Urinary clusterin and cystatin B as biomarkers of tubular injury in dogs following envenomation by the European adder

Diagnosing acute kidney injury remains a challenge since the established renal biomarkers, serum creatinine (sCr) and symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) reflect glomerular function and not tubular injury. Sensitive tubular markers such as urinary clusterin (uClust) and cystatin B (uCysB) have been proposed to detect AKI at an earlier stage. Since envenomation by the European adder (Vipera berus berus) could serve as a spontaneous disease model of AKI we investigated these new biomarkers in affected dogs. Concentrations of uClust and uCysB as well as sCr and SDMA were analyzed retrospectively in stored samples from 26 dogs with snake envenomation and 13 healthy controls. Higher concentrations of uClust (P <0.012) and uCysB (P <0.001) were observed in the snake-envenomed group. Normalization of uClust and uCysB to urinary creatinine did not alter the results. No differences were observed in sCr and SDMA between the snake-envenomed group and the healthy control group. Spearman rank correlation analysis revealed a strong association of uClust with uCysB in the snake-envenomed dogs (r = 0.75 P <0.001) but not in the healthy controls. The high percentage of snake-envenomed dogs with increased uClust and uCysB concentrations in the absence of increased sCr and SDMA suggests renal tubular injury in the affected dogs. Larger prospective case-controlled studies are warranted to evaluate the clinical utility and prognostic value of these biomarkers.Peer reviewe

Importance of Calcareous Shells in Aggregate Formation and Particle Decomposition for the Coccolithophorid Emiliania Huxleyi

Stand from May ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Saline outflow from the Arctic Ocean its contribution the deep waters the Greenland Norwegian and Iceland Seas Journal Geophysical Research Aagaard Fahrbach Meincke Swift Structure and geological processes The expedition ARKTIS XVII the Research Vessel POLARSTERN Fahrbach Reports Polar and Marine Research Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research Bremerhaven Aahke Hohmann Kierdorf Matthiessen Vernaleken Parameterisierung atmosph rischer Grenzschichtprozesse einem regionalen Klimamodell der Arktis Reports Polar Research Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research Bremerhaven Abegg Parameterisierung atmosph rischer Grenzschichtprozesse einem regionalen Klimamodell der Arktis Parameterisation atmospheric boundary layer processes regional climate model the Arctic Reports Polar Research Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research Bremerhaven Abegg Influence planetary boundary layer parameterization Arctic climate simulations ACSYS Conference Polar Processes and Global Climate WMO ICSU IOC World Climate Research Programme WCPR Proceedings Abegg Dethloff Rinke Romanov Untersuchungen zur Parameterisierung der planetaren Grenzschicht der Arktis Ann Meteorol Abegg Dethloff Rinke Romanov Influence planetary boundary layer parameterization Arctic climate simulations Proc the ACSYS conference Polar processes and global climate Rosario Resort Nov WMO Abegg Dethloff Rinke Hebestadt Romanov Fabric gas hydrate sedim

Investigating the effect of ballasting by CaCO3 in Emiliania huxleyi: II. Decomposition of particulate organic matter

To investigate the role of ballasting by biogenic minerals in the export of organic matter in the ocean, a laboratory experiment was conducted comparing aggregate formation and settling velocity of non-calcifying and calcifying strains of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi. Experiments were conducted by making aggregates using a roller table and following aggregate properties during incubation for a period of 40 days. Size, shape, and settling velocities of aggregates were described by image analysis of video pictures recorded during the roller tank incubation. Our results show that biogenic calcite has a strong effect on the formation rate and abundance of aggregates and on aggregate properties such as size, excess density, porosity, and settling velocity. Aggregates of calcifying cells (AGGCAL) formed faster, were smaller and had higher settling velocities, excess densities, and mass than those of non-calcifying cells (AGGNCAL). AGGCAL showed no loss during the duration of the experiment, whereas AGGNCAL decreased in size after 1 month of incubation. Potential mechanisms that can explain the different patterns in aggregate formation are discussed. Comparison of settling velocities of AGGCAL and AGGNCAL with aggregates formed by diatoms furthermore indicated that the ballast effect of calcite is greater than that of opal. Together these results help to better understand why calcite is of major importance for organic matter fluxes to the deep ocean

Investigation of spatio‐temporal clusters of positive leptospirosis polymerase chain reaction test results in dogs in the United States, 2009 to 2016

