Nuevo endemismo marroquí: Sideritis cirujanoi, sp. nov.

4 p., il.[EN]A new species, Sideritis cirujanoi Romo, Stübing, Roselló & Peris (Lamiaceae), from the Riff range (northern Morocco), is described[ES]Se describe una nueva eSfecie, Sideritis cirujanoi Romo, Stübing, Roselló & Peris (Lamiaceae), de las montañas del Rif (norte de Marruecos).Peer reviewe

Tipificación de «Arnica montana» L. (Asteraceae)

A lectotype for Arnica montana L. (Asteraceae) is designated from Linnaeus’ original material preserved in the UPS-BURSER herbarium.Se designa un lectótipo para Arnica montana L. (Asteraceae) a partir del material original de Linneo conservado en el herbario UPS-BURSER

Impact of a 2-year intervention program on cardiometabolic profile according to the number of goals achieved

We investigated the impact of lifestyle goal achievement on cardiovascular risk factors after a 2-year behavioral intervention program applied to 394 adults (113 with diabetes, mean age 60.2 ± 11.4 years, 56% women) and targeting four goals: &#8805;5% weight loss; &#8805;150 min/week physical activities; <10% saturated fat intake/day; &#8805;400 g fruit and vegetable intake/day. Baseline characteristics and changes in variables after intervention among the four categories of number of goals achieved (none, 1, 2, and &#8805;3) were compared by independent ANOVA or the Kruskal-Wallis test. Individuals without diabetes achieving a higher number of goals were more likely to be older (3 or 4 goals: 61.8 ± 12.6 years vs none: 53.3 ± 10.3 years, P < 0.05) and to have a lower mean BMI (3 or 4 goals: 21.7 ± 2.6 kg/m² vs none: 29.0 ± 4.8 kg/m², P < 0.05), diastolic blood pressure (3 or 4 goals: 77.3 ± 2.1 mmHg vs none: 85.4 ± 9.6 mmHg, P < 0.05), triglyceride (3 or 4 goals: 116.1 ± 95.1 mg/dL vs none: 144.8 ± 65.5 mg/dL, P < 0.05) and insulin levels (3 or 4 goals: 3.6 ± 2.4 &#956;U/L vs none: 5.7 ± 4.0 &#956;U/L, P < 0.05) than those achieving fewer goals. The absolute changes in cardiovascular risk factors tended to be more pronounced with increasing number of goals achieved in individuals without diabetes. The intervention had a beneficial impact on the cardiometabolic profile of individuals with normal or altered glucose metabolism. The number of goals achieved in this lifestyle intervention was associated with the magnitude of improvement of cardiovascular risk factors in individuals without diabetes. Participants with a better cardiometabolic profile seemed to be more likely to have a healthy lifestyle

In vivo antihypertensive mechanism of lactoferrin-derived peptides: Reversion of angiotensin I- and angiotensin II-induced hypertension in Wistar rats

Novel peptides with antihypertensive effects in SHR rats have previously been identified in lactoferrin (LF) hydrolysates. To investigate their in vivo antihypertensive mechanism, we have assessed the blood pressure lowering effects of two of these LF-derived peptides (RPYL and DPYKLRP) in Wistar rats subjected to either angiotensin I- or angiotensin II-induced hypertension. Blood pressure was measured by the tail-cuff method, hypertension was induced by subcutaneous infusion of angiotensins, and then captopril, valsartan or LF-derived peptides orally administered. Angiotensin I- and angiotensin II-induced hypertension were reversed by captopril and valsartan, respectively. RPYL and DPYKLRP reversed angiotensin I-induced hypertension, while DPYKLRP but not RPYL produced a modest reversion of angiotensin II-elicited hypertension. Neither RPYL nor DPYKLRP modified normotension. Thus, in vivo ACE inhibition is involved in the antihypertensive effects of LF-derived peptides like RPYL and DPYKLRP, while inhibition of AT1 receptor-mediated vasoconstriction plays a less relevant role.This work was supported by grant AGL2010-21009 from ‘Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia – FEDER’, Consolider Ingenio 2010, Fun-C-Food, CSD2007-00063 and RETICS INVICTUS RD12/0014/0004 from ‘Instituto de Salud Carlos III’. A. García-Tejedor is recipient of a predoctoral fellowship from ‘Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia’ (BES-2011-044424).Peer reviewe

Un nou llistonar (Teucrio muletii-Brachypodietum retusi ass. nova) per a la província de Castelló (Espanya)

Es proposa un nou llistonar (Teucrio muletii-Brachypodietum retusi) pertanyent a l’aliança Teucrio pseudochamaepityos-Brachypodion retusi (classe Lygeo-Stipetea), emplaçada al Paratge Natural del Desert de les Palmes (Castelló, Espanya).A new association of perennial xerophytic grassland (Teucrio muletii-Brachypodietum retusi) belonging to the alliance Teucrio pseudochamaepityos-Brachypodion retusi (Lygeo-Stipetea class) is proposed, occurring in the Natural Park Desert de les Palmes (Castellón, Spain)

An antihypertensive lactoferrin hydrolysate inhibits angiotensin I-converting enzyme, modifies expression of hypertension-related genes and enhances nitric oxide production in cultured human endothelial cells

