Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Hybrid proton-conducting membranes as fuel cells solid polyelectrolytes

International audienc

Foraging behavior of Argentine Criollo and Angus cows grazing semi-desert rangelands in the Arid Gran Chaco region of Argentina

We monitored grazing behavior and habitat selection of Argentine Criollo (AC), South American heritage cattle breed, and Angus (AA) cows during summer and winter of 2016 (wetter year) and 2017 (drier year) at a site in La Rioja, Argentina. In each year and season, five AC and five AA cows were fitted with GPS collars configured to log animal position at 10-min intervals for 40 days. Movement, activity, and vegetation use patterns of each breed were derived from the GPS data. In summer, AC cows traveled similar daily distances, explored smaller (wetter year) or slightly larger (drier year) areas of the pasture, tended to move along more sinuous path trajectories, and showed stronger selection of the vegetation unit with higher forage quality and lowest woody cover compared to AA counterparts. AC cows allocated similar (wetter year) or more time to graze (drier year), allocated roughly the same amount of time to travel, and spent similar (wetter year) or less time resting (drier year) than AA cows. In winter, foraging behavior differences between breeds were only observed in the drier year. AC cows traveled farther and spent less time resting than AA counterparts that year. When comparing summer vs. winter movement patterns of each breed, AC cows showed an apparent greater ability to adapt to changing forage conditions (foraging plasticity) compared to AA counterparts which appeared to exhibit more rigid foraging patterns. Criollo cattle could be a tool to increase the resilience of Arid Chaco beef systems in the face of climate change. The rangeland conservation implications of raising Criollo vs. British beef cattle require further investigation.EEA CatamarcaFil: Herrera Conegliano, Oscar Ariel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Catamarca; ArgentinaFil: Herrera Conegliano, Oscar Ariel. Universidad Nacional de Catamarca. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; ArgentinaFil: Blanco, Lisandro Javier. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Utsumi, Santiago A. New Mexico State University. Department of Animal and Range Sciences; Estados UnidosFil: Cibils, Andrés Francisco. New Mexico State University. Department of Animal and Range Sciences; Estados UnidosFil: Cendoya, Gabriela. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina.Fil: Jaimes, Florencia. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina.Fil: Moltoni, Andrés Fernando. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Ingeniería Rural; ArgentinaFil: Ricci, Patricia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina.Fil: Ricci, Patricia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto de Innovación Para la Producción Agropecuaria y el Desarrollo Sostenible; Argentina

Long-term effects of growth hormone on infarct size and left ventricular function in sheep with coronary artery occlusion

The effects of growth hormone (GH) on infarct size and left ventricular (LV) function in experimental acute myocardial infarction (AMI) have been controversial. Moreover, little, if any, information exists regarding long-term evaluation of therapeutic doses of GH in large mammalian models of AMI. We therefore aimed to assess the effect of therapeutic doses of GH over 3.5 months on infarct size and heart function in sheep with AMI. After coronary artery ligation, sheep received subcutaneous human GH 8 IU/d (n = 8) or vehicle (n = 8) over 100 days. Infarct area was similar in GH (16.9% 6 3% of LV area) and placebo (16.5% 6 3.7%, P = not significant) sheep. At 3 days of treatment onset, but not at later times, GH sheep had higher LV shortening fraction (30.7% 6 3.5% vs. 24.8% 6 6.1%, P , 0.04), systolic anterior wall thickness (10.1 6 0.8 vs. 8.6 6 1.2 mm, P , 0.02), and cardiac index (3.8 6 0.6 vs. 2.8 6 0.7 L min21 m22 , P , 0.01). This evolution of function parameters paralleled that of serum insulin-like growth factor 1 levels, which differed significantly only during the first week, suggesting a direct effect of GH on LV contractility. These results may suggest the usefulness of therapeutic doses of GH at the early phases of AMI but do not support maintaining the treatment for longer time.Fil: Olea, Fernanda Daniela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Favaloro; ArgentinaFil: De Lorenzi, Andrea. Universidad Favaloro; ArgentinaFil: Cortés, Claudia. Universidad Favaloro; ArgentinaFil: Cabeza Meckert, Patricia. Universidad Favaloro; ArgentinaFil: Cendoya, Oscar. Universidad Favaloro; ArgentinaFil: Barra, Juan G.. Universidad Favaloro; ArgentinaFil: Bercovich, Andrés. Biosidus S. A.; ArgentinaFil: González, Eliseo. Biosidus S. A.; ArgentinaFil: Laguens, Rubén. Universidad Favaloro; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Crottogini, Alberto José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Favaloro; Argentin

