The effect of nutrient solution composition on development of Cichorium spinosum plants

In the present study, the effect of nutrient solution composition on plant growth and quality of Cichorium spinosum L. was examined. Five fertilizer treatments were applied through irrigation water differing in the nitrate: ammonium nitrogen ratio of total nitrogen, namely (1) 100:0, (2) 75:25, (3) 50:50, (4) 25:75, 5) 0:100 NO3:NH4, while an extra treatment (6) with total nitrogen only in urea form was applied. All the treatments received the same amount of fertilizer units (20-20-20 mg L-1 of N, P and K, respectively). Plants were grown in 2 L pots containing peat (Klassman-Deilmann KTS2) and harvested three times during the growing period, and when they reached marketable size. At each harvest day, plant development was assessed (number, fresh and dry weight of leaves, and rosette diameter). The results suggest that nitrogen form has a significant effect on plant growth and yield of C. spinosum plants. In particular, fresh weight and number of leaves, and rosette diameter were significantly increased when ratio of nitrate: ammonium nitrogen was 75:25 or 0:100, especially in the 1st harvest, while in the 3rd harvest treatment 100:0 showed the best results. However, this did not affect total fresh weight and number of leaves which were higher for treatments 100:0 and 75:25, respectively. Therefore, higher ammonium nitrogen rates seem to be beneficial for plant development only during the early stages, while at later growth stages nitrate nitrogen has better results. In any case, ureic nitrogen is not suggested since it has severe effects on plant development, probably due to toxicity issues.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Chemical composition and bioactive properties of Cichorium spinosum L. in relation to nitrate/ammonium nitrogen ratio

Nitrogenous fertilizers may affect the yield and quality of leafy vegetables via the application rate and nitrogen form. In the present study, the effect of the nitrate:ammonium nitrogen ratio in the nutrient solution on the chemical composition and bioactive properties of Cichorium spinosum leaves was evaluated. For this purpose, C. spinosum plants were fertigated with nutrient solution containing different ratios of nitrate: ammonium nitrogen: (i) 100:0 NO3-N:NH4-N; (ii) 75:25 NO3-N:NH4-N; (iii) 50:50 NO3-N:NH4-N; (iv) 25:75 NO3-N:NH4-N; and (v) 0:100 NO3-N:NH4-N of total nitrogen; aswell as (vi) 100% ureic nitrogen. RESULTS: The only detected tocopherol isoforms were - and -tocopherol, which were positively affected by nitrate nitrogen (100:0 NO3-N:NH4-N). Similar results were observed for individual and total organic acids. The main detected sugars were fructose, glucose and sucrose, with a varied effect of nutrient solution composition on their content, whereas total sugar concentrationwas positively affected by a balanced or a slightly increased proportion of NH4-N (50:50 and 25:75 NO3-N:NH4-N). The fatty acids profile was beneficially affected by the highest NH4-N ratio (0:100 NO3-N:NH4-N), whereas higher amounts of NO3 − than NH4 + nitrogen (75:25 NO3-N:NH4-N) resulted in a higher content of total phenolic compounds. Finally, no cytotoxic effects were observed against non-tumor (PLP2, HeLa) and tumor (HepG2, MCF-7, NCI-H460) cell lines for any of the studied nutrient solutions. CONCLUSION: The modulation ofNO3-N:NH4-N ratio in the nutrient solution supplied to C. spinosummay enhance the content of desirable health-promoting compounds and reduce the content of antinutrients, thus increasing the overall quality of the final product without compromising yield. © 2019 Society of Chemical IndustryWe are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and FEDER under Programme PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UID/AGR/00690/2019), L. Barros, A. Fernandes and R. C. Calhelha’s contract. The authors are grateful to the FEDER-Interreg España-Portugal programme for financial support through the project 0377_Iberphenol_6_E.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Changes in Lipids and Lipoproteins after Selective LDL Apheresis (7-Year Experience)

