Sex and Age-Related Differences in Neuroinflammation and Apoptosis in Balb/c Mice Retina Involve Resolvin D1

(1) Background: The pro-resolving lipid mediator Resolvin D1 (RvD1) has already shown protective effects in animal models of diabetic retinopathy. This study aimed to investigate the retinal levels of RvD1 in aged (24 months) and younger (3 months) Balb/c mice, along with the activation of macro- and microglia, apoptosis, and neuroinflammation. (2) Methods: Retinas from male and female mice were used for immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, transmission electron microscopy, Western blotting, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. (3) Results: Endogenous retinal levels of RvD1 were reduced in aged mice. While RvD1 levels were similar in younger males and females, they were markedly decreased in aged males but less reduced in aged females. Both aged males and females showed a significant increase in retinal microglia activation compared to younger mice, with a more marked reactivity in aged males than in aged females. The same trend was shown by astrocyte activation, neuroinflammation, apoptosis, and nitrosative stress, in line with the microglia and Müller cell hypertrophy evidenced in aged retinas by electron microscopy. (4) Conclusions: Aged mice had sex-related differences in neuroinflammation and apoptosis and low retinal levels of endogenous RvD1.     

Safety and utility of atropine addition during dobutamine stress echocardiography for the assessment of viable myocardium in patients with severe left ventricular dysfunction

OBJECTIVE: To assess the feasibility safety and side effects of the addition of atropine to dobutamine stress echocardiography for the detection of viable myocardium in patients with left ventricular dysfunction (ejection fraction < or = 35%) prior to coronary revascularization. BACKGROUND: The assessment of viable and/or ischaemic myocardium has high prognostic value as regards improvement of function and survival after coronary revascularization. The addition of atropine to dobutamine during echocardiographic testing for the presence of viable myocardium is not common practice. Consequently, no data exist on the safety and additional diagnostic value of this practice. METHODS: Two hundred patients with left ventricular ejection fraction < or = 35% were studied. RESULTS: Test end-points were: target heart rate in 164 (82%) of the patients, severe angina in 18 (9%), maximum dobutamine-atropine dose in six (3%), severe ST segment changes in five (2%), cardiac arrhythmias in four (2%), and hypotension in three (1%). Viability could be assessed echocardiogaphically in 105/200 (53%) from a biphasic response (improvement of wall motion with low dose dobutamine and worsening with high dose), in 93 from ischaemia and in 12 from sustained or late improvements. In 36/105 (34%) patients, ischaemic myocardium could only be assessed after the addition of atropine. Cardiac arrhythmias occurred in 11/200 (6%) and hypotension (decrease of systolic blood pressure >30 mmHg) in 21/200 (11%). Neither the use of atropine nor the induction of ischaemia were associated with an increased incidence of cardiac arrhythmias or hypotension. CONCLUSIONS: In a large group of patients with severe left ventricular dysfunction, dobutamine stress echocardiography is feasible and safe in 186/200 (93%); the addition of atropine was necessary in 34% to assess myocardial viability. Hypotension and cardiac arrhythmias were the most frequent side effects, but were not related to the induction of ischaemia or addition of atropine.     

Biphasic response to dobutamine predicts improvement of global left ventricular function after surgical revascularization in patients with stable coronary artery disease: implications of time course of recovery on diagnostic accuracy

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to evaluate the time course of improvement of left ventricular (LV) dysfunction in stable patients and its implications on the accuracy of dobutamine echocardiography for predicting improvement after surgical revascularization. BACKGROUND: Little is known about the optimal timing for evaluation of postrevascularization recovery of the contractile function of viable myocardium. METHODS: Sixty-one patients with chronic ischemic LV dysfunction scheduled for elective surgical revascularization were prospectively selected. They underwent dobutamine echocardiography (5 to 40 microg/kg body weight per min) and radionuclide ventriculography both preoperatively and at 3-month follow-up. At 14 months, another evaluation of LV function was obtained. To analyze echocardiograms, a 16-segment model and a five-point scoring system were used. Dyssynergic segments were considered likely to recover in the presence of a biphasic contractile response to dobutamine. Improvement of global function was defined as a > or =5% increase in LV ejection fraction (LVEF). RESULTS: Of the 61 patients, LVEF improved in 12 at 3 months and in 19 at late follow-up (from 32+/-8% to 42+/-9%, p < 0.0001). The frequency and time course of improvement of LVEF were similar in patients with mild and severe LV dysfunction. A biphasic response, identified in 186 of the 537 dyssynergic segments, was predictive of recovery in 63% at 3 months and in 75% at late follow-up. The positive predictive value was best in the most severe dyssynergic segments (90% vs. 67%). Other responses were highly predictive for nonrecovery (92%). The sensitivity and specificity for improvement of global function on a patient basis (> or =4 biphasic segments) were 89% and 81%, respectively, at late follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Serial postoperative follow-up studies demonstrate incomplete recovery of contractile function at 3 months. The diagnostic accuracy of dobutamine echocardiography for predicting recovery is dependent on three factors: the combining of low and high dobutamine dosages, the severity of regional dyssynergy and the timing of evaluation.     

Bipolar magnetic microsensor for longitudinal fields

In this paper, we introduce a novel bipolar magnetic sensor for a field parallel to surface. It is designed in standard integrated bipolar technology and it consists of a pair of identical vertical n-p-n transistors anti-symmetrically oriented, whose bases are made up of two diffusions with different depths. Each transistor practically is made up of two structures connected in parallel. The only difference between them consists in different thickness and impurity concentration within the base.

High sensitivity, low offset, and high linearity over large ranges of the magnetic field induction are obtained.     

Analysis of the errors produced by the 2004 BBN speech recognition system in the DARPA EARS evaluations

This paper aims to quantify the main error types the 2004 BBN speech recognition system made in the broadcast news (BN) and conversational telephone speech (CTS) DARPA EARS evaluations. We show that many of the remaining errors occur in clusters rather than isolated, have specific causes, and differ to some extent between the BN and CTS domains. The correctly recognized words are also clustered and are highly correlated with regions where the system produces a single hypothesized choice per word. A statistical analysis of some well-known error causes (out-of-vocabulary words, word fragments, hesitations, and unlikely language constructs) was performed in order to assess their contribution to the overall word error rate (WER). We conclude with a discussion of the lower bound on the WER introduced by the human annotator disagreement.     

Stable transformation of the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, with the Hermes element from the housefly

The mosquito Aedes aegypti is the world's most important vector of yellow fever and dengue viruses. Work is currently in progress to control the transmission of these viruses by genetically altering the capacity of wild Ae. aegypti populations to support virus replication. The germ-line transformation system reported here constitutes a major advance toward the implementation of this control strategy. A modified Hermes transposon carrying a 4.7-kb fragment of genomic DNA that includes a wild-type allele of the Drosophila melanogaster cinnabar (cn) gene was used to transform a white-eyed recipient strain of Ae. aegypti. Microinjection of preblastoderm mosquito embryos with this construct resulted in 50% of the emergent G0 adults showing some color in their eyes. Three transformed families were recovered, each resulting from an independent insertion event of the cn+-carrying transposon. The cn+ gene functioned as a semidominant transgene and segregated in Mendelian ratios. Hermes shows great promise as a vector for efficient, heritable, and stable transformation of this important mosquito vector species.     

Chitosan‐sodium lauryl ether sulfate particles and their use for adsorption of Cu(II) ions

The synthesis of small particles through the interaction between chitosan (CS) and sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES) was studied. Depending on working condition, microparticles at atmospheric pressure and ultrafine particles at high pressure have been obtained. At atmospheric pressure, the microparticles were formed instantaneously when the CS solution was dripped into the SLES aqueous solution. To obtain ultrafine particles, the surfactant solution in contact with high pressure carbon dioxide was sprayed into chitosan solution. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy proves the interaction between the sulfate groups of SLES and the amino groups of CS. The Scanning Electron Microscopy reveals that the microparticles are quasi‐spherical, but some of them can take the form of pellets depending on preparation conditions. The obtained microparticles were successfully used to uptake Cu(II) ions from aqueous solutions. The adsorption of Cu(II) depends on pH being maximum at pH = 5.5. The kinetic experiments demonstrated that Cu(II) adsorption onto CS/SLES microparticles obeys the Langmuir model. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40059.     

Assessment of patients after coronary artery bypass grafting by dobutamine stress echocardiography

Dobutamine stress echocardiography is an accurate method for the diagnosis and localization of vascular compromise in patients evaluated after coronary artery bypass graft surgery. The test provides useful data for selection of patients for whom coronary angiography may be indicated.     

Photocatalytic degradation of methylorange Using TiO2, WO3 and mixed thin films under controlled pH and H2O2

Wastewaters resulting from textile industry sector have a different chemistry compared with most of the other wastewaters. The different dyes in excess are usually very stable and even small quantities can have a major impact to the effluent. In order to treat these wastewaters, photodegradation is a largely investigated process that can be up-scaled. Photocatalysts based on wide band gap semiconductors can be used in heterogeneous photocatalysis and mostly reported are TiO2 and WO3. Under UV irradiation they form electron-hole pairs that produce active species that can oxidize the dye molecules. The electron-hole recombination represents the main cause for low efficiencies and is limited by the use of oxidant systems like H2O2. Doctor blade technique, a reproducible, up-scalable and low cost technique was used to obtain thin films. The reference dye, used in this experiment is methylorange in solution of 0.0125 mM, corresponding to average polluted water. In order to reduce the recombination in the catalysts, H2O2 is used. Another important aspect of the dye photocatalysis process, investigated in the paper is the adsorption of the dye molecule on the photocatalyst surface, strongly depending on pH which affects the dye's structure and the surface charge. Experiments are conducted at fixed pH values: 3, and respectively 7 covering values below and over the ZPC of the photocatalysts. The results show that TiO2/WO3 films have higher efficiency then the TiO2 and WO3 films, mainly due to the surface morphology of the films. By adding H2O2, higher efficiencies are obtained, confirming that the electron-hole pair recombination is reduced. From the point of view of pH, higher efficiencies are obtained in acidic solutions and the results are comparatively discussed considering the dye's ionic/neutral structure and the photocatalyst surface charge. The efficiency was calculated using UV-VIS spectrophotometer measurements of the solution and the thin films were characterized by AFM and XRD.