Arterial stiffness and endothelial dysfunction in patients with coronary artery disease

BACKGROUND: Arterial stiffness and endothelial dysfunction are implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Both are present in patients with hypercholesterolaemia and diabetes mellitus, and are markers of future cardiovascular events in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), hypertension and end-stage renal failure. The structural components, elastin and collagen, which influence skin elasticity are also responsible for the elasticity of arteries.AIMS: To investigate: 1. The association between skin elasticity and arterial elasticity in healthy subjects. 2. The determinants of arterial stiffness in patients with CAD, particularly renal function. 3. The determinants of endothelial dysfunction in patients with CAD. 4. The association between arterial stiffness and endothelial dysfunction in patients with CAD. 5. The survival of subjects from cardiovascular morbidity and mortality as determined by the severity of CAD, renal function, arterial stiffness and endothelial function.METHODS: Skin elasticity was measured in the arm, leg and back using a suction device which measures the vertical deformation of skin. Arterial stiffness was assessed using pressure pulse wave velocity (PWV), pulse wave analysis (PWA) and digital volume pulse (DVP) analysis. Endothelial function was determined noninvasively using PWA with the administration of glyceryl trinitrate (endotheliumindependent vasodilator) and salbutamol (endothelium-dependent vasodilator). The study in CAD was a cohort study with longitudinal follow up for a median of 18 months. Adverse clinical events were determined through the Information and Statistics Division of the NHS and the General Register Office in Scotland. Renal function was assessed using serum creatinine concentration ([creat]sr) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) by using creatinine clearance calculated using the Cockcroft & Gault equation. Subjects with a history of renal disease were excluded. The primary-endpoint was a composite of hospitalisation and mortality due to cardiovascular causes.RESULTS: 1. Arterial elasticity and skin elasticity were only weakly associated. 2. Arterial stiffness was determined by age, heart rate, central systolic blood pressure and [creat]sr (R2=0.38, P < 0.001). Arterial stiffness was negatively associated with eGFR (R2=0.30, P < 0.001), even within the normal range. 3. Endotheliumindependent changes in the augmentation indices (AIs) were determined by age, body mass index and mean blood pressure (R2=0.09, P < 0.001). Endotheliumdependent changes in AIs were weakly explained by mean blood pressure (R2=0.02, P < 0.001) but not associated with hypercholesterolaemia, as previously reported, or renal function. However, the presence or severity of CAD did not explain the variance in arterial stiffness or endothelial function measures. 4. Endotheliumindependent and dependent changes in AIs were positively correlated. In addition, endothelium-independent changes in AIs were lower in subjects with stiffer arteries (r = 0.20, P < 0.01). 5. Subjects with a high number of diseased coronary vessels (P < 0.001), a low eGFR (P < 0.01), or a PWV above the median (P < 0.05) had a higher risk of developing adverse clinical events. Endothelial function, however, did not appear to predict a poor outcome.CONCLUSION: In healthy subjects, skin elasticity is an unreliable marker of arterial elasticity. An important finding in the CAD study was that renal function was a determinant of arterial stiffness in patients without a history of renal disease. In this treated group of subjects, traditional cardiovascular risk factors did not determine arterial stiffness or endothelial dysfunction and there was no association between arterial stiffness and endothelial dysfunction. Moreover, endothelial function measured using PWA, with the administration of GTN and salbutamol, is not a useful test in patients with CAD on drug treatment. However, the presence and severity of CAD, renal function, as well as the stiffness of arteries, are predictive of a shorter time to fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular outcomes

Supercritical CO2 Extraction of Oil from Henna Flower: Experimental, Mathematical Modeling, and Antioxidant Activity

Henna is a plant that has been used traditionally for coloring nail, skin, and hair, and as medicinal plant. The supercritical fluid technology offers a considerable promise as extraction media due to its advantages over other conventional extraction techniques. The extraction of volatile components from flowers of henna was studied using supercritical carbon dioxide at temperatures and pressures ranging from 35 to 55°C and 80 to 120 bar, respectively. A maximum extraction yield of 31 % from 2g of henna flowers was obtained at 45 °C and 120 bar. The composition of the extracts was investigated by gas chromatography technique. Furthermore, the extracts were tested for their antibacterial and antioxidant activities. No inhibition zone was observed in the antibacterial study; however, the extracts obtained at most of the extraction conditions exhibited antioxidant activity. A mathematical model of the extraction curve based on mass transfer principles was developed at all extraction conditions. Powell optimization method was used to obtain the model parameters by adjusting to experimental results. The calculated extraction yields were in good agreement with experimental results

Navigating Career Development: A Qualitative Analysis of Planning, Exploration, and Decision-Making in Young Adults

The research article studies the significance and meaning of career development among young adults. Young adults in developing countries are facing multiple issues of instability and disadvantages and very limited research has been conducted in these countries on exploring career development tasks in their early years of young adulthood. The study focuses on the tasks related to their career planning, exploration, and decision-making that have to be accomplished in the early years of their young adulthood. Data was required from young adults aged 19 to 23 years (M = 21.40, SD = 1.75) to get knowledge about these career developmental tasks. The technique of Focus Group Discussions was used for a better understanding of the career developmental tasks. Term career development was used to acquire information about career planning, exploration, and decision-making tasks in the sample. The findings of the study help prepare young adults to complete career developmental tasks and manage the complexities of their career development process.

Evaluation of risk factors causing osteoporosis in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) Patients.

Objective: The main aim of study was to investigate the prevalence of risk factors and osteoporosis in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. Methods: This prospective cross sectional study was done in pulmonology department Nishtar Hospital Multan. Total 369 patients of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diagnosed according to Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Diseases (GOLD) criteria were enrolled by non-probability consecutive sampling. The study was conducted from January 2016 to November 2016. Ethical approval was taken from committee of the hospital. Written permission was signed by each patient included in study. Quantitative variables like age, body mass index, FEV1, pack years smoking and vitamin D were statistically measured in mean and standard deviation. Qualitative variables like gender and area of living were statistically analyzed in percentage and frequency. ANNOVA was applied to test the significance. P value &lt;0.05 was taken as significant. Results: Overall, 100% (n=369) patients were included, in this study; divided into two groups i.e. non-osteoporosis 60% (n=220) and osteoporosis 40% (n=149). The mean age, BMI and smoking pack-years of the non-osteoporosis patients was 67.99±4.61 years, 23.92±1.95 kg/m2 and 41.62±10.20 respectively. There were 94.1% (n=207) males and 5.9% (n=13) females. While, the mean age, BMI and smoking pack-years of the osteoporosis patients was 71.44±3.90 years, 21.91±3.26 kg/m2 and 49.05±3.00 respectively. There were 97.3% (n=145) males and 2.7% (n=4) females. Education status of the non-osteoporosis patients observed as 36.4% (n=80) illiterate and 63.6% (n=140) elementary or above, while there were 38.3% (n=57) osteoporosis patients illiterate and 61.7% (n=92) were elementary or above. Significant differences were found between age (p=0.000), BMI (p=0.000), smoking pack years (p=0.000), BMD T-score (p=0.000), Systolic BP (p=0.000), Diastolic BP (p=0.000), FVC, liters (p=0.000), FVC, predicted%, (p=0.000), FEV1, liters (p=0.000), FEV1, predicted% (p=0.000) and FEV1/FVC (p=0.000), in groups. Association was found between HTN (p=0.000) and GOLD (p=0.001) in groups. Conclusion: Study concluded that osteoporosis is hidden and common comorbidity in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. Its prevalence was high among the patients. ------ were independent risk factors in developing osteoporosis in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. Pulmonologists should consider and properly investigate osteoporosis in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. Key words: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, osteoporosis, bone mineral density DOI: 10.7176/JMPB/54-06 Publication date: April 30th 201

