Identification of donor-derived dendritic cell progenitors in bone marrow of spontaneously tolerant liver allograft recipients

Multilineage donor-derived hematopoietic cell chimerism is a persistent feature of spontaneously tolerant mouse liver allograft recipients. We have shown previously that normal liver-derived precursors of “chimeric” dendritic cells (DC) propagated in vitro migrate in vivo to T-dependent areas of allogeneic lymphoid tissue, where they or their progeny appear to persist indefinitely. In this study, granu-locyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)+interleukin-4 (IL-4) were used to propagate DC progenitors from freshly isolated mouse bone marrow. The progenitor cells gave rise in 7-10 days to potent antigen-presenting cells (APC) that stimulated naive allogeneic T cells in primary mixed leukocyte cultures (MLC). The culture method, together with the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for the detection of donor and recipient strain major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II mRNA was used to test whether donor-derived DC could be propagated from the bone marrow of unmodified, orthotopic liver allograft recipients. Freshly isolated bone marrow from these transplanted animals contained small numbers of donor cells and responded to GM-CSF+IL-4 stimulation. In addition to cells expressing recipient (BIO) phenotype (H-2Kb+; Iab+), a minor population of donor (BlO.BR)-derived cells (H-2Kk+; Iak) were also propagated from liver graft recipients euthanized two weeks posttransplant. DC sorted from these cultures exhibited stimulatory activity for recipient strain T cells consistent with a low level (<1%) of donor DC propagation. The immunologic role of donor-derived DC progenitors in liver allograft recipients and its relation to the induction and maintenance of donor-specific unresponsiveness remains to be determined. © 1995 by Williams & Wilkins

Anatomical features, fiber morphological, physical and mechanical properties of three years old new hybrid Paulownia: green Paulownia

Objective: Green Paulownia (hybridization of Paulownia elongata × Paulownia fotunei and tropical Paulownia spp.) is new hybrid claimed as one of the fast-growing woody plants with the high potential as a fiber material or lignocellulosic material. The material for this study originates from the area of Nanning in China. Methodology: Cell morphology and anatomical appearances were observed and evaluated under the image analysis system (Leica DMLS). Physical and mechanical properties were evaluated based on the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards. Results: From the results, average value of the mean fiber length was 0.905 mm, mean fiber length 34.59 μm, lumen thickness 26.80 μm and cell wall thickness 3.89 μm. Fiber dimensions of green Paulownia are in the normal range for hardwoods. The physical and mechanical properties of 3 years old green Paulownia have similar properties than those 7-11 years old Paulownia published in China. Conclusion: The 3 years old green Paulownia timbers can be used as materials for furniture

The development of path integration: combining estimations of distance and heading

Efficient daily navigation is underpinned by path integration, the mechanism by which we use self-movement information to update our position in space. This process is well-understood in adulthood, but there has been relatively little study of path integration in childhood, leading to an underrepresentation in accounts of navigational development. Previous research has shown that calculation of distance and heading both tend to be less accurate in children as they are in adults, although there have been no studies of the combined calculation of distance and heading that typifies naturalistic path integration. In the present study 5-year-olds and 7-year-olds took part in a triangle-completion task, where they were required to return to the startpoint of a multi-element path using only idiothetic information. Performance was compared to a sample of adult participants, who were found to be more accurate than children on measures of landing error, heading error, and distance error. 7-year-olds were significantly more accurate than 5-year-olds on measures of landing error and heading error, although the difference between groups was much smaller for distance error. All measures were reliably correlated with age, demonstrating a clear development of path integration abilities within the age range tested. Taken together, these data make a strong case for the inclusion of path integration within developmental models of spatial navigational processing

The Bacterial Vaginosis among Pregnant Women in Jatinangor

Background: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is polymicrobial that causes superficial vaginitis due to a shift in vaginal flora. In pregnant women, BV can result in a significant risk of some serious consequences. The objective of this study was to identify the BV prevalence and to explore the characteristics and personal hygiene practices among pregnant women.Methods: This study was conducted in Desa Cipacing, Jatinangor, using the cross-sectional descriptive method, including pregnant women. The BV was detected by Gram-stained vaginal smears using Nugent Score. Furthermore, other microorganisms such as trichomoniasis and candidiasis were detected by direct microscopic observation. The questionnaire was distributed, consisting of details of personal hygiene practices.Results: In total, 17.9% of 52 pregnant women included were diagnosed with BV and 14.3% with mixed infection. Pregnant women with BV were predominantly aged younger than 25 years (61.1%), nullipara (50%) and in a second-trimester pregnancy (50%).Conclusions: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is common among young pregnant women, predominantly in their first pregnancy. It is related to personal hygiene practices, indicating the need for targeted interventions of healthcare education among these young pregnant women to reduce the BV prevalence

Execution of Commands Using an AI Engine

One embodiment includes a method comprising: training an artificial intelligence (AI) engine with successfully executed prior action data; receiving, by the AI engine, a request to perform an action; identifying, by the AI engine, one or more attributes to execute the action; obtaining, by the AI engine, a confirmation of the one or more attributes; identifying, by the AI engine, a plurality of APIs to perform the action as defined by the one or more attributes; identifying, by the AI engine, a sequence of execution for the plurality of APIs to perform the action; and executing, by the AI engine, the plurality of APIs in sequence according to the sequence of execution to achieve perform the action

