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Background: Camellia species are ancient oilseed plants with a history of cultivation over two thousand years. Prior to oil extraction, natural seed drying is often practiced, a process affecting fatty acid quality and quantity. MicroRNAs (miRNA) of lipid metabolism associated with camellia seed natural drying are unexplored. To obtain insight into the function of miRNAs in lipid metabolism during natural drying, Illumina sequencing of C. oleifera and C. meiocarpa small-RNA was conducted. Results: A total of 274 candidate miRNAs were identified and 3733 target unigenes were annotated by performing a BLASTX. Through integrated GO and KEGG function annotation, 23 miRNA regulating 131 target genes were identified as lipid metabolism, regulating fatty acid biosynthesis, accumulation and catabolism. We observed one, two and four miRNAs of lipid metabolism which were specially expressed in C. Meiocarpa, C. oleifera and the two species collectively, respectively. At 30% moisture contents, C. meiocarpa and C. oleifer produced nine and eight significant differentially expressed miRNAs, respectively, with high fatty acid synthesis and accumulation activities. Across the two species, 12 significant differentially expressed miRNAs were identified at the 50% moisture content. Conclusions: Sequencing of small-RNA revealed the presence of 23 miRNAs regulating lipid metabolism in camellia seed during natural drying and permitted comparative miRNA profiles between C. Meiocarpa and C. oleifera. Furthermore, this study successfully identified the best drying environment at which the quantity and quality of lipid in camellia seed are at its maximum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this survey was to study the association between circulating proinsulin level and the severity of coronary atherosclerosis. Methods: The study population consisted of 1,039 consecutive patients (775 males and 264 females) who underwent coronary angiography for suspected or known coronary atherosclerosis. The patients’ anthropometric and plasma measurements including body mass index, blood pressure, blood lipid, blood glucose, and proinsulin level were performed. The severity of coronary atherosclerosis was defined by the Gensini’s score system. Results: When proinsulin level was examined as a categorical variable classified by quartile values, subjects with a high proinsulin level had significantly higher values of Gensini’s score than those with a low proinsulin level (p = 0.000). The Spearman correlation analysis suggests that the Gensini’s score was significantly correlated with proinsulin level (r = –0.177, p = 0.000). Multiple stepwise linear regression analysis demonstrated that glucose (β= 0.136, p = 0.000), age (β= 0.189, p = 0.000), proinsulin (β= 0.135, p=0.000), SBP (mm Hg) (β= –0.061, p = 0.043), fasting low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (mmol/l) (β= 0.141, p = 0.003), and total cholesterol (β= –0.105, p = 0.029) are significantly independently associated with the Gensini’s score. Conclusions: Proinsulin is a strong and statistically highly significant pre- dictor of coronary atherosclerosis independent of the other major risk factors including age, body mass index, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, and blood lipid. The exact mechanisms need further study. Copyright © 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A phenazine-1-carboxylic acid (PCA)–degrading bacterium, strain DP58, was isolated from pimiento rhizosoil. Based on morphology, physiologic tests, 16S rDNA sequence, and phylogenetic characteristics, it was identified as Sphingomonas sp. The PCA-degradation experiments were conducted both in Luria-Bertani and inorganic salt medium at 28°C. The relationship between bacterium growth and PCA degradation suggested that strain DP58 could use PCA as the sole source of carbon and nitrogen and was able to completely degrade PCA in 40 hours. Newly isolated strain DP58 represents the first bacterium that can degrade PCA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The solubility of phenazine-1-carboxylic acid (PCA) in water, methanol, and ethanol solutions was measured over the temperature range of (278.2 to 328.2) K. The solubility of PCA in methanol and ethanol is higher than that in water and increases with increasing temperature in the three solvents. All measurements were correlated with the Apelblat equation. The equation was found to provide an accurate representation of the experimental data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The angiotensinogen (AGT) gene M235T polymorphism has been suggested to be linked to risk of heart failure (HF). However, association studies on the M235T polymorphism and HF risk have shown conflicting results. PubMed and China Biology Medicine (CBM) databases were systematically searched to identify relevant studies. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the strength of the association. A total of 1,281 HF cases and 1,376 controls were included in the analysis. The pooled data showed that there was no significant associations between the AGT M235T polymorphism and HF risk for TT vs.MM(OR=1.17, 95%CI=0.62-2.19, P=0.635), MT vs.MM(OR=0.97, 95%CI=0.77-1.22, P=0.776), MT/TT vs.MM(OR=1.07, 95%CI=0.67-1.69,P=0.781), and TT vs.MM/MT(OR=1.23, 95%CI=0.86-1.76, P=0.259). In contrast, in the HF subgroup analysis by ethnicity, the AGT M235T polymorphism had a decreased risk of HF among Asians (MT vs. MM, OR=0.39, 95%CI=0.17-0.92, P=0.032). Our results suggest that the AGT M235T polymorphism is a low-penetrant risk factor for the development of HF among Asians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of the present study is to investigate the association between the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sites