Mice that lack thrombospondin 2 display connective tissue abnormalities that are associated with disordered collagen fibrillogenesis, an increased vascular density, and a bleeding diathesis

Thrombospondin (TSP) 2, and its close relative TSP1, are extracellular proteins whose functions are complex, poorly understood, and controversial. In an attempt to determine the function of TSP2, we disrupted the Thbs2 gene by homologous recombination in embryonic stem cells, and generated TSP2-null mice by blastocyst injection and appropriate breeding of mutant animals. Thbs2-/- mice were produced with the expected Mendelian frequency, appeared overtly normal, and were fertile. However, on closer examination, these mice displayed a wide variety of abnormalities. Collagen fiber patterns in skin were disordered, and abnormally large fibrils with irregular contours were observed by electron microscopy in both skin and tendon. As a functional correlate of these findings, the skin was fragile and had reduced tensile strength, and the tail was unusually flexible. Mutant skin fibroblasts were defective in attachment to a substratum. An increase in total density and in cortical thickness of long bones was documented by histology and quantitative computer tomography. Mutant mice also manifested an abnormal bleeding time, and histologic surveys of mouse tissues, stained with an antibody to von Willebrand factor, showed a significant increase in blood vessels. The basis for the unusual phenotype of the TSP2-null mouse could derive from the structural role that TSP2 might play in collagen fibrillogenesis in skin and tendon. However, it seems likely that some of the diverse manifestations of this genetic disorder result from the ability of TSP2 to modulate the cell surface properties of mesenchymal cells, and thus, to affect cell functions such as adhesion and migration.

Cerebral response to patient's own name in the vegetative and minimally conscious states

BACKGROUND

A challenge in the management of severely brain-damaged patients with altered states of consciousness is the differential diagnosis between the vegetative state (VS) and the minimally conscious state (MCS), especially for the gray zone separating these clinical entities.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the differences in brain activation in response to presentation of the patient's own name spoken by a familiar voice (SON-FV) in patients with VS and MCS.

METHODS

By using fMRI, we prospectively studied residual cerebral activation to SON-FV in seven patients with VS and four with MCS. Behavioral evaluation was performed by means of standardized testing up to 3 months post-fMRI.

RESULTS

Two patients with VS failed to show any significant cerebral activation. Three patients with VS showed SON-FV induced activation within the primary auditory cortex. Finally, two patients with VS and all four patients with MCS not only showed activation in primary auditory cortex but also in hierarchically higher order associative temporal areas. These two patients with VS showing the most widespread activation subsequently showed clinical improvement to MCS observed 3 months after their fMRI scan.

CONCLUSION

The cerebral responses to patient's own name spoken by a familiar voice as measured by fMRI might be a useful tool to preclinically distinguish minimally conscious state-like cognitive processing in some patients behaviorally classified as vegetative.

Axial alignment of the lower extremity in Chinese adults

BACKGROUND

The restoration of normal axial alignment of the lower extremity is important to surgeons who perform reconstructive surgery of the knee. However, data on the normal alignment of the lower extremity in Chinese adults are not available.

METHODS

The axial alignment of the lower extremity in twenty-five adult male and twenty-five adult female volunteers of southern Chinese origin was measured on weight-bearing radiographs of the entire lower limb. The mean age was twenty-four years for the male volunteers and twenty-three years for the female volunteers. The results were compared with those of two similar studies of white volunteers in the United States.

RESULTS

The medial inclination of the tibial plateau in the Chinese subjects (mean and standard deviation, 5.4 +/- 2.5 degrees for women and 4.9 +/- 2.3 degrees for men) was greater than the commonly reported 3 degrees. The extremities of the Chinese women were found to have a mean of 2.2 +/- 2.5 degrees of varus alignment, and those of the Chinese men had a mean of 2.2 +/- 2.7 degrees of varus alignment.

CONCLUSIONS

Compared with the white subjects described in the studies by Moreland et al. and Hsu et al., the Chinese subjects had significantly larger medial inclination of the knee joint (knee-joint obliquity) (p < 0.005) and the female Chinese subjects had significantly more varus alignment of the lower extremity (p < 0.025).

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Five degrees of external rotation of the femoral component, instead of the commonly reported 3 degrees, may be required to obtain a rectangular flexion gap in total knee arthroplasty in Chinese patients. The racial difference in the knee-joint obliquity may contribute to the racial difference in the ratio of knee osteoarthritis to hip osteoarthritis. Additional studies are necessary to confirm this relationship.

