Correlation of pulse wave velocity with left ventricular mass in patients with hypertension once blood pressure has been normalized

Vascular stiffness has been proposed as a simple method to assess arterial loading conditions of the heart which induce left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). There is some controversy as to whether the relationship of vascular stiffness to LVH is independent of blood pressure, and which measurement of arterial stiffness, augmentation index (AI) or pulse wave velocity (PWV) is best. Carotid pulse wave contor and pulse wave velocity of patients (n=20) with hypertension whose blood pressure (BP) was under control (<140/90 mmHg) with antihypertensive drug treatment medications, and without valvular heart disease, were measured. Left ventricular mass, calculated from 2D echocardiogram, was adjusted for body size using two different methods: body surface area and height. There was a significant (P<0.05) linear correlation between LV mass index and pulse wave velocity. This was not explained by BP level or lower LV mass in women, as there was no significant difference in PWV according to gender (1140.1+67.8 vs 1110.6+57.7 cm/s). In contrast to PWV, there was no significant correlation between LV mass and AI. In summary, these data suggest that aortic vascular stiffness is an indicator of LV mass even when blood pressure is controlled to less than 140/90 mmHg in hypertensive patients. The data further suggest that PWV is a better proxy or surrogate marker for LV mass than AI and the measurement of PWV may be useful as a rapid and less expensive assessment of the presence of LVH in this patient population

Methanosarcina acetivorans C2A Topoisomerase IIIα, an Archaeal Enzyme with Promiscuity in Divalent Cation Dependence

Topoisomerases play a fundamental role in genome stability, DNA replication and repair. As a result, topoisomerases have served as therapeutic targets of interest in Eukarya and Bacteria, two of the three domains of life. Since members of Archaea, the third domain of life, have not been implicated in any diseased state to-date, there is a paucity of data on archaeal topoisomerases. Here we report Methanosarcina acetivorans TopoIIIα (MacTopoIIIα) as the first biochemically characterized mesophilic archaeal topoisomerase. Maximal activity for MacTopoIIIα was elicited at 30–35°C and 100 mM NaCl. As little as 10 fmol of the enzyme initiated DNA relaxation, and NaCl concentrations above 250 mM inhibited this activity. The present study also provides the first evidence that a type IA Topoisomerase has activity in the presence of all divalent cations tested (Mg2+, Ca2+, Sr2+, Ba2+, Mn2+, Fe2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Cu2+, Zn2+ and Cd2+). Activity profiles were, however, specific to each metal. Known type I (ssDNA and camptothecin) and type II (etoposide, novobiocin and nalidixic acid) inhibitors with different mechanisms of action were used to demonstrate that MacTopoIIIα is a type IA topoisomerase. Alignment of MacTopoIIIα with characterized topoisomerases identified Y317 as the putative catalytic residue, and a Y317F mutation ablated DNA relaxation activity, demonstrating that Y317 is essential for catalysis. As the role of Domain V (C-terminal domain) is unclear, MacTopoIIIα was aligned with the canonical E. coli TopoI 67 kDa fragment in order to construct an N-terminal (1–586) and a C-terminal (587–752) fragment for analysis. Activity could neither be elicited from the fragments individually nor reconstituted from a mixture of the fragments, suggesting that native folding is impaired when the two fragments are expressed separately. Evidence that each of the split domains plays a role in Zn2+ binding of the enzyme is also provided

Réseau PRO : Création d'un réseau d'essais au champ et d'un outil de mutualisation des données pour l'étude de la valeur agronomique et des impacts environnementaux des Produits Résiduaires Organiques recyclés enagriculture

Ce 49ème volume de la Revue Innovations Agronomiques regroupe l'ensemble de la restitution des projets Casdar, présentés le 3 novembre 2015.The "PRO Network” project (2011-2014) has enabled the creation of a national network of trials investigating the effects of agricultural organic waste products (PRO) applications in very different agropedo-climatic situations and for a range of applied PRO. This network was firstly, to harmonize the methods of study and follow-up effects of PRO applied to the field, and secondly to pool data acquired on a wide range of field trials. Have thus been developed: an inventory of 437 tests of PRO in France, an operational methodological guide of field test on the PRO, a method of referencing of the PRO with a first draft of nomenclature, and an information system shared by PRO network and the PRO SOERE. Collected data led to improve the setting of the tools developed within the RMT fertilization & environment (Tools for environmental diagnosis and management of fertilization and the Organic Statute of the soil). Finally, the critical analysis of pooled data sets resulted in recommendations for future trials.Le projet « Réseau PRO » (2011-2014) a permis la constitution d’un réseau national d’essais étudiant les effets des épandages agricoles de produits résiduaires organiques (PRO) dans des situations agropédo-climatiques très différentes et pour une grande diversité de PRO épandus. Ce réseau visait d’une part, à harmoniser les méthodes d’étude et de suivi des effets des PRO épandus au champ, et d’autre part à mutualiser les données acquises sur une grande diversité d’essais au champ. Ont ainsi été élaborés : un inventaire de 437 essais étudiant les PRO en France, un guide méthodologique opérationnel de conduite d’essai de plein champ sur les PRO, une méthode de référencement des PRO et une première ébauche de nomenclature, et un système d’information commun au Réseau PRO et au SOERE PRO. Par ailleurs, les données recueillies ont permis d’améliorer le paramétrage des outils développés au sein du RMT Fertilisation & Environnement (outils de diagnostic environnemental et de gestion de la fertilisation et du statut organique des sols). Enfin, l’analyse critique des jeux de données mutualisés a donné lieu à des recommandations pour les futurs essais