bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Modulation of Cytokine Production In Vivo by Dietary Essential Fatty Acids in Patients with Colorectal Cancer
Authors: Purasiri P. , Murray A. , Richardson S. , Heys S. D. , Horrobin D. , Eremin O. 
Published: August 2015

1. The effects of essential fatty acids (γ-linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid), at a dose of 4.8 g/day, given in combination as dietary supplements, on cytokine production were investigated in patients with colorectal cancer.
2. Total serum cytokines - interleukin (interleukin-1β, 2, 4 and 6), tumour necrosis factor-α and interferon-γ - were analysed using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique at different time intervals during the course of essential fatty acid supplementation.
3. Fatty acid uptake and patient compliance were confirmed by a significant increase in serum levels of γ-linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid in all three fractions: triacylglycerol, cholesterol and phospholipid.
4. There was no significant alteration in total serum cytokine concentration/levels in the first 2 months of essential fatty acid ingestion, but the levels of serum cytokines steadily declined thereafter, reaching minimum levels after 6 months of essential fatty acid supplementation.
5. Essential fatty acids, at the dose and duration (6 months) used in this study, reduced total serum interleukin-1β levels by 61% (P = 0.044), interleukin-2 by 63% (P = 0.05), interleukin-4 by 69% (P = 0.025), interleukin-6 by 83% (P = 0.030), tumour necrosis factor-α by 73% (P = 0.040) and interferon-γ by 67% (P = 0.050).
6. Three months after cessation of essential fatty acid intake, however, these cytokine levels returned to presupplementation values.
7. This present study has shown that long-term n-3 and n-6 EFA ingestion results in a significant reduction in circulating key cytokines. The precise mechanism of this reduction is unclear.
Effects of a Low-Protein Diet on Glomerular Endothelin Family Gene Expression in Experimental Focal Glomerular Sclerosis
Authors: Nakamura Tsukasa , Fukui Mitsumine , Ebihara Isao , Osada Shiori , Takahashi Toshimasa , Tomino Yasuhiko , Koide Hikaru 
Published: August 2015

1. The present study was designed to assess whether glomerular expression of mRNAs for endothelin-1 and endothelin-3, as well as endothelin receptors A and B is affected by a low-protein diet during the course of focal glomerular sclerosis.
2. Focal glomerular sclerosis was induced in rats by injection of puromycin aminonucleoside on days 0, 27, 34 and 41 in conjunction with unilateral nephrectomy on day 22. Control rats were subjected to nephrectomy or sham operation on day 22.
3. Animals were divided into six groups. In group 1, the puromycin aminonucleoside-injected rats were fed a standard diet containing 22% protein. In group 2, the puromycin aminonucleoside-injected rats were fed a low-protein diet containing 6% protein, which was initiated on the day of the first puromycin aminonucleoside injection. In group 3, the nephrectomized rats without puromycin aminonucleoside were fed a standard diet. In group 4, the nephrectomized rats without puromycin aminonucleoside were fed a low-protein diet. In group 5, the sham-operated rats were fed a standard diet. In group 6, the sham-operated rats were fed a low-protein diet.
4. The percentage of sclerotic glomeruli in group 1 rats increased markedly with time, reaching 77% on day 80.
5. The glomerular mRNA levels for endothelin-1 and endothelin receptors A and B increased significantly as glomerular sclerosis progressed, whereas no endothelin-3 mRNA was detected in the glomeruli of any group.
6. The endothelin-1 production in isolated glomeruli from group 1 increased significantly as glomerular sclerosis progressed.
7. In group 2, the low-protein diet reduced the prevalence of glomerular sclerosis, attenuated the rise in mRNA levels for endothelin-1 and endothelin receptors A and B and reduced endothelin-1 production in glomeruli from rats with focal glomerular sclerosis.
8. These data indicate that increases in glomerular endothelin-1 and endothelin receptor mRNA levels are associated with the development of puromycin aminonucleoside-induced glomerular sclerosis. These effects are blunted by administration of a low-protein diet.
Regional Matching of Ventilation and Perfusion during Lobar Bronchial Occlusion in Man
Authors: Morrell N. W. , Nijran K. S. , Biggs T. , Seed W. A. 
Published: August 2015

1. Ventilation—perfusion balance in the presence of airway obstruction will depend on the efficiency of hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction beyond obstructed airways and the matching of redistributed blood flow and ventilation to the rest of the lung. This study investigated the relative importance of these mechanisms in man during experimental bronchial occlusion.
2. The bronchus to the left lower lobe was temporarily occluded with a balloon-tipped catheter during fibreoptic bronchoscopy in eight supine normal volunteers. Respiratory gas tensions were measured within the occluded lobe with a respiratory mass spectrometer. The distribution of ventilation and perfusion was assessed under control conditions and after 5 min of bronchial occlusion by computer analysis of the regional distribution of radioactivity during inhalation of 81mKr gas and following injection of 99mTc-labelled macroaggregated albumin respectively.
3. Respiratory gas partial pressures within the occluded lobes rapidly stabilized at mixed venous gas tensions: Po2 43.4 ± 2.2 (SEM) mmHg, Pco2 40.2 ± 1.8 mmHg. During occlusions the arterial oxygen saturation fell from a baseline of 96.3 ± 0.46% to a nadir of 92.1 ± 0.43%. Bronchial occlusion produced underventilation in the left lung relative to perfusion, both in the region of the occluded lower lobe and at the lung apex. Relative overventilation occurred in the right lung.
4. It is concluded that arterial hypoxaemia during lobal bronchial occlusion is caused primarily by shunting of mixed venous blood, though the shunt fraction is reduced by approximately 50% by hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction. In lung adjacent to obstructed regions reduced compliance may impair ventilation more than perfusion to contribute to hypoxaemia. It seems likely that redistribution of ventilation and perfusion to unobstructed regions during lobar bronchial occlusion is dependent on mechanical factors rather than O2- or CO2-dependent changes in bronchial or vascular tone.
Screening Tests for Microalbuminuria in Non-Diabetic Elderly Subjects and Their Relation to Blood Pressure
Authors: James M. A. , Fotherby M. D. , Potter J. F. 
Published: August 2015

1. Microalbumuria in non-diabetic elderly subjects is predictive of vascular disease and mortality, and related to levels of blood pressure.
2. This study was designed to examine whether more restricted periods of urine collection retained the relation to the prevailing level of blood pressure and successfully identified subjects with microalbuminura.
3. Fifty elderly subjects (aged over 60 years) made two consecutive 24-h urine collections for measurement of urinary albumin excretion, divided between daytime and night-time periods. Thirty-three subjects also provided a random ‘spot’ urine sample. Clinic and 24-h ambulatory blood pressure were also recorded.
4. Median 24-h urinary albumin excretion was 15.75 mg; 17 subjects had microalbuminuria. The median 24-h albumin—creatinine ratio was 1.91 mg/mmol. A threshold albumin—creatinine ratio of ≧ 3.0 mg/mmol in a random urine sample predicted microalbuminura with 92% sensitivity and 90% specificity. Alternatively, threshold values of 2.5 mg/mmol for men and 4.5 mg/mmol for women in an overnight urine collection predicted microalbuminuria with 88% sensitivity and 100% specificity.
5. The closest relation between albumin—creatinine ratio and blood pressure was that between spot albumin—creatinine ratio and clinic systolic blood pressure (r = 0.64, P &lt; 0.001). Albumin—creatinine ratio was generally related to clinic systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and ambulatory systolic blood pressure. Microalbuminuric subjects had significantly higher levels of clinic and ambulatory systolic blood pressure than non-microalbuminuric subjects.
6. Microalbuminuria in the elderly is most closely related to clinic systolic blood pressure. Screening for microalbuminuria in the elderly can usefully be performed by the measurement of albumin—creatinine ratio in a random urine sample, with a threshold of ≧ 3.0 mg/mmol.
Flow Motion in Peripheral Diabetic Neuropathy
Authors: Benbow S. J. , Pryce D. W. , Noblett K. , MacFarlane I. A. , Friedmann P. S. , Williams G. 
Published: August 2015

1. Flow motion is the cyclical variation in blood flow owing to the rhythmical opening and closing of arterioles. Previous studies have suggested that cutaneous flow motion may be altered in diabetic neuropathy but have not been consistent in their findings.
2. In order to assess the effect of diabetic peripheral neuropathy on flow motion, we have examined the frequency and amplitude of flow motion in 12 patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy, 10 age-matched diabetic patients without peripheral neuropathy and 10 age-matched non-diabetic controls.
3. Peripheral neuropathy was diagnosed by a history of foot ulceration or chronic painful neuropathy, clinical examination and abnormal peroneal nerve conduction velocities. Blood flow, using laser Doppler flowmetry, was measured at four sites on the dorsum of both hands and feet. Flow motion was analysed using fast Fourier transform analysis, between 0.05 and 0.2 Hz, and displayed on a power spectral density graph. Predominant frequency and relative amplitude of flow motion were calculated.
4. Relative amplitude and frequency of flow motion were similar in the hands of all three groups, as was the frequency in the feet of the three groups. Relative amplitude was significantly smaller in the feet of diabetic patients with neuropathy (median 7.2%, 95% confidence interval 4.9–9.4%) than in diabetic patients without neuropathy (median 13.5%, 95% confidence interval 6.3–21.5%, P &lt; 0.02) or in non-diabetic control subjects (median 10.3%, 95% confidence interval 6.9–27.4%, P &lt; 0.02).
5. Flow motion amplitude is reduced in diabetic peripheral neuropathy. The control of flow motion amplitude appears to be at least partly under neurological control.
Insulin Unresponsiveness of Tubular Monovalent Cation Transport during Fructose-Induced Hypertension in Rats
Authors: Féraille Eric , Marsy Sophie , Barlet-Bas Catherine , Rousselot Martine , Cheval Lydie , Favre Herve , Doucet Alain 
Published: August 2015

1. Hyperinsulinaemia is considered to be a pathogenic factor for human and experimental hypertension. Thus, the contribution of the known insulin-stimulated tubular sodium reabsorption to this aetiological process has to be discussed.
2. Rats fed a fructose-enriched diet develop hyperinsulinaemia and hypertension, providing a model for studying the regulation of the tubular sodium handling and its possible relationship to hypertension. For this purpose, the sodium transport capacity of isolated nephron segments from control rats and from rats fed a fructose-enriched diet was investigated by measurement of ouabain-sensitive 86Rb uptake and of the hydrolytic activity of Na,K-ATPase. The number and affinity of insulin receptors were estimated from the specific [125I]insulin binding.
3. In rats fed a fructose-enriched diet, mild hypertension developed during the 14-day fructose diet. There were no differences, along the nephron, in basal 86Rb uptakes and ATPase activities between control rats and fructose-induced hypertensive rats. In control rats, insulin stimulated 86Rb uptake in the proximal convoluted tubule and cortical collecting duct, but exhibited an inhibitory action in the medullary thick ascending limb. In contrast, in fructose-induced hypertensive rats, 86Rb influx remained unresponsive to insulin concentrations ranging from 10−11 to 10−7 mol/l in the proximal convoluted tubule and cortical collecting duct. In the medullary thick ascending limb, the threshold of inhibition was displaced from 10−11 mol/l up to 10−7 mol/l. Insulin binding to the proximal convoluted tubule, medullary thick ascending limb and collecting duct were similar in control rats and in rats fed a fructose-enriched diet.
4. We conclude that hypertension developed in rats fed a fructose-enriched diet regardless of change in renal sodium handling since (1) the basal tubular sodium reabsorption capacity of the nephron remained unchanged and (2) the response of the tubular cation transport to insulin was abolished. These results strongly argue against the participation of insulin-mediated tubular sodium retention in the pathogenesis of hypertension and suggest that insulin-related mechanisms modulate the blood vessel reactivity.
Development of Decreased Insulin-Induced Glucose Transport in Skeletal Muscle of Glucose-Intolerant Hybrids of Diabetic GK Rats
Authors: Nolte Lorraine A. , Abdel-Halim Samy M. , Martin Iva K. , Guenifi Amel , Zierath Juleen R. , Östenson Claes-Göran , Wallberg-Henriksson Harriet 
Published: August 2015

