Publications by authors named "Mike Johns"
Objective: To test whether ETS-related gene (Erg) inhibits tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α-dependent endothelial activation and inflammation.
Methods And Results: Endothelial activation underlies many vascular diseases, including atherosclerosis. Endothelial activation by proinflammatory cytokines decreases expression of the ETS transcription factor Erg.
Rapid velocity measurements using GERVAIS (Gradient Echo Rapid Velocity and Acceleration Imaging Sequence), an EPI (Echo Planar Imaging) based technique capable of measuring velocity over an observation time of several milliseconds, are performed on a wide-gap Couette Rheo-NMR cell for the first time. A variable delay time between a control signal to initiate a transition in flow and the start of the measurement sequence is incorporated to allow investigation of the transient evolution of the velocity field following a step change in rotation rate. Both the commencement and the cessation of imposed shear stress are investigated for (i) a shear banding micellar solution of CPyCl (cetylpyridiniumchloride)/NaSal (sodium salicylate) in brine and (ii) a low molecular weight PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) oil.
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- Laminar flow in the arterial tree protects endothelial cells (EC) from inflammation and atherosclerosis by influencing the way NF-kappaB transcription factors operate.
- Experiments showed that shear stress enhances expression of protective molecules and decreases proinflammatory ones in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) when exposed to TNFalpha.
- The study confirms that shear stress enhances EC's ability to respond protectively through NF-kappaB activation, suggesting that this modulation may play a key role in preventing atherosclerosis.
We use displacement encoding pulsed field gradient (PFG) nuclear magnetic resonance to measure Fourier components S(q) of flow displacement distributions P(zeta) with mean displacement (zeta) for Newtonian and non-Newtonian flows through rocks and bead packs. Displacement distributions are non-Gaussian; hence, there are finite terms above second order in the cumulant expansion of ln(S(q)). We describe an algorithm for an optimal self-consistent cumulant analysis of data, which can be used to obtain the first three (central) moments of a non-Gaussian P(zeta), with error bars.
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- The study focused on using two types of compost—green waste and sewage sludge—mixed with minerals to clean up metal-contaminated brownfield sites for transformation into greenspace.
- The green waste compost significantly reduced the leaching of cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) by up to 48%, while the sewage sludge compost increased Zn leaching but effectively reduced plant uptake of several metals by up to 80%.
- The findings indicate that the immobilization and bioavailability of metals are mainly influenced by the interactions between metals and organic matter, with mineral amendments having only minimal impact.