nt and antiaging potential of PLD against H2O2-induced premature senescence. © 2020 S. Karger AG, Basel.BACKGROUND/AIMS We investigated the efficacy of ultrasound imaging of the tongue as a tool for familiarizing naïve learners with the production of a class of nonnative speech sounds palatalized Russian consonants. METHODS Two learner groups were familiarized, one with ultrasound and one with audio only. Learners performed pre- and postfamiliarization production and discrimination tasks. RESULTS Ratings of productions of word-final palatalized consonants by learners from both groups improved after familiarization, as did discrimination of the palatalization contrast word-finally. There were no significant differences in the improvement between groups in either task. All learners were able to generalize to novel contexts in production and discrimination. The presence of palatalization interfered with discrimination of word-initial manner, and ultrasound learners were more successful in overcoming that interference. CONCLUSION Ultrasound familiarization resulted in improvements in production and discrimination comparable to audio only. Ultrasound familiarization additionally helped learners overcome difficulties in manner discrimination introduced by palatalization. When familiarizing learners with a novel, nonnative class of sounds, a small set of stimuli in different contexts may be more beneficial than using a larger set in one context. Although untrained production can disrupt discrimination training, we found that production familiarization was not disruptive to discrimination or production. Tretinoin Retinoid Receptor agonist © 2020 S. Karger AG, Basel.AIMS This study was designed to evaluate the conflicting association between 2 tubular protein markers including neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and retinol-binding protein-4 (RBP-4) with albuminuria and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and calculate the accuracy of the role of NGAL and RBP-4 in diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy (DN) in patients with type2 diabetes. METHODS This is a cross-sectional study that included 133 patients with type 2 diabetes. There were 3 diabetic study groups with normoalbuminuria, moderately increased albuminuria, severely increased albuminuria, and non-diabetic control group without any renal disease. We analyzed the difference of urinary NGAL (uNGAL) and RBP-4 between nondiabetics and diabetics, as well as within the diabetic group. We also assessed the association between albuminuria and NGAL and RBP-4. RESULTS The urinary levels of NGAL and RBP-4 were higher in patients with type 2 diabetes compared to nondiabetics as well as in albuminuric diabetics compared to nonalbuminuric patients with diabetes (p value less then 0.001). These 2 proteins were higher in patients with severely increased albuminuria compared to patients with moderately increased albuminuria, even after adjustment for other metabolic factors (all p less then 0.01). Moreover, areas under the curve of NGAL and RBP-4 for the diagnosis of chronic kidney disease were 80.6 and 74.6%, respectively. CONCLUSION uNGAL and RBP-4 are potential markers of tubular damage that may increase before the onset of glomerular markers such as albuminuria and GFR in patients with type 2 diabetes. Therefore, these markers can be used as complementary measurements to albuminuria and GFR in the earlier diagnosis of DN. © 2020 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.BACKGROUND Delirium is common in old patients who undergo cardiac surgery, and it is associated with adverse outcomes. The genesis of delirium is thought to be multi-factorial, but it is still not well understood. Symptoms of depression and elevated cortisol level have been described in some previous studies as factors associated with delirium, suggesting a shared pathophysiology. AIMS The objective of the present study was to determine whether preoperative depression symptoms and increased cortisol level represent risk factors for delirium after cardiac surgery. METHODS We performed a prospective cohort study in 183 patients aged >50 years undergoing elective cardiac surgery. The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) was used to assess patients for depressive symptoms before surgery. Preoperative plasma cortisol levels were available in 145 participants. Delirium was diagnosed using the Confusion Assessment Method for Intensive Care Unit (CAM-ICU) during the first 7 days after surgery. Spearman correlation was ustor of delirium after surgery. Further studies are needed to determine the potential of preoperative depression treatment to prevent postoperative delirium. © 2020 S. Karger AG, Basel.BACKGROUND In moderate-to-severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients the 6-min walk test (6MWT) is often exhaustive and correlates with the incremental cycle cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET). OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to assess the agreement between oxygen uptake (VO2) measured during the 6MWT by portable equipment and incremental cycle exercise in COPD patients with Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) I-IV. METHODS A total of 30 patients with COPD GOLD I-IV (14 patients GOLD stage I and II and 16 patients GOLD stage III and IV) underwent a 6MWT and an incremental CPET. Breath-by-breath analysis for VO2, carbon dioxide output (VCO2), and minute ventilation (VE) were measured during each test. Blood gas analysis and lactate measurements were performed before, during, and after the test. RESULTS VO2 in COPD patients GOLD stage I and II was 16.2 ± 4.2 mL/kg/min measured by 6MWT and 20.5 ± 7.0 mL/kg/min measured by CPET as compared to GOLD stage III and IV (11.2 ± 3.7 mL/kg/min measured by 6MWT and 15.5 ± 4.3 mL/kg/min measured by CPET). No significant correlation in VO2 measurements could be found between both tests in COPD GOLD I and II (r = 0.17), whereas the VO2 significantly correlated in patients with COPD stage III and IV (r = 0.7). CONCLUSIONS A significant relationship between VO2 measured by 6MWT and CPET could only be found in patients with more severe COPD but not in milder stages. 6MWT and CPET provide different VO2 measurements in COPD patients. The two methods cannot be used interchangeably. © 2020 S. Karger AG, Basel.