To report the evolution of pattern scanning laser (Pascal) photocoagulation burns in the treatment of diabetic retinopathy, using Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT) and fundus ...autofluorescence (AF), and to evaluate these characteristics with clinically visible alterations in outer retina (OR) and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE).
Standard red-free and colour fundus photography (FP), FD-OCT, and fundus camera-based AF were performed in 17 eyes of 11 patients following macular and panretinal photocoagulation (PRP).
One hour following Pascal application, visibility of threshold burns on FP was incomplete. AF enabled visualisation of complete treatment arrays at 1 h, with hypoautofluorescence at sites of each laser burn. AF signals accurately correlated with localised increased optical reflectivity within the outer retina on FD-OCT. AF signals became hyperautofluorescent at 1 week, and corresponded on FD-OCT to defects at the junction of the inner and outer segments of the photoreceptors (JI/OSP) and upper surface of RPE. A 10 ms macular laser pulse produced a localised defect at the level of JI/OSP and RPE. Macular and 20 ms PRP burns did not enlarge at 1 year's and 18 months' follow-up respectively.
We report the in vivo spatial localisation and clinical correlation of medium-pulse Pascal photocoagulation burns within outer retina and RPE, using high-resolution FD-OCT and AF. Ophthalmoscopically invisible and threshold Pascal burns may be accurately localised and mapped by AF and FD-OCT, with monitoring over time.
An antibacterial peptide with 16 amino acid residues was found in plasma of the freshwater crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus . This peptide, designated astacidin 1, was purified by cation-exchange ...column chromatography and reverse-phase high performance
liquid chromatography. Astacidin 1 has a broad range of antibacterial activity, and it inhibits growth of both Gram-positive
and Gram-negative bacteria. The primary sequence of astacidin 1 was FKVQNQHGQVVKIFHH-COOH. The molecular mass was 1945.2 Da,
and no carbohydrate-linked amino acid residues could be found by mass spectrometry. A synthetic astacidin 1 resulted in similar
activity as the authentic astacidin 1 against Gram-positive bacteria, whereas it had less or no activity against Gram-negative
bacteria. Three amino-terminal-truncated synthetic peptides were made; they all showed low activity, suggesting that the amino-terminal
part of astacidin 1 contributes to the antibacterial activity. The structure of astacidin 1 based on the CD results showed
that it has a β-sheet structure in citric acid buffer at pH 4, 6, and 8. Cloning of astacidin 1 shows that it is the carboxyl-terminal
part of crayfish hemocyanin and that astacidin 1 is produced by a proteolytic cleavage from hemocyanin under acidic conditions.
The processing and release of astacidin 1 from hemocyanin is enhanced when crayfish are injected with lipopolysaccharide or
glucan.
The Response Bias Scale (RBS) and the Henry-Heilbronner Index (HHI) are two recently developed Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) validity scales empirically derived for the ...purpose of detecting feigned symptom report. Utilizing a veteran sample, the present study examined the utility of these and other MMPI-2 validity scales in predicting Word Memory Test (WMT) failure and presence of recent, current, or upcoming compensation evaluation. Although a significant predictor of WMT performance, RBS did not show incremental validity over Infrequency scale of the MMPI-2 in prediction of WMT failure and was not significantly associated with membership in the "Compensation-Context" (CC) group. In contrast, HHI best predicted CC group membership, but only trended toward significance in predicting WMT failure. In predicting CC group membership, HHI showed incremental validity above the established MMPI-2 validity scales, but its specificity was low. In the context of current literature on RBS and HHI, results support continued use of RBS and HHI but suggest that these scales may perform differently in samples other than the compensation-seeking samples on which they were developed.
The aim was to assess the relative frequency of migraine and the headache characteristics of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) sufferers. CRPS and migraine are chronic, often disabling pain ...syndromes. Recent studies suggest that headache is associated with the development of CRPS. Consecutive adults fulfilling International Association for the Study of Pain criteria for CRPS at a pain clinic were included. Demographics, medical history, and pain characteristics were obtained. Headache diagnoses were made using International Classification of Headache Disorders, 2nd edn criteria. Migraine and pain characteristics were compared in those with migraine with those without. anova with Tukey post hoc tests was used to determine the significance of continuous variables and Fisher's exact or χ2 tests for categorical variables. The expected prevalence of migraine and chronic daily headache (CDH) was calculated based on age- and gender-stratified general population estimates. Standardized morbidity ratios (SMR) were calculated by dividing the observed prevalence of migraine by the expected prevalence from the general population. The sample consisted of 124 CRPS participants. The mean age was 45.5 ± 12.0 years. Age- and gender-adjusted SMRs showed that those with CRPS were 3.6 times more likely to have migraine and nearly twice as likely to have CDH as the general population. Aura was reported in 59.7% (74/124) of participants. Of those CRPS sufferers with migraine, 61.2% (41/67) reported the onset of severe headaches before the onset of CRPS symptoms Mean age of onset of CRPS was earlier in those with migraine (34.9 ± 11.1 years) and CDH (32.5 ± 13.4 years) compared with those with no headaches (46.8 ± 14.9 years) and those with tension-type headache (TTH) (39.9 ± 9.9 years), P < 0.05. More extremities were affected by CRPS in participants with migraine (median of four extremities) compared with the combined group of those CRPS sufferers with no headaches or TTH (median 2.0 extremities), P < 0.05. The presence of static, dynamic and deep joint mechano-allodynia together was reported by more CRPS participants with migraine (72.2%) than those with no headaches or TTH (46.2%), P ≤ 0.05. Migraine may be a risk factor for CRPS and the presence of migraine may be associated with a more severe form of CRPS. Specifically: (i) migraine occurs in a greater percentage of CRPS sufferers than expected in the general population; (ii) the onset of CRPS is reported earlier in those with migraine than in those without; and (iii) CRPS symptoms are present in more extremities in those CRPS sufferers with migraine compared with those without. In addition, as we also found that the presence of aura is reported in a higher percentage of those CRPS sufferers with migraine than reported in migraineurs in the general population, further evaluation of the cardiovascular risk profile of CRPS sufferers is warranted.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
We prepared multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT)/gelatin composites by dispersion of MWNT through ultrasonication in an aqueous medium with anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The ...swelling behavior and the bending mechanism of the composite and pure gelatin films were studied in order to clarify the potential use of MWNT in the gelatin actuator. The response of the composite and pure hydrogel to the applied electrical field in the NaCl aqueous solution was investigated. Both the composite and pure hydrogel showed a two-stage bending phenomenon, an early bending towards the anode and a later bending towards the cathode. We investigated the mechanism of this bending phenomenon based on osmotic pressure difference at the inter-phase between the hydrogel film and salt solution. The swelling behavior of the composite was studied by immersion of the vacuum-dried samples into a 0.1
M NaCl aqueous solution at room temperature. The incorporation of MWNT gradually decreased the swelling of the hydrogel and exerted no effect on the swelling mechanism, which followed the second order kinetic. Both the bound and unbound water contents (measured from DSC) decreased with the addition of MWNT. This phenomenon might be due to the hydrophobic effect of the MWNT and increase in crosslinking density between the MWNTs and gelatin by increasing the MWNT concentration.
