Decreased levels of stem cell factor in subjects with incident coronary events.

It has been proposed that vascular progenitor cells play an important role in vascular repair, but their possible clinical importance in cardiovascular disease has not been fully characterized. Vascular endothelial growth factor A, placental growth factor and stem cell factor (SCF) are three growth factors that are important in recruiting vascular progenitor cells. In this study, we investigated the association between the plasma levels of these growth factors and incident coronary events (CEs)

An impinging remnant meniscus causing early polyethylene failure in total knee arthroplasty: a case report

The management of patients with an apparently normal functional total knee arthroplasty (TKA) suffering from unexplained persistent pain and swelling is a challenging issue. The usual causes of pain after total knee replacement are well known, but there are a small number of patients in whom its aetiology is obscure. Malfunction due to soft tissue impingement has rarely been reported. A patient with an unusual case of posterior soft tissue impingement secondary to a trapped posterior horn of a remnant medial meniscus after TKA and responsible for severe early polyethylene wear, is reported. The diagnosis was confirmed by arthroscopy. Treatment was performed by arthrotomy. The meniscus remnant was removed followed by total synovectomy and isolated exchange of the polyethylene insert. To our knowledge, this is the first well-documented case reporting this association

Sleep-wake sensitive mechanisms of adenosine release in the basal forebrain of rodents : an in vitro study

Adenosine acting in the basal forebrain is a key mediator of sleep homeostasis. Extracellular adenosine concentrations increase during wakefulness, especially during prolonged wakefulness and lead to increased sleep pressure and subsequent rebound sleep. The release of endogenous adenosine during the sleep-wake cycle has mainly been studied in vivo with microdialysis techniques. The biochemical changes that accompany sleep-wake status may be preserved in vitro. We have therefore used adenosine-sensitive biosensors in slices of the basal forebrain (BFB) to study both depolarization-evoked adenosine release and the steady state adenosine tone in rats, mice and hamsters. Adenosine release was evoked by high K+, AMPA, NMDA and mGlu receptor agonists, but not by other transmitters associated with wakefulness such as orexin, histamine or neurotensin. Evoked and basal adenosine release in the BFB in vitro exhibited three key features: the magnitude of each varied systematically with the diurnal time at which the animal was sacrificed; sleep deprivation prior to sacrifice greatly increased both evoked adenosine release and the basal tone; and the enhancement of evoked adenosine release and basal tone resulting from sleep deprivation was reversed by the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) inhibitor, 1400 W. These data indicate that characteristics of adenosine release recorded in the BFB in vitro reflect those that have been linked in vivo to the homeostatic control of sleep. Our results provide methodologically independent support for a key role for induction of iNOS as a trigger for enhanced adenosine release following sleep deprivation and suggest that this induction may constitute a biochemical memory of this state

Association between renin and atherosclerotic burden in subjects with and without type 2 diabetes.

Published onlineJournal ArticleThis is the final version of the article. Available from BioMed Central via the DOI in this record.BACKGROUND: Activation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone-system (RAAS) has been proposed to contribute to development of vascular complications in type 2 diabetes (T2D). The aim of the present study was to determine if plasma renin levels are associated with the severity of vascular changes in subjects with and without T2D. METHODS: Renin was analyzed by the Proximity Extension Assay in subjects with (n = 985) and without (n = 515) T2D participating in the SUMMIT (SUrrogate markers for Micro- and Macro-vascular hard endpoints for Innovative diabetes Tools) study and in 205 carotid endarterectomy patients. Vascular changes were assessed by determining ankle-brachial pressure index (ABPI), carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), carotid plaque area, pulse wave velocity (PWV) and the reactivity hyperemia index (RHI). RESULTS: Plasma renin was elevated in subjects with T2D and demonstrated risk factor-independent association with prevalent cardiovascular disease both in subjects with and without T2D. Renin levels increased with age, body mass index, HbA1c and correlated inversely with HDL. Subjects with T2D had more severe carotid disease, increased arterial stiffness, and impaired endothelial function. Risk factor-independent associations between renin and APBI, bulb IMT, carotid plaque area were observed in both T2D and non-T2D subjects. These associations were independent of treatment with RAAS inhibitors. Only weak associations existed between plasma renin and the expression of pro-inflammatory and fibrous components in plaques from 205 endarterectomy patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide clinical evidence for associations between systemic RAAS activation and atherosclerotic burden and suggest that this association is of particular importance in T2D.Innovative Medicines Initiative (the SUMMIT consortium, IMI-2008/115006, the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation, the Swedish Research Council and Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation)

Reconstruction of one-dimensional chaotic maps from sequences of probability density functions

In many practical situations, it is impossible to measure the individual trajectories generated by an unknown chaotic system, but we can observe the evolution of probability density functions generated by such a system. The paper proposes for the first time a matrix-based approach to solve the generalized inverse Frobenius–Perron problem, that is, to reconstruct an unknown one-dimensional chaotic transformation, based on a temporal sequence of probability density functions generated by the transformation. Numerical examples are used to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed approach and evaluate its robustness with respect to constantly applied stochastic perturbations

Uncommon genetic syndromes and narrative production - Case Studies with Williams, Smith-Magenis and Prader- Willi Syndromes

This study compares narrative production among three syndromes with genetic microdeletions: Williams syndrome (WS), Smith-Magenis syndrome (SMS), and Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), characterized by intellectual disabilities and relatively spared language abilities. Our objective is to study the quality of narrative production in the context of a common intellectual disability. To elicit a narrative production, the task Frog! Where Are You was used. Then, structure, process, and content of the narrative process were analysed in the three genetic disorders:WS (n52), SMS (n52), and PWS (n52). Data show evidence of an overall low narrative quality in these syndromes, despite a high variability within different measures of narrative production. Results support the hypothesis that narrative is a highly complex cognitive process and that, in a context of intellectual disability, there is no evidence of particular ‘hypernarrativity’ in these syndromes.This research was supported by the grants FEDER –

The management and survival outcomes of nasopharyngeal cancer in the Nordic countries

Peer reviewe

CD8+ T Cells Mediate the Athero-Protective Effect of Immunization with an ApoB-100 Peptide

Immunization of hypercholesterolemic mice with selected apoB-100 peptide antigens reduces atherosclerosis but the precise immune mediators of athero-protection remain unclear. In this study we show that immunization of apoE (-/-) mice with p210, a 20 amino acid apoB-100 related peptide, reduced aortic atherosclerosis compared with PBS or adjuvant/carrier controls. Immunization with p210 activated CD8+ T cells, reduced dendritic cells (DC) at the site of immunization and within the plaque with an associated reduction in plaque macrophage immunoreactivity. Adoptive transfer of CD8+ T cells from p210 immunized mice recapitulated the athero-protective effect of p210 immunization in naïve, non-immunized mice. CD8+ T cells from p210 immunized mice developed a preferentially higher cytolytic response against p210-loaded dendritic cells in vitro. Although p210 immunization profoundly modulated DCs and cellular immune responses, it did not alter the efficacy of subsequent T cell dependent or independent immune response to other irrelevant antigens. Our data define, for the first time, a role for CD8+ T cells in mediating the athero-protective effects of apoB-100 related peptide immunization in apoE (-/-) mice