Given a passage, construct a question on the basis of the information present in the passage. Construct the question in such a way that (i) it is unambiguous, (ii) it is answerable from the passage, (iii) its answer is unique (iv) it answer uses text phrases from the passage. Avoid creating questions that (i) can't be answered correctly without actually understanding the passage and (ii) uses the same words or phrases given in the passage.

Patients with alcoholic liver disease (ALD) display inflammation of the subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) which correlates with liver lesions. We examined macrophage markers and polarization in the SAT of alcoholic patients and adipokine expression according to liver inflammation; we studied the consequences of alcohol withdrawal.', 'Forty-seven patients with ALD were prospectively included. SAT and blood samples were collected at inclusion and after 1week of alcohol withdrawal. Pro-inflammatory cytokines/chemokines, inflammasome components and products, adipokine expression levels, macrophage markers and polarization in liver and SAT samples were assessed by RT-PCR arrays.', 'mRNA expression level of chemokines (IL8, semaphorin 7A) correlated with hepatic steatosis in both liver and SAT. Liver expression of inflammasome components (IL1, IL18, caspase-1) and SAT IL6 and CCL2 correlated with liver damage. In patients with mild ALD, 1week of alcohol withdrawal was sufficient to decrease expression level of total macrophage markers in the adipose tissue, to orient adipose tissue macrophages (ATM) towards an anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype and to decrease the mRNA expression of cytokines/chemokines (IL18, CCL2, osteopontin, semaphorin 7A). In patients with severe ALD, 1week of abstinence was also associated with an increase in CCL18 expression.
Does alcohol withdrawal alleviate adipose tissue inflammation in patients with alcoholic liver disease?

Physiological roles of apelin and its specific receptor APJ signaling were investigated in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). The present study determined whether apelin activates myosin light chain (MLC), a major regulatory event in initiating smooth muscle contraction.', 'To assess MLC activation, we performed Western blot and immunohistochemical studies using an antibody against the phospho-MLC. In VSMCs, apelin induces the phosphorylation of MLC in a concentration-dependent manner with a peak at 2 minutes. Pretreatment of VSMCs with pertussis toxin abolishes the apelin-induced phosphorylation of MLC. Inhibition of protein kinase C (PKC) with GF-109203X markedly attenuated the apelin-induced MLC phosphorylation. In addition, methylisobutyl amiloride, a specific inhibitor of the Na+/H+ exchanger (NHE), and KB-R7943, a potent inhibitor for the reverse mode of the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger (NCX), significantly suppressed the action of apelin. In wild-type mice, apelin phosphorylates MLC in vascular tissue, whereas it had no response in APJ-deficient mice by Western blot and immunohistochemistry. Apelin-induced phosphorylation of MLC was accompanied with myosin phosphatase target subunit phosphorylation.
Does apelin stimulate myosin light chain phosphorylation in vascular smooth muscle cells?

Electrophysiological studies demonstrate that a short atrial fibrillation cycle length (AFCL) is related with poor outcome of electrical cardioversion (ECV) of atrial fibrillation (AF). We found previously that the mechanical AFCL (AFCL-tvi) and atrial fibrillatory velocity (AFV-tvi) may be determined noninvasively using color tissue velocity imaging (TVI) and closely relates to the electrophysiological AFCL.', 'To evaluate the relation between AFCL-tvi, AFV-tvi, and success of ECV in patients with AF.', 'We prospectively studied 133 patients with persistent AF by performing echocardiography before ECV and measured the AFCL-tvi and AFV-tvi in the right atrium and left atrium. Recurrent AF was monitored.', 'Nineteen (14%) patients had failure of ECV, 42 (32%) remained in sinus rhythm after 1-year follow-up, and 72 (54%) had a recurrence of persistent AF. Patients with immediate ECV failure had a lower median AFV-tvi measured in the right atrium than did patients with a successful ECV: 0.7 cm/s (0.2-1.0 cm/s) vs. 1.7 cm/s (0.9-2.8 cm/s) (P = .008). Patients with maintenance of sinus rhythm after 1 year had a longer AFCL-tvi measured in the left atrium than did patients with recurrence of AF (150 ms vs 137 ms; P = .017) and had a higher AFV-tvi in both atria (1.4 vs. 0.9 cm/s in the left atrium; P = .013 and 2.2 vs 1.4 cm/s in the right atrium; P = .011). Multivariate analyses showed that all atrial TVI parameters were independently associated with the maintenance of sinus rhythm after 1 year.
Is the mechanical fibrillation pattern of the atrial myocardium associated with acute and long-term success of electrical cardioversion in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation?