The Comorbidity of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Peripheral Artery Disease - A Systematic Review.

The comorbidity of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is obvious from a clinical point of view, especially as smoking is an important risk factor for both. Another factor connecting these two clinical conditions is chronic inflammation, which plays a crucial role in their pathophysiology. The aim of this study was to present the prevalence of COPD in patients with PAD, as well as the prevalence of PAD in COPD patients confirmed in all patients by two reliable methods: spirometry and ankle-brachial index (ABI), respectively. The MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were searched to identify the potentially eligible publications from the previous 10 years. The published characteristics of different PAD and COPD populations were analyzed. A database search identified 894 records. Reliable criteria of both COPD and PAD diagnosis were used only in seven publications. The prevalence of PAD among patients with COPD ranged from 8.5 to 81.4%. The severity of the disease and the exclusion of nonsmokers or symptomatic patients from the analyses were important factors affecting this parameter. The prevalence of COPD in patients with PAD was measured reliably only in one study and assessed as 27.2%. The comorbidity of COPD and PAD is a relatively common occurrence. There are very few publications addressing this issue based on reliable diagnostic criteria, especially in the field of PAD. In the case of COPD and PAD patients, spirometry and ABI measurements are worth considering as noninvasive screening tests for COPD and PAD, respectively.

In Vitro Cultures of Some Medicinal Plant Species (Cistus × incanus, Verbena officinalis, Scutellaria lateriflora, and Scutellaria baicalensis) as a Rich Potential Source of Antioxidants-Evaluation by CUPRAC and QUENCHER-CUPRAC Assays.

Comparative estimations of the antioxidant activity of methanolic extracts from biomasses of different types of in vitro cultures of Cistus × incanus, Verbena officinalis, Scutellaria lateriflora, and S. baicalensis and also from plant raw materials were performed. The antioxidant measurements were based on the modern assays-cupric ion reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) and quick, easy, new, cheap, and reproducible CUPRAC (QUENCHER-CUPRAC). The total extractable antioxidants (CUPRAC assay) ranged from 10.4 to 49.7 mmol (100 g)-1 of dry weight (DW) expressed as Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), and the global antioxidant response (QUENCHER-CUPRAC assay) ranged from 16.0 to 79.1 mmol (100 g)-1 DW for in vitro cultures, whereas for plant raw materials the total extractable antioxidants ranged from 20.9 to 69.5 mmol (100 g)-1 DW, and the global antioxidant response ranged from 67.2 to 97.8 mmol (100 g)-1 DW. Finally, the in vitro cultures could be regarded as an antioxidant-rich alternative resource for the pharmaceutical, health food and cosmetics industries.

The relationship between pulse waveform analysis indices, endothelial function and clinical outcomes in patients with peripheral artery disease treated using percutaneous transluminal angioplasty during a one-year follow-up period.

BACKGROUND: Several predictors of clinical outcomes after percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) interventions in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) have been investigated. Indices of endothelial function, arterial pulse waveform analysis (aPWA) and markers of peripheral artery ischemia were among the most commonly examined. The aim of the current study was to assess the relationship between potential predictors of clinical outcomes after peripheral artery PTA during a 1-year follow-up period. METHODS: The study included 72 individuals with PAD at a mean age of 66.3 ± 7.2 (79.1% males). All patients underwent PTA of the peripheral arteries. Among them, 42.8% presented critical limb ischemia (CLI). During the first visit and at 1 month and 6 months after PTA, endothelial function and aPWA measurements were taken. Ankle-brachial index (ABI), toe-brachial index (TBI) and physical evalu-ation of the limbs took place during the first visit and at 1, 6 and 12 months after the PTA. The study endpoints included myocardial infarction, amputation, death, stroke and reintervention. All subjects included in the study were observed for 386 days after the PTA. RESULTS: A significant improvement was noted in walking distance after PTA at the following time points, as well as transient improvement of ABI and flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) and no significant change in aPWA indices and reactive-hyperaemia index (RHI). The mean ABI, TBI, FMD and RHI values did not correlate with each other at baseline. There were 25 study endpoints which occurred in 16 patients during the follow-up period (22.2%). Patients with CLI, hypercholesterolemia, lower dias-tolic blood pressure, higher subendocardial viability ratio, a greater number of pack-years and lower TBI at baseline presented significantly poorer clinical outcomes in terms of endpoint events. CONCLUSIONS: Endothelial function assessed as FMD and reactive hyperemia-peripheral arterial tonometry (RH-PAT) before PTA in patients with advanced PAD do not predict clinical outcomes during the 1-year follow-up.

