Renal ammonium excretion after an acute acid load: Blunted response in uric acid stone formers but not in patients with type 2 diabetes

Idiopathic uric acid nephrolithiasis is characterized by elevated urinary net acid excretion and insufficient buffering by ammonium, resulting in excessively acidic urine and titration of the relatively soluble urate anion to insoluble uric acid. Patients with type 2 diabetes have similar changes in urinary pH, net acid excretion, and ammonium in 24-h urine collections at baseline, even after controlling for dietary factors, and are at increased risk for uric acid nephrolithiasis. However, not all patients with type 2 diabetes develop kidney stones, suggesting that uric acid stone formers may have additional urinary defects, perhaps not apparent at baseline. We performed a metabolic study of 14 patients with idiopathic uric acid nephrolithiasis, 13 patients with type 2 diabetes, and 8 healthy control subjects of similar body mass index. After equilibration on a fixed diet for 5 days, subjects were given a single oral acid load (50 meq ammonium chloride), and urine was collected hourly for 4 h. Uric acid stone formers had a lower ammonium excretory response to acute acid loading compared with diabetic and nondiabetic nonstone formers, suggesting that an ammonium excretory defect unique to uric acid stone formers was unmasked by the acid challenge. The Zucker diabetic fatty rat also did not show impaired urinary ammonium excretion in response to acute acid challenge. A blunted renal ammonium excretory response to dietary acid loads may contribute to the pathogenesis of idiopathic uric acid nephrolithiasis. © 2013 the American Physiological Society

Adult Ocular Toxocariasis Mimicking Ciliary Body Malignancy

Purpose. To discuss an unusual presentation of ocular toxocariasis. Methods. Case report. Results. A 40-year-old woman presented with decreased vision in the left eye with a long history of recurrent red eye from uveitis. Eosinophilia and positive ELISA titers for Toxocara canis favored the diagnosis of ocular toxocariasis. Over 3 months, an anterior scleral mass had a rapid growth raising the possibility of medulloepithelioma, which rarely can mimic uveitic syndromes. Surgical plan changed from local excision to enucleation. Histopathology demonstrated a large homogeneous mass of chronic inflammatory cells with inflammation of the overlying thinned out sclera, medial rectus insertion, and limbal cornea. The triad of peripheral granuloma, eosinophilia, and positive blood serology established the diagnosis of ocular toxocariasis. Conclusions. Ocular toxocariasis can mimic ocular malignancy such as medulloepithelioma in adults and rarely presents as an anterior scleral mass

Characterization of different DLC and DLN electrodes for biosensor design

International audienceDiamond-Like Carbon and Carbon-Like Nanocomposite electrodes, novel materials in the field of biosensors, made with different ratio of sp3/sp2 carbon hybridization or doped with elements such as Ni, Si and W, were characterized electrochemically by cyclic voltammetry and by amperometric measurements towards hydrogen peroxide. SiCAr1 and SiCNi5% were chosen as sensitive transducers for elaboration of amperometric glucose biosensors. Immobilization of glucose oxidase was carried out by cross-linking with glutareldehyde. Measurements were made at a fixed potential + 1.0 V in 40 mM phosphate buffer pH 7.4. SiCAr1 seems to be more sensitive for glucose (0.6875 µA/mM) then SiCNi5% (0.3654 µA/mM). Detections limits were respectively 20 µM and 30 µM. Michaelis-Menten constants for the two electrodes were found around 3 mM. 48% and 79% of the original response for 0.5 mM glucose remained respectively for both electrodes after 10 days

Seizures as the first manifestation of chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome in a 40-year old man: a case report

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

The effects of temperature variation treatments on embryonic development: a mouse study

Since the development of ART, embryos have been cultured at 37 °C in an attempt to mimic the in vivo conditions and the average body temperature of an adult. However, a gradient of temperatures within the reproductive tract has been demonstrated in humans and several other mammalian species. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of temperature variation treatments on mouse embryo quality through morphokinetic events, blastocyst morphology, the relative gene expression of Igf2, Bax, Bcl2 and Apaf1 and the metabolomics of individual culture media. Study groups consisted of 2 circadian treatments, T1 with embryos being cultured at 37 °C during the day and 35.5 °C during the night, T2 with 38.5 °C during the day and 37 °C during the night and a control group with constant 37 °C. Our main findings are that the lower-temperature group (T1) showed a consistent negative effect on mouse embryo development with “slow” cleaving embryos, poor-quality blastocysts, a higher expression of the apoptotic gene Apaf1, and a significantly different set of amino acids representing a more stressed metabolism. On the other hand, our higher-temperature group (T2) showed similar results to the control group, with no adverse effects on blastocyst viability

