079). The IR-stimulated increase in ET-1, NE, MPO, and MDA (3.6-, 8.4-, 6.0- and 3.0-fold over baseline, p < 0.001) was significantly reduced by relaxin (p < 0.007).

CONCLUSION: These results show that human relaxin

exerts a protective effect in IR-induced lung injury, likely due to ET reduction, endothelial protection, decreased leukocyte recruitment, and hindrance of free radical-mediated tissue injury, which renders relaxin a candidate drug for lung preservation. J Heart Lung Transplant 2010;29:454-460 (C) 2010 International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation. All rights reserved.”
“Cross-sectional studies have suggested ACY-738 supplier that valproate treatment may be associated with hyperinsulinemia and hyperandrogenism in women. Few prospective data are available. We evaluated the reproductive endocrine and insulin-related metabolic parameters in men and women with untreated epilepsy randomized to valproate (n = 44) or lamotrigine (n = 37) monotherapy for 12 months. On treatment, there was no significant difference in fasting serum insulin selleck chemicals concentrations between

the two groups. In women (n = 40), there was no significant difference between the two groups in change from baseline in serum total testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, luteinizing hormone, or follicle-stimulating hormone. In men (n = 41), follicle-stimulating hormone concentration significantly decreased in patients taking valproate compared with those on lamotrigine as early as 3 months after treatment. Greater attention should be paid to investigate the potential impact of valproate on reproductive function in men. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“n-ZnO/p-Si heterojunction light-emitting diodes (LEDs) show weak defect-related electroluminescence (EL). check details In order to analyze the origin of the weak EL, the energy band alignment and interfacial microstructure of ZnO/Si heterojunction are

investigated by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The valence band offset (VBO) is determined to be 3.15 +/- 0.15 eV and conduction band offset is -0.90 +/- 0.15 eV, showing a type-II band alignment. The higher VBO means a high potential barrier for holes injected from Si into ZnO, and hence, charge carrier recombination takes place mainly on the Si side rather than the ZnO layer. It is also found that a 2.1 nm thick SiO(x) interfacial layer is formed at the ZnO/Si interface. The unavoidable SiO(x) interfacial layer provides to a large number of nonradiative centers at the ZnO/Si interface and gives rise to poor crystallinity in the ZnO films. The weak EL from the n-ZnO/p-Si LEDs can be ascribed to the high ZnO/Si VBO and existence of the SiO(x) interfacial layer. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.