Echocardiographic evaluation of left ventricular morphology and function in young male football players and runners

Background: Long-term physical exercise leads to left ventricular morphological adaptations, which vary with the kind of sport and the intensity and extent of the training. Although the echocardiographic changes related to exercise in athletes participating in various sports have been well described, changes associated with football players have been less well documented. The aim of this study was to investigate the morphological adaptations of the heart to athletic training and to compare by means of echocardiography the left ventricular dimensions, masses and systolic functions of runners and football players. Methods: A total of 40 male football players, 18 male long and middle-distance runners and 25 sedentary males were enrolled to the study and M-mode and two-dimensional echocardiograms with Doppler analysis were performed in all subjects. Results: The runners and football players were shown to have significantly greater left ventricular end-diastolic internal dimensions, left ventricular mass (corrected for body mass, height and body surface area), end-diastolic interventricular septum thicknesses and ejection fraction values than a control group. The present results show no significant difference between the left ventricular adaptations of runners and football players except when the left ventricular mass is indexed with body mass, the runners being thinner. Conclusions: The present results show that the echocardiographic findings of left ventricular adaptations in runners and football players are quite similar and lead to physiological enlargement of the heart. (Cardiol J 2007; 14: 37–43

Effects of Mixture Rates and Cutting Dates on the Forage Yield and Quality of Vetch-Triticale Mixtures and Their Seed Yields Under Lowland Conditions of Cukurova

This study was conducted to determine the effects of mixture rates and cutting dates on the forage yield and quality of vetch-triticale mixtures. Mixtures containing 50% vetch + 50% triticale or 25% vetch + 75 % triticale can be preferred for a high forage yield and the cutting should be performed at the beginning of the pod stage in terms of herbage and hay yield unless there is a necessity for the early harvest. Even if 100 % triticale provided the highest yield 0.98 tonnes/ha of crude protein, the mixture with 25 % +75 % triticale giving 0.96 tonnes/ha yield or 50 % vetch+50 % triticale with 0.89 tonnes/ha yield might be preferred in order to obtain balanced forage composition. For the seed yield, 25% vetch + 75% triticale mixture (2.1 tonnes/ha triticale + 0.24 tonnes/ha vetch) had more advantage over the other mixtures. This result seems very useful when the harvest for herbage is impossible due to the unfavorable environmental conditions

Percentile reference values for anthropometric body composition indices in European children from the IDEFICS study

INTRODUCTION: To characterise the nutritional status in children with obesity or wasting conditions, European anthropometric reference values for body composition measures beyond the body mass index (BMI) are needed. Differentiated assessment of body composition in children has long been hampered by the lack of appropriate references. OBJECTIVES: The aim of our study is to provide percentiles for body composition indices in normal weight European children, based on the IDEFICS cohort (Identification and prevention of Dietary-and lifestyle-induced health Effects in Children and infantS). METHODS: Overall 18 745 2.0-10.9-year-old children from eight countries participated in the study. Children classified as overweight/obese or underweight according to IOTF (N = 5915) were excluded from the analysis. Anthropometric measurements (BMI (N = 12 830); triceps, subscapular, fat mass and fat mass index (N = 11 845-11 901); biceps, suprailiac skinfolds, sum of skinfolds calculated from skinfold thicknesses (N = 8129-8205), neck circumference (N = 12 241); waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio (N = 12 381)) were analysed stratified by sex and smoothed 1st, 3rd, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, 97th and 99th percentile curves were calculated using GAMLSS. RESULTS: Percentile values of the most important anthropometric measures related to the degree of adiposity are depicted for European girls and boys. Age-and sex-specific differences were investigated for all measures. As an example, the 50th and 99th percentile values of waist circumference ranged from 50.7-59.2 cm and from 51.3-58.7 cm in 4.5-to < 5.0-year-old girls and boys, respectively, to 60.6-74.5 cm in girls and to 59.9-76.7 cm in boys at the age of 10.5-10.9 years. CONCLUSION: The presented percentile curves may aid a differentiated assessment of total and abdominal adiposity in European children

Echokardiograficzna ocena morfologii oraz funkcji lewej komory u młodych piłkarzy i wyczynowych biegaczy

Wstęp: Długotrwały wysiłek fizyczny powoduje zmiany adaptacyjne w budowie i funkcji mięśnia lewej komory, zależne od rodzaju i intensywności uprawianego sportu. Choć przeprowadzono wiele badań opisujących echokardiograficzne odmienności serc sportowców, w dostępnym piśmiennictwie brakuje szczegółowej analizy zmian dotyczących zawodowego trenowania piłki nożnej. Celem przedstawionego badania była ocena morfologicznych zmian związanych z wyczynowym uprawianiem sportu oraz porównanie zmierzonych echokardiograficznie wymiarów, masy i funkcji skurczowej lewej komory u biegaczy i piłkarzy. Metody: Badaniami objęto 40 piłkarzy, 18 biegaczy długo- i średniodystansowych oraz 25 mężczyzn prowadzących siedzący tryb życia (grupa kontrolna). U wszystkich wykonano badanie echokardiograficzne z oceną wymiarów lewej komory w prezentacji jedno- (M-mode) i dwuwymiarowej (2-D) oraz analizę przepływów za pomocą techniki fali doplerowskiej. Wyniki: U osób uprawiających sport, w porównaniu z grupą kontrolną, stwierdzono statystycznie istotne zwiększenie wymiaru końcoworozkurczowego lewej komory, masy lewej komory (również po korekcji względem wzrostu, masy i powierzchni ciała), grubości przegrody międzykomorowej oraz frakcji wyrzutowej. Nie wykazano istotnych różnic w wartościach parametrów echochokardiograficznych (z wyjątkiem wskaźnika masy lewej komory) między biegaczami a piłkarzami. Wnioski: Przedstawione wyniki sugerują, że zwiększenie wymiarów lewej komory, podobne w obu grupach, stanowi fizjologiczną adaptację serca do wykonywanego wysiłku fizycznego

Bioenergetics of Islet Preparations in a Pilot Clinical Trial of Peri-Transplant Hydroxychloroquine for Autologous Islet Transplantation

The inflammatory response is an obstacle to success in both allogeneic and autologous islet transplantation. In autologous islet transplantation (AIT), however, the recipient is also the donor, permitting pretreatment of donor/recipient for a controlled duration prior to transplantation. We sought to exploit this feature of (AIT) by pretreating donor/recipients with chronic pancreatitis undergoing total pancreatectomy and autologous islet transplantation (TPAIT) to test the hypothesis that peri-transplant treatment with the FDA-approved anti-inflammatory hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) improves graft function. In this randomized placebo-controlled pilot clinical study, patients (n = 6) were treated with oral HCQ for 30 days prior to and 90 days after TPAIT. In vivo islet function was assessed via Mixed Meal Tolerance Testing before HCQ treatment, 6- and 12-months after surgery. In vitro islet bioenergetics were assessed at the time of transplantation via extracellular flux analysis of islet preparation samples from the clinical trial cohort and six additional patients (n = 12). Our study shows that HCQ did not alter clinical endpoints, but HCQ-treated patients showed greater spare respiratory capacity (SRC) compared to samples from control patients (P=0.028). Glycolytic metabolism of islet preparations directly correlated with stimulated C-peptide secretion both before and after TPAIT (P=0.01, R2=0.489 and P=0.03, R2=0.674, respectively), and predicted in vivo islet function better than mitochondrial metabolism of islet preps or islet equivalents infused. Overnight culture of islet preparations altered bioenergetic function, significantly decreasing SRC and maximal respiration (P\u3c 0.001). In conclusion, while HCQ did not alter clinical outcomes, it was associated with significantly increased SRC in islet preparations. Bioenergetic analyses of islet preparations suggests that culture should be avoided and that glycolysis may be a more sensitive indicator of in vivo islet function than current metrics, including islet oxygen consumption and islet equivalents infused

Machine learning analysis of complex late gadolinium enhancement patterns to improve risk prediction of major arrhythmic events

Background: Machine learning analysis of complex myocardial scar patterns affords the potential to enhance risk prediction of life-threatening arrhythmia in stable coronary artery disease (CAD). Objective: To assess the utility of computational image analysis, alongside a machine learning (ML) approach, to identify scar microstructure features on late gadolinium enhancement cardiovascular magnetic resonance (LGE-CMR) that predict major arrhythmic events in patients with CAD. Methods: Patients with stable CAD were prospectively recruited into a CMR registry. Shape-based scar microstructure features characterizing heterogeneous (‘peri-infarct’) and homogeneous (‘core’) fibrosis were extracted. An ensemble of machine learning approaches were used for risk stratification, in addition to conventional analysis using Cox modeling. Results: Of 397 patients (mean LVEF 45.4 ± 16.0) followed for a median of 6 years, 55 patients (14%) experienced a major arrhythmic event. When applied within an ML model for binary classification, peri-infarct zone (PIZ) entropy, peri-infarct components and core interface area outperformed a model representative of the current standard of care (LVEFClass I): AUROC (95%CI) 0.81 (0.81–0.82) vs. 0.64 (0.63–0.65), p = 0.002. In multivariate cox regression analysis, these features again remained significant after adjusting for LVEFClass I: PIZ entropy hazard ratio (HR) 1.88, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.38–2.56, p < 0.001; number of PIZ components HR 1.34, 95% CI 1.08–1.67, p = 0.009; core interface area HR 1.6, 95% CI 1.29–1.99, p = <0.001. Conclusion: Machine learning models using LGE-CMR scar microstructure improved arrhythmic risk stratification as compared to guideline-based clinical parameters; highlighting a potential novel approach to identifying candidates for implantable cardioverter defibrillators in stable CAD

Burned-out testis tumour that metastasized to retroperitoneal lymph nodes: a case report

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