Carbon disulfide binding at dinuclear and mononuclear nickel complexes ligated by a redox-active ligand: iminopyridine serving as an accumulator of redox equivalents for the activation of heteroallenes.

The dinuclear complex Ni(2)L(1)(η(2)-CS(2))(2) (2), featuring iminopyridine ligation, is prepared by COD substitution from Ni(2)L(1)(COD)(2) (1). Spectroscopic, structural, and theoretical data reveals significant activation of the metal-bound C-S bonds, as well as the different oxidation states of the iminopyridine in (1-) and (0).

IP3-dependent intracellular Ca2+ release is required for cAMP-induced c-fos expression in hippocampal neurons.

Ca(2+) and cAMP are widely used in concert by neurons to relay signals from the synapse to the nucleus, where synaptic activity modulates gene expression required for synaptic plasticity. Neurons utilize different transcriptional regulators to integrate information encoded in the spatiotemporal dynamics and magnitude of Ca(2+) and cAMP signals, including some that are Ca(2+)-responsive, some that are cAMP-responsive and some that detect coincident Ca(2+) and cAMP signals. Because Ca(2+) and cAMP can influence each other's amplitude and spatiotemporal characteristics, we investigated how cAMP acts to regulate gene expression when increases in intracellular Ca(2+) are buffered.

Take heart: bariatric surgery in obese patients with severe heart failure. Two case reports.

Bariatric surgery may be an effective treatment for obese heart failure patients, enabling access to cardiac transplantation and/or improvement of symptoms. We report the outcomes of two morbidly obese patients with end-stage heart failure, where obesity precluded cardiac transplantation and underwent laparoscopic gastric banding. A 42 year-old male with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy weighing 124.

Exercise and Cancer Treatment Symptoms in 408 Newly Diagnosed Older Cancer Patients.

While the benefits of exercise for managing cancer-and treatment-related side effects has been shown among various populations of cancer survivors, a relative dearth of information exists among older cancer patients. OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of exercise participation during and after primary cancer treatment in older (≥65 years) and the oldest (≥80 years) cancer patients and to examine the relationships between exercise, symptoms, and self-rated health (SRH). MATERIALS AND METHODS: 408 newly diagnosed older cancer patients (mean age=73, range=65-92) scheduled to receive chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy reported symptoms and SRH prior to, during, and 6 months after treatment, and exercise participation during and following treatment.

Structural alterations of the mucosa stroma in the Barrett's esophagus metaplasia-dysplasia-adenocarcinoma sequence.

Background And Aim: Accumulating evidence suggests that the extracellular matrix play important roles in intercellular communications and contribute to the development of a number of diseases, including diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. The present study examined the structural characteristics and alterations of the extracellular matrix of the mucosa stroma in the Barrett's esophagus metaplasia-dysplasia-adenocarcinoma sequence.

Methods: A total of 41 esophageal tissue specimens (15 esophageal adenocarcinoma, 10 Barrett's esophagus intestinal metaplasia, seven dysplasia and nine normal esophagus) were studied.

Reduced arterial stiffness after weight loss in obese type 2 diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance: the role of immune cell activation and insulin resistance.

Weight loss after bariatric surgery reduces cardiac risk and morbidity. We examined weight loss effects on arterial stiffness in morbidly obese subjects, in relation to cytokines, circulating and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT)-based immune cells and gene expression. Obese subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) or impaired glucose tolerance (n = 14, mean ± SEM body mass index 42.

Characteristics associated with glycemic control among family medicine patients with type 2 diabetes.

Background: As new payment models are developed for chronic diseases such as diabetes, there is a need to understand which patient characteristics impact glycemic control. This study examines the relationship between patient variables and glycemic control, defined as a hemoglobin A1c (A1c) level of <7%, in a cohort of family medicine patients with type 2 diabetes.

Methods: A total of 1,398 medical charts were selected using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes for diabetes.

Characterization of low energy charge transfer transitions in (terpyridine)(bipyridine)ruthenium(II) complexes and their cyanide-bridged bi- and tri-metallic analogues.

The lowest energy metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) absorption bands found in ambient solutions of a series of [Ru(tpy)(bpy)X](m+) complexes (tpy = 2,2':3',2''-terpyridine; bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine; and X = a monodentate ancillary ligand) feature one or two partly resolved weak absorptions (bands I and/or II) on the low energy side of their absorption envelopes. Similar features are found for the related cyanide-bridged bi- and trimetallic complexes. However, the weak absorption band I of [(bpy)(2)Ru{CNRu(tpy)(bpy)}(2)](4+) is missing in its [(bpy)(2)Ru{NCRu(tpy)(bpy)}(2)](4+) linkage isomer demonstrating that this feature arises from a Ru(II)/tpy MLCT absorption.

Ring-slippage and multielectron redox properties of Fe/Ru/Os-bis(arene) complexes: does hapticity change really cause potential inversion?

Bis(hexamethylbenzene) complexes of the group 8 metals (Fe, Ru, Os) show surprising diversity in their electron-transfer mechanisms and associated thermodynamics for the M(II) → M(I) → M(0) redox series. In electrochemical experiments, the Fe complex exhibits normally ordered potentials separated by ∼1 V, the Ru system shows nearly overlapping one-electron redox events, and Os demonstrates a one-step, two-electron transfer with a peak potential separation suggestive of highly inverted potentials. It has been conjectured that the sequential one-electron transfers observed for Fe are due to the lack of an accessible η(4):η(6) Fe(0) state, destabilizing the fully reduced species.

The mutational profile of sporadic epithelial ovarian carcinoma.

