Space‐time analysis of TIMED Doppler Interferometer (TIDI) measurements

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95273/1/grl12774.pd

Sexual Dimorphisms of Adrenal Steroids, Sex Hormones, and Immunological Biomarkers and Possible Risk Factors for Developing Rheumatoid Arthritis

Innate immunity and immunological biomarkers are believed to be interrelated with sex hormones and other neuroendocrine factors. Sexual dimorphism mechanisms may be operating in certain rheumatic and inflammatory diseases which occur more frequently in women than men, as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Less data have been available on altered interrelations of the combined neuroendocrine and immune (NEI) systems as risk factors for development of certain diseases. In this study, serological interrelations of NEI biomarkers are analyzed before symptomatic onset of RA (pre-RA) versus control (CN) subjects, stratified by sex. Sexual dimorphism was found in serum levels of acute serum amyloid A (ASAA), soluble interleukin-2 receptor alpha (sIL-2Rα), and soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (sTNF-R1). Multiple steroidal and hormonal (neuroendocrine) factors also showed highly (p<0.001) significant sexual dimorphism in their assayed values, but less for cortisol (p=0.012), and not for 17-hydroxyprogesterone (p=0.176). After stratification by sex and risk of developing RA, differential NEI correlational patterns were observed in the interplay of the NEI systems between the pre-RA and CN groups, which deserve further investigation

An injectable bone marrow-like scaffold enhances T cell immunity after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a curative treatment for multiple disorders, but deficiency and dysregulation of T cells limit its utility. Here we report a biomaterial-based scaffold that mimics features of T cell lymphopoiesis in the bone marrow. The bone marrow cryogel (BMC) releases bone morphogenetic protein-2 to recruit stromal cells and presents the Notch ligand Delta-like ligand-4 to facilitate T cell lineage specification of mouse and human hematopoietic progenitor cells. BMCs subcutaneously injected in mice at the time of HSCT enhanced T cell progenitor seeding of the thymus, T cell neogenesis and diversification of the T cell receptor repertoire. Peripheral T cell reconstitution increased ~6-fold in mouse HSCT and ~2-fold in human xenogeneic HSCT. Furthermore, BMCs promoted donor CD4+ regulatory T cell generation and improved survival after allogeneic HSCT. In comparison to adoptive transfer of T cell progenitors, BMCs increased donor chimerism, T cell generation and antigen-specific T cell responses to vaccination. BMCs may provide an off-the-shelf approach for enhancing T cell regeneration and mitigating graft-versus-host disease in HSCT

Anatomical variations of sinonasal region: a CT scan study

Multislice CT is currently the imaging modality of choice for evaluating PNS & adjacent structures. Such a method has been increasingly utilized in the assessment of anatomical variations, allowing their accurate identification with high anatomical details. Some anatomical variations may predispose to sinonasal disease, constituting areas of high risk for injuries & complications during surgical procedures. Therefore, the recognition of such variations is critical in the preoperative evaluation for endoscopic surgery

In situ synchrotron investigation of degenerate graphite nodule evolution in ductile cast iron

Ductile cast irons (DCIs) are of increasing importance in the renewable energy and transportation sectors. The distribution and morphology of the graphite nodules, in particular the formation of degenerate features during solidification, dictate the mechanical performance of DCIs. In situ high-speed synchrotron X-ray tomography was used to capture the evolution of graphite nodules during solidification of DCI, including degenerate features and the effect of the carbon concentration field. The degeneration of nodules is observed to increase with re-melting cycles, which is attributed to Mg-loss. The dendritic primary austenite and carbon concentration gradients in the surrounding liquid phase were found to control nodule morphology by locally restricting and promoting growth. A coupled diffusion-mechanical model was developed, confirming the experimentally informed hypothesis that protrusions form through liquation cracking of the austenite shell and subsequent localised growth. These results provide valuable insights into the solidification kinetics of cast irons, supporting the design of advanced alloys

Stevens Johnson syndrome in Pakistan: a ten-year survey

Objective: A pre-tested questionnaire-based, retrospective study to highlight the causative factors, mode of presentation, complications and outcome of patients with Stevens Johnson syndrome.SETTING: Aga Khan University Hospital over a 10 year period.Methods: All case records with a diagnosis of Steven Johnson Syndrome in the period 1990 to 2000 were retrospectively reviewed. Data was retrieved on a comprehensive questionnaire. The demographic variatbles and drugs taken within the previous 21 days were noted. Date analysis was done by Epi-Info Version 6.0.Results: Of the 101 studied patient files, the most common offender was found to be the Penicillins as a group and Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine (Fansidar) when considering all drugs individually. Most common complications included electrolyte disturbances (13.9%) and congestive heart failure (6.9%). Mortality rate was high at 10.1%.CONCLUSION: SJS was found to be a rare condition but having a mortality rate of 10.1%. As it can be induced by a large number of drugs, caution should be practiced while prescribing

