The research was carried out on five double jersey knitted fabrics, knitted from cotton, Viscose®, Tencel®, Modal® and polyester ring spun yarns finesses of 20 tex. A circular double bed knitting ...machine gauge of E17 with the same production parameters was used for knitting all the fabrics. A change in all knitted fabric structure parameters was reflected through fabric mass per unit area, which ranged from 142 g m−2 to 165 g m−2. The minimum and maximum knitted fabric mass per unit area difference is up to 16 %. The lowest thermal resistance have polyester, while the largest have cotton knitted fabric. Thermal resistance of cotton fabric is higher for 36.7 % related to polyester knitted fabric. Considering basic knitted fabric parameters, knitting with same constructional parameters but different yarn raw materials doesn't provide knitted fabric with same mass per unit area or thickness, i.e. thickness factor. It can be concluded that beside basic knitted fabric parameters, yarn raw material influence on thermal resistance.
To understand the effect of metals on the marsh frog
Pelophylax ridibundus
and the possible environment-induced changes in oxidative stress enzymes, we determined the concentrations of 18 metals: Al, ...As, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ga, Hg, In, Li, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sr, and Zn, in the tissues (liver, skin, and muscle) and water samples collected from different locations in Serbia. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione
S
-transferase (GST), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and changes in concentrations of reduced glutathione (GSH) and sulfhydryl groups (SH) were analyzed in the tissues of the sampled frogs. The concentrations of Al, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ga, Hg, and Ni were highest in the liver, whereas those of Ba, Ca, Li, Mn, Pb, Sr, and Zn were highest in the skin. Hg correlated positively with liver SOD (in frogs from Danube-Tisza-Danube Canal (DTD)), muscle CAT (DTD), and muscle GST Ponjavica River (PO); Pb demonstrated a strong positive correlation with liver GR in frogs from Mt. Fruška Gora (FG); Cd only exhibited a positive correlation with AChE in the skin of frogs from DTD. In the skin, Zn correlated positively with AChE (DTD), SH groups (PO), and CAT (FG), and negatively with CAT, GST, and SH in the liver of frogs from DTD. Examination of these oxidative stress biomarkers, together with analysis of metal accumulation in the liver and skin of marsh frogs, provides a powerful tool for the assessment of metal pollution.
The activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), glutathione reductase (GR), and glutathione S-transferase (GST), as well as the concentrations of ...sulfhydryl (SH) groups and glutathione (GSH) were analyzed in five age classes of the Mediterranean centipede
Scolopendra cingulata
as follows: embryo, adolescens, maturus junior, maturus, and maturus senior. The data obtained showed the presence of SOD, CAT, GSH-Px, GR, GST, and SH groups in embryos. The transition from embryo to adolescens was accompanied by an increase in the activities of all studied enzymes, in response to the increased production of ROS due to the increased metabolic activity of the centipede associated with growth and development. Our results show that trends in antioxidant enzyme (AOE) activities were not uniform among adult age classes, suggesting that maturus junior, maturus, and maturus senior differentially respond and/or have different susceptibility to ROS. On the other hand, GSH concentration in embryos was undetectable, highest in adolescens and decreased in the latter part of life. Pearson correlation analysis in embryos showed that the activities of the AOEs were strongly and positively correlated with each other but negatively correlated with GSH and SH groups. At later age classes, SOD, CAT, GSH-Px, GR, GSH, and SH groups were no longer significantly correlated with GST. In the discriminant analysis, the variables that separated the age classes were GR, GST, SH groups, and body length. Body length was directly related to the age of individuals, clearly indicating that development/aging affects the regulation of antioxidant defense in this species.
Purpose
To determine whether gestational carrier (GC) in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles (commissioned cycles) for same-sex or single male intended parents have an increased incidence of adverse ...perinatal outcomes compared with spontaneous cycles in the same GCs.
Design
GC singleton pregnancies were identified from a database of 895 commissioned cycles from a large fertility center. Of these, 78 commissioned cycles met inclusion and exclusion criteria and were compared with 71 spontaneous cycles by the same GCs. The primary outcome was the composite score for adverse perinatal outcomes. Secondary outcomes included mode of delivery, birthweight, and gestational age. Chi-square test of association and Mann-Whitney
U
tests were used to compare categorical and continuous variables between the cohorts, respectively. Logistic and linear regressions controlling for GC age were constructed to determine the influence of GC cycle type on adverse perinatal outcomes.
Results
Commissioned cycles were significantly associated with adverse perinatal outcomes (25.6% vs. 9.9%;
p
= 0.02) and lower average gestational age (38.7 ± 1.5 vs. 39.4 ± 0.9;
p
< 0.001) compared with spontaneous cycles. Commissioned cycle increased the likelihood of adverse perinatal outcomes (OR 3.3;
p
= 0.03) and was a significant independent predictor of a lower average gestational age (
β
= 0.897;
p
< 0.001). There were no significant differences in the incidence of vaginal deliveries or cesarean sections between commissioned and spontaneous cycles.
Conclusions
Commissioned cycles confer a greater incidence of composite perinatal complications and were independently associated with a lower average gestational age when compared with spontaneous pregnancies carried by the same GC despite a confirmed healthy uterine environment, sperm samples, and donor oocytes.
Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α is produced by macrophages and other cells, and is believed to participate in granulomatous inflammation. Targeted antagonism of TNF-α has been proposed as a novel ...treatment strategy for sarcoidosis. Etanercept is a dimeric fusion protein that binds specifically to TNF-α, rendering it biologically inactive.
To assess whether etanercept has potential efficacy in the treatment of progressive pulmonary sarcoidosis.
Prospective, open-label, phase-2 treatment trial.
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.
Stage II or III progressive pulmonary sarcoidosis.
Etanercept, 25 mg subcutaneously twice weekly.
Pulmonary function, chest radiographs, dyspnea, and TNF-α levels in serum and BAL fluid.
The study was terminated after the enrollment of 17 patients due to an early-stop clause of the pretrial study design related to excessive treatment failures. Neither absolute levels of TNF-α nor TNF-α activity in the serum, BAL fluid, or alveolar macrophages were able to predict which patients would respond to etanercept.
In patients with progressive stage II or III pulmonary sarcoidosis, etanercept was frequently associated with early or late treatment failure. These data would not support the design of a large multicenter randomized trial comparing etanercept with conventional corticosteroid therapy.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
During life, anuran individuals undergo drastic changes in the course of transition from aquatic to terrestrial habitat, when they are faced with metabolically demanding processes (growth, responses ...to developmental pressures), which result in increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), signaling molecules involved in development that can induce oxidative damage and stress. This situation can be further complicated by environmental influences. The aim of this study was to investigate oxidative stress parameters in naturally developing Pelophylax esculentus complex frogs during four developmental periods: premetamorphosis, prometamorphosis, metamorphic climax and juvenile stage, in order to examine changes in the response of the antioxidative system (AOS) and oxidative damage during the transition from aquatic to terrestrial life. Results show that ontogenetic shifts in anurans are accompanied by different levels of damage and AOS responses, which vary from the increased first-line enzymatic activities during the early period of development (premetamorphosis), through increased changes in the non-enzymatic complement during the metamorphic climax, to changes in both the enzymatic and non-enzymatic components observed in juvenile individuals. Premetamorphic individuals and individuals in metamorphosis displayed higher levels of lipid peroxidation, indicating that direct exposure to the environment for the first time and the modulation of organs are the most susceptible stages for oxidative damage. On the other hand, lower oxidative damage in juveniles points to the ability of their AOS to efficiently respond to challenges of the terrestrial environment. This study highlights the importance of ROS and the AOS of anurans in response to different developmental and/or environmental pressures that individuals face.
