Relative Blood Volume Profiles Hours After Loop Diuretic Administration: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Plasma refill rates can be estimated by combining measurements of urine output with relative blood volume profiles. Change in plasma refill rates could guide decongestive loop diuretic therapy in acute heart failure. The objective of the study was to assess average relative blood volume profiles generated from 2 or 3 follow-up measurements obtained hours after loop diuretic administration in subjects with vs without baseline congestion.

Prenatal intermittent hypoxia sensitizes the laryngeal chemoreflex, blocks serotoninergic shortening of the reflex, and reduces 5-HT receptor binding in the NTS in anesthetized rat pups.

We tested the hypothesis that exposure to intermittent hypoxia (IH) during pregnancy would prolong the laryngeal chemoreflex (LCR) and diminish the capacity of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) to terminate the LCR. Prenatal exposure to IH was associated with significant prolongation of the LCR in younger, anesthetized, postnatal day (P) rat pups age P8 to P16 compared to control, room air (RA)-exposed rat pups of the same age. Serotonin microinjected into the NTS shortened the LCR in rat pups exposed to RA during gestation, but 5-HT failed to shorten the LCR in rat pups exposed to prenatal IH.

Antioxidant Enzyme-Mimetic Activity and Neuroprotective Effects of Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles Stabilized with Various Ratios of Citric Acid and EDTA.

Cerium oxide (CeO) nanoparticles (CeNPs) are potent antioxidants that are being explored as potential therapies for diseases in which oxidative stress plays an important pathological role. However, both beneficial and toxic effects of CeNPs have been reported, and the method of synthesis as well as physico-chemical, biological, and environmental factors can impact the ultimate biological effects of CeNPs. In the present study, we explored the effect of different ratios of citric acid (CA) and EDTA (CA/EDTA), which are used as stabilizers during synthesis of CeNPs, on the antioxidant enzyme-mimetic and biological activity of the CeNPs.

Activation of serotonergic neurons in the medullary caudal raphe shortens the laryngeal chemoreflex in anaesthetized neonatal rats.

What is the central question of this study? Does activation of serotonergic neurons in the caudal medullary raphe, some of which project to the nucleus of the solitary tract, shorten the laryngeal chemoreflex? What is the main finding and its importance? We found that serotonin originating from neurons in the caudal raphe acts through a 5-HT receptor located in the nucleus of the solitary tract to terminate reflex apnoea. Failure or deficiency of this arousal-related process is likely to be relevant to the pathogenesis of sudden infant death syndrome. Failure to terminate apnoea and arouse is likely to contribute to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Serotonin in the solitary tract nucleus shortens the laryngeal chemoreflex in anaesthetized neonatal rats.

What is the central question of this study? Failure to terminate apnoea and arouse is likely to contribute to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Serotonin is deficient in the brainstems of babies who died of SIDS. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that serotonin in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) would shorten reflex apnoea.

The Type 3 Deiodinase Is a Critical Determinant of Appropriate Thyroid Hormone Action in the Developing Testis.

Timely and appropriate levels of thyroid hormone (TH) signaling are necessary to ensure normal developmental outcomes in many tissues. Studies using pharmacological models of altered TH status have revealed an influence of these hormones on testis development and size, but little is known about the role of endogenous determinants of TH action in the developing male gonads. Using a genetic approach, we demonstrate that the type 3 deiodinase (D3), which inactivates TH and protects developing tissues from undue TH action, is a key factor.