Differences of disease progression in congestive heart failure due to alcoholic as compared to idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy

In patients with alcoholic cardiomyopathy there is evidence that mild heart failure is reversible if patients abstain from alcohol, but there is no consensus whether the disease is progressive once structural myocardial dilatation has evolved. The aim of the present study was to compare the long-term course of congestive heart failure due to alcoholic and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. Of 75 patients with overt congestive heart failure, 23 had alcoholic cardiomyopathy and were compared to 52 patients with idiopathic cardiomyopathy. The mean age was 48 ± 12 years. Despite medical therapy, heart failure class New York Heart Association III-IV was present in 52% of patients with alcoholic and 47% of patients with idiopathic cardiomyopathy (not significant). Their mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 30 ± l2% vs 28 ± 12% and left ventricular end-diastolic volumes were 264 ± 125 ml and 254 ± 100 ml respectively (not significant). Overall survival at 1, 5 and 10 years was l00%, 81% and 81% for the group with alcoholic dilated cardiomyopathy and 89%, 48% and 30% for the group with idiopathic cardiomyopathy, respectively (P=0·041 and the difference was even greater for transplant-free survival P=0·005 Clinical and invasive signs of left and right heart failure as well as left ventricular dimensions were predictive of a fatal outcome; however, symptom duration and left ventricular volumes were only predictive in patients with idiopathic cardiomyopathy, suggesting that in the two patient groups different mechanisms may lead to death. Mortality in patients with severe congestive heart failure and left ventricular dilatation due to alcoholic cardiomyopathy is significantly lower than that in patients with idiopathic cardiomyopathy and similar degrees of heart failure. Thus, despite structural changes mherent in marked left ventricular dilatation, disease progression in alcoholic dilated cardiomyopathy is different from that in idiopathic cardiomyopathy and thus may have implications for the choice of therap

Human-centred design methods : developing scenarios for robot assisted play informed by user panels and field trials

Original article can be found at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/ Copyright ElsevierThis article describes the user-centred development of play scenarios for robot assisted play, as part of the multidisciplinary IROMEC1 project that develops a novel robotic toy for children with special needs. The project investigates how robotic toys can become social mediators, encouraging children with special needs to discover a range of play styles, from solitary to collaborative play (with peers, carers/teachers, parents, etc.). This article explains the developmental process of constructing relevant play scenarios for children with different special needs. Results are presented from consultation with panel of experts (therapists, teachers, parents) who advised on the play needs for the various target user groups and who helped investigate how robotic toys could be used as a play tool to assist in the children’s development. Examples from experimental investigations are provided which have informed the development of scenarios throughout the design process. We conclude by pointing out the potential benefit of this work to a variety of research projects and applications involving human–robot interactions.Peer reviewe

In Vitro Proliferation of Adult Human Beta-Cells

A decrease in functional beta-cell mass is a key feature of type 2 diabetes. Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) analogues induce proliferation of rodent beta-cells. However, the proliferative capacity of human beta-cells and its modulation by GLP-1 analogues remain to be fully investigated. We therefore sought to quantify adult human beta-cell proliferation in vitro and whether this is affected by the GLP-1 analogue liraglutide

Saving traditional knowhow in agriculture

Chapter 15International audienceThe concept of agricultural knowhow here refers to the knowledge accumulated over centuries and that has been slowly carved by exchanges, confrontations, trade and the mixing of cultures even at very local levels throughout the Mediterranean. Although the differences between the North and South of the basin are strongly marked, each locality has traditionally enjoyed a unique identity and a strong individuality in its history. Closely related to the loss of traditional knowhow, the weakening of these identities is shaping a new Mediterranean. A Mediterranean that is northern and southern, local and global, technical and traditional, a constant rebalancing region that is a both complex and unstable. A Mediterranean where it is becoming urgent to save knowhow in danger of being marginalised (and depleted) and align it with the scientific advances of the past decade, in order to address in an integrated way, the various current and foreseeable crises that threaten the fragile balance supporting life in this basin. This chapter argues for the emergence of new production systems, breaking with the current trend of resource degradation and marginalisation of large rural areas, in order to meet these challenges. Agro ecology is presented here as one possible way to collectively live through this course in the cultural, scientific and economic evolution of the Mediterranean

Préserver les savoirs traditionnels agricoles

Chapitre 15International audienceLa notion de savoir traditionnel agricole désigne les savoirs accumulés tout au long des siècles, que les échanges, les confrontations, le commerce et le brassage des cultures ont lentement construits jusqu’aux échelles les plus locales du bassin méditerranéen. Même s’il existe des différences marquées entre le nord et le sud du bassin, chaque localité a pu acquérir au cours de son histoire une identité propre et une forte individualité. L’affaiblissement de ces identités, intimement lié à la perte des connaissances traditionnelles, dessine aujourd’hui une nouvelle Méditerranée, à la fois nord et sud, locale et globale, technique et traditionnelle, ensemble complexe et instable en rééquilibrage constant, où il devient urgent de sauvegarder des savoirs en voie de marginalisation (et de disparition) et de les harmoniser avec les progrès scientifiques de la décennie écoulée, si l’on veut répondre de façon intégrée aux diverses crises actuelles et annoncées qui menacent les équilibres fragiles soutenant la vie dans le bassin. Ce chapitre plaide en faveur de l’émergence de nouveaux systèmes de production, en rupture avec la tendance actuelle à la dégradation des ressources et à la marginalisation des zones rurales. L’agroécologie est ici présentée comme l’une des voies possibles pour passer collectivement ce cap dans l’évolution culturelle, scientifique et économique du bassin méditerranéen

Saving traditional knowhow in agriculture

Chapter 15International audienceThe concept of agricultural knowhow here refers to the knowledge accumulated over centuries and that has been slowly carved by exchanges, confrontations, trade and the mixing of cultures even at very local levels throughout the Mediterranean. Although the differences between the North and South of the basin are strongly marked, each locality has traditionally enjoyed a unique identity and a strong individuality in its history. Closely related to the loss of traditional knowhow, the weakening of these identities is shaping a new Mediterranean. A Mediterranean that is northern and southern, local and global, technical and traditional, a constant rebalancing region that is a both complex and unstable. A Mediterranean where it is becoming urgent to save knowhow in danger of being marginalised (and depleted) and align it with the scientific advances of the past decade, in order to address in an integrated way, the various current and foreseeable crises that threaten the fragile balance supporting life in this basin. This chapter argues for the emergence of new production systems, breaking with the current trend of resource degradation and marginalisation of large rural areas, in order to meet these challenges. Agro ecology is presented here as one possible way to collectively live through this course in the cultural, scientific and economic evolution of the Mediterranean

Préserver les savoirs traditionnels agricoles

Chapitre 15International audienceLa notion de savoir traditionnel agricole désigne les savoirs accumulés tout au long des siècles, que les échanges, les confrontations, le commerce et le brassage des cultures ont lentement construits jusqu’aux échelles les plus locales du bassin méditerranéen. Même s’il existe des différences marquées entre le nord et le sud du bassin, chaque localité a pu acquérir au cours de son histoire une identité propre et une forte individualité. L’affaiblissement de ces identités, intimement lié à la perte des connaissances traditionnelles, dessine aujourd’hui une nouvelle Méditerranée, à la fois nord et sud, locale et globale, technique et traditionnelle, ensemble complexe et instable en rééquilibrage constant, où il devient urgent de sauvegarder des savoirs en voie de marginalisation (et de disparition) et de les harmoniser avec les progrès scientifiques de la décennie écoulée, si l’on veut répondre de façon intégrée aux diverses crises actuelles et annoncées qui menacent les équilibres fragiles soutenant la vie dans le bassin. Ce chapitre plaide en faveur de l’émergence de nouveaux systèmes de production, en rupture avec la tendance actuelle à la dégradation des ressources et à la marginalisation des zones rurales. L’agroécologie est ici présentée comme l’une des voies possibles pour passer collectivement ce cap dans l’évolution culturelle, scientifique et économique du bassin méditerranéen

Saving traditional knowhow in agriculture

Chapter 15International audienceThe concept of agricultural knowhow here refers to the knowledge accumulated over centuries and that has been slowly carved by exchanges, confrontations, trade and the mixing of cultures even at very local levels throughout the Mediterranean. Although the differences between the North and South of the basin are strongly marked, each locality has traditionally enjoyed a unique identity and a strong individuality in its history. Closely related to the loss of traditional knowhow, the weakening of these identities is shaping a new Mediterranean. A Mediterranean that is northern and southern, local and global, technical and traditional, a constant rebalancing region that is a both complex and unstable. A Mediterranean where it is becoming urgent to save knowhow in danger of being marginalised (and depleted) and align it with the scientific advances of the past decade, in order to address in an integrated way, the various current and foreseeable crises that threaten the fragile balance supporting life in this basin. This chapter argues for the emergence of new production systems, breaking with the current trend of resource degradation and marginalisation of large rural areas, in order to meet these challenges. Agro ecology is presented here as one possible way to collectively live through this course in the cultural, scientific and economic evolution of the Mediterranean