Technology matters: Proceedings of the 2018 STORIES conference

STORIES (Students’ Ongoing Research in Education Studies) is an international conference for graduate students and early career researchers to discuss their ongoing research in education and education-related projects in other disciplines, such as linguistics, anthropology, social policy intervention, economics, and the wider social sciences. The conference is organised by graduate students and held annually at the Department of Education, University of Oxford. In 2018, the conference theme was Technology Matters

Technology matters: Proceedings of the 2018 STORIES conference

STORIES (Students’ Ongoing Research in Education Studies) is an international conference for graduate students and early career researchers to discuss their ongoing research in education and education-related projects in other disciplines, such as linguistics, anthropology, social policy intervention, economics, and the wider social sciences. The conference is organised by graduate students and held annually at the Department of Education, University of Oxford. In 2018, the conference theme was Technology Matters

Capsaicin-Sensitive Sensory Nerves Mediate the Cellular and Microvascular Effects of H2S via TRPA1 Receptor Activation and Neuropeptide Release

This study was supported by Hungarian Research Grant BOTKA NN-114458^, by the Hungarian Brain Research Program and National Development Agency KTIA_NAP_13-1-2013-0001, and MTA-PTE NAP B Chronic Pain Research Group, 888819. E. Pintér was supported by János Szentágothai Scholarship (A2-SZJÖ-TOK-13-0149) of the Hungarian National Excellence Program TÁMOP-4.2.4. A/2-11-1- 2012-0001. A. A. Aubdool is supported by the British Heart Foundation PG/12/34/29557. É. Sághy and M. Payrits were supported by Gedeon Richter's Talentum Foundatio

Clinical practice and implementation of guidelines for the prevention, diagnosis and management of cardiac implantable electronic device infections: results of a worldwide survey under the auspices of the European Heart Rhythm Association

Aims Cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) infection rates are increasing. Worldwide compliance and disparities to published guidelines for the prevention, diagnosis and management of these conditions are not well elucidated. The purpose of this survey, therefore, was to clarify these issues through an inquiry to arrhythmia-related associations and societies worldwide. Methods and results A questionnaire comprising 15 questions related to CIED infections was distributed among members of seven arrhythmia societies worldwide. A total of 234 centres in 62 countries reported implantation rates of which 159 (68.0%) performed more than 200 device implantations per year and 14 (6.0%) performed fewer than 50 implantations per year. The reported rates of CIED infections for 2017 were Conclusion Clinical practices for prevention and management of CIED do not fully comply with current recommendations and demonstrate considerable regional disparities. Further education and programmes for improved implementation of guidelines are mandatory

Standardized unfold mapping: a technique to permit left atrial regional data display and analysis

Purpose: Left atrial arrhythmia substrate assessment can involve multiple imaging and electrical modalities, but visual analysis of data on 3D surfaces is time-consuming and suffers from limited reproducibility. Unfold maps (e.g., the left ventricular bull’s eye plot) allow 2D visualization, facilitate multimodal data representation, and provide a common reference space for inter-subject comparison. The aim of this work is to develop a method for automatic representation of multimodal information on a left atrial standardized unfold map (LA-SUM). Methods: The LA-SUM technique was developed and validated using 18 electroanatomic mapping (EAM) LA geometries before being applied to ten cardiac magnetic resonance/EAM paired geometries. The LA-SUM was defined as an unfold template of an average LA mesh, and registration of clinical data to this mesh facilitated creation of new LA-SUMs by surface parameterization. Results: The LA-SUM represents 24 LA regions on a flattened surface. Intra-observer variability of LA-SUMs for both EAM and CMR datasets was minimal; root-mean square difference of 0.008 ± 0.010 and 0.007 ± 0.005 ms (local activation time maps), 0.068 ± 0.063 gs (force-time integral maps), and 0.031 ± 0.026 (CMR LGE signal intensity maps). Following validation, LA-SUMs were used for automatic quantification of post-ablation scar formation using CMR imaging, demonstrating a weak but significant relationship between ablation force-time integral and scar coverage (R 2 = 0.18, P < 0.0001). Conclusions: The proposed LA-SUM displays an integrated unfold map for multimodal information. The method is applicable to any LA surface, including those derived from imaging and EAM systems. The LA-SUM would facilitate standardization of future research studies involving segmental analysis of the LA.This work was supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London. The views expressed here are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR, or the Department of Health. M.A. Zuluaga is funded by the EPSRC (EP/H046410/1). C. Butakoff and O. Camara are funded by the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n° 611823 and by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (TIN2011-28067)

European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) international consensus document on how to prevent, diagnose, and treat cardiac implantable electronic device infections - Endorsed by the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS), the Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society (APHRS), the Latin American Heart Rhythm Society (LAHRS), International Society for Cardiovascular Infectious Diseases (ISCVID) and the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) in collaboration with the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS)

Pacemakers, implantable cardiac defibrillators, and cardiac resynchronization therapy devices are potentially life-saving treatments for a number of cardiac conditions, but are not without risk. Most concerning is the risk of a cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) infection, which is associated with significant morbidity, increased hospitalizations, reduced survival, and increased healthcare costs. Recommended preventive strategies such as administration of intravenous antibiotics before implantation are well recognized. Uncertainties have remained about the role of various preventive, diagnostic, and treatment measures such as skin antiseptics, pocket antibiotic solutions, anti-bacterial envelopes, prolonged antibiotics post-implantation, and others. Guidance on whether to use novel device alternatives expected to be less prone to infections and novel oral anticoagulants is also limited, as are definitions on minimum quality requirements for centres and operators and volumes. Moreover, an international consensus document on management of CIED infections is lacking. The recognition of these issues, the dissemination of results from important randomized trials focusing on prevention of CIED infections, and observed divergences in managing device-related infections as found in an European Heart Rhythm Association worldwide survey, provided a strong incentive for a 2019 International State-of-the-art Consensus document on risk assessment, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of CIED infections