Trypan blue is colorant from the 19th century that has an association with Africa as a chemotherapeutic agent against protozoan (Trypanosomal) infections, which cause sleeping sickness. The dye still is used for staining biopsies, living cells and organisms, and it also has been used as a colorant for textiles. 相似文献
Frequent exacerbations induce a high burden to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). We investigated the course of exacerbations in the published COSMIC study that investigated the effects of 1-year withdrawal of fluticasone after a 3-month run-in treatment period with salmeterol/fluticasone in patients with COPD.
Methods
In 373 patients, we evaluated diary cards for symptoms, Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF), and salbutamol use and assessed their course during exacerbations.
Results
There were 492 exacerbations in 224 patients. The level of symptoms of cough, sputum, dyspnea and nocturnal awakening steadily increased from 2 weeks prior to exacerbation, with a sharp rise during the last week. Symptoms of cough, sputum, and dyspnea reverted to baseline values at different rates (after 4, 4, and 7 weeks respectively), whereas symptoms of nocturnal awakening were still increased after eight weeks. The course of symptoms was similar around a first and second exacerbation. Increases in symptoms and salbutamol use and decreases in PEF were associated with a higher risk to develop an exacerbation, but with moderate predictive values, the areas under the receiver operating curves ranging from 0.63 to 0.70.
Conclusions
Exacerbations of COPD are associated with increased symptoms that persist for weeks and the course is very similar between a first and second exacerbation. COPD exacerbations are preceded by increased symptoms and salbutamol use and lower PEF, yet predictive values are too low to warrant daily use in clinical practice. 相似文献
Injurious mechanical ventilation (MV) may augment organ injury remote from the lungs. During sepsis, myocardial dysfunction is common and increased endothelial activation and permeability can cause myocardial edema, which may, among other factors, hamper myocardial function. We investigated the effects of MV with injuriously high tidal volumes on the myocardium in an animal model of sepsis.
Methods
Normal rats and intraperitoneal (i.p.) lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated rats were ventilated with low (6 ml/kg) and high (19 ml/kg) tidal volumes (Vt) under general anesthesia. Non-ventilated animals served as controls. Mean arterial pressure (MAP), central venous pressure (CVP), cardiac output (CO) and pulmonary plateau pressure (Pplat) were measured. Ex vivo myocardial function was measured in isolated Langendorff-perfused hearts. Cardiac expression of endothelial vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1 and edema were measured to evaluate endothelial inflammation and leakage.
Results
MAP decreased after LPS-treatment and Vt-dependently, both independent of each other and with interaction. MV Vt-dependently increased CVP and Pplat and decreased CO. LPS-induced peritonitis decreased myocardial function ex vivo but MV attenuated systolic dysfunction Vt-dependently. Cardiac endothelial VCAM-1 expression was increased by LPS treatment independent of MV. Cardiac edema was lowered Vt-dependently by MV, particularly after LPS, and correlated inversely with systolic myocardial function parameters ex vivo.
Conclusion
MV attenuated LPS-induced systolic myocardial dysfunction in a Vt-dependent manner. This was associated with a reduction in cardiac edema following a lower transmural coronary venous outflow pressure during LPS-induced coronary inflammation. 相似文献
The aims of the work were (1) to develop statistical tests to identify
whether substitution takes place under a covariotide model in sequences
used for phylogenetic inference and (2) to determine the influence of
covariotide substitution on phylogenetic trees inferred for photosynthetic
and other organisms. (Covariotide and covarion models are ones in which
sites that are variable in some parts of the underlying tree are invariable
in others and vice versa.) Two tests were developed. The first was a
contingency test, and the second was an inequality test comparing the
expected number of variable sites in two groups with the observed number.
Application of these tests to 16S rDNA and tufA sequences from a range of
nonphotosynthetic prokaryotes and oxygenic photosynthetic prokaryotes and
eukaryotes suggests the occurrence of a covariotide mechanism. The degree
of support for partitioning of taxa in reconstructed trees involving these
organisms was determined in the presence or absence of sites showing
particular substitution patterns. This analysis showed that the support for
splits between (1) photosynthetic eukaryotes and prokaryotes and (2)
photosynthetic and nonphotosynthetic organisms could be accounted for by
patterns arising from covariotide substitution. We show that the additional
problem of compositional bias in sequence data needs to be considered in
the context of patterns of covariotide/covarion substitution. We argue that
while covariotide or covarion substitution may give rise to
phylogenetically informative patterns in sequence data, this may not always
be so.