of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor Δ (PPARD) and the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD). To this end, a prospective observational single-center study of the clinical data from 880 subjects in a Chinese population was conducted. Methods: A total of 880 subjects, including 609 CAD patients and 271 control subjects, were selected for the present study. All inpatients had 4 ml of venous blood drawn after 12 h of fasting, and then clinical tests were conducted to obtain the biochemical parameters. CAD patients and Controls were distinguished by coronary angiography. Statistical analysis was conducted with SPSS software (ver 16.0). Results: A significant association between the G-alleles of PPARD rs3777744 and rs3798343 and a decreased risk for CAD was found. Moreover, we found an interaction between high fasting high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) serum levels, low serum glucose levels and their genotypes, ultimately decreasing the risk of CAD. Haplotype analysis was conducted on the three SNP sites, rs3777744 and rs3798343 to form a block [r2 = 0.79, D' = 0.99). The A-C haplotypes were associated with an increased risk of CAD (odds ratio (OR), 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.321 (1.060-1.647), P=0.013], and the G-G haplotypes were associated with a decreased risk [OR, 95% CI: 0.714 (0.567-0.849), P=0.004]. Conclusions: Our study indicates a significant association between the G-alleles of PPARD rs3777744 and rs3798343 and a decreased CAD risk. In addition, genotypes interact with high serum HDL-C levels and low serum glucose levels, resulting in decreased prevalence of CAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: We evaluated the synergistic effect of lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) in association with classical risk factors in predicting coronary heart disease (CHD) and demonstrated the diagnostic value of Lp-PLA2 for predicting coronary stenotic lesions in subjects with CHD. Methods: Blood samples were acquired from 911 consecutive adult subjects (662 males and 249 females) from 11 ethnic groups. Lp-PLA2 plasma levels were detected using a commercially available turbidimetric immunoassay (TIA). CHD in patients was confirmed using coronary angiography, and the severity of coronary atherosclerosis was assessed using the Gensini scoring system. Results: A binary logistic regression was performed to analyse the relationships between Lp-PLA2 and other risk factors. A multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that Lp-PLA2 levels were significantly associated with CHD (OR, 1.882; 95% CI, 1.369-2.587, p=0.000).The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for Lp-PLA2 was 0.589 (95%CI, 0.549-0.629, p=0.000).The synergism between Lp-PLA2 and other risk factors was also investigated. The proportion of CHD attributable to the interaction between Lp-PLA2 and age was as high as 64%. Conclusions: Lp-PLA2 levels in human plasma were positively associated with the severity of CHD, and there was a clear positive interaction between Lp-PLA2 and classical risk factors in predicting CHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: We evaluated the synergistic effect of lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) in association with classical risk factors in predicting coronary heart disease (CHD) and demonstrated the diagnostic value of Lp-PLA2 for predicting coronary stenotic lesions in subjects with CHD. Methods: Blood samples were acquired from 911 consecutive adult subjects (662 males and 249 females) from 11 ethnic groups. Lp-PLA2 plasma levels were detected using a commercially available turbidimetric immunoassay (TIA). CHD in patients was confirmed using coronary angiography, and the severity of coronary atherosclerosis was assessed using the Gensini scoring system. Results: A binary logistic regression was performed to analyse the relationships between Lp-PLA2 and other risk factors. A multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that Lp-PLA2 levels were significantly associated with CHD (OR, 1.882; 95% CI, 1.369-2.587, p=0.000).The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for Lp-PLA2 was 0.589 (95%CI, 0.549-0.629, p=0.000).The synergism between Lp-PLA2 and other risk factors was also investigated. The proportion of CHD attributable to the interaction between Lp-PLA2 and age was as high as 64%. Conclusions: Lp-PLA2 levels in human plasma were positively associated with the severity of CHD, and there was a clear positive interaction between Lp-PLA2 and classical risk factors in predicting CHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to identify the synergistic effect of microRNA expression with classical risk factors of coronary heart disease (CHD) and to explore their diagnostic value for coronary stenotic lesions in subjects with CHD. Plasma samples were obtained from 66 subjects with CHD and from 58 control individuals. A quantitative reverse-transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) assay was conducted to confirm the relative expressions of the known CHD-related miRNAs. The severity of coronary atherosclerosis was based on the Gensini scoring system. The expression of miR-125b in plasma of the CHD group was lower than that of the non-CHD group (0.14 ± 0.09 vs. 0.18 ± 0.10, p = 0.055), and the miR-125b levels significantly decreased following an increasing Gensini score (P = 0.037). Spearman correlation analyses indicated the Gensini score was negatively associated with miR-125b (r = -0.215, p = 0.017). Of all the miRNAs, miR-125b showed the lowest AUC (0.405; 95% CI: 0.305 ~ 0.506, p = 0.070). We found several synergistic effects between miR-125b and classical risk factors, such as age, sex, CR, FBG and HDL-C; the