Metabolomics in postmortem cerebrospinal fluid diagnostics: a state-of-the-art method to interpret central nervous system–related pathological processes

International Journal of Legal Medicine - In the last few years, quantitative analysis of metabolites in body fluids using LC/MS has become an established method in laboratory medicine and...     

Effect of bone quality and quantity on the primary stability of dental implants in a simulated bicortical placement

Clinical Oral Investigations - Conventional dental implants inserted in the molar region of the maxilla will reach into the sinus maxillaris when alveolar ridge height is limited. When surgery is...     

Anxiety as Predictor of the Cortisol Awakening Response in Patients with Coronary Heart Disease

Background

Anxiety is associated with worse outcomes in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). A dysregulation of the HPA axis is a potential mechanism linking psychological factors and coronary disease. No study has yet investigated the relationship between anxiety and cortisol among patients with established CHD.

Purpose

The aim of this study was to assess the association between anxiety and the cortisol awakening response in patients with CHD.

Method

Four salivary cortisol samples were used to assess two measures of the cortisol awakening response (CAR) in 47 patients with established CHD. Anxiety was measured using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).

Results

Higher anxiety values were associated with a higher total output of cortisol in the first hour after awakening (AUCg, area under the curve with respect to ground) (p?=?0.04) and a nonsignificant trend towards a more pronounced increase (AUCi, area under the curve with respect to increase) (p?=?0.08). In patients who had a history of myocardial infarction (MI), the cortisol output was lower compared to patients who had no previous MI (p?=?0.02). In linear regression analyses, anxiety emerged as significant predictor of AUCg and AUCi after controlling for MI, ejection fraction (LVEF, left ventricular ejection fraction), and depression.

Conclusions

Our results provide further indications for an association between anxiety and a dysregulation of the HPA axis. History of MI emerged as second predictor of cortisol output in the morning.     

Correction: Tantalum(v) 1,3-propanediolate β-diketonate solution as a precursor to sol–gel derived,metal oxide thin films

Correction for ‘Tantalum(v) 1,3-propanediolate β-diketonate solution as a precursor to sol–gel derived, metal oxide thin films’ by Christopher Beale et al., RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 13737–13748, DOI: 10.1039/D0RA02558E.

The authors regret that the plasma treatment and printing parameters were reported incorrectly in the subsection “Deposition on a-SiO₂ for UV/Vis spectrophotometry” in the Experimental section of the original article.Before printing, the substrate for both samples was subjected to an argon plasma treatment for 5 minutes (150 W, 0.6 mbar). The plasma power is now corrected to be the same as stated in the “Deposition on a-SiO₂ for Raman/XRD” subsection, where originally it was incorrectly stated that “the power was set slightly higher” for the Raman/XRD samples. For both the acetylacetone and benzoylacetone inks, the inks were printed on their respective substrates with a 75 μm drop pitch having dimensions of 400 × 220 drops to create a uniform layer.The correct section is as follows:     

Comparing the effect of positioning on cerebral autoregulation during radical prostatectomy: a prospective observational study

Journal of Clinical Monitoring and Computing - Surgery in the prolonged extreme Trendelenburg position may lead to elevated intracranial pressure and compromise cerebral hemodynamic regulation. We...     

In Vivo Imaging of Local Inflammation: Monitoring LPS-Induced CD80/CD86 Upregulation by PET

Purpose

The co-stimulatory molecules CD80 and CD86 are upregulated on activated antigen-presenting cells (APC). We investigated whether local APC activation, induced by subcutaneous (s.c.) inoculation of lipopolysaccharides (LPS), can be imaged by positron emission tomography (PET) with CD80/CD86-targeting ⁶⁴Cu-labelled abatacept.

Procedures

Mice were inoculated s.c. with extracellular-matrix gel containing either LPS or vehicle (PBS). Immune cell populations were analysed by flow cytometry and marker expression by RT-qPCR. ⁶⁴Cu-NODAGA-abatacept distribution was analysed using PET/CT and ex vivo biodistribution.

Results

The number of CD80⁺ and CD86⁺ immune cells at the LPS inoculation site significantly increased a few days after inoculation. CD68 and CD86 expression were higher at the LPS than the PBS inoculation site, and CD80 was only increased at the LPS inoculation site. CTLA-4 was highest 10 days after LPS inoculation, when CD80/CD86 decreased again. A few days after inoculation, ⁶⁴Cu-NODAGA-abatacept distribution to the inoculation site was significantly higher for LPS than PBS (4.2-fold). Co-administration of unlabelled abatacept or human immunoglobulin reduced tracer uptake. The latter reduced the number of CD86⁺ immune cells at the LPS inoculation site.

Conclusions

CD80 and CD86 are upregulated in an LPS-induced local inflammation, indicating invasion of activated APCs. ⁶⁴Cu-NODAGA-abatacept PET allowed following APC activation over time.