Exogenous Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor and Nerve Growth Factor Enhance Sprouting of Acetylcholinesterase Positive Fibers in Denervated Rat Hippocampus

Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and nerve growth factor (NGF) were administered into the rat brain following unilateral fimbria-fornix transection. Both bFGF and NGF stimulated the sprouting of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) positive fibers in the hippocampus on the lesioned side. Furthermore, a small number of AChE-positive fibers were regenerated even when only the vehicle was administered. Rats treated with NGF as well as control group had only thin fibers, whereas those treated with bFGF had not only thin fibers but also thick fibers. These results indicate that intrinsic NGF is released and acts on damaged neurons directly, while bFGF acts them on directly and/or indirectly after brain injury.</p

Urinary biopyrrins levels are elevated in relation to severity of heart failure

AbstractObjectivesWe investigated the relationship between the urinary levels of biopyrrins and the severity of heart failure (HF).BackgroundOxidative stress is evident in heart disease and contributes to the development of ventricular dysfunction in patients with HF. Biopyrrins, oxidative metabolites of bilirubin, have been discovered as potential markers of oxidative stress.MethodsWe measured the levels of urinary biopyrrins and plasma B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) in 94 patients with HF (59 men; mean age 65 years) and 47 control subjects (30 men; mean age 65 years). Urine and blood samples were taken after admission in all subjects. Further urine samples were obtained from 40 patients after treatment of HF.ResultsThe urinary biopyrrins/creatinine levels (μmol/g creatinine) were the highest in patients in New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III/IV (n = 26; 17.05 [range 7.85 to 42.91]). The urinary biopyrrins/creatinine levels in patients in NYHA class I (n = 35; 3.46 [range 2.60 to 5.42]) or II (n = 33; 5.39 [range 3.37 to 9.36]) were significantly higher than those in controls (2.38 [range 1.57 to 3.15]). There were significant differences in urinary biopyrrins/creatinine levels among each group. The treatment of HF significantly decreased both urinary biopyrrins/creatinine levels (from 7.43 [range 3.84 to 17.05] to 3.07 [range 2.21 to 5.71]) and NYHA class (from 2.5 ± 0.1 to 1.7 ± 0.1). Log biopyrrins/creatinine levels were positively correlated with log BNP levels (r = 0.650, p < 0.001).ConclusionsThese results indicate that urinary biopyrrins levels are increased in patients with HF and are elevated in proportion to its severity

Nuclear emulsion techniques for muography

Nuclear emulsions are currently being used in the field of muography, more specifically muon radiography of volcanic edifices and fault regions. The peculiar features of such detector for cosmic muons demand appropriate data processing and analysis techniques. The paper shows the current development status of readout devices and analysis techniques developed by some research groups that established a collaborative network in Italy and Japan. An overview is given of nuclear emulsion-based detectors, from the detection principles to detector operation and set-up techniques, in connection with the expectations in terms of geophysics information. Two systems for readout are presented, one developed in the first decade of the 21st century and one that is entering duty now. The evolution in terms of data quality and speed is discussed. Finally, the most relevant data processing steps that allow working out muon absorption maps from nuclear emulsion data are described

muography of 1949 fault in la palma canary islands spain

Muography (muon radiography) is a new geophysical technique that allows investigation of inner structures of an edifice with a very detailed spatial resolution. It has been recently used for several volcanoes and different geoscientific targets. In 2011 Tanaka et al. succeeded to find hidden ancient seismic faults. In 1949 there was a volcanic activity of the Cumbre Vieja, La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain and a 1km long fault suddenly appeared during the active period. The fault might be the sign of a large scale land collapse. In order to get additional information, investigations by several geophysical exploration techniques are needed. We consider that muography can be applied to study the shallow part of the fault and it can clarify some important parameters: the bulk density, the width of the low density zone, and the depth. Previous investigations allowed detecting two ancient seismic faults that have 20m-wide mechanically fractured zone consisting of highly damaged rocks. The 1949 fault might be the result of large scale land slide and the slide length might be just a few meter. Therefore the expected width of the fault is only a few meter. In order to detect such narrow fault, the muon detector should have as high spatial resolution as possible. In addition, it is difficult to get continuous power supply near the fault. Nuclear emulsions are a kind of photographic films that have high sensitivity for high energy charged particles. They also have high spatial resolution for high energy muon paths and do not need any power supply to be operated. We placed an emulsion detector having 0.19 m 2 effective area near the 1949 fault. The exposure started on January 2014 and lasted 106 days. All the emulsion films were developed and they are under analysis. We also estimated the expected performance of this test exposure. Assuming a very simple model, we evaluated the detectable region as a function of the low density zone width and of the depth from the ground surface as well

