Total Occlusion of the Infarct-Related Artery in Non-ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (NSTEMI)-How Can We Identify These Patients?

Background and Objectives: Regardless of the improvement in key recommendations in non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), the prevalence of total occlusion (TO) of infarct-related artery (IRA), and the impact of TO of IRA on outcomes in patients with NSTEMI, remain unclear. Aim: The study aimed to assess the incidence and predictors of TO of IRA in patients with NSTEMI, and its clinical significance. Material and Methods: The study was a single-center retrospective cohort analysis of 399 consecutive patients with NSTEMI (293 male, mean age: 71 10.1 years) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. The study population was categorized into patients with TO and non-TO of IRA on coronary angiography. In-hospital and one-year mortality were analyzed. Results: TO of IRA in the NSTEMI population occurred in 138 (34.6%) patients. Multivariate analysis identified the following independent predictors of TO of IRA: left ventricular ejection fraction (odds ratio (OR) 0.949, p < 0.001); family history of coronary artery disease (CAD) (OR 2.652, p < 0.001); and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) level (OR 0.972, p = 0.002). In-hospital and one-year mortality were significantly higher in the TO group than the non-TO group (2.8% vs. 1.1%, p = 0.007 and 18.1% vs. 6.5%, p < 0.001, respectively). The independent predictors of in-hospital mortality were: left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) at admission (OR 0.768, p = 0.004); and TO of IRA (OR 1.863, p = 0.005). Conclusions: In the population of patients with NSTEMI, TO of IRA represents a considerably frequent phenomenon, and corresponds with impaired outcomes. Therefore, the utmost caution should be paid to prevent delay of coronary angiography in NSTEMI patients with impaired left ventricular systolic function, metabolic isturbances, and a family history of CAD, who are at increased risk of TO of IRA

Theoretical Determination of the pK a Values of Betalamic Acid Related to the Free Radical Scavenger Capacity: Comparison Between Empirical and Quantum Chemical Methods

Health benefits of dietary phytochemicals have been suggested in recent years. Among 1000s of different compounds, Betalains, which occur in vegetables of the Cariophyllalae order (cactus pear fruits and red beet), have been considered because of reducing power and potential to affect redox-modulated cellular processes. The antioxidant power of Betalains is strictly due to the dissociation rate of the acid moieties present in all the molecules of this family of phytochemicals. Experimentally, only the pK a&nbsp;values of betanin were determined. Recently, it was evidenced it was evidenced as the acid dissociation, at different environmental pHs, affects on its electron-donating capacity, and further on its free radical scavenging power. The identical correlation was studied on another Betalains family compound, Betalamic Acid. Experimental evidences showed that the free radical scavenging capacity of this compound drastically decreases at pH&nbsp;&gt;&nbsp;5, but pK a values were experimentally not measured. With the aim to justify the Betalamic Acid behavior as free radical scavenger, in this paper we tried to predict in silico the pK a values by means different approaches. Starting from the known experimental pK as of acid compounds, both phytochemicals and small organic, two empirical approaches and quantum-mechanical calculation were compared to give reliable prediction of the pK as of Betalamic Acid. Results by means these computational approaches are consistent with the experimental evidences. As shown herein, in silico, the totally dissociated species, at the experimental pH&nbsp;&gt;&nbsp;5 in solution, is predominant, exploiting the higher electron-donating capability (HOMO energy). Therefore, the computational estimated pK a values of Betalamic Acid resulted very reliable

Transformations and visualization of potential field data

Transformacje są bardzo ważnym krokiem w interpretacji pól potencjalnych. Można je nawet traktować jako niezależną metodę interpretacji (Blakely, 1996). To samo można powiedzieć o wizualizacji tych danych. W pracy przedstawiono wyniki badań podjętych przez autora w obu tych dziedzinach. Od strony transformacji przedstawiono nowy sposób liczenia dwuwymiarowych (2D) filtrów cyfrowych bazujących na transformacji Fouriera-Hankela, opracowany przez autora i stosowany już od wielu lat w praktyce; zaproponowano nowe metody transformacji oparte na pojęciu pochodnych i całek ułamkowych; podkreślono wagę trójwymiarowej transformacji Hilberta i pojęcia sygnału analitycznego w transformacjach pól potencjalnych, a także dowolnych danych powierzchniowych; zdefiniowano pojęcie składowych kierunkowych. Od strony wizualizacji przedstawiono nowe metody obrazowania danych pól potencjalnych, m.in. obrazy wektorowe, które można wykorzystać także do prezentacji danych skalarnych, po ich transformacji do sygnału analitycznego. Pokazano wiele przykładów zastosowania proponowanych metod transformacji i wizualizacji z wykorzystaniem głównie danych polskich (dane grawimetryczne i magnetyczne), a także europejskich (dane grawimetryczne). Przedstawione metody można zastosować także do danych pól niepotencjalnych, co zademonstrowano na przykładzie obrazów przedstawiających transformowane dane hipsometryczne Polski

Research on stability of gomphrenin pigments influenced by Cu2+ ions

This paper concerns the results of dehydrogenation of gomphrenin pigments isolated from the purple flowers of Gomphrena globosa L. depending on pH and Cu2+ activity. Betalains are the plant dyes divided into red-violet betacyanins and yellow-orange betaxanthins. These compounds show prohealth properties proven by numerous studies [1]. Isolation of gomphrenins from the plant material was performed in the following stages: preparative extraction, filtration on a silica layer, preliminary purification and concentration on a bed of strong anion exchanger, preparative chromatographic fractionation and sample liofilization. The dehydrogenation studies of gomphrenin I and II were carried out in aqueous solutions (pH 3, 5 and 7) catalyzed by Cu2+ ions addition. The resulting product mixtures of dehydrogenated and decarboxylated gomphrenin derivatives were monitored by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array and mass spectrometric detection (LC-DAD-ESI-MS). Based on the results, it can be stated that decarboxylated and dehydrogenated gomphrenin II derivatives are more stable than gomphrenin I derivatives, presumably due to acylation of the glucose moiety. The highest levels of gomphrenin I derivatives were observed at pH 7, however, they were mainly monodecarboxylated ones. At pH 3, significant fraction was represented by tridecarboxylated and dehydrogenated derivatives. The lowest yield of the degradation products was indicated at pH 5

Research on dehydrogenation of gomphrenin in heated ammonia solutions of organic solvents

In this report, the influence of ammonia on dehydrogenation of gomphrenin pigment, isolated from purple inflorescences of Gomphrena globosa L., in selected organic solvents (methanol, ethanol, acetone and acetonitrile) at 40°C is presented. Betacyanins are water-soluble, vacuolar plant pigments. Due to their numerous pro-health properties, they can be applied in the pharmaceutical industry and as food colorants. However, as most of natural products, they are less stable than synthetic dyes, therefore, further studies need to be carried out on their stability, but also on determination of their degradation products as well as degradation mechanisms. For the experiments of the ammonia treatment, prolonged isolation of gomphrenin from the plant material including extraction, preliminary purification, preparative HPLC fractionation, concentration and liofilization were performed. The tested pigment dissolved in organic solvents was treated by ammonia and the samples for analysis were taken during and after reaction. For identification of obtained derivatives of gomphrenin, high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array and mass spectrometric detection (LC-DAD-ESI-MS) was performed. As a result of heat processing, the mixture of decarboxylated and dehydrogenated gomphrenin derivatives was detected. Based on the experimental results, it can be stated that gomphrenin is characterized by the greatest stability in methanolic solutions while it is the most labile in the acetonitrilic ones