n-3 fatty acids and the risk of atrial fibrillation, review.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most frequent type of cardiac arrhythmia that affects over six million individuals in Europe. The incidence and prevalence of AF rises with age, and often occurs after cardiac surgery. Other risk factors correlated with AF comprise high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, left atrial enlargement, ischemic heart disease, and congestive heart failure.

The Controversial Role of HCY and Vitamin B Deficiency in Cardiovascular Diseases.

Plasma homocysteine (HCY) is an established risk factor for cardiovascular disease CVD and stroke. However, more than two decades of intensive research activities has failed to demonstrate that Hcy lowering through B-vitamin supplementation results in a reduction in CVD risk. Therefore, doubts about a causal involvement of hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) and B-vitamin deficiencies in atherosclerosis persist.

The relationship between plasma free fatty acids, cognitive function and structural integrity of the brain in middle-aged healthy humans.

Background: The cerebral composition of ω-3 and ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) is believed to influence cognitive function and structural damage of the aging brain. However, existing data is inconsistent.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study explored the association between free plasma PUFA concentrations, cognitive function and brain structure atrophy in a well-characterized community-dwelling cohort of elderly individuals without stroke and dementia.

The Importance of Telomere Shortening for Atherosclerosis and Mortality.

Telomeres are the protective end caps of chromosomes and shorten with every cell division. Short telomeres are associated with older age and adverse lifestyle factors. Leucocyte telomere length (LTL) has been proposed as a biomarker of biological age.

Telomere length, vitamin B12 and mortality in persons undergoing coronary angiography: the Ludwigshafen risk and cardiovascular health study.

Background: Vitamin B12 (B12) deficiency and excess are associated with increased risk of age-related-diseases and mortality. It has been suggested that high- and low-B12 concentrations link to increased mortality through accelerated genomic aging and inflammation. Evidence to support this is limited.

Subclinical inflammation, telomere shortening, homocysteine, vitamin B6, and mortality: the Ludwigshafen Risk and Cardiovascular Health Study.

Purpose: Short telomeres and B vitamin deficiencies have been proposed as risk factors for age-related diseases and mortality that interact through oxidative stress and inflammation. However, available data to support this concept are insufficient. We aimed to investigate the predictive role of B vitamins and homocysteine (HCY) for mortality in cardiovascular patients.

Editorial: 150 Years of the Technische Universität München: Innovation since 1868.

"… On Easter Sunday 1868, the decree founding the Polytechnische Hochschule München (today's Technische Universität München; TUM) was signed by the 23-year-old Ludwig II, King of Bavaria. Entrepreneurial spirit has been a hallmark of the TUM from the start, and it was the first German university to have a branch abroad. Interdisciplinary research is key, not least in the Department of Chemistry …" Read more in the Guest Editorial by Wolfgang A.

Telomere length and mortality in the Ludwigshafen Risk and Cardiovascular Health study.

Introduction: Short telomeres have been associated with adverse lifestyle factors, cardiovascular risk factors and age-related diseases, including cardiovascular disease (CVD), myocardial infarction, atherosclerosis, hypertension, diabetes, and also with mortality. However, previous studies report conflicting results.

Objectives: The aim of the present study has been to investigate the involvement of telomere length in all-cause and CVD mortality in subjects hospitalized for diagnostic coronary angiography of the Ludwigshafen Risk and Cardiovascular Health (LURIC) study.

Telomere biology and age-related diseases.

Telomeres are the protective end caps of chromosomes and shorten with every cell division. Telomere length has been proposed as a biomarker of biological age and a risk factor for age-related diseases. Epidemiologic studies show an association between leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and mortality.

Macular hole surgery: an analysis of risk factors for the anatomical and functional outcomes with a special emphasis on the experience of the surgeon.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate risk factors for the anatomical and functional outcomes of macular hole (MH) surgery with special emphasis on the experience of the surgeon.

Methods: A total of 225 surgeries on idiopathic MHs (IMHs) performed by 6 surgeons with a mean follow-up period of 20.5 months were reviewed in this retrospective study.

Hydrogen Production and Storage on a Formic Acid/Bicarbonate Platform using Water-Soluble N-Heterocyclic Carbene Complexes of Late Transition Metals.

The synthesis and characterization of two water-soluble bis-N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes of rhodium and iridium is presented. Both compounds are active in H generation from formic acid and in hydrogenation of bicarbonate to formate. The rhodium derivative is most active in both reactions, reaching a TOF of 39 000 h and a TON of 449 000 for H production.

Plasma trimethylamine-N-oxide following supplementation with vitamin D or D plus B vitamins.

Scope: We compared the effect of supplementation with vitamin D + B or vitamin D on plasma trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) and choline metabolites.

Methods And Results: This is a randomized single-blinded nonplacebo-controlled study. Twenty-seven participants received 1200 IU vitamin D3 and 800 mg calcium, and 25 participants received additionally 0.

One-carbon metabolites and telomere length in a prospective and randomized study of B- and/or D-vitamin supplementation.

