Expansion of the extracellular matrix is a prominent but poorly characterized feature of tendinosis. The present study aimed to characterize the extent and distribution of the large aggregating ...proteoglycan versican in patients with patellar tendinosis. We obtained tendon from tendinopathy patients undergoing debridement of the patellar tendon and from controls undergoing intramedullary tibial nailing. Versican content was investigated by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Microvessel thickness and density were determined using computer‐assisted image analysis. Markers for smooth muscle actin, endothelial cells (CD31) and proliferating cells (Ki67) were examined immunohistochemically. Western blot analysis and immunohistochemical staining revealed elevated versican content in the proximal patellar tendon of tendinosis patients (P=0.042). Versican content was enriched in regions of fibrocartilage metaplasia and fibroblast proliferation, as well as in the perivascular matrix of proliferating microvessels and within the media and intima of arterioles. Microvessel density was higher in tendinosis tissue compared with control tissue. Versican deposition is a prominent feature of patellar tendinosis. Because this molecule is not only a component of normal fibrocartilagenous matrices but also implicated in a variety of soft tissue pathologies, future studies should further detail both pathological and adaptive roles of versican in tendons.
A novel mechanism for upset is seen in a commercially available 0.25 /spl mu/m 10-T SEE hardened SRAM cell. Unlike traditional multiple node charge collection in which diffusions near a single event ...strike collect the deposited carriers, this new mechanism involves direct drift-diffusion collection at an NFET transistor in conjunction with parasitic bipolar conduction in nearby PFET transistors. The charge collection with the parasitic bipolar conduction compromise the SEE hardened design, thus causing upsets. The mechanism was identified using laser testing and three-dimensional TCAD simulations.
SUMMARY
Natural killer (NK) cell interactions with macrophages have been shown to be important during bacterial sepsis in activating macrophages to improve bacterial clearance. The mechanism for this ...increased activation, however, is unclear. This study determines the relative roles of interferon (IFN)‐γ and CD40/CD154 direct cell interactions on macrophage and NK cell activation in an experimental model of sepsis. Splenic NK cells and peritoneal macrophages were isolated and cultured alone or in coculture, with and without LPS. CD69 expression on NK cells, phagocytosis ability of macrophages, and cell cytokine production was assessed at 24 and 48 h. Coculture of NK cells and macrophages significantly increased activation levels of both cell types, and through experiments culturing NK cells with supernatants from stimulated macrophages and macrophages with supernatants from stimulated NK cells, this activation was determined to be cell‐contact‐dependent. Similar experiments were conducted using NK cells from IFN‐γ deficient (–/–) mice, as well as anti‐IFN‐γ neutralizing antibody. These experiments determined that IFN‐γ is not required for NK or macrophage activation, although it did augment activation levels. Experiments were again repeated using peritoneal macrophages from CD40‐/– mice or splenic NK cells from CD154‐/– mice. CD40/CD154 interactions were important in the ingestion of bacteria by macrophages, but did not affect NK cell activation at 24 h. There was, however, a protective effect of CD40/CD154 interactions on NK cell activation‐induced cell death that occurred at 48 h. CD40/CD154 interactions between macrophages and NK cells are therefore important in macrophage phagocytosis, and are not dependent on IFN‐γ.
Objective:
The comorbidity of mental disorders with chronic physical conditions is known to have important clinical consequences, but it is not known whether mental-physical comorbidity influences ...mental health treatment seeking. This study investigates whether the presence of a chronic physical condition influences the likelihood of seeking treatment for a mental health problem, and whether that varies among ethnic subgroups in New Zealand.
Methods:
Analyses were based on a subsample (n = 7,435) of The New Zealand Mental Health Survey, a nationally representative household survey of adults (response rate 73.3%). Ethnic subgroups (Maori and Pacific peoples) were oversampled. DSM-IV mental disorders were measured face-to-face with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI 3.0). Ascertainment of chronic physical conditions was via self-report.