Background. The aim of the study was to investigate the changes in plasma lipids and lipoproteins and the cardiovascular events after selective LDL apheresis. Methods and Results. Two pediatric patients with familial hypercholesterolemia aged 11 and 13 years and 19 dyslipidemic adults aged 41 ± 14 years underwent direct adsorption of lipoproteins (DALI) sessions. The mean follow-up period was 47 ± 23 months. The total cholesterol (TC) values before and after treatment were 8.2 ± 2.2 and 3.1 ± 1.6 mmol/l (318 ± 86 and 122 ± 62 mg/dL), respectively. The interval mean of TC was 6.9 ± 1.9 mmol/l (268 ± 75 mg/dL). The LDL cholesterol concentrations before and after treatment were 6.6 ± 2.1 and 1.7 ± 1.1 mmol/l, (256 ± 82 mg/dL and 65 ± 41 mg/dL), respectively. The percentage of acute LDL cholesterol reduction was 75 ± 11%. Cardiovascular events were observed in seven patients. The average annual event rate was 5.51%. Conclusion. LDL apheresis is a very important therapeutic tool in managing patients at high risk for premature CAD or with aggressive CAD, despite adequate medical treatment

Fibrinogen beta variants confer protection against coronary artery disease in a Greek case-control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although plasma fibrinogen levels are related to cardiovascular risk, data regarding the role of fibrinogen genetic variation in myocardial infarction (MI) or coronary artery disease (CAD) etiology remain inconsistent. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of <it>fibrinogen A (FGA)</it>, <it>fibrinogen B (FGB) </it>and <it>fibrinogen G (FGG) </it>gene SNPs and haplotypes on susceptibility to CAD in a homogeneous Greek population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We genotyped for rs2070022, rs2070016, rs2070006 in <it>FGA </it>gene, the rs7673587, rs1800789, rs1800790, rs1800788, rs1800787, rs4681 and rs4220 in <it>FGB </it>gene and for the rs1118823, rs1800792 and rs2066865 SNPs in <it>FGG </it>gene applying an arrayed primer extension-based genotyping method (APEX-2) in a sample of CAD patients (n = 305) and controls (n = 305). Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), before and after adjustment for potential confounders.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>None of the <it>FGA </it>and <it>FGG </it>SNPs and <it>FGA, FGB, FGG </it>and <it>FGA-FGG </it>haplotypes was associated with disease occurrence after adjustment. Nevertheless, rs1800787 and rs1800789 SNPs in <it>FGB </it>gene seem to decrease the risk of CAD, even after adjustment for potential confounders (OR = 0.42, 95%CI: 0.19-0.90, p = 0.026 and OR = 0.44, 95%CI:0.21-0.94, p = 0.039, respectively).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p><it>FGA </it>and <it>FGG </it>SNPs as well as <it>FGA, FGB, FGG </it>and <it>FGA-FGG </it>haplotypes do not seem to be important contributors to CAD occurrence in our sample. On the contrary, <it>FGB </it>rs1800787 and rs1800789 SNPs seem to confer protection to disease onset lowering the risk by about 50% in homozygotes for the minor alleles.</p