Sorghum an Important Annual Feedstock for Bioenergy

Plant-based renewable biofuels guarantee sustainable solutions to food and energy demands. High-biomass C4 grasses including sugarcane, corn, and sorghum are potential candidates for bioenergy. Among these, sorghum enjoys the status of a highly diverse food, feed, and biofuel source worldwide. The natural attributes like abiotic stress tolerance, diverse genetic base, viable seed industry, and sound breeding system make sorghum a perfect candidate for establishing an efficient and low-cost biofuel industry. Scientists are exploring ways to exploit forage, sweet, and biomass sorghums as climate-smart energy crops. In this context, conventional breeding has played a significant role in developing high-yielding sorghum varieties. For biomass sorghum, stem compositional analysis helps screen low lignin and high polysaccharide types as feedstocks for biofuels. Recent tools of phenomics, genomics, proteomics, and genome editing are key players of designing eco-friendly bioenergy sorghum. Here, we report stem compositional analysis and proteomics-based evaluation of USDA sorghum germplasm as a baseline to develop sorghum as a biofuel feedstock

Intrafamilial person-to-person spread of bacillary dysentery due to shigelza dysenteriae in Southwestern Saudi Arabia

Objective: To identify the factors that influence transmission of bacillary dysentry (BD) within families during a propagated outbreak of bacillary dysentery. Design: A retrospective cohort study. Setting: Eighteen neighbouring villages in rural Gizan, southwestern Saudi Arabia. Subjects: Two hundred and thirty three cases of BD were identified among seventy nine families. Results: Secondary cases of BD occurred in 57 of 79 families with a primary case of BD. The secondary attack rate per cent (AR%) within families ranged between 7.7% and 80%. Age of primary cases did not correlate with degree of secondary AR% in exposed families (p&gt;0.04; p&gt;0.05); however, within households, the age of the first secondary cases (median = two years) was usually less than the age of the primary case (median = six years). Children under five years of age constituted 43% of secondary cases. The median interval between successive cases within a house ranged from three and seven days. Two hundred and twenty cases (94.4%) gave history of close contact within another case of BD. Cases of BD were exposed to close relatives with BD (79.1%), neighbours (11.4%), and friends (9.5%). Risk factors influencing the spread of BD within families included two rooms or fewer per house (OR = 4.3, 9.5% CI 1.3-14.3), family size of five or more (p = 0.012, two-tailed Fisher's exact test), and presence of more than two persons per room (OR=11.2, 95% CI 3.1-42.4). Conclusion: Person-to-person secondary transmission can amplify the spread of bacillary dysentery within households and neighbouring villages. Crowding was a risk factor that amplified transmission of BD within families.East African Medical Journal, May 1999, 255-25

Control of Aflatoxin Production Using Herbal Plant Extract

The aflatoxins are a group of chemically similar poisonous, carcinogenic fungal secondary metabolites produced by Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus, and A. nomius, which are abundant in warm and humid regions of the world. They are probably the most intensively researched toxins in the world due to their carcinogenic and mutagenic effects. Aflatoxins have also been identified as a potential biological weapon for food and water contamination. The four major aflatoxins commonly isolated from different foods and feed stuffs are AFB1, AF B2, AFG1, and AFG2. Aflatoxin contamination of food and feed has gained global significance as a result of its deleterious effects on human as well as livestock health including gastrointestinal dysfunction, reduced feed utilization, anemia, jaundice, liver damage and immunity suppression. The profitability and marketing of various agricultural products are adversely affected by either contamination of aflatoxins or aflatoxin‐producing fungi. The foods at highest risk of aflatoxin contamination are maize, chilies, peanuts, and cotton seeds. There are various physical, chemical, and natural methods investigated to prevent aflatoxin production and the growth of aflatoxin‐producing fungus in various agricultural products. Here, we describe various natural plant extracts that would be potential source of controlling aflatoxin production in agricultural products

Data aggregation in wireless sensor networks with minimum delay and minimum use of energy: A comparative study

Electronic Workshops in Computing (eWiC), 2015. First published in the Electronic Workshops in Computing series at http://dx.doi.org/10.14236/ewic/bcsme2014.2The prime objective of deploying large- scale wireless sensor networks is to collect information from to control systems associated with these networks. Wireless sensor networks are widely used in application domains such as security and inspection, environmental monitoring, warfare, and other situations especially where immediate responses are required such as disasters and medical emergency. Whenever there is a growth there are challenges and to cope with these challenges strategies and solutions must be developed. This paper discusses the recently addressed issues of data aggregation through presenting a comparative study of different research work done on minimizing delay in different structures of wireless sensor networks. Finally we introduce our proposed method to minimize both delay and power consumption using a tree based clustering scheme with partial data aggregation