Liver transplantation (LTx) is a life-saving treatment of end-stage liver disease. Cardiac complications including heart failure (HF) are among the leading causes of death after LTx.
The aim is to ...identify clinical and echocardiographic predictors of developing HF after LTx.
Patients who underwent LTx at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) between January 2001 and January 2009 and had echocardiographic study before and within 6 months after transplantation were identified. Patients with coronary artery disease (>70% lesion) were excluded. HF after LTx was defined by clinical signs, symptoms, radiographic evidence of pulmonary congestion, and echocardiographic evidence of left ventricular dysfunction (left ventricle ejection fraction <50%).
Among 107 patients (presented as mean age SD, 55 10 years; male, 70%) who met the inclusion criteria, 26 (24%) patients developed HF after LTx. The pre-LTx left ventricle ejection fraction did not differ between the HF (69 7) and the control groups (69 7 vs. 67 6, P=0.30). However, pre-LTx elevation of early mitral inflow velocity/mitral annular velocity (P=0.02), increased left atrial volume index (P=0.05), and lower mean arterial pressure (P=0.03) were predictors of HF after LTx in multivariate analysis. Early mitral inflow velocity/mitral annular velocity greater than 10 and left atrial volume index 40 mL/m2 or more were associated with a 3.4-fold (confidence interval, 1.2-9.4; P=0.017) and 2.9-fold (confidence interval, 1.1-7.5; P=0.03) increase in risk of development of HF after LTx, respectively.
This study suggests that elevated markers of diastolic dysfunction during pre-LTx echocardiographic evaluation are associated with an excess risk of HF and may predict post-LTx survival.
Abstract Background Cardiomyocytes are organized in microstructures termed sheetlets that reorientate during left ventricular thickening. Diffusion tensor cardiac magnetic resonance (DT-CMR) may ...enable noninvasive interrogation of in vivo cardiac microstructural dynamics. Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a condition of abnormal myocardium with unknown sheetlet function. Objectives This study sought to validate in vivo DT-CMR measures of cardiac microstructure against histology, characterize microstructural dynamics during left ventricular wall thickening, and apply the technique in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and DCM. Methods In vivo DT-CMR was acquired throughout the cardiac cycle in healthy swine, followed by in situ and ex vivo DT-CMR, then validated against histology. In vivo DT-CMR was performed in 19 control subjects, 19 DCM, and 13 HCM patients. Results In swine, a DT-CMR index of sheetlet reorientation (E2A) changed substantially (E2A mobility ∼46°). E2A changes correlated with wall thickness changes (in vivo r2 = 0.75; in situ r2 = 0.89), were consistently observed under all experimental conditions, and accorded closely with histological analyses in both relaxed and contracted states. The potential contribution of cyclical strain effects to in vivo E2A was ∼17%. In healthy human control subjects, E2A increased from diastole (18°) to systole (65°; p < 0.001; E2A mobility = 45°). HCM patients showed significantly greater E2A in diastole than control subjects did (48°; p < 0.001) with impaired E2A mobility (23°; p < 0.001). In DCM, E2A was similar to control subjects in diastole, but systolic values were markedly lower (40°; p < 0.001) with impaired E2A mobility (20°; p < 0.001). Conclusions Myocardial microstructure dynamics can be characterized by in vivo DT-CMR. Sheetlet function was abnormal in DCM with altered systolic conformation and reduced mobility, contrasting with HCM, which showed reduced mobility with altered diastolic conformation. These novel insights significantly improve understanding of contractile dysfunction at a level of noninvasive interrogation not previously available in humans.
Context. Meteoroid streams are fragments of matter produced by comets or asteroids which intersects the orbit of Earth. Meteor showers are produced when Earth intersects these streams of matter. The ...discoveries of active asteroids and extinct comets open a new view of the relation between these objects as possible parent bodies at the origin of meteor showers. Aims. The aim of this work is to identify the asteroids that can produce or re-populate meteoroid streams by determining the similarity of their orbits and orbital evolution over 10 000 yr. Methods. The identification was carried out by evaluating several well known D-criteria metrics, the orbits being taken from the IAU Meteor Data Center database and from IAU Minor Planet Center. Finally, we analyzed the physical properties and the orbital stability (in the Lyapunov time sense) of the candidates as well as their possible relationship with meteorites. Results. 206 near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) were associated as possible parent bodies with 28 meteor showers, according to at least two of the criterion used. 50 of them satisfied all the criteria. Notable finds are: binary asteroid 2000UG11 associated with Andromedids (AND), while the tumbling asteroid (4179)Toutatis could be associated with October Capricornids (OCC). Other possible good candidates are 2004TG10, 2008EY5, 2010CF55, 2010TU149 and 2014OY1. These objects have low albedo, therefore can be primitive objects. Asteroid 2007LW19 which is a fast rotator and most probably has monolithic structure and so its physical characteristic does not support the association found based on the dynamical criteria.
A new application of the fractional wavelet transform (FWT) was proposed for the simultaneous determination of ampicillin (AP) and sulbactam (SB) in a pharmaceutical combination for injection. FWT ...approach is a new powerful tool for removing noise and irrelevant information from the absorption spectra. Cardinal information having higher peak amplitude, eliminated noise, sharp peaks with shrinking width of spectral range was obtained by the application of FWT procedure to the original absorption spectra. In this paper, FWT approach was subjected to the data vector of the UV-signals obtained from AP and SB in the wavelength range of 211.5–313.8
nm. Derivative transform was applied to the original absorption signal together with its FWT generalization. The calibration graphs for AP and SB were obtained by measuring the FWT and usual derivative amplitudes at zero-crossing points. The method validation was carried out by using the synthetic mixture analysis. Our proposed FWT approach was compared with the usual derivative spectrophotometry and chemometric methods (CLS, PCR and PLS) and a good agreement was reported.
Background Allergen immunotherapy is currently the only disease-modifying treatment available for allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma. Objectives We sought to evaluate the induction of sustained ...tolerance to allergen when anti–IL-4 was combined with a suboptimal course of grass pollen subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) using the allergen-induced skin late-phase response (LPR) and exploratory immune monitoring as surrogate markers of therapeutic response. Methods In this randomized, double-blind, 3-group parallel design trial, 37 participants with seasonal allergic rhinitis received suboptimal SCIT (30,000 standardized quality units) in combination with anti–IL-4 (VAK694) and suboptimal SCIT (30,000 standardized quality units) plus placebo antibody or double placebo (placebo SCIT and placebo antibody) restricted to 13 weeks before the grass pollen season. The primary end point was the size of the LPR at 12 months. Exploratory end points included measures of the immunomodulatory activity of treatment by using IL-4 and IL-10 FluoroSpot assays, flow cytometry of T cells, and measurement of IgE, IgG4 , and facilitated antigen binding. Results Both active treatment arms led to a substantial and sustained reduction of the LPR with no additional suppression with addition of anti–IL-4. Treatment with anti–IL-4 and SCIT compared with SCIT alone led to a sustained reduction in allergen-specific IL-4–producing cell counts ( P < .01). Both active treatment arms led to induction of dual IL-4/IL-10–producing cells during the pollen season. Conclusion The combination of anti–IL-4 with SCIT provided no additional benefit over SCIT alone in suppressing the allergen-induced skin LPR. A larger trial is needed to assess whether the observed ex vivo downregulation of TH 2 responses might translate into clinical benefit.
Electron-Ion Collider: The next QCD frontier Accardi, A.; Albacete, J. L.; Anselmino, M. ...
The European physical journal. A, Hadrons and nuclei,
2016/9, Letnik:
52, Številka:
9
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
.
This White Paper presents the science case of an Electron-Ion Collider (EIC), focused on the structure and interactions of gluon-dominated matter, with the intent to articulate it to the broader ...nuclear science community. It was commissioned by the managements of Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) and Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab) with the objective of presenting a summary of scientific opportunities and goals of the EIC as a follow-up to the 2007 NSAC Long Range plan. This document is a culmination of a community-wide effort in nuclear science following a series of workshops on EIC physics over the past decades and, in particular, the focused ten-week program on “Gluons and quark sea at high energies” at the Institute for Nuclear Theory in Fall 2010. It contains a brief description of a few golden physics measurements along with accelerator and detector concepts required to achieve them. It has been benefited profoundly from inputs by the users’ communities of BNL and JLab. This White Paper offers the promise to propel the QCD science program in the US, established with the CEBAF accelerator at JLab and the RHIC collider at BNL, to the next QCD frontier.
