Urinary N-Acetyl-Beta-D-Glucosaminidase Activity in Rat Experimental Ischemic and Toxic Models of Acute Kidney Injury

The identification of a suitable prevention method which facilitates limiting the deleterious effects of acute kidney injuries is highly required. In order to identify a proper treatment for acute kidney injuries, a suitable experimental model that replicates the structural, metabolic and inflammatory lesions that occur in the natural acute injured kidney is highly necessary. Intense urinary NAG activity can be found in a variety of renal disease such as toxic nephropathies, ischemic renal injury following cardiac surgery or renal transplantation but also in glomerular disease especially in diabetic nephropathy. Rises in urinary NAG enzyme activity strongly suggests tubular cell damage and support NAG enzyme as a biomarker of renal tubular injury. The aim of this paper is to obtain a stable in vivo acute kidney injury experimental model, in Wistar, rats and to evaluate the urinary activity of N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) enzyme, blood levels of urea and creatinine and microstructural renal alterations induced by ischemia/reperfusion injury respectively gentamicin nephrotoxicity. For this purpose we have used a rat experimental model. Adult male Wistar rats weighing 250-300 g were randomly divided into 3 groups with 8 rats in each group. Group 1 served as a model for the renal ischemia/reperfusion injury experiment, group 2 served for toxic kidney injury experimental model and group 3 served as control group. All individuals in both groups 1 and 2 presented marked elevations in blood urea and creatinine at the moment of euthanasia (day 3 for group 1 and day 9 for group 2) compared to the control group where biochemical values remained within normal limits. Urine analysis of both group 1 and 2 showed marked urinary NAG index activity which suggests acute tubular injury, suggestion confirmed by histological evaluation of the renal parenchyma sampled from this subject

A Chromatic Treatment of Linear Polarization in the Solar Corona at the 2023 Total Solar Eclipse

The broadband solar K-corona is linearly polarized due to Thomson scattering. Various strategies have been used to represent coronal polarization. Here, we present a new way to visualize the polarized corona, using observations from the 2023 April 20 total solar eclipse in Australia in support of the Citizen CATE 2024 project. We convert observations in the common four-polarizer orthogonal basis (0{\deg}, 45{\deg}, 90{\deg}, & 135{\deg}) to -60{\deg}, 0{\deg}, and +60{\deg} (MZP) polarization, which is homologous to R, G, B color channels. The unique image generated provides some sense of how humans might visualize polarization if we could perceive it in the same way we perceive color.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure; accepted for publication in Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society (RNAAS

Arrays of interacting nanostructures: Ferromagnetic and superconducting cases

Arrays of ultra high-density (1.2 Tera/in2) vertical ferromagnetic cobalt nanowires with aligned shape and crystal magnetic-anisotropy axes are fabricated by electro-deposition in nanoporous polymer templates. The nanoporous films are derived from self-assembling PS-b-PMMA diblock-copolymers, which can provide lateral structure dimensions on the order of 10 nm, small enough to make cobalt nanowires in magnetic single-domain regime. An optimized fabrication procedure is developed for arrays of cobalt nanowires with enhanced perpendicular-to-plane magnetic anisotropy, by combining effects of shape anisotropy with perpendicularly oriented uniaxial magneto-crystalline anisotropy of hcp Co. Special conditions of electrolyte pH (pH\u3e5.1) are required to obtain the desired c-axis crystal orientation, and pulse electrodeposition conditions are found to improve the overall perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, resulting in array-coercivities as large as 2.7 kOe at 300 K. X-ray diffraction and SQUID magnetometry measurements are used to characterize their structural and magnetic properties. A numerical model for the magnetization dynamics of an array of single-domain particles with vertically-aligned anisotropy axes is presented, which includes finite temperature effects, and magnetostatic interactions in a mean-field approximation. The model can qualitatively describe most features of the magnetization behavior, such as the temperature dependence of array-coercivity, shearing of the magnetization curves and the reduction of array-coercivity due to array demagnetization effects. Qualitative agreement is also obtained with the observed slow-relaxation magnetization decay of the cobalt nanowire arrays. To investigate particle non-uniformity effects, the model was further extended to include a distribution in energy barriers and particle volumes. The last part is concerned with the experimental investigation of the collective behavior of arrays of superconducting lead (Pb) nanowires with diameters smaller than the coherence length, which are coupled to each other by Andreev reflection at the S-N point contact interfaces with an underlying normal metal film. The system is characterized by magnetization and electrical transport measurements and is found to behave like an effective-medium type II superconductor with vortex pinning

Clusters of interacting single domain Co nanomagnets for multistate perpendicular magnetic media applications

In this work we develop prototype elements for multistate (beyond binary) perpendicular data storage using interacting nanomagnet clusters. This experimental work confirms earlier theoretical work that predicted multiple discrete values of stable remanent magnetization for such clusters. The fabrication scheme is based on ultrahigh resolution electron beam lithography performed on a thin suspended silicon nitride membrane to reduce the secondary backscattered electrons from the substrate. A Co nanomagnet cluster array is deposited into the nanotemplate via pulse-reverse electrodeposition to create nanomagnets with the favored uniaxial perpendicular anisotropy. Magnetic force microscopy (MFM) measurements show the perpendicular magnetization of individual Co nanomagnets and the combined multiconfiguration behavior of a nanomagnet cluster. In concept, the discrete values of net remanent magnetization of the cluster, which represent distinct information states, can be “programmed” by a uniform applied field

<i>Toxocara cati</i> and Other Parasitic Enteropathogens: More Commonly Found in Owned Cats with Gastrointestinal Signs Than in Clinically Healthy Ones

Intestinal parasites are involved in the health and wellbeing of cats and some of them, due to their zoonotic potential, represent a problem for public health. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of parasitic infections in cats with gastrointestinal signs. Fecal samples collected from 137 cats were analyzed by the flotation method using a sodium chloride saturated solution. The overall prevalence of intestinal parasites was 50.4%. Intestinal parasites were significantly (p Toxocara cati (40.2%) was the most frequently identified intestinal parasite, followed by Cystoisospora spp. (10.2%), hookworms (3.7%), Taeniidae (2.2%), Giardia duodenalis (2.2%), and Toxoplasma gondii (0.7%). Toxocara cati (53.3%, p Cystoisospora spp. (15.6%, p T. cati infection by logistic regression analysis. Regardless of age, gastrointestinal signs like vomiting, diarrhea, and inappetence were positively associated with T. cati