The leukotriene B4 receptor (BLT) antagonist BIIL284 decreases atherosclerosis in ApoE-/- mice.

Leukotriene B4 (LTB4) induces proinflammatory signaling through BLT receptors expressed in atherosclerotic lesions. Either genetic or pharmacological targeting of the high affinity LTB4 receptor, BLT1, reduces atherosclerosis in different mouse models. The low affinity BLT2 receptor for LTB4 may transduce additional pro-atherogenic signaling, but combined BLT1 and BLT2 receptor antagonism has not previously been explored in atherosclerosis.

Novel methodologies for biomarker discovery in atherosclerosis.

Identification of subjects at increased risk for cardiovascular events plays a central role in the worldwide efforts to improve prevention, prediction, diagnosis, and prognosis of cardiovascular disease and to decrease the related costs. Despite their high predictive value on population level, traditional risk factors fail to fully predict individual risk. This position paper provides a summary of current vascular biomarkers other than the traditional risk factors with a special focus on the emerging -omics technologies.

Large volume re-irradiation with bevacizumab is a feasible salvage option for patients with refractory high-grade glioma.

Background: Clinical studies of re-irradiation (ReRT) for relapsed high-grade glioma (HGG) have generally reported the use of small volume ReRT techniques such as stereotactic radiosurgery in selected patients with isolated focal relapse. This study reports the outcome with large-volume ReRT to manage the more common mescenario of extensive diffuse relapse of HGG.

Methods: All HGG patients managed with an overlapping second course of radiation therapy (RT) for refractory progression of HGG between October 2009 and April 2013 were included.

Acute Paget-Schroetter syndrome: does the first rib routinely need to be removed after thrombolysis?

Background: Most clinicians feel that treatment for patients with acute primary axillosubclavian vein thrombosis ("effort thrombosis") is catheter-directed thrombolysis followed by thoracic outlet decompression. Several investigators feel that first rib resection (FRR) is not indicated in every case. No randomized data exist to answer this question.

Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio in head and neck cancer.

Introduction: The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is an index of systemic inflammatory burden in malignancy. An elevated NLR has been associated with poor prognosis in a number of cancer sites. We investigated its role in a cohort of patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer.

Regulation of atherosclerotic plaque inflammation.

The immune reactions that regulate atherosclerotic plaque inflammation involve chemokines, lipid mediators and costimulatory molecules. Chemokines are a family of chemotactic cytokines that mediate immune cell recruitment and control cell homeostasis and activation of different immune cell types and subsets. Chemokine production and activation of chemokine receptors form a positive feedback mechanism to recruit monocytes, neutrophils and lymphocytes into the atherosclerotic plaque.

Narcissism and the use of personal pronouns revisited.

[Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported in Vol 109(3) of Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (see record 2015-37773-002). The authors erroneously reported the overall correlation, first stated in the abstract, between Narcissism and total first-person-singular use as .02 (.

A case of low bone mineral density with vitamin d deficiency due to prolonged lactation and severe malnutrition.

Malnutrition associated vitamin D deficiency contributes to the calcium loss from bone and results in osteoporosis and osteomalacia at final stage. Osteomalacia is characterized with softening of bone secondary to defective bone mineralization. Here, we report a case of possible osteomalacia caused by prolonged lactation and severe malnutrition in 35-year-old female.

Inhibition of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase promotes vascular inflammation and increases atherosclerosis in Apoe-/- mice.

Aims: Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease that is initiated by the retention and accumulation of low-density lipoprotein in the artery, leading to maladaptive response of cells from the immune system and vessel wall. Strong evidence implicates indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), the first and rate-limiting enzyme of the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan (Trp) degradation, with immune regulation and anti-inflammatory mechanisms in different diseases. However, the role of IDO and the endogenous degradation of Trp have never been directly examined in atherosclerosis development.

Anti-inflammatory therapies for atherosclerosis.

The view of atherosclerosis as an inflammatory disease has emerged from observations of immune activation and inflammatory signalling in human atherosclerotic lesions, from the definition of inflammatory biomarkers as independent risk factors for cardiovascular events, and from evidence of low-density lipoprotein-induced immune activation. Studies in animal models of hyperlipidaemia have also supported the beneficial effects of countering inflammation to delay atherosclerosis progression. Specific inflammatory pathways with relevance to human diseases have been identified, and inhibitors of these pathways are either already in use for the treatment of other diseases, or are under development and evaluation.

Paraquat reduces natural killer cell activity via metallothionein induction.

Paraquat (PQ), one of the most widely used herbicides, has been used for several decades in agriculture. Some studies suggest that PQ has effects on the immune system. Moreover, previous studies have shown that PQ imparted some immunosuppressive effects.

DA-9801 promotes neurite outgrowth via ERK1/2-CREB pathway in PC12 cells.

In the present study, we examined the mechanisms underlying the effect of DA-9801 on neurite outgrowth. We found that DA-9801 elicits its effects via the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MEK) extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2-cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) pathway. DA-9801, an extract from a mixture of Dioscorea japonica and Dioscorea nipponica, was reported to promote neurite outgrowth in PC12 cells.

Leukotriene production is increased in abdominal obesity.

Obesity is a major risk factor for insulin resistance and type-2 diabetes. A chronic low grade inflammatory state has been described during obesity and associated with insulin resistance pathogenesis. Results from animal studies are in favor of a role of the leukotriene (LT) pathway in obesity induced-insulin resistance.

The role of the FPR2/ALX receptor in atherosclerosis development and plaque stability.

Aims: The formyl peptide receptor (FPR) subtype FPR2/ALX transduces pro-inflammatory responses and participates in the resolution of inflammation depending on activation. The aim of the present study was to unravel the role of FPR2/ALX signalling in atherosclerosis.

Methods And Results: Expression of FPR2/ALX was analysed in 127 human carotid atherosclerotic lesions and revealed that this receptor was expressed on macrophages, smooth muscle cells (SMCs), and endothelial cells.

Wherever I may roam: Processes of self-esteem development from adolescence to emerging adulthood in the context of international student exchange.

Previous studies on self-esteem development show substantial changes as well as interindividual differences in change from adolescence to young adulthood. However, the processes underlying these developmental trajectories are still not well understood. The aim of the present study was to shed light on the macro- and microprocesses of self-esteem development.

Outcomes after inferior vena cava thrombectomy and reconstruction for advanced renal cell carcinoma with tumor thrombus.

Background: This report details the experience of a multidisciplinary surgical team in the management of stage III and stage IV renal cell carcinoma (RCC) with concomitant inferior vena cava (IVC) tumor thrombus.

Methods: A retrospective inquiry of our vascular database from 2003 to 2012 identified 55 surgical cases of stage III (n = 40) and stage IV (n = 15) RCC presenting with IVC tumor thrombus. Tumor characteristics and IVC tumor thrombus were evaluated by clinical staging and postoperative pathology staging.

Oxygen hole states in zirconia lattices: quantitative aspects of their cathodoluminescence emission.

Systematic assessments of cathodoluminescence (CL) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy (RS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) are presented for pure zirconia and for a series of Y-doped zirconia powders (henceforth, simply referred to as undoped ZrO2 and YSZ powders, respectively) synthesized according to a coprecipitation method of Zr and Y chlorides. Emphasis is placed here on spectral emissions related to oxygen-vacancy sites (i.e.

Biomechanical factors in atherosclerosis: mechanisms and clinical implications.

Blood vessels are exposed to multiple mechanical forces that are exerted on the vessel wall (radial, circumferential and longitudinal forces) or on the endothelial surface (shear stress). The stresses and strains experienced by arteries influence the initiation of atherosclerotic lesions, which develop at regions of arteries that are exposed to complex blood flow. In addition, plaque progression and eventually plaque rupture is influenced by a complex interaction between biological and mechanical factors-mechanical forces regulate the cellular and molecular composition of plaques and, conversely, the composition of plaques determines their ability to withstand mechanical load.

Docosahexaenoic acid supplementation modifies fatty acid incorporation in tissues and prevents hypoxia induced-atherosclerosis progression in apolipoprotein-E deficient mice.

The n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), displays anti-inflammatory properties that may prevent atherosclerosis progression. Exposure of apolipoprotein-E deficient (ApoE(-/-)) mice to chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) accelerates atherosclerosis progression. Our aim was to assess DHA-supplementation influence on fatty acid incorporation in different tissues/organs and on atherosclerosis progression in ApoE(-/-) mice exposed to CIH.

Functional swallowing outcomes in nasopharyngeal cancer treated with IMRT at 6 to 42 months post-radiotherapy.

We sought to evaluate the swallowing function of 18 patients surviving nasopharyngeal cancer, who had been treated using an intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) protocol designed to minimise functional impairment. We compared the outcomes of a patient-reported oral function score with fiberoptic endoscopic examination of swallow (FEES), Australian Therapy Outcome Measures (AusTOMs) and a measure of trismus. While all patients returned to a fully oral diet, there was ongoing swallow dysfunction characterised by bolus residue and delay, but no aspiration.

Pentameric thiophene-based ligands that spectrally discriminate amyloid-β and tau aggregates display distinct solvatochromism and viscosity-induced spectral shifts.

A wide range of neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by the deposition of multiple protein aggregates. Ligands for molecular characterization and discrimination of these pathological hallmarks are thus important for understanding their potential role in pathogenesis as well as for clinical diagnosis of the disease. In this regard, luminescent conjugated oligothiophenes (LCOs) have proven useful for spectral discrimination of amyloid-beta (Aβ) and tau neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), two of the pathological hallmarks associated with Alzheimer's disease.

Prosthesis-patient mismatch after transcatheter aortic valve implantation: impact of 2D-transthoracic echocardiography versus 3D-transesophageal echocardiography.

To investigate the role of 2D-transthoracic echocardiography (2D-TTE) and 3D-transesophageal echocardiography (3D-TEE) in the determination of aortic annulus size prior transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) and its' impact on the prevalence of patient prosthesis mismatch (PPM). Echocardiography plays an important role in measuring aortic annulus dimension in patients undergoing TAVI. This has great importance since it determines both eligibility for TAVI and selection of prosthesis type and size, and can be potentially important in preventing an inadequate ratio between the prosthetic valvular orifice and the patient's body surface area, concept known as prosthesis-patient mismatch (PPM).