Sleep apnea and atrial fibrillation - A different kind of rhythm

publishersversionpublishe

New records of the teiid lizards Kentropyx paulensis (Boettger, 1893) and Tupinambis duseni Lönnberg, 1910 (Squamata: Teiidae) from the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil

Kentropyx paulensis and Tupinambis duseni are teiid lizard species endemic to the Cerrado ecoregion. They are, respectively, considered “Vulnerable” and “Near Threatened” in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Herein, we report the occurrence of both species in the municipality of Buenópolis, Minas Gerais, representing their easternmost locality and the second state record. An updated distribution map for K. paulensis and T. duseni is presented

Lizard fauna (Squamata, Sauria) from Serra do Ouro Branco, southern Espinhaço Range, Minas Gerais, Brazil

The present study evaluated the lizard fauna in Serra do Ouro Branco, Minas Gerais, Brazil, a transition area between the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado. Data was collected using pitfall traps, active and occasional encounters, and through information from zoological collections and the literature. Field sampling was performed in two stages over a period of 36 months: from December 2006 to December 2008, and from January to December 2010. The study area is home to 15 species belonging to eight families: Anguidae, Gekkonidae, Gymnophthalmidae, Leiosauridae, Polychrotidae, Mabuyidae, Teiidae, and Tropiduridae. Lizard species evaluated in this study represent a relevant asset for this zoological group inhabiting the transitional areas between the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado. They include strictly forest species and endemic Atlantic Forest species such as Ecpleopus gaudichaudii, Enyalius perditus and Heterodactylus imbricatus in addition to typical Cerrado taxa common to both biomes

Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease: prognosis five years after percutaneous revascularization

Fundamentos: O diabetes mellitus (DM) é reconhecidamente fator de risco cardiovascular. Sabendose que a intervenção coronariana percutânea (ICP) melhora o prognóstico da doença coronariana (DC), pretendemos verificar se esse efeito é similar em doentes diabéticos (D) e não diabéticos (ND). Objetivo: Analisar o prognóstico em longo prazo do DM em pacientes submetidos a ICP. Métodos: Estudo de coorte, unicêntrico, retrospectivo, envolvendo pacientes consecutivos submetidos à ICP, eletiva ou de urgência, entre janeiro 2002 e dezembro 2003. Definiram-se dois grupos: pacientes com DM (D) e sem DM (ND). Compararam-se as variáveis clínicas e angiográficas da ICP com o resultado clínico ao final de cinco anos. Definiram-se como eventos maiores cardiovasculares (EMC): morte, nova síndrome coronariana aguda, acidente vascular encefálico (AVE) e nova revascularização cirúrgica ou ICP. Foram ainda avaliadas as taxas de trombose de stent, revascularização do vaso-alvo (RVA) e revascularização da lesão-alvo (RLA). Resultados: O seguimento em cinco anos foi 94%. Foram realizadas 446 ICP em 406 pacientes, média de idade =63,0±11 anos, 70,4% masculino. Destes, 128 (31,5%) eram do grupo D. Em cinco anos o valor de EMC foi 50,7% para D e 36,7% para N. Encontrou-se mortalidade global de 28,1% vs. 14,4% (p=0,0016) e mortalidade cardiovascular de 15,6% vs. 8,3% (p=0,039), respectivamente, para D vs. ND. Os restantes parâmetros não foram estatisticamente significativos. Não houve diferenças em termos de trombose de stent e tipos de stent utilizados nos dois grupos.Background: Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a recognized cardiovascular risk factor, and knowing that percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) improves prognoses of coronary artery disease (CAD), we intend to ascertain whether this effect is similar in diabetic (D) and nondiabetic (ND) patients. Objective: To analyze the long term impact of DM in patients undergoing PCI. Methods: Retrospective unicentric cohort study of consecutive patients undergoing elective or urgent PCI between January 2002 and December 2003, divided into two groups: diabetic (D) and non-diabetic (ND). Clinical, angiographic and coronary intervention PCI profiles were compared to clinical outcome at 5 years. Major cardiovascular events (MACE) were defined as death, new acute coronary syndrome (ACS), stroke (S), and new surgical (CABG) or percutaneous (PCI) revascularization. The stent thrombosis, target vessel revascularization (TVR) and target lesion revascularization (TLR) rates were also evaluated. Results: The five year follow-up rate was 94%. During the study, 446 PCIs were performed on 406 patients; 63.0±11 years old, 70.4% male. Among them, 128 (31.5%) were D. At the five-year follow-up, the MACE rate was 50.7% for D and 36.7% for ND (p=0.01). The global mortality rates were 28.1% vs 14.4% (p=0.0016) and the cardiovascular mortality rates were 15.6% vs. 8.3% (p=0.039) for D and ND respectively. The remaining parameters were not statistically significant. No differences were noted between stent thrombosis and the stent types used in both groups.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Prevalence of COVID-19 Fog and the Impact on Quality of Life After SARS-CoV-2 Infection (QoL-COVID): A Cross Sectional Study

Introduction: Coronavirus has an impact on both the physical and mental health of individuals. The literature regarding the patient’s health status post-SARS-CoV-2 is still scarce with limited data on the prevalence of residual symptoms and quality of life (QoL) after the infection. The aim of this study was to understand the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on patient QoL, and remaining symptoms. Methods: Single center cross-sectional study of patients who had been admitted to our COVID-19 ward between March 2020 and March 2021. By applying a QoL questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L) we assessed the overall sample, at three time points and in different groups of patients: those admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and the elderly. Results: A total of 125 participants were included in our study. Most patients who were admitted had a severe course of disease (51%), with 22% of admissions to the ICU, with 8% requiring prone ventilation, 10% experiencing thrombotic complications and 18% of nosocomial infections throughout the admission. As for persistent symptoms related with COVID-19 fog, the most frequent were fatigue (57%), memory loss (52%) and insomnia (50%). Regarding QoL, the average decrease was 0.08 ± 0.2 in the index and 8.7 ± 19 in the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). The QoL index decrease correlated with age, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma and heart failure, and all persistent symptoms, significantly. QoL VAS correlated significantly with fatigue, mood changes, difficulty concentrating and memory loss. The decrease in QoL and the persistent symptoms remained overall stable over the three time points. The ICU group showed no statistically significant difference in QoL, but the most frequently persistent symptoms were mood changes and attention disturbances. However, the elderly experienced a worsening in QoL expressed by index (0.69 ± 0.3 vs 0.8 ± 0.2, p-value = 0.01). Conclusion: A decrease in QoL was observed following SARS-CoV-2 infection, correlating with both chronic conditions and persistent symptoms. The lack of difference through time points of both QoL and persistent symptoms suggests a long-standing effect

Resolving the ancestry of Austronesian-speaking populations

There are two very different interpretations of the prehistory of Island Southeast Asia (ISEA), with genetic evidence invoked in support of both. The “out-of-Taiwan” model proposes a major Late Holocene expansion of Neolithic Austronesian speakers from Taiwan. An alternative, proposing that Late Glacial/postglacial sea-level rises triggered largely autochthonous dispersals, accounts for some otherwise enigmatic genetic patterns, but fails to explain the Austronesian language dispersal. Combining mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), Y-chromosome and genome-wide data, we performed the most comprehensive analysis of the region to date, obtaining highly consistent results across all three systems and allowing us to reconcile the models. We infer a primarily common ancestry for Taiwan/ISEA populations established before the Neolithic, but also detected clear signals of two minor Late Holocene migrations, probably representing Neolithic input from both Mainland Southeast Asia and South China, via Taiwan. This latter may therefore have mediated the Austronesian language dispersal, implying small-scale migration and language shift rather than large-scale expansion

Thrombus aspiration in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction: results of a national registry of interventional cardiology

BACKGROUND: We aimed to evaluate the impact of thrombus aspiration (TA) during primary percutaneous coronary intervention (P-PCI) in 'real-world' settings. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study, using data from the National Registry of Interventional Cardiology (RNCI 2006-2012, Portugal) with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients treated with P-PCI. The primary outcome, in-hospital mortality, was analysed through adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). RESULTS: We assessed data for 9458 STEMI patients that undergone P-PCI (35% treated with TA). The risk of in-hospital mortality with TA (aOR 0.93, 95%CI:0.54-1.60) was not significantly decreased. After matching patients through the propensity score, TA reduced significantly the risk of in-hospital mortality (OR 0.58, 95%CI:0.35-0.98; 3500 patients). CONCLUSIONS: The whole cohort data does not support the routine use of TA in P-PCI, but the results of the propensity-score matched cohort suggests that the use of selective TA may improve the short-term risks of STEMI..info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Identification of species by multiplex analysis of variable-length sequences

The quest for a universal and efficient method of identifying species has been a longstanding challenge in biology. Here, we show that accurate identification of species in all domains of life can be accomplished by multiplex analysis of variable-length sequences containing multiple insertion/deletion variants. The new method, called SPInDel, is able to discriminate 93.3% of eukaryotic species from 18 taxonomic groups. We also demonstrate that the identification of prokaryotic and viral species with numeric profiles of fragment lengths is generally straightforward. A computational platform is presented to facilitate the planning of projects and includes a large data set with nearly 1800 numeric profiles for species in all domains of life (1556 for eukaryotes, 105 for prokaryotes and 130 for viruses). Finally, a SPInDel profiling kit for discrimination of 10 mammalian species was successfully validated on highly processed food products with species mixtures and proved to be easily adaptable to multiple screening procedures routinely used in molecular biology laboratories. These results suggest that SPInDel is a reliable and cost-effective method for broad-spectrum species identification that is appropriate for use in suboptimal samples and is amenable to different high-throughput genotyping platforms without the need for DNA sequencing

Significant benefits of AIP testing and clinical screening in familial isolated and young-onset pituitary tumors

Context Germline mutations in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor-interacting protein (AIP) gene are responsible for a subset of familial isolated pituitary adenoma (FIPA) cases and sporadic pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNETs). Objective To compare prospectively diagnosed AIP mutation-positive (AIPmut) PitNET patients with clinically presenting patients and to compare the clinical characteristics of AIPmut and AIPneg PitNET patients. Design 12-year prospective, observational study. Participants & Setting We studied probands and family members of FIPA kindreds and sporadic patients with disease onset ≤18 years or macroadenomas with onset ≤30 years (n = 1477). This was a collaborative study conducted at referral centers for pituitary diseases. Interventions & Outcome AIP testing and clinical screening for pituitary disease. Comparison of characteristics of prospectively diagnosed (n = 22) vs clinically presenting AIPmut PitNET patients (n = 145), and AIPmut (n = 167) vs AIPneg PitNET patients (n = 1310). Results Prospectively diagnosed AIPmut PitNET patients had smaller lesions with less suprasellar extension or cavernous sinus invasion and required fewer treatments with fewer operations and no radiotherapy compared with clinically presenting cases; there were fewer cases with active disease and hypopituitarism at last follow-up. When comparing AIPmut and AIPneg cases, AIPmut patients were more often males, younger, more often had GH excess, pituitary apoplexy, suprasellar extension, and more patients required multimodal therapy, including radiotherapy. AIPmut patients (n = 136) with GH excess were taller than AIPneg counterparts (n = 650). Conclusions Prospectively diagnosed AIPmut patients show better outcomes than clinically presenting cases, demonstrating the benefits of genetic and clinical screening. AIP-related pituitary disease has a wide spectrum ranging from aggressively growing lesions to stable or indolent disease course