This article puts forth an alternative theory of interplanetary type III radio bursts, based on the cyclotron-maser instability. The model suggests that the radio emission is not generated in local ...interplanetary space but originates much closer to the corona. It postulates that the radiation remains trapped inside the density-depleted duct until it emerges out into free space at the end of the duct, which is located in the interplanetary space. With this model a number of outstanding problems associated with interplanetary type III bursts can be naturally resolved. Termination of type III bursts at low frequency can be explained by the fact that the ratio of plasma- to gyrofrequency, f sub(p)/f sub(g), in the source region exceeds the maximum allowable value for the maser instability. The low starting frequency can be explained by the fact that the parameter f sub(p)/f sub(g) in the source region falls below the minimum allowable value for the maser instability to operate. The rapid increase of temporal width of the dynamic spectrum near the termination frequency may be due to the low group speed associated with waves trapped inside the duct.
It has been determined that the family of T-cell immunoglobulin domain and mucin domain (TIM) proteins is expressed on T cells. A member of the TIM family, TIM-1, is considered to be a membrane ...protein associated with the development of Th2-biased immune responses and selectively expressed on Th2 cells. We previously showed that the exon 4 variations of Tim-1 are associated with susceptibility to allergic diseases, as well as autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In this study, we assessed the association between genotype and allele frequencies of the Tim-1 gene promoter region, in both RA patients and the controls without RA, using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism and single-base extension methods. We further investigated the relationships among the genotypes of each polymorphism and C-reactive protein or rheumatoid factor levels in RA patients. The genotype and allele frequencies of the -1637A>G polymorphism in RA patients are significantly different from those in the non-RA controls (P=0.0004 and P=0.001, respectively). Our results strongly suggest that polymorphism in the Tim-1 promoter region might be associated with susceptibility to RA.
The orphan nuclear hormone receptor SHP has been proposed to have a key role in the negative feedback regulation of bile acid production. Consistent with this, mice lacking the
SHP gene exhibit mild ...defects in bile acid homeostasis and fail to repress cholesterol 7-α-hydroxylase expression in response to a specific agonist for the bile acid receptor FXR. However, this repression is retained in
SHP null mice fed bile acids, demonstrating the existence of compensatory repression pathways of bile acid signaling. We provide evidence for two such pathways, based on activation of the xenobiotic receptor PXR or the c-Jun N-terminal kinase JNK. We conclude that redundant mechanisms regulate this critical aspect of cholesterol homeostasis.
Flexibility tests and finite element analyses were performed for the biomechanical evaluation of diagonal transfixation in pedicle screw instrumentation.
To assess the biomechanical advantages of ...diagonal transfixation compared with conventional horizontal transfixation.
A few pedicle screw instrumentation systems allow the use of cross-links in the diagonal direction. Such a diagonal transfixation is anticipated to improve the surgical construct stability, but its biomechanical qualities have not been completely evaluated.
Flexibility tests were performed on 10 calf lumbar spines (L2-L5). Specimens were subjected to pure moments up to 8.2 Nm in flexion, extension, lateral bending, and extension while the resulting movements of L3 and L4 were measured by a three-dimensional motion analysis system. The tested cases included (1) intact, (2) pedicle screw fixation without transfixation after total removal of the L3-L4 disc, (3) pedicle screw fixation with diagonal transfixation, and (4) pedicle screw fixation with horizontal transfixation. Three-dimensional finite element models of the tested surgical constructs were also developed by use of three-dimensional beam elements to investigate the effect of diagonal transfixation and horizontal transfixation on the construct stability and the corresponding stress changes in the screws.
When compared with no transfixation, horizontal transfixation significantly improved the lateral bending and axial rotation stability by 15.7% and 13.9%, respectively, but there was no improvement of stability in flexion and extension. By contrast, diagonal transfixation significantly improved the flexion and extension stability by 12% and 10.7%, respectively, but not the lateral bending and axial rotation stability in comparison with no transfixation. Comparison between horizontal transfixation and diagonal transfixation showed that the stabilizing effect of diagonal transfixation was greater in flexion and extension (13% and 11%, P < 0.01) than that of horizontal transfixation but smaller in lateral bending (11%, P < 0.05) and axial rotation (6.6%, P > 0.1). Finite element model predictions of the motion changes were similar to the changes observed in flexibility tests. In horizontal transfixation, the load changes, compared with no transfixion, were a 0.02% increase in flexion-extension, a 27.5% increase in lateral bending, and a 58% decrease in axial rotation, and the magnitudes of the moments applied on both the right and left pedicle screws were identical. However, when diagonal transfixation was achieved by connecting the left superior screw and the right inferior screw, the loads in the left screw were increased by 11.5% in flexion-extension, 43.6% in lateral bending, and 7.9% in axial rotation, whereas the loads in the right screw were decreased by 10.9% in flexion-extension, increased by 0.06% in lateral bending, and decreased by 18.1% in axial rotation.
The results of this study showed that diagonal transfixation provides more rigid fixation in flexion and extension but less in lateral bending and axial rotation in comparison with horizontal transfixation. Furthermore, greater stresses in the pedicle screws were predicted in the diagonal transfixation model. These limitations of diagonal transfixation should be considered carefully for clinical application.
Measurements of the aerosol hygroscopic growth factor,
f(RH), and the physical and optical properties of aerosols were made at Gosan, Korea during the aerosol characterization experiment (ACE)-Asia ...2001 field campaign (April 2001). The optical and hygroscopic properties of aerosols were characterized in terms of the air mass transport pathways. During the Asian dust period,
σ
sp and
σ
ap were remarkably elevated with mean and standard deviation of 238.6±55.3
Mm
−1 and 24.2±10.9
Mm
−1, respectively. The mean
f(RH) for the pollution aerosols from Chinese sectors (2.75±0.38) in this study was much higher than that for the anthropogenic aerosols in Europe during ACE-2 (1.46±0.10) as well as that of the urban/industrial aerosols of the US east coast during TARFOX (1.81±0.37–2.30±0.24). The mean
f(RH) during the smoke period (1.60±0.20) was comparable to that during INDOEX (1.58±0.21), and higher than that for SCAR-B in Brazil (1.16). We found a negative correlation (
r
=
0.81
) between
f(RH) and OC concentration. This negative correlation suggests that organic aerosols have a strong influence on the smoke aerosol hygroscopicity.
The selection of identical or highly homologous peptides from phage display combinatorial peptide libraries has been unsuccessful in biopanning experiments using microtiter plates. In the present ...study, by biopanning on LPS-conjugated epoxy beads, we repeatedly enriched clones encoding AWLPWAK and NLQEFLF. These peptides were found to interact with the polysaccharide moiety of LPS, which is highly variable among gram negative bacterial species. In addition, phages encoding these peptides preferentially bound to the LPS of
Salmonella family. AWLPWAK-conjugated beads absorbed
Salmonella enteritidis from solution and showed a preference for
S. enteritidis over
Escherichia coli. In summary, this study shows for the first time that a peptide screened from phage displays of combinatorial peptide libraries can be synthesized on beads and be used practically to concentrate bacterial cells from solution.
We retrospectively reviewed 30 two-stage revision procedures in 28 patients performed for fungal peri-prosthetic joint infection (PJI) after a primary total knee replacement. Patients were followed ...for at least two years or until the infection recurred. The mean follow-up for patients who remained free of infection was 4.3 years (2.3 to 6.1). Overall, 17 patients were assessed as American Society of Anesthesiologists grade 3 or 4. The surgical protocol included removal of the infected implant, vigorous debridement and insertion of an articulating cement spacer. This was followed by at least six weeks of antimicrobial treatment and delayed reimplantation in all patients. The mean interval between removal of the prosthesis and reimplantation was 9.5 weeks (6 to 24). After reimplantation, patients took antifungal agents orally for a maximum of six months. Two knees became reinfected at one and two months post-operatively, respectively: one of these subsequently required arthrodesis because of uncontrolled infection. Fungal PJIs can be treated successfully by removal of all infected material, appropriate antimicrobial treatment and delayed reimplantation.
The effects of aloe-supplemented feeds on nonspecific immune responses and disease resistance were determined in juvenile rockfish (
Sebastes schlegeli). Experimental fish, which were naturally ...infected with
Vibrio alginolyticus during acclimation period, were fed to satiation once daily in triplicate groups with a commercial diet supplemented with 1 or 5 g aloe/kg diet or without aloe for 6 weeks. Dietary aloe had no significant influence on the serum lysozyme activity. The chemiluminescent (CL) responses of head kidney leucocytes from fish given control and 1 g aloe/kg diet were significantly higher (
p<0.05) than that of fish given 5 g aloe/kg diet. At the end of the feeding trial, cumulative mortality of fish from 5 g aloe/kg diet group was significantly lower (
p<0.05) than did the fish given control and 1 g aloe/kg diet. All dead fish were positive for
V. alginolyticus and showed the same gross signs. The results of the present study showed that feeding aloe in moderate doses can help to control
V. alginolyticus in juvenile rockfish.
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