536 research outputs found
Angiotensin II induces soluble fms-Like tyrosine kinase-1 release via calcineurin signaling pathway in pregnancy
No full textMaternal endothelial dysfunction in preeclampsia is associated with increased soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1), a circulating antagonist of vascular endothelial growth factor and placental growth factor. Angiotensin II (Ang II) is a potent vasoconstrictor that increases concomitant with sFlt-1 during pregnancy. Therefore, we speculated that Ang II may promote the expression of sFlt-1 in pregnancy. Here we report that infusion of Ang II significantly increases circulating levels of sFlt-1 in pregnant mice, thereby demonstrating that Ang II is a regulator of sFlt-1 secretion in vivo. Furthermore, Ang II stimulated sFlt-1 production in a dose- and time-dependent manner from human villous explants and cultured trophoblasts but not from endothelial cells, suggesting that trophoblasts are the primary source of sFlt-1 during pregnancy. As expected, Ang II-induced sFlt-1 secretion resulted in the inhibition of endothelial cell migration and in vitro tube formation. In vitro and in vivo studies with losartan, small interfering RNA specific for calcineurin and FK506 demonstrated that Ang II-mediated sFlt-1 release was via Ang II type 1 receptor activation and calcineurin signaling, respectively. These findings reveal a previously unrecognized regulatory role for Ang II on sFlt-1 expression in murine and human pregnancy and suggest that elevated sFlt-1 levels in preeclampsia may be caused by a dysregulation of the local renin/angiotensin system
TRPC6 Up-Regulation in Ang II-Induced Podocyte Apoptosis Might Result from ERK Activation and NF-kappa B Translocation
No full textAngiotensin II (Ang II) has been recognized as an apoptosis inducer in podocytes, but the mechanism of apoptosis induced by Ang II is unclear. Transient receptor potential cation channel 6 (TRPC6) is a calcium channel located in podocyte membrane. The present study evaluated the alteration of TRPC6 expression and the Ca(2+) influx involved in Ang II-induced podocyte apoptosis. The possible pathways related to TRPC6 in Ang II-induced podocyte apoptosis were also investigated. The apoptosis of mouse podocytes (MPC5) was induced by Ang II. The protein level of TRPC6 was increased markedly in response to Ang II stimulation, and the intracellular Ca(2+) concentration was elevated. By transfection with TRPC6 siRNA, Ang II-induced podocyte apoptosis and the transient Ca(2+) influx were inhibited. Treated with extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway specific inhibitor U0126 or nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B) pathway specific inhibitor ammonium pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate (PDTC) and Ang II, respectively in podocytes, not only was the TRPC6 up-regulation reduced, but the podocyte apoptosis was also decreased. Moreover, the translocation of NF-kappa B in nucleus resulted from Ang II was reduced by treatment with U0126. In conclusion, the enhancement expression of TRPC6 as well as the increased Ca(2+) influx mediated by TRPC6 channels contributed to the podocyte apoptosis. The activation of ERK pathway and subsequent translocation of NF-kappa B was possibly necessary for the up-regulation TRPC6 induced by Ang It. Exp Biol Med 234:1029-1036, 2009Medicine, Research & ExperimentalSCI(E)PubMed31ARTICLE91029-103623
The outbreak of SARS at Tan Tock Seng Hospital--relating epidemiology to control.
No full textINTRODUCTION: The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) began after the index case was admitted on 1 March 2003. We profile the cases suspected to have acquired the infection in Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), focussing on major transmission foci, and also describe and discuss the impact of our outbreak control measures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using the World Health Organization (WHO) case definitions for probable SARS adapted to the local context, we studied all cases documented to have passed through TTSH less than 10 days prior to the onset of fever. Key data were collected in liaison with clinicians and through a team of onsite epidemiologists. RESULTS: There were 105 secondary cases in TTSH. Healthcare staff (57.1%) formed the majority, followed by visitors (30.5%) and inpatients (12.4%). The earliest case had onset of fever on 4 March 2003, and the last case, on 5 April 2003. Eighty-nine per cent had exposures to 7 wards which had cases of SARS that were not isolated on admission. In 3 of these wards, major outbreaks resulted, each with more than 20 secondary cases. Attack rates amongst ward-based staff ranged from 0% to 32.5%. Of 13 inpatients infected, only 4 (30.8%) had been in the same room or cubicle as the index case for the ward. CONCLUSIONS: The outbreak of SARS at TTSH showed the challenges of dealing with an emerging infectious disease with efficient nosocomial spread. Super-spreading events and initial delays in outbreak response led to widespread dissemination of the outbreak to multiple wards
