Paced QRS morphology predicts incident left ventricular systolic dysfunction and atrial fibrillation

Background

The prognostic significance of paced QRS complex morphology on surface ECG remains unclear. This study aimed to assess long-term outcomes associated with variations in the paced QRS complex.

Implication of a pepper h-type thioredoxin in type I- and II-nonhost resistance to Xanthomonas axonopodis

Thioredoxins (TRXs) are distributed ubiquitously in prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. Plants have the most complex forms of TRXs. The functional roles of such TRXs have been studied in abiotic stress but their roles in plant defense responses against biotic stresses have been less well studied. Here, we identified an h-type TRX gene from pepper, CaTRXh1, and characterized its possible effect on Type II nonhost resistance, which entails localized programmed cell death in response to nonhost pathogens. Peptide sequences of CaTRXh1 showed a high degree of similarity with TRXhs from tobacco and Arabidopsis thaliana. Southern blot analyses revealed that CaTRXh1 was present as a single copy in the pepper genome. Intriguingly, leaf infiltration by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. glycines 8ra, eliciting a visible type II nonhost hypersensitive response (HR), and its type III secretion-system null mutant 8–13, eliciting a type I nonhost non-HR, both induced CaTRXh1 at a level similar to that of pathogenesis-related protein 4, an HR marker gene in pepper. More surprisingly, expression of CaTRXh1 was significantly increased when X. axonopodis pv. vesicatoria race 3 infiltrated the leaf of a pepper cultivar containing a resistance gene, but not with infiltration of a susceptible pepper cultivar. Taken together, our study suggests that the expression of CaTRXh1 has a critical role in HR-mediated active defense responses in pepper. GenBank accession number: EF371503.     

EAG and behavioral responses of the wingless tea aphid Toxoptera aurantii (Homoptera: Aphididae) to tea plant volatiles

Electrophysiological and behavioral responses of the wingless tea aphid, Toxoptera aurantii (Boyer), to 14 synthetic volatiles identified from tea shoots, their partial (GLV mixture) and full (ACB mixture) blends, and fresh young tea leaves, buds, tender stems, adult tea leaves and tea aphid-damaged young leaves (ADYL) were studied by using an electroantennography (EAG) and a four-arm olfactometer. ACB elicited the largest EAG responses. Major volatile components, Z-3-hexen-1-ol, E-2-hexenal, n-hexanol, methyl salicylate and benzylalcohol, from the tea shoots were strongly EAG active. All the 4 tested tea shoot tissues also elicited significant EAG responses, with the young tea leaves being the strongest, followed by buds, tender stems and adult tea leaves. Surprisingly, ADYL elicited a weakly negative EAG response. In the olfactory assays, the fresh and tender tea leaves, as well as the individual major volatile components, e.g. Z-3-hexenyl acetate, methyl salicylate, E-2-hexen-1-ol and Z-3-hexen-1-ol, from the tender shoots (EAG-active) were all attractive. This result might indicate that the wingless tea aphids may use tea shoot volatiles as kairomone to find their optimal feeding sites, e.g. fresh tender tea shoots.     

Relationship between early puberty and the risk of hypertension/overweight at age 50: Evidence for a modified Barker hypothesis among Polish youth

The objective of this paper is to evaluate: (a) the association between BMI in childhood and adolescence and BMI at age 50, and (b) the association between timing of maturation at puberty and BMI at age 50 and the occurrence of high blood pressure. We explore whether differences in somatic and physiological factors observed among children with early or late onset of puberty indicates that this period of life could be critical for appearance of some CVD risk factors later in the life cycle. Our data include 135 males and 148 females, born in 1953, participants in the Wroc?aw Longitudinal Study. Data pertaining to their growth and several indices of sexual and skeletal maturation were collected yearly between age 8 and 18. Subsequently, their anthropometric traits were measured and cardiovascular health status was assessed at age 50. We find that BMI at distinct stages in the life cycle were positively correlated. Also BMI at 50 were positively associated with blood pressure at 50. Moreover, earlier maturation at puberty is associated with higher values of BMI at age 50. We also find that earlier pubertal maturation is an independent factor that influences the appearance of high blood pressure in adulthood.     

Adverse effects of vitamin E by induction of drug metabolism

Observational studies with healthy persons demonstrated an inverse association of vitamin E with the risk of coronary heart disease or cancer, the outcome of large-scale clinical trials conducted to prove a benefit of vitamin E in the recurrence and/or progression of such disease, however, was disappointing. Vitamin E did not provide benefits to patients with cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes or hypertension. Even harmful events and worsening of pre-existing diseases were reported, which are hard to explain. Since vitamin E is metabolized along the same routes as xenobiotics and induces drug-metabolizing enzymes in rodents, it is hypothesized that a supplementation with high dosages of vitamin E may also lead to an induction of the drug-metabolizing system in patients that depend on drug therapy. Compromising essential therapy might therefore outweigh any benefit of vitamin E in patients. It is recommended to work out at which threshold the drug-metabolizing system can be induced in humans before new trials with high dosages of vitamin E are started.     

内皮特异性miR-342-5p敲除致小鼠内皮损伤和心血管功能紊乱

摘要 目的：我们前期研究发现有氧运动促进内皮细胞等分泌miR-342-5p,miR-342-5p通过外泌体富集至心肌细胞后发挥心脏保护作用。本研究的主要目的是明确内皮来源的miR-342-5p在心血管功能调控中的作用。方法：我们构建了内皮特异性miR-342-5p敲除小鼠,通过心脏超声检测和血管收缩舒张功能检测观察了该小鼠心血管功能的变化;培养血管内皮细胞,通过对细胞存活率检测、相关蛋白的表达检测等方法对miR-342-5p发挥心血管保护作用的机制进行探究。结果：内皮miR-342-5p敲除致小鼠运动能力降低、心脏收缩功能不变,但舒张功能紊乱。且内皮miR-342-5p敲除致小鼠血管口径变小、微血管密度降低和血管内皮功能紊乱。内皮miR-342-5p敲除致小鼠心血管功能紊乱的机制与其引起的内皮细胞损伤有关。敲低miR-342-5p致内皮细胞中caspase 9水平增加,引起内皮细胞活性降低和凋亡增加。结论：这些结果进一步证实了内皮细胞来源的miR-342-5p在心血管功能中的重要作用,提示miR-342-5p在防治心血管疾病中的潜在应用。     

西那卡塞联合碳酸司维拉姆对血液透析并发继发性甲状旁腺功能亢进患者钙磷代谢、FGF23/Klotho轴和心血管事件的影响

摘要 目的：观察西那卡塞联合碳酸司维拉姆对血液透析并发继发性甲状旁腺功能亢进（SHPT）患者钙磷代谢、成纤维细胞生长因子23（FGF23）/Klotho轴和心血管事件的影响。方法：选取2018年3月-2020年5月新疆医科大学第一附属医院收治的200例血液透析并发SHPT患者,根据随机数字表法分成观察组（n=100）与对照组（n=100）。对照组患者接受碳酸司维拉姆治疗,观察组患者接受西那卡塞联合碳酸司维拉姆治疗,两组患者均连续治疗3个月。观察两组疗效以及钙磷代谢指标、全段甲状旁腺激素（iPTH）、甲状旁腺体积、FGF23、Klotho水平变化,记录治疗期间发生的心血管事件。结果：观察组的临床总有效率较对照组高（P<0.05）。治疗后两组血钙升高,血磷、钙磷乘积下降（P<0.05）,且观察组治疗后血钙较对照组高,血磷、钙磷乘积较对照组低（P<0.05）。两组治疗后血清iPTH水平下降,甲状旁腺体积缩小,且观察组的变化程度较对照组大（P<0.05）。两组治疗后Klotho水平升高,FGF23水平下降,且观察组的变化程度大于对照组（P<0.05）。观察组的非致死性心血管事件发生率明显低于对照组（P<0.05）。结论：西那卡塞联合碳酸司维拉姆治疗血液透析并发SHPT患者疗效显著,可调节钙磷代谢,降低血清iPTH水平,缩小甲状旁腺体积,调节Klotho、FGF23水平,降低非致死性心血管事件发生率。     

1990年和2019年中国心血管疾病负担及危险因素研究

摘要 目的：分析1990年和2019年中国心血管发病、死亡和疾病负担情况。方法：利用2019年全球疾病负担数据库,分析总人群、不同年龄组间1990年和2019年我国心血管发病、死亡、伤残调整寿命年（DALY）、过早死亡损失寿命年(YLL)和伤残损失寿命年(YLD)。并对心血管进行危险因素归因分析。结果：2019年中国心血管发病人数为1234.1万 ,发病率为867.65/10万,较1990年分别增长了132.82%和93.75% 。2019年死亡人数458.43万 ,死亡率为322.30/10万,较1990年分别上升了89.12%和57.39%。2019年中国心血管DALY、YLD和YLL分别为9193.31万人年、1038.39万人年和8154.93万人年。较1990年分别上升了50.07%、146.82%和45.48%。2019年发病率、死亡率和DALY率最高的年龄组均为＞70年龄组,分别为4646.78/10万、3057.82/10万和52696.68/10万。中国心血管归因于代谢危险导致的死亡人数、DALY和YLL最多,分别为3272924人、67112754人年和59934426人年。结论：我国心血管的疾病负担在1990-2019年间有较大增长,应采取积极的预防措施以减轻心血管的疾病负担。     

High-fidelity representation of climate variations by Amburana cearensis tree-ring chronologies across a tropical forest transition in South America

Numerous ring-width chronologies from different species have recently been developed in diverse tropical forests across South America. However, the temporal and spatial climate signals in these tropical chronologies is less well known. In this work, annual growth rings of Amburana cearensis, a widely distributed tropical tree species, were employed to estimate temporal and spatial patterns of climate variability in the transition from the dry Chiquitano (16–17°S) to the humid Guarayos-southern Amazon (14–15°S) forests. Four well-replicated chronologies (16–21 trees, 22–28 radii) of A. cearensis were compared with temperature and precipitation records available in the region. The interannual variations in all four A. cearensis tree-ring chronologies are positively correlated with precipitation and negatively with temperature during the late dry-early wet season, the classic moisture response seen widely in trees from dry tropical and temperate forests worldwide. However, the chronologies from the dry Chiquitano forests of southern Bolivia reflect the regional reduction in precipitation during recent decades, while the chronologies from the tropical lowland moist forests in the north capture the recent increase in precipitation in the southern Amazon basin. These results indicate that A. cearensis tree growth is not only sensitive to the moisture balance of the growing season, it can also record subtle differences in regional precipitation trends across the dry to humid forest transition. Comparisons with previously developed Centrolobium microchaete chronologies in the region reveal a substantial common signal between chronologies in similar environments, suggesting that regional differences in climate are a major drivers of tree growth along the precipitation gradient. The difficulty of finding A. cearensis trees over 150-years old is the main limitation involved in the paleoclimate application of this species. The expansion of monocultures and intensive cattle ranching in the South American tropics are contributing to the loss of these old growth A. cearensis trees and the valuable records of climate variability and climate change that they contain.