Altered extracellular matrix remodeling and angiogenesis in sponge granulomas of thrombospondin 2-null mice

The matricellular angiogenesis inhibitor, thrombospondin (TSP) 2, has been shown to be an important modulator of wound healing and the foreign body response. Specifically, TSP2-null mice display improved healing with minimal scarring and form well-vascularized foreign body capsules. In this study we performed subcutaneous implantation of sponges and investigated the resulting angiogenic and fibrogenic responses. Histological and immunohistochemical analysis of sponges, excised at 7, 14, and 21 days after implantation, revealed significant differences between TSP2-null and wild-type mice. Most notably, TSP2-null mice exhibited increased angiogenesis and fibrotic encapsulation of the sponge. However, invasion of dense tissue was compromised, even though its overall density was increased. Furthermore, histomorphometry and biochemical assays demonstrated a significant increase in the extracellular distribution of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 2, but no change in the levels of active transforming growth factor-beta(1). The alterations in neovascularization, dense tissue invasion, and MMP2 in TSP2-null mice coincided with the deposition of TSP2 in the extracellular matrix of wild-type animals. These observations support the proposed role of TSP2 as a modulator of angiogenesis and matrix remodeling during tissue repair. In addition, they provide in vivo evidence for a newly proposed function of TSP2 as a modulator of extracellular MMP2 levels.

The distribution of the matricellular protein thrombospondin 2 in tissues of embryonic and adult mice

Mice that lack the matricellular protein thrombospondin 2 (TSP2) develop a pleiotropic phenotype characterized by morphological changes in connective tissues, an increase in vascular density, and a propensity for bleeding. Furthermore, dermal cells derived from TSP2-null mice display adhesion defects, a finding that implicates TSP2 in cell-matrix interactions. To gain a better understanding of the participation of TSP2 in the development and maturation of the mouse, we examined its distribution in embryonic and adult tissues. Special attention was paid to the presence of TSP2 in collagen fibers, because collagen fibrils in the TSP2-null mouse appear to be irregular in size and contour by electron microscopy. Immunohistochemical analysis of Day 15 and Day 18 embryos revealed TSP2 in areas of chondrogenesis, osteogenesis, and vasculogenesis, and in dermal and other connective tissue-forming cells. Distinctly different patterns of deposition of TSP2 were observed in areas of developing cartilage and bone at Days 15 and 18 of embryonic development. A survey of adult tissues revealed TSP2 in dermal fibroblasts, articular chondrocytes, Purkinje cells in the cerebellum, Leidig cells in the testis, and in the adrenal cortex. Dermal fibroblasts were also shown to synthesize TSP2 in vitro. The distribution of TSP2 during development is in keeping with its participation in the formation of a variety of connective tissues. In adult tissues, TSP2 is located in the pericellular environment, where it can potentially influence the cell-matrix interactions associated with cell movement and tissue repair.

The neuroprotective effect of overexpression of calbindin-D(28k) in an animal model of Parkinson's disease

Overexpression of calbindin-D(28k) (CaBP-28 k) induces neurite outgrowth in dopaminergic neuronal cells and could provide some protection to dopaminergic neurons against the pathological process in Parkinson's disease. Transgenic mice CaBP-28 k overexpression and the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced mouse models were generated, and the effect of midbrain dopamine neurons in ethology was also assessed. Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-immunoreactive neurons were counted, and the concentration of total protein and dopamine (DA) of striatum corpora was measured in four animal models. Results showed that the positive TH cells, content of DA, and ability of ethology in MPTP-induced transgenic mice were significantly higher than that in MPTP-induced wild-type mice. The findings demonstrate that overexpression of CaBP-28 k could provide protection for DA neurons from neurodegeneration. It would provide a potential strategy in the treatment of Parkinson's diseases.

