Fixed‐dose combination of amlodipine and atorvastatin improves clinical outcomes in patients with concomitant hypertension and dyslipidemia

Hypertension and dyslipidemia are important risk factors for cardiovascular disease. However, the clinical outcomes of fixed‐dose combination (FDC) versus free‐equivalent combination (FEC) of amlodipine and atorvastatin in the treatment of concurrent hypertension and dyslipidemia remain unknown. In this study, we included patients with newly diagnosed hypertension and dyslipidemia, without previously established cardiovascular disease, and treated with either FDC or FEC of amlodipine and atorvastatin were identified from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan and follow‐up for 5 years. By using 1:1 propensity score matching, a total of 1756 patients were enrolled in this study. The composite of major adverse cardiovascular events, including all‐cause mortality, myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, and coronary revascularization, occurred more frequently in the FEC group than in the FDC group (hazard ratio, 1.88; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.42 to 2.5). Although the all‐cause mortality did not differ (hazard ratio, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.36 to 1.59), the FEC group developed increased MI, stroke, and coronary revascularization (hazard ratio, 2.87; 95% CI, 1.07 to 7.68; hazard ratio, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.41 to 2.74; and hazard ratio, 2.44; 95% CI, 1.26 to 4.69, respectively). Furthermore, as an unexpected result, a higher risk to develop new‐onset diabetes mellitus was observed with FEC regimens (hazard ratio, 2.19; 95% CI, 1.6 to 3.0). In conclusion, although the all‐cause mortality did not differ between the two groups, the FDC regimen of amlodipine and atorvastatin improved clinical outcomes when compared to FEC in patients with newly diagnosed hypertension and dyslipidemia.     

Low plasma DHEA-S increases mortality risk among male hemodialysis patients

Objective

The incidence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is on the rise. CKD patients are at high risk of cardiovascular (CVD) and all-cause mortality. CKD patients have several endocrine disorders, including low levels of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S). In the general population, low levels of DHEA-S are associated with high CVD and all-cause mortality. The aim of this study was to analyze the prognostic value of plasma DHEA-S on the survival of CKD patients on hemodialysis.

Method

This was a single-center prospective cohort study on two hundred CKD patients on hemodialysis, which assessed the prognostic value of plasma DHEA-S on their survival.

Result

We found that plasma DHEA-S levels were negatively associated with age, and positively associated with dialysis duration and plasma creatinine, albumin, and phosphate levels in hemodialysis men. Elderly patients with co-morbidities (i.e. diabetes mellitus, congestive heart failure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), poorer fluid control which was evaluated by higher cardiothoracic ratio, and low plasma creatinine and albumin levels seemed to have poor prognosis in hemodialysis men. Furthermore, low plasma DHEA-S levels were significantly associated with CVD-related [hazard ratio (HR) = 3.877; P = 0.021], non-CVD-related (HR = 3.522; P = 0.016), and all-cause mortality (HR = 3.667; P = 0.001) in hemodialysis men. But low plasma DHEA-S levels were not significantly associated with CVD-related, non-CVD-related, and all-cause mortality in hemodialysis women. Multivariate Cox regression analysis suggested that low plasma DHEA-S levels are significantly and independently associated with all-cause mortality in hemodialysis men (HR = 2.933; P = 0.033).

Conclusion

The study suggested that low plasma DHEA-S was independently and significantly associated with all-cause mortality in CKD hemodialysis men.     

Proteome profiling of spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia in rats with trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid-induced colitis

AIM: To investigate proteomic changes in spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia (DRG) of rats with trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis.METHODS: The colonic myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) level were determined. A two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE)-based proteomic technique was used to profile the global protein expression changes in the DRG and spinal cord of the rats with acute colitis induced by intra-colonic injection of TNBS.RESULTS: TNBS group showed significantly elevated colonic MPO activity and increased TNF-α level. The proteins derived from lumbosacral enlargement of the spinal cord and DRG were resolved by 2-DE; and 26 and 19 proteins that displayed significantly different expression levels in the DRG and spinal cord were identified respectively. Altered proteins were found to be involved in a number of biological functions, such as inflammation/immunity, cell signaling, redox regulation, sulfate transport and cellular metabolism. The overexpression of the protein similar to potassium channel tetramerisation domain containing protein 12 (Kctd 12) and low expression of proteasome subunit α type-1 (psma) were validated by Western blotting analysis.CONCLUSION: TNBS-induced colitis has a profound impact on protein profiling in the nervous system. This result helps understand the neurological pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease.     

