Impaired role of epoxyeicosatrienoic acids in the regulation of basal conduit artery diameter during essential hypertension.

In young healthy subjects, epoxyeicosatrienoic acids synthesized by endothelial cytochrome P450 epoxygenases maintain basal conduit artery diameter during altered NO availability. Whether this compensatory mechanism is effective during essential hypertension is unknown. Radial artery diameter, blood flow, and mean wall shear stress were determined in 14 nontreated essential hypertensive patients and 14 normotensive control subjects during 8 minutes of brachial infusion for inhibitors of cytochrome P450 epoxygenases (fluconazole, 0.

Marked shifts in offspring size elicited by frequent fusion among siblings in an internally brooding marine invertebrate.

While offspring size is a widely studied concept in evolutionary ecology, mechanisms affecting offspring phenotype in species with postzygotic parental care are incompletely understood. We examined the impact of sibling fusion on ontogenetic shifts in offspring size in the brooding sea anemone Urticina felina. Fusion occurred among brood-protected embryos in U.

EPR spin trapping evaluation of ROS production in human fibroblasts exposed to cerium oxide nanoparticles: evidence for NADPH oxidase and mitochondrial stimulation.

To better understand the antioxidant (enzyme mimetic, free radical scavenger) versus oxidant and cytotoxic properties of the industrially used cerium oxide nanoparticles (nano-CeO(2)), we investigated their effects on reactive oxygen species formation and changes in the antioxidant pool of human dermal and murine 3T3 fibroblasts at doses relevant to chronic inhalation or contact with skin. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spin trapping with the nitrone DEPMPO showed that pretreatment of the cells with the nanoparticles dose-dependently triggered the release in the culture medium of superoxide dismutase- and catalase-inhibitable DEPMPO/hydroxyl radical adducts (DEPMPO-OH) and ascorbyl radical, a marker of ascorbate depletion. This DEPMPO-OH formation occurred 2 to 24 h following removal of the particles from the medium and paralleled with an increase of cell lipid peroxidation.

The IDEAL study : towards personalized drug treatment of hypertension.

Objective: To identify markers (phenotypic, genetic, or environmental) of blood pressure (BP) response profiles to angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and diuretics.

Methods: IDEAL was a crossover (two active and two wash out phases), double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Eligible patients were untreated hypertensive, aged 25 to 70.

A distinct de novo expression of Nav1.5 sodium channels in human atrial fibroblasts differentiated into myofibroblasts.

Fibroblasts play a major role in heart physiology. They are at the origin of the extracellular matrix renewal and production of various paracrine and autocrine factors. In pathological conditions, fibroblasts proliferate, migrate and differentiate into myofibroblasts leading to cardiac fibrosis.

Cholesterol-independent effects of methyl-β-cyclodextrin on chemical synapses.

The cholesterol chelating agent, methyl-β-cyclodextrin (MβCD), alters synaptic function in many systems. At crayfish neuromuscular junctions, MβCD is reported to reduce excitatory junctional potentials (EJPs) by impairing impulse propagation to synaptic terminals, and to have no postsynaptic effects. We examined the degree to which physiological effects of MβCD correlate with its ability to reduce cholesterol, and used thermal acclimatization as an alternative method to modify cholesterol levels.

Thermal games in crayfish depend on establishment of social hierarchies.

An unequal resource distribution is commonly seen in dominance hierarchies, in which the individual with the higher status is more successful in obtaining the resource. One possible resource is preferred temperature. When situations allow, ectotherms regulate their body temperature by behaviourally selecting different environmental conditions, achieving, when possible, a preferred temperature.

Molecular identification of Fasciola spp. (Digenea: Fasciolidae) in Egypt.

A total of 134 Egyptian liver flukes were collected from different definitive hosts (cattle, sheep, and buffaloes) to identify them via the use of PCR-RFLP and sequence analysis of the first nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS1). Specimens of F. hepatica from France, as well as F.

Setting tools for the early assessment of the quality of thawed Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) D-larvae.

Parameters used to assess the survival of larvae after cryopreservation generally misestimate the damages that prevent larval development. The objectives of the present study were to 1) define the reliability of the survival rate, assessed at 2 and 7 days post fertilization, to estimate Pacific oyster larval quality after thawing, and 2) select complementary tools allowing an early and reliable estimation of their quality. Oyster larvae were reared for 25 h after fertilization at 19 °C and cryopreserved at early D-stage.

The monothiol glutaredoxin Grx4 exerts an iron-dependent inhibitory effect on Php4 function.

When iron is scarce, Schizosaccharomyces pombe cells repress transcription of several genes that encode iron-using proteins. Php4 mediates this transcriptional control by specifically interacting with the CCAAT-binding core complex that is composed of Php2, Php3, and Php5. In contrast, when there is sufficient iron, Php4 is inactivated, thus allowing the transcription of many genes that encode iron-requiring proteins.

Epoxyeicosatrienoic acids contribute with altered nitric oxide and endothelin-1 pathways to conduit artery endothelial dysfunction in essential hypertension.

Background: We sought to clarify, using functional and biological approaches, the role of epoxyeicosatrienoic acids, nitric oxide (NO)/reactive oxygen species balance, and endothelin-1 in conduit artery endothelial dysfunction during essential hypertension.