proportion of CHD attributable to the interaction of miR-125b and age was as high as 80%. Therefore, miR-125b was shown to play an important role in individual's susceptibility to developing CHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Epidemiologic findings are inconsistent regarding the association between flavonol intake and the risk for stroke. The aim of this study was to determine whether an association exists between them in observational studies. Methods: We searched the PubMed and EMBASE databases for studies conducted from 1966 to August 2013. Prospective cohort studies that provided relative risk (RR) estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between flavonol intake and risk for stroke were included. A random effects model was used to combine study-specific risk estimates. Results: The meta-analysis included eight studies, with 5228 stroke cases among 280 174 participants. The summary RR indicated a significant association between highest flavonol intake and reduced risk for stroke (summary RR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.75-0.99). Furthermore, an increase in flavonol intake of 20 mg/d was associated with a 14% decrease in the risk for developing stroke (summary RR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.77-0.96). Subgroup analyses suggested a significant inverse association between highest flavonol intake and stroke risk among men (summary RR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.56-0.97) but not women (summary RR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.85-1.16). Conclusions: Higher dietary flavonol intake is associated with a reduced risk for stroke, especially among men. Our results support recommendations for higher consumption of flavonol-rich foods to prevent stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We performed a large, long-term cohort study to evaluate the association of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system gene polymorphisms and baseline phenotypes to all-cause mortality among patients with angiographically confirmed coronary atherosclerosis. The study included 1075 subjects who underwent coronary angiography. Patients were genotyped for eight polymorphisms (rs4343, rs5186, rs5182, rs5049, rs5051, rs699, rs4762, and rs1799998), and their baseline plasma angiotensin II and aldosterone levels were measured. The interval between baseline and follow-up time-points ranged from 6.39 to 9.59 years. The results of multivariate regression analysis further indicated that high baseline angiotensin II levels (1.226 (1.024-1.468), p = 0.027) were independently associated with all-cause death. Therefore, we found that an increased baseline plasma angiotensin II level was associated with higher long-term all-cause mortality, even after correcting for established cardiovascular risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TheCyclin-dependent kinase 5 regulatory subunit-associated protein 1-like (CDKAL1) gene rs7756992 A/G polymorphism has been suggested to be associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), but the individual studies results are still controversial. To explore the association of CDKAL1 gene rs7756992 A/G polymorphism with T2DM, a meta-analysis involving 62,567 subjects from 21 separate studies was conducted. In the whole population, a significant association was found between CDKAL1 gene rs7756992 A/G polymorphism and T2DM under allelic (OR: 1.180, 95% CI: 1.130-1.230, P = 1.60 × 10-14), recessive (OR: 1.510, 95% CI: 1.380-1.660,P = 8.41×10-18), dominant (OR: 1.175, 95% CI: 1.109-1.246,P = 6.30 × 10-8), homozygous (OR: 1.400, 95% CI: 1.282-1.530, P = 8.02 × 10-14), and heterozygous genetic models (OR: 1.101, 95% CI: 1.040-1.166,P = 0.001).CDKAL1 gene rs7756992 A/G polymorphism was significantly associated with T2DM. The person with G allele of CDKAL1 gene rs7756992 A/G polymorphism might be predisposed to T2DM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore the association between rs6903956 and severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) in a Chinese population. Methods:A cohort of 1075 consecutive patients who underwent coronary arteriography for suspected or known coronary atherosclerosis was enrolled in our study. Coronary atherosclerosis severity was defined by Gensini's Score System and counts of diseased vessels. Results: Gensini score frequencies and counts of diseased vessels differed among GG, AG, AA genotype groups at the rs6903956 locus (p = 0.025 for Gensini score frequencies vs. p = 0.024 for counts of diseased vessels, respectively). A univariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the genotype distribution of this SNP was associated significantly with angiographical characteristics of coronary atherosclerosis risk (p = 0.030, odds ratio (OR) = 1.444, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.036,2.013 for AG vs. GG; p = 0.021, OR = 5.896, 95% CI = 1.299,26.750 for AA vs. GG and p = 0.007, OR = 1.564, 95% CI = 1.132,2.162 for combined (AG+AA) vs. GG). A multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that the genotype distribution of the rs6903956 polymorphism be associated significantly with the angiographical characteristics of coronary atherosclerosis risk (p = 0.004, OR = 1.578, 95% CI = 1.155,2.154 for GG vs. AG vs. AA; p = 0.013, OR = 1.541, 95% CI = 1.097,2.163 for GG vs. GA+ AA). A stratification analysis revealed that male subjects and smoking subjects had a higher frequency of the rs6903956 heterozygous mutant among higher Gensini score subjects than among lower Gensini score subjects (p = 0.023, OR = 1.579, 95% CI = 1.064,2.344 for male subgroup; p = 0.005, OR = 2.075, 95% CI = 1.249,3.448 for smoking subgroup). Conclusions: Allele A is a risk factor for CAD and the G-to-A allele substitution may underlie