On-site monitoring of nandrolone in cattle farming samples by portable atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry with ambient sampling.

Nandrolone (NT) is a type of androgen anabolic steroid that is often illegally used in cattle farming, leading to unpredictable harm to human health via the food chain. In this study, a rapid detection method for NT in the samples of cattle farming was established using a portable mass spectrometer. The instrument parameters were optimized, including a thermal desorption temperature of 220 °C, a pump speed of 30 %, an APCI ionization voltage of 3900 v, and an injection volume of 6 µL. The samples of bovine urine, feed, sewage, and tissue were selected, and extracted using a solution of methanol:acetonitrile (1:1, v/v), followed by spiking a NT standard solution (1000 ng·mL-1) and ionization through the APCI ion source for detection. The results showed that NT could not be detected in beef and feed due to the complexity of the matrix, while clear signals of NT ions were observed in bovine urine and sewage samples, with LODs of 1000 and 100 ng·mL-1, respectively. Furthermore, quantitative analysis was attempted, and a good linear relationship (R2 = 0.9952) was observed for NT in sewage within the range of 100 to 1000 ng·mL-1. At spiked levels of 100, 500, 1000 and 2000 ng mL-1, the recovery rates ranged from 74.3 % to 92.8 %, with a relative standard deviation (n = 6) of less than 15 %. In conclusion, this detection method offers the advantages of simplicity, rapidity, strong timeliness, and specificity, making it suitable for on-site detection. It can be used for qualitative screening of nandrolone in bovine urine and quantitative analysis of nandrolone in sewage.

Gut microbiome profile of Chinese hypertension patients with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND: The coexistence of hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) may largely increase the risk for cardiovascular disease. However, there is no clear consensus on the association between hypertension and the risk of diabetes. Gut microbiota plays important roles in the development of hypertension and T2DM, but whether there is difference between hypertension patients with or without T2DM has not been explored yet. METHODS: We recruited 101 hypertension patients in this study (72 patients without T2DM named HT group and 29 patients with T2DM named HT-T2DM group). Their blood samples were collected for testing clinical characteristics and fecal samples were tested for bacterial DNA using 16 S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing targeting the V3 and V4 region. The data of 40 samples were downloaded from project PRJNA815750 as health control (HC group) in this study. The community composition and structure of the microbiome, taxonomic difference, co-occurrence network and functional enrichment were analyzed by alpha/beta diversity, LEfSe, Fruchterman Reingold's algorithm and PICRUSt2 functional analysis, respectively. RESULTS: Alpha and beta diversity analysis showed significant differences in microbial community richness and composition among the three groups. The HC group had a significantly higher Simpson index and a distinct microbiota community compared to the HT and HT-T2DM groups, as demonstrated by significant differences in unweighted and weighted UniFrac distances. The LEfSe analysis identified specific taxa that had significantly different abundance among the groups, such as Bacteroides uniformis, Blautia wexlerae, Alistipes putredinis, and Prevotella stercorea in the HC group, Prevotella copri and Phascolarctobacterium faecium in the HT group, and Klebsiella pneumoniae in the HT-T2DM group. Co-occurrence network analysis indicates that Prevotella copri, Mediterraneibacter gnavus, Alistipes onderdonkii and some unidentified species act as key nodes in the network. Differentially functional pathway identified by PICRUSt2 were concentrated in nutrition and energy metabolism, as well as the biosynthesis of other secondary metabolites. CONCLUSIONS: Our study found significant differences in microbial community richness, composition, and function among the healthy controls, hypertension patients with and without T2DM. Some specific taxa may explain this difference and serve as potential therapeutic targets for hypertension, T2DM, and their coexistence.

A case report of successful atrioventricular junction pacing in Ebstein's anomaly.

We report a case of atrioventricular junction (AVJ) pacing in a patient with Ebstein's anomaly (EA). The patient was a 68-year-old man who suffered from pacemaker syndrome and complained of heart failure symptoms. He was initially diagnosed with EA in his thirties and received right ventricular (RV) apex pacing for safe during a surgery because of low heart rate atrial fibrillation (AF) 9 years ago. However, since the patient felt discomfort, the pacing rate was then programed down to 45-55 per/min. During recent years, he was often admitted for dyspnea, dizziness, or edema and was advised to undergo intracardiac repair, but he rejected this due to the high risk of the surgery. We believed that the patient's low heart rate and ventricular pacing burden (47.8%) might be important causes of the symptoms. Therefore, we suggested that the patient undergo an upgrade of the pacing mode. In consideration of possible abnormal cardiac coronary veins, we tried His bundle pacing (HBP) to upgrade pacing. However, the SelectSecure 3830 lead was fixed at the AVJ region and obtained steady pacing parameters. After the upgrading of the AVJ pacing mode. The patient's symptoms, exercise capacity and quality of life were all improved at the 2-year follow-up. Thus, we presented the first case of AVJ pacing in a patient with EA.

Effect of implantation site of the His bundle pacing leads on pacing parameters: a single-center experience.

