Phosphatidylinositol kinase is reduced in Alzheimer's disease

Abstract: Phosphatidylinositol (PI) kinase and PI phosphate (PIP) kinase activities were measured in postmortem samples of brain tissue from patients with Alzheimer's disease and nondemented control subjects. A membrane‐free cytosolic fraction from four neocortical locations, with exogenous inositol lipids as the substrate, was used. Tissue from patients with Alzheimer's disease was characterized by reduced PIP formation; the reduction was 50% in prefrontal cortex, temporal cortex, and parietal cortex and 40% in precentral gyrus. In contrast, no alterations were found in PI bisphosphate formation in these four neocortical locations. The specific changes in PI kinase but not PIP kinase activity suggest that the findings may have functional relevance to the involvement of brain membrane processes in Alzheimer's disease

The Effect of Leverage on Bidding Behavior: Theory and Evidence from the FCC Auctions

This paper investigates how firm bidding behavior in various auctions is affected by capital structure. A theoretical model is developed where the first price sealed bid and second price sealed bid auctions are examined in situations where the firms are competing for an asset with either a common value or a private value. Findings include that in the presence of exogenous and symmetric debt, the revenue equivalence theorem no longer holds, and hence, there may be an optimal auction or set of auctions that yield the maximum expected revenue to the seller. In addition, as debt level increase, firms will tend to decrease their bids. The lower bid function gives the competition incentives to decrease their bid as well. Thus, we would expect a firm's bid to be a function of both its own debt level and the debt level of the competition, and an increase in either should result in a decrease in the firm's bid. The empirical part of the paper applies these ideas to recent FCC auctions. The evidence is consistent with the theoretical model. Debt levels of the bidding firm and the competition are found to be determinants of the highest bid a firm is willing to submit in the auction, and higher debt levels (by the firm or its competition) lead to lower bids

The Effect of Leverage on Bidding Behavior: Theory and Evidence from the FCC Auctions

This paper investigates how firms’ bidding behavior in various auctions is affected by capital structure. A theoretical model is developed where the first price sealed bid and the English auction are examined. We find as debt levels increase, firms tend to decrease their bids. The lower bids give the competition incentives to decrease their bid as well. These results are then investigated empirically using the recent FCC spectrum auctions. Consistent with the theoretical model, larger debt levels of the bidding firm and the competition tend to lead to lower bids. Additional determinants of bidding behavior in these auctions are also analyzed

Dupuytren's disease in bosnia and herzegovina. An epidemiological study

BACKGROUND: It is generally held that Dupuytren's disease is more common in northern than in southern Europe, but there are very few studies from southern European countries. METHODS: We examined the hands of 1207 men and women over the age of 50 years in Bosnia and Herzegovina. RESULTS: The prevalence of Dupuytren's disease was highly age-dependent, ranging from 17% for men between 50–59 years to 60% in the oldest men. The prevalence among women was lower. The great majority only had palmar changes without contracture of the digit. The prevalence was significantly lower among Bosnian Muslim men than among Bosnian Croat and Serbian men and significantly increased among diabetics. No association could be detected between Dupuytren's disease and smoking, alcohol consumption or living in rural or urban areas. CONCLUSION: We conclude that, contrary to previous opinion, Dupuytren's disease is common in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Prevalence of central venous stenosis among Black and White ESKD patients with dysfunctional dialysis access

In the United States, significant racial and ethnic disparities exist in chronic kidney disease (CKD) and its management. Hemodialysis constitutes the main stay of renal replacement therapy for end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), which is initiated using central venous catheters (CVC) in most CKD patients in the United States. Black ESKD patients have higher usage and greater time on CVC for hemodialysis compared to White patients. This trend places Black patients at a potentially higher risk for CVC-related complications such as central venous stenosis (CVS). We posited that Black patients would have a higher prevalence and a greater risk of CVS. A retrospective review was performed of ESKD patients who underwent a fistulogram for dialysis access malfunction. CVS was defined as \u3e 50% stenosis in the central veins. Fistulograms of 428 ESKD patients were adjudicated, and CVS was noted in 167 of these patients. Of the entire cohort, 370 fistulograms belonged to self-reported unique Black and White ESKD patients, of whom 137 patients were noted to have CVS. There was no difference in the of CVS between Black (40%) and White (41%) ESKD patients. However, a higher severity of stenosis (\u3e70%) (P = 0.03) was noted in White ESKD patients. An unadjusted model showed a significant association between CVS and cardiovascular disease and the use of CVCs. The risk-adjusted model showed a significant association between diabetes and CVS. Unlike arterial stenotic lesions, this work for the first time demonstrated higher prevalence of severe venous stenotic lesions in White ESKD patients and linked diabetes to stenotic venous disease. This work paves the way for future studies investigating the risk and influence of race and ethnicity on CVS using a larger and diverse data set