The radiation response of lateral power MOSFETs in total dose and energetic particle environments is explored. Results indicate that lateral power MOSFETs can be quite susceptible to single-event ...burnout. Tradeoffs involved in developing radiation hardened lateral power MOSFETs for point-of-load applications are studied using experiments and device simulations. Both design and fabrication process techniques can be used to significantly improve the single-event effect performance of lateral power MOSFETs, but the trade space between electrical and radiation performance must be carefully considered to produce an optimized design for point-of-load applications.
The brain is generally considered immunoprivileged, although increasing examples of immunological responses to brain antigens, neuronal expression of major histocompatibility class I genes, and ...neurological autoimmunity have been recognized. An adeno-associated virus (AAV) vaccine generated autoantibodies that targeted a specific brain protein, the NR1 subunit of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor. After peroral administration of the AAV vaccine, transgene expression persisted for at least 5 months and was associated with a robust humoral response in the absence of a significant cell-mediated response. This single-dose vaccine was associated with strong anti-epileptic and neuroprotective activity in rats for both a kainate-induced seizure model and also a middle cerebral artery occlusion stroke model at 1 to 5 months following vaccination. Thus, a vaccination strategy targeting brain proteins is feasible and may have therapeutic potential for neurological disorders.
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Interleukin‐21 (IL‐21) is a pleiotropic cytokine whose function is only now being unraveled. Abundant evidence indicates that activated CD4 T cells are the primary, if not the only, source of ...IL‐21. While it is clear that IL‐21 is actively transcribed by naïve activated T cells, recent studies have shown that IL‐21 potentially promotes a developmental shift of naïve T cells toward the Th2 phenotype. BXSB‐Yaa mice develop an autoimmune syndrome similar to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), affecting males earlier than females on account of the presence of the Yaa (Y‐linked autoimmune acceleration) locus. Previous results indicate the elevation of IL‐21 expression by BXSB‐Yaa mice at an age when the early characteristics of autoimmune processes first become evident. We set out to determine whether IL‐21 was necessary for disease progression in BXSB‐Yaa mice. Mice were treated for 24 weeks with soluble IL‐21R‐Fc in order to therapeutically neutralize the IL‐21 present. The results overall suggest a biphasic effect of IL‐21, negatively influencing survival early on and positively influencing survival at later stages. We propose that IL‐21 exerts a pleiotropic effect in which it promotes the protective effects of CD8+ suppressor cells in the early disease phase and then promotes the humoral components of SLE in the later disease stages. This experiment provides preliminary evidence for a role of IL‐21 in modulating the severity of SLE in BXSB‐Yaa mice.
A deficiency in microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTP) causes the human lipoprotein deficiency syndrome abetalipoproteinemia. However, the role of MTP in the assembly and secretion of VLDL in ...the liver is not precisely understood. It is not clear, for instance, whether MTP is required to move the bulk of triglycerides into the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) during the assembly of VLDL particles. To define MTP's role in hepatic lipoprotein assembly, we recently knocked out the mouse MTP gene (Mttp). Unfortunately, achieving our objective was thwarted by a lethal embryonic phenotype. In this study, we produced mice harboring a "floxed" Mttp allele and then used Cre-mediated recombination to generate liver-specific Mttp knockout mice. Inactivating the Mttp gene in the liver caused a striking reduction in VLDL triglycerides and large reductions in both VLDL/LDL and HDL cholesterol levels. The Mttp inactivation lowered apo B-100 levels in the plasma by >95% but reduced plasma apo B-48 levels by only approximately 20%. Histologic studies in liver-specific knockout mice revealed moderate hepatic steatosis. Ultrastructural studies of wild-type mouse livers revealed numerous VLDL-sized lipid-staining particles within membrane-bound compartments of the secretory pathway (ER and Golgi apparatus) and few cytosolic lipid droplets. In contrast, VLDL-sized lipid-staining particles were not observed in MTP-deficient hepatocytes, either in the ER or in the Golgi apparatus, and there were numerous cytosolic fat droplets. We conclude that MTP is essential for transferring the bulk of triglycerides into the lumen of the ER for VLDL assembly and is required for the secretion of apo B-100 from the liver.
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