Response of Various Conduit Arteries in Tachycardia- and Volume Overload-Induced Heart Failure

Although hemodynamics changes occur in heart failure (HF) and generally influence vascular function, it is not clear whether various HF models will affect the conduit vessels differentially or whether local hemodynamic forces or systemic factors are more important determinants of vascular response in HF. Here, we studied the hemodynamic changes in tachycardia or volume-overload HF swine model (created by either high rate pacing or distal abdominal aortic-vena cava fistula, respectively) on carotid, femoral, and renal arteries function and molecular expression. The ejection fraction was reduced by 50% or 30% in tachycardia or volume-overload model in four weeks, respectively. The LV end diastolic volume was increased from 65±22 to 115±78 ml in tachycardia and 67±19 to 148±68 ml in volume-overload model. Flow reversal was observed in diastolic phase in carotid artery of both models and femoral artery in volume-overload model. The endothelial function was also significantly impaired in carotid and renal arteries of tachycardia and volume-overload animals. The endothelial dysfunction was observed in femoral artery of volume-overload animals but not tachycardia animals. The adrenergic receptor-dependent contractility decreased in carotid and femoral arteries of tachycardia animals. The protein expressions of NADPH oxidase subunits increased in the three arteries and both animal models while expression of MnSOD decreased in carotid artery of tachycardia and volume-overload model. In conclusion, different HF models lead to variable arterial hemodynamic changes but similar vascular and molecular expression changes that reflect the role of both local hemodynamics as well as systemic changes in HF.     

Valid and reliable instruments for arm-hand assessment at ICF activity level in persons with hemiplegia: a systematic review

Background

Loss of arm-hand performance due to a hemiparesis as a result of stroke or cerebral palsy (CP), leads to large problems in daily life of these patients. Assessment of arm-hand performance is important in both clinical practice and research. To gain more insight in e.g. effectiveness of common therapies for different patient populations with similar clinical characteristics, consensus regarding the choice and use of outcome measures is paramount. To guide this choice, an overview of available instruments is necessary. The aim of this systematic review is to identify, evaluate and categorize instruments, reported to be valid and reliable, assessing arm-hand performance at the ICF activity level in patients with stroke or cerebral palsy.

Methods

A systematic literature search was performed to identify articles containing instruments assessing arm-hand skilled performance in patients with stroke or cerebral palsy. Instruments were identified and divided into the categories capacity, perceived performance and actual performance. A second search was performed to obtain information on their content and psychometrics.

Results

Regarding capacity, perceived performance and actual performance, 18, 9 and 3 instruments were included respectively. Only 3 of all included instruments were used and tested in both patient populations. The content of the instruments differed widely regarding the ICF levels measured, assessment of the amount of use versus the quality of use, the inclusion of unimanual and/or bimanual tasks and the inclusion of basic and/or extended tasks.

Conclusions

Although many instruments assess capacity and perceived performance, a dearth exists of instruments assessing actual performance. In addition, instruments appropriate for more than one patient population are sparse. For actual performance, new instruments have to be developed, with specific focus on the usability in different patient populations and the assessment of quality of use as well as amount of use. Also, consensus about the choice and use of instruments within and across populations is needed.     

Do synovial biopsies help to support evidence for involvement of innate immunity in the immunopathology of Beh?et's disease?

Behçet's disease is a complex vasculitis of unknown etiology. Abundant neutrophils suggest the involvement of innate immunity. Cytokines are skewed to the T-helper-1 pattern. Few sterile organs are easily accessible for analysis in Behçet's disease. Cañete and coworkers identify inflamed joints as a feasible model and suggest the involvement of innate immunity in Behçet's disease.     