Analisis Pengaruh Indeks Nikkei 225 dan Indeks Hang Seng terhadap Indeks Harga Saham Gabungan
No full textPenelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis pengaruh indeks Nikkei 225 dan indeks Hang Seng terhadap Indeks Harga Saham Gabungan. Populasi penelitian ini adalah indeks saham Jepang (Nikkei 225), China (Hang Seng) dan Indonesia (Indeks Harga Saham Gabungan) selama periode 2009-2014. Sampel dipilih dengan metode purposive sampling setiap bulan selama tahun 2009 sampai dengan tahun 2014 sehingga diperoleh 216 sampel. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode analisis model Generalized AutoRegressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (GARCH). Berdasarkan hasil pengujian hipotesis menunjukkan bahwa Indeks Nikkei 225 tidak memiliki pengaruh yang signifikan terhadap IHSG. Sedangkan Indeks Hang Seng memiliki pengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap IHSG. Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa hanya pergerakan saham di China memiliki pengaruh terhadap IHSG di BEI. Kata Kunci: Indeks Nikkei 225, Indeks Hang Seng, IHSGThe object of this study is to analyze the effect of the Nikkei 225 Index and Hang Seng Index to Composite Stock Price Index. The population of this study is the Nikkei 225 Index, Hang Seng Index and Jakarta Composite Index from 2009 – 2014. Samples were selected by purposive sampling method using monthly data during 2009 to 2014 in order to obtain 216 samples. This study uses the analysis model of Generalized AutoRegressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (GARCH).Based on the hypothesis testing results show that the Nikkei 225 index has no significant impact on JCI. While the Hang Seng Index has a positive and significant impact on JCI. This suggests that only the movement of stocks in China have an influence on the Jakarta Composite Index. Key Words: the Nikkei 225 Index, Hang Seng Index, Composite Stock Price Index DAFTAR PUSTAKA Ang, R. (1997), Buku Pintar : Pasar Modal Indonesia, First Edition Mediasoft Indonesia. Ardian, A. (2010), Analisis Pengaruh Tingkat Suku Bunga SBI, Harga Minyak Dunia, Harga Minyak Dunia, Kurs Rupiah, Indeks Nikkei 225, Indeks Dow Jones terhadap IHSG, tesis UNDIP. Frensisy, B. (2009), Analisis Pengaruh Aksi Beli-Jual Asing, Kurs dan Indeks Hang Seng terhadap IHSG di BEJ dengan Modal GARCH. Garefalakis, Alexandros E. et al., (2009), Determinant factors of Hong Kong Stock Market, Financial Analysts Journal. Greene, W. (2008). Econometric Analysis sixth edition. New Jersey: Pearson International Education. Gujarati, D. (2006), “Dasar-Dasar Ekonometrika” (Edisi Ketiga). Jakarta: Erlangga. Edit, R. (2008). Analisis Portofolio Optimal Saham-Saham LQ 45 Pada Periode Agustus 2005 – Juli 2006 di Bursa Efek Jakarta. Jurnal Bisnis & Manajemen Bunda Mulia. Vol : 4. No. 1. Halim, A. (2005). Analisis Investasi. Jakarta: Penerbit Salemba Empat. Hartono, J. (2008). Teori Portofolio dan Analisis Investasi. Yogyakarta : BPFE Yogyakarta. Husnan, S. (2005). Dasar-Dasar Teori Portofolio dan Analisis Sekuritas. Edisi Keempat. Yogyakarta : UPP AMP YKPN. Indraloka, D. (2012), Analisis Pengaruh Variabel Makroekonomi dan Harga Minyak Dunia Terhadap Indeks Harga saham Gabungan (IHSG), Skirpsi UIN Syahid Jakarta. Kemala, S. (2012), Analisis pengaruh SBI, Indeks Hang Seng, Kurs Dollar AS dan Indeks Dow Jones terhadap IHSG, Jurnal. Kuncoro, M. (2001), Metode Kuantitatif, Teori dan Aplikasi Untuk Bisnis dan Ekonomi, UPP AMP YKPN. Nachrowi D., Usman H. (2006), Pendekatan Populer dan Praktis Ekonometrika untuk Analisis Ekonomi dan Keuangan, Fakultas Ekonomi Universitas Indonesia. Rezy, F. (2011), Pengaruh Indeks Harga Saham Global dan Amerika Latin terhadap Indeks Harga Saham Gabungan (IHSG) di Bursa Efek Indonesia(BEI), Skripsi Ekonomi UIN Syahid Jakarta. Rodoni, Ahmad, Ali H. (2010). Manajemen Keuangan. Jakarta: Mitra Wacana Media. Sugiyono. (2008). Metode Penelitian Kuantitatif, Kualitatif dan R&D. Bandung: Alfabeta. Rosadi, D. (2012). Ekonometrika dan Analisis Runtun Waktu Terapan dengan Eviews. Yogyakarta: Andi. Samsul, M. (2006). Pasar Modal dan Manajemen Portofolio. Jakarta: Penerbit Erlangga. Sekaran, U. (2006). Metodologi Penelitian Untuk Bisnis. Jakarta: Salemba Empat Suharyadi, P. (2009). Statistik Untuk Ekonomi dan Keuangan Modern.\ (Edisi Kedua). Jakarta: Salemba Empat. Suliyanto. (2011). Ekonometrika Terapan : Teori dan Aplikasi dengan SPSS. Yogyakarta: Andi. Sunariyah. (2011). Pengantar Pengetahuan Pasar Modal (Edisi Keenam). Yogyakarta: UPP STIM YKPN. Winarno, W. (2009). Analisis Ekonometrika dan Statistika dengan Eviews (Edisi Kedua). Yogyakarta: UPP STIM YKPN. Yuliana, I. (2010), Analisis Pengaruh Variabel Makro terhadap Indeks Harga Saham Gabungan (IHSG) di Bursa Efek Indonesia, Jurnal UIN Malang
