Atrial fibrillation impairs the diagnostic performance of cardiac natriuretic peptides in dyspneic patients. results from the BACH Study (Biomarkers in ACute Heart Failure)

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of atrial fibrillation (AF) on the performance of mid-region amino terminal pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (MR-proANP) in comparison with the B-type peptides (BNP and NT-proBNP) for diagnosis of acute heart failure (HF) in dyspneic patients. Background: The effects of AF on the diagnostic and prognostic performance of MR-proANP in comparison with the B type natriuretic peptides have not been previously reported. Methods: A total of 1,445 patients attending the emergency department with acute dyspnea had measurements taken of MR-proANP, BNP, and NT-proBNP values on enrollment to the BACH trial and were grouped according to presence or absence of AF and HF. Results: AF was present in 242 patients. Plasma concentrations of all three peptides were lowest in those with neither AF nor HF and AF without HF was associated with markedly increased levels (p < 0.00001). HF with or without AF was associated with a significant further increment (p < 0.00001 for all three markers). Areas under receiver operator characteristic curves (AUCs) for discrimination of acute HF were similar and powerful for all peptides without AF (0.893 to 0.912; all p < 0.001) with substantial and similar reductions (0.701 to 0.757) in the presence of AF. All 3 peptides were independently prognostic but there was no interaction between any peptide and AF for prediction of all-cause mortality. Conclusions: AF is associated with increased plasma natriuretic peptide (MR-proANP, BNP and NT-proBNP) levels in the absence of HF. The diagnostic performance of all three peptides is impaired by AF. This warrants consideration of adjusted peptide thresholds for diagnostic use in AF and mandates the continued search for markers free of confounding by AF

Classification of Grassland Successional Stages Using Airborne Hyperspectral Imagery

Plant communities differ in their species composition, and, thus, also in their functional trait composition, at different stages in the succession from arable fields to grazed grassland. We examine whether aerial hyperspectral (414–2501 nm) remote sensing can be used to discriminate between grazed vegetation belonging to different grassland successional stages. Vascular plant species were recorded in 104.1 m2 plots on the island of Öland (Sweden) and the functional properties of the plant species recorded in the plots were characterized in terms of the ground-cover of grasses, specific leaf area and Ellenberg indicator values. Plots were assigned to three different grassland age-classes, representing 5–15, 16–50 and >50 years of grazing management. Partial least squares discriminant analysis models were used to compare classifications based on aerial hyperspectral data with the age-class classification. The remote sensing data successfully classified the plots into age-classes: the overall classification accuracy was higher for a model based on a pre-selected set of wavebands (85%, Kappa statistic value = 0.77) than one using the full set of wavebands (77%, Kappa statistic value = 0.65). Our results show that nutrient availability and grass cover differences between grassland age-classes are detectable by spectral imaging. These techniques may potentially be used for mapping the spatial distribution of grassland habitats at different successional stages

The Effects of Mental Fatigue on Physical Performance: A Systematic Review.

Background: Mental fatigue is a psychobiological state caused by prolonged periods of demanding cognitive activity. It has recently been suggested that mental fatigue can affect physical performance. Objective: Our objective was to evaluate the literature on impairment of physical performance due to mental fatigue and to create an overview of the potential factors underlying this effect. \ud Methods: Two electronic databases, PubMed and Web of Science (until 28 April 2016), were searched for studies designed to test whether mental fatigue influenced performance of a physical task or influenced physiological and/or perceptual responses during the physical task. Studies using short (<30 min) self-regulatory depletion tasks were excluded from the review. Results: A total of 11 articles were included, of which six were of strong and five of moderate quality. The general finding was a decline in endurance performance (decreased time to exhaustion and self-selected power output/velocity or increased completion time) associated with a higher than normal perceived exertion. Physiological variables traditionally associated with endurance performance (heart rate, blood lactate, oxygen uptake, cardiac output, maximal aerobic capacity) were unaffected by mental fatigue. Maximal strength, power, and anaerobic work were not affected by mental fatigue. Conclusion: The duration and intensity of the physical task appear to be important factors in the decrease in physical performance due to mental fatigue. The most important factor responsible for the negative impact of mental fatigue on endurance performance is a higher perceived exertion

Expression of genes of lipid synthesis and altered lipid composition modulates L-glutamate efflux of Corynebacterium glutamicum

L-Glutamate is made with Corynebacterium glutamicum on a scale of more than 10(6) tons/year. Nevertheless, formation of this amino acid is enigmatic and there is very limited molecular information available to unravel the apparently complex conditions leading to L-glutamate efflux. Here, we report the isolation and overexpression of the genes involved in lipid synthesis: acp, fadD15, cma, cls, pgsA2, cdsA, gpsA, and plsC, and the inactivation of cma and cls. In addition, the consequences for phospholipid content, temperature sensitivity, as well as detergent-independent and detergent-dependent L-glutamate efflux were quantified. An in part strong alteration of the phospholipid composition was achieved; for instance, overexpression of fadD15 encoding an acyl-CoA ligase resulted in an increase of phosphatidyl inositol from 12.6 to 30.2%. All strains, except that overexpressing acp (acyl carrier protein), exhibited increased temperature sensitivity, with the strongest sensitivity present upon cls (cardiolipin synthetase) inactivation. As a consequence of the genetically modified lipid synthesis, L-glutamate efflux changed quite dramatically; for instance, overexpression of plsC (acylglycerolacyl transferase) resulted in a detergent-triggered increase of L-glutamate accumulation from 92 mM to 108 mM, whereas acp overexpression reduced the accumulation to 24 mM. With some of the overexpressed genes, substantial L-glutamate excretion even without detergent addition was obtained when the fermentation temperature was elevated. These data show that the chemical and physical properties of the cytoplasmic membrane are altered and suggest that this is a necessary precondition to achieve L-glutamate efflux