Resonant energy transfer and light scattering enhancement of plasmonic random lasers embedded with silver nanoplates

The resonant energy transfer enhancement from a plasmonic random laser (PRL) has been investigated by means of a dye-covered PVA film with embedded silver nanoplates (DC-PVA/AgNPs). Different sizes and morphologies of AgNPs were adopted to shift the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and intensify recurrent light scattering between the AgNPs. For better overlap between surface plasmon resonance and the photoluminescence of fluorescent molecules with appropriately-sized silver nanoprisms, the slope efficiency of the PRL was greatly enhanced and the lasing threshold was obviously reduced. In addition, the photon lifetime for the DC-PVA/AgNPs film reveals an apparent decline around 1.39 ns owing to better coupling with LSPR. The stronger light scattering of samples with bigger-sized silver nanoprisms has been demonstrated by coherent back scattering measurements, which reveals a smaller transport mean free path around 3.3 μm. With α-stable analysis, it has been successfully demonstrated that the tail exponent α can be regarded as an identifier of the threshold of random lasing.

The resonant energy transfer enhancement from a plasmonic random laser has been investigated by means of a dye-covered PVA film embedded with silver nanoplates with different sizes and morphologies.     

Biomass-derived three-dimensional carbon framework for a flexible fibrous supercapacitor and its application as a wearable smart textile

High electrochemical performance and mechanical reliability are two important properties of the flexible fibrous supercapacitors (FFSCs) used in portable and wearable electronics. Herein, we introduce high-performance and stable FFSCs produced using Tetrapanax papyrifer with a honeycomb-like structure (the key material) acting as a frame for an activated carbon (AC) coating. The honeycomb-like structure facilitates penetration of electrolytes and electron transport in the AC particles. This reduces the contact resistance between the AC and current collector, thereby enhancing the electrochemical energy storage. The FFSCs possess long length and area specific capacitances of 20.8 mF cm⁻¹ and 83.9 mF cm⁻², respectively. In addition, the fabricated FFSCs display a maximum length (area) energy density of 3.98 μW h cm⁻¹ (16.1 μW h cm⁻²) at a power density of 0.07 mW cm⁻¹ (1.99 mW cm⁻²) and attain an excellent capacitance retention of 91% over 10 000 cycles. Moreover, the supercapacitors exhibit excellent mechanical flexibility with minor increase in capacitance upon bending. Three flexible fibrous supercapacitors in series power a red light-emitting diode, demonstrating the potential application of the flexible fibrous supercapacitors in smart textiles.

High electrochemical performance and mechanical reliability are two important properties of the flexible fibrous supercapacitors (FFSCs) used in portable and wearable electronics.     

The interaction between dopamine transporter function,gender differences,and possible laterality in depression

The Dopamine Transporter (DAT) can reflect the general state of striatal dopamine activity. This current study examined the role of DAT in depressed patients before and after bupropion treatment. Twenty-three patients with major depression were treated with bupropion for 8 weeks. Before and after the treatment, they and 20 normal subjects received the radioligand ^99mTc-TRODAT-1 single photon emission tomography scan (SPECT). Subjects were assessed with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. All DAT images were spatially normalized to an averaged brain template, and the specific binding ratios of the striatum, caudate, and putamen were calculated according the formulae of: [region counts] / [occipital counts] - 1. Depressed patients had greater DAT availability on both sides of the striatum. DAT binding was significantly decreased in the striatum after bupropion treatment. Women had higher initial and final DAT binding in the right and left caudate when compared to depressed men. DAT binding decreased in all areas of the brain in women after successful antidepressant treatment, but only in the right caudate of men. Depressed patients had a greater availability of DAT; it was decreased after bupropion treatment.Women seemed to have more DAT availability.