Long-term effect of lisinopril and atenolol on kidney function in hypertensive NIDDM subjects with diabetic nephropathy

The aim of our study was to evaluate whether inhibition of ACE (lisinopril 10-20 mg/day) can reduce the rate of decline in kidney function more than reducing blood pressure with conventional antihypertensive treatment (atenolol 50-100 mg/day), usually in combination with a diuretic. We performed a prospective, randomized, parallel study for 42 months, double blind for the first 12 months and single blind thereafter. Forty-three (21 lisinopril and 22 atenolol) hypertensive NIDDM patients with diabetic nephropathy were enrolled. Data from 36 patients (17 lisinopril and 19 atenolol, 60 +/- 7 years of age, 27 men) who completed at least 12 months of the study period are presented. At baseline, the two groups were comparable: glomerular filtration rate (51Cr-EDTA plasma clearance) was 75 +/- 6 and 74 +/- 8 ml x min(-1) x 1.73 m(-2), mean 24-h ambulatory blood pressure (A&D TM2420) was 110 +/- 3 and 114 +/- 2 mmHg, and 24-h urinary albumin excretion rate was 961 (range 331-5,727) and 1,578 (476-5,806) mg/24 h in the lisinopril and atenolol groups, respectively. The mean follow-up time was similar, 37 and 35 months in the lisinopril and atenolol groups, respectively. Mean ambulatory blood pressure was equally reduced in the two groups, 12 +/- 2 and 10 +/- 2 mmHg in the lisinopril and atenolol groups, respectively. Glomerular filtration rate declined in a biphasic manner with a faster initial (0 to 6 months) change of 1.25 +/- 0.49 and 0.81 +/- 0.29 ml x min(-1) x month(-1) followed by a slower sustained decline (6 to 42 months) of 0.59 +/- 0.10 and 0.54 +/- 0.13 ml x min(-1) x month(-1) in the lisinopril and atenolol groups, respectively. No significant differences were observed in either initial or sustained decline in glomerular filtration rate between the two groups. Urinary albumin excretion was reduced (% reduction of baseline) more in the lisinopril than in the atenolol group, at 55 (95% CI 29-72) and 15% (-13 to 34), respectively (P = 0.01). In conclusion, the relentless decline in kidney function characteristically found in hypertensive NIDDM patients with diabetic nephropathy can be reduced equally effectively by two antihypertensive treatments, the beta-blocker atenolol and the ACE inhibitor lisinopril.     

Fungicidal effect of 15 disinfectants against 25 fungal contaminants commonly found in bread and cheese manufacturing.

Resistance of 19 mold and 6 yeast species to 15 commercial disinfectants was investigated by using a suspension method in which the fungicidal effect and germination time were determined at 20 degrees C. Disinfectants containing 0.5% dodecyldiethylentriaminacetic acid, 10 g of chloramine-T per 1, 2.0% formaldehyde, 0.1% potassium hydroxide, 3.0% hydrogen peroxide, or 0.3% peracetic acid were ineffective as fungicides. The fungicidal effect of quaternary ammonium compounds and chlorine compounds showed great variability between species and among the six isolates of Penicillium roqueforti var. roqueforti tested. The isolates of P roqueforti var. carneum, P. discolor, Aspergillus versicolor, and Eurotium repens examined were resistant to different quaternary ammonium compounds. Conidia and vegetative cells were killed by alcohols, whereas ascospores were resistant. Resistance of ascospores to 70% ethanol increased with age. Both P. roqueforti var. roqueforti and E. repens showed great variability of resistance within isolates of each species.     

Room electromagnetics

In analogy with the established discipline of room acoustics, various aspects of diffuse wideband microwave propagation in a room are treated. It is shown that an equivalent to Sabine's equation for reverberation time in a room is valid for the completely diffused field, depending only on the volume, the surface area, and an effective absorption coefficient. An exponential decay of the power as a function of the delay is a consequence of the assumptions. Furthermore, the concept of a reverberation distance is also valid. This is the distance from a transmitting antenna where the received diffuse, randomly scattered power equals the direct line-of-sight received power, such that the diffuse power dominates for distances larger than the reverberation distance. A number of measurements in a large room support the theory with an effective absorption coefficient of 0.5. The power delay profiles around the room from a transmitter in the ceiling vary only in the first arriving part of the impulse, whereas the tail, being dominated by the diffuse field, has the same power level for a given delay and the same decay rate all over the room. It is also a consequence of the theory that the diffuse fields incident on an antenna are uniformly distributed in angle.     

Residual fracture energy of high-performance and normal concrete subject to high temperatures

Test data on the residual fracture energy of two significantly different concrete types are presented. About 80 beams of high performance basalt concrete and ordinary gravel concrete have been tested in accordance with the RILEM work of fracture method. The beams are heated at 1°C per minute up to a certain maximum temperature and kept at this temperature for 8 hours before cooling them back to room temperature and testing in three-point bending. The tests show that the two concretes behave almost identifical when the fracture energyG _F is considered as a function of maximum temperature. It is found that the damage introduced by a maximum temperature of 300 to 400°C increases the fracture energy by 50% compared with the reference tests at room temperature. A more tortuous crack surface is one plausible explanation for the significant increase inG _F. The article also presents temperature and weight loss recordings from the heating scenarios and finally, the characteristic length and the cohesive tensile softening curve are shown to depend on the maximum temperature. Basically it is demonstrated that the temperature exposure makes the concrete significantly more ductile.

