Baseline clinical characteristics of heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction enrolled in the BUDAPEST-CRT Upgrade trial

The BUDAPEST-CRT Upgrade study is the first prospective, randomized, multicentre clinical trial investigating the outcomes after cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) upgrade in heart failure (HF) patients with intermittent or permanent right ventricular pacing (RVP) with wide paced QRS. This report describes the baseline clinical characteristics of the enrolled patients and compares them to cohorts from previous milestone CRT studies.This international multicentre randomized controlled trial investigates 360 patients having a pacemaker (PM) or implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) device for at least six months prior to enrollment, reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF≤35%), HF symptoms (New York Heart Association functional class II-IVa), wide paced QRS (>150 ms), and ≥20% of RVP burden without having a native left bundle branch block. At enrollment, the mean age of the patients was 73±8 years; 89% were male, 97% of the patients were in NYHA II/III functional class, and 56% had atrial fibrillation. Enrolled patients predominantly had conventional PM devices, with a mean RVP burden of 86%. Thus, this is a patient cohort with advanced HF, low baseline LVEF (25%±7%), high N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels [2231 pg/mL (25th - 75th percentile 1254/4309 pg/mL)], and frequent HF hospitalizations during the preceding 12 months (50%).When compared with prior CRT trial cohorts, the BUDAPEST-CRT Upgrade study includes older patients with a strong male predominance and a high burden of atrial fibrillation and other comorbidities. Moreover, this cohort represents an advanced HF population with low LVEFs, high NT-proBNPs, and frequent previous HF events

Lipid droplet binding thalidomide analogs activate endoplasmic reticulum stress and suppress hepatocellular carcinoma in a chemically induced transgenic mouse model

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most frequent and aggressive primary tumor of the liver and it has limited treatment options. RESULTS: In this study, we report the in vitro and in vivo effects of two novel amino-trifluoro-phtalimide analogs, Ac-915 and Ac-2010. Both compounds bind lipid droplets and endoplasmic reticulum membrane, and interact with several proteins with chaperone functions (HSP60, HSP70, HSP90, and protein disulfide isomerase) as determined by affinity chromatography and resonant waveguide optical biosensor technology. Both compounds inhibited protein disulfide isomerase activity and induced cell death of different HCC cells at sub or low micromolar ranges detected by classical biochemical end-point assay as well as with real-time label-free measurements. Besides cell proliferation inhibiton, analogs also inhibited cell migration even at 250 nM. Relative biodistribution of the analogs was analysed in native tissue sections of different organs after administration of drugs, and by using fluorescent confocal microscopy based on the inherent blue fluorescence of the compounds. The analogs mainly accumulated in the liver. The effects of Ac-915 and Ac-2010 were also demonstrated on the advanced stages of hepatocarcinogenesis in a transgenic mouse model of N-nitrosodiethylamine (DEN)-induced HCC. Significantly less tumor development was found in the livers of the Ac-915- or Ac-2010-treated groups compared with control mice, characterized by less liver tumor incidence, fewer tumors and smaller tumor size. CONCLUSION: These results imply that these amino-trifluoro-phthalimide analogs could serve potent clinical candidates against HCC alone or in combination with dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids

Microscale analysis of metal uptake by argillaceous rocks using positive matrix factorization of microscopic X-ray fluorescence elemental maps

Argillaceous rocks are considered in most European countries as suitable host rock formations for the deep geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HLW). The most important chemical characteristic in this respect is their generally strong radionuclide retention property due to the high sorption capacity. Consequently, the physico-chemical parameters of these processes have to be studied in great detail. Synchrotron radiation microscopic X-ray fluorescence (SR µ-XRF) has sufficient sensitivity to study these processes on the microscale without the necessity of the application of radioactive substances. The present study focuses on the interaction between the escaped ions and the host-rock surrounding the planned HLW repository. SR µ-XRF measurements were performed on thin sections subjected to sorption experiments using 5 µm spatial resolution. Inactive Cs(I), Ni(II), Nd(III) and natural U(VI) were selected for the experiments chemically representing key radionuclides. The thin sections were prepared on high-purity silicon wafers from geochemically characterized cores of Boda Claystone Formation, Hungary. Samples were subjected to 72-hour sorption experiments with one ion of interest added. The µ-XRF elemental maps taken usually on several thousand pixels indicate a correlation of Cs and Ni with Fe- and K-rich regions suggesting that these elements are predominantly taken up by clay-rich phases. U and Nd was found to be bound not only to the clayey matrix, but the cavity filling minerals also played important role in the uptake. Multivariate methods were found to be efficient tools for extracting information from the elemental distribution maps even when the clayey matrix and fracture infilling regions were examined in the same measured area. By using positive matrix factorization as a new approach the factors with higher sorption capacity could be identified and with additional mineralogical information the uptake capacity of the different mineral phases could be quantified. The results were compared with cluster analysis when the regions dominated by different mineral phases are segmented. The multivariate approach based on µ-XRF to identify the minerals was validated using microscopic X-ray diffraction

