Long-term survival following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in women and men: Influence of comorbidities, social characteristics, and resuscitation characteristics.

AIM: We aimed to study sex differences in long-term survival following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) compared to the general population, and determined associations for comorbidities, social characteristics, and resuscitation characteristics with survival in women and men separately. METHODS: We followed 2,452 Danish (530 women and 1,922 men) and 1,255 Dutch (259 women and 996 men) individuals aged ≥25 years, who survived 30 days post-OHCA in 2009-2015, until 2019. Using Poisson regression analyses we assessed sex differences in long-term survival and sex-specific associations of characteristics mutually adjusted, and compared survival with an age- and sex-matched general population. The potential predictive value was assessed with the Concordance-index. RESULTS: Post-OHCA survival was longer in women than men (adjusted incidence rate ratio (IRR) for mortality 0.74, 95%CI 0.61-0.89 in Denmark; 0.86, 95%CI 0.65-1.15 in the Netherlands). Both sexes had a shorter survival than the general population (e.g., IRR for mortality 3.07, 95%CI 2.55-3.70 and IRR 2.15, 95%CI 1.95-2.37 in Danish women and men). Higher age, glucose lowering medication, no dyslipidaemia medication, unemployment, and a non-shockable initial rhythm were associated with shorter survival in both sexes. Cardiovascular medication, depression/anxiety medication, living alone, low household income, and residential OHCA location were associated with shorter survival in men. Not living with children and bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation provision were associated with shorter survival in women. The Concordance-indexes ranged from 0.51 to 0.63. CONCLUSIONS: Women survived longer than men post-OHCA. Several characteristics were associated with long-term post-OHCA survival, with some sex-specific characteristics. In both sexes, these characteristics had low predictive potential.

Chemical-regulated, site-specific DNA excision in transgenic plants.

We have developed a chemical-inducible, site-specific DNA excision system in transgenic Arabidopsis plants mediated by the Cre/loxP DNA recombination system. Expression of the Cre recombinase was tightly controlled by an estrogen receptor-based fusion transactivator XVE. Upon induction by beta-estradiol, sequences encoding the selectable marker, Cre, and XVE sandwiched by two loxP sites were excised from the Arabidopsis genome, leading to activation of the downstream GFP (green fluorescent protein) reporter gene. Genetic and molecular analyses indicated that the system is tightly controlled, showing high-efficiency inducible DNA excision in all 19 transgenic events tested with either single or multiple T-DNA insertions. The system provides a highly reliable method to generate marker-free transgenic plants after transformation through either organogenesis or somatic embryogenesis.

A plastidic ABC protein involved in intercompartmental communication of light signaling.

Plants perceive light via specialized photoreceptors of which the phytochromes (phyA-E), absorbing far-red (FR) and red light (R) are best understood. Several nuclear and cytoplasmic proteins have been characterized whose deficiencies lead to changes in light-dependent morphological responses and gene expression. However, no plastid protein has yet been identified to play a role in phytochrome signal transduction. We have isolated a new Arabidopsis mutant, laf (long after FR) 6, with reduced responsiveness preferentially toward continuous FR light. The disrupted gene in laf6 encodes a novel plant ATP-binding-cassette (atABC1) protein of 557 amino acids with high homology to ABC-like proteins from lower eukaryotes. In contrast to lower eukaryotic ABCs, however, atABC1 contains an N-terminal transit peptide, which targets it to chloroplasts. atABC1 deficiency in laf6 results in an accumulation of the chlorophyll precursor protoporphyrin IX and in attenuation of FR-regulated gene expression. The long hypocotyl phenotype of laf6 and the accumulation of protoporphyrin IX in the mutant can be recapitulated by treating wild-type (WT) seedlings with flumioxazin, a protoporphyrinogen IX oxidase (PPO) inhibitor. Moreover, protoporphyrin IX accumulation in flumioxazin-treated WT seedlings can be reduced by overexpression of atABC1. Consistent with the notion that ABC proteins are involved in transport, these observations suggest that functional atABC1 is required for the transport and correct distribution of protoporphyrin IX, which may act as a light-specific signaling factor involved in coordinating intercompartmental communication between plastids and the nucleus.

Interactions and intersections of plant signaling pathways.

Plant signal transduction is a rapidly expanding field of research, and during the last decade a wealth of insight into how plants perceive and transmit signals as part of normal development and in response to environmental cues has been and is continuing to be unraveled. Although ?signaling cascades are often viewed as linear chains of events it is now becoming increasingly apparent, through the use of cell biological, molecular and genetic approaches, that plant signal transduction involves extensive cross-talk between different pathways. The numerous interactions and intersections which take place are potentially important to modulate and balance the various inputs from different signaling cascades so that plants can integrate all this information to execute the proper developmental responses.

Developmental expression and biochemical analysis of the Arabidopsis atao1 gene encoding an H2O2-generating diamine oxidase.

A copper amine oxidase encoding gene, atao1, has been isolated and characterized from Arabidopsis thaliana. Sequence analysis reveals that atao1 encodes a 668 amino acid polypeptide (ATAO1) with 48% identity to copper amine oxidases from pea and lentil. The promoter region of atao1 was transcriptionally fused with the reporter genes encoding beta-glucuronidase and modified green fluorescent protein. Analysis of transgenic Arabidopsis together with in situ hybridization of wild-type plants reveals temporally and spatially discrete patterns of gene expression in lateral root cap cells, vascular tissue of roots, developing leaves, the hypocotyl, and in the style/stigmatal tissue. Enzyme activity assays show that ATAO1 preferentially oxidizes the aliphatic diamine putrescine with production of the corresponding aldehyde, ammonia and hydrogen peroxide, a recognized plant signal molecule and substrate for peroxidases. Histochemical analysis reveals that atao1 expression in developing tracheary elements precedes and overlaps with lignification and therefore is a good marker for vascular development. In both vascular tissue and the root cap, atao1 expression occurs in cells destined to undergo programmed cell death.

Continual green-fluorescent protein monitoring of cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter activity in nematode-induced feeding cells in Arabidopsis thaliana.

The responsiveness of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter in feeding sites developed by both sexes of Heterodera schachtii and female Meloidogyne incognita has been studied. The objective was to establish the value of green-fluorescent protein (GFP) as a nondestructive reporter gene system for characterizing promoter activity at nematode feeding sites in vivo. Growth units were devised that allowed individual feeding sites in roots of Arabidopsis thaliana to be observed by both bright-field and epifluorescent illumination. Changes in GFP expression were visually observed under experimental conditions that resulted in chloroplast formation in syncytia but not other root cells. Changes in GFP levels altered the extent of quenching, by this protein, of red light emitted by chlorophyll within the chloroplasts under violet excitation. Image analysis provided a semiquantitative basis for simultaneous measurement of changes in GFP fluorescence and the unquenched emission by chlorophyll. GFP levels were constant in cells surrounding the syncytium induced by H. schachtii, but they fell progressive from 10 to 35 days postinfection within this structure. Significant reduction in GFP levels was not limited to the early part of the time course but also occurred between 27 and 35 days postinfection. GFP was detected by immunoblotting in females of M. incognita but not in H. schachtii parasitizing similar GFP-expressing roots.