The prevalence of hypertension among Croatian hospitalized coronary heart disease patients

The aim of this article was to investigate the prevalence of hypertension with selected anthropometric variables in a sample of hospitalized coronary heart disease (CHD) patients in Croatia. This study investigated patients hospitalized in the period of October 1st 2007 until January 7th 2010 because of acute or chronic CHD in various hospitals in Croatia (N = 1,298). Prevalence of hypertension in surveyed patient population was high: 70.1% of participants had raised blood pressure (BP) or previously diagnosed hypertension. Men had statistically significantly higher mean diastolic BP values than women (78.91 +/- 8.97 vs. 77.12 +/- 10.61 mmHg, p = 0.011). Prevalence of hypertension was statistically significantly more frequent in women (80.6% vs. 65.8%, p < 0.001). Hypertension still represents an important problem among hospitalized Croatian CHD patients. Its prevalence, unfortunately, continues to increase in this population, suggesting that there is still great potential for improvement of preventive cardiology standards and measures that have already been undertaken.     

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus and abnormal lipid status among Croatian hospitalized coronary heart disease patients

The aim of this article was to investigate the prevalence of diabetes mellitus and abnormal lipid status with selected anthropometric variables in a sample of hospitalized coronary heart disease (CHD) patients in Croatia (N = 1,298). Prevalence of diabetes mellitus was 31.6% (statistically significantly more frequent in women, 35.7% vs. 30.0%), while prevalences of increased total cholesterol were 72.0%, decreased HDL-cholesterol 42.6% (statistically significantly more frequent in women, 50.2% vs. 39.6%), increased LDL-cholesterol 72.3% and increased triglycerides 51.5%. Reported data on prevalences of diabetes mellitus can be somewhat reassuring (a decrease in its prevalence compared to data from 2006, but they still signal a situation which is a lot worse than in 2002 and 2003); the trend of rising prevalences of dyslipidaemic cardiovascular risk factors must be a cause for an alarm, furthermore as today's preventive and treatment measures in cardiology, both primary and secondary, are strongly focused on dyslipidaemias.     

The CroHort study: cardiovascular behavioral risk factors in adults, school children and adolescents, hospitalized coronary heart disease patients, and cardio rehabilitation groups in Croatia

Based on repeated measurement of health behaviors the CroHort Study showed that health behavior explains a great deal more of class inequalities in mortality than observed in previous studies. These include decreasing prevalence of smoking and increase in obesity, hypertension and diabetes mellitus. The lowest prevalence of health risks was recorded among children and adolescents, followed by general adult population from the CroHort Study. Hospitalized coronary heart disease patients had higher risks prevalence than general population, while the highest prevalence of risks was recorded among patients in cardiac rehabilitation program. The higher levels of stress were associated to lower financial conditions, poorer social functioning and poorer mental health for both men and women. Higher levels of stress were also associated with heart problems, higher alcohol consumption in men while in women stress was associated to poorer general health, higher age and lower levels of education.     

Dke1—structure, dynamics, and function: a theoretical and experimental study elucidating the role of the binding site shape and the hydrogen-bonding network in catalysis

This study elucidates the role of the protein structure in the catalysis of β-diketone cleavage at the three-histidine metal center of diketone cleaving enzyme (Dke1) by computational methods in correlation with kinetic and mutational analyses. Molecular dynamics simulations, using quantum mechanically deduced parameters for the nonheme Fe(II) cofactor, were performed and showed a distinct organization of the hydrophilic triad in the free and substrate-ligated wild-type enzyme. It is shown that in the free species, the Fe(II) center is coordinated to three histidines and one glutamate, whereas the substrate-ligated, catalytically competent enzyme-substrate complex has an Fe(II) center with three-histidine coordination, with a small fraction of three-histidine, one-glutamate coordination. The substrate binding modes and channels for the traffic of water and ligands (2,4-pentandionyl anion, methylglyoxal, and acetate) were identified. To characterize the impact of the hydrophobic protein environment around the metal center on catalysis, a set of hydrophobic residues close to the active site were targeted. The variations resulted in an up to tenfold decrease of the O(2) reduction rates for the mutants. Molecular dynamics studies revealed an impact of the hydrophobic residues on the substrate stabilization in the active site as well as on the orientations of Glu98 and Arg80, which have previously been shown to be crucial for catalysis. Consequently, the Glu98-His104 interaction in the variants is weaker than in the wild-type complex. The role of protein structure in stabilizing the primary O(2) reduction step in Dke1 is discussed on the basis of our results.     

Endogenous Auxin Profile in the Christmas Rose (Helleborus niger L.) Flower and Fruit: Free and Amide Conjugated IAA

The reproductive development of the Christmas rose (Helleborus niger L.) is characterized by an uncommon feature in the world of flowering plants: after fertilization the white perianth becomes green and photosynthetically active and persists during fruit development. In the flowers in which fertilization was prevented by emasculation (unfertilized) or entire reproductive organs were removed (depistillated), the elongation of the peduncle was reduced by 20?C30%, and vascular development, particularly lignin deposition in sclerenchyma, was arrested. Chlorophyll accumulation in sepals and their photosynthetic efficacy were up to 80% lower in comparison to fertilized flowers. Endogenous auxins were investigated in floral and fruit tissues and their potential roles in these processes are discussed. Analytical data of free indole-3-acetic acid, indole-3-ethanol (IEt), and seven amino acid conjugates were afforded by LC-MS/MS in floral tissues of fertilized as well as unfertilized and depistillated flowers. Among amino acid conjugates, novel ones with Val, Gly, and Phe were identified and quantified in the anthers, and in the fruit during development. Reproductive organs before fertilization followed by developing fruit at post-anthesis were the main source of auxin. Tissues of unfertilized and depistillated flowers accumulated significantly lower levels of auxin. Upon depistillation, auxin content in the peduncle and sepal was decreased to 4 and 45%, respectively, in comparison to fruit-bearing flowers. This study suggests that auxin arising in developing fruit may participate, in part, in the coordination of the Christmas rose peduncle elongation and its vascular development.     

Restriction enzyme-free mutagenesis via the light regulation of DNA polymerization

The effects of photocaged nucleosides on the DNA polymerization reaction was investigated, finding that most polymerases are unable to recognize and read through the presence of a single caging group on the DNA template. Based on this discovery, a new method of introducing mutations into plasmid DNA via a light-mediated mutagenesis protocol was developed. This methodology is advantageous over several common approaches in that it requires the use of only two polymerase chain reaction primers, and does not require any restriction sites or use of restriction enzymes. Additionally, this approach enables not only site-directed mutations, but also the insertion of DNA strands of any length into plasmids and the deletion of entire genes from plasmids.     

Transdifferentiation of murine squamous vaginal epithelium in proestrus is associated with changes in the expression of keratin polypeptides

The superficial layers of the stratified squamous epithelium of the murine vagina undergo transdifferentiation into cuboidal mucinous cells during the proestrus phase of the normal estrous cycle. In contrast to their squamous progenitor cells which have the cytoskeletal characteristics of squamous epithelium, mucinous cells express keratin polypeptides typical of simple nonstratified epithelia. Accordingly, the transdifferentiation of squamous cell into mucinous cells involves not only a change in cell morphology but also a switch in the expression of keratin polypeptides. These data indicate that the stratified squamous cells of the vagina are not terminally differentiated and their phenotype can be hormonally modulated.     

Identification of a new urate and high affinity nicotinate transporter, hOAT10 (SLC22A13)

The orphan transporter hORCTL3 (human organic cation transporter like 3; SLC22A13) is highly expressed in kidneys and to a weaker extent in brain, heart, and intestine. hORCTL3-expressing Xenopus laevis oocytes showed uptake of [(3)H]nicotinate, [(3)H]p-aminohippurate, and [(14)C]urate. Hence, hORCTL3 is an organic anion transporter, and we renamed it hOAT10. [(3)H]Nicotinate transport by hOAT10 into X. laevis oocytes and into Caco-2 cells was saturable with Michaelis constants (K(m)) of 22 and 44 microm, respectively, suggesting that hOAT10 may be the molecular equivalent of the postulated high affinity nicotinate transporter in kidneys and intestine. The pH dependence of hOAT10 suggests p-aminohippurate(-)/OH(-), urate(-)/OH(-), and nicotinate(-)/OH(-) exchange as possible transport modes. Urate inhibited [(3)H]nicotinate transport by hOAT10 with an IC(50) value of 759 microm, assuming that hOAT10 represents a low affinity urate transporter. hOAT10-mediated [(14)C]urate uptake was elevated by an exchange with l -lactate, pyrazinoate, and nicotinate. Surprisingly, we have detected urate(-)/glutathione exchange by hOAT10, consistent with an involvement of hOAT10 in the renal glutathione cycle. Uricosurics, diuretics, and cyclosporine A showed substantial interactions with hOAT10, of which cyclosporine A enhanced [(14)C]urate uptake, providing the first molecular evidence for cyclosporine A-induced hyperuricemia.     

Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the interior of Croatia: the Baranja region

Metabolic syndrome (MS), a constellation of metabolic risk factors associated with development of cardiovascular diseases and Type 2 diabetes (T2D), has emerged as a public health problem of enormous proportions in developed and developing countries. We have reported previously its prevalence in several island populations of the Eastern Adriatic coast of Croatia. In spite of leading a relatively traditional life style pattern including adherence to a Mediterranean diet, the prevalence of MS in these populations is high and comparable to that in developed nations. However, data on prevalence of MS among the mainland Croatian populations is limited. Therefore, we conducted a study in an outbred population comprising of Croats, Hungarians and Serbs from the Baranja region of mainland Croatia. Although this is an ethnically heterogeneous population, the constituent groups exchange mates and therefore, are not reproductively isolated. The life style patterns are also similar. Overall prevalence of MS, assessed by the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) criteria, is 40% (35% in males and 42% in females) with Body Mass Index (BMI) as the predictor of obesity and 42% (52% in males and 39% in females) with Waist Hip Ratio (WHR) as the predictor of obesity. It is likely that, in addition to genetic risk factors, a host of environmental factors that include dietary habits and relatively urban life style in a modernized society have influenced the levels of the constituent metabolic traits leading to an increased prevalence of MS.