A Salivary Gland Resident Macrophage Subset Regulating Radiation Responses.

Radiotherapy of head and neck cancers frequently leads to irreversible hypofunction of salivary glands, which severely compromises the quality of life and is extremely difficult to treat. We found recently that salivary gland resident macrophages are sensitive to radiation and interact with epithelial progenitors and endothelial cells through homeostatic paracrine factors. Heterogeneous subpopulations of resident macrophages are present in other organs with distinct functions, whereas subpopulations of salivary gland resident macrophages with distinct functions or transcriptional profiles have not been reported yet. Using single-cell RNA sequencing, we found that mouse submandibular glands (SMGs) contain 2 distinct self-renewing resident macrophage subsets, an MHC-IIhi subset present in many other organs and an uncommon Csf2r+ subset. The main source of Csf2 in SMGs are innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) that rely on IL15 for maintenance, while the main source of IL15 protein is Csf2r+ resident macrophages, indicating a homeostatic paracrine interaction between these cells. Csf2r+ resident macrophages are the major source of hepatocyte growth factor (Hgf) that regulates homeostasis of SMG epithelial progenitors. Meanwhile, Csf2r+ resident macrophages are responsive to Hedgehog signaling that can rescue salivary function impaired by radiation. Consistently, irradiation persistently decreased numbers of ILCs and levels of IL15 and Csf2 in SMGs, which were all recovered by transient activation of Hedgehog signaling after radiation. Csf2r+ resident macrophages and MHC-IIhi resident macrophages share transcriptome profiles of perivascular macrophages and macrophages associated with nerves and/or epithelial cells in other organs, respectively, and such niche preferences were supported by lineage tracing and immunofluorescent staining. These findings reveal an uncommon resident macrophage subset that regulates the homeostasis of the salivary gland and is promising as the target to restore salivary gland function impaired by radiation.

Exceptional stiffening in composite fiber networks.

We study the small strain elastic behavior of composite athermal fiber networks constructed by adding stiffer fibers to a cross-linked base network. We observe that if the base network is in the affine deformation regime, the composite behaves similar to a fiber-reinforced continuum. When the base network is in the nonaffine deformation regime, the stiffness of the composite increases by orders of magnitude upon the addition of a small fraction of stiff fibers. The increase is not gradual, but rather occurs in two steps. Of these, one is associated with the stiffness percolation of the network of added fibers. The other, which occurs at very small fractions of stiff fibers, is due to the percolation of perturbation zones, or "interphases," induced in the base network by the stiff fibers, regions where the energy is stored mostly in the axial deformation mode. Their size controls the stiffening transition and depends on base network parameters and the length of added fibers. It is also shown that the perturbation field introduced in the base network by the presence of a stiff fiber is much longer ranged than in the case when the fiber is tied to a continuum of same modulus with the base network.

Model selection for athermal cross-linked fiber networks.

Athermal random fiber networks are usually modeled by representing each fiber as a truss, a Euler-Bernoulli or a Timoshenko beam, and, in the case of cross-linked networks, each cross-link as a pinned, rotating, or welded joint. In this work we study the effect of these various modeling options on the dependence of the overall network stiffness on system parameters. We conclude that Timoshenko beams can be used for the entire range of density and beam stiffness parameters, while the Euler-Bernoulli model can be used only at relatively low network densities. In the high density-high bending stiffness range, strain energy is stored predominantly in the axial and shear deformation modes, while in the other extreme range of parameters, the energy is stored in the bending mode. The effect of the model size on the network stiffness is also discussed.

Blood pressure of primary-school children of Eghbalieh city, Islamic Republic of Iran.

This study determined the percentiles of systolic and diastolic blood pressure and theABSTRACT This study determined the percentiles of systolic and diastolic blood pressure and the prevalence of hypertension among 789 primary-school children aged 7-12 years in the city of Eghbalieh, Islamic Republic of Iran. Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure increased with increasing age in both sexes. There was no significant difference between mean systolic pressure in boys and girls overall, but a significant difference was found between boys and girls in 3 age groups. The prevalence of systolic and diastolic hypertension overall was 6.5% and 12.8% respectively. The mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure of boys and girls in all age groups were significantly lower than the Second Task Force on Blood Pressure Control in Children scale.

Blood pressure of primary-school children of Eghbalieh city, Islamic Republic of Iran

This study determined the percentiles of systolic and diastolic blood pressure and the prevalence of hypertension among 789 primary-school children aged 7-12 years in the city of Eghbalieh, Islamic Republic of Iran. Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure increased with increasing age in both sexes. There was no significant difference between mean systolic pressure in boys and girls overall, but a significant difference was found between boys and girls in 3 age groups. The prevalence of systolic and diastolic hypertension overall was 6.5% and 12.8% respectively. The mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure of boys and girls in all age groups were significantly lower than the Second Task Force on Blood Pressure Control in Children scale

Effect of mycorrhizae, Thiobacillus and sulfur nutrition on the chemical composition of soybean [Glycine max (L.)] Merr. seed.

A field experiment carried out in a calcareous soil with a low available phosphorus to evaluate effectiveness of biofertilizers, mycorrhizae (Glomus intraradices) and Thiobacillus sp. inoculation individually or in combination on seed yield, oil, protein and some elements (P, Fe, Mn, Zn) concentration in two soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] cultivars. The applied treatments were different fertilizers with 6 levels (including: NP (control, 12 kg N ha(-1) as urea, 46 kg P2O5 ha(-1) as triple super phosphate); NPK (NP + 75 kg K2O ha(-1) as potassium sulphate); NPKS [NPK+ S (100 kg S ha(-1))]; NPKST (NPKS + seed inoculation with Thiobacillus bacteria); NPKM (NPK + Seed inoculation with mycorrhizae fungi) and NPKSTM (NPKS + seed inoculation with Thiobacillus and mycorrhizae) and two cultivars (JK and 032). Before planting, soybean seeds were inoculated by Bradyrhizobium japonicum in all treatments. Results showed that combined inoculation of biofertilizers increased yield, however the highest yield was observed in treatment NPKST. Increasing oil content (percentage) was more pronounced in treatments NPKM, while most protein content (percentage) increasing was observed in NPKS and NPKM. Fe and Zn concentrations were unaffected significantly by fertilizer treatments, but NPKSTM showed significantly higher value of seed's Mn concentration compared to treatments NP and NPK. Although no significant difference was observed in terms ofP concentration of 032 line among fertilizer treatments, JK cultivar and NPKSTM caused a significant increasing in P concentration compared to NP, NPKS and NPKM. Present results suggested that applying biofertilizers i.e., mycorrhizae and Thiobacillus increased soybean yield compared to control (NP). Overall, this study demonstrated that soybean seed yield and its chemical composition could be affected by biofertilizer inoculation.

Prevesical xanthogranulomatous pseudotumor.

We describe a patient who was referred to our hospital because of dysuria, frequency and a palpable mass in the suprapubic area. A specimen obtained at suprapubic exploration consisted of fatty tissue and tentative diagnosis was pelvic lipomatosis. The symptoms persisted and the entire mass was removed from its prevesical pelvic position. The pathological report was xanthogranuloma. Postoperatively, the symptoms disappeared.