A Cross-Talk between the Renin-Angiotensin and Adrenergic Systems in Cardiovascular Health and Disease

It is well accepted that a number of cardiovascular (CV) and renal diseases are characterized by the long-term activation of both the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), which also contribute to the pathophysiology of structural and functional CV abnormalities as well as to the final clinical outcome. Moreover, there is a growing body of conclusive evidence that these systems do not operate independently, but interact at different levels throughout the CV system. The mediation of renin release from juxtaglomerular epithelioid (JGE) cells in kidney by SNS is well established and accepted. On the other hand, in recent years it became evident that RAS, by its main effect or angiotensin II (Ang II), induces SNS activity in various organs and tissues. Thus, there is a growing effort to clarify pathophysiological mechanisms of interaction and a more evident mutual potentiation of these two systems in different pathological states. Since it became evident that a high salt (HS) intake, which is a major risk factor for hypertension development, has a deleterious impact on vascular and endothelial functions (even in the absence of blood pressure changes), it became necessary to investigate and clarify the effect of HS loading on major regulating systems—RAS and SNS—precisely in healthy individuals. The present review aimed to summarize the interactions between the RAS and SNS in health and diseases (e.g. cardiovascular, renal), with a special focus on these two systems’ interaction during HS intake in a healthy normotensive population

NBA Pre-Draft Combine is the weak predictor of rookie basketball player’s performance

The goal of the study was to assess the relationship between rookie player’s Pre-Draft Combine physical abilities and basketball performance in the first NBA season. In strictly homogenized sample of players (N = 58) who matched the inclusion criterion of average playing time and number games in the period 2012-2015, the results indicate that Pre-Draft Combine testing procedures show low to moderate correlations with only few observed basketball performance variables in the first NBA season. The highest correlation was found between upper body strength and number of rebounds (r = .403, p = .002) and blocked shots (r = .333, p = .011). Regression model of Combine performance explained 24.7% of basketball performance with three physical performance tests. Practical application might suggest that some parts of the Combine might be restructured in order to include some other tests more informative tests for the future player performance and player selection.The paper is a part of the project III47015, funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia – Scientific Projects 2011 – 2019

The Markers of Endothelial Activation

Biomarkers are biological indicators of processes that are part of ethiopathogenesis of the diseases, and can, but do not have to be causal to diseases. One very important question is how specific and sensitive the marker is, since one molecule can appear in many conditions. Biomarkers of endothelial cell activation can be very diverse, from biochemical/metabolic to functional biomarkers. Activation of endothelial cells is part of physiological as well as pathophysiological response of cardiovascular system in conditions as physical activity, growth, pregnancy and in all cardiometabolic diseases (e.g., hypertension, diabetes mellitus, autoimmune inflammatory diseases, coronary artery disease, atherosclerosis, ischemia and reperfusion, etc.). During activation, there is a change in endothelial cell morphology and function, which could be a defensive response of endothelium to provoking factor or could lead to increased risk for the injury and end organ damage. This chapter aims to overview current knowledge on established biomarkers of normal and disease-related endothelial activation and to provide information on novel, potential biomarkers in common cardiometabolic diseases

Monitoring ion track formation using in situ RBS/c and ERDA

The aim of this work is to investigate feasibility of the ion beam analysis techniques for monitoring swift heavy ion track formation. First, use of the in situ Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy in channeling mode to observe damage build-up in quartz SiO2 after MeV heavy ion irradiation is demonstrated. Second, new results of the in situ grazing incidence time-of-flight elastic recoil detection analysis used for monitoring the surface elemental composition during ion tracks formation in various materials are presented. Ion tracks were found on SrTiO3, quartz SiO2, a-SiO2 and muscovite mica surfaces by atomic force microscopy, but in contrast to our previous studies on GaN and TiO2, surface stoichiometry remained unchanged

Imaging of Organic Samples with Megaelectron Volt Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry Capillary Microprobe

Time-of-flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (TOF SIMS) with MeV primary ions offers a fine balance between secondary ion yield for molecules in the mass range from 100 to 1000 Da and beam spot size, both of which are critical for imaging applications of organic samples. Using conically shaped glass capillaries with an exit diameter of a few micrometers, a high energy heavy primary beam can be collimated to less than 10 μm. In this work, imaging capabilities of such a setup are presented for some organic samples (leucine-evaporated mesh, fly wing section, ink deposited on paper). Lateral resolution measurement and molecular distributions of selected mass peaks are shown. The negative influence of the beam halo, an unavoidable characteristic of primary beam collimation with a conical capillary, is also discussed. A new start trigger for TOF measurements based on the detection of secondary electrons released by the primary ion is presented. This method is applicable for a continuous primary ion beam, and for thick targets that are not transparent to the primary ion beam. The solution preserves the good mass resolution of the thin target setup, where the detection of primary ions with a PIN diode is used for a start trigger, reduces the background, and enables a wide range of samples to be analyzed