Methods And Results: Radial artery diameter and mean wall shear stress were determined in 28 untreated patients with essential hypertension and 30 normotensive control subjects during endothelium-dependent flow-mediated dilatation induced by hand skin heating. The role of epoxyeicosatrienoic acids and NO was assessed with the brachial infusion of inhibitors of cytochrome P450 epoxygenases (fluconazole) and NO synthase (N(G)-monomethyl-l-arginine [L-NMMA]).

Binder phenotype in mothers affected with autoimmune disorders.

Objective: To report four foetal cases of the Binder phenotype associated with maternal autoimmune disorders.

Patients And Methods: In three mothers with autoimmune diseases, 2D and 3D ultrasonographic measurements were made on four foetuses with the Binder profile, and were compared with postnatal phenotypes.

Results: The Binder phenotype can be detected in early pregnancy (14.

Understanding the prescription of antidepressants: a Qualitative study among French GPs.

Background: One-tenth of France's population is prescribed at least one antidepressant, primarily by General Practitioners. The reasons for this high prescription rate remain unclear. One-third of these prescriptions may not comply with clinical practice guidelines, and 20% are potentially unrelated to any psychiatric condition.

Human impact on genetic diversity of Toxoplasma gondii: example of the anthropized environment from French Guiana.

In French Guiana, severe cases of toxoplasmosis in immunocompetent patients are associated with atypical strains of Toxoplasma gondii linked to a wild neotropical rainforest cycle and a higher genetic diversity than usually observed for T. gondii isolates from anthropized environment. This raises the question of the impact of anthropization of the natural environment, on genetic diversity and on the population structure of T.

Obstacles to colorectal screening in general practice: a qualitative study of GPs and patients.

Background: The faecal occult blood test (FOBT) has proven efficiency at screening populations for an average risk of colorectal cancer. Mortality related to this cancer decreases by 15-18% among adults, 50-74 years old, tested every 2 years. A participation rate of at least 50% is desirable.

Internal brooding favours pre-metamorphic chimerism in a non-colonial cnidarian, the sea anemone Urticina felina.

The concept of intraorganismal genetic heterogeneity resulting from allogeneic fusion (i.e. chimerism) has almost exclusively been explored in modular organisms that have the capacity to reproduce asexually, such as colonial ascidians and corals.

Grx4 monothiol glutaredoxin is required for iron limitation-dependent inhibition of Fep1.

The expression of iron transport genes in Schizosaccharomyces pombe is controlled by the Fep1 transcription factor. When iron levels exceed those needed by the cells, Fep1 represses iron transport genes. In contrast, Fep1 is unable to bind chromatin under low-iron conditions, and that results in activation of genes involved in iron acquisition.

Highly efficient desymmetrisation of a tricarbonylchromium 1,4-dibromonaphthalene complex by asymmetric Suzuki-Miyaura coupling.

Access to planar chiral complexes has been sought by catalytic desymmetrisation of a prochiral complex via asymmetric Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling. High selectivities of up to 98% ee were achieved using a bulky chiral palladium catalyst.

Physiological experimentation with the crayfish hindgut: a student laboratory exercise.

The purpose of the report is to describe dissection techniques for preparing the crayfish hindgut and to demonstrate how to make physiological recordings with a force transducer to monitor the strength of contraction. In addition, we demonstrate how to visually monitor peristaltic activity, which can be used as a bioassay for various peptides, biogenic amines and neurotransmitters. This preparation is amenable to student laboratories in physiology and for demonstrating pharmacological concepts to students.

Lunar rhythms in the deep sea: evidence from the reproductive periodicity of several marine invertebrates.

While lunar rhythms are commonly documented in plants and animals living in terrestrial and shallow-water environments, deep-sea organisms have essentially been overlooked in that respect. This report describes evidence of lunar periodicity in the reproduction of 6 deep-sea species belonging to 2 phyla. Occurrences of gamete release in free spawners and larval release in brooders exhibited significant peaks around the new and full moons, respectively.

An efficient entry to planar chiral organometallic complexes via Pd-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenolysis.

Planar chiral chromium- and ruthenium-based arene complexes were prepared with high levels of enantioselectivity via a Pd-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenolysis reaction using a bulky chiral phosphoramidite ligand. Key elements for the efficiency of the process are the use of DABCO as borane-trapping reagent as well as substantial kinetic resolution, which was found to enhance the stereochemical outcome of the reaction.

Additional haplogroups of Toxoplasma gondii out of Africa: population structure and mouse-virulence of strains from Gabon.

Background: Toxoplasma gondii is found worldwide, but distribution of its genotypes as well as clinical expression of human toxoplasmosis varies across the continents. Several studies in Europe, North America and South America argued for a role of genotypes in the clinical expression of human toxoplasmosis. Genetic data concerning T.

Peptide-induced modulation of synaptic transmission and escape response in Drosophila requires two G-protein-coupled receptors.

Neuropeptides are found in both mammals and invertebrates and can modulate neural function through activation of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRS). The precise mechanisms by which many of these GPCRs modulate specific signaling cascades to regulate neural function are not well defined. We used Drosophila melanogaster as a model to examine both the cellular and behavioral effects of DPKQDFMRFamide, the most abundant peptide encoded by the dFMRF gene.

Genotyping of Toxoplasma gondii isolates with 15 microsatellite markers in a single multiplex PCR assay.

We developed an easy-to-use method for genotyping Toxoplasma gondii isolates in a single multiplex PCR assay with 15 microsatellite markers. This method was validated by testing 26 reference isolates that had been characterized with other sets of markers.