Thrombomodulin--a new target for treating stroke at the crossroad of coagulation and inflammation.

Thrombomodulin (TM) is a membrane protein mainly expressed by endothelial cells. It is part of the anticoagulant protein C system but recently several effects were discovered which occur independently of protein C activation. TM binds thrombin and promotes the cleavage of protein C and the thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI), thereby inhibiting coagulation and fibrinolysis. Additionally, it interferes with inflammation, stabilizes barrier function, and increases blood flow under pathological conditions. Recombinant soluble TM protects against tissue damage and partially restores normal function after ischemia in several organs. Recently, it was shown to reduce the infarct size in stroke models. Compared to other anticoagulant compounds the risk of bleeding seems to be smaller in animals and humans treated with soluble TM. With its multiple actions TM represents a new candidate for stroke treatment. In this review we focus on the effects of TM in coagulation, inflammation, and on its protective roles in the prevention of ischemic brain damage.

A rotating directional probe for the measurements of fast ion losses and plasma rotation at Tokamak Experiment for Technology Oriented Research.

This work discusses a new directional probe designed for measurements of fast ion losses and the plasma rotation with a high angular resolution in magnetically confined plasmas. Directional and especially Mach probes are commonly used diagnostics for plasma flow measurements, and their applicability for the fast ion losses detection has been demonstrated. A limitation of static Mach probes is their low angular resolution. At the Tokamak Experiment for Technology Oriented Research, the angular resolution is strongly restricted by the finite number of available measurement channels. In a dynamic plasma, where instabilities can lead to local changes of the field line pitch-angle, plasma flow, or fast ion losses, a low angular resolution makes a precise data analysis difficult and reduces the quality of the measured data. The new probe design, the rotating directional probe, combines the features of early directional probes and Mach probes. It consists of two radially aligned arrays of nine Langmuir probe pins with each array facing opposite directions. During the measurement the probe head rotates along its axis to measure the ion saturation current from all directions. As a result, the rotating directional probe simultaneously provides an angular dependent plasma flow and fast ion losses measurement at different radial positions. Based on the angular dependent data, a precise determination of the current density is made. In addition, the simultaneous measurement of the ion saturation current at different radial positions allows for resolving radially varying field line pitch-angles and identifying the radial dynamic of processes like fast ion losses.