAT algorithm and for the less studied, but very well performing Focused Record-to-Record Travel method. We observe that with an appropriate choice of parameters, the linear time regime for each of these algorithms seems to extend well into ratios $\alpha > 4.2$ -- much further than has so far been generally assumed. We discuss the statistics of solution times for the algorithms, relate their performance to the process of ``whitening'', and present some conjectures on the shape of their computational phase diagrams.Comment: 20 pages, lots of figure

Emisija kratkovalnog zračenja tijekom udara iona o čvrstu površinu

The possibility of short-wave photon emission during surface scattering of positive ions is investigated by selection of the type of charge-exchange process (one- or two-electron processes), through the calculation of the neutralization probabilities and the charge-transfer cross sections. These probabilities are calculated statically as a function of distance between the incident ion and the surface, and dynamically as a function of the ion velocity. The model is applied to real systems such as He+/semiconductor (silicon and germanium), taking into account the difference in the physical constants of the two systems. We found that emitted photons have short wavelengths, lying in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum of the helium emission spectrum.Istražujemo mogućnost emisije kratkovalnih fotona tijekom udara iona o čvrstu površinu odabirom procesa izmjene naboja (jedno i dvoelektronski procesi) i računanjem vjerojatnosti neutralizacije i udarnog presjeka za prijenos naboja. Te vjerojatnosti računamo statički kao funkcije udaljenosti upadnog iona i površine, i dinamički kao funkcije brzine iona. Model primjenjujemo stvarnim sustavima kao što su poluvodiči silicij i germanij, uzimajući u obzir razlike fizičkih svojstava dvaju sustava. Nalazimo da fotoni imaju kratke valne duljine, u području elektromagnetskog spektra helija

Massive Necrotizing Pancreatitis in an Immunosuppressed Renal Transplant Recipient (Successful Therapy)

Severe pancreatitis may be associated with massive necrosis of the pancreas and/or retroperitoneal adipose tissue. Toxicity results from the dead tissue and secondary infection. A 45 year old patient, while fully immunosuppressed, developed this complication following cadaveric renal transplantation. He survived continued immunosuppression, 16 operative debridements of the retroperitoneum, and maintained a functioning renal transplant

The role of insulin receptor substrate 2 in hypothalamic and β cell function

Insulin receptor substrate 2 (Irs2) plays complex roles in energy homeostasis. We generated mice lacking Irs2 in β cells and a population of hypothalamic neurons (RIPCreIrs2KO), in all neurons (NesCreIrs2KO), and in proopiomelanocortin neurons (POMCCreIrs2KO) to determine the role of Irs2 in the CNS and β cell. RIPCreIrs2KO mice displayed impaired glucose tolerance and reduced β cell mass. Overt diabetes did not ensue, because β cells escaping Cre-mediated recombination progressively populated islets. RIPCreIrs2KO and NesCreIrs2KO mice displayed hyperphagia, obesity, and increased body length, which suggests altered melanocortin action. POMCCreIrs2KO mice did not display this phenotype. RIPCreIrs2KO and NesCreIrs2KO mice retained leptin sensitivity, which suggests that CNS Irs2 pathways are not required for leptin action. NesCreIrs2KO and POMCCreIrs2KO mice did not display reduced β cell mass, but NesCreIrs2KO mice displayed mild abnormalities of glucose homeostasis. RIPCre neurons did not express POMC or neuropeptide Y. Insulin and a melanocortin agonist depolarized RIPCre neurons, whereas leptin was ineffective. Insulin hyperpolarized and leptin depolarized POMC neurons. Our findings demonstrate a critical role for IRS2 in β cell and hypothalamic function and provide insights into the role of RIPCre neurons, a distinct hypothalamic neuronal population, in growth and energy homeostasis

The role of insulin receptor substrate 2 in hypothalamic and beta cell function

Insulin receptor substrate 2 (Irs2) plays complex roles in energy homeostasis. We generated mice lacking Irs2 in beta cells and a population of hypothalamic neurons (RIPCreIrs2KO), in all neurons (NesCreIrs2KO), and in proopiomelanocortin neurons (POMCCreIrs2KO) to determine the role of Irs2 in the CNS and beta cell. RIPCreIrs2KO mice displayed impaired glucose tolerance and reduced P cell mass. Overt diabetes did not ensue, because beta cells escaping Cre-mediated recombination progressively populated islets. RIPCreIrs2KO and NesCreIrs2KO mice displayed hyperphagia, obesity, and increased body length, which suggests altered melanocortin action. POMCCreIrs2KO mice did not display this phenotype. RIPCreIrs2KO and NesCreIrs2KO mice retained leptin sensitivity, which suggests that CNS Irs2 pathways are not required for leptin action. NesCreIrs2KO and POMCCreIrs2KO mice did not display reduced beta cell mass, but NesCreIrs2KO mice displayed mild abnormalities of glucose homeostasis. RIPCre neurons did not express POMC or neuropeptide Y. Insulin and a melanocortin agonist depolarized RIPCre neurons, whereas leptin was ineffective. Insulin hyperpolarized and leptin depolarized POMC neurons. Our findings demonstrate a critical role for IRS2 in beta cell and hypothalamic function and provide insights into the role of RIPCre neurons, a distinct hypothalamic neuronal population, in growth and energy homeostasis

The Effect of Star Formation History on the Inferred Initial Stellar Mass Function

Peaks and lulls in the star formation rate (SFR) over the history of the Galaxy produce plateaux and declines in the present day mass function (PDMF) where the main-sequence lifetime overlaps the age and duration of the SFR variation. These PDMF features can be misinterpreted as the form of the intrinsic stellar initial mass function (IMF) if the star formation rate is assumed to be constant or slowly varying with time. This effect applies to all regions that have formed stars for longer than the age of the most massive stars, including OB associations, star complexes, and especially galactic field stars. Related problems may apply to embedded clusters. Evidence is summarized for temporal SFR variations from parsec scales to entire galaxies, all of which should contribute to inferred IMF distortions. We give examples of various star formation histories to demonstrate the types of false IMF structures that might be seen. These include short-duration bursts, stochastic histories with log-normal amplitude distributions, and oscillating histories with various periods and phases. The inferred IMF should appear steeper than the intrinsic IMF over mass ranges where the stellar lifetimes correspond to times of decreasing SFRs; shallow portions of the inferred IMF correspond to times of increasing SFRs. If field regions are populated by dispersed clusters and defined by their low current SFRs, then they should have steeper inferred IMFs than the clusters. The SFRs required to give the steep field IMFs in the LMC and SMC are determined. Structure observed in several determinations of the Milky Way field star IMF can be accounted for by a stochastic and bursty star formation history.Comment: accepted by ApJ for 1 Jan 2006, Vol 636, 12 pages + 6 figure