Identification of chemerin receptor (ChemR23) in human endothelial cells: chemerin-induced endothelial angiogenesis

Chemerin acting via its distinct G protein-coupled receptor CMKLR1 (ChemR23), is a novel adipokine, circulating levels of which are raised in inflammatory states. Chemerin shows strong correlation with various facets of the metabolic syndrome; these states are associated with an increased incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and dysregulated angiogenesis. We therefore, investigated the regulation of ChemR23 by pro-inflammatory cytokines and assessed the angiogenic potential of chemerin in human endothelial cells (EC). We have demonstrated the novel presence of ChemR23 in human ECs and its significant up-regulation (P < 0.001) by pro-inflammatory cytokines, TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6. More importantly, chemerin was potently angiogenic, as assessed by conducting functional in-vitro angiogenic assays; chemerin also dose-dependently induced gelatinolytic (MMP-2 & MMP-9) activity of ECs (P < 0.001). Furthermore, chemerin dose-dependently activated PI3K/Akt and MAPKs pathways (P < 0.01), key angiogenic and cell survival cascades. Our data provide the first evidence of chemerin-induced endothelial angiogenesis and MMP production and activity

The outbreak of SARS at Tan Tock Seng Hospital--relating epidemiology to control.

INTRODUCTION: The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) began after the index case was admitted on 1 March 2003. We profile the cases suspected to have acquired the infection in Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), focussing on major transmission foci, and also describe and discuss the impact of our outbreak control measures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using the World Health Organization (WHO) case definitions for probable SARS adapted to the local context, we studied all cases documented to have passed through TTSH less than 10 days prior to the onset of fever. Key data were collected in liaison with clinicians and through a team of onsite epidemiologists. RESULTS: There were 105 secondary cases in TTSH. Healthcare staff (57.1%) formed the majority, followed by visitors (30.5%) and inpatients (12.4%). The earliest case had onset of fever on 4 March 2003, and the last case, on 5 April 2003. Eighty-nine per cent had exposures to 7 wards which had cases of SARS that were not isolated on admission. In 3 of these wards, major outbreaks resulted, each with more than 20 secondary cases. Attack rates amongst ward-based staff ranged from 0% to 32.5%. Of 13 inpatients infected, only 4 (30.8%) had been in the same room or cubicle as the index case for the ward. CONCLUSIONS: The outbreak of SARS at TTSH showed the challenges of dealing with an emerging infectious disease with efficient nosocomial spread. Super-spreading events and initial delays in outbreak response led to widespread dissemination of the outbreak to multiple wards

Analysis of eBook Lending: A Game-Theory Approach

Retailers have seen a steady and continuous increase in eBooks sales in recent years. A new strategy to further promote eBook sales is to provide eBook lending option. For example, Amazon.com allows Kindle eBook buyers to lend their eBooks for 14 days. The free eBook lending option will add additional utility to eBook buyers such as exchanging for other eBooks or reducing uncertainties of purchasing new books. However, such strategy might cannibalize the retailers\u27 sales of print books. Using a game theory model, we explore whether the retailer will be better off to introduce the lending program. We derive the equilibrium price and identify the conditions under which the retailer can offer eBook lending option and generate more revenue

The Effect of Carbohydrate Loading On Gastric Residual Volume And Hunger Score: A Single Blind, Randomised Controlled Trial Study

