Ruptured Acute Type B Dissection Superimposed on the Abdominal Aortic Aneurysmal Wall Wrapping a Prior Graft

We report a case of a 73-year-old woman with a type B aortic dissection superimposed on the abdominal aneurysmal wall that was wrapped around a bifurcated graft, implanted for a fusiform aneurysm 12 years previously. She was treated conservatively despite evidence of retroperitoneal bleeding because of thrombosis of the entire false lumen at the time of admission. Seven days later she underwent tube grafting on an urgent basis because a new enhanced space appeared around the graft. A small tear at the previous aortic suture line and dissection of the aneurysmal wall that wrapped the prior graft were noted at the time of surgery. The postoperative course was uneventful

Prednisolone inhibits hyperosmolarity-induced expression of MCP-1 via NF-κB in peritoneal mesothelial cells

The mechanism of peritoneal fibrosis in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) is poorly elucidated. We investigated the cellular mechanism of high-glucose-induced expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), which is important in recruiting monocytes into the peritoneum and progression of peritoneal fibrosis, and examined the inhibitory mechanism of glucocorticoids. Rat peritoneal mesothelial cells were cultured in high-glucose-containing medium and then analyzed for phosphorylation levels of p42/44 and p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases (MAPK), MAPK or extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase (MEK)1/2, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)1/2, and protein kinase C (PKC) by Western blotting. Expression of MCP-1 was examined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. DNA-binding activity of nuclear factor (NF)-κB was measured by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. High glucose increased MCP-1 mRNA and MCP-1 protein expression. Although glucose increased phosphorylation of MEK1/2, p42/44 MAPK, p38 MAPK, JNK1/2, and PKC, and DNA-binding activity of NF-κB, its effect on MCP-1 expression was suppressed only by PKC and NF-κB inhibitors. Mannitol caused a similar increase in PKC and NF-κB activation and MCP-1 synthesis. Prednisolone increased I-κB-α expression and inhibited glucose/mannitol-induced NF-κB DNA binding and MCP-1 expression without affecting PKC phosphorylation. The inhibitory effects of prednisolone on MCP-1 expression were reversed by mifepristone, a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist. Our results indicate that glucose induces MCP-1 mainly through hyperosmolarity by activating PKC and its downstream NF-κB, and that such effect was inhibited by prednisolone, suggesting the efficacy of prednisolone in preventing peritoneal fibrosis in patients on CAPD

The Seasonal Flux and Fate of Dissolved Organic Carbon Through Bacterioplankton in the Western North Atlantic

The oceans teem with heterotrophic bacterioplankton that play an appreciable role in the uptake of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) derived from phytoplankton net primary production (NPP). As such, bacterioplankton carbon demand (BCD), or gross heterotrophic production, represents a major carbon pathway that influences the seasonal accumulation of DOC in the surface ocean and, subsequently, the potential vertical or horizontal export of seasonally accumulated DOC. Here, we examine the contributions of bacterioplankton and DOM to ecological and biogeochemical carbon flow pathways, including those of the microbial loop and the biological carbon pump, in the Western North Atlantic Ocean (∼39–54°N along ∼40°W) over a composite annual phytoplankton bloom cycle. Combining field observations with data collected from corresponding DOC remineralization experiments, we estimate the efficiency at which bacterioplankton utilize DOC, demonstrate seasonality in the fraction of NPP that supports BCD, and provide evidence for shifts in the bioavailability and persistence of the seasonally accumulated DOC. Our results indicate that while the portion of DOC flux through bacterioplankton relative to NPP increased as seasons transitioned from high to low productivity, there was a fraction of the DOM production that accumulated and persisted. This persistent DOM is potentially an important pool of organic carbon available for export to the deep ocean via convective mixing, thus representing an important export term of the biological carbon pump

MODELACIÓN Y PREDICCIÓN PARA MOLUSCOS CON ANGIOSTRONGILOSIS EN LA PROVINCIA VILLA CLARA, CUBA UTILIZANDO LA REGRESIÓN OBJETIVA REGRESIVA (ROR)

El objetivo de la investigación consistió en modelar la serie de datos bimestral de moluscos, para la angiostrongilosis total en la provincia Villa Clara, Cuba en el período comprendido desde el año 2004 hasta el 2015 y pronosticar el comportamiento hasta el año 2020 de esta entidad. Se utilizaron dos metodologías: la Metodología Objetiva Regresiva (ROR) y la regresión con variables dummy, lo cual permitió la elaboración de tres modelos: (1) el de la variable climática que mayor influencia tuvo en la entidad angiostrongilosis utilizando variables dummy; (2) una modelación empleando variables Dummy para la angiostrongilosis y por último, (3) la utilización de la metodología ROR empleando como variables independientes, las predichas en los anteriores modelos. Se obtuvieron coeficientes de correlación entre el valor real y el pronóstico de R =1,0 para el modelo 1, con un error de 0,69 ºC, para el modelo 2, R=0,96 con un error de 338,02 casos, y el tercer modelo R=0,96, con un error de 324,15. La tendencia de la angiostrongilosis fue positiva, donde un aumento de temperatura media traerá aparejado un aumento de la angiostrongilosis, para el año 2020, donde deben presentarse valores superiores a los del año 2015 si se mantiene la tendencia. Se concluye que el modelo 3 es el de menores errores y mayor correlación entre valores reales y pronosticados, la tendencia es significativa al aumento para la temperatura máxima y para la angiostrongilosis

The Seasonal Flux and Fate of Dissolved Organic Carbon Through Bacterioplankton in the Western North Atlantic

The oceans teem with heterotrophic bacterioplankton that play an appreciable role in the uptake of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) derived from phytoplankton net primary production (NPP). As such, bacterioplankton carbon demand (BCD), or gross heterotrophic production, represents a major carbon pathway that influences the seasonal accumulation of DOC in the surface ocean and, subsequently, the potential vertical or horizontal export of seasonally accumulated DOC. Here, we examine the contributions of bacterioplankton and DOM to ecological and biogeochemical carbon flow pathways, including those of the microbial loop and the biological carbon pump, in the Western North Atlantic Ocean (∼39–54°N along ∼40°W) over a composite annual phytoplankton bloom cycle. Combining field observations with data collected from corresponding DOC remineralization experiments, we estimate the efficiency at which bacterioplankton utilize DOC, demonstrate seasonality in the fraction of NPP that supports BCD, and provide evidence for shifts in the bioavailability and persistence of the seasonally accumulated DOC. Our results indicate that while the portion of DOC flux through bacterioplankton relative to NPP increased as seasons transitioned from high to low productivity, there was a fraction of the DOM production that accumulated and persisted. This persistent DOM is potentially an important pool of organic carbon available for export to the deep ocean via convective mixing, thus representing an important export term of the biological carbon pump

Anti-obesity effects of chikusetsusaponins isolated from Panax japonicus rhizomes

BACKGROUND: The rhizomes of Panax japonicus are used as a folk medicine for treatment of life-style related diseases such as arteriosclerosis, hyperlipidemia, hypertension and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus as a substitute for ginseng roots in China and Japan. Obesity is closely associated with life-style-related diseases. This study was performed to clarify whether chikusetsusaponins prevent obesity induced in mice by a high-fat diet for 9 weeks. METHODS: We performed two in vivo experiments. In one, female ICR mice were fed a high-fat diet with or without 1 or 3% chikusetsusaponins isolated from P. japonicus rhizomes for 9 weeks. In the other, lipid emulsion with or without chikusetsusaponins was administered orally to male Wistar rats, and then the plasma triacylglycerol level was measured 0.5 to 5 h after the orally administered lipid emulsion. For in vitro experiments, the inhibitory effects of total chikusetsusaponins and various purified chikusetsusaponins on pancreatic lipase activity were determined by measuring the rate of release of oleic acid from triolein in an assay system using triolein emulsified with lecithin. RESULTS: Total chikusetsusaponins prevented the increases in body weight and parametrial adipose tissue weight induced by a high-fat diet. Furthermore, consumption of a high-fat diet containing 1 or 3% total chikusetsusaponins significantly increased the fecal content and triacylglycerol level at day 3 compared with the high-fat diet groups. Total chikusetsusaponins inhibited the elevation of the plasma triacylglycerol level 2 h after the oral administration of the lipid emulsion. Total chikusetsusaponins, chikusetsusaponin III, 28-deglucosyl-chikusetsusaponin IV and 28-deglucosyl-chikusetsusaponin V inhibited the pancreatic lipase activity. CONCLUSION: The anti-obesity effects of chikusetsusaponins isolated from P. japonicus rhizomes in mice fed a high-fat diet may be partly mediated through delaying the intestinal absorption of dietary fat by inhibiting pancreatic lipase activity. The present study clearly indicated that the saponin fractions of P. japonicus rhizomes had a significant anti-obesity action and supports the traditional usage as a substitute drug for ginseng roots

Molecular fingerprinting of radiation resistant tumors: Can we apprehend and rehabilitate the suspects?

Radiation therapy continues to be one of the more popular treatment options for localized prostate cancer. One major obstacle to radiation therapy is that there is a limit to the amount of radiation that can be safely delivered to the target organ. Emerging evidence suggests that therapeutic agents targeting specific molecules might be combined with radiation therapy for more effective treatment of tumors. Recent studies suggest that modulation of these molecules by a variety of mechanisms (e.g., gene therapy, antisense oligonucleotides, small interfering RNA) may enhance the efficacy of radiation therapy by modifying the activity of key cell proliferation and survival pathways such as those controlled by Bcl-2, p53, Akt/PTEN and cyclooxygenase-2. In this article, we summarize the findings of recent investigations of radiosensitizing agents in the treatment of prostate cancer