909 research outputs found
Ablation lesions in Koch's triangle assessed by three-dimensional myocardial contrast echocardiography
BACKGROUND: Myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) allows visualization of radiofrequency (RF) ablation lesions in the left ventricle in an animal model. Aim: To test whether MCE allows visualization of RF and cryo ablation lesions in the human right atrium using three-dimensional echocardiography. METHODS: 18 patients underwent catheter ablation of a supraventricular tachycardia and were included in this prospective single-blind study. Twelve patients were ablated inside Koch's triangle and 6, who served as controls, outside this area. Three-dimensional echocardiography of Koch's triangle was performed before and after the ablation procedure in all patients, using respiration and ECG gated pullback of a 9 MHz ICE transducer, with and without continuous intravenous echocontrast infusion (SonoVue, Bracco). Two independent observers analyzed the data off-line. RESULTS: MCE identified ablation lesions as a low contrast area within the normal atrial myocardial tissue. Craters on the endocardial surface were seen in 10 (83%) patients after ablation. Lesions were identified in 11 out of 12 patients (92%). None of the control patients were recognized as having been ablated. The confidence score of the independent echo reviewer tended to be higher when the number of applications increased. CONCLUSIONS: 1. MCE allows direct visualization of ablation lesions in the human atrial myocardium. 2. Both RF and cryo energy lesions can be identified using MCE
High Statistics Analysis using Anisotropic Clover Lattices: (IV) Volume Dependence of Light Hadron Masses
The volume dependence of the octet baryon masses and relations among them are
explored with Lattice QCD. Calculations are performed with n_f=2+1 clover
fermion discretization in four lattice volumes, with spatial extent L ~ 2.0,
2.5, 3.0 and 3.9 fm, with an anisotropic lattice spacing of b_s ~ 0.123 fm in
the spatial direction, and b_t = b_s/3.5 in the time direction, and at a pion
mass of m_pi ~ 390 MeV. The typical precision of the ground-state baryon mass
determination is ~0.2%, enabling a precise exploration of the volume dependence
of the masses, the Gell-Mann--Okubo mass relation, and of other mass
combinations. A comparison of the volume dependence with the predictions of
heavy baryon chiral perturbation theory is performed in both the SU(2)_L X
SU(2)_R and SU(3)_L X SU(3)_R expansions. Predictions of the three-flavor
expansion for the hadron masses are found to describe the observed volume
dependences reasonably well. Further, the Delta-N-pi axial coupling constant is
extracted from the volume dependence of the nucleon mass in the two-flavor
expansion, with only small modifications in the three-flavor expansion from the
inclusion of kaons and etas. At a given value of m_pi L, the finite-volume
contributions to the nucleon mass are predicted to be significantly smaller at
m_pi ~ 140 MeV than at m_pi ~ 390 MeV due to a coefficient that scales as ~
m_pi^3. This is relevant for the design of future ensembles of lattice
gauge-field configurations. Finally, the volume dependence of the pion and kaon
masses are analyzed with two-flavor and three-flavor chiral perturbation
theory.Comment: 34 pages, 45 figure
Coronal magnetic reconnection driven by CME expansion -- the 2011 June 7 event
Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) erupt and expand in a magnetically structured
solar corona. Various indirect observational pieces of evidence have shown that
the magnetic field of CMEs reconnects with surrounding magnetic fields,
forming, e.g., dimming regions distant from the CME source regions. Analyzing
Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observations of the eruption from AR 11226 on
2011 June 7, we present the first direct evidence of coronal magnetic
reconnection between the fields of two adjacent ARs during a CME. The
observations are presented jointly with a data-constrained numerical
simulation, demonstrating the formation/intensification of current sheets along
a hyperbolic flux tube (HFT) at the interface between the CME and the
neighbouring AR 11227. Reconnection resulted in the formation of new magnetic
connections between the erupting magnetic structure from AR 11226 and the
neighboring active region AR 11227 about 200 Mm from the eruption site. The
onset of reconnection first becomes apparent in the SDO/AIA images when
filament plasma, originally contained within the erupting flux rope, is
re-directed towards remote areas in AR 11227, tracing the change of large-scale
magnetic connectivity. The location of the coronal reconnection region becomes
bright and directly observable at SDO/AIA wavelengths, owing to the presence of
down-flowing cool, dense (10^{10} cm^{-3}) filament plasma in its vicinity. The
high-density plasma around the reconnection region is heated to coronal
temperatures, presumably by slow-mode shocks and Coulomb collisions. These
results provide the first direct observational evidence that CMEs reconnect
with surrounding magnetic structures, leading to a large-scale re-configuration
of the coronal magnetic field.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figure
Present Constraints on the H-dibaryon at the Physical Point from Lattice QCD
The current constraints from lattice QCD on the existence of the H-dibaryon
are discussed. With only two significant lattice QCD calculations of the
H-dibaryon binding energy at approximately the same lattice spacing, the forms
of the chiral and continuum extrapolations to the physical point are not
determined. In this brief report, we consider the constraints on the H-dibaryon
imposed by two simple chiral extrapolations. In both instances, the
extrapolation to the physical pion mass allows for a bound H-dibaryon or a
near-threshold scattering state. Further lattice QCD calculations are required
to clarify this situation.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, 1 table; revised for the journa
Serum antibodies in first-degree relatives of patients with IBD: A marker of disease susceptibility? A follow-up pilot-study after 7 years
Introduction: Various disease-specific serum antibodies were described in patients with inflammatory bowel disease and their yet healthy first-degree relatives. In the latter, serum antibodies are commonly regarded as potential markers of disease susceptibility. The present long-term follow-up study evaluated the fate of antibody-positive first-degree relatives. Patients and Methods: 25 patients with Crohn's disease, 19 patients with ulcerative colitis and 102 first-degree relatives in whom presence of ASCA, pANCA, pancreatic- and goblet-cell antibodies had been assessed were enrolled. The number of incident cases with inflammatory bowel disease was compared between antibody-positive and antibody-negative first-degree relatives 7 years after storage of serum samples. Results: 34 of 102 (33%) first-degree relatives were positive for at least one of the studied serum antibodies. In the group of first-degree relatives, one case of Crohn's disease and one case of ulcerative colitis were diagnosed during the follow-up period. However, both relatives did not display any of the investigated serum antibodies (p = 1). Discussion: The findings of our pilot study argue against a role of serum antibodies as a marker of disease susceptibility in first-degree relatives of patients with inflammatory bowel disease. However, these data have to await confirmation in larger ideally prospective multicenter studies before definite conclusions can be drawn
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