NT-proBNP, but not ANP and C-reactive protein, is predictive of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation in patients undergoing pulmonary vein isolation.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between plasma high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), atrial natriuretic peptides (ANP), N-terminal-pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels, and the risk and recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) after pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF).

Methods: Plasma ANP, NT-proBNP, and hs-CRP levels were measured before and 3 months after PVI in 33 patients with PAF and 30 control participants.

Results: (1) NT-proBNP levels at baseline were significantly elevated in subjects with PAF compared with control subjects (296.

Survey of polyphenol constituents in grapes and grape-derived products.

A rapid and comprehensive qualitative method has been developed to characterize the different classes of polyphenols, such as anthocyanins, flavonols, phenolic acids, and flavanols/proanthocyanidins, in grape products. The detection was achieved by two runs with the same LC gradient in different MS ionization modes and mobile phase modifiers (positive ionization mode and 0.4% trifluoroacetic acid for anthocyanins and flavonols; negative ionization mode and 0.

Predictors of late recurrence of atrial fibrillation after catheter ablation.

Background: To predict the recurrence of atrial fibrillation is important for selecting patients who will be undergoing catheter ablation, several studies respectively evaluated the risk factor of the recurrence of atrial fibrillation post-ablation.

Objective: To investigate the factors predicting the recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) after catheter ablation.

Methods: 186 patients (55.

Acetylation targets the M2 isoform of pyruvate kinase for degradation through chaperone-mediated autophagy and promotes tumor growth.

Most tumor cells take up more glucose than normal cells but metabolize glucose via glycolysis even in the presence of normal levels of oxygen, a phenomenon known as the Warburg effect. Tumor cells commonly express the embryonic M2 isoform of pyruvate kinase (PKM2) that may contribute to the metabolism shift from oxidative phosphorylation to aerobic glycolysis and tumorigenesis. Here we show that PKM2 is acetylated on lysine 305 and that this acetylation is stimulated by high glucose concentration.

The RABiT: a rapid automated biodosimetry tool for radiological triage. II. Technological developments.

Purpose: Over the past five years the Center for Minimally Invasive Radiation Biodosimetry at Columbia University has developed the Rapid Automated Biodosimetry Tool (RABiT), a completely automated, ultra-high throughput biodosimetry workstation. This paper describes recent upgrades and reliability testing of the RABiT.

Materials And Methods: The RABiT analyses fingerstick-derived blood samples to estimate past radiation exposure or to identify individuals exposed above or below a cut-off dose.

Ghrelin ameliorates hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension via phospho-GSK3 β/β-catenin signaling in neonatal rats.

Effective treatment and/or prevention strategies for neonatal persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) have been an important topic in neonatal medicine. However, mechanisms of impaired pulmonary vascular structure in hypoxia-induced PPHN are poorly understood and consequently limit the development of effective treatment. In this study, we aimed to explore the molecular signaling cascades in the lungs of a PPHN animal model and used primary cultured rat pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells to analyze the physiological benefits of ghrelin during the pathogenesis of PPHN.

Transfer printing of graphene strip from the graphene grown on copper wires.

A simple, cost-effective and lithography-free fabrication of graphene strips for device applications is demonstrated. The graphene thin layers were directly grown on Cu wires, followed by Cu etching and transfer printing to arbitrary substrates by a PDMS stamp. The Cu wires can be arranged on the PDMS stamp in a desired pattern; hence, the substrates can receive graphene strips with the same pattern.

PEG-rhGH therapy for small for gestational age rats and effects on their metabolic parameters.

Aims: To determine whether administration of long-acting polyethylene glycol moiety covalently linked to recombinant human growth hormone (PEG-rhGH) can be efficacious in the treatment of small for gestational age (SGA) rats and to characterize its effects on metabolic parameters.

Methods: 20 pregnant rats were randomly divided into undernourished and standard nourished groups. SGA or appropriate for gestational age (AGA) offspring from each were then randomly assigned to receive either PEG-rhGH or normal saline (NS).

Adapting the γ-H2AX assay for automated processing in human lymphocytes. 1. Technological aspects.

The immunofluorescence-based detection of γ-H2AX is a reliable and sensitive method for quantitatively measuring DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) in irradiated samples. Since H2AX phosphorylation is highly linear with radiation dose, this well-established biomarker is in current use in radiation biodosimetry. At the Center for High-Throughput Minimally Invasive Radiation Biodosimetry, we have developed a fully automated high-throughput system, the RABIT (Rapid Automated Biodosimetry Tool), that can be used to measure γ-H2AX yields from fingerstick-derived samples of blood.

High-quality thin graphene films from fast electrochemical exfoliation.

Flexible and ultratransparent conductors based on graphene sheets have been considered as one promising candidate for replacing currently used indium tin oxide films that are unlikely to satisfy future needs due to their increasing cost and losses in conductivity on bending. Here we demonstrate a simple and fast electrochemical method to exfoliate graphite into thin graphene sheets, mainly AB-stacked bilayered graphene with a large lateral size (several to several tens of micrometers). The electrical properties of these exfoliated sheets are readily superior to commonly used reduced graphene oxide, which preparation typically requires many steps including oxidation of graphite and high temperature reduction.

[Relative analysis of OPN and its related signal molecules in hepatocellular carcinoma].

Osteopontin (OPN) has close relationship with metastasis in hepatocellular carcinoma but its downstream signal pathways have not been well defined in hepatocellular carcinoma. The object of this study is to identify the associated signal pathways in human HCC tissues. The expressions of OPN, intergrin aV, CD44v6, P-FAK, FAK, P-Src, Src, P-ERK and P-AKT were assayed using TMA analysis.

