The Role of Naphthaleneacetic Acid and 1-Methylcyclopropene in Preventing Preharvest Berry Dropping in L.

Fruit dropping represents a concern in many fruit species, including L. This research investigated the role of two plant growth regulators (PGRs), naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), in mitigating preharvest berry dropping (PHBD) through affecting ethylene (ET) and auxin (AUX) metabolism and interactions, key hormones involved in abscission. The experiment was carried out on cv.

Predicting oil accumulation by fruit image processing and linear models in traditional and super high-density olive cultivars.

The paper focuses on the seasonal oil accumulation in traditional and super-high density (SHD) olive plantations and its modelling employing image-based linear models. For these purposes, at 7-10-day intervals, fruit samples (cultivar Arbequina, Fasola, Frantoio, Koroneiki, Leccino, Maiatica) were pictured and images segmented to extract the Red (R), Green (G), and Blue (B) mean pixel values which were re-arranged in 35 RGB-derived colorimetric indexes (). After imaging, the samples were crushed and oil concentration was determined (NIR).

Prednisone and long-term damage in systemic lupus erythematosus: Which is the threshold dose? A pilot study.

Objectives: We aimed to study the daily dose of glucocorticoids in the first month associated with damage after 5 years of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) diagnosis; and to assess the daily dose of prednisone during the first year, over which damage after 5 years could be predicted.

Methodology: A retrospective cohort study of SLE patients from the diagnosis and up to 5 years of follow-up was performed. Cumulative prednisone doses in the first month (T1m), at 1 year (T12m), and at 5 years (T5y) were calculated.

Glucocorticoids in . Ten Questions and Some Issues.

Since the discovery of glucocorticoids (GCs), their important anti-inflammatory effect, rapid mechanism of action, low cost, and accessibility have made them one of the mainstays of treatment for (SLE). Although their use has allowed controlling the disease and reducing acute mortality in severe conditions, the implementation of a scheme based on high doses for long periods has inevitably been accompanied by an increase in adverse effects and infections, including long-term damage. The objective of this review is to answer some important questions that may arise from its use in daily clinical practice, and to propose a paradigm based on the use of methylprednisolone pulses followed by medium-low doses and a rapid decrease of prednisone.

A novel form of Deleted in breast cancer 1 (DBC1) lacking the N-terminal domain does not bind SIRT1 and is dynamically regulated in vivo.

The protein Deleted in Breast Cancer-1 is a regulator of several transcription factors and epigenetic regulators, including HDAC3, Rev-erb-alpha, PARP1 and SIRT1. It is well known that DBC1 regulates its targets, including SIRT1, by protein-protein interaction. However, little is known about how DBC1 biological activity is regulated.

The Clinician Faced With Anticochlear Antibodies: What to Do With Them?

Background: Autoimmune inner ear disease as a cause of sensorineural hearing loss is a poorly understood entity. Thus, the role of anticochlear antibodies (ACLAs) in clinical management is still not well established.

Objective: The aims of this study were to describe the use of ACLAs in our clinical setting and to understand the clinicians' therapeutic approach in these cases.

Mitral peak early diastolic filling velocity to deceleration time ratio as a predictor of prognosis in patients with chronic heart failure and preserved or reduced ejection fraction.

Objective: Doppler derived mitral peak early diastolic filling velocity to deceleration time ratio (E/DT) has been proposed as parameter for predicting prognosis in general population. This study prospectively investigates the incremental prognostic value of E/DT over clinical, conventional echocardiographic and mitral-Doppler variables in patients hospitalized for decompensated heart failure (HF).

Methods: We analyzed 95 HF patients (mean age 64.

Arterial wave reflections and ventricular-vascular interaction in patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction.

Central aortic pressure waveform (AoPW) is the summation of a forward-traveling wave generated by the left ventricle and a backward-traveling wave caused by the reflection of the forward wave. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of ventricular-vascular coupling on the morphology of AoPW in chronic heart failure patients with different degrees of left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) using pulse wave analysis (PWA). PWA of AoPW and left ventricular (LV) function were evaluated by applanation tonometry in 26 control subjects, in 12 patients with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤ 30%, and in 14 patients with LVEF > 30%.

Varietal and pre-fermentative volatiles during ripening of Vitis vinifera cv Nebbiolo berries from three growing areas.

Flavour analysis of grape is a key step in quality evaluation. The Stir Bar Sorptive Extraction technique (SBSE, 'Twister'®) was used to assess varietal and pre-fermentative volatile accumulation in 'Nebbiolo' berries, from véraison to harvest. Grapes were collected in three vineyards, representing different 'crus' in the cultivation areas of Barolo, Barbaresco and Roero (North-West Italy).

Progression of coronary artery calcification and cardiac events in patients with chronic renal disease not receiving dialysis.

We tested for the presence of coronary calcifications in patients with chronic renal disease not on dialysis and studied its progression in 181 consecutive non-dialyzed patients who were followed for a median of 745 days. Coronary calcifications (calcium score) were tallied in Agatston units by computed tomography, and the patients were stratified into two groups by their baseline calcium score (100 U or less and over 100 U). Survival was measured by baseline calcium score and its progression.

Prognostic value of reduced kidney function and anemia in patients with chronic heart failure.

Objectives: The present study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of B-type natriuretic peptide (N-proBNP), renal dysfunction and anemia in chronic heart failure (CHF) patients.

Methods: We analyzed data from a prospective cohort of 153 patients (mean age 64 years) with CHF referred to our hospital center. Clinical, echocardiographic and laboratory data were drawn during hospital recovery in all patients.

Novel deletion at the M and P promoters of the human dystrophin gene associated with a Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Despite numerous reports about dystrophin alterations in Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies and dilated cardiomyopathy, the function of dystrophin gene promoters has not yet been completely elucidated. We report the first case of a DNA segment deletion encompassing promoters M and P of the human dystrophin gene, which caused a very severe muscle phenotype without cardiomyopathy, in a 13-year-old boy. These data indicate that the simultaneous lack of promoters P and M results in dramatic consequences in skeletal muscle but not in the heart.

Impaired inactive to active kallikrein conversion in human salt-sensitive hypertension.

Active and inactive urinary kallikrein excretion rates were evaluated in 43 essential hypertensive men (45.4 +/- 5.6 yr) after normal-(120 mmol/day), low-(20 mmol/day), and high-(240 mmol/day) NaCl diets were given for 2 wk each.

Active kallikrein response to changes in sodium-chloride intake in essential hypertensive patients.

To evaluate the behavior of active kallikrein excretion in salt-sensitive and salt-resistant hypertensive patients during changes in sodium-chloride (NaCl) intake, 61 male, nonobese, nondiabetic outpatients affected by uncomplicated essential hypertension were given a diet that contained 140 mmol NaCl per day for 2 wk. Patients then received either a low- (20 mmol NaCl/day) or a high- (320 mmol NaCl/day) sodium diet for 2 wk, according to a randomized, double-blind, cross-over protocol. Hypertensive patients were classified as salt sensitive when their diastolic blood pressure rose by at least 10 mm Hg after the high-sodium diet, and decreased by at least 10 mm Hg after the low-sodium diet, considering as baseline blood pressure values those that were taken at the end of the 140 mmol NaCl/day intake period.

Circulating endothelin-1 levels increase during euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp in lean NIDDM men.

Objective: To evaluate whether or not insulin stimulates endothelin (ET)-1 secretion in vivo.

Research Design And Methods: Plasma ET-1 levels were evaluated in 16 lean normotensive men with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) (mean age 50.3 +/- 4.

[Primary hyperaldosteronism caused by monolateral adrenal hyperplasia].

We have reported two patients with unilateral adrenal hyperplasia as a rare cause of primary aldosteronism, and discussed the literature on this subject. When diagnosed by NMR-CT imaging and selective sampling from adrenal veins, the treatment of this disorder appears to be surgical. Whether its pathogenesis is related to the more common varieties of primary aldosteronism is open to speculation according to metabolic findings.

Urinary kallikrein and salt sensitivity in essential hypertensive males.

A strong influence of urinary kallikrein excretion on the salt sensitivity of blood pressure has been recently suggested in normotensive patients. To evaluate the relationship between kallikrein and salt sensitivity in essential hypertension, active kallikrein excretion, plasma renin activity, atrial natriuretic peptide and aldosterone levels were evaluated in 37 male hypertensives (mean age 43.3 +/- 4.

Unilateral adrenal hypersecretion of both aldosterone and cortisol in two first cousins with a syndrome of mineralocorticoid excess but without signs of hypercortisolism.

A 38 year old woman and her first cousin, a 41 year old man, presented both with hypertension, hypokalemia, hyperaldosteronism, and low plasma renin activity in our Hospital. In both patients, plasma and urine aldosterone were constantly above the normal range, even on a high NaCl diet (250 mEq/day), while the plasma aldosterone response to postural changes was normal. In the female patient abdominal ultrasonic scan, CT scan, MRI, and adrenal gland phlebography were normal, but blood from the left adrenal vein contained 1002 pg/ml of aldosterone, versus 91 pg/ml in the contralateral one.

Erythrocyte Na-K-Cl cotransport activity in low renin essential hypertensive patients. A 23Na nuclear magnetic resonance study.

The Na-K-Cl cotransport activity in red blood cells from essential hypertensive men with low (n = 8, mean age 42 +/- 4 years) or normal renin activity (n = 4, mean age 43 +/- 3 years), and in normotensive men with normal renin activity (n = 7, mean age 38 +/- 4 years) has been evaluated by means of a recently developed 23Na nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) method. Sodium efflux was determined by relating the resonating frequency of the NMR signal from extracellular sodium to sodium concentration in the presence of the shift reagent Dy(PPP)2(7-). The maximum Na+ efflux driven by cotransport (Vmax) was measured in Na(+)-loaded erythrocytes in the presence of ouabain to block the Na-K-Cl pump activity.

Enhanced blood pressure response to cyclooxygenase inhibition in salt-sensitive human essential hypertension.

To evaluate the influence of salt sensitivity on the blood pressure response to oral indomethacin treatment, we studied 35 hospitalized essential hypertensive patients (24 men and 11 women, aged from 40 to 55 years). During a normal NaCl intake (120 mmol Na+ per day), patients were assigned to receive in a randomized double-blind fashion either 200 mg indomethacin (25 patients) or placebo (10 patients) for 5 days. Two weeks after the interruption of indomethacin treatment, during which the normal NaCl intake was continued, salt sensitivity was assessed by giving each patient a high (220 mmol Na+ per day for 10 days) and then a low (20 mmol Na+ per day for 10 days) NaCl diet.

[Sodium-modulating hormones and the pressor response to sodium chloride in essential arterial hypertension].

Some predictive markers for NaCl sensitivity, related to the red blood cell membrane or to circulating proteins, have already been described in human essential hypertension. The present study was planned to investigate whether or not some hormones produced by the kidney or acting at the kidney level could be used as new markers for NaCl sensitivity. The study was conducted in 28 not previously treated outpatients affected by uncomplicated mild to moderate essential hypertension.

The influence of salt sensitivity on the blood pressure response to exogenous kallikrein in essential hypertensive patients.

In order to verify the influence of salt sensitivity on the blood pressure response to orally administered kallikrein, we evaluated the efficacy of glandular kallikrein (derived from porcine pancreas) in 28 essential hypertensives (21 males and 9 females) aged between 40 and 62 years. After a placebo run-in period, the patients were assigned to receive oral kallikrein therapy (150 IU 3 times a day; n = 18 patients) or placebo (n = 10 patients) over a period of 8 days in a random double-blind fashion. In the salt-resistant patients (n = 8), kallikrein administration did not modify blood pressure levels.

Development of an enzyme immunoassay for the detection of hepatitis B surface antigen employing monoclonal antibodies.

The use of monoclonal antibodies in the development of a third generation microtitration plate enzyme immunoassay for the detection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) is described. These antibodies were tested either alone or in combination with polyclonal antibodies raised in rabbit. Horseradish peroxidase was employed in the conjugates and 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine was used as the enzyme substrate.