BACKGROUND Atrial septal pacing (ASP) has been shown to shorten P-wave duration (PWD) and reduce recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with bradyarrhythmias. However, variability of interatrial connections and atrial conduction properties may explain ASP's modest clinical benefit. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of ASP site on the duration of the paced P wave. METH...

A roundtable dialogue to discuss "NHANES Monitoring of Biomarkers of Folate and Vitamin B-12 Status" took place in July 2010. This article provides an overview of the meeting and this supplement issue. Although the focus of the roundtable dialogue was on the measurement of folate and vitamin B-12 status biomarkers in NHANES, this article also describes the relevance and importance of these issu...

Tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS)-based relative quantification by isobaric labeling is a useful technique to compare different metabolic expression levels in biological systems. For the first time, we have labeled primary and secondary amine-containing small molecules using 4-plex isobaric N,N-dimethyl leucine (DiLeu) to perform relative quantification. Good labeling efficiency and quantificati...

Metabolic syndrome (MS) related to adult type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease is prevalent among obese children/adolescents. Genetic variants of the leptin-melanocortin system have been associated with components of MS. The aim of our study is to estimate the prevalence of MS (according to Cook's criteria) in a Chilean cross-sectional sample of 259 obese children (47.1% girls, ag...

Antibody-independent B cell functions play an important role in multiple sclerosis (MS) pathogenesis. In this study, B cell antigen presentation and costimulation in MS were studied. Peripheral blood B cells of MS patients showed increased expression of costimulatory CD86 and CD80 molecules compared with healthy controls (HC). In MS cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), 12-fold and 2-fold increases in CD8...

Mass spectrometry (MS) is an important tool for studying non-ribosomal peptide, polyketide, and fatty acid biosynthesis. Here we describe a new approach using multi-stage tandem MS on a common ion trap instrument to obtain high-resolution measurements of the masses of substrates and intermediates bound to phosphopantetheinylated (holo) carrier proteins. In particular, we report the chemical for...

OBJECTIVE To assess the efficacy and safety of morphine sulfate and naltrexone hydrochloride extended release capsules (EMBEDA; MS-sNT), which contain morphine sulfate pellets with a sequestered naltrexone core, in treating patients with chronic, moderate-to-severe osteoarthritis (hip or knee) pain. PATIENTS AND METHODS This phase 3 study had an enriched-enrollment, randomized-withdrawal, dou...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE The long term effects of fingolimod, an oral treatment for relapsing-remitting (RR) multiple sclerosis (MS), on blood circulating B and T cell subtypes in MS patients are not completely understood. This study describes for the first time the longitudinal effects of fingolimod treatment on B and T cell subtypes. Furthermore, expression of surface molecules involved in an...

BACKGROUND The musculoskeletal disorders in working population represent one of the most worrying work-related health issues at the present time and although the very great majority of available data on the subject focus on musculoskeletal disorders defined by anatomical site, a growing number of studies indicate the low prevalence of disorders strictly confined to a specific anatomical site. T...

BACKGROUND Diabetes is a well-known cause of sudden mortality. Due to autonomic imbalance, those patients who are suffering from ischemic heart disease and diabetes concurrently are at a greater risk of manifesting arrhythmias. Heart rate variability (HRV) can be utilised for assessment of autonomic nervous system. The purpose of this study was to identify the values of HRV in diabetic and non-...