Association between habenula dysfunction and motivational symptoms in unmedicated major depressive disorder

The lateral habenula plays a central role in reward and punishment processing and has been suggested to drive the cardinal symptom of anhedonia in depression. This hypothesis is largely based on observations of habenula hypermetabolism in animal models of depression, but the activity of habenula and its relationship with clinical symptoms in patients with depression remains unclear. High-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and computational modelling were used to investigate the activity of the habenula during a probabilistic reinforcement learning task with rewarding and punishing outcomes in 21 unmedicated patients with major depression and 17 healthy participants. High-resolution anatomical scans were also acquired to assess group differences in habenula volume. Healthy individuals displayed the expected activation in the left habenula during receipt of punishment and this pattern was confirmed in the computational analysis of prediction error processing. In depressed patients, there was a trend towards attenuated left habenula activation to punishment, while greater left habenula activation was associated with more severe depressive symptoms and anhedonia. We also identified greater habenula volume in patients with depression, which was associated with anhedonic symptoms. Habenula dysfunction may contribute to abnormal response to punishment in patients with depression, and symptoms such as anhedonia.

Neural networks as 'software sensors' in enzyme production

Industrial applications of enzyme technology are rapidly increasing. On-line control of enzyme production processes, however, is difficult, owing to the uncertainties typical of biological reactions and to the lack of suitable sensors. We demonstrate that well-trained feedforward backpropagation neural networks with one hidden layer can be employed to overcome such problems with no need for a priori knowledge of the relationships of the process variables involved. Neural network programs were written in Microsoft Visual C+2 for Windows and implemented in a personal computer. The goodness of fit of the trained neural network to the reference data was determined by the coefficient of determination R2. On-line state estimation and multi-step ahead prediction of enzyme activity and biomass concentration, both in a yeast lipase and fungal glucoamylase production could be satisfactorily carried out. Results showed an excellent fit for estimated lipase activity (R2 = 0.988) and biomass concentration (R2 = 0.989). In glucoamylase production, both enzyme activity and biomass concentration could also be reliably predicted for 2 time intervals (10 h) ahead with only on-line measurable parameter values as the input data.

Distal rotational alignment of the Chinese femur and its relevance in total knee arthroplasty

The rotational alignments of the distal femur in southern Chinese subjects were investigated. Chinese femurs are significantly more externally rotated. This is new evidence to suggest a racial difference in the distal femoral geometry. During total knee arthroplasty, a common recommendation is to allow 4 degrees of external rotation. The clinical significance of our study is that this need to be modified to 6 degrees for Chinese women and 5 degrees for Chinese men. This racial difference can be incorporated into a new concept of "a mountain and a molehill." This concept is presented in this report.

Nonpenetrating clips for coronary anastomosis

BACKGROUND

A nonsuture clip technique (nonpenetrating titanium clips applied to everted tissue edges at high compressive forces) was used to perform coronary anastomoses in a clinical setting.

METHODS

Clipped coronary anastomoses were performed in 10 patients. The anastomoses incorporated the left internal mammary artery to the left anterior descending artery (n = 1) and the saphenous vein to the right coronary artery (n = 5), the posterior descending artery (n = 2), the diagonal artery (n = 2), and one vein-to-vein proximal anastomosis (n = 1).

RESULTS

The mean duration for completion of the anastomoses was 15 minutes (range, 7 to 20 minutes). This time was reduced from 20 minutes at the beginning of the clinical experience to 7 minutes for the last 3 patients. No technical complication was related to clip application and all patients had uneventful outcomes. Three anastomoses studied by coronary angiography were patent without stenosis.

CONCLUSION

The clipped anastomotic technique has a rapid learning curve, the same safety as suture methods, and the potential for facilitating endoscopic vascular reconstructions.

Review Article: Polyethylene wear and osteolysis in total hip arthroplasty

Polyethylene wear has been accepted as a major cause of osteolysis in total hip arthroplasty. Submicron particles, which are secondary to abrasive wear, migrate into the effective joint space and stimulate a foreign-body response resulting in bone loss which is mainly mediated by macrophages. Diagnosis depends on serial radiographic evaluation and frequent follow-up. Polyethylene wear and osteolysis can be prevented by reducing the wear such as using a small femoral head, adaptive polyethylene thickness, suitable surgical techniques, non-polyethylene articulation, etc. The presence of cement or circumferential coatings may also retard the distal migration of particles. Medicines such as NSAIDs and bisphosphonate appear to inhibit the progress of osteolysis. As far as treatment, revision surgery is able to reconstruct the joint by replacing partial or total prosthesis and repair the defect by bone grafting according to intraoperative assessment.

In vitro fermentation of various fiber and starch sources by pig fecal inocula1

Freeze-dried ileal effluent (1% wt/vol) from cannulated pigs fed rice-based diets with the inclusion of either animal protein (CON), animal protein plus potato starch (PS), animal protein plus sugar beet pulp (SBP), or animal protein plus wheat bran (WB) was incubated anaerobically at pH 6.0 in fermenters containing 5% (wt/vol) fecal slurry comprising mineral salts medium and 50 g/L of fresh feces from pigs fed the same diets as the cannulated pigs. Samples were collected from the fermenters at 0, 2, 4, 12, 24, and 48 h during in vitro fermentation for measuring nonstarch polysaccharides (NSP), starch, and short-chain fatty acids (SCFA). Results showed that the major SCFA produced were acetate, propionate, and butyrate. The inclusion of soluble dietary fiber (diet SBP) caused the highest concentrations of acetate, propionate, butyrate, and total SCFA, whereas the increase in the production of propionate resulting from the addition of insoluble dietary fiber (diet WB) only occurred at the initial stages during 48 h in vitro fermentation. At all sampling occasions (except for 4 h), the levels of butyrate were increased (P < 0.01) by resistant starch compared with fiber sources, showing that a higher level of butyrate can be achieved through microbial fermentation by potato starch. Lowered (P < 0.05) butyrate concentrations were observed with diet WB during in vitro fermentation. With the inclusion of fiber sources, the energy originating from SCFA was similar to that from NSP disappearance, whereas the values were lower (P < 0.05) from NSP disappearance than for SCFA generated without fiber sources supplemented. We conclude that more substrate is available in ileal effluent with the addition of soluble dietary fiber, and an increased level of butyrate could be achieved through microbial fermentation by resistant starch.

Neural network programming in bioprocess variable estimation and state prediction

A neural network program with efficient learning ability for bioprocess variable estimation and state prediction was developed. A 3 layer, feed-forward neural network architecture was used, and the program was written in Quick C ver 2.5 for an IBM compatible computer with a 80486/33 MHz processor. A back propagation training algorithm was used based on learning by pattern and momentum in a combination as used to adjust the connection of weights of the neurons in adjacent layers. The delta rule was applied in a gradient descent search technique to minimize a cost function equal to the mean square difference between the target and the network output. A non-linear, sigmoidal logistic transfer function was used in squashing the weighted sum of the inputs of each neuron to a limited range output. A good neural network prediction model was obtained by training with a sequence of past time course data of a typical bioprocess. The well trained neural network estimated accurately and rapidly the state variables with or without noise even under varying process dynamics.

Effects of temperature-humidity index and chromium supplementation on antioxidant capacity, heat shock protein 72, and cytokine responses of lactating cows

Heat stress adversely affects the productivity and immune status of dairy cows. The temperature-humidity index (THI) is commonly used to indicate the degree of heat stress on dairy cattle. We investigated the effects of different THI and Cr supplementation on the antioxidant capacity, the levels of heat shock protein 72 (Hsp72), and cytokine responses of lactating cows. The study used a total of 24 clinically healthy uniparous midlactation Holstein cows, which were randomly divided into 2 groups (n = 12 per group), and was conducted in 3 designated THI periods: low THI period (LTHI; THI = 56.4 ± 2.5), moderate THI period (MTHI; THI = 73.9 ± 1.7), and high THI period (HTHI; THI = 80.3 ± 1.0). The 2 groups of cows were fed corn and corn silage based basal diet supplemented chromium picolinate to provide 3.5 mg of Cr/cow daily (Cr+) or basal diet with no Cr (Cr-). The experiment was a 3 × 2 factorial design. The numbers of leukocytes (P < 0.05) and serum levels of glucose (P < 0.001) were lower; however, the serum levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN; P < 0.001) and creatinine (P < 0.001) were greater in the MTHI and HTHI than in LTHI. The total antioxidant capacity in the serum was unaltered; an increase in superoxide dismutase activity (P < 0.001) and in serum malondialdehyde concentration (P < 0.001) was observed in the MTHI and HTHI compared with the LTHI. The high THI led to increases in serum concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α; P < 0.001) and IL-10 (P < 0.05). Cows supplemented with Cr had lower (P = 0.009) serum concentrations of cholesterol but greater (P < 0.001, respectively) serum levels of Hsp72 and IL-10 compared with those without Cr supplementation in the HTHI. Western blot analysis revealed that cows supplemented with Cr had greater (P = 0.038) expression of the inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa B α (IκBα) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) compared with those without Cr supplementation in the HTHI, whereas the expression of Hsp72 in PBMC was unaltered. Data indicate that there is a decrease in glucose and increases in BUN and creatinine in the serum of midlactation cows under hot conditions during the summer and that these cows have a lowered oxidative capacity but an elevated antioxidant capacity. In addition, Cr may play an anti-inflammatory role in lactating cows by promoting the release of Hsp72, increasing the production of IL-10, and inhibiting the degradation of IκBα under hot conditions during the summer.