Background Carbohydrate loading is one of the key steps in Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocol which aims to expedite post-operative recovery. Body response to surgery and prolong fasting by releasing of stress hormone and inflammatory marker leads to insulin resistance and catabolic state. Objective Effectiveness of carbohydrate loading versus plain water on gastric residual volume and patient’s well being. Methodology This is a single centre, single-blinded, parallel, placebo-controlled, stratified randomized controlled trial at Endoscopy Unit, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia(HUSM) from May 2019 to March 2020. Patients older than 18 years old were randomly assigned to either carbohydrate loading (237mls of resource) or control group (250mls of plain water). Randomization sequence was computer generated and allocation sequence was sealed in sequentially numbered and opaque envelopes. The drinks were served 2 hours prior to OGDS procedure. During the OGDS, all the gastric contents were aspirated into a reservoir bottle and recorded as gastric residual volume for comparison later. The patients’ well-being (hunger, thirst, anxiety, tiredness, and weakness) were assessed using visual analogue scale (VAS) before (pre) and after (post) drink consumption. Results 78 patients were randomised and analysed with equal allocation between groups. Their mean age was 49 years old with standard deviation (SD) of 14.3 years old. The means (SD) gastric residual volume in carbohydrate loading group was 58.54(52.98)mls, whereas 13.97(14.93)mls in plain water group. There was significantly more gastric residual volume in carbohydrate group (p<0.001). Carbohydrate loading group significantly showed reduction in VAS score of hunger (p=0.043) and thirst (p=0.021). There was improvement of VAS score for anxiety, tiredness, and weakness over time in carbohydrate loading group compared with plain water group, but not statistically significant. Conclusion Carbohydrate loading is associated with higher gastric residual volume compared to plain water. However, they were associated with significantly better well-being

Relationship between Brand Perceptions and Satisfaction: Empirical Study on Skin Products in Malaysia

In the highly competitive marketplace, marketers for the skin care product are facing challenges with identifying the consumer’s brand perception and brand satisfaction. Brand satisfaction is perceived as an important issue on skin care industry. Obviously, customers are the important stakeholders in organizations and their satisfaction is a priority to the company. This study aims to investigate the relationship between brand perceptions and brand satisfaction on skin care products with four independent variables (quality, promotion, image and preference). This study employed the statistic software of SPSS version 19.0 to evaluate 200 sets of questionnaires which collected from students, undergraduates, working adults and other respondents. The findings in this study shows that the brand perceptions on quality, image and preference have positive and significant relationship with brand satisfaction on skin care products. However, the relationship between brand perception on promotion and brand satisfaction is being rejected. Thus, the marketers can focus on perception on quality, image and preference to increase customers’ brand satisfaction to capture and retain them

PRE-TREATMENT TEMPERATURE AND MULTI-RESPONSE SURFACE OPTIMISATION OF ULTRASOUND-ASSISTED EXTRACTION OF ANTIOXIDANTS FROM RED DATES

Ziziphus jujube known as red dates are natural flora, are a rich source of antioxidant bioactive compounds and are widely used in making Chinese traditional medicine. However, the optimization of extraction conditions and demonstration of extraction kinetics of red dates remains a gap. Therefore, the main objective of this research was to enhance the antioxidant activity via DPPH, crude extract yield, and TPC by response surface methodology (RSM). Also, mathematical modeling of the TPC extraction kinetics was performed. Single-factor experiments were adopted to identify the preliminary RSM ranges of four extraction parameters such as liquid-solid ratio (10, 20, and 30 ml/g), extraction temperature (50, 60 and 70°C), time (40, 50 and 60min), and ultrasonic power (70, 80 and 90%). The extraction kinetics based on RSM optimized conditions were modeled into six extraction kinetic models. As result, the highest crude extract yield (4.56 g), highest TPC (0.023 g GAE/g extract), and highest antioxidant activity (85.88%) were obtained at 60ºC. The optimum values were liquid-solid ratio 30ml/g, extraction temperature 60°C, time 60 min, and ultrasonic power 70%. The antioxidant activity of red dates after optimization (90.59%) was higher than that of synthetic antioxidants, Butylated Hydroxytoluene (84.71%), and Butylated Hydroxyanisole (77.73%). Furthermore, the best-fitted kinetic model was the second-order kinetic model due to its coefficient of determination (R2) at 0.9849, being the closest to 1 and its root mean square error (RMSE) was the lowest, 0.001028 among other models

In vivo and ex vivo regulation of visfatin production by leptin in human and murine adipose tissue : role of mitogen-activated protein kinase and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling pathways

