Influence of Lithium ions on conidiophore size in Neurospora crassa

Lithium (Li) ions are known to affect Neurospora crassa’s growth speed and circadian clock period, while elevated temperatures abolish these influences. We wondered whether Li has also an effect on conidia size. We used cryo-SEM to investigate this question and report here the results of 1720 measurements showing that at 20°C the long and short conidial axes are significantly reduced at high Li concentrations (10-15 mM), while the ratio between the long and short axes remains approximately constant. An increased temperature (30°C) appears to abolish the Li effect on conidia size

Gel Pills for Downhole Pressure Control during Oil and Gas Well Drilling

During drilling of petroleum or geothermal wells, unforeseen circumstances occasionally happen that require suspension of the operation. When the drilling fluid is left in a static condition, solid material like barite may settle out of the fluid. Consequently, the induced hydrostatic pressure that the fluid exerts onto the formation will be reduced, possibly leading to collapse of the borehole or influx of liquid or gas. A possible mitigation action is placement of a gel pill. This gel pill should preferably be able to let settled barite rest on top of it and still transmit the hydrostatic pressure to the well bottom. A bentonite-based gel pill is developed, preventing flow of higher density drilling fluid placed above it to bypass the gel pill. Its rheological behavior was characterized prior to functional testing. The designed gel pill develops sufficient gel structure to accommodate the settled barite. The performance of the gel was tested at vertical and 40° inclination from vertical. Both conventional settling and the Boycott effect were observed. The gel pill provided its intended functionality while barite was settling out of the drilling fluid on top of this gel pill. The barite was then resting on top of the gel pill. It is demonstrated that a purely viscous pill should not be used for separating a high density fluid from a lighter fluid underneath. However, a bentonite or laponite gel pill can be placed into a well for temporary prevention of such intermixing.publishedVersio

Symptoms and ECG changes precede sudden cardiac death in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy : A nationwide study among the young in Sweden

BACKGROUND: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a major cause of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in the young. We aimed to characterize detailed family history, symptoms, hospital utilization and ECG changes before SCD. METHODS: We extracted all cases suffering SCD with HCM from the SUDDY cohort, which includes all cases of SCD between 2000-2010 in Sweden among individuals aged 0-35 years along with their controls. We gathered data from mandatory national registries, autopsy reports, medical records, ECGs (including military conscripts), and detailed family history from an interview-based questionnaire (with relatives, post-mortem). RESULTS: Thirty-eight cases (7 female), mean age 22 years, with HCM were identified. Among these, 71% presented with possible cardiac symptoms (chest pain [26%], syncope [22%], palpitations [37%]), before death; 69% received medical care (vs 21% in controls) within 180 days before death. The majority (68%) died during recreational activity (n = 14) or exercise/competitive sports (n = 12). Fifteen (39%) had a known cardiac disorder prior to death, with HCM being diagnosed pre-mortem in nine cases. 58% presented with abnormal ECG recordings pre-mortem, and 50% had a positive family history (1st-3rd generation) for heart disease. CONCLUSION: In this comprehensive, nationwide study of SCD due to HCM, 87% (33/38) of cases had one or more abnormality prior to death, including cardiac symptoms, a positive family history, known cardiac disease or ECG abnormalities. They sought medical care prior death, to a larger extent than controls. These findings suggest that cardiac screening should be expanded beyond competitive athletes to aid SCD prevention in the young population with HCM

Family History and Warning Symptoms Precede Sudden Cardiac Death in Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (from a Nationwide Study in Sweden)

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is an inherited cardiac disease explaining about 4% of sudden cardiac death (SCD) cases in the young in Sweden. This study aimed to describe the circumstances preceding SCD in all victims <35 years of age who received an autopsy-confirmed diagnosis of ARVC from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2010, in Sweden (n = 22). Data on demographics, medical and family history, circumstances of death, and anatomopathological findings were collected from several compulsory national health registries, clinical records, family interviews, and autopsy reports. Registry-based data were compared with age-matched, gender-matched, and geographically-matched population controls. During the 6 months preceding SCD, 15 cases (68%) had experienced symptoms of cardiac origin, mainly syncope or presyncope (54%) and chest discomfort (27%). A total of 8 cases (36%) had sought medical care because of cardiac symptoms. The occurrence of hospital visits was significantly increased in cases compared with controls (odds ratio 4.62 [1.35 to 15.8]). A total of 10 cases (45%) had a family history of SCD. The most common activity at the time of death was exercise (41%). A complete cardiac investigation was seldom performed; only 1 case was diagnosed with ARVC before death. In conclusion, in this nationwide study, we observed a high prevalence of symptoms of cardiac origin, healthcare use, and family history of SCD preceding SCD in the young caused by ARVC. Increased awareness of these warning signals in younger patients is critical to improving risk stratification and early disease detection

Cohort profile : the Swedish study of SUDden cardiac Death in the Young (SUDDY) 2000-2010: a complete nationwide cohort of SCDs

Purpose The rationale behind the SUDden cardiac Death in the Young (SUDDY) cohort was to provide a complete nationwide, high-quality platform with integrated multisource data, for clinical and genetic research on sudden cardiac death (SCD) in the young, with the ultimate goal to predict and prevent SCD. Participants The cohort contains all SCD victims <36 years, in Sweden during the period 2000-2010. We assigned five population-based controls per case, together with parents of cases and controls, in total 15 633 individuals. Data of all individuals were extracted from multiple mandatory registries; the National Patient Registry, the Medical Birth Registry, the Prescribed Drug registry, the Cause of Death registry, the Multigeneration Registry, combined with socioeconomic data from Statistics Sweden. From SCD victims, the autopsy report, medical records, ECGs, parental information and biological samples were gathered. Findings to date We identified 903 individuals diagnosed with SCD (67% men, 33% women). The cases comprised 236 infants <1 year of age (26%), 90 individuals aged 1-15 years (10%), 186 individuals aged 15-25 years (21%) and 391 aged 25-35 years (43%). Hospitalisations and outpatient clinic visits due to syncope were significantly more common among cases than controls. DNA obtained from dried blood spots tests (DBS) stored from birth was equally suitable as venous blood samples for high-throughput genetic analysis of SCD cases. Future plans We will explore the SUDDY cohort for symptoms and healthcare consumption, socioeconomic variables and family history of SCD. Furthermore, we will perform whole exome sequencing analysis on DNA of cases obtained from DBS or postmortem samples together with parental blood samples in search for gene variants associated with cardiac disease. The genetic analysis together with data compiled in the nationwide cohort is expected to improve current knowledge on the incidence, aetiology, clinical characteristics and family history of SCD