A phenotypical study of vascular smooth muscle cells in human arterial and venous stenosis

Abstract Introduction The primary function of the contractile vascular smooth muscle cells (cVSMCs) is the regulation of the vascular contractility which means the adaptation of the vascular tonus in response to the modulation of the blood pressure and blood flow. The cVSMCs are essentially quiescent, and therefore their synthesis rate is very limited. They are characterized by the expression of contractile proteins specific to the muscular tissue including myosin, h-­‐caldesmon and <-­‐smooth muscle actin (〈-­‐SMA). These contractile cells are strongly represented in the media layer of the arterial wall and, in a smaller proportion, of the vein wall. Their typical stretched-­‐out morphology allows recognizing them by a histological analysis. They do not produce any extracellular matrix (ECM), and do not migrate through the different layers of the vessel wall, and are not directly involved in the development of intimal hyperplasia (IH). Neointimal formation occurs after endothelial disruption leading to complex molecular and biological mechanisms. The de-­‐differentiation of cVSMCs into synthetic VSMCs (sVSMCs) is mentioned as a key element. These non mature cells are able to proliferate and produce ECM. The characterization of the vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) from healthy and stenosed vascular tissues will contribue to the understanding of the different biological processes leading to IH and will be useful for the development of new therapies to interfere with the cVSMCs growth and migration. The aim of our research was to quantify the proportion of cVSMCs and sVSMCs into the healthy and pathologic human blood vessel wall and to characterize their phenotype. Methods We selected 23 specimens of arterial and venous segments from 18 patients. All these specimens were stored in the biobank from the thoracic and vascular surgery departement. 4 groups were designed (group 1 :arteries without lesions (n=3) ;group 2 : veins without lesions (n=1); group 3: arteries with stenosis (n=9); group 4: veins with stenosis (n=10)). Histology: 5µm-­‐sections were made from each sample embedded in paraffin wax and further stained with hematoxylin & eosin (HE), Van Gieson's stain (VGEL) and Masson's Trichrome (TMB). Pathologic tissues were defined using the label that was given to the macroscopic samples by the surgeon and also, based on the histological analysis with HE and VGEL evaluating the presence of a thickened intima. The same was done to the control samples evaluating the absence of thickening. Immunohistochemistry : The primary antibodies were used :〈-­‐SMA, vimentin, h-­‐ caldesmon, calponin, smooth muscle-myosin heavy chain (SM-­‐MHC), tropomyosin-­‐4, retinol binding protein-­‐1 (RBP-­‐1), nonmuscle-­‐myosin heavy chain-­‐B (NM-­‐MHC-­‐B), Von Willebrand factor (VWF). A semi-­‐quantitative assessment of the intensity of each sample stained was performed. Western Blot : Segments of arteries and veins were analyzed using the following primary antibodies :〈-­‐SMA, Calponin, SM-­‐MHC, NM-­‐MHC-­‐B. The given results were then normalized with tubulin. Results Our data showed that, when using immunohistochemistry analysis we found that〈-­‐SMA was mostly expressed in control arteries, whereas NM-­‐MHC-­‐B in the pathologic ones. Using SM-­‐MHC, calponin, vimentin and caldesmon we found no significative differences in the expression of these proteins in the control and in the pathologic samples. Western Blot analysis showed an inverse correlation between healthy and pathological samples as <-­‐ SMA was more expressed in the pathological samples, while NM-­‐MHC-­‐B in the control group; SM-­‐MHC and calponin were mostly expressed in the pathologic samples. Conclusion Our study showed no clear differences between stenotic and control arterial and venous segments using semi-­‐quantitative assessement by immunohistochemistry. Western Blot showed a significant increased expression of 〈-­‐SMA, calponin and SM-­‐MHC in the arteries with stenosis, while NM-­‐MHC-­‐B was mostly expressed in the arteries without lesions. Further studies are needed to track the lineage of VSMCs to understand the mechanisms leading toIH

Advocacy in the Media: The Blagojevich Defense and a Reformulation of Rule 3.6

The current ethical rule governing lawyers\u27 interactions with the media applies equally to defense attorneys and prosecutors despite their different roles and responsibilities in the justice system. With a focus on the Blagojevich trial as an example of modern lawyers\u27 interactions with the press, this Note argues for a separate rule governing defense lawyers\u27 extrajudicial speech. Such a rule would recognize an interest in protecting the legitimacy of the justice system and would provide clear standards to guide defense lawyers\u27 advocacy outside of the courtroom. This Note provides an overview of the development of the trial-publicity rules, a glimpse of the media coverage of the Blagojevich trial, and a proposed rule to guide defense lawyers\u27 extrajudicial advocacy

Accuracy and Precision of Occlusal Contacts of Stereolithographic Casts Mounted by Digital Interocclusal Registrations

