Specificity of 2 peripartum blood markers for early-lactation acute uterine inflammation in pasture-fed, seasonal-calving dairy cows.

A delayed recovery of the reproductive tract from natural inflammatory processes associated with postpartum involution will compromise further reproductive function. Following a literature review, we selected serum amyloid A (SAA) and α1-acid glycoprotein (α1-AGP) to assess as potential circulating markers of acute uterine inflammation, as concentrations of these 2 acute phase proteins were reported to be elevated early postpartum in dairy cows with active uterine infection. Convenience serum samples from an induced model of uterine infection were used to measure concentrations of these markers.

Patient-specific hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes indicate allelic and contractile imbalance as pathogenic factor in early-stage Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) is often caused by heterozygous mutations in β-myosin heavy chain (MYH7, β-MyHC). In addition to hyper- or hypocontractile effects of HCM-mutations, heterogeneity in contractile function (contractile imbalance) among individual cardiomyocytes was observed in end-stage HCM-myocardium. Contractile imbalance might be induced by burst-like transcription, leading to unequal fractions of mutant versus wildtype mRNA and protein in individual cardiomyocytes (allelic imbalance).

Long-Term Follow Up in Anti-Contactin-1 Autoimmune Nodopathy.

Objective: To analyze long-term clinical and biomarker features of anti-contactin-1 (CNTN1) autoimmune nodopathy (AN).

Methods: Patients with anti-CNTN1 autoimmune nodopathy detected in our laboratory from which clinical information was available were included. Clinical features and treatment response were retrospectively collected.

Marked hemoglobin mass expansion and plasma volume contraction in Sherpas acclimatizing to 5,400 m altitude.

In lowlanders, high altitude (HA) acclimatization induces hemoconcentration by reducing plasma volume (PV) and increasing total hemoglobin mass (Hb). Conversely, Tibetan highlanders living at HA are reported to have a similar hemoglobin concentration ([Hb]) as lowlanders near sea level, and we investigated whether this reflects alterations in the PV or the Hb response to HA. Baseline assessment of PV and Hb was performed by carbon monoxide rebreathing at low altitudes (∼1,400 m) in Sherpas (an ethnic group of Tibetans living in Nepal) and native lowlanders.