Aberrant protein expression in plasma and kidney tissue during experimental obstructive nephropathy

Kidney failure is a major health problem worldwide. Patients with end-stage renal disease require intensive medical support by dialysis or kidney transplantation. Current methods for diagnosis of kidney disease are either invasive or insensitive, and renal function may decline by as much as 50% before it can be detected using current techniques. The goal of this study was, therefore, to identify biomarkers of kidney disease (associated with renal fibrosis) that can be used for the development of a non-invasive clinical test for early disease detection. We utilized two protein-profiling technologies (SELDI-TOF MS and 2-D) to screen the plasma and kidney proteome for aberrantly expressed proteins in an experimental mouse model of unilateral uretric obstruction, which mimics the pathology of human renal disease. Several differentially regulated proteins were detected at the plasma level of day-3-obstructed animals, which included serum amyloid A1, fibrinogen α, haptoglobin precursor protein, haptoglobin and major urinary proteins 11 and 8. Differentially expressed proteins detected at the tissue level included ras-like activator protein 2, haptoglobin precursor protein, malate dehydrogenase, α enolase and murine urinary protein (all p<0.05 versus controls). Immunohistochemistry was used to confirm the up-regulation of fibrinogen. Interestingly, these proteins are largely separated into four major classes: (i) acute-phase reactants (ii) cell-signaling molecules (iii) molecules involved in cell growth and metabolism and (iv) urinary proteins. These results provide new insights into the pathology of obstructive nephropathy and may facilitate the development of specific assay(s) to detect and monitor renal fibrosis.     

An assessment of simple referee methods for the prediction of lean in pig carcasses

A study was carried out in which carcass characteristics of 36 gilts were evaluated: 18 originated from the Hungarian 'Hungahyb' cross-breed, another 18, with undefined genetic background, from small private household plots. Two, rather simple substitute reference methods, called referee methods, were evaluated: measurement of carcass weight without skin and subcutaneous fat ('meat + bone'), and measurement of carcass weight without skin, subcutaneous fat and bone ('boneless meat'). Both methods gave a rather close relationship with the Kulmbach reference lean; however, removal of bone had presumably a beneficial effect on stability of prediction. The importance of preliminary information in quantitative form, giving a theoretical background for prediction equations, was presented as an example. Simple material balances could be formulated between reference lean and 'meat + bone' or 'boneless meat' content. Such material balances could not be set up with the indirect, rapid surrogate methods using mainly linear measurements (e.g. fat and muscle thickness, etc.) For this reason, as several other publications demonstrated, these latter methods seem to be more susceptible to bias than the referee methods. By determining the lipid content of the homogenised 'boneless meat' component, a 'lean' value adjusted to 3% fat content could be calculated from data which was compared to the dissected reference lean standardised also to contain 3% fat. These relationships, for several reasons discussed in this paper, were not as close as expected. So, further studies are needed to reveal these discrepancies.     

Solutions of the general equations for the radiation dose dependence of the molecular weights of irradiated polymers with an initial Schulz-Zimm distribution

Summary The general equations for the radiation dose dependence of irradiated polymer molecular weights have been solved exactly. For an initial most probable molecular weight distribution (=1), the solutions are analytical and exact. For the general case (1) the solutions are numerical and exact. The present approach has resulted in the solutions for both =1 and 1 being incorporated into a group of FORTRAN computer programs which will solve experimental data for scission and crosslinking yields by both minimization and exact treatments. Simulated data treated using these FORTRAN programs are give. The FORTRAN programs are available from the authors.     

Voice of the users: an extended study of software feedback engagement

Requirements Engineering - Many software users give feedback online about the applications they use. This feedback often contains valuable requirements information that can be used to guide the...     

Review Paper: A critical review of the present and future prospects for electronic paper

Abstract— The commercial success of monochrome electronic paper (e‐Paper) is now propelling the development of next‐generation flexible, video, and color e‐Paper products. Unlike the early battles in the 1980s and 1990s between transmissive and emissive display technologies, there is a extraordinary diversity of technologies vying to become the next generation of e‐Paper. A critical review of all major e‐Paper technologies, including a technical breakdown of the performance limitations based on device physics and commentary on possible future breakthroughs, is presented. In addition, the visual requirements for color e‐Paper are provided and compared to standards used in conventional print. It is concluded that researchers have much work remaining in order to bridge the significant gap between reflective electronic displays and print‐on‐paper.     

