Isoenergetic Feeding of Low Carbohydrate-High Fat Diets Does Not Increase Brown Adipose Tissue Thermogenic Capacity in Rats

Low-carbohydrate, high-fat (LC-HF) diets are popular for inducing weight loss in overweighed adults. Adaptive thermogenesis increased by specific effects of macronutrients on energy expenditure has been postulated to induce this weight loss. We studied brown adipose tissue (BAT) morphology and function following exposure to different LC-HF diets

Sulfated Polysaccharides from Macroalgae Are Potent Dual Inhibitors of Human ATP-Hydrolyzing Ectonucleotidases NPP1 and CD39

Extracellular ATP mediates proinflammatory and antiproliferative effects via activation of P2 nucleotide receptors. In contrast, its metabolite, the nucleoside adenosine, is strongly immunosuppressive and enhances tumor proliferation and metastasis. The conversion of ATP to adenosine is catalyzed by ectonucleotidases, which are expressed on immune cells and typically upregulated on tumor cells. In the present study, we identified sulfopolysaccharides from brown and red sea algae to act as potent dual inhibitors of the main ATP-hydrolyzing ectoenzymes, ectonucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase-1 (NPP1) and ecto-nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase-1 (NTPDase1, CD39), showing nano- to picomolar potency and displaying a non-competitive mechanism of inhibition. We showed that one of the sulfopolysaccharides tested as a representative example reduced adenosine formation at the surface of the human glioblastoma cell line U87 in a concentration-dependent manner. These natural products represent the most potent inhibitors of extracellular ATP hydrolysis known to date and have potential as novel therapeutics for the immunotherapy of cancer

Reference Values of Flexion and Supination in the Elbow Joint of a Cohort without Shoulder Pathologies

Background After surgery of the long head of the biceps tendon, the examination of the biceps brachii muscle function and strength is common clinical practice. The muscle strength is usually compared with the uninjured contralateral side or with a matched pair group assuming that the uninjured side can be used as an appropriate reference. Hypothesis/Purpose The purpose of this study was to define reference values of the supination and flexion strength in the elbow joint and to investigate the influence of the arm positions and various anthropometric factors. Methods 105 participants without any shoulder pathologies were enrolled. A full medical history was obtained and a physical examination was performed. The bilateral isometric testing included the supination torque in various forearm positions and elbow flexion strength with a custom engineered dynamometer. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to investigate the correlation of the strength and anthropometric factors. Results Only age and gender were significant supination and flexion strength predictors of the elbow. Hence, it was possible to calculate a gender-specific regression line for each forearm position to predict the age-dependent supination torque. The supination strength was greatest with the arm in 90° elbow flexion and the upper arm in full pronation

Metabolic implication of tigecycline as an efficacious second-line treatment for sorafenib-resistant hepatocellular carcinoma

Sorafenib represents the current standard of care for patients with advanced-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, acquired drug resistance occurs frequently during therapy and is accompanied by rapid tumor regrowth after sorafenib therapy termination. To identify the mechanism of this therapy-limiting growth resumption, we established robust sorafenib resistance HCC cell models that exhibited mitochondrial dysfunction and chemotherapeutic crossresistance. We found a rapid relapse of tumor cell proliferation after sorafenib withdrawal, which was caused by renewal of mitochondrial structures alongside a metabolic switch toward high electron transport system (ETS) activity. The translation-inhibiting antibiotic tigecycline impaired the biogenesis of mitochondrial DNA-encoded ETS subunits and limited the electron acceptor turnover required for glutamine oxidation. Thereby, tigecycline prevented the tumor relapse in vitro and in murine xenografts in vivo. These results offer a promising second-line therapeutic approach for advanced-stage HCC patients with progressive disease undergoing sorafenib therapy or treatment interruption due to severe adverse events

Roadmap on chalcogenide photonics

Alloys of sulfur, selenium and tellurium, often referred to as chalcogenide semiconductors, offer a highly versatile, compositionally-controllable material platform for a variety of passive and active photonic applications. They are optically nonlinear, photoconductive materials with wide transmission windows that present various high- and low-index dielectric, low-epsilon and plasmonic properties across ultra-violet, visible and infrared frequencies, in addition to an, non-volatile, electrically/optically induced switching capability between phase states with markedly different electromagnetic properties. This roadmap collection presents an in-depth account of the critical role that chalcogenide semiconductors play within various traditional and emerging photonic technology platforms. The potential of this field going forward is demonstrated by presenting context and outlook on selected socio-economically important research streams utilizing chalcogenide semiconductors. To this end, this roadmap encompasses selected topics that range from systematic design of material properties and switching kinetics to device-level nanostructuring and integration within various photonic system architectures

Octreotide treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma - a retrospective single centre controlled study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Studies of treatment with octreotide of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) gave conflicting results. We analyzed retrospectively the survival of our patients treated with octreotide monotherapy and compared it to stage-matched patients who received either TACE, multimodal therapy or palliative care.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>95 patients seen at the department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical University of Vienna with HCC in BCLC stage A or B, who received either TACE, multimodal therapy, long-acting octreotide or palliative care were reviewed for this retrospective study.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Survival rates of patients with BCLC stage B and any "active" treatment (long-acting octreotide, TACE or multimodal therapy) were significantly higher (22.4, 22.0, 35.5 months) compared to patients who received palliative care only (2.9 months). Survival rates of patients with BCLC stage A and "active" treatment (31.4, 37.3, 40.2 months) compared to patients who received only palliative care (15.1 months) did not show statistically significant differences. Octreotide monotherapy showed a similar outcome compared to patients who received TACE or multimodal therapy.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Survival under octreotide treatment was not different compared to TACE or multimodal therapy and might be a therapeutic option for patients with HCC.</p