Equidad en salud

&bull;Acceso a diagn&oacute;stico y tratamiento para depresi&oacute;n seg&uacute;n posici&oacute;n social en pa&iacute;ses seleccionados de Latinoam&eacute;rica &bull;An&aacute;lisis narrativo de experiencias de chilenos exiliados pol&iacute;ticos con discapacidad f&iacute;sica en Malm&ouml;, Suecia &bull;Caracterizaci&oacute;n y comparaci&oacute;n de pu&eacute;rperas peruanas y chilenas atendidas en el Hospital San Jos&eacute; &bull;Conocimientos y pr&aacute;cticas de estudiantes de 7&ordm; y 8&ordm; b&aacute;sico, de ambos sexos, de Curacav&iacute; &bull;Desarrollo econ&oacute;mico y mortalidad prematura, Chile, 1994-2003 &bull;Determinaci&oacute;n nacional del &Iacute;ndice Significante de Caries (SIC) en adolescentes de 12 a&ntilde;os, Chile 2010 &bull;Diagn&oacute;stico de salud bucal en ni&ntilde;os 2 y 4 a&ntilde;os asistentes a la educaci&oacute;n preescolar, zonas norte y centro &bull;El GES promueve la equidad en el tratamiento del gran quemado de la tercera edad &bull;Evaluaci&oacute;n del nivel de conocimiento en salud bucal de la comunidad educativa preescolar &bull;Factores psicosociales y culturales que inciden en embarazo adolescente en ni&ntilde;as menores de 15 a&ntilde;os &bull;&Iacute;ndice Significante de Caries en ni&ntilde;os de 6 a&ntilde;os, Chile 2010 &bull;La mortalidad por c&aacute;ncer del cuello uterino en R&iacute;o de Janeiro: Estudio ecol&oacute;gico &bull;Nivel de desarrollo psicomotor y su relaci&oacute;n con el score de riesgo DSM &bull;Perfil en interconsultas dermatol&oacute;gicas del consultorio Padre Esteban Gumucio Vives de Santiago de Chile, 2010 &bull;Prevalencia caries, p&eacute;rdida de dientes, necesidad de tratamiento en adultos mapuche - huilliches de Isla Huapi &bull;Recursos humanos odontol&oacute;gicos para tratamiento de caries en adolescentes de 12 a&ntilde;os, Chile 2010 &bull;Retraso del diagn&oacute;stico de tuberculosis en la percepci&oacute;n de los representantes de ONG en R&iacute;o de Janeiro &bull;Rol de la escuela en promoci&oacute;n de salud y reducci&oacute;n de vulnerabilidad social en salud &bull;Tendencia de las tasas de mortalidad fetal e infantil y sus componentes, Chile 1996- 2006 &bull;Implementaci&oacute;n de un mam&oacute;grafo m&oacute;vil para la Regi&oacute;n de los R&iacute;o

