| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(Hypertension. 2005;46:33.)
© 2005 American Heart Association, Inc.
Original Articles |
From the Copenhagen City Heart Study, Epidemiological Research Unit, Bispebjerg University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Correspondence to Dr Jan Skov Jensen, Department of Cardiology, post 163, Gentofte University Hospital, Niels Andersensvej 65, DK-2900 Hellerup, Denmark. E-mail jsje{at}c.dk
| Abstract |
|---|
|
|
|---|
5 µg/min compared with 5% in subjects with urinary albumin excretion <5 µg/min (P<0.001). Similarly, the cumulative mortality was 28% versus 13% (P<0.001). The relative risks of coronary heart disease and death associated with urinary albumin excretion
5 µg/min were 2.0 (1.4 to 2.9; P<0.001) and 1.9 (1.5 to 2.3; P<0.001), respectively, after adjustment for age, sex, blood pressure level, antihypertensive drugs, diabetes, creatinine clearance, smoking, lipoproteins, and body mass index. In conclusion, our study supports the new definition of microalbuminuria as urinary albumin excretion >5 µg/min. In future risk assessment in hypertensive individuals, measurement of microalbuminuria has to be included.
Key Words: albuminuria coronary disease diabetes mellitus hypertension, arterial mortality
| Introduction |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Originally, microalbuminuria was defined in diabetes as 20 to 200 µg albumin excreted per minute in urine collected over 24 hours, or 15 to 150 µg/min in urine collected overnight.23 Initially it was found to be associated with increased risk of chronic renal failure.12,24 In subjects without diabetes, the excretion of albumin in the urine is much lower than the level seen in diabetes.9,25,26 However, recent studies have challenged the original definition of microalbuminuria when looking on the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) or death.6
In a recent study,11 we assessed the level of urinary albumin excretion (UAE) above which the risk of CHD and death is increased in the general population. We found that microalbuminuria defined as a urinary albumin excretion
4.8 µg/min is a strong independent determinant of CHD and death. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether this threshold value also could be relevant in hypertensive subjects by assessing the predictive impact of microalbuminuria on subsequent development of CHD and death. We also aimed to see whether renal function as measured by creatinine clearance could affect this possible association.
| Methods |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Baseline Variables
Hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure
140 mm Hg, or diastolic blood pressure
85 mm Hg, and/or use of antihypertensive drugs. Blood pressure was measured in sitting position on the left upper arm after a 5-minute rest. A London School of Hygiene sphygmomanometer was used.
Urinary albumin concentration was measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique28 and the urinary albumin excretion (UAE) was calculated as urinary albumin concentration multiplied by the diureses (µg/min). Urinary creatinine concentration was measured by a colorimetric method, and renal clearance of creatinine was calculated as the ratio of urine to serum concentration multiplied by the diuresis, and adjusted for body surface area as calculated by the formula: 0.007184xweight0.425xheight0.725[mL/(minxm2)], and was taken as an index of glomerular filtration rate.
Data regarding smoking, medication, and self-reported disease were recorded. Body mass index was calculated as weight divided by height squared (kg/m2). Diabetes was defined as nonfasting plasma glucose
11.1 mmol/L (colorimetric enzymatic method), or use of antidiabetic medicine or self-reported disease. Plasma total and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and serum creatinine were measured by enzymatic colorimetric methods.
End Points
All participants were followed-up until December 31, 2000, with respect to development of CHD (ICD-10 codes I20.0 through I25.9), and until March 1, 2004, with respect to death and emigration by means of the National Patient Register, the National Register of Causes of Death, and the Civil Registration System. The completeness of case finding from the sample was >95%.29
Statistical Analysis
Differences in baseline characteristics between groups were compared by Student t test and
2 test. Relative risks were calculated as hazard ratios by Cox proportional hazards regression analyses with age as the underlying time scale and stratified by gender, thus assuming similar effects of covariates but allowing for different baseline hazards in the 2 sexes. Blood pressure, sex, diabetes, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, renal creatinine clearance, smoking, and body mass index were included in multivariate analyses. P<5% was taken as significant.
| Results |
|---|
|
|
|---|
|
Table 2 shows the baseline characteristics of the 1734 hypertensive subjects divided into 2 groups: microalbuminuria, ie, UAE
4.8 µg/min (n=522,
30%) and normoalbuminuria, ie, UAE <4.8 µg/min (n=1212,
70%). During follow-up, incident CHD occurred among 11% of subjects with microalbuminuria compared with 5% of subjects with normoalbuminuria (P<0.001), and death occurred in 28% versus 13% (P<0.001). The subjects with microalbuminuria had higher levels of the conventional risk factors and creatinine clearance.
|
The age- and sex-adjusted relative risks of incident CHD and death for hypertensive subjects with microalbuminuria compared with hypertensive subjects with normoalbuminuria were 2.1 (Table 3). Adjustment for other risk factors (blood pressure, use of antihypertensive drugs, diabetes, lipoproteins, renal creatinine clearance, smoking, and body mass index) did not significantly alter the relative risks of CHD and death (Table 3). Because there was no interaction between microalbuminuria and sex for development of CHD (P=0.5) or death (P=0.2), sex-stratified relative risks are not given. Furthermore, there was no interactions between microalbuminuria and any of the other atherosclerotic risk factors, ie, age, blood pressure, smoking, body mass index, diabetes, total or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, or creatinine clearance.
|
The age-adjusted relative risks of CHD and death are shown in Figure 1. These are significantly increased for UAE >5 µg/min.
|
Figures 2 and 3
show the curves of the cumulative incidence of CHD and mortality, respectively, for hypertensive subjects having microalbuminuria or normoalbuminuria.
|
|
| Discussion |
|---|
|
|
|---|
4.8 µg/min in this study for the definition of microalbuminuria among hypertensive subjects. Stratification of this population according to different levels of UAE showed that such definition is also useful among hypertensive subjects (Figure 1). Using this definition we found that hypertensive subjects with microalbuminuria as a group exhibit a worse risk profile when looking at the conventional cardiovascular risk factors (male sex, age, blood pressure, smoking, body mass index, cholesterol, diabetes). However, inclusion of all these risk factors in the Cox proportional hazards regression analysis did not abolish the strong predictive effect of microalbuminuria on CHD and death.
A recent study has shown that even mild renal insufficiency diagnosed by the estimated glomerular filtration rate should be considered a major risk factor for cardiovascular complications after myocardial infarction.30 Another study has shown that reduced glomerular filtration rate also is an independent predictor of CHD in middle-aged subjects.31 However, adjusting the associations between microalbuminuria and CHD, and microalbuminuria and death for renal creatinine clearance, had no influence on the associations.
Our results are consistent with a similar study in another population10 in which microalbuminuria was the strongest predictor for CHD in untreated hypertensive subjects. In that study, the relative risk of CHD was 3.5 after adjustment for the conventional atherosclerotic risk factors was made. A limitation of that study was that spot urine samples were used, and thus UAE and creatinine clearance could not be measured.
The pathophysiological mechanism linking microalbuminuria to atherosclerosis and CHD is uncertain. It has been hypothesized that microalbuminuria reflects diffuse endothelial dysfunction,32 leading to generalized transendothelial sieving of albumin.33 However, in recent experiments this hypothesis could not be extended to include increased transendothelial sieving of lipoproteins.34 It is likely that microalbuminuria emerges later in the atherosclerotic process.3537
We recognize that many factors potentially influence the UAE in a population study such as urine collection, laboratory methods, urinary tract infection, size of population, response rate, and age range. Despite this, the presence of UAE
4.8 µg/min in a single urine sample seems to increase the risk. Furthermore, it is known that there is considerable intraindividual variability of UAE and therefore regression dilution.38 The observed risk of CHD and death associated with microalbuminuria may thus be underestimated.
Perspectives
In future trials of hypertensive patients it may be of relevance to measure UAE before and after intervention in order to see whether reduction of UAE decreases the risk of CHD and death. There is scarce evidence on this field, but recent data from the LIFE study shows that a reduction in UAE could explain 20% of the benefits of losartan versus atenolol.39
In conclusion, our study shows that hypertensive subjects with microalbuminuria defined as UAE
4.8 µg/min have 100% higher risk of incident CHD and death than hypertensive subjects with UAE <4.8 µg/min. This increased risk is independent of age, sex, level of blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, renal function, lipoproteins, body mass index, and smoking.
The study supports the need for redefining microalbuminuria, from UAE >15 µg/min (in nocturnal collections) to
5 µg/min (or urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio
0.7 mg/mmol). We suggest a future risk assessment of CHD or death in hypertensive individuals to include measurement of microalbuminuria.
| Acknowledgments |
|---|
Received January 3, 2005; first decision January 16, 2005; accepted March 24, 2005.
| References |
|---|
|
|
|---|
2. Borch-Johnsen K, Feldt-Rasmussen B, Strandgaard S, Schroll M, Jensen JS. Urinary albumin excretion. An independent predictor of ischemic heart disease. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 1999; 19: 19921997.
