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ABSTRACT: The effect of atrazine, mesotrione, and joint activity of atrazine plus mesotrione on pigment, lipid peroxidation, and antioxidant enzyme activity was studied. Atrazine and mesotrione treatments significantly reduced chlorophyll a (Chl a), chlorophyll b (Chl b), carotenoid concentrations, and protein content in bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon L.) plants, whereas they significantly enhanced lipid peroxidation. The treatment of atrazine plus mesotrione caused greater phototoxic effect on bermudagrass than either herbicide alone, which was evident from the significantly decreased membrane stability noted as a function of the enhanced singlet oxygen and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents, as well as from the greater reduction in Chl a, Chl b, and carotenoid contents. Although bermudagrass activated the antioxidant enzymes catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), and glutathione S-transferase (GST), it was significantly injured after the herbicide treatments. Thus, results suggested that the enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants of bermudagrass was overloaded after the treatment of atrazine plus mesotrione, and the reactive oxygen species (ROS) subsequently caused lipid peroxidation, pigment and protein degradation, as well as other cellular constituent damage.

This work explores correlations between genetic polymorphisms in apolipoprotein E (ApoE) and atrial fibrillation (AF). We detected polymorphisms in the APOE gene in 64 patients with AF and 49 non-AF volunteers at the Department of Cardiology of Lianyungang Second People's Hospital between July 2017 and July 2019. We found significant differences in age, body mass index, left atrial diameter, and left ventricular ejection fraction between the two groups. Six APOE genotypes were observed: ɛ2/ɛ2; ɛ2/ɛ3; ɛ2/ɛ4; ɛ3/ɛ3; ɛ3/ɛ4; and ɛ4/ɛ4. The ɛ3/ɛ3 genotype was significantly less frequent in the AF group than in the control group, while the ɛ3/ɛ4 and ɛ4/ɛ4 genotypes were significantly more frequent in the AF group than in the control group (p<0.05). ApoE3 penetrance was significantly lower in the AF group than in the control group (p<0.05), while ApoE4 penetrance was significantly higher in the AF group than in the control group (p<0.05). ApoE3 penetrance was significantly lower in the AF group than in the control group (p<0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that age, body mass index, left atrial diameter, left ventricular ejection fraction, and ApoE4 were risk factors for AF. Finally, we found that ApoE polymorphisms impacted the occurrence of AF and that ApoE4 is an AF-sensitive phenotype., (Copyright © 2022 Sociedade Portuguesa de Cardiologia. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Background: For patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) that are suffering from subsequent coronary microvascular functional and structural obstruction (CMVO), no specific and definitive therapeutic approaches of attenuation have been proven valid in up-to-date large-scale tests, which highlights the urge to address its early recognition., Objectives: This study aimed to compare the performance of two clinical risk scores with an objective measurement of CMVO during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with STEMI., Methods: The Index of Microcirculatory Resistance (IMR) measurement was conducted and the baseline clinical and angiographic parameters were also recorded. The patients were divided into MO (Microvascular obstruction) or NMO (Non-microvascular obstruction) groups according to the post-procedure IMR value. The CMVO risk was evaluated for all participants by SAK and ATI predictive scores, respectively. Each system was calculated by summing the scores of all variables. The receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves and the area under the curve (AUC) of two risk models were used to evaluate the discriminatory performance. An echocardiography was performed seven days after the procedure to evaluate left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). A two-sided P-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant., Results: Among the 65 eligible STEMI patients, 48 patients were allocated in the NMO group and 17 in the MO group, with a CMVO incidence of 26.15%. There was no significant difference in the AUC between both scores. The LVEF evaluated for the NMO group was higher than that of MO group., Conclusion: Both SAK and ATI scores performed well in estimating CMVO risk after primary PCI for STEMI patients.

Background: There is conflicting information about whether lung ultrasound assessed by B-lines has prognostic value in patients with heart failure (HF)., Objectives: To evaluate the prognostic value of lung ultrasound assessed by B-lines in HF patients., Methods: Four databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Scopus) were systematically searched to identify relevant articles. We pooled the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) from eligible studies and carried out heterogeneity, quality assessment, and publication bias analyses. Data were pooled using a fixed-effects or random-effect model. A p value < 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance., Results: Nine studies involving 1,212 participants were included in the systematic review. B-lines > 15 and > 30 at discharge were significantly associated with increased risk of combined outcomes of all-cause mortality or HF hospitalization (HR, 3.37, 95% CI, 1.52-7.47; p = 0.003; HR, 4.01, 95% CI, 2.29-7.01; p < 0.001, respectively). A B-line > 30 cutoff at discharge was significantly associated with increased risk of HF hospitalization (HR, 9.01, 95% CI, 2.80-28.93; p < 0.001). Moreover, a B-line > 3 cutoff significantly increased the risk for combined outcomes of all-cause mortality or HF hospitalization in HF outpatients (HR, 3.21, 95% CI, 2.09-4.93; I2 = 10%; p < 0.00001)., Conclusion: B-lines could predict all-cause mortality and HF hospitalizations in patients with HF. Further large randomized controlled trials are needed to explore whether dealing with B-lines would improve the prognosis in clinical settings.

