Endothelial progenitor cells and vascular health: effects of lifestyle's modifications

During the last years increasing evidence showed that bone marrow-derived cells with angiogenic capability, named endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), possess the capacity to home to sites of vascular injury, so contributing to the neoangiogenesis in vivo and to the maintenance of the homeostasis of vascular endothelium. Currently, potent triggers for the mobilisation of EPCs from bone-marrow are known. In addition to some pharmacological treatment such as statins, erythropoietin, PPAR-gamma agonists and angiotensin-II receptor antagonists, the effects of healthy lifestyle, via mobilization and functional improvement of EPC, is increasingly recognized. In this review we analyze, the effects of lifestyle interventions on EPCs. In particular we will focus on physical activity and cardiac rehabilitation protocols, weight reduction, and smoking cessation. Moreover, the negative effects of depression, mood disturbances and type D-personality on EPCs are also considered

Heterogeneities along the 2009 L'Aquila normal fault inferred by the b‐value distribution

In this study we map the distribution of the b‐value of the Gutenberg‐Richter law—as well as complementary seismicity parameters—along the fault responsible for the 2009 MW6.1 L'Aquila earthquake. We perform the calculations for two independent aftershock sub‐catalogs, before and after a stable magnitude of completeness is reached. We find a substantial spatial variability of the b‐values, which range from 0.6 to 1.3 over the fault plane. The comparison between the spatial distribution of the b‐values and the main‐shock slip pattern shows that the largest slip occurs in normal‐to‐high b‐values portion of the fault plane, while low b‐value is observed close to the main‐shock nucleation. No substantial differences are found in the b‐value computed before and after the main‐shock struck in the small region of the fault plane populated by foreshocks