Phylogenetic relationships of the mycoheterotrophic genus Voyria and the implications for the biogeographic history of Gentianaceae.

Premise Of The Study: The angiosperm family Gentianaceae comprises over 1700 species in 91 genera. Gentianaceae are distributed worldwide, but most species occur in temperate zones. Phylogenetic studies demonstrate that the family consists of six monophyletic tribes.

Increased cardiac myocyte PDE5 levels in human and murine pressure overload hypertrophy contribute to adverse LV remodeling.

Background: The intracellular second messenger cGMP protects the heart under pathological conditions. We examined expression of phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5), an enzyme that hydrolyzes cGMP, in human and mouse hearts subjected to sustained left ventricular (LV) pressure overload. We also determined the role of cardiac myocyte-specific PDE5 expression in adverse LV remodeling in mice after transverse aortic constriction (TAC).

The neuroinflammatory role of Schwann cells in disease.

Peripheral neuropathies are associated with a variety of clinical symptoms ranging from motor and sensory symptoms to autonomic dysfunction. The primary disease causes for peripheral nerve disorders are also very heterogeneous, including genetic causes, inflammation mediated damage and physical trauma. A common theme in these neuropathies is the important contribution of the immune system; leading either to a deterioration or an amelioration of the disease.

Diabetes mellitus and the metabolic syndrome do not abolish, but might reduce, the cardioprotective effect of ischemic postconditioning.

Objective: Ischemic preconditioning fails to protect the diabetic heart against lethal reperfusion injury. Because the pathways of ischemic pre- and postconditioning partially overlap, we evaluated the cardioprotective effect of ischemic postconditioning in mouse models of type 2 diabetes (ObOb) and the metabolic syndrome (DKO).

Methods: Mice (C57BL/6J, ObOb, and DKO; aged 24 weeks; n = 24, n = 28, and n = 18, respectively) underwent reperfusion after 30 minutes of coronary occlusion with or without ischemic postconditioning (3 cycles of 10 seconds reperfusion-reocclusion).

Survival and heart failure therapy in chronic dialysis patients with heart failure and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction: an observational retrospective study.

Aims: We retrospectively followed 250 patients who started dialysis between 2005 and 2009 to clarify the prevalence, the prognosis and the prescribed heart failure treatment of systolic heart failure patients on dialysis.

Methods And Results: This cohort was divided according to left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF): group A with a reduced LVEF (< or = 45%, n = 45) versus group B with a preserved LVEF (> 45%, n = 205). Patients in group A had a significantly worse survival after 12 and 24 months (68.

Role of nitric oxide and oxidative stress in a sheep model of persistent atrial fibrillation.

Aims: Oxidative stress can modulate nitric oxide (NO) signalling pathways. Both pathways have been shown to be involved in the pathophysiology of atrial fibrillation (AF), but data are conflicting. We aimed to characterize the NO-pathway and its relation to oxidative stress in persistent AF in a sheep model.

Symbiotic ß-proteobacteria beyond legumes: Burkholderia in Rubiaceae.

Symbiotic ß-proteobacteria not only occur in root nodules of legumes but are also found in leaves of certain Rubiaceae. The discovery of bacteria in plants formerly not implicated in endosymbiosis suggests a wider occurrence of plant-microbe interactions. Several ß-proteobacteria of the genus Burkholderia are detected in close association with tropical plants.

Do developmental orthopaedic disorders influence future jumping performances in Warmblood stallions?

Reasons For Performing The Study: Few reports are available on the relationship between developmental orthopaedic diseases (DOD) and future performances in Warmblood horses.

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between performance and the presence of DOD lesions.

Methods: Records of Warmblood stallions for which radiographic and performance data were available were collected.

Preclinical evaluation of carbon-11 and fluorine-18 sulfonamide derivatives for in vivo radiolabeling of erythrocytes.

Background: To date, few PET tracers for in vivo labeling of red blood cells (RBCs) are available. In this study, we report the radiosynthesis and in vitro and in vivo evaluation of 11C and 18F sulfonamide derivatives targeting carbonic anhydrase II (CA II), a metallo-enzyme expressed in RBCs, as potential blood pool tracers. A proof-of-concept in vivo imaging study was performed to demonstrate the feasibility to assess cardiac function and volumes using electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated positron emission tomography (PET) acquisition in comparison with cine magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI) in rats and a pig model of myocardial infarction.

Placental growth factor increases regional myocardial blood flow and contractile function in chronic myocardial ischemia.

Placental growth factor (PlGF) has a distinct biological phenotype with a predominant proangiogenic role in disease without affecting quiescent vessels in healthy organs. We tested whether systemic administration of recombinant human (rh)PlGF improves regional myocardial blood flow (MBF) and systolic function recovery in a porcine chronic myocardial ischemia model. We implanted a flow-limiting stent in the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery and measured systemic hemodynamics, regional myocardial function using MRI, and blood flow using colored microspheres 4 wk later.

