2,802 research outputs found
Kidney growth in normal and diabetic mice is not affected by human insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 administration
Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) accumulates in the kidney following
the onset of diabetes, initiating diabetic renal hypertrophy. Increased
renal IGF-I protein content, which is not reflected in messenger RNA
(mRNA) levels, suggests that renal IGF-I accumulation is due to
sequestration of circulating IGF-I rather than to local synthesis. It has
been suggested that IGF-I is trapped in the kidney by IGF binding protein
1 (IGFBP-1). We administered purified human IGFBP-1 (hIGFBP-1) to
nondiabetic and diabetic mice as three daily sc injections for 14 days,
starting 6 days after induction of streptozotocin diabetes when the
animals were overtly diabetic. Markers of early diabetic renal changes
(i.e., increased kidney weight, glomerular volume, and albuminuria)
coincided with accumulation of renal cortical IGF-I despite decreased mRNA
levels in 20-day diabetic mice. Human IGFBP-1 administration had no effect
on increased kidney weight or albuminuria in early diabetes, although it
abolished renal cortical IGF-I accumulation and glomerular hypertrophy in
diabetic mice. Increased IGF-I levels in kidneys of normal mice receiving
hIGFBP-1 were not reflected on kidney parameters. IGFBP-1 administration
in diabetic mice had only minor effects on diabetic renal changes.
Accordingly, these results did not support the hypothesis that IGFBP-1
plays a major role in early renal changes in diabetes
Dose-response effects of a new growth hormone receptor antagonist (B2036-PEG) on circulating, hepatic and renal expression of the growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor system in adult mice
The effects of growth hormone (GH) in regulating the expression of the
hepatic and renal GH and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system were
studied by administering a novel GH receptor antagonist (GHRA) (B2036-PEG)
at different doses (0, 1.25, 2.5, 5 and 10 mg/kg/day) to mice for 7 days.
No differences were observed in the groups with respect to body weight,
food consumption or blood glucose. However, a dose-dependent decrease was
observed in circulating IGF-I levels and in hepatic and renal IGF-I levels
at the highest doses. In contrast, in the 5 and 10 mg/kg/day GHRA groups,
circulating and hepatic transcriptional IGF binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3)
levels were not modified, likely resulting in a significantly decreased
IGF-I/IGFBP-3 ratio. Hepatic GH receptor (GHR) and GH binding protein
(GHBP) mRNA levels increased significantly in all GHRA dosage groups.
Endogenous circulatory GH levels increased significantly in the 2.5 and 5
mg/kg/day GHRA groups. Remarkably, increased circulating IGFBP-4 and
hepatic IGFBP-4 mRNA levels were observed in all GHRA administration
groups. Renal GHR and GHBP mRNA levels were not modified by GHRA
administration at the highest doses. Also, renal IGFBP-3 mRNA levels
remained unchanged in most GHRA administration groups, whereas IGFBP-1, -4
and -5 mRNA levels were significantly increased in the 5 and 10 mg/kg/day
GHRA administration groups. In conclusion, the effects of a specific GHR
blockade on circulating, hepatic and renal GH/IGF axis reported here, may
prove useful in the future clinical use of GHRAs
Influence of Nd3+ doping on the structural and near-IR photoluminescence properties of nanostructured TiO2 films
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Interpolated kilonova spectra models: necessity for a phenomenological, blue component in the fitting of AT2017gfo spectra
In this work, we present a simple interpolation methodology for spectroscopic
time series, based on conventional interpolation techniques (random forests)
implemented in widely-available libraries. We demonstrate that our existing
library of simulations is sufficient for training, producing interpolated
spectra that respond sensitively to varied ejecta parameter, post-merger time,
and viewing angle inputs. We compare our interpolated spectra to the AT2017gfo
spectral data, and find parameters similar to our previous inferences using
broadband light curves. However, the spectral observations have significant
systematic short-wavelength residuals relative to our models, which we cannot
explain within our existing framework. Similar to previous studies, we argue
that an additional blue component is required. We consider a radioactive
heating source as a third component characterized by light, slow-moving,
lanthanide-free ejecta with , c,
and cm/g. When included as part of our radiative
transfer simulations, our choice of third component reprocesses blue photons
into lower energies, having the opposite effect and further accentuating the
blue-underluminosity disparity in our simulations. As such, we are unable to
overcome short-wavelength deficits at later times using an additional
radioactive heating component, indicating the need for a more sophisticated
modeling treatment.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, presenting at April APS session F13.0000
The effect of epidermal growth factor and IGF-I infusion on hepatic and renal expression of the IGF-system in adult female rats
Systemic administration of epidermal growth factor (EGF) in neonatal rats
results in reduced body weight gain and decreased circulating levels of
IGF-I, suggesting its involvement in EGF-induced growth retardation. We
investigated the effect of EGF and/or IGF-I administration for 7 days on
circulating IGF-I and IGFBP levels and hepatic and renal IGF-system mRNA
expression profiles in adult female rats. EGF administration (30
microg/rat/day) did not influence body weight, liver or kidney weight. In
contrast, IGF-I (400 microg/rat/day) and EGF/IGF-I administration
increased both body weight and kidney weight. Also, serum IGF-I and the 30
kDa IGFBPs (IGFBP-1 and -2) were significantly increased in these groups.
Serum IGFBP-3 levels increased in the IGF-I group along with increased
hepatic IGFBP-1 and -3 mRNA levels. In contrast, in the EGF administration
group serum IGFBP-3 levels were significantly decreased; however, the mRNA
levels remained unchanged. In the EGF/IGF-I administration group, serum
IGF-I and IGFBP-3 levels were significantly lowered when compared with the
IGF-I administration group. This was in contrast to the effect on kidney
weight increase that was identical for the IGF-I and EGF/IGF-I groups. The
decrease in serum IGFBP-3 was not reflected at the hepatic IGFBP-3 mRNA
level. IGFBP-3 expression might be regulated at a post-transcriptional
level although EGF induced IGFBP-3 proteolysis could not be demonstrated
in vitro. We conclude that EGF administration reduced serum IGFBP-3
whereas IGF-I administration increased the level of IGFBP-3 and IGF-I and
resulted in an increased body and kidney weight in adult female rats
Development of a modular test system for the silicon sensor R&D of the ATLAS Upgrade
High Voltage CMOS sensors are a promising technology for tracking detectors in collider experiments. Extensive R&D studies are being carried out by the ATLAS Collaboration for a possible use of HV-CMOS in the High Luminosity LHC upgrade of the Inner Tracker detector. CaRIBOu (Control and Readout Itk BOard) is a modular test system developed to test Silicon based detectors. It currently includes five custom designed boards, a Xilinx ZC706 development board, FELIX (Front-End LInk eXchange) PCIe card and a host computer. A software program has been developed in Python to control the CaRIBOu hardware. CaRIBOu has been used in the testbeam of the HV-CMOS sensor AMS180v4 at CERN. Preliminary results have shown that the test system is very versatile. Further development is ongoing to adapt to different sensors, and to make it available to various lab test stands
The effects of chronic SRIH-14 and octreotide administration on the pituitary-adrenal axis in adult male rats
The effects of chronic treatments with SRIH-14 and octreotide on pituitary corticotropes (ACTH cells) and on the adrenal cortex of male Wistar rats were examined. Adult males received two daily s.c. injections of 20 ?g/100 g of body weight of either SRIH-14 or octreotide for 28 consecutive days. ACTH cells were studied using a peroxidaseantiperoxidase immunocytochemical procedure. Morphometry was used to evaluate the changes in cell and nuclear volumes (?m3) and volume densities (%) of ACTHimmunoreactive cells. The adrenal cortex was analyzed by histological and morphometric methods. A significant (p<0.05) decrease in body weight and in the absolute weights of the pituitary and adrenal glands was observed in both treated groups. Morphometric parameters of ACTH cells in both treated groups were not significantly (p>0.05) different than in control rats. The absolute volumes of the adrenal gland and adrenal cortex were significantly (p<0.05) decreased in both treated groups. The absolute and relative volumes of the zona glomerulosa (ZG), as well as the cellular and nuclear volumes of the ZG were significantly (p<0.05) decreased in the both treated groups. In rats treated with SRIH-14 and octreotide, the absolute and relative volumes of the zona fasciculata (ZF) and zona reticularis (ZR), as well as their stereological parameters, did not change significantly (p>0.05). The aldosterone levels in the SRIH-14 and ocreotide-treated groups were significantly (p<0.05) decreased – by 13% and 19%, respectively. The concentration of ACTH and corticosterone did not change significantly. Together, these findings show that SRIH-14 and octreotide administration affected the morphological characteristics of the adrenal ZG in a similar manner, and brought about a decrease in plasma aldosterone concentration. These treatments did not affect pituitary ACTH cells or adrenal ZF and ZR functioning
Influence of Higenamine on Exercise Performance of Recreational Female Athletes: A Randomized Double-Blinded Placebo-Controlled Trial
The aim of this study was to determine the ergogenic effects and the safety profile of a one-component higenamine supplement in female recreational athletes. Twelve recreational female basketball players (age 29–41 years, oxygen consumption (VO2max) > 30 ml⋅kg–1⋅min–1, with training > 5 h wk–1) were randomized either to the higenamine group, or to the placebo group for 3 weeks. In order to determine ergogenic effects and safety profile of higenamine administration, we assessed the following variables before and after 3 weeks of supplementation: anthropometric parameters, resting metabolic rate (RMR), exercise testing variables, serum free fatty acids (FFAs), blood pressure, enzyme activity, urea, lipid profile, and complete blood count. There were no differences between groups in anthropometric parameters, including basal metabolic rate (BMR), RMR and body fat [p = 0.706 (Cohen’s d 0.223), p = 0.169 (Cohen’s d 0.857), and p = 0.223 (Cohen’s d 0.750), respectively], FFAs [0.43 ± 0.03 vs. 0.54 ± 0.23, p = 0.206 (Cohen’s d 0.540)], neither significant differences in cardiopulmonary parameters after the intervention period. Furthermore, all measured outcome variables in the safety assessment were not significant, with values remaining stable during the intervention period for participants in both groups. This is the first study to document the effects and the safety profile of higenamine-based dietary supplements at a specified dose in female recreational athletes. Our data indicate that 21-day of supplementation with 75 mg higenamine would not result in improving cardiopulmonary exercise fitness and weight loss in female recreational athletes. Moreover, supplementation with 75 mg higenamine is safe and well-tolerated in younger recreational female athletes
Constraints on the χ_(c1) versus χ_(c2) polarizations in proton-proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV
The polarizations of promptly produced χ_(c1) and χ_(c2) mesons are studied using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, in proton-proton collisions at √s=8 TeV. The χ_c states are reconstructed via their radiative decays χ_c → J/ψγ, with the photons being measured through conversions to e⁺e⁻, which allows the two states to be well resolved. The polarizations are measured in the helicity frame, through the analysis of the χ_(c2) to χ_(c1) yield ratio as a function of the polar or azimuthal angle of the positive muon emitted in the J/ψ → μ⁺μ⁻ decay, in three bins of J/ψ transverse momentum. While no differences are seen between the two states in terms of azimuthal decay angle distributions, they are observed to have significantly different polar anisotropies. The measurement favors a scenario where at least one of the two states is strongly polarized along the helicity quantization axis, in agreement with nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics predictions. This is the first measurement of significantly polarized quarkonia produced at high transverse momentum
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