104 research outputs found
Optimum design of magnetic field environment for axonal growth control in nerve cell regeneration process using electromagnetic field analyses
In this study, an optimum magnetic field environment for the nerve axonal extension and control of axonal growth direction in the nerve cell generation process was searched by using electromagnetic finite element analyses. Recently, the developments of 3D-scaffold structures employing biodegradable polymers have been an attracting attention for the clinical treatments of damaged nerve tissues. The magnetic stimulation is introduced to accelerate the regeneration speed of nerve axon inside the 3D-scaffold. According to experimental observation of Blackman, C.F. and his research group (1993) [1], it was found that 50 Hz AC magnetic field has promoted the regeneration of axonal extension in the case of pheochromocytoma cells (PC12). They identified the optimum configuration of the coil and the threshold value of driving current for the initiation of PC12 axon growth. However, they did not evaluate analytically the magnetic flux density and the magnetic field in the cell culture liquid for the PC12 axon growth initiation. Therefore, at first we employed the electromagnetic finite element analyses (FEA) to evaluate the magnetic flux density in the case of Blackman’s experiment. Simultaneously, we identified the relative magnetic permeability of Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) as 1.01 at 50 Hz. Finally, we obtained the value of magnetic flux density inside DMEM as 4.2 T. Next, we try to design the configuration of Helmholtz coil, which can generate an optimum magnetic field to stimulate most effectively for PC12 axon extension. It is confirmed that the magnetic field gradient affect the extensional speed of PC12 axon, which can be achieved by setup the one peripheral coil and two coils at the center. We found an optimum configuration of Helmholtz coil to generate the magnetic field environment and fabricate an experimental bioreactor for PC12 cell culture. We examined the effectiveness of magnetic stimulation for PC12 nerve axon’s extension quantitatively. Further, we try to find the relationship between the magnetic field gradient and the direction of nerve axon’s extension
Bending and springback prediction method based on multi-scale finite element analyses for high bendability and low springback sheet generation
In this study, a sheet bendability and springback property evaluation technology through bending test simulations is newly developed using our multi-scale finite element analysis code, which is based on the crystallographic homogenization method
Fenofibrate in the management of AbdoMinal aortic anEurysm (FAME): Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial
Background: Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a slowly progressive destructive process of the main abdominal artery. Experimental studies indicate that fibrates exert beneficial effects on AAAs by mechanisms involving both serum lipid modification and favourable changes to the AAA wall. Methods/design: Fenofibrate in the management of AbdoMinal aortic anEurysm (FAME) is a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial to assess the effect of orally administered therapy with fenofibrate on key pathological markers of AAA in patients undergoing open AAA repair. A total of 42 participants scheduled for an elective open AAA repair will be randomly assigned to either 145 mg of fenofibrate per day or identical placebo for a minimum period of 2 weeks prior to surgery. Primary outcome measures will be macrophage number and osteopontin (OPN) concentration within the AAA wall as well as serum concentrations of OPN. Secondary outcome measures will include levels of matrix metalloproteinases and proinflammatory cytokines within the AAA wall, periaortic fat and intramural thrombus and circulating concentrations of AAA biomarkers. Discussion: At present, there is no recognised medical therapy to limit AAA progression. The FAME trial aims to assess the ability of fenofibrate to alter tissue markers of AAA pathology. Trial registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12612001226897. Registered on 20 November 2012. © 2017 The Author(s)
Protective Intestinal Effects of Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase Activating Polypeptide
Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) is an
endogenous neuropeptide widely distributed throughout the body, including the
gastrointestinal tract. Several effects have been described in human and animal
intestines. Among others, PACAP infl uences secretion of intestinal glands, blood
fl ow, and smooth muscle contraction. PACAP is a well-known cytoprotective peptide
with strong anti-apoptotic, anti-infl ammatory, and antioxidant effects. The
present review gives an overview of the intestinal protective actions of this neuropeptide.
Exogenous PACAP treatment was protective in a rat model of small bowel
autotransplantation. Radioimmunoassay (RIA) analysis of the intestinal tissue showed that endogenous PACAP levels gradually decreased with longer-lasting
ischemic periods, prevented by PACAP addition. PACAP counteracted deleterious
effects of ischemia on oxidative stress markers and cytokines. Another series of
experiments investigated the role of endogenous PACAP in intestines in PACAP
knockout (KO) mice. Warm ischemia–reperfusion injury and cold preservation models
showed that the lack of PACAP caused a higher vulnerability against ischemic
periods. Changes were more severe in PACAP KO mice at all examined time points.