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Résumé Des données sur l'énergie résiduelle de rupture de deux bétons différents sont présentées. Environ 80 poutres de béton à base de basalte de très haute performance et de béton à base de gravier ordinaire ont été examinées conformément au travaux de la RILEM sur l'énergie de rupture. Les poutres sont chauffées à 1°C par minute jusqu'à une température maximale, puis maintenues à cette température pendant 8 heures avant d'être refroidies de nouveau à la température ambiante. Les poutres sont ensuite testées en flexion (système de flexion en trois points). Les essais prouvent que les deux bétons se comportent d'une manière presque identique quandG _F est considéré comme une fonction de la température maximale. On peut aussi constater que le dommage occasionné par une température maximale de 300 à 400°C augmente l'énergie de rupture de 50% par comparaison aux essais de référence réalisés à la température ambiante. Une surface de rupture plus tortueuse semble être une explication plausible pour l'augmentation significative deG _F. L'article présente également les évolutions de la température et de la perte de poids pour les scénarios de chauffage utilisés. En conclusion, cette étude montre que la longueur caractéristique et la courbe de post pic dépendent de la température maximale. Fondamentalement cela démontre que l'exposition à la température rend le béton sensiblement plus ductile.

     

The effect of cyclic stress on the physical properties of a poly(dimethylsiloxane) elastomer

The dynamic creep behavior of a filled poly(dimethylsiloxane) elastomer was studied under cyclic stress. The stress level was chosen such that the increase in the internal temperature was small and that microcracks were not observed. This work has demonstrated that cyclic stress in combination with high temperature accelerates the degradation of the elastomer. The results suggest that because of the applied force, breaks in the load-bearing chains of the network occur. These breaks, while relieving the mechanical stress, create highly reactive ionic fragments. It is believed that because of the subsequent reactions of the ionic fragments, changes in the specific gravity, storage modulus, effective crosslink density, and length of the sample (creep) are observed. The observed decrease in the storage modulus is thought to occur because of the reaction of the ionic fragments with moisture, which results in the formation of silanol chain ends that reduce the effective crosslink density. The results also show that contrary to the prediction of the Boltzmann's Superposition Principle, the rate of creep is greatly enhanced when the sample is subjected to a sinusoidally varying dynamic load as compared to a comparable static load. The polymer weight loss was found to be linear with time and strongly dependent on the level of applied dynamic and static force. In addition, the weight loss and rate of creep were also found to be strongly dependent upon temperature.     

Comparative antagonism of kainate-activated kainate and AMPA receptors in hippocampal neurons

Native kainate receptors expressed by cultured hippocampal cells were studied in the whole-cell configuration of the patch-clamp technique by using a fast perfusion system. About 80% of the neurons expressed kainate receptors independently of the time in culture (0-4 days), which coincided with the number of cells immunoreactive for a monoclonal antibody against the GluR5/6/7 subunits. Three types of cells were considered: neurons in which the rapid application of kainate induced a rapidly desensitizing current, cells in which kainate induced a more slowly rising, non-desensitizing, response and those in which a mixture of both responses was apparent. Steady responses induced by 300 microM kainate were inhibited by 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX) in a dose-dependent manner (IC50 = 0.92 microM). CNQX was less potent in blocking transient kainate-induced responses (IC50 = 6.1 microM). Responses to kainate, whether steady or transient, were also inhibited by NS102, showing poor selectivity for the transient response (IC50 = 4.1 and 2.2 microM respectively). The new alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole (AMPA) receptor antagonist NS394 was very potent in inhibiting steady kainate-induced currents (IC50 = 0.45 microM), but was even more effective in preventing peak responses (IC50 = 0.13 microM). In contrast, cyclothiazide did not affect transient kainate-induced responses but did potentiate current induced by activation of AMPA receptors by AMPA or kainate. These results demonstrate the lack of complete selectivity amongst some available competitive antagonists for AMPA and kainate receptors, and indicate that kainate receptors expressed by hippocampal cells lack the cyclothiazide modulatory site present at AMPA receptors. In addition, the present data support the idea that low-affinity kainate binding sites in the brain correspond to receptor channels selectively activated by kainate.     

Human neonatal ovary: proposal of a three-dimensional model

A model of human neonatal ovary is presented, derived from morphometric, evaluations carried out on left ovaries removed from five full-term neonates with a 46, XX karyotype, free from malformations of the genital apparatus. According to this model, the gonad can be represented by a triaxial ellipsoid with a central medullary core surrounded by a cortical stratum of constant thickness. The germinal population, consisting of follicles and primitive cortical tissue, occupies the cortex, intermingled with the interstitium or stroma. In the cortex it is then possible to describe an outer layer formed by primitive cortical tissue, and an inner portion occupied by follicles. The primary and secondary follicles fill the portion near the medulla and the primordial ones are contained in the middle and outer zones. Since the variability observed among ovaries is slight, we can propose a mean model of neonatal ovary in which the spatial relationships among the different components, the total number of follicles and their position in the cortex can be calculated.     

Effect of the approximately 2400-year solar climatic cycle on the lives of peoples

2400-year solar cycle ascertained by us in the long-term series of various natural characteristics (e.g. the radiocarbon content in samples of well-known ages, oscillations of the sea and ocean levels etc.) includes three parts roughly equal in duration: a phase of high activity, a phase of depression and a phase of moderate activity. In climate oscillations, which are connected with this cycle, the next phenomena are established: a little climatic optimum, a little Ice Age, and a temperate climate epoch.