C3G overexpression in glomerular epithelial cells during anti-GBM-induced glomerulonephritis

The guanine nucleotide exchange factor C3G, along with the CrkII adaptor protein, mediates GTP activation of the small GTPase proteins Rap1 and R-Ras, facilitating their activation of downstream signaling pathways, which had been found to be important in the pathogenesis of glomerulonephritis. We found that expression of C3G protein was upregulated in glomerular epithelial cells in an experimental model of accelerated anti-GBM antibody-induced glomerulonephritis expression. To determine the consequence of its increased expression, we transfected C3G (using adenoviral constructs) into cultured glomerular epithelial cells and measured the activated forms (i.e., GTP-bound) forms of Rap1 and R-Ras. Activation of Rap1 was not affected by C3G; however, the basal level of GTP-bound R-Ras was decreased. Further, C3G over-expression enhanced the activation of R-Ras in response to endothelin. Overexpression of C3G also led to a significant reduction in glomerular epithelial cell spreading and decreased the cells' E-cadherin expression and augmented their migration. We found that C3G was overexpressed in accelerated anti-GBM antibody-induced glomerulonephritis and suggest that this modulates glomerular epithelial cell morphology and behavior.

Far field subwavelength source resolution using Phase Conjugating Lens Assisted With Evanescent-to-Propagating Spectrum Conversion

The imaging properties of a phase conjugating lens operating in the far field zone of the imaged source and augmented with scatterers positioned in the source near field region are theoretically studied in this paper. The phase conjugating lens consists of a double sided 2D assembly of straight wire elements, individually interconnected through phase conjugation operators. The scattering elements are straight wire segments which are loaded with lumped impedance loads at their centers. We analytically and numerically analyze all stages of the imaging process; i) evanescent-to-propagating spectrum conversion; ii) focusing properties of infinite or finite sized phase conjugating lens; iii) source reconstruction upon propagating-to-evanescent spectrum conversion. We show that the resolution that can be achieved depends critically on the separation distance between the imaged source and scattering arrangement, as well as on the topology of the scatterers used. Imaged focal widths of up to one-seventh wavelength are demonstrated. The results obtained indicate the possibility of such an arrangement as a potential practical means for realising using conventional materials devices for fine feature extraction by electromagnetic lensing at distances remotely located from the source objects under investigation

Order Flow and the Monetary Model of Exchange Rates: Evidence from a Novel Data Set

We propose an exchange rate model that is a hybrid of the conventional specification with monetary fundamentals and the Evans–Lyons microstructure approach. We estimate a model augmented with order flow variables, using a unique data set: almost 100 monthly observations on interdealer order flow on dollar/euro and dollar/yen. The augmented macroeconomic, or “hybrid,” model exhibits greater in-sample stability and out of sample forecasting improvement vis-à-vis the basic macroeconomic and random walk specifications.

Burkholderia cenocepacia O polysaccharide chain contributes to caspase-1-dependent IL-1 beta production in macrophages

Burkholderia cenocepacia infections in CF patients involve heightened inflammation, fatal sepsis, and high antibiotic resistance. Proinflammatory IL-1 beta secretion is important in airway inflammation and tissue damage. However, little is known about this pathway in macrophages upon B. cenocepacia infection. We report here that murine macrophages infected with B. cenocepacia K56-2 produce proinflammatory cytokine IL-1 beta in a TLR4 and caspase-1-mediated manner. We also determined that the OPS (O antigen) of B. cenocepacia LPS contributes to IL-1 beta production and pyroptotic cell death. Furthermore, we showed that the malfunction of the CFTR channel augmented IL-1 beta production upon B. cenocepacia infection of murine macrophages. Taken together, we identified eukaryotic and bacterial factors that contribute to inflammation during B. cenocepacia infection, which may aid in the design of novel approaches to control pulmonary inflammation. J. Leukoc. Biol. 89: 481-488; 2011.