This fi nding was supported by increased levels of oxidative stress markers and
decreased expression of antioxidant molecules. PACAP was proven to be protective
not only in ischemic but also in infl ammatory bowel diseases. A recent study showed
that PACAP treatment prolonged survival of Toxoplasma gondii infected mice suffering
from acute ileitis and was able to reduce the ileal expression of proinfl ammatory
cytokines. We completed the present review with recent clinical results obtained
in patients suffering from infl ammatory bowel diseases. It was found that PACAP
levels were altered depending on the activity, type of the disease, and antibiotic
therapy, suggesting its probable role in infl ammatory events of the intestine
Evidence for a Fourteenth mtDNA-Encoded Protein in the Female-Transmitted mtDNA of Marine Mussels (Bivalvia: Mytilidae)
BACKGROUND: A novel feature for animal mitochondrial genomes has been recently established: i.e., the presence of additional, lineage-specific, mtDNA-encoded proteins with functional significance. This feature has been observed in freshwater mussels with doubly uniparental inheritance of mtDNA (DUI). The latter unique system of mtDNA transmission, which also exists in some marine mussels and marine clams, is characterized by one mt genome inherited from the female parent (F mtDNA) and one mt genome inherited from the male parent (M mtDNA). In freshwater mussels, the novel mtDNA-encoded proteins have been shown to be mt genome-specific (i.e., one novel protein for F genomes and one novel protein for M genomes). It has been hypothesized that these novel, F- and M-specific, mtDNA-encoded proteins (and/or other F- and/or M-specific mtDNA sequences) could be responsible for the different modes of mtDNA transmission in bivalves but this remains to be demonstrated. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We investigated all complete (or nearly complete) female- and male-transmitted marine mussel mtDNAs previously sequenced for the presence of ORFs that could have functional importance in these bivalves. Our results confirm the presence of a novel F genome-specific mt ORF, of significant length (>100aa) and located in the control region, that most likely has functional significance in marine mussels. The identification of this ORF in five Mytilus species suggests that it has been maintained in the mytilid lineage (subfamily Mytilinae) for ∼13 million years. Furthermore, this ORF likely has a homologue in the F mt genome of Musculista senhousia, a DUI-containing mytilid species in the subfamily Crenellinae. We present evidence supporting the functionality of this F-specific ORF at the transcriptional, amino acid and nucleotide levels. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results offer support for the hypothesis that "novel F genome-specific mitochondrial genes" are involved in key biological functions in bivalve species with DUI
Optimum design of magnetic field environment for axonal growth control in nerve cell regeneration process using electromagnetic field analyses
In this study, an optimum magnetic field environment for the nerve axonal extension and control of axonal growth direction in the nerve cell generation process was searched by using electromagnetic finite element analyses. Recently, the developments of 3D-scaffold structures employing biodegradable polymers have been an attracting attention for the clinical treatments of damaged nerve tissues. The magnetic stimulation is introduced to accelerate the regeneration speed of nerve axon inside the 3D-scaffold. According to experimental observation of Blackman, C.F. and his research group (1993) [1], it was found that 50 Hz AC magnetic field has promoted the regeneration of axonal extension in the case of pheochromocytoma cells (PC12). They identified the optimum configuration of the coil and the threshold value of driving current for the initiation of PC12 axon growth. However, they did not evaluate analytically the magnetic flux density and the magnetic field in the cell culture liquid for the PC12 axon growth initiation. Therefore, at first we employed the electromagnetic finite element analyses (FEA) to evaluate the magnetic flux density in the case of Blackman’s experiment. Simultaneously, we identified the relative magnetic permeability of Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM) as 1.01 at 50 Hz. Finally, we obtained the value of magnetic flux density inside DMEM as 4.2 T. Next, we try to design the configuration of Helmholtz coil, which can generate an optimum magnetic field to stimulate most effectively for PC12 axon extension. It is confirmed that the magnetic field gradient affect the extensional speed of PC12 axon, which can be achieved by setup the one peripheral coil and two coils at the center. We found an optimum configuration of Helmholtz coil to generate the magnetic field environment and fabricate an experimental bioreactor for PC12 cell culture. We examined the effectiveness of magnetic stimulation for PC12 nerve axon’s extension quantitatively. Further, we try to find the relationship between the magnetic field gradient and the direction of nerve axon’s extension
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