NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2): a key target of oxidative stress-mediated platelet activation and thrombosis

Oxidative stress represents an imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the cellular antioxidant system. Increased levels of oxidative stress contribute to the development of atherosclerosis that eventually leads to thrombosis; a principle cause of heart attacks and strokes. Thrombosis is a consequence of platelet activation and aggregate formation within the circulation. Platelet ROS are mostly generated by reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase. NOX2 is an isoform from NADPH oxidase expressed in platelets and an important regulator of platelet activation‐associated thrombosis. The present article aims to highlight the relative contribution of NOX2 as a key target of different platelet activation pathways and antiplatelet treatment

Pathophysiology of the proatherothrombotic state in the metabolic syndrome

15 pages, 1 figure.--PMID: 20036940 [PubMed]The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is defined by the presence of at least three of the following abnormalities: glucose intolerance, hypertension, abdominal obesity, low HDL-cholesterol levels and hypertriglyceridemia. Obesity and insulin resistance are very frequently associated to the MetS and play a pivotal role in the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), which in turn increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. Although it varies among ethnic groups, the worldwide prevalence of MetS is 23% in young adults and increases with age. Remarkably, the prevalence of MetS is expected to increase during the next decades due in part to the acquisition of unhealthy life-style habits (e.g., sedentarism, smoking, unhealthy diet, etc). A major pathological alteration present in the MetS is a prothrombotic state as a result of endothelial dysfunction and hypercoagulability produced by a dysbalance of coagulation factors and proteins involved in the regulation of fibrinolysis. Although intensive research in recent years has permitted the identification of a number of prothrombotic alterations in MetS patients, a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the relationship between MetS and atherotrombosis is required to improve preventive and therapeutic strategies. In this review we discuss the main alterations in the endothelial function, coagulation cascade, fibrinolysis and platelet function that promote atherothrombosis in MetS patients. We also review available mouse models exhibiting alterations in atherothrombosis.Work in the authors’ laboratories is supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the European Regional Development Fund (SAF2007-62110), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (RECAVA grants RD06/0014/0004 and RD06/0014/0021), Generalitat Valenciana (GV/2007/164), Fundación Ramón Areces, Fina Biotech S.L., and Universidad de Talca (PIFRECV, Research Program of Cardiovascular Disease Risk).Peer reviewe

Spatio-Temporal Determination of Small-Scale Vessels’ Fishing Grounds Using a Vessel Monitoring System in the Southeastern Gulf of Mexico

In most small-scale fisheries (SSF), there is limited or null information about the distribution and spatial extent of the fishing grounds where the fleets operate, due to the lack of explicit spatial and temporal data. This information is key when addressing marine spatial planning and fisheries management programs for SSF. In addition to technical or biogeographic restrictions, environmental conditions in the area influence the way fishers operate. Making use of data from a pilot Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) project tested in a small-scale fleet in the Southeastern Gulf of Mexico (SGoM), for the first time in the region, we were able to learn what role environmental factors play in the distribution of potential fishing grounds for this fleet. We got tracking information of 1,608 daily fishing trips from vessels operating in four states using the VMS for 7 months. We used a correlative modeling approach to identify potential fishing grounds where this fleet operates along the SGoM, accounting for environmental variables. We assumed that environmental conditions can shape the spatial distribution of species targeted by this fleet and hence influence fishers’ operations. The results indicated that net primary production and sea surface temperature were the main drivers that shape the spatio-temporal potential distribution of fishing grounds in the study site. The approach employed here seems appropriated and opens an opportunity to learn more about the factors that define the spatial distribution of small-scale fleets and their potential fishing grounds

Development of a Tabletop Setup for the Transient Current Technique Using Two-Photon Absorption in Silicon Particle Detectors

The transient current technique (TCT) is widely used in the field of silicon particle detector development. So far, only laser wavelengths with a photon energy larger than or similar to the silicon bandgap (single photon absorption) were used. Recently, measurements using two-photon absorption (TPA) for silicon detector testing have been carried out for the first time. Excess carriers are only created at the focal point of the laser beam and thus resolution in all three spatial directions could be achieved. The resolution perpendicular to the incident laser beam could be increased roughly by a factor of 10. First measurements using this new method were performed at the Singular Laser Facility of Universidad del Pais Vasco (UPV)/Euskal Herriko Unibertzitatea (EHU). Following the initial success of the method, a compact TPA-TCT setup is under development. A first description of the setup and laser system is presented in this articleThis work was supported in part by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) under Grant FPA2013-48387-C6-1-P and in part by the Wolfgang Gentner Programme of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research under Grant 05E15CH

Linking the platelet antiaggregation effect of different strawberries species with antioxidants: Metabolomic and transcript profiling of polyphenols

