559 research outputs found
Single Electrode Heat Effects:I. Peltier Entropies of Gas Electrodes in Carbonate Paste Electrolytes
Health status in patients treated with cardiac resynchronization therapy:Modulating effects of personality
Estimation of Muscle Mass in the Integrated Assessment of Patients on Hemodialysis
Assessment of muscle mass (MM) or its proxies, lean tissue mass (LTM) or fat-free mass (FFM), is an integral part of the diagnosis of protein-energy wasting (PEW) and sarcopenia in patients on hemodialysis (HD). Both sarcopenia and PEW are related to a loss of functionality and also increased morbidity and mortality in this patient population. However, loss of MM is a part of a wider spectrum, including inflammation and fluid overload. As both sarcopenia and PEW are amendable to treatment, estimation of MM regularly is therefore of major clinical relevance. Whereas, computer-assisted tomography (CT) or dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is considered a reference method, it is unsuitable as a method for routine clinical monitoring. In this review, different bedside methods to estimate MM or its proxies in patients on HD will be discussed, with emphasis on biochemical methods, simplified creatinine index (SCI), bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS), and muscle ultrasound (US). Body composition parameters of all methods are related to the outcome and appear relevant in clinical practice. The US is the only parameter by which muscle dimensions are measured. BIS and SCI are also dependent on either theoretical assumptions or the use of population-specific regression equations. Potential caveats of the methods are that SCI can be influenced by residual renal function, BIS can be influenced by fluid overload, although the latter may be circumvented by the use of a three-compartment model, and that muscle US reflects regional and not whole body MM. In conclusion, both SCI and BIS as well as muscle US are all valuable methods that can be applied for bedside nutritional assessment in patients on HD and appear suitable for routine follow-up. The choice for either method depends on local preferences. However, estimation of MM or its proxies should always be part of a multidimensional assessment of the patient followed by a personalized treatment strategy
Importance of molecular cell biology investigations in human medicine in the story of the Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome
Ranged among laminopathies, Hutchinson–Gilford progeria syndrome is a syndrome that involves premature aging, leading usually to death at the age between 10 to 14 years predominatly due to a myocardial infarction or a stroke. In the lecture I shall overview the importance of molecular cell biology investigations that led to the discovery of the basic mechanism standing behind this rare syndrome. The genetic basis in most cases is a mutation at the nucleotide position 1824 of the lamin A gene. At this position, cytosine is substituted for thymine so that a cryptic splice site within the precursor mRNA for lamin A is generated. This results in a production of abnormal lamin A, termed progerin, its presence in cells having a deleterious dominant effect. Depending on the cell type and tissue, progerin induces a pleiotropy of defects that vary in different tissues. The present endeavour how to challenge this terrible disease will be also mentioned
Clinical translation of the assets of biomedical engineering - a retrospective analysis with looks to the future
Introduction: Biomedical-engineering (BME) plays a major role in modern medicine. Many BME-based assets have been brought to clinical translation in the twentieth century, but translation currently stagnates. Here, we compare the impact of past and present scientific, economic and societal climates on the translation of BME-based assets, in order to provide the BME-community with incentives to address current stagnation. Areas covered: In the twentieth century, W.J. Kolff brought kidney dialysis, the total artificial heart, artificial vision and limbs to clinical application. This success raises the question whether Kolff and other past giants of clinical translation had special mind-sets, or whether their problem selection, their training, or governmental and regulatory control played roles. Retrospective analysis divides the impact of BME-based assets to clinical application into three periods: 1900-1970: rapid translation from bench-to-bedside, 1970-1990: new diseases and increased governmental control, and the current translational crisis from 1990 onward. Expert opinion: Academic and societal changes can be discerned that are concurrent with BME's translational success: mono-disciplinary versus multi-disciplinary training, academic reward systems based on individual achievements versus team achievements with strong leadership, increased governmental and regulatory control, and industrial involvement. From this, recommendations can be derived for accelerating clinical translation of BME-assets
A rare missense mutation in <i>GJB3</i> (Cx31G45E) is associated with a unique cellular phenotype resulting in necrotic cell death
Erythrokeratodermia variabilis et progressiva (EKV-P) is caused by mutations in either the GJB3 (Cx31) or GJB4 genes (Cx30.3). We identified a rare GJB3 missense mutation, c.134G>A (p.G45E), in two unrelated patients and investigated its cellular characteristics. Expression of Cx31G45E-GFP caused previously undescribed changes within HeLa cells and HaCaT cells, a model human keratinocyte cell line. Cx31WT-GFP localised to the plasma membrane, but expression of Cx31G45E-GFP caused vacuolar expansion of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), the mutant protein accumulated within the ER membrane and disassembly of the microtubular network occurred. No ER stress responses were evoked. Cx31WT-myc-myc-6xHis and Cx31G45E-GFP co-immunoprecipitated, indicative of heteromeric interaction, but co-expression with Cx31WT-mCherry, Cx26 or Cx30.3 did not mitigate the phenotype. Cx31 and Cx31G45E both co-immunoprecipitated with Cx43, indicating the ability to form heteromeric connexons. WT-Cx31 and Cx43 assembled into large gap junction plaques at points of cell-to-cell contact; Cx31G45E restricted the ability of Cx43 to reach the plasma membrane in both HaCaT cells and HeLa cells stably expressing Cx43 where the proteins strongly co-localised with the vacolourised ER. Cell viability assays identified an increase in cell death in cells expressing Cx31G45E-GFP, which FACS analysis determined was necrotic. Blocking connexin channel function with 18α-glycyrrhetinic acid did not completely rescue necrosis or prevent propidium iodide uptake, suggesting that expression of Cx31G45E-GFP damages the cellular membrane independent of its channel function. Our data suggest that entrapment of Cx43 and necrotic cell death in the epidermis could underlie the EKV skin phenotype
The Relation Between Histological, Tumor-Biological and Clinical Parameters in Deep and Superficial Leiomyosarcoma and Leiomyoma
Purpose: Leiomyosarcomas (LMS) of deep and superficial tissues were examined to identify prognostic markers explaining
their different biological behaviour and to define differences between cutaneous and subcutaneous LMS. LMS and leiomyomas
(LM) of the skin were compared to and consistent differences that could aid in the (sometimes difficult) diagnosis
Long-Term Evolution and Revival Structure of Rydberg Wave Packets for Hydrogen and Alkali-Metal Atoms
This paper begins with an examination of the revival structure and long-term
evolution of Rydberg wave packets for hydrogen. We show that after the initial
cycle of collapse and fractional/full revivals, which occurs on the time scale
, a new sequence of revivals begins. We find that the structure of
the new revivals is different from that of the fractional revivals. The new
revivals are characterized by periodicities in the motion of the wave packet
with periods that are fractions of the revival time scale . These
long-term periodicities result in the autocorrelation function at times greater
than having a self-similar resemblance to its structure for times
less than . The new sequence of revivals culminates with the
formation of a single wave packet that more closely resembles the initial wave
packet than does the full revival at time , i.e., a superrevival
forms. Explicit examples of the superrevival structure for both circular and
radial wave packets are given. We then study wave packets in alkali-metal
atoms, which are typically used in experiments. The behavior of these packets
is affected by the presence of quantum defects that modify the hydrogenic
revival time scales and periodicities. Their behavior can be treated
analytically using supersymmetry-based quantum-defect theory. We illustrate our
results for alkali-metal atoms with explicit examples of the revival structure
for radial wave packets in rubidium.Comment: To appear in Physical Review A, vol. 51, June 199
Experimental investigation of rubidium atoms above the field-ionization limit using a time-resolved wave-packet approach
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