Real-world hypertension prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control in adult diabetic individuals: an italian nationwide epidemiological survey

INTRODUCTION: Hypertesion is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality, worldwide, and its prevalence has been increasing in several countries, including Italy.AIMS: To assess hypertension prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control in a real-world sample of adults with self-reported diabetes compared with nondiabetic individuals.METHODS: Following the 2018 World Hypertension Day, a nationwide, cross-sectional epidemiological survey on cardiovascular risk factors ("Abbasso la Pressione!") in 3956 Italian pharmacies enrolled 47217 self-presenting volunteers (≥18 years). Participants underwent standardized blood pressure (BP) measurements and answered a questionnaire on cardiovascular risk factors and lifestyle habits. Questions included if they had an established diagnosis of diabetes, hypertension or were on a BP medication. Hypertension prevalence was defined as systolic BP ≥140 and/or diastolic BP ≥90 mmHg. A double definition for hypertension control based on the recent European and US guidelines on hypertension was applied.RESULTS: Diabetic individuals (N=5695, 12%) had higher rates of hypertension prevalence (80% vs. 54.7%, p<0.001), awareness (85.6% vs 77.3%, p<0.001) and treatment (85.8% vs. 76.7%, p<0.001), but lower hypertension control rates (36.1% vs. 39.6% according to the 2018 European guidelines, p<0.001; 25.4% vs 30.8% according to the 2017 US guidelines, p<0.001) than nondiabetics. Diabetic participants tended to be older, sedentary, overweight/obese, dyslipidemic men, with higher 10-years cardiovascular risk than nondiabetics (p<0.001). Uncontrolled hypertension was associated with male gender, diabetes, body mass index, unhealthy lifestyle habits, and older age.CONCLUSIONS: Elevated hypertension awareness and treatment rates in diabetic adults do not translate into adequate BP control in the real world. Concomitant unfavorable metabolic features and unhealthy lifestyle habits might contribute to this observation

Visual system and motor development in children: a systematic review

Purpose The aim of this study was to review the available scientific literature on the possible relationship between the visual system and motor development in children.MethodsThis study was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) statement recommendations. The review protocol is available in PROSPERO (CRD42021245341). Four different databases, namely Scopus, PubMed, CINAHL and Web of Science, were assessed from April 2005 to February 2021. To determine the quality of the articles, we used the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) Quality Appraisal Scale, and a protocol was followed to define the levels of evidence on the basis of the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine Levels of Evidence. The search strategy included terms describing motor development in children and adolescents with visual disorders.Results Among the identified studies, 23 were included in the study. All selected articles examined the relationship between the visual system and development in children. The quality of most of the studies was moderate–high, and they were between evidence levels 2 and 4.ConclusionsOur systematic review revealed that all included studies established a relationship between the visual system and development in children. However, the methods for measuring the visual system and motor skills lacked uniformity

Intestinal Parasites in Free-Living Puma concolor

Background: Studies on intestinal parasites in cougars Puma concolor are scarce, and most of the available information on the species has been derived from individuals in captivity. One of the greatest threats to the survival of wild cats is habitat loss caused by urban sprawl, agricultural matrix, and linear developments such as highways and railways, which expose animals to direct contact with humans and to a high risk of death. Given the lack of scientific data the objective of this study was to report on the occurrence of intestinal parasites in a cougar (P. concolor) specimen from the northwestern region of Paraná State, Brazil.Case: The carcass of a free-living cougar (P. concolor) individual was sent to the Interdisciplinary Science Museum (Museu Interdisciplinar de Ciências – MIC) of Paranaense University (Universidade Paranaense - UNIPAR); an individual was killed during a collision with an unidentified vehicle on highway PR-486, in the municipality of Mariluz (PR, Brazil). The geographical coordinates of the location where the animal was found are: 23°59′29″S, 53°8′47″W. This region is characterized by semi-deciduous seasonal forest remnants. After being identified on site and collected by the inspectors of the Paraná Environmental Institute (Instituto Ambiental do Paraná - IAP), the cadaver was donated to the MIC (by the IAP) for a necropsy to elucidate the cause of death. In this context, the cadaver was sent to the Animal Pathology section of the Department of Veterinary Medicine at UNIPAR. The animal was necropsied by performing the standard necropsy technique for carnivores: opening the intestine through the mesentery and exposing the mucosa from the duodenum to the colon. The necropsy showed that the cause of death was hypovolemic shock due to trauma. During necropsy, parasites in the intestinal lumen were visible to the naked eye. Parasites and feces were collected and stored in sterile flasks containing 10% formaldehyde and saline. The parasites were subjected to Faust and Hoffman techniques, micrometry, and morphological analysis, resulting in the identification of the roundworm Toxocara cati and the tapeworm Spirometra decipiens.Discussion: Identifying the roadkill species along highways is of paramount importance, since they are living very close to man and, consequently, reservoirs and disseminators of different infectious and parasitic zoonoses may be possible. Infection by protozoa and helminths in animals usually occurs by ingesting the infective form present in food or water. Toxocara cati and the tapeworm Spirometra decipiens were only reported in captivity before. Research on parasites in free-living wild animals is not common in the scientific literature and this is due to the difficulty of capturing this animal category as they live in difficult to access places such as forests and forests, therefore, research projects in partnership with museums are extremely important for the recognition of wild animal species that circulate in the region, in addition to the parasitic identification of these animals for future sanitary measures and for the preservation of the animal species in the environment. The Parasitological studies of wild animals are highly relevant for expanding this knowledge, especially considering the possible transfer risk of specific parasitic diseases to other animals, as well as to humans