Statement of problem Little peer-reviewed information is available regarding the accuracy and precision of the occlusal contact reproduction of digitally mounted stereolithographic casts. Purpose The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the accuracy and precision of occlusal contacts among stereolithographic casts mounted by digital occlusal registrations. Material and methods Four complete anatomic dentoforms were arbitrarily mounted on a semi-adjustable articulator in maximal intercuspal position and served as the 4 different simulated patients (SP). A total of 60 digital impressions and digital interocclusal registrations were made with a digital intraoral scanner to fabricate 15 sets of mounted stereolithographic (SLA) definitive casts for each dentoform. After receiving a total of 60 SLA casts, polyvinyl siloxane (PVS) interocclusal records were made for each set. The occlusal contacts for each set of SLA casts were measured by recording the amount of light transmitted through the interocclusal records. To evaluate the accuracy between the SP and their respective SLA casts, the areas of actual contact (AC) and near contact (NC) were calculated. For precision analysis, the coefficient of variation (CoV) was used. The data was analyzed with t tests for accuracy and the McKay and Vangel test for precision (α=.05). Results The accuracy analysis showed a statistically significant difference between the SP and the SLA cast of each dentoform (PPP Conclusions For the accuracy evaluation, statistically significant differences were found between the occlusal contacts of all digitally mounted SLA casts groups, with an increase in AC values and a decrease in NC values. For the precision assessment, the CoV values of the AC and NC showed the digitally articulated cast’s inability to reproduce the uniform occlusal contacts

Person re-identification via efficient inference in fully connected CRF

In this paper, we address the problem of person re-identification problem, i.e., retrieving instances from gallery which are generated by the same person as the given probe image. This is very challenging because the person's appearance usually undergoes significant variations due to changes in illumination, camera angle and view, background clutter, and occlusion over the camera network. In this paper, we assume that the matched gallery images should not only be similar to the probe, but also be similar to each other, under suitable metric. We express this assumption with a fully connected CRF model in which each node corresponds to a gallery and every pair of nodes are connected by an edge. A label variable is associated with each node to indicate whether the corresponding image is from target person. We define unary potential for each node using existing feature calculation and matching techniques, which reflect the similarity between probe and gallery image, and define pairwise potential for each edge in terms of a weighed combination of Gaussian kernels, which encode appearance similarity between pair of gallery images. The specific form of pairwise potential allows us to exploit an efficient inference algorithm to calculate the marginal distribution of each label variable for this dense connected CRF. We show the superiority of our method by applying it to public datasets and comparing with the state of the art.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

Nicotine induced haemodynamic changes during cigarette smoking and nicotine gum chewing: a placebo controlled study in young healthy volunteers

Because cigarette smoking is a definite risk for the development of cardiovascular disease and nicotine induced vasoconstriction may be a possible pathogenetic factor the haemodynamic effects of smoking cigarettes with high or low nicotine content were compared with those induced by chewing nicotine gum in a placebo controlled, crossover study in six healthy volunteers. The three stimuli induced similar increases in heart rate (about 20%) and systolic blood pressure (about 7%) and a decrease in digital blood flow. Although the mean haemodynamic changes parallelled the mean plasma nicotine concentration increases, no correlation was found between them when the individual values were considered. It is concluded that the nicotine induced haemodynamic changes probably occur as a result of the (local) release of vasoactive mediators such as adrenaline or noradrenaline after a threshold plasma nicotine concentration has been reached. Such a threshold may explain the large interindividual variability in susceptibility to smoking induced cardiovascular disease

Evaluating time-lapse borehole gravity for CO2 plume detection at SECARB Cranfield

Bureau of Economic Geolog

Procedimento de ensino do tenis de campo para portadores da Sindrome de Down

Orientador: Edison DuarteDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Educação FisicaResumo: Após verificarmos a não existência de dados sobre os procedimentos de ensino do tênis de campo para portadores de comprometimento mental, pensamos na hipótese de um trabalho específico com alunos portadores da Síndrome de Down. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi proporcionar a aprendizagem desta modalidade através de procedimentos adequados e adaptados, respeitando as características individuais dessa população. Participam desta pesquisa 8 sujeitos cujas idades variam entre 9 e 15 anos, divididos em grupos de acordo com seu grau de desenvolvimento e faixa etária, tendo aulas uma vez por semana, com duração de 45 minutos cada. Como procedimento metodológico utilizamos a análise de tarefas, as observações assistemática e participativa, bem como filmagens, fotos e diário de campo, tendo em vista subsídios que complementem a avaliação do trabalho. Podemos concluir, após a sugestão dos procedimentos, que os alunos podem aprender os fundamentos básicos da modalidade, bem como apresentar melhoras em alguns itens relativos ao comportamento adaptativo tais como, autonomia, aptidões sociais, participação comunitária, saúde e segurança e o lazer. A partir deste estudo, novos procedimentos poderão ser investigados, visando favorecer a aprendizagem desta modalidade ainda pouco acessível às minoriasAbstract: After verifying the lack of data regarding procedures for teaching field tennis to mentally-handicapped people, we haveplanned a specific work with students with Down's syndrome. The purpose of the present research was to provide a learning of this sport through adequate adapted procedures which take into account the special characteristics of the subjects. This research was carried out with 8 subjects ages 9 to 15, divided into groups according to their degree of development and age. They all had 45-minute classes once a week. As methodology procedure we have used task analysis, asystematic and participative observations, as well as videotapes, photographs and notes to gather data to complement the evaluation of the work. After the suggestion of the procedures, we can conclude that the students are capable of learnng the basics of the sport, as well as improving some aspects regarding adaptive behavior such as autonomy, social aptitude, community participation, health and safety, and leisure. This research may be used as a starting point to the investigation of new procedures, aiming at supporting the learning of tennis, which is still somewhat inaccessible to minoritiesMestradoAtividade Fisica e AdaptaçãoMestre em Educação Físic

