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To improve the salt tolerance/sensitivity of cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs), zwitterionic cellulose nanofibrils (ZCNFs) were prepared from softwood bleached kraft pulp fibers via a sequential process of anionic modification with 2,2,6,6-tetramethylepiperidin-1-oxyl (TEMPO)-mediated oxidation, cationic modification with (2,3-epoxypropyl) trimethylammonium chloride (EPTMAC), and high-pressure homogenization. To produce ZCNFs with different contents of cation group, EPTMAC loadings of 0.15 to 1.15 g/g fiber were explored during cationization. The obtained ZCNFs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and rheological measurements. The salt tolerance of the ZCNFs was investigated by adding mixed salts into the ZCNF dispersions. The results demonstrated that the ZCNFs with both anionic and cationic charges were produced. Compared with the TEMPO-mediated oxidized cellulose nanofibrils (TOCNFs), the ZCNFs exhibited an excellent "salt-thickening" behavior under the studied salt concentrations (2-24% w/w). Moreover, increasing the content of the cation group increased the salt tolerance/sensitivity of ZCNFs. This work demonstrated that introducing cationic charges to the anionic charged TOCNFs imparts the produced ZCNFs with excellent salt sensitivity and tolerance, which could expand the application of nanocellulose in oil recovery or wastewater treatment.

The 2017 ACC/AHA blood pressure (BP) guidelines generated controversies due to the new proposed BP cut-off values defining hypertension. We aimed to assess aortic stiffness of subjects who are reclassified as stage 1 hypertensive according to the new guidelines and compare them with the subjects of "elevated BP" category. Background: The 2017 ACC/AHA blood pressure (BP) guidelines generated controversies due to the new proposed BP cut-off values defining hypertension. We aimed to assess aortic stiffness of subjects who are reclassified as stage 1 hypertensive according to the new guidelines and compare them with the subjects of "elevated BP" category. Patients and methods. Data from the "Corinthia" study, an observational, cross-sectional survey of 2,043 participants were analyzed. Subjects were classified into 4 groups: group A: systolic pressure (SBP) 120-129 and diastolic pressure (DBP) < 80 mmHg, group B: SBP 130-139 or DBP 80-89 mmHg, group B1: SBP 130-139 and DBP < 80 mmHg and group B2: SBP 130-139 and DBP 80-89 mmHg. Aortic stiffness was assessed by carotid-to-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV). A value of PWV > 10m/s was consider indicative of asymptomatic organ damage while values of PWV exceeded the 90 % percentile for each age group were consider as abnormal. Results: Groups B, B1 and B2 have significantly increased PWV compared to group A, independently from age and other risk factors (PWV: 9.2 ± 2.8 vs 9.4 ± 2.7 vs 8.6 ± 2.5 vs 8.1 ± 2.3 m/s, p < 0.01, respectively). The prevalence of PWV > 10 m/s and abnormal PWV values in group A was significantly lower than the corresponding prevalence in randomly selected, age-matched subjects from group B (13.5 % vs 24.4 %, p = 0.027 and 5.6 % vs 14.2 %, p = 0.022, respectively). Conclusions: The reclassified subjects as stage 1 hypertensive by the new guidelines have a significantly increased aortic stiffness and greater prevalence in asymptomatic aortic damage compared to subjects with elevated BP. This finding may indirectly explain the increased cardiovascular risk of this group.

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) is being used increasingly in both clinical practice and hypertension research. Although there are many guidelines that emphasize the indications for ABPM, there is no comprehensive guideline dealing with all aspects of the technique. It was agreed at a consensus meeting on ABPM in Milan in 2011 that the 34 attendees should prepare a comprehensive position paper on the scientific evidence for ABPM.This position paper considers the historical background, the advantages and limitations of ABPM, the threshold levels for practice, and the cost-effectiveness of the technique. It examines the need for selecting an appropriate device, the accuracy of devices, the additional information and indices that ABPM devices may provide, and the software requirements.At a practical level, the paper details the requirements for using ABPM in clinical practice, editing considerations, the number of measurements required, and the circumstances, such as obesity and arrhythmias, when particular care needs to be taken when using ABPM.The clinical indications for ABPM, among which white-coat phenomena, masked hypertension, and nocturnal hypertension appear to be prominent, are outlined in detail along with special considerations that apply in certain clinical circumstances, such as childhood, the elderly and pregnancy, and in cardiovascular illness, examples being stroke and chronic renal disease, and the place of home measurement of blood pressure in relation to ABPM is appraised.The role of ABPM in research circumstances, such as pharmacological trials and in the prediction of outcome in epidemiological studies is examined and finally the implementation of ABPM in practice is considered in relation to the issue of reimbursement in different countries, the provision of the technique by primary care practices, hospital clinics and pharmacies, and the growing role of registries of ABPM in many countries.

In 1977, 92 male patients with mild hypertension (persistent diastolic blood pressure between 90 and 104 mmHg) were found from among 1608 men aged between 18 and 40 years old who were employees of an industrial company. Of these, 81 patients were followed-up for 10 years. After that time, blood pressures (BP) of 44.4% of the mild hypertensive patients became normotensive (group N); BP of 22.2% remained mild hypertensive (group M); and BP of 33.4% increased to higher levels than the starting BP (group H). Higher levels of systolic and diastolic BP, a higher incidence of family history of hypertension, a higher voltage of SV1 + RV5 on ECG and a lower concentration of serum triglycerides at the starting point were risk factors for the progression to higher levels of hypertension. Body weights of patients in group H increased significantly during the follow-up period. These results indicate that male mild hypertensive patients with the above-mentioned risk factors should be followed carefully, especially with regard to increased body weights.