Quality of Life in Patients with Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators

Background: The implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is a life saving device for individuals with life threatening ventricular arrhythmias. There is no doubt that it is a cost effective therapy in various congenital and acquired arrhythmogenic disorders. Nevertheless, shock delivery may be painful and frightening which causes psychological distress and deterioration of perceived quality of life. Methods: A systematic meta-analysis on studies reporting quality of life in patients implanted with ICDs was done using professional databases. Related articles and references of the relevant articles were also searched for suitable studies. Results: Thirty studies with a total of 3412 patients on implantable defibrillators were identified. Five of them were large randomised studies with a total of 1680 patients, while 25 were non-randomised studies. Medical Outcome Study 36-item Short Form health survey (SF - 36) was the most common instrument used for assessment of quality of life. Only one of the 5 major randomised trial reported worsening of quality of life after implantation of a defibrillator. In the subgroup of patients receiving shocks, three out of the five trials reported worsening of quality of life. Summary: Most of the randomised studies showed either neutral or better quality of life in patients on implantable defibrillators. In the subset of patients receiving shocks, worsening of quality of life was found in most randomised studies. Therefore, activation of antitachycardia pacing should be performed in every ICD-patient in order to miminze painful shocks and consequent deterioration of quality of life

Durch ein Meer von Unwägbarkeiten - Metaphorik in der Wissensgesellschaft

Im Anschluss an Blumenberg wird die durch nautische Metaphern geprägte Kommunikation über das Internet und die Wissensgesellschaft untersucht. In einem Ausblick wird die Bedeutung der metaphorischen Sprache bei der Wissensgenerierung durch die Explikation impliziten Wissens herausgearbeitet

Interference Between Cellular Telephones and Implantable Rhythm Devices: A Review on Recent Papers

BACKGROUND: Cardiac pacemakers and implantable defibrillators are potentially susceptible to electromagnetic interferences as they have complex circuitry for sensing and communication purposes. Cellular telephones being an important source of electromagnetic waves are likely to cause interference in the function of these devices. METHODS: A systematic analysis of studies on interaction between cellular telephones and implantable devices was done using professional databases for literature. Related articles and references of relevant articles were also searched for suitable studies. RESULTS: Fourteen studies on pacemakers and eight studies on implantable defibrillators were identified. No dangerous malfunction was found in any of the analyzed studies, but most of the studies noted interference with device function when the phone was operated very close to the device. Interference was minimally in those devices with built in feed-through filters for eliminating electromagnetic interference. Device programming and interrogation were the most susceptible phases of operation. SUMMARY: Cellular phones are likely to interfere with implantable rhythm devices if operated in close proximity or during programming of the device. Patients with implanted devices can safely use cellular phones if they are not carried close to the implanted devices or operated near them. Carrying the cellular phones in the belt position, receiving calls in the ear opposite to the side of the implanted device and keeping the phone as far away as possible while dialing can be considered a safe practice. Interrogation of the devices should take place exclusively in areas where utilization of cellular phones is strictly prohibited. Studies on pacemakers published in the current decade have shown much lesser rates of interference, possibly due to improvement in device technology

TICAL - a web-tool for multivariate image clustering and data topology preserving visualization

In life science research bioimaging is often used to study two kinds of features in a sample simultaneously: morphology and co-location of molecular components. While bioimaging technology is rapidly proposing and improving new multidimensional imaging platforms, bioimage informatics has to keep pace in order to develop algorithmic approaches to support biology experts in the complex task of data analysis. One particular problem is the availability and applicability of sophisticated image analysis algorithms via the web so different users can apply the same algorithms to their data (sometimes even to the same data to get the same results) and independently from her/his whereabouts and from the technical features of her/his computer. In this paper we describe TICAL, a visual data mining approach to multivariate microscopy analysis which can be applied fully through the web.We describe the algorithmic approach, the software concept and present results obtained for different example images

