Challenging the complementarity of different metrics of left atrial function: insight from a cardiomyopathy-based study.

Aims: Left ventricular (LV) strain provides incremental values to LV ejection fraction (LVEF) in predicting outcome. We sought to investigate if similar relationship is observed between left atrial (LA) emptying fraction and LA strain.

Methods And Results: In this study, we selected 50 healthy subjects, 50 patients with dilated, 50 hypertrophic, and 50 infiltrative (light-chain (AL) amyloidosis) cardiomyopathy (CMP).

[CONTRIBUTION OF LIPOPROTEIN(A) TO CARDIOVASCULAR RISK IN PATIENTS UNDER 40 YEARS OF AGE AFTER ACUTE MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION OR ACUTE CEREBRAL CIRCULATION DISORDER].

Aim: To evaluate the importance of lipoprotein(a) for the evaluation of cardiovascular risk in patient under 40 years of age after acute myocardial infarction or acute cerebral circulation disorder.

Materials And Methods: We analysed the data from two departments of the Regional Vascular Centre for 2013-2015 including 90 case histories of patients of different age (mean 57.8 ± 3.

Biologically Active Substances from Marine Hydrobionts with Antibacterial Activity in Composition of New Wound Dressings.

The data on the experimental study of the efficacy of the gel wound dressings based on chitosan and calcium alginate containing bioactive substances from marine hydrobionts with complex therapeutic action (sulfated polysaccharides from brown algae, hydrolyzed bivalves, peptides from nerve ganglia of cephalopods) are described. The model of thermal burns complicated by Staphylococcus aureus infection was used. Planimetric and bacteriological investigations revealed pronounced wound healing and antibacterial effects of the gel coating.

Right heart imaging in patients with heart failure: a tale of two ventricles.

Purpose Of Review: The purpose is to describe the recent advances made in imaging of the right heart, including deformation imaging, tissue, and flow characterization by MRI, and molecular imaging.

Recent Findings: Recent developments have been made in the field of deformation imaging of the right heart, which may improve risk stratification of patients with heart failure and pulmonary hypertension. In addition, more attention has been given to load adaptability metrics of the right heart; these simplified indices, however, still face challenges from a conceptual point of view.

Retinal microvascular diameter, a hypertension-related trait, in ECG-gated vs. non-gated images analyzed by IVAN and SIVA.

The diameters of the retinal microvasculature reflect intermediate target organ damage and predict adverse health outcomes. In view of the pulsatility of the cerebral blood flow and refinement of software used for off-line analysis, we assessed the repeatability of retinal microvascular diameters in ECG-gated vs. non-gated images using nonmydriatic retinal photographs (Canon Cr-DGi visualization system) postprocessed by IVAN (Vasculomatic ala Nicola, version 1.

[Cephalopods as a Source of New Antimicrobial Substances].

Under the conditions of emergence of microbial strains with new properties, including antibiotic resistance, in human and animal populations the search for new antimicrobial substances with improved pharmacological properties and new mechanisms of action from natural objects, in particular from aquatic organisms, is continued. This review presents extensive data on antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties of biologically active substances (BAS) of different chemical nature, recovered from representatives of the class of cephalopods (squid, octopus, cuttlefish, nautilus). Analysis of the literature shows that antibacterial activity of some BAS is not inferior, but in some cases is even superior to that of the available antibiotics.

Additive Prognostic Value of Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction in a Population-Based Cohort.

Background: Techniques of 2-dimensional speckle tracking enable the measurement of myocardial deformation (strain) during systole. Recent clinical studies explored the prognostic role of left ventricular global longitudinal strain (GLS). However, there are few data on the association between cardiovascular outcome and GLS in the community.

Conventional and Ambulatory Blood Pressure as Predictors of Retinal Arteriolar Narrowing.

At variance with the long established paradigm that retinal arteriolar narrowing trails hypertension, several longitudinal studies, all based on conventional blood pressure (CBP) measurement, proposed that retinal arteriolar narrowing indicates heightened microvascular resistance and precedes hypertension. In 783 randomly recruited Flemish (mean age, 38.2 years; 51.

Urinary Proteomics Pilot Study for Biomarker Discovery and Diagnosis in Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction.

Background: Biomarker discovery and new insights into the pathophysiology of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) may emerge from recent advances in high-throughput urinary proteomics. This could lead to improved diagnosis, risk stratification and management of HFrEF.

Methods And Results: Urine samples were analyzed by on-line capillary electrophoresis coupled to electrospray ionization micro time-of-flight mass spectrometry (CE-MS) to generate individual urinary proteome profiles.

Russian and Chinese consumers' acceptability of boar meat patties depending on their sensitivity to androstenone and skatole.

The aim of this work was to study the sensitivity of Chinese and Russian female consumers to androstenone and skatole and to identify their preference for pork patties from entire male pigs compared with those from castrated pigs. One-hundred-twenty women in each country were enrolled. The sensitivity of the consumers to both compounds was tested using smell strips and triangular tests.

ZDHHC3 Tyrosine Phosphorylation Regulates Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule Palmitoylation.

The neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) mediates cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion. It is broadly expressed in the nervous system and regulates neurite outgrowth, synaptogenesis, and synaptic plasticity. Previous in vitro studies revealed that palmitoylation of NCAM is required for fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2)-stimulated neurite outgrowth and identified the zinc finger DHHC (Asp-His-His-Cys)-containing proteins ZDHHC3 and ZDHHC7 as specific NCAM-palmitoylating enzymes.

Determinants and Prognostic Significance of the Renal Resistive Index.

