Search results for "model."
showing 10 items of 23664 documents
Enhanced prolylhydroxylase activity in the posterior annulus fibrosus of canine intervertebral discs following long-term running exercise
2010
The effect of long-term excercise on the intervertebral disc collagen concentration (hydroxyproline), collagen-synthesizing enzymes (prolyl-4-hydroxylase, PH, and galactosyl-hydroxylysyl glucosyltransferase, GGT) and hydroxypyridinium crosslinks was studied in ten female beagle dogs. The dogs were run on a treadmill for 1 year starting at the age of 15 weeks. The daily running distance was gradually increased to 40km, which distance the dogs ran for the final 15 weeks. Ten untrained dogs from the same breeding colony served as controls. The nucleus pulposus and anterior and posterior halves of the annulus fibrosus of C2-3, T10-12, L4-5 disc segments were analysed. Crosslinks were measured f…
Non-conventional forms of HLA-B27 are expressed in spondyloarthritis joints and gut tissue
2016
Objectives Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B27 (B27) is the strongest genetic factor associated with development of Ankylosing Spondylitis and other spondyloarthropathies (SpA), yet the role it plays in disease pathogenesis remains unclear. We investigated the expression of potentially pathogenic non-conventional heavy chain forms (NC) of B27 in synovial and intestinal tissues obtained from SpA patients. We also determined the presence of NC-B27 in joints, lymphoid and gastrointestinal tissue from B27 transgenic (TG1) rats with M.tuberculosis-induced SpA. Methods Expression of NC-B27 in human SpA joints and gut and in (21-3 × 283-2)F1 HLA-B27/Huβ2m rat tissue was determined by immunohistochem…
Aberrant glycosylation of alpha-dystroglycan causes defective binding of laminin in the muscle of chicken muscular dystrophy.
2005
Dystroglycan is a central component of dystrophin-glycoprotein complex that links extracellular matrix and cytoskeleton in skeletal muscle. Although dystrophic chicken is well established as an animal model of human muscular dystrophy, the pathomechanism leading to muscular degeneration remains unknown. We show here that glycosylation and laminin-binding activity of alpha-dystroglycan (alpha-DG) are defective in dystrophic chicken. Extensive glycan structural analysis reveals that Galbeta1-3GalNAc and GalNAc residues are increased while Siaalpha2-3Gal structure is reduced in alpha-DG of dystrophic chicken. These results implicate aberrant glycosylation of alpha-DG in the pathogenesis of mus…
Does hysterectomy with ovarian conservation affect bone metabolism and density?
2002
We evaluated whether hysterectomy with ovarian conservation (HYX) has an effect on bone metabolism and density in 176 healthy Caucasian postmenopausal women aged 48-59 years. Bone properties of the hip, spine, radius, tibia, and calcaneus were measured using different bone assessment modalities. In addition, bone turnover was assessed using serum bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BAP), osteocalcin (OC), and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) 5b as biomarkers. Our results showed that women having HYX had a significantly lower level of OC ( P = 0.017) and a marginally lower level of TRAP 5b ( P = 0.051) and higher bone mineral density (BMD) of the femoral neck ( P = 0.037) and lumba…
Kinematics of the patellofemoral joint. Investigations on a computer model with reference to patellar fractures.
1990
Patellofemoral kinematics were studied on a computer model. The articulating point of the patella moves from distal to proximal during flexion, until the quadriceps tendon starts to turn around the femur tendo-femoral gliding. The pattern of patellofemoral movement consists of a gliding and rolling component, the latter at its maximum at the beginning of flexion. The pathway of the instant centers of motion moves from dorsal to ventral during flexion. Stress analysis shows that the contact area is at all times the area of maximum bending stress. The distal part of the patella is the part with mechanical stress at all angles of flexion. The conclusions to be drawn for treatment are that frac…
Positive association of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol with lumbar and femoral neck bone mineral density in postmenopausal women.
2021
Abstract Objective Experimental studies suggest that lipids affect bone metabolism. We aimed to elucidate whether lipid levels are associated with bone mineral density (BMD) in a cohort of postmenopausal women. Design A cross-sectional study of participants in the Chronic Ailment Reduction after MENopause (CARMEN) cohort. Women underwent assessment of clinical and analytical parameters, including fasting lipid levels. BMD was assessed at both lumbar spine and hip. Homogeneity in the cohort was optimized by filtering out a series of confounding variables with a known impact on bone. Main outcome measures Association of BMD at lumbar spine and femoral neck with lipid levels. Results A total o…
Evaluation of efficacy and biocompatibility of a new absorbable synthetic substitute as a dural onlay graft in a large animal model.
2016
Numerous dura substitutes are commercially available, but no absorbable synthetic dura repair product has been used for both onlay and suture applications.The safety and effectiveness of a new absorbable synthetic substitute composed of Poly-L-lactide microfibers as onlay dural graft were evaluated.Physical properties and performance of the microfibrous synthetic dural substitute implanted as an onlay or suturable grafts were compared with these commercial products, including CODMAN ETHISORB™ Dura Patch and DuraGen™ Dural Graft Matrix, in a canine duraplasty model. The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage, macroscopic and microscopic observation at 30 and 90 days after implantation were invest…
Management of Osteoporosis in Postmenopausal Women
2019
Osteoporosis is a noncommunicable disease with increasing incidence at a global level. The burden of the disease particularly concerns women. A drastic and rapid decline in the circulating levels of estrogens, a key regulator of bone metabolism, is responsible for the increase in bone loss after menopause. Cells with a role in bone metabolism, osteoblasts, osteoclasts and osteocytes, have estrogen receptors. The fall in estrogens increases the differentiation of osteoclasts from progenitors in the bone marrow. A significant expansion in the resorption process follows.
Checklist of the Mammal Collection Preserved at the University of Palermo under the Framework of the National Biodiversity Future Center
2023
The latest reorganization of the Vertebrate collections preserved at the “Pietro Doderlein” Museum of Zoology of the University of Palermo (Italy) has made it possible to draw up a check-list of the Mammal taxa present in the stuffed (M), fluid-preserved (ML) and anatomical (AN) collections. The intervention was planned under the National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC) agenda, focused on the enhancement of Italian natural history museums. The growing interest in museum collections strongly demands databases available to the academic and policy world. In this paper, we record 679 specimens belonging to 157 specific taxa arranged in 58 families and 16 orders. Most of the species (75.1%) co…
Effects of musicianship and experimental task on perceptual segmentation
2015
The perceptual structure of music is a fundamental issue in music psychology that can be systematically addressed via computational models. This study estimated the contribution of spectral, rhythmic and tonal descriptors for prediction of perceptual segmentation across stimuli. In a real-time task, 18 musicians and 18 non-musicians indicated perceived instants of significant change for six ongoing musical stimuli. In a second task, 18 musicians parsed the same stimuli using audio editing software to provide non-real-time segmentation annotations. We built computational models based on a non-linear fuzzy integration of basic and interaction descriptors of local musical novelty. We found tha…