Levels of Cytokines in Leptospirosis Patients with Different Serovars and Locus.

Leptospirosis has a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations ranging from mild to severe disease. The cytokine response is considered one of the key drivers for this varying manifestation. The different cytokine response observed in patients with leptospirosis could be due to the variation of infecting serovars.

The human Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) response during pathogenic infection.

Background: Human innate immune responses are triggered through the interaction of human pattern recognition receptors and pathogen-associated molecular patterns. The role of toll-like receptor2 (TLR2) in mice innate immune response to leptospirosis is well established, while human studies are limited. The present study aimed to determine the TLR2 response among confirmed cases of leptospirosis.

Demographic, exposure, clinical, biochemical and diagnostic data of febrile patients recruited for the largest field study on leptospirosis in Sri Lanka.

This dataset includes data from febrile patients recruited for a large hospital-based study in Sri Lanka from 2016 to 2019. The variables include primary socio-demographic data, exposure data, clinical data, biochemical and investigation data. Some of these data are available as serial data from admission to discharge daily.

Diagnostic method-based underestimation of leptospirosis in clinical and research settings; an experience from a large prospective study in a high endemic setting.

Background: Leptospirosis has globally significant human mortality and morbidity, yet estimating the clinical and public health burden of leptospirosis is challenging because timely diagnosis remains limited. The goal of the present study was to evaluate leptospirosis undercounting by current standard methods in both clinical and epidemiological study settings.

Methodology/principal Findings: A prospective hospital-based study was conducted in multiple hospitals in Sri Lanka from 2016 to 2019.

The variable presence of Leptospira in the environment; an epidemiological explanation based on serial analysis of water samples.

Human leptospirosis involves the classic epidemiological triad (agent, host and environment); hence the investigations should include the knowledge on Leptospira within the animals and the environment. The objectives of this study are to explore the abundance of Leptospira in different climate zones of Sri Lanka and to describe the presence of Leptospira in the same water source at serial time points. First, water and soil samples were collected from different parts of Sri Lanka (Component-1); second, water sampling continued only in the dry zone (Component-2).

Prevalence and aetiologies of anaemia among first trimester pregnant women in Sri Lanka; the need for revisiting the current control strategies.

Background: The Sustainable development goals, which focus strongly on equity, aim to end all forms of malnutrition by 2030. However, a significant cause of intergenerational transfer of malnutrition, anaemia in pregnancy, is still a challenge. It is especially so in the low- and middle-income settings where possible context-specific aetiologies leading to anaemia have been poorly explored.

Assessing beans as a source of intrinsic fiber on satiety in men and women with metabolic syndrome.

Dietary fiber is well-known for its satiety inducing properties. Adding fibers to mixed dishes is one way to increase fiber intake. However, adding fibers to foods versus including foods inherently containing fiber may reveal differing effects on satiety.

Black Beans, Fiber, and Antioxidant Capacity Pilot Study: Examination of Whole Foods vs. Functional Components on Postprandial Metabolic, Oxidative Stress, and Inflammation in Adults with Metabolic Syndrome.

Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) contain bioactive components with functional properties that may modify cardiovascular risk. The aims of this pilot study were to evaluate the ability of black beans to attenuate postprandial metabolic, oxidative stress, and inflammatory responses and determine relative contribution of dietary fiber and antioxidant capacity of beans to the overall effect. In this randomized, controlled, crossover trial, 12 adults with metabolic syndrome (MetS) consumed one of three meals (black bean (BB), fiber matched (FM), and antioxidant capacity matched (AM)) on three occasions that included blood collection before (fasting) and five hours postprandially.

Strawberry anthocyanin and its association with postprandial inflammation and insulin.

The present study investigates the effect of strawberry antioxidants in beverage form on meal-induced postprandial inflammatory and insulin responses in human subjects. Overweight adults (n 24) consumed a high-carbohydrate, moderate-fat meal (HCFM) accompanied by either a strawberry or a placebo beverage in a cross-over design. Postprandial changes in plasma anthocyanins, their metabolites, insulin, glucose and inflammatory markers were assessed for 6 h.

Another look at the results of the JUPITER trial.

Justification for the Use of Statins in Prevention: An Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin (JUPITER) was a placebo-controlled trial undertaken on "apparently healthy" subjects selected primarily on the basis of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein concentrations >or=2.0 mg/L. JUPITER showed that rosuvastatin reduced the incidence of cardiac events compared to a control group.

Assessment of risk for developing coronary heart disease in asymptomatic individuals.

