Very low HDL cholesterol: The GSH Experience

Background In epidemiological studies low HDL-C is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. In exceptional cases, e.g., patients with Apo A1 Milano, low levels of HDL-C are cardioprotective. Very little is known about the characteristics of South African patients with very low HDL-C. A detailed description of such a group will identify and characterize a cohort of patients for further study and help to identify clinical factors commonly associated with very low HDL-C in South Africa. Methods We retrospectively collected data on patients with HDL-C < 0.6 mmol/L attending a specialist lipid clinic at Groote Schuur Hospital (GSH) in Cape Town, South Africa. Eligible patients were identified by searching the GSH Lipid Clinic database and data was abstracted from their folders and entered into a Redcap database. Results One hundred and twenty eight (128) patient records were evaluated. The study cohort was predominantly male (60%). The mean (SD) age at presentation was 44.6(11.4) years with males and females presenting at similar ages (p=0.474). Most patients were white followed by mixed ancestry and black African patients. The mean (SD) total cholesterol for the cohort was 8.47(5.13) mmol/L. The mean (SD) HDL-C was 0.53(0.10) mmol/L, while the mean (SD) LDL-C was 4.86(2.10) mmol/L. The median (IQR) triglycerides was 6.05(3.1 – 11.50) mmol/L. Baseline lipid profile showed that very low HDL-C was associated with elevated total cholesterol and hypertriglyceridemia in many patients. 8.59% of the cohort had very low HDL-C levels with normal levels of triglycerides. On follow-up, the best HDL-C ranged from 0.5 – 1.8mmol/L, while the worst recorded HDL-C ranged from 0.2-1.0mmol/L. There was no relationship between age of presentation and level of HDL-C. Hypertension was highly prevalent (39.74% of males and 42% of females). Diabetes was also highly prevalent (41.02% of males and 30.0% of females). At presentation 19.23% males reported a previous cardiovascular complication such as stroke or myocardial infarction compared to 10.00% of the females. Participants that had “Never Smoked” had the lowest HDL-C levels. There was no statistically significant difference in levels of HDL-C at presentation in the patients who were consuming alcohol compared to those who were not consuming alcohol (p=0.7406) Conclusion This study has provided important insights into the characteristics of patients with very low HDL-C in Cape Town South Africa. As expected, it confirms the relationship between low HDLC and the metabolic syndrome as well as the use of medications known to lower HDL-C (beta blockers). The inverse correlation between high triglycerides and low HDL-C was also demonstrated. Unexpected was that HDL-C was not found to correlate with smoking (which tends to lower HDL-C) or alcohol use (which tends to raise HDL-C). Early initiation of lipidmodifying therapy should be encouraged given the high prevalence of other cardiovascular risk factors, or established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, in these patients. Patients with very low HDL-C, but without hypertriglyceridaemia would be a worthwhile cohort to study to characterize genetic determinant of very low HDL-C in South Africa

An investigation of public leadership formation in select Zimbabwe churches

https://place.asburyseminary.edu/ecommonsatsdissertations/1361/thumbnail.jp

The Philosophy of Organization Strategy: Critical Area’s for Successful Strategy

This article explains how organizational strategy, environment and decisions are made by management of organizations to successfully achieve goals and objectives through building a sustainable competitive advantage by leveraging resources and capabilities. The writer is of the view that the aspect of strategy, environment and decisions in modern day organizations is critical to its long term survival. Through and through, organizations formulates and implement various kinds of strategies that help galvanize its capabilities for competitive advantage.  The achievement of objectives and goals that increase trust and cohesion between management and stakeholders is as a result of engendering in a mix of successful formulated and implemented strategies. By using a content or discourse analysis technique through extensive exploration of various literatures concerned with strategy in the ambit of qualitative research methodology, this article has explored and discussed different key areas necessary for the success of any organizational strategy. The external environment and various decisions made in modern organization have also being expounded comprehensively. The study reveals that the key areas raised and discussed in this article are areas were organization strategy is made or broken. Keywords: strategy, organization, environment, decisions DOI: 10.7176/PPAR/9-6-08 Publication date:June 30th 201

Irradiation Stimulates Human Lung Fibroblasts to Release Inflammatory Cell Chemotactic Activity

Background :Radiation therapy plays an important role in the treatment of lung cancer. However, it also radiation therapy often induces serious complications such as radiation-induced pneumonitis and its underlying mechanism remains to be elucidated. Objectives :The present study examined whether radiation might stimulate human lung fibroblasts (HLF)to release neutrophil and monocyte chemotactic activity (NCA and MCA). Methods :HLF were exposed to varying doses of radiation (3-12 Gy)at varying incubation times (12-72 hr). The chemotaxis assays of NCA and MCA were performed by a 48-well microchemotaxis chamber method. The effect of polyclonal antibodies of various cytokines on NCA and MCA was evaluated.Furthermore, the protein and mRNA expression of these effective cytokines was assessed by ELISA and RT-PCR. Results :HLF released NCA and MCA in response to irradiation in a dose-and time-dependent manner. NCA was significantly inhibited by anti-interleukin (IL)-8 antibody and MCA was significantly attenuated by antimonocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 antibody. The protein secretion of IL-8 and MCP-1 was significantly increased by irradiation, and mRNA expression of IL-8 and MCP-1 was upregulated by irradiation. Conclusion :These findings suggest that HLF may,at least partly,participate in the development of radiationinduced pneumonitis.Article信州医学雑誌. 58(2): 57-68 (2010)journal articl

TREHALOSE TRANSGENIC LINES IN ORYZA SATIVA L. HAVE ALTERED CARBOHYDRATE PARTITIONING AND UTILIZATION IN RESPONSE TO WATER DEFICIT AND RECOVERY

In plants, there is evidence that trehalose, a non-reducing disaccharide, has roles in water stress responses, but its functions in this response are incompletely understood. Previously, investigators created transgenic rice (Oryza sativa, L, cv. Pusa Basmanti) with tissue-specific and stress-dependent promoters that overexpress trehalose synthesis genes (Garg et al. 2002). The current study tested the hypothesis that these transformed genotypes have altered carbohydrate partitioning under water stress. In response to water deficit and recovery treatments, the time course of changes in transpiration rate and leaf abscisic acid concentration were not significantly different between transgenic and non-transgenic plants. Glucose content per g DW was not affected by water stress in leaf blades, upper and lower leaf sheaths in all genotypes except during recovery in the A-line where the stressed plants had lower glucose levels in leaf sheaths. However; sucrose contents per g DW were higher in water stressed transgenic lines compared to their well-watered controls, whereas after rewatering and recovery transgenics had slightly lower sucrose levels than well-watered controls. In contrast, the nontransformed line had minimal or no change in these constituents in response to stress and recovery. Starch levels were decreased 25 to 50% in the upper and lower sheaths of trehalose transformants, but were unaffected by stress in the non-transformed controls. Upon rewatering, starch levels remained at less than 65% of well-watered controls in the three organs of trehalose overexpressing lines, whereas starch levels in the non-transformed line were the same as in well-watered controls. These results are consistent with a role of trehalose in modulating sugar sensing and carbohydrate partitioning among sucrose and starch pools in response to water deficit

PENGARUH PELATIHAN DAN MOTIVASI TERHADAP KINERJA KARYAWAN ( Suatu studi pada PT BPR Pekanbaru di Pekanbaru)

Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui pengaruh pelatihan dan motivasi terhadap kinerja karyawan di PT Bank Perkreditan Rakyat (BPR) Pekanbaru, baik secara secara simultan maupun parsial. Hasil pada penelitian ini adalah pelatihan secara umum  di PT Bank Perkreditan Rakyat (BPR) Pekanbaru sudah baik. Motivasi karyawan  PT Bank Perkreditan Rakyat (BPR) secara umum sudah tinggi.  Kinerja  karyawan  PT Bank Perkreditan Rakyat (BPR) secara umum telah baik. Pengaruh pelatihan dan motivasi terhadap kinerja sebesar 32,6 %, dan   28 %, sedangkan secara simultan pelatihan dan motivasi  mempunyai pengaruh langsung sebesar 88,3 %, namun pengaruh pelatihan lebih dominan dari pada motivas

PENGARUH PELATIHAN DAN MOTIVASI TERHADAP KINERJA KARYAWAN ( Suatu studi pada PT BPR Pekanbaru di Pekanbaru)

Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui pengaruh pelatihan dan motivasi terhadap kinerja karyawan di PT Bank Perkreditan Rakyat (BPR) Pekanbaru, baik secara secara simultan maupun parsial. Hasil pada penelitian ini adalah pelatihan secara umum  di PT Bank Perkreditan Rakyat (BPR) Pekanbaru sudah baik. Motivasi karyawan  PT Bank Perkreditan Rakyat (BPR) secara umum sudah tinggi.  Kinerja  karyawan  PT Bank Perkreditan Rakyat (BPR) secara umum telah baik. Pengaruh pelatihan dan motivasi terhadap kinerja sebesar 32,6 %, dan   28 %, sedangkan secara simultan pelatihan dan motivasi  mempunyai pengaruh langsung sebesar 88,3 %, namun pengaruh pelatihan lebih dominan dari pada motivas

Evaluation Of Cell-Free Supernatant Of Lactic Acid Bacteria, Lactiplantibacillus Plantarum K014 Against Skin Pathogen Bacteria

This study aims to evaluate the effects of bioactive metabolites produced by lactic acid bacteria against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) ATCC43300. A total of six LAB were selected to evaluate the antimicrobial activity against MRSA ATCC43300, a skin pathogen that is highly resistant to most antibiotics