Functional imaging of interleukin 1 beta expression in inflammatory process using bioluminescence imaging in transgenic mice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β) plays an important role in a number of chronic and acute inflammatory diseases. To understand the role of IL-1β in disease processes and develop an <it>in vivo </it>screening system for anti-inflammatory drugs, a transgenic mouse line was generated which incorporated the transgene firefly luciferase gene driven by a 4.5-kb fragment of the human IL-1β gene promoter. Luciferase gene expression was monitored in live mice under anesthesia using bioluminescence imaging in a number of inflammatory disease models.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In a LPS-induced sepsis model, dramatic increase in luciferase activity was observed in the mice. This transgene induction was time dependent and correlated with an increase of endogenous IL-1β mRNA and pro-IL-1β protein levels in the mice. In a zymosan-induced arthritis model and an oxazolone-induced skin hypersensitivity reaction model, luciferase expression was locally induced in the zymosan injected knee joint and in the ear with oxazolone application, respectively. Dexamethasone suppressed the expression of luciferase gene both in the acute sepsis model and in the acute arthritis model.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our data suggest that the transgenic mice model could be used to study transcriptional regulation of the IL-1β gene expression in the inflammatory process and evaluation the effect of anti-inflammatory drug <it>in vivo</it>.</p

Modeling S and C-band optical codoped amplification in thulium and erbium fluoride fiber

Theoretical model for Er3+, Tm3+ codoped fluoride fiber based on the rate and propagation equations has been established by considering the energy transfer process between Er3+ and Tm3+, Er3+ absorption in S-band as well as Tm3+ absorption in C-band. The spectral gain as functions of the Er3+ concentration, the fiber length, the pump power has been investigated. Two pumping schemes have been considered and compared with respect to their spectral gains. In the case of Er3+ and Tm3+ codoped fluoride fiber pumped by 0.15 W at 800 tun and 0.3 W at 1410 nm, a gain of 20 dB or more can be achieved in the range of 1450-1560 nm. The results show that significant S + C-band gain can be achieved by codoping Er 3+ in Tm3+ doped fluoride fiber and using the dual-wavelength pumping scheme. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

S-band optical amplification by an internally generated pump in thulium ytterbium codoped fiber

We propose a novel scheme in which Yb3+ codoping and a laser cavity are introduced in Tm3+ doped fiber to achieve efficient S- band optical amplification with a 980 nm pump source. This scheme makes it possible for conventional 980 nm pump sources for Er3+ doped fiber amplifiers to be used for S- band Tm3+ doped fiber amplifiers ( TDFAs). By introducing a laser cavity into an amplifier, an internally generated pump from Yb3+ at a desirable wavelength for pumping Tm3+ could be produced. We establish and analyze, for the first time to our knowledge, a new theoretical model that takes into consideration both the internal lasing operation inside the optical amplification process and the energy transfer between the Tm3+ and the Yb3+ ions in TDFAs. Various situations such as Tm3+ doping concentration and cavity reflectivity have been investigated. The results show that high optical gain and high pump efficiency can be achieved by use of 980 nm sources. With a laser cavity of 1050 nm in Tm3+ and Yb3+ codoped fiber, for example, it is possible to achieve high optical gain of greater than 20 dB, a noise figure of approximately 5 dB in the wavelength range from 1450 to 1480 nm with a 0.3 W power at 980 nm pump source. (C) 2005 Optical Society of America

Additional file 1 of Reliability of a human pose tracking algorithm for measuring upper limb joints: comparison with photography-based goniometry

Additional file 1: Supplementary Figure 1. Measurement setup during the 6-motion task. A) setups of the environment; B) diagram of the 6-motions task

Additional file 2 of Reliability of a human pose tracking algorithm for measuring upper limb joints: comparison with photography-based goniometry

Additional file 2: Supplementary Figure 2. Results obtained from the proposed method

Gain improvement by internal laser cavity in Tm3+/Yb3+-codoped tellurite fiber amplifier pumped by 980-nm laser

S-band Tm3+/Yb3+ codoped tellurite fiber amplifier pumped by a 980nm laser diode is proposed and modeled taking into consideration of the energy transfer process from Yb3+ to Tm3+ and the laser cavity inside a codoped fiber amplifier. S-band spectral gains for the codoped fiber amplifiers are investigated. The results show that considerable gain improvement can be achieved by constructing 1050 nm laser cavity inside the amplifier. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America