3. Culleton BF, Larson MG, Wilson PW, Evans JC, Parfrey PS, Levy D. Cardiovascular disease and mortality in a community-based cohort with mild renal insufficiency. Kidney Int. 1999; 56: 22142219.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
4. Damsgaard EM, Froland A, Jorgensen OD, Mogensen CE. Microalbuminuria as predictor of increased mortality in elderly people. BMJ. 1990; 300: 297300.
5. Gerstein HC, Mann JF, Pogue J, Dinneen SF, Halle JP, Hoogwerf B, Joyce C, Rashkow A, Young J, Zinman B, Yusuf S. Prevalence and determinants of microalbuminuria in high-risk diabetic and nondiabetic patients in the Heart Outcomes Prevention Evaluation Study. The HOPE Study Investigators. Diabetes Care. 2000; 23 (Suppl 2): B35B39.[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
6. Gerstein HC, Mann JF, Yi Q, Zinman B, Dinneen SF, Hoogwerf B, Halle JP, Young J, Rashkow A, Joyce C, Nawaz S, Yusuf S. Albuminuria and risk of cardiovascular events, death, and heart failure in diabetic and nondiabetic individuals. JAMA. 2001; 286: 421426.
7. Hillege HL, Fidler V, Diercks GF, van Gilst WH, de Zeeuw D, van Veldhuisen DJ, Gans RO, Janssen WM, Grobbee DE, de Jong PE. Urinary albumin excretion predicts cardiovascular and noncardiovascular mortality in general population. Circulation. 2002; 106: 17771782.
8. Jager A, Kostense PJ, Ruhe HG, Heine RJ, Nijpels G, Dekker JM, Bouter LM, Stehouwer CD. Microalbuminuria and peripheral arterial disease are independent predictors of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality, especially among hypertensive subjects: five-year follow-up of the Hoorn Study. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 1999; 19: 617624.
9. Jensen JS, Borch-Johnsen K, Feldt-Rasmussen B, Appleyard M, Jensen G. Urinary albumin excretion and history of acute myocardial infarction in a cross-sectional population study of 2,613 individuals. J Cardiovasc Risk. 1997; 4: 121125.[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
10. Jensen JS, Feldt-Rasmussen B, Strandgaard S, Schroll M, Borch-Johnsen K. Arterial hypertension, microalbuminuria, and risk of ischemic heart disease. Hypertension. 2000; 35: 898903.
11. Klausen K, Borch-Johnsen K, Feldt-Rasmussen B, Jensen G, Clausen P, Scharling H, Appleyard M, Jensen JS. Very low levels of microalbuminuria are associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease and death independently of renal function, hypertension, and diabetes. Circulation. 2004; 110: 3235.
12. Mogensen CE. Microalbuminuria predicts clinical proteinuria and early mortality in maturity-onset diabetes. N Engl J Med. 1984; 310: 356360.[Abstract]
13. Romundstad S, Holmen J, Kvenild K, Hallan H, Ellekjaer H. Microalbuminuria and all-cause mortality in 2,089 apparently healthy individuals: a 4.4-year follow-up study. The Nord-Trondelag Health Study (HUNT), Norway. Am J Kidney Dis. 2003; 42: 466473.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
14. Wachtell K, Ibsen H, Olsen MH, Borch-Johnsen K, Lindholm LH, Mogensen CE, Dahlof B, Devereux RB, Beevers G, de Faire U, Fyhrquist F, Julius S, Kjeldsen SE, Kristianson K, Lederballe-Pedersen O, Nieminen MS, Okin PM, Omvik P, Oparil S, Wedel H, Snapinn SM, Aurup P. Albuminuria and cardiovascular risk in hypertensive patients with left ventricular hypertrophy: the LIFE study. Ann Intern Med. 2003; 139: 901906.