Effectiveness of benzyl benzoate in elimination of house dust mites

The effect of elimination treatment with benzyl benzoate was examined in 30 adults with asthma caused by sensitivity to house dust mites. The patients were randomised into a control and an active group, who treated their mattresses with benzyl benzoate (Acarosan^®). The study lasted 12 months and the effect of the treatment was monitored by monthly dust sampling, analyzed for major allergens fromDermatophagoides pteronyssinus andfarinae by the ELISA method and for guanine by the Acarex^® method. The clinical effect was assessed by measuring lung function, daily peak flows, symptoms and medicine consumption as well as skin prick tests, and specific IgE to mite allergens. For both groups, a significant decrease was observed in house dust mite allergens, but there was no significant difference between the groups. No considerable differences were observed in clinical parameters within or between the groups. A good correlation was observed between ELISA and Acarex^®. but the latter showed a major variation in the different classes. In conclusion. treatment of mattresses with benzyl benzoate had no effect in a group of patients with asthma due to house dust mite allergy. Regular vacuum cleaning of the bed may reduce house dust mite allergen exposure.     

Demonstration of an analogue to human pregnancy zone protein in the African green monkey.

A serum protein in the grivet (Cercopithecus aethiops), immunologically cross-reacting with human pregnancy zone protein (PZP), is found in males as well as in nonpregnant females. The electrophoretic mobility, antigenic cross-reactivity, molecular weight, and carbohydrate structure appear analogous to PZP; however, contrary to the situation in man, exogenous estrogens cause a fall in serum concentration of the protein.     

Characterisation of G418-induced metabolic load in recombinant CHO and BHK cells: effect on the activity and expression of central metabolic enzymes

In a previous article (Yallop and Svendsen 2001), recombinant CHO and BHK cell lines, expressing the human glucagon receptor and the gastric inhibitory peptide receptor, respectively, showed reduced growth rates and altered nutrient utilisation when grown with increasing concentrations of G418. This response was associated with an increased expression of the neo ^r protein, while expression of the recombinant membrane receptors remained unaltered. The metabolic response was characterised in both cell lines by an increase in the specific rate of glutamine utilisation and in CHO cells by a decrease in the yield of lactate from glucose, suggesting a change in the flux of glucose through central metabolism. The aim of this study was to further elucidate these metabolic changes by determining the activity and relative expression of key enzymes involved in glucose and glutamine metabolism. For both CHO and BHK cells, there was an increase in the activity of glutaminase, glutamate dehydrogenase and glutamine synthetase, suggesting an increased flux through the glutaminolysis pathway. The activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and pyruvate carboxylase in CHO cells was also increased whilst lactate dehydrogenase activity remained unaltered, suggesting an increased flux to the pentose phosphate pathway and TCA cycle, respectively. The activity of these enzymes in BHK cells was unchanged. Quantitative RT-PCR showed that expression levels of glutaminase and pyruvate carboxylase were the same with and without G418, indicating that the differences in activities were likely due to post-translational modifications. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Evaluation of neem seed powder for Fusarium wilt and Meloidogyne control on tomato

Fusarium wilt and root-knot are important diseases of tomato. The use of chemical is becoming less appealing because of the health implications. Also, the chemicals required are often not within the reach of farmers in most of the developing part of the world. This research is aimed at finding an alternative mode of control. Tomato variety Roma VF inoculated with Meloidogyne and Fusarium were treated with 2 g/kg soil neem seed powder in the screenhouse and 2 Mg ha ^{? 1} in the field. An untreated and Furadan treated plot in the field served as control. Neem seed powder significantly reduced the disease severity of Fusarium and root-knot in both screenhouse and field. Results suggest the possible use of neem seed powder for control of the root-knot nematodes - Fusarium wilt disease complex.     

Testing statistical significance scores of sequence comparison methods with structure similarity

Background  

In the past years the Smith-Waterman sequence comparison algorithm has gained popularity due to improved implementations and rapidly increasing computing power. However, the quality and sensitivity of a database search is not only determined by the algorithm but also by the statistical significance testing for an alignment. The e-value is the most commonly used statistical validation method for sequence database searching. The CluSTr database and the Protein World database have been created using an alternative statistical significance test: a Z-score based on Monte-Carlo statistics. Several papers have described the superiority of the Z-score as compared to the e-value, using simulated data. We were interested if this could be validated when applied to existing, evolutionary related protein sequences.