The role of IL-6 for predicting neonatal sepsis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: Neonatal sepsis (NS) is a common and life-threatening disorder in infants. Previous studies showed that interleukin-6 (IL-6) may be a valid non-invasive and rapid method for diagnosis of NS. We conducted this review to assess the validity of IL-6 for predicting NS. Methods: This was a systematic review with meta-analysis. Embase, Medline and Web of Science databases were searched between January 1990 and December 2009. The search terms used were "cytokine", "neonate", "sepsis" and "interleukin-6". We used standard methods recommended for meta analyses of diagnostic test evaluations. The analysis was based on a summary ROC (SROC) curve. Meta-regression analysis was used to assess the effects of some confounding factors on the results of meta-analysis. Potential presence of publication bias was tested using funnel plots and the Egger test. Findings: Meta-analysis was performed on 13 publications including 353 infants with sepsis and 691 control infants. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of IL-6 was 0.79 and 0.84, respectively. The maximum joint sensitivity and specificity (i.e., the Q value) in SROC curve was 0.82 and the area under curve (AUC) was 0.89 (95% CI: 0.84-0.94). Meta-regression analysis showed that the diagnostic accuracy of IL-6 was not affected by confounding variables. The evaluation of publication bias showed that the Egger test was not significant (P=0.07). Conclusion: IL-6 seems to be a valid marker for predicting NS. It may be considered for early diagnosis of sepsis in neonatal care units. © 2011 by Pediatrics Center of Excellence, Children's Medical Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, All rights reserved

Comparing Two Examination Results using Means of Sample Means and Control Charts

Some examination candidates submit their scripts first, sometimes, for recognition as being brilliant, and some do for not knowing what to write. However, some equally submit last because they want to dot i’s and cross t’s. The objective of this research is to compare the results of both the earliest and latest submissions with the aim of finding out whether or not there is a significant difference between the two. The examination results of students of the Departments of Accounting, Business Administration and Industrial Relations and Personnel Management of the Faculty of Business Administration and the Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science,  University of Lagos were  compared using means of sample means and two statistical quality control charts. The results showed that, generally, the early submissions seemed to be an indication of being more brilliant than the last submissions in the Faculty of Business Administration. In the Mathematics Department, however, the last to submit appeared to be more brilliant. Keywords:measures of brilliance, statistical quality control, two-sample test, ordered-data-control charts,  time sequence of exam-script submission, competition assessmen

Muscle-derived stem/progenitor cell dysfunction in Zmpste24-deficient progeroid mice limits muscle regeneration

Introduction. Loss of adult stem cell function during aging contributes to impaired tissue regeneration. Here, we tested the aging-related decline in regeneration potential of adult stem cells residing in the skeletal muscle. Methods. We isolated muscle-derived stem/progenitor cells (MDSPCs) from progeroid Zmpste24-deficient mice (Zmpste24§ssup§-/-§esup§) with accelerated aging phenotypes to investigate whether mutation in lamin A has an adverse effect on muscle stem/progenitor cell function. Results: Our results indicate that MDSPCs isolated from Zmpste24§ssup§-/- §esup§mice show reduced proliferation and myogenic differentiation. In addition, Zmpste24§ssup§-/- §esup§MDSPCs showed impaired muscle regeneration, with a limited engraftment potential when transplanted into dystrophic muscle, compared with wild-type (WT) MDSPCs. Exposure of progeroid Zmpste24§ssup§-/- §esup§MDSPCs to WT MDSPCs rescued the myogenic differentiation defect in vitro. Conclusions: These results demonstrate that adult stem/progenitor cell dysfunction contributes to impairment of tissue regeneration and suggest that factors secreted by functional cells are indeed important for the therapeutic effect of adult stem cells. © 2013 Song et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

PCSK9 SNP rs11591147 association study with coronary artery disease risk in Iran

Pro-protein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) has been implicated in the regulation of the plasma levels of LDL-cholesterol. The SNP rs11591147 variant in PCSK9 gene is associated with low levels of LDL and reduced risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) in various populations. We therefore, investigated the association and protective role of the SNP rs11591147 with CAD in 94 patients and 94 healthy participants as controls. rs11591147 T>G was genotyped in all subjects by TaqMan Probe Real Time PCR, although we could not observe neither positive or insignificant association between SNP genotypes with CAD incidence. Allele frequencies also remained insignificant after performing comparison analyses between cases and controls. LDL-cholesterol and total cholesterol levels were not associated with the genotypes. Our data indicated that CAD or the plasma level of LDL-cholesterol was not associated with the reduction of CAD incidence in Iranian population, even in a population with high frequency of lipid-connected CAD risk factors. Prospective investigations should include more cases to accurately analyze the effect of SNP rs11591147 in protecting patients from CAD

Recurrent hepatitis in two iranian children: A novel (Q166R) mutation in EIF2AK3 leading to wolcott-rallison syndrome

