1,015 research outputs found
Editorial: tertiary lymphoid organs (TLOs): powerhouses of disease immunity
No abstract available
Recounting Dyons in N=4 String Theory
A recently discovered relation between 4D and 5D black holes is used to
derive weighted BPS black hole degeneracies for 4D N=4 string theory from the
well-known 5D degeneracies. They are found to be given by the Fourier
coefficients of the unique weight 10 automorphic form of the modular group
Sp(2,Z). This result agrees exactly with a conjecture made some years ago by
Dijkgraaf, Verlinde and Verlinde.Comment: 5 page
Cloning, Characteristics, and Functional Analysis of Rabbit NADPH Oxidase 5
Background: Nox5 was the last member of the Nox enzyme family to be identified. Functionally distinct from the other Nox isoforms, our understanding of its physiological significance has been hampered by the absence of Nox5 in mouse and rat genomes. Nox5 is present in the genomes of other species such as the rabbit that have broad utility as models of cardiovascular disease. However, the mRNA sequence, characteristics, and functional analysis of rabbit Nox5 has not been fully defined and were the goals of the current study.
Methods: Rabbit Nox5 was amplified from rabbit tissue, cloned, and sequenced. COS-7 cells were employed for expression and functional analysis via Western blotting and measurements of superoxide. We designed and synthesized miRNAs selectively targeting rabbit Nox5. The nucleotide and amino acid sequences of rabbit Nox5 were aligned with those of putative rabbit isoforms (X1, X2, X3, and X4). A phylogenetic tree was generated based on the mRNA sequence for Nox5 from rabbit and other species.
Results: Sequence alignment revealed that the identified rabbit Nox5 was highly conserved with the predicted sequence of rabbit Nox5. Cell based experiments reveal that rabbit Nox5 was robustly expressed and produced superoxide at rest and in a calcium and PMA-dependent manner that was susceptible to superoxide dismutase and the flavoprotein inhibitor, DPI. miRNA-1 was shown to be most effective in down-regulating the expression of rabbit Nox5. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a close relationship between rabbit and armadillo Nox5. Rabbit Nox5 was relatively closely related to human Nox5, but lies in a distinct cluster.
Conclusion: Our study establishes the suitability of the rabbit as a model organism to further our understanding of the role of Nox5 in cardiovascular and other diseases and provides new information on the genetic relationship of Nox5 genes in different species
Artery tertiary lymphoid organs control multi-layered territorialized atherosclerosis B cell responses in aged ApoE-/- mice
Objective: Explore aorta B cell immunity in aged ApoE-/- mice.
Approach and Results: Transcript maps, FACS, immunofluorescence analyses, cell transfers, and Ig-ELISPOT assays showed multi-layered atherosclerosis B cell responses in artery tertiary lymphoid organs (ATLOs). Aging-associated aorta B cell-related transcriptomes were identified and transcript atlases revealed highly territorialized B cell responses in ATLOs versus atherosclerotic lesions: ATLOs showed upregulation of bona fide B cell genes including Cd19, Ms4a1 (Cd20), Cd79a/b, and Ighm though intima plaques preferentially expressed molecules involved in non-B effector responses towards B cell-derived mediators, i.e. Fcgr3 (Cd16), Fcer1g (Cd23), and the C1q family. ATLOs promoted B cell recruitment. ATLO B-2 B cells included naĂŻve, transitional, follicular, germinal center, switched IgG1+, IgA+, and IgE+ memory cells, plasmablasts, and long-lived plasma cells (PCs). ATLOs recruited large numbers of B-1 cells whose subtypes were skewed towards IL-10+ B-1b cells versus IL-10- B-1a cells. ATLO B-1 cells and PCs constitutively produced IgM and IgG and a fraction of PCs expressed IL-10. Moreover, ApoE-/- mice showed increased germinal center B cells in renal lymph nodes, IgM-producing PCs in the bone marrow, and higher IgM and anti-MDA-LDL IgG serum titers.
