Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring: Five Decades of More Light and Less Shadows

Abstract Casual blood pressure measurements have been extensively questioned over the last five decades. A significant percentage of patients have different blood pressure readings when examined in the office or outside it. For this reason, a change in the paradigm of the best manner to assess blood pressure has been observed. The method that has been most widely used is the Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring - ABPM. The method allows recording blood pressure measures in 24 hours and evaluating various parameters such as mean BP, pressure loads, areas under the curve, variations between daytime and nighttime, pulse pressure variability etc. Blood pressure measurements obtained by ABPM are better correlated, for example, with the risks of hypertension. The main indications for ABPM are: suspected white coat hypertension and masked hypertension, evaluation of the efficacy of the antihypertensive therapy in 24 hours, and evaluation of symptoms. There is increasing evidence that the use of ABPM has contributed to the assessment of blood pressure behaviors, establishment of diagnoses, prognosis and the efficacy of antihypertensive therapy. There is no doubt that the study of 24-hour blood pressure behavior and its variations by ABPM has brought more light and less darkness to the field, which justifies the title of this review.

A absorção de nitrogênio, fósforo, potássio, cálcio, magnésio, enxôfre e silício pela cana de açúcar, Co 419, e o seu crescimento em função da idade

This paper describes the data obtained for the growth of sugar cane, Variety Co 419, and the amount and rate of absorption of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, and silicon, according to the age of the plant, in the soil and climate conditions of the state of S. Paulo, Brazil. An experiment was installed in the Estação Experimental de Cana de Açúcar "Dr. José Vizioli", at Piracicaba, state of S. Paulo, Brazil, and the soil "tèrra-roxa misturada" presented the following composition: Sand (more than 0,2 mm)........................................................................ 8.40 % Fine sand (from 0,2 to less than 0,02 mm)................................................. 24.90 % Silt (from 0,02 to less than 0,002 mm)...................................................... 16.40 % Clay (form 0,002 mm and less)................................................................ 50.20 % pH 10 g of soil and 25 ml of distilled water)..................................................... 5.20 %C (g of carbon per 100 g of soil)................................................................. 1.00 %N (g of nitrogen per 100 g of soil)............................................................... 0.15 P0(4)-³ (me. per 100 g of soil, soluble in 0,05 normal H2SO4) ............................... 0.06 K+ (exchangeable, me. per 100 g of soil)....... 0.18 Ca+² (exchangeable, me. per 100 g of soil)...... 2.00 Mg+² (exchangeable, me. per 100 g of soil)...... 0.66 The monthly rainfall and mean temperature from January 1956 to August 1957 are presented in Table 1, in Portuguese. The experiment consisted of 3 replications of the treatments: without fertilizer and with fertilizer (40 Kg of N, from ammonium sulfate; 100 Kg of P(2)0(5) from superphosphate and 40 Kg K2 O, from potassium chloride). Four complete stools (stalks and leaves) were harvested from each treatment, and the plants separated in stalks and leaves, weighed, dried and analysed every month from 6 up to 15 months of age. The data obtained for fresh and dry matter production are presented in table 2, and in figure land 2, in Portuguese. The curves for fresh and dry matter production showed that fertilized and no fertilized sugar cane with 6 months of age presents only 5% of its total weight at 15 months of age. The most intense period of growth in this experiment is located, between 8 and 12 months of age, that is between December 1956 and April 1957. The dry matter production of sugar cane with 8 and 12 months of age was, respectively, 12,5% and 87,5% of the total weight at 15 months of age. The growth of sugar cane in relation to its age follows a sigmoid curve, according to the figures 1, 2 and 3. The increase of dry matter production promoted by using fertilizer was 62,5% when sugar cane was 15 months of age. The concentration of the elements (tables 4 and 5 in Portuguese) present a general trend of decreasing as the cane grows older. In the stalks this is true for all elements studied in this experiment. But in the leaves, somme elements, like sulfur and silicon, appears to increase with the increasing of age. Others, like calcium and magnesium do not show large variations, and finally a third group, formed by nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium seems to decrease at the beginning and later presents a light increasing. The concentration of the elements was higher in the leaves than in the stalks from 6 up to 15 months of age. There were some exceptions. Potassium, magnesium and sulfur were higher in the stalks than in the leaves from 6 up to 8 or 9 months of age. After 9 months, the leaves presented more potassium, magnesium and sulfur than the stalks. The percentage of nitrogen in the leaves was lower in the plants that received fertilizer than in the plants without fertilizer with 6, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 13 months of age. This can be explained by "dilution effect". The uptake of elements by 4 stools (stalks and leaves) of sugar cane according to the plant age is showed in table 6, in Portuguese. The absorption of all studied elements, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur and silicon, was higher in plants that received fertilizer. The trend of uptake of nitrogen and potassium is similar to the trend of production of dry matter, that is, the maximum absorption of those two nutrients occurs between 9 and 13 months of age. Finaly, the maxima amounts of elements absorbed by 4 stools (stalks and leaves) of sugar cane plants that received fertilizer are condensed in the following table: Element Maximum absorption in grams Age of the plants in months Nitrogen (N) 81.0 14 Phosphorus (P) 6.8 15 Potassium (K) 81.5 15 Calcium (Ca) 19.2 15 Magnesium (Mg) 13.9 13 Sulfur (S) 9.3 15 Silicon (Si) 61.8 15 It is very interesting to note the low absorption of phosphorus even with 100 kg of P2O5 per hectare, aplied as superphosphate. The uptake of phosphorus was lower than calcium, magnesium and sulfur. Also, it is noteworthy the large amount of silicon absorbed by sugar cane.

