A Potential Strategy for Atherosclerosis Prevention in Modernizing China - Hyperhomocysteinemia, MTHFR C677T Polymorphism and Air Pollution (PM2.5) on Atherogenesis in Chinese Adults.

BACKGROUND: Atherosclerosis is one of the most important global health hazards and air pollution (AP, PM2.5) has been implicated. In addition to traditional risk factors hyperhomocysteinemia (HC) has been recognized in many parts of China related to risk of stroke. METHODS: To evaluate the impact of HC (homocysteine >14µmol/l) and PM2.5 air pollution on atherogenesis in modernizing China, we studied 756 asymptomatic Chinese in China from 1998-2007. PM2.5 exposure, HC, folate, and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C/T genotype were evaluated. Brachial flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) were measured by ultrasound. Locations were categorized as zones 1, 2 and 3, with increasing PM2.5 exposure. RESULTS: HC was higher (19.4±13.1 and 27.1±25.1µmol/l) in high PM2.5-polluted zones 2 and 3 than in zone 1 (9.7±4.5µmol/l, p<0.0015). The top HC tertile was characterized by lower folate and vitamin B12, but a higher proportion of the MTHFR TT genotype, Metabolic Syndrome (MS) and PM2.5 level (p=0.0018). FMD was significantly lower (7.3±2.3%) and carotid IMT thicker (0.63±0.12mm) in the top HC tertile, compared with low HC tertile (8.4±2.5%, p<0.0001; 0.57±0.1mm, p<0.0001 respectively). Similar differences in FMD and IMT were seen in zones 2 and 3, compared with zone 1 (p<0.0001). On multivariate regression, HC was related to male gender (beta=0.106, p=0.021), MTHFR-TT (beta=0.935, p<0.0001), locations (beta=0.230, p<0.0001) and folate-MTHFR interaction (beta=-0.566, p<0.0001). FMD was related to age (beta= -0.221; p<0.0001), male gender (beta= -0.194, p=0.001) PM2.5 and location (beta=-0.285 to -0.303, p<0.0001). Carotid IMT was related to PM2.5 (beta=0.173, p<0.0001), HC (0.122, p=0.006) but not to MTHFR or location, independent of age, gender, MS, and LDL-C. No significant HC-PM2.5 interaction effect on FMD and IMT was observed. CONCLUSION: HC and PM2.5 pollution but not MTHFR genotype were both related to carotid IMT, independent of other traditional risk factors. This has potential implications in dietary and AP strategies for atherosclerosis prevention in China.

The impact of particulate matter air pollution (PM2.5) on atherosclerosis in modernizing China: a report from the CATHAY study.

BACKGROUND: Air pollution has been associated with an increase in cardiovascular diseases incidence. To evaluate whether air pollution can accelerate atherogenic processes, we assessed the effects of air pollution on important surrogate markers of atherosclerosis [brachial flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT)]. METHODS: A total of 1656 Han Chinese (mean age 46.0 + 11.2 years; male 47%) in Hong Kong, Macau, Pun Yu, Yu County and the 3-Gorges Territories (Yangtze River) were studied between 1996 and 2007 [Chinese Atherosclerosis in the Aged and Young Project (the CATHAY Study)]. Cardiovascular risk profiles were evaluated. Particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter <2.5 µm (PM2.5) parameters were computed from satellite sensors. Brachial FMD and carotid IMT were measured by ultrasound. RESULTS: Health parameters [age, gender, body mass index, waist : hip ratio (WHR) and glucose)] were similar in lowest and highest PM2.5 exposure tertiles, systolic and diastolic blood pressures and triglycerides were higher (P < 0.001) and low-density cholesterol (LDL-C) was lower in the top PM2.5 tertile (P < 0.001). Brachial FMD [7.84 ± 1.77, 95% confidence interval (CI) 7.59-8.10%, vs 8.50 ± 2.52, 95% CI 8.23-8.77%, P < 0.0001) was significantly lower and carotid IMT (0.68 ± 0.13 mm, 95% CI 0.67-0.69 mm vs 0.63 mm ± 0.15 mm 95% CI 0.62-0.64 mm; P < 0.0001) was significantly thicker in the top PM2.5 tertile compared with the lowest tertile. On multiple regression, FMD was inversely related to PM2.5 (beta = 0.134, P = 0.015) independent of gender, age and blood pressure (model R2 = 0.156, F-value = 7.6, P < 0.0001). Carotid IMT was significantly correlated with PM2.5 exposure (beta = 0.381, P < 0.0001) independent of age, location, gender, WHR, blood pressure and LDL-C (model R2 = 0.408, F-value = 51.4, P-value <0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Air pollution is strongly associated with markers of early atherosclerosis, suggesting a potential target for preventive intervention.

