Nitric oxide contributes to right ventricular oxygen supply-demand balance in conscious dogs exposed to hypoxia

АЗОТА ОКСИДЫАЗОТА СОЕДИНЕНИЯКИСЛОРОДА ПОГЛОЩЕНИЕОБМЕН ВЕЩЕСТВСЕРДЦА ЖЕЛУДОЧЕК ПРАВЫЙ, ФУНКЦИЯЭКСПЕРИМЕНТЫ НА ЖИВОТНЫХАНОКСИЯПРИЗНАКИ И СИМПТОМЫ ДЫХАТЕЛЬНЫ

Catalyst‐mediated enhancement of carbon nanotube textiles by laser irradiation: Nanoparticle sweating and bundle alignment

The photonic post-processing of suspended carbon nanotube (CNT) ribbons made by floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition (FC-CVD) results in selective sorting of the carbon nanotubes present. Defective, thermally non-conductive or unconnected CNTs are burned away, in some cases leaving behind a highly crystalline (as indicated by the Raman G:D ratio), highly conductive network. However, the improvement in crystallinity does not always occur but is dependent on sample composition. Here, we report on fundamental features, which are observed for all samples. Pulse irradiation (not only by laser but also white light camera flashes, as well as thermal processes such as Joule heating) lead to (1) the sweating-out of catalyst nanoparticles resulting in molten catalyst beads of up to several hundreds of nanometres in diameter on the textile surface and (2) a significant improvement in CNT bundle alignment. The behavior of the catalyst beads is material dependent. Here, we show the underlying mechanisms of the photonic post-treatment by modelling the macro- and microstructural changes of the CNT network and show that it is mainly the amount of residual catalyst which determines how much energy these materials can withstand before their complete decomposition

Protected proteins as supplements for bulls fed tropical forage diets

Under the extensive conditions encountered in the dry tropics of Australia mating in the beef herd ususally commences immediately after the onset of the wet season. Bulls are often mated only four to six weeks after suffering a period of liveweight loss. This experiment looked at the liveweight change and reproductive responses when bulls were subject to two different planes of nutrition

Gleam: the GLAST Large Area Telescope Simulation Framework

This paper presents the simulation of the GLAST high energy gamma-ray telescope. The simulation package, written in C++, is based on the Geant4 toolkit, and it is integrated into a general framework used to process events. A detailed simulation of the electronic signals inside Silicon detectors has been provided and it is used for the particle tracking, which is handled by a dedicated software. A unique repository for the geometrical description of the detector has been realized using the XML language and a C++ library to access this information has been designed and implemented.Comment: 10 pages, Late

Inhibition of sodium–glucose cotransporter-2 preserves cardiac function during regional myocardial ischemia independent of alterations in myocardial substrate utilization

The goal of the present study was to evaluate the effects of SGLT2i on cardiac contractile function, substrate utilization, and efficiency before and during regional myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury in normal, metabolically healthy swine. Lean swine received placebo or canagliflozin (300 mg PO) 24 h prior to and the morning of an invasive physiologic study protocol. Hemodynamic and cardiac function measurements were obtained at baseline, during a 30-min complete occlusion of the circumflex coronary artery, and during a 2-h reperfusion period. Blood pressure, heart rate, coronary flow, and myocardial oxygen consumption were unaffected by canagliflozin treatment. Ventricular volumes remained unchanged in controls throughout the protocol. At the onset of ischemia, canagliflozin produced acute large increases in left ventricular end-diastolic and systolic volumes which returned to baseline with reperfusion. Canagliflozin-mediated increases in end-diastolic volume were directly associated with increases in stroke volume and stroke work relative to controls during ischemia. Canagliflozin also increased cardiac work efficiency during ischemia relative to control swine. No differences in myocardial uptake of glucose, lactate, free fatty acids or ketones, were noted between treatment groups at any time. In separate experiments using a longer 60 min coronary occlusion followed by 2 h of reperfusion, canagliflozin increased end-diastolic volume and stroke volume and significantly diminished myocardial infarct size relative to control swine. These data demonstrate that SGLT2i with canagliflozin preserves cardiac contractile function and efficiency during regional myocardial ischemia and provides ischemia protection independent of alterations in myocardial substrate utilization

Parent-of-origin-specific allelic associations among 106 genomic loci for age at menarche.

Age at menarche is a marker of timing of puberty in females. It varies widely between individuals, is a heritable trait and is associated with risks for obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, breast cancer and all-cause mortality. Studies of rare human disorders of puberty and animal models point to a complex hypothalamic-pituitary-hormonal regulation, but the mechanisms that determine pubertal timing and underlie its links to disease risk remain unclear. Here, using genome-wide and custom-genotyping arrays in up to 182,416 women of European descent from 57 studies, we found robust evidence (P < 5 × 10(-8)) for 123 signals at 106 genomic loci associated with age at menarche. Many loci were associated with other pubertal traits in both sexes, and there was substantial overlap with genes implicated in body mass index and various diseases, including rare disorders of puberty. Menarche signals were enriched in imprinted regions, with three loci (DLK1-WDR25, MKRN3-MAGEL2 and KCNK9) demonstrating parent-of-origin-specific associations concordant with known parental expression patterns. Pathway analyses implicated nuclear hormone receptors, particularly retinoic acid and γ-aminobutyric acid-B2 receptor signalling, among novel mechanisms that regulate pubertal timing in humans. Our findings suggest a genetic architecture involving at least hundreds of common variants in the coordinated timing of the pubertal transition

Study protocol for the recreational stimulation for elders as a vehicle to resolve delirium superimposed on dementia (Reserve For DSD) trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Delirium is a state of confusion characterized by an acute and fluctuating decline in cognitive functioning. Delirium is common and deadly in older adults with dementia, and is often referred to as delirium superimposed on dementia, or DSD. Interventions that treat DSD are not well-developed because the mechanisms involved in its etiology are not completely understood. We have developed a theory-based intervention for DSD that is derived from the literature on cognitive reserve and based on our prior interdisciplinary work on delirium, recreational activities, and cognitive stimulation in people with dementia. Our preliminary work indicate that use of simple, cognitively stimulating activities may help resolve delirium by helping to focus inattention, the primary neuropsychological deficit in delirium. Our primary aim in this trial is to test the efficacy of Recreational Stimulation for Elders as a Vehicle to resolve DSD (RESERVE- DSD).</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>This randomized repeated measures clinical trial will involve participants being recruited and enrolled at the time of admission to post acute care. We will randomize 256 subjects to intervention (RESERVE-DSD) or control (usual care). Intervention subjects will receive 30-minute sessions of tailored cognitively stimulating recreational activities for up to 30 days. We hypothesize that subjects who receive RESERVE-DSD will have: decreased severity and duration of delirium; greater gains in attention, orientation, memory, abstract thinking, and executive functioning; and greater gains in physical function compared to subjects with DSD who receive usual care. We will also evaluate potential moderators of intervention efficacy (lifetime of complex mental activities and APOE status). Our secondary aim is to describe the costs associated with RESERVE-DSD.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Our theory-based intervention, which uses simple, inexpensive recreational activities for delivering cognitive stimulation, is innovative because, to our knowledge it has not been tested as a treatment for DSD. This novel intervention for DSD builds on our prior delirium, recreational activity and cognitive stimulation research, and draws support from cognitive reserve theory.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01267682">NCT01267682</a></p