Abnormalities of sodium handling and of cardiovascular adaptations during high salt diet in patients with mild heart failure.

BACKGROUND: Sodium retention and hormonal activation are fundamental hallmarks in congestive heart failure. The present study was designed to assess the ability of patients with asymptomatic to mildly symptomatic heart failure and no signs or symptoms of congestion to excrete ingested sodium and to identify possible early abnormalities of hormonal and hemodynamic mechanisms related to sodium handling. METHODS AND RESULTS: The effects of a high salt diet (250 mEq/day for 6 days) on hemodynamics, salt-regulating hormones, and renal excretory response were investigated in a balanced study in 12 untreated patients with idiopathic or ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy and mild heart failure (NYHA class I-II, ejection fraction < 50%) (HF) and in 12 normal subjects, who had been previously maintained a 100 mEq/day NaCl diet. In normal subjects, high salt diet was associated with significant increases of echocardiographically measured left ventricular end-diastolic volume, ejection fraction, and stroke volume (all P < .001) and with a reduction of total peripheral resistance (P < .001). In addition, plasma atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) levels increased (P < .05), and plasma renin activity and aldosterone concentrations fell (both P < .001) in normals in response to salt excess. In HF patients, both left ventricular end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes increased in response to high salt diet, whereas ejection fraction and stroke volume failed to increase, and total peripheral resistance did not change during high salt diet. In addition, plasma ANF levels did not rise in HF in response to salt loading, whereas plasma renin activity and aldosterone concentrations were as much suppressed as in normals. Although urinary sodium excretions were not significantly different in the two groups, there was a small but systematic reduction of daily sodium excretion in HF, which resulted in a significantly higher cumulative sodium balance in HF than in normals during the high salt diet period (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: These results show a reduced ability to excrete a sodium load and early abnormalities of cardiac and hemodynamic adaptations to salt excess in patients with mild heart failure and no signs or symptoms of congestion

Seleção de cultivares de sorgo granífero em ensaio de valor de cultivo e uso em Sete Lagoas-MG.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar e identificar cultivares de sorgo com potencial comercial para a região de Sete Lagoas-MG.Evento online

Heterosis and inbreeding depression in grain sorghum hybrids.

This study aimed to estimate the heterosis, heterobeltiosis, and inbreeding depression in grain sorghum hybrids. Twenty-five hybrids were evaluated in two seasons. The evaluated traits were days to flowering (FL), plant height (PH), grain yield (GY), and thousand grains mass (M1000). The contrast tested were F1 hybrids vs. check cultivars, F1 hybrids vs. parental lines, and F1 hybrids vs. F2 hybrids. The hybrids 1167048, 1099044, 1170017, and 1169054 had a five-day less flowering time than their parental lines. The hybrid 1170017 had a high grain yield (6.23 t ha-1) with 43.55% of heterobeltiosis. The diversity between lines was narrow. However, hybrids with higher grain yield, heterosis, and heterobeltiosis showed higher genetic distances from their parental lines. The inbreeding depression between F1 vs. F2 was 30%, indicating that using F1 hybrids seeds is worthwhile

The COVID-19 Pandemic Affects Seasonality, With Increasing Cases of New-Onset Type 1 Diabetes in Children, From the Worldwide SWEET Registry

Objective: To analyze whether the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic increased the number of cases or impacted seasonality of new-onset type 1 diabetes (T1D) in large pediatric diabetes centers globally. Research design and methods: We analyzed data on 17,280 cases of T1D diagnosed during 2018-2021 from 92 worldwide centers participating in the SWEET registry using hierarchic linear regression models. Results: The average number of new-onset T1D cases per center adjusted for the total number of patients treated at the center per year and stratified by age-groups increased from 11.2 (95% CI 10.1-12.2) in 2018 to 21.7 (20.6-22.8) in 2021 for the youngest age-group, <6 years; from 13.1 (12.2-14.0) in 2018 to 26.7 (25.7-27.7) in 2021 for children ages 6 to <12 years; and from 12.2 (11.5-12.9) to 24.7 (24.0-25.5) for adolescents ages 12-18 years (all P < 0.001). These increases remained within the expected increase with the 95% CI of the regression line. However, in Europe and North America following the lockdown early in 2020, the typical seasonality of more cases during winter season was delayed, with a peak during the summer and autumn months. While the seasonal pattern in Europe returned to prepandemic times in 2021, this was not the case in North America. Compared with 2018-2019 (HbA1c 7.7%), higher average HbA1c levels (2020, 8.1%; 2021, 8.6%; P < 0.001) were present within the first year of T1D during the pandemic. Conclusions: The slope of the rise in pediatric new-onset T1D in SWEET centers remained unchanged during the COVID-19 pandemic, but a change in the seasonality at onset became apparent.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Akt1/IL-6/STAT3 pathway regulates growth of lung tumor initiating cells

