Oxygen-Saturation Targets for Critically Ill Adults Receiving Mechanical Ventilation.

Background: Invasive mechanical ventilation in critically ill adults involves adjusting the fraction of inspired oxygen to maintain arterial oxygen saturation. The oxygen-saturation target that will optimize clinical outcomes in this patient population remains unknown.

Methods: In a pragmatic, cluster-randomized, cluster-crossover trial conducted in the emergency department and medical intensive care unit at an academic center, we assigned adults who were receiving mechanical ventilation to a lower target for oxygen saturation as measured by pulse oximetry (Spo) (90%; goal range, 88 to 92%), an intermediate target (94%; goal range, 92 to 96%), or a higher target (98%; goal range, 96 to 100%).

Function, Mechanism, and Application of Plant Melatonin: An Update with a Focus on the Cereal Crop, Barley ( L.).

Melatonin is a multiple-function molecule that was first identified in animals and later in plants. Plant melatonin regulates versatile processes involved in plant growth and development, including seed germination, root architecture, flowering time, leaf senescence, fruit ripening, and biomass production. Published reviews on plant melatonin have been focused on two model plants: (1) Arabidopsis and (2) rice, in which the natural melatonin contents are quite low.

Intestinal Deletion of 3-Hydroxy-3-Methylglutaryl-Coenzyme A Reductase Promotes Expansion of the Resident Stem Cell Compartment.

Background: The intestine occupies the critical interface between cholesterol absorption and excretion. Surprisingly little is known about the role of de novo cholesterol synthesis in this organ, and its relationship to whole body cholesterol homeostasis. Here, we investigate the physiological importance of this pathway through genetic deletion of the rate-limiting enzyme.

Characteristics, adsorption behaviors, Cu(II) adsorption mechanisms by cow manure biochar derived at various pyrolysis temperatures.

With the aims of exploring the effectiveness of Cu(II) adsorption performed by cow manure biochars (CMBCs) for the treatment and recycling of livestock wastes, the physicochemical characteristics and Cu(II) adsorption behaviors of CMBCs at various pyrolysis temperatures (T) were analyzed. CMBCs displayed surface heterogeneity and the dominant Cu(II) adsorption reactions were chemical adsorption, including mineral co-precipitation and cations exchange, was account for 93.75% - 97.

Molecular Profiling Reveals a Common Metabolic Signature of Tissue Fibrosis.

Fibrosis, or the accumulation of extracellular matrix, is a common feature of many chronic diseases. To interrogate core molecular pathways underlying fibrosis, we cross-examine human primary cells from various tissues treated with TGF-β, as well as kidney and liver fibrosis models. Transcriptome analyses reveal that genes involved in fatty acid oxidation are significantly perturbed.

A Randomized Trial of Epinephrine in Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest.

Background: Concern about the use of epinephrine as a treatment for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest led the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation to call for a placebo-controlled trial to determine whether the use of epinephrine is safe and effective in such patients.

Methods: In a randomized, double-blind trial involving 8014 patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in the United Kingdom, paramedics at five National Health Service ambulance services administered either parenteral epinephrine (4015 patients) or saline placebo (3999 patients), along with standard care. The primary outcome was the rate of survival at 30 days.

Pancreatic Islet APJ Deletion Reduces Islet Density and Glucose Tolerance in Mice.

Protection and replenishment of a functional pancreatic β-cell mass (BCM) are key goals of all diabetes therapies. Apelin, a small regulatory peptide, is the endogenous ligand for the apelin receptor (APJ) receptor. The apelin-APJ signaling system is expressed in rodent and human islet cells.

Development and initial evaluation of 7-T q-ball imaging of the human brain.

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) noninvasively depicts white matter connectivity in regions where the Gaussian model of diffusion is valid but yields inaccurate results in those where diffusion has a more complex distribution, such as fiber crossings. q-ball imaging (QBI) overcomes this limitation of DTI by more fully characterizing the angular dependence of intravoxel diffusion with larger numbers of diffusion-encoding directional measurements at higher diffusion-weighting factors (b values). However, the former technique results in longer acquisition times and the latter technique results in a lower signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).