BACKGROUND Stem cell transplantation is a promising method for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have clinical potential for lung repair/regeneration. However, the rates of engraftment and differentiation are generally low following MSC therapy for lung injury. In previous studies, we constructed a pulmonary surfactant-associated pr...

OBJECTIVE Since CD163+ macrophages are selectively increased in spondylarthropathy (SpA) synovitis, we investigated the role of CD163+ macrophages in synovial inflammation. METHODS Synovial biopsy samples from 26 SpA and 23 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients were analyzed for macrophage and lymphocyte subsets. Synovial fluid (SF) samples were analyzed by Western blotting and enzyme-linked imm...

INTRODUCTION Imaging of heel enthesopathy in spondyloarthritis (SpA) could potentially be useful for diagnosis and monitoring. The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic capacities of MRI and power Doppler ultrasonography (PDUS) of the heel to distinguish patients with SpA from controls and to distinguish between patients with SpA with and without enthesopathy. METHODS A cross-section...

Abstract Goal To establish sensitivity to clopidogrel in carriers of various G681A alleles the CYP2C19 gene on basis a comprehensive assessment platelet hemostasis. Materials and methods We examined 120 patients with forms coronary heart disease (CHD), including: 60 acute syndrome (ACS), chronic (CCS). All were treated clopidogrel. Results Genotyping revealed that 73.3% cohorts ACS 86.4% CCS do...

Our purpose was to determine whether smooth muscle cell membrane properties are altered in small pulmonary arteries (SPA) of piglets at an early stage of pulmonary hypertension. Piglets were raised in either room air (control) or hypoxia for 3 days. A microelectrode technique was used to measure smooth muscle cell membrane potential (E(m)) in cannulated, pressurized SPA (100- to 300-microm diam...

Spastic (spa), spasmodic (spd), and oscillator (ot) mice have naturally occurring glycine receptor (GlyR) mutations, which manifest as motor deficits and an exaggerated "startle response." Using whole-cell recording in hypoglossal motoneurons, we compared the physiological mechanisms by which each mutation alters GlyR function. Mean glycinergic miniature IPSC (mIPSC) amplitude and frequency wer...

Software Process Assessment (SPA) is an effective method used to understand organizations’ software processquality. Assessment methods are tools used to identify the possible software process improvement opportunities. This paper studies the design process of the SPA methods from an engineering viewpoint and uses Vincenti’s classifications of engineering design knowledge as an analytical tool. ...

The mixture of Synthetic Petroleum Acids (SPA) and oxyacids (OSPA) have been synthesized on the basis of naphthenic-paraffinic hydrocarbons separated from 217-349°C fractions of Azerbaijan oils in the presence of the salts of Natural Petroleum Acids (NPA). The acid number of the obtained (SPA+OSPA) was 165 mgKOH/g, the yield was 40%. Imidazoline derivatives have been synthesized based on the mi...

BACKGROUND Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most important human pathogens and methicillin-resistant variants (MRSAs) are a major cause of hospital and community-acquired infection. We aimed to map the geographic distribution of the dominant clones that cause invasive infections in Europe. METHODS AND FINDINGS In each country, staphylococcal reference laboratories secured the participation...

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of addition of sodium polyacrylate (SPA) to a phytasesupplemented diet on the performance and phosphorus (P) retention of chicks. In experiment 1, chicks were randomly allocated to four dietary treatments which were fed from 7 to 21 days of age: i) basal diet (low nonphytate phosphorus (0.23% NPP)); ii) basal with 250 U/kg diet of phytase; ...