Possible origins of macroscopic left-right asymmetry in organisms

I consider the microscopic mechanisms by which a particular left-right (L/R) asymmetry is generated at the organism level from the microscopic handedness of cytoskeletal molecules. In light of a fundamental symmetry principle, the typical pattern-formation mechanisms of diffusion plus regulation cannot implement the "right-hand rule"; at the microscopic level, the cell's cytoskeleton of chiral filaments seems always to be involved, usually in collective states driven by polymerization forces or molecular motors. It seems particularly easy for handedness to emerge in a shear or rotation in the background of an effectively two-dimensional system, such as the cell membrane or a layer of cells, as this requires no pre-existing axis apart from the layer normal. I detail a scenario involving actin/myosin layers in snails and in C. elegans, and also one about the microtubule layer in plant cells. I also survey the other examples that I am aware of, such as the emergence of handedness such as the emergence of handedness in neurons, in eukaryote cell motility, and in non-flagellated bacteria.Comment: 42 pages, 6 figures, resubmitted to J. Stat. Phys. special issue. Major rewrite, rearranged sections/subsections, new Fig 3 + 6, new physics in Sec 2.4 and 3.4.1, added Sec 5 and subsections of Sec

Ring-shaped bifocal lens used for fluorescent self-referenced holographic imaging

We propose an alternative and simple solution to self-referenced digital holographic imaging based on a ring-shaped bifocal lens, without the need of any mirrors, polarizers or spatial light modulators. We discuss the imaging properties of the ring-shaped bifocal lens in self-referenced holography. The easy applicability of this bifocal lens is demonstrated on a realized microscope setup for volumetric observation of freely moving fluorescent objects, based on a conventional light microscope

Centroidal-polygon: a new modified Euler to improve speed of resistor-inductor circuit equation

Two types of first-order circuits are resistor-capacitor (RC) and resistorinductor (RL). This paper focuses on the RL circuit equation. The centroidalpolygon (CP) scheme will be tested using SCILAB 6.0 software. This new scheme (CP scheme) is addressed to improve the speed. For the first order circuit equation, the complexity is focused on the time complexity, which is speed of the time taken to complete the simulation in the electrical part. The CP scheme is compared with the previous studies, polygon (P) and harmonic-polygon (HP). The result shows that the CP scheme is less computational and an alternative to solve the first order circuit equation, and get the result quickly compared with the previous research

NF-kappaB Mediated Transcriptional Repression of Acid Modifying Hormone Gastrin

Helicobacter pylori is a major pathogen associated with the development of gastroduodenal diseases. It has been reported that H. pylori induced pro-inflammatory cytokine IL1B is one of the various modulators of acid secretion in the gut. Earlier we reported that IL1B-activated NFkB down-regulates gastrin, the major hormonal regulator of acid secretion. In this study, the probable pathway by which IL1B induces NFkB and affects gastrin expression has been elucidated. IL1B-treated AGS cells showed nine-fold activation of MyD88 followed by phosphorylation of TAK1 within 15 min of IL1B treatment. Furthermore, it was observed that activated TAK1 significantly up-regulates the NFkB subunits p50 and p65. Ectopic expression of NFkB p65 in AGS cells resulted in about nine-fold transcriptional repression of gastrin both in the presence and absence of IL1B. The S536A mutant of NFkB p65 is significantly less effective in repressing gastrin. These observations show that a functional NFkB p65 is important for IL1B-mediated repression of gastrin. ChIP assays revealed the presence of HDAC1 and NFkB p65 along with NCoR on the gastrin promoter. Thus, the study provides mechanistic insight into the IL1B-mediated gastrin repression via NFk

Effect of Erythropoietin on Haematological Parameters in Chronic Renal Failure Patients Undergoing Dialysis in Malaysia

Background: The worldwide rise in the number of patients with chronic renal failure (CRF). Chronic Renal Failure is a major health problem resulting in considerable increase in mortality and morbidity, decreased quality of life and heavy cost of therapies. . Objective: This study aims to evaluate the haematological parameters and iron status during monitoring of Chronic Renal Failure patients and to study the effects of subcutaneously and intravenously administered erythropoietin (EPO) in treating anaemia in Chronic Renal Failure patients. Methods: A retrospective record review study was conducted among the CRF patients treated at Hospital Pulau Pinang between 2005 and 2009. A total of 45 patients were randomly selected by using simple random sampling. The parameters were taken one to two weeks prior to EPO treatment and at 1 month and 3 months after EPO therapy was started. Data analyses were performed by using paired t test and independent t test via SPSS Version. 18.0.0. Results: After one month post-EPO, there was a significant difference of mean serum iron between continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) and haemodialysis groups where the mean value of serum iron was higher in CAPD group. After three months post-EPO, there were significant differences of mean white blood cells and serum iron between the two groups. Conclusions: Chronic renal failure patients undergoing dialysis responded to EPO treatment and subcutaneous EPO administration appeared to give more favourable results compared to intravenous EPO.The authors of this study wish to thank the Ministry of Health, Malaysia, for thier giving us perminssion to conduct in this study and health staff of the Hospital Pulau Pinang, for their assistance during this study period. We would like to send our deepest thanks to all the partcipants who partcipated in this study