A placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized, multicenter study to assess the effects of dronedarone 400 mg twice daily for 12 weeks on atrial fibrillation burden in subjects with permanent pacemakers

Purpose Dronedarone is a benzofuran derivative with a pharmacological profile similar to amiodarone but has a more rapid onset of action and a much shorter half-life (13–19 h). Our goal was to evaluate the efficacy of dronedarone in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients using dual-chamber pacemakers capable of quantifying atrial fibrillation burden. Methods Pacemakers were adjusted to optimize AF detection. Patients with AF burden \u3e1 % were randomized to dronedarone 400 mg twice daily (BID) or placebo. Pacemakers were interrogated after 4 and 12 weeks of treatment. The primary endpoint was the change in AF burden from baseline over the 12-week treatment period. Patients with permanent AF, severe/recently decompensated heart failure, and current use of antiarrhythmic drugs were excluded. AF burden was assessed by a core laboratory blinded to treatment assignment. Results From 285 patients screened, 112 were randomized (mean age 76 years, 60 % male, 84 % hypertensive, 65 % with sick sinus syndrome, 26 % with diabetes mellitus type II, 15 % with heart failure). Baseline mean (SEM) AF burden was 8.77 % (0.16) for placebo and 10.14 % (0.17) for dronedarone. Over the 12-week study period, AF burden compared to baseline decreased by 54.4 % (0.22) (P = 0.0009) with dronedarone and trended higher by 12.8 % (0.16) (P = 0.450) with placebo. The absolute change in burden was decreased by 5.5 % in the dronedarone group and increased by 1.1 % in the placebo group. Heart rate during AF was reduced to approximately 4 beats/min with dronedarone (P = 0.285). Adverse events were higher with dronedarone compared to placebo (65 vs 56 %). Conclusions Dronedarone reduced pacemaker-assessed the relative AF burden compared to baseline and placebo by over 50 % during the 12-week observation period

The Sleeping Brain's Influence on Verbal Memory: Boosting Resistance to Interference

Memories evolve. After learning something new, the brain initiates a complex set of post-learning processing that facilitates recall (i.e., consolidation). Evidence points to sleep as one of the determinants of that change. But whenever a behavioral study of episodic memory shows a benefit of sleep, critics assert that sleep only leads to a temporary shelter from the damaging effects of interference that would otherwise accrue during wakefulness. To evaluate the potentially active role of sleep for verbal memory, we compared memory recall after sleep, with and without interference before testing. We demonstrated that recall performance for verbal memory was greater after sleep than after wakefulness. And when using interference testing, that difference was even more pronounced. By introducing interference after sleep, this study confirms an experimental paradigm that demonstrates the active role of sleep in consolidating memory, and unmasks the large magnitude of that benefit

Current rectification by simple molecular quantum dots: an ab-initio study

We calculate a current rectification by molecules containing a conjugated molecular group sandwiched between two saturated (insulating) molecular groups of different length (molecular quantum dot) using an ab-initio non-equilibrium Green's function method. In particular, we study S-(CH2)m-C10H6-(CH2)n-S dithiol with Naphthalene as a conjugated central group. The rectification current ratio ~35 has been observed at m = 2 and n = 10, due to resonant tunneling through the molecular orbital (MO) closest to the electrode Fermi level (lowest unoccupied MO in the present case). The rectification is limited by interference of other conducting orbitals, but can be improved by e.g. adding an electron withdrawing group to the naphthalene.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figure

What is Microbial Dormancy?

Life can be stressful. One way to deal with stress is to simply wait it out. Microbes do this by entering a state of reduced activity and increased resistance commonly called ‘dormancy’. But what is dormancy? Different scientific disciplines emphasize distinct traits and phenotypic ranges in defining dormancy for their microbial species and system-specific questions of interest. Here, we propose a unified definition of microbial dormancy, using a broad framework to place earlier discipline-specific definitions in a new context. We then discuss how this new definition and framework may improve our ability to investigate dormancy using multi-omics tools. Finally, we leverage our framework to discuss the diversity of genomic mechanisms for dormancy in an extreme environment that challenges easy definitions – the permafrost

OXYGEN REACTIVE POLYMERS FOR TREATMENT OF TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY

Methods and compositions for treating traumatic brain injury . The methods and compositions utilize a multi - functional oxygen reactive polymer ( ORP ) that includes repeating units that include a reactive oxygen species ( ROS ) scavenging group and a polyalkylene oxide group . For theranostic applications , the oxygen reactive polymer fur ther includes a diagnostic group

Rate-equation calculations of the current flow through two-site molecular device and DNA-based junction

Here we present the calculations of incoherent current flowing through the two-site molecular device as well as the DNA-based junction within the rate-equation approach. Few interesting phenomena are discussed in detail. Structural asymmetry of two-site molecule results in rectification effect, which can be neutralized by asymmetric voltage drop at the molecule-metal contacts due to coupling asymmetry. The results received for poly(dG)-poly(dC) DNA molecule reveal the coupling- and temperature-independent saturation effect of the current at high voltages, where for short chains we establish the inverse square distance dependence. Besides, we document the shift of the conductance peak in the direction to higher voltages due to the temperature decrease.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure