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Aims: The aim of this study was to analyse the processes through which job, career and research-related choices are determined in Italian cardiology, focusing on characteristics such as productivity, gender and family., Methods and Results: In June 1996, a questionnaire surveying individual and career-related data was mailed to all members (8000) of the Italian societies of cardiology. Returned questionnaires numbered 1715 (21.4% of the total mailed), 83% were completed by men and 17% by women. For both hospital and academic careers, advancement in rank was influenced by variables denoting productivity, family and individual characteristics. However, men and women showed slightly different patterns., Conclusions: Promotion to the upper ranks of the hierarchy was highly dependent upon time (once the effects of the covariates were eliminated). This situation is typical of the internal labour market, that is, in institutions in which staff members are ranked on a hierarchical scale according to formal criteria that are 'rigid' and institutionalized, partially sheltered from competition. Therefore, once a member has gained access to the bottom of the hierarchy, the professional career is 'pre-determined' and seniority has an appreciable influence on promotion decisions; in this context, women appear to be at a disadvantage., (Copyright 1999 The European Society of Cardiology.)

Most Authors fix the upper limits of normal blood pressure at 90 degrees percentile according to age. Nevertheless in their investigations different instruments were used and they often didn't relate in detail the position of the subject during the measurement. Other factors, influencing blood pressure values, have been often left out: relation with meals, room temperature, pain, drugs, stress, etc. The prevalence of hypertension in pediatric age in literature is 0,6 - 12,4% with several intermediate values. The first very important research concerning the hypertension in pediatric age was carried out by Londe et Coll., conducted among 1593 children (785 males and 798 females); they estimated mean values and percentiles according to age and sex. In the present study the A.A. saw 346 children (161 females and 185 males), 11-15 years old, observed at school, in a comfortable room. Pressure measurement was done twice in the same morning with half an our interval. Systolic pressure, 4 degrees and 5 degrees Korotkoff tones, was noticed. 11% of the children had systolic pressure values under 50 degrees percentile, 35,3% between 50 degrees and 90 degrees percentile and 43,1% had values equal or greater than 90 degrees percentile at the first measurement. The third group went down to 30,6% (106 cases) at the control (after an half an hour). This reduction shows the importance of the emotional factors in the P.A. variations. The 106 children who had systolic and/or diastolic values equal or greater than 90 degrees percentile were controlled again after a week. 92 maintained the same values. They were called for the third sitting 1-6 months later. 45 subjects agreed to our invitation and it was possible to point out that high blood pressure values persisted in 31 children (that is 8,9% of all examined cases). Following correlations were observed: body weight-blood pressure values (either systolic or diastolic ones) and so cutaneous plica-pressure values (p less than 0,01); moreover 50% of the 31 hypertensive children had hypertensive parents; the most frequent subjective symptom (13 cases) was cephalalgia. None of the studied school children showed either clinic or biochemical abnormal data, so that it was possible to define their hypertension as "essential".