Baseline clinical characteristics of heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction enrolled in the BUDAPEST-CRT Upgrade trial

The BUDAPEST-CRT Upgrade study is the first prospective, randomized, multicentre clinical trial investigating the outcomes after cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) upgrade in heart failure (HF) patients with intermittent or permanent right ventricular pacing (RVP) with wide paced QRS. This report describes the baseline clinical characteristics of the enrolled patients and compares them to cohorts from previous milestone CRT studies.This international multicentre randomized controlled trial investigates 360 patients having a pacemaker (PM) or implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) device for at least six months prior to enrollment, reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF≤35%), HF symptoms (New York Heart Association functional class II-IVa), wide paced QRS (>150 ms), and ≥20% of RVP burden without having a native left bundle branch block. At enrollment, the mean age of the patients was 73±8 years; 89% were male, 97% of the patients were in NYHA II/III functional class, and 56% had atrial fibrillation. Enrolled patients predominantly had conventional PM devices, with a mean RVP burden of 86%. Thus, this is a patient cohort with advanced HF, low baseline LVEF (25%±7%), high N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels [2231 pg/mL (25th - 75th percentile 1254/4309 pg/mL)], and frequent HF hospitalizations during the preceding 12 months (50%).When compared with prior CRT trial cohorts, the BUDAPEST-CRT Upgrade study includes older patients with a strong male predominance and a high burden of atrial fibrillation and other comorbidities. Moreover, this cohort represents an advanced HF population with low LVEFs, high NT-proBNPs, and frequent previous HF events

Alakzatkutatás = Research of Figures

Alakzatlexikon Az Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem Mai Magyar Nyelvi Tanszéke mellett működő Stíluskutató Csoport hat évi munkával megszerkesztette az első magyar alakzatlexikont. A lexikon mintegy 150 szócikkben (és kb.60 ívnyi terjedelemben) tárgyalja a legfontosabb alakzatokat, ide véve az alakzatok elméleti hátterét megvilágító címszavakat, továbbá a legfőbb trópusokat és az alkzathoz kapcsolódó szemantikai, retorikai, valamint verstani jelenségeket. A szerzők minden bizonnyal hozzájárultak az elméleti kérdések megoldásához, olyanokhoz, mint mi az alakzat, az alakzat és a trópus összefüggése, az alakzatok grammatikai besorolása, valamint az alakzatok és a négy változáskategória kapcsolata | Encyclopeadia of Figures After six years of work,the stylistic research group at Eötvös Universíty, Department of Modern Hungarian, completed the first Hungarian encyclopeadia of figures. The encyclopeadia treats the important figures in 150 entries. Theoretical questions of figures, tropes, semantic, rethorical and prosodic phenomenea of figures are dealt with, too. The authors also concentrated on the realition of figures and tropes, on the grammatical categorization of figures, and on the realition between the figures and the four types of change

The “Unfinished Business”: The Avoidance of King Lear by the Prequel Lear’s Daughters

Cet article propose une approche théorique du processus de réinterprétation réciproque de deux pièces de théâtre, King Lear de Shakespeare et son adaptation par Elaine Feinstein et le Women’s Theatre Group, Lear’s Daughters. L’essai de Stanley Cavell (The Avoidance of Love)sur la pièce de Shakespeare sert d’intertexte à l’examen des deux pièces. L’objet de cette lecture superposée est de montrer le processus par lequel l’adaptation, en cherchant à échapper à ses origines, entraîne une complète redéfinition de ces mêmes origines, provoquant des interprétations radicalement nouvelles de King Lear.The essay is a theoretical approach to present the mutual reinterpretation of two plays, Shakespeare’s King Lear and its prequel adaptation by Elaine Feinstein an the Women’s Theatre Group, Lear’s Daughters. Stanley Cavell’s influential essay (The Avoidance of Love) written on King Lear is serving as an intertext by which the two texts can be examined. With this multilayered reading, the aim is to present how the attempts of an adaptation to avoid the origins will result in a complete redefinition of those very origins in question, provoking new and quite drastic interpretations to King Lear.Este artículo propone una aproximación teórica al proceso de reinterpretación recíproca de dos obras de teatro, El rey Lear de Shakespeare y su adaptación por Elaine Feinstein y Women’s Theatre Group, Lear’s Daughters. El ensayo de Stanley Cavell (The Avoidance of Love) en la obra de Shakespeare sirve como intertexto para examinar ambas obras. El propósito de esta lectura superpuesta es mostrar el proceso mediante el cual la adaptación, buscando escapar a su origen, conlleva una completa redefinición de dicho origen, dando lugar a interpretaciones radicalmente nuevas de El rey Lear