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Food supply in the Mediterranean area has been recently modified by big retail distribution; for instance, industrial retail has favored shipments of groceries from regions that are intensive producers of mass food, generating a long supply chain (LSC) of food that opposes short supply chains (SSCs) that promote local food markets. However, the actual functional role of food retail and distribution in the determination of the risk of developing metabolic syndrome (MetS) has not been studied hitherto. The main aim of this study was to test the effects of food chain length on the prevalence of MetS in a population accustomed to the Mediterranean diet. We conducted an observational study in Southern Italy on individuals adhering to the Mediterranean diet. We examined a total of 407 subjects (41% females) with an average age of 56 ± 14.5 years (as standard deviation) and found that being on the Mediterranean diet with a SSC significantly reduces the prevalence of MetS compared with the LSC (SSC: 19.65%, LSC: 31.46%; p: 0.007). Our data indicate for the first time that the length of food supply chain plays a key role in determining the risk of MetS in a population adhering to the Mediterranean diet.

25-Hydroxyvitamin D insufficiency and increased cardiovascular risk (CVR) association is still debated. The vitamin D (VitD)-dependent parathyroid hormone (PTH) is considered as the possible actuator of VitD effects on CVR. To investigate the association of CVR, PTH and VitD, we carried out blood pressure measurements and blood samples and collected information on dietary habits, anamnestic, clinical and metabolic data of 451 participants in the Salerno area (Southern Italy) during the World Hypertension Day (17 May). CVR was calculated according to the Framingham CVR charts. The overall population mean age was 51.6 ± 0.7 years, and female sex was slightly prevalent (55%). VitD deficiency (

It is known that patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have a higher risk of coronary heart disease and sudden cardiac death. Abnormalities in cardiac geometry appear to be involved in the setting of the cardiovascular risk, but it has never been specifically investigated in RA. We enrolled 44 patients with RA compared to 131 subjects without RA (normal, N): The RA aged between 18 and 70 years (mean 48.3 ± 2.1), 25 females, BMI 27.6 ± 0.9; N, of equal age (48.6 ± 1.2, n.s.), included 80 females (BMI 26.7 ± 0.2, ns). Cardiac Ultrasounds showed an increase of the diameter of the left ventricle but not in the septum with reduction of relative wall thickness (RWT) in the RA population compared to N. Relative wall thickness inversely correlates with biochemical parameters of inflammatory response (gamma globulin, p

The introduction of fixed combination of ACEi+CCB (Fixed) has significantly increased patients compliance and adherence to therapy. At the moment, however, there are no data suggesting the better control of once-daily fixed (Fixed) over free doses in separate administrations combination therapy in hypertensives. In a population of 39 consecutive outpatient patients referred to the departmental Hypertension clinic of the University Hospital of Salerno Medical School with the first diagnosis of arterial hypertension, we tested the hypothesis that the Fixed achieve a better control of blood pressure than the Free combination. Patients were randomized to either strategy and after 3 months patients underwent a clinical assessment to evaluate the antihypertensive effect. The two groups, matched for anthropometric and clinical parameters, received Amlodipine (5–10 mg/daily) and Perindopril (5–10 mg/daily). Perindopril and Amlodipine doses did not significantly differ between the two groups. After 3 months BP control was improved in both groups and BP targets were similarly reached in both groups (SBP; Fixed: 61.54%; Free 69.23%; n.s. DPB; Fixed: 80.77%; Free 84.62%; n.s.). The reduction in systolic blood pressure was similar in both groups (Fixed:7.64±2.49%; Free: 7.81±4.00%, n.s.), while the reduction of diastolic blood pressure was greater in the Fixed group (Fixed: 14.22±2.03%; Free: 4.92±5.00%, p

