Aims Although HbA1c is known to be affected by the lifespan of erythrocytes, any association of erythrocyte indices with HbA1c in subjects without anaemia is poorly understood. Pre‐menopausal women ...may be relatively iron deficient because of menstruation. In this study, we examined the relationship between HbA1c and erythrocyte indices in pre‐ and post‐menopausal women.
Methods We determined HbA1c, red blood cell (RBC) count, haematocrit, haemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) in 423 women with normal glucose tolerance who had undergone health checks. In addition, age at menopause was recorded in post‐menopausal subjects.
Results RBC counts of the 180 pre‐menopausal women were positively associated with HbA1c, whereas haemoglobin, MCV and MCH showed a negative association. In contrast, no significant association of any indices with HbA1c was detected in the 243 post‐menopausal women. Stepwise multivariate regression analysis in the pre‐menopausal women identified fasting plasma glucose and age as positively associated and MCH as negatively associated with HbA1c, regardless of whether or not these pre‐menopausal women were anaemic.
Conclusions Erythrocyte indices are associated with HbA1c, independently of plasma glucose levels, in pre‐menopausal women even when they are not anaemic. This should be appreciated when interpreting HbA1c in pre‐menopausal patients with diabetes.
Summary Various transcription factors are also known to enhance or suppress T helper type 17 (Th17) differentiation. We have shown previously that the development of collagen-induced arthritis was ...suppressed in T-bet transgenic (T-bet Tg) mice, and T-bet seemed to suppress Th17 differentiation through an interferon (IFN)-gamma-independent pathway, although the precise mechanism remains to be clarified. The present study was designed to investigate further the mechanisms involved in the regulation of Th17 differentiation by T-bet over-expression, and we found the new relationship between T-bet and aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR). Both T-bet Tg mice and IFN-gamma-/--over-expressing T-bet (T-bet Tg/IFN-gamma-/-) mice showed inhibition of retinoic acid-related orphan receptor (ROR)gammat expression and IL-17 production by CD4+ T cells cultured under conditions that promote Th-17 differentiation, and decreased IL-6 receptor (IL-6R) expression and signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (STAT-3) phosphorylation in CD4+ T cells. The mRNA expression of ahr and rorc were suppressed in CD4+ T cells cultured under Th-17 conditions from T-bet Tg mice and T-bet Tg/IFN-gamma-/- mice. CD4+ T cells of wild-type (WT) and IFN-gamma-/- mice transduced with T-bet-expressing retrovirus also showed inhibition of IL-17 production, whereas T-bet transduction had no effect on IL-6R expression and STAT-3 phosphorylation. Interestingly, the mRNA expression of ahr and rorc were suppressed in CD4+ T cells with T-bet transduction cultured under Th17 conditions. The enhancement of interleukin (IL)-17 production from CD4+ T cells by the addition of AHR ligand with Th17 conditions was cancelled by T-bet over-expression. Our findings suggest that T-bet over-expression-induced suppression of Th17 differentiation is mediated through IFN-gamma-independent AHR suppression.
Background and purpose
An index for predictors of stroke outcome was determined based on the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores during 1‐h intravenous administration of ...recombinant tissue‐type plasminogen activator (rt‐PA).
Methods
Stroke patients with baseline NIHSS score ≥8 and occlusion at the internal carotid or middle cerebral arteries (ICA, MCA) were retrospectively studied from a prospective single‐center registry. NIHSS scores and inverse change from baseline scores (ΔNIHSS) were assessed at 30 min and 1 h after rt‐PA infusion. Patients were divided into two groups according to arterial occlusion sites: group P, ICA or proximal M1; and group D, distal M1 or M2. A modified Rankin Scale score of 2–6 at 3 months was defined as an unfavorable outcome.
Results
In all 108 patients, the cutoff NIHSS score predicting unfavorable outcome was ≥12 and cutoff ΔNIHSS scores were ≤2 at both 30 min and 1 h. In group P (n = 36), the cutoff NIHSS score was ≥14 at both 30 min and 1 h and cutoff ΔNIHSS scores were ≤1 at 30 min and ≤2 at 1 h. Unfavorable outcome was seen in all patients with NIHSS1 h ≥ 14, ΔNIHSS30 min ≤ 1 and ΔNIHSS1 h ≤ 2. In group D (n = 72), the cutoff NIHSS scores were ≥12 at both 30 min and 1 h, and cutoff ΔNIHSS scores were ≤2 at 30 min and ≤7 at 1 h; 90% of patients with unfavorable outcome showed ΔNIHSS1 h ≤ 7.
Conclusion
NIHSS and ΔNIHSS during 1‐h rt‐PA infusion seemed predictive of 3‐month outcome when the site of arterial occlusion was identified prior to rt‐PA.
Background: Dentin hypersensitivity (DH) is a painful, exaggerated response to normal stimuli, such as cold, sweetness, and brushing. The aim of the present controlled, randomized, double‐masked, ...non‐inferiority clinical trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of cyanoacrylate in the treatment of DH when compared to the application of low‐intensity laser.
Methods: The study includes 434 sensitive teeth from 62 patients. A total of 216 teeth were treated with laser and 218 with cyanoacrylate. A numeric rating scale was used to record the parameters of pain related to the stimuli at baseline and after the treatment at intervals of 24 hours and 30, 90, and 180 days.
Results: Both groups had significant reductions in DH. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups ≤6 months. Intragroup analysis showed that the effect of cyanoacrylate obtained at 24 hours remained for 90 days in response to air‐jet test and 30 days for cold‐spray test. There was a statistically significant difference between all other intragroup comparisons at the time intervals (P <0.001).
