692 research outputs found
International External Validation Study of the 2014 European Society of Cardiology Guidelines on Sudden Cardiac Death Prevention in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (EVIDENCE-HCM).
BACKGROUND: Identification of people with hypertrophic
cardiomyopathy (HCM) who are at risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD)
and require a prophylactic implantable cardioverter defibrillator is
challenging. In 2014, the European Society of Cardiology proposed a
new risk stratification method based on a risk prediction model (HCM
Risk-SCD) that estimates the 5-year risk of SCD. The aim was to externally
validate the 2014 European Society of Cardiology recommendations in a
geographically diverse cohort of patients recruited from the United States,
Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
METHODS: This was an observational, retrospective, longitudinal
cohort study.
RESULTS: The cohort consisted of 3703 patients. Seventy three (2%)
patients reached the SCD end point within 5 years of follow-up (5-year
incidence, 2.4% [95% confidence interval {CI}, 1.9â3.0]). The validation
study revealed a calibration slope of 1.02 (95% CI, 0.93â1.12), C-index
of 0.70 (95% CI, 0.68â0.72), and D-statistic of 1.17 (95% CI, 1.05â1.29).
In a complete case analysis (n= 2147; 44 SCD end points at 5 years),
patients with a predicted 5-year risk of <4% (n=1524; 71%) had an
observed 5-year SCD incidence of 1.4% (95% CI, 0.8â2.2); patients with
a predicted risk of â„6% (n=297; 14%) had an observed SCD incidence of
8.9% (95% CI, 5.96â13.1) at 5 years. For every 13 (297/23) implantable
cardioverter defibrillator implantations in patients with an estimated
5-year SCD risk â„6%, 1 patient can potentially be saved from SCD.
CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms that the HCM Risk-SCD model
provides accurate prognostic information that can be used to target
implantable cardioverter defibrillator therapy in patients at the highest
risk of SCD.post-print846 K
Electrochemical deprotonation of phosphate on stainless steel
Voltammetric experiments performed in phosphate buffer at constant pH 8.0 on platinum and stainless steel revealed clear reduction
currents, which were correlated to the concentrations of phosphate. On the basis of the reactions proposed previously, a model was elaborated,
assuming that both H2PO4 and HPO4
2 underwent cathodic deprotonation, and including the acidâbase equilibriums. A kinetic model was
derived by analogy with the equations generally used for hydrogen evolution. Numerical fitting of the experimental data confirmed that the
phosphate species may act as an efficient catalyst of hydrogen evolution via electrochemical deprotonation. This reaction may introduce an
unexpected reversible pathway of hydrogen formation in the mechanisms of anaerobic corrosion. The possible new insights offered by the
electrochemical deprotonation of phosphate in microbially influenced corrosion was finally discussed
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Overexpression of the MYB29 transcription factor affects aliphatic glucosinolate synthesis in Brassica oleracea
Isothiocyanates, the bio-active hydrolysis products of glucosinolates, naturally produced by several Brassicaceae species, play an important role in human health and agriculture. This study aims at correlating the content of aliphatic glucosinolates to the expression of genes involved in their synthesis in Brassica oleracea, and perform functional analysis of BoMYB29 gene. To this purpose, three genotypes were used: a sprouting broccoli, a cabbage, and a wild genotype (Winspit), a high glucosinolate containing accession. Winspit showed the highest transcript level of BoMYB28, BoMYB29 and BoAOP2 genes, and BoAOP2 expression was positively correlated with that of the two MYB genes. Further analyses of the aliphatic glucosinolates also showed a positive correlation between the expression of BoAOP2 and the production of sinigrin and gluconapin in Winspit. The Winspit BoMYB29 CDS was cloned and overexpressed in Winspit and in the DH AG1012 line. Overexpressing Winspit plants produced higher quantities of alkenyl glucosinolates, such as sinigrin. Conversely, the DH AG1012 transformants showed a higher production of methylsulphinylalkyl glucosinolates, including glucoraphanin, and, despite an up-regulation of the aliphatic glucosinolate genes, no increase in alkenyl glucosinolates. The latter may be explained by the absence of a functional AOP2 gene in DH AG1012. Nevertheless, an extract of DH AG1012 lines overexpressing BoMYB29 provided a chemoprotective effect on human colon cells. This work exemplifies how the genetic diversity of B. oleracea may be used by breeders to select for higher expression of transcription factors for glucosinolate biosynthesis to improve its natural, health-promoting properties
Circular Polarization in Pulsar Integrated Profiles: Updates
We update the systematic studies of circular polarization in integrated pulse
profiles by Han et al (1998). Data of circular polarization profiles are
compiled. Sense reversals can occur in core or cone components, or near the
intersection between components. The correlation between the sense of circular
polarization and the sense of position angle variation for conal-double pulsars
