Gender differences in the relationship between left ventricular size and ambulatory blood pressure in borderline hypertension. The HARVEST Study

AIM: To assess whether the are gender differences in cardiac adaptation to raised blood pressure levels in young subjects with borderline to mild hypertension. METHODS AND RESULTS: In 499 18-45-year-old stage I hypertensive subjects (377 men and 122 women) with a mean age of 33 +/- 9 years and office blood pressure of 146 +/- 11/ 94 +/- 6 mmHg, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in duplicate, echocardiography and 24-h urinary catecholamines measurement were performed. RESULTS: The whole group was divided into quartiles of increasing daytime blood pressure and differences in left ventricular echocardiographic data were analysed in the two sexes separately. In men no left ventricular parameter differed across the quartiles, while in women left ventricular mass, posterior wall thickness and interventricular septum thickness showed a clear tendency to increase with increasing levels of systolic blood pressure. In multiple regression analysis, daytime systolic blood pressure explained only a small fraction of the variance in left ventricular parameters in men, while in women daytime systolic blood pressure was a main determinant of left ventricular mass and posterior wall and septal thicknesses. Body weight explained most of the variance in all dimensional parameters in men. In women weight was an important predictor of left ventricular mass and diameter, but was unrelated to left ventricular posterior wall and septal thicknesses. CONCLUSIONS: Daytime systolic blood pressure is the most important predictor of left ventricular mass and geometry in pre-menopausal women with stage I hypertension, while in men left ventricular dimensional indices are chiefly explained by body weight.     

Cytokine- and T helper-dependent lung mucosal immunity in mice with invasive pulmonary aspergillosis

The role of cytokine- and T helper (Th)-dependent lung mucosal antifungal immunity in murine invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) was investigated. Intact or leukopenic DBA/2 mice were resistant or highly susceptible, respectively, to infection caused by multiple intranasal injections of viable Aspergillus fumigatus conidia. Resistance was associated with unimpaired innate antifungal activity of pulmonary phagocytic cells, concomitant with high-level production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interleukin (IL)-12 and the presence of interstitial lymphocytes producing interferon-gamma and IL-2. Conversely, production of TNF-alpha and IL-12 was down-regulated in highly susceptible mice, which also had defective innate antifungal immunity and high-level production of IL-4 and IL-10 by lung lymphocytes. Resistance was increased in susceptible mice upon local IL-4 or IL-10 neutralization or IL-12 administration. These results indicate that, similar to observations in mice with disseminated aspergillosis, innate and Th1-dependent immunity play an essential role in host defense against IPA.     

Narrowband Short Range Directive Channel Propagation Loss in Indoor Environment at Three Frequency Bands

Propagation loss models for indoor environment are presented. The narrowband directive channel propagation loss in indoor environment at three frequency bands namely (2.4, 3.3 and 5.5) GHz is measured. Sets of directive panel antennas are used in the measurements. RF signal generator and a spectrum analyzer are used in the measurement campaign. It is found that propagation loss is sensitive to the scenario configuration. It is noticed that the propagation loss can be modelled by a single slope propagation model or two slopes propagation model.     

Greco : graphical processing methods for high-frequency RCS prediction

This paper reviews the graphical processing approach (Greco) to compute high-frequency radar cross section (rcs) of complex radar targets in real time with a 3-D graphics workstation. Targets are modeled with a solid modeling cad package using a parametric surface approach. High-frequency rcs of perfectly conducting objects is obtained through physical optics, elementary edge waves and ray-tracing methods. An image of the target at the workstation screen is processed to obtain unit normals, radius of curvature and orientation of illuminated surfaces and edges. The result is a very fast and efficient code for rcs computation of complex targets.     

