The CERN Axion Solar Telescope (CAST) has extended its search for solar axions by using ^{3}He as a buffer gas. At T=1.8  K this allows for larger pressure settings and hence sensitivity to higher axion masses than our previous measurements with ^{4}He. With about 1 h of data taking at each ...

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this review is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of tafluprost, a fluoroprostaglandin receptor analog, for reduction of intraocular pressure in open angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension. METHODS: A search of published literature was performed on the PubMed database using the search term "tafluprost." The literature ...

Abstract The National Association of EMS Physicians (NAEMSP) believes that noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) is an important treatment modality for the prehospital management of acute dyspnea. This document serves as a resource to the NAEMSP position on prehospital NIPPV.

Primary objective: A volumetric blood surge (rapid physical movement/displacement of blood) is hypothesized to cause the non-impact, mild TBI and battlefield PTSD induced by a blast over-pressure wave. Research design: Systematic review of the literature. Methods and procedures: Articles relating to the fields of blast injury, brain injury and relevant ...

To compare magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) effective stiffness to end-diastolic pressure at different loading conditions to demonstrate a relationship between myocardial MRE effective stiffness and end-diastolic left ventricular (LV) pressure. MRE was performed on four pigs to measure the end-diastolic effective stiffness under different loading conditions. End-diastolic pressure was increased ...

PURPOSE: An increase in abdominal pressure induces an increase in left ventricular afterload under clinical conditions. We tested the hypothesis that positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) could reverse the hemodynamic consequences of abdominal hyperpression by opposing the increase in left ventricular afterload. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eight healthy volunteers were investigated during ...

Here we report that pressure-driven flow alone (no external electrical energy) can be used to drive faradaic electrochemical reactions in microchannels with charged walls. Specifically, we show that solution flow can generate streaming potentials on the order of volts and that this is sufficient to carry out reactions on the ...

Abstract BACKGROUND: Preliminary evidence supports an association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and thoracic aortic dilatation. The mechanisms through which OSA may promote thoracic aortic dilatation are incompletely understood. Therefore, we studied the acute effects of simulated apnea and hypopnea on aortic diameter and blood pressure in humans. METHODS: In ...

We report successful deployment of a fenestrated Helex Septal Occluder in a 46-year-old lady with a moderate-sized secundum atrial septal defect and elevated left-ventricular end diastolic pressure secondary to renovascular hypertension. Initial balloon occlusion of the defect lead to significant rise in left atrial pressure. Creation of a 4-mm fenestration ...

We examined the hypothesis that vascular and renal dysfunction caused by angiotensin II (Ang II) through increased levels of blood pressure, inflammatory cytokines, and oxidative stress in Sprague-Dawley rats can be prevented by lentiviral-mediated delivery of endothelial heme oxygenase (HO)-1. We targeted the vascular endothelium using a lentiviral construct expressing ...

OBJECTIVE:: To test the hypothesis that tidal elimination of carbon dioxide and dynamic compliance guided lung recruitment and positive end-expiratory pressure titration in surfactant-depleted piglets result in improved aeration (repeated computed tomography scans) and reduced ventilation pressures compared to those of a control group with conventional end-tidal carbon dioxide targeted ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The breath hold maneuver is a convenient and frequently used method to assess cerebrovascular reactivity (CR). This study aimed to assess feasibility and reproducibility of this method in healthy older persons. METHODS: Twenty-five healthy volunteers, aged 75 (SD 4) years, performed 2 consecutive breath holds after careful ...

To characterize primate arterial waveforms, we prospectively studied 38 bonnet macaques (Macaca radiata; 25 female, 13 ± 4 y). Brachial artery waveforms were recorded from these animals by applanation tonometry and were decomposed into harmonics by using Fourier analysis. The ratio of individual to total harmonic amplitude (H:T) was derived ...

Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) has recently emerged as a key regulator of the renin-angiotensin system in both health and disease. ACE2 deficiency is associated with elevated tissue and circulating levels of angiotensin II and reduced levels of angiotensin 1-7. Phenotypically, this results in a modest elevation in systolic blood pressure ...

Aim: Noninvasive markers of right ventricular (RV) diastolic dysfunction are limited by their lack of reproducibility and accuracy. We tested the hypothesis that right atrial (RA) size measured by echocardiography was correlated to invasive parameters of RV diastolic filling. Methods and Results: We studied 31 consecutive adult patients with congenital ...

Understanding the foulant deposition mechanism during crossflow filtration is critical in developing indices to predict fouling propensity of feed water for reverse osmosis (RO). Factors affecting the performance on different fouling indices such as MFI-UF constant pressure, MFI-UF constant flux and newly proposed fouling index, CFS-MFI(UF) were investigated. Crossflow Sampler-Modified ...

End organ damage in hypertension can be detected early, reflects accurately the hypertensive patient's overall cardiovascular risk, and should be prevented and treated with antihypertensive treatment. We selectively review the relevant literature since 1995, including the German and European guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of arterial hypertension. Measurement of ...

1. Hypertension plays a critical role in the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) to end-stage renal disease (ESRD), but it has also been postulated that antihypertensive drugs that block the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) show class-specific renoprotective actions beyond their blood pressure (BP)-lowering effects. 2. Because this notion has recently ...

The problem of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) has recently received much attention. In this study we discuss some relations that connect ejection fraction EF to the parameters describing the end-systolic pressure-volume relation (ESPVR). It is shown that the study of the relation between EF and ESPVR can ...

Milk casein-derived bioactive tripeptides isoleucine-proline-proline (Ile-Pro-Pro) and valine-proline-proline (Val-Pro-Pro) lower blood pressure in animal models of hypertension and humans. In some studies, their angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitory effect has been demonstrated. Besides classical ACE-angiotensin II-AT(1)-receptor pathway (ACE-Ang II- AT(1)), the significance of ACE2-angiotensin-(1-7)-Mas-receptor (ACE2-Ang-(1-7)-Mas) axis in the blood pressure regulation has ...

Previous studies have demonstrated that the urinary excretion of angiotensinogen is significantly increased in ANG II-infused hypertensive rats, which is associated with an augmentation of intrarenal ANG II levels. These findings suggest that urinary angiotensinogen excretion rates provide an index of intrarenal ANG II levels in ANG II-dependent hypertensive states. ...

Aims: Oxidative stress and fibrosis is implicated in cardiac remodeling and failure. We tested whether allopurinol could decrease myocardial oxidative stress and attenuate cardiac fibrosis and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in angiotensin II (AngII)-induced hypertensive mice. Methodology: We used 8-week-old male C57BL/6J mice, in which angiotensin II was subcutaneously infused ...

Hypertension alters cerebrovascular regulation and increases the brain's susceptibility to stroke and dementia. We investigated the temporal relationships between the arterial pressure (AP) elevation induced by "slow pressor" angiotensin II (ANG II) infusion, which recapitulates key features of human hypertension, and the resulting cerebrovascular dysfunction. Minipumps delivering saline or ANG ...

Angiotensin (ANG)-(1-7) constitutes an important functional end-product of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system that acts to balance the physiological actions of ANG II. In the kidney, ANG-(1-7) exerts beneficial effects by inhibiting growth-promoting pathways and reducing proteinuria. We examined whether a 2-wk treatment with a daily dose of ANG-(1-7) (0.6 mg·kg(-1)·day(-1)) exerts ...

Angiotensin II (AngII) type 1-receptor blockers (ARBs) have been effectively used not only in the treatment of hypertension but also in cardiac protection. However, whether and why there are differences in these effects still remain unclear. Here we compared the effects of five commonly used ARBs (Candesartan, Olmesartan, Losartan, Telmisartan ...

Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) is a secreted protein that regulates fibrosis. We hypothesized that CTGF is induced in a pressure-overloaded (PO) heart and that blocking the angiotensin II type 1 receptor would reduce CTGF expression. Accordingly, we administered olmesartan and compared its effects with other antihypertensive drugs in a ...

We have shown previously that increased vascular endothelial expression of CYP4A2 leads to 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic (20-HETE)-dependent hypertension. The renin-angiotensin system is a key regulator of blood pressure. In this study, we examined possible interactions between 20-HETE and the renin-angiotensin system. In normotensive (110±3 mm Hg) Sprague-Dawley rats transduced with a lentivirus ...

Angiotensin II (ANG II) contributes to hypertension, cardiac hypertrophy, fibrosis, and dysfunction; however, it is difficult to separate the cardiac effect of ANG II from its hemodynamic action in vivo. To overcome the limitations, we used transgenic mice with cardiac-specific expression of a transgene fusion protein that releases ANG II ...

Calcium-sensitizing agents improve cardiac function in acute heart failure; however, their long-term effects on cardiovascular mortality are unknown. We tested the hypothesis that levosimendan, an inodilator that acts through calcium sensitization, opening of ATP-dependent potassium channels and phosphodiesterase III inhibition, improves cardiac function and survival in double transgenic rats harboring ...

Hypertension is the leading cause of cardiovascular diseases, and angiotensin II is one of the major components of the mechanisms that contribute to the development of hypertension. However, the precise mechanisms for the development of hypertension are unknown. Our recent study showing that angiotensin II-induced vascular smooth muscle cell growth ...

We investigated water drinking and arterial blood pressure responses to intravenous infusions of ANG II in young (4 mo), middle-aged adult (12 mo), and old (29 mo) male Brown Norway rats. Infusions of ANG II began with arterial blood pressure either at control levels or at reduced levels following injection ...

The hypothesis that TNF receptor 1-deficient (TNFR1(-/-)) mice display blood pressure (BP) and renal functional responses that differ from wild-type (WT) mice was tested in an angiotensin II (ANG II)-dependent model of hypertension. Basal systolic BP (SBP), mean arterial pressure, diastolic BP, heart rate (HR), and pulse pressure were similar ...

Females are less sensitive to the hypertensive effects of angiotensin II compared with males, although the molecular mechanisms responsible are unknown. We hypothesize that differential activation of angiotensin II, angiotensin (1-7), angiotensin II type 1, angiotensin II type 2, and mas levels in the renal cortex of male and female ...

