Bilateral multiple coronary artery fistulae with angina pectoris and syncope

AbstractCoronary artery fistulae (CAF) are rare cardiac anomalies. They frequently arise from the right coronary artery (RCA) with fistulae originating from the left anterior descending artery (LAD) or from multiple arteries being less common. They do not usually cause symptoms and are incidentally diagnosed on routine cardiac imaging. We report a 70years old male patient presenting with chest pain and syncope during physical activity. Diagnostic coronary angiography revealed bilateral multiple CAF originating from both the LAD and RCA. As high blood flow output was recognized in these large vascular anomalies contributing to ‘steal phenomenon’ surgical intervention was planned. This manuscript aimed to present the case and review the current literature for the management and treatment of these coronary anomalies

Metabolic characterization of the natural progression of chronic hepatitis B

Background: Worldwide, over 350 million people are chronically infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and are at increased risk of developing progressive liver diseases. The confinement of HBV replication to the liver, which also acts as the central hub for metabolic and nutritional regulation, emphasizes the interlinked nature of host metabolism and the disease. Still, the metabolic processes operational during the distinct clinical phases of a chronic HBV infection-immune tolerant, immune active, inactive carrier, and HBeAg-negative hepatitis phases-remains unexplored. Methods: To investigate this, we conducted a targeted metabolomics approach on serum to determine the metabolic progression over the clinical phases of chronic HBV infection, using patient samples grouped based on their HBV DNA, alanine aminotransferase, and HBeAg serum levels. Results: Our data illustrate the strength of metabolomics to provide insight into the metabolic dysregulation experienced during chronic HBV. The immune tolerant phase is characterized by the speculated viral hijacking of the glycerol-3-phosphate-NADH shuttle, explaining the reduced glycerophospholipid and increased plasmalogen species, indicating a strong link to HBV replication. The persisting impairment of the choline glycerophospholipids, even during the inactive carrier phase with minimal HBV activity, alludes to possible metabolic imprinting effects. The progression of chronic HBV is associated with increased concentrations of very long chain triglycerides together with citrulline and ornithine, reflective of a dysregulated urea cycle peaking in the HBV envelope antigen-negative phase. Conclusions: The work presented here will aid in future studies to (i) validate and understand the implication of these metabolic changes using a thorough systems biology approach, (ii) monitor and predict disease severity, as well as (iii) determine the therapeutic value of the glycerol-3-phosphate-NADH shuttle

Особливості формування етнічного складу селянської верстви Степового Побужжя

In this short paper we sketch a brief introduction to our Krimp algorithm. Moreover, we briefly discuss some of the large body of follow up research. Pointers to the relevant papers are provided in the bibliography

Fragmentation trees for the structural characterisation of metabolites

Analytical BioScience

Metabolic characterization of the natural progression of chronic hepatitis B

BACKGROUND\nWorldwide, over 350 million people are chronically infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and are at increased risk of developing progressive liver diseases. The confinement of HBV replication to the liver, which also acts as the central hub for metabolic and nutritional regulation, emphasizes the interlinked nature of host metabolism and the disease. Still, the metabolic processes operational during the distinct clinical phases of a chronic HBV infection-immune tolerant, immune active, inactive carrier, and HBeAg-negative hepatitis phases-remains unexplored.\nMETHODS\nTo investigate this, we conducted a targeted metabolomics approach on serum to determine the metabolic progression over the clinical phases of chronic HBV infection, using patient samples grouped based on their HBV DNA, alanine aminotransferase, and HBeAg serum levels.\nRESULTS\nOur data illustrate the strength of metabolomics to provide insight into the metabolic dysregulation experienced during chronic HBV. The immune tolerant phase is characterized by the speculated viral hijacking of the glycerol-3-phosphate-NADH shuttle, explaining the reduced glycerophospholipid and increased plasmalogen species, indicating a strong link to HBV replication. The persisting impairment of the choline glycerophospholipids, even during the inactive carrier phase with minimal HBV activity, alludes to possible metabolic imprinting effects. The progression of chronic HBV is associated with increased concentrations of very long chain triglycerides together with citrulline and ornithine, reflective of a dysregulated urea cycle peaking in the HBV envelope antigen-negative phase.\nCONCLUSIONS\nThe work presented here will aid in future studies to (i) validate and understand the implication of these metabolic changes using a thorough systems biology approach, (ii) monitor and predict disease severity, as well as (iii) determine the therapeutic value of the glycerol-3-phosphate-NADH shuttle.Analytical BioScience

Tropical peatland biogeochemistry along an ecological transect: the enigmatic fate of organic matter

This is the final version. Available from the European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers via the DOI in this record. Peatlands play a pivotal role in the global carbon cycle. Despite only covering 3% of the world’s surface, peatlands hold 500–700 Gt of carbon (Page & Baird, 2016). These dense carbon stocks are sensitive to direct and/or indirect human intervention and can quickly turn from carbon sink to carbon source when perturbed. Additionally, peat deposits are crucial for our understanding of terrestrial environmental change by recording environmental parameters such as temperature and biogeochemical cycling through geological time (Naafs et al., 2019). Constraining the magnitude and rate of change during past periods of climatic change in the terrestrial realm is essential for accurately predicting the effects of anthropogenic global warming. Most peatland studies have focussed on reconstructing environmental parameters such as water table depth, temperature, vegetation, and pH, because those are readily available through quick observation or meteorological data. However, changes in the nature of the organic matter (OM) is often harder to characterize but is imperative to the tight balance between accumulation and degradation of peat. Especially in tropical peatlands, the nature of OM is largely understudied. Tropical peats are more carbon-dense compared to boreal peatlands, have a more active methane cycle, and can have a wider range of vegetation, which makes understanding their biogeochemistry vitally important. We investigated the biogeochemistry of a tropical peat along an ecological transect consisting of 5 sites: mangrove, mixed tropical forest, hardwood tropical forest, stunted forest with sawgrass and ombrotrophic (i.e., rain-fed) sawgrass bog. From each site, a 1–2 meter core was collected and analysed by pyrolysis-GC/MS, GC/MS (of apolar and polar fractions), 16S rRNA genomic profiling and, UPLC-QToF-MS. Our unique dataset allows for a direct comparison of the biogeochemistry of tropical peats under different vegetation and nutrient concentrations, but constant temperature

Metabolomics profiling for identification of novel potential markers in early prediction of preeclampsia.

OBJECTIVE\nThe first aim was to investigate specific signature patterns of metabolites that are significantly altered in first-trimester serum of women who subsequently developed preeclampsia (PE) compared to healthy pregnancies. The second aim of this study was to examine the predictive performance of the selected metabolites for both early onset [EO-PE] and late onset PE [LO-PE].\nMETHODS\nThis was a case-control study of maternal serum samples collected between 8+0 and 13+6 weeks of gestation from 167 women who subsequently developed EO-PE n = 68; LO-PE n = 99 and 500 controls with uncomplicated pregnancies. Metabolomics profiling analysis was performed using two methods. One has been optimized to target eicosanoids/oxylipins, which are known inflammation markers and the other targets compounds containing a primary or secondary biogenic amine group. Logistic regression analyses were performed to predict the development of PE using metabolites alone and in combination with first trimester mean arterial pressure (MAP) measurements.\nRESULTS\nTwo metabolites were significantly different between EO-PE and controls (taurine and asparagine) and one in case of LO-PE (glycylglycine). Taurine appeared the most discriminative biomarker and in combination with MAP predicted EO-PE with a detection rate (DR) of 55%, at a false-positive rate (FPR) of 10%.\nCONCLUSION\nOur findings suggest a potential role of taurine in both PE pathophysiology and first trimester screening for EO-PE.Analytical BioScience

EPH receptor B2 stimulates human monocyte adhesion and migration independently of its EphrinB ligands

The molecular basis of atherosclerosis is not fully understood and mice studies have shown that Ephrins and EPH receptors play a role in the atherosclerotic process. We set out to assess the role for monocytic EPHB2 and its Ephrin ligands in human atherosclerosis and show a role for EPHB2 in monocyte functions independently of its EphrinB ligands. Immunohistochemical staining of human aortic sections at different stages of atherosclerosis showed that EPHB2 and its ligand EphrinB are expressed in atherosclerotic plaques and that expression proportionally increases with plaque severity. Functionally, stimulation with EPHB2 did not affect endothelial barrier function, nor did stimulation with EphrinB1 or EphrinB2 affect monocyte-endothelial interactions. In contrast, reduced expression of EPHB2 in monocytes resulted in decreased monocyte adhesion to endothelial cells and a decrease in monocyte transmigration, mediated by an altered morphology and a decreased ability to phosphorylate FAK. Our results suggest that EPHB2 expression in monocytes results in monocyte accumulation by virtue of an increase of transendothelial migration, which can subsequently contribute to atherosclerotic plaque progression.Nephrolog

2-Methyl-pentanoyl-carnitine (2-MPC) : a urine biomarker for patent Ascaris lumbricoides infection

Infections with intestinal worms, such as Ascaris lumbricoides, affect hundreds of millions of people in all tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Through large-scale deworming programs, World Health Organization aims to reduce moderate-to-heavy intensity infections below 1%. Current diagnosis and monitoring of these control programs are solely based on the detection of worm eggs in stool. Here we describe how metabolome analysis was used to identify the A. lumbricoides-specific urine biomarker 2-methyl pentanoyl carnitine (2-MPC). This biomarker was found to be 85.7% accurate in determining infection and 90.5% accurate in determining a moderate-to-heavy infection. Our results also demonstrate that there is a correlation between 2-MPC levels in urine and A. lumbricoides DNA detected in stool. Furthermore, the levels of 2-MPC in urine were shown to rapidly and strongly decrease upon administration of a standard treatment (single oral dose of 400 mg albendazole). In an Ascaris suum infection model in pigs, it was found that, although 2-MPC levels were much lower compared to humans, there was a significant association between urinary 2-MPC levels and both worm counts (p=0.023) and the number of eggs per gram (epg) counts (p<0.001). This report demonstrates that urinary 2-MPC can be considered an A. lumbricoides-specific biomarker that can be used to monitor infection intensity