255 research outputs found
Implantation of a Bi-Ventricular Pacing System in the Setting of Dextrocardia with Situs Inversus Totalis
Dextrocardia with situs inversus totalis is a rare disorder but is frequently associated with anomalous venous return. Pacemaker/Internal Cardioverter Defibrillator implantation in this population can be difficult given the difficult venous anatomy. This case illustrates how beforehand knowledge of the venous anatomy by cardiac MRI can facilitate device implantation
Comparison and Mapping Facilitate Relation Discovery and Predication
Relational concepts play a central role in human perception and cognition, but little is known about how they are acquired. For example, how do we come to understand that physical force is a higher-order multiplicative relation between mass and acceleration, or that two circles are the same-shape in the same way that two squares are? A recent model of relational learning, DORA (Discovery of Relations by Analogy; Doumas, Hummel & Sandhofer, 2008), predicts that comparison and analogical mapping play a central role in the discovery and predication of novel higher-order relations. We report two experiments testing and confirming this prediction
Sow and Litter Performance for Individual Crate and Group Hoop Barn Gestation Housing Systems: A Progress Report II
The effects of swine gestation housing on sow and litter performance were evaluated at the Iowa State University Lauren Christian Swine Research and Demonstration Farm near Atlantic, IA. The gestation systems were 1) individual gestation crates in a mechanically ventilated, partially slatted floor, manure flush confinement building (CRATE); and 2) group pens in deep-bedded, naturally ventilated hoop structures (HOOP). The HOOP sows were fed with individual feed stalls.
The sows were artificially inseminated in a confinement breeding barn with slatted floors and were later moved to their assigned gestation housing treatment. Sows included in the study continued in the same gestation housing their entire time at the farm. All first-litter gilts were gestated in individual gestation crates to minimize sow size differential in the groups. There were 35 sows per group in the HOOP barns. Farrowing occurred every 2 weeks on a year-round basis. All sows were fed 4.5 lb/day and increased to 6 lb/day during the last trimester of gestation. During the winter, HOOP sows were fed 25% more and CRATE sows were fed 5% more.
Reproductive performance was summarized for 493 litters during the period March 2001 to September 2003. This is a progress report of a continuing study. Preliminary trends were a shorter wean-to-breed interval, 0.5 more live pigs born per litter, and 0.5 more pigs weaned/sow/year for HOOP sows compared with CRATE sows. Higher percentages of stillborn and mummied pigs were observed in the HOOP sows compared with the CRATE sows. Slightly lower pre-wean mortality and sow culling rates occurred in the CRATE sows as compared with HOOP sows, with similar sow mortality rates for both groups. The preliminary data suggests that gestating sows can be housed in deep-bedded hoop barns equipped with individual feeding stalls and achieve results comparable to individual crated gestation systems
The Economic Impact of Transvenous Defibrillation Lead Systems
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72437/1/j.1540-8159.1994.tb02379.x.pd
A Quantitative Fluoroscopic Comparison of the Coronary Sinus Ostium in Patients With and Without AV Nodal Reentrant Tachycardia
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75367/1/j.1540-8167.1995.tb00444.x.pd
Chandra Observations of the Interacting NGC 4410 Galaxy Group
We present high resolution X-ray imaging data from the ACIS-S instrument on
the Chandra telescope of the nearby interacting galaxy group NGC 4410. Four
galaxies in the inner portion of this group are clearly detected by Chandra,
including the peculiar low luminosity radio galaxy NGC 4410A. In addition to a
nuclear point source, NGC 4410A contains diffuse X-ray emission, including an
X-ray ridge extending out to about 12" (6 kpc) to the northwest of the nucleus.
This ridge is coincident with an arc of optical emission-line gas, which has
previously been shown to have optical line ratios consistent with shock
ionization. This structure may be due to an expanding superbubble of hot gas
caused by supernovae and stellar winds or by the active nucleus. The Chandra
observations also show four or five possible compact ultra-luminous X-ray (ULX)
sources (L(x) >= 10^39 erg/s) associated with NGC 4410A. At least one of these
candidate ULXs appears to have a radio counterpart, suggesting that it may be
due to an X-ray binary with a stellar-mass black hole, rather than an
intermediate mass black hole. In addition, a faint diffuse intragroup X-ray
component has been detected between the galaxies (L(x) ~ 10^41 erg/s). This
supports the hypothesis that the NGC 4410 group is in the process of evolving
via mergers from a spiral-dominated group (which typically have no
X-ray-emitting intragroup gas) to an elliptical-dominated group (which often
have a substantial intragroup medium).Comment: 27 pages, 14 figures; Accepted by Astronomical Journal; color images
at http://www.etsu.edu/physics/bsmith/research/n4410.htm
A Spectacular H Complex in Virgo: Evidence for a Collision Between M86 and NGC 4438 and Implications for Collisional ISM Heating of Ellipticals
Deep wide-field H+[NII] imaging around the Virgo cluster giant
elliptical galaxy M86 reveals a highly complex and disturbed ISM/ICM. The most
striking feature is a set of H filaments which clearly connect M86 with
the nearby disturbed spiral NGC 4438 (23=120 kpc projected away), providing
strong evidence for a previously unrecognized collision between them.
Spectroscopy of selected regions show a fairly smooth velocity gradient between
M86 and NGC 4438, consistent with the collision scenario. Such a collision
would impart significant energy into the ISM of M86, probably heating the gas
and acting to prevent the gas from cooling to form stars. We propose that cool
gas stripped from NGC 4438 during the collision and deposited in its wake is
heated by shocks, ram pressure drag, or thermal conduction, producing most of
the H filaments. Some H filaments are associated with the
well-known ridge of bright X-ray emission to the NW of the nucleus, suggesting
that the collision is responsible for peculiarities of M86 previously ascribed
to other effects. M86 is radio-quiet, thus AGN heating is unlikely to play a
significant role. The M86 system has implications for understanding the role of
gravitational interactions in the heating of the ISM in ellipticals, and how
collisions in clusters transform galaxies.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures. For high-resolution images, see
http://www.astro.yale.edu/tal/research/index.htm
Initial Independent Outcomes from Focal Impulse and Rotor Modulation Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation: Multicenter FIRM Registry
Introduction
The success of pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) for atrial fibrillation (AF) may be improved if stable AF sources identified by Focal Impulse and Rotor Mapping (FIRM) are also eliminated. The long-term results of this approach are unclear outside the centers where FIRM was developed; thus, we assessed outcomes of FIRM-guided AF ablation in the first cases at 10 experienced centers.
Methods
We prospectively enrolled n = 78 consecutive patients (61 ± 10 years) undergoing FIRM guided ablation for persistent (n = 48), longstanding persistent (n = 7), or paroxysmal (n = 23) AF. AF recordings from both atria with a 64-pole basket catheter were analyzed using a novel mapping system (Rhythm View™; Topera Inc., CA, USA). Identified rotors/focal sources were ablated, followed by PVI.
Results
Each institution recruited a median of 6 patients, each of whom showed 2.3 ± 0.9 AF rotors/focal sources in diverse locations. 25.3% of all sources were right atrial (RA), and 50.0% of patients had ≥1 RA source. Ablation of all sources required a total of 16.6 ± 11.7 minutes, followed by PVI. On >1 year follow-up with a 3-month blanking period, 1 patient lost to follow-up (median time to 1st recurrence: 245 days, IQR 145–354), single-procedure freedom from AF was 87.5% (patients without prior ablation; 35/40) and 80.5% (all patients; 62/77) and similar for persistent and paroxysmal AF (P = 0.89).
Conclusions
Elimination of patient-specific AF rotors/focal sources produced freedom-from-AF of ≈80% at 1 year at centers new to FIRM. FIRM-guided ablation has a rapid learning curve, yielding similar results to original FIRM reports in each center’s first cases
Placement of electrode catheters into the coronary sinus during electrophysiology procedures using a femoral vein approach
The femoral vein approach used in this study has 2 limitations. First, it requires the use of a deflectable tip catheter, which typically is 300 more expensive than a standard electrode catheter. Second, with the femoral vein approach used in the present study, the total number of pacing and recording sites is limited to 3. However, because the coronary sinus catheter can be used for atrial pacing, and because the right atrial electrogram is rarely required for diagnostic purposes, we have found the combination of the coronary sinus, His bundle electrogram, and right ventricular apex positions to be adequate in virtually all patients undergoing an electrophysiologic procedure in whom coronary sinus electrograms are needed for a diagnostic or mapping purpose.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/31439/1/0000357.pd
Properties of the H-alpha-emitting Circumstellar Regions of Be Stars
Long-baseline interferometric observations obtained with the Navy Prototype
Optical Interferometer of the H-alpha-emitting envelopes of the Be stars eta
Tauri and beta Canis Minoris are presented. For compatibility with the
previously published interferometric results in the literature of other Be
stars, circularly symmetric and elliptical Gaussian models were fitted to the
calibrated H-alpha observations. The models are sufficient in characterizing
the angular distribution of the H-alpha-emitting circumstellar material
associated with these Be stars. To study the correlations between the various
model parameters and the stellar properties, the model parameters for eta Tau
and beta CMi were combined with data for other Be stars from the literature.
After accounting for the different distances to the sources and stellar
continuum flux levels, it was possible to study the relationship between the
net H-alpha emission and the physical extent of the H-alpha-emitting
circumstellar region. A clear dependence of the net H-alpha emission on the
linear size of the emitting region is demonstrated and these results are
consistent with an optically thick line emission that is directly proportional
to the effective area of the emitting disk. Within the small sample of stars
considered in this analysis, no clear dependence on the spectral type or
stellar rotation is found, although the results do suggest that hotter stars
might have more extended H-alpha-emitting regions.Comment: 24 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
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