A comparative study of antioxidant properties, platelet antiaggregation activity and transcriptional analysis of flavonoid biosynthesis genes were performed in Fragaria x ananassa, F. vesca and F. chiloensis subsp chiloensis f. chiloensis and f. patagonica. Furthermore, differences in flavonoid content were found by UHPLC-MS. The highest free radical scavenging activity by DPPH assay was observed in F. chiloensis f. chiloensis, meanwhile, F. vesca presented the highest antioxidant capacity by FRAP. Biosynthetic flavonoids- related transcripts were higher abundant in F. x ananassa and lower in F. vesca. Additionally, all strawberry extracts showed antiaggregant effect (1 mg mL-1), but F. vesca and F. chiloensis subsp. chiloensis f. patagonica were still active at lower concentration. This study suggests that platelet antiaggregation effect of different strawberries could be due to isoflavones and flavonoids precursors in addition to anthocyanins. Results could usefully to take decisions in future breeding programs to improve the content of healthy compounds in strawberry fruits.Keywords: Antioxidant capacity, flavonoid biosynthesis, gene expression, platelet antiaggregation, Fragaria spp

Searching for Exoplanets Using a Microresonator Astrocomb

Detection of weak radial velocity shifts of host stars induced by orbiting planets is an important technique for discovering and characterizing planets beyond our solar system. Optical frequency combs enable calibration of stellar radial velocity shifts at levels required for detection of Earth analogs. A new chip-based device, the Kerr soliton microcomb, has properties ideal for ubiquitous application outside the lab and even in future space-borne instruments. Moreover, microcomb spectra are ideally suited for astronomical spectrograph calibration and eliminate filtering steps required by conventional mode-locked-laser frequency combs. Here, for the calibration of astronomical spectrographs, we demonstrate an atomic/molecular line-referenced, near-infrared soliton microcomb. Efforts to search for the known exoplanet HD 187123b were conducted at the Keck-II telescope as a first in-the-field demonstration of microcombs

Report of RILEM TC 281-CCC: outcomes of a round robin on the resistance to accelerated carbonation of Portland, Portland-fly ash and blast-furnace blended cements

Many (inter)national standards exist to evaluate the resistance of mortar and concrete to carbonation. When a carbonation coefficient is used for performance comparison of mixtures or service life prediction, the applied boundary conditions during curing, preconditioning and carbonation play a crucial role, specifically when using latent hydraulic or pozzolanic supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). An extensive interlaboratory test (ILT) with twenty two participating laboratories was set up in the framework of RILEM TC 281-CCC ‘Carbonation of Concrete with SCMs’. The carbonation depths and coefficients determined by following several (inter)national standards for three cement types (CEM I, CEM II/B-V, CEM III/B) both on mortar and concrete scale were statistically compared. The outcomes of this study showed that the carbonation rate based on the carbonation depths after 91 days exposure, compared to 56 days or less exposure duration, best approximates the slope of the linear regression and those 91 days carbonation depths can therefore be considered as a good estimate of the potential resistance to carbonation. All standards evaluated in this study ranked the three cement types in the same order of carbonation resistance. Unfortunately, large variations within and between laboratories complicate to draw clear conclusions regarding the effect of sample pre-conditioning and carbonation exposure conditions on the carbonation performance of the specimens tested. Nevertheless, it was identified that fresh and hardened state properties alone cannot be used to infer carbonation resistance of the mortars or concretes tested. It was also found that sealed curing results in larger carbonation depths compared to water curing. However, when water curing was reduced from 28 to 3 or 7 days, higher carbonation depths compared to sealed curing were observed. This increase is more pronounced for CEM I compared to CEM III mixes. The variation between laboratories is larger than the potential effect of raising the CO concentration from 1 to 4%. Finally, concrete, for which the aggregate-to-cement factor was increased by 1.79 in comparison with mortar, had a carbonation coefficient 1.18 times the one of mortar

Evaluation of metabolic syndrome in adults of Talca city, Chile

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Anisotropic flow of charged hadrons, pions and (anti-)protons measured at high transverse momentum in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN=2.76\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=2.76 TeV

The elliptic, $v_2$, triangular, $v_3$, and quadrangular, $v_4$, azimuthal anisotropic flow coefficients are measured for unidentified charged particles, pions and (anti-)protons in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76$ TeV with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Results obtained with the event plane and four-particle cumulant methods are reported for the pseudo-rapidity range $|\eta|<0.8$ at different collision centralities and as a function of transverse momentum, $p_{\rm T}$, out to $p_{\rm T}=20$ GeV/$c$. The observed non-zero elliptic and triangular flow depends only weakly on transverse momentum for $p_{\rm T}>8$ GeV/$c$. The small $p_{\rm T}$ dependence of the difference between elliptic flow results obtained from the event plane and four-particle cumulant methods suggests a common origin of flow fluctuations up to $p_{\rm T}=8$ GeV/$c$. The magnitude of the (anti-)proton elliptic and triangular flow is larger than that of pions out to at least $p_{\rm T}=8$ GeV/$c$ indicating that the particle type dependence persists out to high $p_{\rm T}$.Comment: 16 pages, 5 captioned figures, authors from page 11, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/186