Conclusions: It was concluded that cyanoacrylate is as effective as low‐intensity laser in reducing DH. In addition, it is a more accessible and low‐cost procedure and can be safely used in the treatment of DH.
Isolated adult rat hepatocytes attached to flasks in the presence of frbronectin, spread, formed monolayer, and subsequently proliferated in Koga’s medium L under serum-free conditions. When a ...plasmin inhibitor, aprotinin (Trasylol) was omitted from the medium, hepatocytes tended to shrink after initial spreading, were detached from the substrata and died within 2 or 3 days. Examination of the hepatocyte-conditioned medium revealed the presence of plasmin-like protease activity. Since other plasmin inhibitors also prevented hepatocytes from shrinking and detachment, it is suggested that plasmin-like protease(s) is produced by hepatocytes and this causes detachment of hepatocytes. Thus, it is necessary to supplement a plasmin inhibitor such as aprotinin for successful cultivation of hepatocytes under serum-free conditions.
► As(III) can be oxidized and immobilized as ferric arsenate by Ac. brierleyi. ► Initial Fe(II) affects efficiency of As(III) oxidation and immobilization. ► Initial Fe(II) dictates the type of ...secondary mineral formed by Ac. brierleyi. ► Jarosite negatively affects the As(III) oxidation rate in Ac. brierleyi cultures.
The use of a thermophilic acidophilic iron-oxidizing archaeon, Acidianus brierleyi, was investigated for oxidation and immobilization of As(III) from acidic refinery waste water. Some As(III) oxidation was measured in all Ac. brierleyi cultures independently of the presence or concentration of Fe(II) in bulk solution; the exception was at initial Fe(II) concentration (Fe(II)ini) of 1000mgl−1 where As(III) oxidation became markedly facilitated and consequently approximately 70% of As was immobilized as amorphous ferric arsenate. Providing 1000mgl−1 Fe(III) instead of Fe(II) did not show the same effect, implying the importance of Fe(III) be microbially-produced and complexed in the archaeal EPS (extracellular polymeric substances) region for effective As(III) oxidation. The reaction towards secondary mineral formation shifted from ferric arsenate to jarosite at Fe(II)ini of >1000mgl−1. Furthermore addition of jarosite seed crystals retarded the As(III) oxidation rate at Fe(II)ini of 1000mgl−1. The observations indicate that by setting the appropriate bulk Fe(II)/As(III) ratio in Ac. brierleyi culture to achieve a certain concentration of Fe(III) within the EPS region, but at the same time to avoid jarosite formation, it is possible to maximize the As(III) oxidation rate and thus As immobilization efficiency. This study describes for the first time microbially-mediated simultaneous oxidation and immobilization of As(III) as ferric arsenate, using a thermoacidophilic iron-oxidizing archaeon, Ac. brierleyi.
A scheme that compensates the waveform distortion induced by nonlinear interchannel crosstalk such as four-wave mixing (FWM) and cross-phase modulation as well as self-phase modulation in ...phase-locked wavelength-division-multiplexing transmission systems is proposed. Reduction of FWM-induced waveform distortion by controlling the phase relationship between neighbouring channels and its cancellation by precompensation is successfully demonstrated
Methodologies for generating functional neuronal cells directly from human fibroblasts induced neuronal (iN) cells have been recently developed, but the research so far has only focused on technical ...refinements or recapitulation of known pathological phenotypes. A critical question is whether this novel technology will contribute to elucidation of novel disease mechanisms or evaluation of therapeutic strategies. Here we have addressed this question by studying Tay-Sachs disease, a representative lysosomal storage disease, and Dravet syndrome, a form of severe myoclonic epilepsy in infancy, using human iN cells with feature of immature postmitotic glutamatergic neuronal cells. In Tay-Sachs disease, we have successfully characterized canonical neuronal pathology, massive accumulation of GM2 ganglioside, and demonstrated the suitability of this novel cell culture for future drug screening. In Dravet syndrome, we have identified a novel functional phenotype that was not suggested by studies of classical mouse models and human autopsied brains. Taken together, the present study demonstrates that human iN cells are useful for translational neuroscience research to explore novel disease mechanisms and evaluate therapeutic compounds. In the future, research using human iN cells with well-characterized genomic landscape can be integrated into multidisciplinary patient-oriented research on neuropsychiatric disorders to address novel disease mechanisms and evaluate therapeutic strategies.
Addition of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) shows the surprising effect of initially increasing rather than decreasing the ice nucleation temperature (
T
f) of the aqueous solutions.
The effect of polymers ...on the ice nucleation temperature (
T
f) was studied in a W/O emulsion using ∼5
μm diameter droplets by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Four types of polymers were used. Among them, only polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) showed the additional effect of increasing the
T
f of the aqueous solutions. This increase was logarithmic with the concentration of PVA and the difference in molecular weight did not have any significant effect on
T
f for the same weight concentration. It was shown that the number of the structural unit (CH
2CHOH) was the key parameter for the increasing degree of
T
f.
The Kondo effect plays an important role in emergence of electric polarization in a triangular triple-quantum-dot system, where one of the three dots is point-contacted with a single lead, and a ...magnetic flux penetrates through the triangular loop. The Kondo-induced electric polarization exhibits an Aharonov-Bohm type oscillation as a function of the magnetic flux. Our theoretical study shows various oscillation patterns associated with the field-dependent mixing of twofold orbitally degenerate ground states and their sensitivity to the point contact.
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