Brain and peripheral renin-angiotensin systems are important in blood pressure maintenance. Circulating ANG II stimulates brain RAS to contribute to the increase mean arterial pressure (MAP). This mechanism has not been fully clarified, so it was hypothesized that reducing angiotensin type 1a (AT(1a)) receptors (AT(1a)Rs) in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) ...

Endothelin (ET) receptor antagonists are antihypertensive and renoprotective in angiotensin II (AngII)-induced hypertension if administered when AngII infusion commences, but their effects on established hypertension are poorly understood. We therefore tested the effects of intervening with an ETA (ABT-627) or ETB (A-192621) receptor antagonist after establishing hypertension with AngII (65 ...

We have previously demonstrated that moderate hyperbilirubinemia decreases blood pressure in ANG II-dependent hypertension through mechanisms that decrease oxidative stress and increase nitric oxide levels. Since decreases in renal hemodynamics play an important role in mediating the hypertensive actions of ANG II, the goal of the present study was to ...

BACKGROUND: ACE and ACE2 produce angiotensin II (Ang II), a vasopressor that induces cardiovascular remodeling, and Ang 1-7, a vasodilator with an antiremodeling effect. While Ang 1-7 has antiarrhythmic properties, at higher concentration it may induce ventricular tachycardia and sudden death. ACE2, therefore, may play an essential role in blood ...

It has been shown that angiotensin II (Ang II) is involved in cardiac remodeling mediated by NADPH oxidase-dependent reactive oxygen species (ROS). Accordingly, NADPH oxidase-dependent ROS may play a role in cardiac hypertrophy induced by pressure overload. In the present study, we sought to determine whether inhibition of NADPH oxidase ...

We have previously found that T lymphocytes are essential for development of angiotensin II-induced hypertension; however, the mechanisms responsible for T-cell activation in hypertension remain undefined. We sought to study the roles of the CNS and pressure elevation in T-cell activation and vascular inflammation caused by angiotensin II. To prevent ...

Accumulating evidence indicates a key role of inflammation in hypertension and cardiovascular disorders. However, the role of inflammatory processes in neurogenic hypertension remains to be determined. Thus, our objective in the present study was to test the hypothesis that activation of microglial cells and the generation of proinflammatory cytokines in ...

Transgenic rats with inducible expression of the mouse Ren2 renin gene [strain name: TGR(Cyp1a1Ren2)] allow induction of various degrees of ANG II-dependent hypertension. Dietary administration of the aryl hydrocarbon indole-3-carbinol (I3C) at a dose of 0.15% induces a slowly developing form of ANG II-dependent hypertension, whereas dietary administration of a ...

There is compelling evidence to indicate an important role for increased local renin-angiotensin system activity in the pathogenesis of cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure. Resveratrol is a natural polyphenol that activates SIRT1, a novel cardioprotective and longevity factor having NAD(+)-dependent histone deacetylase activity. We tested the hypothesis whether resveratrol could ...

Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is a new component of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). Accumulating evidence shows that ACE2 provides protective effects in peripheral tissues and has great potential for the treatment of RAS-related diseases. The role of ACE2 in the central nervous system is not well established. However, in recent ...

Candesartan cilexetil, an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB), was discovered in Japan in 1982. By the end of 2009, five randomized prospective clinical trials had been conducted in Japan. Herein, we examine the similarities and differences in the results with ARB reported from abroad and Japan. Candesartan reduced blood pressure ...

Angiotensin II (Ang II) is an important regulator of cardiovascular function in adult vertebrates. Although its role in regulating the adult system has been extensively investigated, the cardiovascular response to Ang II in embryonic vertebrates is relatively unknown. We investigated the potential of Ang II as a regulator of cardiovascular ...

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Salvia elegans Vahl. (Lamiaceae), recognized with the popular name of "mirto" is widely used in Mexico for healing purposes, and also them as antihypertensive treatment. AIM OF THE STUDY: The high prevalence of this illness and the side effects of antihypertensive drugs conducted us to the evaluation of ...

Superoxide (O2(-) ) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of many human diseases including hypertension; however, commonly used antioxidants have proven ineffective in clinical trials. It is possible that these agents are not adequately delivered to the subcellular sites of superoxide production. Because the mitochondria are important sources of reactive ...

OBJECTIVES: To explore whether the accelerated senescence of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) is related to the reduction of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in hypertension. METHODS AND RESULTS: In-vivo studies, plasma levels of CGRP and the number of senescent EPCs were measured in hypertensive humans and animals, from which the EPCs ...

The renin-angiotensin system is the major regulator of blood pressure by virtue of controlling vascular resistance and plasma volume. Much less recognition exists for the role of the renin-angiotensin system in regulating erythropoiesis, a biological function critical for oxygen delivery to tissues. In this review, we present evidence that angiotensin ...

Pathophysiological aldosterone (aldo)/mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) signaling has significant effects on the cardiovascular system, resulting in hypertension and cardiovascular remodeling; however, the specific contribution of the vascular MR to blood pressure regulation remains to be established. To address this question, we generated a mouse model with conditional overexpression of the MR ...