Nonlocal transistor based on pure crossed Andreev reflection in a EuO-graphene/superconductor hybrid structure
No full textWe study the interband transport in a superconducting device composed of graphene with EuO-induced exchange interaction. We show that pure crossed Andreev reflection can be generated exclusively without the parasitic local Andreev reflection and elastic cotunnelling over a wide range of bias and Fermi levels in an EuO-graphene/superconductor/EuO-graphene device. The pure nonlocal conductance exhibits rapid on-off switching and oscillatory behavior when the Fermi levels in the normal and the superconducting leads are varied. The oscillation reflects the quasiparticle propagation in the superconducting lead and can be used as a tool to probe the subgap quasiparticle mode in superconducting graphene, which is inaccessible from the current-voltage characteristics. Our results suggest that the device can be used as a highly tunable transistor that operates purely in the nonlocal and spin-polarized transport regime.NSFC [11274013]; NBRP of China [2012CB921300]; Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE) T2 grant [T2MOE1401]; Australian Research Council Discovery Grant [DP140101501]SCI(E)[email protected]; [email protected]
Loss of Akt activity increases circulating soluble endoglin release in preeclampsia:identification of inter-dependency between Akt-1 and heme oxygenase-1
No full textAims Endothelial dysfunction is a hallmark of preeclampsia. Desensitization of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway underlies endothelial dysfunction and haeme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is decreased in preeclampsia. To identify therapeutic targets, we sought to assess whether these two regulators act to suppress soluble endoglin (sEng), an antagonist of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signalling, which is known to be elevated in preeclampsia. Methods and results Vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2), angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1), and insulin, which all activate the PI3K/Akt pathway, inhibited the release of sEng from endothelial cells. Inhibition of the PI3K/Akt pathway, by overexpression of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) or a dominant-negative isoform of Akt (Akt(dn)) induced sEng release from endothelial cells and prevented the inhibitory effect of VEGF-A. Conversely, overexpression of a constitutively active Akt (Akt(myr)) inhibited PTEN and cytokine-induced sEng release. Systemic delivery of Akt(myr) to mice significantly reduced circulating sEng, whereas Akt(dn) promoted sEng release. Phosphorylation of Akt was reduced in preeclamptic placenta and this correlated with the elevated level of circulating sEng. Knock-down of Akt using siRNA prevented HO-1-mediated inhibition of sEng release and reduced HO-1 expression. Furthermore, HO-1 null mice have reduced phosphorylated Akt in their organs and overexpression of Akt(myr) failed to suppress the elevated levels of sEng detected in HO-1 null mice, indicating that HO-1 is required for the Akt-mediated inhibition of sEng. Conclusion The loss of PI3K/Akt and/or HO-1 activity promotes sEng release and positive manipulation of these pathways offers a strategy to circumvent endothelial dysfunction
Soot production in a tubular gas turbine combustor
No full textSoot production in gas turbine combustors is not desirable since it is the major source
of exhaust smoke emission and its thermal radiation to the combustor liner deteriorates the liner
durability. Soot formation involves comparatively slow chemistry and equilibrium can not be
applied to soot modelling in the combustor flow field.
. The exact sooting process in the
combustor is poorly understood given both the complexity and the limited experimental data
available. The work reported in this thesis seeks to first develop in-situ techniques for
retrieving spatially-resolved soot properties, mainly soot particle volume fraction, from within
the combustor and also to apply the measured results to comparisons with predicted soot
concentrations.
