Socioeconomic inequalities in the prevalence and management of hypertension: analyses of the Chilean National Health Surveys 2003, 2010 and 2017

Hypertension is the highest attributable risk of death worldwide, causing 7.1million deaths annually, and it is the primary cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. In Chile, around one-in-three adults are living with this chronic health condition. Chilean evidence has shown inequalities in hypertension prevalence by various measures of socioeconomic position (SEP). However, information on SEP inequalities in the three key aspects of hypertension management (awareness, treatment, and control of high blood pressure), is only partially known. / Purpose: To assess SEP inequalities in hypertension prevalence and management in Chilean adults. / Methods: Data came from the Chilean National Health Surveys (ENS) 2003, 2010 and 2017. Years of formal education was used as the SEP measure. Age-and gender-specific Slope and Relative Indices of Inequalities (SII and RII) were calculated for the prevalence of hypertension (mean SBP ≥140mmHg, DBP ≥90mmHg, or current medication use to lower blood pressure) and for each management outcome. / Results: Analytical sample comprised 3,426; 4,838 and 5,373 participants aged ≥17y with blood pressure measurements for years 2003, 2010 and 2017, respectively. Prevalence of hypertension was 32.4%, 32.2% and 30.8% for the years 2003, 2010 and 2017, respectively. According to the SII and RII, males and females aged <65y showed higher hypertension prevalence among those with fewer years of education in 2003, 2010 and 2017. Among those classed as hypertensive, levels of awareness increased from 59.4% in 2003 to 65.9% in 2017. Over the same time period, levels of treatment increased from 39.0% to 65.2%, and levels of control increased from 14.1% to 23.9%. SEP inequalities in hypertension management – with better outcomes for the most educated – were highest among females aged ≥65y. / Conclusion: Introduction of universal access to care for hypertension in Chile in 2005 accounted partly for the rise of hypertension management levels since 2003. According to local and international strategies for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases, there is room for improvement. However, improvements should have a specific focus on SEP inequalities. / Acknowledgement/Funding: Chilean Ministry of Health

Physical Study by Surface Characterizations of Sarin Sensor on the Basis of Chemically Functionalized Silicon Nanoribbon Field Effect Transistor

Surface characterizations of an organophosphorus (OP) gas detector based on chemically functionalized silicon nanoribbon field-effect transistor (SiNR-FET) were performed by Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy (KPFM) and ToF-SIMS, and correlated with changes in the current-voltage characteristics of the devices. KPFM measurements on FETs allow (i) to investigate the contact potential difference (CPD) distribution of the polarized device as function of the gate voltage and the exposure to OP traces and, (ii) to analyze the CPD hysteresis associated to the presence of mobile ions on the surface. The CPD measured by KPFM on the silicon nanoribbon was corrected due to side capacitance effects in order to determine the real quantitative surface potential. Comparison with macroscopic Kelvin probe (KP) experiments on larger surfaces was carried out. These two approaches were quantitatively consistent. An important increase of the CPD values (between + 399 mV and + 302 mV) was observed after the OP sensor grafting, corresponding to a decrease of the work function, and a weaker variation after exposure to OP (between - 14 mV and - 61 mV) was measured. Molecular imaging by ToF-SIMS revealed OP presence after SiNR-FET exposure. The OP molecules were essentially localized on the Si-NR confirming effectiveness and selectivity of the OP sensor. A prototype was exposed to Sarin vapors and succeeded in the detection of low vapor concentrations (40 ppm).Comment: Paper and supporting information, J. Phys. Chem. C, 201

On the IYB-property in some solvable groups

A finite group G is called Involutive Yang-Baxter (IYB) if there exists a bijective 1-cocycle χ:G⟶M for some ZG -module M. It is known that every IYB-group is solvable, but it is still an open question whether the converse holds. A characterization of the IYB property by the existence of an ideal I in the augmentation ideal ωZG complementing the set 1−G leads to some speculation that there might be a connection with the isomorphism problem for ZG . In this paper we show that if N is a nilpotent group of class two and H is an IYB-group of order coprime to that of N, then N⋊H is IYB. The class of groups that can be obtained in that way (and hence are IYB) contains in particular Hertweck’s famous counterexample to the isomorphism conjecture as well as all of its subgroups. We then investigate what an IYB structure on Hertweck’s counterexample looks like concretely

The role of the multifaceted long non-coding RNAs: A nuclear-cytosolic interplay to regulate hyaluronan metabolism

In the extracellular matrix (ECM), the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) hyaluronan (HA) has different physiological roles favouring hydration, elasticity and cell survival. Three different isoforms of HA synthases (HAS1, 2, and 3) are responsible for the production of HA. In several pathologies the upregulation of HAS enzymes leads to an abnormal HA accumulation causing cell dedifferentiation, proliferation and migration thus favouring cancer progression, fibrosis and vascular wall thickening. An intriguing new player in HAS2 gene expression regulation and HA production is the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) hyaluronan synthase 2 antisense 1 (HAS2-AS1). A significant part of mammalian genomes corresponds to genes that transcribe lncRNAs; they can regulate gene expression through several mechanisms, being involved not only in maintaining the normal homeostasis of cells and tissues, but also in the onset and progression of different diseases, as demonstrated by the increasing number of studies published through the last decades. HAS2-AS1 is no exception: it can be localized both in the nucleus and in the cytosol, regulating cancer cells as well as vascular smooth muscle cells behaviour