95 research outputs found

    Архитектоника комплекса «Русской Правды» П.И. Пестеля

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    Данная статья посвящена П.И. Пестелю, одному из идеологов декабристского движения, лидеру Южного общества. Автор статьи исследует комплекс "Русской Правды" П.И. Пестеля, его структуру и основные пласты.Ця стаття присвячена П.І.Пєстелю, одному з ідеологів декабристського руху, лідеру Південного товариства. Автор статті досліджує комплекс "Російської Правди" П.І. Пєстеля, його структуру та головні пласти

    Veiligheid en beveiliging van offshore Windturbineparken Integrale veiligheidsstudie

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    Dit rapport geeft de bevindingen weer van een integrale studie naar de veiligheidsaspecten rond de realisatie van (meerdere) offshore windturbineparken op het Nederlandse deel van de Noordzee. Het onderzoek is geïnitieerd in het kader van het onderzoeksprogramma We@Sea. Offshore windturbineparken beïnvloeden de veiligheid op zee b.v. doordat ze ruimte innemen die voorheen vrij gebruikt konden worden door scheepvaart en visserij. Door verdringing treedt verdichting op van het scheepvaartverkeer rondom het windturbinepark en het ingenomen gebied wordt onbereikbaar voor vissers. Daarnaast zijn de windturbines objecten waarmee schepen in aanvaring kunnen komen b.v. wanneer zij op drift raken. De gevaren in deze zijn wederzijds, zowel de windturbines kunnen schade oplopen door zo’n gebeurtenis, maar ook de schepen kunnen beschadigd raken. In het geval dat het schip een milieugevaarlijke lading b.v. chemicaliën of olie vervoert, dreigt er tevens gevaar voor het milieu

    Immunodeficiency in Bloom’s Syndrome

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    Bloom’s syndrome (BS) is an autosomal recessive disease, caused by mutations in the BLM gene. This gene codes for BLM protein, which is a helicase involved in DNA repair. DNA repair is especially important for the development and maturation of the T and B cells. Since BLM is involved in DNA repair, we aimed to study if BLM deficiency affects T and B cell development and especially somatic hypermutation (SHM) and class switch recombination (CSR) processes. Clinical data of six BS patients was collected, and immunoglobulin serum levels were measured at different time points. In addition, we performed immune phenotyping of the B and T cells and analyzed the SHM and CSR in detail by analyzing IGHA and IGHG transcripts using next-generation sequencing. The serum immunoglobulin levels were relatively low, and patients had an increased number of infections. The absolute number of T, B, and NK cells were low but still in the normal range. Remarkably, all BS patients studied had a high percentage (20–80%) of CD4+ and CD8+ effector memory T cells. The process of SHM seems normal; however, the Ig subclass distribution was not normal, since the BS patients had more IGHG1 and IGHG3 transcripts. In conclusion, BS patients have low number of lymphocytes, but the immunodeficiency seems relatively mild since they have no severe or opportunistic infections. Most changes in the B cell development were seen in the CSR process; however, further studies are necessary to elucidate the exact role of BLM in CSR

    A review of wearable motion tracking systems used in rehabilitation following hip and knee replacement

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    Clinical teams are under increasing pressure to facilitate early hospital discharge for total hip replacement and total knee replacement patients following surgery. A wide variety of wearable devices are being marketed to assist with rehabilitation following surgery. A review of wearable devices was undertaken to assess the evidence supporting their efficacy in assisting rehabilitation following total hip replacement and total knee replacement. A search was conducted using the electronic databases including Medline, CINAHL, Cochrane, PsycARTICLES, and PubMed of studies from January 2000 to October 2017. Five studies met the eligibility criteria, and all used an accelerometer and a gyroscope for their technology. A review of the studies found very little evidence to support the efficacy of the technology, although they show that the use of the technology is feasible. Future work should establish which wearable technology is most valuable to patients, which ones improve patient outcomes, and the most economical model for deploying the technolog

