The “Evolving” Role of Intravascular Imaging in Myocardial Infarction With Nonobstructive Coronary Arteries

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Support varieties for selfinjective algebras

Support varieties for any finite dimensional algebra over a field were introduced by Snashall-Solberg using graded subalgebras of the Hochschild cohomology. We mainly study these varieties for selfinjective algebras under appropriate finite generation hypotheses. Then many of the standard results from the theory of support varieties for finite groups generalize to this situation. In particular, the complexity of the module equals the dimension of its corresponding variety, all closed homogeneous varieties occur as the variety of some module, the variety of an indecomposable module is connected, periodic modules are lines and for symmetric algebras a generalization of Webb's theorem is true

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An optimized TOPS+ comparison method for enhanced TOPS models

This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Background Although methods based on highly abstract descriptions of protein structures, such as VAST and TOPS, can perform very fast protein structure comparison, the results can lack a high degree of biological significance. Previously we have discussed the basic mechanisms of our novel method for structure comparison based on our TOPS+ model (Topological descriptions of Protein Structures Enhanced with Ligand Information). In this paper we show how these results can be significantly improved using parameter optimization, and we call the resulting optimised TOPS+ method as advanced TOPS+ comparison method i.e. advTOPS+. Results We have developed a TOPS+ string model as an improvement to the TOPS [1-3] graph model by considering loops as secondary structure elements (SSEs) in addition to helices and strands, representing ligands as first class objects, and describing interactions between SSEs, and SSEs and ligands, by incoming and outgoing arcs, annotating SSEs with the interaction direction and type. Benchmarking results of an all-against-all pairwise comparison using a large dataset of 2,620 non-redundant structures from the PDB40 dataset [4] demonstrate the biological significance, in terms of SCOP classification at the superfamily level, of our TOPS+ comparison method. Conclusions Our advanced TOPS+ comparison shows better performance on the PDB40 dataset [4] compared to our basic TOPS+ method, giving 90 percent accuracy for SCOP alpha+beta; a 6 percent increase in accuracy compared to the TOPS and basic TOPS+ methods. It also outperforms the TOPS, basic TOPS+ and SSAP comparison methods on the Chew-Kedem dataset [5], achieving 98 percent accuracy. Software Availability: The TOPS+ comparison server is available at http://balabio.dcs.gla.ac.uk/mallika/WebTOPS/.This article is available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fun

Stent placement compared with balloon angioplasty for obstructed coronary bypass grafts. Saphenous Vein De Novo Trial Investigators.

BACKGROUND: Treatment of stenosis in saphenous-vein grafts after coronary-artery bypass surgery is a difficult challenge. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of stent placement with those of balloon angioplasty on clinical and angiographic outcomes in patients with obstructive disease of saphenous-vein grafts. METHODS: A total of 220 patients with new lesions in aortocoronary-venous bypass grafts were randomly assigned to placement of Palmaz-Schatz stents or standard balloon angioplasty. Coronary angiography was performed during the index procedure and six months later. RESULTS: As compared with the patients assigned to angioplasty, those assigned to stenting had a higher rate of procedural efficacy, defined as a reduction in stenosis to less than 50 percent of the vessel diameter without a major cardiac complication (92 percent vs. 69 percent, P\u3c0.001), but they had more frequent hemorrhagic complications (17 percent vs. 5 percent, P\u3c0.01). Patients in the stent group had a larger mean (+/-SD) increase in luminal diameter immediately after the procedure (1.92+/-0.30 mm, as compared with 1.21+/-0.37 mm in the angioplasty group; P\u3c0.001) and a greater mean net gain in luminal diameter at six months (0.85+/-0.96 vs. 0.54+/-0.91 mm, P=0.002). Restenosis occurred in 37 percent of the patients in the stent group and in 46 percent of the patients in the angioplasty group (P=0.24). The outcome in terms of freedom from death, myocardial infarction, repeated bypass surgery, or revascularization of the target lesion was significantly better in the stent group (73 percent vs. 58 percent, P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: As compared with balloon angioplasty, stenting of selected venous bypass-graft lesions resulted in superior procedural outcomes, a larger gain in luminal diameter, and a reduction in major cardiac events. However, there was no significant benefit in the rate of angiographic restenosis, which was the primary end point of the study

Evaluación integral de la calidad seminal bovina: valor agregado para la inseminación artificial a tiempo fijo.

La inseminación artificial bovina ha sido la técnica de reproducción asistida de mayor difusión por las ventajas que presenta en el mejoramiento genético, la prevención y control de enfermedades de transmisión sexual, la posibilidad de emplear toros con facilidad de parto y la optimización del manejo reproductivo del rodeo. La Inseminación Artificial a Tiempo Fijo (IATF) suma beneficios tales como evitar la detección de celo, acortar el período de anestro post-parto y concentrar los partos en un período breve. El éxito de la IATF depende de múltiples factores entre los que se encuentra la calidad seminal. Ningún examen de semen in vitro presenta una correlación alta con la fertilidad, por lo cual debe desarrollarse un protocolo de control de calidad que estudie el mayor número posible de características de los espermatozoides. La selección de mejores muestras para IATF permitiría evitar la repetición en las inseminaciones o el repaso con monta natural. El objetivo del presente trabajo es encontrar indicadores seminales, a través de los análisis de rutina y del núcleo espermático, que estén asociados con tasas de preñez elevadas para IATF y permitan predecir el comportamiento de las dosis a campo.Se tomarán muestras aleatorias de cada partida de las dosis seminales congeladas ad hoc y se realizará el control de calidad espermático de rutina y el control nuclear. Se evaluarán: parámetros de motilidad espermática obtenidos por análisis computarizado (CASA), morfología, viabilidad, integridad acrosómica y funcionalidad de la membrana espermática. La evaluación del núcleo espermático incluirá: morfología nuclear, maduración de la cromatina, decondensación y fragmentación nuclear. Esta última, se realizará a través de una prueba desarrollada en nuestro laboratorio (FCV-UBA). Los responsables del CIAVT seleccionarán los establecimientos donde se realizarán los protocolos de IATF, así como los profesionales responsables de implementarlos, quienes recolectarán los resultados de preñez a campo. Sobre la base de estos resultados preliminares de nuestro grupo de trabajo y la experiencia de campo de los responsables del CIAVT, se espera encontrar asociación entre algunos de los parámetros seminales analizados y los porcentajes de preñez obtenidos por la técnica de IATF. Este proyecto intenta encontrar la existencia deindicadores de clasificación de fertilidad y de pérdidas embrionarias tempranas, lo que permitiría realizar una selección de los individuos más aptos para ser empleados como donantes para IATF. De esta forma, se podrían comercializar muestras de semen especialmente seleccionadas, con el valor agregado que esto conlleva.publishedVersio

Towards a framework for critical citizenship education

Increasingly countries around the world are promoting forms of "critical" citizenship in the planned curricula of schools. However, the intended meaning behind this term varies markedly and can range from a set of creative and technical skills under the label "critical thinking" to a desire to encourage engagement, action and political emancipation, often labelled "critical pedagogy". This paper distinguishes these manifestations of the "critical" and, based on an analysis of the prevailing models of critical pedagogy and citizenship education, develops a conceptual framework for analysing and comparing the nature of critical citizenship