Proteome-Wide Genetic Investigation of Large Artery Stiffness.

The molecular mechanisms contributing to large artery stiffness (LAS) are not fully understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between circulating plasma proteins and LAS using complementary proteomic and genomic analyses. A total of 106 proteins associated with carotid-femoral pulse-wave velocity, a noninvasive measure of LAS, were identified in 1,178 individuals from the Asklepios study cohort.

Colorimetric correcting for sample concentration in stool samples.

Objectives: Fecal immunochemical tests (FIT) for hemoglobin are currently considered the screening investigation of choice for colorectal cancer and are worldwide recommended. Similarly, fecal calprotectin is a widely used test for monitoring intestinal inflammation. The pre-analytical issues regarding stool samples have hardly been dealt with and are difficult to solve.

Defining Hemodynamic Significance of Renal Artery Stenosis: Insights From a Porcine Model of Graded Renal Artery Stenosis.

Rationale And Objectives: To investigate the renal pressure-flow relationship and its relation to renin release, because the renal perfusion pressure below which renal flow starts to decline and renin secretion is upregulated is unclear.

Materials And Methods: A porcine model of graded unilateral renal artery stenosis was created. The severity of the stenosis was expressed as the ratio between distal renal pressure (P) and aortic pressure (P).

On the protein content of kidney stones: an explorative study.

Objectives: Kidney stone formation is complex; urinary protein inhibitors play a major role in natural defense against stone formation. Using attenuated total-reflectance Fourier-transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy of kidney stones, proteins are usually not quantified and often reported as 'organic matrix', for which there is little attention: treatment of urolithiasis is based on the nature of the major organic/inorganic stone compound. Literature no longer regards urinary proteins as innocent bystander, but highlights the role of proteins as urolithiasis modulators.

Exercise Induced Myoglobinuria is Determined by Haptoglobin Polymorphism.

Background: In professional soccer players (n = 27), confounders of quantitative myoglobinuria following physical training were assessed in order to improve interpretation of post-exercise myoglobinuria.

Methods: Urine samples were collected in the morning before training sessions, 48 to 72 hours following a game. Urine myoglobin was assayed using immunoturbidimetry.

Genetic Polymorphisms in the Host and COVID-19 Infection.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic shows a marked geographical variation in its prevalence and mortality. The question arises if the host genetic variation may (partly) affect the prevalence and mortality of COVID-19. We postulated that the geographical variation of human polymorphisms might partly explain the variable prevalence of the infection.

Sex differences in the association between arterial hypertension, blood pressure, and sleep apnea in the general population.

Study Objectives: To assess sex-related differences in the relationship between hypertension (HT), blood pressure (BP), and sleep apnea in the general population.

Methods: We performed home polygraphy in a cohort of 1809 men and women in the general population. Office BP was measured.

Longitudinal Changes of Input Impedance, Pulse Wave Velocity, and Wave Reflection in a Middle-Aged Population: The Asklepios Study.

[Figure: see text].