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Objective: To collate data on women and cardiovascular disease in Australia and globally to inform public health campaigns and health care interventions. Design: Literature review. Results: •Women with acute coronary syndromes show consistently poorer outcomes than men, independent of comorbidity and management, despite less anatomical obstruction of coronary arteries and relatively preserved left ventricular function. Higher mortality and complication rates are best documented amongst younger women and those with ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction.•Sex differences in atherogenesis and cardiovascular adaptation have been hypothesised, but not proven.•Atrial fibrillation carries a relatively greater risk of stroke in women than in men, and anticoagulation therapy is associated with higher risk of bleeding complications.•The degree of risk conferred by single cardiovascular risk factors and combinations of risk factors may differ between the sexes, and marked postmenopausal changes are seen in some risk factors.•Sociocultural factors, delays in seeking care and differences in self-management behaviours may contribute to poorer outcomes in women.•Differences in clinical management for women, including higher rates of misdiagnosis and less aggressive treatment, have been reported, but there is a lack of evidence to determine their effects on outcomes, especially in angina.•Although enrolment of women in randomised clinical trials has increased since the 1970s, women remain underrepresented in cardiovascular clinical trials. Conclusions: Improvement in the prevention and management of CVD in women will require a deeper understanding of women's needs by the community, health care professionals, researchers and government. © 2011 Royal College of Nursing, Australia.

Cyclic AMP (cAMP) is found in a variety of prokaryotes including both eubacteria and archaebacteria. cAMP plays a role in regulating gene expression, not only for the classic inducible catabolic operons, but also for other categories. In the enteric coliforms, the effects of cAMP on gene expression are mediated through its interaction with and allosteric modification of a cAMP-binding protein (CRP). The CRP-cAMP complex subsequently binds specific DNA sequences and either activates or inhibits transcription depending upon the positioning of the complex relative to the promoter. Enteric coliforms have provided a model to explore the mechanisms involved in controlling adenylate cyclase activity, in regulating adenylate cyclase synthesis, and in performing detailed examinations of CRP-cAMP complex-regulated gene expression. This review summarizes recent work focused on elucidating the molecular mechanisms of CRP-cAMP complex-mediated processes. For other bacteria, less detail is known. cAMP has been implicated in regulating antibiotic production, phototrophic growth, and pathogenesis. A role for cAMP has been suggested in nitrogen fixation. Often the only data that support cAMP involvement in these processes includes cAMP measurement, detection of the enzymes involved in cAMP metabolism, or observed effects of high concentrations of the nucleotide on cell growth.

Antiepileptic drugs as well epilepsy itself are known to induce some cognitive impairment. Thirty-six epileptic patients under unchanged and reduced therapy conditions were followed from a clinical (seizures' evaluation, reaction times [RTs], memory tests) and neurophysiological (EEG, BAEPs, ERPs) point of view, weekly as inpatients (mean stay 8.9 weeks) and after 1 and 3 months as outpatients. This study showed on one hand no clear correlation between RTs and ERPs components, and on the other hand an improvement of the most complex RT after reduction of polytherapy or stabilization of seizures by the introduction of carbamazepine-CR in newly treated patients. These data suggest that in epileptic patients there exists a slowing of cognitive processes between the stimulus evaluation time and the motor response and that this step is improved when a reduced but efficient therapy is given.

Chlorotetracycline (CTC) has been used in many cells as a probe for membranous calcium. In polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN), the changes in CTC fluorescence upon stimulation are considered to monitor an early event in the activation process. Using quantitative video-enhanced microscopy, we report that in resting cells about 80% of the CTC signal emanates from the perinuclear region of the cell, indicating that internal structures are labeled with CTC. Approximately 20% of the total CTC fluorescence is taken up in a compartment sensitive to mitochondrial inhibitors, which is not present in neutrophils depleted of nucleus and granules or cytoplasts. Upon stimulation PMN loaded with CTC exhibit a rapid, biphasic decrease in fluorescence that is dose dependent. The second phase of the response is not seen in neutrophil cytoplasts. These results suggest that internal stores of CTC are responsive upon stimulation and could account for the later decrease in CTC fluorescence, whereas the early phase of CTC changes represents the plasma membrane response.

Hyperthermia induced from microwave 30 watts for 5 minutes or from ultrasound 1 watt/cm/sup 2/ for 5 minutes as well as x-rays were destructive to the testes of rats. The combination of x-ray and hyperthermia enhanced the destructive effect regarding the degree of reduction of spermatogenesis as well as the number of tubules affected.