Increased sympathetic activity in normotensive offspring of malignant hypertensive parents compared to offspring of normotensive parents

Malignant hypertension seems to be the consequence of very high blood pressure. Furthermore, an increase in sympathetic and renin-angiotensin system activity is considered to be the main mechanisms producing malignant hypertension. In the present study, 10 offspring of malignant hypertensive (OMH) parents (age 28 ± 5 years, 7 males, 3 females, 2 white and 8 non-white) and 10 offspring of normotensive (ONT) parents (age 28 ± 6 years, 2 males, 8 females, 3 white and 7 non-white) were evaluated. The OMH group had significantly higher (P < 0.05) casual blood pressure (125 ± 10/81 ± 5 mmHg) compared with ONT (99 ± 13/67 ± 5 mmHg). The increase in blood pressure was greater in OMH (&#916; SBP = 17 ± 2 vs &#916; SBP = 9 ± 1 mmHg in ONT) during cold pressor testing, but they had a lower increase in heart rate (&#916; HR = 13 ± 2 vs &#916; HR = 20 ± 3 bpm in ONT) during isometric exercise (handgrip test). Sympathetic activity, measured by microneurography, was significantly higher (P < 0.05) before exercise in OMH (17 ± 6 vs 11 ± 4 burst/min in ONT) and exhibited a greater increase (&#916; = 18 ± 10 vs &#916; = 8 ± 3 burst/min in ONT) during isometric exercise. This study showed increased sympathetic activity in OMH before exercise and a greater response during isometric exercise, suggesting an autonomic abnormality before exercise and a greater sympathetic response to physical stress in OMH compared to ONT

Critical analysis of autoregressive and fast Fourier transform markers of cardiovascular variability in rats and humans

The autonomic nervous system plays an important role in physiological and pathological conditions, and has been extensively evaluated by parametric and non-parametric spectral analysis. To compare the results obtained with fast Fourier transform (FFT) and the autoregressive (AR) method, we performed a comprehensive comparative study using data from humans and rats during pharmacological blockade (in rats), a postural test (in humans), and in the hypertensive state (in both humans and rats). Although postural hypotension in humans induced an increase in normalized low-frequency (LFnu) of systolic blood pressure, the increase in the ratio was detected only by AR. In rats, AR and FFT analysis did not agree for LFnu and high frequency (HFnu) under basal conditions and after vagal blockade. The increase in the LF/HF ratio of the pulse interval, induced by methylatropine, was detected only by FFT. In hypertensive patients, changes in LF and HF for systolic blood pressure were observed only by AR; FFT was able to detect the reduction in both blood pressure variance and total power. In hypertensive rats, AR presented different values of variance and total power for systolic blood pressure. Moreover, AR and FFT presented discordant results for LF, LFnu, HF, LF/HF ratio, and total power for pulse interval. We provide evidence for disagreement in 23% of the indices of blood pressure and heart rate variability in humans and 67% discordance in rats when these variables are evaluated by AR and FFT under physiological and pathological conditions. The overall disagreement between AR and FFT in this study was 43%.FINEPFAPESPZerbini Foundatio

The electron-furfural scattering dynamics for 63 energetically open electronic states

14 págs.; 15 figs.We report on integral-, momentum transfer- and differential cross sections for elastic and electronically inelastic electron collisions with furfural (CHO). The calculations were performed with two different theoretical methodologies, the Schwinger multichannel method with pseudopotentials (SMCPP) and the independent atom method with screening corrected additivity rule (IAM-SCAR) that now incorporates a further interference (I) term. The SMCPP with N energetically open electronic states (N) at either the static-exchange (N ch-SE) or the static-exchange-plus-polarisation (N ch-SEP) approximation was employed to calculate the scattering amplitudes at impact energies lying between 5 eV and 50 eV, using a channel coupling scheme that ranges from the 1ch-SEP up to the 63ch-SE level of approximation depending on the energy considered. For elastic scattering, we found very good overall agreement at higher energies among our SMCPP cross sections, our IAM-SCAR+I cross sections and the experimental data for furan (a molecule that differs from furfural only by the substitution of a hydrogen atom in furan with an aldehyde functional group). This is a good indication that our elastic cross sections are converged with respect to the multichannel coupling effect for most of the investigated intermediate energies. However, although the present application represents the most sophisticated calculation performed with the SMCPP method thus far, the inelastic cross sections, even for the low lying energy states, are still not completely converged for intermediate and higher energies. We discuss possible reasons leading to this discrepancy and point out what further steps need to be undertaken in order to improve the agreement between the calculated and measured cross sections. ©2016 AIP Publishing LLCR.F.d.C., M.C.A.L., M.H.F.B., M.T.d.N.V., and M.A.P.L. acknowledge support from the Brazilian agency Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq). M.T.d.N.V. acknowledges support from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP). D.B.J. thanks the Australian Research Council (ARC) for financial support provided through a Discovery Early Career Researcher Award. M.J.B. thanks the ARC for some financial support and also thanks CNPq for his “Special Visiting Professor” award at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora. G.G. thanks the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad under Project No. FIS2012- 31230 and the European Union COST Action No. CM1301 for funding.Peer Reviewe

