Surface Enhanced Visible Absorption of Dye Molecules in the Near-Field of Gold Nanoparticles.

Surface enhanced absorption is a plasmonic effect parenting to surface enhanced fluorescence and Raman scattering, and it was clearly reported to occur in the infrared region of the spectrum of light. In this paper, we unambiguously show that it also occurs in the visible region of the spectrum by using a dye; i.e. an azo-dye, which exhibits a good light absorption in that region, and gold nanoparticles, which act as plasmonic nanoantennas that capture and re-radiate light, when the azo-dyes and the nanoparticles are incorporated in the bulk of solid films of polymer. In such a configuration, it is possible to use a dye concentration much larger than that of the nanoparticles and absorption path lengths much larger than those of the molecularly thin layers used in surface enhanced effects studies. In addition, the dye undergoes shape and orientation change; i.e. isomerization and reorientation, upon polarized light absorption; and the observation of surface enhanced visible absorption is done by two separate experiments; i.e. UV-visible absorption spectroscopy and photo-induced birefringence, since the signals detected from both experiments are directly proportional to the extinction coefficient of the dye. Both the dye's absorption and photoorientation are enhanced by the presence of the nanoparticles.

Practitioners and nondrug treatment of hypertension, effects of participating in a survey.

A nationwide survey in the Netherlands among 600 randomly sampled practitioners revealed that the advice (1) quit smoking, (2) reduce alcohol, (3) healthy diet, and (4) physical activities was only given by 76%, 26%, 44%, and 61% of the practitioners. To confirm these data, and to study the effects of the personal characteristics of the practitioners, and the effect of their participation in a survey. All general practitioners in the areas of Dordrecht in the Netherlands, with 350,000 inhabitants, were invited to participate. Self-administered questionnaires included questions about non-pharmaceutical treatment recommendations given, about blood pressure increasing factors including blood pressure increasing medicines, and healthy life style. After 1 year, the survey was repeated among the practitioners who completed the first one. The current survey produced a result largely similar to that of the nationwide survey. The combined results were as follows: among 281 practitioners a quit smoking advice was given by 82%, reduce alcohol advice by 47%, healthy diet advice by 51%, and physical activities advice by only 73% of the practitioners with 95% confidence intervals of, respectively, 75%-84%, 38%-49%, 41%-53%, and 64%-75%. Country physicians and older physicians were more active in giving nondrug treatments with P-values of <0.02 to <0.05. Increased blood pressure as a side effect of concomitant medications was virtually never addressed. After the survey, 26 practitioners (24.8%, P < 0.001) had started life style recommendations.

Lifestyle interventions in the management of hypertension: a survey based on the opinion of 105 practitioners.

BACKGROUND: Lifestyle interventions in the management of hypertension were beneficial in published studies. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate (1) which lifestyle recommendations are given by physicians and to what extent the possibility of drug-induced hypertension is addressed; (2) to study the characteristics of the physicians who more often perform lifestyle interventions. METHODS: General practitioners in the area of Dordrecht were asked whether or not they included lifestyle advice in the management of their patients' hypertension. RESULTS: Of the 176 physicians invited, 105 consented to take part. Measures to reduce body weight, stopping smoking, and physical exercise advice were given by 94, 92, and 92% of the physicians, respectively. Advice on psychological relaxation and reducing liquorice (Dutch: drop) intake was only given by 23 and 32%. Rural physicians were more active: they more often recommended quitting smoking (p<0.02), reducing weight (p<0.02), and participating in sporting activities (p<0.02). And so were older physicians: they more often recommended starting low-calorie diets (p<0.05), stopping liquorice consumption (p<0.04) and emphasised drug compliance (p<0.02). Increased blood pressure as a side effect of concomitant medications, other than nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and oral contraceptives, was virtually never addressed. CONCLUSIONS: (1) Advice to reduce body weight, stop smoking, and increase physical exercise are the only lifestyle recommendations routinely given, (2) rural physicians and older physicians were more active in giving non-drug treatments, (3) increased blood pressure as a side effect of medications was virtually never addressed. (Neth Heart J 2009;17:9-12.).

Protein and lysine content, grain yield, and other technological traits in durum wheat under Mediterranean conditions.

A major problem for durum wheat production in the Mediterranean region is yield fluctuation. This fluctuation is a result of year-to-year variation in precipitation and heat stress during grain growth, which is typical of the Mediterranean climate. Both yield stability and good quality are needed in adapted durum wheat ideotypes. Ten durum wheat cultivars differing in drought resistance were grown during 1998, under both rainfed and irrigated conditions, at three sites in southern Spain. The main traits studied were protein and lysine content, grain yield, test weight, SDS sedimentation, semolina color, and grain vitreousness. Results show a high influence of site on all traits. Only test weight (TW), SDS sedimentation, grain vitreousness, and protein per kernel appeared to be determined also by cultivar effect. Vitreousness was positively correlated with TW (r = 0.48**) and semolina color (r = 0.46**). An inverse relationship was found between grain yield and protein content. Regression of cultivar mean values of protein content and grain yield showed a negative correlation (r = -0.72***), probably due to dilution of protein by non-nitrogen compounds and reduced starch accumulation in the grain under drought conditions. Lysine content was negatively associated with protein content (r = -0.86***), indicating the difficulty of a simultaneous breeding for both characteristics.