1. The effect of glucose intolerance on insulin-stimulated glucose transport in isolated skeletal muscles was investigated in male F, hybrids of spontaneously diabetic GK (Goto—Kakizaki) and control Wistar rats at 1 and 2 months of age.
2. Hybrid rats are characterized by markedly impaired glucose-induced insulin secretion. The area under the blood glucose curve was significantly higher following an intraperitoneal glucose injection (2 g/kg) in hybrid rats in both age groups than in the control rats (P &lt; 0.001). In 2-month-old hybrid rats the incremental area under the insulin curve during the intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test was not different from that of control rats. Serum cholesterol, triacylglycerol or plasma free fatty acid levels did not differ between the groups. Fasting and post-prandial plasma glucose concentrations were elevated in 2-month-old hybrid rats compared with control rats (54%, P &lt; 0.05, and 27%, P &lt; 0.05, respectively), but were not differerent in 1-month-old rats. Plasma insulin did not differ between the hybrid and control rats in the fasting or post-prandial state at either age studied.
3. The insulin dose—response curves for 3-O-methylglucose transport did not differ between 1-month-old hybrid and control rats for either the soleus or epitrochlearis muscle. The insulin dose—response curve for the epitrochlearis, but not for the soleus, muscle from 2-month-old hybrid rats was shifted to the right compared with the curve from the control animals (P &lt; 0.05).
4. In conclusion, the hybrid rat is a non-obese, non-hyperinsulinaemic animal model, which at a young age is characterized by impaired insulin secretion and moderate glucose intolerance. In this glucose-intolerant rat model, mild peripheral insulin resistance gradually develops, as reflected by the decreased insulin-induced glucose transport in the fast-twitch epitrochlearis muscle. It is suggested that the elevated blood glucose per se may have contributed to the slight decrease in peripheral insulin action.
Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry Measurements of Body Composition: Effects of Depth and Tissue Thickness, Including Comparisons with Direct Analysis
Authors: Jebb Susan A. , Goldberg Gail R. , Jennings Graham , Elia Marinos 
Published: August 2015

1. There are few data regarding the accuracy of Hologic QDR-1000W dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry for the measurement of body composition. In two studies, one in an in vitro experimental system using oil and water mixtures and the other in samples of pork meat, the effect of depth and tissue thickness on the measured composition was assessed. In the latter study the measured fat mass was compared with that measured by direct analysis.
2. All data indicated a trend in the measured fat mass with depth, such that more fat was measured at extremes of depth (&lt;10 cm and &gt;25 cm) than at intermediate depths.
3. In samples of meat weighing approximately 55 kg, dual X-ray absorptiometry significantly underestimated the absolute fat mass compared with direct analysis (mean 20.4 ± 1.65%) by 5–8% or 1–4 kg of fat.
4. These findings are of direct relevance to both clinical and research work using this technique to measure body composition, in particular in circumstances in which changes in body composition and/or tissue thickness are anticipated.
Effect of Fenspiride on Pulmonary Function in the Rat and Guinea Pig
Authors: Bee D. , Laude E. A. , Emery C. J. , Howard P. 
Published: August 2015

1. Fenspiride is an anti-inflammatory agent that may have a role in reversible obstructive airways disease. Small, but significant, improvements have been seen in airways function and arterial oxygen tension in patients with mild chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. These changes have been attributed to the anti-inflammatory properties of the drug. However, airways function can be improved by other means, e.g. improved ventilation/perfusion ratio or reduced airways resistance. The possibility that fenspiride may have actions other than anti-inflammatory was investigated in two animal species.
2. In the rat, actions on the pulmonary circulation were investigated in the isolated perfused lung, but fenspiride proved to be a poor pulmonary vasodilator, showing only a small reversal of the raised pulmonary artery pressure induced by hypoxia.
3. Ventilation was measured in the anaesthetized rat using whole-body plethysmography. Fenspiride caused no increase in ventilation or changes in arterial blood gases. However, a profound hypotensive action was observed with high doses.
4. The possibility that a decrease in airways resistance (Raw) might occur with fenspiride was investigated in anaesthetized guinea pigs. Capsaicin (30 μmol/l) was used to increase baseline Raw through bronchoconstriction. Fenspiride gave a dose-dependent partial reversal of the raised Raw, and its administration by aerosol proved as efficacious as the intravenous route. In addition, the hypotensive side-effect found with intravenous injection was alleviated by aerosolized fenspiride.
5. An anti-bronchoconstrictor action of fenspiride could be one of the mechanisms involved in improving airways function and Pao2, seen in mild chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Cigarette Smoke Stimulates Release of Neutrophil Chemotactic Activity from Cultured Bovine Bronchial Epithelial Cells
Authors: Shoji Shunsuke , Ertl Ronald F. , Koyama Sekiya , Robbins Richard , Leikauf George , Von Essen Susanna , Rennard Stephen I. 
Published: August 2015

