Carotid intima-media thickness and serum leptin in psoriasis.

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis, a chronic inflammatory immune disorder, has been linked to increased cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. Leptin, an obesity-related peptide, has been shown to exert direct effects on the vascular endothelium and on vascular smooth muscle cells. Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) measurement is a promising tool for detecting atherosclerosis in its pre-occlusive/subclinical phase. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to evaluate carotid IMT and serum leptin levels in psoriatic patients as an indicator of subclinical atherosclerosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted in 50 psoriatic patients and 10 healthy controls. The clinical severity of skin affection in psoriatic patients was estimated using the psoriatic area and severity index (PASI). Serum leptin levels (ng\ml) and lipid profiles [including serum triglyceride (TG), serum low density lipoproteins (LDL) and serum high density lipoproteins (HDL)] were measured from blood samples. Carotid IMT was measured using carotid duplex ultrasonography. RESULTS: Psoriatic patients showed significantly higher leptin levels and higher IMT than controls. The mean of the intima-media thickness of the four vessels examined (MIMT) showed a positive correlation with patients' mean ages, disease duration, body mass index, PASI scores, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, leptin levels, LDL levels and triglyceride levels and no correlation with the mean HDL level. CONCLUSION: Psoriasis is an independent risk factor for subclinical atherosclerosis. This cardiovascular impairment is influenced mainly by disease severity, serum TG levels and serum leptin levels.

Transportable distance measurement system based on superheterodyne interferometry using two phase-locked frequency-doubled Nd:YAG lasers.

We describe a transportable distance measurement system based on synthetic wavelength interferometry. Two frequency-doubled Nd:yttrium aluminum garnet lasers at 532 nm are used to generate a synthetic wavelength of approximately 2.5 cm. A nonpolarizing interferometric system has been set up to eliminate polarization cross-talk issue. A superheterodyne detection was performed to measure the synthetic phase and to determine absolute distances. The capability to achieve fringe interpolation of 2pi/5600 has been demonstrated and an agreement in distance measurement at the 4 microm level has been achieved, compared to an optical interferometric 3 m long displacement bench.

Enhanced solubilization and removal of naphthalene and phenanthrene by cyclodextrins from two contaminated soils.

The development of innovative methods for cleaning contaminated soils has emerged as a significant environmental priority. Herein, are investigated the effectiveness of cyclodextrin (CD) to solubilize and to extract organic pollutants from soils. The interactions in the cyclodextrin/pollutant/soil system have been studied "step by step" using two kinds of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), naphthalene (Nap) and phenanthrene (Phe), cyclodextrins and soils. Inclusion complex formation of PAH with beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) and hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HPCD) has been investigated and was proposed as a way to facilitate the pollutant removal from soil. Little effect of ionic strength was observed on CD complex formation for both compounds. The solubility of PAH in 50 g L(-1) of HPCD was enhanced 20- and 90-fold for naphthalene and phenanthrene, respectively. Batch experiments were performed to study the adsorption-desorption of two PAH on two soils and the influence of CDs over these processes. These experiments were also conducted with a mixture of two PAH. The batch desorption results indicate that removal capacity of HPCD was higher than that of beta-CD. Phenanthrene was strongly sorbed on soils, this led to low desorption rates compared to that of naphthalene, whatever the extracting agent used. When HPCD solution was used as a flushing agent, 80% of naphthalene and 64% of phenanthrene recovery from soil were observed. For both compounds, the slowest desorption rate was found for the soil that had the greatest content of organic matter. CD sorption on soils, was relatively low and depended on soil type. The soil organic matter (SOM) could favor the retention of both CD and pollutant involving the extraction rate to be decreased. A competitive hydrophobic interactions of pollutant between SOM and CD molecules, and co-sorption were expected to be the mechanism for the inhibited desorption.