Two probing methods have been demonstrated which also incorporate a laser absorption
technique. The sight probe proves to be more reliable in the present measurements. The
evaluation of the physical probing techniques in sooty laboratory flames reveals that the flame
structure will not be substantially distorted by the probe. The disturbance caused by the probe
is localised, a feature which is evident in the reported water flow visualization test. The
necessary inert gas purge can be minimised to reduce the local aerodynamic perturbation. The
measured soot volume fraction distributions are comparable with sooting levels reported in
flame studies in the literature. The peak soot volume fractions are located off-axis,
characteristic of the fuel atornization. The measurementsin the primary zone are restricted by
the multi-phase character of the flow, where soot absorption can not be readily discriminated
from fuel droplet scattering. Measurements are reported over a range of air-fuel ratios, inlet
pressures and temperatures.
Time-averageds calard istributionsa t the nominald ilution sectionh ave beeno btained
in addition to the soot measuremenut sing probe sampling and standard gas analysis.
Correlationso f carbond ioxide with mixture fraction reveala clear relationshipa t overall lean
conditionsc onsistenwt ith widely usedm odelleda ssumptions.T here are less well-correlated
relationshipsb etweent emperaturea ndm ixture fraction, possiblyd ue to the influenceo f scalar
fluctuationsa nda lsoo f the scalard issipationr ate. Sootl oadingi n the presentf low conditions
is characteristicallylo w, basedo n the mixture fraction ands ootv olumef raction data. Thermal
radiation in the visible spectrum shows a distinct narrow band spectra in addition to the soot
continuum, which is believed to arise fromC2radical emission. The mean radiation intensities,
predictedb y usingt he measuredte mperaturea nds ootc oncentrationre sults,a rei n generallo wer
than the measured mean intensities. Temperature fluctuation levels may be particularly
influential in some of these calculations.
Sootm odellingi n the combustohr asb eenu ndertakenb y applyinga n extendedla minar
flamelet concept. The two-equations oot formation model has beenp rimarily developedo n
laminar flames. The comparisono f the computationa nd measuremenstu ggeststh at this soot
model holds promise in the context of prediction in the combustor. In the absenceo f a
satisfactoryt heoreticald escriptiono f the fuel-air burning in the combustor,w heret he liquid
kerosinee mployedis replacedb y gaseoups ropane,t he computeds calarp rofiles are inconsistent
in some importantr espectsw ith the measuredo nes. This exerts a major effect on the soot
predictioni n terms of the quantitatived etail in the computationw, hich is howeverc rucial for
the soot model development. The original flow field modelling needs to be improved for the
purpose of further soot model refinement
Ethnic minorities in Australia’s television news: a second snapshot
No full textThe nightly news on Australia's television screens presents a view of Australia and Australians that is different from what most of us encounter in our daily lives. This paper reports on the results of two content analyses of television news conducted in 2005 and 2007 which demonstrate that instead of a range of peoples and cultures, we see mainly Anglo faces, projecting an archetypal image of a 'white Australia' that is more applicable to the 1950s than it is to today. More disturbingly, when we do encounter people from manifestly different racial, cultural or religious backgrounds, they tend to be featured as victims, or as social deviants, or as in some way 'unAustralian'. This raises questions about current journalistic practice and suggests that in order for television news to present Australians with a true reflection of their 'real' world there need to be changes in the processes of newsgathering and storytelling
An Axiomatic Design Approach for Customer Satisfaction through a Lean Start-up Framework
No full textAbstractValue generation and customer satisfaction are the primary goals for those companies which want to be successful and profitable on the global market. Achieving these objectives is key for a middle-long term successful business model. Missing them may eventually lead to the company's failure, and also it might be a very difficult task to accomplish. Due to its strategic importance, the overall business model, along with the products and services to be delivered, should be assessed iteratively, defining their importance in respect with the customer needs and expectations. This control check is often experience-based rather than rationally guided, even in large and structured organizations. This paper proposes a novel approach to systemically build a customer development model, to verify the agreement between what is offered and the customer needs. The proposed customer model is built through the Axiomatic Design method, together with other tools that are properly tuned for this specific application
A dual K+-Na+ selective prussian blue nanotubes sensor
No full textA strategy for dual sensing of Na+ and K+ ions using Prussian blue nanotubes via selective inter/deintercalation of K+ ion and competitive inhibition by Na+ ion, is reported. The analytical signal is derived from the cyclic voltammetry cathodic peak position Epc of Prussian blue nanotubes. Na+ and K+ levels in a sample solution can be determined conveniently using one Prussian blue nanotubes sensor. In addition, this versatile method can be applied for the analysis of single type of either Na+ or K+ ions. The dual-ion sensor response towards Na+ and K+ can be described using a model based on the competitive inhibition effects of Na+ on K+ inter/deintercalation in Prussian blue nanotubes. Successful application of the Prussian blue nanotubes sensor for Na+ and K+ determination is demonstrated in artificial saliva.Accepted versio
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