Functional implications of CD44 splice variant expression in rheumatoid arthritis

Fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) are resident within the synovial membrane. In rheumatoid arthritis (RA), these cells dramatically increase in number and demonstrate a highly aggressive phenotype, characterised by the destruction of bone and cartilage and the release of a variety of cytokines. FLSs from RA patients have been demonstrated in this thesis to constitutively express alternatively spliced CD44 isoforms at the cell surface level, both in situ and in vitro. These cells show a greater intensity of staining for variant CD44 isoforms containing v3, v6 and v7/8, as compared to those from normal and osteoarthritic patients. This suggests that the expression of CD44 splice variants is closely linked to the inflammatory state of the diseased synovium and may be involved in the pathogenesis of RA. Several cell-based assays have been used to determine whether CD44 splice variants mediate any of the above characteristics. FLSs expressing variant isoforms containing v7/8 exhibit faster proliferation than non-expressing cells. Moreover, treatment with anti-CD44v7/8 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) inhibits this proliferative advantage. On the other hand, CD44H and variants containing v3 or v6 have no effect on the proliferation of the cells. CD44 isoforms incorporating v3 or v6 are involved in cellular invasion as observed from in vitro invasion assays. MAbs against CD44v3 or CD44v6 inhibit invasion of extracellular matrix by FLSs while the anti-CD44v7/8 mAb does not. CD44 isoforms carrying v7/8 also appear to influence IL-6 release of the cultured FLSs as examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. These results indicate functional implications of particular CD44 splice variants that might allow pharmacological intervention using variant-specific antibodies

Laminar-flow heat-transfer in non-circular ducts.

A numerical method is employed to obtain solutions for laminar flow heat transfer with fully developed velocity profiles and invariant fluid physical properties for rectangular ducts of various aspect ratios with the thermal boundary conditions of constant wall temperature and constant heat input per unit length of the duct. Since an analytical solution for the fully developed velocity profile in a rectangular duct is available, the varying temperature profile remains to be solved numerically from the energy equation which is transformed into a finite difference form by means of two finite difference operators in two dimensions. Numerical values of the initial and boundary temperatures are fixed by choosing a suitable dimensionless temperature depending upon the, thermal boundary condition. As computation involved is very lengthy, a fast digital computer is required. Numerical results obtained from an I.C.T. Atlas computer are presented as the variation of the Nusselt number with the Graetz number. The numerical method is extended to analyse heat transfer with simultaneously aeveloping velocity and temperature profiles. To determine the development of the velocity profile, some simplifications of the Navier-Stokes equation are made. Results are presented for various aspect ratios with the Prandtl number of 0.72. The effect of Prandtl number on heat transfer is also illustrated by numerical results. The numerical method is also used to solve for heat transfer in right-angled isosceles and equilateral triangular ducts with the same hydraulic and thermal boundary conditions as in the previous cases. The predicted results are compared with experimental data. For constant wall temperature, they agree well for Graetz numbers under 70; for constant heat input per unit length, closer agreement is shown over a much wider range of the Graetz numbers. Accuracy of the numerical method is confirmed by the facts that variations of the predicted Nusselt numbers obtained here follow the same trends as those for circular ducts and parallel plates and at the Graetz number of zero, they approach values of the limiting Nusselt numbers obtained by other methods

Feasibility study of utilising montmorillonite clay as an adsorbent for removing organic toxicants from water

ผลงานวิชาการคณาจารย์มหาวิทยาลัยเทคโนโลยีสุรนาร

Introductory study of utilizing montmorillonite as an adsorbent in aqous system

ผลงานวิชาการคณาจารย์มหาวิทยาลัยเทคโนโลยีสุรนาร

Research and Development of Solar Thermal Energy in Thailand

Research and Development of Solar Thermal Energy in Thailan

Status and Potential of Co - Generation in Thai Rice Mills

Status and Potential of Co - Generation in Thai Rice Mill

Upgrading heat by a reversed absorption heat pump

Analysis of a reversed absorption heat pump's performance for upgrading low temperature waste-heat from industrial processes and solar heat from a flat-plate solar collector has been carried out. In the case of upgrading waste-heat, the ratio of output to input heat decreases as the temperature at which the output heat is needed increases. For water heating, the performance of the conventional solar water heating system is better than that of the heat pump system because in the latter case, heat is rejected from the condenser.