Here we report that the PI3K/Akt1/IL-6/STAT3 signalling pathway regulates generation and stem cell-like properties of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) tumor initiating cells (TICs). Mutant Akt1, mutant PIK3CA or PTEN loss enhances formation of lung cancer spheroids (LCS), self-renewal, expression of stemness markers and tumorigenic potential of human immortalized bronchial cells (BEAS-2B) whereas Akt inhibition suppresses these activities in established (NCI-H460) and primary NSCLC cells. Matched microarray analysis of Akt1-interfered cells and LCSs identified IL-6 as a critical target of Akt signalling in NSCLC TICs. Accordingly, suppression of Akt in NSCLC cells decreases IL-6 levels, phosphorylation of IkK and IkB, NF-kB transcriptional activity, phosphorylation and transcriptional activity of STAT3 whereas active Akt1 up-regulates them. Exposure of LCSs isolated from NSCLC cells to blocking anti-IL-6 mAbs, shRNA to IL-6 receptor or to STAT3 markedly reduces the capability to generate LCSs, to self-renew and to form tumors, whereas administration of IL-6 to Akt-interfered cells restores the capability to generate LCSs. Finally, immunohistochemical studies in NSCLC patients demonstrated a positive correlative trend between activated Akt, IL-6 expression and STAT3 phosphorylation (n = 94; p < 0.05). In conclusion, our data indicate that aberrant Akt signalling contributes to maintaining stemness in lung cancer TICs through a NF-kB/IL-6/STAT3 pathway and provide novel potential therapeutic targets for eliminating these malignant cells in NSCLC

Phenotypic selection of grain sorghum restorer lines.

ABSTRACT - This study aimed to select grain sorghum R lines based on grain yield and disease traits. The experiment consisted of 360 experimental R lines and two checks cultivars CMSXS180R and 9503062R. The experimental design used was of augmented blocks. The evaluated characteristics were plant height, days to flowering, thousand-grain mass, grain yield, and evaluation of leaf blight (Exserohilum turcicum) and anthracnose (Colletotrichum graminicola). In the analysis of variance, the interaction between Lines and checks was significant for all characteristics evaluated. All traits showed heritability above 70%, except a thousand-grain mass below 60%. In this work, the lines that obtained the best means were L57 and L74, considered earlier, with plant height ideal for grain and a high grain yield and resistance to foliar diseases. RESUMO - O objetivo desse estudo foi realizar a seleção per se de linhagens restauradoras (R) de sorgo granífero, que se mostraram mais promissoras para atributos de rendimento de grãos e doenças em nível de campo. O experimento foi constituído de 360 linhagens R experimentais, e duas testemunhas elites CMSXS180R e 9503062R. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi de blocos aumentados. As características avaliadas foram altura de plantas, florescimento, massa de mil grãos, produtividade de grãos e avaliação de helmintosporiose (Exserohilum turcicum) e antracnose (Colletotrichum graminicola). Na análise de variância a interação entre as linhagens e testemunhas foi significativa para todas as características avaliadas. Todas as características apresentaram herdabilidade superior a 70%, exceto para massa de mil grãos que foi abaixo de 60%. Nesse trabalho as linhagens que obtiveram as melhores médias foram as L57 e L74, sendo consideradas precoces, com altura de plantas ideal para granífero, juntamente com alta produtividade de grãos e resistentes a doenças foliares