Perspectivas de atuação profissional : um estudo de caso das olimpiadas especiais

Orientador : Jose Julio Gavião de AlmeidaTese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Educação FisicaResumo: Olimpíadas Especiais refere-se a um dos programas de esportes voltados para as pessoas com deficiência mental que enfatiza os atletas, a família e os voluntários, sendo que nessa denominação de voluntários, enquadramse os organizadores de eventos e os técnicos esportivos. Portanto, neste estudo procuramos verificar o número de profissionais de educação física envolvidos com o treinamento e competição dos atletas atendidos por esse programa, considerando que a Special Olympics International não prioriza a questão de que o técnico/treinador deva ser profissional da área. Então, pretendemos discutir as perspectivas de atuação desses profissionais no trabalho junto aos atletas com deficiência mental. Para tanto, além da revisão bibliográfica sobre deficiência mental, olimpíadas especiais, esporte, educação física adaptada e esporte adaptado, a coleta de dados se dá mediante um questionário que foi enviado para 140 núcleos das Olimpíadas Especiais no mundo (incluindo os estados americanos) e também por meio de uma entrevista com o presidente e o diretor executivo das Olimpíadas Especiais Brasil, além da observação participante em 02 Jogos Mundiais (de verão e de inverno). Recebemos 75 respostas dos programas internacionais que foram registrados em forma de gráficos. As respostas obtidas nos mostraram que é grande o número de familiares e/ou voluntários de outras profissões envolvidos como técnicos/treinadores desses atletas e que os profissionais de educação física são maioria ou a totalidade, apenas em núcleos como o Brasil, França e Rússia, casos específicos em que existem leis que regem essa atuação prática. Por serem poucos os núcleos que enfatizam a atuação do profissional no treinamento e como acreditamos nas possibilidades das pessoas com deficiência mental em aprender, propomos que o programa Olimpíadas Especiais Internacional reveja essa questão e que haja uma rediscussão no sentido de que, como comparativo com o voluntário, o profissional de educação física, pela sua formação e isenção no trabalho, teoricamente tem mais competência para utilizar o esporte como veículo de aprendizagem, de desenvolvimento, de promoção do crescimento pessoal e, utilizando a filosofia proposta pelo programa, fazendo com que cada vez mais atletas tenham chances de poder mostrar sua competência através de uma prática esportiva coerente, sendo cidadãos ativos e atuantes, num ambiente de mais igualdade, respeito e aceitaçãoAbstract: Special Olympics is one of the sports programs aimed at people with mental disability with focus on the athletes, families and volunteers. The latter include event organization personnel and coaches. In the present study we have attempted to assess the number of physical education professionals involved in the training and coaching of the athletes served by that program, inasmuch as Special Olympics International does not require that the coach/trainer be a physical education professional. Therefore, we have intended to discuss the prospects for the involvement of these professionals in the work with people with mental disability. In order to achieve that goal, in addition to a bibliographic research on mental disability, Special Olympics, sports, adapted physical education and adapted sports, the collection of data has been effected through a questionnaire which was sent to 140 chapters of the Special Olympics worldwide (including the American states) and also through an interview with the President and CEO of the Special Olympics Brazil, besides a participative observation during two World Games (summer and winter). We have received back 75 answers from the foreign programs, which were then plotted into graphs. The answers show that the number of family members and/or volunteers from other professions who are involved as coaches/trainers of these athletes is large and that physical education professionals are the majority or the entirety of them only in places like Brazil, France and Russia, which are specific countries where there are laws regulating that practice. In view of the small number of chapters that employ the work of physical education professionals for training, and in view of our firm belief in the learning potential of people with mental disability, we suggest that Special Olympics International reexamines this matter, since on account of his background and detachment the physical education professional is theoretically more competent to use the sports as a learning, development and personal growth tool, as compared to the volunteer. That professional is also more capable of utilizing the philosophy proposed by the program so more and more athletes have a chance to show their competence through a coherent sports practice and to be active and participating citizens in a more equal, respectful and accepting environmentDoutoradoDoutor em Educação Físic