Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is an acute infectious disease of the respiratory system. Although a novel coronavirus has been identified as the causative agent of SARS, the pathogenic mechanisms of SARS are not understood. In this study, sera were collected from healthy donors, patients with SARS, patients with severe SARS, and patients with SARS in convalescence. The serum concentrations of interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, tumor growth factor beta (TGF-␤), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-␣), and gamma interferon (IFN-␥) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). The concentrations of IL-1 and TNF-␣ were not significantly different in different groups. The IL-6 concentration was increased in SARS patients and was significantly elevated in severe SARS patients, but the IL-6 concentrations were similar in convalescent patients and control subjects, suggesting that there was a positive relationship between the serum IL-6 concentration and SARS severity. The concentrations of IL-8 and TGF-␤ were decreased in SARS patients and significantly reduced in severe SARS patients, but they were comparable in convalescent SARS patients and control subjects, suggesting that there was a negative relationship between the IL-8 and TGF-␤ concentrations and SARS severity. The concentrations of IFN-␥, IL-4, and IL-10 showed significant changes only in convalescent SARS patients. The IFN-␥ and IL-4 levels were decreased, while the levels of IL-10 were increased, and the differences between convalescent SARS patients and other patient groups were statistically significant. These results suggest that there are different immunoregulatory events during and after SARS and may contribute to our understanding of the pathogenesis of this syndrome.

Drug delivery systems (DDS) based on functionalized polymeric nanoparticles have attracted considerable attention. Although great advances have been reported in the past decades, the fabrication efficiency and reproducibility of polymeric nanoparticles are barely satisfactory due to the intrinsic limitations of the traditional self-assembly method, which severely prevent further applications of the intelligent DDS. In the last decade, a new self-assembly method, which is usually called polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA), has become a powerful strategy for the fabrication of the polymeric nanoparticles with bespoke morphology. The PISA strategy efficiently simplifies the fabrication of polymeric nanoparticles (combination of the polymerization and self-assembly in one pot) and allows the fabrication of polymeric nanoparticles at a relatively high concentration (up to 50 wt%), making it realistic for large-scale production of polymeric nanoparticles. In this review, the developments of PISA-based polymeric nanoparticles for drug delivery are discussed.

The International Advanced Television and Infrared Observation Satellite Operational Vertical Sounder (ATOVS) Processing Package (IAPP) has been developed to retrieve the atmospheric temperature profile, moisture profile, atmospheric total ozone, and other parameters in both clear and cloudy atmospheres from the ATOVS measurements. The algorithm that retrieves these parameters contains four steps: 1) cloud detection and removal, 2) bias adjustment for ATOVS measurements, 3) regression retrieval processes, and 4) a nonlinear iterative physical retrieval. Nine (3 ϫ 3) adjacent High-Resolution Infrared Sounder (HIRS)/3 spot observations, together with Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A observations remapped to the HIRS/3 resolution, are used to retrieve the temperature profile, moisture profile, surface skin temperature, total atmospheric ozone and microwave surface emissivity, and so on. ATOVS profile retrieval results are evaluated by root-mean-square differences with respect to radiosonde observation profiles. The accuracy of the retrieval is about 2.0 K for the temperature at 1-km vertical resolution and 3.0-6.0 K for the dewpoint temperature at 2-km vertical resolution in this study. The IAPP is now available to users worldwide for processing the real-time ATOVS data.

Islet β cells from newborn mammals exhibit high basal insulin secretion and poor glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS). Here we show that β cells of newborns secrete more insulin than adults in response to similar intracellular Ca concentrations, suggesting differences in the Ca sensitivity of insulin secretion. Synaptotagmin 4 (Syt4), a non-Ca binding paralog of the β cell Ca sensor Syt7, increased by ∼8-fold during β cell maturation. Syt4 ablation increased basal insulin secretion and compromised GSIS. Precocious Syt4 expression repressed basal insulin secretion but also impaired islet morphogenesis and GSIS. Syt4 was localized on insulin granules and Syt4 levels inversely related to the number of readily releasable vesicles. Thus, transcriptional regulation of Syt4 affects insulin secretion; Syt4 expression is regulated in part by Myt transcription factors, which repress Syt4 transcription. Finally, human SYT4 regulated GSIS in EndoC-βH1 cells, a human β cell line. These findings reveal the role that altered Ca sensing plays in regulating β cell maturation.

BackgroundImplants have been widely used to restore missing teeth. Limited information on applied anatomy at the anterior maxilla compromises the clinical outcome for implant placement in this region. In the current study, Cone Beam Computerized Tomography (CBCT) was used to measure alveolar ridge and buccal undercut dimension at the anterior maxilla to help develop treatment planning for immediate implant placement.MethodsCBCT scans were screened to include 51 subjects with full dentition at right maxilla. Measurements were taken at the cross sectional views in the middle of the maxillary right central incisor, lateral incisor, and canine regions. Alveolar height was measured from the alveolar crest to floor of nasal fossa. Alveolar width was measured from the buccal to palatal cortical plate at the coronal, middle, and apical third of the distance from the alveolar crest to floor of the nasal fossa. Buccal undercut location was measured from where the buccal cortical plate started dipping to a line extending at the alveolar crest that was perpendicular to the long axis of the alveolar ridge. The buccal undercut depth was measured from the deepest point of the undercut at the buccal plate to a line tangent to the buccal plate paralleling the long axis of ridge.ResultsAlveolar width increased from coronal to apical direction for each tooth. Mean alveolar widths (mm) were: central incisor, 9.55; lateral incisor, 8.30; canine, 9.62. The lateral incisor had a significantly smaller alveolar width than the other anterior teeth. No significant difference in ridge height was noted among the teeth. Undercut locations from the alveolar crest (mm) were: central incisor, 5.84; lateral incisor, 3.59; canine, 5.11. Undercut depths (mm) were: central incisor, 0.76; lateral incisor, 0.87; canine, 0.73. The percentages of teeth with buccal undercuts were: central incisor, 41 %, lateral incisor, 77 %, and canine 33 %. Male demonstrate significant larger ridge width compared with females for all three teeth.ConclusionsAt anterior maxilla, the lateral incisor has the thinnest alveolar bone, and most frequently exhibits a buccal undercut which is the closest to alveolar ridge compared with other maxillary anterior teeth.