Tiny worms from a mighty continent: high diversity and new phylogenetic lineages of African monogeneans.

The family Gyrodactylidae contains one of the most significant radiations of platyhelminth fish parasites. The so-called hyperviviparity is very rare in the animal kingdom, and the rapid generation time can lead to an explosive population growth, which can cause massive losses in farmed fish. Here we present the first molecular phylogeny including all-but-one African genera, inferred from ITS and 18S rDNA sequences.

Attitudes of health care professionals toward carrier screening for cystic fibrosis. A review of the literature.

Recent technological developments in molecular genetics facilitate the large-scale detection of inherited genetic disorders and allow an increasing number of genetic conditions to be screened for (American College of Medical Genetics 2012). This technological evolution creates the background which makes reflection necessary about the desirability to offer community-based (preconception) carrier screening in the healthcare system. A positive attitude of potential providers is vital to the success of a screening program.

On local bifurcations in neural field models with transmission delays.

Neural field models with transmission delays may be cast as abstract delay differential equations (DDE). The theory of dual semigroups (also called sun-star calculus) provides a natural framework for the analysis of a broad class of delay equations, among which DDE. In particular, it may be used advantageously for the investigation of stability and bifurcation of steady states.

The effect of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli F4ab,ac on early-weaned piglets: a gene expression study.

Diarrhoea in neonatal and early-weaned piglets due to enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli-F4 (ETEC-F4) is an important problem in the pig farming industry. There is substantial evidence for a genetic basis for susceptibility to ETEC-F4 since not all pigs suffer from diarrhoea after an ETEC-F4 infection. A region on SSC13 has been found to be in close linkage to the susceptibility of piglets for ETEC-F4ab,ac.

Electrocardiographic Q-wave "remodeling" in reperfused ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: validation study with CMR.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the evolution in Q-wave expression during the first 5 years after a primary, successfully reperfused ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (MI), using cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) for infarct location, and to depict changes in infarct size and left ventricular remodeling over time.

Background: In the absence of QRS confounders, abnormal Q waves are usually diagnostic of myocardial necrosis. It is hypothesized that Q-wave regression after MI could be related to smaller infarct sizes.

Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation improves endothelial function assessed by flow-mediated dilation but not by pulse amplitude tonometry.

We aimed to investigate the effect of exercise on endothelium-dependent vasodilator function assessed simultaneously in the brachial artery and in the distal arterial bed by flow-mediated dilation and the pulse amplitude tonometry method, respectively, in coronary artery disease patients. The study included 146 patients with stable coronary artery disease (123 men, mean age 62 ± 9 years) who participated in the Cardiac Rehabilitation and Genetics of Exercise performance study. All patients completed a 12-week supervised cardiac rehabilitation programme (three sessions per week at an intensity of 80% of the heart rate reserve).

Local boron environment in B-doped nanocrystalline diamond films.

Thin films of heavily B-doped nanocrystalline diamond (B:NCD) have been investigated by a combination of high resolution annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy and spatially resolved electron energy-loss spectroscopy performed on a state-of-the-art aberration corrected instrument to determine the B concentration, distribution and the local B environment. Concentrations of ~1 to 3 at.% of boron are found to be embedded within individual grains.

Evidence for phase separation of ethanol-water mixtures at the hydrogen terminated nanocrystalline diamond surface.

Interactions between ethanol-water mixtures and a hydrophobic hydrogen terminated nanocrystalline diamond surface, are investigated by sessile drop contact angle measurements. The surface free energy of the hydrophobic surface, obtained with pure liquids, differs strongly from values obtained by ethanol-water mixtures. Here, a model which explains this difference is presented.

Acute injury in the peripheral nervous system triggers an alternative macrophage response.

Background: The activation of the immune system in neurodegeneration has detrimental as well as beneficial effects. Which aspects of this immune response aggravate the neurodegenerative breakdown and which stimulate regeneration remains an open question. To unravel the neuroprotective aspects of the immune system we focused on a model of acute peripheral nerve injury, in which the immune system was shown to be protective.

Relative embryo length as an adaptation to habitat and life cycle in Apiaceae.

• The factors driving the evolution of the relative embryo length in Apiaceae were examined. We tested the hypothesis that seeds with large relative embryo length, because of more rapid germination, are beneficial in dry and open habitats and for short-lived species. We also analyzed to what extent delayed germination as a result of embryo growth can be considered a dormancy mechanism.

Influence of rs5065 atrial natriuretic peptide gene variant on coronary artery disease.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of rs5065 atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) gene variant on coronary artery disease (CAD) and its outcomes and to gain potential mechanistic insights on the association with CAD.

Background: Either modified ANP plasma levels or peptide structural alterations have been involved in development of cardiovascular events.

Methods: Three hundred ninety-three control subjects and 1,004 patients undergoing coronary angiography for suspected CAD (432 stable angina [SA], 572 acute coronary syndrome [ACS]) were genotyped for rs5065 ANP gene variant.