Monocytes and neutrophils expressing myeloperoxidase occur in fibrous caps and thrombi in unstable coronary plaques

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Myeloperoxidase (MPO) -containing macrophages and neutrophils have been described at sites of plaque rupture. The presence of these cells in precursor lesions to acute rupture (thin cap atheroma, or vulnerable plaque) and within thrombi adjacent to ruptures has not been described, nor an association with iron-containing macrophages within unstable plaques.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We studied 61 acute ruptures, 15 organizing ruptures, 31 thin cap fibroatheromas, and 28 fibroatheromas from 72 sudden coronary death victims by immunohistochemical and histochemical techniques. Inflammatory cells were typed with anti-CD68 (macrophages), anti-BP-30 (neutrophil bactericidal glycoprotein), and anti-MPO. Iron was localized by Mallory's Prussian blue stain. In selected plaques alpha smooth muscle actin (DAKO, Carpinteria, CA, clone M0851) was performed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>MPO positive cells were present in 79% of ruptured caps, 28% of thin cap fibroatheroma, and no fibroatheromas; neutrophils were present in 72% of ruptures, 8% of thin cap fibroatheromas, and no fibroatheromas. Iron containing foam cells were present in the caps of 93% of acute ruptures, of 85% of organizing ruptures, 20% of thin cap atheromas, and 10% of fibroatheromas. MPO positive cells were more frequent in occlusive than non-occlusive thrombi adjacent to ruptures (p = .006) and were more numerous in diabetics compared to non-diabetics (p = .002)</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Unstable fibrous caps are more likely to contain MPO-positive cells, neutrophils, and iron-containing macrophages than fibrous caps of stable fibroatheromas. MPO-positive cells in thrombi adjacent to disrupted plaques are associated with occlusive thrombi and are more numerous in diabetic patients.</p

Nutrition Strategies for Triathlon

Contemporary sports nutrition guidelines recommend that each athlete develop a personalised, periodised and practical approach to eating that allows him or her to train hard, recover and adapt optimally, stay free of illness and injury and compete at their best at peak races. Competitive triathletes undertake a heavy training programme to prepare for three different sports while undertaking races varying in duration from 20 min to 10 h. The everyday diet should be adequate in energy availability, provide CHO in varying amounts and timing around workouts according to the benefits of training with low or high CHO availability and spread high-quality protein over the day to maximise the adaptive response to each session. Race nutrition requires a targeted and well-practised plan that maintains fuel and hydration goals over the duration of the specific event, according to the opportunities provided by the race and other challenges, such as a hot environment. Supplements and sports foods can make a small contribution to a sports nutrition plan, when medical supplements are used under supervision to prevent/treat nutrient deficiencies (e.g. iron or vitamin D) or when sports foods provide a convenient source of nutrients when it is impractical to eat whole foods. Finally, a few evidence-based performance supplements may contribute to optimal race performance when used according to best practice protocols to suit the triathlete’s goals and individual responsiveness

Separate and Unequal: Residential Segregation and Estimated Cancer Risks Associated with Ambient Air Toxics in U.S. Metropolitan Areas

This study examines links between racial residential segregation and estimated ambient air toxics exposures and their associated cancer risks using modeled concentration estimates from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Air Toxics Assessment. We combined pollutant concentration estimates with potencies to calculate cancer risks by census tract for 309 metropolitan areas in the United States. This information was combined with socioeconomic status (SES) measures from the 1990 Census. Estimated cancer risks associated with ambient air toxics were highest in tracts located in metropolitan areas that were highly segregated. Disparities between racial/ethnic groups were also wider in more segregated metropolitan areas. Multivariate modeling showed that, after controlling for tract-level SES measures, increasing segregation amplified the cancer risks associated with ambient air toxics for all racial groups combined [highly segregated areas: relative cancer risk (RCR) = 1.04; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.01–107; extremely segregated areas: RCR = 1.32; 95% CI, 1.28–1.36]. This segregation effect was strongest for Hispanics (highly segregated areas: RCR = 1.09; 95% CI, 1.01–1.17; extremely segregated areas: RCR = 1.74; 95% CI, 1.61–1.88) and weaker among whites (highly segregated areas: RCR = 1.04; 95% CI, 1.01–1.08; extremely segregated areas: RCR = 1.28; 95% CI, 1.24–1.33), African Americans (highly segregated areas: RCR = 1.09; 95% CI, 0.98–1.21; extremely segregated areas: RCR = 1.38; 95% CI, 1.24–1.53), and Asians (highly segregated areas: RCR = 1.10; 95% CI, 0.97–1.24; extremely segregated areas: RCR = 1.32; 95% CI, 1.16–1.51). Results suggest that disparities associated with ambient air toxics are affected by segregation and that these exposures may have health significance for populations across racial lines