    Automated database-guided expert-supervised orientation for immunophenotypic diagnosis and classification of acute leukemia

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    Precise classification of acute leukemia (AL) is crucial for adequate treatment. EuroFlow has previously designed an AL orientation tube (ALOT) to guide towards the relevant classification panel (T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), B-cell precursor (BCP)-ALL and/or acute myeloid leukemia (AML)) and final diagnosis. Now we built a reference database with 656 typical AL samples (145 T-ALL, 377 BCP-ALL, 134 AML), processed and analyzed via standardized protocols. Using principal component analysis (PCA)-based plots and automated classification algorithms for direct comparison of single-cells from individual patients against the database, another 783 cases were subsequently evaluated. Depending on the database-guided results, patients were categorized as: (i) typical T, B or Myeloid without or; (ii) with a transitional component to another lineage; (iii) atypical; or (iv) mixed-lineage. Using this automated algorithm, in 781/783 cases (99.7%) the right panel was selected, and data comparable to the final WHO-diagnosis was already provided in >93% of cases (85% T-ALL, 97% BCP-ALL, 95% AML and 87% mixed-phenotype AL patients), even without data on the full-characterization panels. Our results show that database-guided analysis facilitates standardized interpretation of ALOT results and allows accurate selection of the relevant classification panels, hence providing a solid basis for designing future WHO AL classifications

    T Regulatory Cells Control Susceptibility to Invasive Pneumococcal Pneumonia in Mice

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    Streptococcus pneumoniae is an important human pathogen responsible for a spectrum of diseases including pneumonia. Immunological and pro-inflammatory processes induced in the lung during pneumococcal infection are well documented, but little is known about the role played by immunoregulatory cells and cytokines in the control of such responses. We demonstrate considerable differences in the immunomodulatory cytokine transforming growth factor (TGF)-β between the pneumococcal pneumonia resistant BALB/c and susceptible CBA/Ca mouse strains. Immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry reveal higher levels of TGF-β protein in BALB/c lungs during pneumococcal pneumonia that correlates with a rapid rise in lung Foxp3+Helios+ T regulatory cells. These cells have protective functions during pneumococcal pneumonia, because blocking their induction with an inhibitor of TGF-β impairs BALB/c resistance to infection and aids bacterial dissemination from lungs. Conversely, adoptive transfer of T regulatory cells to CBA/Ca mice, prior to infection, prolongs survival and decreases bacterial dissemination from lungs to blood. Importantly, strong T regulatory cell responses also correlate with disease-resistance in outbred MF1 mice, confirming the importance of immunoregulatory cells in controlling protective responses to the pneumococcus. This study provides exciting new evidence for the importance of immunomodulation during pulmonary pneumococcal infection and suggests that TGF-β signalling is a potential target for immunotherapy or drug design

    IL-1β Processing in Host Defense: Beyond the Inflammasomes

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    Stimulation and release of proinflammatory cytokines is an essential step for the activation of an effective innate host defense, and subsequently for the modulation of adaptive immune responses. Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-18 are important proinflammatory cytokines that on the one hand activate monocytes, macropages, and neutrophils, and on the other hand induce Th1 and Th17 adaptive cellular responses. They are secreted as inactive precursors, and the processing of pro-IL-1β and pro-IL-18 depends on cleavage by proteases. One of the most important of these enzymes is caspase-1, which in turn is activated by several protein platforms called the inflammasomes. Inflammasome activation differs in various cell types, and knock-out mice defective in either caspase-1 or inflammasome components have an increased susceptibility to several types of infections. However, in other infections and in models of sterile inflammation, caspase-1 seems to be less important, and alternative mechanisms such as neutrophil-derived serine proteases or proteases released from microbial pathogens can process and activate IL-1β. In conclusion, IL-1β/IL-18 processing during infection is a complex process in which the inflammasomes are only one of several activation mechanisms
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