Conjugated linoleic acid and atherosclerosis: no effect on molecular markers of cholesterol homeostasis in THP-1 macrophages

Macrophage cholesterol homeostasis is a key process involved in the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) regulate the transcription of the genes involved in cholesterol homeostasis and thus represent an important therapeutic target in terms of reducing atherosclerosis. Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a potent anti-atherogenic dietary fatty acid in animal models of atherosclerosis and is capable of activating PPARs in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, this study examined whether the anti-atherogenic effects of CLA in vivo could be ascribed to altered cholesterol homeostasis in macrophages and macrophage derived foam cells. Of several genes that regulate cholesterol homeostasis investigated, CLA had most effect on the class B scavenger receptor CD36. The cis-9,trans-11 CLA (c9,t11-CLA) and trans-10,cis-12 CLA (t10,c12-CLA) isomers augmented CD36 mRNA expression (P

Selective Hydrogenation of alpha,beta-Unsaturated Aldehydes and Ketones using Novel Manganese Oxide and Platinum Supported on Manganese Oxide Octahedral Molecular Sieves as Catalysts

The selective hydrogenation of ,-unsaturated aldehydes and ketones has been studied using ketoisophorone and cinnamaldehyde as model substrates using manganese oxide octahedral molecular sieve (OMS-2) based catalysts. For the first time, OMS-2 has been shown to be an efficient and selective hydrogenation catalyst. High selectivities for either the CC or CO double bond at approximate to 100% conversion were achieved by using OMS-2 and platinum supported on OMS-2 catalysts. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations showed that the dissociation of H2 on OMS-2 was water assisted and occurred on the surface Mn of OMS-2(001) that had been modified by an adsorbed H2O molecule. The theoretically calculated activation barrier was in good agreement with the experimentally determined value for the hydrogenation reactions, indicating that H2 dissociation on OMS-2 is likely to be the rate-determining step. A significant increase in the rate of reaction was observed in the presence of Pt as a result of the enhancement of H2 dissociative adsorption and subsequent reaction on the Pt or spillover of the hydrogen to the OMS-2 support. The relative adsorption strengths of ketoisophorone and cinnamaldehyde on the OMS-2 support compared with the Pt were found to determine the product selectivity.

The 1863 Melbourne Shakespeare War: Barry Sullivan, Charles and Ellen Kean, and the Play of Cultural Usurpation on the Australian Stage

This essay investigates an intricate drama of cultural identity in performances of Shakespeare on the nineteenth-century Melbourne stage. It considers the rivalry between Charles and Ellen Kean and their competitor, Barry Sullivan, for the two-month period in 1863 during which their Australian tours overlapped. This Melbourne Shakespeare war was anticipated,augmented, and richly documented in Melbourne’s papers: The Age, The Argus and Melbourne Punch. This essay pursues two seams of inquiry. The first is an investigation of the discourses of cultural and aesthetic value laced through the language of reviews of their Shakespearean roles.The essay identifies how reviewers register affective engagement with the performers in these roles, and suggests how the roles themselves reflected, by accident or design, the terms of the dispute. The second is concerned with the national identity of the actors. Kean, although born in Waterford, Ireland, had held the post of Queen Victoria’s Master of the Revels and identified himself as English. Sullivan, although born in Birmingham, was of Cork parentage and was identified as Irish by both his supporters and his detractors. This essay tracks the development of the actors’ national and artistic identities established prior to Melbourne and ask how they played out on in the context of the particularities of Australian reception. It shows that, in this instance, these actors were implicated in complex debates over national authority and cultural ownership.

Development of calcium phosphate cement for the augmentation of traumatically fractured porcine specimens using vertebroplasty

The study aim was to develop and apply an experimental technique to determine the biomechanical effect of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and calcium phosphate (CaP) cement on the stiffness and strength of augmented vertebrae following traumatic fracture. Twelve burst type fractures were generated in porcine three-vertebra segments. The specimens were randomly split into two groups (n=6), imaged using microCT and tested under axial loading. The two groups of fractured specimens underwent a vertebroplasty procedure, one group was augmented with CaP cement designed and developed at Queen's University Belfast. The other group was augmented with PMMA cement (WHW Plastics, Hull, UK). The specimens were imaged and re-tested . An intact single vertebra specimen group (n=12) was also imaged and tested under axial loading. A significant decrease (p<0.01) was found between the stiffness of the fractured and intact groups, demonstrating that the fractures generated were sufficiently severe, to adversely affect mechanical behaviour. Significant increase (p<0.01) in failure load was found for the specimen group augmented with the PMMA cement compared to the pre-augmentation group, conversely, no significant increase (p<0.01) was found in the failure load of the specimens augmented with CaP cement, this is attributed to the significantly (p<0.05) lower volume of CaP cement that was successfully injected into the fracture, compared to the PMMA cement. The effect of the percentage of cement fracture fill, cement modulus on the specimen stiffness and ultimate failure load could be investigated further by using the methods developed within this study to test a more injectable CaP cement.

