BACKGROUND Depressed hemodynamics stimulates arginine vasopressin (AVP) release, but the relationship between plasma AVP levels (P-AVP) and cardiac parameters, especially in patients with stage D heart failure (HF) receiving guideline-directed medical therapy, has not examined. METHODS AND RESULTS: Data including P-AVP were obtained from 162 in-hospital patients with stage D HF and from 80 pati...

AIM To investigate adiponectin levels and cardiovascular (CV) outcomes in patients with diabetes and recent acute coronary syndrome (ACS). MATERIALS AND METHODS We analysed baseline adiponectin concentration and CV outcomes in 5213 patients with type 2 diabetes enrolled in the EXAMINE trial of alogliptin vs placebo 15 to 90 days (median 45 days) after ACS. Event rates at 18 months are reporte...

A novel fiber-optic probe based on reflection-based localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) was developed to quantify the concentration of hydrofluoric acid (HF) in aqueous solutions. The LSPR sensor was constructed with a gold nanoparticle-modified PMMA fiber, integrated with a SiO(2) sol-gel coating. This fiber-sensor was utilized to assess the relationship between HF concentration and SiO...

BACKGROUND Rapid increases in desflurane concentration can transiently increase the heart rate (HR). Esmolol possesses a high β1-adrenoceptor selectivity and a short duration of action. This preliminary study aimed at investigating the effects of esmolol on the HR and autonomic modulation during a desflurane-induced HR increase. METHODS American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I ...

Detergents are customarily used to solubilize cell membranes and keep membrane proteins soluble in aqueous buffers, but they often lead to irreversible protein inactivation. Hemifluorinated amphiphiles with hybrid hydrophobic chains have been specifically designed to minimize the denaturating propensity of surfactants toward membrane proteins. We have studied the physical-chemical and biochemic...

Nonalcoholic fatty liver is involved in the development of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and chronic liver injury. Impairment of hepatic transsulfuration reactions is suggested to be critically linked with alcoholic liver injury, but its role in nonalcoholic fatty liver remains unknown. We examined the early changes in sulfur-amino acid metabolism and their implication in nonalcoholic fatty live...

BACKGROUND Heart failure (HF) is an important cause of morbidity in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). C-reactive protein (CRP) has been implicated in experimental models as exacerbating myocardial injury, but data regarding the clinical relationship of high-sensitivity CRP (hsCRP) and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) concentrations with the risk of HF after ACS are few. METHODS PR...

INTRODUCTION Increased expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6) has been described in left ventricular dysfunction in the course of chronic heart failure. Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is a unique treatment method that may reverse the course of chronic heart failure (CHF) with reduced ejection fraction (HF-REF). We aimed to evaluate the IL-6 system, including soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R) ...

Radiogenic isotopes of hafnium (Hf) and neodymium (Nd) are powerful tracers for water mass transport and trace metal cycling in the present and past oceans. However, due to the scarcity of available data the processes governing their distribution are not well understood. Here we present the first combined dissolved Hf and Nd isotope and concentration data from surface waters of the Atlantic sec...