The effect of bone marrow microenvironment on the functional properties of the therapeutic bone marrow-derived cells in patients with acute myocardial infarction

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Treatment of acute myocardial infarction with stem cell transplantation has achieved beneficial effects in many clinical trials. The bone marrow microenvironment of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients has never been studied even though myocardial infarction is known to cause an imbalance in the acid-base status of these patients. The aim of this study was to assess if the blood gas levels in the bone marrow of STEMI patients affect the characteristics of the bone marrow cells (BMCs) and, furthermore, do they influence the change in cardiac function after autologous BMC transplantation. The arterial, venous and bone marrow blood gas concentrations were also compared.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Blood gas analysis of the bone marrow aspirate and peripheral blood was performed for 27 STEMI patients receiving autologous stem cell therapy after percutaneous coronary intervention. Cells from the bone marrow aspirate were further cultured and the bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) proliferation rate was determined by MTT assay and the MSC osteogenic differentiation capacity by alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity assay. All the patients underwent a 2D-echocardiography at baseline and 4 months after STEMI.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>As expected, the levels of pO₂, pCO₂, base excess and HCO₃were similar in venous blood and bone marrow. Surprisingly, bone marrow showed significantly lower pH and Na⁺and elevated K⁺levels compared to arterial and venous blood. There was a positive correlation between the bone marrow pCO₂and HCO₃levels and MSC osteogenic differentiation capacity. In contrast, bone marrow pCO₂and HCO₃levels displayed a negative correlation with the proliferation rate of MSCs. Patients with the HCO₃level below the median value exhibited a more marked change in LVEF after BMC treatment than patients with HCO₃level above the median (11.13 ± 8.07% vs. 2.67 ± 11.89%, P = 0.014).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Low bone marrow pCO₂and HCO₃levels may represent the optimal environment for BMCs in terms of their efficacy in autologous stem cell therapy in STEMI patients.</p

European Society of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Disease Statistics 2019

Aims The 2019 report from the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Atlas provides a contemporary analysis of cardiovascular disease (CVD) statistics across 56 member countries, with particular emphasis on international inequalities in disease burden and healthcare delivery together with estimates of progress towards meeting 2025 World Health Organization (WHO) non-communicable disease targets. Methods and results In this report, contemporary CVD statistics are presented for member countries of the ESC. The statistics are drawn from the ESC Atlas which is a repository of CVD data from a variety of sources including the WHO, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, and the World Bank. The Atlas also includes novel ESC sponsored data on human and capital infrastructure and cardiovascular healthcare delivery obtained by annual survey of the national societies of ESC member countries. Across ESC member countries, the prevalence of obesity (body mass index ≥30 kg/m2) and diabetes has increased two- to three-fold during the last 30 years making the WHO 2025 target to halt rises in these risk factors unlikely to be achieved. More encouraging have been variable declines in hypertension, smoking, and alcohol consumption but on current trends only the reduction in smoking from 28% to 21% during the last 20 years appears sufficient for the WHO target to be achieved. The median age-standardized prevalence of major risk factors was higher in middle-income compared with high-income ESC member countries for hypertension {23.8% [interquartile range (IQR) 22.5–23.1%] vs. 15.7% (IQR 14.5–21.1%)}, diabetes [7.7% (IQR 7.1–10.1%) vs. 5.6% (IQR 4.8–7.0%)], and among males smoking [43.8% (IQR 37.4–48.0%) vs. 26.0% (IQR 20.9–31.7%)] although among females smoking was less common in middle-income countries [8.7% (IQR 3.0–10.8) vs. 16.7% (IQR 13.9–19.7%)]. There were associated inequalities in disease burden with disability-adjusted life years per 100 000 people due to CVD over three times as high in middle-income [7160 (IQR 5655–8115)] compared with high-income [2235 (IQR 1896–3602)] countries. Cardiovascular disease mortality was also higher in middle-income countries where it accounted for a greater proportion of potential years of life lost compared with high-income countries in both females (43% vs. 28%) and males (39% vs. 28%). Despite the inequalities in disease burden across ESC member countries, survey data from the National Cardiac Societies of the ESC showed that middle-income member countries remain severely under-resourced compared with high-income countries in terms of cardiological person-power and technological infrastructure. Under-resourcing in middle-income countries is associated with a severe procedural deficit compared with high-income countries in terms of coronary intervention, device implantation and cardiac surgical procedures. Conclusion A seemingly inexorable rise in the prevalence of obesity and diabetes currently provides the greatest challenge to achieving further reductions in CVD burden across ESC member countries. Additional challenges are provided by inequalities in disease burden that now require intensification of policy initiatives in order to reduce population risk and prioritize cardiovascular healthcare delivery, particularly in the middle-income countries of the ESC where need is greatest

Determination of ethyl xanthate in aqueous solution by high performance liquid chromatography–inductively coupled plasma–tandem mass spectrometry and spectrophotometry

