Biomarkers for cardiovascular risk assessment in autoimmune diseases

Autoimmune diseases, such as antiphospholipid syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, and rheumatoid arthritis, are characterized by a high prevalence of cardiovascular (CV) disease (CVD), which constitutes the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among such patients. Although such effects are partly explained by a higher prevalence of traditional CV risk factors, many studies indicate that such factors do not fully explain the enhanced CV risk in these patients. In addition, risk stratification algorithms based upon traditional CV risk factors are not as predictive in autoimmune diseases as in the general population. For these reasons, the timely and accurate assessment of CV risk in these high-risk populations still remains an unmet clinical need. An enhanced contribution of different inflammatory components of the immune response, as well as autoimmune elements (e.g. autoantibodies, autoantigens, and cellular response), has been proposed to underlie the incremental CV risk observed in these populations. Recent advances in proteomic tools have contributed to the discovery of proteins involved in CVDs, including some that may be suitable to be used as biological markers. In this review we summarize the main markers in the field of CVDs associated with autoimmunity, as well as the recent advances in proteomic technology and their application for biomarker discovery in autoimmune disease.     

Selection of a network of large lakes and reservoirs suitable for global environmental change analysis using Earth Observation

The GloboLakes project, a global observatory of lake responses to environmental change, aims to exploit current satellite missions and long remote-sensing archives to synoptically study multiple lake ecosystems, assess their current condition, reconstruct past trends to system trajectories, and assess lake sensitivity to multiple drivers of change. Here we describe the selection protocol for including lakes in the global observatory based upon remote-sensing techniques and an initial pool of the largest 3721 lakes and reservoirs in the world, as listed in the Global Lakes and Wetlands Database. An 18-year-long archive of satellite data was used to create spatial and temporal filters for the identification of waterbodies that are appropriate for remote-sensing methods. Further criteria were applied and tested to ensure the candidate sites span a wide range of ecological settings and characteristics; a total 960 lakes, lagoons, and reservoirs were selected. The methodology proposed here is applicable to new generation satellites, such as the European Space Agency Sentinel-series.     

Stability of linear discrete switched systems with delays based on average dwell time method

This paper deals with the problem of exponential stability for a class of linear discrete switched systems with constant delays.The switched systems consist of stable and unstable subsystems.Based on the average dwell time method, some switching signals will be found to guarantee exponential stability of these systems.The explicit state decay estimation is also given in the form of the solutions of linear matrix inequalities(LMIs).An example relating to networked control systems(NCSs) illustrates the effect...     

Virtual Human versus Human Administration of Photographic Lineups

One solution to mistaken identification by a crime's victims and eyewitnesses is to use a virtual officer to conduct identification procedures. Results from a study comparing a virtual officer with a live human investigator indicate that the virtual officer performs comparably to the human in terms of identification accuracy, emotional affect, and ease of use.     

Effect of the hydroxyl content and molecular weight of polyvinyl butyral on tape properties

Despite the desire to replace organics with water in tape casting systems, thick films often use solvent in order to speed up drying rates. Polyvinyl butyral having hydroxyl contents ranging between 11 and 20% and molecular weights between 40,000 and 120,000 g/mol was plasticized with butyl benzyl phthalate at solids contents between 62 and 75 vol.% La_0.5Sr_0.5CoO₃ once the toluene/ethanol solvent was evaporated. High-hydroxyl content was more important than high molecular weight in increasing the Young's modulus, yield strength, and tensile strength of the tapes at room temperature. Annealing tapes at low temperatures (65 °C) for short times (10 min) relaxed stresses and tended to equalize modulus, strength, and ductility. Low hydroxyl content and low molecular weight enhanced particle packing, which resulted in cracking as tape thickness increased from 0.2 mm to 0.7 mm at higher solids contents. Crack-free tapes were made at all solids contents when the hydroxyl content was greater than 18%. Lower molecular weight at high-hydroxyl content, along with high solids content, was important for minimizing the amount of solvent used.     

Environmental upregulation of the atrial natriuretic peptide gene in the living fossil, Limulus polyphemus

Northern blot analysis revealed that atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) gene expression occurs in heart, hematocytes and gills of the invertebrate Limulus polyphemus, the horseshoe crab. In low salinity and on land ANP prohormone messenger RNA in Limulus' heart was 32-fold less compared to that in a vertebrate heart (i.e., rat, Rattus norvegicus). ANP gene expression doubled (P < 0.05) in Limulus' heart and gills with change from land and low salinity to medium salinity and osmolality. ANP gene expression was 10-fold higher in Limulus' gills in seawater (i.e., high salinity). The products of this ANP gene expression (i.e., ANP, long acting natriuretic peptide, vessel dilator and kaliuretic peptide) were released and increased in the circulation, i.e., hemolymph, of Limulus proportional to the increase in salinity and osmolality (P = <0.01). These results suggest that modification of ANP gene expression enables animals to adapt to freshwater, seawater, and land.     

TCR-independent pathways mediate the effects of antigen dose and altered peptide ligands on Th cell polarization

We examined the role of the peptide/MHC ligand in CD4+ T cell differentiation into Th1 or Th2 cells using a TCR alphabeta transgenic mouse specific for hemoglobin (Hb)(64-76)/I-Ek. We identified two altered peptide ligands of Hb(64-76) that retain strong agonist activity but, at a given dose, induce cytokine patterns distinct from the Hb(64-76) peptide. The ability of these peptides to produce distinct cytokine patterns at identical doses is not due to an intrinsic qualitative property. Each peptide can induce Th2 cytokines at low concentrations and Th1 cytokines at high concentrations and has a unique range of concentrations at which these distinct effects occur. The pattern of cytokines produced from limiting dilution of naive T cells demonstrated that the potential to develop an individual Th1 or Th2 cell is stochastic, independent of Ag dose. We propose that the basis for the observed effects on the Th1/Th2 balance shown by the altered peptide ligands and the amount of Ag dose involves the modification of soluble factors in bulk cultures that are the driving force that polarize the population to either a Th1 or Th2 phenotype.