Publications

Hypertensive patients with high blood pressure (BP) after treatment with 3 or more antihypertensive drugs present elevated cardiovascular risk, and high prevalence of a non-dipper BP pattern (<10% decline in the nocturnal relative to the diurnal BP mean). Recent results indicate that non-dipping in treated patients may be related to the absence of 24-hour therapeutic coverage [J Hypertens. 2002;20:1097-1104]. Accordingly, we studied the impact of the time of treatment on the circadian pattern of BP in patients with resistant hypertension. We studied 444 patients with resistant hypertension (228 men), 58.9±11.0 years of age. Among them, 210 patients received all their medication upon awakening. In the remaining 234 patients, one drug was prescribed to be taken before bedtime. BP was measured at 20-min intervals from 07:00 to 23:00 hours and at 30-min intervals at night for 48 consecutive hours. Physical activity was simultaneously monitored every minute by wrist actigraphy, and the information used to determine diurnal and nocturnal means of BP for each patient according to individual resting time. In comparison with patients who received all their antihypertensive medication upon awakening, subjects with one drug before bedtime were characterized by a significant reduction in the 24-hour mean of systolic BP (4.9 mm Hg, P<0.001). This reduction was much more prominent during nocturnal resting hours (7.5 mm Hg, P<0.001). The reduction in nocturnal mean was also significant in diastolic BP (2.3 mm Hg, P=0.011). Patients receiving one drug before bedtime also showed a significant reduction in the 24-hour mean of pulse pressure (4.3 mm Hg, P<0.001). A very high 82.9% of the patients with all drugs on awakening were non-dippers. This percentage was significantly reduced to just 51.7% in patients who received one antihypertensive drug before bedtime (P<0.001). In patients with resistant hypertension, pharmacological therapy should take into account when to treat with respect to the rest-activity cycle of each patient, as a function of the therapeutic coverage of the drugs and the baseline circadian BP profile of the patient. This chronopharmacology therapeutic approach allows to reduce the prevalence of an altered non-dipper BP profile, associated with an increased cardiovascular risk. Am J Hypertens (2004) 17, 41A–41A; doi: 10.1016/j.amjhyper.2004.03.098

Due to environmental persistence, lack of a proper land-based waste management, and global circulation, marine ecosystems are especially threatened by plastics. The search for alternatives to conventional oil-based polymers gave rise to novel materials commercialized under different "green" labels based on compostability. However, current international standards are not effective in predicting actual biodegradability of plastic objects in natural scenarios, and degradation of these novel bioplastics in marine conditions is unwarranted. We present a simple and rapid standard protocol based on their biological oxygen demand, intended to support policy-makers and plastic industry in the search for truly marine-biodegradable plastics. Improvements include: development of an environmentally relevant nutrient formulation following Redfield ratio (106C:16 N:1P); use of a natural inoculum representative of marine habitats (sediment pore water); standardization of the test material by grinding to particles below 250 μm to shorten the incubation period, and selection of a truly biodegradable biopolymer (PHB), used as positive control. This protocol was successfully applied to show that commercial compostable plastics are not biodegradable in marine environments.

Barley is one of the most important cereal crops and arranged globally as fourth after wheat, rice, and corn. It is known for its beneficial effects against degenerative diseases including diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and colon inflammation which are associated with eating habits and improper lifestyles. These effects are mainly attributed to its rich dietary fibers, i.e., β-glucan composition. Moreover, barley considered as a good source of starch, minerals, vitamins, and protein pose it as an ideal food supplement. Nevertheless, about 2% of the barley global production is utilized due to unacceptable organoleptic characters. Therefore, continuous modifications are ongoing either to develop new cultivars for different purposes, or novel processing methods to improve its organoleptic characters. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of the macroconstituents and microconstituents of barley, its nutritional value and prebiotic effects. Further, different processing procedures performed to improve its organoleptic characters or to decrease its antinutrient levels are outlined with suggestions for further needed cultivars that could preserve the different benefits of barley and maximize its value as a major cereal crop.

The hearsay rule is the most important concepts in the common law of Britain and the United States,occupies a pivotal position.The rules in promoting China's reform of the trial,finding the truth and the facts of the case,has important significance to improve the efficiency of the proceedings.China currently lacks the hearsay rule,resulting in emergence of China's criminal trial court,saying the witnesses very low,low efficiency problem of litigation,our urgent need to establish the rules to promote the trial reform,better find the real case,to improve effectiveness of the proceedings.