The assessment of risk for developing coronary heart disease (CHD) in asymptomatic individuals continues to be an important challenge for clinicians. We suggest that the Framingham risk score provides a pragmatic basis for assessing global 10-year CHD risk in this population. The Framingham risk score should be supplemented with additional information pertaining to diabetes, metabolic syndrome, family history, and peripheral arterial disease before a final decision is made with respect to individual risk.

Left ventricular dysfunction and extravascular fluid in the lung: physiological basis for symptoms.

The essential feature of left ventricular dysfunction is an increase in left atrial pressure and pulmonary venous congestion leading to a fluid flux across the pulmonary microvasculature. Small acute increases (< 10 mmHg) in left atrial pressure enhance the extravascular fluid volume in the airways and activate the rapidly adapting receptors (RAR). With larger increases in left atrial pressure (approximately 25 mmHg) both the RAR and the C-fiber receptors in the airways and the alveoli are activated.

Effects of mitral regurgitation on the reflex diuresis to pulmonary lymphatic obstruction in rabbits.

Increasing the extravascular fluid of the airways acutely by obstructing pulmonary lymph drainage causes a reflex diuresis mediated by neuronal nitric oxide synthase in the renal medulla. The authors examined this reflex in rabbits with a chronic increase in extravascular fluid of the airways resulting from surgically induced mitral regurgitation. Intact rabbits served as controls.

Cardiac event rate in a lifestyle modification program for patients with chronic coronary artery disease.

Background: Several clinical trials have shown that intensive lifestyle modification programs have a significant impact on cardiovascular risk factors.

Hypothesis: This paper is a retrospective analysis to determine the effect of participation in a 2-year lifestyle management program on long-term clinical outcome in patients outside the setting of a clinical trial.

Methods: Patients with angiographically confirmed coronary artery disease (CAD) enrolled in a 2-year program of exercise training, dietary counseling, stress management, and therapeutic education.

The rapidly adapting receptors in mammalian airways and their responses to changes in extravascular fluid volume.

In this short review, we shall focus on some recent findings on the physiological stimulus for the rapidly adapting receptors (RAR) of the airways. They are readily activated by a sustained inflation of the lungs and they are usually identified by their rapid adaptation to this stimulus. They are also activated by both tactile stimuli and irritant gases applied to the epithelium of the airways.

Effect of fatty acids on endothelium-dependent relaxation in the rabbit aorta.

The metabolic syndrome, Type II (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes and obesity are associated with endothelial dysfunction and increased plasma concentrations of NEFAs (non-esterified fatty acids; free fatty acids). The present study was undertaken to define the inhibitory effects of saturated NEFAs on EDR (endothelium-dependent relaxation). Experiments were performed in rings of rabbit aorta to establish (i) dose-response relationships, (ii) the effect of chain length, (iii) the effect of the presence of double bonds, (iv) reversibility and time course of inhibition, and (v) the effect on nitric oxide production.

Counterpoint: carotid ultrasound-an essential investigation in the prevention of coronary artery disease?

The accompanying article asserts that measurement of carotid plaque area by ultrasonography adds a vital, new dimension to the investigation and management of patients at risk of developing coronary artery disease. The author contends also that traditional risk factors for coronary artery disease have failed to provide a basis for either predicting cardiovascular events or guiding effective therapy. Carefully acquired epidemiological data have established beyond reasonable doubt that traditional risk factors identify individuals who are likely to develop coronary artery disease.

Role of adrenergic receptors in the reflex diuresis in rabbits during pulmonary lymphatic obstruction.

The role of adrenergic receptors in the reflex diuresis in response to pulmonary lymphatic drainage was examined in anaesthetized, artificially ventilated New Zealand White rabbits. Pulmonary lymphatic drainage was obstructed by raising the pressure in a pouch created from the right external jugular vein. This pulmonary lymphatic obstruction results in a reflex increase in urine flow and sodium excretion.

Effects of gadolinium chloride on slowly adapting and rapidly adapting receptors of the rabbit lung.

Effects of gadolinium chloride, an inhibitor of stretch-activated channels, on the responses of slowly adapting receptors (SARs) and rapidly adapting receptors (RARs) to hyperinflation were investigated. The increase in activity of RARs resulting from sustained elevations of left atrial pressure (LAP) was also assessed with gadolinium chloride application. Action potentials (AP) of SARs and RARs during hyperinflation were recorded from the vagus nerve of anesthetized New Zealand White rabbits before and after application of gadolinium chloride (20mM) directly on the receptor area of the nerve endings.