Effect of Home Blood Pressure Telemonitoring Plus Additional Support on Blood Pressure Control:A Randomized Clinical Trial

Objective Current clinical evidence on the effects of home blood pressure telemonitoring(HBPT)on improving blood pressure control comes entirely from developed countries.Thus,we performed this randomized controlled trial to evaluate whether HBPT plus support(patient education and clinician remote hypertension management)improves blood pressure control more than usual care(UC)in the Chinese population.Methods This single-center,randomized controlled study was conducted in Beijing,China.Patients aged 30-75 years were eligible for enrolment if they had blood pressure[systolic(SBP)≥140 mmHg and/or diastolic(DBP)≥90 mmHg;or SBP≥130 mmHg and/or DBP≥80 mmHg with diabetes].We recruited 190 patients randomized to either the HBPT or the UC groups for 12 weeks.The primary endpoints were blood pressure reduction and the proportion of patients achieving the target blood pressure.Results Totally,172 patients completed the study,the HBPT plus support group(n=84),and the UC group(n=88).Patients in the plus support group showed a greater reduction in mean ambulatory blood pressure than those in the UC group.The plus support group had a significantly higher proportion of patients who achieved the target blood pressure and maintained a dipper blood pressure pattern at the12th week of follow-up.Additionally,the patients in the plus support group showed lower blood pressure variability and higher drug adherence than those in the UC group.Conclusion HBPT plus additional support results in greater blood pressure reduction,better blood pressure control,a higher proportion of dipper blood pressure patterns,lower blood pressure variability,and higher drug adherence than UC.The development of telemedicine may be the cornerstone of hypertension management in primary care.

MY ADDITIONAL REMARKS IN SUPPORT OF PROF. HUO MINGYUAN'S ARTICLE

An article entitled "Highly Effective Layout of Water Resources Is the Key Link in Promoting the Sustainable Development of the Regional Economy in Four Provinces (or Autonomous Regions) of the Chinese Northwest," contributed by Prof.Huo Mingyuan and carried in the Bulletin’s No.4,1995 issue(Chinese edition),makes an incisive argument and proposes a 24-word guideline emphasizing water-saving in a short period of time and water diversion for long-term operation.All of these viewpoints are correct.

Efficient aerobic oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid on Ru/C catalysts

2,5-Furandicarboxylic(FDCA) is a potential substitute for petroleum-derived terephthalic acid, and aerobic oxidation of5-hydroxymethylfurfural(HMF) provides an efficient route to synthesis of FDCA. On an activated carbon supported ruthenium(Ru/C) catalyst(with 5 wt% Ru loading), HMF was readily oxidized to FDCA in a high yield of 97.3% at 383 K and 1.0 MPa O_2 in the presence of Mg(OH)_2 as base additive. Ru/C was superior to Pt/C and Pd/C and also other supported Ru catalysts with similar sizes of metal nanoparticles(1–2 nm). The Ru/C catalysts were stable and recyclable, and their efficiency in the formation of FDCA increased with Ru loadings examined in the range of 0.5 wt%–5.0 wt%. Based on the kinetic studies including the effects of reaction time, reaction temperature, O_2 pressure, on the oxidation of HMF to FDCA on Ru/C, it was confirmed that the oxidation of HMF to FDCA proceeds involving the primary oxidation of HMF to 2,5-diformylfuran(DFF) intermediate, and its sequential oxidation to 5-formyl-2-furancarboxylic acid(FFCA) and ultimately to FDCA, in which the oxidation of FFCA to FDCA is the rate-determining step and dictates the overall formation rate of FDCA. This study provides directions towards efficient synthesis of FDCA from HMF, for example, by designing novel catalysts more efficient for the involved oxidation step of FFCA to FDCA.