1. Recruitment of neutrophils into the airway is a prominent feature of chronic bronchitis, a syndrome often associated with exposure to cigarette smoke. Since bronchial epithelial cells are the ‘first’ lung cells to come into contact with smoke, these cells may be responsible for neutrophil recruitment into the airway by release of neutrophil chemotactic activity in response to cigarette smoke.
2. To evaluate this hypothesis, we prepared bovine bronchial epithelial cells and measured their ability to release neutrophil chemotactic activity following exposure to cigarette smoke. Bronchial epithelial cells were prepared by overnight digestion with protease, filtered through 100-μm Nitex mesh and resuspended in Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum and antibiotics and cultured at 2×106 cells in 2 ml of medium in 35-mm culture dishes. After 4 days, dishes were rinsed and refed with medium without fetal calf serum and incubated with and without 1:10 diluted smoke extract for 6 h at 37°C. The neutrophil chemotactic activity of the supernatant fluids was measured by the blindwell chamber technique.
3. Cigarette smoke itself added to medium did not stimulate chemotaxis. In contrast, cigarette smoke did stimulate the release of neutrophil chemotactic activity from bovine bronchial epithelial cells [15 ± 3 (control) versus 74 ± 5 (smoke), P &lt; 0.01].
4. This neutrophil chemotactic activity was dialysable, pepsin and acid stable, heat sensitive and lipid extractable. Sephadex G-75 column chromatography demonstrated two peaks of neutrophil chemotactic activity.
5. The lipoxygenase inhibitors diethylcarbamazine and nordihydroguaratic acid both diminished the release of chemotactic activity, suggesting that the activity may be a lipoxygenase product(s).
6. Dibutyryl cyclic AMP also blocked the smoke-stimulated release of neutrophil chemotactic activity, suggesting that its release may be regulated by intracellular cyclic AMP.
7. Thus, bovine bronchial epithelial cells release neutrophil chemotactic activity in response to cigarette smoke, suggesting that bronchial epithelial cells may be modulators of the airway inflammatory response caused by cigarette smoke.
Hering—BreüEr Reflexes in High-Altitude Infants
Authors: Mortola J. P. , Trippenbach T. , Rezzonico R. , Fisher J. T. , Diaz M. , Villena-Cabrera N. , Peña F. 
Published: August 2015

1. Pulmonary ventilation was found to be similar in high-altitude and low-altitude newborn infants, but the breathing pattern was deeper and slower at high altitude (Mortola, J. P., Frappell, P. B., Frappell, D. E., Villena-Cabrera, N., Villena-Cabrera, M., Peña, F., Am Rev Respir Dis 1992, 46: 1206–9). We questioned the contribution of vagal reflexes to these differences in breathing pattern.
2. Measurements were performed on high-altitude (La Paz, Bolivia, 3600–4050 m, inspired O2 pressure ∼92 mmHg, n = 34) and low-altitude infants (Santa Cruz, Bolivia, 400 m, Pio2 ∼141 mmHg, n = 26). The strength of the Hering—Breüer inspiratory inhibitory reflex was estimated from the inspiratory time during a respiratory effort against airways closed at end-expiration (TIoccl). The strength of the Hering—Breüer expiratory facilitatory reflex was estimated from the expiratory duration when airways were occluded during expiration (TEoccl).
3. TIoccl was significantly longer than the open-airways TI at both low and high altitude, but significantly more so (∼14%) at high altitude. TEoccl was longer than open-airways TE in both groups of infants, but significantly less so at high altitude, whether TEoccl was compared between occlusions of similar tidal volume (on average, TEoccl at high altitude was 79% of that at low altitude) or similar airway pressure (87%).
4. The results suggest that at high altitude the contribution of the phasic volume-dependent vagal input to the inspiratory off-switch threshold is higher, and that the tonic vagal expiratory facilitation is lower, than at low altitude, presumably because of hypoxia. The larger VT and longer TE of the HA infant cannot be explained by these differences in vagal pulmonary reflexes.