Visfatin is an adipogenic adipokine with increased levels in obesity, properties common to leptin. Thus, leptin may modulate visfatin production in adipose tissue (AT). Therefore, we investigated the effects of leptin on visfatin levels in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and human/murine AT, with or without a leptin antagonist. The potential signaling pathways and mechanisms regulating visfatin production in AT was also studied. Real-time RT-PCR and Western blotting were used to assess the relative mRNA and protein expression of visfatin. ELISA was performed to measure visfatin levels in conditioned media of AT explants, and small interfering RNA technology was used to reduce leptin receptor expression. Leptin significantly (P < 0.01) increased visfatin levels in human and murine AT with a maximal response at leptin 10–9 M, returning to baseline at leptin 10–7 M. Importantly, ip leptin administration to C57BL/6 ob/ob mice further supported leptin-induced visfatin protein production in omental AT (P < 0.05). Additionally, soluble leptin receptor levels rose with concentration dependency to a maximal response at leptin 10–7 M (P < 0.01). The use of a leptin antagonist negated the induction of visfatin and soluble leptin receptor by leptin. Furthermore, leptin-induced visfatin production was significantly decreased in the presence of MAPK and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitors. Also, when the leptin receptor gene was knocked down using small interfering RNA, leptin-induced visfatin expression was significantly decreased. Thus, leptin increases visfatin production in AT in vivo and ex vivo via pathways involving MAPK and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling. The pleiotropic effects of leptin may be partially mediated by visfatin

Preserving Beijing's Old City : the vision and reality of historic conservation planning

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2003.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 68-72).In 2000, the Beijing Municipal Planning Commission drew up a conservation plan for the 25 historic areas in Beijing's Old City. The main principles for the conservation plan were as follows: 1) To preserve the traditional cityscape and hutongs, 2) To ensure the authenticity of the preserved heritage, 3) To implement preservation using a gradual and measured method, 4) To improve the infrastructure and living conditions of the local residents, and 5) To encourage public participation. The residential district of Nanchizi was one of the 25 designated historic areas. In 2001, the area became the pilot site for the implementation of the conservation plan. In June 2002, demolition crews arrived at Nanchizi ready to destroy the courtyard homes. The resulting transformation of Nanchizi reveals that the plan did not succeed in preserving the historic area. This thesis explains why this initial implementation of the historic conservation plan failed to achieve the principles of the plan and examines the causes of this disparity between the vision and the reality of conservation planning in Beijing. It argues that the cause of the disparity between vision and reality lies in the competing visions of those involved in the planning process and that certain visions are valued over others. This cause stems from the inability of planning institutions and processes to respond to the political and economic transitions of China in the past decade. The thesis concludes that in order to succeed in conservation, the function and process of planning must be reconsidered. In addition, the discourse on conservation should also be reexamined in order to ensure that other designated conservation districts of Beijing do not suffer the same fate as the Nanchizi historic area.by Beatrice B. Chen.M.C.P

Secondary Household Transmission of SARS, Singapore

Secondary household transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was studied in 114 households involving 417 contacts. The attack rate was low (6.2%). Occupation of the index case was the factor that most influenced household transmission (adjusted hazard ratio for healthcare workers 0.157; 95% confidence interval 0.042 to 0.588)

Parents’ educational level and second-hand tobacco smoke exposure at home in a sample of Portuguese children

Second-hand tobacco smoke (SHS) exposure is a major and entirely avoidable health risk for children’s health, well-being and development. The main objective of the current study was to investigate the association between parents’ educational level and children’s SHS home exposure. A self-administered questionnaire was conducted within a sample of 949 students in 4th grade (mean age 9.56 ± 0.75, 53.4% male). The sample was randomly selected from all schools located at Lisbon District, Portugal. The current study confirmed that Portuguese children are exposed to unacceptable high levels of SHS at home, mainly by their parents’ smoke. Prevalence of smokers was higher amongst parents with low educational level. Children of parents with low educational level were more likely to suffer SHS exposure at home. These results confirmed the social inequalities associated with smoking, support the relevance of more research on this subject and stress the need for more interventions to control this problem. Some interventions should be specifically aimed at less educated parents, particularly at less educated mothers.CIEC – Research Centre on Child Studies, IE, UMinho (FCT R&D unit 317), Portugal; National Funds through the FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology) and co-financed by European Regional Development Funds (FEDER) through the Competitiveness and Internationalization Operational Program (POCI) through CIEC (Research Centre on Child Studies, of the University of Minho) with the reference POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007562info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio