P Wave Dispersion is Increased in Pulmonary Stenosis

Aim: The right atrium pressure load is increased in pulmonary stenosis (PS) that is a congenital anomaly and this changes the electrophysiological characteristics of the atria. However, there is not enough data on the issue of P wave dispersion (PWD) in PS. Methods: Forty- two patients diagnosed as having valvular PS with echocardiography and 33 completely healthy individuals as the control group were included in the study. P wave duration, p wave maximum (p max) and p minimum (p min) were calculated from resting electrocariography (ECG) obtained at the rate of 50 mm/sec. P wave dispersion was derived by subtracting p min from p max. The mean pressure gradient (MPG) at the pulmonary valve, structure of the valve and diameters of the right and left atria were measured with echocardiography. The data from two groups were compared with the Mann-Whitney U test and correlation analysis was performed with the Pearson correlation technique. Results: There wasn’t any statistically significance in the comparison of age, left atrial diameter and p min between two groups. While the MPG at the pulmonary valve was 43.11 ± 18.8 mmHg in PS patients, it was 8.4 ± 4.5 mmHg in the control group. While p max was 107.1 ± 11.5 in PS group, it was 98.2 ± 5.1 in control group (p=0.01), PWD was 40.4 ± 1.2 in PS group, and 27.2 ± 9.3 in the control group (p=0.01)Moreover, while the diameter of the right atrium in PS group was greater than that of the control group, (38.7 ± 3.9 vs 30.2 ± 2.5, p=0.02). We detected a correlation between PWD and pressure gradient in regression analysis. Conclusion: P wave dispersion and p max are increased in PS. While PWD was correlated with the pressure gradient that is the degree of narrowing, it was not correlated with the diameters of the right and left atria

Processing and Interpretation of Multichannel Seismic Reflection Data Acquired off Isfjorden, Svalbard

The Svalbard archipelago has been complexly deformed during its billions of years-long evolution history, where fault zones, other deformation structures and hard seafloor morphology have emerged. This research project has aimed to characterize the main geological structures in the study area located on the western shelf of Spitsbergen by processing and interpreting of four 2D marine seismic reflection profiles. The quality of the seismic data has been influenced by several sorts of noise, dominantly surface-related multiples due to the hard seafloor in the study area, where the velocities of primary waves are approximately 5500 m/s and often escalate up to 6500 m/s at shallow depths. A total of five different processing workflows have been applied to a seismic profile in order to remove the multiples from the data. The multiple extraction & adaptive subtraction approach has been determined as the most effective remedy for multiple attenuation among the tested methods, as it enhanced the signal-to-noise ratio the most. Thanks to that approach, and many other essential processing sequences, including post-stack time migration in the main workflow, the seismic datasets have become almost multiple-free. Seismic interpretation of the four processed profiles has been done to distinguish the main geological setting in the study area. Nine seismic horizons interpreted between the seabed and basement, as well as several major faults, allowed the division into five stratigraphic units, being the Quaternary, Cenozoic, Mesozoic-Paleozoic, Devonian sedimentary successions and the crystalline basement (so-called Hecla Hoek). The thickness and 2D - 3D surface maps including faults have supported the identification of the main structures in the study area: the Hornsund Fault Zone and a Devonian Graben. The interpretation implies a new model describing the development of a N-S trending fault-bounded rift basin, named Devonian Graben structure, as a product of the collapsed Caledonian mountain range due to continental extension. The development was followed by reactivation in an oblique extensional regime in Cenozoic, which is also associated with seafloor spreading between Greenland and Svalbard. The oblique extension deformed the basement in the Hornsund Fault Zone, interpreted as an area of NNW-SSE trending down-faulted, westward dipping blocks, impacted by W-E trending strike-slip faults. An NNW-SSE trending horst structure has also been distinguished between the Hornsund Fault Zone and Devonian Graben.Master's Thesis in Earth ScienceGEOV399MAMN-GEO

A STrategy for Efficient Crawling . . .

New web application development technologies such as Ajax, Flex or Silverlight result in so-called Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) that provide enhanced responsiveness, but introduce new challenges for crawling that cannot be addressed by the traditional crawlers. This paper describes a novel crawling technique for RIAs. The technique first generates an optimal crawling strategy for an anticipated model of the crawled RIA by aiming at discovering new states as quickly as possible. As the strategy is executed, if the discovered portion of the actual model of the application deviates from the anticipated model, the anticipated model and the strategy are updated to conform to the actual model. We compare the performance of our technique to a number of existing ones as well as depth-first and breadth-first crawling on some Ajax test applications. The results show that our technique has a better performance often with a faster rate of state discovery

Evaluation of oral health status and immunological parameters of hospitalized COVID-19 patients during acute and recovery phases: A randomized clinical trial

Background/purpose: It is known that COVID-19 patients show many clinical oral symptoms due to the immunological mechanisms triggered by the virus. Aim of this study is to analyze the antibody response to SARS-CoV-2, and to evaluate the oral health status of hospitalized patients. Materials and methods: 160 patients with COVID-19 confirmed by SARS-CoV-2–specific RT-PCR testing and 160 healthy volunteers (HI) with similar age, gender and systemic status were included to compare the bio-chemical and oral manifestations. Oropharyngeal swab specimens were collected to evaluate the salivary interleukins (IL-1, IL-6, IL-10) and immunoglobulins (sIgA, sIgG, sIgM). Oral findings (DMFT, plaque index, salivary flow rate), socio-demographic information and systemic conditions were also recorded. Chi-square, Mann–Whitney U and Spearman's ratio tests were applied to determine the possible correlations between the factors (P = 0.05). Results: The mean DMFT scores of COVID-19 patients (12.71 ± 7.3) were significantly higher than the HI (7.39 ± 2.8), whereas cases of total or partial edentulism were more common among COVID-19 patients (P 0.05), salivary parameters were found statistically different (P < 0.05). Severe and moderate cases showed higher proinflammatory interleukin levels (IL-1 = 68.74 pg/ml, IL-6 = 53.31 pg/ml) amongst all (P < 0.05). While secretory immunoglobulins were almost depleted at baseline, (sIgA = 0.11 mg/ml, sIgG = 0.21 mg/ml, sIgM = 0.08 mg/ml) they reached to threshold levels after 4 weeks. Conclusion: Higher proinflammatory interleukin levels indicated that traces of ongoing “Cytokine Storm” in COVID-19 patients which can also be observed in oral environment. Poor oral hygiene and malnutrition due to edentulism can pave the way for having a severe COVID-19 infection

Multiorgan dysfunction accompanied with metimazole and thyroid storm

A 41-year-old man with a history of hyperthyroidism had been treated with methimazole and propranolol for the past 2 months. He developed multiorgan dysfunction with acute liver failure, severe lactic acidosis, disseminated intravascular coagulation, heart failure and acute pulmonary edema with rapid deterioration of renal function. The patient had no history of alcoholism, drug abuse, blood transfusion, or exposure to hepatitis A, B, or C. Extrahepatic obstruction was ruled out with an abdominal ultrasonogram. Serologic studies and immunologic tests were negative. This case illustrates the sudden and abrupt deterioration of multiorgan dysfunction due to antithyroid drug administration and thyroid storm. The thyroid storm score of Burch and Wartofsky was 90/140. The multiorgan dysfunction was reversed by discontinuation of the methimazole and treat with hemodialysis, steroids, cholestyramine, nonselective beta-blocker, fresh frozen plasma infusion and supportive management in the intensive care unit. The patient was discharged from the hospital with normal coagulation parameters, renal and liver function tests. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved