Primary left ventricular rehabilitation is effective in maintaining two-ventricle physiology in the borderline left heart

ObjectiveBorderline left heart disease is characterized by left heart obstructive lesions (coarctation, aortic and mitral stenoses, left ventricular hypoplasia) and endocardial fibroelastosis. The multilevel obstruction and impaired left ventricular systolic and diastolic function contribute to failure of biventricular circulation. We studied the effects of left ventricular rehabilitation—endocardial fibroelastosis resection with mitral or aortic valvuloplasty—on left ventricular function and clinical outcomes.MethodsAll patients with borderline left heart structures and endocardial fibroelastosis who underwent a primary left ventricular rehabilitation procedure were retrospectively analyzed to determine operative mortality, reintervention rates, and hemodynamic status. Left heart dimensions and hemodynamics were recorded from preoperative and postoperative echocardiogram and cardiac catheterization. Postoperative left atrial pressure was obtained from the intracardiac line early after left ventricular rehabilitation. Preoperative and postoperative values were compared by paired t test.ResultsBetween 1999 and 2008, 9 patients with endocardial fibroelastosis and borderline left heart disease underwent left ventricular rehabilitation at a median age of 5.6 months (range, 1–38 months). There was no operative mortality, and at a median follow-up of 25 months (6 months to 10 years) there was 1 death from noncardiac causes and 2 patients required reoperations. Significant increases in ejection fraction and left ventricular end-diastolic volume were observed, whereas left atrial pressure and right ventricular/left ventricular pressure ratios decreased postoperatively.ConclusionIn patients with borderline left hearts, primary left ventricular rehabilitation with endocardial fibroelastosis resection and mitral and aortic valvuloplasty results in improved left ventricular systolic and diastolic performance and decreased right ventricular pressures. This approach may provide an alternative to single-ventricle management in this difficult patient group

Cycle biologique de l'agarophyte Gracilaria multipartita (Clemente) Harvey (Rhodophyceae, Gracilariales) sur la côte atlantique marocaine

Le cycle de croissance de Gracilaria multipartita, espèce commune du littoral marocain a été suivi pendant 2 années. Les nouvelles frondes se développent à partir du mois de janvier sur le disque pérennant. La croissance est maximale entre mai et juin. Après un arrêt de croissance pendant l’été, une nouvelle phase de croissance plus ou moins marquée selon les années est observée en automne. Les frondes dégénèrent ensuite pour laisser place à de nouvelles pousses en janvier. Les analyses statistiques ont confirmé ce cycle et désignent la température comme le facteur déterminant dans son déroulement. L’étude indique qu’il serait possible d’exploiter l’espèce à partir de juin, avant que les frondes ne commencent à dégénérer

Response of pulmonary artery intimal sarcoma to surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Pulmonary artery intimal sarcoma is a rare disease with no characteristic symptoms. It is difficult to diagnose early and is frequently misdiagnosed as a pulmonary embolism.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>Here we report a case of pulmonary artery intimal sarcoma in a 54-year-old woman presenting with complaints of shortness of breath on exertion. Echocardiography and a computed tomography scan showed that the right pulmonary artery trunk was blocked by a low-density mass. The patient was diagnosed with pulmonary artery intimal sarcoma by pathology and a complete mass resection was performed. After experiencing 10 months of disease-free survival, she was re-admitted because of the recurrence and metastasis of the tumor. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy were performed; however, only limited success was achieved. The patient died 15 months after the initial onset of symptoms.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Some patients with intimal sarcoma of the pulmonary artery can benefit from radiotherapy and chemotherapy as well as surgery.</p

Deep Learning for Scene Recognition from Visual Data:A Survey

The use of deep learning techniques has exploded during the last few years, resulting in a direct contribution to the field of artificial intelligence. This work aims to be a review of the state-of-the-art in scene recognition with deep learning models from visual data. Scene recognition is still an emerging field in computer vision, which has been addressed from a single image and dynamic image perspective. We first give an overview of available datasets for image and video scene recognition. Later, we describe ensemble techniques introduced by research papers in the field. Finally, we give some remarks on our findings and discuss what we consider challenges in the field and future lines of research. This paper aims to be a future guide for model selection for the task of scene recognition

Wheat rust epidemics damage Ethiopian wheat production: A decade of field disease surveillance reveals national-scale trends in past outbreaks.

Wheat rusts are the key biological constraint to wheat production in Ethiopia-one of Africa's largest wheat producing countries. The fungal diseases cause economic losses and threaten livelihoods of smallholder farmers. While it is known that wheat rust epidemics have occurred in Ethiopia, to date no systematic long-term analysis of past outbreaks has been available. We present results from one of the most comprehensive surveillance campaigns of wheat rusts in Africa. More than 13,000 fields have been surveyed during the last 13 years. Using a combination of spatial data-analysis and visualization, statistical tools, and empirical modelling, we identify trends in the distribution of wheat stem rust (Sr), stripe rust (Yr) and leaf rust (Lr). Results show very high infection levels (mean incidence for Yr: 44%; Sr: 34%; Lr: 18%). These recurrent rust outbreaks lead to substantial economic losses, which we estimate to be of the order of 10s of millions of US-D annually. On the widely adopted wheat variety, Digalu, there is a marked increase in disease prevalence following the incursion of new rust races into Ethiopia, which indicates a pronounced boom-and-bust cycle of major gene resistance. Using spatial analyses, we identify hotspots of disease risk for all three rusts, show a linear correlation between altitude and disease prevalence, and find a pronounced north-south trend in stem rust prevalence. Temporal analyses show a sigmoidal increase in disease levels during the wheat season and strong inter-annual variations. While a simple logistic curve performs satisfactorily in predicting stem rust in some years, it cannot account for the complex outbreak patterns in other years and fails to predict the occurrence of stripe and leaf rust. The empirical insights into wheat rust epidemiology in Ethiopia presented here provide a basis for improving future surveillance and to inform the development of mechanistic models to predict disease spread

