779 research outputs found
Los dobletes etimológicos en español (1611-1739)
OBJECTIVES: Bacterial translocation seems to precede the occurrence of overt bacterial infection in patients with cirrhosis. The presence of bacterial DNA in blood and ascites correlates with bacterial translocation and is frequent in patients with advanced cirrhosis without overt infection. Our aim was to search for bacterial DNA in patients with cirrhosis both with and without ascites, and to study its correlation with abnormal intestinal motility or permeability and the presence of bacterial overgrowth.
METHODS: Blood and ascites samples were obtained on day 1, and blood samples were taken twice a day for the following 3 days. Bacterial DNA was assayed by polymerase chain reaction using universal primers for rRNA 16\u2009s. Oro-caecal transit time and bacterial overgrowth were assessed with Lactulose H(2) breath testing. Intestinal permeability was assessed by determining urinary lactulose and mannitol excretion with high performance liquid chromatography.
RESULTS: We studied seven patients (six were male, age range was 42-78 years). Aetiology was alcohol in four, HCV in two, HBV in one; ascites was present in four and Child-Pugh grade was A in four and B in three. All patients had increased intestinal permeability, six had decreased transit time and one had bacterial overgrowth. In only one patient (with ascites), polymerase chain reaction was positive for bacterial DNA both in ascites and serum for all 4 days on which samples were taken.
CONCLUSION: Increased intestinal permeability and abnormal motility were frequent without evidence of bacterial translocation in cirrhosis even without ascites. They are likely to be facilitators for bacterial translocation and thus precede it
Mapping tenascin-C interaction with toll-like receptor 4 reveals a new subset of endogenous inflammatory triggers
Pattern recognition underpins innate immunity; the accurate identification of danger, including infection, injury, or tumor, is key to an appropriately targeted immune response. Pathogen detection is increasingly well defined mechanistically, but the discrimination of endogenous inflammatory triggers remains unclear. Tenascin-C, a matrix protein induced upon tissue damage and expressed by tumors, activates toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-mediated sterile inflammation. Here we map three sites within tenascin-C that directly and cooperatively interact with TLR4. We also identify a conserved inflammatory epitope in related proteins from diverse families, and demonstrate that its presence targets molecules for TLR detection, while its absence enables escape of innate immune surveillance. These data reveal a unique molecular code that defines endogenous proteins as inflammatory stimuli by marking them for recognition by TLRs
Analysis and verification of the HMGB1 signaling pathway
Background\ud
Recent studies have found that overexpression of the High-mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) protein, in conjunction with its receptors for advanced glycation end products (RAGEs) and toll-like receptors (TLRs), is associated with proliferation of various cancer types, including that of the breast and pancreatic.\ud
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Results\ud
We have developed a rule-based model of crosstalk between the HMGB1 signaling pathway and other key cancer signaling pathways. The model has been simulated using both ordinary differential equations (ODEs) and discrete stochastic simulation. We have applied an automated verification technique, Statistical Model Checking, to validate interesting temporal properties of our model.\ud
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Conclusions\ud
Our simulations show that, if HMGB1 is overexpressed, then the oncoproteins CyclinD/E, which regulate cell proliferation, are overexpressed, while tumor suppressor proteins that regulate cell apoptosis (programmed cell death), such as p53, are repressed. Discrete, stochastic simulations show that p53 and MDM2 oscillations continue even after 10 hours, as observed by experiments. This property is not exhibited by the deterministic ODE simulation, for the chosen parameters. Moreover, the models also predict that mutations of RAS, ARF and P21 in the context of HMGB1 signaling can influence the cancer cell's fate - apoptosis or survival - through the crosstalk of different pathways
A Krill Oil Supplemented Diet Suppresses Hepatic Steatosis in High-Fat Fed Rats
Krill oil (KO) is a dietary source of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, mainly represented by eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid bound to phospholipids. The supplementation of a high-fat diet with 2.5% KO efficiently prevented triglyceride and cholesterol accumulation in liver of treated rats. This effect was accompanied by a parallel reduction of the plasma levels of triglycerides and glucose and by the prevention of a plasma insulin increase. The investigation of the molecular mechanisms of KO action in high-fat fed animals revealed a strong decrease in the activities of the mitochondrial citrate carrier and of the cytosolic acetyl-CoA carboxylase and fatty acid synthetase, which are both involved in hepatic de novo lipogenesis. In these animals a significant increase in the activity of carnitine palmitoyl-transferase I and in the levels of carnitine was also observed, suggesting a concomitant stimulation of hepatic fatty acid oxidation. The KO supplemented animals also retained an efficient mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, most probably as a consequence of a KO-induced arrest of the uncoupling effects of a high-fat diet. Lastly, the KO supplementation prevented an increase in body weight, as well as oxidative damage of lipids and proteins, which is often found in high-fat fed animals
Study of charmonium and charmonium-like contributions in B+ → J/ψηK+ decays
A study of B+→ J/ψηK+ decays, followed by J/ψ → μ+μ− and η → γγ, is performed using a dataset collected with the LHCb detector in proton-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 7, 8 and 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb−1. The J/ψη mass spectrum is investigated for contributions from charmonia and charmonium-like states. Evidence is found for the B+→ (ψ2(3823) → J/ψη)K+ and B+→ (ψ(4040) → J/ψη)K+ decays with significance of 3.4 and 4.7 standard deviations, respectively. This constitutes the first evidence for the ψ2(3823) → J/ψη decay
Observation of the doubly charmed baryon decay Ξcc++→Ξc′+π+
The Ξcc++→Ξc′+π+ decay is observed using proton-proton collisions collected by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.4 fb−1. The Ξcc++→Ξc′+π+ decay is reconstructed partially, where the photon from the Ξc′+→Ξc+γ decay is not reconstructed and the pK−π+ final state of the Ξc+ baryon is employed. The Ξcc++→Ξc′+π+branching fraction relative to that of the Ξcc++→Ξc+π+ decay is measured to be 1.41 ± 0.17 ± 0.10, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. [Figure not available: see fulltext.
Test of lepton universality in decays
The first simultaneous test of muon-electron universality using
and decays is performed, in two ranges of the dilepton
invariant-mass squared, . The analysis uses beauty mesons produced in
proton-proton collisions collected with the LHCb detector between 2011 and
2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 . Each
of the four lepton universality measurements reported is either the first in
the given interval or supersedes previous LHCb measurements. The
results are compatible with the predictions of the Standard Model.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and
additional information, are available at
https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-046.html (LHCb
public pages
"Delirium Day": A nationwide point prevalence study of delirium in older hospitalized patients using an easy standardized diagnostic tool
Background: To date, delirium prevalence in adult acute hospital populations has been estimated generally from pooled findings of single-center studies and/or among specific patient populations. Furthermore, the number of participants in these studies has not exceeded a few hundred. To overcome these limitations, we have determined, in a multicenter study, the prevalence of delirium over a single day among a large population of patients admitted to acute and rehabilitation hospital wards in Italy. Methods: This is a point prevalence study (called "Delirium Day") including 1867 older patients (aged 65 years or more) across 108 acute and 12 rehabilitation wards in Italian hospitals. Delirium was assessed on the same day in all patients using the 4AT, a validated and briefly administered tool which does not require training. We also collected data regarding motoric subtypes of delirium, functional and nutritional status, dementia, comorbidity, medications, feeding tubes, peripheral venous and urinary catheters, and physical restraints. Results: The mean sample age was 82.0 \ub1 7.5 years (58 % female). Overall, 429 patients (22.9 %) had delirium. Hypoactive was the commonest subtype (132/344 patients, 38.5 %), followed by mixed, hyperactive, and nonmotoric delirium. The prevalence was highest in Neurology (28.5 %) and Geriatrics (24.7 %), lowest in Rehabilitation (14.0 %), and intermediate in Orthopedic (20.6 %) and Internal Medicine wards (21.4 %). In a multivariable logistic regression, age (odds ratio [OR] 1.03, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.01-1.05), Activities of Daily Living dependence (OR 1.19, 95 % CI 1.12-1.27), dementia (OR 3.25, 95 % CI 2.41-4.38), malnutrition (OR 2.01, 95 % CI 1.29-3.14), and use of antipsychotics (OR 2.03, 95 % CI 1.45-2.82), feeding tubes (OR 2.51, 95 % CI 1.11-5.66), peripheral venous catheters (OR 1.41, 95 % CI 1.06-1.87), urinary catheters (OR 1.73, 95 % CI 1.30-2.29), and physical restraints (OR 1.84, 95 % CI 1.40-2.40) were associated with delirium. Admission to Neurology wards was also associated with delirium (OR 2.00, 95 % CI 1.29-3.14), while admission to other settings was not. Conclusions: Delirium occurred in more than one out of five patients in acute and rehabilitation hospital wards. Prevalence was highest in Neurology and lowest in Rehabilitation divisions. The "Delirium Day" project might become a useful method to assess delirium across hospital settings and a benchmarking platform for future surveys
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