Adiponectin is known to play a role in fatty acid and glucose metabolism through a change in insulin sensitivity and activation of fuel oxidation by AMP-activated protein kinase. Adiponectin can be ...considered an important factor able to modulate the adipovascular axis which, through genomic and environmental influences, affects the cardiovascular risk milieu, from the pre-metabolic syndrome-- through the metabolic syndrome--to the overt atherosclerotic process and its clinical manifestations. Hypoadiponectinaemia can be viewed as an early sign of a complex cardiovascular risk factor predisposing to the atherosclerosis process as well as a contributing factor accelerating the progress of the atherosclerotic plaque. In addition, adiponectin per se holds a protective role thanks to its anti-inflammatory and antiatherogenic properties. The early identification of patients "at cardiovascular risk" means in the current practice to search for indexes of metabolic derangements and pro-inflammatory status (adiponectin) from adolescence and childhood.
Macrophage‐derived chemokine (MDC), a potent chemoattractant for chronically activated Th2 lymphocytes, is constitutively expressed by dendritic cells, B cells, macrophages, and thymic medullary ...epithelial cells, whereas monocytes, NK cells, and T lymphocytes produce MDC only upon appropriate stimulation. In this study, we show in vitro MDC production also by activated T cells, which preferentially associate with the production of Th2 cytokines, IL‐4, IL‐5, and IL‐6, and inversely correlate with the production of the Th1 cytokine, IFN‐γ. Moreover, high levels of MDC were detected in the sera of the great majority of subjects suffering from mycosis fungoides / Sézary syndrome or atopic dermatitis, which are considered as disorders characterized by the predominant expansion and activation of Th2 cells, respectively. By contrast, serum MDC levels in subjects with multiple sclerosis or Crohn's disease, which are characterized by a Th1 predominance, did not differ significantly from those of healthy controls. Finally, MDC expression was detected in the skin biopsy specimens of subjects with atopic dermatitis, where it was expressed by both dendritic cells and T lymphocytes. Taken together, these findings suggest that MDC production by activated T cells may occur both in vitro and in vivo, particularly in association with Th2 cytokines, thus providing an important amplification circuit for Th2‐mediated responses.
The aim of the study was to evaluate: 1) the cardiovascular function and the autonomic drive to the heart in patients affected by primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT) with no evidence of renal and ...cardiovascular complications; 2) the cardiovascular effects of acute administration of PTH in normal subjects. In 14 patients affected by mild asymptomatic pHPT echocardiographic assessment of cardiovascular function and of the mechanic properties of the brachial and carotid artery, heart rate variability and the dispersion of QT interval were performed before and 6 months after successful surgery. Twenty age- and sex-matched healthy subjects were included in the study. Five healthy volunteers underwent a single blind, placebo-controlled, random order, cross-over study with infusion of PTH (hPTH 1-34, 200 U in saline over 5 min) or placebo. Echocardiographic assessment of cardiovascular function, heart rate variability, and QT interval were performed between 20 and 25 min after the start of the infusion and repeated after 15 min of tilting at 60 degrees. In pHPT patients the echocardiographic parameters were normal; left ventricular isovolumetric relaxation time was always in the normal range, but significantly shorter than in control subjects, suggesting an increased sympathetic stimulation. Arterial diameters and thickness, blood pressure, and QT interval were not significantly different with respect to normal subjects and were unchanged 6 months after surgery. pHPT patients lacked the circadian rhythm of the low frequency to high frequency ratio, suggesting an increased sympathetic drive to the heart at nighttime. In normal subjects there were no significant differences in basal echocardiographic measurements during PTH infusion with respect to placebo and in the hemodynamic response to tilt. These results suggest that cardiovascular function is substantially normal in normotensive pHPT patients with mild hypercalcemia. A modulation of the adrenergic control of circulation seems to be associated with hypercalcemia and/or chronic PTH excess, but its biological relevance needs further investigations.
Elementary blocks, performing logic operations, are the building elements of the complex subsystems implementing all-optical digital processing. They can potentially enable next generation optical ...networks and optical computing, overcoming the limitations of the electronics bandwidth, guaranteeing scalability, transparency, easy reconfigurability and modularity. Finally, the integrated technologies can reduce power consumption, footprint and cost.
To evaluate potential solutions for reducing the damage to ultra low-
k dielectrics during photoresist stripping in advanced interconnect technology, we have investigated the mechanisms of ...interactions between remote H
2, D
2 and N
2 discharges and porous organo-silicate materials. Extended sub-surface modifications take place in high carbon-content organo-silicates, whereas silica-rich dielectrics show negligible chemical damages during the same treatments. The nature of plasma/dielectric interactions depends primarily on the organic fraction of the ULK material. Methyl groups in silica-rich organo-silicates withstand the interaction with the plasma species. Conversely, large organic compounds in carbon-rich dielectrics experience cleavage reactions leading to volatile hydrocarbon formation and compositional changes. For conditions where stripping-induced damage is introduced, the effects scale with the substrate temperature in the range 200 °C–300 °C. The permeation of the ULK material by remote plasma species depends on its porosity.
TCL1, the overexpression of which may result in T-cell leukemia, is normally expressed in early embryonic tissues, the ovary, and lymphoid lineage cells. Our analysis of mouse B-lineage cells ...indicates that Tcl1 expression is initiated in pro-B cells and persists in splenic marginal zone and follicular B cells. T-lineage Tcl1 expression begins in thymocyte progenitors, continues in CD4+CD8+ thymocytes, and is extinguished in mature T cells. In Tcl1-deficient mice, we found B lymphopoiesis to be compromised at the pre-B cell stage and T-cell lymphopoiesis to be impaired at the CD4+CD8+ thymocyte stage. A corresponding increase was observed in thymocyte susceptibility to anti-CD3ϵ–induced apoptosis. Reduced numbers of splenic follicular and germinal center B cells were accompanied by impaired production of immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) and IgG2b antibodies in response to a T-dependent antigen. The marginal zone B cells and T-cell–independent antibody responses were also diminished in Tcl1-/- mice. This analysis indicates a significant role for Tcl1, a coactivator of Akt signaling, in normal T- and B-cell development and function.
Surface modifications and etching mechanisms of several nanoporous low-
k dielectrics (spin-on and PECVD) using fluorocarbon plasmas have been investigated by ToF-SIMS and AFM and compared with those ...of SiO
2. The results show a fluoropolymer film growing on the materials using highly polymerizing discharges (C
4F
8). The fluoropolymers are converted into fluoroether-like compounds upon etching low-porosity dielectrics in ion-rich C
4F
8/90% Ar plasmas. These layers mitigate the influx of plasma species and inhibit the etching rate. No surface roughness develops for these conditions, keeping the plasma/material interaction regime stationary. On the other hand, the surface coverage by fluoroethers is reduced when the porosity exceeds a given threshold. Consequently, direct plasma/dielectric interactions including ion bombardment take place, causing an increase of the etching rate, surface roughening and severe modifications of the pristine dielectric.
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