High HbA1c levels correlate with reduced plaque regression during statin treatment in patients with stable coronary artery disease: Results of the coronary atherosclerosis study measuring effects of rosuvastatin using intravascular ultrasound in Japanese subjects (COSMOS)

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The incidence of cardiac events is higher in patients with diabetes than in people without diabetes. The Coronary Atherosclerosis Study Measuring Effects of Rosuvastatin Using Intravascular Ultrasound in Japanese Subjects (COSMOS) demonstrated significant plaque regression in Japanese patients with chronic coronary disease after 76?weeks of rosuvastatin (2.5?mg once daily, up-titrated to a maximum of 20?mg/day to achieve LDL cholesterol <80?mg/dl). METHODS: In this subanalysis of COSMOS, we examined the association between HbA1c and plaque regression in 40 patients with HbA1c ≥6.5% (high group) and 86 patients with HbA1c <6.5% (low group). RESULTS: In multivariate analyses, HbA1c and plaque volume at baseline were major determinants of plaque regression. LDL cholesterol decreased by 37% and 39% in the high and low groups, respectively, while HDL cholesterol increased by 16% and 22%, respectively. The reduction in plaque volume was significantly (p?=?0.04) greater in the low group (from 71.0?±?39.9 to 64.7?±?34.7?mm3) than in the high group (from 74.3?±?34.2 to 71.4?±?32.3?mm3). Vessel volume increased in the high group but not in the low group (change from baseline: +4.2% vs -0.8%, p?=?0.02). Change in plaque volume was significantly correlated with baseline HbA1c. CONCLUSIONS: Despite similar improvements in lipid levels, plaque regression was less pronounced in patients with high HbA1c levels compared with those with low levels. Tight glucose control during statin therapy may enhance plaque regression in patients with stable coronary disease. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, Identifier NCT00329160.     

Genetic characterization of Dibothriocephalus latus and Dibothriocephalus dendriticus (Cestoda: Diphyllobothriidae) from Chile based on haplotype analysis using mitochondrial DNA markers

Dibothriocephalus latus and Dibothriocephalus dendriticus are found throughout the temperate and sub-arctic zones of the northern hemisphere, but they are also found in the southern core countries of South America, Chile and Argentina. Genetic characteristics of D. latus and D. dendriticus from South America have yet to be fully defined. The present study aimed to understand the genetic characteristics of D. latus and D. dendriticus from Chile by haplotype network analysis of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (cox1) and cytochrome b gene (cob), as well as their origins. Dibothriocephalus latus and D. dendriticus plerocercoid larvae were obtained from feral and/or wild salmonids captured in Lake Llanquihue in Región de Los Lagos, and Lake Panguipulli in Región de Los Ríos, located south of central Chile. Haplotype analysis of D. latus revealed that H1 in cox1 and H2 in cob are the key haplotypes common to D. latus across the world, including Chile, and both genes exhibited limited genetic diversity in D. latus. It was assumed that D. latus was brought into South America by European and Russian immigrants in the 19th century as previously reported. In contrast, both the cox1 and cob of D. dendriticus display considerable genetic diversity, with no common haplotypes between D. dendriticus populations from Chile and the northern hemisphere. More intriguingly, two cob haplotypes (H24, H25) detected in Chilean D. dendriticus were closely linked to haplotypes (H30, H31) detected in North American D. dendriticus, strongly implying that D. dendriticus in Chile was brought by piscivorous migrating birds from North America. It has also been estimated that the D. dendriticus from Chile genetically diverged from the D. dendriticus from the northern hemisphere approximately 1.11 million years ago, long before humans migrated to the southern parts of South America.     

A combined approach using RAPD,ISSR and volatile analysis for the characterization of Thymus caespititius from Flores,Corvo and Graciosa islands (Azores,Portugal)

RAPDs and ISSRs were used as molecular markers and combined with the chemical analysis of the volatiles, aiming at characterizing Thymus caespititius from the islands of Corvo, Flores and Graciosa (Azores). Thirty-one individuals were analyzed using 17 RAPD and 11 ISSRs primers, which generated respectively 199 and 127 polymorphic scorable bands. Volatiles were isolated by distillation–extraction and analyzed by GC and GC–MS. Molecular data obtained from both markers discriminated assessments from Corvo and Flores which clustered separately from plants collected in Graciosa. Volatile data grouped plants in a similar way, giving rise to two groups, depending on their oil type; plants collected on Corvo and Flores yielded carvacrol-rich volatiles while those from Graciosa yielded both carvacrol and α-terpineol-rich oils.     

