The effects of chronic kidney disease on baroreflex control of renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA) and deficits in afferent and central components of the baroreflex were studied in juvenile and adult male Lewis Polycystic Kidney (LPK) and control Lewis rats under anesthesia (n=35). Blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), aortic depressor nerve activity (ADNA), and RSNA were determined after p...

The biochemical events involved in the upregulation of selected glucose‑responsive genes by 3‑O‑methyl‑D‑glucose (3‑MG) remain to be elucidated. The present study mainly aimed to re‑evaluate the possible role of 3‑MG phosphorylation in the upregulation of the thioredoxin interacting protein (TXNIP) and liver pyruvate kinase (LPK) genes in rat hepatocytes and INS1E cells. TXNIP and LPK transcrip...

With the advent of recent molecular studies, nonspherocytic hemolytic anemia caused by red blood cell pyruvate kinase (PK) deficiency is now considered to be caused by a structural mutation of the PK-LR gene. Because PK deficiency is a monogenic disorder, the introduction of the normal PK gene into a patient's bone marrow stem cells should cure the disorder. To study the feasibility of gene the...

This study investigated the effects of hypertension on regional aortic biomechanical and structural properties in three rat models of vascular calcification: the hypertensive Lewis polycystic kidney (LPK; n = 13) model of chronic kidney disease, spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs; n = 12), and calcification in normotensive Lewis rats induced by vitamin D3 and nicotine (VDN; n = 8). Lewis and...

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with sympathetic hyperactivity and impaired blood pressure control reflex responses, yet direct evidence demonstrating these features of autonomic dysfunction in conscious animals is still lacking. Here we measured renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) using telemetry-based recordings in a rat model of CKD, the Lewis ...

With modern technology development, functional data are being observed frequently in many scientific fields. A popular method for analyzing such functional data is “smoothing first, then estimation.” That is, statistical inference such as estimation and hypothesis testing about functional data is conducted based on the substitution of the underlying individual functions by their reconstructions...

This study explored the effects of prior knowledge (high vs. low; HPK and LPK) and concept-map structure (hierarchical vs. network; HS and NS) on disorientation, cognitive load, and learning from non-linear documents on ‘‘the infection process of a retrograde virus (HIV)’’. Participants in the study were 24 adults. Overall subjective ratings of disorientation and cognitive load, as well as deta...

BACKGROUND/METHODS We have examined the hypothesis that cyst formation is key in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease in a Lewis polycystic kidney (LPK) model of autosomal-recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD), by determining the relationship between cyst development and indices of renal function and cardiovascular disease. RESULTS In the LPK (n = 35), cysts appear at week 3 (1.1 ...

The ability of unmodified linear peptides to penetrate the insect cuticle and exert bioactivity (e.g., stimulation of sex pheromone biosynthesis) was tested by topical application onto Heliothis peltigera moths of four insect neuropeptides (Nps) of the pyrokinin (PK)/pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide (PBAN) family: Helicoverpa zea PBAN (Hez-PBAN), Pseudaletia (Mythimna) separata ph...

A linear pyrokinin (PK)/pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide (PBAN) antagonist lead (RYF[dF]PRLa) was structurally modified to impart amphiphilic properties to enhance its ability to transmigrate the hydrophobic cuticle of noctuid moth species and yet retain aqueous solubility in the hemolymph to reach target PK/PBAN receptors within the internal insect environment. The resulting nove...