Twin-tubes: 3D tracking based on the ATLAS muon drift tubes

The Monitored Drift Tubes (MDTs) of the ATLAS Muon Spectrometer have been paired to form so-called twin-tubes to measure the coordinate which runs along the wire direction. This modification endows the MDTs with full 3D track reconstruction using specially designed electronic boards. The performance of the twin-tubes has been measured for an equipped MDT chamber at the ATLAS Muon Cosmic Ray Test Stand at NIKHEF. The efficiency of a twin-tube has been determined to be 99.8%, and the measured resolution 17 cm per hit. By equipping one multilayer consisting of three layers and combining the measurements a resolution of 10 cm has been obtained.     

Optical neuron by use of a laser diode with injection seeding andexternal optical feedback

We present an all-optical neuron by use of a multimode laser diode that is subjected to external optical feedback and light injection. The shape of the threshold function, that is needed for neural operation, is controlled by adjusting the external feedback level for two longitudinal cavity modes of the laser diode individually. One of the two modes corresponds to the output of the neuron, light injection at the wavelength of this mode provides excitatory input. Light injection in the other mode provides inhibitory input. When light corresponding to two input signals is injected in the same mode, summation of input signals can be achieved. A rate-equation model is used to explain the operating principle theoretically. The proposed injection seeding neuron is built using free-space optics to demonstrate the concept experimentally. The results are in good agreement with the predictions from the rate-equation model. Some experimental results show threshold functions that are preferable from a neural-network point of view. These results agree well with injection locking theory and experiments reported in literature.     

Effect of evening versus morning benazepril on 24-hour blood pressure: a comparative study with continuous intraarterial monitoring

In a single-blind, in-patient, crossover study, the influence on the circadian blood pressure (BP) profile of the 9:00 a.m. versus the 9:00 p.m. acute administration of a single dose of benazepril 10 mg, a new angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitor, was assessed in 10 hypertensive patients by means of 24-hour intraarterial ambulatory BP monitoring. Mean 24-hour BP for the three treatments (placebo, benazepril a.m., benazepril p.m.) were 155/93, 131/83 and 138/86 mmHg, respectively. No significant differences between the two benazepril schedules were found in terms of either 24-hour or day-time and night-time mean BP values. However, hourly averages showed that benazepril a.m. had a more sustained antihypertensive effect than benazepril p.m., where a loss of efficacy was observed 19 hours after the administration. BP responses to static and dynamic exercise and to cold pressor test were unchanged after both benazepril schedules, as were BP peaks. These results demonstrate that acute benazepril administration markedly reduces systolic and diastolic BP. The morning administration is preferable because it more effectively covers the whole 24 hours than an evening dose.     

Engineering the stability and the activity of a glycoside hydrolase

Glycosidases, the enzymes responsible in nature for the catabolism of carbohydrates, are well-studied catalysts widely used in industrial biotransformations and oligosaccharide synthesis, which are also attractive targets for drug development. Glycosidases from hyperthermophilic organisms (thriving at temperatures > 85 °C) are also interesting models to understand the molecular basis of protein stability and to produce robust tools for industrial applications. Here, we review the results obtained in the last two decades by our group on a β-glycosidase from the hyperthermophilic Archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus. Our findings will be presented in the general context of the stability of proteins from hyperthermophiles and of the chemo-enzymatic synthesis of oligosaccharides.     

Synthesis and thermal characterization of phenolic resin/silica nanocomposites prepared with high shear rate‐mixing technique

In this research the possibility to produce nanosilica/phenolic nanocomposites by means of a simple low labor cost mechanical approach was investigated. A commercial compatibilized nanosilica was selected as a filler and a resol diluted in methanol as a matrix. The morphology of the produced nanocomposites were studied by means of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), whereas thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to study the thermal stability of the nanocomposites. The post burning morphology of samples was also investigated. A rheological characterization was also carried out. The results of such study showed that it was possible to obtain a good degree of dispersion and distribution of the nanosilica particles, indicating that the proposed process could be successfully adopted as an alternative approach to sol‐gel techniques. Thermogravimetric analyses showed that all the produced nanocomposites exhibited a better thermal stability than the pristine matrix. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011