Results:
In the general population, having a chronic medical condition increased the likelihood of seeking mental health treatment from a general practitioner (OR: 1.58), as did having a chronic pain condition (OR: 2.03). Comorbid chronic medical conditions increased the likelihood of seeking mental health treatment most strongly among Pacific peoples (ORs: 2.86–4.23), despite their being less likely (relative to other ethnic groups) to seek mental health treatment in the absence of physical condition comorbidity.
Conclusion:
In this first investigation of this topic, this study finds that chronic physical condition comorbidity increases the likelihood of seeking treatment for mental health problems. This provides reassurance to clinicians and health service planners that the difficult clinical problem of mental-physical comorbidity is not further compounded by the comorbidity itself constituting a barrier to mental health treatment seeking.
Alternative explanations for the male advantage in arithmetical reasoning, as measured by the ability to solve complex word problems, include a male advantage in spatial cognition and a male ...advantage in computational fluency. The current study was designed to test these competing hypotheses. To this end, 113 male and 123 female undergraduates were administered arithmetical computations and arithmetical reasoning tests, along with an IQ test and a test of spatial cognition. There was no sex difference on the IQ test, but males showed significantly higher mean scores on the arithmetical computations, arithmetical reasoning, and spatial cognition measures. A series of structural equation models indicated that individual differences in arithmetical reasoning were related to individual differences in IQ, spatial abilities, and computational fluency. Moreover, the results suggested that the male advantage in arithmetical reasoning is mediated by the male advantages in both computational fluency and spatial cognition.
High rates of HIV, STD and hepatitis and associated risk behaviors have been documented among persons entering correctional facilities. However, there is a paucity of data on risk behaviors after ...release from custody. This study documents risk behaviors and informs intervention development targeting young men leaving incarcerated settings. We enrolled and interviewed 106 men from five prisons up to 60 days prior to their release from prison and interviewed them again four times after their release (at 1-week, 1-, 3- and 6-months). At enrollment, men were 18-29 years of age. Nearly 54% identified as African American, while 27% identified as White, 10% identified as Hispanic/Latino and 10% identified as "other". Approximately 83% had been incarcerated multiple times, 37% reported a prior STD diagnosis and their mean lifetime number of sex partners was 36 (median = 20). Many reported multiple sex partners and inconsistent condom use after release. A significant decrease in condom use during vaginal sex with primary committed female partners and in oral sex with both committed and casual female partners after release from prison were reported from 1-6 months. These young men are at sexual risk of HIV, STD and hepatitis infection after release from prison. Interventions are needed to prevent this population from acquiring and transmitting HIV, STD and hepatitis.
Heavy ion irradiation was simulated using a Geant4 based Monte-Carlo transport code. Electronic and nuclear physics were used to generate statistical profiles of charge deposition in the sensitive ...volume of an SEU hardened SRAM. Simulation results show that materials external to the sensitive volume can affect the experimentally measured cross-section curve.
Planck intermediate results Ade, P A R; Aghanim, N; Arnaud, M ...
Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin),
08/2015, Letnik:
580
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Any variation in the fundamental physical constants, more particularly in the fine structure constant, alpha, or in the mass of the electron, m sub(e), affects the recombination history of the ...Universe and cause an imprint on the cosmic microwave background angular power spectra. We show that the Planck data allow one to improve the constraint on the time variation of the fine structure constant at redshift z ~ 10 super(3) by about a factor of 5 compared to WMAP data, as well as to break the degeneracy with the Hubble constant, H sub(0). In addition to alpha, we can set a constraint on the variation in the mass of the electron, m sub(e), and in the simultaneous variation of the two constants. We examine in detail the degeneracies between fundamental constants and the cosmological parameters, in order to compare the limits obtained from Planck and WMAP and to determine the constraining power gained by including other cosmological probes. We conclude that independent time variations of the fine structure constant and of the mass of the electron are constrained by Planck to Deltaalpha/alpha = (3.6 + or - 3.7) x 10 super(-3) and Deltam sub(e)/m sub(e) = (4 + or - 11) x 10 super(-3) at the 68% confidence level. We also investigate the possibility of a spatial variation of the fine structure constant. The relative amplitude of a dipolar spatial variation in a (corresponding to a gradient across our Hubble volume) is constrained to be deltaalpha/alpha = (-2.4 + or - 3.7) x 10 super(-2).
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