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| 2. |
- Hamers, Timo, et al.
(author)
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Biotransformation of brominated flame retardants into potentially endocrine-disrupting metabolites, with special attention to 2,2',4,4'-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47).
- 2008
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In: Mol Nutr Food Res. - 1613-4125. ; 52:2, s. 284-298
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this study, the endocrine-disrupting (ED) potency of metabolites from brominated flame retardants (BFRs) was determined. Metabolites were obtained by incubating single-parent compound BFRs with phenobarbital-induced rat liver microsomes. Incubation extracts were tested in seven in vitro bioassays for their potency to compete with thyroxine for binding to transthyretin (TTR), to inhibit estradiol-sulfotransferase (E2SULT), to interact with thyroid hormone-mediated cell proliferation, and to (in-)activate the androgen, progesterone, estrogen, or aryl hydrocarbon receptor. For most BFRs, TTR-binding potencies, and to a lesser extent E2SULT-inhibiting potencies, significantly increased after biotransformation. Microsomal incubation had less pronounced effects on other ED modes of action, due to low biotransformation efficiency and background activities determined in control incubations without BFRs. Moreover, cell-based bioassays suffered from cytotoxicity from metabolites of lower-brominated polybrominated diphenyl ethers. For the environmentally relevant 2,2',4,4'-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47), six hydroxylated metabolites were identified. Individual metabolites had TTR-binding and E2SULT-inhibiting potencies 160-1600 and 2.2-220 times higher than BDE-47 itself, whereas their combined potencies in a realistic mixture were well predicted via concentration addition. In combination with other environmentally relevant hydroxylated organohalogens acting on TTR-binding and E2SULT inhibition, internal exposure to BFR metabolites may significantly contribute to the overall risk of endocrine disruption.
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| 3. |
- Abraham, N G, et al.
(author)
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Metabolic syndrome : psychosocial, neuroendocrine, and classical risk factors in type 2 diabetes
- 2007
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In: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. - : Wiley. - 0077-8923 .- 1749-6632. ; 1113, s. 256-275
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article summarizes some aspects of stress in the metabolic syndrome at the psychosocial, tissue, and cellular levels. The metabolic syndrome is a valuable research concept for studying population health and social-biological translation. The cluster of cardiovascular risk factors labeled the metabolic syndrome is linked with low socioeconomic status. Systematic differences in diet and physical activity contribute to social patterning of the syndrome. In addition, psychosocial factors including chronic work stress are linked with its development. Psychosocial factors could lead to metabolic perturbations and increase cardiovascular risk via activation of neuroendocrine responses, for example, in the autonomic nervous system and in several hormonal pathways. High glucocorticoid levels will promote lipid storage in visceral rather than subcutaneous adipose tissue. Adipocytes secrete several proinflammatory cytokines, which considered major contributors to increase in oxidants and cell injury. Upregulation of heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) and peroxidase in the early development of diabetes produces a decrease in oxidative-mediated injury. Increased HO activity is associated with a significant decrease in superoxide, endothelial cell shedding and blood pressure. Finally, it is proposed that overexpression of glutathione peroxidase in beta cells may protect beta cell deterioration from oxidative stress during development of diabetes and hyperglycemia and this may result in attenuation of beta cell failure. If this proves to be the case, then the scene will be set to develop glutathione peroxidase mimetics for use in preclinical and clinical trials.
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- Grabenbauer, Markus, et al.
(author)
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Correlative microscopy and electron tomography of GFP through photooxidation.
- 2005
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In: Nature methods. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1548-7091 .- 1548-7105. ; 2:11, s. 857-62
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We have developed a simple correlative photooxidation method that allows for the direct ultrastructural visualization of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) upon illumination. The method, termed GRAB for GFP recognition after bleaching, uses oxygen radicals generated during the GFP bleaching process to photooxidize 3,3'-diaminobenzidine (DAB) into an electron-dense precipitate that can be visualized by routine electron microscopy and electron tomography. The amount of DAB product produced by the GRAB method appears to be linear with the initial fluorescence, and the resulting images are of sufficient quality to reveal detailed spatial information. This is exemplified by the observed intra-Golgi stack and intracisternal distribution of a human Golgi resident glycosylation enzyme, N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase-2 fused either to enhanced GFP or CFP.
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| 8. |
- Meijer, Lisethe, et al.
(author)
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Serum concentrations of neutral and phenolic organohalogens in pregnant women and some of their infants in The Netherlands.
- 2008
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In: Environ Sci Technol. - 0013-936X. ; 42:9, s. 3428-33
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- As part of a large European Union (EU)-funded comparative toxicology and human epidemiology study, EU-Compare, a selection of organohalogen compounds (OHCs) was analyzed in maternal serum, collected at the 35th week of pregnancy, and in cord serum of a number of their infants to determine maternal concentrations and to investigate the extent of transplacental transfer of these compounds. Eight neutral OHCs were analyzed: one polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB: CB-153),4,4'-DDE, five polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs: BDE-47, BDE-99, BDE-100, BDE-153, and BDE-154), and hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD). Five phenolic OHCs were analyzed: three hydroxylated PCBs (40H-CB-107, 40H-CB-146, and 40H-CB-187), one hydroxylated PBDE (60H-BDE-47), and pentachlorophenol (PCP). All OHCs, except 60H-BDE-47, were present in maternal and cord serum. The historically identified OHCs showed the highest concentration: 4,4'-DDE (median value 89 ng/g lipid in maternal serum and 68 ng/g lipid in cord serum) and PCP (median value 970 pg/g serum in maternal serum and 1500 pg/g serum in cord serum). HBCDD and the PBDEs were present at much lower concentrations. We conclude that OHCs are present in the serum of pregnant women, and all compounds tested are transferred over the placenta. Because transfer is occurring at a critical stage of infant development, investigation of the health impact is urgent.
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| 9. |
- Metra, M., et al.
(author)
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Effects of low-dose oral enoximone administration on mortality, morbidity, and exercise capacity in patients with advanced heart failure: the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group ESSENTIAL trials
- 2009
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In: European Journal of Heart Failure. - 1522-9645. ; 30:24, s. 3015-26
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- AIMS: Use of inotropic agents in patients with heart failure (HF) has been limited by adverse effects on outcomes. However, administration of positive inotropes at lower doses and concomitant treatment with beta-blockers might increase benefit-risk ratio. We investigated the effects of low doses of the positive inotrope enoximone on symptoms, exercise capacity, and major clinical outcomes in patients with advanced HF who were also treated with beta-blockers and other guideline-recommended background therapy. METHODS AND RESULTS: The Studies of Oral Enoximone Therapy in Advanced HF (ESSENTIAL) programme consisted of two identical, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials that differed only by geographic location (North and South America: ESSENTIAL-I; Europe: ESSENTIAL-II). Patients with New York Heart Association class III-IV HF symptoms, left ventricular ejection fraction < or = 30%, and one hospitalization or two ambulatory visits for worsening HF in the previous year were eligible for participation in the trials. The trials had three co-primary endpoints: (i) the composite of time to all-cause mortality or cardiovascular hospitalization, analysed in the two ESSENTIAL trials combined; (ii) the 6 month change from baseline in the 6 min walk test distance (6MWTD); and (iii) the Patient Global Assessment (PGA) at 6 months, both analysed in each trial separately. ESSENTIAL-I and -II randomized 1854 subjects at 211 sites in 16 countries. In the combined trials, all-cause mortality and the composite, first co-primary endpoint did not differ between the two treatment groups [hazard ratio (HR) 0.97; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.80-1.17; and HR 0.98; 95% CI 0.86-1.12, respectively, for enoximone vs. placebo]. The two other co-primary endpoints were analysed separately in the two ESSENTIAL trials, as prospectively designed in the protocol. The 6MWTD increased with enoximone, compared with placebo, in ESSENTIAL-I (P = 0.025, not reaching, however, the pre-specified criterion for statistical significance of P < 0.020), but not in ESSENTIAL-II. No difference in PGA was observed in either trial. CONCLUSION: Although low-dose enoximone appears to be safe in patients with advanced HF, major clinical outcomes are not improved.
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| 10. |
- Abraham, Mark J, et al.
(author)
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Ensuring Mixing Efficiency of Replica-Exchange Molecular Dynamics Simulations
- 2008
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In: Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1549-9618 .- 1549-9626. ; 4:7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We address the question of constructing a protocol for replica-exchange molecular dynamics (REMD) simulations that make efficient use of the replica space, assess whether published applications are achieving such "mixing" efficiency, and provide a how-to guide to assist users to plan efficient REMD simulations. To address our first question, we introduce and discuss three metrics for assessing the number of replica-exchange attempts required to justify the use of a replica scheme and define a "transit number" as the lower bound for the length of an efficient simulation. Our literature survey of applications of REMD simulations of peptides in explicit solvent indicated that authors are not routinely reporting sufficient details of their simulation protocols to allow readers to make independent assessments of the impact of the method on their results, particularly whether mixing efficiency has been achieved. Necessary details include the expected or observed replica-exchange probability, together with the total number of exchange attempts, the exchange period, and estimates of the autocorrelation time of the potential energy. Our analysis of cases where the necessary information was reported suggests that in many of these simulations there are insufficient exchanges attempted or an insufficiently long period between them to provide confidence that the simulation length justifies the size of the replica scheme. We suggest guidelines for designing REMD simulation protocols to ensure mixing efficiency. Two key recommendations are that the exchange period should in general be larger than 1 ps and the number of exchange attempts should be chosen to significantly exceed the transit number for the replica scheme.
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