A Novel CD48-Based Analysis of Sepsis-Induced Mouse Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cell Compartments

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a heterogeneous subset of cells that expands dramatically in many disease states and can suppress T-cell responses. MDSCs mainly include monocytic and granulocytic subpopulations that can be distinguished in mice by the expression of Ly6G and Ly6C cell surface markers. This identification system has been validated in experimental tumor models, but not in models of inflammation-associated conditions such as sepsis. We challenged growth factor independent 1 transcription repressor green fluorescent protein (Gfi1:GFP) knock-in reporter mice with cecal ligation and puncture surgery and found that CD11b+ MDSCs in this sepsis model comprised both monocytic and granulocytic MDSCs. The evidence that conventional Ly6G/Ly6C marker analysis may not be suited to study of inflammation-induced MDSCs led to the development of a novel strategy of distinguishing granulocytic MDSCs from monocytic MDSCs in septic mice by expression of CD48. Application of this novel model should help achieve a more accurate understanding of the inflammation-induced MDSC activity.

from #AlexandrosSfakianakis via Alexandros G.Sfakianakis on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2lY6L8q
via IFTTT

Massive MIMO Relay Systems with Multipair Wireless Information and Power Transfer

This paper investigates destination-aided simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) for a decode-and-forward relay network, in which massive multiple-input multiple-output antennas are deployed at relay to assist communications among multiple source-destination pairs. During relaying, energy signals are emitted from multiple destinations when multiple sources are sending their information signals to relay. With power splitting and unlimited antennas at relay, asymptotic expression of harvested energy is derived. The analysis reveals that asymptotic harvested energy is independent of fast fading effect of wireless channels; meanwhile transmission powers of each source and destination can be scaled down inversely proportional to the number of relay antennas. To significantly reduce energy leakage interference and multipair interference, zero-forcing processing and maximum-ratio combing/maximum-ratio transmission are employed at relay. Fundamental trade-off between harvested energy and achievable sum rate is quantified. It is shown that asymptotic sum rate is neither convex nor concave with respect to power splitting and destination transmission power. Thus, a one-dimensional embedded bisection algorithm is proposed to jointly determine the optimal power splitting and destination transmission power. It shows that destination-aided SWIPT are beneficial for harvesting energy and increasing sum rate. The significant sum rate improvements of the proposed schemes are verified by numerical results.

from #AlexandrosSfakianakis via Alexandros G.Sfakianakis on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2mz2JAf
via IFTTT

Ranking of Sites for Installation of Hydropower Plant Using MLP Neural Network Trained with GA: A MADM Approach

Every energy system which we consider is an entity by itself, defined by parameters which are interrelated according to some physical laws. In recent year tremendous importance is given in research on site selection in an imprecise environment. In this context, decision making for the suitable location of power plant installation site is an issue of relevance. Environmental impact assessment is often used as a legislative requirement in site selection for decades. The purpose of this current work is to develop a model for decision makers to rank or classify various power plant projects according to multiple criteria attributes such as air quality, water quality, cost of energy delivery, ecological impact, natural hazard, and project duration. The case study in the paper relates to the application of multilayer perceptron trained by genetic algorithm for ranking various power plant locations in India.

from #AlexandrosSfakianakis via Alexandros G.Sfakianakis on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2lYaK4Z
via IFTTT

Term Abdominal Pregnancy Revealed by Amnioperitoneum in Rural Area

Abdominal pregnancy (AP) accounts for 1% of ectopic implantations. In sub-Saharan Africa, the high prevalence of sexually transmitted infections explains the increasing frequency of this pathology. In Cameroon it rose from 1/10000 deliveries (1995) to 3.3/10000 (2015). Authors herein report a case of a viable abdominal pregnancy discovered at term during emergency laparotomy for suspected uterine rupture. The 24-year-old G2P0 patient was HIV-positive, under antiretrovirals, though AP exceptionally occurs in HIV patients. She did only two antenatal consultations: her main complaint was abdominal pain but five echographies concluded to normal intrauterine pregnancy. Findings at laparotomy were as follows: amnioperitoneum, a live female baby weighing 3.4 kilogrammes without deformities and a placenta deeply inserted on the uterine fundus. Removal of the placenta triggered massive bleeding (2400 milliliters) with shock managed with a tourniquet on the lower uterine segment and fluid resuscitation. Outcome was favourable for the mother and child. Prevention of vertical transmission of HIV was successful with antiretroviral therapy.

from #AlexandrosSfakianakis via Alexandros G.Sfakianakis on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2mrWNty
via IFTTT

Fabrication of Functionalized MOFs Incorporated Mixed Matrix Hollow Fiber Membrane for Gas Separation

The metal-organic framework (MOFs) of MIL-53 was functionalized by aminosilane grafting and then incorporated into Ultem®1000 polymer matrix to fabricate mixed matrix hollow fiber membrane (MMHFM) with high separation performance. SEM, XRD, and TGA were performed to characterize the functionalized MIL-53 and prepared MMHFM. The filler particles were embedded in membrane successfully and dispersed well in the polymer matrix. The incorporation of MOFs endowed MMHFM better thermal stability. Moreover, effects of solvent ratio in spinning dope, spinning condition, and testing temperature on gas separation performance of MMHFM were investigated. By optimizing dope composition, air gap distance, and bore fluid composition, MMHFM containing functionalized MIL-53 achieved excellent gas permeance and CO2/N2 selectivity. The CO2 permeance increased from 12.2 GPU for pure Ultem HFM to 30.9 GPU and the ideal CO2/N2 selectivity was enhanced from 25.4 to 34.7 simultaneously. Additionally, gas permeance increased but the selectivity decreased with the temperature increase, which followed the solution-diffusion based transport mechanism.

from #AlexandrosSfakianakis via Alexandros G.Sfakianakis on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2lTBT8U
via IFTTT

A Novel Role for Brain Natriuretic Peptide: Inhibition of IL-1 Secretion via Downregulation of NF-kB/Erk 1/2 and NALP3/ASC/Caspase-1 Activation in Human THP-1 Monocyte

Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) is a pleiotropic cytokine and a crucial mediator of inflammatory and immune responses. IL-1β processing and release are tightly controlled by complex pathways such as NF-kB/ERK1/2, to produce pro-IL-1β, and NALP3/ASC/Caspase-1 inflammasome, to produce the active secreted protein. Dysregulation of both IL-1β and its related pathways is involved in inflammatory/autoimmune disorders and in a wide range of other diseases. Identifying molecules modulating their expression is a crucial need to develop new therapeutic agents. IL-1β is a strong regulator of Brain Natriuretic Peptide (BNP), a hormone involved in cardiovascular homeostasis by guanylyl cyclase Natriuretic Peptide Receptor (NPR-1). An emerging role of BNP in inflammation and immunity, although proposed, remains largely unexplored. Here, we newly demonstrated that, in human THP-1 monocytes, LPS/ATP-induced IL-1β secretion is strongly inhibited by BNP/NPR-1/cGMP axis at all the molecular mechanisms that tightly control its production and release, NF-kB, ERK 1/2, and all the elements of NALP3/ASC/Caspase-1 inflammasome cascade, and that NALP3 inflammasome inhibition is directly related to BNP deregulatory effect on NF-kB/ERK 1/2 activation. Our findings reveal a novel potent anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory role for BNP and open new alleys of investigation for a possible employment of this endogenous agent in the treatment of inflammatory/immune-related and IL-1β/NF-kB/ERK1/2/NALP3/ASC/Caspase-1-associated diseases.

from #AlexandrosSfakianakis via Alexandros G.Sfakianakis on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2mrO8Ya
via IFTTT

An Educator's Plea To Betsy DeVos

A recently retired public school educator has some reasonable requests to make of our new Secretary Of Education.

-- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com

from #AlexandrosSfakianakis via Alexandros G.Sfakianakis on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2kZvSIx
via IFTTT