相似文献
The mouse is an important model of human genetic disease. Describing phenotypes of mutant mice in a standard, structured manner that will facilitate data mining is a major challenge for bioinformatics. Here we describe a novel, compositional approach to this problem which combines core ontologies from a variety of sources. This produces a framework with greater flexibility, power and economy than previous approaches. We discuss some of the issues this approach raises. 相似文献
The development and validation of a high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) assay for determination of busulfan concentrations in human plasma for pharmacokinetic studies is described. Plasma samples containing busulfan and 1,6-bis(methanesulfonyloxy)hexane, and internal standard, were prepared by derivatization with sodium diethyldithio-carbamate (DDTC) followed by addition of methanol and extraction with ethyl acetate. The extract was dried under nitrogen and the samples reconstituted with 100 μl of methanol prior to HPLC determination. Chromatography was accomplished using a Waters NovaPak octadecylsilyl (ODS) (150×3.9 mm I.D.) analytical column, NovaPak ODS guard column, and mobile phase of methanol-water (80:20, v/v) at a flow-rate of 0.8 ml/min with UV detection at 251 nm. The limit of detection was 0.0200 μg/ml (signal-to-noise ratio of 6) with a limit of quantitation (LOQ) of 0.0600 μg/ml for busulfan in plasma. Calibration curves were linear from 0.0600 to 3.00 μg/ml in plasma (500 μl) using a weighting scheme. Precision of the assay, as represented by C.V. of the observed peak area ration values, ranged from 4.41 to 13.5% (13.5% at LOQ). No day-to-day variability was observed in predicted concentration values and the bias was low for all concentrations evaluated (bias: 0 to 4.76%; LOQ: 2.91%). The mean derivatization and extraction yield observed for busulfan in plasma at 0.200, 1.20 and 2.00 μg/ml was 98.5% (range 93.4 to 107%). Plasma samples containing potential busulfan metabolites and co-administered drugs, which may be present in clinical samples, provided no response indicating this assay procedure is selective for busulfan. This method was used to analyze plasma concentrations following administration of a 1 mg/kg oral busulfan dose. 相似文献
The diurnal tsetse Glossina morsitans morsitans bites especially in early
morning and late afternoon; around midday feeding is at a low. In
laboratory apparatus that measures the amount of locomotion under constant
conditions over the photophase, the flies display a similar patterning of
activity levels. The profile of daily rhythms for G. morsitans reported in
the literature includes a number of motor and sensory motor systems that
fluctuate cophasically. Lacking is a study on the patterning of the senses'
response levels. In this paper we present the first instance of a daily
modulation in the sense of smell. We stimulated the antennae with
concentration series of host-derived odours and measured the spiking rate
of cells at different times during the photophase. The
concentration-response curves suggest that the sensitivity of antennal
olfactory cells flows in parallel with the other daily rhythms. This was
also reflected in electroantennograms (EAGs). The electroantennography was
extended to G. fuscipes fuscipes, whose level of spontaneous locomotor
activity--instead of following a U- shaped pattern--rises gradually over
the photophase. Again, the EAGs appeared to parallel the species' locomotor
activity. What we believe happens is that the organism tones down the
sensitivity of its odour receptors during periods of anticipated inactivity
for reasons of economy.
相似文献
Imaging applications at terahertz frequencies are, in general, limited to relatively low spatial resolution due to the effects of diffraction. By using a subwavelength aperture in the near-field, however, it is possible to achieve subwavelength resolution, although low transmission through the aperture limits the sensitivity of this approach. Plasmonic lenses in the form of bullseye structures, which consist of a circular subwavelength aperture surrounded by concentric periodic corrugations, have demonstrated enhanced transmission, thereby increasing the utility of near-field imaging configurations. In this paper, the design, fabrication, and experimental performance of plasmonic lenses optimized for 300 GHz are discussed. While nanofabrication techniques are required for optical applications, microfabrication techniques are sufficient for terahertz applications. The process flow for fabricating a double-sided bullseye structure using a precision micromilling technique is described. Transmission and beam profile measurements using a customized terahertz testbed are presented.
Since the publication of our article (Roth, Gonnet, and Dessimoz: BMC Bioinformatics 2008 9: 518), we have noticed several errors, which we correct in the following. 相似文献