Plos One
-
Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that plays a key role in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA). Growth factors (GFs) capable of antagonizing the catabolic actions of cytokines may have therapeutic potential in the treatment of OA. Herein, we investigated the potential synergistic effects of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF-bb) on different mechanisms participating in IL-1β-induced activation of nuclear transcription factor-κB (NF-κB) and apoptosis in chondrocytes. ⋯ The results presented suggest that IGF-1 and PDGF-bb are potent inhibitors of IL-1β-mediated activation of NF-κB and apoptosis in chondrocytes, may be mediated in part through suppression of Src/PI-3K/AKT pathway, which may contribute to their anti-inflammatory effects.
-
Electrical Impedance measurements can be used to estimate the content of intra-thoracic air and thereby give information on pulmonary ventilation. Conventional Impedance measurements mainly indicate relative changes, but no information concerning air-volume is given. The study was performed to test whether a 3-point-calibration with known tidal volumes (VT) during conventional mechanical ventilation (CMV) allows subsequent calculation of VT from total Tidal-Impedance (tTI) measurements using Quadrant Impedance Measurement (QIM). In addition the distribution of TI in different regions of the thorax was examined. ⋯ Tidal Impedance values could be used for precise and accurate calculation of VT during CMV in this animal study, when calibrated at each PEEP level.
-
Peer review is fundamentally a cooperative process between scientists in a community who agree to review each other's work in an unbiased fashion. Peer review is the foundation for decisions concerning publication in journals, awarding of grants, and academic promotion. ⋯ We also show that referees and authors who participated in cooperative interactions had an 11% higher reviewing accuracy rate (P = 0.016). Our results suggest that increasing cooperation in the peer review process can lead to a decreased risk of reviewing errors.
-
A dinosaur census recorded during the Hell Creek Project (1999-2009) incorporates multiple lines of evidence from geography, taphohistory, stratigraphy, phylogeny and ontogeny to investigate the relative abundance of large dinosaurs preserved in the Upper Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation of northeastern Montana, USA. Overall, the dinosaur skeletal assemblages in the Hell Creek Formation (excluding lag-influenced records) consist primarily of subadult or small adult size individuals. Small juveniles and large adults are both extremely rare, whereas subadult individuals are relatively common. We propose that mature individuals of at least some dinosaur taxa either lived in a separate geographic locale analogous to younger individuals inhabiting an upland environment where sedimentation rates were relatively less, or these taxa experienced high mortality before reaching terminal size where late stage and often extreme cranial morphology is expressed. ⋯ Triceratops is the most common dinosaur and isolated skulls contribute to a significant portion of this census. Associated specimens of Triceratops consisting of both cranial and postcranial elements remain relatively rare. This rarity may be explained by a historical collecting bias influenced by facies and taphonomic factors. The limited discovery of postcranial elements may also depend on how extensive a fossil quarry is expanded after a skull is collected.
-
In critically ill patients, mechanisms underlying diaphragm muscle remodeling and resultant dysfunction contributing to weaning failure remain unclear. Ventilator-induced modifications as well as sepsis and administration of pharmacological agents such as corticosteroids and neuromuscular blocking agents may be involved. Thus, the objective of the present study was to examine how sepsis, systemic corticosteroid treatment (CS) and neuromuscular blocking agent administration (NMBA) aggravate ventilator-related diaphragm cell and molecular dysfunction in the intensive care unit. ⋯ Therefore, exposure to mechanical ventilation and sedation for five days has a key negative impact on diaphragm contractile function despite a preservation of muscle structure. Post-translational modifications of contractile proteins are forwarded as one probable underlying mechanism. Unexpectedly, sepsis, CS or NMBA have no significant additive effects, suggesting that mechanical ventilation and sedation are the triggering factors leading to diaphragm weakness in the intensive care unit.