O método potenciométrico na determinação do H+ trocável em solos

For the determination of exchangeable hydrogen ion in soils, the authors of the presente work made the extraction with normal calcium acetate solution that may have an initial pH between 7 and 8 without altering the amount of hydrogen ion extracted. The extraction was made by shaking 5,0 grams of air dry soil with 100 ml of normal calcium acetate solution, the pH of wich was ascertained to 7,0, 7,5 and 8,0 with acetic acid, in 250 mil conical flasks for 30 minutes in a Wagner shaker (30-40 rpm). The contents of the flasks were then, filtered. A 50 ml aliquot of each of the leachate was titrated with a 0,020 N NaOH solution and the volumes consumed sodium hydroxide were ploted against pH. The titration curves thus obtained showed to be straight lines between pH 8 and 9 and parallel to the curve obtained by the titration of the blank. Two ways of locating the end point of the titration showed to be possible: the use of a pHmeter or titrimeter or the use of phenolphtalein as indicator. When using a pH meter or a titrimeter, the end point may rest in any point between pH 8 and 9, and the volume of sodium hydroxide consumed is found by comparison with a similar curve obtained by the titration of the blank. When using phenolphtalein the calcium acetate solution must have a pH below 8.

A comparative analysis of Cobb-Douglas model with additive and multiplicative error

This paper dis cusses the fitting of a Cobb-Doug las response curve Yi = αXβi, with additive error, Yi = αXβi + e i, instead of the usual multiplicative error Yi = αXβi (1 + e i). The estimation of the parameters A and B is discussed. An example is given with use of both types of error.

Biologia reprodutiva de Apidoras fuscoguttatus (Siluriformes, Callichthyidae) em riacho de cabeceira da bacia do alto Rio Paraná

The reproductive biology of Aspidoras fuscoguttatus Nijssen & Isbrücker, 1976 from a stream in São José do Rio Preto, northwestern São Paulo State, Brazil, was monthly investigated in the period of August 1999 to July 2000. Measurements of total length, body weight, gonadal weight and macroscopic assessment of gonadal maturation were performed. Environmental parameters were considered in order to verify associations with the reproductive period. Populational structure showed total length amplitude between 14.2 and 50.8 mm. Pronounced sexual dimorphism was verified. The largest mean values of gonadosomatic relation for females coincided with the rainy season (November to March). Mean length at first sexual maturity was different for males (30.5 mm) and females (37.1 mm). Fecundity varied between 51 and 166 oocytes. Gonadal maturation curve, frequency of maturation stages and size frequency distributions of oocytes in mature ovaries revealed a long reproductive period, suggesting fractional spawning.

Curva de sobrevivência e estimativa de entropia em Lucilia cuprina (Diptera, Calliphoridae)

Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann, 1830) is a cosmopolite blowfly species of medical and veterinary importance because it produces myiasis, mainly in ovine. In order to evaluate the demographic characteristics of this species, survivorship curves for 327 adult males and 323 adult females, from generation F1 maintained under experimental conditions, were obtained. Entropy was utilized as the estimator of the survival pattern to quantify the mortality distribution of individuals as a function of age. The entropy values 0.216 (males) and 0.303 (females) were obtained. These results denote that, considering the survivorship interval until the death of the last individual for each sex, the males present a tendency of mortality in more advanced age intervals, in comparison with the females.

Dinâmica reprodutiva de Oligosarcus jenynsii e O. robustus (Characiformes, Characidae) na lagoa Fortaleza, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

Oligosarcus jenynsii (Günther, 1864) and O. robustus Menezes, 1969 are fish species distributed in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, Uruguay, and northern Argentina. The reproductive period and recruitment, sex ratio, absolute and relative fecundity, and body length at first gonadal maturation of the two carnivorous species from Fortaleza Lagoon were analized. The specimens were sampled monthly, from May 2000 to April 2001, with fishing effort of 24 hours/month, using stationary gillnets of different mesh sizes and seine net (three samples per edge). The records of each individual included total length, total weight, gonad weight, sex and gonadal maturity stage. The reproductive period of both O. jenynsii and O. robustus ranges from May/June to November/December, according to the bimonthly variation of the mean values of gonosomatic index, and the relative frequencies of the gonadal maturation stages. Recruitment of new individuals to the population occurs from November/December to March/April. The sex ratio is different from 1:1 for O. jenynsii and similar to 1:1 for O. robustus. The mean absolute fecundity, calculated by counting sub-sampled oocytes from mature females, was 14,483 oocytes for O. jenynsii, and 16,308 oocytes for O. robustus. The first maturation curve shows that O. jenynsii begins to reproduce between 84 mm and 104 mm (total length), and O. robustus between 126 mm and 146 mm, probably at similar ages.

Terrestrial isopod diversity in the subtropical neotropics: Itapuã State Park, southern Brazil

We analysed species abundance and composition during one year of sampling at Itapuã State Park, a conservation unit in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. Samples were collected monthly from May 2003 to April 2004 along a 4 km forest trail divided in three transects along the slopes of a small hill. Terrestrial isopods were hand searched by three people for 40 minutes at two sampling sites along each transect, summing 240 minutes of sampling effort per transect per month. Six species distributed in six families were found. The collector curve stabilised when half the samples were taken, demonstrating sampling sufficiency: analytical estimates did not predict more species to be found in the trail. Atlantoscia floridana (van Name, 1940) was dominant in all transects. Abundance varied along the year with a summer and a winter peak, but peaks were not consistent among transects. The first part of the trail, used for ecotourism, was less diverse, had less species (4 as compared to 6 in the other transects), and was thus also less similar in composition.

Age and growth parameters of cachara Pseudoplastystoma reticulatum (Siluriformes, Pimelodidae) from the Cuiabá River, Brazil

Age and growth parameters of cachara Pseudoplatystoma reticulatum (Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1889) (Siluriformes, Pimelodidae) (males and females) were estimated through the analysis of growth rings in spines of pectoral fins. Fish were collected from January to December 2007, in the area directly influenced by the Aproveitamento Múltiplo de Manso (APM Manso) and in the Cuiabá River (upper parts of the Pantanal). The maximum number of growth rings was seven for males, and eight, for females. The analysis of temporal variations in mean marginal increment showed that rings found in the spines were formed annually, in December. Growth rings were associated to spawning (in the study region from November to March) of the species. The growth curve in length was obtained by the von Bertalanffy model adjusted by the Ford-Walford transformation. The equations are: Ls = 72.7*[1-e-0.44(t+1.5974)] for males, and Ls = 84.5*[1-e-0.33(t+2.0943)] for females. The equations that describe the growth curve in weight are: Wt = 4991.61*[1-e-0.44 (t+1.5974] 2.70 for males and Wt = 7503.17*[1-e-0.33 (t+2.0943] 2.99 for females.