Limited educational attainment and radiographic and symptomatic knee osteoarthritis: a cross-sectional analysis using data from the Johnston County (North Carolina) Osteoarthritis Project

Introduction  

Applying a cross-sectional analysis to a sample of 2,627 African-American and Caucasian adults aged ≥ 45 years from the Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project, we studied the association between educational attainment and prevalence of radiographic knee osteoarthritis and symptomatic knee osteoarthritis.     

Genomic analysis of cultivated barley (Hordeum vulgare) using sequence-tagged molecular markers. Estimates of divergence based on RFLP and PCR markers derived from stress-responsive genes, and simple-sequence repeats (SSRs)

Three types of molecular markers have been compared for their utility in evaluating genetic diversity among cultivars of Hordeum vulgare. Restriction fragment length polymorphisms at 71 sites were scored with the aid of probes corresponding to stress-responsive genes from barley and wheat, coding for a low-molecular-weight heat shock protein, a dehydrin, an aldose reductase homolog, and a 18.9-kDa drought-induced protein of unknown function. Indexes of genetic diversity computed in the total sample and within groups of cultivars (two-rowed and six-rowed, winter and spring varieties) indicated high values of genetic differentiation ( F (ST) >15%). A second assessment of genetic diversity was performed by PCR amplification of genomic DNA using as primers 13 arbitrary oligonucleotides derived from sequences of the same stress-responsive genes. A high degree of polymorphism was uncovered using these markers also, but they yielded low values for F (ST) (<7%) among groups of cultivars. Finally, 15 different simple-sequence repeats (AC or AG) were amplified with primers based on unique flanking sequences. Levels of polymorphism and differentiation between groups of cultivars revealed by these markers were quite high. Ordination techniques applied to measures of genetic distance among cultivars demonstrated a remarkable ability of the RFLPs associated with stress-responsive genes to discriminate on the basis of growth habit. The correlation with production data for the cultivars in different environments was also significant. This "functional genomics" strategy was therefore as informative as the "structural genomics" (SSR-based) approach, but requires the analysis of fewer probes.     

Evolutionary history of the endangered fish <Emphasis Type="Italic">Zoogoneticus quitzeoensis</Emphasis>(Bean, 1898) (Cyprinodontiformes: Goodeidae) using a sequential approach to phylogeography based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA data

Background  

Tectonic, volcanic and climatic events that produce changes in hydrographic systems are the main causes of diversification and speciation of freshwater fishes. Elucidate the evolutionary history of freshwater fishes permits to infer theories on the biotic and geological evolution of a region, which can further be applied to understand processes of population divergence, speciation and for conservation purposes. The freshwater ecosystems in Central Mexico are characterized by their genesis dynamism, destruction, and compartmentalization induced by intense geologic activity and climatic changes since the early Miocene. The endangered goodeid Zoogoneticus quitzeoensis is widely distributed across Central México, thus making it a good model for phylogeographic analyses in this area.     

Functional similarity of the P-2 form of primary sleep and hypobiosis in the frog Rana temporaria (based on data from luminescent microspectral analysis of the cytoplasm of neurosecretory neurons)

Using luminescent microspectral analysis of preparations stained by acridine orange, studies have been made on the ratio between single- and double-stranded parts in ribosomal RNA from the cytoplasm of neurosecretory neurones of the preoptic nucleus of the frog Rana temporaria. The animals were investigated in active period, during P-2 form of the primary sleep, in hypobiosis, and after injection of the active factor (peptide fraction with a molecular mass 1-10,000 Da) extracted from the small intestine of the ground squirrel Citellus undulatus during winter hibernation. It was shown that unlike actively awake frogs, animals from other experimental series exhibited similar changes, i.e. the decrease in the affinity of acridine orange to single- and double-stranded parts of rRNA and the decrease in the value of alpha which reflects the ratio of single- and double-stranded parts. It was also demonstrated that injection of the active factor from hibernating ground squirrels to frogs results in a condition which is rather similar to a natural resting form (P-2) of the primary sleep in cold-blooded vertebrates.