Burkepierce2802

Background Heart failure is a major problem in western societies. Sleep Disorders maintain a bidirectional relationship with heart failure, as shown by studies conducted in other countries. This study aims to describe the quality of sleep in Spanish patients with heart failure. Materials and methods We carried out a cross-sectional study to analyze the quality of sleep in a sample of 203 patients with a diagnosis of heart failure admitted to an Internal Medicine Service. The Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to evaluate sleep quality in our sample over a one-month period. SCH900353 ic50 Results 75% of the sample presented sleep disorders. The most common problems included the interruption of sleep (73.5% nocturia and 30% breathing difficulties); 35% had poor sleep efficiency; 33% showed a decrease in daytime performance; 84% had used hypnotics at some point to induce sleep and 35% used them regularly. Conclusions This is the first study to report on the perceived sleep quality of patients with heart failure in Spain. Self-perception of sleep quality differed from that estimated by the PSQI. link2 The prevalence of the use of sleep-inducing medication was very high. The diurnal dysfunction generated by sleep disorders in a heart failure environment can contribute to the development of self-care and cognitive deterioration problems.G-protein coupled cannabinoid CB2 receptor signaling and function is primarily mediated by its inhibitory effect on adenylate cyclase. The visualization and monitoring of agonist dependent dynamic 3',5'-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) signaling at the single cell level is still missing for CB2 receptors. This paper presents an application of a live cell imaging while using a Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based biosensor, Epac1-camps, for quantification of cAMP. We established HEK293 cells stably co-expressing human CB2 and Epac1-camps and quantified cAMP responses upon Forskolin pre-stimulation, followed by treatment with the CB2 ligands JWH-133, HU308, β-caryophyllene, or 2-arachidonoylglycerol. We could identify cells showing either an agonist dependent CB2-response as expected, cells displaying no response, and cells with constitutive receptor activity. In Epac1-CB2-HEK293 responder cells, the terpenoid β-caryophyllene significantly modified the cAMP response through CB2. For all of the tested ligands, a relatively high proportion of cells with constitutively active CB2 receptors was identified. Our method enabled the visualization of intracellular dynamic cAMP responses to the stimuli at single cell level, providing insights into the nature of heterologous CB2 expression systems that contributes to the understanding of Gαi-mediated G-Protein coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling in living cells and opens up possibilities for future investigations of endogenous CB2 responses.Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) has been used extensively as a heterologous system for molecular manipulation to genetically characterize both dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous plant species. Here, we report on Arabidopsis transformant lines molecularly manipulated to over-accumulate the small regulatory RNA microRNA397 (miR397) from the emerging C4 monocotyledonous grass model species Setaria viridis (S. viridis). The generated transformant lines, termed SvMIR397 plants, displayed a range of developmental phenotypes that ranged from a mild, wild-type-like phenotype, to a severe, full dwarfism phenotype. Reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR)-based profiling of the SvMIR397 transformant population revealed a strong correlation between the degree of miR397 over-accumulation, repressed LACCASE (LAC) target gene expression, reduced lignin content, and the severity of the developmental phenotype displayed by SvMIR397 transformants. Further, exposure of SvMIR397 transformants to a 7-day regime of salt stress revealed the SvMIR397 transformant lines to be more sensitive to the imposed stress than were wild-type Arabidopsis plants. Taken together, the findings reported here via the use of Arabidopsis as a heterologous system show that the S. viridis miR397 small regulatory RNA is able to repress the expression of three Arabidopsis LAC genes which led to reduced lignin content and increased salt stress sensitivity.Aberrant tyrosine-protein kinase Mer (MerTK) expression triggers prosurvival signaling and contributes to cell survival, invasive motility, and chemoresistance in many kinds of cancers. In addition, recent reports suggested that MerTK could be a primary target for abnormal platelet aggregation. Consequently, MerTK inhibitors may promote cancer cell death, sensitize cells to chemotherapy, and act as new antiplatelet agents. We screened an inhouse chemical library to discover novel small-molecule MerTK inhibitors, and identified AZD7762, which is known as a checkpoint-kinase (Chk) inhibitor. The inhibition of MerTK by AZD7762 was validated using an in vitro homogeneous time-resolved fluorescence (HTRF) assay and through monitoring the decrease in phosphorylated MerTK in two lung cancer cell lines. We also determined the crystal structure of the MerTKAZD7762 complex and revealed the binding mode of AZD7762 to MerTK. Structural information from the MerTKAZD7762 complex and its comparison with other MerTKinhibitor structures gave us new insights for optimizing the development of inhibitors targeting MerTK.