Why Does Obesity Lead to Hypertension? Further Lessons from the Intersalt Study.

Objectives To analyze correlations between major determinants of blood pressure (BP), in efforts to generate and compare predictive models that explain for variance in systolic, diastolic, and mean BP amongst participants of the Intersalt study. Methods Data from the Intersalt study, consisting of nearly 10,000 subjects from 32 different countries, were reviewed and analyzed. Published mean values of 24 hour urinary electrolyte excretion (Na+, K+), 24 hour urine creatinine excretion, body mass index (BMI, kg/m^2), and blood pressure data were extracted and imported into Matlab™ for stepwise linear regression analysis. Results As shown earlier, strong correlations between urinary sodium excretion (UNaV) and systolic, diastolic and mean blood pressure were noted as well as between UNaV and the age dependent increase in systolic blood pressure. Of interest, BMI and urinary creatinine excretion rate (UCrV) also both correlated with systolic blood pressure, but the ratio of BMI/UCrV, constructed to be a measure of obesity, correlated negatively with systolic blood pressure. Conclusions Our results offer population-based evidence suggesting that increased size due to muscle mass rather than adiposity may correspond more to blood pressure. Additional data bases will need to be sampled and analyzed to further validate these observations

Role of Dietary Components in Modulating Hypertension

Hypertension is a major health issue, particularly in medically underserved populations that may suffer from poor health literacy, poverty, and limited access to healthcare resources. Management of the disease reduces the risk of adverse outcomes, such as cardiovascular or cerebrovascular events, vision impairment due to retinal damage, and renal failure. In addition to pharmacological therapy, lifestyle modifications such as diet and exercise are effective in managing hypertension. Current diet guidelines include the DASH diet, a low-fat and low-sodium diet that encourages high consumption of fruits and vegetables. While the diet is effective in controlling hypertension, adherence to the diet is poor and there are few applicable dietary alternatives, which is an issue that can arise from poor health literacy in at-risk populations. The purpose of this review is to outline the effect of specific dietary components, both positive and negative, when formulating a dietary approach to hypertension management that ultimately aims to improve patient adherence to the treatment, and achieve better control of hypertension

INVESTIGATION OF CHEMICAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF ESSENTIAL OILS FROM TWO SYZYGIUM SPECIES OF ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA

Objective: The present investigation is carried out to study the chemical composition, antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of essential oils of two Syzygium species i.e. Syzygium alternifolium (SA) and S. samarangense (SS) leaves.Methods: The essential oils from S. alternifolium (SA) and S. samarangense (SS) leaves were obtained by hydro-distillation and analyzed by GC and GC-MS. The oils were subjected to antimicrobial and antioxidant activities by using in vitro methods.Results: Essential oils (EOs) obtained by hydro distillation were analyzed through GC and GC-MS and resulted 25 compounds from each sample. SA leaf oil was dominated by monoterpene hydrocarbons (53.53%) of which, β-mercene (24.04%), β-pinene (9.23%), β-trans-ocimene (9.2%), cyclofenchene (7.21%) and β-cis-ocimene (2.1%). Whereas SS leaf oil was dominated by sesquiterpene components i.e. viridiflorol (15.05%) α-cubebene (7.71%) and monoterpenes, i.e. β-pinene (11.64%), α-pinene (9.61%) and α-terpineol (5.19%). Both essential oils exhibited strong and broad spectrum of antimicrobial activity. The antimicrobial results showed that SA-leaf oil strongly inhibited Candida rugosa (CR), Bacillus subtilis (BS) and Staphyloccus aureus (ST), whereas SS-leaf oil strongly inhibited CR and Escherichia coli (EC). Among the test organisms, CR was strongly inhibited by both oils by expression of the lowest minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC). Further, both the test EOs exhibited concentration dependent DPPH scavenging activity indicating the significant antioxidant property.Conclusion: Syzygium alternifolium and S. samarangense leaf essential oils are the good source of natural antimicrobial and antioxidant compounds, which can be used as natural therapeutic agents against human pathogenic organisms.Â

Adiposity Predicts Pulse Pressure in Subjects with Chronic Kidney Disease: Data from the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease

Obesity is a known risk factor for hypertension, but the mechanisms by which this occurs are still unclear. As the body mass index (BMI) is frequently used to define obesity, but the BMI does not distinguish between adipose and other tissues, we sought to develop another index of obesity. We decided to look at the ratio of BMI to urinary creatinine excretion as the latter measurement is believed to be an index of muscle mass. We used data from the modification of diet in renal disease (MDRD) study as urinary creatinine collections and blood pressure measurements were readily available in this data set. The UCRV correlated well with lean body mass determined by anthropomorphic measurements available on this data set. We found that the BMI/UCRV ratio correlated with either percent body fat (PBF) or total body fat calculated as the product of PBF and weight. We also found that the BMI/UCRV ratio correlated significantly with systolic, diastolic and especially pulse pressure in this population. These data suggest that adipocyte mass has a relationship to blood pressure in subjects with renal disease. Should these data be confirmed in other populations, the BMI/UCRV ratio may prove to be a useful measurement in patients at risk for hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases

Orthotic Treatment Overview of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome or median compressive neuropathy at the wrist is the condition of median nerve compression. Most of the CTSs are idiopathic and are provoked by repetitive grasping and manipulating activities, and the exposure can be cumulative. Orthotic splinting is prescribed both pre- and postsurgical but essentially in pre-surgical situation. The importance of wrist orthotic splints in non-operative treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome is a known scenario. Also evidentially it has a standard of care despite having varying rates of success. The aim and objective of orthotic splinting is to immobilize the wrist to stop flexion and maintain low range of wrist motion which help to decrease inflammation. CTS splint may be applied to dorsal side or in volar for maintaining wrist in a neutral position. The general recommendation is to wear a wrist immobilization orthotic splint as night splint. Splint kinematics and kinetics for biomechanical analyzing principles are essential to understand the principles involved in the various standard design, construction, and fitting of CTS splint. Application of orthotic biomechanics is for possessing a specific understanding of orthotic splinting function as per clinical orthotic assessment

Estimation of genetic distances among various genotypes of blackgram (Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper) using D2 statistics

The genetic distance assessment of forty blackgram genotypes was conducted employing Mahalanobis’ D2 statistics considering ten quantitative characters. All the studied genotypes were grouped in ten discrete clusters, among which cluster I was indeed the largest with thirteen genotypes followed by cluster V with eight genotypes, cluster IV with seven genotypes and cluster II with five genotypes. Cluster IX was digenotypic, other clusters III, VI, VII, VIII and X were all solitary. Cluster IV and IX had the greatest inter-cluster gap followed by cluster VIII and IX, clusters VII and IX, clusters II and IX, clusters III and IX, clusters V and IV, clusters IX and Cluster X and between cluster VI and IX, implying that a successful breeding programme can be begun by selecting diverse lines to improve productivity and other yield-related traits. In the current investigation, cluster X, cluster VI, cluster IV and cluster VIII were considered divergent enough and found to be the best. Hence, genotypes from these clusters viz., TU 94-2 from cluster IX, PU 31 from cluster VI, IPU 94-1 from cluster IV and LBG 623 from cluster VIII can be used in the crossing programme for additional genetic enhancement. Cluster IX had the highest mean score for traits viz., the number of clusters per plant, the number of pods per plant, pod length, test weight and grain yield per plant. The number of pods per plant provided the most to genetic diversity succeeded by the number of clusters per plant, days to maturity, plant height, pod length and test weight. As a result, in a crossing programme, selecting and utilising genotypes based on these traits will be more rewarding. Furthermore, taking into account the genotype disposition in various clusters, one can perform different possible crosses to produce heterotic hybrids or transgressive segregants, based on the nature of gene action regulating the traits

Influence of sonication on the physicochemical and biological characteristics of selenium-substituted hydroxyapatites

