Coronary artery bypass surgery and longitudinal evaluation of the autonomic cardiovascular function

INTRODUCTION: Imbalance in autonomic cardiovascular function increases the risk for sudden death in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), but the time course of the impact of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) on autonomic function has been little studied. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of the CABG on the cardiovascular autonomic function. METHODS: Patients undergoing CABG (n = 13) and two matched control groups (patients with CAD who refused surgical treatment [n = 9], and healthy volunteers [n = 9]) underwent a prospective longitudinal study consisting of autonomic evaluation before and after (3, 6, 15, 30, 60, and 90 days) surgery, including measurement of heart rate variability (HRV), respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), and Valsalva maneuver. RESULTS: After CABG there was a decrease in, and a later recovery of, (1) the HRV in the time domain and in the frequency domain, (2) RSA, and (3) Valsalva maneuver. CONCLUSIONS: CABG caused an impairment, reversible after 60 days, of cardiovascular autonomic function, with a maximal decrease on about the sixth day after surgery

Longitudinal evaluation the pulmonary function of the pre and postoperative periods in the coronary artery bypass graft surgery of patients treated with a physiotherapy protocol

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD) seeks to reduce or prevent its complications and decrease morbidity and mortality. For certain subgroups of patients, coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) may accomplish these goals. The objective of this study was to assess the pulmonary function in the CABG postoperative period of patients treated with a physiotherapy protocol.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Forty-two volunteers with an average age of 63 ± 2 years were included and separated into three groups: healthy volunteers (n = 09), patients with CAD (n = 9) and patients who underwent CABG (n = 20). Patients from the CABG group received preoperative and postoperative evaluations on days 3, 6, 15 and 30. Patients from the CAD group had evaluations on days 1 and 30 of the study, and the healthy volunteers were evaluated on day 1. Pulmonary function was evaluated by measuring forced vital capacity (FVC), maximum expiratory pressure (MEP) and Maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After CABG, there was a significant decrease in pulmonary function (p < 0.05), which was the worst on postoperative day 3 and returned to the preoperative baseline on postoperative day 30.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Pulmonary function decreased after CABG. Pulmonary function was the worst on postoperative day 3 and began to improve on postoperative day 15. Pulmonary function returned to the preoperative baseline on postoperative day 30.</p

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Can an Integrated Approach Reduce Child Vulnerability to Anaemia? Evidence from Three African Countries.

Addressing the complex, multi-factorial causes of childhood anaemia is best done through integrated packages of interventions. We hypothesized that due to reduced child vulnerability, a "buffering" of risk associated with known causes of anaemia would be observed among children living in areas benefiting from a community-based health and nutrition program intervention. Cross-sectional data on the nutrition and health status of children 24-59 mo (N = 2405) were obtained in 2000 and 2004 from program evaluation surveys in Ghana, Malawi and Tanzania. Linear regression models estimated the association between haemoglobin and immediate, underlying and basic causes of child anaemia and variation in this association between years. Lower haemoglobin levels were observed in children assessed in 2000 compared to 2004 (difference -3.30 g/L), children from Tanzania (-9.15 g/L) and Malawi (-2.96 g/L) compared to Ghana, and the youngest (24-35 mo) compared to oldest age group (48-59 mo; -5.43 g/L). Children who were stunted, malaria positive and recently ill also had lower haemoglobin, independent of age, sex and other underlying and basic causes of anaemia. Despite ongoing morbidity, risk of lower haemoglobin decreased for children with malaria and recent illness, suggesting decreased vulnerability to their anaemia-producing effects. Stunting remained an independent and unbuffered risk factor. Reducing chronic undernutrition is required in order to further reduce child vulnerability and ensure maximum impact of anaemia control programs. Buffering the impact of child morbidity on haemoglobin levels, including malaria, may be achieved in certain settings

Adherence to Interferon β-1b Treatment in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis in Spain