15. Yudkin JS, Forrest RD, Jackson CA. Microalbuminuria as predictor of vascular disease in non-diabetic subjects. Islington Diabetes Survey. Lancet. 1988; 2: 530533.[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
16. Berton G, Cordiano R, Palmieri R, De Toni R, Guarnieri GL, Palatini P. Albumin excretion in diabetic patients in the setting of acute myocardial infarction: association with 3-year mortality. Diabetologia. 2004; 47: 15111518.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
17. Taskiran M, Klausen K, Kornerup K, Feldt-Rasmussen B, Jensen G, Jensen JS. Microalbuminuria is associated with increased risk of death in patients with myocardial infarction. Heart Drug. 2001; 1: 305309.[CrossRef]
18. Parving HH, Mogensen CE, Jensen HA, Evrin PE. Increased urinary albumin-excretion rate in benign essential hypertension. Lancet. 1974; 1: 11901192.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
19. Giaconi S, Levanti C, Fommei E, Innocenti F, Seghieri G, Palla L, Palombo C, Ghione S. Microalbuminuria and casual and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in normotensives and in patients with borderline and mild essential hypertension. Am J Hypertens. 1989; 2: 259261.[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
20. Bigazzi R, Bianchi S, Campese VM, Baldari G. Prevalence of microalbuminuria in a large population of patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension. Nephron. 1992; 61: 9497.[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
21. Cerasola G, Cottone S, DIgnoto G, Grasso L, Mangano MT, Carapelle E, Nardi E, Andronico G, Fulantelli MA, Marcellino T. Micro-albuminuria as a predictor of cardiovascular damage in essential hypertension. J Hypertens Suppl. 1989; 7: S332S333.[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
22. 2003 European Society of Hypertension-European Society of Cardiology guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension. J Hypertens. 2003; 21: 10111053.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
23. Mogensen CE, Chachati A, Christensen CK, Close CF, Deckert T, Hommel E, Kastrup J, Lefebvre P, Mathiesen ER, Feldt-Rasmussen B. Microalbuminuria: an early marker of renal involvement in diabetes. Uremia Invest. 1985; 9: 8595.[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
24. Viberti GC, Hill RD, Jarrett RJ, Argyropoulos A, Mahmud U, Keen H. Microalbuminuria as a predictor of clinical nephropathy in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Lancet. 1982; 1: 14301432.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
25. Hillege HL, Janssen WM, Bak AA, Diercks GF, Grobbee DE, Crijns HJ, van Gilst WH, de Zeeuw D, de Jong PE. Microalbuminuria is common, also in a nondiabetic, nonhypertensive population, and an independent indicator of cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular morbidity. J Intern Med. 2001; 249: 519526.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
26. Jensen JS, Feldt-Rasmussen B, Borch-Johnsen K, Clausen P, Appleyard M, Jensen G. Microalbuminuria and its relation to cardiovascular disease and risk factors. A population-based study of 1254 hypertensive individuals. J Hum Hypertens. 1997; 11: 727732.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
27. The Copenhagen City Heart Study. Eur Heart J Supplements. 2001; 3 (Supplement 8): H1H83.[CrossRef]
28. Feldt-Rasmussen B, Dinesen B, Deckert M. Enzyme immunoassay: an improved determination of urinary albumin in diabetics with incipient nephropathy. Scand J Clin Lab Invest. 1985; 45: 539544.[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
29. Nyboe J, Jensen G, Appleyard M, Schnohr P. Risk factors for acute myocardial infarction in Copenhagen. I: Hereditary, educational and socioeconomic factors. Copenhagen City Heart Study. Eur Heart J. 1989; 10: 910916.
30. Anavekar NS, McMurray JJV, Velazquez EJ, Solomon SD, Kober L, Rouleau JL, White HD, Nordlander R, Maggioni A, Dickstein K, Zelenkofske S, Leimberger JD, Califf RM, Pfeffer MA. Relation between renal dysfunction and cardiovascular outcomes after myocardial infarction. N Engl J Med. 2004; 351: 12851295.
31. Manjunath G, Tighiouart H, Ibrahim H, MacLeod B, Salem DN, Griffith JL, Coresh J, Levey AS, Sarnak MJ. Level of kidney function as a risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular outcomes in the community. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2003; 41: 4755.
32. Pedrinelli R, Giampietro O, Carmassi F, Melillo E, DellOmo G, Catapano G, Matteucci E, Talarico L, Morale M, De Negri F. Microalbuminuria and endothelial dysfunction in essential hypertension. Lancet. 1994; 344: 1418.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
33. Jensen JS, Borch-Johnsen K, Jensen G, Feldt-Rasmussen B. Microalbuminuria reflects a generalized transvascular albumin leakiness in clinically healthy subjects. Clin Sci (Colch). 1995; 88: 629633.[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
34. Jensen JS, Feldt-Rasmussen B, Jensen KS, Clausen P, Scharling H, Nordestgaard BG. Transendothelial lipoprotein exchange and microalbuminuria. Cardiovasc Res. 2004; 63: 149154.