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

The effect of gamma rays on bone aging: the role of free radicals

The study of the disease of bones and their cure is directly related with the use of radiation. It well known that the radiation therapy alone or in combination with chemotherapy it is often used to cope with the cancer of the bones. It has also been observed that the cancers of the bones are habitually localized and as such the application of radiation as a means of treatment is feasible: very often is the only choice.However, during radiotherapy both cancer cells are irradiated. It is thus imposed the study of the influence of radiation on the bones at a molecular level, in order to find a way to diminish the dose of radiation which will correspond only the destruction of the cancers cellsThe methods employed in this study were the FT-IR and synchrotron-micro-FT-IR infrared spectroscopy in connection with the SEM analysis (Scanning Electron Microscopy), which are powerful techniques for the study of the effect of radiation on the molecular structure and morphology of bones.The study contains samples from the head of the femoral bone adult patients aged 20 to 84 year old. No one of the patients was sick of metabolic illness (for ex. Osteopathy, osteoporosis) or cancer of the bones, after histological examination with color after Goldam Trichrome. The thickness of the samples was 5 μm for the spectroscopic study and 2mm for the SEM analyses. The samples were not embedded in a solid material in order not to loose valuable information The infrared spectra showed considerable changes after radiation of the samples. It was observed that the band changes in the spectra were analogous to irradiated dose up to 60 Gy, while for higher dose results could not be followed melodically. The damages of the organic part are due to the direct and indirect effect of radiation.From the shifting of the hydroxyl band (OH) at 3569 cm-1 to lower wavenumbers by 12 cm-1, it was suggested that the free radicals react with the collagen proteins by addition of the OH to the double bands of the proteins.After elimination of the organic phase with DMSO it was found that the organic phase it was found that the organic phase reacts as radiosensitizer. From micro-FT-IR spectra of bones is obtained more information due to the fact that the changes are observed in a micro surface of the bone being topical information. It was ascertained that radiation of the bones render them penetrating to the infrared light, which shows from microscope pictures after radiation just as hydroxyapatite becomes amorphous.Comparison of infrared spectra of desalinated bones with EDTA and the radiated ones shows a decrease in the intensities of bands in the region of 1200-900 cm-1, where the phosphate bands of hydroxyapatite absorb in both cases. However, the SEM data show that the damage is different in this case. This could be explained from the fact that in this case there are damages in the organic as well as in the inorganic phase.Η μελέτη των παθήσεων των οστών και η θεραπεία τους σχετίζονται άμεσα με τη χρήση των ιοντιζούσων ακτινοβολιών. Eίναι γνωστό ότι η ακτινοθεραπεία, μόνη ή σε συνδυασμό με την χημειοθεραπεία, εφαρμόζεται συχνά για την αντιμετώπιση του καρκίνου των οστών. Συχνά μάλιστα, είναι η μόνη επιλογή επειδή οι όγκοι πιθανόν να μην επιδέχονται χειρουργική επέμβαση. Κατά την διάρκεια όμως της ακτινοθεραπείας παράλληλα με τα καρκινικά κύτταρα ακτινοβολούνται και τα υγιή. Επιβάλλεται επομένως η μελέτη της επίδρασης των ακτινοβολιών στα οστά σε μοριακό επίπεδο, ώστε να ανευρεθεί τρόπος μείωσης της δόσης ακτινοβολίας, χωρίς όμως να μειωθεί το καταστρεπτικό αποτέλεσμα ως προς τα καρκινικά κύτταρα.Οι μέθοδοι, FT-IR και σύγχροτρον-μικρο-FT-IR υπέρυθρης φασματοσκοπίας σε συνδυασμό με την ανάλυση SEM (Scaning Electron Microscospy), εφαρμόστηκαν για την μελέτη της επίδραση των ιοντιζουσών ακτινοβολιών στη μοριακή δομή και την μορφολογία των οστών.Η μελέτη περιλαμβάνει δείγματα από την κεφαλή του μηριαίου οστού, ενηλίκων ασθενών ηλικίας 20 έως 84 ετών, οι οποίοι δεν έπασχε από μεταβολική νόσο (π.χ. οστεοπενία, οστεοπόρωση) ή καρκίνο των οστών, κατόπιν ιστολογικής εξετάσεως με χρώση κατά Goldam Trichrome. Το πάχος των δειγμάτων ήταν 5 μm για την φασματοσκοπική μελέτη και 2mm για την ανάλυση SEM. Προκειμένου να μη χαθούν χρήσιμες πληροφορίες τα δείγματα δεν εγκιβωτίστησαν σε στερεωτικό υλικό. Παρατηρήθηκε από τα μικρο-υπέρυθρα φάσματα ότι η μεταβολή των ταινιών του φάσματος ήταν συνάρτηση της δόσης της ακτινοβολίας έως 60 Gy, ενώ για μεγαλύτερες δόσεις το αποτέλεσμα δεν ακολουθούσε αναλογική πορεία. Οι βλάβες που παρατηρήθηκαν αποδόθηκαν τόσο στην άμεση όσο και στην έμμεση επίδραση των ακτινοβολιών. Από την μετατόπιση της ταινίας στα 3569 cm-1 προς μικρότερους κυματαριθμούς κατά 12 cm-1, επιβεβαιώνεται ο ρόλος των ελευθέρων ριζών στις αντιδράσεις με τα οργανικά και ανόργανα συστατικά του οστού. Η εμφάνιση νέων ταινιών οδηγεί στο συμπέρασμα της μεταβολής της τεταρτοταγούς και πρωτοταγούς δομής του κολλαγόνου και των πρωτεϊνών. Μετά την απομάκρυνση της οργανικής φάσης με DMSO διαπιστώθηκε ότι η οργανική φάση των οστών λειτουργεί ως ραδιοευαισθητοποιητής. Τα μικρο-FT-IR φάσματα των οστών παρέχουν πληροφορίες σε τοπικό επίπεδο και επομένως τα συμπεράσματα είναι περισσότερο αποδεκτά. Η σύγκριση των υπέρυθρων φασμάτων μεταξύ αφαλατωμένων οστών με EDTA και ακτινοβολημένων ανέδειξε ότι η μείωση εντάσεων των ταινιών στην περιοχή του φάσματος 1200 - 900 cm–1, όπου απορροφούν οι φωσφορικές ομάδες του υδροξυαπατίτη είναι ανάλογη. Το ηλεκτρονικό μικροσκόπιο (SEM) ανέδειξε ότι οι βλάβες διαφέρουν. Αυτό ήταν αναμενόμενο δεδομένου ότι η ακτινοβόληση προκαλεί βλάβες τόσο στην ανόργανη, όσο και στην οργανική φάση του οστού

