Exogenous insulin promotes the expression of B-cell translocation gene 1 and 2 in chicken pectoralis.

B-cell translocation genes (BTG) have been proved to play important roles in carbohydrate metabolism through modifying insulin homeostasis and glucose metabolism. This study, therefore, was conducted to investigate the effects of exogenous insulin on the expression of BTG1 and BTG2 in chickens. Twenty-four-day-old broilers and layers were fasted for 16 h and randomly assigned to insulin treatment group (subcutaneously injected with 5 IU/kg body weight) or control group (received an equivalent volume of phosphate-buffered saline). Blood glucose concentration was measured, and it showed that the blood glucose concentrations in the layers were significantly (P < 0.05) higher than that in the broilers under fasting state. Response to exogenous insulin, the blood glucose concentrations were greatly reduced in both breeds. Of note, the blood glucose concentration restored to 62% of the basal state at 240 min (P < 0.05) after insulin stimulation in layers, whereas it was still in low level until 240 min in broilers (under fast state). Tissue profiling revealed that both BTG1 and BTG2 were abundantly expressed in the skeletal muscles of broilers. A negative correlation was observed between blood glucose and BTG1 (ρ = -0.289, P = 0.031) /BTG2 (ρ = -0.500, P < 0.001) in pectoralis, and BTG1 (ρ = -0.462, P < 0.001) in pancreas. As blood glucose decreased due to exogenous insulin administration (under fast state), the expression of both BTG1 and BTG2 notably upregulated in birds' pectoralis at 120 min and/or 240 min, meanwhile pancreas BTG1 was also upregulated. Re-feeding at 120 min elevated the blood glucose and reduced the expression of BTG genes in pectoralis generally. In addition, the change of BTG1 and BTG2 expression showed distinct difference between layers and broilers at 120 min and 240 min after insulin stimulation in pectoralis, pancreas and heart tissue; even after re-feeding at 120 min, BTG2 expression at 240 min after insulin injection was downregulated in the pectoralis of layers, while it was upregulated in that broilers. Collectively, these results indicated that response to exogenous insulin, chicken blood glucose exhibited breed-specific dynamic change, and meanwhile the expressions of both BTG1 and BTG2 genes in chickens were significantly altered by exogenous insulin in a breed- and tissue-specific manner. BTG1 and BTG2 genes may negatively regulate bird's blood glucose by promoting the glucose uptake corporately in pectoralis, and through regulating the insulin secretion in pancreas (especially BTG1).

Clinical characteristics and treatment of renal artery fibromuscular dysplasia with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty: a long-term follow-up study.

BACKGROUND: Renal artery fibromuscular dysplasia (RAFMD) is a non-atherosclerotic cause of renal artery stenosis often affecting the young. Percutaneous transluminal renal angioplasty (PTRA) is the treatment of choice but there are few studies of the outcome of the procedure. METHODS: This retrospective analysis included 64 patients (56.2 % female; mean age at diagnosis, 28.0 years) with RAFMD who underwent PTRA between November 2003 and August 2015. Technical and clinical success rates and restenosis rates were evaluated. RESULTS: Seventy-six procedures were performed on 64 RAFMD patients. Technical success was 96.9 %, as defined by <30 % residual stenosis, with stent placement required in 11 patients (17.2 %). In the short term (1 month), the majority (79.7 %) had an immediate clinical benefit, with cure of hypertension in 35.9 %, and improvement in hypertension and a lower requirement for antihypertensive medications in 43.8 %. In the long term (mean, 47.5 months; range, 5-141 months), the survival rate was 96.9 %, freedom from restenosis was 84.4 %, and 76.6 % of patients showed a sustained clinical benefit (cure rate 40.6 %, improvement rate 35.9 %). Eight patients were treated with a second procedure and two had a third procedure, with half of these patients showing an improvement in hypertension. CONCLUSION: PTRA for symptomatic RAFMD is safe and clinically successful. More than half of patients experience an immediate clinical benefit with sustained long-term effects. For patients with restenosis, there was a good response to a second PTRA.

Scaling theory for unipolar resistance switching.

