Daily Setup Accuracy, Side-effects and Quality of Life During and After Prone Positioned Prostate Radiotherapy.

Background/aim: Exposure of organs at risk with prostate radiotherapy (RT) is lower in the prone position. This study is a prospective evaluation of setup accuracy, side-effects, and quality of life (QOL) during and after prone positioned RT.

Patients And Methods: Image-guided (IG) intensity-modulated (IM) RT was administered in prone position on belly-board to 55 high-risk prostate cancer (PC) patients.

JDP2 overexpression provokes cardiac dysfunction in mice.

The transcriptional regulator JDP2 (Jun dimerization protein 2) has been identified as a prognostic marker for patients to develop heart failure after myocardial infarction. We now performed in vivo studies on JDP2-overexpressing mice, to clarify the impact of JDP2 on heart failure progression. Therefore, during birth up to the age of 4 weeks cardiac-specific JDP2 overexpression was prevented by doxycycline feeding in transgenic mice.

Evaluation of Brain Nuclear Medicine Imaging Tracers in a Murine Model of Sepsis-Associated Encephalopathy.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate a set of widely used nuclear medicine imaging agents as possible methods to study the early effects of systemic inflammation on the living brain in a mouse model of sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE). The lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced murine systemic inflammation model was selected as a model of SAE.

Procedures: C57BL/6 mice were used.

Development of Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 Inhibitors for Cardioprotection.

The objective of our present study is to develop novel inhibitors for MMP-2 for acute cardioprotection. In a series of pilot studies, novel substituted carboxylic acid derivatives were synthesized based on imidazole and thiazole scaffolds and then tested in a screeening cascade for MMP inhibition. We found that the MMP-inhibiting effects of imidazole and thiazole carboxylic acid-based compounds are superior in efficacy in comparison to the conventional hydroxamic acid derivatives of the same molecules.

Disruption of Renal Arginine Metabolism Promotes Kidney Injury in Hepatorenal Syndrome in Mice.

Unlabelled: Tubular dysfunction is an important feature of renal injury in hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) in patients with end-stage liver disease. The pathogenesis of kidney injury in HRS is elusive, and there are no clinically relevant rodent models of HRS. We investigated the renal consequences of bile duct ligation (BDL)-induced hepatic and renal injury in mice in vivo by using biochemical assays, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Western blot, mass spectrometry, histology, and electron microscopy.

Potential energy surface of triplet O.

We present a global ground-state potential energy surface (PES) for the triplet spin state of O that is suitable for treating high-energy vibrational-rotational energy transfer and collision-induced dissociation in electronically adiabatic spin-conserving O-O collisions. The surface is based on MS-CASPT2/maug-cc-pVTZ electronic structure calculations with scaled external correlation; the active space has 16 electrons in 12 orbitals. The global ground-state potential energy surface was fitted by a many-body approach with an accurate O-O pairwise interaction and a fit of the many-body interaction potential to 10 180 electronic structure data points.

Neutrophil-Hepatic Stellate Cell Interactions Promote Fibrosis in Experimental Steatohepatitis.

Background & Aims: Hepatic infiltration of neutrophils is a hallmark of steatohepatitis; however, the role of neutrophils in the progression of steatohepatitis remains unknown.

Methods: A clinically relevant mouse model of steatohepatitis induced by high-fat diet (HFD) plus binge ethanol feeding was used. Liver fibrosis was examined.

Dose escalation can maximize therapeutic potential of sunitinib in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

Background: In patients with metastatic renal cell cancer, based on limited evidence, increased sunitinib exposure is associated with better outcome. The survival and toxicity data of patients receiving individualized dose escalated sunitinib therapy as compared to standard management were analyzed in this study.

Methods: From July 2013, the data of metastatic renal cell cancer patients with slight progression but still a stable disease according to RECIST 1.

Juvenile honest food solicitation and parental investment as a life history strategy: A kin demographic selection model.

Parent-offspring communication remains an unresolved challenge for biologist. The difficulty of the challenge comes from the fact that it is a multifaceted problem with connections to life-history evolution, parent-offspring conflict, kin selection and signalling. Previous efforts mainly focused on modelling resource allocation at the expense of the dynamic interaction during a reproductive season.

A Reversible Cause of Complete Heart Block Causing Chest Pain and Syncope.

Vasospastic angina (VSA), also known as variant or Prinzmetal's angina, is a relatively uncommon cause of retrosternal chest pain with transient ST segment elevation, mainly due to vasospasm in the coronary arteries. This is a case of 37-year-old female who presented with chest pain and syncope. Her initial workup, including echocardiogram, was negative.

Opportunistic random searcher versus intentional search image user.

We consider two types of optimal foragers: a random searcher and a search image user. A search image user can find its desired prey with higher and undesired prey with lower probability than a random searcher. Our model considers the density-dependent travelling time and the time duration of reproduction (oviposition).

Comparison of Generic Fluorescent Markers for Detection of Extracellular Vesicles by Flow Cytometry.

Background: Extracellular vesicles (EVs) in biofluids are potential biomarkers of disease. To explore the clinical relevance of EVs, a specific generic EV marker would be useful, one that does not require antibodies and binds to all EVs. Here we evaluated 5 commonly used generic markers for flow cytometry.

Hyper Open-Shell Excited Spin States of Transition-Metal Compounds: FeF, FeF···Ethane, and FeF···Ethylene.

Spin-state energetics are important for understanding properties that involve more than one spin state, for example, catalysis occurring on two or more potential energy surfaces corresponding to different electronic spins. Very often, multiple-spin processes involve transition-metal compounds, and therefore, it is important to understand the electronic structure and energetics of such compounds in different spin states. In this work, we benchmark relative spin-state energies of FeF with respect to the quintet ground spin state using both single-configurational and multiconfigurational methods, and we examine how they are affected by the binding of ethane and ethylene to the iron center.

