scholarly journals Understanding Lung Deposition of Alpha-1 Antitrypsin in Acute Experimental Mouse Lung Injury Model Using Fluorescence Microscopy

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mengmeng Wang ◽  
Yutian Zhan ◽  
Jianqing Chen ◽  
Haojing Rong ◽  
Shawn P. O’Neil ◽  
...  

Human plasma-derived α1-antitrypsin (AAT) delivered by intravenous infusion is used as augmentation therapy in patients with emphysema who have a genetic mutation resulting in deficiency of AAT. Inhalation is an alternative route of administration that can potentially increase the efficacy and convenience of treatment. This study was conducted to determine whether delivery to the lungs, initially via the intratracheal (IT) route of administration, would deliver efficacious levels of a recombinant AAT (rAAT) to the site of action in the lungs in mice. 125I-radiolabeled rAAT, fluorophore-conjugated rAAT (rAAT-Alexa488), and NE680 (neutrophil elastase 680, a silent fluorescent substrate of neutrophil elastase which fluoresces in the near-infrared range upon activation by neutrophil elastase) were used to characterize the pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution profile, distribution of rAAT within the lung, and efficacy of rAAT to inhibit neutrophil elastase at the site of action, respectively. The study has demonstrated that rAAT was able to gain access to locations where neutrophil elastase was localized. The histochemical quantification of rAAT activity relative to dose at the site of action provided here will improve confidence in predicting the human dose via the inhalation route.

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvie Kossodo ◽  
Jun Zhang ◽  
Kevin Groves ◽  
Garry J. Cuneo ◽  
Emma Handy ◽  
...  

We developed a neutrophil elastase-specific near-infrared fluorescence imaging agent, which, combined with fluorescence molecular tomographic imaging, allowed us to detect and quantify neutrophil elastase activity in vivo, in real time, and noninvasively in an acute model of lung injury (ALI). Significantly higher fluorescent signal was quantified in mice with LPS/fMLP-induced ALI as compared to healthy controls, correlating with increases in the number of bronchoalveolar lavage cells, neutrophils, and elastase activity. The agent was significantly activated ex vivo in lung sections from ALI but not from control mice, and this activation was ablated by the specific inhibitor sivelestat. Treatment with the specific inhibitor sivelestat significantly reduced lung signal in mice with ALI. These results underscore the unique ability of fluorescence molecular imaging to quantify specific molecular processes in vivo, crucial for understanding the mechanisms underlying disease progression and for assessing and monitoring novel pharmacological interventions.


Author(s):  
M. Bouya ◽  
D. Carisetti ◽  
J.C. Clement ◽  
N. Malbert ◽  
N. Labat ◽  
...  

Abstract HEMT (High Electron Mobility Transistor) are playing a key role for power and RF low noise applications. They are crucial components for the development of base stations in the telecommunications networks and for civil, defense and space radar applications. As well as the improvement of the MMIC performances, the localization of the defects and the failure analysis of these devices are very challenging. To face these challenges, we have developed a complete approach, without degrading the component, based on front side failure analysis by standard (Visible-NIR) and Infrared (range of wavelength: 3-5 µm) electroluminescence techniques. Its complementarities and efficiency have been demonstrated through two case studies.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1373
Author(s):  
Fadis F. Murzakhanov ◽  
Boris V. Yavkin ◽  
Georgiy V. Mamin ◽  
Sergei B. Orlinskii ◽  
Ivan E. Mumdzhi ◽  
...  

Optically addressable high-spin states (S ≥ 1) of defects in semiconductors are the basis for the development of solid-state quantum technologies. Recently, one such defect has been found in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) and identified as a negatively charged boron vacancy (VB−). To explore and utilize the properties of this defect, one needs to design a robust way for its creation in an hBN crystal. We investigate the possibility of creating VB− centers in an hBN single crystal by means of irradiation with a high-energy (E = 2 MeV) electron flux. Optical excitation of the irradiated sample induces fluorescence in the near-infrared range together with the electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrum of the triplet centers with a zero-field splitting value of D = 3.6 GHz, manifesting an optically induced population inversion of the ground state spin sublevels. These observations are the signatures of the VB− centers and demonstrate that electron irradiation can be reliably used to create these centers in hBN. Exploration of the VB− spin resonance line shape allowed us to establish the source of the line broadening, which occurs due to the slight deviation in orientation of the two-dimensional B-N atomic plains being exactly parallel relative to each other. The results of the analysis of the broadening mechanism can be used for the crystalline quality control of the 2D materials, using the VB− spin embedded in the hBN as a probe.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (15) ◽  
pp. 6992
Author(s):  
Tie Zhang ◽  
Yuxin Xing ◽  
Gaoxuan Wang ◽  
Sailing He

An optical system for gaseous chloroform (CHCl3) detection based on wavelength modulation photoacoustic spectroscopy (WMPAS) is proposed for the first time by using a distributed feedback (DFB) laser with a center wavelength of 1683 nm where chloroform has strong and complex absorption peaks. The WMPAS sensor developed possesses the advantages of having a simple structure, high-sensitivity, and direct measurement. A resonant cavity made of stainless steel with a resonant frequency of 6390 Hz was utilized, and eight microphones were located at the middle of the resonator at uniform intervals to collect the sound signal. All of the devices were integrated into an instrument box for practical applications. The performance of the WMPAS sensor was experimentally demonstrated with the measurement of different concentrations of chloroform from 63 to 625 ppm. A linear coefficient R2 of 0.999 and a detection sensitivity of 0.28 ppm with a time period of 20 s were achieved at room temperature (around 20 °C) and atmosphere pressure. Long-time continuous monitoring for a fixed concentration of chloroform gas was carried out to demonstrate the excellent stability of the system. The performance of the system shows great practical value for the detection of chloroform gas in industrial applications.


