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Despite global efforts to halt biodiversity loss, it continues to decline due to a combination of unsustainable actions, increasing the urgency for measures to reverse this trend. A major constraint regarding efficient biodiversity management is the lack of knowledge on most species' population size and abundance patterns. Reptiles are used in ecological research as model organisms due to their ease in handling, and their diversity in behaviour and ecology. Reptile diversity of Cyprus is high and includes several endemic species. The aim of this study was to compare lizard diversity patterns along riverbanks within and around designated protected areas. Riparian habitats have received less attention in conservation-oriented studies in Mediterranean regions, despite their ecological significance and the distinct communities they host, or their vulnerability to climate change. The role of environmental factors, seasonality, and habitat heterogeneity for lizard assemblages in riparian areas was evaluated along three rivers that flow inside and outside protected areas. The abundances of the four more common species (Ophisops elegans, Phoenicolacerta troodica, Laudakia cypriaca, and Acanthodactylus schreiberi) were evaluated separately. We recorded most of Cyprus’ lizard species in riparian habitats, but diversity and richness were not associated with any of the explanatory variables. The abundances of the four species exhibited different relationships each with elevation, season, and protection status, but not with habitat heterogeneity. The latter could be related to the fact that riparian habitat heterogeneity patterns are very similar throughout the study sites. Our results suggest that Cyprus’ lizard diversity and riparian habitats have not been considered much in the design of protected areas.

OBJECTIVE: Intravenous lipid emulsions (ILE) were developed many decades ago to supply nutritional requirements to patients unable to obtain adequate enteral nutrition. The utility of ILE was extended to therapeutics, facilitating the delivery of drugs. More recently, the potential for ILE to act as an antidote for inversion of drug toxicity has been recognized. This review aims to summarize the literature on ILE therapy as an antidote. Suggested mechanisms of action, safety profile, and recommendations on the administration of ILE in cases of drug intoxication are highlighted. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A complete literature survey was performed using the PubMed database search to collect available information regarding mechanisms of ILE action as an antidote, ILE administration for drug toxicity, and presentation of adverse events. RESULTS: A total of 102 studies met the selection criteria for inclusion in the review. Mainly used for local anesthetics toxicity, ILE therapy has been expanded in clinical toxicology involving overdose treatment of drugs other than local anesthetics. Partitioning in a lipid phase of fat droplets is a mechanism named the lipid sink phenomenon that has primarily been described to explain this action of ILE and remains the most widely accepted. At the same time, recent research has also revealed several molecular mechanisms that may contribute to ILE efficacy. CONCLUSIONS: ILE therapy comprises a recognized approach in clinical toxicology. Due to the lack of randomized clinical trials, recommendations on administration are based on animal studies and published cases. Thus, the constantly increased knowledge about ILE therapy supports the need for a detailed appraisal. © 2020 Verduci Editore s.r.l. All rights reserved.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most frequently encountered cardiac arrhythmia globally and substantially increases the risk for thromboembolic disease. Albeit, 20% of all cases of AF remain undiagnosed. On the other hand, hypertension amplifies the risk for both AF occurrences through hemodynamic and non-hemodynamic mechanisms and cerebrovascular ischemia. Under this prism, prompt diagnosis of undetected AF in hypertensive patients is of pivotal importance. Method: We conducted a review of the literature for studies with biomarkers that could be used in AF diagnosis as well as in predicting the transition of paroxysmal AF to sustained AF, especially in hypertensive patients. Results: Potential biomarkers for AF can be broadly categorized into electrophysiological, morphological and molecular markers that reflect the underlying mechanisms of adverse atrial remodeling. We focused on P-wave duration and dispersion as electrophysiological markers, and left atrial (LA) and LA appendage size, atrial fibrosis, left ventricular hypertrophy and aortic stiffness as structural biomarkers, respectively. The heterogeneous group of molecular biomarkers of AF encompasses products of the neurohormonal cascade, including NT-pro BNP, BNP, MR-pro ANP, polymorphisms of the ACE and convertases such as corin and furin. In addition, soluble biomarkers of inflammation (i.e. CRP, IL-6) and fibrosis (i.e. TGF-1 and matrix metalloproteinases) were assessed for predicting AF. Conclusion: The reviewed individual biomarkers might be a valuable addition to current diagnostic tools but the ideal candidate is expected to combine multiple indices of atrial remodeling in order to effectively detect both AF and adverse characteristics of high risk patients with hypertension. © 2019 Bentham Science Publishers.

Data regarding the prognosis of resistant hypertension (RHTN) with respect to its severity is limited. We investigated the cardiovascular risk of severe RHTN in a prospective observational study. A cohort of 1700 hypertensive patient with treated uncontrolled HTN was followed for a mean period of 3.6 ± 1.8 years. At baseline, standard clinical and laboratory workup was performed, including testing for secondary causes of RHT where applicable. Three groups were identified depending on presence of RHTN (office-based uncontrolled HTN under at least three drugs including a diuretic) and levels of office systolic blood pressure (BP): 1187 patients (70%) without RHTN, 313 (18%) with not-severe RHTN (systolic BP < 160 mmHg) and 200 (12%) with severe RHTN (systolic BP ≥ 160 mmHg). Endpoint of interest was cardiovascular morbidity set as the composite of coronary heart disease and stroke. During follow-up, incidence rates of cardiovascular events per 1000 person-years were 7.1 cases in the non-RHTN group, 12.4 cases in the not-severe RHTN group and 18 cases in the severe RHTN group. Unadjusted analysis showed that compared to uncontrolled patients without RHTN, patients with not-severe RHTN exhibited a similar risk but patients with severe RHTN had a significantly higher risk, by 2.5 times (CI: 1.28–4.73, p = 0.007). Even after multivariate adjustment for established risk factors including BP levels and isolated systolic HTN, severe RHTN remained as an independent predictor of the cardiovascular outcome (OR: 2.30, CI: 1.00–5.29, p = 0.05). In conclusion, among treated yet uncontrolled hypertensive patients, severe RHTN exhibits a significantly higher cardiovascular risk indicating the need for prompt management. © 2018, Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature.

There is robust evidence from epidemiological and clinical studies showing that elevated heart rate (HR) constitutes a powerful predictor of morbidity and mortality in patients with hypertension, underlining the significance of HR measurement in them. Autonomous nervous system dysfunction and atherosclerosis are important features in the pathogenesis of the untoward events. However, the relationship between HR and blood pressure (BP) is complex and differs depending on the type of BP measurement which is considered. This differentiation implicates complex physiological mechanisms and is of clinical importance regarding the divergent effect of the different types of antihypertensive agents on these parameters. The aim of this review is to summarize the current evidence on the relationship between HR and BP based on epidemiological, clinical, and experimental studies. © The Author(s) 2017.

Introduction: The dystrophinopathies include a spectrum of muscle diseases caused by mutations in the dystrophin (DMD) gene. The clinical phenotype ranges from severe Duchenne muscular dystrophy to a mild phenotype with elevated creatine kinase (CK). Methods: Clinical and molecular assessment of 7 patients carrying a single amino acid loss in the dystrophin protein (p.His1690del) caused by a c.5068_5070delCAC tri-nucleotide deletion in exon 36 of the DMD gene. Results: All patients were asymptomatic or oligosymptomatic and had elevated CK levels. Febrile illness, but not exercise, induced muscle symptoms in some patients. None had evidence of cardiomyopathy. Analysis of the short tandem repeat (STR)45 locus and sequencing of exon 36 of the DMD gene indicates that c.5068_5070delCAC is a founder mutation. Conclusions: The c.5068_5070delCAC locus in the DMD gene is associated with a very mild phenotype. Further study is needed to evaluate disease progression in these patients. Muscle Nerve 55: 46–50, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Background/objectives: Short-Term blood pressure variability (BPV) is affected by multiple factors including the sympathetic nervous system drive. Regarding the latter, the novel interventional technology of renal denervation (RDN), by modulating the sympathetic system activation, could have a beneficial impact on BPV. The aim of the current study is to review and meta-Analyze the available evidence on the effect of RDN on short-Term BPV. Methods: We searched Medline/PubMed database until October 2016 for studies with eligible content. We performed random-effect meta-Analyses for 12 outcomes of interest: The standard deviation (SD) of SBP (24 h, daytime and night-Time) and DBP (24 h, daytime and night-Time), the weighted SD of SBP and DBP across 24 h, the coefficient of variation of SBP and DBP across 24 h and the average real variability of SBP and DBP across 24 h. Results: RDN reduced the SD of SBP across 24 h [mean change:-1.212 (95% confidence intervals (CIs):-2.354/-0.071), P = 0.037] and decreased the SD of systolic daytime BP [mean difference:-1.617 (95% CIs:-3.21/-0.026), P = 0.046] and diastolic daytime BP (marginally) [mean difference:-2.605 (95% CIs:-5.21/-0.003), P = 0.05]. The effect of RDN in reducing SD of SBP across 24 h or DBP across daytime was not influenced by absolute or relative reduction in SBP and DBP indices. (P > 0.1 for all). Conclusion: Catheter-based RDN in resistant hypertensive patients can favorably affect short-Term BPV, independent of the level of BP reduction. Further investigation of the effect of RDN on BPV is needed with large randomized trials. Copyright © 2017 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.