Conclusions: ATLOs orchestrate dichotomic, territorialized, and multi-layered B cell responses in the diseased aorta; germinal center reactions indicate generation of autoimmune B cells within the diseased arterial wall during aging
Maximising Social Interactions and Effectiveness within Distance Learning Courses: Cases from Construction
Advanced Internet technologies have revolutionised the delivery of distance learning education. As a result, the physical proximity between learners and the learning providers has become less important. However, whilst the pervasiveness of these technological developments has reached unprecedented levels, critics argue that the student learning experience is still not as effective as conventional face-to-face delivery. In this regard, surveys of distance learning courses reveal that there is often a lack of social interaction attributed to this method of delivery, which tends to leave learners feeling isolated due to a lack of engagement, direction, guidance and support by the tutor. This paper defines and conceptualises this phenomenon by investigating the extent to which distance-learning programmes provide the social interactions of an equivalent traditional classroom setting. In this respect, two distance learning case studies were investigated, covering the UK and Slovenian markets respectively. Research findings identified that delivery success is strongly dependent on the particular context to which the specific distance learning course is
designed, structured and augmented. It is therefore recommended that designers of distance learning courses should balance the tensions and nuances associated with commercial viability and pedagogic effectiveness
Artery tertiary lymphoid organs control aorta immunity and protect against atherosclerosis via vascular smooth muscle cell lymphotoxin ÎČ receptors
Tertiary lymphoid organs (TLOs) emerge during nonresolving peripheral inflammation, but their impact on disease progression remains unknown. We have found in aged Apoeâ/â mice that artery TLOs (ATLOs) controlled highly territorialized aorta T cell responses. ATLOs promoted T cell recruitment, primed CD4+ T cells, generated CD4+, CD8+, T regulatory (Treg) effector and central memory cells, converted naive CD4+ T cells into induced Treg cells, and presented antigen by an unusual set of dendritic cells and B cells. Meanwhile, vascular smooth muscle cell lymphotoxin ÎČ receptors (VSMC-LTÎČRs) protected against atherosclerosis by maintaining structure, cellularity, and size of ATLOs though VSMC-LTÎČRs did not affect secondary lymphoid organs: Atherosclerosis was markedly exacerbated in Apoeâ/âLtbrâ/â and to a similar extent in aged Apoeâ/âLtbrfl/flTagln-cre mice. These data support the conclusion that the immune system employs ATLOs to organize aorta T cell homeostasis during aging and that VSMC-LTÎČRs participate in atherosclerosis protection via ATLOs
Olympic legacy and cultural tourism: Exploring the facets of Athens' Olympic heritage
This study examines the effects of the Olympic Games on Athensâ cultural tourism and the cityâs potential to leverage the Olympic legacy in synergy with its rich heritage in order to enhance its tourism product during the post-Games period. In doing so, a qualitative and interpretive approach was employed. This includes a literature review on Athensâ 2004 Olympics to identify the sport facilities and regeneration projects, which constitute the Olympic legacy and heritage. Based on that, an empirical analysis was undertaken, by collecting official documents about the 2004 Olympics, and conducting five semi-structured interviews with tourism/administrative officials. The findings indicate that the Olympiad contributed significantly to Athensâ built and human heritage, revealing the dimensions of new venues/facilities, infrastructure, transportation and aesthetic image of the city, and human capital enhancement. Hence, the Games affected to the multifaceted representation and reconstruction of the cityâs identity and cultural heritage. However, the potential afforded from the post-Olympic Athens remains unrealised due to lack of strategic planning/management. The study concludes that there is a need to develop cross-leveraging synergies between the Olympic legacy and cultural tourism for the host city. Finally, a strategic planning framework for leveraging post-Games Olympic tourism is suggested in order to maximise the benefits of Olympic legacy and heritage in a host cityâs tourism development
Equation of state and phonon frequency calculations of diamond at high pressures
The pressure-volume relationship and the zone-center optical phonon frequency
of cubic diamond at pressures up to 600 GPa have been calculated based on
Density Functional Theory within the Local Density Approximation and the
Generalized Gradient Approximation. Three different approaches, viz. a
pseudopotential method applied in the basis of plane waves, an all-electron
method relying on Augmented Plane Waves plus Local Orbitals, and an
intermediate approach implemented in the basis of Projector Augmented Waves
have been used. All these methods and approximations yield consistent results
for the pressure derivative of the bulk modulus and the volume dependence of
the mode Grueneisen parameter of diamond. The results are at variance with
recent precise measurements up to 140 GPa. Possible implications for the
experimental pressure determination based on the ruby luminescence method are
discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure
Anisotropic colloids through non-trivial buckling
We present a study on buckling of colloidal particles, including
experimental, theoretical and numerical developments. Oil-filled thin shells
prepared by emulsion templating show buckling in mixtures of water and ethanol,
due to dissolution of the core in the external medium. This leads to
conformations with a single depression, either axisymmetric or polygonal
depending on the geometrical features of the shells. These conformations could
be theoretically and/or numerically reproduced in a model of homogeneous
spherical thin shells with bending and stretching elasticity, submitted to an
isotropic external pressure.Comment: submitted to EPJ
ERP and four dimensions of absorptive capacity: lessons from a developing country
Enterprise resource planning systems can grant crucial strategic, operational
and information-based benefits to adopting firms when implemented successfully. However, a failed implementation can often result in financial losses rather than profits. Until now, the research on the failures and successes were focused on implementations in large manufacturing and service organizations firms located in western countries, particularly in USA. Nevertheless, IT has gained intense diffusion to developing countries through declining hardware costs and increasing benefits that merits attention as much as developed countries.
The aim of this study is to examine the implications of knowledge transfer
in a developing country, Turkey, as a paradigm in the knowledge society with a
focus on the implementation activities that foster successful installations.
We suggest that absorptive capacity is an important characteristic of a firm that
explains the success level of such a knowledge transfer.Publicad
- âŠ