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•Ontogenetic shifts in anurans are accompanied by different levels of oxidative stress.•Higher enzymatic antioxidative activities characterized premetamorphosis.•Higher levels in the non-enzymatic components characterized metamorphic climax.•Both the enzymatic and non-enzymatic components were higher in juveniles.•Higher levels of lipid peroxidation were in premetamorphosis and metamorphic climax.
•Influence of an Aphanizomenon flos-aquae bloom on antioxidants in fish was studied.•A. flos-aquae bloom affected antioxidant responses in the fish liver and gills.•All eutrophic freshwaters should ...be monitored for the presence of A. flos-aquae.•Fish antioxidant enzyme activities are biomarkers of A. flos-aquae bloom exposure.
We examined the influence of an Aphanizomenon flos-aquae bloom on the activities of antioxidant enzymes in the livers and gills of three cyprinids, Rutilus rutilus (roach), Blicca bjoerkna (white bream) and Carassius gibelio (Prussian carp) from the Gruža Reservoir (Serbia). We also studied tissue- and species-specific differences in the antioxidant response to the cyanobacterial bloom. The activities of total, copper zinc and manganese containing superoxide dismutases (Tot SOD, CuZn SOD, Mn SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), glutathione reductase (GR) and the biotransformation phase II enzyme glutathione-S-transferase (GST) were determined before and during the cyanobacterial bloom. B. bjoerkna exhibited higher antioxidant response to the cyanobacterial bloom than R. rutilus and C. gibelio; liver Tot SOD, CuZn SOD and GST activities increased during the bloom only in this species. Liver Mn SOD activity in all three cyprinids increased during the bloom. A decrease in liver CAT and GSH-Px activities that was detected in all three species may be directly responsible for an enhanced susceptibility of fish to potential oxidative stress caused by the bloom. Tot SOD, CuZn SOD, Mn SOD, GSH-Px, GR and GST activities in gills were also inhibited during the bloom showing that the gills were affected more than the liver. The observed changes in the activities of aforementioned antioxidant enzymes during the cyanobacterial bloom suggest that these parameters could be important biomarkers for ecotoxicological risk in fish that inhabit ecosystems where A. flos-aquae blooms occur.
Abstract
The radio evolution of, so far the youngest known, Galactic supernova remnant (SNR) G1.9+0.3 is investigated by using three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamic modelling and non-linear kinetic ...theory of cosmic ray (CR) acceleration in SNRs. We include consistent numerical treatment of magnetic field amplification (MFA) due to resonant streaming instability. Under the assumption that SNR G1.9+0.3 is the result of a Type Ia supernova explosion located near the Galactic Centre, using widely accepted values for explosion energy 1051 erg and ejecta mass 1.4 M⊙, the non-thermal continuum radio emission is calculated. The main purpose of this paper is to explain radio flux brightening measured over recent decades and also predict its future temporal evolution. We estimate that the SNR is now ∼120 yr old, expanding in an ambient density of 0.02 cm−3, and explain its steep radio spectral index only by means of efficient non-linear diffusive shock acceleration (NLDSA). We also make comparison between simulations and observations of this young SNR, in order to test the models and assumptions suggested. Our model prediction of a radio flux density increase of ∼1.8 per cent yr−1 during the past two decades agrees well with the measured values. We synthesize the synchrotron spectrum from radio to X-ray and it fits well the Very Large Array, Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope, Effelsberg, Chandra and NuSTAR measurements. We also propose a simplified evolutionary model of the SNR in gamma rays and suggest it may be a promising target for gamma-ray observations at TeV energies with the future generation of instruments like Cherenkov Telescope Array. SNR G1.9+0.3 is the only known Galactic SNR with the increasing flux density and we present here the prediction that the flux density will start to decrease approximately 500 yr from now. We conclude that this is a general property of SNRs in the free expansion phase.
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