Stability Analysis and Implementation of a Decentralized Formation Control Strategy for Unmanned Vehicles

This paper presents a new methodology for solving the multi-vehicle formation control problem. It employs a unique extension-decomposition-aggregation scheme to transform the overall complex formation control problem into a group of subproblems, which work via boundary interactions or disturbances. Thus, it is proved that the overall formation system is exponentially stable in the sense of Lyapunov, if all the individual augmented subsystems (IASs) are stable. Linear matrix inequality-based H8 control methodology is employed to design the decentralized formation controllers to reject the impact of the formation changes being treated as boundary disturbances and guarantee the stability of all the IASs, consequently maintaining the stability of the overall formation system. Simulation studies are performed to verify the stability, performance, and effectiveness of the proposed strategy.

Effect of cataract extraction on the Glaucoma Progression Index (GPI) in glaucoma patients

PURPOSE: To determine the effect of cataract extraction on the glaucoma progression index (GPI) in glaucoma patients with coexisting cataract.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective noncomparative study. Consecutive eligible patients with glaucoma who underwent phacoemulsification alone or in combination with augmented trabeculectomy were included. All patients had Swedish Interactive Threshold Algorithm-standard 24-2 visual fields within 10 months of surgery. Exclusion criteria included other ocular morbidity, intraoperative complications, and perimetric reliability indices greater than 33%. Comparison was made between the immediate visual fields before and after surgery. The main outcome measure was the change in GPI. Changes in the pattern standard deviation (PSD) and mean deviation (MD) were also assessed. Comparison of means was performed with the paired t test.

RESULTS: Thirty-three eyes of 33 patients (all Whites) were analyzed. The mean age at surgery was 77.0+/-8.7 years. Visual field tests were performed 3.3+/-3.0 months SD before surgery and 5.4+/-2.6 months after surgery. There was a statistically significant increase in the GPI after cataract surgery (from 71.5+/-18.5% to 74.6+/-17.1%; P=0.02). The improvement in MD was also statistically significant (from -11.8+/-5.3 to -10.2+/-5.3 dB; P <0.01), but the change in PSD did not reach statistical significance.

CONCLUSIONS: Uncomplicated cataract extraction resulted in a statistically significant improvement in the 24-2 Swedish Interactive Threshold Algorithm-standard GPI and MD, but not in PSD. Both the MD and the GPI may be influenced by lens opacities, which could make detection of glaucoma visual field progression more difficult for clinicians in glaucoma patients with concurrent cataract.

Activation of protease calpain by oxidized and glycated LDL increases the degradation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase

Oxidation and glycation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) promote vascular injury in diabetes; however, the mechanisms underlying this effect remain poorly defined. The present study was conducted to determine the effects of 'heavily oxidized' glycated LDL (HOG-LDL) on endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) function. Exposure of bovine aortic endothelial cells with HOG-LDL reduced eNOS protein levels in a concentration- and time-dependent manner, without altering eNOS mRNA levels. Reduced eNOS protein levels were accompanied by an increase in intracellular Ca(2+), augmented production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and induction of Ca(2+)-dependent calpain activity. Neither eNOS reduction nor any of these other effects were observed in cells exposed to native LDL. Reduction of intracellular Ca(2+) levels abolished eNOS reduction by HOG-LDL, as did pharmacological or genetic through calcium channel blockers or calcium chelator BAPTA or inhibition of NAD(P)H oxidase (with apocynin) or inhibition of calpain (calpain 1-specific siRNA). Consistent with these results, HOG-LDL impaired acetylcholine-induced endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation of isolated mouse aortas, and pharmacological inhibition of calpain prevented this effect. HOG-LDL may impair endothelial function by inducing calpain-mediated eNOS degradation in a ROS- and Ca(2+)-dependent manner.

