Triple gauge boson couplings are measured from W-pair events recorded by the OPAL detector at LEP at centre-of-mass energies of 183 - 209 GeV with a total integrated luminosity of 680 pb-1. Only ...CP-conserving couplings are considered and SU(2) x U(1) relations are used, resulting in four independent couplings, \(\kappa_{\gamma}, g^z_1, \lambda_{\gamma}\) and gz5. Determining each coupling in a separate fit, assuming the other couplings to take their Standard Model values, we obtain \(\kappa_{\gamma} = 0.88^{ + 0.09}_{-0.08}\), gz1 = 0.987 + 0.034-0.033, \(\lambda_{\gamma} = -0.060^{ + 0.034}_{-0.033}\) and gz5 = -0.04 + 0.13-0.12, where the errors include both statistical and systematic uncertainties. Fits are also performed allowing some of the couplings to vary simultaneously. All results are consistent with the Standard Model predictions.
To determine the features of cortical atrophy in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and Alzheimer disease by using a hemispheric surface display generated with magnetic resonance (MR) images.
The extent ...of cortical atrophy was evaluated with automated MR hemispheric surface display and volumetry in 18 patients with FTD and in 18 matched patients with Alzheimer disease. Results were compared with those in 18 healthy, matched control subjects.
Most cortical regions were significantly atrophic in FTD and Alzheimer disease. The frontal and anterior temporal lobes were significantly more atrophic in FTD than in Alzheimer disease. The mean hemispheric-to-intracranial volume ratio in patients with FTD (56.2%) and those with Alzheimer disease (58.4%) was significantly smaller than the ratio in the control subjects (66.0%). Asymmetry of hemispheric volume was significantly larger in the FTD group than in the Alzheimer disease and control groups.
Cortical atrophy in FTD is more widespread than was previously thought. Asymmetric frontal and anterior temporal atrophy is a distinctive feature of FTD and distinguishes it from Alzheimer disease. Hemispheric surface display is a useful complement to tomographic images and is useful for the evaluation of focal cortical atrophy in degenerative dementias, especially FTD.
The microbeam system at Tohoku University was upgraded to a triplet lens system aiming at applying to the analysis of sub-micron features. The triplet lens system has a higher demagnification than ...the existing doublet system. However, the introduction of the triplet system also resulted in larger chromatic and spherical aberration coefficients. To overcome these problems, the energy resolution of the accelerator was improved by developing a terminal voltage stabilization system. The energy resolution of the accelerator was improved to 1 × 10−5 ΔE/E, which resulted in an increase in the brightness of the beam. The beam brightness was 2.3 pA Δ μm−2 Δ mrad−2 Δ MeV− and was higher in the central region. The effects of the increased chromatic and spherical aberration were mitigated by restricting the divergence angle without reducing the beam current. A beam spot size of 0.6 × 0.8 μm2 was obtained with a beam current of 150 pA.
The concentrations of alkali elements in Japanese green tea leaves were evaluated using particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) analysis combined with an internal standard method to investigate the ...elution of radioactive cesium into green tea using potassium and rubidium. The concentrations of potassium and rubidium of used tea leaf samples were lower than those of unused samples, whereas no significant differences in the concentrations of the other elements were observed between them. In addition, we found a similarity in the relative concentrations between potassium and rubidium although the other elements showed different aspects. These results suggest that it is possible to investigate the elution of radioactive cesium into green tea using potassium and rubidium as substitutes of cesium.
Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is an autoimmune blistering disease of the skin and is caused by autoantibodies against desmoglein 3 (Dsg3) on epidermal keratinocytes. Because the production of ...autoantibodies is presumably T cell dependent, Dsg3-specific T cell reactivity was investigated in 14 PV patients and 12 healthy donors. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from seven PV patients with active disease showed a primary in vitro response to a recombinant protein containing the extracellular portion (EC1–5) of Dsg3, whereas two of seven PV patients in remission or under immunosuppressive treatment exhibited only secondary (2°) or tertiary (3°) T cell responses to Dsg3. T cell responses to Dsg3 were also observed in four of 12 healthy individuals upon 2° or 3° stimulation with Dsg3. Both PV patients and healthy responders were either positive for DRβ1*0402 – which is highly prevalent in PV – or positive for DR11 alleles homologous to DRβ1*0402. Two CD4+ Dsg3-specific T cell lines and 12 T cell clones from two PV patients and two CD4+ T cell lines and eight T cell clones from two normals were also stimulated by a Dsg3 protein devoid of the EC2–3 (DN1), suggesting that epitopes were located in the EC1, EC4, and/or EC5. Using Dsg3 peptides, one immunodominant peptide (residues 161–177) was also identified in the EC2. These observations demonstrate that T cell responses to Dsg3 can be detected in PV patients and in healthy donors carrying major histocompatibility class II alleles identical or similar to those highly prevalent in PV.
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) were reported to ameliorate functional deficits after stroke in rats, with some of this improvement possibly resulting from the action of cytokines secreted by these ...cells. To enhance such cytokine effects, we previously transfected the telomerized human MSC with the BDNF gene using a fiber-mutant adenovirus vector and reported that such treatment contributed to improved ischemic recovery in a rat transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model. In the present study, we investigated whether other cytokines in addition to BDNF, i.e., GDNF, CNTF, or NT3, might have a similar or greater effect in this model. Rats that received MSC-BDNF (P < 0.05) or MSC-GDNF (P < 0.05) showed significantly more functional recovery as demonstrated by improved behavioral test results and reduced ischemic damage on MRI than did control rats 7 and 14 days following MCAO. On the other hand, rats that received MSC-CNTF or MSC-NT3 showed neither functional recovery nor ischemic damage reduction compared to control rats. Thus, MSC transfected with the BDNF or GDNF gene resulted in improved function and reduced ischemic damage in a rat model of MCAO. These data suggest that gene-modified cell therapy may be a useful approach for the treatment of stroke.
Unmethylated CpG motifs present in bacterial DNA rapidly trigger an innate immune response characterized by the activation of Ig- and cytokine-secreting cells. Synthetic oligonucleotides (ODNs) ...containing CpG motifs mimic this activity, triggering monocytes to proliferate, secrete and/or differentiate. Analysis of hundreds of novel ODNs led to the identification of two structurally distinct classes of CpG motif that differentially activate human monocytes. ODNs of the “K”-type interact with Toll-like receptor 9 and induce monocytes to proliferate and secrete IL-6. In contrast, “D”-type ODNs trigger monocytes to differentiate into mature dendritic cells.
Hypoxia in the embryo is a frequent cause of intra-uterine growth retardation, low birth weight, and multiple organ defects. In the kidney, this can lead to low nephron endowment, predisposing to ...chronic kidney disease and arterial hypertension. A key component in cellular adaptation to hypoxia is the hypoxia-inducible factor pathway, which is regulated by prolyl-4-hydroxylase domain (PHD) dioxygenases PHD1, PHD2, and PHD3. In the adult kidney, PHD oxygen sensors are differentially expressed in a cell type–dependent manner and control the production of erythropoietin in interstitial cells. However, the role of interstitial cell PHDs in renal development has not been examined. Here we used a genetic approach in mice to interrogate PHD function in FOXD1-expressing stroma during nephrogenesis. We demonstrate that PHD2 and PHD3 are essential for normal kidney development as the combined inactivation of stromal PHD2 and PHD3 resulted in renal failure that was associated with reduced kidney size, decreased numbers of glomeruli, and abnormal postnatal nephron formation. In contrast, nephrogenesis was normal in animals with individual PHD inactivation. We furthermore demonstrate that the defect in nephron formation in PHD2/PHD3 double mutants required intact hypoxia-inducible factor-2 signaling and was dependent on the extent of stromal hypoxia-inducible factor activation. Thus, hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl-4-hydroxylation in renal interstitial cells is critical for normal nephron formation.
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