TIMI frame count and adverse events in women with no obstructive coronary disease: A pilot study from the NHLBI-sponsored Women's Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation (WISE)

Background: TIMI frame count (TFC) predicts outcomes in patients with obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD); it remains unclear whether TFC predicts outcomes in patients without obstructive CAD. Methods: TFC was determined in a sample of women with no obstructive CAD enrolled in the Women's Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation (WISE) study. Because TFC is known to be higher in the left anterior descending artery (LAD), TFC determined in the LAD was divided by 1.7 to provide a corrected TFC (cTFC). Results: A total of 298 women, with angiograms suitable for TFC analysis and long-term (6-10 year) follow up data, were included in this sub-study. Their age was 55±11 years, most were white (86%), half had a history of smoking, and half had a history of hypertension. Higher resting cTFC was associated with a higher rate of hospitalization for angina (34% in women with a cTFC >35, 15% in women with a cTFC ≤35, P<0.001). cTFC provided independent prediction of hospitalization for angina after adjusting for many baseline characteristics. In this cohort, resting cTFC was not predictive of major events (myocardial infarction, heart failure, stroke, or all-cause death), cardiovascular events, all-cause mortality, or cardiovascular mortality. Conclusions: In women with signs and symptoms of ischemia but no obstructive CAD, resting cTFC provides independent prediction of hospitalization for angina. Larger studies are required to determine if resting TFC is predictive of major events in patients without obstructive coronary artery disease. © 2014 Petersen et al

Homogeneous Bubble Nucleation driven by local hot spots: a Molecular Dynamics Study

We report a Molecular Dynamics study of homogenous bubble nucleation in a Lennard-Jones fluid. The rate of bubble nucleation is estimated using forward-flux sampling (FFS). We find that cavitation starts with compact bubbles rather than with ramified structures as had been suggested by Shen and Debenedetti (J. Chem. Phys. 111:3581, 1999). Our estimate of the bubble-nucleation rate is higher than predicted on the basis of Classical Nucleation Theory (CNT). Our simulations show that local temperature fluctuations correlate strongly with subsequent bubble formation - this mechanism is not taken into account in CNT

Spatial-Temporal Evolution of Drought Characteristics Over Hungary Between 1961 and 2010

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Core Microbial Functional Activities in Ocean Environments Revealed by Global Metagenomic Profiling Analyses

Metagenomics-based functional profiling analysis is an effective means of gaining deeper insight into the composition of marine microbial populations and developing a better understanding of the interplay between the functional genome content of microbial communities and abiotic factors. Here we present a comprehensive analysis of 24 datasets covering surface and depth-related environments at 11 sites around the world's oceans. The complete datasets comprises approximately 12 million sequences, totaling 5,358 Mb. Based on profiling patterns of Clusters of Orthologous Groups (COGs) of proteins, a core set of reference photic and aphotic depth-related COGs, and a collection of COGs that are associated with extreme oxygen limitation were defined. Their inferred functions were utilized as indicators to characterize the distribution of light- and oxygen-related biological activities in marine environments. The results reveal that, while light level in the water column is a major determinant of phenotypic adaptation in marine microorganisms, oxygen concentration in the aphotic zone has a significant impact only in extremely hypoxic waters. Phylogenetic profiling of the reference photic/aphotic gene sets revealed a greater variety of source organisms in the aphotic zone, although the majority of individual photic and aphotic depth-related COGs are assigned to the same taxa across the different sites. This increase in phylogenetic and functional diversity of the core aphotic related COGs most probably reflects selection for the utilization of a broad range of alternate energy sources in the absence of light.This work was supported by King Abdullah University for Science and Technology Global Collaborative Partners (GCR) program. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

A review of the distribution of particulate trace elements in urban terrestrial environments and its application to considerations of risk

We review the evolution, state of the art and future lines of research on the sources, transport pathways, and sinks of particulate trace elements in urban terrestrial environments to include the atmosphere, soils, and street and indoor dusts. Such studies reveal reductions in the emissions of some elements of historical concern such as Pb, with interest consequently focusing on other toxic trace elements such as As, Cd, Hg, Zn, and Cu. While establishment of levels of these elements is important in assessing the potential impacts of human society on the urban environment, it is also necessary to apply this knowledge in conjunction with information on the toxicity of those trace elements and the degree of exposure of human receptors to an assessment of whether such contamination represents a real risk to the city’s inhabitants and therefore how this risk can be addressed

Identification of bioactive compounds with anti-inflammatory potential in the methanolic fruit extract of Areca catechu L. (Palmaceae)

The present study was aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of methanolic fruit extract of Areca catechu L. (Arecanut) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulated RAW 264.7 cells and identification of bioactive components by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis. The Arecanut extract showed maximum scavenging potential against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical with half maximal scavenging concentration value of 0.264 ± 0.073 μg/mL compared to BHA with 0.553 ± 0.082 μg/mL. The anti-inflammatory effect was investigated based on interleukin 6 (IL-6) production in LPS stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. The methanol extract of Arecanut showed a significantly higher inhibitory effect on IL-6 production, and it was further analyzed for the characterization of active compounds by LC-MS. LC-MS revealed the presence of 10 active phytoconstituents, including alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, and glycoside. From the results, it is evident that methanol extract of Arecanut has an anti-inflammatory property and contains various phytochemicals and is recommended as a fruit of pharmaceutical importance

Identification of bioactive compounds with anti-inflammatory potential in the methanolic fruit extract of Areca catechu L. (Palmaceae)

464-471The present study was aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of methanolic fruit extract of Areca catechu L. (Arecanut) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulated RAW 264.7 cells and identification of bioactive components by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis. The Arecanut extract showed maximum scavenging potential against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical with half maximal scavenging concentration value of 0.264 ± 0.073 μg/mL compared to BHA with 0.553 ± 0.082 μg/mL. The anti-inflammatory effect was investigated based on interleukin 6 (IL-6) production in LPS stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. The methanol extract of Arecanut showed a significantly higher inhibitory effect on IL-6 production, and it was further analyzed for the characterization of active compounds by LC-MS. LC-MS revealed the presence of 10 active phytoconstituents, including alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, and glycoside. From the results, it is evident that methanol extract of Arecanut has an anti-inflammatory property and contains various phytochemicals and is recommended as a fruit of pharmaceutical importance

Effect of Systemic Hypertension With Versus Without Left Ventricular Hypertrophy on the Progression of Atrial Fibrillation (from the Euro Heart Survey).

Hypertension is a risk factor for both progression of atrial fibrillation (AF) and development of AF-related complications, that is major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE). It is unknown whether left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) as a consequence of hypertension is also a risk factor for both these end points. We aimed to assess this in low-risk AF patients, also assessing gender-related differences. We included 799 patients from the Euro Heart Survey with nonvalvular AF and a baseline echocardiogram. Patients with and without hypertension were included. End points after 1 year were occurrence of AF progression, that is paroxysmal AF becoming persistent and/or permanent AF, and MACCE. Echocardiographic LVH was present in 33% of 379 hypertensive patients. AF progression after 1 year occurred in 10.2% of 373 patients with rhythm follow-up. In hypertensive patients with LVH, AF progression occurred more frequently as compared with hypertensive patients without LVH (23.3% vs 8.8%, p = 0.011). In hypertensive AF patients, LVH was the most important multivariably adjusted determinant of AF progression on multivariable logistic regression (odds ratio 4.84, 95% confidence interval 1.70 to 13.78, p = 0.003). This effect was only seen in male patients (27.5% vs 5.8%, p = 0.002), while in female hypertensive patients, no differences were found in AF progression rates regarding the presence or absence of LVH (15.2% vs 15.0%, p = 0.999). No differences were seen in MACCE for hypertensive patients with and without LVH. In conclusion, in men with hypertension, LVH is associated with AF progression. This association seems to be absent in hypertensive women

Measuring Impact of Air and Agricultural Soil Pollution on Social Development in Saudi Arabia

This research aimed to measure the impact of air and agricultural soil pollution on social development in Saudi Arabia from the period 1995–2019 by using social development indicators, concentrating on the percentages of expenditure on education and health, and the Human Development Index. In addition, this study uses multiple regressions in estimating the model to study the impact of air pollution and agricultural soil on social development. Results of the study showed that a 10% change in the number of chemical fertilizers and pesticides used in Saudi agriculture leads to a change in the total number of inpatients by 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively. It was also found that an increased percentage of health expenditure to total government spending by 10% leads to a decrease in the total number of patients in the hospital by 1.8%. An increase in air pollution, expressed as a 10% increase in CO2 emissions, increases the total number of hospitalized patients by 11.1%.  The increasing total number of patients by 10% leads to a decrease in the total productivity of the worker, as an indicator of 1.8%. Furthermore, a change of 10% in the ratio of education expenditure to total government expenditure leads to a change in the same direction of the Human Development Index by 9.6%. In light of these results, it can be recommended that the country need to reduce air pollution by expanding the use of natural gas in the industrial and transportation sectors, in addition to reducing the use of nitrogenous fertilizers and pesticides in Saudi agriculture through the expansion of clean farming and good agricultural practices