Syntheses and Characterization of a Pair of Isomers of Heteroleptic Bis(Bidentate) Ruthenium(II) Complexes with Two Different Monodentate Ligands.

Two isomers of heteroleptic bis(bidentate) ruthenium(II) complexes with dimethyl sulfoxide (dmso) and chloride ligands, trans(Cl,N )- and trans(Cl,N )-[Ru(bpy)Cl(dmso-S)(Hdpa)] (bpy: 2,2'-bipyridine; Hdpa: di-2-pyridylamine), are synthesized. This is the first report on the selective synthesis of a pair of isomers of cis-[Ru(L)(L')XY] (L≠L': bidentate ligands; X≠Y: monodentate ligands). The structures of the ruthenium(II) complexes are clarified by means of X-ray crystallography, and the signals in the H NMR spectra are assigned based on H- H COSY spectra.

Pressure mediated hypertrophy and mechanical stretch up-regulate expression of the long form of leptin receptor (ob-Rb) in rat cardiac myocytes.

Background: Hyperleptinemia is known to participate in cardiac hypertrophy and hypertension, but the relationship between pressure overload and leptin is poorly understood. We therefore examined the expression of leptin (ob) and the leptin receptor (ob-R) in the pressure-overloaded rat heart. We also examined gene expressions in culture cardiac myocytes to clarify which hypertension-related stimulus induces these genes.

Pueraria mirifica phytoestrogens improve dyslipidemia in postmenopausal women probably by activating estrogen receptor subtypes.

Impaired lipid metabolism is an important health problem in postmenopausal women with insufficient estrogens, because dyslipidemia is a risk factor for development of atherosclerosis and the incidence of cardiovascular disease markedly increases after menopause. Pueraria mirifica (PM), a Thai herb, has been noticed as a source of phytoestrogens, estrogen-mimicking plant compounds. However, the clinical effects of PM on lipid metabolism and the underlying molecular mechanisms remain undetermined.

Doctor-patient communication: a comparison between telemedicine consultation and face-to-face consultation.

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare doctor-patient communications in clinical consultations via telemedicine technology to doctor-patient communications in face-to-face clinical consultations.

Method: Five doctors who had been practicing internal medicine for 8 to 18 years, and twenty patients were enrolled in this study; neither doctors nor patients had previous experience of telemedicine. The patients received both a telemedicine consultation and a face-to-face consultation.

Carvedilol effectively blocks oxidative stress-mediated downregulation of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase 2 gene transcription through modification of Sp1 binding.

Carvedilol is a beta-adrenoceptor blocker and a potent antioxidant that improves cardiac function in patients with heart failure. The restoration of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA2) gene expression may be an underlying mechanism of its beneficial effects on cardiac function. In primary cultured neonatal rat cardiac myocytes, treatment with either carvedilol or its beta-receptor inactive metabolite, BM910228, attenuated the hydrogen peroxide-mediated decrease in SERCA2 mRNA and protein levels, while metoprolol, a pure beta-blocker, had no effect.

Transcription factor Sp1 regulates SERCA2 gene expression in pressure-overloaded hearts: a study using in vivo direct gene transfer into living myocardium.

Pressure-overload hypertrophy results in downregulation of the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase pump encoding SERCA2 gene that regulates Ca(2+) uptake and myocardial relaxation. We previously characterized a proximal promoter region containing four Sp1 element consensus sequences (-284 to -72 base pairs (bp)) that was responsible for pressure-overload-induced transcriptional regulation. The purpose of the present study was to determine which of the Sp1 sites was responsible for the downregulation of SERCA2 gene transcription under pressure overload.