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Stem cell mechanobiology: diverse lessons from bone marrow
No full textA stem cell niche is defined by various chemical and physical features that influence whether a stem cell remains quiescent, divides, or differentiates. We review mechanical determinants that affect cell fate through actomyosin forces, nucleoskeleton remodeling, and mechanosensitive translocation of transcription factors. Current methods for physical characterization of tissue microenvironments are summarized together with efforts to recapitulate niche mechanics in culture. We focus on mesenchymal stem cells, particularly in osteogenesis and adipogenesis, and on blood stem cells both of which reside in mechanically diverse marrow microenvironments. Given the explosion of efforts with pluripotent stem cells, the evident mechanosensitivity of clinically relevant, multipotent marrow cells underscores an increasing need to examine and understand in vivo and in vitro physical properties on length scales that cells sense
Interdisciplinary toolkit: Getting the most from interdisciplinarity. Available at: http://solar-future.group.shef.ac.uk/toolkit.html.
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Validation of the VEINES-QOL quality of life instrument in venous leg ulcers: repeatability and validity study embedded in a randomised clinical trial.
No full textBACKGROUND: VEINES-QOL/Sym is a disease-specific quality of life instrument for use in venous diseases of the leg. Its relative scoring system precludes comparisons between studies. There were very few venous leg ulcer patients in the validation samples. We report a validation study for venous leg ulcers and develop a scoring system which enables comparison between studies. METHODS: Four hundred fifty-one participants in the VenUS IV trial of the management of venous leg ulcers were asked to complete a VEINES-QOL questionnaire at recruitment, along with SF-12, pain, and other aspects of quality of life. VEINES-QOL was repeated after two weeks and after 4 months. Healing of ulcers was confirmed by blind assessment of digital photographs. Three scoring systems for VEINES-QOL were compared. RESULTS: No floor or ceiling effects were observed for VEINES-QOL items, item-item correlations were weak to moderate, item-score correlations were moderate. Internal reliability was good. The VEINES-Sym subscale was confirmed by factor analysis. Test-retest reliability was satisfactory for the scale scores; individual items showed moderate to good agreement. Relationships with SF-12, pain, and the quality items confirmed construct validity. Participants whose ulcers had healed showed greater mean increase in scores than did those yet to heal, though they continued to report leg problems. An intrinsic scoring method appeared superior to the original relative method. CONCLUSIONS: VEINES-QOL was suitable for use in the study of venous leg ulcers. The intrinsic scoring method should be adopted, to facilitate comparisons between studies. TRIAL REGISTRATION: VenUS IV is registered with the ISRCTN register, number ISRCTN49373072
Developmental Aspects of a Life Course Approach to Healthy Ageing
No full textWe examine the mechanistic basis and wider implications of adopting a developmental perspective on human ageing. Previous models of ageing have concentrated on its genetic basis, or the detrimental effects of accumulated damage, but also raised issues about whether ageing can be viewed as adaptive itself, or a consequence of other adaptive processes, for example if maintenance and repair processes in the period up to reproduction are traded off against later decline in function. A life course model places ageing in the context of the attainment of peak capacity for a body system, starting in early development when plasticity permits changes in structure and function induced by a range of environmental stimuli, followed by a period of decline, the rate of which depends on the peak attained as well as the later life conditions. Such path dependency in the rate of ageing may offer new insights into its modification. Focusing on musculoskeletal and cardiovascular function, we discuss this model and the possible underlying mechanisms, including endothelial function, oxidative stress, stem cells, and nutritional factors such as vitamin D status. Epigenetic changes induced during developmental plasticity, and immune function may provide common mechanistic process underlying a life course model of ageing. The life course trajectory differs in high and low resource settings. New insights into the developmental components of the life course model of ageing may lead to the design of biomarkers of later chronic disease risk and to new interventions to promote healthy ageing, with important implications for public health
ตัวแบบเชิงสถิติเพื่อพยากรณ์ปริมาณน้าฝนของจังหวัดนครราชสีมา
No full text การวิจัยนี้เป็นการศึกษาปริมาณน้าฝน โดยใช้อนุกรมเวลาสาหรับสถานีตรวจสอบสภาพอากาศ จังหวัดนครราชสีมา ประเทศไทย ซึ่งใช้วิธีการทางสถิติที่หลากหลายเพื่อให้สามารถวิเคราะห์ปริมาณน้าฝนในพื้นที่ที่ทาการศึกษาได้ โดย้้อมูลที่ใช้ในการศึกษา คือ ปริมาณน้าฝนเฉลี่ยต่อเดือน ตั้งแต่เดือนเมษายน พ.ศ.2548 ถึงเดือนมีนาคม พ.ศ. 2556 ้้อมูลดังกล่าวได้ถูกจัดเก็บโดยศูนย์อุทกวิทยาและบริหารน้าภาคตะวันออกเฉียงเหนือตอนล่าง กรมชลประทาน วิธี้องบอกซ์และเจนกินส์ และวิธีการพยากรณ์้องวินเตอร์ถูกสร้างึ้้นจากพื้นฐาน้องวิธีการปรับให้เรียบแบบเอกซ์โปเนนเชียล ซึ่งตัวแบบทุกตัวพิจารณาแล้วมีความเพียงพอต่อการนามาใช้ในการวิจัย ดังนั้นจึงมีความเป็นไปได้ที่จะเผยแพร่้้อมูลเพื่อช่วยให้ผู้ที่มีอานาจในการตัดสินใจ นา้้อมูลไปใช้ในการสร้างกลยุทธ์การวางแผนที่เหมาะสมในด้านการเกษตรกรรม ระบบการระบายน้าและการใช้ทรัพยากรน้าอื่นๆ ในจังหวัดนครราชสีมา โดยผลการพยากรณ์ ที่มีประสิทธิภาพดีที่สุด ได้แก่ การพยากรณ์ด้วยตัวแบบ ARIMA(1,0,1)(1,0,1)12.
คำสำคัญ: พยากรณ์ปริมาณน้าฝน วิธีการพยากรณ์้องวินเตอร์ วิธี้องบอกซ์และเจนกินส์
In this paper, we study the rainfall using a time series for weather stations in Nakhon Ratchasima province in Thailand by various statistical methods to enable us to analyse the behaviour of rainfall in the study areas. The data used in the study was the average monthly rainfall from April 2005 - March 2013 collected by the Hydrology and Water Management Center for Lower Northeastern Region, Royal Irrigation Department. The Box-Jenkins and Winter’s forecasting models were built on the basis of exponential smoothing. All the models proved to be adequate. Therefore it is possible to give information that can help decision makers establish strategies for the proper planning of agriculture, drainage systems and other water resource applications in Nakhon Ratchasima province. We obtained the best performance from forecasting with the ARIMA(1,0,1)(1,0,1)12.
Keywords: Forecasting rainfall, Winter’s forecasting method, Box and Jenkins method