Application of light microscopical and ultrastructural immunohistochemistry in the study of goblet cell carcinoid in the appendix

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Goblet cell carcinoids appear less frequently in the appendix than do other carcinoids. In the presented work a case with a goblet cell carcinoid of the appendix is described.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Routine histological and histochemical methods were employed, with a combination of histochemistry and immunohistochemistry on one section and light and electron microscopical immunohistochemisty on paraffin-embedded material, were applied to identify the type of the carcinoid and to reveal the fine structure of cell types in the tumour nests of the appendix.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>During the biopsy of a patient who had undergone appendectomy, an infiltration with clusters of goblet cells in the submucosa of the appendix was found. After a second operation of right-sided hemicolectomy, similar clusters of goblet cells were detected in the muscle layers of the caecum. After 18 months the patient died from cirrhosis and had not developed metastases or any recurrence. Immunohistochemically the serotonin-, somatostatin-, chromogranin A- and synaptophysin-positive endocrine cells were basally attached to mucin-secreting cells. The combined staining revealed simultaneously present endocrine cells (chromogranin-A-positive) and mucin-secreting cells (PAS- or alcian blue-positive). The ultrastructural immunohistochemistry showed that chromogranin A-positive cells had discoid and pleomorphic granules and were located in tumour nests or as single cells in the appendiceal wall.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The combined histochemical and immunohistochemical procedure and the ultrastructural immunohistochemistry on archival material could contribute in clarifying the diagnosis of goblet cell carcinoid.</p

Environmental behaviour of iron and steel slags in coastal settings

\ua9 The Author(s) 2024. Iron and steel slags have a long history of both disposal and beneficial use in the coastal zone. Despite the large volumes of slag deposited, comprehensive assessments of potential risks associated with metal(loid) leaching from iron and steel by-products are rare for coastal systems. This study provides a national-scale overview of the 14 known slag deposits in the coastal environment of Great Britain (those within 100 m of the mean high-water mark), comprising geochemical characterisation and leaching test data (using both low and high ionic strength waters) to assess potential leaching risks. The seaward facing length of slag deposits totalled at least 76 km, and are predominantly composed of blast furnace (iron-making) slags from the early to mid-20th Century. Some of these form tidal barriers and formal coastal defence structures, but larger deposits are associated with historical coastal disposal in many former areas of iron and steel production, notably the Cumbrian coast of England. Slag deposits are dominated by melilite phases (e.g. gehlenite), with evidence of secondary mineral formation (e.g. gypsum, calcite) indicative of weathering. Leaching tests typically show lower element (e.g. Ba, V, Cr, Fe) release under seawater leaching scenarios compared to deionised water, largely ascribable to the pH buffering provided by the former. Only Mn and Mo showed elevated leaching concentrations in seawater treatments, though at modest levels (&lt;3 mg/L and 0.01 mg/L, respectively). No significant leaching of potentially ecotoxic elements such as Cr and V (mean leachate concentrations &lt;0.006 mg/L for both) were apparent in seawater, which micro-X-Ray Absorption Near Edge Structure (μXANES) analysis show are both present in slags in low valence (and low toxicity) forms. Although there may be physical hazards posed by extensive erosion of deposits in high-energy coastlines, the data suggest seawater leaching of coastal iron and steel slags in the UK is likely to pose minimal environmental risk