Early-onset diabetes, liver dysfunction, growth retardation, spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia, and tendency to skeletal fractures due to osteopenia are characteristics of Wolcott-Rallison syndrome (WRS). Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2α kinase (EIF2AK3) is the only known gene, which is responsible for this rare autosomal recessive disorder. Here, we report two siblings a girl and a boy with diabetes mellitus (DM) who presented in one and two months of age respectively. Recurrent self-limiting hepatitis developed later, and severe hepatic failure resulted in death of the first child. The second child visited was a 7.75 year old boy who had spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia and subclinical hypothyroidism besides DM and recurrent hepatitis. We suggested WRS for this patient, and it was confirmed by identification of a novel homozygous missense mutation (Q166R) in exon 3 of the EIF2AK3 gene. The aim of this report is to remind the possibility of WRS in isolated neonatal diabetes; while, the other clinical manifestations of this syndrome including its major symptom of recurrent hepatitis may appear later. © 2013, Kowsar Corp

Estimation of Inbreeding Coefficients Using Pedigree and Microsatellite Markers and Its Effects on Economic Traits of Shirvan Kordi Sheep

INTRODUCTION Intensive selection within a single population of finite size reduces the genetic variability and increases the rate of inbreeding KEY WORDS Research Article Estimation of Inbreeding Coefficients in Shirvan Kordi Sheep In the overdominance hypothesis, inbreeding depression is attributable to higher fitness of heterozygotes for the loci in question. For the partial recessive hypothesis, negative fitness consequences are due to the fixation of recessive or partially recessive deleterious alleles Microsatellites has been widely used as reliable molecular markers to study the genetic relationship of different populations and for indirect measures of inbreeding. They are codominant, highly polymorphic, highly abundant, heritable, locus specific, and easily analyzed and therefore suitable for studies on population phylogenesis constitution This study was carried out using microsatellite markers because they are powerful tools for tracking alleles through a population and to estimate genetic variability and inbreeding Marker data collected provides information on population structure, relatedness and inbreeding MATERIALS AND METHODS Data Pedigree information from 1989 to 2009 of a flock of Kordi sheep maintained at Shirvan Sheep Breeding Station was used. Pedigree file contained information on individual identification number, sex, type of birth, dam and sire as well as birth date and included 7170 registered animals (3332 males and 3838 females), progeny of177 sires and 2182 dams. Pedigree analysis Inbreeding coefficients of the animals were computed using the CFC program Microsatellite method Blood samples (5 mL) of 100 animals were collected from the jugular vein and transferred into vacutainer tubes containing 0.5 molar EDTA as anticoagulant and frozen at -20 ˚C. Total DNA was isolated from blood samples using the Diatom DNA Kit, according to the manufacturer instructions. The quantity and quality of the isolated DNA was determined using both spectrophotometry and by 0.8% agarose gel electrophoresis. Characteristics of the microsatellite markers used in this study are listed in Approximately, 100 ng DNA (adjusted concentration) was used as template for polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The PCR reaction cycle was carried out in a the rmocycler (Biorad) by denaturation at 95 ˚C for 4 min, denaturation at 95 ˚C for 45 sec, primer annealing for 45 sec at the desired temperature (55-60 ˚C) and an extension for 1 min at 72 ˚C, repeating the cycle 35 times. The final extension step was at 72 ˚C for 4 min. The PCR amplification was conducted in a 12 μL volume. PCR products were analyzed by vertical electrophoresis in 6% non-denaturing polyacrylamide gel (170 V, 3-4 h) and bands visualized by rapid silver staining Molecular data analysis Molecular data were analysed using the POPGENE V1.32 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Pedigree analysis The analysis of pedigree revealed that mean level of inbreeding (F) of all animals acrossall years (1989-2009) was 0.668%. Moreover, the minimum and maximum coefficientsof inbreeding for the animals in the flock was 0 and 31.25%, respectively. The low average coefficient of inbreeding could be ascribed to breeding strategies at the station for preventing mating of relatives. Totally, 23.26% of the animals (1668 out of 7170) were inbred with a mean inbreeding coefficient of 2.87%. In the pedigree, 3332 and 3838 of the animals were males and females with mean inbreeding coefficients of 0.693% and 0.646%, respectively. Out of all, 1668 animals were inbred. These included 823 males and 845 females having average inbreeding coefficient of 2.81% and 2.93%, respectively. These results indicated that fewmatings of close relatives have occurred. Descriptive statistics for inbreeding coefficients for the entire population and the inbred portion of the population are shown in 135 Estimation of Inbreeding Coefficients in Shirvan Kordi Sheep Mean of all traits decreased and increased irregularly by increasing inbreeding coefficients. This could be due to fewer records in the numerically higher classes of inbreeding. Inbreeding depression Details of the data used for the estimation of inbreeding depression are given in Regression coefficients and their standard errors on inbreeding coefficients were -0.0013 ± 0.0003 kg for BWT, 0.080 ± 0.015 kg for WWT, 0.001 ± 0.0009 kg for BW6M, -0.065 ± 0.055 kg for BW9M, -0.092 ± 0.063 kg for BW12M, 0.008 ± 0.0066kg for Wool and -0.023 ± 0.012 lambs for LS. Pre-weaning growth traits BWT: birth weight trait; WWT: weaning weight trait; BW6M: body weight at 6 months of age trait; BW9W: body weight at 9 months of age trait; BW12M: body weight at 12 months of age trait; Wool: wool produced annually and LS: number of lambs per ewe lambing. Changes for every one percent increase in inbreeding coefficient for BWT and WWT were -0.0131 and 0.0795 kg, respectively. Regression coefficient estimate for BWT Regression coefficients for BW in the 9 th and 12 th month were more than all the other studied traits. Estimates of -0.0653 and -0.0921 kg per 1% increase in inbreeding coefficient for BW in 9 th month and BW in 12 th month, were more than the values reported in other studies. Annual wool production and number of lambs per ewe lambing The effect of inbreeding on wool produced annually and the number of lambs per ewe lambing amounted to 0.0083 kg and -0.023 lambs, respectively. For the annual wool production, the linear effect of individual inbreeding, regression was positive but non-significant. On the average, an increase in 1 percent in individual inbreeding increased the wool produced annually by 0.0083 kg. A review b

Subjective and objective measures

One of the greatest challenges in the study of emotions and emotional states is their measurement. The techniques used to measure emotions depend essentially on the authors’ definition of the concept of emotion. Currently, two types of measures are used: subjective and objective. While subjective measures focus on assessing the conscious recognition of one’s own emotions, objective measures allow researchers to quantify and assess the conscious and unconscious emotional processes. In this sense, when the objective is to evaluate the emotional experience from the subjective point of view of an individual in relation to a given event, then subjective measures such as self-report should be used. In addition to this, when the objective is to evaluate the emotional experience at the most unconscious level of processes such as the physiological response, objective measures should be used. There are no better or worse measures, only measures that allow access to the same phenomenon from different points of view. The chapter’s main objective is to make a survey of the main measures of evaluation of the emotions and emotional states more relevant in the current scientific panorama.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Platelet-Rich Plasma Promotes the Proliferation of Human Muscle Derived Progenitor Cells and Maintains Their Stemness

Human muscle-derived progenitor cells (hMDPCs) offer great promise for muscle cell-based regenerative medicine; however, prolonged ex-vivo expansion using animal sera is necessary to acquire sufficient cells for transplantation. Due to the risks associated with the use of animal sera, the development of a strategy for the ex vivo expansion of hMDPCs is required. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of using platelet-rich plasma (PRP) for the ex-vivo expansion of hMDPCs. Pre-plated MDPCs, myoendothelial cells, and pericytes are three populations of hMDPCs that we isolated by the modified pre-plate technique and Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting (FACS), respectively. Pooled allogeneic human PRP was obtained from a local blood bank, and the effect that thrombin-activated PRP-releasate supplemented media had on the ex-vivo expansion of the hMDPCs was tested against FBS supplemented media, both in vitro and in vivo. PRP significantly enhanced short and long-term cell proliferation, with or without FBS supplementation. Antibody-neutralization of PDGF significantly blocked the mitogenic/proliferative effects that PRP had on the hMDPCs. A more stable and sustained expression of markers associated with stemness, and a decreased expression of lineage specific markers was observed in the PRP-expanded cells when compared with the FBS-expanded cells. The in vitro osteogenic, chondrogenic, and myogenic differentiation capacities of the hMDPCs were not altered when expanded in media supplemented with PRP. All populations of hMDPCs that were expanded in PRP supplemented media retained their ability to regenerate myofibers in vivo. Our data demonstrated that PRP promoted the proliferation and maintained the multi-differentiation capacities of the hMDPCs during ex-vivo expansion by maintaining the cells in an undifferentiated state. Moreover, PDGF appears to be a key contributing factor to the beneficial effect that PRP has on the proliferation of hMDPCs. © 2013 Li et al

Social media marketing strategy: definition, conceptualization, taxonomy, validation, and future agenda

Although social media use is gaining increasing importance as a component of firms’ portfolio of strategies, scant research has systematically consolidated and extended knowledge on social media marketing strategies (SMMSs). To fill this research gap, we first define SMMS, using social media and marketing strategy dimensions. This is followed by a conceptualization of the developmental process of SMMSs, which comprises four major components, namely drivers, inputs, throughputs, and outputs. Next, we propose a taxonomy that classifies SMMSs into four types according to their strategic maturity level: social commerce strategy, social content strategy, social monitoring strategy, and social CRM strategy. We subsequently validate this taxonomy of SMMSs using information derived from prior empirical studies, as well with data collected from in-depth interviews and a quantitive survey among social media marketing managers. Finally, we suggest fruitful directions for future research based on input received from scholars specializing in the field