Background
Allergen‐specific immunotherapy (ASIT) is the main treatment for inducing long‐term immunological and clinical tolerance in patients with IgE‐mediated allergic diseases. Recent open‐label ...and controlled studies on the efficacy of ASIT in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) have provided promising results. However, data about possible relationship between the improvement of clinical symptoms and changes of serum cytokines are limited.
Methods
Seventy‐nine patients with moderate to severe AD sensitized to house dust mite (HDM) were enrolled. Fifty‐eight patients were treated with ASIT and 11 controls received only symptomatic treatment. The disease activity in AD patients was evaluated by using the patient‐oriented eczema measure (POEM) system. Serum interleukin (IL)‐4, IL‐10, interferon (IFN)‐γ, transforming growth factor (TGF) β1, total IgE, HDM‐specific IgE (s‐IgE) and HDM‐specific IgG4 (s‐IgG4) were measured before and after 2 years of therapy.
Results
The mean patient‐oriented eczema measure system (POEM) score of AD patients with ASIT significantly decreased after 2 years of treatment, compared to that in patients without ASIT. After ASIT, the serum levels of IL‐10, TGF‐β1, IFN‐γ and s‐IgG4 increased, while the level of IL‐4 decreased. The change in the POEM score was negatively correlated with changes of serum concentration of TGF‐β1, s‐IgG4 and IFN‐γ. Furthermore, s‐IgG4 levels were positively correlated with changes in the IL‐10 levels. No correlation between POEM score and serum IL‐10 or IL‐4 was observed.
Conclusion
Clinical symptoms and the quality of life of AD with HDM sensitization could be improved after 2 years of ASIT. Changes in serum IL‐10, TGF‐β1, s‐IgG4 and IFN‐γ might be considered as biomarkers to assist clinical evaluation of the therapeutic effects of ASIT in patients with AD.
Background
After major traumatic injury, patients often require multiple transfusions of fresh frozen plasma (FFP) to correct coagulopathy and to reduce bleeding. A spray‐dried plasma (SDP) product ...has several logistical benefits over FFP use in trauma patients with coagulopathy. These benefits include ease of transport, stability at room temperature, and rapid reconstitution for infusion. Our past work suggests that FFP promotes endothelial stability by inhibiting endothelial permeability.
Study Design and Methods
The main goal of this project is to determine if solvent‐detergent‐treated SDP is equivalent to FFP in inhibiting vascular endothelial cell (EC) permeability and inflammation in vitro. Furthermore, this study aimed to determine if solvent‐detergent treatment and spray drying of plasma alters the protective effects of FFP on EC function. The five groups tested in our studies are the following: 1) fresh frozen‐thawed plasma (FFP); 2) solvent‐detergent‐treated FFP; 3) solvent‐detergent‐treated SDP; 4) lactated Ringer's solution; and 5) Hextend.
Results
This study demonstrates that in vitro SDP and FFP equivalently inhibit vascular EC permeability, EC adherens junction breakdown, and endothelial white blood cell binding, an effect that is independent of changes in Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule 1, Intracellular Adhesion Molecule 1, or E‐selectin expression on ECs. Solvent‐detergent treatment of FFP does not alter the protective effects of FFP on endothelial cell function in vitro.
Conclusion
These data suggest the equivalence of FFP and SDP on modulation of endothelial function and inflammation in vitro.
To measure corneal and limbal epithelial thickness (ET) in normal subjects and to evaluate its variation with age by using anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT).
A total of 180 ...normal subjects (180 healthy eyes) were enrolled and divided into four groups according to age: A (0-20 years), B (21-40 years), C (41-60 years), and D (>60 years). Cornea and limbus were imaged with OCT. Corneal ET (CET) was obtained automatically by the built-in analysis software of the OCT system. Limbal ET (LET) in four quadrants was manually measured from OCT images.
Corneal ET of a central 2-mm diameter zone in groups A, B, C, and D were 53.4 ± 2.8 μm, 53.4 ± 2.7 μm, 53.2 ± 3.0 μm, and 52.9 ± 3.3 μm, respectively, N showing no significant change with aging. In the paracentral zone extending to 6-mm diameter, correlation analysis suggested that CET was inversely associated with age (P < 0.05). Limbal ET in the nasal and the temporal quadrants were similar and decreased with aging, the averages were 58.3 ± 8.1 μm, 54.1 ± 6.1 μm, 51.2 ± 6.1 μm, 51.6 ± 5.2 μm for groups A, B, C and D, respectively; while age seemed to have no effect on LET of the superior and the inferior quadrant.
The paracentral corneal epithelium, as well as the nasal and temporal limbal epithelium, became thinner with aging, while the central CET seemed to remain constant. Measurement with AS-OCT of the corneal and limbal ET could aid in clinical assessment and planning treatments of the cornea.
Intermetallic-layer formation and growth in Pb-free solder joints, during solder reflow or subsequent aging, has a significant effect on the thermal and mechanical behavior of solder joints. In this ...study, the influence of initial intermetallic morphology on growth rate, and kinetics were examined in a Sn-3.5Ag solder reflowed on Cu. The initial morphology of the intermetallic was tailered by cooling in water, air, or furnace conditions. Solder aging was conducted at 100 deg C, 140 deg C, and 175 deg C and aged for 0-1,000 h. Cooling rate, aging temperature, and aging time played an important role on microstructure evolution and growth kinetics of Cu6Sn5 (*h) and Cu3Sn (*e) intermetallic layers. Prior to aging, faster cooling rates resulted in a relatively planar Cu6Sn5 layer, while a nodular Cu6Sn5 morphology was present for slower cooling. Intermetallic-growth rate measurements after aging at various times, indicated a mixed growth mechanism of grain-boundary and bulk diffusion. These mechanisms are discussed in terms of the initial intermetallic thickness and morphology controlled by cooling rate, diffusion kinetics, and the competition between Cu6Sn5 and Cu3Sn growth.
This study examines the hypothesis that recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 can enhance bone ingrowth into a tendon
graft placed into a bone tunnel. We transplanted the long digital ...extensor tendon into a drill hole in the proximal tibia
in 65 adult mongrel dogs. We applied two different doses of the bone morphogenetic protein to the tendon-bone interface in
one limb using an absorbable type I collagen sponge carrier and only the collagen sponge to the contralateral (control) limb.
The healed tendon-bone attachment was evaluated at serial times between 3 days and 8 weeks using radiography, histologic examination,
and biomechanical testing. At all time points, histologic and radiographic examination demonstrated more extensive bone formation
around the tendon with closer apposition of new bone to the tendon in the protein-treated limb than in the paired control
limb. Biomechanical testing demonstrated higher tendon pull-out strength in the protein-treated side at all time points, with
a statistically significant difference between the low-dose-treated side and the control side at 2 weeks. The histologic and
biomechanical data suggested superior healing at the lower protein dose. This study demonstrated that bone morphogenetic protein
can accelerate the healing process when a tendon graft is transplanted into a bone tunnel.
This paper presents an oil-filled high-speed spinning process of manufacturing micro-groove fin-inside tubes. In spinning, a high-pressure oil-film, which squeezes the tube outer-wall, is formed as ...the spinning speed increases. A floating mandrel extrudes the tube inside wall to form the micro-grooves/fins continuously. By experiments of spinning micro-groove fin-inside tubes, this paper analyzes the influences of each process parameter on the formation quality, and optimizes each parameter. The experimental results show that the dynamic pressure can significantly improve the stability of spinning and the quality of finished surface; the minimum thickness of oil-film is decided by the spinning speed and the oil viscosity directly. In the case of full oil dynamic lubrication, there is no obvious scrape on tube surfaces. The main factors affecting the groove depth and the surface roughness are the ratio (
α) of the wall thickness of the tube before drawing to the finished one, the material plasticity, the ratio (
β) of drawing to spinning, the spinning speed (
n), and lubricating state, etc. The axial drawing force mainly depends on the friction between the floating mandrel and the tube internal wall, the friction between the reducing mold and the outer surface, and plastic deformation resistance in the reducing mold area and spinning area as well.
Understanding the structure of the diffusion region of magnetic reconnection is crucial to pinpoint the mechanism of energy conversion from magnetic field to plasma. Characteristics of a diffusion ...region with guide field (i.e., component reconnection) may be significantly different from those of a diffusion region without guide field (i.e., antiparallel reconnection). In this study, we attempt to understand the structure of a diffusion region with guide field by studying the density cavity along separatrix. We present an event in which a density cavity was detected by the Cluster spacecraft in a diffusion region in the presence of guide field. The cavity was located around the separatrix region on the southern hemisphere of the neutral sheet and earthward of the X‐line and was coincident with strong magnetic field compression. The width of the cavity was on the ion inertial scale. This cavity contained a relatively strong antiparallel current, which was mainly contributed by parallel streaming electrons with energy of 1–10 keV. Enhancements of lower hybrid wave and electromagnetic whistler wave were observed inside the cavity. These waves are probably excited by parallel streaming electrons along separatrix via electron beam instability. Two‐dimensional electromagnetic particle‐in‐cell simulation was employed to study the structure of the density cavity. The location and scale of the cavity and the signature of electric current and electron velocity are consistent with our observations. It is found that there was displacement between the position of electron density minimum and out‐of‐plane magnetic field maximum in reconnection with guide field. However, this displacement is much less than that in reconnection without guide field. There was no significant acceleration for electrons to reach energy larger than 30 keV at the cavity.
Key Points
Reveal the microphysics of density cavity in diffusion region with guide field
Study the wave‐particle interaction that occurred inside the density cavity
Kinetic simulations reproduce most features of the observed depletion layer
Promyelocytic leukemia protein (PML) modulates the p53 tumor suppressor through its interaction with p53 and MDM2. We found that activated big MAP kinase 1 (BMK1) preferentially associates with PML ...isoform IV and disrupts PML-MDM2 interaction. Doxorubicin, a common chemotherapeutic agent, is known to promote PML-mediated p53 activation in part by promoting PML-dependent MDM2 nucleolar sequestration. We discovered that BMK1 deactivation coupled with doxorubicin synergistically enhanced MDM2 nucleolar sequestration and, consequently, promoted PML-mediated p53 upregulation leading to tumor cell apoptosis in vitro and tumor regression in vivo. Collectively, these results not only suggest that BMK1 activity has a role in suppressing p53 by blocking the interaction between PML and MDM2, but also implicate that pharmacological BMK1 inhibitor should significantly enhance the anticancer capacity of doxorubicin-based chemotherapy.
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