Kinetics of TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma mRNA expression in islets and spleen of NOD mice

Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus is caused by autoimmune destruction of pancreatic ß cells. Non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice spontaneously develop diabetes similar to the human disease. Cytokines produced by islet-infiltrating mononuclear cells may be directly cytotoxic and can be involved in islet destruction coordinated by CD4+ and CD8+ cells. We utilized a semiquantitative RT-PCR assay to analyze in vitro the mRNA expression of TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma cytokine genes in isolated islets (N = 100) and spleen cells (5 x 10(5) cells) from female NOD mice during the development of diabetes and from female CBA-j mice as a related control strain that does not develop diabetes. Cytokine mRNAs were measured at 2, 4, 8, 14 and 28 weeks of age from the onset of insulitis to the development of overt diabetes. An increase in IFN-gamma expression in islets was observed for females aged 28 weeks (149 ± 29 arbitrary units (AU), P<0.05, Student t-test) with advanced destructive insulitis when compared with CBA-j mice, while TNF-alpha was expressed in both NOD and CBA-j female islets at the same level at all ages studied. In contrast, TNF-alpha in spleen was expressed at higher levels in NOD females at 14 weeks (99 ± 8 AU, P<0.05) and 28 weeks (144 ± 17 AU, P<0.05) of age when compared to CBA-j mice. The data suggest that IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha expression in pancreatic islets of female NOD mice is associated with ß cell destruction and overt diabetes.1347135

Insights into the high-energy γ-ray emission of Markarian 501 from extensive multifrequency observations in the Fermi era

We report on the γ-ray activity of the blazar Mrk 501 during the first 480 days of Fermi operation. We find that the average Large Area Telescope (LAT) γ-ray spectrum of Mrk 501 can be well described by a single power-law function with a photon index of 1.78 ± 0.03. While we observe relatively mild flux variations with the Fermi-LAT (within less than a factor of two), we detect remarkable spectral variability where the hardest observed spectral index within the LAT energy range is 1.52 ± 0.14, and the softest one is 2.51 ± 0.20. These unexpected spectral changes do not correlate with the measured flux variations above 0.3 GeV. In this paper, we also present the first results from the 4.5 month long multifrequency campaign (2009 March 15-August 1) on Mrk 501, which included the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), Swift, RXTE, MAGIC, and VERITAS, the F-GAMMA, GASP-WEBT, and other collaborations and instruments which provided excellent temporal and energy coverage of the source throughout the entire campaign. The extensive radio to TeV data set from this campaign provides us with the most detailed spectral energy distribution yet collected for this source during its relatively low activity. The average spectral energy distribution of Mrk 501 is well described by the standard one-zone synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) model. In the framework of this model, we find that the dominant emission region is characterized by a size ≲0.1 pc (comparable within a factor of few to the size of the partially resolved VLBA core at 15-43 GHz), and that the total jet power (≃1044 erg s-1) constitutes only a small fraction (∼10-3) of the Eddington luminosity. The energy distribution of the freshly accelerated radiating electrons required to fit the time-averaged data has a broken power-law form in the energy range 0.3 GeV-10 TeV, with spectral indices 2.2 and 2.7 below and above the break energy of 20 GeV. We argue that such a form is consistent with a scenario in which the bulk of the energy dissipation within the dominant emission zone of Mrk 501 is due to relativistic, proton-mediated shocks. We find that the ultrarelativistic electrons and mildly relativistic protons within the blazar zone, if comparable in number, are in approximate energy equipartition, with their energy dominating the jet magnetic field energy by about two orders of magnitude. © 2011. The American Astronomical Society

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Preparation of silica with controlled pore sizes for enzyme immobilization

A simple method for the preparation of silica with controlled pore size, for use as a support for the immobilization of enzymes, is described in this article. Using sodium silicate and hydrochloric acid, a microporous silica was obtained that was then submitted to a hydrothermal treatment, resulting in macroporous silica suitable for enzyme immobilization. Suitability of the macroporous silica as a support depends on the method chosen for its preparation, which will determine pore volume and the effect of hydrothermal treatment on pore size. The pore volume of the support was 0.8-0.9 cc/g and the average pore size, controlled by the hydrothermal treatment, was in the range of 16 to 75 nm. The enzyme amyloglucosidase was used for the immobilization studies.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Preparation of silica with controlled pore sizes for enzyme immobilization

A simple method for the preparation of silica with controlled pore size, for use as a support for the immobilization of enzymes, is described in this article. Using sodium silicate and hydrochloric acid, a microporous silica was obtained that was then submitted to a hydrothermal treatment, resulting in macroporous silica suitable for enzyme immobilization. Suitability of the macroporous silica as a support depends on the method chosen for its preparation, which will determine pore volume and the effect of hydrothermal treatment on pore size. The pore volume of the support was 0.8-0.9 cc/g and the average pore size, controlled by the hydrothermal treatment, was in the range of 16 to 75 nm. The enzyme amyloglucosidase was used for the immobilization studies.7177Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Characterization of free and immobilized invertase regarding activity and energy of activation

Invertase from NOVO Nordisk has been immobilized in controlled pore silica particles (diameter: 0.351 mm and mean pore size: 37.5 nm) by covalent binding with the silane-glutaraldehyde method. The activity of the free and immobilized enzyme (IE) was determined with 5% (w/v) sucrose, at 35 to 65ºC and pH from 3 to 7. Maximum activities were found in the pH range from 5 to 6 for free invertase, and pH 4.5 for the IE. Activity yield for the IE was 24%. The Energy of Activation (Ea) was found to be a function of pH, giving for free invertase, Ea = 7.0 and 6.86 kcal/mol at pH 5.0 and 5.5, respectively, whereas for the immobilized enzyme, Ea = 6.55 and 5.93 kcal/mol at pH 4.5 and 5.0, respectively