Intervention in risk factors and protection of target organs

The aim of this work is to review the role of the main risks factors in relation to cardiovascular diseases, and to evaluate the relative effectiveness of different preventive strategies. In the first part of the paper we summarize the historical background that allows us to understand the magnitude of this problem and its evolution. Secondly, we evaluate the significance of these strategies in the primary prevention of stroke and myocardial infarction, and how an intervention in one risk factor can have a greater significance for one of these events. But in any case, we must consider the whole benefit in each patient's health in our final evaluation of this intervention. Finally, we describe the strategies for hypertension and diabetes in order to reduce the incidence of end renal disease.     

Modified-atmosphere packaging of minimally processed “Lollo Rosso” (Lactuca sativa) Phenolic metabolites and quality changes

 The effect of modified-atmosphere packaging (MAP) on the amount of soluble phenolics in, and the visual appearance of, white, green and red tissues of minimally processed “Lollo Rosso” lettuce were evaluated. Minimal processing induced a two-fold increase in the amount of soluble phenylpropanoids in the midribs during storage in air at 5°C. When the lettuce was stored in the presence of 2–3% O₂ and 12–14% CO₂, this increase was not induced and no browning was observed. A particularly marked decrease in the amount of phenylpropanoids was observed in MAP-stored green and red tissues. The concentrations of flavonoids and anthocyanins did not change much in midribs and green tissues, while they were significantly degraded in red tissues under MAP conditions. MAP storage proved useful in the prevention of browning, the main cause of quality loss in minimally processed “Lollo Rosso” lettuce. However, MAP storage was not so beneficial for the preservation of the quality of red tissues and, in fact, their overall visual quality, texture, aroma and macroscopic breakdown under MAP conditions were worse than those of air-stored tissues. Received: 5 November 1997     

Selenium-induced growth reduction in Brassica land races considered for phytoremediation

The earliest or patch stage of mycosis fungoides may present diagnostic difficulty both clinically and pathologically. The present study of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as a diagnostic tool in early mycosis fungoides was therefore undertaken, using a rapid PCR method for the detection of gamma- and beta-chain T-cell receptor (TCR) gene rearrangements in routine formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded histological sections. Forty-two biopsies were studied from 26 patients with mycosis fungoides. Twenty-three skin biopsies with a clinicopathological diagnosis of early, or patch stage, mycosis fungoides were investigated. Of these, 18 (78 per cent) showed TCR-gamma or both beta- and gamma-chain TCR gene rearrangements. TCR gene rearrangements were shown in seven of the 14 plaque stage lesions (50 per cent) and also in the single case of tumour stage disease. Where gene rearrangements were identified, these were identical in all biopsies from an individual patient, irrespective of the site of the lesion, the disease stage, or the time lapse between the biopsies. The PCR is therefore a highly sensitive technique, which can be performed on routine pathological material, in cases where the diagnosis of early mycosis fungoides cannot be made with certainty on conventional histopathological and immunohistochemical grounds.     

Characteristics of safflower seed oils of turkish origin

Technological characteristics of oils extracted from seventeen varieties of safflower seeds (Carthamus tinctorius L.) of Turkish origin were investigated for their utilization prospects in the food industry and in other industrial sectors. Standard procedures were applied to determine the technological characteristics of seventeen varieties of safflower seeds and the safflower seed oils; fatty acid compositions were determined by gas-liquid chromatography. Results show that safflower seed oils are suitable both for food and industrial purposes.     

Kidney transplantation in patients over 60 years of age. Study of 37 patients

Between February 1975 and September 1993, 735 renal transplantations have been performed 37 of which took place in 60+ year-old subjects. All grafts were from corpse donors. 34 were first time transplants and 3 were re-transplants. In general, immunosuppression has been accomplished with Cyclosporin, Azathioprine, and Prednisone. Annual patient and graft survival is 87% and 69%, respectively. A review is made of the complications developed and the success rate with and without a functioning graft. Considering long-term results, many patients lead a normal live with stable renal function.     

Quantitative ultrasound techniques for the assessment of osteoporosis: expert agreement on current status. The International Quantitative Ultrasound Consensus Group

Quantitative ultrasound (QUS) methods have been introduced in recent years for the assessment of skeletal status in osteoporosis. The performance of QUS techniques has been evaluated in a large number of studies. Reviewing existing knowledge, an international expert panel formulated the following consensus regarding the current status of this technology. To date, evidence supports the use of QUS techniques for the assessment of fracture risk in elderly women. This has been best established for water-based calcaneal QUS systems. Future studies should include the predictive validity of other QUS systems. Additional clinical applications of QUS, specifically the assessment of rates of change for monitoring disease progression or response to treatment, require further investigation. Its low cost and portability make QUS an attractive technology for assessing risk of fractures in larger populations than may be suitable or feasible for bone densitometry. Additional investigations that assess innovative QUS techniques in well defined research settings are important to determine and utilize the full potential of this technology for the benefit of early detection and monitoring of osteoporosis.     

Drying creep of concrete: constitutive model and new experiments separating its mechanisms

A new experimental method which allows the direct separation of the components of drying creep due to microcracking and stress-induced shrinkage is developed, demonstrated and validated. The basic idea is to compare the curvature creep of beams subjected to the same bending moment but very different axial forces. The results confirm that drying creep has two different sources: microcracking and stress-induced shrinkage. The latter increases continuously, whereas the former first increases and then decreases. The test results are fitted using a finite element model. The results validate the present model for drying creep. The microcracking is described by an established model, and the free (unrestrained) shrinkage of a material element is shown to depend approximately linearly on the humidity drop.     

Temperature Effect on Concrete Creep Modeled by Microprestress-Solidification Theory

The previously developed microprestress-solidification theory for concrete creep and shrinkage is generalized for the effect of temperature (not exceeding 100°C). The solidification model separates the viscoelasticity of the solid constituent, the cement gel, from the chemical aging of material caused by solidification of cement and characterized by the growth of volume fraction of hydration products. This permits considering the viscoelastic constituent as non-aging. The temperature dependence of the rates of creep and of volume growth is characterized by two transformed time variables based on the activation energies of hydration and creep. The concept of microprestress achieves a grand unification of theory in which the long-term aging and all transient hygrothermal effects simply become different consequences of one and the same physical phenomenon. The microprestress, which is independent of the applied load, is initially produced by incompatible volume changes in the microstructure during hydration, and later builds up when changes of moisture content and temperature create a thermodynamic imbalance between the chemical potentials of vapor and adsorbed water in the nanopores of cement gel. As recently shown, this simultaneously captures two basic effects: First, the creep decreases with increasing age at loading after the growth of the volume fraction of hydrated cement has ceased; and, second, the drying creep, i.e., the transient creep increases due to drying (Pickett effect) which overpowers the effect of steady-state moisture content (i.e., less moisture—less creep). Now it is demonstrated that the microprestress buildup and relaxation also captures a third effect: The transitional thermal creep, i.e., the transient creep increase due to temperature change. For computations, an efficient (exponential-type) integration algorithm is developed. Finite element simulations, in which the apparent creep due to microcracking is taken into account separately, are used to identify the constitutive parameters and a satisfactory agreement with typical test data is achieved.