An audit of percutaneous drainage for acute necrotic collections and walled off necrosis in patients with acute pancreatitis

Background and objectives

Percutaneous catheter drainage (PCD) is used as a first step in the management of symptomatic fluid collections in patients with acute pancreatitis (AP). We aimed to compare the outcome of patients with acute necrotic collection (ANC) and those with walled-off necrosis (WON), who had undergone PCD as a part of management of AP.

Frequent occurrence of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism in type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is associated with lower total testosterone (T) levels in cross-sectional studies. However, it is not known whether the defect is primary or secondary. We investigated the prevalence of hypogonadism in type 2 diabetes by measuring serum total T, free T (FT), SHBG, LH, FSH, and prolactin (PRL) in 103 type 2 diabetes patients. FT was measured by equilibrium dialysis. FT was also calculated by using T and SHBG (cFT). Hypogonadism was defined as low FT or cFT. The mean age was 54.7 +/- 1.1 yr, mean body mass index (BMI) was 33.4 +/- 0.8 kg/m(2), and mean HbA1c was 8.4 +/- 0.2%. The mean T was 12.19 +/- 0.50 nmol/liter (351.7 +/- 14.4 ng/dl), SHBG was 27.89 +/- 1.65 nmol/liter, and FT was 0.250 +/- 0.014 nmol/liter. Thirty-three percent of patients were hypogonadal. LH and FSH levels were significantly lower in the hypogonadal group compared with patients with normal FT levels (3.15 +/- 0.26 vs. 3.91 +/- 0.24 mIU/ml for LH and 4.25 +/- 0.45 vs. 5.53 +/- 0.40 mIU/ml for FSH; P < 0.05). There was a significant inverse correlation of BMI with FT (r = -0.382; P < 0.01) and T (r = -0.327; P < 0.01). SHBG correlated inversely with BMI (r = -0.267; P < 0.05) but positively with age (r = 0.538; P < 0.001) and T (r = 0.574; P < 0.001). FT correlated strongly with cFT (r = 0.919; P < 0.001) but not with SHBG. LH levels correlated positively with FT (r = 0.287; P < 0.05). We conclude that hypogonadotropic hypogonadism occurs commonly in type 2 diabetes.     

BMS-747158-02: a novel PET myocardial perfusion imaging agent.

BACKGROUND: BMS-747158-02 is a fluorine 18-labeled pyridaben derivative designed as a new myocardial perfusion imaging agent for use with positron emission tomography (PET). This study evaluated BMS-747158-02 in animal models of cardiac perfusion and compared it with established single photon emission computed tomography agents. METHODS AND RESULTS: In a rat biodistribution study, BMS-747158-02 (15 microCi) had substantially higher myocardial uptake than technetium 99m sestamibi (100 microCi) at 15 minutes (3.5% +/- 0.3% %ID/g vs 1.9% +/- 0.1% %ID/g) and 120 minutes (3.2% +/- 0.4% of injected dose per gram vs 1.8% +/- 0.0% of injected dose per gram) after intravenous administration. Uptake ratios of heart to lung and liver at 60 minutes were also higher for BMS-747158-02 (12.7 +/- 1.4 and 3.7 +/- 0.2, respectively) than Tc-99m sestamibi (5.9 +/- 0.5 and 2.4 +/- 0.4, respectively). In an isolated rabbit heart model at flow rates of 1.66 to 5.06 mL x min(-1).g(-1) wet left ventricular weight, the net BMS-747158-02 heart uptake increased proportionally (0.93 +/- 0.15 to 2.44 +/- 0.40 mL.min(-1) x g(-1)) and to a greater extent than that of thallium 201 (0.76 +/- 0.02 to 1.11 +/- 0.02 mL x min(-1) x g(-1)) or Tc-99m sestamibi (0.49 +/- 0.03 to 0.77 +/- 0.08 mL x min(-1) x g(-1)). PET imaging with BMS-747158-02 showed a clear and sustained cardiac uptake in rats, rabbits, and nonhuman primates with minimal lung interference and rapid liver clearance. Myocardial perfusion deficit zones created by either permanent left coronary ligation or reperfusion after ligation in rats were both clearly identified on PET cardiac images of BMS-747158-02 and had good agreement with in vitro histology. CONCLUSIONS: BMS-747158-02 exhibited high and sustained cardiac uptake that was proportional to blood flow, and it represents a new class of PET myocardial perfusion imaging agent.     

Incense stick ash as a novel and sustainable adsorbent for sequestration of Victoria Blue from aqueous phase

The present investigation assessed the applicability of incense stick ash, a novel and sustainable adsorbent for remediation of Victoria Blue dye from wastewater. Incense stick ash, without any physical and chemical treatment has been applied to investigate the influence of various experimental parameters as pH, loading of adsorbent, concentration, shaking time, temperature and ionic strength on Victoria Blue remediation in a batch operation. Incense stick ash was characterized using BET, DLS, SEM-EDS, FTIR and XRD techniques. BET surface area, pore volume and pore diameter of incense stick ash are obtained as 2.245 m² g^?1, 0.0118 cm³ g^?1 and 21.02 nm, respectively. Average particle size of the adsorbent is obtained as 293.2 nm. Goodness of the fit of isotherm and kinetic model to the reported data was identified based on chi squared and coefficient of determination values. Isotherm and kinetic behavior was best represented by Freundlich and pseudo 2nd order equation, respectively. Boyd model confirmed involvement of film diffusion mechanism along with intra-particle for adsorption of Victoria Blue on incense stick ash. Maximum dye uptake was reported as 105.57 mg g^?1. Thermodynamic study revealed spontaneous and favorable adsorption of Victoria Blue on incense stick ash at higher temperature. The performed elution and subsequent regeneration study implied desorption capability of incense stick ash and its applicability as a fresh adsorbent for further cycle of adsorption. The overall study implied scavenging potential of incense stick ash, a novel and sustainable adsorbent available at zero cost towards Victoria Blue removal.     

Identification of Resting and Active State EEG Features of Alzheimer’s Disease using Discrete Wavelet Transform

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is associated with deficits in a number of cognitive processes and executive functions. Moreover, abnormalities in the electroencephalogram (EEG) power spectrum develop with the progression of AD. These features have been traditionally characterized with montage recordings and conventional spectral analysis during resting eyes-closed and resting eyes-open (EO) conditions. In this study, we introduce a single lead dry electrode EEG device which was employed on AD and control subjects during resting and activated battery of cognitive and sensory tasks such as Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) and auditory stimulations. EEG signals were recorded over the left prefrontal cortex (Fp1) from each subject. EEG signals were decomposed into sub-bands approximately corresponding to the major brain frequency bands using several different discrete wavelet transforms and developed statistical features for each band. Decision tree algorithms along with univariate and multivariate statistical analysis were used to identify the most predictive features across resting and active states, separately and collectively. During resting state recordings, we found that the AD patients exhibited elevated D₄ (~4–8 Hz) mean power in EO state as their most distinctive feature. During the active states, however, the majority of AD patients exhibited larger minimum D₃ (~8–12 Hz) values during auditory stimulation (18 Hz) combined with increased kurtosis of D₅ (~2–4 Hz) during PASAT with 2 s interval. When analyzed using EEG recording data across all tasks, the most predictive AD patient features were a combination of the first two feature sets. However, the dominant discriminating feature for the majority of AD patients were still the same features as the active state analysis. The results from this small sample size pilot study indicate that although EEG recordings during resting conditions are able to differentiate AD from control subjects, EEG activity recorded during active engagement in cognitive and auditory tasks provide important distinct features, some of which may be among the most predictive discriminating features.     

The Alarm Response in Zebrafish: Innate Fear in a Vertebrate Genetic Model

The alarm response is an antipredator behavior displayed by many fish species and was first described 70 years ago. It is triggered through the olfactory system by substances released from injured skin and is characterized by dramatic, measurable changes in locomotion as well as physiology. We propose that this is an ideal time to revisit this response and to utilize it as an assay for understanding how neural circuits mediate innate fear. A suitable organism for these studies is the zebrafish, a genetic model with a rapidly expanding toolkit for molecular manipulation of the nervous system. Individual neurons mediating the response, ranging from receptor neurons to those in higher brain centers, should first be identified. New tools, specifically transgenic lines that allow spatial and temporal control of neural activity, provide a way to define and test the role of specific neurons, while genetic screens provide a route to identifying individual molecules essential for a normal response. Optical recording, which has proven successful in studies of information processing in the bulb, will provide valuable insights into neural circuitry function during the alarm response. When carried out on mutants, physiological analysis can provide insight into aspects of signal processing that are essential for normal behavior. The alarm response thus provides a paradigm to examine innate fear in a vertebrate system, enabling analysis at multiple levels from genes to the entire neural circuit. Additionally, the context dependency of the response can be utilized to investigate attention and decision making.     

E6-AP association promotes SOD1 aggresomes degradation and suppresses toxicity

Protein aggregation and ordered fibrillar amyloid deposition inside and outside of the central nervous system cells is the common pathologic hallmark of most aging-related neurodegenerative disorders. Dominant mutations in the gene encoding superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) protein are linked to familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive degeneration of motor neurons, leading to muscle paralysis and death. The major histochemical hallmark in the remaining motor neurons of ALS is the intracellular accumulation of ubiquitinated inclusions consisting of insoluble aberrant protein aggregates. However, the molecular pathomechanisms underlying the process have been elusive. Here for the first time, we report that E6-AP, a homologous to E6-AP C terminus-type E3 ubiquitin ligase depleted in ALS mouse models before neurodegeneration. E6-AP coimmunoprecipitates with the SOD1 protein and is predominantly mislocalized in mutant SOD1-containing inclusion bodies. Overexpression of E6-AP increases the ubiquitination and facilitates degradation of SOD1 proteins. Finally, we show that the overexpression of E6-AP suppresses the aggregation and cell death mediated by mutated SOD1 proteins and cellular protective effect is more prominent when E6-AP is overexpressed along with Hsp70. These data suggest that enhancing the activity of E6-AP ubiquitin ligase might be a viable therapeutic strategy to eliminate mutant SOD1-mediated toxicity in ALS.