The serum vaspin levels are reduced in Japanese chronic hemodialysis patients

Background: Visceral adipose tissue-derived serine proteinase inhibitor (vaspin) is an adipokine identified in genetically obese rats that correlates with insulin resistance and obesity in humans. Recently, we found that 7% of the Japanese population with the minor allele sequence (A) of rs77060950 exhibit higher levels of serum vaspin. We therefore evaluated the serum vaspin levels in Japanese chronic hemodialysis patients. Methods: Healthy Japanese control volunteers (control; n = 95, 49.9 +/- 6.91 years) and Japanese patients undergoing hemodialysis therapy (HD; n = 138, 51.4 +/- 10.5 years) were enrolled in this study, and serum samples were subjected to the human vaspin RIA system. Results: The measurement of the serum vaspin levels demonstrated that a fraction of control subjects (n = 5) and HD patients (n = 11) exhibited much higher levels (> 10 ng/ml; Vaspin(High) group), while the rest of the population exhibited lower levels (< 3 ng/ml; Vaspin(Low) group). By comparing the patients in the Vaspin(Low) group, the serum vaspin levels were found to be significantly higher in the control subjects (0.87 +/- 0.24 ng/ml) than in the HD patients (0.32 +/- 0.15 ng/ml) (p < 0.0001). In the stepwise regression analyses, the serum creatinine and triglyceride levels were found to be independently and significantly associated with the vaspin concentrations in all subjects. Conclusions: The creatinine levels are negatively correlated with the serum vaspin levels and were significantly reduced in the Japanese HD patients in the Vaspin(Low) group

Reference intervals for the echocardiographic measurements of the right heart in children and adolescents: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Transthoracic echocardiography is the primary imaging modality for the diagnosis of right ventricular (RV) involvement in congenital and acquired heart diseases. There is increasing recognition of the contribution of RV dysfunction in heart diseases affecting children and adolescents, but there is insufficient information on reference intervals for the echocardiographic measurements of the right heart in children and adolescents that represent all the continental populations of the world.OBJECTIVE:The aim of this systematic review was to collate, from published studies, normative data for echocardiographic evaluation of the right heart in children and adolescents, and to identify gaps in knowledge in this field especially with respect to sub-Saharan Africans. METHODS: We performed a systematic literature search to identify studies of reference intervals for right heart measurements as determined by transthoracic echocardiography in healthy children and adolescents of school-going age. Articles were retrieved from electronic databases with a combination of search terms from the earliest date available until May 2013. RESULTS: Reference data were available for a broad range of variables. Fifty one studies out of 3096 publications were included. The sample sizes of the reference populations ranged from 13 to 2036 with ages varying from 5 to 21 years. We identified areas lacking sufficient reference data. These included reference data for determining right atrial size, tricuspid valve area, RV dimensions and areas, the RV % fractional area change, pulmonary artery pressure gradients and the right-sided haemodynamics, including the inferior vena cava dimensions and collapsibility. There were no data for sub-Saharan African children and adolescents. CONCLUSION: Reliable reference data are lacking for important echocardiographic measurements of the RV in children and adolescents, especially for sub-Saharan Africans

5-Methyl-4-[3-(2-oxopyrrolidin-1-yl)propyl]-2,4-dihydro-3H-1,2,4-triazol-3-one: Synthesis, Characterization, and DFT Study

WOS: 0005144039000205-Methyl-4-(3-(2-oxopyrrolidin-1-yl)propyl)-2,4-dihydro-3H-1,2,4-triazol-3-one was synthesized and characterized by X-ray, FTIR and NMR spectroscopic techniques. The molecular geometry and spectral parameters of the title compound were also computed by the DFT/B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) method, and the theoretical data showed a good agreement with the experimental ones. The differences between the theoretical and experimental IR and NMR spectra supported the presence of inter- and intramolecular C-H center dot center dot center dot O and intermolecular N-H center dot center dot center dot O hydrogen bonds, which were revealed by X-ray analysis. Nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of the title compound were analyzed by the DFT/B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) method by calculating the mean polarizability (alpha) and first-order hyperpolarizability values (beta) (alpha = 22.0746454x10(-24), beta = 10.1110649x10(-31) esu). As compared with the corresponding data for urea (alpha = 4.9067x10(-24), beta = 7.8782x10(-31) esu), these values suggest promising NLO properties