BACKGROUND: HB pacing is a promising approach to achieve physiological pacing, but its efficacy and long-term effects require further validation. In current study, we deemed to investigate the effect of the His bundle pacing (HBP) lead location on pacing parameters. METHODS: 2D echocardiography imaging was performed after successful implantation, according to which the patients were divided into groups A (whose His lead tips were at the atrial side) and B (whose His lead tips were at the ventricular side). The capture thresholds, sensing values, and H-V intervals between the two groups were compared. RESULTS: Thirteen patients were in group A and 16 patients were in group B. The average capture thresholds during, 1 month, and 1 year after operation were 1.20 ± 0.34, 0.69 ± 0.29, and 0.92 ± 0.80 V/0.5 ms for group A and 1.14 ± 0.43, 0.81 ± 0.39, and 0.98 ± 0.59 V/0.5 ms for group B, respectively. The difference between the two groups was not significant. The threshold values in both groups decreased significantly in 1 month and slightly increased in 1 year. The sensing values of group A were 1.87 ± 0.82, 1.95 ± 0.76, and 1.88 ± 0.75 mV, while those of group B were 4.53 ± 1.37, 4.69 ± 1.38, and 4.59 ± 1.42 mV. The difference among the three time points was not significant. However, the sensing values in group A were consistently significantly lower than those in group B. The HV interval in group A was significantly longer than that in group B. CONCLUSIONS: The implantation site of HBP leads has a significant effect on sensing values for that His leads crossing the tricuspid annulus toward the ventricle are associated with higher sensing values, compared to a more proximal location. Meanwhile, lead location has no evident effect on capture thresholds that is improved significantly shortly after operation.

Monocytic cell junction proteins serve important roles in atherosclerosis via the endoglin pathway.

The formation of atherosclerosis is recognized to be caused by multiple factors including pathogenesis in monocytes during inflammation. The current study provided evidence that monocytic junctions were significantly altered in patients with atherosclerosis, which suggested an association between cell junctions and atherosclerosis. Claudin­1, occludin­1 and ZO­1 were significantly enhanced in atherosclerosis, indicating that the tight junction pathway was activated during the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. In addition, the gene expression of 5 connexin members involved in the gap junction pathway were quantified, indicating that connexin 43 and 46 were significantly up­regulated in atherosclerosis. Furthermore, inflammatory factors including endoglin and SMAD were observed, suggesting that immune regulative factors were down­regulated in this pathway. Silicon­based analysis additionally identified that connexins and tight junctions were altered in association with monocytic inflammation regulations, endoglin pathway. The results imply that reduced expression of the immune regulation pathway in monocytes is correlated with the generation of gap junctions and tight junctions which serve important roles in atherosclerosis.

The Correlation Between 9p21 Chromosome rs4977574 Polymorphism Genotypes and the Development of Coronary Artery Heart Disease.

Our aim is to investigate the correlation between 9p21 chromosome rs4977574 polymorphism genotypes and the development of coronary artery heart disease (CHD). Two hundred and eighty-nine patients with angiography-confirmed CHD were recruited as the CHD group, while 338 subjects without CHD symptoms were enrolled as the control group. For all participating subjects, the genotypes of rs4977574 polymorphism were examined by the real-time PCR analysis. Analyses acquired from single-locus technique showed that genotype distribution of rs4977574 polymorphism was significantly different (p = 0.041) between CHD group and the control group. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that rs4977574 polymorphism in a dominant mode significantly increased (p = 0.038) the risk of CHD, where odds ratio (OR) was 0.71 and the 95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.58-0.97 was applied. 9p21 chromosome rs4977574 polymorphism genotypes are associated with the incidence and development of CHD. The presence of C allele may reduce the risk of CHD.

Relationship between methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene polymorphism and the coronary slow flow phenomenon.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation between methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T gene polymorphism and the coronary slow flow phenomenon (CSFP), and to discover the involvement of genetic factors in CSFP. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: Seventy-five patients with normal angiographic coronary arteries were recruited between June 2012 and June 2013. MTHFR C677T genotypes were sequenced by pyrosequencing, whereas the concentration of homocysteine (Hcy) was determined using the enzymatic cycling assay. RESULTS: Compared with the controls, the CSFP patients had higher Hcy concentrations and higher male morbidity. The CSFP patients showed higher frequencies of MTHFR 677(TT+TC) genotypes and the 677T allele compared with the controls. Plasma Hcy levels and male morbidity were correlated positively with the average corrected TIMI frame count. Multiple linear regression and logistic regression analysis indicated that both Hcy and male sex were risk factors for CSFP. MTHFR C677T genotypes and the frequency distribution of 677T allele complied with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. CONCLUSION: CSFP was associated with a high level of plasma Hcy, and men were more vulnerable to CSFP. By regulating the plasma Hcy level, the MTHFR C677T gene polymorphism and folic acid level might be involved in the occurrence of CSFP.

Polymorphisms in the coagulation factor VII gene and the risk of myocardial infarction in patients undergoing coronary angiography.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether coagulation factor VII (FVII) polymorphisms play a role in the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease (CAD) and/or myocardial infarction (MI) in a series of Hans. METHODS: The Arg(353)Gln and HVR4 polymorphisms of FVII gene were determined in 374 patients undergoing selective coronary angiography by PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphism assay. RESULTS: The FVII genotype distribution was in accordance with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The frequencies of FVII genotypes or alleles did not show significant differences between the CAD group and the controls or between the males and the females. The frequencies of carriers of the Gln(353) allele and (Arg/Gln + Gln/Gln) genotypes were significantly higher in the CAD patients without MI than in those with MI (P = 0.031, odds ratio 0.37, 95% CI: 0.15 - 0.94). However, HVR4 polymorphisms were not significantly different between the two groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Carrying the F VII Gln(353) gene may be a protective factor against MI in the Chinese Hans.