Virtually Haken fillings and semi-bundles

Suppose that M is a fibered three-manifold whose fiber is a surface of positive genus with one boundary component. Assume that M is not a semi-bundle. We show that infinitely many fillings of M along dM are virtually Haken. It follows that infinitely many Dehn-surgeries of any non-trivial knot in the three-sphere are virtually Haken.Comment: This is the version published by Geometry & Topology on 29 November 200

Fibrous Cap Smooth Muscle Cells in Atherosclerotic Coronary Arteries Do Not Express Pluripotent Stem Cell Markers

Rupture of the coronary artery fibrous cap is a common cause of myocardial infarction, and bone marrow derived cells could play a role in preventing plaque rupture. It is currently unknown whether smooth muscle cells within coronary artery fibrous cap formation are of mature phenotype. Objective. To characterize cells expressing bone marrow stem cells of embryonic type (ESC) markers in coronary artery fibrous cap formation. Design. New Zealand White rabbits were fed a diet supplemented with 0.5% cholesterol  +  1% methionine  +  5% peanut oil for 4 weeks and then a normal diet for 9 weeks. The left main coronary artery was excised from the heart, processed for paraffin and immunohistochemistry was performed by standard techniques. Results. Oct-4, SSEA 1, 3, and 4 were all present within in atherosclerotic plaque core, codistributed with RAM-11, and were sparingly found in the fibrous cap, but TRA-1-60 and TRA-1-81 positive cells were scarce. Core but not fibrous cap smooth muscle (SMC actin+) cells also showed codistribution with ESC markers. Conclusions. These results suggest that smooth muscle cells present in the fibrous cap do not express ESC markers, indicative of a mature cell

Simvastatin impairs the induction of pulmonary fibrosis caused by a western style diet: A preliminary study

The role of an atherogenic diet in causing pulmonary fibrosis has received little attention and simvastatin has been shown to reduce pulmonary fibrosis in animal models. To determine if an atherogenic diet can induce pulmonary fibrosis and whether simvastatin treatment is beneficial by up-regulating heat shock protein 70 and 90. New Zealand white rabbits (n = 15) were divided: Group 1 (control); Group 2 (MC) received a normal rabbit diet with 1% methionine plus 0.5% cholesterol (atherogenic diet). Group 3 received the same diet as the MC group plus 5 mg/kg/day simvastatin orally (MCS). After 4 weeks, the lungs were collected and analysed. Picrosirus red staining of lung interstitial collagen content showed that the atherogenic diet increased fibrosis 2.9-fold (P < 0.05), bronchiole adventitial collagen was increased 2.3-fold (P < 0.05) and bronchiole epithelium was increased 34-fold (P < 0.05), and simvastatin treatment severely reduced this effect (P < 0.05). Western blot analysis showed that the atherogenic diet significantly reduced lung Hsp70 protein by 22% (P < 0.05) and Hsp90 protein by 18% (P < 0.05) and simvastatin treatment did not affect this result. However, aortic hyper-responsiveness to vasoconstrictors (angiotensin II and phenylephrine) were markedly reduced by simvastatin treatment. We report that an atherogenic diet stimulates pulmonary fibrosis and reduces lung Hsp70/Hsp90 protein concentration. Simvastatin impairs this by mechanisms unrelated to Hsp70/Hsp90, but possibly a reduction in angiotensin II receptor or alpha adrenergic receptor pathways. These results could have implications in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Influence of gestational salt restriction in fetal growth and in development of diseases in adulthood

Review. Recent studies reported the critical role of the intrauterine environment of a fetus in growth or the development of disease in adulthood. In this article we discussed the implications of salt restriction in growth of a fetus and the development of growth-related disease in adulthood. Salt restriction causes retardation of fatal growth or intrauterine death thereby leading to low birth weight or decreased birth rate. Such retardation of growth along with the upregulation of the renin angiotensin system due to salt restriction results in the underdevelopment of cardiovascular organs or decreases the number of the nephron in the kidney and is responsible for onset of hypertension in adulthood. In addition, gestational salt restriction is associated with salt craving after weaning. Moreover, salt restriction is associated with a decrease in insulin sensitivity. A series of alterations in metabolism due to salt restriction are probably mediated by the upregulation of the renin angiotensin system and an epigenetic mechanism including proinflammatory substances or histone methylation. Part of the metabolic disease in adulthood may be programmed through such epigenetic changes. The modification of gene in a fetus may be switched on through environment factors or life style after birth. The benefits of salt restriction have been assumed thus far; however, more precise investigation is required of its influence on the health of fetuses and the onset of various diseases in adulthood

Effects of acute or chronic administration of novel 3, 4-dimethoxyphenylethylamine derivates on anxiety-like behavior

Novel anxiolytic medications are necessary to broaden treatment therapy. Thus, the aim of the present study was to compare the clinically effective anxiolytic, diazepam with the novel 3,4-dimethoxyphenylethylamine derivates. The novel 3,4-dimethoxyphenylethylamine derivates (PK, 0.1, 1.0, 10.0 mg/kg, i.p.) and diazepam (1.0 mg/kg) were injected acutely or chronically in animals subjected to the black-white model and the open field test. The acute administration of PK-2122 (0.1 mg/kg, i.p.) exerted anxiogenic-like effect, while in the middle or high doses PK-2122 exerted anxiolytic-like effect compared with the control group (p<0.05). The repeated treatment with PK-2111 was followed by anxiolytic-like effect in doses of 0.1 or 1.0 mg/kg which was more significant compared not only with control group, but with comparison to group treated with diazepam (p<0.05). Chronic treatment with PK-2123 or PK-2122 in all tested doses produced anxiolytic-like effect (p<0.05), compared with control group and diazepam group. These results demonstrate that PK-2126, but not PK-2122, is dose independent and may be effective in experimental model of anxiety in rats when administered acutely or repeatedly

Letter to Ruth Weeks concerning the Louisiana Bar Association Annual Meeting, January 19, 1994

A letter from Catherine Zulli to Ruth Weeks agreeing to display the SEAALL brochure at the Louisiana Bar Association Annual Meeting

Challenges and Advantages of Distributed Systems in Mainstream Computing: Exploring The History and Future of Process Migration.

Process Migration is a fundamental component of modern loosely-coupled distributed systems. Heterogeneous distributed systems in the High Performance Computing (HPC) services industry provide the foundation of the modern internet. Despite its success in large scale applications, modern distributed solutions for process sharing have not been brought to mainstream personal computers. As pervasive computing as a trend continues to grow, introducing process migration techniques in small scale environments promises several advantages. Local devices forming a processing grid would allow for greater utilization and optimization of finite resources, like mobile device battery life, CPU cycles, and file storage and enables process persistence. This work discusses the founding philosophies of modern distributed computing techniques as well as the history of distributed systems, their implementations and ways that pervasive and distributed computing will shape the digital future.Purchase College SUNYMathematics & Computer ScienceBachelor of ArtsAbdul-Quader, Atha