muography with nuclear emulsions stromboli and other projects

The muon radiography is a novel imaging technique to probe the volcanoes interior, using the capability of high energy cosmic ray muons to penetrate large thicknesses of rock. In this way it is possible to derive a 2D density map along the muon trajectory of volcanic edifices and deduce information on the variations in the rock density distribution, like those expected from dense lava conduits, or low density magma supply paths. This method is applicable also to study geological objects as glaciers, faults, oil underground reservoirs, engineering constructions, where a density contrast is present. Nuclear emulsions are well suited to be employed in this context for their excellent angular resolution; they are compact and robust detectors, able to work in harsh environments without need of power supply. On the other side, a long exposure time is required for a reasonable detector surface (~10 m 2 ) in order to collect a sufficient statistics of muons, and a quasi-real time analysis of the emulsion data is rather difficult due to the scanning time needed by the optical microscopes. Such drawback is on the way to be overcome thanks to a recent R&D program on ultra-fast scanning systems. Muon radiography technique, even if limited to the summit part of the volcano edifice, represents an important tool of investigation, at higher spatial resolution, complementary to the conventional geophysics techniques. The first successful result in this field was obtained by a Japanese group that observed in 2007 the conduit structure of Mt. Asama. Since 2010, other interesting volcanoes have been probed with the same method: Stromboli in 2011, Mt. Teide in 2012 and La Palma in 2014. Here we discuss the muon imaging technique reporting the nuclear emulsion detector design exposed at Stromboli and results of the data analysis

Omecamtiv mecarbil in chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, GALACTIC‐HF: baseline characteristics and comparison with contemporary clinical trials

Aims: The safety and efficacy of the novel selective cardiac myosin activator, omecamtiv mecarbil, in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is tested in the Global Approach to Lowering Adverse Cardiac outcomes Through Improving Contractility in Heart Failure (GALACTIC‐HF) trial. Here we describe the baseline characteristics of participants in GALACTIC‐HF and how these compare with other contemporary trials. Methods and Results: Adults with established HFrEF, New York Heart Association functional class (NYHA) ≥ II, EF ≤35%, elevated natriuretic peptides and either current hospitalization for HF or history of hospitalization/ emergency department visit for HF within a year were randomized to either placebo or omecamtiv mecarbil (pharmacokinetic‐guided dosing: 25, 37.5 or 50 mg bid). 8256 patients [male (79%), non‐white (22%), mean age 65 years] were enrolled with a mean EF 27%, ischemic etiology in 54%, NYHA II 53% and III/IV 47%, and median NT‐proBNP 1971 pg/mL. HF therapies at baseline were among the most effectively employed in contemporary HF trials. GALACTIC‐HF randomized patients representative of recent HF registries and trials with substantial numbers of patients also having characteristics understudied in previous trials including more from North America (n = 1386), enrolled as inpatients (n = 2084), systolic blood pressure &lt; 100 mmHg (n = 1127), estimated glomerular filtration rate &lt; 30 mL/min/1.73 m2 (n = 528), and treated with sacubitril‐valsartan at baseline (n = 1594). Conclusions: GALACTIC‐HF enrolled a well‐treated, high‐risk population from both inpatient and outpatient settings, which will provide a definitive evaluation of the efficacy and safety of this novel therapy, as well as informing its potential future implementation