Effect of valsartan on the incidence of diabetes and cardiovascular events

It is not known whether drugs that block the renin-angiotensin system reduce the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular events in patients with impaired glucose tolerance.

Effect of nateglinide on the incidence of diabetes and cardiovascular events

The ability of short-acting insulin secretagogues to reduce the risk of diabetes or cardiovascular events in people with impaired glucose tolerance is unknown.

Impact of Bone Harvesting Techniques on Cell Viability and the Release of Growth Factors of Autografts

Background: Autogenous bone grafts obtained by different harvesting techniques behave differently during the process of graft consolidation; the underlying reasons are however not fully understood. One theory is that harvesting techniques have an impact on the number and activity of the transplanted cells which contribute to the process of graft consolidation. Materials and Methods: To test this assumption, porcine bone grafts were harvested with four different surgical procedures: bone mill, piezosurgery, bone drilling (bone slurry), and bone scraper. After determining cell viability, the release of molecules affecting bone formation and resorption was assessed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and immunoassay. The mitogenic and osteogenic activity of the conditioned media was evaluated in a bioassay with isolated bone cells. Results: Cell viability and the release of molecules affecting bone formation were higher in samples harvested by bone mill and bone scraper when compared with samples prepared by bone drilling and piezosurgery. The harvesting procedure also affected gene expression, for example, bone mill and bone scraper samples revealed significantly higher expression of growth factors such as bone morphogenetic protein-2 and vascular endothelial growth factor compared with the two other modalities. Receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B ligand expression was lowest in bone scraper samples. Conclusion: These data can provide a scientific basis to better understand the impact of harvesting techniques on the number and activity of transplanted cells, which might contribute to the therapeutic outcome of the augmentation procedure.

Vorsorglicher Rechtsschutz. Vorsorgliche Massnahmen im internationalen Kontext, offene Fragen im neuen Arrestrecht und Sicherungsmassnahmen der ZPO, mit Beiträgen von Dr. Isabelle Chabloz, Dr. Richard Gassmann, PD Dr. Pascal Grolimund, Dr. Jürg Roth, Prof. Dr. Daniel Staehelin

Am 9. September 2011 führte das Institut für Verfahrensrecht und Internationales Privatrecht (CIVPRO) der Universität Bern in bewährter Zusammenarbeit mit der schweizerischen SchKG-Vereinigung die zweite Schweizer Tagung für Internationales Zivilverfahrensrecht durch. Im Mittelpunkt der Tagung standen vorsorgliche Massnahmen im internationalen Kontext vor dem Hintergrund der neuesten Entwicklungen, namentlich (aber nicht nur) des neuen Lugano-Übereinkommens. Der Tagungsband enthält die auf den Vorträgen basierenden, überarbeiteten und erweiterten Beiträge namhafter Autorinnen und Autoren zum vorsorglichen Rechtsschutz im neuen IZPR (Pascal Grolimund). Besondere Aufmerksamkeit gilt dem neuen Arrestrecht sowohl im als auch ausserhalb des Anwendungsbereichs des Lugano-Übereinkommens (Richard Gassmann und Jürg Roth). Ebenso enthält der Band Beiträge zu den Sicherungsmassnahmen in der Realvollstreckung (Daniel Staehelin) sowie zur Anerkennung ausländischer vorsorglicher Massnahmen (Isabelle Chabloz).

Electroporation enhances reporter gene expression following delivery of naked plasmid DNA to the lung

BACKGROUND: Existing methods of non-viral airway gene transfer suffer from low levels of efficiency. Electroporation has been used to enhance gene transfer in a range of tissues. Here we assess the usefulness of electroporation for enhancing gene transfer in the lungs of mice and sheep. METHODS: Naked plasmid DNA (pDNA) expressing either luciferase or green fluorescent protein (GFP) was delivered to mouse lungs by instillation. Following surgical visualisation, the lungs were directly electroporated and the level and duration of luciferase activity was assessed and cell types that were positive for GFP were identified in lung cryosections. Naked pDNA was nebulised to the sheep lung and electrodes attached to the tip of a bronchoscope were used to electroporate airway segment bifurcations, Luciferase activity was assessed in electroporated and control non-electroporated regions, after 24 h. RESULTS: Following delivery of naked pDNA to the mouse lung, electroporation resulted in up to 400-fold higher luciferase activity than naked pDNA alone when luciferase was under the control of a cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter. Following delivery of a plasmid containing the human polyubiquitin C (UbC) promoter, electroporation resulted in elevated luciferase activity for at least 28 days. Visualisation of GFP indicated that electroporation resulted in increased GFP detection compared with non-electroporated controls. In the sheep lung electroporation of defined sites in the airways resulted in luciferase activity 100-fold greater than naked pDNA alone. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that electroporation can be used to enhance gene transfer in the lungs of mice and sheep without compromising the duration of expression.