86,675 research outputs found
The CX3C-Chemokine Fractalkine in Kidney Diseases
No full textThe chemokine CX3C-L/FKN is expressed in both soluble and transmembrane/mucin hybrid forms, thus combining chemoattractant functions together with receptor/adhesion molecule properties. In contrast to other chemokine receptors, CX3C-R is expressed not only on lymphoid cell populations, but also on several intrinsic cells including tubular epithelial cells and renal fibroblasts where it regulates various aspects of cell viability, matrix synthesis and degradation, migration, inflammation as well as oxidative stress. In the kidney, the chemokines/receptor pair has been shown to play a role in nephrogenesis as well as in the pathogenesis primary and secondary nephropathies. In several animal models and human specimens with acute and chronic renal failure including allograft nephropathy, CX3C-L/CX3C-R has been shown to exert immune and non-immune mediated renal damages. A blockade of this chemokine system ameliorated acute and chronic renal damages, though the latter to a more robust extent. There seems to a role of the CX3C-L/CX3C-R pair in mediating acute renal inflammation as well as in progressive chronic renal failure. However, functional studies are lacking for many aspects and further studies are necessary to better define the functional properties of CX3 C-L/FKN and its receptor
Symbolic Gestures in Contemporary Protest Movements
No full textIn this chapter, the arts and humanities are addressed
in a discussion of symbolic gestures of protest. The
aim is to embed symbolic gestures of protest in broader
political sociology debates and explore how symbolic
gestures are used to convey different political
meanings. The chapter is structured as follows: the
first part begins by defining protest and embedding
it in the broader scientific debates on political participation.
Since protest is a form of political engagement,
we briefly review different types of political
behavior and place protest in the sphere of non-conventional
politics, which takes place outside the
formal institutions of the state. Then we elaborate on
which (constellations of) factors motivate protest.
In the second part of the chapter, we draw on real-life
examples to discuss how protesters convey messages
to political elites, the masses, and the media
by using symbolic gestures instead of words. In the
concluding section, we discuss how symbolic gestures
contribute to the production of resistance through
new disruptive meanings and frame
Bioimpedance analysis and intradialytic hypotension in intermittent hemodialysis
No full textBackground: Intradialytic hypotension (IDH) is one of the most severe complications during hemodialysis. Its appearance is caused in part by rapid fluid removal with concomitant failure in blood pressure regulation but also by other dialytic-dependent and independent factors. Patients and methods: We investigated total (TBW), extracellular (ECW) and intracellular water (ICW) in chronic intermittent hemodialysis dialysis hypotension-prone (CRF-HP, n = 11) and nonhypotension-prone (CRF-NHP, n = 10) patients with end-stage renal disease before, every 30 minutes during, as well as after dialysis and within onset of intradialytic hypotension by multifrequent bioimpedance analysis (BIA). Additionally, intradialytic time course of BIA in patients with acute renal failure (ARF) and septic shock (n = 10) was observed. Results: IDH occurred in 72.1% of CRF-HP and in 80% of ARF patients. In CRF-HP and CRF-NHP, ECW significantly decreased by -12.44 +/- 4.22% in CRF-HP and -9.0 +/- 6.2% in CRF-NHP comparing pre- and post-dialysis values (each p < 0.01). Conversely, ICW increased by +11.51 +/- 11.3% in CRF-HP and +18.4 25.2% in CRF-NHP (each p < 0.05). In patients with ART no significant changes could be detected. Calculated ECW/ICW and ECW/TBW ratio significantly decreased in CRF patients with a higher rate in CRF-HP patients (p < 0.05). Neither ECW/ICW nor ECW/TBW ratio correlated with mean arterial pressure. The onset of intradialytic hypotension (n = 35) did not differ intraindividually compared to nonnotensive periods (n = 411). Fluid removal in CRF patients seems to be mainly from the extracellular space. The reduced decreases in ECW/ICW and ECW/TBW ratios in CRF-HP compared to CRF-NHP may indicate an insufficient refilling from intra- to extracellular compartment in CRF-HP. Conclusion: In conclusion, multifrequent BIA is not capable to predict hypotension in the individual patient during a particular dialysis session
Variations on the Author
No full text“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Effective treatment of hepatitis C-associated immune-complex nephritis with cryoprecipitate apheresis and antiviral therapy
No full textA 38-year-old pregnant woman (19th week of pregnancy) complained of fatigue, cold inducible paresthesias, generalized edema and mild arterial hypertension. Her past medical history was notable for frequent episodes of polyarthralgia and positivity for rheumatoid factor. On admission, acanthocyturia and unselective glomerular-tubular proteinuria with 19 g/d were detected with a slight decrease in creatinine clearance. Rheumatoid factor was robustly elevated and a cryocrit of 1.5 vol%, caused by a so far unknown replicative hepatitis C, was detected. Renal biopsy yielded membrano-proliferative glomerulonephritis. During pregnancy, high-dose corticosteroid therapy was administered. Edema disappeared and blood pressure normalized under albumin substitution and low-dose furosemide application. However, Cesarian section became necessary due to placental insufficiency at 27 weeks of gestation. Thereafter, neither virus load, cryocrit nor proteinuria decreased significantly under a combined therapy with pegylated interferon-a and ribavirin. Thus, cryoprecipitate apheresis was initiated resulting in robust decreases of clinical complaints, viral load, cryocrit and proteinuria. Cryoglobulinemia with renal involvement caused by hepatitis C is difficult to treat due to limitations of immunosuppressive and anti-viral therapy. In our patient, cryoprecipitate apheresis was a safe and effective therapeutic addition to standard therapy
Role of basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2) in diabetic nephropathy and mechanisms of its induction by hyperglycemia in human renal fibroblasts
No full textVasko R, Koziolek M, Ikehata M, Rastaldi MP, Jung K, Schmid H, Kretzler M, Muller GA, Strutz F. Role of basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2) in diabetic nephropathy and mechanisms of its induction by hyperglycemia in human renal fibroblasts. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 296: F1452-F1463, 2009. First published March 11, 2009; doi: 10.1152/ajprenal.90352.2008.-Basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2) plays a role in renal fibrogenesis, although its potential implications for tubulointerstitial involvement in diabetic nephropathy are unknown. We evaluated the expression of FGF-2 in kidney biopsies from patients with diabetic nephropathy and studied the mechanisms of its induction in human renal fibroblasts under hyperglycemia. Tubulointerstitial expression of FGF-2 was significantly upregulated in diabetic nephropathy compared with control kidneys with a good correlation to the degree of the injury. Fibroblasts cultivated in high glucose displayed increased FGF-2 mRNA as well as protein synthesis and secretion compared with normal glucose. Proliferation rates under hyperglycemia were significantly higher and could be almost completely inhibited by addition of a neutralizing FGF-2 antibody. Alterations in proliferation were associated with changes in p27(kip1) expression. Hyperglycemia induced the expression of PKC-beta 1 and PKC-beta 2; however, only inhibition of PKC-beta 1 but not PKC-beta 2 led to a significant decrease of FGF-2 levels. Relevance of the culture findings and functional association was corroborated by colocalization of FGF-2 and PKC-beta in human diabetic kidneys in vivo. High glucose stimulated fibronectin synthesis and secretion, which could be substantially prevented by inhibition of PKC-beta 1 and to a lesser extent by inhibiting the FGF-2. Expression of active phosphorylated form of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase was upregulated under hyperglycemia; however, its inhibition had no effects on FGF-2 synthesis. Our results implicate a role of FGF-2 in high glucose-altered molecular signaling in pathogenesis of diabetic renal disease.EU [QLG1-2002-01215]; Georg-August-Universit
[Newspaper Clipping: Author Claims Evidence of Second JFK Assassin #1]
No full textNewspaper article titled "Author Claims Evidence of Second JFK Assassin." The article states that author Richard J. Whalen concluded "that there is circumstantial evidence to support the theory of a second assassin in the shooting of President John F. Kennedy.
Also By The Same Author: AKTiveAuthor, a Citation Graph Approach to Name Disambiguation
No full textThe desire for definitive data and the semantic web drive for inference over heterogeneous data sources requires co-reference resolution to be performed on those data. In particular, name disambiguation is required to allow accurate publication lists, citation counts and impact measures to be determined. This paper describes a graph-based approach to author disambiguation on large-scale citation networks. Using self-citation, co-authorship and document source analyses, AKTiveAuthor clusters papers, achieving precision of 0.997 and recall of 0.818 over a test group of eight surname clusters
John F. Kennedy telegram to Roosevelt
No full textJersey Homesteads (later the Borough of Roosevelt) was established in the 1930s as an agro-industrial cooperative community. It was established specifically for urban Jewish garment workers, many of whom had emigrated from Europe. President John F. Kennedy sent a telegram to the citizens of Roosevelt, New Jersey, apologizing for not being able to attend the memorial dedication in honor of former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. (Jersey Homesteads became Roosevelt in 1945 in honor of the president.) President Kennedy expressed his gratitude to the people of Roosevelt for constructing the memorial, and commented that it will serve as a constant reminder of Roosevelt's good works
Progressive renal failure in spontaneous-onset cholesterol crystal embolism
No full textCase Report: A 69-year-old man was admitted to the authors' hospital with an increase of plasma creatinine from 1.4 up to 4.9 mg/dl within 4 months and the clinical complaints of painful purple toes, recurrent epistaxis and disturbances of equilibrium. His past medical history was remarkable for three transient ischemic attacks and the diagnosis of a metabolic syndrome. Magnetic resonance imaging showed vasculitis-like lesions in the brain. Eosinophilia and tubular proteinuria were detected. Renal insufficiency was caused by cholesterol crystal embolism, as shown both by skin and renal biopsy. Aortic plaques were identified as the putative source of cholesterol embolization. Conclusion: In case of rapidly progressive renal failure, cholesterol crystal embolism must be considered even without preceding angiography
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