2014 ◽  
Vol 105 (4) ◽  
pp. 041903 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroaki Matsui ◽  
Wasanthamala Badalawa ◽  
Takayuki Hasebe ◽  
Shinya Furuta ◽  
Wataru Nomura ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 6
Author(s):  
Dianjun Hu ◽  
Xin Liu ◽  
Ziyu Liu ◽  
Xiaoying Li ◽  
Feng Tian ◽  
...  

As a kind of promising material for a Faraday isolator used in the visible and near infrared range, Dy2O3 transparent ceramics were prepared by vacuum sintering from the nano-powders synthesized by the liquid precipitation method using ammonium hydrogen carbonate as precipitant with no sintering aids. The synthesized precursor was calcinated at 950 °C–1150 °C for 4 h in air. The influences of the calcination temperature on the morphologies and phase composition of Dy2O3 powders were characterized. It is found that the Dy2O3 powder calcinated at 1000 °C for 4 h is superior for the fabrication of Dy2O3 ceramics. The Dy2O3 transparent ceramic sample prepared by vacuum sintering at 1850 °C for 10 h, and subsequently with air annealing at 1400 °C for 10 h, from the 1000 °C-calcined Dy2O3 powders, presents the best optical quality. The values of in-line transmittance of the optimal ceramic specimen with the thickness of 1.0 mm are 75.3% at 2000 nm and 67.9% at 633 nm. The Verdet constant of Dy2O3 ceramics was measured to be −325.3 ± 1.9 rad/(T·m) at 633 nm, about 2.4 times larger than that of TGG (Tb3Ga5O12) single crystals.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Max Zhang ◽  
Bo Yang ◽  
Geng Chen ◽  
Jiajun Gu ◽  
James Schwab ◽  
...  

Abstract. DC, also referred to as Delta-C, measures enhanced light absorption of particulate matter (PM) samples at the near-ultraviolet (UV) range relative to the near-infrared range, which has been proposed previously as a woodsmoke marker due to the presence of enhanced UV light absorbing materials from wood combustion. In this paper, we further evaluated the applications and limitations of using DC as both a qualitative and semi-quantitative woodsmoke marker via joint continuous measurements of PM2.5 (by nephelometer pDR-1500) and light-absorptive PM (by 2-wavelength and 7-wavelength Aethalometer®) in three Northeastern U.S. cities/towns including Rutland, VT, Saranac Lake, NY and Ithaca, NY. We compared the pDR-1500 against a FEM PM2.5 sampler (BAM 1020), and identified a close agreement between the two instruments in a woodsmoke-dominated ambient environment. The analysis of seasonal and diurnal trends of DC, BC (880 nm) and PM2.5 concentrations supports the use of DC as an adequate qualitative marker. The strong linear relationships between PM2.5 and DC in both woodsmoke-dominated ambient and plume environments suggest that DC can reasonably serve as a semi-quantitative woodsmoke marker. We proposed a DC-based indicator for woodsmoke emission, which was then shown to exhibit relatively strong linear relationship with heating demand. While we observed reproducible PM2.5-DC relationships in similar woodsmoke-dominated ambient environments, those relationships differ significantly with different environments, and among individual woodsmoke sources. DC correlated much more closely with PM2.5 than EcoChem PAS2000-reported PAH in woodsmoke-dominated ambient environments. Our analysis also indicates the potential for PM2.5-DC relationships to be utilized to distinguish different combustion and operating conditions of woodsmoke sources, and that DC-Heating demand relationships could be adopted to estimate woodsmoke emissions. However, future studies are needed to elucidate those relationships.


2018 ◽  
Vol 617 ◽  
pp. L2 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Müller ◽  
M. Keppler ◽  
Th. Henning ◽  
M. Samland ◽  
G. Chauvin ◽  
...  

Context. The observation of planets in their formation stage is a crucial but very challenging step in understanding when, how, and where planets form. PDS 70 is a young pre-main sequence star surrounded by a transition disk, in the gap of which a planetary-mass companion has recently been discovered. This discovery represents the first robust direct detection of such a young planet, possibly still at the stage of formation. Aims. We aim to characterize the orbital and atmospheric properties of PDS 70 b, which was first identified on May 2015 in the course of the SHINE survey with SPHERE, the extreme adaptive-optics instrument at the VLT. Methods. We obtained new deep SPHERE/IRDIS imaging and SPHERE/IFS spectroscopic observations of PDS 70 b. The astrometric baseline now covers 6 yr, which allowed us to perform an orbital analysis. For the first time, we present spectrophotometry of the young planet which covers almost the entire near-infrared range (0.96–3.8 μm). We use different atmospheric models covering a large parameter space in temperature, log g, chemical composition, and cloud properties to characterize the properties of the atmosphere of PDS 70 b. Results. PDS 70 b is most likely orbiting the star on a circular and disk coplanar orbit at ~22 au inside the gap of the disk. We find a range of models that can describe the spectrophotometric data reasonably well in the temperature range 1000–1600 K and log g no larger than 3.5 dex. The planet radius covers a relatively large range between 1.4 and 3.7 RJ with the larger radii being higher than expected from planet evolution models for the age of the planet of 5.4 Myr. Conclusions. This study provides a comprehensive data set on the orbital motion of PDS 70 b, indicating a circular orbit and a motion coplanar with the disk. The first detailed spectral energy distribution of PDS 70 b indicates a temperature typical of young giant planets. The detailed atmospheric analysis indicates that a circumplanetary disk may contribute to the total planetflux.


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