A water-compatible magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer for the selective extraction of risperidone and 9-hydroxyrisperidone from human urine.

An accurate, rapid, and sensitive method for the determination of risperidone and 9-hydroxyrisperidone in urine samples was developed by combining water-compatible magnetic molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction with high performance liquid chromatography. Several variables relating to the efficiency of magnetic solid phase extraction were optimized, including the amount of adsorbent, adsorption time, type of elution solvent, and desorption time. The analytical performance of this method was validated under the optimized conditions. The linearity for risperidone and 9-hydroxyrisperidone was obtained in the range 1-2000ngmL-1 with correlation coefficient ≥ 0.991. Limits of detection of risperidone and 9-hydroxyrisperidone are 0.21ngmL-1 and 0.24ngmL-1, respectively. Recoveries at three spike levels (10, 100, and 1000ngmL-1) ranged from 94.6% to 102.4% with relative standard deviations (%) ≤ 5.3. These results confirmed that this method can be successfully and facilely used to analyze the multi-residues of risperidone and 9-hydroxyrisperidone in urine samples with high efficiency and good sensitivity.

[Relationship between overweight/obesity and hypertension among adults in China: a prospective study].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the influence of overweight/obesity on the incidence of hypertension among adults in China. METHODS: The subjects of this prospective study were 13 739 Chinese adults aged 35-74 years recruited at the baseline surveys of China Multicenter Collaborative Study of Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and International Collaborative Study of Cardiovascular Disease in Asian. Baseline surveys were conducted in 1998 and during 2000-2001, respectively, and the follow-up was conducted during 2007-2008. According to the body mass index, the subjects were divided into four groups: underweight group(<18.5 kg/m(2)), normal weight group(18.5-23.9 kg/m(2)), overweight group(24.0-27.9 kg/m(2))and obesity group(≥28.0 kg/m(2)). Age-standardized cumulative incidence of hypertension was calculated for each group, respectively. The relative risks(RRs)and 95% confidence intervals(CIs)for the incidence of hypertension of underweight, overweight and obesity groups were estimated by using generalized linear regression model with normal weight group as reference. RESULTS: During 8.1 years of follow-up, 4 271 hypertension cases were detected(2 012 in men and 2 259 in women). Age-standardized cumulative incidence of hypertension for the underweight, normal weight, overweight and obesity groups were 20.3%, 30.9%, 43.6% and 50.8% in men, respectively; and 22.9%, 30.4%, 41.1% and 50.8% in women, respectively. Compared with the normal weight group, multivariate-adjusted RR(95% CI)for the incidence of hypertension in underweight, overweight and obesity groups were 0.78(0.64-0.95), 1.22(1.13-1.30)and 1.28(1.16-1.42)in men, respectively; and 0.89(0.77-1.03), 1.16(1.09-1.23)and 1.28(1.18-1.38)in women, respectively. The overweight and obese subjects had higher risk for the incidence of hypertension, with the population attributable risk proportion of 7.4% in men and 8.8% in women, respectively. CONCLUSION: Overweight or obese people are at an increased risk of developing hypertension, thus prevention and control of overweight/obesity are needed to reduce hypertension incidence among adults in China.

Spectral minimum and giant enhancement in photoelectron spectra from xenon atoms driven by intense midinfrared laser fields.

Our theoretical study shows that the spectral minimum and the giant enhancement structures observed in the high harmonic spectra also exist in the photoelectron spectra from driven Xe atoms. They are attributed to the inherent property of the radial part of the wave function of the Xe 5p subshell in momentum space. The spectral minimum is caused by the nodal point in the modulus of the radial wave function in momentum space, and the giant enhancement reflects the increase in magnitude of the modulus of the wave function. To observe these structures, midinfrared lasers of about 0.2 PW/cm(2) intensity are preferred. Employing circularly polarized laser light is suggested for exhibiting these structures in photoelectron spectra.

Scaling law for energy-momentum spectra of atomic photoelectrons.

A scaling law which was used to classify photoelectron angular distributions (PADs) is now extended to photoelectron kinetic energy spectra. Both a theoretical proof and an independent verification are presented. Considering PADs are of photoelectron momentum spectra, this extension really extends the scaling law to the entire energy-momentum spectra. The scaling law for photoelectron energy-momentum spectra applies to both directly ionized and rescattered photoelectrons. Re-scaling experimental input parameters without loosing the physical essence with this scaling law may ease the experimental conditions and reduce the material and the energy consumptions in the experiments.

Half Kapitza-Dirac effect of H2+ molecule in intense standing-wave laser fields.

