The role of the district agricultural agent in the Kansas extension service

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1967 H933Master of Scienc

Improvement in systolic function in left ventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathy: A case report

AbstractThis is a case of a 48-year-old man who presented with a pulmonary embolism and was found to have left ventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathy. Initial echocardiograms demonstrated prominent apical trabeculations with reduced biventricular function. These findings were further confirmed and characterized by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. He met all major criteria used to identify left ventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathy. He underwent medical management for heart failure and during follow-up was noted to have significant improvement in left ventricular systolic function and symptoms. While most management attention is focused on rhythm disturbances or embolic risk, particular attention should also be exercised to ensure that heart failure medical therapy is optimized. While many with left ventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathy have irreversible dysfunction, this case highlights that there may be some who will respond well to aggressive medical therapy. The diagnosis and medical management of left ventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathy are reviewed in light of our patient and his clinical course.<Learning objective: Historically, left ventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathy (LVNC) has been associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Discussion often focuses on sudden cardiac death and prevention of embolisms. Many of the initial reports and case series were written in an era when standard medical therapy for congestive heart failure was not yet defined. While many do not respond as this case did, this case emphasizes that optimal medical therapy can make a substantial difference, even for LVNC.

Rosa hybrid gene GAPC is mutated in the presence of the Rose Rosette Virus

Rose Rosette Disease (RRD) harms the global rose supply by modification of the growth and development in rose cultivar. RRD spreads via a negative-sense RNA plant virus transmitted by eriophyid mites. Importantly, there is no pre-existing knowledge about the biochemistry by which this virus debilitates roses. Here we implicate glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), one of the major metabolic enzymes in plants, as a possible target of the virus. Genomic DNA of the cytosolic form of the protein encoded by GAPC was extracted from both virally-infected and non-infected samples of the Rosa hybrid cultivar Rosa Tropicana. The sequence results provided several distinct differences in the GAPC gene of the non-infected rose compared to the virally-infected rose. Importantly, these modified nucleotide bases resulted in a putative protein sequence containing four unique non-conserved amino acid substitutions in the GAPDH enzyme. This study provides the first evidence of a gene impacted in virally-infected rose plants

Multiple aneurysms in childhood

AbstractArterial aneurysms in children are rare. When present, they are often associated with connective tissue disorders or arteritidies. Idiopathic aneurysms occurring at multiple sites throughout the arterial tree are rare, with only ten cases reported. This report describes a case of multiple arterial aneurysms of uncertain origin involving upper-extremity, extracranial cerebrovascular, aortoiliac, and renal arteries in a 14-year-old boy. The clinical presentation, vascular reconstruction, pathologic findings, and a brief review of the literature are described

Aging reduces left atrial performance during adrenergic stress in middle aged and older patients

Background: During adrenergic stress, the influence of age on left atrial (LA) function is unknown. We hypothesized that aging decreases LA total emptying fraction (LAEF) during maximal adrenergic stress. The aim of the study was to determine the influence of aging on LA function during adrenergic stress in middle aged and older patients. Methods: We enrolled 167 middle aged and elderly participants, and measured LA and left ventricular (LV) volumes using a multi-slice three-dimensional cine white blood cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) technique before and during intravenous dobutamine infused to achieve 80% of the maximum heart rate response for age. Paired sample t-test was used to detect differences in LA and LV volumes between baseline and peak dose stage of dobutamine stress CMR, and multivariable linear regression was used to identify predictors of LA function. Results: Participants averaged 68 &#177; 8 years in age, 53% were men, 25% exhibited coronary artery disease, 35% had diabetes, 9% had a remote history of atrial fibrillation, 90% had hypertension, and 11% had inducible LV wall motion abnormalities indicative of ischemia during dobutamine CMR. Increasing age correlated with LA volumes (maximal and minimal) and inversely correlated with LAEF at rest and after peak adrenergic stress. Age was an independent predictor of LAEF during adrenergic stress, even after accounting for gender, LV volumes, and other co-morbidities including inducible ischemia. Conclusions: Age is associated with a decrease in LA function during adrenergic stress even after adjusting for co-morbidities associated with cardiovascular disease and LV function. (Cardiol J 2012; 19, 1: 45&#8211;52