Abstract Background Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease of concern and an investigation of recent spatio‐temporal trends of leptospirosis in dogs in the United States is needed. Leptospira PCR testing has become increasingly used in veterinary clinical medicine and these data might provide information on recent trends of disease occurrence. Objectives To identify and describe clusters of PCR‐positive Leptospira test results in dogs in the United States. Animals Leptospira real‐time PCR test results from dogs (n = 40 118) in the United States from IDEXX Laboratories, Inc., between 2009 and 2016 were included in the analysis. Methods In this retrospective study, spatio‐temporal clusters for a real‐time PCR‐positive test were identified using the space‐time permutation scan statistic and the centroid of the zip code reported for each test. A maximum spatial window of 20% of the population at risk, and a maximum temporal window of 6 months were used. Results Seven statistically significant space‐time clusters of Leptospira real‐time PCR‐positive test results were identified across the United States: 1 each located within the states of Arizona (2016), California (2014‐2015), Florida (2010), South Carolina (2015), and 1 each located within the south‐central region (2015), midwest region (2014), and northeast region (2011). Clusters ranged from 3 to 108 dogs and were identified during all years under study, except 2009, 2012, and 2013. Conclusions and Clinical Importance The spatial and temporal components of leptospirosis in dogs in this study are similar to those in previous work. However, clusters were identified in new areas, demonstrating the complex epidemiology of this disease

Comparison of diagnostic tools for the detection of dirofilaria immitis infection in dogs

In the last two decades, reports of canine heartworm (HW) infection have increased even in non-endemic areas, with a large variability in prevalence data due to the diagnostic strategy employed. This study evaluated the relative performance of two microtiter plate ELISA methods for the detection of HW antigen in determining the occurrence of Dirofilaria immitis in a dog population previously tested by the modified Knott’s test and SNAP 4Dx Plus test. The prevalence of this infection in the sheltered dog population (n = 363) from a high-risk area for HW infection was 44.4% according to the modified Knott’s test and 58.1% according to a point-of-care antigen ELISA. All serum samples were then evaluated by a microtiter plate ELISA test performed with and without immune complex dissociation (ICD). The prevalence increased from 56.5% to 79.6% following ICD, indicating a high proportion of samples with immune complexing. Comparing these results to that of the modified Knott’s test, the samples negative for microfilariae (mfs) and those positive only for D. repens mfs demonstrated the greatest increase in the proportion of positive results for D. immitis by ELISA following ICD. While the ICD method is not recommended for routine screening, it may be a valuable secondary strategy for identifying HW infections in dogs

Relation of Left Ventricular Mass and Infarct Size in Anterior Wall ST-Segment Elevation Acute Myocardial Infarction (from the EMBRACE STEMI Clinical Trial)

Biomarker measures of infarct size and myocardial salvage index (MSI) are important surrogate measures of clinical outcomes after a myocardial infarction. However, there is variability in infarct size unaccounted for by conventional adjustment factors. This post hoc analysis of Evaluation of Myocardial Effects of Bendavia for Reducing Reperfusion Injury in Patients With Acute Coronary Events (EMBRACE) ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) trial evaluates the association between left ventricular (LV) mass and infarct size as assessed by areas under the curve for creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) and troponin I release over the first 72 hours (CK-MB area under the curve [AUC] and troponin I [TnI] AUC) and the MSI. Patients with first anterior STEMI, occluded left anterior descending artery, and available LV mass measurement in EMBRACE STEMI trial were included (n = 100) (ClinicalTrials.govNCT01572909). MSI, end-diastolic LV mass on day 4 cardiac magnetic resonance, and CK-MB and troponin I concentrations were evaluated by a core laboratory. After saturated multivariate analysis, dominance analysis was performed to estimate the contribution of each independent variable to the predicted variance of each outcome. In multivariate models that included age, gender, body surface area, lesion location, smoking, and ischemia time, LV mass remained independently associated with biomarker measures of infarct size (CK-MB AUC p = 0.02, TnI AUC p = 0.03) and MSI (p = 0.003). Dominance analysis demonstrated that LV mass accounted for 58%, 47%, and 60% of the predicted variances for CK-MB AUC, TnI AUC, and MSI, respectively. In conclusion, LV mass accounts for approximately half of the predicted variance in biomarker measures of infarct size. It should be considered as an adjustment variable in studies evaluating infarct size

Palladium-Catalyzed Heterocyclization:A Carbon-Centered Approach

Heterocycles are some of the most important and widely used motifs in synthetic and medicinal chemistry. It is therefore not surprising that the synthesis of heterocycles is a rich area of chemistry. Catalytic heterocyclisation that makes use of heteroatom nucleophiles such as oxygen and nitrogen is one such powerful strategy. This Focus Review considers an alternative approach using carbon-based nucleophiles generated during palladium-catalysed heterocyclisation. This complimentary method allows access to a range of useful and otherwise inaccessible targets. Occurring through a range of different mechanisms, the utility of this approach can be seen in the wide range of transformations that can be undertaken, along with its repeated application in complex molecule synthesis