The half Kapitza-Dirac effect of H2+ molecule in an intense standing-wave laser field is studied with a focus on the influence of the molecular orbital symmetry and the molecular alignment on the photo-electron angular distributions (PADs). In standing-wave laser fields, the PADs split along the scattering angle due to the momentum change of electron with photons when it escapes from the laser fields. The structures and the symmetry of PADs are severely affected by the molecular orbital symmetry and the molecular alignment. For H2+ molecule in ground state (σg), the PADs are severely changed by the molecular alignment only when the photoelectron kinetic energy is sufficiently high. For H2+ molecule in the first excited state (σµ), the molecular alignment distinctively changes the PADs, irrelevant to the kinetic energy of photoelectrons. When the molecules are aligned either parallel with or perpendicular to the laser polarization, the PADs are symmetric about an axis. In other cases, the PADs do not show any symmetry. These results indicate that the molecular alignment can be used to control the splitting in the half Kapitza-Dirac effect.

Screening of genes expressed in vivo after infection by Vibrio anguillarum M3.

AIMS: Genes uniquely expressed in vivo may contribute to the overall pathogenicity of an organism and are likely to serve as potential targets for the development of new vaccine. This study aims to screen the genes expressed in vivo after Vibrio anguillarum infection by in vivo-induced antigen technology (IVIAT). METHODS AND RESULTS: The convalescent-phase sera were obtained from turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) survived after infection by the virulent V. anguillarum M3. The pooled sera were thoroughly adsorbed with M3 cells and Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) cells. A genomic expression library of M3 was constructed and screened for the identification of immunogenic proteins by colony immunoblot analysis with the adsorbed sera. After three rounds of screening, 19 putative in vivo-induced (ivi) genes were obtained. These ivi genes were catalogued into four functional groups: regulator/signalling, metabolism, biological process and hypothetical proteins. Three ivi genes were insertion-mutated, and the growth and 50% lethal dose (LD(50) ) of these mutants were evaluated. CONCLUSIONS: The identification of ivi genes in V. anguillarum M3 sheds light on understanding the bacterial pathogenesis and provides novel targets for the development of new vaccines and diagnostic reagents. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report describing in vivo-expressed genes of V. anguillarum using IVIAT. The screened ivi genes in this study could be new virulent factors and targets for the development of vaccine, which may have implications for the development of diagnostic regents.

A scaling law of photoionization in few-cycle regime.

In this paper, a scaling law of photoionization of atoms irradiated by intense, few-cycle laser pulses is established. The scaling law sets a relation to the phase-dependent ionization with the kinetic energy of photoelectrons, the duration and peak intensity of short pulses, and the ionization potential of the target atoms. We find that it will be advantageous to manifest the phase-dependent photoionization by choosing the target atoms with larger ionization potential, using laser with smaller carrier-frequency, and increasing the pulse intensity.

Contribution of an auxin to the uptake of nickel and cadmium in maize seedlings.

Maize seedlings were cultured in nickel or cadmium contaminated sand treated with alpha-naphthylacetic acid (NAA). The effects of NAA on nickel and cadmium uptake in roots, shoots, and subcellular fractions (cell wall, nuclei and remained parts of seedling cells) were determined. The data showed growth promotion when NAA was applied at low concentrations and inhibition at high concentrations. Uptake of nickel and cadmium content increased concurrently in roots and shoots. In the subcellular fraction, nickel and cadmium was greatest in the cell wall. The changes in growth had greatest correlation with nickel and cadmium content in the subcellular fraction.

[Synthesis of N-substituted polymethylene dicarboxamides as inducers of differentiation].

N-Alkyl polymethylene dicarboxamides are known potent inducers of erythroid differentiation in murine erythroleukemia cells. The most active inducer N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-1, 6-hexane-dicarboxamide has the same effectiveness as HMBA which has entered clinical trials as a differentiating agent. These compounds also have inducing activity in HL-60 human promyelocytic leukemia cells. In this paper, the synthesis of a series of N,N'-bis[2-(2-thiazolinyl)], N,N'-bis[5-(1-methyl-2-pyridonyl)], N,N'-bis[3-(1-phenyl-5-pyrazolonyl)] polymethylene dicarboxamides and 3,3'-(polymethylene dicarbonyl)bis(1-methyl-2-imidazolidine-thiones) is reported. The inducing activities of the compounds were evaluated in vitro with HL-60 human promyelocytic leukemia cell line. Among them, N,N'-bis[2-(2-thiazolinyl)]-1,8-octamethylene- dicarboxamide (I4) and N,N'-bis[5-(1-methyl-2-pyridonyl)]-1,6-hexamethylenedicarboxami de (II3) were shown to be relatively effective inducers of differentiation.