Rogue Mode Shileding in NSLS-II Multipole Vacuum Chambers

Modes with transverse electric field (TE-modes) in the NSLS-II multipole vacuum chamber can be generated at frequencies above 450MHz due to its geometric dimensions. Since the NSLS-II BPM system monitors signals within 10 MHz band at RF frequency of 500 MHz, frequencies of higher-order modes (HOM) can be generated within the transmission band of the band pass filter. In order to avoid systematic errors in the NSLS-II BPM system, we introduced frequency shift of HOMs by using RF metal shielding located in the antechamber slot. We demonstrated numerical modeling and experimental studies of the spurious TE modes in the NSLS-II vacuum chambers with antechamber slot. Calculated frequencies of TE-modes in considered chambers with and without RF shielding were verified experimentally. Flexible BeCu RF shielding inside each chamber at proper location shifts frequencies of H{sub 10p}-modes above {approx}900MHz, except chambers S6 odd and even. These chambers need special attention because of synchrotron radiation from downstream magnets. S6 odd multipole vacuum chamber needs to be measured and the RF shielding length has to be optimized. RF shielding looks adequate for baseline design. Fifty percent of open space provides adequate pumping speed

Holonomic functions of several complex variables and singularities of anisotropic Ising n-fold integrals

Lattice statistical mechanics, often provides a natural (holonomic) framework to perform singularity analysis with several complex variables that would, in a general mathematical framework, be too complex, or could not be defined. Considering several Picard-Fuchs systems of two-variables "above" Calabi-Yau ODEs, associated with double hypergeometric series, we show that holonomic functions are actually a good framework for actually finding the singular manifolds. We, then, analyse the singular algebraic varieties of the n-fold integrals $\chi^{(n)}$, corresponding to the decomposition of the magnetic susceptibility of the anisotropic square Ising model. We revisit a set of Nickelian singularities that turns out to be a two-parameter family of elliptic curves. We then find a first set of non-Nickelian singularities for $\chi^{(3)}$ and $\chi^{(4)}$, that also turns out to be rational or ellipic curves. We underline the fact that these singular curves depend on the anisotropy of the Ising model. We address, from a birational viewpoint, the emergence of families of elliptic curves, and of Calabi-Yau manifolds on such problems. We discuss the accumulation of these singular curves for the non-holonomic anisotropic full susceptibility.Comment: 36 page

Objectively measured time spent sedentary is associated with insulin resistance independent of overall and central body fat in 9- to 10-year-old Portuguese children

OBJECTIVE — We examined the independent relationships between objectively measured physical activity and insulin resistance in Portuguese children. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS — This is a school-based, cross-sectional study in 147 randomly selected girls (aged 9.8 0.3 years; 27.8 9.3% body fat) and 161 boys (aged 9.8 0.3 years; 22.0 9.2% body fat). Physical activity was assessed by the Actigraph accel erometer for 4 days and summarized as time spent sedentary (accelerometer counts 500/min), in light-intensity (accelerometer counts 500–2,000/min), and in moderate- and vigorous intensity activity (accelerometer counts 2,001/min). We measured total and central fat mass by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Insulin resistance was expressed as the homeostasis model assessment score. RESULTS — Time (min/day) spent sedentary was significantly and positively associated with insulin resistance ( -coefficient 0.001 [95% CI 0.0002–0.002]; P 0.013). Time spent in moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activity ( 0.002 [ 0.003 to 0.001]; P 0.0009) and overall physical activity ( 0.001 [ 0.008 to 0.003]; P 0.0001) were significantly and inversely associated with insulin resistance. All associations remained statistically significant, although they were attenuated after further adjustments for sex, birth weight, sexual maturity, and total or central fat mass (P 0.03). CONCLUSIONS — Physical activity is associated with insulin resistance independent of total and central fat mass in children. Our results emphasize the importance of decreasing sedentary behavior and increasing time spent in moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity in children, which may have beneficial effects on metabolic risk factors regardless of the degree of adiposity.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Isolamento de gnafalina a partir de Achyrocline alata (HBK) D. C.

A flavonoid was isolated from flowering stems of Achyrocline alata and structure was assigned to it by comparison with an authentic sample of 5-hydroxy-7, 8-dimethoxy-favonol.Dos caules floridos de Achyrocline alata foi isolado um flavonoide e a sua estrutura foi determinada por comparação com amostra autêntica de 5-hidroxi-7, 8-dimetoxi-flavonol