Adherence to interferon β-1b (INFβ-1b) therapy is essential to maximize the beneficial effects of treatment in multiple sclerosis (MS). For that reason, the main objectives of this study are to assess adherence to INFβ-1b in patients suffering from MS in Spain, and to identify the factors responsible for adherence in routine clinical practice.This was an observational, retrospective, cross-sectional study including 120 Spanish patients with MS under INFβ-1b treatment. Therapeutic adherence was assessed with Morisky-Green test and with the percentage of doses received. The proportion of adherent patients assessed by Morisky-Green test was 68.3%, being indicative of poor adherence. Nevertheless, the percentage of doses received, which was based on the number of injected medication, was 94.3%. The main reason for missing INFβ-1b injections was forgetting some of the administrations (64%). Therefore, interventions that diminish forgetfulness might have a positive effect in the proportion of adherent patients and in the percentage of doses received. In addition, age and comorbidities had a significant effect in the number of doses injected per month, and should be considered in the management of adherence in MS patients.Among all the available methods for assessing adherence, the overall consumption of the intended dose has to be considered when addressing adherence

Entomopathogenic Fungi on Hemiberlesia pitysophila

Hemiberlesia pitysophila Takagi is an extremely harmful exotic insect in forest to Pinus species, including Pinus massoniana. Using both morphological taxonomy and molecular phylogenetics, we identified 15 strains of entomogenous fungi, which belong to 9 genera with high diversities. Surprisingly, we found that five strains that were classified as species of Pestalotiopsis, which has been considered plant pathogens and endophytes, were the dominant entomopathogenic fungus of H. pitysophila. Molecular phylogenetic tree established by analyzing sequences of ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer showed that entomopathogenic Pestalotiopsis spp. were similar to plant Pestalotiopsis, but not to other pathogens and endophytes of its host plant P. massoniana. We were the first to isolate entomopathogenic Pestalotiopsis spp. from H. pitysophila. Our findings suggest a potential and promising method of H. pitysophila bio-control

The clinical relevance of PCL index on the reconstruction of anterior cruciate ligament with hamstring tendon autograft

The posterior cruciate ligament index (PCL index) has been reported as a diagnostic and prognostic marker for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. The clinical relevance of PCL index on the reconstruction of ACL with hamstring tendon autograft has not been described in the literature. The objective of this study is to evaluate the importance of the PCL index as a marker of anatomic reconstruction and of functional improvement of patients undergoing ACL reconstruction with HT autograft. Twenty-four patients were submitted to ACL reconstruction with HT autograft. The PCL index was assessed by magnetic resonance imaging before and after surgery. The functional evaluation was performed through the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) Subjective Knee Evaluation Form© and Knee Society Knee Scoring System© (IKS). Patients presented a significant positive variation of the PCL index, IKDC and IKS scores. There is no significant correlation between PCL index variation and IKDC and IKS scores (p > 0.05). Unlike other studies reporting a relationship between the PCL index, control of rotational kinematics, and functional improvement in patients undergoing ACL reconstruction with bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft, this study does not demonstrate this association. There is evidence in this study to show that the PCL index may be used as an anatomic reconstructive marker of ACL but not to predict the clinical outcome in this type of reconstruction.(undefined

Team sports performance analysed through the lens of social network theory: implications for research and practice

This paper discusses how social network analyses and graph theory can be implemented in team sports performance analyses to evaluate individual (micro) and collective (macro) performance data, and how to use this information for designing practice tasks. Moreover, we briefly outline possible limitations of social network studies and provide suggestions for future research. Instead of cataloguing discrete events or player actions, it has been argued that researchers need to consider the synergistic interpersonal processes emerging between teammates in competitive performance environments. Theoretical assumptions on team coordination prompted the emergence of innovative, theoretically-driven methods for assessing collective team sport behaviours. Here, we contribute to this theoretical and practical debate by conceptualising sports teams as complex social networks. From this perspective, players are viewed as network nodes, connected through relevant information variables (e.g., a ball passing action), sustaining complex patterns of interaction between teammates (e.g., a ball passing network). Specialized tools and metrics related to graph theory could be applied to evaluate structural and topological properties of interpersonal interactions of teammates, complementing more traditional analysis methods. This innovative methodology moves beyond use of common notation analysis methods, providing a richer understanding of the complexity of interpersonal interactions sustaining collective team sports performance. The proposed approach provides practical applications for coaches, performance analysts, practitioners and researchers by establishing social network analyses as a useful approach for capturing the emergent properties of interactions between players in sports teams