414 research outputs found
De novo atrial fibrillation as an independent prognostic marker after ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: Results from the RIMA registry
BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is common in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), but its influence on prognosis remains controversial.
AIM: We examined the 1-year prognostic value of AF in STEMI, distinguishing patients with prior AF from patients with de novo AF.
METHODS: Between January 2004 and December 2015, 3173 STEMI patients were enrolled in the RIMA registry (Registre des Infarctus en Maine Anjou). They were divided into 3 groups: (1) AF-free patients; (2) patients with known prior AF; and (3) patients with de novo AF during hospitalization (including admission). We defined 3 primary outcomes at 1-year post-discharge: cardiovascular mortality, readmission for heart failure (HF), and stroke. Temporal onset of de novo AF was also studied.
RESULTS: A total 158 patients (5%) had prior AF, and 278 (8.8%) presented de novo AF. Prior AF patients were significantly older [81 (73;86) years] with more comorbidities, but de novo AF patients presented with a greater creatine kinase peak and lower left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF=44 (35;50)% for de novo AF vs 50 (40;55)% for prior AF, p<0.001]. At 1-year follow-up, cardiovascular mortality was higher in cases of AF (13.5% for prior AF vs 9.2% for de novo AF, compared with 2.4% for AF-free patients, p<0.001). After adjustments, only de novo AF was correlated with cardiovascular mortality (hazard ratio 2.49; 95% CI 1.32-4.67; p=0.004), but both types of AF were correlated with readmission for HF. There was no significant difference in respect of stroke between prior AF, de novo AF, and AF-free (2.2%, 0.5%, and 0.8%, respectively, p=0.327). Finally, outcomes did not differ between AF occurring <24h after admission (n=127) and de novo AF occurring within ≥24h (n=151).
CONCLUSION: De novo AF was independently associated with 1-year cardiovascular mortality. It should not be considered as an intercurrent event of STEMI, but rather as a strong prognostic marker
Nonperiodic inspections to guarantee a prescribed level of reliability
A cost-optimal nonperiodic inspection policy is derived for complex multicomponent systems. The model takes into consideration the degradation of all the components in the system with the use of a Bessel process with drift. The inspection times are determined by a deterministic function and depend on the system’s performance measure. The nonperiodic policy is developed by evaluating the expected lifetime costs and the optimal policy by an optimal choice of inspection function. The model thus gives a guaranteed level of reliability throughout the life of the project
Severe head dysgenesis resulting from imbalance between anterior and posterior ontogenetic programs
Head dysgenesis is a major cause of fetal demise and craniofacial malformation. Although mutations in genes of the
head ontogenetic program have been reported, many cases remain unexplained. Head dysgenesis has also been
related to trisomy or amplification of the chromosomal region overlapping the CDX2 homeobox gene, a master
element of the trunk ontogenetic program. Hence, we investigated the repercussion on head morphogenesis of the
imbalance between the head and trunk ontogenetic programs, by means of ectopic rostral expression of CDX2 at
gastrulation. This caused severe malformations affecting the forebrain and optic structures, and also the frontonasal
process associated with defects in neural crest cells colonization. These malformations are the result of the
downregulation of genes of the head program together with the abnormal induction of trunk program genes.
Together, these data indicate that the imbalance between the anterior and posterior ontogenetic programs in
embryos is a new possible cause of head dysgenesis during human development, linked to defects in setting up
anterior neuroectodermal structures
Gas and seismicity within the Istanbul seismic gap
Understanding micro-seismicity is a critical question for earthquake hazard
assessment. Since the devastating earthquakes of Izmit and Duzce in 1999, the
seismicity along the submerged section of North Anatolian Fault within the Sea
of Marmara (comprising the “Istanbul seismic gap”) has been extensively
studied in order to infer its mechanical behaviour (creeping vs locked). So
far, the seismicity has been interpreted only in terms of being tectonic-
driven, although the Main Marmara Fault (MMF) is known to strike across
multiple hydrocarbon gas sources. Here, we show that a large number of the
aftershocks that followed the M 5.1 earthquake of July, 25th 2011 in the
western Sea of Marmara, occurred within a zone of gas overpressuring in the
1.5–5 km depth range, from where pressurized gas is expected to migrate along
the MMF, up to the surface sediment layers. Hence, gas-related processes
should also be considered for a complete interpretation of the micro-
seismicity (~M < 3) within the Istanbul offshore domain
Proteomic Identification of Interleukin-2 Therapy Response in Metastatic Renal Cell Cancer
Introduction—To detect a predictive protein profile that distinguishes between IL-2 therapy responders and non-responders among metastatic RCC patients we used surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SELDI TOF-MS).
Materials and Methods—Protein extracts of 56 metastatic clear cell RCC patients obtained from radical nephrectomy specimens and prior to IL-2 therapy were applied to protein chip arrays of different chromatographic properties and analyzed using SELDI TOF-MS. A class prediction algorithm was applied to identify a subset of protein peaks whose expression values were associated with IL-2 response status. Multivariate analysis was performed to assess the association between the proteomic profile and the IL-2 response status controlling for the effect of lymphadenopathy.
Results—From a total of 513 protein peaks we discovered a predictor set of 11 peaks that performed optimally for predicting IL-2 response status (86 % accuracy, Fisher’s p\u3c0.004, permutation p\u3c0.01). The results were validated on an independent data set with an overall accuracy of 72% (p \u3c 0.05, permutation p\u3c0.01). On multivariate analysis the proteomic profile was significantly associated with IL-2 response when corrected for lymph node status (p\u3c 0.04).
Conclusions—We have identified and validated a proteomic pattern that is an independent predictor of IL-2 response. The ability to predict the probability of IL-2 response could permit targeted selection of patients most likely to respond to IL-2, while avoiding unwanted toxicities in patients less likely to respond. This proteomic predictor has the potential to significantly aid clinicians in the decision making of appropriate therapy for metastatic RCC patients
Assurance of Distributed Algorithms and Systems: Runtime Checking of Safety and Liveness
This paper presents a general framework and methods for complete programming
and checking of distributed algorithms at a high-level, as in pseudocode
languages, but precisely specified and directly executable, as in formal
specification languages and practical programming languages, respectively. The
checking framework, as well as the writing of distributed algorithms and
specification of their safety and liveness properties, use DistAlgo, a
high-level language for distributed algorithms. We give a complete executable
specification of the checking framework, with a complete example algorithm and
example safety and liveness properties.Comment: Small fixes to improve property specifications, including
improvements not in the RV 2020 final versio
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