Structure of the thioredoxin-like domain of yeast glutaredoxin 3

Yeast Grx3 is involved in iron-responsive transcription regulation. The single active site thiol of the thioredoxin-like domain is in a flexible surface loop as suggested by its partial disorder

Cell-cycle arrest biomarkers in urine to predict acute kidney injury in septic and non-septic critically ill patients

Purpose: To analyse the usefulness of the composite index of the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-2 (TIMP-2) and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7 (IGFBP7) as urinary biomarkers for the early prediction of AKI in septic and non-septic patients. Methods: This is a prospective, observational study including patients admitted to ICU from acute care departments and hospital length of stay 0.8 predicted a rate of AKI of 71% and AKIN >= 2 of 62.9%. Conclusions: In our study, urinary [TIMP-2].[IGFBP7] was an early predictor of AKI in ICU patients regardless of sepsis. Besides, index values < 0.8(ng/mL)(2)/1000 ruled out the need for renal replacement

Flavonoid Apigenin Is an Inhibitor of the NAD+ase CD38: Implications for Cellular NAD+ Metabolism, Protein Acetylation, and Treatment of Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is a growing health problem worldwide. It is therefore imperative to develop new strategies to treat this pathology. In the past years, the manipulation of NAD+ metabolism has emerged as a plausible strategy to ameliorate metabolic syndrome. In particular, an increase in cellular NAD+ levels has beneficial effects, likely because of the activation of sirtuins. Previously, we reported that CD38 is the primary NAD+ase in mammals. Moreover, CD38 knockout mice have higher NAD+ levels and are protected against obesity and metabolic syndrome. Here, we show that CD38 regulates global protein acetylation through changes in NAD+ levels and sirtuin activity. In addition, we characterize two CD38 inhibitors: quercetin and apigenin. We show that pharmacological inhibition of CD38 results in higher intracellular NAD+ levels and that treatment of cell cultures with apigenin decreases global acetylation as well as the acetylation of p53 and RelA-p65. Finally, apigenin administration to obese mice increases NAD+ levels, decreases global protein acetylation, and improves several aspects of glucose and lipid homeostasis. Our results show that CD38 is a novel pharmacological target to treat metabolic diseases via NAD+-dependent pathways

Effect of Coulomb interactions on the physical observables of graphene

We give an update of the situation concerning the effect of electron-electron interactions on the physics of a neutral graphene system at low energies. We revise old renormalization group results and the use of 1/N expansion to address questions of the possible opening of a low-energy gap, and the magnitude of the graphene fine structure constant. We emphasize the role of Fermi velocity as the only free parameter determining the transport and electronic properties of the graphene system and revise its renormalization by Coulomb interactions in the light of recent experimental evidence.Comment: Proceedings of the Nobel Symposium on graphene 2010, to appear as a special issue in Physica Script

Potential Impacts of Free Trade Areas and Common Currency on Sustainable Agricultural Export in Africa

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

A study of patent thickets

Report analysing whether entry of UK enterprises into patenting in a technology area is affected by patent thickets in the technology area

Association Between Ventilatory Settings and Development of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in Mechanically Ventilated Patients Due to Brain Injury

PURPOSE: In neurologically critically ill patients with mechanical ventilation (MV), the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a major contributor to morbidity and mortality, but the role of ventilatory management has been scarcely evaluated. We evaluate the association of tidal volume, level of PEEP and driving pressure with the development of ARDS in a population of patients with brain injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a secondary analysis of a prospective, observational study on mechanical ventilation. RESULTS: We included 986 patients mechanically ventilated due to an acute brain injury (hemorrhagic stroke, ischemic stroke or brain trauma). Incidence of ARDS in this cohort was 3%. Multivariate analysis suggested that driving pressure could be associated with the development of ARDS (odds ratio for unit increment of driving pressure 1.12; confidence interval for 95%: 1.01 to 1.23) whereas we did not observe association for tidal volume (in ml per kg of predicted body weight) or level of PEEP. ARDS was associated with an increase in mortality, longer duration of mechanical ventilation, and longer ICU length of stay. CONCLUSIONS: In a cohort of brain-injured patients the development of ARDS was not common. Driving pressure was associated with the development of this disease.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Thermal stratification drives movement of a coastal apex predator

A characterization of the thermal ecology of fishes is needed to better understand changes in ecosystems and species distributions arising from global warming. The movement of wild animals during changing environmental conditions provides essential information to help predict the future thermal response of large marine predators. We used acoustic telemetry to monitor the vertical movement activity of the common dentex (Dentex dentex), a Mediterranean coastal predator, in relation to the oscillations of the seasonal thermocline during two summer periods in the Medes Islands marine reserve (NW Mediterranean Sea). During the summer stratification period, the common dentex presented a clear preference for the warm suprathermoclinal layer, and adjusted their vertical movements following the depth changes of the thermocline. The same preference was also observed during the night, when fish were less active. Due to this behaviour, we hypothesize that inter-annual thermal oscillations and the predicted lengthening of summer conditions will have a significant positive impact on the metabolic efficiency, activity levels, and population dynamics of this species, particularly in its northern limit of distribution. These changes in the dynamics of an ecosystem’s keystone predator might cascade down to lower trophic levels, potentially re-defining the coastal fish communities of the futureVersión del editor2,92