In the last decades, mathematical models have become of great importance in the context of diabetes treatment planning. Several modeling approaches based on first principles or input-output ...techniques have been proposed. However, a relevant open problem common to all these approaches is that they are not able to recover or to systematically account for the various unmeasured signals that affect a diabetic patient (e.g., food, physical activity, and emotions). A novel blind identification approach is introduced in this brief, allowing us to model type 1 diabetic patients and to effectively recover the unmeasured input signals. The approach is applied to an experimental study regarding identification and prediction of the blood glucose concentration in five type 1 diabetic patients.
OBJECTIVE:Short sleep duration and poor sleep quality has been reported to be associated with increased cardiovascular risk and increased incidence of cardiovascular events. Whether and what extent ...the pathophysiology of this association includes sympathetic abnormalities has never been examined via microneurography.
DESIGN AND METHOD:In 28 untreated mild-to moderate essential hypertensives aged 66.4 ± 3.1 (mean ± SEM) without other cardiovascular or non-cardiovascular disease (including obstructive sleep apnea) recruited from the outpatient clinic and referred for short sleep duration, we directly assessed at patients home via actigraphy (actiwatch spectrum activity monitor, Phillips) time sleep duration and efficiency. Measurements, performed during a day preceding or following the 7 day actigraphy evaluation, included microneurographic recording of efferent postganglionic sympathetic nerve traffic (MSNA), venous plasma norepinephrine (HPLC), clinic, 24 hour and beat to beat blood pressure and heart rate values. Sleep diary and a sleep questionnaire were also administered.
RESULTS:Nine patients slept less than 6 hours per night (LSD), while the remaining ones between 6 to 7 (MSD, n = 8) or more than 7 hours (GSD, N = 11). The 3 groups showed similar age and gender distribution and a body mass index amounting to 28.1 ± 0.8, 28.6 ± 0.5 and 27.3 ± 0.5 kg/m2 (P = NS). For similar mean blood pressure values LSD showed MSNA values significantly greater than GSD (53.4 ± 4.9 vs 40.1 ± 3.8bs/100hb, P < 0.03), this being the case also for MSD (49.7 ± 4.4, P < 0.05 vs GSD but not SLD). HR was significantly elevated only in LSD group when compared to GSD, while no significant difference was found in plasma NE between the 3 groups.
CONCLUSIONS:The present study provides the first microneurographic direct evidence that short sleep duration is linked to a marked sympathetic activation, which may participate at the high cardiovascular risk of these subjects. The sympathetic overdrive affects both the cardiac and peripheral district but is not reflected by NE, which thus does not represent in this condition a valuable adrenergic marker.
A reactive azlactone-based graphene nanoplatform was successfully synthesized by the ligation of azido-azlactone with alkyne-terminated graphene via Cu(I)-catalyzed cycloaddition. The reactive ...azlactone rings, grafted on graphene sheets, were subjected to highly efficient ring-opening reactions with functionalized primary amine derivatives incorporating an aminosilane coupling agent or a biological fragment.
Purpose
Classic Cushing’s syndrome (CS) is a severe disease characterized by central obesity, hypertension, easy bruising, striae rubrae, buffalo hump, proximal myopathy and hypertricosis. However, ...several CS cases have also been reported with unusual or camouflaged manifestations. In recent years, several authors investigated the prevalence of “hidden hypercortisolism” (HidHyCo) among subjects affected with bone fragility, hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2). The prevalence of the HidHyCo is estimated to be much higher than that of classic CS. However, similarly to classic CS, HidHyCo is known to increase the risk of fractures, cardiovascular disease and mortality.
Methods
We reviewed all published cases of unusual presentations of hypercortisolism and studies specifically assessing the HidHyCo prevalence in diabetic, osteoporotic and hypertensive patients.
Results
We found 49 HidHyCo cases, in whom bone fragility, hypertension and diabetes were the presenting manifestations of an otherwise silent hypercortisolism. Amongst these cases, 34.7%, 32.7%, 6.1% and 19.0%, respectively, had bone fragility, hypertension, DM2 or hypertension plus DM2 as the sole clinical manifestations of HidHyCo. Overall, 25% of HidHyCo cases were of pituitary origin, and bone fragility was the very prevalent first manifestation among them. In population studies, it is possible to estimate that 1–4% of patients with apparent primary osteoporosis has a HidHyCo and the prevalence of this condition among diabetics ranges between 3.4 and 10%.
Conclusion
These data indicate that patients with resistant or suddenly worsening hypertension or DM2 or unexplainable bone fragility should be screened for HidHyCo using the most recently approved sensitive cut-offs.
In prostate adenocarcinoma, the dissection of the expression behaviour of the eukaryotic elongation factors (eEF1A1/2) has not yet fully elucidated.
The EEF1A1/A2 expressions were investigated by ...real-time PCR, western blotting (cytoplasmic and cytoskeletal/nuclear-enriched fractions) and immunofluorescence in the androgen-responsive LNCaP and the non-responsive DU-145 and PC-3 cells, displaying a low, moderate and high aggressive phenotype, respectively. Targeted experiments were also conducted in the androgen-responsive 22Rv1, a cell line marking the progression towards androgen-refractory tumour. The non-tumourigenic prostate PZHPV-7 cell line was the control.
Compared with PZHPV-7, cancer cells showed no major variations in EEF1A1 mRNA; eEF1A1 protein increased only in cytoskeletal/nuclear fraction. On the contrary, a significant rise of EEF1A2 mRNA and protein were found, with the highest levels detected in LNCaP. Eukaryotic elongation factor 1A2 immunostaining confirmed the western blotting results. Pilot evaluation in archive prostate tissues showed the presence of EEF1A2 mRNA in near all neoplastic and perineoplastic but not in normal samples or in benign adenoma; in contrast, EEF1A1 mRNA was everywhere detectable.
Eukaryotic elongation factor 1A2 switch-on, observed in cultured tumour prostate cells and in human prostate tumour samples, may represent a feature of prostate cancer; in contrast, a minor involvement is assigned to EEF1A1. These observations suggest to consider EEF1A2 as a marker for prostate cell transformation and/or possibly as a hallmark of cancer progression.
Gas exchange was measured in a forest plantation dominated by Fraxinus angustifolia Vahl. and Quercus robur L. in northern Italy, over three growing seasons that differed in water availability (2001, ...2002 and 2003). The objectives were to: (1) determine variability in the photosynthetic parameters V(cmax) (maximum carboxylation capacity) and J(max) (maximum rate of electron transport) in relation to species, leaf ontogeny and drought; and (2) assess the potential of the photosynthesis-nitrogen relationship for estimating leaf photosynthetic capacity. Marked seasonal and interannual variability in photosynthetic capacity was observed, primarily caused by changes in leaf ontogeny and water stress. Relatively small differences were apparent between species. In the absence of water stress (year 2002), the seasonal patterns of V(cmax) and J(max) were characterized by a rapid increase during spring, a relatively steady state during summer and a rapid decline during autumn. In years with a moderate (year 2001) or a severe (year 2003) water stress, photosynthetic capacity decreased during the summer in proportion to drought intensity, without a parallel decline in leaf nitrogen content. The V(cmax)-nitrogen relationship was significantly affected by both leaf ontogeny and drought. As a consequence, the use of a single annual regression to predict V(cmax) from leaf nitrogen yielded good estimates only during the summer and in the absence of water stress. Irrespective of the mechanisms by which photosynthetic capacity is affected by water stress, its large seasonal and interannual variability is of great relevance for modeling the forest carbon cycle.
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