Renal proliferative and phenotypic changes in rats with two-kidney, one-clip Goldblatt hypertension

Previous research in this laboratory has shown that preweaning and postweaning juvenile meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus, can acquire a spatial task, the Morris water-maze task. The present study examined the influence of age of juvenile acquisition ("before weaning" (BW; Day 10 and 15 after birth) and "after weaning" (AW; Day 20 and 25 after birth)) of a spatial task on subsequent re-acquisition of the same hidden-platform spatial water-maze task. This study also compared sex differences and litter sex-ratio effects on reacquisition performance. Fifteen litters of adults were re-tested in the same water maze 6 weeks after being initially tested as juveniles. All analyses were conducted using a covariate that removed the group differences in the original task performance. Adult voles from female-biased litters, that had previously learned the task at an older juvenile age (AW), reacquired the same task faster than adults that had previously learned the task at a younger juvenile age (BW). In the adult BW group there was also a significant litter sex-ratio effect such that voles born into a female-biased litter re-acquired the task more slowly than did voles born into a male-biased litter. There were no significant sex or litter sex-ratio effects on spatial learning in the AW group. These results show that adult meadow voles can require a spatial task more quickly if they initially learned the task at an older juvenile age, suggestive of a period of infantile amnesia. In addition, these results indicate that the litter sex-ratio can affect adult spatial performance, suggesting that the relative amount of androgens in utero may influence the development of sexually-dimorphic spatial ability in adulthood.     

Science macro-indicators: some aspects of ost experience

We report OST experience on macro-indicators producing, especially on academic science and ISI sources. This task requires a combination of organizational choices for data handling and processing, and of bibliometric choices for a selection of indicators appropriate to the missions. Both aspects are briefly studied: the OST database, which also contains nonbibliometric datasets, is organized on the relational principle (RDBMS). Bibliometric indicators selected are classical ones, with a stress on overall coherence. In conclusion, standardization issue is briefly discussed. Standardization may not be desirable at the same extent for different targets (data, nomenclatures, indicators, procedures, etc.) and must not hinder further research. Natural process of communication and explication may also lead to fruitful convergences, without freezing supposed best ways.     

Psychosomatic disease and the problem of causation

Despite its impressive rate of growth in the past decades, an increasing amount if dissatisfaction with the area of psychosomatic medicine is reflected in recent literature. The discipline's failures relate to concepts of pathogenesis and therapeutic application of research findings. These failures are explained as a necessary consequence of the philosophical tenet of mind-body dualism which underlies medical theory. It is urged that advocates of psychosomatic medicine give the concept of "holism" meaning at the most fundamental level by establishing a rational basis for theory, or else forsake this line of research for others which yield causal relationships conductive to effective therapy.     

Near-Complete Remission of Glioblastoma in a Patient Treated with an Allogenic Dendritic Cell-Based Vaccine: The Role of Tumor-Specific CD4+T-Cell Cytokine Secretion Pattern in Predicting Response and Recurrence

Immunotherapy has brought hope to the fight against glioblastoma, but its efficacy remains unclear. We present the case of CST, a 25-year-old female patient with a large right-hemisphere glioblastoma treated with a dendritic–tumor cell fusion vaccine. CST showed a near-complete tumor response, with a marked improvement in her functional status and simultaneous increases in tumor-specific CD8+ and CD4+ T cells. Two months before recurrence, the frequency of tumor-specific T cells decreased, while that of IL-17 and CD4+ T cells increased. CST passed away 15 months after enrollment. In this illustrative case, the tumor-specific CD4+ T-cell numbers and phenotype behaved as treatment efficacy biomarkers, highlighting the key role of the latter in glioblastoma immunotherapy.     

A Guide to Polysaccharide-Based Hydrogel Bioinks for 3D Bioprinting Applications

Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting is an innovative technology in the biomedical field, allowing the fabrication of living constructs through an approach of layer-by-layer deposition of cell-laden inks, the so-called bioinks. An ideal bioink should possess proper mechanical, rheological, chemical, and biological characteristics to ensure high cell viability and the production of tissue constructs with dimensional stability and shape fidelity. Among the several types of bioinks, hydrogels are extremely appealing as they have many similarities with the extracellular matrix, providing a highly hydrated environment for cell proliferation and tunability in terms of mechanical and rheological properties. Hydrogels derived from natural polymers, and polysaccharides, in particular, are an excellent platform to mimic the extracellular matrix, given their low cytotoxicity, high hydrophilicity, and diversity of structures. In fact, polysaccharide-based hydrogels are trendy materials for 3D bioprinting since they are abundant and combine adequate physicochemical and biomimetic features for the development of novel bioinks. Thus, this review portrays the most relevant advances in polysaccharide-based hydrogel bioinks for 3D bioprinting, focusing on the last five years, with emphasis on their properties, advantages, and limitations, considering polysaccharide families classified according to their source, namely from seaweed, higher plants, microbial, and animal (particularly crustaceans) origin.     

Transmission Fiber Chromatic Dispersion Dependence on Temperature: Implications on 40 Gb/s Performance

In this letter, we will evaluate the performance degradation of a 40 km high‐speed (40 Gb/s) optical system, induced by optical fiber variations of the chromatic dispersion induced by temperature changes. The chromatic dispersion temperature sensitivity will be estimated based on the signal quality parameters.     

A general approach to extend Berenger's absorbing boundarycondition to anisotropic and dispersive media

Previous studies have focused on the extension of the Berenger's (1994) absorbing boundary condition (ABC)-the perfectly matched layer (PML)-to anisotropic and dispersive media. We describe how the PML can be extended for anisotropic and/or dispersive media (or even bianisotropic media) with little analytical effort, in a simple and general conceptual setting, by using an analytical continuation of the coordinate space of the Maxwell's equations to a complex variables domain. Using this approach, there is no conceptual distinction between the derivation of PML for more complex media and the derivation for isotropic, dispersionless media     

Positive Quadratic Differential Forms: Topological Equivalence Through Newton Polyhedra

The purpose of this article is to establish conditions under which a positive quadratic differential form is topologically equivalent to its principal part defined by Newton polyhedra. The problem is to study the simultaneous behavior of two foliations in the plane having a common point as a singularity. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary: 37C15; Secondary: 34C20, 34A34. The first author was partially supported by FAPESP Grant No. 03/03107-9 and by CNPq Grant No. 306992/2003-5, Brazil. The second author was supported by CNPq-Brazil Grant No. 154150/01-1 and PROCAD-Brazil No. 092/01. The third author was supported by PRONEX No. 76.97.1080/00 and Fapesp-Brazil under Grant No. 97/10735-3.