Assessment of coronary atherosclerosis by IVUS and IVUS-based imaging modalities: progression and regression studies, tissue composition and beyond

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of mortality, morbidity and disability in the developed world, predominantly affecting the adult population. In the early 1990s coronary heart disease (CHD) was established as affecting one in two men and one in three women by the age of forty. Despite the dramatic progress in the field of cardiovascular medicine in terms of diagnosis and treatment of heart disease, modest improvements have only been achieved when the reduction of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity indices are assessed. To better understand coronary atherosclerosis, new imaging modalities have been introduced. These novel imaging modalities have been used in two ways: (1) for the characterization of plaque types; (2) for the assessment of the progression and regression of tissue types. These two aspects will be discussed in this review

A universal uptake mechanism for cobalt(II) on soil constituents: ferrihydrite, kaolinite, humic acid, and organo-mineral composites

Cobalt is a waste product in many industrial processes and its most common radioactive isotope – ⁶⁰Co – is a by-product of nuclear reactors. To better understand the mobility and fate of Co in natural and contaminated environments we investigated Co sorption behaviour to the common soil and sediment constituents ferrihydrite, kaolinite, humic acid (HA), and ferrihydrite-HA and kaolinite-HA organo-mineral composites using sorption batch experiments, synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy (EXAFS), and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). We measured the sorption of Co to the end-member mineral and organic phases and the composites as a function of pH, ionic strength and Co concentration, and also for the composites as a function of organic carbon concentration, with composites made containing a wide range of organic carbon contents. We then determined the molecular mechanisms of Co sorption to the end-member phases and the composites, and used this information to develop molecularly constrained thermodynamic surface complexation models to quantify Co sorption. Sorption to the ferrihydrite-HA and kaolinite-HA organo-mineral composites was found to be intermediate to both of the end-member phases, displaying enhanced sorption respective to the mineral end-member phase at mid-low pH. EXAFS analysis shows that there is a universal sorption mechanism accounting for Co sorption to the end-member mineral and organic phases and the organo-mineral composites at mid-high pH, in which Co sorbs to these phases via inner-sphere bidentate binuclear surface complexes. At mid-low pH, sorption to all the phases except ferrihydrite is the result of outer-sphere complexation. Our new molecularly constrained thermodynamic surface complexation models for Co sorption to ferrihydrite, kaolinite, HA, and ferrihydrite-HA and kaolinite-HA organo-mineral composites, show that Co sorption to the composites cannot be modelled assuming linear additivity of Co sorption to the end-member phases

Relationship between cardiovascular risk factors and biomarkers with necrotic core and atheroma size: a serial intravascular ultrasound radiofrequency data analysis

We explored the impact of patient demographics, anthropometric measurements, cardiovascular risk factors, and soluble biomarkers on necrotic core and atheroma size in patients with coronary disease. The IBIS-2 trial enrolled 330 patients. In the multivariate analysis, at baseline, creatinine had a positive, whereas baseline mean lumen diameter and myeloperoxidase had a negative, independent association with percentage of necrotic core (PNC); while age, glomerular filtration rate <60, HbA1c, previous PCI or CABG and baseline % diameter stenosis were positively, and acute coronary syndromes (ACS) were negatively associated with baseline percentage atheroma volume (PAV). The variables associated with a decrease in PNC from baseline were darapladib, ACS and a large content of NC at baseline, while variables associated with an increase in PNC were previous stroke and % diameter stenosis at baseline. Those variables associated with a decrease in PAV from baseline were waist circumference, statin use, CD40L and baseline PAV, while the only variable associated with an increase in PAV was baseline diastolic blood pressure. Treatment with darapladib was associated with a decrease in necrotic core, but was not associated with a decrease in percentage atheroma volume. On the contrary, statin use was only associated with a decrease in percentage atheroma volume

Chromosome 1p13 genetic variants antagonize the risk of myocardial infarction associated with high ApoB serum levels

PMCID: PMC3480949This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited