Comparative vascular and renal tabular effects of angiotensin II receptor blockers combined with a thiazide diurectic in humans

Rapport de synthese :Comparaison des effets vasculaires et tubulaires rénaux de plusieurs antagonistes des récepteurs de |'angiotensine II en combinaison avec un diurétique thiazidique chez l'humainObjectif : Le but de ce travail était d'investiguer si les antagonistes des récepteurs AT1 de l'angiotensine II (ARA2) entraînent un blocage équivalent des récepteurs au niveau vasculaire et au niveau rénal, en particulier lorsque le système rénine- angiotensine est stimulé par l'administration d'un diurétique thiazidique. Méthode : trente volontaires masculins en bonne santé ont participé à cette étude randomisée, contrôlée, en simple insu. Nous avons mesuré les variations de pression artérielle, d'hémodynamique rénale ainsi que la réponse tubulaire rénale à une perfusion d'angiotensine II 3ng/kg/min administrée sur 1 heure. Ceci avant traitement puis après sept jours d'administration, 24 heures après la dernière dose de médicament. Nous avons comparé l'irbésartan 300 mg seul ou en association avec 12.5 ou 25 mg d'hydrochlorothiazide. (irbésartan 300/12.5 ; irbésartan 300/25). Nous avons également comparé les effets de l'irbésartan 300/25 au losartan 100 mg, au valsartan 160 mg ainsi qu'à l'olmésartan 20 mg, tous administrés avec 25 mg d'hydrochlorothiazide. Chaque participant a été randomisé pour recevoir 2 traitements de 7 jours espacés d'une période d'une semaine sans traitement. Résultats: La réponse de la pression artérielle à |'angiotensine II exogène était bloquée >90% avec l'irbésartan 300 mg seul ou en association avec le diurétique. Il en était de même avec l'olmésartan 20/25. Par contre le blocage n'était que de 60% environ dans les groupes valsartan 160/25 et losartan 100/25. Au niveau rénal, |'angiotensine II exogène réduisait le flux plasmatique rénal de 36% en pré- traitement. Dans les groupes recevant l'irbésartan 300 mg et l'olmésartan 20 mg associés à l'hydrochlorothiazide 25 mg, la vasoconstriction rénale était bloquée presque entièrement alors qu'el|e ne |'était que partiellement avec le valsartan 160/25 et le losartan 100/25 (34 et 45%, respectivement). En pré-traitement, au niveau tubulaire, l'angiotensine II exogène réduisait le volume urinaire de 84% et l'excrétion urinaire de sodium de 65 %. Les effets tubulaires n'étaient que partiellement bloqués par l'administration d'ARA2. Conclusion: Ces résultats démontrent que les ARA; aux doses maximales recommandées ne bloquent pas aussi efficacement les récepteurs ATI au niveau tubulaire qu'au niveau vasculaire. Cette observation pourrait constituer une justification à l'hypothèse selon laquelle des doses plus importantes d'ARA2 seraient nécessaires afin d'obtenir une meilleure protection d'organe. De plus, nos résultats confirment qu'i| y a d'importantes différences entre les ARA2, relatives à leur capacité d'induire un blocage prolongé sur 24 heures des récepteurs AT1 au niveau vasculaire et tubulaire.

A note on the coincidence between Stackelberg and Nash equilibria in a differential game between government and firms

[cat] A Navas i Marín Solano es va demostrar la coincidència entre els equilibris de Nash i de Stackelberg per a una versi´o modificada del joc diferencial proposat por Lancaster (1973). Amb l’objectiu d’obtenir una solució interior, es van imposar restriccions importants sobre el valors dels paràmetres del model. En aquest treball estenem aquest resultat, en el límit en que la taxa de descompte és igual a zero, eliminant les restriccions i considerant totes les solucions possibles.

Hégémonie du modèle de l'autisme: carrefour epistémologique entre médecine, familles et politique [Hegemonic model of autism: epistemological crossroads between medicine, family and politics].

The aim of this article is to make a contribution to the regional reflection with regard to autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) at a key moment in which the authorities are requested by the users, professionals in the fields of health, pedagogy and education to put forward a structured answer to a multitude of expressed needs. The question for the creation of a competence pole of an academic tertiary level is posed in order to advise in the best possible way the families who do not know how to orient themselves in the maze and contradictions of the proposed solutions and to help the professionals who are submerged by an ever increasing demand of services exceeding the means of the existing institutions and who cannot justify their choices among the various existing theoretical and scientific models.

Comparative genomic and phylogeographic analysis of Mycobacterium leprae.

Reductive evolution and massive pseudogene formation have shaped the 3.31-Mb genome of Mycobacterium leprae, an unculturable obligate pathogen that causes leprosy in humans. The complete genome sequence of M. leprae strain Br4923 from Brazil was obtained by conventional methods (6x coverage), and Illumina resequencing technology was used to obtain the sequences of strains Thai53 (38x coverage) and NHDP63 (46x coverage) from Thailand and the United States, respectively. Whole-genome comparisons with the previously sequenced TN strain from India revealed that the four strains share 99.995% sequence identity and differ only in 215 polymorphic sites, mainly SNPs, and by 5 pseudogenes. Sixteen interrelated SNP subtypes were defined by genotyping both extant and extinct strains of M. leprae from around the world. The 16 SNP subtypes showed a strong geographical association that reflects the migration patterns of early humans and trade routes, with the Silk Road linking Europe to China having contributed to the spread of leprosy.

Comparative phylogeography and postglacial colonization routes in Europe.

The Quaternary cold periods in Europe are thought to have heavily influenced the amount and distribution of intraspecific genetic variation in both animals and plants. The phylogeographies of 10 taxa, including mammals (Ursus arctos, Sorex spp., Crocidura suaveolens, Arvicola spp.), amphibians (Triturus spp.), arthropods (Chorthippus parallelus), and plants (Abies alba, Picea abies, Fagus sylvatica, Quercus spp.), were analysed to elucidate general trends across Europe. Only a small degree of congruence was found amongst the phylogeographies of the 10 taxa, but the likely postglacial colonization routes exhibit some similarities. A Brooks parsimony analysis produced an unrooted area phylogram, showing that: (i) the northern regions were colonized generally from the Iberic and Balkanic refugia; and (ii) the Italian lineages were often isolated due to the presence of the Alpine barrier. The comparison of colonization routes highlighted four main suture-zones where lineages from the different refugia meet. Some of the intraspecific genetic distances among lineages indicated a prequaternary divergence that cannot be connected to any particular cold period, but are probably related mainly to the date of arrival of each taxon in the European continent. As a consequence, molecular genetics so far appears to be of limited use in dating Quaternary events.

The Poetics and Politics of the American Gothic : Gender and Slavery in Nineteenth-Century American Literature

Taking as its point of departure recent insights about the performative¦nature of genre, The Poetics and Politics of the American Gothic¦challenges the critical tendency to accept at face value that gothic¦literature is mainly about fear. Instead, Agnieszka Soltysik Monnet¦argues that the American Gothic, and gothic literature in general,¦is also about judgment: how to judge and what happens when¦judgment is confronted with situations that defy its limits.¦Poe, Hawthorne, Melville, Gilman, and James all shared a concern¦with the political and ideological debates of their time, but tended¦to approach these debates indirectly. Thus, Monnet suggests, while¦slavery and race are not the explicit subject matter of antebellum¦works by Poe and Hawthorne, they nevertheless permeate it through¦suggestive analogies and tacit references. Similarly, Melville, Gilman,¦and James use the gothic to explore the categories of gender and¦sexuality that were being renegotiated during the latter half of the¦century. Focusing on The Fall of the House of Usher, The Marble¦Faun, Pierre, The Turn of the Screw, and The Yellow Wallpaper,¦Monnet brings to bear minor texts by the same authors that further¦enrich her innovative readings of these canonical works. At the same¦time, her study persuasively argues that the Gothic's endurance¦and ubiquity are in large part related to its being uniquely adapted¦to rehearse questions about judgment and justice that continue to¦fascinate and disturb.

Fiscal Year 2015 Report on the Condition of Affirmative Action, Diversity, and Multi-cultural Programs in State Government and Fiscal Year 2016 Plan, September 30, 2015

Each agency is invited and encouraged to send a representative to a quarterly Department of Administrative Services State Recruitment Coordinating Committee “Committee” meeting. This Committee conducts strategic planning sessions to identify top goals and initiatives for the next 2-3 years.

Internet, Law and Politics. A decade of transformations.

