2,796 research outputs found
Natriuretic peptides and cardiovascular damage in the metabolic syndrome. Molecular mechanisms and clinical implications
Natriuretic peptides are endogenous antagonists of vasoconstrictor and salt- and water-retaining systems in the body's defence against blood pressure elevation and plasma volume expansion, through direct vasodilator, diuretic and natriuretic properties. In addition, natriuretic peptides may play a role in the modulation of the molecular mechanisms involved in metabolic regulation and cardiovascular remodelling. The metabolic syndrome is characterized by visceral obesity, hyperlipidaemia, vascular inflammation and hypertension, which are linked by peripheral insulin resistance. Increased visceral adiposity may contribute to the reduction in the circulating levels of natriuretic peptides. The dysregulation of neurohormonal systems, including the renin-angiotensin and the natriuretic peptide systems, may in turn contribute to the development of insulin resistance in dysmetabolic patients. In obese subjects with the metabolic syndrome, reduced levels of natriuretic peptides may be involved in the development of hypertension, vascular inflammation and cardio vascular remodelling, and this may predispose to the development of cardiovascular disease. The present review summarizes the regulation and function of the natriuretic peptide system in obese patients with the metabolic syndrome and the involvement of altered bioactive levels of natriuretic peptides in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease in patients with metabolic abnormalities
Recensione a: Edmund Husserl, La crisi delle scienze europee
Husserl’s “The Crisis of European Sciences and the Transcendental Phenomenology” is more than a simple philosophical treatise. This XX Century’s classic can be read as the German philosopher’s spiritual testament. The present review briefly illustrates the genesis and main topics of the work: the criticism of objectivism, the sciences’ horizon of meaning, the identity and destiny of Europe, the phenomenological method
Recensione a: Edmund Husserl, La crisi delle scienze europee
Husserl’s “The Crisis of European Sciences and the Transcendental Phenomenology” is more than a simple philosophical treatise. This XX Century’s classic can be read as the German philosopher’s spiritual testament. The present review briefly illustrates the genesis and main topics of the work: the criticism of objectivism, the sciences’ horizon of meaning, the identity and destiny of Europe, the phenomenological method
Optical trapping and critical Casimir forces
Critical Casimir forces emerge between objects, such as colloidal particles,
whenever their surfaces spatially confine the fluctuations of the order
parameter of a critical liquid used as a solvent. These forces act at short but
microscopically large distances between these objects, reaching often hundreds
of nanometers. Keeping colloids at such distances is a major experimental
challenge, which can be addressed by the means of optical tweezers. Here, we
review how optical tweezers have been successfully used to quantitatively study
critical Casimir forces acting on particles in suspensions. As we will see, the
use of optical tweezers to experimentally study critical Casimir forces can
play a crucial role in developing nano-technologies, representing an innovative
way to realize self-assembled devices at the nano- and microscale.Comment: 18 pages, 11 figure
Design of an automatic optical system to measure anthropometric hand parameters
AbstractPersonalized medicine is an effective tool to improve the quality of rehabilitation and treatment for patients with disabilities. This study deals with the development of a low-cost hand scanner for the acquisition of anthropometric measures. The data acquired by the scanner is used, thanks to the developed procedure, to tailor the dimensions of a hand exoskeleton. The exoskeleton is used for assistive and rehabilitation purposes
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