This study was aimed to explore whether an antihypertensive lactoferrin hydrolysate (LFH) can inhibit angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) activity and modify the expression of genes related to hypertension in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). LFH induced significant inhibition of ACE activity but it did not affect ACE mRNA levels after 24 h of exposure. LFH treatment significantly affected the expression of genes encoding for proteins involved in nitric oxide pathway such as soluble guanylate cyclase 1 α3 subunit (GUCY1A3; 4.42-fold increase) and nitric oxide synthase trafficking (NOSTRIN; 2.45-fold decrease). Furthermore, expression of the PTGS2/COX-2 gene encoding prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 a key component of prostaglandin synthesis was significantly increased (2.23-fold). Moreover, NOSTRIN mRNA downregulation was consistent with reduced NOSTRIN protein expression and increased NO production observed in HUVEC. The present study reveals the complexity of the effects exerted by LFH opening avenues for the better understanding of its antihypertensive effects.This work was supported by grant AGL2010-21009 from ‘Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia – FEDER’, Consolider Ingenio 2010, Fun-C-Food, CSD2007-00063 and RETICS INVICTUS RD12/0014/0004 from ‘Instituto de Salud Carlos III’. A. García-Tejedor is recipient of a predoctoral fellowship from ‘Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia’ (BES-2011-044424).Peer reviewe

CLIWOC multilingual meteorological dictionary

This dictionary is the first attempt to express the wealth of archaic logbook wind force terms in a form that is comprehensible to the modern-day reader. Oliver and Kington (1970) and Lamb (1982) have drawn attention to the importance of logbooks in climatic studies, and Lamb (1991) offered a conversion scale for early eighteenth century English wind force terms, but no studies have thus far pursued the matter to any greater depth. This text attempts to make good this deficiency, and is derived from the research undertaken by the CLIWOC project1 in which British, Dutch, French and Spanish naval and merchant logbooks from the period 1750 to 1850 were used to derive a global database of climatic information. At an early stage in the project it was apparent that many of the logbook weather terms, whilst conforming to a conventional vocabulary, possessed meanings that were unclear to twenty-first century readers or had changed over time. This was particularly the case for the important element of wind force; but no special plea is entered for the evolution in nautical vocabulary, which often reflected more wide-ranging changes in the respective native languages.The key objective was to translate the archaic vocabulary of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century mariner into expressions directly comparable with the Beaufort Scale (see Appendix I). Only then could the projects scientific programme be embarked upon. This dictionary is the result of the largest undertaking into logbook studies that has yet been carried out. Several thousand logbooks from British, Dutch, French and Spanish archives were examined, and the exercise offered a unique opportunity to explore the vocabulary of the one hundred year period beginning in 1750. The logbooks from which the raw data have been abstracted range widely across the North and South Atlantic and the Indian Oceans. Only the Pacific, largely in consequence of the paucity of regular naval activity in that area, is not well represented. The range of climates encountered in this otherwise wide geographic domain gives ample opportunity for the full range of the mariners nautical weather vocabulary to be assessed, from the calms of the Equatorial regions, through the gales of the mid-latitude systems to the fearsome storms of the tropical latitudes. The Trade Winds belts, the Doldrums, the unsettled mid-latitudes, even the icy wastes of the high latitudes, are all embraced in this study. It is not here intended to pass any judgements on the climatological record of the logbooks, and this text seeks only to provide a means of understanding archaic wind force terms and, other than to indicate those items that were not commonly used, no information is given on the frequency with which different terms appeared in the logbooks. Attention is, furthermore, confined to Dutch, English, French and Spanish because these once great imperial powers were the only nations able to support wide-ranging ocean-going fleets with their attendant collections of logbooks and documents over this long period of time. The work is offered to the wider academic community in the hope that they will prove to be of as much value as it has been to the CLIWOC team

Physical Activity Characteristics across GOLD Quadrants Depend on the Questionnaire Used

BACKGROUND:The GOLD multidimensional classification of COPD severity combines the exacerbation risk with the symptom experience, for which 3 different questionnaires are permitted. This study investigated differences in physical activity (PA) in the different GOLD quadrants and patient's distribution in relation to the questionnaire used. METHODS:136 COPD patients (58±21% FEV1 predicted, 34F/102M) completed COPD assessment test (CAT), clinical COPD questionnaire (CCQ) and modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) questionnaire. Exacerbation history, spirometry and 6MWD were collected. PA was objectively measured for 2 periods of 1 week, 6 months apart, in 5 European centres; to minimise seasonal and clinical variation the average of these two periods was used for analysis. RESULTS:GOLD quadrants C+D had reduced PA compared with A+B (3824 [2976] vs. 5508 [4671] steps.d-1, p<0.0001). The choice of questionnaire yielded different patient distributions (agreement mMRC-CAT κ = 0.57; CCQ-mMRC κ = 0.71; CCQ-CAT κ = 0.72) with different clinical characteristics. PA was notably lower in patients with an mMRC score ≥2 (3430 [2537] vs. 5443 [3776] steps.d-1, p <0.001) in both the low and high risk quadrants. CONCLUSIONS:Using different questionnaires changes the patient distribution and results in different clinical characteristics. Therefore, standardization of the questionnaire used for classification is critical to allow comparison of different studies using this as an entry criterion. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION:ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01388218

A Novel Technique for Mitigating Multipactor by Means of Magnetic Surface Roughness

Multipactor phenomena which are closely linked to the SEY (secondary electron yield)can be mitigated by many different methods including groves in the metal surface as well as using electric or magnetic bias fields. However frequently the application of global magnetic or electric bias field is not practicable considering the weight and power limitations on-board satellites. Additionally, surface grooves may degrade the RF performance. Here we present a novel technique which is based on a magnetostatic field pattern on the metallic surface with fast spatial modulation in the order of 30 micron. This field pattern is produced by proper magnetization of an underlying ferromagnetic layer such as nickel. Simulations and preliminary experimental results will be shown and a number of applications, both for particle accelerators and satellite microwave payloads are discussed