Intraobserver reproducibility of parameters of standard and 2D speckle tracking echocardiography, dynamics of global longitudinal strain I in patients with acute primary anterior STEMI

The aim of this study was to assess the intraobserver reproducibility of parameters of standard and 2 dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography, dynamics of global longitudinal strain in patients with acute primary anterior STEMI. The study included 24 patients, mean age 58.46±10.2. Echocardiography with 2D speckle tracking imaging was performed on the 1st (T1), 7th (T2), 14th days (T3) after STEMI («Vivid E9»). Analysis of echocardiographic images was performed offline at the different periods by the two independent observers (EchoPac) – experienced and inexperienced. In order to assess the agreement between standard and 2D speckle tracking echocardiography, a correlation analysis (Pearson correlation, Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient) and Bland-Altman analysis were undertaken. The 23 patients had urgent reperfusion therapy, 6 patients underwent primary PCI, 16 patients – PCI after successful fibrinolysis (68%). GLS and WMSI had the best intraobsever reproducibility. Dynamics of EDV LV, ESV LV, EF LV was without significant differences. Nevertheless, it was found positive dynamic of GLS: – 12.65±3.53 (T1), -13.61±3.81 (T2), –14.27±4.1 (T3), p<0.05. GLS reduced 11.35% (p=0.0048) from T1 to T3. The best intraobserver reproducibility of parameters of 2 D speckle-tracking and standard echocardiography was revealed in GLS and WMSI. The modern management of STEMI patients limits adverse postinfarction remodeling and preserves of global left ventricular contractility detected by the EF LV. However, GLS had the positive dynamics and improved to the 14th day

Long-term clinical results of autologous bone marrow CD 133+ cell transplantation in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction

The aim of the study was investigate the long-term results of autologous bone marrow CD 133+ cell transplantation in patients with primary ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI). Methods and results: From 2006 to 2007, 26 patients with primary STEMI were included in an open randomized study. Patients were randomized to two groups: 1st - included patients underwent PCI and transplantation of autologous bone marrow CD 133+ cell (n = 10); 2nd - patients with only PCI (n = 16). Follow-up study was performed 7.70±0.42 years after STEMI and consisted in physical examination, 6-min walking test, Echo exam. Total and cardiovascular mortality in group 1 was lower (20% (n = 2) vs. 44% (n = 7), p = 0.1 and 22% (n = 2) vs. 25% (n = 4), (p=0.53), respectively). Analysis of cardiac volumetric parameters shows significant differences between groups: EDV of 100.7 ± 50.2 mL vs. 144.40±42.7 mL, ESV of 56.3 ± 37.8 mL vs. 89.7 ± 38.7 mL in 1st and 2nd groups, respectively. Data of the study showed positive effects of autologous bone marrow CD 133+ cell transplantation on the long-term survival of patients and structural status of the heart

Macrophage activation and polarization in post-infarction cardiac remodeling

Adverse cardiac remodeling leads to impaired ventricular function and heart failure, remaining a major cause of mortality and morbidity in patients with acute myocardial infarction. It have been shown that, even if all the recommended therapies for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction are performed, one third of patients undergoes progressive cardiac remodeling that represents morphological basis for following heart failure. The need to extend our knowledge about factors leading to different clinical scenarios of myocardial infarction and following complications has resulted in a research of immuno-inflammatory pathways and molecular activities as the basis for post-infarction remodeling. Recently, macrophages (cells of the innate immune system) have become a subject of scientific interest under both normal and pathological conditions. Macrophages, besides their role in host protection and tissue homeostasis, play an important role in pathophysiological processes induced by myocardial infarction. In this article we summarize data about the function of monocytes and macrophages plasticity in myocardial infarction and outline potential role of these cells as effective targets to control processes of inflammation, cardiac remodeling and healing following acute coronary event

The role of viruses, inflammation and myocardial macrophages in the development of idiopathic arrhythmia

We studied viral antigens, inflammation, and macrophages in the endomyocardial biopsies of patients with idiopathic arrhythmias. Immunohistological study was performed to identify the antigens of cardiotropic viruses and the types of lymphocytes and macrophages. We observed the presence of viral antigens in the myocardium of patients with and without histological criteria of myocarditis. Heart failure and ventricular arrhythmias were associated with small focal infiltration of the myocardium with macrophages. The presence of viral antigens in the myocardium was associated with fewer number of myocardial M2 macrophages. Severity of myocardial interstitial fibrosis correlated with small-focal infiltration of M2 macrophages

Status and Perspectives of the Mini-MegaTORTORA Wide-field Monitoring System with High Temporal Resolution

Here we briefly summarize our long-term experience of constructing and operating wide-field monitoring cameras with sub-second temporal resolution to look for optical components of GRBs, fast-moving satellites and meteors. The general hardware requirements for these systems are discussed, along with algorithms for real-time detection and classification of various kinds of short optical transients. We also give a status report on the next generation, the MegaTORTORA multi-objective and transforming monitoring system, whose 6-channel (Mini-MegaTORTORA-Spain) and 9-channel prototypes (Mini-MegaTORTORA-Kazan) we have been building at SAO RAS. This system combines a wide field of view with subsecond temporal resolution in monitoring regime, and is able, within fractions of a second, to reconfigure itself to follow-up mode, which has better sensitivity and simultaneously provides multi-color and polarimetric information on detected transients

Production of neutron-rich nuclides in the vicinity of

Multinucleon transfer in low-energy nucleus-nucleus collisions is widely discussed as a method of production of yet-unknown neutron-rich nuclei hardly accessible (or inaccessible) by other methods. Modeling of complicated dynamics of nuclear reactions induced by heavy ions is done within a multidimensional dynamical model of nucleus-nucleus collisions based on the Langevin equations. The model gives a continuous description of the system evolution starting from the well-separated target and projectile in the entrance channel of the reaction up to the formation of final reaction products. In this paper, rather recent sets of experimental data for the 136Xe+198Pt,208Pb reactions are analyzed together with the production cross sections for neutron-rich nuclei in the vicinity of the N = 126 magic shell

Multinucleon transfer as a method for production of new heavy neutron-enriched isotopes of transuranium elements

The multinucleon transfer reactions with actinides were analyzed in this work as a method of production of heavy neutron-enriched nuclei within a dynamical approach based on Langevin equations. Special interest is paid to production yields of neutron-enriched nuclei with closed neutron shell $$N=126$$ and in the region of transuranium elements. Issues of an optimal combination of colliding nuclei and reaction energy are mainly considered. According to the calculations, heavier projectile bombarding actinide target leads to larger production cross sections of neutron-enriched isotopes of transuranium elements. Moreover, their yields weakly depend on the collision energy. At the same time yields of products heavier than the target decrease as the collision energy goes up

Role of charge equilibration in multinucleon transfer in damped collisions of heavy ions

In this work the charge equilibration process has been analyzed within the Langevin-type dynamical approach. Its duration and energy dependence are discussed. We have analyzed the isotopic distributions of final products obtained in the isospin-asymmetric 58Ni,40Ca + 208Pb reactions. Comparison of 58Ni,64Ni + 208Pb systems have been done in order to analyze the final yields of neutron-rich heavy nuclides