Índice de progreso social de la provincia de Pisco

El objetivo del presente estudio es medir el Índice de Progreso Social de la Provincia de Pisco (IPS) al 2019, en el cual se ha empleado una metodología cuantitativa, utilizando el cuestionario brindado por CENTRUM Católica Business School, y mediante el desarrollo de las pautas señaladas en la metodología del Social Progress Imperative, siendo realizado dentro de la provincia de Pisco a los jefes de hogar, según el tamaño de muestra, de acuerdo a la distribución y zonificación determinados, los cuales proporcionaron la información para completar la base de datos, realizar el análisis estadístico y de correlación, mediante el uso de herramientas como el software Stata. El Índice de Progreso Social está compuesto por tres dimensiones en la que se analizan 12 componentes y 52 indicadores, cuyo resultado mide la satisfacción de necesidades básicas, infraestructura y oportunidades para alcanzar una mejor calidad de vida. El resultado hallado para la provincia de Pisco es de 62.56 puntos, con una clasificación Medio Bajo; cabe precisar que este puntaje se encuentra en una escala de cero a cien. Los puntajes obtenidos de las dimensiones del IPS de la provincia de Pisco son: Necesidades Humanas Básicas que obtuvo 74.87 puntos con un nivel Medio Alto; Fundamentos de Bienestar alcanzó un puntaje de 50.39 con un nivel de desarrollo Bajo; y Oportunidades consiguió 62.4 con un nivel Medio Bajo. Como resultado del análisis de los elementos de los componentes, el presente estudio identificó que las ventajas de la provincia de Pisco son: el agua potable y saneamiento básico, tolerancia e inclusión, nutrición y cuidados básicos y vivienda y servicios básicos; mientras que las deficiencias más notorias son: el acceso a información y telecomunicaciones, acceso a educación superior, sostenibilidad ambiental y derechos personales.The objective of this study is to measure the Social Progress Index of the Province of Pisco (IPS) to 2019, in which a quantitative methodology has been used, using the questionnaire provided by CENTRUM Católica Business School, and through the development of the guidelines indicated in the Social Progress Imperative methodology, being carried out within the province of Pisco to the heads of household, according to the sample size, according to the distribution and determined zoning, which provided the information to complete the database, perform statistical and correlation analysis, using tools such as Stata software. The Social Progress Index is made up of three dimensions in which 12 components and 52 indicators are analyzed, the result of which measures the satisfaction of basic needs, infrastructure and opportunities to achieve a better quality of life. The result found for the province of Pisco is 62.56 points, with a Medium Low classification; It should be noted that this score is on a scale from zero to one hundred. The scores obtained from the IPS dimensions of the province of Pisco are: Basic Human Needs, which obtained 74.87 points with a Medium High level; Well-being Fundamentals reached a score of 50.39 with a Low development level; and Oportunidades achieved 62.4 with a Medium Low level. As a result of the analysis of the elements of the components, this study identified that the advantages of the province of Pisco are: drinking water and basic sanitation, tolerance and inclusion, nutrition and basic care, and housing and basic services; while the most notorious deficiencies are: access to information and telecommunications, access to higher education, environmental sustainability and personal rights.Tesi

Calcium and Magnesium Urinary Excretion in Dairy Cows with Different Fee of Glucose Metabolization

Background: The post-partum period in dairy cows is accompanied by a low glucose metabolism in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle tissue, being glucose conducted to the milk production. In humans, low glucose metabolism is associated with metabolic syndromes, the high glucose levels reduce tubular reabsorption of Magnesium (Mg) and Calcium (Ca), leading to hypomagnesemia and hypocalcemia. These minerals are important to the dairy cow, as their decrease leads to diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between glucose metabolism rate with the urinary excretion of Ca and Mg in multiparous dairy cows during the post-partum period.Materials, Methods & Results: Twenty dairy cows were used from a commercial farm southern Brazil, in the semi-extensive system. Glucose tolerance tests were performed (TTG) on day 9 relative to calving. The cows were categorized into three groups according to the glucose metabolism rate (area under the glucose curve, glucose half-life and glucose consumption rate): High Glucose Metabolization (GA); Intermediate Glucose Metabolizing (GI); and Low Glucose Metabolization (GL). Blood and urine samples were collected on days 0, + 3, + 6, + 9, +16 and +2 3 in relation to calving for to determine the levels of Ca, Mg, insulin (Ins), non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and Glu. In urine was evaluated the excretion of Ca and Mg. The cows were milked twice a day (at 3:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.) and the milk yield (kg/cow) was recorded daily and averages were generated every five days from day 15 to day 60 postpartum. The statistical analyses were performed with the MIXED procedure to assess the main effect of group, time (in days) and their interaction by using version 9.2 SAS software. The influence of the different rates of glucose metabolism on milk production was observed, the GB group had a production than GH group (30.88 ± 1.44 kg vs 23.96 ± 1.43 kg, P 0.05).Discussion: The low glucose metabolism in humans causes an increase in the excretion of Ca and Mg urine, however, in the animals studied, these changes were not observed. This result can be attributed to the fact that insulin resistance is transitory in dairy cattle. The higher glucose levels in the GL group are related due to the lower capacity of glucose entry in the peripheral tissues (adipose and skeletal muscle), which reflected in the higher milk production observed this group. However, the higher calcium concentrations were not expected, since the release of insulin by β-pancreatic cells is dependent on calcium. Possibly, these higher calcium levels in GB, are related to higher milk production, requiring a greater amount of calcium for the production of casein, increasing bone mobilization, intestinal absorption. The energy metabolites, non-esterified fatty acids and insulin, did not differ between groups, suggesting that the animals did not present different metabolic conditions. We conclude that multiparous dairy cows with low glucose metabolism rate (GB) have higher levels of glucose after delivery and increased milk production. The metabolism rate of glucose did not influence the excretion of the Ca and Mg minerals

The 2020 Italian Society of Arterial Hypertension (SIIA) practical guidelines for the management of primary aldosteronism

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Energy Estimation of Cosmic Rays with the Engineering Radio Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) is part of the Pierre Auger Observatory and is used to detect the radio emission of cosmic-ray air showers. These observations are compared to the data of the surface detector stations of the Observatory, which provide well-calibrated information on the cosmic-ray energies and arrival directions. The response of the radio stations in the 30 to 80 MHz regime has been thoroughly calibrated to enable the reconstruction of the incoming electric field. For the latter, the energy deposit per area is determined from the radio pulses at each observer position and is interpolated using a two-dimensional function that takes into account signal asymmetries due to interference between the geomagnetic and charge-excess emission components. The spatial integral over the signal distribution gives a direct measurement of the energy transferred from the primary cosmic ray into radio emission in the AERA frequency range. We measure 15.8 MeV of radiation energy for a 1 EeV air shower arriving perpendicularly to the geomagnetic field. This radiation energy -- corrected for geometrical effects -- is used as a cosmic-ray energy estimator. Performing an absolute energy calibration against the surface-detector information, we observe that this radio-energy estimator scales quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy as expected for coherent emission. We find an energy resolution of the radio reconstruction of 22% for the data set and 17% for a high-quality subset containing only events with at least five radio stations with signal.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Measurement of the Radiation Energy in the Radio Signal of Extensive Air Showers as a Universal Estimator of Cosmic-Ray Energy

We measure the energy emitted by extensive air showers in the form of radio emission in the frequency range from 30 to 80 MHz. Exploiting the accurate energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory, we obtain a radiation energy of 15.8 \pm 0.7 (stat) \pm 6.7 (sys) MeV for cosmic rays with an energy of 1 EeV arriving perpendicularly to a geomagnetic field of 0.24 G, scaling quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy. A comparison with predictions from state-of-the-art first-principle calculations shows agreement with our measurement. The radiation energy provides direct access to the calorimetric energy in the electromagnetic cascade of extensive air showers. Comparison with our result thus allows the direct calibration of any cosmic-ray radio detector against the well-established energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DOI. Supplemental material in the ancillary file