Angiotensin-converting enzyme activity and inhibition in dogs with cardiac disease and an angiotensin-converting enzyme polymorphism

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to evaluate angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity in dogs and with and without an ACE polymorphism in the canine ACE gene, before and after treatment with an ACE inhibitor. METHODS Thirty-one dogs (20 wild-type, 11 ACE polymorphism) with heart disease were evaluated with ACE activity measurement and systolic blood pressure before and after administration of an ACE inhibitor (enalapril). RESULTS Median pre-treatment ACE activity was significantly lower for ACE polymorphism dogs than for dogs with the wild-type sequence ( P=0.007). After two weeks of an ACE inhibitor, ACE activity was significantly reduced for both genotypes (wild-type, P<0.0001; ACE polymorphism P=0.03); mean post-therapy ACE activity was no different between the groups. CONCLUSION An ACE polymorphism is associated with lower levels of ACE activity. Dogs with the polymorphism still experience suppression of ACE activity in response to an ACE inhibitor. It is possible that the genetic status and ACE activity of dogs may impact the response of dogs with this variant to an ACE inhibitor

South American Spider Mites: New Hosts and Localities

In order to contribute to taxonomic information on Tetranychid mites (Acari: Tetranychidae) in South America, surveys were conducted in Brazil (15 States and the Federal District) and Uruguay (one Department); 550 samples of 120 plant species were collected. Tetranychid mite infestations were confirmed in 204 samples, and 22 species belonging to seven genera of the Bryobiinae and Tetranychinae subfamilies were identified on 58 different host plants. Thirty-six new plant hosts were found in Brazil, South America, and worldwide for the following species: Eutetranychus banksi (McGregor); Mononychellus tanajoa (Bondar); Oligonychus anonae Paschoal; O. mangiferus (Rahman and Sapra); Tetranychus bastosi Tuttle, Baker and Sales; T. desertorum Banks, 1900, T. evansi Baker and Pritchard; T. ludeni Zacher; T. mexicanus (McGregor); T. neocaledonicus André; and T. urticae Koch. Four new localities in Brazil were reported for Eotetranychus tremae De Leon; O. anonae; Panonychus ulmi (Koch); and T. gloveri Baker and Pritchard

EPIdemiology of Surgery-Associated Acute Kidney Injury (EPIS-AKI) : Study protocol for a multicentre, observational trial

More than 300 million surgical procedures are performed each year. Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication after major surgery and is associated with adverse short-term and long-term outcomes. However, there is a large variation in the incidence of reported AKI rates. The establishment of an accurate epidemiology of surgery-associated AKI is important for healthcare policy, quality initiatives, clinical trials, as well as for improving guidelines. The objective of the Epidemiology of Surgery-associated Acute Kidney Injury (EPIS-AKI) trial is to prospectively evaluate the epidemiology of AKI after major surgery using the latest Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) consensus definition of AKI. EPIS-AKI is an international prospective, observational, multicentre cohort study including 10 000 patients undergoing major surgery who are subsequently admitted to the ICU or a similar high dependency unit. The primary endpoint is the incidence of AKI within 72 hours after surgery according to the KDIGO criteria. Secondary endpoints include use of renal replacement therapy (RRT), mortality during ICU and hospital stay, length of ICU and hospital stay and major adverse kidney events (combined endpoint consisting of persistent renal dysfunction, RRT and mortality) at day 90. Further, we will evaluate preoperative and intraoperative risk factors affecting the incidence of postoperative AKI. In an add-on analysis, we will assess urinary biomarkers for early detection of AKI. EPIS-AKI has been approved by the leading Ethics Committee of the Medical Council North Rhine-Westphalia, of the Westphalian Wilhelms-University Münster and the corresponding Ethics Committee at each participating site. Results will be disseminated widely and published in peer-reviewed journals, presented at conferences and used to design further AKI-related trials. Trial registration number NCT04165369

Método para generar potenciales analíticos con efectos de densidad y temperatura

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Analytical expressions for the n-order momenta of charge distribution for ions

In this work a family of four analytic expressions for the n-order momenta of the charge distribution for ions, 〈rn〉, depending on three, two, or one parameters will be presented. These expressions are derived through the use of electronic charge densities obtained from a family of four analytical potentials. The parameters in the expressions were obtained for ions in the ground state from helium to uranium isoelectronic sequences. The use of these parameters allows to find analytical expressions for the 〈rn〉 as functions of the nuclear charge, Z, only. Finally, the results obtained are compared with results computed by different methods.6336231,003Q3SCI

A parametric potential for ions from helium to iron isoelectronic sequences

It is shown that a new family of analytical potentials with one, two or three parameters produces similar results to those obtained with more complex models. The parameters of the potential are obtained by an iterative procedure with a selfconsistent relativistic potential that has corrections at large distances, and considers the exchange and correlation energy by means of the local density approximation. The analysis of the results obtained with the family of analytical potentials (eigenvalues, eigenfunctions and atomic energies) allowed us to propose a parametric potential with one or two parameters that depends on the electron number of ion. These parameters were fitted to power series in Z for intermediate and highly ionized atoms from helium to iron isoelectronic sequences. Finally, using this analytic potential, we obtained oscillator strengths for lithium and soduim like gold, which are compared with other models.636621SCI