An early stage in the transition of the intestine from the umbilical cord

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Radiation effects on beta 10.6 of pure and europium doped KCl

Changes in the optical absorption coefficient as a result of X-ray and electron bombardment of pure KCl (monocrystalline and polycrystalline), and divalent europium doped polycrystalline KCl were determined. The optical absorption coefficients were measured by a constant heat flow calorimetric method. Both 300 KV X-irradiation and 2 MeV electron irradiation produced significant increases in beta 10.6, measured at room temperature. The X-irradiation of pure moncrystalline KCl increased beta 10.6 by 0.005/cm for a 113 MR dose. For an equivalent dose, 2 MeV electrons were found less efficient in changing beta 10.6. However, electron irradiation of pure and Eu-doped polycrystalline KCl produced marked increases in adsorption. Beta increased to over 0.25/cm in Eu-doped material for a 30 x 10 to the 14th power electrons/sq cm dose, a factor of 20 increase over unirradiated material. Moreover, bleaching the electron irradiated doped KCl with 649 m light produced and additional factor of 1.5 increase. These findings will be discussed in light of known defect-center properties in KCl

Depressive symptoms in asymptomatic stage B heart failure with Type II diabetic mellitus.

BackgroundThe presence of concomitant Type II diabetic mellitus (T2DM) and depressive symptoms adversely affects individuals with symptomatic heart failure (HF).HypothesisIn presymptomatic stage B HF, this study hypothesized the presence of greater inflammation and depressive symptoms in T2DM as compared to non-T2DM Stage B patients.MethodsThis cross-sectional study examined clinical parameters, inflammatory biomarkers, and depressive symptoms in 349 T2DM and non-T2DM men with asymptomatic stage B HF (mean age 66.4 years ±10.1; range 30-91).ResultsFewer diabetic HF patients had left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction (P < .05) although more had LV diastolic dysfunction (P < .001). A higher percentage of T2DM HF patients were taking ACE-inhibitors, beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, statins, and diuretics (P values < .05). T2DM HF patients had higher circulating levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) (P < .01), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (P < .01), and soluble ST2 (sST2) (P < .01) and reported more somatic/affective depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory II) (P < .05) but not cognitive/affective depressive symptoms (P = .20). Among all patients, in a multiple regression analysis predicting presence of somatic/affective depressive symptoms, sST2 (P = .026), IL-6 (P = .010), B-type natriuretic peptide (P = .016), and sleep (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [P < .001]) were significant predictors (overall model F = 15.39, P < .001, adjusted R2 = .207).ConclusionsSomatic/affective but not cognitive/affective depressive symptoms are elevated in asymptomatic HF patients with T2DM patients. Linkages with elevated inflammatory and cardiac relevant biomarkers suggest shared pathophysiological mechanisms among T2DM HF patients with somatic depression, and these conditions are responsive to routine interventions, including behavioral. Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Modeling the Cognitive Mechanisms Linking Autism Symptoms and Anxiety in Adults

Emotional acceptance, alexithymia, and intolerance of uncertainty (IU) contribute to anxiety disorders in neurotypical populations. Their association with anxiety in people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has not been studied. We aimed to model the contributions of these constructs on the relationship between dimensional measures of autism and anxiety. Participants were 151 adults recruited from 2 sites, including those diagnosed with ASD (n = 76) and a matched comparison group (n = 75). All participants completed a battery of questionnaires measuring core autism symptoms, anxiety, emotional acceptance, alexithymia, and intolerance of uncertainty. Structural equation modeling with mediation was used to examine directional relationships among these variables. Autism symptoms directly predicted less emotional acceptance and increased alexithymia and IU. Alexithymia and acceptance were shown to explain 64% of the effect between autism symptom severity and anxiety level. This suggests that people with ASD experience increased levels of anxiety because they are more likely to react aversively to their emotional experiences, while lacking the ability to identify and understand their emotions. Developing and implementing mindfulness-based interventions aimed at assuaging alexithymia and IU, while increasing emotional acceptance, may be especially helpful in treating anxiety in ASD

Practical approach on frail older patients attended for acute heart failure

Acute heart failure (AHF) is a multi-organ dysfunction syndrome. In addition to known cardiac dysfunction, non-cardiac comorbidity, frailty and disability are independent risk factors of mortality, morbidity, cognitive and functional decline, and risk of institutionalization. Frailty, a treatable and potential reversible syndrome very common in older patients with AHF, increases the risk of disability and other adverse health outcomes. This position paper highlights the need to identify frailty in order to improve prognosis, the risk-benefits of invasive diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, and the definition of older-person-centered and integrated care plans

Gene expression of INPP5F as an independent prognostic marker in fludarabine-based therapy of chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a heterogeneous disease. Various disease-related and patient-related factors have been shown to influence the course of the disease. The aim of this study was to identify novel biomarkers of significant clinical relevance. Pretreatment CD19-separated lymphocytes (n = 237;discovery set) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (n = 92;validation set) from the REACH trial, a randomized phase III trial in relapsed CLL comparing rituximab plus fludarabine plus cyclophosphamide with fludarabine plus cyclophosphamide alone, underwent gene expression profiling. By using Cox regression survival analysis on the discovery set, we identified inositol polyphosphate-5-phosphatase F (INPP5F) as a prognostic factor for progression-free survival (P<0.001;hazard ratio (HR),1.63;95% confidence interval (CI),1.35-1.98) and overall survival (Po0.001;HR, 1.47;95% CI, 1.18-1.84),regardless of adjusting for known prognostic factors. These findings were confirmed on the validation set, suggesting that INPP5F may serve as a novel, easy-to-assess future prognostic biomarker for fludarabine-based therapy in CLL