Regional differences in APD restitution can initiate wavebreak and re-entry in cardiac tissue: A computational study

Background Regional differences in action potential duration (APD) restitution in the heart favour arrhythmias, but the mechanism is not well understood. Methods We simulated a 150 × 150 mm 2D sheet of cardiac ventricular tissue using a simplified computational model. We investigated wavebreak and re-entry initiated by an S1S2S3 stimulus protocol in tissue sheets with two regions, each with different APD restitution. The two regions had a different APD at short diastolic interval (DI), but similar APD at long DI. Simulations were performed twice; once with both regions having steep (slope > 1), and once with both regions having flat (slope < 1) APD restitution. Results Wavebreak and re-entry were readily initiated using the S1S2S3 protocol in tissue sheets with two regions having different APD restitution properties. Initiation occurred irrespective of whether the APD restitution slopes were steep or flat. With steep APD restitution, the range of S2S3 intervals resulting in wavebreak increased from 1 ms with S1S2 of 250 ms, to 75 ms (S1S2 180 ms). With flat APD restitution, the range of S2S3 intervals resulting in wavebreak increased from 1 ms (S1S2 250 ms), to 21 ms (S1S2 340 ms) and then 11 ms (S1S2 400 ms). Conclusion Regional differences in APD restitution are an arrhythmogenic substrate that can be concealed at normal heart rates. A premature stimulus produces regional differences in repolarisation, and a further premature stimulus can then result in wavebreak and initiate re-entry. This mechanism for initiating re-entry is independent of the steepness of the APD restitution curve

Paying for What You Get—Restitution Recovery for Breach of Contract

This article begins with a brief discussion of restitution as a remedy for breach of contract under the Restatement (Second) of Contracts. It then discusses the changes the Restatement of Restitution adopts and the reasons for the changes. Next, it discusses why the changes have not only failed to achieve the goal of clarifying the “prevailing confusion” related to restitution and breach of contract, but have at times created more confusion. It then explains that contract and restitution principles are not only not in tension relative to restitution for breach of contract, but in fact support such a recovery

Rate-dependent propagation of cardiac action potentials in a one-dimensional fiber

Action potential duration (APD) restitution, which relates APD to the preceding diastolic interval (DI), is a useful tool for predicting the onset of abnormal cardiac rhythms. However, it is known that different pacing protocols lead to different APD restitution curves (RCs). This phenomenon, known as APD rate-dependence, is a consequence of memory in the tissue. In addition to APD restitution, conduction velocity restitution also plays an important role in the spatiotemporal dynamics of cardiac tissue. We present new results concerning rate-dependent restitution in the velocity of propagating action potentials in a one-dimensional fiber. Our numerical simulations show that, independent of the amount of memory in the tissue, waveback velocity exhibits pronounced rate-dependence and the wavefront velocity does not. Moreover, the discrepancy between waveback velocity RCs is most significant for small DI. We provide an analytical explanation of these results, using a system of coupled maps to relate the wavefront and waveback velocities. Our calculations show that waveback velocity rate-dependence is due to APD restitution, not memory.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figure

What\u27s Money Got to Do With It: Robers v. United States and Collateral under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act of 1996

This commentary previews an upcoming Supreme Court case, Robers v. United States. The Supreme Court will have the opportunity to resolve a major circuit split concerning how to value restitution owed to victims of mortgage lending fraud. Specifically, the court will determine whether the value of collateral mortgage property at the time of foreclosure is used to offset how much restitution fraudulent borrowers owe their victims, or whether the value of only the actual cash proceeds received from foreclosure of the property is used to offset restitution

Cold-induced male meiotic restitution in Arabidopsis thaliana is not mediated by GA-DELLA signaling

Short periods of cold stress induce male meiotic restitution and diploid pollen formation in Arabidopsis thaliana by specifically interfering with male meiotic cytokinesis. Similar alterations in male meiotic cell division and gametophytic ploidy stability occur when gibberellic acid (GA) signaling is perturbed in developing anthers. In this study, we found that exogenous application of GA primarily induces second division restitution (SDR)-type pollen in Arabidopsis, similar to what cold does. Driven by the close similarity in cellular defects, we tested the hypothesis that cold-induced meiotic restitution is mediated by GA-DELLA signaling. Using a combination of chemical, genetic and cytological approaches, however, we found that both exogenously and endogenously altered GA signaling do not affect the cold sensitivity of male meiotic cytokinesis. Moreover, in vivo localization study using a GFP-tagged version of RGA protein revealed that cold does not affect the expression pattern and abundance of DELLA in Arabidopsis anthers at tetrad stage. Expression study found that transcript of RGA appears enhanced in cold-stressed young flower buds. Since our previous work demonstrated that loss of function of DELLA causes irregular male meiotic cytokinesis, we here conclude that cold-induced meiotic restitution is not mediated by DELLA-dependent GA signaling

The Evolution and Objectives of the Holocaust Restitution Initiatives

Contains the records of remarks from a panel discussion on the evolution and objectives of the Holocaust restitution initiatives. Covers discussion of the moral dimension to restitution, legal questions, and complexity of the situation with regard to third party purchasers of stolen property. Panel included a social psychologist and psychotherapist, a professor of law, and the Special Representative of the German, Chancellor for the Foundation: “Remembrance, Responsibility and the Future,” Germany

Coefficient of restitution for viscoelastic disks

The dissipative collision of two identical viscoelastic disks is studied. By using a known law for the elastic part of the interaction force and the viscoelastic damping model an analytical solution for the coefficient of restitution shall be given. The coefficient of restitution depends significantly on the impact velocity. It approaches one for small velocities and decreases for increasing velocities.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure

The Breakdown of Kinetic Theory in Granular Shear Flows

We examine two basic assumptions of kinetic theory-- binary collisions and molecular chaos-- using numerical simulations of sheared granular materials. We investigate a wide range of densities and restitution coefficients and demonstrate that kinetic theory breaks down at large density and small restitution coefficients. In the regimes where kinetic theory fails, there is an associated emergence of clusters of spatially correlated grains