Mutations occurring in sporadic epithelial ovarian carcinomas are reviewed and their functional significance in terms of prognosis and prediction of anticancer drug activity are discussed. Alterations in the BRCA1/2 genes, TP53, PTEN, PI3Kinase, KRAS/BRAF and CTNNB1 are described. TP53 is likely to be a driver in high grade serous tumours, but is less useful than BRCA status in prediction of response to the platinum or PARPi agents.

Does antireflux surgery prevent progression of Barrett's esophagus?

Mechanistic reasoning suggests that since antireflux surgery treats the gastroesophageal reflux that is the major known risk factor for Barrett's esophagus, it should have a beneficial effect on the biology of Barrett's disease. Due to a lack of adequate data, whether this is the case remains uncertain. Most studies, including several large population-based cohort studies, are observational studies that are subject to bias.

Musashi-1 expression in atherosclerotic arteries and its relevance to the origin of arterial smooth muscle cells: histopathological findings and speculations.

The origin of smooth muscle cells in developing atherosclerotic lesions is a controversial topic with accumulating evidence indicating that at least some arterial smooth muscle cells might originate from bone marrow-derived smooth muscle cell precursors circulating in the blood. The stem cell markers currently used for the identification of stem cells in the arterial intima can be expressed by a number of different cell types residing in the arterial wall, such as mast cells, endothelial cells and dendritic cells, which can make interpretation of the data obtained somewhat ambiguous. In the present study we examined whether the putative intestinal stem cell marker Musashi-1 is expressed in the arterial wall.

Influence of electrical fields (AC and DC) on phytoremediation of metal polluted soils with rapeseed (Brassica napus) and tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum).

The combined use of electrokinetic remediation and phytoremediation to decontaminate soil polluted with heavy metals has been demonstrated in a laboratory-scale experiment. The plants species selected were rapeseed and tobacco. Three kinds of soil were used: un-contaminated soil from forest area (S1), artificially contaminated soil with 15mgkg(-1) Cd (S2) and multi-contaminated soil with Cd, Zn and Pb from an industrial area (S3).

Emerging strategies in the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: the role of targeted therapies.

Hepatocellular cancer (HCC) is the fifth most common cause of cancer worldwide and its incidence is increasing as a result of the dissemination of hepatitis B and C virus infection. Surgical resection and liver transplantation are considered the only cures for HCC, but benefit approximately 10-15% of patients. In addition, radiofrequency ablation may is potentially curative for patients' with small HCC.

Barrett's esophagus.

Barrett's esophagus is an acquired metaplastic abnormality in which the normal stratified squamous epithelium lining of the esophagus is replaced by an intestinal-like columnar epithelium. While in itself a benign and asymptomatic disorder, the clinical importance of this relatively common condition relates to its role as a precursor lesion to esophageal adenocarcinoma, the incidence of which has dramatically increased in Western populations in recent years. Although known to arise as a consequence of chronic gastroesophageal reflux, the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying development Barrett's esophagus and its progression to cancer remain unclear.

Clinical inquiries: which women should we screen for gestational diabetes mellitus?

It's unclear which women we should screen. No randomized controlled trials (RCTs) demonstrate that either universal screening or risk factor screening for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) prevents maternal and fetal adverse outcomes. That said, the common practice of universal screening is more sensitive than screening based on risk factors.

Implicit effects of justice on self-identity.

The authors provide one of the first tests of whether justice has effects at implicit or subconscious levels. By manipulating justice in a laboratory experiment, they found that the activation of interdependent and individual self-identities were higher when people experienced fairness and unfairness, respectively. Although these effects occurred at both implicit and explicit levels, they were stronger in the former case.

Gene expression alterations in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded Barrett esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma tissues.

Background And Aim: Widespread applicability of tissue-based mRNA expression screening for Barrett esophagus (BE) is likely to require (1) accurate methods for assaying archival formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) histopathology specimens taken at endoscopy, and (2) validation studies of promising biomarkers in different patient cohorts.

Results: 30 genes were significantly differentially expressed by histopathology tissue type. The direction and magnitude of the differences were very similar to those found in previous studies using fresh frozen tissues.

Expression of C1q complement component in Barrett's esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma.

Aims: C1q, an element of the first component of complement, is known to be expressed by interdigitating and follicular dendritic cells in the spleen, where it has been suggested that C1q is involved in capturing immune complexes. The present study investigated whether C1q is expressed in Barrett's esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma and, if so, whether its expression is associated with dendritic cells.

Material And Methods: Endoscopic biopsy or operative surgical specimens were obtained from 15 patients with Barrett's esophagus, 13 patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma and 12 patients whose biopsy specimens did not show the presence of specialized intestinal metaplasia or adenocarcinoma.

Expression of the putative stem cell marker Musashi-1 in Barrett's esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma.

The cancer stem cell theory states that cancers contain tumor-forming cells that have the ability to self-renew as well as give rise to cells that differentiate. Cancer stem cells have been identified in several solid tumors, but stem cells in normal human esophagus or in Barrett's esophagus or adenocarcinoma have not been reported. Musashi-1 is expressed by the crypt base columnar cells identified as intestinal stem cells.

Two-electron redox energetics in ligand-bridged dinuclear molybdenum and tungsten complexes.

Electron-transfer energetics of bridged dinuclear compounds of the form [(CO)(4)M(mu-L)](2)(0/1-/2-) (M = Mo, W; L = PPh(2)(-), SPh(-)) were explored using density functional theory coupled to a continuum solvation model. The experimentally observed redox potential inversion, a situation where the second of two electron transfers is more thermodynamically favorable than the first, was reproduced within this model. This nonclassical energy ordering is a prerequisite for the apparent transfer of two electrons at one potential, as observed in many biologically and technologically important systems.