Kolageni elastin u jetri štakora otrovanih živinim kloridom

Intoxication of rats with mercuric chloride (0.5 mg Hg/kg of body weight, daily for 10 weeks) increased the hepatic contents of soluble and insoluble collagen and elastin. The increase was associated with elevated serum aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase activities, and decreased total protein level in serum. Inflammatory changes were found in the liver. An increase in the fibrous protein content suggests that inflammatory reaction to mercuric chloride can result in hepatic fibrosis.Trovanje štakora živinim kloridom (0,5 mg Hg/kg tjelesne težine na dan tijekom deset tjedana) imalo je za rezultat povećan sadržaj topljivog i netopljivog kolagena i elastina u jetri. Povećanje je dovedeno u vezu s povišenim aktivnostima aminotransferaze i alkalne fosfataze u serumu, i sa smanjenim nivoom ukupnog proteina u serumu. U jetri su zamijećene upalne promjene. Povišen sadržaj vlaknastog proteina upućuje na to da upalna reakcija na živin klorid može dovesti do fibroze jetre

Relationship of circulating hyaluronic Acid levels to disease control in asthma and asthmatic pregnancy.

Uncontrolled asthma is a risk factor for pregnancy-related complications. Hyaluronic acid (HA), a potential peripheral blood marker of tissue fibrosis in various diseases, promotes eosinophil survival and plays a role in asthmatic airway inflammation as well as in physiological processes necessary to maintain normal pregnancy; however the level of circulating HA in asthma and asthmatic pregnancy is unknown. We investigated HA levels in asthmatic patients (N = 52; asthmatic pregnant (AP) N = 16; asthmatic non-pregnant (ANP) N = 36) and tested their relationship to asthma control. Serum HA level was lower in AP than in ANP patients (27 [24.7-31.55] vs. 37.4 [30.1-66.55] ng/mL, p = 0.006); the difference attenuated to a trend after its adjustment for patients' age (p = 0.056). HA levels and airway resistance were positively (r = 0.467, p = 0.004), HA levels and Asthma Control Test (ACT) total score inversely (r = -0.437, p = 0.01) associated in ANP patients; these relationships remained significant even after their adjustments for age. The potential value of HA in the determination of asthma control was analyzed using ROC analysis which revealed that HA values discriminate patients with ACT total score >/=20 (controlled patients) and <20 (uncontrolled patients) with a 0.826 efficacy (AUC, 95% CI: 0.69-0.97, p = 0.001) when 37.4 ng/mL is used as cut-off value in ANP group, and with 0.78 efficacy (AUC, 95% CI: 0.65-0.92, p = 0.0009) in the whole asthmatic cohort. In conclusion circulating HA might be a marker of asthma control, as it correlates with airway resistance and has good sensitivity in the detection of impaired asthma control. Decrease of HA level in pregnancy may be the consequence of pregnancy induced immune tolerance

Selenium toxicity but not deficient or super-nutritional selenium status vastly alters the transcriptome in rodents

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Protein and mRNA levels for several selenoproteins, such as glutathione peroxidase-1 (Gpx1), are down-regulated dramatically by selenium (Se) deficiency. These levels in rats increase sigmoidally with increasing dietary Se and reach defined plateaus at the Se requirement, making them sensitive biomarkers for Se deficiency. These levels, however, do not further increase with super-nutritional or toxic Se status, making them ineffective for detection of high Se status. Biomarkers for high Se status are needed as super-nutritional Se intakes are associated with beneficial as well as adverse health outcomes. To characterize Se regulation of the transcriptome, we conducted 3 microarray experiments in weanling mice and rats fed Se-deficient diets supplemented with up to 5 μg Se/g diet.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There was no effect of Se status on growth of mice fed 0 to 0.2 μg Se/g diet or rats fed 0 to 2 μg Se/g diet, but rats fed 5 μg Se/g diet showed a 23% decrease in growth and elevated plasma alanine aminotransferase activity, indicating Se toxicity. Rats fed 5 μg Se/g diet had significantly altered expression of 1193 liver transcripts, whereas mice or rats fed ≤ 2 μg Se/g diet had < 10 transcripts significantly altered relative to Se-adequate animals within an experiment. Functional analysis of genes altered by Se toxicity showed enrichment in cell movement/morphogenesis, extracellular matrix, and development/angiogenesis processes. Genes up-regulated by Se deficiency were targets of the stress response transcription factor, Nrf2. Multiple regression analysis of transcripts significantly altered by 2 μg Se/g and Se-deficient diets identified an 11-transcript biomarker panel that accounted for 99% of the variation in liver Se concentration over the full range from 0 to 5 μg Se/g diet.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study shows that Se toxicity (5 μg Se/g diet) in rats vastly alters the liver transcriptome whereas Se-deficiency or high but non-toxic Se intake elicits relatively few changes. This is the first evidence that a vastly expanded number of transcriptional changes itself can be a biomarker of Se toxicity, and that identified transcripts can be used to develop molecular biomarker panels that accurately predict super-nutritional and toxic Se status.</p

Clinical and patient-reported trajectories at end-of-life in older patients with advanced CKD

Background We explore longitudinal trajectories of clinical indicators, patient-reported outcomes, and hospitalizations, in the years preceding death in a population of older patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD). Methods The EQUAL study is a European observational prospective cohort study with an incident eGFR Results We included 661 decedents with a median time to death of 2.0 years (IQR 0.9-3.2). During the years preceding death, eGFR, Subjective Global Assessment score, and blood pressure declined, with accelerations seen at 6 months preceding death. Serum hemoglobin, hematocrit, cholesterol, calcium, albumin, and sodium values declined slowly during follow-up, with accelerations observed between 6 and 12 months preceding death. Physical and mental quality of life declined linearly throughout follow-up. The number of reported symptoms was stable up to 2 years prior to death, with an acceleration observed at 1 year prior to death. The rate of hospitalization was stable at around one hospitalization per person year, increasing exponentially at 6 months preceding death. Conclusions We identified clinically relevant physiological accelerations in patient trajectories that began similar to 6 to 12 months prior to death, which are likely multifactorial in nature, but correlate with a surge in hospitalizations. Further research should focus on how to effectively use this knowledge to inform patient and family expectations, to benefit the planning of (end-of-life) care, and to establish clinical alert systems.Clinical epidemiolog

Analiza emisji liczbowej cząstek stałych z silników z zapłonem iskrowym i bezpośrednim wtryskiem benzyny w świetle nowych przepisów prawnych

The main advantages of using direct injection in an SI engine, such as lower fuel consumption and higher thermal efficiency, implicate a new problem concerning gasoline engines: the emission of particulate matter. The observed issue has been a significant direction of development of the contemporary DISI engine over the last decade. This paper contains an overview of the results of PN emission, which were obtained from experiments conducted at BOSMAL and from the literature. Current and future legal regulations regarding PN emissions were collated to the test results.Główne korzyści z zastosowania bezpośredniego wtrysku benzyny w silnikach ZI, takie jak mniejsze zużycie paliwa czy większa sprawność termiczna silnika, wiążą się także z problemem niespotykanym dotąd w silnikach ZI, tj. z emisją cząstek stałych. Przez ostatnią dekadę zjawisko to wyznaczyło kierunek rozwoju współczesnych silników benzynowych z bezpośrednim wtryskiem. Artykuł ten zawiera przegląd wyników badań emisji liczby cząstek stałych w trakcie różnych projektów badawczych zrealizowanych w Instytucie BOSMAL, a także przedstawionych w literaturze. Wyniki odniesiono do obecnych i przyszłych wymogów prawnych dotyczących emisji cząstek stałych