Thesis--Erlangen-Nürnberg. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 203-206).

Thesis (M. Nurs.)--University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 56-63).

Thesis (M.D.), University of Hong Kong. / References leaves. 126-128. Type-written copy.

This paper reports the solution of an optimization problem for spines of cylindrical profile that transfer heat by convection when the spine material has constant thermal conductivity. The volume enclosed by the spine is used as a method of rejecting power from the base surface maintained at a specified temperature. The ultimate goal of this thesis is to find a cylindrical spine of minimum profile volumne which transfers a maximum amount of heat by convection when the thermal conductivity is constant. We compute the geometrical and thermal properties of the optimal cylindrical spine.

Neuropathic pain is a tremendous medical problem that afflicts millions. It is also distinct from other pain conditions. It persists in the absence of non-noxious stimuli or in response to formerly innocuous stimuli due to unique neurochemical and neurophysiological changes. These changes include acute excitation of peripheral neurons associated with regeneration of axons near the injury site. The causes of injuries leading to neuropathic pain include viral infection as well as trauma. Recently, a highly specific angiotensin II type 2 receptor (AGTR2) antagonist known as EMA401 showed efficacy as a treatment for postherpetic neuralgia in clinical trials. Together with previous immunohistochemical studies of the effects of EMA401 on in vitro neurite outgrowth and the presence of AGTR2 in rodent and human dorsal root ganglion, it ignited interest in AGTR2 as a pharmacological target for neuropathic pain. However, the role of AGTR2 in the modulation of neuropathic pain is not well understood. Despite previous studies, its anatomical expression in dorsal root ganglion and trigeminal ganglion remains uncertain. Additionally, few mechanisms for its modulation of nociceptive transmission have been extensively elucidated. Finally, differential expression of AGTR2 between mouse and human dorsal root ganglion has not been fully explored, especially given the availability of high-throughput expression data. Therefore, this study attempts to develop understanding of the role of AGTR2 in neuropathic pain through bioinformatic analysis of Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) microarray data for multiple tissues and RNA Seq data acquired for human DRG.

No description available.

Cerebral oximetry has been shown to effectively identify declining regional cerebral oxygen saturations (rSO2) in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Prolonged intraoperative cerebral desaturations have been significantly associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline after CABG surgery. We compared conventional CABG to minimally invasive robotic coronary artery bypass surgery (r-CABG) using cerebral oximetry to determine the beneficial effects of the less invasive procedure. A retrospective study of 32 isolated CABG patients were treated for coronary artery disease (CAD) via conventional CABG (n=20) or r-CABG (n=12) with analysis of cerebral oximetry tracings and intraoperative data. Parameters, such as, blood loss, mean arterial pressure (MAP), partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2), cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), and diabetes mellitus (DM) were analyzed against the area under the curve (AUC) from the cerebral oximetry tracing, an indicator of rSO2 desaturations. Many of these parameters showed statistical significance (p<0.05) between conventional CABG and r-CABG including a decreased mean AUC in the latter. In conclusion, minimally invasive r-CABG tends to show beneficial effects for patients by reducing the total mean AUC in comparison to conventional CABG, especially in the DM patient.

Human health care is heavily depending on the timely access to medical informtion. Since the serials/journals cover research and development news in the form of scientific articles, news items, new result of research, etc., meant for scientific community, the are proven prestigous communication vehicle amongst the scientists in the world. But, a number of surveys revealed that most relevant and frequently required medical journals are not available in most of the medical libraries in India. At present, there is no any union catalogue of medical periodicals available in India. Under the circumstances, this paper provides a conceptual plan of designing a web portal for sharing periodical holding details among medical libraries in India.

The most common cancer types have a high likelihood of metastasizing to the bone and can cause cancer-induced bone pain (CIBP). Current therapeutic options do not offer proper management and thus CIBP can severely affect a patient's quality of life. Dysregulation of the excitatory neurotransmitter, glutamate, may be involved in the complex and multifaceted mechanisms of CIBP. Because glutamatergic signaling promotes pain, a local rise in glutamate in the bone-tumor microenvironment may contribute to CIBP. Glutamate levels are regulated in part by the cystine/glutamate antiporter, system xc⁻. System xc⁻ is known to be expressed by many different cancer cell types. It functions by transporting cystine into cells and in return releasing glutamate into the extracellular space. Elevated glutamate levels driven by the upregulated expression of this antiporter may contribute to CIBP. Here we demonstrate that system xc⁻ is expressed on a spontaneously occurring murine mammary tumor cell line (66.1) and that treatment of these cells with the established inhibitor and anti-inflammatory agent, sulfasalazine, decreases glutamate secretion in a time and dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, in a novel model of breast CIBP, systemic sulfasalazine treatment not only reduces glutamate levels within the femur, but also significantly attenuates CIBP behaviors. Studies utilized 66.1 cells implanted into the femur intramedullary space of immunocompetent mice. Measurements of spontaneous and evoked pain were made 7 and 10 days post cancer cell inoculation. Systemic administration of sulfasalazine for 4 days (on days 7-10) significantly reduced spontaneous pain-related behaviors and glutamate in femur extrudate as compared to vehicle treated controls. In summary, we demonstrate that pharmacological inhibition of the system xc⁻ transporter attenuates CIBP related behaviors in mice. These data support a role for system xc⁻ in CIBP and validate it as an analgesic target. Further research is warranted to evaluate the potential repurposing of sulfasalazine as an antinociceptive agent for patients with CIBP.

Asthma is a lung disease which features chronic inflammation. Multiple genetic and environmental factors increase susceptibility and provoke episodes of asthma. However, the mechanisms responsible for asthma development are not well characterized. Although allergy is associated with asthma, it has not been shown to precede or predict asthma. To date, there are no clearly established biomarkers of asthma, reflecting our less adequate understanding of asthma pathobiology. In order to identify a plasma proteomic biomarker as an indicator that plasma constituents are altered early in childhood asthma, this study employed a high-throughput antibody array technique which simultaneously profiled relative expression of 507 proteins in human plasma samples from asthma and non-asthma groups. It was hypothesized that alterations of proteomic profiles are accompanied with asthma development. Out of 444 proteins, 4 proteins (erythropoietin, sGP130, galectin-3, and eotaxin-3) were identified with differential expression between asthma and non-asthma groups. Erythropoietin and sGP130 were validated with quantitative differences, which were consistent in direction with the findings from the antibody array, between two groups after having all 4 proteins assessed by ELISAs. Erythropoietin then was assessed for its biological effects in in vivo and in vitro models. It was hypothesized that EPO has influences on acetylcholine-induced airway resistance in animals and on cytokine production from peripheral blood mononuclear cells. EPO's inhibitory effect on IL-2 production and its excitatory effect on IL-6 production were demonstrated; however, the inhibitory effect of EPO on increases in airway resistance in animals was not evident. The results here suggested that asthma has identifiable components in the circulation; these plasma biomarkers may develop via distinct pathways. The demonstrated EPO's capacity of influencing on cytokine production from human immune cells, together with its systemic involvement in asthma, may reveal new opportunities for therapeutics and insights into pathogenesis of asthma.