35. Agewall S, Wikstrand J, Ljungman S, Fagerberg B. Urinary albumin excretion is associated with the intima-media thickness of the carotid artery in hypertensive males with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. J Hypertens. 1995; 13: 463469.[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
36. Bigazzi R, Bianchi S, Nenci R, Baldari D, Baldari G, Campese VM. Increased thickness of the carotid artery in patients with essential hypertension and microalbuminuria. J Hum Hypertens. 1995; 9: 827833.[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
37. Mykkanen L, Zaccaro DJ, OLeary DH, Howard G, Robbins DC, Haffner SM. Microalbuminuria and carotid artery intima-media thickness in nondiabetic and NIDDM subjects. The Insulin Resistance Atherosclerosis Study (IRAS). Stroke. 1997; 28: 17101716.
38. Jensen JS. Intra-individual variation of overnight urinary albumin excretion in clinically healthy middle-aged individuals. Clin Chim Acta. 1995; 243: 9599.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
39. Ibsen H, Wachtell K, Olsen MH, Borch-Johnsen K, Lindholm LH, Mogensen CE, Dahlof B, Devereux RB, de Faire U, Fyhrquist F, Julius S, Kjeldsen SE, Lederballe-Pedersen O, Nieminen MS, Omvik P, Oparil S, Wan Y. Does albuminuria predict cardiovascular outcome on treatment with losartan versus atenolol in hypertension with left ventricular hypertrophy? A LIFE substudy. J Hypertens. 2004; 22: 18051811.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
Related Article:
Hypertension 2005 46: 19-20.
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
T. Babazono, I. Nyumura, K. Toya, T. Hayashi, M. Ohta, K. Suzuki, Y. Kiuchi, and Y. Iwamoto Higher Levels of Urinary Albumin Excretion Within the Normal Range Predict Faster Decline in Glomerular Filtration Rate in Diabetic Patients Diabetes Care, August 1, 2009; 32(8): 1518 - 1520. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. P. Forman, N. D.L. Fisher, E. L. Schopick, and G. C. Curhan Higher Levels of Albuminuria within the Normal Range Predict Incident Hypertension J. Am. Soc. Nephrol., October 1, 2008; 19(10): 1983 - 1988. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. Mimran and G. du Cailar Dietary sodium: the dark horse amongst cardiovascular and renal risk factors Nephrol. Dial. Transplant., July 1, 2008; 23(7): 2138 - 2141. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
C. D. Hanevold, J. S. Pollock, and G. A. Harshfield Racial Differences in Microalbumin Excretion in Healthy Adolescents Hypertension, February 1, 2008; 51(2): 334 - 338. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
O. W Nielsen and A. Sajadieh Diagnosing left ventricular hypertrophy in arterial hypertension BMJ, October 6, 2007; 335(7622): 681 - 682. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
G. F. Salles, R. Fiszman, C. R.L. Cardoso, and E. S. Muxfeldt Relation of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy With Systemic Inflammation and Endothelial Damage in Resistant Hypertension Hypertension, October 1, 2007; 50(4): 723 - 728. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
R. T. Gansevoort, H. Lambers, and E. C. Witte Methodology of screening for albuminuria Nephrol. Dial. Transplant., August 1, 2007; 22(8): 2109 - 2111. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
R. Marin, P. Rodriguez, S. Tranche, J. Redon, F. Morales-Olivas, A. Galgo, M. A. Brito, J. Mediavilla, J. V. Lozano, C. Filozof, et al. Prevalence of Abnormal Urinary Albumin Excretion Rate in Hypertensive Patients with Impaired Fasting Glucose and Its Association with Cardiovascular Disease J. Am. Soc. Nephrol., December 1, 2006; 17(12_suppl_3): S178 - S188. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. Levy Proteinuria, renal impairment, and death. BMJ, June 17, 2006; 332(7555): 1402 - 1403. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
R. Pontremoli, G. Leoncini, F. Viazzi, E. Ratto, V. Vaccaro, V. Falqui, A. Parodi, N. Conti, C. Tomolillo, and G. Deferrari Evaluation of Subclinical Organ Damage for Risk Assessment and Treatment in the Hypertensive Patient: Role of Microalbuminuria. J. Am. Soc. Nephrol., April 1, 2006; 17(4_suppl_2): S112 - S114. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. Redon Measurement of microalbuminuria - what the nephrologist should know Nephrol. Dial. Transplant., March 1, 2006; 21(3): 573 - 576. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
Defining Microalbuminuria in Hypertensive Patients Journal Watch Cardiology, August 12, 2005; 2005(812): 4 - 4. [Full Text] |
||||
![]() |
J. Redon Urinary Albumin Excretion: Lowering the Threshold of Risk in Hypertension Hypertension, July 1, 2005; 46(1): 19 - 20. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Hypertension Home | Subscriptions | Archives | Feedback | Authors | Help | AHA Journals Home | Search Copyright © 2005 American Heart Association, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use prohibited. |