We investigate a reversible percolation system showing unipolar resistance switching in which percolating paths are created and broken alternately by the application of an electric bias. Owing to the dynamical changes in the percolating paths, different from those in classical percolating paths, a detailed understanding of the structure is demanding and challenging. Here, we develop a scaling theory that can explain the transport properties of these conducting paths; the theory is based on the fractal geometry of a percolating cluster. This theory predicts that two scaling behaviors emerge, depending on the topologies of the conducting paths. We confirm these theoretical predictions experimentally by observing material-independent universal scaling behaviors in unipolar resistance switching.

Formation of interstellar 2,4-pentadiynylidyne, HCCCCC(X 2Pi), via the neutral-neutral reaction of ground state carbon atom, C(3P), with diacetylene, HCCCCH(X 1Sigma(g)+).

The interstellar reaction of ground-state carbon atom with the simplest polyyne, diacetylene (HCCCCH), is investigated theoretically to explore probable routes to form hydrogen-deficient carbon clusters at ultralow temperature in cold molecular clouds. The isomerization and dissociation channels for each of the three collision complexes are characterized by utilizing the unrestricted B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) level of theory and the CCSD(T)/cc-pVTZ calculations. With facilitation of RRKM and variational RRKM rate constants at collision energies of 0-10 kcalmol, the most probable paths, thus reaction mechanism, are determined. Subsequently, the corresponding rate equations are solved that the evolutions of concentrations of collision complexes, intermediates, and products versus time are obtained. As a result, the final products and yields are identified. This study predicts that three collision complexes, c1, c2, and c3, would produce a single final product, 2,4-pentadiynylidyne, HCCCCC(X (2)Pi), C(5)H (p1)+H, via the most stable intermediate, carbon chain HC(5)H (i4). Our investigation indicates the title reaction is efficient to form astronomically observed 2,4-pentadiynylidyne in cold molecular clouds, where a typical translational temperature is 10 K, via a single bimolecular gas phase reaction.

A comparison of two criterion-referenced standard setting procedures for sports skills testing.

The application of criterion-referenced (CR) standard setting procedures in physical education has been limited to the examinee-centered model known as criterion groups. Alternative examinee-centered approaches are available but have not been applied in sport skills testing. The purpose of this study was to compare two examinee-centered models for setting performance standards for a sport skills test battery. CR performance standards were determined for the tennis skills test battery published in Tennis skills test manual (Hensley, 1989) using the borderline group (BG) (Livingston & Zieky, 1982) and criterion groups (CG) (Berk, 1976) models. The comparison of these two methods demonstrated that the CG method consistently produced performance standards that were lower than the BG method. In one instance the BG method produced a standard that was clearly unreasonable. Estimates of CR reliability for the CG standards (.76 less than or equal to P less than or equal to .93; .52 less than or equal to Kq less than or equal to .86) were higher than BG estimates (.55 less than or equal to P less than or equal to .84; .11 less than or equal to Kq less than or equal to .68). Although each method has strengths, neither is without problems. Results from this study suggest these two methods might be combined to minimize the problems associated with each. This combined method should produce standards with improved accuracy, validity, and reliability.

EEG characteristics of healthy adults living at higher elevations.

EEG data from 400 healthy adult volunteers in the Xining area (with an altitude of 2260 meters) are summarized to show changes in indices of waves, frequencies and amplitude. Analysis and observations were made for tests of eyes open-close, acoustic stimulation and hyperventilation. Differences in EEGs were compared between males and females of various age groups, and between adults living at the higher elevations in Xining and those living on the plains in the Beijing area (altitude 40 meters). Comparisons showed that EEG characteristics of healthy adults at the higher altitude were: an increase in the incidence of abnormality, a decrease of alpha indices, an increase in the number of slow waves, the appearance of spikes and sharp waves, and a reduction in the level of sensitivity to activation tests.

EEG characteristics of healthy adults in plateaus.

This paper covers the EEG data of 400 adult cases in Xining area (where the altitude is 2,260 meters), with a lot of statistics of the changes in the indexes of waves, frequencies and amplitude. And, analysis and observation were made in the tests of open-close eyes, acoustic stimulation and hyperventilation. Besides, we compared the differences of EEG between males and females of different age, and between adults living on the plateau and those living in the plain of Beijing area. We found that the EEG of healthy adults on the plateau showed the following characteristics: increase of abnormal rate, decrease of alpha indexes, increase of the number of slow waves, appearance of spike and sharp waves, and reduction of the level of sensitivity in evoked tests.