Although the material hydroxyapatite (HAP) has excellent porous, biocompatible, and biodegradable properties, its mechanical strength and microbial inhibition rate are not adequate for its direct use in bone tissue engineering or in constructing artificial teeth. To overcome some of its limitations, in the present study, we have formed an organic-inorganic composite with an altered internal structureviadoping selenium (Se) cations into the lattice of HAP. We have synthesized Se-substituted HAP (Se-HAP) composites with different Se/P ratios (0.01, 0.05, and 0.1 M)viaa wet chemical route in which two different sets of samples were collected (1) after only precipitation (referred to as the precipitation method) and (2) after precipitation followed by sonication (referred to as the sonochemical method). FTIR and Raman spectroscopic analyses confirmed the successful doping of Se into the HAP matrices, while powder XRD studies indicated their highly crystalline nature, which was significantly influenced by Se doping. The XRD data also showed that the Se-HAP particles formed by the precipitation method have a size of 56 nm and those formed by the sonochemical method have a size of 29 nm. Morphological analysis by means of SEM and TEM indicated that the sonochemical method produces well-defined rod-shaped particles, while the precipitation method produces particles with agglomerated structures. Hemolytic studies confirmed that the Se-HAP particles are biocompatible, and that the hemolytic ratio increases with the Se content. In addition, antibacterial studies indicated that Se-HAP responds quite well against a Gram-positive strain (S. aureus), on a par with the response to a Gram-negative strain (P. aeruginosa). Finally,in vitrocell viability and proliferation studies indicated an increase in the proliferation capacity of non-cancer cells (NIH-3T3 fibroblasts) and a considerable reduction in the viability of cancer cells (MG-63 osteosarcoma). Based on the overall analysis, the Se-HAP samples formed by the sonochemical approach could have potential for biomedical applications in bone cell repair, growth, and regeneration

Self-organizing ontology of biochemically relevant small molecules

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The advent of high-throughput experimentation in biochemistry has led to the generation of vast amounts of chemical data, necessitating the development of novel analysis, characterization, and cataloguing techniques and tools. Recently, a movement to publically release such data has advanced biochemical structure-activity relationship research, while providing new challenges, the biggest being the curation, annotation, and classification of this information to facilitate useful biochemical pattern analysis. Unfortunately, the human resources currently employed by the organizations supporting these efforts (e.g. ChEBI) are expanding linearly, while new useful scientific information is being released in a seemingly exponential fashion. Compounding this, currently existing chemical classification and annotation systems are not amenable to automated classification, formal and transparent chemical class definition axiomatization, facile class redefinition, or novel class integration, thus further limiting chemical ontology growth by necessitating human involvement in curation. Clearly, there is a need for the automation of this process, especially for novel chemical entities of biological interest.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>To address this, we present a formal framework based on Semantic Web technologies for the automatic design of chemical ontology which can be used for automated classification of novel entities. We demonstrate the automatic self-assembly of a structure-based chemical ontology based on 60 MeSH and 40 ChEBI chemical classes. This ontology is then used to classify 200 compounds with an accuracy of 92.7%. We extend these structure-based classes with molecular feature information and demonstrate the utility of our framework for classification of functionally relevant chemicals. Finally, we discuss an iterative approach that we envision for future biochemical ontology development.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We conclude that the proposed methodology can ease the burden of chemical data annotators and dramatically increase their productivity. We anticipate that the use of formal logic in our proposed framework will make chemical classification criteria more transparent to humans and machines alike and will thus facilitate predictive and integrative bioactivity model development.</p

Integrated genetic map and genetic analysis of a region associated with root traits on the short arm of rye chromosome 1 in bread wheat

A rye–wheat centric chromosome translocation 1RS.1BL has been widely used in wheat breeding programs around the world. Increased yield of translocation lines was probably a consequence of increased root biomass. In an effort to map loci-controlling root characteristics, homoeologous recombinants of 1RS with 1BS were used to generate a consensus genetic map comprised of 20 phenotypic and molecular markers, with an average spacing of 2.5 cM. Physically, all recombination events were located in the distal 40% of the arms. A total of 68 recombinants was used and recombination breakpoints were aligned and ordered over map intervals with all the markers, integrated together in a genetic map. This approach enabled dissection of genetic components of quantitative traits, such as root traits, present on 1S. To validate our hypothesis, phenotyping of 45-day-old wheat roots was performed in five lines including three recombinants representative of the entire short arm along with bread wheat parents ‘Pavon 76’ and Pavon 1RS.1BL. Individual root characteristics were ranked and the genotypic rank sums were subjected to Quade analysis to compare the overall rooting ability of the genotypes. It appears that the terminal 15% of the rye 1RS arm carries gene(s) for greater rooting ability in wheat