Indoor solid fuel use for heating and cooking with blood pressure and hypertension: A cross-sectional study among middle-aged and older adults in China

A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the impact of solid fuel use for heating and cooking on blood pressure (BP) and hypertension, using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). The primary fuels used for indoor heating and cooking were collected by questionnaires, respectively. Hypertension was defined based on self-report of physician's diagnosis, and/or measured BP, and/or anti-hypertensive medication use. Multivariate logistic regression models were constructed to assess the associations. Among 10 450 eligible participants, 68.2% and 57.2% used indoor solid fuel for heating and cooking, respectively. Compared with none/clean fuel users, solid fuel for heating was associated with elevated BP (adjusted β: 2.02, 95% CI: 1.04–3.01 for systolic BP; adjusted β: 1.36, 95% CI: 0.78–1.94 for diastolic BP) and increased risk of hypertension (adjusted odds ratio: 1.15, 95% CI: 1.03–1.29). The impact of indoor solid fuel for heating on BP was more evident in rural and north residents, and hypertensive patients. We did not detect any significant associations between solid fuel use for cooking and BP/hypertension. Indoor solid fuel use is prevalent in China, especially in the rural areas. Its negative impact on BP suggested that modernization of household fuel use may help to reduce the burden of hypertension in China.     

Epigenetic Targets for Oligonucleotide Therapies of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Arterial wall remodeling underlies increased pulmonary vascular resistance and right heart failure in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). None of the established vasodilator drug therapies for PAH prevents or reverse established arterial wall thickening, stiffening, and hypercontractility. Therefore, new approaches are needed to achieve long-acting prevention and reversal of occlusive pulmonary vascular remodeling. Several promising new drug classes are emerging from a better understanding of pulmonary vascular gene expression programs. In this review, potential epigenetic targets for small molecules and oligonucleotides will be described. Most are in preclinical studies aimed at modifying the growth of vascular wall cells in vitro or normalizing vascular remodeling in PAH animal models. Initial success with lung-directed delivery of oligonucleotides targeting microRNAs suggests other epigenetic mechanisms might also be suitable drug targets. Those targets include DNA methylation, proteins of the chromatin remodeling machinery, and long noncoding RNAs, all of which act as epigenetic regulators of vascular wall structure and function. The progress in testing small molecules and oligonucleotide-based drugs in PAH models is summarized.     

积极降压对脑小血管病防治策略的影响

2017年,美国心脏病学会和美国心脏协会提出将高血压诊断标准降为130/80 mm Hg (1 mm Hg=0. 133 kPa),这与其他指南有所不同。降压治疗的核心目标在于靶器官的保护,近年来降压治疗与脑小血管病预防的相关问题日益受到临床重视。目前研究结果表明,降压治疗对腔隙性卒中患者的二级预防以及白质病变进展的预防可能有一定积极意义,但确切的降压目标值并未确定。血压与临床结局可能呈现J型关系,血压过低或过高可能均有害,而取得最大获益的降压目标有待进一步探索。     

原发性高血压病靶器官损害的预测仿真研究

研究原发性高血压病靶器官损害准确预测问题,由于原发性高血压病靶器官损害的影响因子之间存在着高度冗余和非线性,导致传统方法预测准确率低,为提高预测精度,构建了一种改进的基因表达式编程算法的原发性高血压病靶器官损害预测模型,首先设计了适合靶器官损害预测的适应度函数,然后为克服早熟现象提出了以平均适应度形式自适应的改变重组算子概率和变异算子概率,通过数据训练得到靶器官损害的2年预测模型。采用对山东中医药大学第二附属医院原发性高血压病历史数据进行验证性仿真,结果表明,方法的预测精度更高,在原发性高血压病靶器官损害的预测中有着广泛的应用前景。     

Differential Effects of STCH and Stress-Inducible Hsp70 on the Stability and Maturation of NKCC2

Mutations in the Na-K-2Cl co-transporter NKCC2 lead to type I Bartter syndrome, a life-threatening kidney disease. We previously showed that export from the ER constitutes the limiting step in NKCC2 maturation and cell surface expression. Yet, the molecular mechanisms involved in this process remain obscure. Here, we report the identification of chaperone stress 70 protein (STCH) and the stress-inducible heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70), as two novel binding partners of the ER-resident form of NKCC2. STCH knock-down increased total NKCC2 expression whereas Hsp70 knock-down or its inhibition by YM-01 had the opposite effect. Accordingly, overexpressing of STCH and Hsp70 exerted opposite actions on total protein abundance of NKCC2 and its folding mutants. Cycloheximide chase assay showed that in cells over-expressing STCH, NKCC2 stability and maturation are heavily impaired. In contrast to STCH, Hsp70 co-expression increased NKCC2 maturation. Interestingly, treatment by protein degradation inhibitors revealed that in addition to the proteasome, the ER associated degradation (ERAD) of NKCC2 mediated by STCH, involves also the ER-to-lysosome-associated degradation pathway. In summary, our data are consistent with STCH and Hsp70 having differential and antagonistic effects with regard to NKCC2 biogenesis. These findings may have an impact on our understanding and potential treatment of diseases related to aberrant NKCC2 trafficking and expression.     

高职院教职工高血压病的防治与管理

针对高职院校教职工中高血压病患者显著增多的趋势,探讨了高职院校教职工患高血压病的原因,对高职院校卫生医疗保健机构如何做好高血压病的防治与管理工作提出了建议。     

Proteomic analysis in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with atypical nonketotic hyperglycinemia and pulmonary hypertension - A pilot study

A variant phenotype of nonketotic hyperglycinemia has been described by our group associated with pulmonary hypertension. The aim of this study is to investigate the cerebrospinal fluid proteomes to get an insight into this neurodegenerative process producing leukoencephalopathy with white matter spongiform degeneration. DIGE and MALDI-TOF-TOF analyses were performed to carry out the proteomic study of four patients against three normal controls and one additional control of a classical nonketotic hyperglycinemia. The differential proteomic analysis showed a displacement of some series of spots toward the acidic side. The shifted proteins showed a high degree of carbonylation and increased methionine sulfoxidation was found in cystatin C and in vitamin-D-binding protein. These findings in addition to the increase of serum malondialdehyde concentration provide evidence of an oxidative stress in the patients under study, which is probably systemic rather than mainly confined to the CNS. The similarities of our findings with those found in other neurodegenerative diseases suggest that oxidative damage is commonly involved in these pathologies. DIGE technology improves the 2-D PAGE differential analysis and it is suitable in proteomic studies with a small number of cases.     

中西医结合治疗高血压合并脑梗死的疗效分析

探讨中西医结合疗法对高血压合并脑梗死患者神经功能和日常生活的影响。实验方法如下：选择高血压合并脑梗死患者70 例,随机分为治疗组与对照组,每组35 例,对照组给以常规西医治疗,治疗组在对照组基础上加服中药汤剂,两组均治疗30 d。结果显示：治疗组总有效率 94.3%,[WTBX]对照组总有效率74.3%,差异显著（P<0.05）。治疗组高血压合并脑梗死患者神经功能的缺损评分明显降低(P <0.05),Barthel指数评分明显升高(P <0.05)。中西医结合治疗高血压合并脑梗死具有很好的效果。     

ZigBee在动态血压监测中的应用研究

我国已成为世界上高血压危害最严重的国家之一,在全国范围大力开展高血压病的防治,积极治疗高血压病患者,已经刻不容缓.通过研究ZigBee技术,提出了以ZigBee无线传感器网络为核心,以以太网为骨干网,采用CC2430芯片为血压传感器控制核心的动态血压测量方案,系统测量的收缩压、舒张压误差范围均小于5mmHg.试验证明,系统能够实时监测患者的血压变化,工作稳定可靠,具有较高的实用性和市场价值.