Cardiac disease in SSc can manifest in various ways and is associated with a poor prognosis. There is little evidence on how best to detect and manage cardiac disease in SSc. Our objective was to ...produce an expert consensus best practice pathway for the management of cardiac disease in SSc.
The UK Systemic Sclerosis Study Group set up several working groups to develop a number of consensus best practice pathways for the management of SSc-specific complications, including cardiac disease. A multidisciplinary task force was convened. The guidelines were partly informed by a comprehensive literature review.
A best practice pathway for cardiac disease (with a focus on primary cardiac disease) in SSc is presented, including approaches for early detection and standard pharmacological and device therapies. Due to the benefits, shared care and a multidisciplinary approach are recommended. A future research agenda has been formulated in response to the relative lack of understanding of the natural history of primary cardiac disease that was highlighted by the initiative.
The physician should be alert to the possibility of cardiac disease in SSc; it is best managed within a multidisciplinary team including both rheumatologists and cardiologists. This pathway provides a reference for all physicians managing patients with SSc.
1α,25‐Dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3) has important effects on the growth and function of multiple cell types. These pleiotropic effects of 1,25(OH)2D3 are mediated through binding to the vitamin D ...receptor (VDR). Several polymorphisms of the human VDR gene have been identified, with the FokI polymorphism resulting in VDR proteins with different structures, a long f‐VDR or a shorter F‐VDR. The aim of this study was to investigate the functional consequences of the FokI polymorphism in immune cells. In transfection experiments, the presence of the shorter F‐VDR resulted in higher NF‐κB‐ and NFAT‐driven transcription as well as higher IL‐12p40 promoter‐driven transcription. Marginal differences were observed for AP‐1‐driven transcription, and no differential effects were observed for transactivation of a classical vitamin D‐responsive element. Concordantly, in human monocytes and dendritic cells with a homozygous short FF VDR genotype, expression of IL‐12 (mRNA and protein) was higher than in cells with a long ff VDR genotype. Additionally, lymphocytes with a short FF VDR genotype proliferated more strongly in response to phytohemagglutinin. Together, these data provide the first evidence that the VDR FokI polymorphism affects immune cell behavior, with a more active immune system for the short F‐VDR, thus possibly playing a role in immune‐mediated diseases.
Electron-Ion Collider: The next QCD frontier Accardi, A; Albacete, J L; Anselmino, M ...
European physical journal. A, Hadrons and nuclei,
09/2016, Letnik:
52, Številka:
9
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
This White Paper presents the science case of an Electron-Ion Collider (EIC), focused on the structure and interactions of gluon-dominated matter, with the intent to articulate it to the broader ...nuclear science community. It was commissioned by the managements of Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) and Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab) with the objective of presenting a summary of scientific opportunities and goals of the EIC as a follow-up to the 2007 NSAC Long Range plan. This document is a culmination of a community-wide effort in nuclear science following a series of workshops on EIC physics over the past decades and, in particular, the focused ten-week program on “Gluons and quark sea at high energies” at the Institute for Nuclear Theory in Fall 2010. It contains a brief description of a few golden physics measurements along with accelerator and detector concepts required to achieve them. It has been benefited profoundly from inputs by the users’ communities of BNL and JLab. This White Paper offers the promise to propel the QCD science program in the US, established with the CEBAF accelerator at JLab and the RHIC collider at BNL, to the next QCD frontier.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small noncoding RNA genes recently found to be abnormally expressed in several types of cancer. Here, we describe a recently developed methodology for miRNA gene ...expression profiling based on the development of a microchip containing oligonucleotides corresponding to 245 miRNAs from human and mouse genomes. We used these microarrays to obtain highly reproducible results that revealed tissue-specific miRNA expression signatures, data that were confirmed by assessment of expression by Northern blots, real-time RT-PCR, and literature search. The microchip oligolibrary can be expanded to include an increasing number of miRNAs discovered in various species and is useful for the analysis of normal and disease states.
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