Nighttime Blood Pressure Dipping in Young Adults and Coronary Artery Calcium 10-15 Years Later: The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study

Nighttime blood pressure (BP) dipping can be quantified as the ratio of mean nighttime (sleep) BP to mean daytime (awake) BP. People whose dipping ratio is 0.90 have been referred to as nondippers, and nondipping is associated with cardiovascular disease events. We examined the relationship between systolic nighttime BP dipping in young adults and presence of coronary artery calcium (CAC) 10-15 years later using data from the ambulatory BP monitoring substudy of the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study. Among 239 participants with adequate measures of both nighttime and daytime readings and coronary artery calcium, the systolic BP dipping ratio ranged from 0.72 to 1.24 (mean 0.88, SD 0.06), and CAC was present 10 to 15 years later in 54 participants (22.6%). Compared to those whose systolic BP dipping ratio ranged from 0.88 to 0.92 (Quartile 3), the 57 participants (23.9%) with less pronounced or absent dipping (ratio 0.92 to 1.24, Quartile 4) had an unadjusted odds ratio of 4.08 (95% CI 1.48-11.2) for presence of CAC. The 60 participants (25.1%) with a more pronounced dipping (ratio 0.72 to 0.85, Quartile 1) also had greater odds for presence of CAC (OR 4.76; 95% CI 1.76-12.9). When modeled as a continuous predictor, a U-shaped relationship between systolic BP dipping ratio and future CAC was apparent, and persisted after adjustment for multiple potential confounders (

Applicability of Precision Medicine Approaches to Managing Hypertension in Rural Populations

As part of the Heart Healthy Lenoir Project, we developed a practice level intervention to improve blood pressure control. The goal of this study was: (i) to determine if single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that associate with blood pressure variation, identified in large studies, are applicable to blood pressure control in subjects from a rural population; (ii) to measure the association of these SNPs with subjects’ responsiveness to the hypertension intervention; and (iii) to identify other SNPs that may help understand patient-specific responses to an intervention. We used a combination of candidate SNPs and genome-wide analyses to test associations with either baseline systolic blood pressure (SBP) or change in systolic blood pressure one year after the intervention in two genetically defined ancestral groups: African Americans (AA) and Caucasian Americans (CAU). Of the 48 candidate SNPs, 13 SNPs associated with baseline SBP in our study; however, one candidate SNP, rs592582, also associated with a change in SBP after one year. Using our study data, we identified 4 and 15 additional loci that associated with a change in SBP in the AA and CAU groups, respectively. Our analysis of gene-age interactions identified genotypes associated with SBP improvement within different age groups of our populations. Moreover, our integrative analysis identified AQP4-AS1 and PADI2 as genes whose expression levels may contribute to the pleiotropy of complex traits involved in cardiovascular health and blood pressure regulation in response to an intervention targeting hypertension. In conclusion, the identification of SNPs associated with the success of a hypertension treatment intervention suggests that genetic factors in combination with age may contribute to an individual’s success in lowering SBP. If these findings prove to be applicable to other populations, the use of this genetic variation in making patient-specific interventions may help providers with making decisions to improve patient outcomes. Further investigation is required to determine the role of this genetic variance with respect to the management of hypertension such that more precise treatment recommendations may be made in the future as part of personalized medicine

The influence of anesthetics, neurotransmitters and antibiotics on the relaxation processes in lipid membranes

In the proximity of melting transitions of artificial and biological membranes fluctuations in enthalpy, area, volume and concentration are enhanced. This results in domain formation, changes of the elastic constants, changes in permeability and slowing down of relaxation processes. In this study we used pressure perturbation calorimetry to investigate the relaxation time scale after a jump into the melting transition regime of artificial lipid membranes. This time corresponds to the characteristic rate of domain growth. The studies were performed on single-component large unilamellar and multilamellar vesicle systems with and without the addition of small molecules such as general anesthetics, neurotransmitters and antibiotics. These drugs interact with membranes and affect melting points and profiles. In all systems we found that heat capacity and relaxation times are related to each other in a simple manner. The maximum relaxation time depends on the cooperativity of the heat capacity profile and decreases with a broadening of the transition. For this reason the influence of a drug on the time scale of domain formation processes can be understood on the basis of their influence on the heat capacity profile. This allows estimations of the time scale of domain formation processes in biological membranes.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure

Exercise and Pharmacological Treatment of Depressive Symptoms in Patients with Coronary Heart Disease: Results from the UPBEAT Study

To assess the efficacy of exercise and antidepressant medication in reducing depressive symptoms and improving cardiovascular biomarkers in depressed patients with coronary heart disease (CHD)

Adherence measurements and corrosion resistance in primer/hot-dip galvanized steel systems

This paper focuses on the adherence during ageing of a primer (made of polyester resins crosslinked with melamine) applied onto hot-dip galvanized (HDG) steel for coil coating application and its influence on corrosion protection. A chromium-free surface treatment, composed of fluorotitanic acid, phosphoric acid, manganese phosphate, and vinylphenol was applied on the HDG steel to obtain high corrosion resistance and high adherence of a polyester and melamine primer. The influence of the manganese phosphate on the corrosion and adherence was investigated. To measure the adherence between the metal and the primer, a three-point flexure test was set up. The adherence was then linked with corrosion resistance during ageing, using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

2012 ACCF/AHA/ACP/AATS/PCNA/SCAI/STS guideline for the diagnosis and management of patients with stable ischemic heart disease

The recommendations listed in this document are, whenever possible, evidence based. An extensive evidence review was conducted as the document was compiled through December 2008. Repeated literature searches were performed by the guideline development staff and writing committee members as new issues were considered. New clinical trials published in peer-reviewed journals and articles through December 2011 were also reviewed and incorporated when relevant. Furthermore, because of the extended development time period for this guideline, peer review comments indicated that the sections focused on imaging technologies required additional updating, which occurred during 2011. Therefore, the evidence review for the imaging sections includes published literature through December 2011

Assessment of a panel of interleukin-8 reporter lung epithelial cell lines to monitor the pro-inflammatory response following zinc oxide nanoparticle exposure under different cell culture conditions

Stably transfected lung epithelial reporter cell lines pose an advantageous alternative to replace complex experimental techniques to monitor the pro-inflammatory response following nanoparticle (NP) exposure. Previously, reporter cell lines have been used under submerged culture conditions, however, their potential usefulness in combination with air-liquid interface (ALI) exposures is currently unknown. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to compare a panel of interleukin-8 promoter (pIL8)-reporter cell lines (i.e. green or red fluorescent protein (GFP, RFP), and luciferase (Luc)), originating from A549 lung epithelial type II-like cells cells, following NPs exposure under both submerged and ALI conditions. All cell lines were exposed to zinc oxide (ZnO) NPs at 0.6 and 6.2 μg/cm 2 for 3 and 16 hours under both submerged and ALI conditions. Following physicochemical characterization, the cytotoxic profile of the ZnO-NPs was determined for each exposure scenario. Expression of IL-8 from all cell types was analyzed at the promoter level and compared to the mRNA (qRT-PCR) and protein level (ELISA). In summary, each reporter cell line detected acute pro-inflammatory effects following ZnO exposure under each condition tested. The pIL8-Luc cell line was the most sensitive in terms of reporter signal strength and onset velocity following TNF-α treatment. Both pIL8-GFP and pIL8-RFP also showed a marked signal induction in response to TNF-α, although only after 16 hrs. In terms of ZnO-NP-induced cytotoxicity pIL8-RFP cells were the most affected, whilst the pIL8-Luc were found the least responsive. In conclusion, the use of fluorescence-based reporter cell lines can provide a useful tool in screening the pro-inflammatory response following NP exposure in both submerged and ALI cell cultures. The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12989-015-0104-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users