A Posteriori Dietary Patterns and Coronary Artery Disease in a Greek Case–Control Study

Introduction: Diet is one of the most important modifiable risk factors associated with cardiovascular health (CH). Research identifying dietary patterns (DPs) through data-driven analysis and reporting associations between DPs and coronary artery disease (CAD) outcomes is rather limited. Objective: The aim of the present report was to generate DPs through factor analysis (FA) and to examine their association with CAD risk. Methods: Participants (n = 1017) consisted of cases diagnosed with CAD (n = 356) and controls (n = 661) drawn from the THISEAS study. Demographic, anthropometric and lifestyle data were collected. Dietary components were generated through FA. Logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate CAD relative risks. Results: FA generated seven dietary components, explaining 53.5% of the total variation in intake. The Western-type DP showed a modest significant association with CAD risk, after controlling for confounders (OR = 1.20; 95% CI = 1.09–1.32, p p = 0.259). Discussion: The Western-type DP was positively associated with CAD risk and the odds were further increased after controlling for confounders. This finding is in concordance with previously reported positive associations between Western patterns and CAD risk. Limited data exist regarding a posteriori DPs and their effect on CAD risk

Robust Bioinformatics Approaches Result in the First Polygenic Risk Score for BMI in Greek Adults

Quantifying the role of genetics via construction of polygenic risk scores (PRSs) is deemed a resourceful tool to enable and promote effective obesity prevention strategies. The present paper proposes a novel methodology for PRS extraction and presents the first PRS for body mass index (BMI) in a Greek population. A novel pipeline for PRS derivation was used to analyze genetic data from a unified database of three cohorts of Greek adults. The pipeline spans various steps of the process, from iterative dataset splitting to training and test partitions, calculation of summary statistics and PRS extraction, up to PRS aggregation and stabilization, achieving higher evaluation metrics. Using data from 2185 participants, implementation of the pipeline enabled consecutive repetitions in splitting training and testing samples and resulted in a 343-single nucleotide polymorphism PRS yielding an R2 = 0.3241 (beta = 1.011, p-value = 4 × 10−193) for BMI. PRS-included variants displayed a variety of associations with known traits (i.e., blood cell count, gut microbiome, lifestyle parameters). The proposed methodology led to creation of the first-ever PRS for BMI in Greek adults and aims at promoting a facilitating approach to reliable PRS development and integration in healthcare practice