The Quantum Theory of MIMO Markovian Feedback with Diffusive Measurements

Feedback control engineers have been interested in MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) extensions of SISO (single-input single-output) results of various kinds due to its rich mathematical structure and practical applications. An outstanding problem in quantum feedback control is the extension of the SISO theory of Markovian feedback by Wiseman and Milburn [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 70}, 548 (1993)] to multiple inputs and multiple outputs. Here we generalize the SISO homodyne-mediated feedback theory to allow for multiple inputs, multiple outputs, and \emph{arbitrary} diffusive quantum measurements. We thus obtain a MIMO framework which resembles the SISO theory and whose additional mathematical structure is highlighted by the extensive use of vector-operator algebra.Comment: 17 pages, 2 figure

Assessing the efficacy of a brief universal family skills programme on child behaviour and family functioning in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan: Protocol for a feasibility randomised controlled trial of the Strong Families programme

Purpose The global burden of mental health difficulties among children underscores the importance of early prevention. This study aims to assess the efficacy, feasibility and acceptability of the Strong Families programme in enhancing child behaviour and family functioning in low-resource settings in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. Methods and analysis This is a two-arm, multisite feasibility randomised controlled trial with an embedded process evaluation in three districts of Gilgit-Baltistan, namely Gilgit, Hunza and Skardu. 90 families living in these challenged settings, comprising a female primary caregiver aged 18 or above, and at least one child aged 8-15 years, will participate. Participants will be randomly assigned to either receive the Strong Families programme or to the waitlist group. Strong Families is a 7-hour family skills group intervention programme attended by children and their primary caregivers over 3 weeks. The waitlist group will be offered the intervention after their outcome assessment. Three raters will conduct blind assessments at baseline, 2 and 6 weeks postintervention. The primary outcome measures include the feasibility of Strong Families, as determined by families' recruitment and attendance rates, and programme completeness (mean number of sessions attended, attrition rates). The secondary outcomes include assessment of child behaviour, parenting practices, parental adjustment and child resilience. Purposefully selected participants, including up to five caregivers from each site, researchers and facilitators delivering the intervention, will be interviewed. Descriptive statistics will be used to analyse primary and secondary outcomes. The process evaluation will be conducted in terms of programme context, reach, fidelity, dose delivered and received, implementation, and recruitment. Ethics and dissemination This study has been approved by the UNODC Drug Prevention and Health Branch in the Headquarters office of Vienna and the National Bioethics Committee of Pakistan. Findings will be disseminated through publication in reputable journals, newsletters and presentations at conferences. Trial registration number NCT05933850

Transient Alteration of Cellular Redox Buffering before Irradiation Triggers Apoptosis in Head and Neck Carcinoma Stem and Non-Stem Cells

Background: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is an aggressive and recurrent malignancy owing to intrinsic radioresistance and lack of induction of apoptosis. The major focus of this work was to design a transient glutathione depleting strategy during the course of irradiation of HNSCC in order to overcome their radioresistance associated with redox adaptation. Methodology/Principal Findings: Treatment of SQ20B cells with dimethylfumarate (DMF), a GSH-depleting agent, and L-Buthionine sulfoximine (BSO), an inhibitor of GSH biosynthesis 4 h before a 10 Gy irradiation led to the lowering of the endogenous GSH content to less than 10 % of that in control cells and to the triggering of radiation-induced apoptotic cell death. The sequence of biochemical events after GSH depletion and irradiation included ASK-1 followed by JNK activation which resulted in the triggering of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway through Bax translocation to mitochondria. Conclusions: This transient GSH depletion also triggered radiation-induced cell death in SQ20B stem cells, a key event to overcome locoregional recurrence of HNSCC. Finally, our in vivo data highlight the relevance for further clinical trials o