The role of chloroplasts in the oxidative stress that is induced by zearalenone in wheat plants - The functions of 24-epibrassinolide and selenium in the protective mechanisms.

This study focused on the idea that the toxic effect of zearalenone (ZEA) and the protective actions of the brassinosteroid - 24-epibrassinolide (EBR) as well as selenium are dependent on its accumulation in chloroplasts to a high degree. These organelles were isolated from the leaves of oxidative stress-sensitive and stress-tolerant wheat cultivars that had been grown from grains that had been incubated in a solution of ZEA (30 µM), Na2SeO4 (Se, 10 µM), EBR (0.1 µM) or in a mixture of ZEA with Se or EBR. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography techniques indicated that ZEA was adsorbed in higher amounts in the chloroplasts in the sensitive rather than tolerant cultivar. Although the brassinosteroids and Se were also accumulated in the chloroplasts, higher levels were only found in the tolerant cultivar. The application of EBR increased the homocastasterone content, especially in the chloroplasts of the tolerant plant and after the addition of ZEA. The presence of both protectants caused a decrease in the ZEA content in studied organelles and resulted in diminishing of the oxidative stress (i.e. changes in the activity of the antioxidative enzymes). Moreover, a recovery of photosystem II and decrease in the negative impact of ZEN on Hsp90 transcript accumulation was observed in plants.

The Dynamics of Cytokinin Changes after Grafting of Vegetative Apices on Flowering Rapeseed Plants.

Despite numerous studies, the role of hormones in the induction of shoot apical meristem leading to reproductive development, especially regarding thermoperiodic plants, is still not fully understood. The key problem is separating the effects of the low temperature required for vernalization from those responsible for low temperature stress. An earlier experiment demonstrated the correlation between an increase of cytokinin level in the apical parts of winter rapeseed and the transition time into their reproductive phase during vernalization, i.e., low temperature treatment. From data obtained from the presented experiments, this study aims to contribute to the understanding the role of cytokinins in the induction of flowering based on the grafting of vegetative apical parts of winter rapeseed (scion) on the reproductive (stock) winter and spring genotypes. On the basis of analyses carried out using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry in combination with microscopic observation of changes at the apical meristem, it was indicated that the increase in the amount of trans-zeatin and trans- and cis-zeatin-O-glucoside derivatives appeared in the early stages of apex floral differentiation. During further development, the content of all investigated cytokinins passed through the maximum level followed by their decrease. The final level in reproductive apices was found to be higher than that in vegetative ones.

Myocardial injury after endovascular revascularization in critical limb ischemia predicts 1-year mortality: a prospective observational cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI) are at increased risk of cardiovascular complications and mortality. To determine (1) incidence of myocardial injury following endovascular revascularization, and (2) relationship between myocardial injury with 1-year mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE; i.e., composite of myocardial infarction, stroke, and death). METHODS AND RESULTS: Single-center, prospective cohort study of CLI patients ≥ 45 years of age, who underwent endovascular revascularization with overnight hospitalization. High-sensitive troponins T (hsTnTs) were measured on admission, 3-6 h after endovascular revascularization and the subsequent morning. Myocardial injury after endovascular revascularization was defined as an hsTnT ≥ 14 ng/L with a relative increase ≥ 30% from the baseline value. We also evaluated other myocardial injury hsTnT thresholds (i.e., ≥ 30, ≥ 40, ≥ 60, and ≥ 80 ng/L). 239 consecutive patients (56% male, mean age 71.5 ± 10.1 years) were included; one patient was lost to follow-up. At 1 year, there were 34 deaths (14.2%), and 48 MACE (20.5%). Myocardial injury with the hsTnT threshold of 14 ng/L and relative increase by ≥ 30% from the baseline level occurred in 61 patients (25.5%). Myocardial injury was independently associated with 1-year mortality ([aHR], 2.44; 95% CI 1.18-5.06, for hsTnT ≥ 14 ng/L to aHR, 3.34; 95% CI 1.29-8.65 for hsTnT ≥ 80 ng/L). Myocardial injury was also independently associated with 1-year MACE ([AOR] 2.89; 95% CI 1.41-5.92 for hsTnT ≥ 14 ng/L to AOR, 6.69; 95% CI 2.17-20.68 for hsTnT ≥ 80 ng/L). 85.2% patients who had myocardial injury did not have ischemic clinical symptoms or electrocardiography changes. In sensitive analysis with exclusion of symptomatic patients that developed myocardial injury for the hsTnT ≥ 14 ng/L threshold, both the 1-year mortality (aHR: 2.19; CI 1.02-4.68; p = 0.04), and 1-year MACE (OR 2.25; CI 1.06-4.77; p = 0.036) remained significant. CONCLUSIONS: Myocardial injury is common following endovascular revascularization for CLI and associated with the risk of 1-year mortality and MACE.