Woodlot farming by smallholder farmers in Ganderbal district of Kashmir, India

Forest degradation and deforestation are serious threats to resource conservation, subsistence livelihoods and rural income diversification. Woodlot farming on farms has been established as a potential option to increase forest resources from agricultural landscapes and remove human pressure from forests. The study investigated the land-use and landholding pattern, woodlots types and species preference and extent of spatial distribution, land allocation and growing stock of woodlots in the Ganderbal district of Kashmir. Multistage random sampling technique was employed to select 349 farm woodlots from 12 sample villages. Secondary sources were used to collect village-level data on land-use and landholding pattern. Primary data concerning the trees were collected through farm woodlot inventories. The data were analyzed using simple descriptive statistics. Results revealed that the total land area in the sample villages is 888.60 ha; 521.60 ha (58.70%) is cultivated land, which is mostly (80.78%) occupied by 1244 marginal farmers. The prevalent woodlots established were plantations of Populus, Salix, Robinia or mixed species. The farm woodlots (61.59 ha) contributed 11.81% of cultivated land and 6.93% of the total geographical area. The average growing stocks of woodlots were estimated to be 204.05 m3/ha for Populus, 191.77 m3/ha for Salix, 109.51 m3/ha for Robinia and 62.31 m3/ha for Mixed. The findings suggested that woodlot farming is the key alternative for forest resource production, livelihood resilience and socioeconomic improvement; hence, the policy must be implicated towards the promotion of woodlot farming by re-orienting the land use through farmer’s motivation and technical, financial and farming input assistance

Unraveling compacted graphite evolution during solidification of cast iron using in-situ synchrotron X-ray tomography

In spite of many years of research, the physical phenomena leading to the evolution of compacted graphite (CG) during solidification is still not fully understood. In particular, it is unknown how highly branched CG aggregates form and evolve in the semi-solid, and how local microstructural variations at micrometer length scale affect this growth process. We present here the first time-resolved synchrotron tomography combined with a bespoke high-temperature environmental cell that allows direct observation of the evolution of CG and relates this dynamic process to the local surrounding microstructures in a cast iron sample during repeated melting and solidification. Distinct processes are identified for the formation of CG involving the nucleation, growth, development of branches and interconnection of graphite particles, ultimately evolving into highly branched graphite aggregates with large sizes and low sphericities. CG is found to nucleate with a spheroidal or a plate-like shape, developing branches induced by high carbon concentration, e.g. thin melt channels. Additionally, CG grows much faster than spheroidal graphite during subsequent cooling in solid state. The direct visualization of the dynamic solidification process provides unprecedented new insights into formation mechanisms of CG and correlating factors such as local microstructural variations, and guides the development of CG iron solidification models

Characterization of an autotrophic sulfide-oxidizing marine Arcobacter sp. that produces filamentous sulfur

Author Posting. © American Society for Microbiology, 2002. This article is posted here by permission of American Society for Microbiology for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology 68 (2002): 316-325, doi:10.1128/AEM.68.1.316-325.2002.A coastal marine sulfide-oxidizing autotrophic bacterium produces hydrophilic filamentous sulfur as a novel metabolic end product. Phylogenetic analysis placed the organism in the genus Arcobacter in the epsilon subdivision of the Proteobacteria. This motile vibrioid organism can be considered difficult to grow, preferring to grow under microaerophilic conditions in flowing systems in which a sulfide-oxygen gradient has been established. Purified cell cultures were maintained by using this approach. Essentially all 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole dihydrochloride-stained cells in a flowing reactor system hybridized with Arcobacter-specific probes as well as with a probe specific for the sequence obtained from reactor-grown cells. The proposed provisional name for the coastal isolate is "Candidatus Arcobacter sulfidicus." For cells cultured in a flowing reactor system, the sulfide optimum was higher than and the CO2 fixation activity was as high as or higher than those reported for other sulfur oxidizers, such as Thiomicrospira spp. Cells associated with filamentous sulfur material demonstrated nitrogen fixation capability. No ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase could be detected on the basis of radioisotopic activity or by Western blotting techniques, suggesting an alternative pathway of CO2 fixation. The process of microbial filamentous sulfur formation has been documented in a number of marine environments where both sulfide and oxygen are available. Filamentous sulfur formation by "Candidatus Arcobacter sulfidicus" or similar strains may be an ecologically important process, contributing significantly to primary production in such environments.This work was supported by National Science Foundation grant IBN-9630054