Energy dependence of moments of net-proton multiplicity distributions at RHIC

We report the beam energy (sqrt[sNN]=7.7-200  GeV) and collision centrality dependence of the mean (M), standard deviation (σ), skewness (S), and kurtosis (κ) of the net-proton multiplicity distributions in Au+Au collisions. The measurements are carried out by the STAR experiment at midrapidity (|y|<0.5) and within the transverse momentum range 0.4<pT<0.8  GeV/c in the first phase of the Beam Energy Scan program at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. These measurements are important for understanding the quantum chromodynamic phase diagram. The products of the moments, Sσ and κσ2, are sensitive to the correlation length of the hot and dense medium created in the collisions and are related to the ratios of baryon number susceptibilities of corresponding orders. The products of moments are found to have values significantly below the Skellam expectation and close to expectations based on independent proton and antiproton production. The measurements are compared to a transport model calculation to understand the effect of acceptance and baryon number conservation and also to a hadron resonance gas model.

Applying neural networks as software sensors for enzyme engineering

The on-line control of enzyme-production processes is difficult, owing to the uncertainties typical of biological systems and to the lack of suitable on-line sensors for key process variables. For example, intelligent methods to predict the end point of fermentation could be of great economic value. Computer-assisted control based on artificial-neural-network models offers a novel solution in such situations. Well-trained feedforward-backpropagation neural networks can be used as software sensors in enzyme-process control; their performance can be affected by a number of factors.

Facilitated vascular anastomoses: the one-shot device

BACKGROUND

A mechanical system for facilitating vascular anastomosis (end-to-side, end-to-end) is described that enables the rapid construction of nonpenetrated, compliant junctions. The instrument (United States Surgical One-Shot system) simultaneously applies either 10 or 12 nonpenetrating, arcuate-legged titanium clips to everted vessel or prosthetic conduit edges.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The instrument has been tested in animals (jugular and femoral vein jump grafts in carotid and femoral arteries, interpositional grafts, 20 pigs) and human cadaveric constructs (saphenous veins to left anterior descending coronary arteries, 20 cases, 5 brachiocephalic access fistulas) as end-to-side constructs. Clipped constructs have equivalent or superior physical properties to control sutured constructs (6-0 polypropylene) as gauged by burst and tensile strength. All studies were performed under Food and Drug Administration Good Laboratory Practice standards, and the device has been approved for marketing by the Food and Drug Administration.

CONCLUSIONS

The device enables rapid and reproducible vascular anastomotic constructs with vessels as small as 1.8 mm outer diameter. The constructs are flanged, interrupted, and nonpenetrated.

Characterization of skin friction coefficient, and relationship to stratum corneum hydration in a normal Chinese population

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Studies have demonstrated that some cutaneous biophysical properties vary with age, gender and body sites. However, the characteristics of the skin friction coefficient in different genders and age groups have not yet been well established. In the present study, we assess the skin friction coefficient in a larger Chinese population.

METHODS

A total of 633 subjects (300 males and 333 females) aged 0.15-79 years were enrolled. A Frictiometer FR 770 and Corneometer CM 825 (C&K MPA 5) were used to measure the skin friction coefficient and stratum corneum hydration, respectively, on the dorsal surface of the hand, the forehead and the canthus.

RESULTS

In the females, the maximum skin friction coefficients on both the canthus and the dorsal hand skin were observed around the age of 40 years. In the males, the skin friction coefficient on the dorsal hand skin gradually increased from 0 to 40 years of age, and changed little afterward. Skin friction coefficients on some body sites were higher in females than in age-matched males in some age groups. On the canthus and the dorsal hand skin of females, a positive correlation was found between skin friction coefficient and stratum corneum hydration (p < 0.001 and p < 0.0001, respectively). In contrast, in males, the skin friction coefficient was positively correlated with stratum corneum hydration on the forehead and the dorsal hand skin (p < 0.05 and p < 0.0001, respectively).

CONCLUSION

The skin friction coefficient varies with age, gender and body site, and positively correlates with stratum corneum hydration on some body sites.

