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- Cerveri, I, et al.
(author)
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What defines airflow obstruction in asthma?
- 2009
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In: European Respiratory Journal. - : European Respiratory Society (ERS). - 0903-1936 .- 1399-3003. ; 34:3, s. 568-573
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Asthma guidelines from the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) and from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute provide conflicting definitions of airflow obstruction, suggesting a fixed forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV(1))/forced vital capacity (FVC) cut-off point and the lower limit of normality (LLN), respectively. The LLN was recommended by the recent American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society guidelines on lung function testing. The problem in using fixed cut-off points is that they are set regardless of age and sex in an attempt to simplify diagnosis at the expense of misclassification. The sensitivity and specificity of fixed FEV(1)/FVC ratios of 0.70, 0.75 and 0.80 versus the LLN were evaluated in 815 subjects (aged 20-44 yrs) with a diagnosis of asthma within the framework of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey. In males, the 0.70 ratio showed 76.5% sensitivity and 100.0% specificity, the 0.75 ratio 100.0% sensitivity and 92.4% specificity, and the 0.80 ratio 100.0% sensitivity but 58.1% specificity. In females, the 0.70 ratio showed 57.3% sensitivity and 100.0% specificity, the 0.75 ratio 91.5% sensitivity and 95.9% specificity, and the 0.80 ratio 100.0% sensitivity but 72.9% specificity. The fixed cut-off points cause a lot of misidentification of airflow obstruction in young adults, with overestimation with the 0.80 ratio and underestimation with the 0.70 ratio. In conclusion, the GINA guidelines should change their criteria for defining airflow obstruction.
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- Borza, Corina M., et al.
(author)
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Integrin alpha 3 beta 1, a Novel Receptor for alpha 3(IV) noncollagenous domain and a trans-dominant inhibitor for integrin alpha v beta 3
- 2006
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In: Journal of Biological Chemistry. - 1083-351X. ; 281:30, s. 20932-20939
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Exogenous soluble human alpha 3 noncollagenous (NC1) domain of collagen IV inhibits angiogenesis and tumor growth. These biological functions are attributed to the binding of alpha 3NC1 to integrin alpha v beta 3. However, in some tumor cells that express integrin alpha v beta 3, the alpha 3NC1 domain does not inhibit proliferation, suggesting that integrin alpha v beta 3 expression is not sufficient to mediate the anti-tumorigenic activity of this domain. Therefore, in the present study, we searched for novel binding receptors for the soluble alpha 3NC1 domain in cells lacking alpha v beta 3 integrin. In these cells, soluble alpha 3NC1 bound integrin alpha 3 beta 1; however, unlike alpha v beta 3, alpha 3 beta 1 integrin did not mediate cell adhesion to immobilized alpha 3NC1 domain. Interestingly, in cells lacking integrin alpha 3 beta 1, adhesion to the alpha 3NC1 domain was enhanced due to activation of integrin alpha v beta 3. These findings indicate that integrin alpha 3 beta 1 is a receptor for the alpha 3NC1 domain and transdominantly inhibits integrin alpha v beta 3 activation. Thus integrin alpha 3 beta 1, in conjunction with integrin alpha v beta 3, modulates cellular responses to the alpha 3NC1 domain, which may be pivotal in the mechanism underpinning its anti-angiogenic and anti-tumorigenic activities.
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- Enqvist, Andreas, 1981, et al.
(author)
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Measurement and simulation of neutron/gamma-ray cross-correlation functions from spontaneous fission
- 2008
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In: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0168-9002. ; 595:2, s. 426-430
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- For the first time, a technique is presented for the measurement of total and separate neutron and gamma-ray cross-correlation functions from a spontaneous fission source. The cross-correlation functions are unique for given material-geometry configuration, thus represent signatures that can be used for the identification of radioactive materials. The measurement technique allows for the collection of fast coincidences within a time window of the order of a few tens of nanoseconds. A digital pulse shape discrimination technique is used, which allows for the accurate acquisition of the coincidences in all particle combinations. Specifically, separate neutron–neutron, neutron–gamma-ray, gamma-ray–neutron, and gamma-ray–gamma-ray coincidences are acquired with two liquid scintillation detectors. The measurements are compared to results obtained with the MCNP-PoliMi code, which simulates neutron and gamma-ray coincidences from a source on an event-by-event basis. This comparison leads to relatively good qualitative agreement.The measurements and simulations of the separate neutron and gamma-ray contributions to the total cross-correlations provide new signatures that can be obtained using existing experimental systems built to accurately identify nuclear materials. This research has direct applications in the areas of nuclear nonproliferation and homeland security.
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