14 research outputs found
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Longer and better lives for patients with atrial fibrillation: the 9th AFNET/EHRA consensus conference.
AIMS: Recent trial data demonstrate beneficial effects of active rhythm management in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and support the concept that a low arrhythmia burden is associated with a low risk of AF-related complications. The aim of this document is to summarize the key outcomes of the 9th AFNET/EHRA Consensus Conference of the Atrial Fibrillation NETwork (AFNET) and the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA). METHODS AND RESULTS: Eighty-three international experts met in Münster for 2 days in September 2023. Key findings are as follows: (i) Active rhythm management should be part of the default initial treatment for all suitable patients with AF. (ii) Patients with device-detected AF have a low burden of AF and a low risk of stroke. Anticoagulation prevents some strokes and also increases major but non-lethal bleeding. (iii) More research is needed to improve stroke risk prediction in patients with AF, especially in those with a low AF burden. Biomolecules, genetics, and imaging can support this. (iv) The presence of AF should trigger systematic workup and comprehensive treatment of concomitant cardiovascular conditions. (v) Machine learning algorithms have been used to improve detection or likely development of AF. Cooperation between clinicians and data scientists is needed to leverage the potential of data science applications for patients with AF. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with AF and a low arrhythmia burden have a lower risk of stroke and other cardiovascular events than those with a high arrhythmia burden. Combining active rhythm control, anticoagulation, rate control, and therapy of concomitant cardiovascular conditions can improve the lives of patients with AF
Systolic blood pressure and effects of screening for atrial fibrillation with long-term continuous monitoring
Uncontrolled hypertension is associated with coronary artery calcification and electrocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy: a case-control study
Percutaneous versus thoracoscopic ablation of symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation: a randomised controlled trial - the FAST II study
Multiple atrial premature contractions predict stroke recurrence in patients with cryptogenic stroke and concomitant non-sustained atrial tachycardia
Weed and Weeding Effects on Medicinal Herbs
Competition with weeds exerts significant depressive effects on yield and quality features of Medicinal Plants (MPs). According to the crop, the part of plant to be harvested, the environmental features (including cropping technique) and the severity of infestation, yield losses due to the presence of weeds may vary within wide intervals. Furthermore, unlike the majority of other crops, MPs are cultivated with the goal to obtain relevant quantities of specific secondary metabolites, whose final quantity determines the quality level (and, consequently, the market value) of the harvested drug. Almost all papers addressed to this topic agree on the statement that unrestricted weed growth may alter MP production also from the qualitative point of view, that is, determining an overall decrease in the yield of active substances for unit area. In part, this outcome can be attributed to the general decrease of harvestable biomass, but in some cases also modifications of crop metabolic pathways have been observed, resulting in a general unpredictability of the chemical characteristics of the product obtained in weedy fields.
Competition with weeds may assume a different severity according to the time and duration of competition period. In the starting phases of cultivation, the outcome of an early weed infestation is expected to be severe, since very often weeds grow much faster than crops. The maximum tolerance period, i.e. the period when weeding operations must be started, varies according to the tolerated loss values, and in annual crops the time span when fields must be kept totally weed-free may cover more than 60% of the entire crop cycle.
The tools that are used for weeds removal may affect MPs production in many ways. Chemical treatments have been studied with contrasting results, but an interference of herbicides with the metabolism of secondary products was found in some cases. Furthermore, the interest in growing MPs with organic or environmentally friendly methods is increasing. Hence, besides the traditional (and highly expensive) method of hand-weeding, other non-chemical methods are studied, including mechanical treatments, mulching, flaming, and even grazing by goats or lambs.
There is scope for further research, embracing a larger number of MPs and different environments, also including the effects of weeds on MPs metabolic pathways