Voluntary exercise prior to traumatic brain injury alters miRNA expression in the injured mouse cerebral cortex

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) may be important mediators of the profound molecular and cellular changes that occur after traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, the changes and possible roles of miRNAs induced by voluntary exercise prior to TBI are still not known. In this report, the microarray method was used to demonstrate alterations in miRNA expression levels in the cerebral cortex of TBI mice that were pretrained on a running wheel (RW). Voluntary RW exercise prior to TBI: i) significantly decreased the mortality rate and improved the recovery of the righting reflex in TBI mice, and ii) differentially changed the levels of several miRNAs, upregulating some and downregulating others. Furthermore, we revealed global upregulation of miR-21, miR-92a, and miR-874 and downregulation of miR-138, let-7c, and miR-124 expression among the sham-non-runner, TBI-non-runner, and TBI-runner groups. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction data (RT-qPCR) indicated good consistency with the microarray results. Our microarray-based analysis of miRNA expression in mice cerebral cortex after TBI revealed that some miRNAs such as miR-21, miR-92a, miR-874, miR-138, let-7c, and miR-124 could be involved in the prevention and protection afforded by voluntary exercise in a TBI model.

Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 antagonist 2-methyl-6-(phenylethynyl)pyridine produces antidepressant effects in rats: role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor

Recent studies highlight that the brain glutamate system is involved in the etiology of depression and glutamatergic-targeting drugs are currently being explored as novel antidepressant medications. Previous studies reveal that the selective metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 antagonist 2-methyl-6-(phenylethynyl)pyridine (MPEP) produces antidepressant-like effects in behavioral despair and olfactory bulbectomy models. The current study aimed to further explore its behavioral actions in additional animal models of depression (forced swimming test (FST) and learned helplessness (LH) test) and its underlying neurobiological mechanisms. The results demonstrated that acute treatment of MPEP at 30 but not 10mg/kg significantly reduced immobility in FST without affecting locomotor activities. Sub-chronic, five-day treatment of MPEP (30 mg/kg) decreased escape failures in animals that had developed LH symptoms. This sub-chronic treatment also increased hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) protein levels in both non-stressed and stressed animals and restored the stress-induced down-regulation of BDNF expression. Current findings provide strong evidence for further studies of MPEP as a tool to explore novel antidepressants.

Effect of early insulin therapy on nuclear factor kappaB and cytokine gene expressions in the liver and skeletal muscle of high-fat diet, streptozotocin-treated diabetic rats

To clarify the effect of early insulin therapy on nuclear factor kappaB (NFkappaB) pathway and inflammatory cytokine responses in the liver and skeletal muscle in type 2 diabetes. High-fat diet and low dose streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats were given NPH insulin or gliclazide for 3 weeks initiated at the 3rd day after STZ injection as early treatment and NPH for 3 weeks at 1 month as late treatment. Intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT) was performed at 3rd day after the end of treatment. Early interventions caused a decrease in glucose-insulin index in IPGTT, promoted glucose transporter 4 (Glut4) gene and protein expressions in muscle and reduced phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) protein levels in the liver. There was an increase in inhibitor kappaB (IkappaBalpha) protein and a decrease in NFkappaB p65 DNA binding activity. A decreased level in mRNAs encoding tumor necrosis factor (TNF)alpha in the liver and muscle and interleukin (IL)-1beta in the liver were observed. Our results suggested that early insulin treatment inhibits NFkappaB activity and inflammatory cytokine responses in the liver and skeletal muscle that were involved in the amelioration of insulin resistance in type 2 diabetic rats.

Beam-energy dependence of the directed flow of protons, antiprotons, and pions in Au+Au collisions

Rapidity-odd directed flow (v1) measurements for charged pions, protons, and antiprotons near midrapidity (y=0) are reported in sNN=7.7, 11.5, 19.6, 27, 39, 62.4, and 200 GeV Au+Au collisions as recorded by the STAR detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. At intermediate impact parameters, the proton and net-proton slope parameter dv1/dy|y=0 shows a minimum between 11.5 and 19.6 GeV. In addition, the net-proton dv1/dy|y=0 changes sign twice between 7.7 and 39 GeV. The proton and net-proton results qualitatively resemble predictions of a hydrodynamic model with a first-order phase transition from hadronic matter to deconfined matter, and differ from hadronic transport calculations.

