Interatrial shunt devices for heart failure with normal ejection fraction: a technology update

Heart failure with normal ejection fraction (HeFNEF) accounts for ~50% of heart failure admissions. Its pathophysiology and diagnostic criteria are yet to be defined clearly which may hinder the search for effective treatments. The clinical hallmark of HeFNEF is exertional breathlessness, often due to an abnormal increase in left atrial pressure during exercise. Creation of an interatrial communication to offload the left atrium is a possible therapeutic approach. There are two percutaneously delivered devices currently under investigation which are discussed in this review

Massive quark self-energy in cavity QCD

Includes bibliographical references.The greatest obstacle in calculating the self-energy Feynman diagram is that it is, in principle, linearly divergent. So far the self-energy of a massive quark in cavity quantum chromodynamics has only been calculated for the lowest cavity mode ls1/2. The methods used so far, have been based on the multiple reflection formalism, in which the zero reflection term is extracted out analytically and evaluated separately using Pauli-Villars regularization. This thesis is based on the dimensional regularization scheme, adapted for use in the cavity, by Stoddart et al., who calculated the self-energy for a massless quark. This involves analytically isolating the divergences using dimensional regularization and then removing the divergences using the minimal subtraction (ms) scheme or some similar subtraction scheme. In this thesis, the self-energies of massive quarks have been calculated using the ms scheme for a number of low-lying cavity modes. The ls1/2 results have also been compared with the Pauli-Villars regularization scheme used by Goldhaber, Jaffe and Hansson

Acacia caffra

Transcript: "Acacia caffra. Flowers November to January with occasional extensions to March. The scent differs from Accia karroo in being not so sickly -is sharper to the nose but nonetheless attractive. The fine thorns are not readily visible. The softness of the foliage can lead one into grabbing at branches only to be be well pricked. The tree is very common along the Buffalo river at King William's Town often growing at the water's edge. In the veld, Acacia karroo often grows among Acacia caffra, the two making an interesting contrast. 30.10.1959. Coming into flower at Kei Bridge on the Komga-Transkei border, At Bashee Bridge between Idutywa and Umtata, and in the Umzimkhulu valley on the Natal border of Transkei. 21.11.1959. Coming into good flower at King William's Town. July 1960. Trees mostly bare but some have straggly leaves adhering. August 1960. Bare. September 1960. Began shooting on trees along rivers early in the month. But leaves began bursting from their buds on trees in dry veld on about the 15th of the month despite lack of rain to stimulate spring growth October 27th 1960. First flowers appearing.

How the doctorate contributes to the formation of active researchers: what the research tells us

While much research focuses on factors contributing to doctoral completion, few studies explore the role of the doctorate in forming active researchers with the skills, know-how and appetite to pursue research post-completion. This article investigates 15 existing studies for evidence of what factors in the doctoral experience may contribute to the formation of an active researcher with a capacity for later research productivity. The analysis reveals a productive advisor may be key to forming an active researcher and, although inconclusive, productivity post-completion. Further detailed research is required, however, into how the advisor influences candidates' productivity. The article also points to other potentially influential factors requiring further investigation, such as: developing collaborative capacities, conceptualising the purpose of the doctorate as forming an active researcher, advisor mentoring and fostering emotional engagement with research

The entrepreneurial subjectivity of successful researchers

This article begins the work of examining what kind of doctoral experiences positively influence researcher development, and what other attributes may contribute to a successful research career. It reports preliminary findings from the analysis of survey responses by a sample of successful mid-career researchers. Positive doctoral experiences and the early establishment of research activity are found to be important to researcher development. Successful researchers were also found to be able to acknowledge the importance of their 'soft skills', and to have flexible, responsive and adaptive dispositions. We term this disposition 'an entrepreneurial subjectivity' and argue that it is an important and underexamined characteristic of the successful researcher

The duetting behavior of pacific coast Plain Wrens

We provide the first detailed analysis of the vocal behavior of Pacific coast Plain Wrens (Thryothorus modestus modestus). Male Plain Wrens sing two categories of song phrase; one phrase is given as a solo song or duet introduction (I-phrases), while the other is sung primarily during duets (M-phrases). Females sing only one category of song phrase, usually during duets (F-phrases). Both sexes have repertoires of their respective song categories. Plain Wren duets show extreme temporal coordination: duets typically begin with male I-phrases, which are followed by the rapid alternation of female F-phrases and male M-phrases. These patterns are congruent with the solo and duet singing behavior of a sister taxon to the Plain Wren, the Canebrake Wren (Thryothorus modestus zeledoni). Our analyses of Plain Wren songs and duets reveal pronounced differences between males and females and contribute to our understanding of the complex duetting behavior of Thryothorus wrens. © The Cooper Ornithological Society 2007

Independence interrupted: creativity, context and the 'independent scholar'

Social and networked conceptions of creativity highlight the key role of collaboration and connection making in the work involved in creating and imagining new knowledge. With governments around the world keen to harness the potential of research to foster innovation and economic growth, the question arises as to whether the research degree experience is preparing graduates to be creative, or mobilise creativity, in this way. In this chapter we explore this issue through examining the persistent figure of the 'independent scholar' in accounts of research education and practice. We draw on preliminary analysis of data collected on the role of the doctorate in mid-career research success based on a survey of Australian Research Council Future Fellowship recipients. Our analysis focuses on responses to two open ended questions concerning; a) to what respondents' attribute their mid-career research sucess, and d) the extent to which the PhD experience provides preparation for a research career. We identify intriguing tensions and contradictions in the ways in which being and becoming a successful researcher are conceived. Most notably, the findings suggest that success can be achieved through different modes of working - and being trained - as a researcher. These have implications for universities seeking to promote research collaboration and creativity

Failure of thapsigargin to alter ion transport in human sweat gland epithelia while intracellular Ca2+ concentration is raised

Cai in cultured human sweat gland epithelial monolayers was measured using Fura-2 fluorescence. Thapsigargin (Tg) caused a sustained increase in Cai, the rate of rise being slower but the magnitude greater than with the agonists lysylbradykinin and ATP. Tg caused an irreversible change such that even after it was removed Cai was dependent on the ambient calcium concentration, consistent with the hypothesis that Ca2+ entry is controlled by the state of the intracellular stores. Calcium entry after Tg was not modified by nimodipine, o-conotoxin, or BAY K8644 but could be blocked by low concentrations (0.5 mM) of La3+. High concentrations of La3+ (2 mM) caused an increase in the response to Tg, suggesting that membrane ATPase exerts a major Cai lowering effect. Intracellular ca’+ ion chelation with l,Z-bis(2-aminophenoxy) ethane-N,N,N’,N’-tetraacetica cid significantly blunted the response to Tg. Finally, Mn2+ entry rate into epithelial cells was doubled by Tg. In spite of the evidence that Tg raises Cai to values greater and for longer than calcium requiring agonists only the latter affected transepithelial transport processes. It sihs own that Tg neither affects transepithelial sodium transport nor chloride conductance, both of which increase in response to lysylbradykinin or ATP. It is concluded that spatio-temporal patterns of Cai increase after Tg and other agonists are different

Extension, disruption, and translation of an orogenic wedge by exhumation of large ultrahigh-pressure terranes: Examples from the Norwegian Caledonides

Far-traveled allochthons (greater than 100 km) within collisional orogenic wedges may have undergone significant lateral movement by passive transport (in addition to thrusting) where they lie tectonically above large, exhumed, high-pressure/ultrahigh-pressure (HP/UHP) metamorphic terranes. Continental collision results in the subduction of one craton beneath another into the mantle. The subducted craton undergoes HP/UHP metamorphism, while an accretionary orogenic wedge develops simultaneously at its junction with the overlying craton. The subsequent exhumation of a large HP/UHP terrane by either far-field extension or buoyancy-driven extrusion, or both, reverses the shear traction along its upper boundary from foreland-directed thrust motion to hinterland-directed normal displacement. This normal-sense shear can stretch, thin, and fragment the overlying wedge and even carry a detached frontal fragment passively toward the foreland on top of the exhuming plate. The total “piggyback” displacement would be a function of the amount of exhumation of the HP/UHP terrane and the timing of its breakoff from the hinterland portion of the wedge. This model is applied to the Trondheim and Jotun nappe complexes of the Caledonides of southern Scandinavia, which were translated greater than 300 km to the E and SE, respectively, during the 430–385 Ma Scandian orogeny. Their hinterland boundaries rest on top of the HP/UHP Western Gneiss Complex. Kinematic indicators along their basal décollements indicate a change in shear sense from top-E/SE to top-W/NW at the same time (ca. 405 Ma) that radiometric ages indicate the Western Gneiss Complex began to exhume from the mantle. Displacements of tens of kilometers along these décollements stretched and thinned the Trondheim nappe complex and fragmented the Jotun nappe complex. Ultimately, this basal traction led to the breakaway of the frontal segments of the allochthons, allowing them to be carried passively to the E/SE as the Western Gneiss Complex continued to exhume. Top-W/NW shear continued between the Western Gneiss Complex and the stranded rearward segments of the allochthons, resulting in the opening up of the Western Gneiss Region tectonic window between the E/SE-translating nappes and their relatively “fixed” equivalents in the W/NW. The total displacement of the traveled frontal allochthons could have been considerably farther than that accomplished by thrusting alone