Review of the Use of the Countercyclical Capital Buffer in the Eea in Response to the SARS-CoV-2 Virus Pandemic Outbreak

The purpose of the article is to verify how the SARS-CoV-2 virus pandemic outbreak influenced the decisions to apply the countercyclical capital buffer in the EEA and whether, based on the experience gained so far in applying the countercyclical capital buffer in the EEA, it is possible to clearly distinguish between the models of its application.Methodology used to achieve this, was to built the field of research and to perform a comparative analysis of macroeconomic data on the application of the above-mentioned instrument in the EEA during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.Results of the research are two methods and two variants of the application of the countercyclical capital buffer that were distinguished and named, indicating the benefits and challenges of using each of them. Moreover, the limited usefulness of the standardized and additional gap was confirmed in the light of the conducted research, available in the literature. The article concludes with recommendations for further research

Application of ANN and PCA to two-phase flow evaluation using radioisotopes

In the two-phase flow measurements a method involving the absorption of gamma radiation can be applied among others. Analysis of the signals from the scintillation probes can be used to determine the number of flow parameters and to recognize flow structure. Three types of flow regimes as plug, bubble, and transitional plug – bubble flows were considered in this work. The article shows how features of the signals in the time and frequency domain can be used to build the artificial neural network (ANN) to recognize the structure of the gas-liquid flow in a horizontal pipeline. In order to reduce the number of signal features the principal component analysis (PCA) was used. It was found that the reduction of signals features allows for building a network with better performance

The impact of pulmonary regurgitation on right ventricular size and function in patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot and additional haemodynamic abnormalities

Purpose: Right ventricular (RV) outflow tract obstruction (RVOTO) was demonstrated to be protective against RV dilatation in patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot and chronic pulmonary regurgitation (PR). We hypothesised that the presence of additional haemodynamic abnormalities (more than mild tricuspid regurgitation, residual ventricular septal defect) reduces this protective association. Accordingly, we aimed to assess the impact of PR on RV size and function in this population. Material and methods: Consecutive patients with additional haemodynamic abnormalities after tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) repair, who had undergone cardiovascular magnetic resonance, were included. Results: Out of 90 patients studied, 18 individuals (mean age 32.5 ± 10.7 years, 72.2% males) met the inclusion criteria. There were no differences in RV volumes and ejection fraction between patients with and without RVOTO. Neither PR fraction (PRF) nor PR volume (PRV) correlated with RV end-diastolic volume (r = 0.36; p = 0.15 and r = 0.37; p = 0.14, respectively, for PRF and PRV) or RV end-systolic volume (r = 0.2; p = 0.42 and r = 0.19; p = 0.45, respectively, for PRF and PRV). Similarly, no significant correlations were observed between PRF or PRV and RV ejection fraction (r = –0.04; p = 0.87 and r = –0.03; p = 0.9, respectively). Conclusions: Additional haemodynamic abnormalities are associated with the abolition of the protective effect of RVOTO on RV size. There was no significant relationship between measures of PR and RV volumes in patients after TOF repair with concomitant haemodynamic abnormalities. These abnormalities acted as confounding factors in the assessment of the impact of pulmonary regurgitation on RV size and function

Prevalence of myocardial crypts in a large retrospective cohort study by cardiovascular magnetic resonance

BACKGROUND: Myocardial crypts are discrete clefts or fissures in otherwise compacted myocardium of the left ventricle (LV). Recent reports suggest a higher prevalence of crypts in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and also within small samples of genotype positive but phenotype negative relatives. The presence of a crypt has been suggested to be a predictor of gene carrier status. However, the prevalence and clinical significance of crypts in the general population is unclear. We aimed to determine the prevalence of myocardial crypts in a large cohort of subjects using clinical cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR). METHODS: Consecutive subjects referred for clinical CMR during a 12-month period (n = 1020, age 52.6 ± 17, males: 61%) were included. Crypts were defined as >50% invagination into normal myocardium and their overall prevalence, location and shape was investigated and compared between different patient groups. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of crypts was 64/1020 (6.3%). In a predefined ‘normal’ control group the prevalence was lower (11/306, 3.6%, p = 0.031), but were equally prevalent in ischemic heart disease (12/236, 5.1%, p = n/s) and the combined non-ischemic cardiomyopathy (NICM) groups (24/373; 6.4%, p = n/s). Within the NICM group, crypts were significantly more common in HCM (9/76, 11.7%, p = 0.04) and hypertensive CM subjects (3/11, 27%, p = 0.03). In patients referred for CMR for family screening of inherited forms of CM, crypts were significantly more prevalent (10/41, 23%, p < 0.001), including a smaller group with a first degree relative with HCM (3/9, 33%, p = 0.01). CONCLUSION: Myocardial crypts are relatively common in the normal population, and increasingly common in HCM and hypertensive cardiomyopathy. Crypts are also more frequently seen in normal phenotype subjects referred because of a family history of an inherited cardiomyopathy and HCM specifically. It is uncertain what the significance of crypts are in this group, and because of variability in the imaging protocols used and their relative frequency within the normal population, should not be used to clinically stratify these patients. Prospective studies are required to confirm the clinical significance of myocardial crypts, as their significance remains unclear. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12968-014-0066-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users