Equidad en salud

&bull;Acceso a diagn&oacute;stico y tratamiento para depresi&oacute;n seg&uacute;n posici&oacute;n social en pa&iacute;ses seleccionados de Latinoam&eacute;rica &bull;An&aacute;lisis narrativo de experiencias de chilenos exiliados pol&iacute;ticos con discapacidad f&iacute;sica en Malm&ouml;, Suecia &bull;Caracterizaci&oacute;n y comparaci&oacute;n de pu&eacute;rperas peruanas y chilenas atendidas en el Hospital San Jos&eacute; &bull;Conocimientos y pr&aacute;cticas de estudiantes de 7&ordm; y 8&ordm; b&aacute;sico, de ambos sexos, de Curacav&iacute; &bull;Desarrollo econ&oacute;mico y mortalidad prematura, Chile, 1994-2003 &bull;Determinaci&oacute;n nacional del &Iacute;ndice Significante de Caries (SIC) en adolescentes de 12 a&ntilde;os, Chile 2010 &bull;Diagn&oacute;stico de salud bucal en ni&ntilde;os 2 y 4 a&ntilde;os asistentes a la educaci&oacute;n preescolar, zonas norte y centro &bull;El GES promueve la equidad en el tratamiento del gran quemado de la tercera edad &bull;Evaluaci&oacute;n del nivel de conocimiento en salud bucal de la comunidad educativa preescolar &bull;Factores psicosociales y culturales que inciden en embarazo adolescente en ni&ntilde;as menores de 15 a&ntilde;os &bull;&Iacute;ndice Significante de Caries en ni&ntilde;os de 6 a&ntilde;os, Chile 2010 &bull;La mortalidad por c&aacute;ncer del cuello uterino en R&iacute;o de Janeiro: Estudio ecol&oacute;gico &bull;Nivel de desarrollo psicomotor y su relaci&oacute;n con el score de riesgo DSM &bull;Perfil en interconsultas dermatol&oacute;gicas del consultorio Padre Esteban Gumucio Vives de Santiago de Chile, 2010 &bull;Prevalencia caries, p&eacute;rdida de dientes, necesidad de tratamiento en adultos mapuche - huilliches de Isla Huapi &bull;Recursos humanos odontol&oacute;gicos para tratamiento de caries en adolescentes de 12 a&ntilde;os, Chile 2010 &bull;Retraso del diagn&oacute;stico de tuberculosis en la percepci&oacute;n de los representantes de ONG en R&iacute;o de Janeiro &bull;Rol de la escuela en promoci&oacute;n de salud y reducci&oacute;n de vulnerabilidad social en salud &bull;Tendencia de las tasas de mortalidad fetal e infantil y sus componentes, Chile 1996- 2006 &bull;Implementaci&oacute;n de un mam&oacute;grafo m&oacute;vil para la Regi&oacute;n de los R&iacute;o

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Cardiovascular Testing in Asia The IAEA INCAPS-COVID Study

BackgroundThe coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic significantly affected management of cardiovascular disease around the world. The effect of the pandemic on volume of cardiovascular diagnostic procedures is not known.ObjectivesThis study sought to evaluate the effects of the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic on cardiovascular diagnostic procedures and safety practices in Asia.MethodsThe International Atomic Energy Agency conducted a worldwide survey to assess changes in cardiovascular procedure volume and safety practices caused by COVID-19. Testing volumes were reported for March 2020 and April 2020 and were compared to those from March 2019. Data from 180 centers across 33 Asian countries were grouped into 4 subregions for comparison.ResultsProcedure volumes decreased by 47% from March 2019 to March 2020, showing recovery from March 2020 to April 2020 in Eastern Asia, particularly in China. The majority of centers cancelled outpatient activities and increased time per study. Practice changes included implementing physical distancing and restricting visitors. Although COVID testing was not commonly performed, it was conducted in one-third of facilities in Eastern Asia. The most severe reductions in procedure volumes were observed in lower-income countries, where volumes decreased 81% from March 2019 to April&nbsp;2020.ConclusionsThe COVID-19 pandemic in Asia caused significant reductions in cardiovascular diagnostic procedures, particularly in low-income countries. Further studies on effects of COVID-19 on cardiovascular outcomes and changes in care delivery are warranted

Reduction of cardiac imaging tests during the COVID-19 pandemic: The case of Italy. Findings from the IAEA Non-invasive Cardiology Protocol Survey on COVID-19 (INCAPS COVID)

Background: In early 2020, COVID-19 massively hit Italy, earlier and harder than any other European country. This caused a series of strict containment measures, aimed at blocking the spread of the pandemic. Healthcare delivery was also affected when resources were diverted towards care of COVID-19 patients, including intensive care wards. Aim of the study: The aim is assessing the impact of COVID-19 on cardiac imaging in Italy, compare to the Rest of Europe (RoE) and the World (RoW). Methods: A global survey was conducted in May–June 2020 worldwide, through a questionnaire distributed online. The survey covered three periods: March and April 2020, and March 2019. Data from 52 Italian centres, a subset of the 909 participating centres from 108 countries, were analyzed. Results: In Italy, volumes decreased by 67% in March 2020, compared to March 2019, as opposed to a significantly lower decrease (p &lt; 0.001) in RoE and RoW (41% and 40%, respectively). A further decrease from March 2020 to April 2020 summed up to 76% for the North, 77% for the Centre and 86% for the South. When compared to the RoE and RoW, this further decrease from March 2020 to April 2020 in Italy was significantly less (p = 0.005), most likely reflecting the earlier effects of the containment measures in Italy, taken earlier than anywhere else in the West. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic massively hit Italy and caused a disruption of healthcare services, including cardiac imaging studies. This raises concern about the medium- and long-term consequences for the high number of patients who were denied timely diagnoses and the subsequent lifesaving therapies and procedures