Difficult-to-control (DTC) hypertension represents a burden in real life that can be partially solved through identification of the characteristics of clinical patterns and tailoring antihypertensive strategies, including ICT-enabled integrated care (ICT-IC). In the quest for clinical predictors of DTC hypertension, we screened 482 hypertensive patients who were consecutively referred to the departmental hypertension clinic. Following a data quality check, patients were divided into controlled (C, 49.37%) and uncontrolled (UC, 50.63%) groups based on their systolic blood pressure (BP) at follow-up. We then performed statistical analysis on the demographic, clinical, laboratory, and ultrasound data and observed that older age, female sex, higher BP levels, and a family history of hypertension were predictors of DTC hypertension. We then developed a pilot service of ICT-IC, including weekly home visits by nurses and patient education on self-monitoring of BP, heart rate, body weight, and oxygen saturation using 3G-connected devices. Self-monitored data were transmitted to the hospital servers on the electronic chart of the patient for remote assessment by the hospital hypertension specialists. A total of 20 UC patients (M/F = 10/10; age: 72.04 ± 2.17 years) were enrolled to verify the efficacy of BP control without changes in medical treatment. After 1 month of the ICT-IC program, BP was reduced both at the office assessment (systolic BP (SBP): 162.40 ± 2.23 mm Hg, beginning of the program vs. 138.20 ± 4.26 mm Hg at 1 month, p < 0.01) and at home (SBP: 149.83 ± 3.44, beginning of the program vs. 134.16 ± 1.67 mm Hg at 1 month, p < 0.01). We concluded that DTC hypertension can be predicted based on the clinical characteristics at the first visit. For these patients, ICT-IC is a feasible therapeutic strategy to achieve BP control.

Mitochondria are critical regulator of cell metabolism; thus, mitochondrial dysfunction is associated with many metabolic disorders. Defects in oxidative phosphorylation, ROS production, or mtDNA mutations are the main causes of mitochondrial dysfunction in many pathological conditions such as IR/diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. Thus, targeting mitochondria has been proposed as therapeutic approach for these conditions, leading to the development of small molecules to be tested in the clinical scenario. Here we discuss therapeutic interventions to treat mitochondrial dysfunction associated with two major metabolic disorders, metabolic syndrome, and cancer. Finally, novel mechanisms of regulation of mitochondrial function are discussed, which open new scenarios for mitochondria targeting.

Introduction: Less than 40% of hypertensive on antihypertensive treatment have pressure Methods: To verify the impact of home care strategy to improve pressure control, from February 1 to March 31 2016 we selected patients who accessed the Outpatient Clinic for Hypertension at the AOU San Giovanni e Ruggi in Salerno, those with 1) poor BP control >140 and/or DBP>90 mmHg) after at least three follow-up visits in the last year, 2) optimal drug therapy, 3) poor adherence to therapy, 4) at least one concurrently treated chronic condition. Patients who signed informed consent received “Beyond Silos” home care program, including a weekly nurse access, for four weeks, and telemonitoring through 3G-connected devices of systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure, heart rate (HR) and body weight measuring and Oxygen Saturation. Each patient was instructed to scheduled self-assesment of the above parameters that were stored on the Local Health Authority server of Salerno. Treatment compliance was verified weekly by the nurse through drug blister count. After 4 weeks, patients were evaluated at the hospital premises. Results: We selected seven patients (M/F=5/2; age 73.4 ± 2.3 years). In this population BP control that went from ambulatory SBP/DBP 155±5/74±4mmHg to 111±1.7/95.9±2.7mmHg, p Conclusion: Our data show that patients with a hitory of loose BP control despite optimal therapy can achieve controlled BP through Beyond Silos home care program within a month. This suggest that strategies of ICT based home care might represent a real breackthrough in the management of chronic conditions, in particular for multimorbid, poor compliant patients. Future large scale studies are needed for assessing long term effects on cardiovascular outcome.

Familiarity participates in the pathogenesis of hypertension, although only recently, whole genome studies have proposed regions of the human genome possibly involved in the transmission of the hypertensive phenotype. Although studies have mainly focused on autosome, hitherto the influence of sex on familial transmission of hypertension has not been considered. We analysed the database of the Campania Salute Network of Hypertension center of the Federico II University Hospital of Naples (Italy), using dichotomous variables for paternal and maternal familiarity and gender (male and female) of 12 504 hypertensive patients (6868 males and 5636 females) and 6352 controls (3484 males and 2868 females), totaling 18 856 subjects. In the hypertensive group, familiarity was present in 75% of cases with odds of 3.77 and in only 26% of the normotensives with odds of 0.94. The odds ratio (OR) indicated that familiarity increases the risk of developing hypertension by 2.91 (95% confidence interval (CI)=2.67–3.17, P

Samples of ammonium, protonic and potassium ferrierites were impregnated with tungsten species. The catalytic behavior of samples with and without tungsten during the linear butene isomerization reaction was studied. Tungsten loadings between 0.5 and 1.0% on ammonium ferrierite produce a synergetic effect both on activity and isobutene yield, while tungsten addition on the protonic form worsens the catalytic behavior of the unpromoted ferrierite. The presence of tungsten species on potassium ferrierite promotes the linear butene skeletal isomerization, with an optimum in the performance when the tungsten loading is between 3.5 and 4.0%. Tungsten species show a weak interaction with the potassium ferrierite surface. On the other hand, on protonic ferrierite the interaction is slightly stronger than on ammonium ferrierite, and the reduction of tungsten occurs practically in one step. The effect of both pretreatment and operational conditions over catalytic performance and deactivation of materials was also addressed. The higher the calcination temperature of ammonium ferrierite, the lower the linear butene conversion and the isobutene yield. Protonic ferrierite, tungsten promoted ammonium ferrierite, and tungsten promoted protonic ferrierite show similar qualitatively behaviors. After 5 min of reaction at any operational conditions, a high activity with low isobutene selectivity is observed. This behavior is related to the presence of strong acid sites. At long time-on-stream (TOS), the linear butene conversion at 450 °C is significantly higher than the one reached at 300 °C, while the isobutene yield remains between 12 and 18% for both reaction temperatures. Tungsten promoted potassium ferrierite samples display a different behavior. At 5 min the high activity is not reached, and both linear butene conversion and isobutene yield appear more stable with TOS; what is associated with the absence of strong acid sites. When reaction takes place at 450 °C, the isobutene yield significantly increases, approaching the yield obtained with the other samples. For all samples, the presence of hydrogen previously and during the reaction does not significantly modify the catalytic behavior, showing a small effect over the by-product distribution. By-products are formed from oligomers, which are among the products even at long TOS. The level of the carbonaceous deposit formed during reaction on protonic ferrierite, tungsten promoted ammonium ferrierite, and tungsten promoted protonic ferrierite was usually 6.0–7.8 wt.%. The oxidation profiles displayed two combustion peaks when the reaction took place at 300 °C, and only a high-temperature combustion peak when the reaction was carried out at 450 °C. On tungsten promoted potassium ferrierite, the deposit was considerably smaller (0.3–0.7 wt.%); coke formed at 300 °C showed a well-defined combustion peak at moderate temperature, while only a high-temperature combustion peak appeared when the deposit was formed at 450 °C. The amount of carbonaceous deposit is associated to the strength of acid sites while its nature is more strongly influenced by the reaction temperature.

The skeletal isomerization of linear butene on ferrierite, at atmospheric pressure and 0.15 atm 1-butene partial pressure, was studied by feeding 1-butene streams with different ethene and propene concentrations and exploring several operating conditions. At short time-on-stream (5 min), the strongest acid sites govern the catalytic behavior, independent of the operating conditions in the studied ranges. At longer times, the reaction temperature mainly defines the conversion level. The higher the temperature, the larger the linear butene conversion. Temperature also has a strong influence over the nature of the carbonaceous deposit formed during reaction. At 400 °C, the deposit mainly shows an aromatic nature. The presence of lower olefins as impurities in the feed modifies both catalytic activity and by-product distribution. By decreasing the ethene concentration, the C+ 5 fraction in the product stream increases and a lower carbonaceous deposit is formed. Using a nitrogen stream saturated with water during both pretreatment and reaction, the catalytic activity increases and the coke amount slightly diminishes, but the isobutene production is unfavored.

Deactivation of tungsten promoted ferrierite during the skeletal isomerization of 1-butene at 400°C, atmospheric pressure and 0.15 atm 1-butene partial pressure was studied. Both potassium and ammonium ferrierites were impregnated with tungsten species using either tungstic acid or ammonium metatungstate as precursors, reaching loadings between 1.4 and 7.3%. After the tungsten addition on both ferrierite samples, neither the acid strength distribution nor the total acidity corresponding to the unpromoted materials change significantly. The strongest acid sites present on the ammonium ferrierite with and without tungsten and absent on the tungsten promoted potassium ferrierite, are responsible for the side-reactions. Deactivation of tungsten promoted ferrierites shows differences. Ammonium ferrierite with and without tungsten reach similar carbon contents, being larger than the ones obtained on potassium ferrierite with and without tungsten. In all cases, the carbonaceous deposit shows both olefinic and aromatic species, the proportion depending on the samples. Coke on tungsten promoted potassium ferrierite shows mainly an olefinic nature, while the deposit formed on tungsten promoted ammonium ferrierite has a more aromatic character. For the latter samples, the complete coke removal needs higher temperatures. The strength of acid sites determines not only the carbonaceous deposit amount but also its degree of condensation. The low isobutene selectivity at short time-on-stream (TOS) is avoided by starting the 1-butene feed with the catalytic bed at 200°C and then increasing temperature up to 400°C. It can be considered that a strong adsorption of reactant molecules takes place at low temperatures, thus deactivating the strongest acid sites.

The skeletal isomerization of 1-butene on ferrierite at 350°C and 400°C, atmospheric pressure and 0.14 atm 1-butene partial pressure is studied. The rapid decrease in activity with an increase in the isobutene selectivity is related to coke deposition. The carbon content is similar for both reaction temperatures. Temperature-programmed oxidation profiles of the used catalysts show two peaks for coke combustion, one each at low and high temperatures. The low-temperature peak is higher when reaction takes place at 350°C while the one at high temperatures is larger for reaction at 400°C. The carbonaceous deposits corresponding to the low-temperature combustion peak can be eliminated after stripping with a helium stream, suggesting that these deposits are rich in hydrogen. Diffuse-reflectance infrared spectroscopy measurements indicate that coke presents olefinic and aromatic character for all samples, being more olefinic after reaction at 350°C and more aromatic after reaction at 400°C. The presence of water during the treatment before the reaction changes the proportion of olefinic and aromatic coke formed. Regeneration under a nitrogen plus air stream at 660°C for 15 h allows almost complete elimination of the coke and full restoration of the catalytic activity to that of the fresh sample. However, the presence of a residual carbonaceous deposit (i.e. 0.9 wt.%) when starting the reaction, improves catalytic activity, isobutene yield and catalyst stability after some minutes on stream, as compared to the fresh sample. Therefore, we propose that the optimum regeneration procedure for ferrierite catalyst for n -butene isomerization consists of an oxidative treatment at high temperatures, but without the complete coke removal.

The effect of both total pressure and hydrogen partial pressure during the n-hexane isomerization on Pt/SO4 2™-ZrO2 at 200°C and 4 h™1 weight hourly space velocity was studied. Total pressure was varied between 1.0 and 10.0 kg cm-2; different hydrogen partial pressures were obtained by dilution with nitrogen keeping the total pressure at 6 kg cm-2. The n-hexane isomerization activity increases when increasing either total pressure or hydrogen partial pressure. Methylpentanes are the C6 isomers formed in major proportion and the 2-methylpentane/3-methylpentane ratio practically reaches the equilibrium value in most of cases. Isomerization is always accompanied by hydrocracking. Hydrogenolysis products were not observed, the main cracking products being propane, isobutane and isopentane; then, the cracking product distribution cannot be interpreted by considering an intramolecular rearrangement of carbocation intermediates. A slight deactivation takes place with time-on- stream. The lifetime of surface intermediates is longer in the absence of hydrogen or at a low hydrogen partial pressure; it allows oligomerization and cracking to prevail at short times and polymerization and coke formation at long times.

The effect of Mg addition to Pd impregnated silica-alumina catalysts and the behavior of these catalysts in synthesis gas to hydrocarbons transformation have been studied. Measurements of H2 chemisorption and temperature programmed NH3 desorption allow us to consider that Mg addition to Pd containing catalysts increases the Pd dispersity, the support acidity not being modified. The presence of Mg enhances hydrocarbon production. Meanwhile, the hydrocarbon distribution is not modified. A large amount of light alkanes in the reaction products is obtained.

Dopamine DRD1 receptor regulates renal function and vascular resistance. It plays a role in the pathogenesis of hypertension in animal models. In humans, the DRD1 gene presents a A-48G polymorphism associated to hypertension in a Japanese population. To explore the role of this polymorphism on blood pressure and renal function in Caucasian hypertensive patients (H), we evaluated the allele frequencies in a populations of 697 H and 100 blood volunteers, and found no difference in the distribution of the alleles between the two groups (AA;AG;GG: 13%;50%;37%; and 12%; 51%;36% respectively). In H, we found a significant difference between AA and GG in serum creatinine (AA: 1.06±.08 mg/dl; GG:0.97±0.02 mg/dl, p

WO3-ZrO2 catalysts promoted with Pt and Pd were tested as paraffin isomerization catalysts using n-hexane as model compound. Sulfur and amine poisoning and regeneration tests were used to assess the impact of the addition of Pt and Pd on the deactivation resistance and regenerability. Pt and PtPd catalysts were the most active for n-hexane isomerization. The low activity of the Pd catalyst was attributed to poor Pd metal properties when supported over WO3-ZrO2 and to a decrease of the number of Brőnsted acid sites. PtPd was the only catalyst capable of full regeneration after S poisoning. Amine poisoning completely supressed the isomerization activity and the original activity could only be restored by calcination and reduction. Fil: Canavese, Sergio Alberto. Universidad Nacional del Litoral; Argentina Fil: Finelli, Zunilda Rosa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Investigaciones en Catálisis y Petroquímica "Ing. José Miguel Parera". Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Investigaciones en Catálisis y Petroquímica "Ing. José Miguel Parera"; Argentina Fil: Busto, Mariana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Investigaciones en Catálisis y Petroquímica "Ing. José Miguel Parera". Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Investigaciones en Catálisis y Petroquímica "Ing. José Miguel Parera"; Argentina Fil: Benitez, Viviana Monica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Investigaciones en Catálisis y Petroquímica "Ing. José Miguel Parera". Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Investigaciones en Catálisis y Petroquímica "Ing. José Miguel Parera"; Argentina Fil: Vera, Carlos Roman. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Investigaciones en Catálisis y Petroquímica "Ing. José Miguel Parera". Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Investigaciones en Catálisis y Petroquímica "Ing. José Miguel Parera"; Argentina Fil: Yori, Juan Carlos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Investigaciones en Catálisis y Petroquímica "Ing. José Miguel Parera". Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Investigaciones en Catálisis y Petroquímica "Ing. José Miguel Parera"; Argentina

The influence of temperature, 1-butene partial pressure, weight hourly space velocity (WHSV), and pretreatment conditions on the activity, selectivity and stability of ferrierite during the 1-butene skeletal isomerization has been studied in order to understand the process of coke formation. Coke is characterized by temperature-programmed oxidation (TPO) and Fourier transform-infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRIFTS). The catalytic behavior is strongly affected by the intrinsic properties of the zeolite, showing a significant deactivation associated with coke formation. The operational conditions, such as temperature, 1-butene partial pressure and WHSV, play an important role in the amount of coke produced, the temperature being the most important factor affecting the amount of coke. These conditions also modify the nature of the coke. A significant fraction of coke burns at temperature higher than 600°C.