The association between sarcopenia and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in elderly people has not been adequately assessed. The aim of this study was to investigate whether CVD is more prevalent in ...subjects with sarcopenia independent of other well-established cardiovascular risk factors in older Korean adults.
This study utilized the representative Korean population data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) which was conducted in 2009. Subjects older than 65 years of age with appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) determined by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry were selected. The prevalence of sarcopenia in the older Korean adults was investigated, and it was determined whether sarcopenia is associated with CVD independent of other well-known risk factors.
1,578 subjects aged 65 years and older with the data for ASM were selected, and the overall prevalence of sarcopenia was 30.3% in men and 29.3% in women. Most of the risk factors for CVD such as age, waist circumference, body mass index, fasting plasma glucose and total cholesterol showed significant negative correlations with the ratio between appendicular skeletal muscle mass and body weight. Multiple logistic regression analysis demonstrated that sarcopenia was associated with CVD independent of other well-documented risk factors, renal function and medications (OR, 1.768; 95% CI, 1.075-2.909, P = 0.025).
Sarcopenia was associated with the presence of CVD independent of other cardiovascular risk factors after adjusting renal function and medications.
Abstract Objectives Acute or chronic intake of polyphenol-rich foods has been reported to improve endothelial function. Quercetin, found abundantly in onion, is a potent antioxidant flavonoid. The ...aim of this study was to investigate whether consumption of onion peel extract (OPE) improves endothelial function in healthy overweight and obese individuals. Methods This was a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Seventy-two healthy overweight and obese participants were randomly assigned to receive a red, soft capsule of OPE (100 mg quercetin/d, 50 mg quercetin twice daily; n = 36 participants) or an identical placebo capsule (n = 36) for 12 wk. Endothelial function, defined by flow-mediated dilation (FMD), circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) by flow cytometry, and laboratory test were determined at baseline and after treatment. Results Baseline characteristics and laboratory findings did not significantly differ between the two groups. Compared with baseline values, the OPE group showed significantly improved FMD at 12 wk (from 12.5 ± 5.2 to 15.2 ± 6.1; P = 0.002), whereas the placebo group showed no difference. Nitroglycerin-mediated dilation did not change in either group. EPC counts (44.2 ± 25.6 versus 52.3 ± 18.6; P = 0.005) and the percentage of EPCs were significantly increased in the OPE group. When FMD was divided into quartiles, rate of patients with endothelial dysfunction defined as lowest quartile (cutoff value, 8.6%) of FMD improved from 26% to 9% by OPE. Conclusion Medium-term administration of OPE an improvement in FMD and circulating EPCs.
Antiplatelet drugs are effective in preventing recurrence of atherosclerosis in type 2 diabetic patients. However, the efficacy and usefulness of 2 different antiplatelet drugs, aspirin and ...cilostazol, in the progression of carotid intima-media thickening are unknown.
To compare prevention by cilostazol and aspirin of progression of atherosclerosis, we conducted a prospective, randomized, open, blinded end point study in 4 East Asian countries. A total of 329 type 2 diabetic patients suspected of peripheral artery disease were allocated to either an aspirin-treated (81 to 100 mg/d) group or a cilostazol-treated (100 to 200 mg/d) group. The changes in intima-media thickness of the common carotid artery during a 2-year observation period were examined as the primary end point. The regression in maximum left, maximum right, mean left, and mean right common carotid artery intima-media thickness was significantly greater with cilostazol compared with aspirin (-0.088 + or - 0.260 versus 0.059 + or - 0.275 mm, P<0.001; -0.042 + or - 0.274 versus 0.045 + or - 0.216 mm, P=0.003; -0.043 + or - 0.182 versus 0.028 + or - 0.202 mm, P=0.004; and -0.024 + or - 0.182 versus 0.048 + or - 0.169 mm, P<0.001). In a regression analysis adjusted for possible confounding factors such as lipid levels and hemoglobin A(1c), the improvements in common carotid artery intima-media thickness with cilostazol treatment over aspirin treatment remained significant.
Compared with aspirin, cilostazol potently inhibited progression of carotid intima-media thickness, an established surrogate marker of cardiovascular events, in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Clinical Trial Registration- URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: C000000215.
Although an association between low-level environmental heavy metal exposure and the incidence of metabolic syndrome (MS) has been hypothesized, little research on this topic has been conducted on a ...population-wide level.
We analyzed MS status and whole blood lead, mercury, cadmium, manganese, and creatinine-adjusted urine arsenic concentrations in 1,405 subjects, ≥ 20 years of age, who were registered for the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2008.
Various demographic and biochemical parameters were associated with MS and blood heavy metal status. After adjusting for these variables, lead was the only heavy metal that was significantly associated with MS. Lead concentrations in subjects with MS were significantly higher than those in subjects without MS (p = 0.015). The prevalence of MS and a moderate/high risk for cardiovascular disease, as determined by Framingham risk score, also increased significantly according to the logarithmic transformation of the lead quartile (p < 0.001). The odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for MS were 1.56 (0.90-2.71), 1.63 (0.94-2.83), and 2.57 (1.46-4.51) for the second, third, and fourth quartiles of the log-transformed lead quartile, respectively, as compared with those of the lowest quartile after multiple adjustments for confounding factors. Serum triglyceride level was the only MS diagnostic component significantly associated with lead level in a multiple linear regression analysis (p = 0.006).
These findings suggest that a higher prevalence of MS is associated with higher blood lead levels in the Korean population.
Keymessage
This study presents a chromosome-scale draft genome sequence of radish that is assembled into nine chromosomal pseudomolecules. A comprehensive comparative genome analysis with the
...Brassica
genomes provides genomic evidences on the evolution of the mesohexaploid radish genome.
Radish (
Raphanus sativus
L.) is an agronomically important root vegetable crop and its origin and phylogenetic position in the tribe Brassiceae is controversial. Here we present a comprehensive analysis of the radish genome based on the chromosome sequences of
R. sativus
cv. WK10039. The radish genome was sequenced and assembled into 426.2 Mb spanning >98 % of the gene space, of which 344.0 Mb were integrated into nine chromosome pseudomolecules. Approximately 36 % of the genome was repetitive sequences and 46,514 protein-coding genes were predicted and annotated. Comparative mapping of the tPCK-like ancestral genome revealed that the radish genome has intermediate characteristics between the
Brassica
A/C and B genomes in the triplicated segments, suggesting an internal origin from the genus
Brassica
. The evolutionary characteristics shared between radish and other
Brassica
species provided genomic evidences that the current form of nine chromosomes in radish was rearranged from the chromosomes of hexaploid progenitor. Overall, this study provides a chromosome-scale draft genome sequence of radish as well as novel insight into evolution of the mesohexaploid genomes in the tribe Brassiceae.
Brassica rapa is one of the most economically important vegetable crops worldwide. Owing to its agronomic importance and phylogenetic position, B. rapa provides a crucial reference to understand ...polyploidy-related crop genome evolution. The high degree of sequence identity and remarkably conserved genome structure between Arabidopsis and Brassica genomes enables comparative tiling sequencing using Arabidopsis sequences as references to select the counterpart regions in B. rapa, which is a strong challenge of structural and comparative crop genomics.
We assembled 65.8 megabase-pairs of non-redundant euchromatic sequence of B. rapa and compared this sequence to the Arabidopsis genome to investigate chromosomal relationships, macrosynteny blocks, and microsynteny within blocks. The triplicated B. rapa genome contains only approximately twice the number of genes as in Arabidopsis because of genome shrinkage. Genome comparisons suggest that B. rapa has a distinct organization of ancestral genome blocks as a result of recent whole genome triplication followed by a unique diploidization process. A lack of the most recent whole genome duplication (3R) event in the B. rapa genome, atypical of other Brassica genomes, may account for the emergence of B. rapa from the Brassica progenitor around 8 million years ago.
This work demonstrates the potential of using comparative tiling sequencing for genome analysis of crop species. Based on a comparative analysis of the B. rapa sequences and the Arabidopsis genome, it appears that polyploidy and chromosomal diploidization are ongoing processes that collectively stabilize the B. rapa genome and facilitate its evolution.
We report an abnormal negative threshold-voltage shift (ΔVTH) in bulk-accumulation (dual-gate driven) amorphous-InGaZnO (a-IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) after application of positive-bias-stress ...(PBS). In devices annealed at 250°C for 2 h in vacuum, the negative ΔVTH is accompanied with subthreshold swing degradation, consistent with PBS-induced defect creation. Negative-bias-stress induces negligible ΔVTH, ruling out ion migration in the gate-insulator. By varying the top-gate length, it is found that the negligible ΔVTH is a function of bulk-accumulation. However, after vacuum annealing at 250°C for 100 h, PBS induces negligible ΔVTH, verifying that the negative ΔVTH in short-time annealed devices is related to defects in the bulk a-IGZO. Therefore, good PBS stability can be achieved in bulk-accumulation dual-gate a-IGZO TFTs by long-time vacuum anneal.
We report the achievement of flexible oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs) that are highly robust under mechanical bending stress. Fabricated on solution-processed polyimide, the oxide TFTs employ the ...dual-gate structure with an amorphous-indium-gallium-zinc oxide (a-IGZO) semiconductor, silicon dioxide gate insulators, and molybdenum gate and source/drain electrodes. High mechanical stability is achieved by shorting the two gates together to induce bulk accumulation (BA)-a condition in which the channel accumulation layer of electrons extends the entire depth of the active layer. It is shown experimentally that the BA a-IGZO TFTs exhibit better stability under bending stress compared with single gate-driven TFTs. From TCAD simulations, the immunity to slight variations in carrier concentration under tensile strain is found to be a result of the high gate-drive intrinsic of the BA TFTs.
The concept of U's triangle, which revealed the importance of polyploidization in plant genome evolution, described natural allopolyploidization events in Brassica using three diploids B. rapa (A ...genome), B. nigra (B), and B. oleracea (C) and derived allotetraploids B. juncea (AB genome), B. napus (AC), and B. carinata (BC). However, comprehensive understanding of Brassica genome evolution has not been fully achieved. Here, we performed low-coverage (2-6×) whole-genome sequencing of 28 accessions of Brassica as well as of Raphanus sativus R genome to explore the evolution of six Brassica species based on chloroplast genome and ribosomal DNA variations. Our phylogenomic analyses led to two main conclusions. (1) Intra-species-level chloroplast genome variations are low in the three allotetraploids (2~7 SNPs), but rich and variable in each diploid species (7~193 SNPs). (2) Three allotetraploids maintain two 45SnrDNA types derived from both ancestral species with maternal dominance. Furthermore, this study sheds light on the maternal origin of the AC chloroplast genome. Overall, this study clarifies the genetic relationships of U's triangle species based on a comprehensive genomics approach and provides important genomic resources for correlative and evolutionary studies.
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