Background:: Cell-derived microvesicles (MVs) are vesicles released from activated or apoptotic cells. However, the levels of MVs in myocardial infarction have been found inconsistent in researches., Objective:: To assess the association between MVs and myocardial infarction by conducting a meta-analysis., Methods:: A systematic literature search on PubMed, Embase, Cochran, Google Scholar electronic database was conducted. Comparison of the MVs levels between myocardial infarction patients and healthy persons were included in our study. Standard Mean Difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) in groups were calculated and meta-analyzed., Results:: 11 studies with a total of 436 participants were included. Compared with the health persons, AMVs [SMD = 3.65, 95% CI (1.03, 6.27)], PMVs [SMD = 2.88, 95% CI (1.82, 3.93),] and EMVs [SMD = 2.73, 95% CI (1.13, 4.34)], levels were higher in patients with myocardial infarction. However, LMVs levels [SMD = 0.73, 95% CI (-0.57, 2.03)] were not changed significantly in patients with myocardial infarction., Conclusions:: AMVs, PMVs and EMVs might be potential biomarkers for myocardial infarction., Fundamentos:: As microvesículas derivadas de células (MVs) são vesículas liberadas de células ativadas ou apoptóticas. No entanto, os níveis de MVs no infarto do miocárdio foram encontrados inconsistentes nas pesquisas., Objetivo:: Avaliar a associação entre MV e infarto do miocárdio por meio de uma meta-análise., Métodos:: Foi realizada uma pesquisa sistemática na literatura em PubMed, Embase, Cochran e no banco de dados eletrônico do Google Scholar. Uma comparação dos níveis de MV entre pacientes com infarto do miocárdio e pessoas saudáveis foi incluída no nosso estudo. A Diferença Média Padrão (DMP) e o intervalo de confiança (IC) de 95% nos grupos foram calculadas e meta-analisadas., Resultados:: Foram incluídos 11 estudos com um total de 436 participantes. Em comparação com as pessoas saudáveis, as MVA [DMP = 3,65, IC 95% (1,03, 6,27)], MVPs [DMP = 2,88, IC 95% (1,82, 3,93)] e MVEs [DMP = 2,73, IC 95% (1,13, 4.34)], foram maiores em pacientes com infarto do miocárdio. No entanto, os níveis de MVL [DMP = 0,73, IC 95% (-0,57, 2,03)] não foram alterados significativamente em pacientes com infarto do miocárdio., Conclusões:: MVAs, MVPs e MVEs podem ser biomarcadores potenciais para o infarto do miocárdio.

Background: Long-term outcomes of drug-eluting stents (DES) versus bare-metal stents (BMS) in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) remain uncertain., Objective: To investigate long-term outcomes of drug-eluting stents (DES) versus bare-metal stents (BMS) in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI)., Methods: We performed search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane library, and ISI Web of Science (until February 2013) for randomized trials comparing more than 12-month efficacy or safety of DES with BMS in patients with STEMI. Pooled estimate was presented with risk ratio (RR) and its 95% confidence interval (CI) using random-effects model., Results: Ten trials with 7,592 participants with STEMI were included. The overall results showed that there was no significant difference in the incidence of all-cause death and definite/probable stent thrombosis between DES and BMS at long-term follow-up. Patients receiving DES implantation appeared to have a lower 1-year incidence of recurrent myocardial infarction than those receiving BMS (RR = 0.75, 95% CI 0.56 to 1.00, p= 0.05). Moreover, the risk of target vessel revascularization (TVR) after receiving DES was consistently lowered during long-term observation (all p < 0.01). In subgroup analysis, the use of everolimus-eluting stents (EES) was associated with reduced risk of stent thrombosis in STEMI patients (RR = 0.37, p=0.02)., Conclusions: DES did not increase the risk of stent thrombosis in patients with STEMI compared with BMS. Moreover, the use of DES did lower long-term risk of repeat revascularization and might decrease the occurrence of reinfarction.

Objective: To assess the importance of the interaction between leukocyte integrin Mac-1 (a Mb 2) and platelet glycoprotein (GP) Ib-a for leukocyte recruitment after vascular injury and the effect of the neutralization of the Mac-1-GPIba interaction on cell proliferation and the neointimal hyperplasia triggered by the vascular injury., Methods: A peptide called M2 or anti-M2 antibody was developed to block the Mac-1-GPIba interaction. This peptide was injected and compared to a control-peptide in C57B1/6J mice submitted to vascular injury of the femoral artery with a guide wire. One, five or 28 days after the vascular injury, the femoral arteries were removed for morphometric and immunohistochemical analyses., Results: The blocking of the Mac-1-GPIba interaction promoted a statistically significant reduction in the number of leukocytes in the neointimal layer on the first day after the vascular injury (control: 7.9+/-5.0% of the cell total versus anti-M2: 2.0+/-1.6%, p=0.021), as well as determined a statistically significant decrease in leukocyte accumulation in the neointimal layer on days 5 and 28 (control: 42.3+/-12.9% versus anti-M2: 24.6+/-10.8%, p=0.047 and control: 7.9+/-3.0% versus anti-M2: 3.3+/-1.3%, p=0.012; respectively). Cell proliferation in the neointimal layer of the vessel five days post-injury was reduced with the blocking of the Mac-1-GPIba interaction (control: 5.0+/-2.9% of the cell total versus anti-M2: 1.8+/-0.5%; p=0.043), along with a significant decrease in cell proliferation in the vessel neointimal layer 28 days post-injury (control: 3.8+/-1.7% versus anti-M2: 2.0+/-1.2%; p=0.047). The blocking of the Mac-1-GPIba interaction also determined a statistically significant decrease of the intimal thickening 28 days post-injury (control: 10,395+/-3,549 microm(2) versus anti-M2: 4,561+/-4,915 microm(2); p=0.012)., Conclusion: Leukocyte recruitment after a vascular injury depends on the Mac-1-GPIba interaction and the neutralization of this interaction inhibits cell proliferation and neointimal formation.