GPU-based real-time approximation of the ablation zone for radiofrequency ablation

Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is becoming a standard minimally invasive clinical procedure for the treatment of liver tumors. However, planning the applicator placement such that the malignant tissue is completely destroyed, is a demanding task that requires considerable experience. In this work, we present a fast GPU-based real-time approximation of the ablation zone incorporating the cooling effect of liver vessels. Weighted distance fields of varying RF applicator types are derived from complex numerical simulations to allow a fast estimation of the ablation zone. Furthermore, the heat-sink effect of the cooling blood flow close to the applicator's electrode is estimated by means of a preprocessed thermal equilibrium representation of the liver parenchyma and blood vessels. Utilizing the graphics card, the weighted distance field incorporating the cooling blood flow is calculated using a modular shader framework, which facilitates the real-time visualization of the ablation zone in projected slice views and in volume rendering. The proposed methods are integrated in our software assistant prototype for planning RFA therapy. The software allows the physician to interactively place virtual RF applicator models. The real-time visualization of the corresponding approximated ablation zone facilitates interactive evaluation of the tumor coverage in order to optimize the applicator's placement such that all cancer cells are destroyed by the ablation.     

The influence of text modality on learning with static and dynamic visualizations

In this study we investigated the influence of text modality on learning with static and dynamic visualizations in a dynamic domain, namely the physical principles underlying fish locomotion. A 2 × 2-design with type of visualization (static vs. dynamic) and text modality (spoken vs. written) as independent variables was used. Concerning learning outcomes, it was hypothesized that (1) learners presented with dynamic visualizations would outperform learners presented with static visualizations, (2) learners presented with spoken text would outperform learners presented with written text, and (3) an interaction between type of visualization and modality would occur: the superiority of dynamic over static visualizations was expected to be more pronounced for spoken compared to written text. Subjective cognitive load measures were assessed and expected to mirror the aforementioned pattern of learning outcomes in accordance with Cognitive Load Theory (i.e., higher extraneous cognitive load (ECL) related to lower learning outcomes). For transfer tasks, the first two hypotheses could be confirmed. However, there was no interaction. Moreover, ECL was rated higher by subjects when learning with static compared to dynamic visualizations, but there were no differences for ECL with respect to the text modality. The results are discussed within the framework of Cognitive Load Theory.     

Nano-structured solid oxide fuel cell design with superior power output at high and intermediate operation temperatures

A solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) with a thin-film yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolyte was developed and tested. This novel SOFC shows a similar multilayer set-up as other current anode-supported SOFCs and is composed of a Ni/8YSZ anode, a gas-tight 8YSZ electrolyte layer, a dense Sr-diffusion barrier layer and a LSCF cathode. To increase the power density and lower the SOFC operating temperature, the thickness of the electrolyte layer was reduced from around 10 μm in current cells to 1 μm, using a nanoparticle deposition method. By using the novel 1 μm electrolyte layer, the current density of our SOFC progressed to 2.7, 2.1 and 1.6 A/cm² at operation temperatures of 800, 700 and 650°C, respectively, and out-performs all similar cells reported to date in the literature. An important consideration is also that cost-effective dip-coating and spin-coating methods are applied for the fabrication of the thin-film electrolyte. Processing of 1 μm layers on the very porous anode substrate material was initially experienced as very difficult and therefore 8YSZ nanoparticle coatings were developed and optimized on porous 8YSZ model substrates and transferred afterwards to regular anode substrates. In this paper, the preparation of the novel SOFC is shown and its morphology is illustrated with high resolution SEM pictures. Further, the performance in a standard SOFC test is demonstrated.     

To Score or Not to Score? Tripling Insights for Participatory Design

For evaluating visual-analytics tools, many studies confine to scoring user insights into data. For participatory design of those tools, we propose a three-level methodology to make more out of users' insights. The Relational Insight Organizer (RIO) helps to understand how insights emerge and build on one each other.     

The use of ‘exploratory learning’ for supporting immersive learning in virtual environments

User interfaces are becoming more intuitive following the requirements of the individual learner and reinforcing the drive towards more personalised learning and greater learner autonomy. There are clearly a new set of challenges emerging for teaching practitioners that will have implications upon not just what is learned but importantly upon lesson planning. This paper explores these changes to teaching through a consideration of an exploratory learning model which allows practitioners to rethink how they teach in 3D and immersive spaces where learning sequences and experiences are choreographed to support peer interactions and exchanges. The ELM extends from Kolb’s experiential learning model to adapt the use of 3D applications, and provides examples from research and development projects to exemplify how the model works in practice. Teaching in these contexts provides less emphasis upon curriculum and more emphasis upon sequencing learning experiences, meta-reflection, peer assessment and group work.