1,851 research outputs found
Inflammatory cytokine response to exercise in alpha-1-antitrypsin deficient COPD patients ‘on’ or ‘off’ augmentation therapy
Background: There is still limited information on systemic inflammation in alpha-1-antitrypsin-deficient (AATD)
COPD patients and what effect alpha-1-antitrypsin augmentation therapy and/or exercise might have on circulating inflammatory cytokines. We hypothesized that AATD COPD patients on augmentation therapy (AATD + AUG) would have lower circulating and skeletal muscle inflammatory cytokines compared to AATD COPD patients not receiving augmentation therapy (AATD-AUG) and/or the typical non-AATD (COPD) patient. We also hypothesized that cytokine
response to exercise would be lower in AATD + AUG compared to AATD-AUG or COPD subjects.
Methods: Arterial and femoral venous concentration and skeletal muscle expression of TNFα, IL-6, IL-1β and CRP were
measured at rest, during and up to 4-hours after 50% maximal 1-hour knee extensor exercise in all COPD patient groups,
including 2 additional groups (i.e. AATD with normal lung function, and healthy age-/activity-matched controls).
Results: Circulating CRP was higher in AATD + AUG (4.7 ± 1.6 mg/dL) and AATD-AUG (3.3 ± 1.2 mg/dL) compared to healthy controls (1.5 ± 0.3 mg/dL, p < 0.05), but lower in AATD compared to non-AATD-COPD patients (6.1 ± 2.6 mg/dL, p < 0.05). TNFα, IL-6 and IL-1β were significantly increased by 1.7-, 1.7-, and 4.7-fold, respectively, in non-AATD COPD
compared to AATD COPD (p < 0.05), and 1.3-, 1.7-, and 2.2-fold, respectively, compared to healthy subjects (p < 0.05).
Skeletal muscle TNFα was on average 3–4 fold greater in AATD-AUG compared to the other groups (p < 0.05). Exercise
showed no effect on these cytokines in any of our patient groups.
Conclusion: These data show that AATD COPD patients do not experience the same chronic systemic inflammation and exhibit reduced inflammation compared to non-AATD COPD patients. Augmentation therapy may help to improve muscle efflux of TNFα and reduce muscle TNFα concentration, but showed no effect on IL-6, IL-1β or CRP
Optimal quantum pump in the presence of a superconducting lead
We investigate the parametric pumping of a hybrid structure consisting of a
normal quantum dot, a normal lead and a superconducting lead. Using the time
dependent scattering matrix theory, we have derived a general expression for
the pumped electric current and heat current. We have also derived the
relationship among the instantaneous pumped heat current, electric current, and
shot noise. This gives a lower bound for the pumped heat current in the hybrid
system similar to that of the normal case obtained by Avron et al
The Power of Centralized PC Systems of Pushdown Automata
Parallel communicating systems of pushdown automata (PCPA) were introduced in
(Csuhaj-Varj{\'u} et. al. 2000) and in their centralized variants shown to be
able to simulate nondeterministic one-way multi-head pushdown automata. A
claimed converse simulation for returning mode (Balan 2009) turned out to be
incomplete (Otto 2012) and a language was suggested for separating these PCPA
of degree two (number of pushdown automata) from nondeterministic one-way
two-head pushdown automata. We show that the suggested language can be accepted
by the latter computational model. We present a different example over a single
letter alphabet indeed ruling out the possibility of a simulation between the
models. The open question about the power of centralized PCPA working in
returning mode is then settled by showing them to be universal. Since the
construction is possible using systems of degree two, this also improves the
previous bound three for generating all recursively enumerable languages.
Finally PCPAs are restricted in such a way that a simulation by multi-head
automata is possible
Adiabatic quantum pump in the presence of external ac voltages
We investigate a quantum pump which in addition to its dynamic pump
parameters is subject to oscillating external potentials applied to the
contacts of the sample. Of interest is the rectification of the ac currents
flowing through the mesoscopic scatterer and their interplay with the quantum
pump effect. We calculate the adiabatic dc current arising under the
simultaneous action of both the quantum pump effect and classical
rectification. In addition to two known terms we find a third novel
contribution which arises from the interference of the ac currents generated by
the external potentials and the ac currents generated by the pump. The
interference contribution renormalizes both the quantum pump effect and the ac
rectification effect. Analysis of this interference effect requires a
calculation of the Floquet scattering matrix beyond the adiabatic approximation
based on the frozen scattering matrix alone. The results permit us to find the
instantaneous current. In addition to the current generated by the oscillating
potentials, and the ac current due to the variation of the charge of the frozen
scatterer, there is a third contribution which represents the ac currents
generated by an oscillating scatterer. We argue that the resulting pump effect
can be viewed as a quantum rectification of the instantaneous ac currents
generated by the oscillating scatterer. These instantaneous currents are an
intrinsic property of a nonstationary scattering process.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figur
Amplitude measurements of Faraday waves
A light reflection technique is used to measure quantitatively the surface
elevation of Faraday waves. The performed measurements cover a wide parameter
range of driving frequencies and sample viscosities. In the capillary wave
regime the bifurcation diagrams exhibit a frequency independent scaling
proportional to the wavelength. We also provide numerical simulations of the
full Navier-Stokes equations, which are in quantitative agreement up to
supercritical drive amplitudes of 20%. The validity of an existing perturbation
analysis is found to be limited to 2.5% overcriticaly.Comment: 7 figure
Prognostic significance of precordial ST segment depression during inferior myocardial infarction in the thrombolytic era: Results in 16,521 patients
Objectives. We examined the prognostic significance of precordial ST segment depression among patients with an acute inferior myocardial infarction. Background. Although precordial ST segment depression has been associated with a poor prognosis, this correlation has not been adequately quantified, partly because of small sample sizes and methodologic limitations in previous studies. Methods. We examined the clinical and angiographic outcomes of 16,521 patients with an acute inferior myocardial infarction who underwent thrombolysis in the Global Utilization of Streptokinase and t-PA for Occluded Coronary Arteries (GUSTO-I) study. Patients were classified into those without precordial ST segment depression (n = 6,422 [38.9%]), those with ST segment depression in leads V1 to V3 only (n = 5,850 [35.4%]), those with ST segment depression in leads V4 to V6 only (n = 876 [5.3%]) and those with ST segment depression in both leads V1 to V3 and leads V4 to V6 (n = 3,373 [20.4%]) on initial electrocardiography. Outcome measures included postinfarction complications (second- or third-degree heart block, congestive heart failure or shock) and 30-day and 1-year mortality. Results. Patients with precordial ST segment depression had larger infarctions, more postinfarction complications and a higher mortality rate than those without precordial ST segment depression (4.7% vs. 3.2% at 30 days; 5.0% vs. 3.4% at 1 year; both p < 0.001), regardless of whether ST segment depression was noted in leads V1 to V6 or in leads V4 to V6. The magnitude of precordial ST segment depression (sum of leads V1 to V6) added significant independent prognostic information after adjustment for clinical risk factors; the risk of 30-day mortality increased by 36% for every 0.5 mV of precordial ST segment depression. Conclusions. Assessment of the magnitude of precordial ST segment depression is useful for acute risk stratification in patients with an inferior myocardial infarction
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