Background: Vitamin B deficiency is common in elderly people and has been associated with an increased risk of developing age-related diseases. B-vitamins are essential for the synthesis and stability of DNA. Telomers are the end caps of chromosomes that shorten progressively with age, and short telomers are associated with DNA instability.

Plasma trimethylamine N-oxide concentration is associated with choline, phospholipids, and methyl metabolism.

Background: Elevated plasma concentrations of the gut bacteria choline metabolite trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) are associated with atherosclerosis. However, the determinants of TMAO in humans require additional assessment.

Objective: We examined cardiometabolic risk factors and pathways associated with TMAO concentrations in humans.

Plasma 1-carbon metabolites and academic achievement in 15-yr-old adolescents.

Academic achievement in adolescents is correlated with 1-carbon metabolism (1-CM), as folate intake is positively related and total plasma homocysteine (tHcy) negatively related to academic success. Because another 1-CM nutrient, choline is essential for fetal neurocognitive development, we hypothesized that choline and betaine could also be positively related to academic achievement in adolescents. In a sample of 15-yr-old children (n= 324), we measured plasma concentrations of homocysteine, choline, and betaine and genotyped them for 2 polymorphisms with effects on 1-CM, methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) 677C>T, rs1801133, and phosphatidylethanolamineN-methyltransferase (PEMT), rs12325817 (G>C).

Prospective study of telomere length and LINE-1 methylation in peripheral blood cells: the role of B vitamins supplementation.

Purpose: Deficiencies of folate, vitamins B12 and D are common age-related conditions. Vitamin B12 and folate are necessary for DNA methylation. Telomeres appear to be regulated by DNA methylation.

Immobilisation of a molecular epoxidation catalyst on UiO-66 and -67: the effect of pore size on catalyst activity and recycling.

Amino-functionalised metal-organic frameworks UiO-66 and -67 were post-synthetically modified with salicylaldehyde. A molybdenum complex was immobilised on the resulting materials. They were characterised by (13)C-MAS-NMR, XPS and PXRD to confirm immobilisation and stability.

Structure and spectroscopic properties of the dimeric copper(I) N-heterocyclic carbene complex [Cu₂(CNC(t-Bu))₂](PF₆)₂.

In recent years, the use of copper N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes has expanded to fields besides catalysis, namely medicinal chemistry and luminescence applications. In the latter case, multinuclear copper NHC compounds have attracted interest, however, the number of these complexes in the literature is still quite limited. Bis[μ-1,3-bis(3-tert-butylimidazolin-2-yliden-1-yl)pyridine]-1κ(4)C(2),N:N,C(2');2κ(4)C(2),N:N,C(2')-dicopper(I) bis(hexafluoridophosphate), [Cu2(C19H25N5)2](PF6)2, is a dimeric copper(I) complex bridged by two CNC, i.

[Effect of silymarin on liver health and quality of life. Results of a non-interventional study].

Background: Many drugs are known to have hepatotoxic side effects. The effect of silymarin on liver function and liver-injury-impaired quality of life under daily practice conditions in patients with elevated values of liver enzymes was evaluated in the present non-interventional study.

Method: Patients with drug-induced elevated aminotransferase levels and indication for silymarin (Legalon forte) treatment for 2 to 3 months were documented prospectively over 4 months.

Synthesis of cyclic carbonates from epoxides and carbon dioxide by using organocatalysts.

The synthesis of cyclic carbonates through coupling of carbon dioxide with epoxides is 100 % atom economical and is already performed on an industrial scale. Its impact regarding the use of carbon dioxide as a renewable carbon source is expected to grow significantly in the near future, so that the development of efficient catalysts is of high interest in academia and industry. To improve the carbon footprint and sustainability of the cycloaddition reaction, the use of organocatalytic methods is a promising approach.

Direct Synthesis and Bonding Properties of the First μ(2)-η(2),η(2)-Allyl-Bridged Diiridium Complex.

The direct synthesis of the first μ(2)-η(2),η(2)-allyl-bridged diiridium complex ([2](+)), bearing the uncommon counterion [IrCl2(COD)](-) ([3](-)), is described. Both bridging moieties in [2](+), namely, allyl and acetate, are introduced in a single reaction step from [{IrCl(COD)}2] (1) and allyl acetate. A combination of X-ray crystallography and density functional theory calculations reveals pronounced metal-allyl π-back-bonding.

Folic acid causes higher prevalence of detectable unmetabolized folic acid in serum than B-complex: a randomized trial.

Purpose: Unmetabolized folic acid (UMFA) is common in serum of elderly individuals receiving folic acid (FA)-fortified foods or supplements. We studied the effect of supplementing FA or B-complex on serum concentrations of (6S)-5-methyltetrahydropteroylglutamate [(6S)-5-CH3-H4Pte] and UMFA in elderly people and explored factors associated with detectable UMFA post-supplementation.

Methods: This is a randomized single-blind non-controlled trial on 58 elderly people using daily 400 µg FA (n = 31) or 400 µg FA, 10 µg cyanocob(III)alamin and 8 mg pyridoxine (n = 27) for a median of 23 days.