Beam energy dependence of moments of the net-charge multiplicity distributions in Au+Au collisions at RHIC

We report the first measurements of the moments--mean (M), variance (σ(2)), skewness (S), and kurtosis (κ)--of the net-charge multiplicity distributions at midrapidity in Au+Au collisions at seven energies, ranging from sqrt[sNN]=7.7 to 200 GeV, as a part of the Beam Energy Scan program at RHIC. The moments are related to the thermodynamic susceptibilities of net charge, and are sensitive to the location of the QCD critical point. We compare the products of the moments, σ(2)/M, Sσ, and κσ(2), with the expectations from Poisson and negative binomial distributions (NBDs). The Sσ values deviate from the Poisson baseline and are close to the NBD baseline, while the κσ(2) values tend to lie between the two. Within the present uncertainties, our data do not show nonmonotonic behavior as a function of collision energy. These measurements provide a valuable tool to extract the freeze-out parameters in heavy-ion collisions by comparing with theoretical models.

Dural closure with nonpenetrating clips prevents meningoneural adhesions: an experimental study in dogs

OBJECTIVE

Meningospinal and cranial dural adhesions were compared in a canine model, after duraplasty using nonpenetrating clips or penetrating needles and sutures.

METHODS

Fourteen dogs underwent bilateral craniotomies and duraplasties, with implantation of dural prostheses (DuraGuard; Biovascular Corp., Minneapolis, MN), using either 6-0 silk sutures or titanium clips (DuraClose; Surgical Dynamics, Norwalk, CT). Fourteen other dogs underwent L3-L4 laminectomies; three longitudinal dural incisions were closed with 6-0 silk sutures, 6-0 polyglactin 910 (Vicryl) sutures, or clips. Groups of eight dogs (four cranially treated and four spinally treated) were killed 6, 12, 24, and 52 weeks after surgery, and specimens were collected for study after perfusion and fixation (two cranial and two spinal dural reconstructions at 52 wk). Evaluations included assessment of the appearance of approximated dural margins and responses to clips, sutures, and dural prostheses (inflammation, foreign body reaction, fibrosis, and severity of meningospinal/meningocerebral adhesions). Data were evaluated using the Wilcoxon signed-rank and McNemar tests.

RESULTS

Duraplasties with clips displayed significantly less extensive acute and chronic inflammation, foreign body reaction, and meningoneural adhesions than did repairs with needles and sutures.

CONCLUSION

This report is the first long-term experimental study comparing two fundamentally different methods for dural repair in a relevant animal model.

18F-Florzolotau PET imaging captures the distribution patterns and regional vulnerability of tau pathology in progressive supranuclear palsy

PURPOSE

Human post mortem studies have described the topographical patterns of tau pathology in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). Recent advances in tau PET tracers are expected to herald the next era of PSP investigation for early detection of tau pathology in living brains. This study aimed to investigate whether ¹⁸F-Florzolotau PET imaging may capture the distribution patterns and regional vulnerability of tau pathology in PSP, and to devise a novel image-based staging system.

METHODS

The study cohort consisted of 148 consecutive patients with PSP who had undergone ¹⁸F-Florzolotau PET imaging. The PSP rating scale (PSPrs) was used to measure disease severity. Similarities and differences of tau deposition among different clinical phenotypes were examined at the regional and voxel levels. An ¹⁸F-Florzolotau pathological staging system was devised according to the scheme originally developed for post mortem data. In light of conditional probabilities for the sequence of events, an ¹⁸F-Florzolotau modified staging system by integrating clusters at the regional level was further developed. The ability of ¹⁸F-Florzolotau staging systems to reflect disease severity in terms of PSPrs score was assessed by analysis of variance.

RESULTS

The distribution patterns of ¹⁸F-Florzolotau accumulation in living brains of PSP showed a remarkable similarity to those reported in post mortem studies, with the binding intensity being markedly higher in Richardson's syndrome. Moreover, ¹⁸F-Florzolotau PET imaging allowed detecting regional vulnerability and tracking tau accumulation in an earlier fashion compared with post mortem immunostaining. The ¹⁸F-Florzolotau staging systems were positively correlated with clinical severity as reflected by PSPrs scores.

CONCLUSIONS

¹⁸F-Florzolotau PET imaging can effectively capture the distribution patterns and regional vulnerability of tau pathology in PSP. The ¹⁸F-Florzolotau modified staging system holds promise for early tracking of tau deposition in living brains.