An in vivo permeability test protocol using iohexol to reduce and refine the use of laboratory rats in intestinal damage assessment

Assessment of intestinal damage in laboratory rats with experimentally-induced enteropathies is usually carried out by collecting and morphological interpreting tissue samples obtained surgically, endoscopically or at necropsy. Alternatively, changes in the gut mucosa may be less invasively evaluated with intestinal permeability (IP) tests. In contrast to human and veterinary patients, IP test protocols in laboratory rats have been highly variable, which may account for the limited use of this approach by investigators when evaluating intestinal damage. The objective of this study was to establish a refined IP test protocol using iohexol in rats that is able to differentiate between healthy rats and individuals with enteropathies. Iohexol was administered by oral gavage to twenty-eight Sprague-Dawley rats, before and after the induction of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) with dextran sulphate sodium (DSS). Urine was cumulatively recovered during 24 h, and the presence of iohexol was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection. The median percentage (and interquartile range) of administered iohexol in urine of healthy rats was 0.54% (0.3

Interpretação Automatizada de Textos: Processamento de Anáforas

Esta tese apresenta uma solução para a interpretação de anáforas nominais definidas. Considere o seguinte texto: (1) a. Mariana comprou um carro novo. b. O motor veio danificado. A frase (1a) apresenta duas entidades: Mariana e um carro novo. Já a frase (1.2b) tem apenas uma entidade - o motor. No processo de interpretação, humano ou computacional, a utilização do artigo definido " o" é um indicativo de que a entidade já havia sido introduzida no discurso, i.e. apresenta um caráter anafórico. Resolver uma anáfora é, a priori, identificar a quem ou a que se refere esta anáfora. Mas no caso acima é mais do que isto: sem dúvida o motor existe no texto por causa da existência de um carro, porém a interpretação do motor deve ir além disto e identificar como este motor está ligado com aquele carro. Isto é uma anáfora nominal definida. A interpretação das anáforas nominais definidas ou de qualquer fenômeno anafórico pode ser generalizada como um processo que atribui valores aos itens da seguinte equação: R(A, T ) (2) onde: A denota a entidade introduzida pela interpretação fora de contexto de um pronome, de uma elipse ou de um sintagma nominal definido, T denota o seu antecedente e R é a relação existente entre A e T . O processo de resolução da equação, que é propriamente o processo de resolução de anáforas, consiste em descobrir T e R dado A. Nesta tese é proposta uma metodologia computacional que interpreta as anáforas nominais definidas cuja relação R é uma dentre: parte de, membro de, subcategorizado por e coreferência. A obtenção das relações é feita por um conjunto de regras pragmáticas [Freitas, Lopes e Menezes 2004, Filho e Freitas 2003] (cap. 3). Caso seja constatado que A não seja anafórica então ela é acomodada no contexto. A metodologia computacional é construída sobre um ambiente de programação em lógica [Damásio, Nejdl e Pereira 1994] que permite raciocinar abdutivamente [Kakas, Kowalski e Toni 1992] sobre a representação semântica do texto [Kamp e Reyle 1993]. A partir da interpretação das entidades é construída a estrutura nominal do discurso [Lopes e Freitas 1994] (cap. 4), a qual permite: (1) fazer o acompanhamento das entidades mais salientes em cada frase [Freitas e Lopes 1994], (2) limitar o universo de escolha de possíveis antecedentes[Freitas e Lopes 1996] e (3) prover um resumo das entidades do discurso. O resultado é uma metodologia que permite, de forma integrada, resolver anáforas e elipses, sendo que a estrutura nominal do discurso pode ser usada na busca de informações

Isotope shift in the dielectronic recombination of three-electron ^{A}Nd^{57+}

Isotope shifts in dielectronic recombination spectra were studied for Li-like ^{A}Nd^{57+} ions with A=142 and A=150. From the displacement of resonance positions energy shifts \delta E^{142,150}(2s-2p_1/2)= 40.2(3)(6) meV (stat)(sys)) and \delta E^{142,150}(2s-2p_3/2) = 42.3(12)(20) meV of 2s-2p_j transitions were deduced. An evaluation of these values within a full QED treatment yields a change in the mean-square charge radius of ^{142,150}\delta = -1.36(1)(3) fm^2. The approach is conceptually new and combines the advantage of a simple atomic structure with high sensitivity to nuclear size.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter

Beam lifetimes and ionization cross sections of U28+^{28 +}

Beam lifetimes of stored U^{28+} ions with energies between 10 and 180  MeV/u were measured in the heavy ion synchrotron SIS18 and in the experimental storage ring (ESR) of the GSI accelerator facility. By using the internal gas jet target of the ESR, it was possible to obtain projectile ionization cross sections for collisions with H_{2} and N_{2} from the lifetime data. The experimental cross sections are compared to theoretical data predicted by the n-body classical-trajectory Monte Carlo (CTMC) method of Olson et al. and to calculations of Shevelko et al. using the LOSS-R code. In addition, both theoretical approaches are probed by using the resulting cross sections as input parameters for the STRAHLSIM code, which models the beam losses and, consequently, the lifetimes in the heavy ion synchrotron SIS18. Both the cross section measurement and the SIS18 lifetime study indicate that the LOSS-R code cross sections are in better agreement with the experimental results than the n-body CTMC calculations

Approaching the Gamow Window with Stored Ions : Direct Measurement of Xe 124 (p,γ) in the ESR Storage Ring

© 2019 American Physical Society. All rights reserved.We report the first measurement of low-energy proton-capture cross sections of Xe124 in a heavy-ion storage ring. Xe12454+ ions of five different beam energies between 5.5 and 8 AMeV were stored to collide with a windowless hydrogen target. The Cs125 reaction products were directly detected. The interaction energies are located on the high energy tail of the Gamow window for hot, explosive scenarios such as supernovae and x-ray binaries. The results serve as an important test of predicted astrophysical reaction rates in this mass range. Good agreement in the prediction of the astrophysically important proton width at low energy is found, with only a 30% difference between measurement and theory. Larger deviations are found above the neutron emission threshold, where also neutron and γ widths significantly impact the cross sections. The newly established experimental method is a very powerful tool to investigate nuclear reactions on rare ion beams at low center-of-mass energies.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Further evidence for the involvement of EFL1 in a Shwachman-Diamond-like syndrome and expansion of the phenotypic features.

Recent evidence has implicated EFL1 in a phenotype overlapping Shwachman-Diamond syndrome (SDS), with the functional interplay between EFL1 and the previously known causative gene SBDS accounting for the similarity in clinical features. Relatively little is known about the phenotypes associated with pathogenic variants in the EFL1 gene, but the initial indication was that phenotypes may be more severe, when compared with SDS. We report a pediatric patient who presented with a metaphyseal dysplasia and was found to have biallelic variants in EFL1 on reanalysis of trio whole-exome sequencing data. The variant had not been initially reported because of the research laboratory's focus on de novo variants. Subsequent phenotyping revealed variability in her manifestations. Although her metaphyseal abnormalities were more severe than in the original reported cohort with EFL1 variants, the bone marrow abnormalities were generally mild, and there was equivocal evidence for pancreatic insufficiency. Despite the limited number of reported patients, variants in EFL1 appear to cause a broader spectrum of symptoms that overlap with those seen in SDS. Our report adds to the evidence of EFL1 being associated with an SDS-like phenotype and provides information adding to our understanding of the phenotypic variability of this disorder. Our report also highlights the value of exome data reanalysis when a diagnosis is not initially apparent

High-resolution measurement of the time-modulated orbital electron capture and of the β+\beta^+ decay of hydrogen-like 142^{142}Pm60+^{60+} ions

The periodic time modulations, found recently in the two-body orbital electron-capture (EC) decay of both, hydrogen-like $^{140}$Pr$^{58+}$ and $^{142}$Pm$^{60+}$ ions, with periods near to 7s and amplitudes of about 20%, were re-investigated for the case of $^{142}$Pm$^{60+}$ by using a 245 MHz resonator cavity with a much improved sensitivity and time resolution. We observed that the exponential EC decay is modulated with a period $T = 7.11(11)$s, in accordance with a modulation period $T = 7.12(11)$ s as obtained from simultaneous observations with a capacitive pick-up, employed also in the previous experiments. The modulation amplitudes amount to $a_R = 0.107(24)$ and $a_P = 0.134(27)$ for the 245 MHz resonator and the capacitive pick-up, respectively. These new results corroborate for both detectors {\it exactly} our previous findings of modulation periods near to 7s, though with {\it distinctly smaller} amplitudes. Also the three-body $\beta^+$ decays have been analyzed. For a supposed modulation period near to 7s we found an amplitude $a = 0.027(27)$, compatible with $a = 0$ and in agreement with the preliminary result $a = 0.030(30)$ of our previous experiment. These observations could point at weak interaction as origin of the observed 7s-modulation of the EC decay. Furthermore, the data suggest that interference terms occur in the two-body EC decay, although the neutrinos are not directly observed.Comment: In memoriam of Prof. Paul Kienle, 9 pages, 1 table, 5 figures Phys. Lett. B (2013) onlin