Theoretical and experimental differential cross sections for electron impact excitation of the electronic bands of furfural

13 págs.; 8 figs.; 6 tabs.We report results from a joint experimental and theoretical investigation into electron scattering from the important industrial species furfural (CHO). Specifically, differential cross sections (DCSs) have been measured and calculated for the electron-impact excitation of the electronic states of CHO. The measurements were carried out at energies in the range 20-40 eV, and for scattered-electron angles between 10°and 90°. The energy resolution of those experiments was typically ∼80 meV. Corresponding Schwinger multichannel method with pseudo-potential calculations, for energies between 6-50 eV and with and without Born-closure, were also performed for a sub-set of the excited electronic-states that were accessed in the measurements. Those calculations were undertaken at the static exchange plus polarisation-level using a minimum orbital basis for single configuration interaction (MOB-SCI) approach. Agreement between the measured and calculated DCSs was qualitatively quite good, although to obtain quantitative accord, the theory would need to incorporate even more channels into the MOB-SCI. The role of multichannel coupling on the computed electronic-state DCSs is also explored in some detail. ©2016 AIP Publishing LLCR.F.C.N. thanks CNPq (Brazil) and the Science Without Borders Programme for opportunities to study abroad. D.B.J. thanks the Australian Research Council (ARC) for financial support provided through a Discovery Early Career Research Award, while M.J.B. also thanks the ARC for their support. M.J.B. and M.C.A.L. acknowledge the Brazilian agencies CNPq and FAPEMIG. P.L.-V. acknowledges the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCTMEC) through Grant Nos. PTDC/FIS-ATO/1832/2012 and UIO/FIS/00068/2013. G.G. acknowledges partial financial support from the Spanish Ministry MINECO (Project No. FIS2012-31230) and the European Union COST Action No. CM1301 (CELINA). Finally, R.F.d.C., M.T.d.N.V., M.H.F.B., and M.A.P.L. acknowledge support from the Brazilian agency CNPq and M.T.d.N.V. also thanks FAPESP.Peer Reviewe

Elephant grass silage inoculated with cellulolytic fungi isolated from rumen

ABSTRACT The objective was to evaluate the inoculation with Aspergillus terreus and/or Trichoderma longibrachiatum on fermentation, chemical and microbiological composition of elephant grass ‘Cameroon’ silage (Cenchrus purpureus). Treatments were A. terreus at 105 colony forming units (CFU)/g (AT15), T. longibrachiatum at 105 CFU/g (TL20), a mixture of both at 105 CFU/g (MIX), and a control group without inoculation (CONTR). The design was completely randomized with seven replicates. The MIX silage was most stable, while CONTR, AT15, and TL20, had lower dry matter losses. There was no effect of inoculation in the chemical composition of silages. Only MIX silage (4.40) had pH above the minimum of 4.2 for humid grass silage and above the control (4.05). Bacteria from Diplococcus genus was identified at the opening of TL20 and CONTR silages. After air exposure, the population of rods, Lactobacillus, and total lactic acid bacteria was higher in theTL20 and MIX. The inclusion of a T. longibrachiatum and A. terreus mixture increases dry mater loss and silage pH. T. longibrachiatum was more efficient in maintaining populations of total lactic acid bacteria after opening; therefore, this strain has potential as an additive for elephant grass ‘Cameroon’ silage

Protons in near earth orbit

The proton spectrum in the kinetic energy range 0.1 to 200 GeV was measured by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) during space shuttle flight STS-91 at an altitude of 380 km. Above the geomagnetic cutoff the observed spectrum is parameterized by a power law. Below the geomagnetic cutoff a substantial second spectrum was observed concentrated at equatorial latitudes with a flux ~ 70 m^-2 sec^-1 sr^-1. Most of these second spectrum protons follow a complicated trajectory and originate from a restricted geographic region.Comment: 19 pages, Latex, 7 .eps figure