Parameter Inference in the Pulmonary Circulation of Mice

This study focuses on parameter inference in a pulmonary blood cir- culation model for mice. It utilises a fluid dynamics network model that takes selected parameter values and aims to mimic features of the pulmonary haemody- namics under normal physiological and pathological conditions. This is of medical relevance as it allows monitoring of the progression of pulmonary hypertension. Constraint nonlinear optimization is successfully used to learn the parameter values

PREPARATION OF CONJUGATE FOR USE IN AN ELISA FOR HUMORAL IMMUNE RESPONSE AGAINST EGG DROP SYNDROME VIRUS IN LAYER CHICKS

An indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed for the detection of antibodies against Egg Drop Syndrome (EDS) virus. Virus identification was done through haemaggluti- nation inhibition (HI) test using known antisera. Antichicken immunoglobulins were raised in goats and purified by ammonium sulphate precipitation technique. These goat-antichicken immunoglobulins were conjugated with horseradish peroxidase. Twenty-seven serum samples were collected from a layers flock vaccinated against EDS and specific antibodies were determined by using a horseradish conjugate

TBX2 represses PTEN in rhabdomyosarcoma and skeletal muscle.

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is the most frequent soft tissue sarcoma in children that shares many features of developing skeletal muscle. TBX2, a T-box family member, is highly upregulated in tumor cells of both major RMS subtypes where it functions as an oncogene. TBX2 is a repressor that is often overexpressed in cancer cells and functions in bypassing cell growth control, including the repression of the cell cycle regulators p14 and p21. We have found that TBX2 directly represses the tumor-suppressor phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) in both RMS and normal muscle. Exogenous expression of TBX2 in normal muscle cells downregulates PTEN, and depletion or interference with TBX2 in RMS cells upregulates PTEN. Human RMS tumors show high levels of TBX2 and correspondingly low levels of PTEN. The expression of PTEN in clinical RMS samples is relatively uncharacterized, and we establish that suppression of PTEN is a frequent event in both subtypes of RMS. TBX2 represses PTEN by directly binding to the promoter and recruiting the histone deacetylase, HDAC1. RMS cells have high levels of activated AKT owing to the deregulation of phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI3K) signaling, and depletion or interference with TBX2, which upregulates PTEN, results in a reduction of phospho-AKT. We have also found that the highly related T-box family member TBX3 does not repress PTEN in the muscle lineage. This work suggests that TBX2 is a central component of the PTEN/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway deregulation in RMS cells and that targeting TBX2 in RMS tumors may offer a novel therapeutic approach for RMS.Oncogene advance online publication, 21 December 2015; doi:10.1038/onc.2015.486

Demographic Predictors of the Perceived Likelihood of Hiring a Health Care Advocate

Background and Significance: The field of health care advocacy developed in response to the growing complexity of the health care system. A Health Care Advocate (HCA) is a trained professional who can help patients navigate the health care system. In the present study we investigated the effects of social support, number of people with whom individuals reside, gender, age, income, and race on the perceived likelihood of hiring an HCA for oneself. Method: Nine hundred and eighty-seven adults (Mage = 45.48 years, SD = 17.33 years, 55.4% female) were randomly selected and asked to complete a questionnaire. To explore the relationships of the perceived likelihood of hiring an HCA, path-analytic models using full-information maximum likelihood (FIML) estimation were tested, using Stata 12.1. Results: The model fit well statistically, ? 2 (5, N = 987) = 8.50, p = 0.131, and descriptively, CFI = 0.999, RMSEA = 0.027, pclose = 0.891, CD = 0.205. Conclusion: Overall, the model accounted for 4.30% of the variance in Hire HCA. More research is needed to better understand the role of an HCA in our complex and everchanging health care system

Rolofylline, an adenosine A1−receptor antagonist, in acute heart failure

Background: Worsening renal function, which is associated with adverse outcomes, often develops in patients with acute heart failure. Experimental and clinical studies suggest that counterregulatory responses mediated by adenosine may be involved. We tested the hypothesis that the use of rolofylline, an adenosine A1−receptor antagonist, would improve dyspnea, reduce the risk of worsening renal function, and lead to a more favorable clinical course in patients with acute heart failure. Methods: We conducted a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving patients hospitalized for acute heart failure with impaired renal function. Within 24 hours after presentation, 2033 patients were randomly assigned, in a 2:1 ratio, to receive daily intravenous rolofylline (30 mg) or placebo for up to 3 days. The primary end point was treatment success, treatment failure, or no change in the patient’s clinical condition; this end point was defined according to survival, heart-failure status, and changes in renal function. Secondary end points were the post-treatment development of persistent renal impairment and the 60-day rate of death or readmission for cardiovascular or renal causes. Results: Rolofylline, as compared with placebo, did not provide a benefit with respect to the primary end point (odds ratio, 0.92; 95% confidence interval, 0.78 to 1.09; P=0.35). Persistent renal impairment developed in 15.0% of patients in the rolofylline group and in 13.7% of patients in the placebo group (P=0.44). By 60 days, death or readmission for cardiovascular or renal causes had occurred in similar proportions of patients assigned to rolofylline and placebo (30.7% and 31.9%, respectively; P=0.86). Adverse-event rates were similar overall; however, only patients in the rolofylline group had seizures, a known potential adverse effect of A1-receptor antagonists. Conclusions: Rolofylline did not have a favorable effect with respect to the primary clinical composite end point, nor did it improve renal function or 60-day outcomes. It does not show promise in the treatment of acute heart failure with renal dysfunction. (Funded by NovaCardia, a subsidiary of Merck; ClinicalTrials.gov numbers, NCT00328692 and NCT00354458.

Antagonistic Potentiality of Trichoderma harzianum Against Cladosporium spherospermum, Aspergillus niger and Fusarium oxysporum

Many species of genus Trichoderma are used as an important source of biological agents. The potential efficacy of Trichoderma harzianum against the pathogenic fungi like Cladosporium spherospermum, Aspergillus niger and Fusarium oxysporum was evaluated on the fungal growth by culture pattern in which radial growth extension rates of two categories of fungal colonies were analyzed. All the fungal species were isolated from the rhizosphere of Juglans regia L. and cultured on the separate sterilized potato dextrose agar (Hi Media). Antagonism of T. harzianum was observed when all the fungal isolates were grown on the same PDA petri-plate in vitro by using the dual culture techniques. Trichoderma harzianum had a discernible inhibitory effect on the growth of pathogens in dual culture. The mycelial growth of pathogenic isolates was noticeably constrained after a period of 10 days at the temperature of 250C and pH of 5.6. T. harzianum caused the maximum growth inhibition in A. niger (75%) followed by C. spherospermum (72.2%) and F. oxysporum (25%) at the specific temperature and pH, which justifies that T. harzianum is a promising biological agent for restricting the wilt and other fungal diseases. Keywords; Trichoderma harzianum, pathogenic fungi, antagonism, radial growt

Role of MicroRNA in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Clinical Evidence and the Development of Preclinical Animal Models.

The dysregulation of microRNA (miRNA) is implicated in cancer, inflammation, cardiovascular disorders, drug resistance, and aging. While most researchers study miRNA\u27s role as a biomarker, for example, to distinguish between various sub-forms or stages of a given disease of interest, research is also ongoing to utilize these small nucleic acids as therapeutics. An example of a common pleiotropic disease that could benefit from miRNA-based therapeutics is inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which is characterized by chronic inflammation of the small and large intestines. Due to complex interactions between multiple factors in the etiology of IBD, development of therapies that effectively maintain remission for this disease is a significant challenge. In this review, we discuss the role of dysregulated miRNA expression in the context of clinical ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn\u27s disease (CD)-the two main forms of IBD-and the various preclinical mouse models of IBD utilized to validate the therapeutic potential of targeting these miRNA. Additionally, we highlight advances in the development of genetically engineered animal models that recapitulate clinical miRNA expression and provide powerful preclinical models to assess the diagnostic and therapeutic promise of miRNA in IBD

Instability in CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite solar cells due to elemental migration and chemical composition changes

Organic-inorganic halide perovskites have rapidly grown as favorable materials for photovoltaic applications, but accomplishing long-term stability is still a major research problem. This work demonstrates a new insight on instability and degradation factors in CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite solar cells aging with time in open air. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) has been used to investigate the compositional changes caused by device degradation over the period of 1000 hrs. XPS spectra confirm the migration of metallic ions from the bottom electrode (ITO) as a key factor causing the chemical composition change in the perovskite layer besides the diffusion of oxygen. XPS results are in good agreement with the crystallographic marks. Glow discharge optical emission spectrometry (GD-OES) has also been performed on the samples to correlate the XPS results. Based on the experimental results, fundamental features that account for the instability in the perovskite solar cell is discussed. - 2017 The Author(s).The authors are thankful to the Center for Advanced Materials (CAM), Qatar University for the laboratory support during the experimental work. The authors are also grateful to the Gas Processing Center (GPC), Qatar University for providing the XPS analysis facility. Thanks to HORIBA Scientific – Jocelyne Marciano, Sofia Gaiaschi and Patrick Chapon for the GD measurements and interpretation. This publication was also made possible by NPRP grant # 6-175-2-070 from Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). The statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors.Scopu