(1) Background Job quality is a multidimensional and elusive concept that is back in vogue among social scientists and policymaker. The current study proposes a new job quality approach that is compared with the European Working Conditions Survey framework and structured with the help of the Job Demands-Resources model. Two new measures of job quality, the Quality of Work Index (QoW) and the Quality of Employment Index (QoE) are developed and validated in three different languages (German, French, Luxembourgish). The QoW is composed of 43 items, focusing on four areas of work-work intensity, job design, social conditions, and physical conditions (subdivided in eleven components)-which are particularly important for employees' well-being. The QoE is composed of 13 items that cover training opportunities, career advancement, job security, employability, work life conflict, and income satisfaction. (2) Methods Data were collected via computer-assisted telephone interviews in a representative sample of 1522 employees working in Luxembourg (aged 17-67 years; 57.2% male). (3) Results Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the proposed factors structure and scalar measurement invariance for the three different language versions. Internal consistencies were satisfactory for all subscales (Cronbach's α between 0.70 and 0.87). Correlations and hierarchical regression analyses with different psychological health measures (i.e., burnout, general well-being, psychosomatic complaints, work satisfaction, vigor) and subjective work performance confirmed the construct validity of the new instruments. (4) Conclusions The QoW and the QoE are globally and on the level of the sub-categories effective tools to measure job quality, which could be used to compare job quality between organizations and different countries. Furthermore, the current study confirms associations between the different components of the QoW and QoE and employees' health.Research efforts into the production and application of iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) in recent decades have shown IONPs to be promising for a range of biomedical applications. Many synthesis techniques have been developed to produce high-quality IONPs that are safe for in vivo environments while also being able to perform useful biological functions. Among them, coprecipitation is the most commonly used method but has several limitations such as polydisperse IONPs, long synthesis times, and batch-to-batch variations. Recent efforts at addressing these limitations have led to the development of microfluidic devices that can make IONPs of much-improved quality. Here, we review recent advances in the development of microfluidic devices for the synthesis of IONPs by coprecipitation. We discuss the main architectures used in microfluidic device design and highlight the most prominent manufacturing methods and materials used to construct these microfluidic devices. Finally, we discuss the benefits that microfluidics can offer to the coprecipitation synthesis process including the ability to better control various synthesis parameters and produce IONPs with high production rates.Fibromyalgia (FM) is a syndrome that does not present a well-defined underlying organic disease. FM is a condition which has been associated with diseases such as infections, diabetes, psychiatric or neurological disorders, rheumatic pathologies, and is a disorder that rather than diagnosis of exclusion requires positive diagnosis. A multidimensional approach is required for the management of FM, including pain management, pharmacological therapies, behavioral therapy, patient education, and exercise. The purpose of this review is to summarize the recent advances in classification criteria and diagnostic criteria for FM as well as to explore pharmacotherapy and the use of alternative therapies including the use of plant bioactive molecules.Laser metal deposition (LMD) has demonstrated its ability to produce complex parts and to adjust material composition within a single workpiece. It is also a suitable additive manufacturing (AM) technology for building up dissimilar metals directly. However, brittle intermetallic compounds (IMCs) are formed at the interface of the dissimilar metals fabricated by LMD. Such brittle phases often lead to material failure due to thermal expansion coefficient mismatch, thermal stress, etc. In this work, we studied a Fe-Ti system with two brittle phases, such as Fe-Ti and Fe2Ti, as a model system. Fe was grown on top of Ti at various process parameters. The morphologies and microstructures were characterized by optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). No cracks along the interface between pure Ti and bottom of the solidified melt pool were observed in the cross-sectional images. Chemical composition in the fabricated parts was measured by Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) was performed in addition to EDS to identify the crystalline phases. The Vickers hardness test was conducted in areas with different phases. The chemical composition in the melt pool region was found to be a determining factor for the occurrence of major cracks.Despite continuous advancements in systematic treatment of chronic pain there is still a subset of clinical conditions where the standard medical and surgical approaches are not uniformly effective [...].Plant-extracted triterpenoids belong to a class of bioactive compounds with pleotropic functions, including antioxidant, anti-cancer, and anti-inflammatory effects. link3 In this work, we investigated the anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative activities of a semisynthetic derivative of 18βH-glycyrrhetinic acid (18βH-GA), soloxolone methyl (methyl 2-cyano-3,12-dioxo-18βH-olean-9(11),1(2)-dien-30-oate, or SM) in vitro on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages and in vivo in models of acute inflammation LPS-induced endotoxemia and carrageenan-induced peritonitis. SM used at non-cytotoxic concentrations was found to attenuate the production of reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide (II) and increase the level of reduced glutathione production by LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. Moreover, SM strongly suppressed the phagocytic and migration activity of activated macrophages. These effects were found to be associated with the stimulation of heme oxigenase-1 (HO-1) expression, as well as with the inhibition of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and Akt phosphorylation.