0380: Study of anatomical features of pulmonary veins assessed by computed tomography according to age

IntroductionPulmonary veins (PV) play a crucial role in triggering and generating atrial fibrillation (AF). Isolation of PVs is fundamental in the AF ablation whether paroxysmal or persistent. The presence of four distinct pulmonary veins (two left PVs and two right PVs) has been described as the normal variant.AimThe purpose of our study was to investigate whether the age of the patients had an influence on the incidence of anatomical abnormalities of PVs.MethodsOur study was a prospective study which has included 38 patients followed for AF in the cardiology’s department of our hospital. All patients underwent a CT scan of PVs in order to characterize their anatomy. PVs’ size was represented by the largest diameter. We have divided our cohort into two groups: group 1: patients aged more than 50 years and group 2: patients aged less than 50 years.ResultsOur patients had a mean age of 50.5±13 years. The majority of our patients had paroxysmal AF (65%), 4 had persistent AF (10%), 9 had prolonged persistent AF (25%).CT Scan of PV results according to age are summarized in table.ConclusionIn our study, we found no significant relationship between age and anatomical abnormalities of the PVs. Hence, it is important to look for these anatomical anomalies whatever was the age of the patients to increase the success rate and to avoid complications during the AF ablation procedures.Abstratct 0380 – Table: Comparison of PV features evaluated by CT scan according to ageGroup 1 Age>50 years old N=20 patientsGroup 2 Age≤50 years old N=18 patientsPThe average left atrium volume140.8±75.78ml75.72±29.10mLP=0.01Mean number of PV3.85±0.484±0.65NSAverage diameter of left PV26.82±8.6825.03±12.29NSAverage diameter of right PV20.58±5.3522.81±6.05NSLeft single ostium forming a core collector4 (20%)3 (16.6%)NSRight single ostium forming a core collector1 (5%)4 (22%)N

Benchmarking the Hotel Industry in Oman Through a Three-Stage DEA-Based Procedure

This study is concerned with benchmarking the hotel industry in the Sultanate of Oman besides identifying the environmental factors that influence the operational efficiency of hotels. The benchmarking analysis is carried out through data envelopment analysis (DEA), used essentially to evaluate the efficiency ratios of a selected sample of 58 hotels. Although less than 23% of the hotels are found efficient, the average efficiency score of 83% indicates a reasonable efficiency in resource management for most of the hotels. Regarding the contextual effects, hotel Size, Star rating and cultural attractions are found to have the most significant effect on hotel efficiency in Oman. The positive effect of cultural attractions can inform policy makers on the necessity to preserve and promote cultural heritage as an important key factor of attraction

Overview and definitions on lung cancer diagnosis

International audienc

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA-F) polymorphism is associated with chronic HBV infection.

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-F has been involved in immune regulation of infectious diseases. However, the role of HLA-F polymorphisms in hepatitis B infection outcomes remains unclear. Here, we aimed to determine HLA-F polymorphism implication in chronic HBV. Genotype analysis was performed for three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of HLA-F and one SNP of HLA-E using PCR-SSP, in 252 Tunisian patients with chronic HBV infection stratified according to their HBV DNA levels (140 patients with low HBV DNA levels < 2000 IU/mL and 112 patients with high HBV DNA levels ≥ 2000 IU/mL) and 240 healthy controls (CTRL). The three HLA-F SNPs (HLA-F*01:02, -F*01:03 and -F*01:04) have the same allelic and genotypic frequencies in patients and in CTRL. We reported a low HLA-F*01:02 and F*01:04 allelic frequencies in the Tunisian population; however, high HLA-F*01:03 allele frequencies were observed (17%). A significant association was found between the HLA-F*01:03 allele and decreased level of HBV DNA (P = 0.02 OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.35-0.92). No significant differences were observed in haplotype distribution between patients and CTRL. A significant association of HLA-F*01:03 with the level of HBV DNA suggests an important role of HLA-F in HBV replication control