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Former Study (former + study)
Selected AbstractsPossible role of Hes5 for the rostrocaudal polarity formation of the tectumDEVELOPMENT GROWTH & DIFFERENTIATION, Issue 3 2004Jun Kimura The alar plate of the mesencephalon differentiates into the optic tectum. Retinal fibers project to the tectum topographically in a retinotopic manner. Engrailed (En) is responsible for the tectum polarity formation and regionalization. Former study indicated the presence of the molecule whose expression is repressed by En and that represses the isthmus-related gene expression. To isolate such molecules, we constructed a subtracted library between cDNA population of the normal rostral mesencephalon and of the rostral mesencephalon that misexpresses En2. From the library, we isolated cHes5, a chicken homolog of Drosophila hairy/Enhancer of split. cHes5 begins to be expressed in the rostral part of the E2 mesencephalon, and spreads to caudal mesencephalon by E3. To our expectation, cHes5 expression was repressed by En2. Furthermore, misexpression of cHes5 in the mesencephalon inhibited expression of ephrinA2, a marker of caudal mesencephalon. An active repressor form of Hes5, which is a chimeric molecule of Hes5 and repressor domain of En2, showed a similar but more severe phenotype. The results indicate that Hes5 is regulated by En and is responsible for rostral identity of mesencephalon by repressing ephrinA2. [source] Experimental and theoretical study of recovery mechanism of impurity effect by the addition of EDTACRYSTAL RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 5 2007Y. Asakuma Abstract The impurity effect by trivalent metal ion such as Al3+, Fe3+ and Cr3+ during crystal growth of KDP is reasonably well documented. If a metal ion is adsorbed onto the crystal surface, it prevents the step propagation relevant to the crystal growth rate. However, this impurity adsorption mechanism is still not well understood. Recently, in our work on the addition of chelate agents, a recovery effect of the metal ion adsorption was discovered. However, its recovery mechanism is not clearly understood both theoretically and phenomenally. In this research, ethylene-diamine-tetra-acetic acid, EDTA, which is the most common chelate agent, was used as a recovery agent. The recovery mechanism was considered from the correlation of experimental data and the interfacial distribution model that we proposed in our former study. Furthermore, quantum calculation of EDTA metal complex can explain the relaxation of impurity adsorption by the addition of EDTA. (© 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Do head lice spread in swimming pools?INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 11 2007Deon Canyon PhD, MACTM, MMCAA This study investigated the potential for head lice transmission in swimming pools using an in vitro experiment and a field trial. In the former study, head lice were submerged for 20 min in aqueous solutions at 25 ± 1 °C: deionized water, sea water, salt solutions (30, 60, 120 and 240 g/l), and chlorinated water (0.2, 2 and 5 mg/l). In all trials, lice located on cut hairs became immobile and did not respond to physical prodding. After entering stasis, no movement was observed until after rescue from submersion and a brief recovery period (0,1 min). Upon recovery, all lice fed and no mortality was observed within the next 4 h. In the field trial, four naturally infected individuals swam in a chlorinated pool for 30 min. No loss of lice or head to head transfer was observed. These results indicated that although head lice survive immersion, head lice transmission is unlikely to occur via the water of swimming pools. [source] Enhanced Clinical Utility of ,-CDT in a General PopulationALCOHOLISM, Issue 8 2000Pekka Sillanaukee Background: The use of a combination of markers to detect excessive alcohol consumption has been reported to provide better sensitivity in the diagnosis of alcohol abuse than single markers. However, the optimal combination of markers for the diagnosis of alcohol abuse has not yet been found. The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic value of carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) and ,-glutamyltransferase (GGT) to discriminate among heavy drinkers (>280 g/week), moderate drinkers (105,280 g/week), and light drinkers (<105 g/week). Their mathematical combination, named ,-CDT, which has been found to be a strong marker of alcohol abuse in a former study, was also evaluated. Methods: The study was conducted in a group of 6962 subjects (3974 males and 2988 females), between the ages of 25 and 74 years, who participated in a large cross-sectional risk factor survey carried out in five geographic areas in Finland. In each study area, an age- and gender-stratified random sample was drawn from the general population. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and receiver operating characteristic curves were used to evaluate the performance of CDT, GGT, and ,-CDT. Results: For both sexes, the combined marker had the highest specificity (95%) and sensitivity in detecting heavy drinkers. In all cases, ,-CDT had the highest area under ROC plots. Our results also showed that GGT and CDT have similar, and rather low, sensitivity but high specificity in a general population. Conclusions: Compared with single markers, a significant improvement of sensitivity was obtained when the combination of both markers was used, especially in females. [source] Indication for a role of regulatory T cells for the advent of influenza A (H1N1)-related pneumoniaCLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 3 2010M. Raftogiannis Summary Regulatory T cells (Tregs) have an anti-inflammatory role. A former study in a limited number of patients found that absolute counts of Tregs increase when infection by the new influenza H1N1 virus is complicated with pneumonia. These results generate the question if H1N1-related pneumonia is associated with a state of hypo-inflammation. A total of 135 patients were enrolled with blood sampling within less than 24 h from diagnosis; 23 with flu-like syndrome; 69 with uncomplicated H1N1-infection; seven with bacterial pneumonia; and 36 with H1N1-related pneumonia. Tregs and CD14/HLA-DR co-expression were estimated by flow cytometry; concentrations of tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-,), of interleukin (IL)-6 and of soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (sTREM-1) by an enzyme immunoassay; those of procalcitonin (PCT) by immuno-time-resolved amplified cryptate technology assay. Expression of human leucocyte antigen D-related (HLA-DR) on monocytes was similar between groups; absolute Treg counts were greater among patients with H1N1-related pneumonia than flu-like syndrome or H1N1-uncomplicated infection. Serum TNF-, of patients with bacterial pneumonia was greater than those of other groups, but IL-10 was similar between groups. Serum PCT was greater among patients with H1N1-related pneumonia and sTREM-1 among those with H1N1-related pneumonia. Regression analysis revealed that the most important factors related with the advent of pneumonia were the existence of underlying illnesses (P = 0·006) and of Tregs equal to or above 16 mm3 (P = 0·013). It is concluded that the advent of H1N1-related pneumonia is related to an early increase of the absolute Treg counts. This increase is probably not part of a hypo-inflammatory state of the host. [source] | ||||||||||