Proceedings of Internet, Law and Politics. A decade of transformations.

Poetikk og politikk : Augusto Boal og de undertryktes teater Poetics and Politics

Poetics and Politics. AugustoBoal and the Theatre of the Oppressed deals with the ideas and methods of the Brazilian author, director and theatre theorist Augusto Boal. The main purpose of the thesis is to give a description of what can be characterized as the poetics of Augusto Boal. What is the specific nature of his theatre methods and in what way do they differ from traditional theatre? How do these methods actually work? What is the overall intention of the Theatre of the Oppressed? As objects for my research I have selected Forum Theatre and Rainbow of Desire. The reason for this choice is partly that the two methods mentioned have become the most widespread among Boal's theatre forms, partly that they complement each other, the former being a method that works with problems of the material world, in realistic action-based narratives; the latter being an expressionistic analytical method, designed to deal with psychological problems and internalized oppression. Going from a micro- to a macro-level, I first examine the theatrical text of both forms, which in this case includes not only the verbal narrative, but also the performance itself and the setting of it, and even the implied conditions of the whole theatrical situation. Secondly, I turn to the encounter between the text and its actual recipient in the theatrical space. What happens, psychologically, when the observing, but passive spectator is turned into the actor of the play? Thirdly, I discuss the ideological and political implications of the Theatre ofthe Oppressed in real life. The way I interpret Boal's poetics, this is of vital importance. The purpose of the Theatre of the Oppressed is not anything resembling l'art pour l'art. In the contrary, its intention is to teach the oppressed the use of theatre as a martial art, so that they can fight and break the oppression in a social context of the real world. Thus the title Poetics and Politics.

Total intravenous anaesthesia with propofol-racemic ketamine and propofol-S-ketamine: a comparative study and haemodynamic evaluation in dogs undergoing ovariohysterectomy

Total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA) with propofol and ketamine proved to be very satisfactory from a clinical point of view. This blind randomised controlled trial was designed to compare induction and maintenance of anaesthesia under continuous infusion of propofol-racemic ketamine (PRK) with that of propofol-S-ketamine (PSK) and evaluate their haemodynamic, metabolic and ventilatory effects. Seven female dogs undergoing ovariohysterectomy were involved in each group. Anaesthesia was induced: in Group PRK, with propofol (4.0mg kg-1) and racemic ketamine (2.0mg kg-1) intravenous (i.v.), followed by i.v. infusion of propofol (initial dose of 0.5mg kg-1 min-1) and racemic ketamine (0.2mg kg-1 min-1); in Group PSK, with propofol (4.0mg kg-1) and S-ketamine (1.0 mg kg¹) i.v., followed by i.v. infusion of propofol (initial dose of 0.5mg kg-1 min-1) and S-ketamine (0.1mg kg-1 min-1). Parameters were assessed before anaesthesia and in 6 time points after induction. In both groups, heart rate increased significantly at all time points. There was a slight decrease in systemic blood pressure, cardiac output and cardiac index in both groups. The systolic index decrease significantly and intense respiratory depression was observed in all groups, making assisted ventilation necessary.

Comparative uptake and metabolism of 2-[14C]-2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid in callus cultures of monocot (Dioscorea spp.) and dicot (Nicotiana tabacum L.) plants

(Comparative uptake and metabolism of 2-[14C]-2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid in callus cultures of monocot (Dioscorea spp.) and dicot (Nicotiana tabacum L.) plants). The uptake and metabolism of 2-[14C]-2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) were investigated in leaf calluses of Nicotiana tabacum, tuber calluses of Dioscorea opposita and calluses derived from zygotic embryos, leaves and petioles of Dioscorea composita. Striking similarities were evident in the patterns of 2,4-D metabolites and their chemical characteristics in the three callus types of D. composita compared, but significant differences were detected among the patterns of rnetabolites in the three species studied. Preliminary investigations on the stability of various metabolites (separated using TLC) by hydrolysis showed that sugar esters appeared to be the major metabolites in tobacco whilst in yams (D. opposita) glycosides were shown to be the main ones, which indicated a similarity between plants of Gramineae and Dioscoreaceae in terms of 2,4-D metabolism. Release of 2,4-D from tobacco callus cells upon their transfer to 2,4-D-free medium was detected and the implications of this are discussed in relation to the cultural conditions necessary to induce morphogenesis in vitro.