The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) Version 3.0

[1] The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) released its first gridded bathymetric compilation in 1999. The IBCAO bathymetric portrayals have since supported a wide range of Arctic science activities, for example, by providing constraint for ocean circulation models and the means to define and formulate hypotheses about the geologic origin of Arctic undersea features. IBCAO Version 3.0 represents the largest improvement since 1999 taking advantage of new data sets collected by the circum-Arctic nations, opportunistic data collected from fishing vessels, data acquired from US Navy submarines and from research ships of various nations. Built using an improved gridding algorithm, this new grid is on a 500 meter spacing, revealing much greater details of the Arctic seafloor than IBCAO Version 1.0 (2.5 km) and Version 2.0 (2.0 km). The area covered by multibeam surveys has increased from ∼6% in Version 2.0 to ∼11% in Version 3.0

Rapidly upsloping ST-segment on exercise ECG: a marker of reduced coronary heart disease mortality risk

Bakgrunn: Den prognostiske verdien av en isolert J-punktdepresjon, eller hurtig oppstigende ST-segment, på arbeids-EKG har lenge blitt antatt å være et godartet fenomen. Imidlertid finnes det lite eller ingen litteratur som underbygger dette synet. Vår oppgave var å undersøke om en hurtig oppstigende ST-senkning i arbeids-EKG er forbundet med endringer i risikoen for å dø av hjerte-karsykdom hos 2014 friske middelaldrende menn. Oppfølgingstiden var 35 år. Metode: En gruppe friske middelaldrende menn (n=2014) deltok i kardiovaskulær undersøkelse. ST-segment under arbeid ble klassifisert i tre grupper: normalt ST-segment (n=1383), hurtig oppstigende ST-segment (n=401) og ST-senkning (n= 230). Overlevelsesanalyser ble justert for røyking, cholesterol, systolisk blodtrykk, makspuls og fysisk form. Oppfølgelsestiden var 35 år. Resultater: Gruppa med hurtig oppstigende ST-segment hadde en 30% reduert risiko for å dø av hjerte-karsydom (hazard ratio. HR. 0,70, 95% konfidensintervall 0,51-0,95) sammenliknet med gruppa med normalt ST-segment. Risikoen for kardiovaskulær sykdom var nummerisk lavere i gruppa med hurtig oppstigende ST-segment (HR 0,82, 95% KI 0,65-1,04) sammenliknet med gruppa med normalt ST-segment. Gruppa med ST-senkning hadde en 1,45 ganger forhøyet risiko for hjerte-karsykdom sammenliknet med gruppa med normale ST-segment (HR 1,45, 95% KI 1,09-1,90). Konklusjon: Hurtig oppstigende ST-segment var et vanlig funn (20%) på arbeids-EKG hos friske middelaldrende menn og var forbundet med en 30% redusert risiko for å dø av hjerte-karsykdom sammenliknet med normalt ST-segment. Et hurtig oppadstigende ST-segment på arbeids EKG er kanskje den egentlig friske tilstanden

Mechanisms of ECG signs in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Objective: Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often have abnormal ECGs. Our aim was to separate the effects on ECG by airway obstruction, emphysema and right ventricular (RV) afterload in patients with COPD. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed on 101 patients with COPD without left heart disease and 32 healthy age-matched controls. Body mass index (BMI) was measured, and pulmonary function tests, ECG, echocardiography and right heart catheterisation (only patients) were performed. Variables were grouped into (1) airway obstruction by FEV% (percentage of forced expiratory volume)_predicted, (2) emphysema by residual volume/total lung capacity and residual volume (percent of predicted) and (3) RV afterload by mean pulmonary pressure, artery compliance, vascular resistance and RV wall thickness. Results: In multivariate regression analysis, emphysema correlated negatively to R+S amplitudes in horizontal and frontal leads, RV/left ventricle (LV) end-diastolic volume ratio to horizontal amplitudes and BMI negatively to frontal amplitudes. Increased airway obstruction, RV afterload and BMI correlated with horizontal QRS-axis clockwise rotation. Airway obstruction, RV afterload, RV/LV end-diastolic volume ratio and BMI correlated to the Sokolow-Lyon Index for RV, and RV afterload negatively to Sokolow-LyonIndex for LV. Several classical ECG changes could, however, not be ascribed to specific mechanisms. Conclusions: In COPD, the various pathophysiological mechanisms modify the ECG differently. Increased airway obstruction and RV afterload mainly increase the Sokolow-Lyon Index for RV mass and associate with clockwise rotation of the horizontal QRS-axis, whereas emphysema reduces the QRS amplitudes. BMI is an equally important determinant for the majority of the ECG changes

The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) Version 3.0

[1] The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) released its first gridded bathymetric compilation in 1999. The IBCAO bathymetric portrayals have since supported a wide range of Arctic science activities, for example, by providing constraint for ocean circulation models and the means to define and formulate hypotheses about the geologic origin of Arctic undersea features. IBCAO Version 3.0 represents the largest improvement since 1999 taking advantage of new data sets collected by the circum-Arctic nations, opportunistic data collected from fishing vessels, data acquired from US Navy submarines and from research ships of various nations. Built using an improved gridding algorithm, this new grid is on a 500 meter spacing, revealing much greater details of the Arctic seafloor than IBCAO Version 1.0 (2.5 km) and Version 2.0 (2.0 km). The area covered by multibeam surveys has increased from ∼6% in Version 2.0 to ∼11% in Version 3.0