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In the present study, the chemical composition of the essential oil from aerial parts of Ononis reclinata L., a species not previously investigated, collected in Sicily was evaluated by GC and Gas chromatography-Mass spectrometry. The main components of O. reclinata were menthone (43.6%), isopimpinellin (38.4%) and pulegone (11.2%). The comparison with other studied oils of genus Ononis showed a peculiar and characteristic profile.

In the present study, the chemical composition of the essential oil from the aerial parts of Anthemis secundiramea Biv. subsp. secundiramea L. collected in Sicily was evaluated by GC and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The main components of A. secundiramea were (Z)-lyratyl acetate (14.6%), (Z)-chrysanthenyl acetate (9.9%), (Z)-chrysanthenol (8.7%) and (E)-chrysanthenyl acetate (7.7%). The comparing with other studied oils of genus Anthemis belonging to the same clade is discussed. Antibacterial and antifungal activities against some micro-organisms infesting historical art craft, were also determined.

Hypnosis is a condition of modified consciousness (monoideism) resulting from a mental representation able to produce psychological and physical effects. The general belief is that hypnosis is conscious and voluntary, but the practical demonstration of this hypothesis is far to be demonstrated. Twenty healthy highly hypnotizable volunteers were studied during through functional magnetic resonance imaging during a task. The task was necessary because functional magnetic resonance imaging gives no interesting results in neutral hypnosis. During the hypnotic task, the prefrontal dorso-lateral cortex, genual cortex, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, and orbital portion of the inferior frontal convolution (i.e. the Broadmann areas 9, 25, 32 and 47) were activated. Such areas are associated to egoic consciousness and voluntary processes. The results show that the hypothesis that hypnosis is conscious and voluntary is correct.

Hypertension is a major global health problem, but prevalence rates vary widely among regions. To determine prevalence, treatment, and control rates of hypertension, we measured conventional blood pressure (BP) and 24-hour ambulatory BP in 6546 subjects, aged 40 to 79 years, recruited from 10 community-dwelling cohorts on 3 continents. We determined how between-cohort differences in risk factors and socioeconomic factors influence hypertension rates. The overall prevalence was 49.3% (range between cohorts, 40.0%-86.8%) for conventional hypertension (conventional BP ≥140/90 mm Hg) and 48.7% (35.2%-66.5%) for ambulatory hypertension (ambulatory BP ≥130/80 mm Hg). Treatment and control rates for conventional hypertension were 48.0% (33.5%-74.1%) and 38.6% (10.1%-55.3%) respectively. The corresponding rates for ambulatory hypertension were 48.6% (30.5%-71.9%) and 45.6% (18.6%-64.2%). Among 1677 untreated subjects with conventional hypertension, 35.7% had white coat hypertension (23.5%-56.2%). Masked hypertension (conventional BP

Objective The association of serum uric acid (SUA) with risk of hypertension is controversial and may be modulated by lifestyle factors. We did a prospective study to investigate whether SUA was an independent predictor of hypertension in the young and whether physical activity influences this association. Methods The study was conducted in a cohort of 1156 young to middle-age participants screened for stage 1 hypertension and followed for a median of 11.4 years. In multivariable Cox analyses, participants were stratified by tertiles of uric acid and physical activity habits. Results At follow-up end, 63.3% of the study participants developed hypertension needing treatment. In the whole group, SUA was an independent predictor of future hypertension (P = 0.005). Participants with SUA more than 5.60 mg/dl (top tertile) had a 31% increase in risk compared with those of the bottom tertile. However, the risk of hypertension related to SUA was increased only among the sedentary participants with a hazard ratio of 1.44 (95% confidence interval, 1.11-1.88) for the participants of the top SUA tertile. In contrast, among the active participants no association was found between SUA and risk of hypertension. Alcohol intake was another modulator of the SUA-hypertension relationship (hazard ratio, 95% confidence interval: 1.38, 1.02-1.87). Plasma renin activity, office and ambulatory heart rates, and metabolic variables were proportional to SUA level and were lower in active than sedentary participants. Conclusion These data confirm that SUA is a predictor of hypertension and suggest that exercise may counteract the pathophysiological mechanisms involved in the association between hyperuricemia and future hypertension.

