Rat Anti-KL monoclonal antibody, clone LM-345

The interval process model describes a time-variant or dynamic uncertain parameter by the upper and lower bounds rather than the precise probability distribution at each time point, providing an effective structural dynamic uncertainty quantification model with insufficient sample information. By reference to the Karhunen-Loeve (K-L) expansion for stochastic process and random field models, a novel expansion method for the interval process model, namely, the interval K-L expansion is proposed in this work. The interval KL expansion describes the continuous uncertainty of the interval process in time domain by superposition of infinite deterministic time-related functions with uncorrelated interval coefficients, which makes the interval process model much more convenient to use. By introducing a splicing technique, the interval K-L expansion method for multiple correlated interval processes is also presented. Based on the interval K-L expansion, the vibration of structures subject to interval process excitations is analyzed, where the analytic formulation of dynamic response bounds for linear elastic systems and continuum structures are derived. Finally, several numerical examples are investigated to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

BackgroundAnti-granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor autoantibody (GMAb) has been recognized as a diagnostic biomarker for autoimmune pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (aPAP). The aims of this study were to know the incidence of increased level of serum GMAb in granulomatous lung diseases (sarcoidosis and hypersensitivity pneumonitis [HP]) and to clarify the role of GMAb. Consecutive individuals diagnosed with sarcoidosis (n=92) and HP (n=45) at National Hospital Organization Kinki-Chuo Chest Medical Center were retrospectively analyzed. We measured serum GMAb levels at the diagnosis. Cut-off values of GMAb discriminating aPAP (n=110) from healthy controls (n=31) were determined by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. We compared the clinical features of sarcoidosis and HP patients with GMAb levels above the cut-off value ("Elevated-GMAb") with those of patients whose GMAb levels below the cut-off value ("Low-GMAb"). Radiological and pathological findings in elevated-GMAb patients were re-evaluated to elucidate the role of GMAb in granulomatous lung diseases.ResultsAnalysis of ROC indicated a sensitivity and specificity of 100% at GMAb level of 3.33 mu g/mL for discriminating aPAP from healthy controls (area under curve=1.000, p<0.0001). The percentages of elevated-GMAb sarcoidosis and HP patients were 5.4% (n=5) and 11.1% (n=5), respectively. The number of comorbid sarcoidosis and HP patients with aPAP was two and one, respectively. Elevated-GMAb sarcoidosis patients presented with significantly higher serum levels of Krebs von den Lungen (KL)-6, surfactant protein-D (SP-D), lactate dehydrogenase, and the requirement of systemic corticosteroid therapy. Elevated-GMAb HP patients demonstrated older age, higher serum KL-6, SP-D, carcinoembryonic antigen, and cytokeratin fragment 21-1 levels, and a higher percentage of lymphocytes in bronchoalveolar lavage than low-GMAb patients. A subset of patients presented with radiological and pathological findings characteristic of aPAP.ConclusionsWe demonstrated the percentage of elevated-GMAb sarcoidosis and HP patients who presented with several features suggestive of aPAP. Elevated-GMAb sarcoidosis and HP patients without definitive aPAP diagnosis may have subclinical or early-stage aPAP and may not necessarily indicate false positives. Upon diagnosis of sarcoidosis or HP, measurement of GMAb may be useful in detecting possible comorbidity of subclinical or early-onset aPAP.