Prioritization of Candidate Genes in QTL Regions for Physiological and Biochemical Traits Underlying Drought Response in Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.).

Drought is one of the most adverse abiotic factors limiting growth and productivity of crops. Among them is barley, ranked fourth cereal worldwide in terms of harvested acreage and production. Plants have evolved various mechanisms to cope with water deficit at different biological levels, but there is an enormous challenge to decipher genes responsible for particular complex phenotypic traits, in order to develop drought tolerant crops. This work presents a comprehensive approach for elucidation of molecular mechanisms of drought tolerance in barley at the seedling stage of development. The study includes mapping of QTLs for physiological and biochemical traits associated with drought tolerance on a high-density function map, projection of QTL confidence intervals on barley physical map, and the retrievement of positional candidate genes (CGs), followed by their prioritization based on Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis. A total of 64 QTLs for 25 physiological and biochemical traits that describe plant water status, photosynthetic efficiency, osmoprotectant and hormone content, as well as antioxidant activity, were positioned on a consensus map, constructed using RIL populations developed from the crosses between European and Syrian genotypes. The map contained a total of 875 SNP, SSR and CGs, spanning 941.86 cM with resolution of 1.1 cM. For the first time, QTLs for ethylene, glucose, sucrose, maltose, raffinose, α-tocopherol, γ-tocotrienol content, and catalase activity, have been mapped in barley. Based on overlapping confidence intervals of QTLs, 11 hotspots were identified that enclosed more than 60% of mapped QTLs. Genetic and physical map integration allowed the identification of 1,101 positional CGs within the confidence intervals of drought response-specific QTLs. Prioritization resulted in the designation of 143 CGs, among them were genes encoding antioxidants, carboxylic acid biosynthesis enzymes, heat shock proteins, small auxin up-regulated RNAs, nitric oxide synthase, ATP sulfurylases, and proteins involved in regulation of flowering time. This global approach may be proposed for identification of new CGs that underlies QTLs responsible for complex traits.

The influence of growth regulators on membrane permeability in cultures of winter wheat cells.

The effect of plant growth substances (IAA, 2,4-D, zeatin, kinetin, zearalenone) were studied on membrane properties of the cells of embryogenic (E) and non-embryogenic (NE) calli derived from immature inflorescences (inf) or embryos (emb) of winter wheat. Calli initiated from inflorescences show higher permeability. The ion leakage from cells of E calli was higher than from cells of NE calli. Growth regulators were used in concentrations of 2-30 mg/l (about 10-140 microM). All tested growth substances increased ion leakage from NE emb cells, IAA, zeatin and kinetin being most effective. In NE inf cells the effect of growth substances was similar as in NE emb, but much weaker. In E cells of both types (inf and emb) growth substances decreased ion leakage. Changes in the leakage of potassium and calcium ions were similar to those in total ion leakage. The uptake of labelled auxins (IAA and 2,4-D) was higher in NE cells (especially in NE inf) than in E cells. The endogenous level of IAA was higher in E cells than in NE cells and in inf cells than in emb cells. The importance of auxin in determining permeability of cell membranes is discussed.

Cytokinins in shoot apices of Brassica napus plants during vernalization.

The putative role of cytokinins in processes leading to reproductive development of plants was investigated by analysing the shoot apical parts of a winter cultivar of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L. var. oleifera, cv. Górczanski). The endogenous cytokinin levels were measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS) in the shoot apices of vegetative plants (grown at 20/17°C with a 16/8h day/night regime) and vernalized plants (56 days at 5/2°C with a 16/8h photoperiod) at different times during floral transition. During vernalization, the content of all isoprenoid cytokinins increased significantly, coinciding well with the onset of the early stages of reproductive development. Cytokinin levels reached their maxima when most of the plants became irreversibly reproductive (after 42 days of cold treatment). cis-Zeatin riboside (unequivocally identified by quadrupole-time-of-flight MS) accounted for ca. 87-89% of the total isoprenoid cytokinin content in control and vernalized plants, whilst N(6)-isopentenyladenosine ( approximately 6% in control and approximately 8% in vernalized plants) and cis-zeatin (approxiamtely 2% in control and approximately 1% in vernalized plants) were the next most abundant cytokinins. In the post-vernalization period, endogenous cytokinin levels decreased, but remained significantly higher in the reproductive plants than in the vegetative controls. These results suggest that cytokinins, especially those of the cis-zeatin type, are involved in vernalization-induced reproductive development of B. napus.