the association between rs6903956 and CAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thirty-one crop fine varieties rich in twenty-eight factors were bred, respectively. The contents of the factors were from 1.47 to 16.57 times of the corresponding commercial varieties. Animal experiments were conducted on the seven fine varieties. The effects of the factors from the fine varieties including the high anthocyanin black rice, high polysaccharides tea, high polysaccharides Agaricus blazei, high polysaccharides Grifola frondosa, and high DHEA yam, were significantly better than those from the commercial varieties at equal weight. The effects of proanthocyanidin from the two fine grape varieties were significantly better than those from the commercial varieties at equal PC dose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore the time distribution patterns of the onset of chest pain in subjects with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction in a Chinese population. Methods: A total of 1467 patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction were enrolled from 2003 to 2010. The hourly, daily, monthly, seasonal and day-of-week fluctuations in the prevalence of acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction were analyzed. Results: A peak was found between the morning hours of 07:31 and 08:30. A second peak was observed between 14:31 and 15:30, and a third peak was found between 23:31 and 00:30 (p<0.001). The monthly maximum was recorded in November and the minimum was in April (p<0.001). The number of daily cases was greatest in autumn and lowest in the spring (p = 0.001). Day-of-the-week variations of ST-elevation acute myocardial infarction were not found, except in patients more than 75-years-old. Conclusions: Periodic variations in the frequency of ST-elevation acute myocardial infarction in Chinese patients showed significant differences with regard to diurnal, monthly and seasonal patterns. The exact mechanisms underlying these circadian variations require further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hyperlipidemia plays a crucial role in the development and progression of coronary artery disease (CAD). Recent studies have identified that microRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators of lipid metabolism, but little is known about the circulating levels of lipometabolism-related miRNAs and their relationship with the presence of CAD in patients with hyperlipidemia. Methods: In the present study, we enrolled a total of 255 hyperlipidemia patients with or without CAD and 100 controls with normal blood lipids. The plasma levels of four known lipometabolism-related miRNAs, miR-122, miR-370, miR-33a, and miR-33b were quantified by real-time quantitative PCR. Blood levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and high density lipoprotein cholesterol were determined. Furthermore, the severity of CAD was assessed with the Gensini score system based on the degree of luminal narrowing and its geographic importance. Results: Our results revealed for the first time that plasma levels of miR-122 and miR-370 were significantly increased in hyperlipidemia patients compared with controls, and the levels of miR-122 and miR-370 were positively correlated with TC, TG, and LDL-C levels in both hyperlipidemia patients and controls. Multiple logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the increased levels of miR-122 and miR-370 were associated with CAD presence, even after adjustment for other cardiovascular risk factors. Furthermore, miR-122 and miR-370 levels were positively correlated with the severity of CAD quantified by the Gensini score. However, both miR-33a and miR-33b were undetectable in plasma. Conclusions: Our results suggest that increased plasma levels of miR-122 and miR-370 might be associated with the presence as well as the severity of CAD in hyperlipidemia patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subband structure and occupation in the triangular quantum well at Al xGa1− xN/GaN heterointerfaces have been investigated by means of temperature dependent Shubnikov–de Haas (SdH) measurements at low temperatures and high magnetic fields under illumination. After the illumination of the heterostructures, the total two-dimensional electron gas concentration increases, and the SdH oscillation amplitudes are enhanced when there is no additional subband occupation. It is also found that the energy separation between the subbands decreases after the illumination. We suggest that the illumination decreases the electric field and thus weakens the quantum confinement of the triangular quantum well at Al xGa1− xN/GaN heterointerfaces. The GaN layer is thought to be the primary contributor of the excited electrons by the illumination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GaMnN/GaN multilayers and conventional GaMnN single layers are grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. Both kinds of samples show room-temperature ferromagnetism. After thermal annealing, the sample with GaMnN/GaN multilayer structure displays a larger coercivity and better thermal stability compared to the GaMnN single layer. The annealing effects on VGa related defects are observed from photoluminescence measurements. Moreover, a different magnetic behavior is also found in the annealed GaMnN films grown on different (n-type GaN and p-type GaN) templates. These kinds of structure-dependent magnetic behaviors indicate that defects or carriers transformation introduced during annealing may have important effects on the electronic structure of Mn ions and on the ferromagnetism. Our work may be helpful for further understanding the origin of ferromagnetism in GaN-based diluted magnetic semiconductors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]