Background: The noninvasive assessment of renal hemodynamics is currently possible by assessing the renal resistive index (RRI) derived from intrarenal Doppler arterial waveforms as (peak systolic velocity - end-diastolic velocity)/peak systolic velocity. In this review, we outline the important determinants of the RRI to clarify the true identity of the RRI and highlight its potential diagnostic and prognostic value in renal and cardiovascular pathology.

Summary: Although the RRI was initially considered to reflect intrarenal vascular pathological processes, this index is actually a product of a complex interaction between renal and systemic vascular wall properties and hemodynamic factors.

Dynamic chromatin organization: Role in development and disease.

The spatial organization of chromatin in the nucleus is important for proper regulation of gene expression. The cell-type specific transcription program is mainly controlled by distal regulatory elements, which can dynamically engage in long-range interactions with their target genes. These long-range interactions mostly occur within insulated genomic domains and are constrained by global organization of the chromatin, providing an extra layer of regulation.

[Role of assessment of arterial wall stiffness in predicting carotid artery atherosclerosis in patients with abdominal obesity].

Aim: To estimate the possibility of using arterial wall stiffness (AWS) parameters as predictors for carotid artery atherosclerotic plaques (CAAPs) in patients with abdominal obesity (AO).

Materials And Methods: A total of 132 patients (72% men; mean age, 45.0±5.

Association of left ventricular structure and function with peripheral blood mitochondrial DNA content in a general population.

Background/objectives: mtDNA content might be an important biomarker in heart disease prediction and to date no population studies are available on the association of mtDNA content with cardiac structure and function. We, therefore, investigated in a general population in cross-sectional and longitudinal studies whether echocardiographic indexes of LV structure and function are associated with mtDNA content measured in peripheral blood cells.

Methods: At baseline we performed echocardiography in 701 randomly selected individuals (50.

Impact and pitfalls of scaling of left ventricular and atrial structure in population-based studies.

Background: Several allometric methods for indexing cardiac structures to body size have been proposed but the optimal way for normalization of cardiac structures is still controversial. We aimed to estimate the allometric exponents that best describe the relationships between cardiac dimensions and body size, propose normative values, and analyze how the different scaling metrics influence the prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and chambers enlargement as well as predictive models for cardiovascular outcome in the community.

Methods: We measured left ventricular end-diastolic dimension, end-diastolic volume, left ventricular mass, and left atrial volume in randomly recruited population cohorts (n = 1509; 52.

Diastolic Left Ventricular Function in Relation to Circulating Metabolic Biomarkers in a General Population.

Background: The metabolic signature associated with subclinical diastolic left ventricular (LV) dysfunction in the population remains ill defined.

Methods And Results: In 711 randomly recruited Flemish (50.8% women; mean age, 50.

Vitamin K Dependent Protection of Renal Function in Multi-ethnic Population Studies.

Background: Following activation by vitamin K (VK), matrix Gla protein (MGP) inhibits arterial calcification, but its role in preserving renal function remains unknown.

Methods: In 1166 white Flemish (mean age, 38.2 years) and 714 South Africans (49.

Doppler indexes of left ventricular systolic and diastolic function in relation to the arterial stiffness in a general population.

Background: Late-systolic loading of the left ventricular (LV) is determined by arterial wave reflections and central vascular stiffening. We, therefore, investigated the relationship between various Doppler indexes reflecting LV systolic and diastolic function and arterial stiffness in the framework of a large population study of randomly recruited study participants.

Methods: In 1233 study participants (51.

Beyond the Dimer and Trimer: Tetraspiro[2.1.2(5).1.2(9).1.2(13).1(3)] hexadecane-1,3,5,7-tetraone--the Cyclic Tetramer of Carbonylcyclopropane.

Tetraspiro[2.1.2(5).

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel 5-hydroxylaminoisoxazole derivatives as lipoxygenase inhibitors and metabolism enhancing agents.

A versatile synthesis of novel 5-hydroxylaminoisoxazoles bearing adamantane moieties has been accomplished using the heterocyclization reactions of readily available unsaturated esters by the treatment with tetranitromethane in the presence of triethylamine and subsequent reduction of resulting 5-nitroisoxazoles by SnCl2 with the participation of THF. A number of obtained isoxazole derivatives were evaluated for their antioxidative activity, inhibition of lipoxygenases and impact on the rat liver mitochondria. The majority of tested compounds demonstrated moderate antiradical activity in DPPH test (up to EC50 16μM).

Inhibitory Effect of Polysaccharides of Marine Hydrobionts on Biofilm Formation.

In the review there are considered the recent data on the perspectives of the use of polysaccharides (PS) from marine hydrobionts for nhibition of formation of bacterial biofilms, which play a significant role in the onset and process of different infections, as well as for design of antiadhesive coatings on medical produce. Particular attention is paid to antiadhesive properties of natural PS from marine microorganisms, algae and invertebrate animals, which prevent formation of biofilms. Antibiofilm PS possess such positive characteristics, as biocompatibility and biodegradability, that is of great interest for medical and industrial applications.

[Effect of Sulfated Polysaccharides from Brown Alga Fucus evanescens and Their Enzymatic Transformation Product on Functional Activity of Innate Immunity Cells.].

The effect of sulfated polysaccharides (PS) from brown alga Fucus evanescens and their enzymatic transformation and low molecular weight product on the functional activity of the innate immunity cells, i.e. polymorphonuclear leukocytes of human peripheral blood (NF) was comparatively studied.

[Assessment of arterial wall stiffness by 24-hour blood pressure monitoring].

Arterial wall stiffness is an early marker of cardiovascular diseases. The gold standard for assessment of the stiffness of large vessels is presently pulse wave velocity (PWV). Work is in progress on the study of the reference values of PWV in people of different genders and ages.