Abstract Xanthates are commonly used collectors in flotation processes but are highly toxic to the aquatic environment. However, there are few methods for reliable determination of low xanthate concentrations in water samples. In this work, a sensitive, selective, and fast method is presented for the determination of potassium ethyl xanthate (KEX). KEX was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICP-MS/MS) directly and as diethyl dixanthogen [(EX)₂] after oxidation with triiodide. The HPLC method was optimized for (EX)₂ and the separated compounds were detected by ICP-MS/MS. The ICP-MS/MS was used in mass-shift mode using O₂ as the cell gas and S⁺ was measured as SO⁺ to reduce spectral interferences. Detection limits of 88 µg L⁻¹ for KEX and 20 µg L⁻¹ for (EX)₂ calculated from the peak area were obtained using mass-shift ³²S⁺ → ³²S¹⁶O⁺. No significant matrix effects were present when spiking experiments of (EX)₂ were done to a sample collected from the tailings of a flotation process. The developed method demonstrates the potential of the HPLC-ICP-MS/MS for the determination of ethyl xanthate. This method may be extended to analyzing other xanthates and similarly structured sulfur containing collectors

Bioavailability and toxicity of bromine and neodymium for plants grown in soil and water

Abstract Information about biological significance and possible phytotoxicity of many trace elements is still scarce. Bromine and neodymium are among the poorly investigated trace elements. In the research, greenhouse experiment was conducted to study the effects of bromide of neodymium on wheat seedlings grown in soil and water. The wheat seedlings were capable of accumulating large amounts of both Br and Nd. Compared to the soil-grown plants, the water-grown plants accumulated higher concentrations of the trace elements. The bioaccumulation of Br and Nd resulted in statistically significant variations in the concentrations of several elements. The concentrations of P, Cl, and Ca in roots and Cl in leaves of the plants grown in the contaminated water and the concentration of I in roots of the soil-grown plants decreased. In the water-grown seedlings, the concentrations of Na and P were higher and concentrations of Mg and K were lower than those in the seedlings grown in soil. In leaves of the plants grown in water, the concentration of Cl was lower than that in leaves of the soil-grown plants. In roots of the water-grown plants, the concentration of Zn was higher, and in leaves, it was lower compared with Zn content in roots and leaves of the plants grown in soil. The K/Na ratios were 4 (leaves) and 20 (roots) times higher in the soil-grown plants, while the Ca/Mg ratios were 8–19 times higher in the water-grown plants. Marked distinctions were also observed in relationships between different elements in the soil-grown and water-grown plants

Effects of bromides of potassium and ammonium on some crops

Abstract In this work, the response of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), rye (Secale cereale L.), oat (Avena sativa L.), and pea (Pisum sativum L.) to bromides of potassium (KBr) and ammonium (NH4Br) was studied. All plants were capable of accumulating high concentrations of bromine (Br). However, the Br accumulation depended on the Br compounds presented in the growth medium and plant species. The highest Br concentrations were observed in leaves and roots of the seedlings germinated in the medium spiked with KBr. Oat accumulated more Br than other plants and the lowest Br accumulation was observed in pea. The bioaccumulation of Br resulted in suppression of plant biomass and concentrations of several essential nutrients (K, Na, Ca, Mg, Zn and Cl). The most negative effects were caused by NH4Br. Probably, this action was due to cumulative effects of Br- and NH4+. Among other plant species, the most tolerant to bromides was oat and the most sensitive was wheat

Nano-TiO₂ catalyzed UV-LED sample pretreatment method for decomposition of humic substances in natural water samples

Abstract A photocatalytic digestion device consisting of an ultraviolet light emitting diode (UV-LED) and a nano-TiO2 coated catalyst rod was designed and used for the decomposition of humic substances in natural water samples prior to inorganic elemental analysis. The aim was to develop a green sample pretreatment method by utilizing energy efficient and environmental friendly UV-LED technology. The effects of different experimental variables including pH, UV-LED irradiation time, and hydrogen peroxide concentration were studied using a statistical experimental design. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) removal was studied as the response. Dissolved organic carbon can interfere in some analytical measurements (for example in electrochemical analysis methods) and after digestion, the possible interfering effects are minimized. The recoveries for some spiked elements (As, Bi, Cd, Co, Cu, Ge, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se and Tl) were studied. It was found that in optimal DOC removal conditions, the recoveries for cadmium, cobalt, nickel and selenium were good. However, lower recoveries for some hydride forming elements were observed, indicating element losses, possibly due to adsorption phenomenon

Determination of xanthates as Cu(II) complexes by high-performance liquid chromatography:inductively coupled plasma tandem mass spectrometry

Abstract The present study provides a novel, selective analysis method for the determination of low xanthate concentrations. The rising concern over the environmental effects of xanthates demands the development of analysis methods which this study answers. Complex formation in aqueous solution between xanthates and an excess of Co(II), Ni(II), Pb(II), Cd(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II) ions was utilized to selectively determine xanthates by high-performance liquid chromatography–inductively coupled plasma tandem mass spectrometry for the first time. The complexes that were formed were extracted to ethyl acetate using liquid–liquid extraction and separated by high-performance liquid chromatography technique before the quantitative determination of metal ions and sulfur in the xanthate complexes. Good separation and high measurement sensitivity were achieved using Cu(II) as the complex metal ion. The analysis method was optimized for the determination of sodium isopropyl xanthate and sodium isobutyl xanthate with detection limits of 24.7 and 13.3 μg/L, respectively. With a linear calibration range of 0.1–15 mg/L and a total analysis time of 4–5 min, the present method is a fast and sensitive option for selective xanthate determination