Effect of ketamine on the development of Lucilia sericata (Meigen) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and preliminary pathological observation of larvae.

The estimation of postmortem interval (PMI) based on the growth patterns of necrophagous arthropods is the main mission of forensic entomology in practice. The larval development rates can be affected by various drugs or toxins, causing deviation in PMI estimate. Ketamine is a widely used anesthetic and recreational drug in Asia, which is rarely focused on in the previous entomotoxicological studies.

Role of ERp46 in β-cell lipoapoptosis through endoplasmic reticulum stress pathway as well as the protective effect of exendin-4.

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is considered as a key factor in free fatty acid (FFA)-induced apoptosis. ERp46, a new member of the thioredoxin family, is highly expressed in pancreatic β-cells and plays an important role in glucose toxicity. In this study we examined the potential role of ERp46 in palmitic acid (PA)-induced cell apoptosis and the protective role of exendin-4, a long-acting agonist of the hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor.

Effects of combined glucose and fat load on endothelium-dependent brachial artery vasodilatation in hypertensive patients.

Introduction: This study investigated the effects of combined glucose and fat load on glucose and lipid metabolism, as well as on vascular endothelial function, in hypertensive patients.

Methods And Results: A total of 98 hypertensive patients were randomly divided into 3 groups that received an oral fat tolerance test (OFTT), an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) or a combined oral glucose and fat tolerance test (OGFTT). Endothelium-dependent flow-mediated brachial artery dilation (FMD) was measured by vascular ultrasound and was used as an indicator of vascular endothelial function.

Establishment of a chronic rejection model for orthotopic liver transplantation in the rat.

Background: This study aims to establish a stable chronic rejection model for orthotopic liver transplantation in the rat and to describe the pathological features of this model.

Methods: The livers from different strains of rats were transplanted in various allogeneic donor-recipient combinations with appropriate syngeneic grafts used as controls. The rats were untreated after surgery (acute rejection model) or treated with cyclosporin A (1 mg/kg) and hydrocortisone (0.