Adiponectin circulating levels and 10-year (2002–2012) cardiovascular disease incidence:the ATTICA Study

Purpose: Adiponectin is an adipokine with anti-inflammatory and cardiovascular-protective properties. Existing epidemiological evidence is conflicting on the exact relationship between adiponectin and long-term cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Our aim was to prospectively assess whether circulating adiponectin is associated with long-term incident CVD. Methods: A population-based, prospective study in adults (>18 years) without previous CVD history (ATTICA study). Circulating total adiponectin levels were measured at baseline (2001–2002) in a sub-sample (n = 531; women/men: 222/309; age: 40 ± 11 years) of the ATTICA cohort and complete 10-year follow-up data were available in 366 of these participants (women/men: 154/212; age: 40 ± 12 years). Results: After adjusting for multiple factors, including age, sex, body mass index, waist circumference, smoking, physical activity, Mediterranean diet adherence, hypertension, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia, our logistic regression analysis indicates that an increase in circulating total adiponectin levels by 1 unit was associated with 36% lower CVD risk (relative risk [RR]: 0.64, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.42–0.96; p = 0.03). Further adjusting for interleukin-6 plasma levels had no significant impact (RR: 0.60, 95% CI 0.38–0.94; p = 0.03), while additional adjustment for circulating C-reactive protein (CRP) modestly attenuated this association (RR: 0.63, 95% CI 0.40–0.99; p = 0.046). Conclusions: In our study, elevated circulating total adiponectin levels were associated with lower 10-year CVD risk in adults without previous CVD, independently of other established CVD risk factors. This association appeared to be modestly attenuated by CRP, yet was not mediated by interleukin-6 which is the main endocrine/circulating pro-inflammatory cytokine

Encyclopedic dictionary of hydrogeology

The scientific disciplines of hydrology and hydrogeology are expanding as the Earth's water is being recognized by governments and individuals as a shrinking resource-no entity can afford to take water for granted. The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Hydrogeology is a practical, comprehensive reference guide with complete definitions of terms in hydrogeology and other fields closely related to water practices. This concise reference not only defines terms and concepts, but also provides a clear explanation of key elements so that an in-depth understanding of processes may be obtained

Association of adiponectin with mortality in older adults: the Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study

Despite inverse associations with insulin resistance and adiposity, adiponectin has been associated with both increased and decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. We examined whether adiponectin is associated with total and cardiovascular mortality in older adults with well-characterised body composition. We analysed data from 3,075 well-functioning adults aged 69–79 years at baseline. Mortality data were obtained over 6.6 ± 1.6 years. We used Cox proportional hazards models adjusting for covariates in stages to examine the association between adiponectin and total and cardiovascular mortality. There were 679 deaths, 36% of which were from cardiovascular disease. Unadjusted levels of adiponectin were not associated with total or cardiovascular mortality. However, after adjusting for sex and race, adiponectin was associated with an increased risk of both total mortality (hazard ratio 1.26, 95% CI 1.15–1.37, per SD) and cardiovascular mortality (hazard ratio 1.35, 95% CI 1.17–1.56, per SD). Further adjustment for study site, smoking, hypertension, diabetes, prevalent heart disease, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, renal function, fasting insulin, triacylglycerol, BMI, visceral fat, thigh intermuscular fat and thigh muscle area did not attenuate this association. This association between adiponectin and increased mortality risk did not vary by sex, race, body composition, diabetes, prevalent cardiovascular disease, smoking or weight loss. Higher levels of adiponectin were associated with increased risks of total and cardiovascular mortality in this study of older persons

Association of adiponectin with mortality in older adults: the Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study

Despite inverse associations with insulin resistance and adiposity, adiponectin has been associated with both increased and decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. We examined whether adiponectin is associated with total and cardiovascular mortality in older adults with well-characterised body composition. We analysed data from 3,075 well-functioning adults aged 69–79 years at baseline. Mortality data were obtained over 6.6 ± 1.6 years. We used Cox proportional hazards models adjusting for covariates in stages to examine the association between adiponectin and total and cardiovascular mortality. There were 679 deaths, 36% of which were from cardiovascular disease. Unadjusted levels of adiponectin were not associated with total or cardiovascular mortality. However, after adjusting for sex and race, adiponectin was associated with an increased risk of both total mortality (hazard ratio 1.26, 95% CI 1.15–1.37, per SD) and cardiovascular mortality (hazard ratio 1.35, 95% CI 1.17–1.56, per SD). Further adjustment for study site, smoking, hypertension, diabetes, prevalent heart disease, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, renal function, fasting insulin, triacylglycerol, BMI, visceral fat, thigh intermuscular fat and thigh muscle area did not attenuate this association. This association between adiponectin and increased mortality risk did not vary by sex, race, body composition, diabetes, prevalent cardiovascular disease, smoking or weight loss. Higher levels of adiponectin were associated with increased risks of total and cardiovascular mortality in this study of older persons

Rejuvenation of nanoscale logic at NBTI-critical paths using evolutionary TPG

One of the main reliability concerns in the nanoscale logic is the time-dependent variation caused by Negative Bias Temperature Instability (NBTI). It increases the threshold voltage of pMOS transistors, which slows down signal propagation along the paths between flip-flops. As a consequence, NBTI may cause transient faults and, ultimately, permanent circuit functional failure. In this paper, we propose an innovative NBTI mitigation approach by rejuvenation of nanoscale logic along NBTI-critical paths. The method is based on hierarchical NBTI-critical paths identification and rejuvenation stimuli generation using an Evolutionary Algorithm. The rejuvenation stimuli are used to drive to the recovery phase the pMOS transistors that are the most significant for the NBTI-induced path delay. This rejuvenation procedure is to be applied to the circuit as an execution overhead at predefined periods. The proposed approach is aimed at extending the reliable lifetime of nanoelectronics. Experimental results are demonstrated by electrical simulations of an ALU circuit design