Impaired recovery in diabetic rat nerve following anoxic conduction block

It is well documented that diabetic rats and subjects have a paradoxical resistance to ischemic conduction block although the nerves of diabetics are more susceptible to entrapment neuropathies. The aim of the present study was to further analyze the effect of anoxia on the diabetic nerve. Nerve conduction was measured in vitro in desheathed sciatic nerves from spontaneously diabetic rats (BB-Wistar) and age-matched controls. After onset of anoxia the compound action potential (CAP) decreased to 50% in 17 min in diabetic rat nerves and 8 min in normals. Following reoxygenation CAP recovered to 50% in 30 s in normal rat nerves and after 3 min the recovery was 92%. In nerves from diabetic animals 50% recovery took 4 min, but still after 12 min CAP was suppressed to a 60% level of the original. Longer periods of anoxia did not impair the recovery in normal nerve as it did in the diabetic ones. This defective recovery after anoxia in nerves from diabetic animals may be relevant for the understanding of the pathogenesis of entrapment neuropathies in diabetic subjects.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/31284/1/0000190.pd

Certification of Cystatin C in the Human Serum Reference Material ERM-DA471/IFCC - Certified Reference Material ERM®-DA471/IFCC

The production of ERM-DA471/IFCC, certified for the mass concentration of cystatin C, is described. Serum was produced from blood collected in 2 collection centres according to a procedure ensuring that it was obtained from healthy donors, and that the lipid content of the serum was low. The serum was processed, spiked with recombinant cystatin C, and lyophilised. It was verified that the material is homogenous and stable. The material was characterised using a pure protein primary reference preparation (PRP) as calibrant. The PRP was prepared from recombinant cystatin C, and its concentration determined by dry mass determination. The characterisation of ERM-DA471/IFCC was performed by particle enhanced immuno-nephelometry, particle enhanced immuno-turbidimetry and enzyme amplified single radial immuno-diffusion. The certified cystatin C mass concentration in ERM-DA471/IFCC, if reconstituted according to the specified procedure, is 5.48 mg/L, the expanded uncertainty (k = 2) is 0.15 mg/L.JRC.DG.D.2-Reference material

Lunar meteorite regolith breccias: an in situ study of impact melt composition using LA-ICP-MS with implications for the composition of the lunar crust

Dar al Gani (DaG) 400, Meteorite Hills (MET) 01210, Pecora Escarpment (PCA) 02007, and MacAlpine Hills (MAC) 88104/88105 are lunar regolith breccia meteorites that provide sampling of the lunar surface from regions of the Moon that were not visited by the US Apollo or Soviet Luna sample return missions. They contain a heterogeneous clast population from a range of typical lunar lithologies. DaG 400, PCA 02007, and MAC 88104/88105 are primarily feldspathic in nature, and MET 01210 is composed of mare basalt material mixed with a lesser amount of feldspathic material. Here we present a compositional study of the impact melt and impact melt breccia clast population (i.e., clasts that were generated in impact cratering melting processes) within these meteorites using in situ electron microprobe and LA-ICP-MS techniques. Results show that all of the meteorites are dominated by impact lithologies that are relatively ferroan (Mg#10), and have low incompatible trace element (ITE) concentrations (i.e., typically 10 ppm Sm), High Magnesium Suite (typically >70 Mg#) or High Alkali Suite (high ITEs, Sc/Sm ratios <2) target rocks. Instead the meteorite mafic melts are more ferroan, KREEP-poor and Sc-rich, and represent mixing between feldspathic lithologies and low-Ti or very low-Ti (VLT) basalts. As PCA 02007 and MAC 88104/05 were likely sourced from the Outer-Feldspathic Highlands Terrane our findings suggest that these predominantly feldspathic regions commonly contain a VLT to low-Ti basalt contribution

Occupational complexity and cognition in the FINGER multidomain intervention trial

Introduction Lifetime exposure to occupational complexity is linked to late-life cognition, and may affect benefits of preventive interventions. Methods In the 2-year multidomain Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability (FINGER), we investigated, through post hoc analyses (N = 1026), the association of occupational complexity with cognition. Occupational complexity with data, people, and substantive complexity were classified through the Dictionary of Occupational Titles. Results Higher levels of occupational complexity were associated with better baseline cognition. Measures of occupational complexity had no association with intervention effects on cognition, except for occupational complexity with data, which was associated with the degree of intervention-related gains for executive function. Discussion In older adults at increased risk for dementia, higher occupational complexity is associated with better cognition. The cognitive benefit of the FINGER intervention did not vary significantly among participants with different levels of occupational complexity. These exploratory findings require further testing in larger studies.Peer reviewe

Geochemistry of crustally derived leucocratic igneous rocks from the Ulugh Muztagh Area, Northern Tibet and their implications for the formation of the Tibetan Plateau