PP1 cooperates with ASPP2 to dephosphorylate and activate TAZ.

The Hippo pathway regulates organ size by controlling both cell proliferation and apoptosis. TAZ functions as a transcriptional co-activator downstream of the Hippo pathway and has been implicated in human cancer development. A key step in the Hippo-TAZ pathway is phosphorylation of TAZ by LATS kinase, which leads to TAZ inhibition by both cytoplasmic retention and degradation.

An accelerator-based neutron microbeam system for studies of radiation effects.

A novel neutron microbeam is being developed at the Radiological Research Accelerator Facility (RARAF) of Columbia University. The RARAF microbeam facility has been used for studies of radiation bystander effects in mammalian cells for many years. Now a prototype neutron microbeam is being developed that can be used for bystander effect studies.

[Suppressing the growth of Hep-2 human laryngeal cancer cells by silencing survivin gene in vitro and in vivo].

Objective: To study the effect of silencing survivin on the growth of Hep-2 human laryngeal cancer cells in vitro and in vivo.

Methods: Hep-2 cells were transfected with pGCsilencer-siRNA-survivin (psi-survivin)by Lipofectamine 2000. The mRNA and protein expressions of survivin were detected by semi-quantitative RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively.

The complete preventive effect of homologous tumor vaccines--based on a 5-year experimental study in mice.

By using a frozen-thaw method, we developed homologous and heterologous cell-based tumor vaccines, which were derived from mouse H22 hepatoma, S180 sarcoma and human A549 lung carcinoma, SK-OV-3 ovarian, and SMMC-7721 hepatoma cell lines. The prophylactic and therapeutic effects of those vaccines were evaluated in mice challenged with live H22 or S180 cells. The result demonstrated that homologous vaccines and heterologous vaccines had no therapeutic effect on tumor growth.

The levels of Pdx1/insulin, Cacna1c and Cacna1d, and β-cell mass in a rat model of intrauterine undernutrition.

Objective: To elucidate the underlying mechanisms responsible for β-cell mass and function in response to intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR).

Methods: Offspring from undernourished mother rats with birth weight < -2 SD (IUGR group) and from standard-nourished rats with birth weight between mean +/- 1SD normal birth weight (NBW group) were examined. Levels of fasting glucose, serum insulin, and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) were analyzed.

Highly efficient restoration of graphitic structure in graphene oxide using alcohol vapors.

Solution-based processes involving the chemical oxidation of graphite and reduction of the obtained graphene oxide (GO) sheets have attracted much attention for preparing graphene films for printed electronics and biosensors. However, the low electrical conductivity of reduced GO is still hindering the development of electronic applications. This article presents that GO sheets reduced by high-temperature alcohol vapors exhibit highly graphitic structures and excellent electrical conductivity.

A shaker K+ channel with a miniature engineered voltage sensor.

Voltage-gated ion channels sense transmembrane voltage changes via a paddle-shaped motif that includes the C-terminal part of the third transmembrane segment (S3b) and the N-terminal part of the fourth segment ((NT)S4) that harbors voltage-sensing arginines. Here, we find that residue triplets in S3b and (NT)S4 can be deleted individually, or even in some combinations, without compromising the channels' basic voltage-gating capability. Thus, a high degree of complementarity between these S3b and (NT)S4 regions is not required for basic voltage gating per se.

Extracellular protons titrate voltage gating of a ligand-gated ion channel.

Cyclic nucleotide-gated channels mediate transduction of light into electric signals in vertebrate photoreceptors. These channels are primarily controlled by the binding of intracellular cyclic GMP (cGMP). Glutamate residue 363 near the extracellular end of the ion selectivity filter interacts with the pore helix and helps anchor the filter to the helix.

Chemical characterization of Lycium barbarum polysaccharides and its inhibition against liver oxidative injury of high-fat mice.

In this study, we investigated chemical structure of Lycium barbarum polysaccharides and its modulatory effect on oxidative stress in high-fat mice. The polysaccharides mainly contained xylose and glucose. Little amount of rhamnose, mannose and galactose was observed.

The Columbia University Sub-micron Charged Particle Beam.

A lens system consisting of two electrostatic quadrupole triplets has been designed and constructed at the Radiological Research Accelerator Facility (RARAF) of Columbia University. The lens system has been used to focus 6-MeV (4)He ions to a beam spot in air with a diameter of 0.8 µm.

The RABIT: a rapid automated biodosimetry tool for radiological triage.

In response to the recognized need for high throughput biodosimetry methods for use after large-scale radiological events, a logical approach is complete automation of standard biodosimetric assays that are currently performed manually. The authors describe progress to date on the RABIT (Rapid Automated BIodosimetry Tool), designed to score micronuclei or gamma-H2AX fluorescence in lymphocytes derived from a single drop of blood from a fingerstick. The RABIT system is designed to be completely automated, from the input of the capillary blood sample into the machine to the output of a dose estimate.

Solution-processable semiconducting thin-film transistors using single-walled carbon nanotubes chemically modified by organic radical initiators.

The reactivity of organic radicals produced by 1,1'-azobis(cyanocyclohexane) (ACN) is tuned to selectively suppress electrical conduction of small diameter single-walled carbon nanotubes, and the modified tubes are able to produce high-mobility (approximately 10 cm2 V(-1) s(-1)) and solution-processable thin-film transistors with full semiconductor device yield, promising applications in high-performance printable electronics.

The antioxidant role of thiocyanate in the pathogenesis of cystic fibrosis and other inflammation-related diseases.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a pleiotropic disease, originating from mutations in the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). Lung injuries inflicted by recurring infection and excessive inflammation cause approximately 90% of the morbidity and mortality of CF patients. It remains unclear how CFTR mutations lead to lung illness.