Serum uric acid (SUA) levels discriminating across the different strata of cardiovascular risk is still unknown. By utilizing a large population-based database, we assessed the threshold of SUA that increases the risk of total mortality and cardiovascular mortality (CVM). The URRAH study (Uric Acid Right for Heart Health) is a multicentre retrospective, observational study, which collected data from several large population-based longitudinal studies in Italy and subjects recruited in the hypertension clinics of the Italian Society of Hypertension. Total mortality was defined as mortality for any cause, CVM as death due to fatal myocardial infarction, stroke, sudden cardiac death, or heart failure. A total of 22 714 subjects were included in the analysis. Multivariate Cox regression analyses identified an independent association between SUA and total mortality (hazard ratio, 1.53 [95% CI, 1.21-1.93]) or CVM (hazard ratio, 2.08 [95% CI, 1.146-2.97]; P

Background Serum uric acid (SUA) is increasingly recognised as an important predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and total mortality. However, the levels of SUA that discriminate across the different strata of risk for CVD and total mortality remain unknown, complicating the identification of subjects at high or low mortality risk for SUA in clinical practice. Purpose In this study we used a large Italian population comprising >3ehz748.0326 subjects to assess the threshold of SUA that increases the risk of total and CVD mortality. Methods The URic Acid Right for heArt Health (URRAH) study is a regional-basis multicentre cohort study which collected data from prospective studies and databases from different hypertension centres, including subjects with at least one measure of SUA and a follow-up of about 20 years. Total mortality was defined as mortality for any causes, cardiovascular mortality as death due to fatal myocardial infraction, stroke or heart failure. Multivariate dichotomic logistic and Cox regression models were used to confirm the relationship between SUA and mortality status both from cardiovascular and any causes, while ROC curves were used to identify the threshold of SUA that better discriminated people at higher or lower mortality risk. Results A total of 22.275 subjects had SUA and mortality information. Logistic regression identified a direct and strong association between SUA and an increased risk of total (OR 1.176, 95% CI 1.127–1.227) and CVD (OR 1.147, 95% CI 1.093–1.203) mortality, independently of other CVD risk factors (age, BMI, LDL cholesterol, diagnosis of diabetes, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, alcohol consumption and smoking). Cox models confirmed the presence of an independent association between SUA and any causes (HR 1.123, 95% CI 1.090–1.567) and CVD (HR 1.124, 95% CI 1.081–1.169) mortality. ROC curve analysis identified a cut-off value od SUA [(4.79 mg/dL (95% CI 4.7–5.4 mg/dl)] able to discriminate total mortality status, and a different one [(5.60 mg/dL (95% CI 5.09–5.89 mg/dl)] able to identify CVD mortality status. Multivariate Cox analysis adjusted for confounders confirmed that subjects with SUA >4.79 mg/dl had a significantly higher total mortality (HR 1.293, 95% CI 1.181–1.416) compared to those with SUA 5.60 mg/dl had a significantly higher CVD mortality (HR 1.428, 95% CI 1.273–1.600) than those with SUA Conclusion Levels of SUA that increase the risk of total and CVD mortality are significantly lower than those commonly used for the definition of hyperuricemia in clinical practice. Our data provide the first large evidence of a level of “cardiovascular” SUA that might be used in clinical practice to identify subjects at greater risk of total and CVD mortality.

The new American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guideline reclassified office blood pressure and proposed thresholds for ambulatory blood pressure (ABP). We derived outcome-driven ABP thresholds corresponding with the new office blood pressure categories. We performed 24-hour ABP monitoring in 11 152 participants (48.9% women; mean age, 53.0 years) representative of 13 populations. We determined ABP thresholds resulting in multivariable-adjusted 10-year risks similar to those associated with elevated office blood pressure (120/80 mm Hg) and stages 1 and 2 of office hypertension (130/80 and 140/90 mm Hg). Over 13.9 years (median), 2728 (rate per 1000 person-years, 17.9) people died, 1033 (6.8) from cardiovascular disease; furthermore, 1988 (13.8), 893 (6.0), and 795 (5.4) cardiovascular and coronary events and strokes occurred. Using a composite cardiovascular end point, systolic/diastolic outcome-driven thresholds indicating elevated 24-hour, daytime, and nighttime ABP were 117.9/75.2, 121.4/79.6, and 105.3/66.2 mm Hg. For stages 1 and 2 ambulatory hypertension, thresholds were 123.3/75.2 and 128.7/80.7 mm Hg for 24-hour ABP, 128.5/79.6 and 135.6/87.1 mm Hg for daytime ABP, and 111.7/66.2 and 118.1/72.5 mm Hg for nighttime ABP. ABP thresholds derived from other end points were similar. After rounding, approximate thresholds for elevated 24-hour, daytime, and nighttime ABP were 120/75, 120/80, and 105/65 mm Hg, and for stages 1 and 2, ambulatory hypertension 125/75 and 130/80 mm Hg, 130/80 and 135/85 mm Hg, and 110/65 and 120/70 mm Hg. Outcome-driven ABP thresholds corresponding to elevated blood pressure and stages 1 and 2 of hypertension are similar to those proposed by the current American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guideline. ispartof: HYPERTENSION vol:74 issue:4 pages:776-783 ispartof: location:United States status: published

The association of short-term blood pressure (BP) variability (BPV) with cardiovascular events (CVEs) is controversial. Aim of this study was to investigate whether BPV measured as weighted 24-h SD was associated with CVE in a prospective cohort study of young patients screened for stage 1 hypertension.We performed 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring in 1206 participants aged 33.1 ± 8.5 years, untreated at baseline examination. Participants were divided into two categories with low (12.8 mmHg) or high (≥12.8 mmHg) SBPV. Hazard ratios for CVE associated with BPV expressed either as continuous or categorical variable were computed from multivariable Cox models.During 15.4 ± 7.4 years of follow-up there were 69 fatal and nonfatal CVE. In multivariable Cox models, high SBPV was an independent predictors of CVE [2.75 (1.65-4.58); P = 0.0001] and of coronary events [3.84 (2.01-7.35), P 0.0001]. Inclusion in the model of development of hypertension requiring treatment during the follow-up, did not reduce the strength of the associations. Addition of SBPV to fully adjusted models had significant impact on risk reclassification and integrated discrimination (relative integrated discrimination improvement for BPV as continuous variable: 13.5%, P = 0.045, and for BPV as categorical variable: 26.6%, P = 0.001). When the coefficient of variation was used as BPV metric similar results were obtained. Of note, in all Cox models average 24-h BP was no longer an independent predictor of outcome after BPV was included.Short-term BPV adds to the risk stratification for cardiovascular events in young-to-middle-age patients screened for stage 1 hypertension over and above traditional 24-h ambulatory monitoring indexes.

This article stems from the need for restoring some relevant but skipped aspect of Lombroso’s figure, especially his huge interest in hypnosis, an essential step for a more objective historical reenactment of his thought. Lombroso’s wide range of interests, including psychiatry, anthropology and sociology, made him a great physician-philosopher embodying the positivist stance of his time. Hypnosis, he studied and practiced for over 20 years, was a relevant aspect of his profile. His view of hypnosis was sound and modern, overcoming the Charcot’s (wrong) pathological interpretation of hypnosis as a form of experimental hysteria. He also moved beyond his initial theory of atavism, including psychological and cultural factor in criminality and holding a progressive system.