Selective Photoaffinity Probe That Enables Assessment of Cannabinoid CB Receptor Expression and Ligand Engagement in Human Cells.

Chemical tools and methods that report on G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) expression levels and receptor occupancy by small molecules are highly desirable. We report the development of LEI121 as a photoreactive probe to study the type 2 cannabinoid receptor (CBR), a promising GPCR to treat tissue injury and inflammatory diseases. LEI121 is the first CBR-selective bifunctional probe that covalently captures CBR upon photoactivation.

Feasibility Evaluation of Myocardial Cannabinoid Type 1 Receptor Imaging in Obesity: A Translational Approach.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of targeted imaging of myocardial cannabinoid type 1 receptor (CB1-R) and its potential up-regulation in obese mice with translation to humans using [C]-OMAR and positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT).

Background: Activation of myocardial CB1-R by endocannabinoids has been implicated in cardiac dysfunction in diabetic mice. Obesity may lead to an up-regulation of myocardial CB1-R, potentially providing a mechanistic link between obesity and the initiation and/or progression of cardiomyopathy.

Nagarse treatment of cardiac subsarcolemmal and interfibrillar mitochondria leads to artefacts in mitochondrial protein quantification.

Introduction: In the heart, subsarcolemmal (SSM), interfibrillar (IFM) and perinuclear mitochondria represent three subtypes of mitochondria. The most commonly used protease during IFM isolation is the nagarse, however, its effect on the detection of mitochondrial proteins is still unclear. Therefore, we investigated whether nagarse treatment influences the quantification of mitochondrial proteins.

A simple clinical method for predicting the benefit of prone vs. supine positioning in reducing heart exposure during left breast radiotherapy.

Background And Purpose: The benefit of reduced radiation heart exposure in the prone vs. supine position individually differs. In this prospective cohort study, the goal was to develop a simple method for the operation of a validated model for the prediction of preferable treatment position during left breast radiotherapy.

Changes to Extender, Cryoprotective Medium, and In Vitro Fertilization Improve Zebrafish Sperm Cryopreservation.

Sperm cryopreservation is a highly efficient method for preserving genetic resources. It extends the reproductive period of males and significantly reduces costs normally associated with maintenance of live animal colonies. However, previous zebrafish (Danio rerio) cryopreservation methods have produced variable outcomes and low post-thaw fertilization rates.

Boost Irradiation Integrated to Whole Brain Radiotherapy in the Management of Brain Metastases.

Our retrospective analysis aimed to evaluate the clinical value of dose intensification schemes: WBRT and consecutive, delayed, or simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) in brain metastasis (BM) management. Clinical data and overall survival (OS) of 468 patients with BM from various primaries treated with 10 × 3 Gy WBRT (n = 195), WBRT+ 10 × 2 Gy boost (n = 125), or simultaneously 15 × 2.2 Gy WBRT+0.

10th European Zebrafish Meeting 2017, Budapest: Husbandry Workshop Summary.

A husbandry workshop on July 3, 2017, at the 10th European Zebrafish Meeting in Budapest, Hungary (July 3-July 7, 2017), focused on the standardization, optimization, and streamlining of fish facility procedures. Standardization can be achieved for example by developing novel software and hardware tools, such as a fish facility database for husbandry and environmental facility management (Zebrabase, Oltova), or a hand-held, air-pressurized fish feeder for consistent food distribution (Blowfish, Argenton). Streamlining is achieved when work hours are reduced, as with the standardized fish feeder, or by limiting the number and types of fish diets and observing the effect on animal welfare and performance (Barton).

Flow Alignment of Extracellular Vesicles: Structure and Orientation of Membrane-Associated Bio-macromolecules Studied with Polarized Light.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are currently in scientific focus, as they have great potential to revolutionize the diagnosis and therapy of various diseases. However, numerous aspects of these species are still poorly understood, and thus, additional insight into their molecular-level properties, membrane-protein interactions, and membrane rigidity is still needed. We here demonstrate the use of red-blood-cell-derived EVs (REVs) that polarized light spectroscopy techniques, linear and circular dichroism, can provide molecular-level structural information on these systems.

Alternative Splicing of NOX4 in the Failing Human Heart.

Increased oxidative stress is a major contributor to the development and progression of heart failure, however, our knowledge on the role of the distinct NADPH oxidase (NOX) isoenzymes, especially on NOX4 is controversial. Therefore, we aimed to characterize NOX4 expression in human samples from healthy and failing hearts. Explanted human heart samples (left and right ventricular, and septal regions) were obtained from patients suffering from heart failure of ischemic or dilated origin.

Cannabinoid-1 receptor deletion in podocytes mitigates both glomerular and tubular dysfunction in a mouse model of diabetic nephropathy.

Aims: To determine the specific role of podocyte-expressed cannabinoid-1 receptor (CB R) in the development of diabetic nephropathy (DN), relative to CB R in other renal cell types.

Material And Methods: We developed a mouse model with a podocyte-specific deletion of CB R (pCB1Rko) and challenged this model with streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type-1 DN. We also assessed the podocyte response to high glucose in vitro and its effects on CB R activation.

Radiolabeling and Quantitative In Vivo SPECT/CT Imaging Study of Liposomes Using the Novel Iminothiolane-Tc-Tricarbonyl Complex.

The in vivo biodistribution of liposomal formulations greatly influences the pharmacokinetics of these novel drugs; therefore the radioisotope labeling of liposomes and the use of nuclear imaging methods for in vivo studies are of great interest. In the present work, a new procedure for the surface labeling of liposomes is presented using the novel Tc-tricarbonyl complex. Liposomes mimicking the composition of two FDA approved liposomal drugs were used.