The relative growth and sexual maturity of the freshwater crab Dilocarcinus pagei (Brachyura, Trichodactylidae) in the northwestern region of the state of São Paulo

The aim of the present study was to determine the size at sexual maturity in the freshwater crab Dilocarcinus pagei Stimpson, 1861, from a population located in Mendonça, state of São Paulo, Brazil. The crabs were sampled monthly (July 2005 to June 2007), at Barra Mansa reservoir. The specimens were captured manually or in sieves passed through the aquatic vegetation. The crabs were captured and separated by sex based on morphology of the pleon and on the number of pleopods. The following dimensions were measured: carapace width (CW); carapace length (CL); propodus length (PL); and abdomen width (AW). The morphological analysis of the gonads was used to identify and categorize individuals according to their stage of development. The morphological maturity was estimated based on the analysis of relative growth based on the allometric equation y = ax b. The gonadal maturity was based on the morphology of the gonads by the method CW50 which indicates the size at which 50% of the individuals in the population showed gonads morphologically mature to reproduction. The biometric relationships that best demonstrated the different patterns of growth for the juvenile and adult stages were CW vs. PL for males and CW vs. AW for females (p<0.001). Based on these relationships, the estimated value to morphological sexual maturity was 21.5 mm (CW) in males and 19.7 mm (CW) in females. The determination of the size at sexual maturity and the adjustment of the data based on the logistic curve (CW50) resulted in a size of 38.2 mm for males and 39.4 mm for females (CW). Based on the data obtained for sexual maturity for D. pagei, we can estimate a minimum size for capture of 40 mm (CW). This minimum size allows at least half of the population to reproduce and retains the juveniles and a portion of the adults in the population.

Emprêgo do teste químico para o estudo da eliminação das gonadotropinas durante o ciclo menstrual

A chemical test previously described for the diagnosis of pregnancy was applied to the study of the excretion of gonadotropin in the urine during menstrual cycle. The chemical test is based on the selective adsorption by kaolim of the reducing substances biologically related to urinary gonadotropin. The active substance when acidified to pH 4.0 is adsorbed by the kolin and eluated with O.1N sodium hydroxide. The alkaline solution is treated by Somogyi's copper reagent and the excess not reduced is titrated by 0.005 N sodium thiosulfate. Gonadotropin is quantitatively addorbed by kaolin at pH 4.0 and eluated by alkaline solution as previously demonstrated by the A. (1). In the present paper the complete menstrual cycle was studied daily. It was observed that normally there are two distinct maxima of excretion. This study is based on 11 normal cycles (24-30 days) and 34 abnormal ones. Normal cycles showed a intramenstrual estrogens elimination from 200 to 260 mice units determinated by the Allen - Doisy full estrus smear test. The abnormal cycles belonging also to normal women showed much less estrogen excretion (14 to 25 mice units) Table II). In those cases with decreased estrogen excretion no fall in the curve after 14 th. day was observed. The A. suggest that the peaks of gonadotropin excretion is not related to the oculation but possibly due, the first one, to the follicle stimulating hormone and the second to the luteinizing hormone of hormone stimulating of the inerstitial tissue.

Tifo exantemático neotrópico no Brasil: ensaios terapêuticos com a penicilina

The authors described the experiments with Penicillin Merck-Sodium Salt n. 135 in order to verify the curative action on the experimental disesase of the guineapig. I - They found that small doses, of 1,600 units, Oxford, when inoculated during the first 24 or 48 hours of the appearance of the feverish reaction are impotent to modify the course of the disease, whether in the thermic curve, or the testicular or esplenomegalic manifestations. II - Penicillin, when used in larger doses, from 25,000 to 30,000 units, Oxford, in 24 hours through peritonial cavity is capable of normalising the temperature, modifying to a certain degree the virulence of the virus in guinea-pigs. III - In large doses, even when injected later, it causes the temperature to fall, in all animals, attenuating the viceral manifestations. IV - Direct contact of Penicillin with the virus, during many hours, cause it to loose its virulence.

Influência de elementos climáticos na mortalidade de cidades brasileiras

In this paper, preliminary to a series of investigations that the A. has the purpose to make about the influence of climatic factors particularly upon the prevalence of the most important acute infectious diseases in Brazil, he raises the question whether such factors do affect in this country the total death rates, as it is reasonable to suppose, according to what has been observed in temperate zones of northern and southern hemispheres. The inclusion of absolute humidity among other climatic factors to be dealt with seems justifiable according to Rogers and Stallybrass. Owing to scarcety of reliable data the A. was obliged to limit to a five-years period (1940-1944) the complete proposed investigation, which includes seven of the most important cities, scattered throughout the brazilian territory, from north to south - Belém, recife, Salvador, Rio, S. Paulo, Curitiba and Porto Alegre. Reference is made to their normal climatic conditions and monthly death-rates variations with their mean values and standard deviations. In a first part dealing with seasonal variations only for purposes of comparison, he points out that in there tropical cities of Brazil, without very clear seasonal differentiation, the curve of general mortality reached its highest point in austral autumn season and the remaining four (including Rio near the tropic) in the spring, with the exception of Curitiba, where the peak coincided with the summer season. He shows how such important causes of deaths, as diarrheas, common respiratory diseases and tuberculosis, whose seasonal distribution for each one of the seven cities is referred, may explain such seasonal variations. On a second part, a study is made of the general mortality distribution by four-months periods selected in accordance respectively with the highest or lowest values of rainfall and of mean temperature and humidity during period 1940-1944. Finally he compares the monthly waves of such climatic factors and the corresponding waves of total death - rates and finds through correlation coefficients 17 significant values with respect to their standard errors. Variations in the death - rates seemed to be perhaps more closely and uniformly associated with variations of mean humidity, as is indicated by coefficients ranging from + 0.3 to 0.6.

Pharmacokinetic aspects of Tert-Butylaminoethyl disulfide, an experimental drug against schistosomiasis in mice

A preliminary study of the pharmacokinetic parameters of t-Butylaminoethyl disulfide was performed after administration of two different single doses (35 and 300 mg/kg) of either the cold or labelled drug. Plasma or blood samples were treated with dithiothreitol, perchloric acid, and, after filtration, submitted to further purification with anionic resein. In the final step, the drug was retained on a cationic resin column, eluted with NaCl 1M and detected according to the method of Ellman (1958). Alternatively, radioactive drug was detected by liquid scintillation counting. The results corresponding to the smaller dose of total drug suggested a pharmacokinetic behavior related to a one open compartment model with the following parameters: area under the intravenous curve (AUC i.v.):671 ± 14; AUC oral: 150 ± 40 µg.min. ml [raised to the power of -1]; elimination rate constant: 0.071 min [raised to the power of -1]; biological half life: 9.8 min; distribution volume: 0.74 ml/g. For the higher dose, the results seemed to obey a more complex undertermined model. Combining the results, the occurence of a dose-dependent pharmacokinetic behavior is suggested, the drug being rapidly absorbed and rapidly eliminated; the elimination process being related mainly to metabolization. The drug seems to be more toxic when administered I.V. because by this route it escapes first pass metabolism, while being quickly distributed to tissues. The maximum tolerated blood level seems to be around 16 µg/ml.

Study of a population of Biomphalaria tenagophila (Orbigny, 1835) and of schistosomiasis transmission in "Alto da Boa Vista", Rio de Janeiro

The present study was performed using data from a Biomphalaria tenagophila population located in a water cress garden in the Alto da Boa Vista region representing an isolated focal point of schistosomiasis in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The density and age structure of this B. tenagophila population and its rate of intection by Schistosoma mansoni were studied for a period of 15 months. The snail population showed seasonal variation in density, with a decrease in number of individual at the begining of the rainy season. At the end of this season, the population consisted mainly of adults (92.8% in May 1985 and 82.8% in April 1986). The population growth curve was logistic and of sigmoidal configuration. Shiscotoma mansoni cercariae were eliminated over a short period of time (March, April and May 1986). The release of cercariae of S. mansoni and of birds seems to depend on environmental temperature, which during certain months would show a daily variation of up to 13ºC, with the lower thermal limit approaching the limit value for sporocyte development.