Magnetic Resonance Derived Myocardial Strain Assessment Using Feature Tracking

Purpose: An accurate and practical method to measure parameters like strain in myocardial tissue is of great clinical value, since it has been shown, that strain is a more sensitive and earlier marker for contractile dysfunction than the frequently used parameter EF. Current technologies for CMR are time consuming and difficult to implement in clinical practice. Feature tracking is a technology that can lead to more automization and robustness of quantitative analysis of medical images with less time consumption than comparable methods

Repositioning of special schools within a specialist, personalised educational marketplace - the need for a representative principle

This paper considers how notions of inclusive education as defined in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Salamanca Agreement (1994) have become dissipated, and can be developed and reframed to encourage their progress. It analyses the discourse within a range of academic, legal and media texts, exploring how this dissipation has taken place within the UK. Using data from 78 specialist school websites it contextualises this change in the use of the terms and ideas of inclusion with the rise of two other constructs, the 'specialist school' and 'personalisation'. It identifies the need for a precisely defined representative principle to theorise the type of school which inclusion aims to achieve, which cannot be subsumed by segregated providers. It suggests that this principle should not focus on the individual, but draw upon a liberal/democratic view of social justice, underlining inclusive education's role in removing social barriers that prevent equity, access and participation for all

Presence of mechanical dyssynchrony in duchenne muscular dystrophy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cardiac dysfunction in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a leading cause of death. Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has been shown to dramatically decrease mortality in eligible adult population with congestive heart failure. We hypothesized that mechanical dyssynchrony is present in DMD patients and that cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) may predict CRT efficacy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>DMD patients (n = 236) were stratified into 4 groups based on age, diagnosis of DMD, left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF), and presence of myocardial fibrosis defined as positive late gadolinum enhancement (LGE) compared to normal controls (n = 77). Dyssynchrony indices were calculated based on timing of CMR derived circumferential strain (e_cc). The calculated indices included cross-correlation delay (XCD), uniformity of strain (US), regional vector of variance (RVV), time to maximum strain (TTMS) and standard deviation (SD) of TTMS. Abnormal XCD value was defined as > normal + 2SD. US, RVV, TTMS and SD were calculated for patients with abnormal XCD.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There was overall low prevalence of circumferential dyssynchrony in the entire DMD population; it increased to 17.1% for patients with abnormal EF and to 31.2% in the most advanced stage (abnormal EF with fibrosis). All but one DMD patient with mechanical dyssynchrony exhibited normal QRS duration suggesting absence of electrical dyssynchrony. The calculated US and RVV values (0.91 ± 0.09, 1.34 ± 0.48) indicate disperse rather than clustered dyssynchrony.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Mechanical dyssynchrony is frequent in boys with end stage DMD-associated cardiac dysfunction. It is associated with normal QRS complex as well as extensive lateral fibrosis. Based on these findings, it is unlikely that this patient population will benefit from CRT.</p

NAA and STS effects on potted bougainvillea: early flower death allows delayed bract abscission

The effects of Silver Thiosulphate (STS) and Naphtalene Acetic Acid (NAA) (0,45%NAA+1,2% NAA-amide at 500 mg.l-1) on flowering bud development, anthesis duration, bract longevity and bract photosynthetic rate were studied in Bougainvillea spectabilis ‘Killie Campbell’ plants, under interior conditions. The relationships between bract longevity and the above parameters were also investigated. NAA induced longer bract longevities, shorter flower anthesis duration and lower percentage of flowers reaching anthesis. STS alone increased duration of flower anthesis but did not affect CD (completely developed) bract abscission, as compared to the water treatment. Depending on the experiment, adding STS to NAA delayed or had no effect on bract abscission. Longer bract longevities were related to shorter flower anthesis and lower percentage of flowers reaching anthesis. Manual removal of flowers from the bract+flower unit increased bract longevity. Despite the low level of irradiance, bracts photosynthesized and plants treated with NAA (alone or with STS) had lower bract photosynthetic rates. Bract photosynthetic activity, although with relevant rates (similar to leaves and most probably capable of covering respiration expenditure) did not seem important as an energy source for bract longevity since bracts that lasted longer had lower photosynthetic rates. In the water control, percentage of flowers reaching anthesis positively correlated with bract photosynthetic rates. In potted bougainvillea under low light conditions, flower senescence and bract abscission are under different types of control. In addition to the classical effect of auxin reducing ethylene production, and/or sensitivity of the abscission zone to ethylene, NAA delays bougainvillea bract abscission via early interruption of flower development.Praxis XXI/BD/15640/98, PBIC/C/2286/95, da Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologica. CDCTPV/University of Algarve (incluindo Projecto de Unidade I&D: CDCTPV 2003- 2005. POCTI7POCI 2010) pelas instalações. Viveiros Monterosa, (Moncarapacho, Portugal) ofereceram algumas das plantas

Cultural responses to pain in UK children of primary school age: a mixed-methods study.

Pain-measurement tools are often criticized for not addressing the influence of culture and ethnicity on pain. This study examined how children who speak English as a primary or additional language discuss pain. Two methods were used in six focus group interviews with 34 children aged 4-7 years: (i) use of drawings from the Pediatric Pain Inventory to capture the language used by children to describe pain; and (ii) observation of the children's placing of pain drawings on red/amber/green paper to denote perceived severity of pain. The findings demonstrated that children with English as an additional language used less elaborate language when talking about pain, but tended to talk about the pictures prior to deciding where they should be placed. For these children, there was a positive significant relationship between language, age, and length of stay in the UK. The children's placement of pain drawings varied according to language background, sex, and age. The findings emphasize the need for sufficient time to assess pain adequately in children who do not speak English as a first language