First heart sound and opening snap in patients with mitral valve disease. Phonocardiographic and pathomorphologic study

Patients with exercise angina >2 months (n:13) showed significantly lower SigmaST elevation during 120 s balloon coronary occlusion than those with =<2 months (n:7), or those with angina at rest <=2 days (n:8) but similar to patients with angina at rest >2 days (n:7). These results underscore the importance of the kind and duration of angina in limiting the extent of ischemia during coronary occlusion.     

Accuracy of chitotriosidase activity and CCL18 concentration in assessing type I Gaucher disease severity. A systematic review with meta-analysis of individual participant data

Chitotriosidase activity and CCL18 concentration are interchangeably used for monitoring Gaucher disease (GD) activity, together with clinical assessment. However, comparative studies of these two biomarkers are scarce and of limited sample size. The aim of this systematic review with meta-analysis of individual participant data (IPD) was to compare the accuracy of chitotriosidase activity and CCL18 concentration for assessing type I GD severity. We identified cross-sectional and prospective cohort studies by searching Medline, EMBASE, and CENTRAL from January 1995 to June 2017, and by contacting research groups. The primary outcome was a composite of liver volume >1.25 multiple of normal (MN), spleen volume >5 MN, hemoglobin concentration <11 g/dL, and platelet count <100x109/L. Overall, IPD included 1,109 observations from 334 patients enrolled in nine primary studies, after excluding 111 patients with undocumented values and 18 patients with deficient chitotriosidase activity. IPD were unavailable for 14 eligible primary studies. The primary outcome was associated with a 5.3-fold (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 4.2-6.6) and 3.0-fold (95% CI: 2.6-3.6) increase of the geometric mean for chitotriosidase activity and CCL18 concentration, respectively. The corresponding areas under the receiver operating characteristics curves were 0.82 and 0.84 (summary difference, 0.02, 95% CI: -0.02 to 0.05). The addition of chitotriosidase activity did not improve the accuracy of the CCL18 concentration. Estimates remained robust in the sensitivity analysis and consistent across subgroups. Neither the chitotriosidase activity nor the CCL18 concentration varied significantly according to a recent history of bone events among 97 patients. In conclusion, the CCL18 concentration is as accurate as chitotriosidase activity in assessing hematological and visceral parameters of GD severity and can be measured in all GD patients. This meta-analysis supports the use of CCL18 rather than chitotriosidase activity for monito-ring GD activity in routine practice.     

Fatty acid profiles in Leishmania spp. isolates with natural resistance to nitric oxide and trivalent antimony

Fatty acids, especially those from phospholipids (PLFA), are essential membrane components that are present in relatively constant proportions in biological membranes under natural conditions. However, under harmful growth conditions, such as diseases, environmental changes, and chemical exposure, the fatty acid proportions might vary. If such changes could be identified and revealed to be specific for adverse situations, they could be used as biomarkers. Such biomarkers could facilitate the identification of virulence and resistance mechanisms to particular chemotherapeutic agents. Therefore, specific biomarkers could lead to better therapeutic decisions that would, in turn, enhance treatment effectiveness. The objective of this study was to compare the fatty acid profiles of trivalent antimony and nitric oxide (NO)-resistant and -sensitive Leishmania chagasi and Leishmania amazonensis isolates. Fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) were obtained from total lipids (MIDI), ester-linked lipids (ELFA), and ester-linked phospholipids (PLFA). FAMEs were analyzed by chromatography and mass spectrometry. Species- or resistance-associated differences in FAME profiles were assessed by nonmetric multidimensional scaling, multiresponse permutation procedures, and indicator species analyses. The isolate groups had different MIDI-FAME profiles. However, neither the ELFA nor PLFA profiles differed between the sensitive and resistant isolates. Levels of the fatty acid 18:1 Δ9c were increased in sensitive isolates (p?<?0,001), whereas the fatty acid 20:4 Δ5,8,11,14 showed the opposite trend (p?<?0.01). We conclude that these two fatty acids are potential biomarkers for NO and antimony resistance in L. chagasi and L. amazonensis and that they could be helpful in therapeutic diagnoses.     

ST segment elevation typical for Brugada syndrome after intracoronary acetylocholine injection with retrosternal pain in history

Chest pain is mainly linked with acute coronary syndrome, but sometimes it can be the only manifestation of ventricular tachycardia. We present a case of a young man who was diagnosed with Brugada syndrome after intracoronary acetylocholine injection, with negative test with flecanaide. First manifestation of a disease was a chest pain.     

Human superoxide dismutase 1 (hSOD1) maturation through interaction with human copper chaperone for SOD1 (hCCS)

Copper chaperone for superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), CCS, is the physiological partner for the complex mechanism of SOD1 maturation. We report an in vitro model for human CCS-dependent SOD1 maturation based on the study of the interactions of human SOD1 (hSOD1) with full-length WT human CCS (hCCS), as well as with hCCS mutants and various truncated constructs comprising one or two of the protein's three domains. The synergy between electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and NMR is fully exploited. This is an in vitro study of this process at the molecular level. Domain 1 of hCCS is necessary to load hSOD1 with Cu(I), requiring the heterodimeric complex formation with hSOD1 fostered by the interaction with domain 2. Domain 3 is responsible for the catalytic formation of the hSOD1 Cys-57-Cys-146 disulfide bond, which involves both hCCS Cys-244 and Cys-246 via disulfide transfer.     

Religion as a means to assure paternity

The sacred texts of five world religions (Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism) use similar belief systems to set limits on sexual behavior. We propose that this similarity is a shared cultural solution to a biological problem: namely male uncertainty over the paternity of offspring. Furthermore, we propose the hypothesis that religious practices that more strongly regulate female sexuality should be more successful at promoting paternity certainty. Using genetic data on 1,706 father-son pairs, we tested this hypothesis in a traditional African population in which multiple religions (Islam, Christianity, and indigenous) coexist in the same families and villages. We show that the indigenous religion enables males to achieve a significantly (P = 0.019) lower probability of cuckoldry (1.3% versus 2.9%) by enforcing the honest signaling of menstruation, but that all three religions share tenets aimed at the avoidance of extrapair copulation. Our findings provide evidence for high paternity certainty in a traditional African population, and they shed light on the reproductive agendas that underlie religious patriarchy.