is confirmed with a much large database. Circular polarization of some pulsars
has clear changes with frequency. Circular polarization of millisecond pulsars
is marginally different from that of normal pulsars.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, accepted and will be published soon by Chinese
Journal of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ChJAA
The combined impact of urban heat island, thermal bridge effect of buildings and future climate change on the potential overwintering of Phlebotomus species in a Central European metropolis
Leishmaniasis is one of the most important emerging vector-borne diseases in Western Eurasia. Although winter minimum temperatures limit the present geographical distribution of the vector Phlebotomus species, the heat island effect of the cities and the anthropogenic heat emission together may provide the appropriate environment for the overwintering of sand flies. We studied the climate tempering effect of thermal bridges and the heat island effect in Budapest, Hungary. Thermal imaging was used to measure the heat surplus of heat bridges. The winter heat island effect of the city was evaluated by numerical analysis of the measurements of the Aqua sensor of satellite Terra. We found that the surface temperature of thermal bridges can be at least 3-7 °C higher than the surrounding environment. The heat emission of thermal bridges and the urban heat island effect together can cause at least 10 °C higher minimum ambient temperature in winter nights than the minimum temperature of the peri-urban areas. This milder micro-climate of the built environment can enable the potential overwintering of some important European Phlebotomus species. The anthropogenic heat emission of big cities may explain the observed isolated northward populations of Phlebotomus ariasi in Paris and Phlebotomus neglectus in the agglomeration of Budapest
Rotation measure variations for 20 millisecond pulsars
We report on variations in the mean position angle of the 20 millisecond
pulsars being observed as part of the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA)
project. It is found that the observed variations are dominated by changes in
the Faraday rotation occurring in the Earth's ionosphere. Two ionospheric
models are used to correct for the ionospheric contribution and it is found
that one based on the International Reference Ionosphere gave the best results.
Little or no significant long-term variation in interstellar RM was found with
limits typically about 0.1 rad m yr in absolute value. In a few
cases, apparently significant RM variations over timescales of a few 100 days
or more were seen. These are unlikely to be due to localised magnetised regions
crossing the line of sight since the implied magnetic fields are too high. Most
probably they are statistical fluctuations due to random spatial and temporal
variations in the interstellar electron density and magnetic field along the
line of sight.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Scienc
Involvement of patients or their representatives in quality management functions in EU hospitals:implementation and impact on patient-centred care strategies
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to describe the involvement of patients or their representatives in quality management (QM) functions and to assess associations between levels of involvement and the implementation of patient-centred care strategies. DESIGN: A cross-sectional, multilevel STUDY DESIGN: that surveyed quality managers and department heads and data from an organizational audit. SETTING: Randomly selected hospitals (n = 74) from seven European countries (The Czech Republic, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Turkey). PARTICIPANTS: Hospital quality managers (n = 74) and heads of clinical departments (n = 262) in charge of four patient pathways (acute myocardial infarction, stroke, hip fracture and deliveries) participated in the data collection between May 2011 and February 2012. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Four items reflecting essential patient-centred care strategies based on an on-site hospital visit: (1) formal survey seeking views of patients and carers, (2) written policies on patients' rights, (3) patient information literature including guidelines and (4) fact sheets for post-discharge care. The main predictors were patient involvement in QM at the (i) hospital level and (ii) pathway level. RESULTS: Current levels of involving patients and their representatives in QM functions in European hospitals are low at hospital level (mean score 1.6 on a scale of 0 to 5, SD 0.7), but even lower at departmental level (mean 0.6, SD 0.7). We did not detect associations between levels of involving patients and their representatives in QM functions and the implementation of patient-centred care strategies; however, the smallest hospitals were more likely to have implemented patient-centred care strategies. CONCLUSIONS: There is insufficient evidence that involving patients and their representatives in QM leads to establishing or implementing strategies and procedures that facilitate patient-centred care; however, lack of evidence should not be interpreted as evidence of no effect
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