This is the published version. Copyright 2012 American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.Igneous rocks collected from the Ulugh Muztagh, 200 km south of the northern rim of the Tibetan Plateau (36°28′N, 87°29′E), form intrusive and extrusive bodies whose magmas were produced by partial melting of upper-crustal, primarily pelitic, source rocks. Evidence for source composition includes high initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios (∼0.711 to 0.713), 206Pb/204Pb ratios of 18.72, 207Pb/204Pb of 15.63 and 208Pb/204Pb of 38.73. The degree of melting in the source region was increased by significant heating via in situ decay of radioactive nuclides; a reasonable estimate for the heat production rate in the source is 3.9×10−6 W/m3. The crystallization ages and cooling ages [Burchfiel et al., 1989] of the earliest intrusive rocks within the suite suggest crustal thickening began in the northern Tibetan Plateau before 10.5 Ma, with maximum average unroofing rates in this part of the Tibetan Plateau for the period between 10.5 and 4 Ma at approximately < 2 mm/yr. The Ulugh Muztagh flows are at the northern edge of a widely distributed field of Plio-pliestocene volcanic rocks in the north-central Tibetan Plateau. The crustally derived rocks described here are an endmember component of a wide mixing zone of hybrid magmas; the other end-member forms mantle-derived, potassic basanites and tephrites exposed in the central section of the Plio-Pleistocene field. The compositional trends in these belts strike east-west, at high angle to the N30E strike of the Plateau itself. Consideration of the chemical data and published geophysical data argue that the sub-Plateau mantle is mechanically detached from the overlying continental lithosphère, and that in this section of the plateau the thermal structure of the asthenosphere is not responsible for the formation or maintenance of the plateau's topography

The human secretome

The proteins secreted by human cells (collectively referred to as the secretome) are important not only for the basic understanding of human biology but also for the identification of potential targets for future diagnostics and therapies. Here, we present a comprehensive analysis of proteins predicted to be secreted in human cells, which provides information about their final localization in the human body, including the proteins actively secreted to peripheral blood. The analysis suggests that a large number of the proteins of the secretome are not secreted out of the cell, but instead are retained intracellularly, whereas another large group of proteins were identified that are predicted to be retained locally at the tissue of expression and not secreted into the blood. Proteins detected in the human blood by mass spectrometry-based proteomics and antibody-based immuno-assays are also presented with estimates of their concentrations in the blood. The results are presented in an updated version 19 of the Human Protein Atlas in which each gene encoding a secretome protein is annotated to provide an open-access knowledge resource of the human secretome, including body-wide expression data, spatial localization data down to the single-cell and subcellular levels, and data about the presence of proteins that are detectable in the blood

Rationale and design of the participant, investigator, observer, and data-analyst-blinded randomized AGENDA trial on associations between gene-polymorphisms, endophenotypes for depression and antidepressive intervention: the effect of escitalopram versus placebo on the combined dexamethasone-corticotrophine releasing hormone test and other potential endophenotypes in healthy first-degree relatives of persons with depression

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Endophenotypes are heritable markers, which are more prevalent in patients and their healthy relatives than in the general population. Recent studies point at disturbed regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis as a possible endophenotype for depression. We hypothesize that potential endophenotypes for depression may be affected by selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor antidepressants in healthy first-degree relatives of depressed patients. The primary outcome measure is the change in plasma cortisol in the dexamethasone-corticotrophin releasing hormone test from baseline to the end of intervention.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The AGENDA trial is designed as a participant, investigator, observer, and data-analyst-blinded randomized trial. Participants are 80 healthy first-degree relatives of patients with depression. Participants are randomized to escitalopram 10 mg per day versus placebo for four weeks. Randomization is stratified by gender and age. The primary outcome measure is the change in plasma cortisol in the dexamethasone-corticotrophin releasing hormone test at entry before intervention to after four weeks of intervention. With the inclusion of 80 participants, a 60% power is obtained to detect a clinically relevant difference in the primary outcome between the intervention and the placebo group. Secondary outcome measures are changes from baseline to four weeks in scores of: 1) cognition and 2) neuroticism. Tertiary outcomes measures are changes from baseline to four weeks in scores of: 1) depression and anxiety symptoms; 2) subjective evaluations of depressive symptoms, perceived stress, quality of life, aggression, sleep, and pain; and 3) salivary cortisol at eight different timepoints during an ordinary day. Assessments are undertaken by assessors blinded to the randomization group.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Local Ethics Committee: H-KF 307413</p> <p>Danish Medicines Agency: 2612-3162.</p> <p>EudraCT: 2006-001750-28.</p> <p>Danish Data Agency: 2006-41-6737.</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT 00386841</p