Decentralised formation control and stability analysis for cooperative multi-vehicle manoeuvre

Multi-vehicle cooperative formation control problem is an important and typical topic of research on multi-agent system. This paper presents a formation stability conjecture to conceive a new methodology for solving the decentralised multi-vehicle formation control problem. It employs the “extension-decomposition-aggregation” scheme to transform the complex multi-agent control problem into a group of sub-problems which is able to be solved conveniently. Based on this methodology, it is proved that if all the individual augmented subsystems can be stabilised by using any approach, the overall formation system is not only asymptotically but also exponentially stable in the sense of Lyapunov within a neighbourhood of the desired formation. Simulation study on 6-DOF aerial vehicles (Aerosonde UAVs) has been performed to verify the achieved formation stability result. The proposed multi-vehicle formation control strategy can be conveniently extended to other cooperative control problems of multi-agent systems.

Pellino3 targets the IRF7 pathway and facilitates autoregulation of TLR3-and viral-induced expression of type i interferons

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) sense pathogen-associated molecules and respond by inducing cytokines and type I interferon. Here we show that genetic ablation of the E3 ubiquitin ligase Pellino3 augmented the expression of type I interferon but not of proinflammatory cytokines in response to TLR3 activation. Pellino3-deficient mice had greater resistance against the pathogenic and lethal effects of encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV). TLR3 signaling induced Pellino3, which in turn interacted with and ubiquitinated TRAF6. This modification suppressed the ability of TRAF6 to interact with and activate IRF7, resulting in downregulation of type I interferon expression. Our findings highlight a new physiological role for Pellino3 and define a new autoregulatory network for controlling type I interferon expression. © 2012 Nature America, Inc. All rights reserved.

Mechanistic Study of 1,3-Butadiene Formation in Acetylene Hydrogenation over the Pd-Based Catalysts Using Density Functional Calculations

Green oil, which leads to the deactivation of the catalysts used for the selective hydrogenation of acetylene, has long been observed but its formation mechanism is not fully understood. In this work, the formation of 1,3-butadiene, known to be the precursor of green oil, on both Pd(111) and Pd(211) surfaces is examined using density functional theory calculations. The pathways containing C-2 + C-2 coupling reactions as well as the corresponding hydrogenation reactions are studied in detail. Three pathways for 1,3-butadiene production, namely coupling plus hydrogenation and further hydrogenation, hydrogenation plus coupling plus hydrogenation, and a two step hydrogenation followed by coupling, are determined. By comparing the effective barriers, we identify the favored pathway on both surfaces. A general understanding toward the deactivation process of the industrial catalysts is also provided. In addition, the effects of the formation of subsurface carbon atoms as well as the Ag alloying on the 1,3-butadiene formation on Pd-based catalysts are also investigated and compared with experimental results.

Influence of surface structures, subsurface carbon and hydrogen, and surface alloying on the activity and selectivity of acetylene hydrogenation on Pd surfaces: A density functional theory study

The selective hydrogenation of acetylene to ethylene on several Pd surfaces (Pd(111), Pd(100), Pd(211), and Pd(211)-defect) and Pd surfaces with subsurface species (carbon and hydrogen) as well as a number of Pd-based alloys (Pd-M/Pd(111) and Pd-M/Pd(211) (M = Cu, Ag and Au)) are investigated using density functional theory calculations to understand both the acetylene hydrogenation activity and the selectivity of ethylene formation. All the hydrogenation barriers are calculated, and the reaction rates on these surfaces are obtained using a two-step model. Pd(211) is found to have the highest activity for acetylene hydrogenation while Pd(100) gives rise to the lowest activity. In addition, more open surfaces result in over-hydrogenation to form ethane, while the close-packed surface (Pd(111)) is the most selective. However, we also find that the presence of subsurface carbon and hydrogen significantly changes the reactivity and selectivity of acetylene toward hydrogenation on Pd surfaces. On forming surface alloys of Pd with Cu, Ag and Au, the selectivity for ethylene is also found to be changed. A new energy decomposition method is used to quantitatively analyze the factors in determining the changes in selectivity. These surface modifiers are found to block low coordination unselective sites, leading to a decreased ethane production. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.