Management of the lower lid in male blepharoplasty

Rejuvenation of the lower eyelid blepharoplasty in men requires consideration of different esthetic norms than those considered in women. Although both require a thorough understanding of anatomy, and the process of aging in each includes descent of the globe, pseudoherniation of the orbital fat, and skeletonization of the inferior bony rim, the goals for male blepharoplasty differ. The authors review the primary surgical approaches in lower lid blepharoplasty (transconjunctival skin-muscle flap) and the currently described techniques used to address displaced orbital fat, with special consideration of the male patient.     

Response monitoring and cognitive control in childhood obesity

The ability to discern when actions deviate from goals and adjust behavior accordingly is crucial for efforts at self-regulation, including managing one's weight. We examined whether children with obesity differed from controls in response monitoring, an aspect of cognitive control that involves registering one's errors. Participants performed a cognitive interference task, responding to the colors of arrows while ignoring their orientations, and error-related neural activity was indexed via response-locked event-related potentials (ERPs). Compared to controls, participants with obesity exhibited significantly blunted “error-related negativity”, an ERP component linked to response monitoring. Participants with obesity also exhibited a marginally blunted “error-related positivity”, an ERP component linked to late-stage error processing, as well as in behavioral indices of cognitive control. These results suggest that childhood obesity may be associated with reduced response monitoring and that this aspect of cognitive control may play an important role in health-related self-regulatory behavior.     

Stressful Life Events and Perimenstrual Symptoms

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the effects of stressful life events on perimenstrual symptoms were due to operational confounding of the instruments used to measure the independent and dependent variables. Women aged 18 to 35 (n = 179) completed the Schedule of Recent Events (SRE) and the Moos Menstrual Distress Questionnaire during a home interview. When variance in PMS scores attributable to age, parity, education, and contraceptive method was controlled using hierarchical multiple regression, total SRE scores were correlated with premenstrual and menstrual negative affect, menstrual water retention, and menstrual performance impairment. When health-related components of the SRE score were controlled in a similar manner, however, the residual SRE scores explain a diminished amount of the variance in premenstrual and menstrual negative affect and menstrual performance impairment. Future investigations are needed to clarify whether the effects of health-related life events on perimenstrual symptoms are simply a matter of operational confounding of measures of the independent and dependent variables, or whether women who recently have experienced personal illness or injury are at greater risk of developing perimenstrual symptoms.     

,China)[Objective] To understand the spe

ricles were scraped off by a bistoury at first and then pre-served in 70% of ethanol.Hoyer's medium was used to mount the chigger mites onto glass slides and the specimens of the chigger mites on the slides were finally identified into species under a microscope.Dispersion coefficient,clumping index,cassie index and patchiness index were used to analyze the spatial patterns of Chigger Mites.[Results] The captured 302 small mammals were identified as 16 species and 13 genera in 7 families.4 550 individuals of Chigger Mites were collected from the two auricles of 302 small mammal hosts and then they were identified as 63 species and 12 genera in     

Targeting GRK2 by gene therapy for heart failure: benefits above β-blockade

Heart failure (HF) is a common pathological end point for several cardiac diseases. Despite reasonable achievements in pharmacological, electrophysiological and surgical treatments, prognosis for chronic HF remains poor. Modern therapies are generally symptom oriented and do not currently address specific intracellular molecular signaling abnormalities. Therefore, new and innovative therapeutic approaches are warranted and, ideally, these could at least complement established therapeutic options if not replace them. Gene therapy has potential to serve in this regard in HF as vectors can be directed toward diseased myocytes and directly target intracellular signaling abnormalities. Within this review, we will dissect the adrenergic system contributing to HF development and progression with special emphasis on G-protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2). The levels and activity of GRK2 are increased in HF and we and others have demonstrated that this kinase is a major molecular culprit in HF. We will cover the evidence supporting gene therapy directed against myocardial as well as adrenal GRK2 to improve the function and structure of the failing heart and how these strategies may offer complementary and synergistic effects with the existing HF mainstay therapy of β-adrenergic receptor antagonism.     

Activation of Ca2+ -activated potassium channels is involved in lysophosphatidylcholine-induced monocyte adhesion to endothelial cells

OBJECTIVE: Ca(2+)-activated K(+)-channels (BK(Ca)) play an important role in lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC)-induced endothelial dysfunction. Aim of our study was to investigate whether LPC-induced activation of BK(Ca) is also involved in monocyte adhesion to endothelial cells (EC). METHODS AND RESULTS: Measurement of membrane potential (MP) was performed using the fluorescence dye DiBAC. Adhesion of the monocytotic cell line U937 to EC was analysed by (3)[H]-thymidine-adhesion-assay. Expression of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 were analyzed by FACS. LPC induced a hyperpolarization of EC in a dose-dependent manner with the maximum seen with 2 microM. This was prevented by the BK(Ca)-inhibitor iberiotoxin (IBX, 100nM). Adhesion of U937 cells to EC was increased after stimulation of EC with LPC. This effect was time-dependent with the maximum seen after 4h. LPC-induced adhesion was significantly reduced when EC were co-incubated with IBX, or NAD(P)H oxidase inhibitor diphenyleneiodonium (DPI, 5 microM) and also blocked by addition of 2-aminoethoxydiphenylborate (2-APB, 100 microM) or the calcium-chelator BAPTA (10 microM). Stimulation of U937 cells with LPC did not result in an increased adhesion to unstimulated EC. CONCLUSION: Activation of the endothelial BK(Ca) plays an important role in monocyte adhesion to endothelial cells.     

Comparison of the acute response to meals enriched with cis- or trans-fatty acids on glucose and lipids in overweight individuals with differing FABP2 genotypes

Trans-fatty acids have been implicated as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. In addition, a polymorphism at codon 54 (Ala54Thr) in the fatty acid-binding protein 2 (FABP2) gene has been suggested to modify an interaction between dietary fat and insulin sensitivity. We examined the postprandial metabolic profiles after meals enriched with C18:1trans- relative to a similar meal with C18:1cis-fatty acid in individuals who were either FABP2 Ala54 homozygotes or Thr54 carriers. Moderately overweight men and women ate 2 breakfast test meals, separated by 1 week, each providing 40% of their daily energy requirement and containing 50% of energy as fat. In one meal, 10% of energy was from C18:1trans, and in the other meal, the C18:1trans was replaced with C18:1cis. Metabolic parameters were assessed during an 8-hour period. Insulin and C-peptide levels increased more after the C18:1trans meal, and this was associated with a greater fall in free fatty acids. Postprandial glucose levels and oxidation of fatty acids and carbohydrate were not different between the 2 test meals. The Thr54 allele for FABP2 increased the rise in postprandial glucose but not triacylglycerols. Fractional triacylglycerol synthetic rates were higher after consumption of the C18:1trans meal relative to the C18:1cis meal only in Thr54 carriers. These data show that a single meal enriched with C18:1trans-fatty acids can significantly increase insulin resistance, and that in the presence of the FABP2 Thr54 allele, may contribute to increased partitioning of glucose to triacylglycerols and insulin resistance.     

Dose-dependent activation of Ca2+-activated K+ channels by ethanol contributes to improved endothelial cell functions

BACKGROUND: Regular moderate alcohol (EtOH) intake seems to protect against both coronary artery disease and ischemic stroke, whereas the risk increases with heavy EtOH consumption. Effects of EtOH on endothelial cell function may be relevant to these disparate effects. Potassium channels play an important role in the regulation of endothelial cell functions. Therefore, we investigated whether Ca-activated K channels (BKCa) are modulated by EtOH. Furthermore, we examined whether EtOH-induced changes of endothelial nitric oxide (NO) formation and cell proliferation are due to BKCa activation. METHODS: The patch-clamp technique was used to investigate BKCa activity in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). NO formation was analyzed by using the fluorescence dye 4,5-diaminofluorescein. Endothelial proliferation was examined by using cell counts and measuring [H]thymidine incorporation. RESULTS: EtOH dose-dependently (10-150 mmol/liter) modulated BKCa-activity, with the highest increase of open-state probability at a concentration of 50 mmol/liter (n = 13; p < 0.05). Inside-out recordings revealed that this effect was due to direct BKCa activation, whereas open-state probability was not changed in cell-attached recordings after pertussis toxin preincubation. EtOH (10 and 50 mmol/liter) caused a significant increase of NO levels, which was blocked by the highly selective BKCa inhibitor iberiotoxin (100 nmol/l; n = 30; p < 0.05). Higher concentrations of EtOH (100 and 150 mmol/liter) significantly reduced NO synthesis (n = 30; p < 0.05). Both methods revealed a significant increase of HUVEC proliferation, which was inhibited by iberiotoxin (n = 30; p < 0.05). At a concentration of 150 mmol/liter, EtOH caused a significant reduction of endothelial proliferation. CONCLUSIONS: EtOH directly activates BKCa in HUVEC, leading to an increase of endothelial proliferation and production of NO. These results indicate a possible beneficial effect of low-dose EtOH on endothelial function, whereas higher concentrations must be considered as harmful.