Impact of Atmosphere and Land Surface Initial Conditions on Seasonal Forecasts of Global Surface Temperature

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The effects of gender on electrical therapies for the heart: procedural considerations, results and complications: A report from the XII Congress of the Italian Association on Arrhythmology and Cardiostimulation (AIAC)

Use of cardiac implantable devices and catheter ablation is steadily increasing in Western countries following the positive results of clinical trials. Despite the advances in scientific knowledge, tools development, and techniques improvement we still have some grey area in the field of electrical therapies for the heart. In particular, several reports highlighted differences both in medical behaviour and procedural outcomes between female and male candidates. Women are referred later for catheter ablation of supraventricular arrhythmias, especially atrial fibrillation, leading to suboptimal results. On the opposite females present greater response to cardiac resynchronization, while the benefit of implantable defibrillator in primary prevention seems to be less pronounced. Differences on aetiology, clinical profile, and development of myocardial scarring are the more plausible causes. This review will discuss all these aspects together with gender-related differences in terms of acute/late complications. We will also provide useful hints on plausible mechanisms and practical procedural aspects

Long-Term Follow-Up In Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation Patients With Documented Isolated Trigger

AimsSupraventricular tachycardias may trigger atrial fibrillation (AF). The aim of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) inducibility in patients referred for AF ablation and to evaluate the effects of SVT ablation on AF recurrences.Methods and results249 patients (mean age: 54 ± 14 years) referred for paroxysmal AF ablation were studied. In all patients, only AF relapses had been documented in the clinical history. 47 patients (19%; mean age: 42 ± 11 years) had inducible SVT during the electrophysiological study and underwent an ablation targeted only at SVT suppression. Ablation was successful in all 47 patients. The ablative procedures were: 11 slow-pathway ablations for atrioventricular nodal re-entrant tachycardia; 6 concealed accessory pathway ablations for atrioventricular re-entrant tachycardia; 17 focal ectopic atrial tachycardia ablations; 13 with only one arrhythmogenic pulmonary vein. No recurrences of SVT were observed during the follow-up (32 ± 18 months). 4 patients (8.5%) showed recurrence of at least one episode of AF. Patients with inducible SVT had less structural heart disease and were younger than those without inducible SVT.ConclusionA significant proportion of candidates for AF ablation are inducible for an SVT. SVT ablation showed a preventive effect on AF recurrences. Those patients should be selected for simpler ablation procedures tailored only to the triggering arrhythmia suppression

Multi-disciplinary insights from the First European Forum on Visceral Myopathy 2022 Meeting

Visceral myopathy is a rare, life-threatening disease linked to identified genetic mutations in 60% of cases. Mostly due to the dearth of knowledge regarding its pathogenesis, effective treatments are lacking. The disease is most commonly diagnosed in children with recurrent or persistent disabling episodes of functional intestinal obstruction, which can be life threatening, often requiring long-term parenteral or specialized enteral nutritional support. Although these interventions are undisputedly life-saving as they allow affected individuals to avoid malnutrition and related complications, they also seriously compromise their quality of life and can carry the risk of sepsis and thrombosis. Animal models for visceral myopathy, which could be crucial for advancing the scientific knowledge of this condition, are scarce. Clearly, a collaborative network is needed to develop research plans to clarify genotype–phenotype correlations and unravel molecular mechanisms to provide targeted therapeutic strategies. This paper represents a summary report of the first ‘European Forum on Visceral Myopathy’. This forum was attended by an international interdisciplinary working group that met to better understand visceral myopathy and foster interaction among scientists actively involved in the field and clinicians who specialize in care of people with visceral myopathy

The Nearest Polytope Problem: Algorithms and Application to Controlling Hybrid Systems

Office of Naval Research (Award N00014-17-1-2699

Effects of diabetic retinopathy on longitudinal morphological changes in AMD-associated type 1 macular neovascularization

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of diabetic retinopathy (DR) on longitudinal morphological changes in AMD-associated type 1 macular neovascularization using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). We enrolled fifty treatment-naïve eyes with a diagnosis of exudative AMD and type 1 MNV. Twenty of 50 eyes were affected by mild DR. En face OCT angiography were examined for the MNV lesion area (mm2), the MNV flow area (mm2), the central macular thickness (CMT) and the BCVA. The OCTA acquisition was performed at the following visits: (i) before the loading phase (LP) of intravitreal injection of aflibercept (T1), and (ii) 1 month after the last intravitreal injection of loading phase comprising 3 monthly injections (T2). All morpho-functional parameters showed a significantly change at T2 compared to T1 values in both groups. Furthermore, we found a greater MNV area reduction after LP in eyes without DR (P = 0.023). With regard to the remaining parameters, no significant changes were found between two groups (P > 0.05). Our analysis revealed a less MNV area reduction after loading dose of anti-VEGF therapy in eyes affected by diabetic retinopathy

Choroidal remodeling following different anti-VEGF therapies in neovascular AMD

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate choroidal morphology remodeling in AMD-associated type 1 macular neovascularization using two different anti-VEGF drugs. We registered 73 treatment-naïve eyes with a diagnosis of exudative AMD and type 1 MNV. Patients received 3 monthly intravitreal aflibercept (n = 36, aflibercept group [AG]) or brolucizumab (n = 37, brolucizumab group [BG]). Baseline best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and anatomical (structural optical coherence tomography) parameters were collected at “T1 control”, before the loading phase (LP) of intravitreal injection, and at “T2 control”, 1 month after the last injection. The main outcomes measured were choroidal vascularity index (CVI), sub-foveal choroidal thickness (SFCT), and central macular thickness (CMT). Our results displayed significant SFCT reduction in both groups between T1 and T2 (p  0.05) after the loading aflibercept injections. Moreover, only the BG displayed a significant choroidal remodeling (stromal choroidal area [SCA], total choroidal area [TCA] and CVI) at T2 (p < 0.05). In particular, a relevant stromal and total choroidal volume reduction was noted, accompanied by an increase in CVI. To conclude, the latter modifications of the choroidal morphology were found significant between two groups (p < 0.05). Our analysis showed a significant impact of brolucizumab on choroidal morphology in eyes affected by type 1 nAMD. This effect was found relevant when compared with aflibercept