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Several Unique Characteristics (several + unique_characteristic)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	50%

Selected Abstracts

Role of adult living donor liver transplantation in patients with hepatitis C

LIVER TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 10C 2003
Gregory T. Everson
Key points 1. Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) is an option for patients with end-stage liver disease or hepatoma caused by chronic hepatitis C. 2. Reports from some, but not all, transplant centers indicate that hepatitis C may recur earlier, recurrence may be more severe, and graft loss caused by recurrent hepatitis C may be more frequent in LDLT compared with cadaveric transplantation. 3. Several unique characteristics of LDLT (versus cadaveric transplantation) may favor severe recurrence of hepatitis C. These include an increase in genetic similarity between donor and recipient, higher degree of HLA matching, greater systemic bioavailability of immunosuppressive agent, and hepatic regeneration. 4. Hepatic regeneration may promote the acceleration and severity of recurrent hepatitis C by enhancement of hepatitis C viral uptake by hepatocytes through stimulation of the low-density lipoprotein receptor and increase in activity of the internal ribosomal entry site. [source]

Insulin-like growth factors, hepatocyte growth factor and transforming growth factor-, in mouse tongue myogenesis

DEVELOPMENT GROWTH & DIFFERENTIATION, Issue 1 2003
Akira Yamane
Many reports have shown that tongue striated muscles have several unique characteristics not found in other skeletal muscles such as limb and trunk. Several peptide growth factors are reported to play important roles in skeletal myogenesis. In this article, the roles of insulin-like growth factors (IGF), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and transforming growth factor (TGF)-, in mouse tongue myogenesis were studied using an organ culture system of the mandible or tongue obtained from mouse embryos. It was found that IGF-I promotes the differentiation of tongue myoblasts. HGF plays an essential role in the migration and proliferation of tongue myogenic cells, and inhibits the differentiation of tongue myoblasts. TGF-, does not play an essential role in the proliferation of tongue myogenic cells, but does promote the early differentiation of tongue myoblasts. The role of IGF-I in the differentiation of tongue myoblasts, and that of HGF in the migration, proliferation and differentiation of tongue myogenic cells appear to be almost identical to their roles in the myogenesis of limb and cultured myogenic cell lines. However, the role of TGF-, in the proliferation and differentiation of tongue myogenic cells appears to be different from its role in the myogenesis of limb and cultured myogenic cell lines such as C2 and L6. [source]

Nanofiller-reinforced polymer nanocomposites

POLYMERS FOR ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES, Issue 8 2008
J. Njuguna
Abstract In this work, the technology of nano- and micro-scale particle reinforcement concerning various polymeric fiber-reinforced systems including polyamides (PAs), polyesters, polyurethanes (PUs), polypropylenes (pps), and high-performance/temperature engineering polymers such as polyimide (PI), poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK), polyarylacetylene (PAA), and poly p -phenylene benzobisoxazole (PBO) is reviewed. When the diameters of polymer fiber materials are shrunk from micrometers to submicrons or nanometers, there appear several unique characteristics such as very large surface area to volume ratio (this ratio for a nanofiber can be as large as 103 times of that of a microfiber), flexibility in surface functionalities and superior mechanical performance (such as stiffness and tensile strength) compared to any other known form of the material. While nanoparticle reinforcement of fiber-reinforced composites has been shown to be a possibility, much work remains to be performed in order to understand how nanoreinforcement results in dramatic changes in material properties. The understanding of these phenomena will facilitate their extension to the reinforcement of more complicated anisotropic structures and advanced polymeric composite systems. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Alternative haematopoietic stem cell sources for transplantation: place of umbilical cord blood

BRITISH JOURNAL OF HAEMATOLOGY, Issue 2 2009
Angela R. Smith
Summary Umbilical cord blood has rapidly become a valuable alternative stem cell source for allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Extensive research over the last 20 years has established the safety and efficacy of umbilical cord blood transplantation in both children and adults with a variety of malignant and non-malignant diseases. This research has clearly shown that this stem cell source has several unique characteristics resulting in distinct advantages and disadvantages when compared to transplantation with unrelated bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells. This article reviews the most recent literature comparing the outcomes after umbilical cord blood transplantation with other alternative stem cell sources. [source]