Der Begriff des Wissens im Wissensmanagementdiskurs. Materialien zur Begriffsgeschichte unter Berücksichtigung der klassischen griechischen Philosophie

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Geständnismotivierung in Beschuldigtenvernehmungen: zur hermeneutischen und diskursanalytischen Rekonstruktion von Wissen

In einem Forschungsprojekt beschäftigten wir uns mit der Frage, unter welchen Bedingungen ein Beschuldigter dazu motiviert werden kann, seine Tat im Prozess der Vernehmung zu gestehen. Um das Ineinandergreifen kultureller, rechtlicher und sozialer Beweggründe aufzuklären, wurde das Problemfeld unter drei Aspekten erschlossen. Erstens wurde das diskursive Umfeld untersucht, mit dem die Geständnispraxis verknüpft ist. Zweitens wurden Vernehmungstranskripte einer Sequenzanalyse unterzogen, um über die allmählich herbeigeführten Motivationen zum Geständnis Aufschluss zu erhalten. Und drittens wurde die Entwicklung der Geständnispraxis in einem historischen Längsschnitt seit Abschaffung der Folter untersucht. Zu diesem Zweck wurden zwei verschiedene methodologische Konzepte kombiniert: Hermeneutische Wissenssoziologie und historische Diskursanalyse. Es sollte gezeigt werden, dass diese beiden Konzepte kompatibel sind und sich gegenseitig ergänzen können. Wir kamen zu dem Ergebnis, dass polizeiliche Vernehmungsbeamte für die Motivierung zum Geständnis auf einer strukturellen Ebene auf ein Erziehungsdispositiv zurückgreifen müssen, um eine Beziehung zwischen sich und dem Beschuldigten herstellen zu können.In our research work we are concerned with the question under which circumstances a suspect can be motivated to confess his crime in interrogation. Since cultural, legal and social motives work together, we approach this problem from three different points of view. The first we examine the discourses about the practice of confession, in the second place police interrogation transcipts analysed step by step, in the third place we try to reconstruct the practice of confession in its historical development since abolition of torture. To this purpose, two different scientific methods had to be combined: hermeneutical sociology of knowledge and historical discource analysis. We try to illustrate that these different scientific methods are compatible and may serve as supplements. In the result, it can be shown that the motivation to perform a confession in interrogations makes use of educational patterns in a structural sense because the interrogator must built up a relation between himself and the accused

Urban Physiology: City Ants Possess High Heat Tolerance

Urbanization has caused regional increases in temperature that exceed those measured on a global scale, leading to urban heat islands as much as 12°C hotter than their surroundings. Optimality models predict ectotherms in urban areas should tolerate heat better and cold worse than ectotherms in rural areas. We tested these predications by measuring heat and cold tolerances of leaf-cutter ants from South America's largest city (São Paulo, Brazil). Specifically, we compared thermal tolerances of ants from inside and outside of the city. Knock-down resistance and chill-coma recovery were used as indicators of heat and cold tolerances, respectively. Ants from within the city took 20% longer to lose mobility at 42°C than ants from outside the city. Interestingly, greater heat tolerance came at no obvious expense of cold tolerance; hence, our observations only partially support current theory. Our results indicate that thermal tolerances of some organisms can respond to rapid changes in climate. Predictive models should account for acclimatory and evolutionary responses during climate change

Le Sujet de l’Acteur. An Anthropological Outlook on Actor-Network Theory

In the past few years, the Actor-Network Theory of French philosopher and sociologist Bruno Latour has become a hotly debated topic in the humanities. From a philosophical perspective, his theory of things keeps being reevaluated: is it possible for ‘Human and Non-Human Actors’ (Latour) to be analyzed as equally important actors? Does Latour’s theory of a simultaneous ‘agency’ of things and concepts indeed move beyond a subject-object relation? If it does, how far does it in fact go? Is it possible to develop a common new ontology by moving away from the notion of substance, and instead reducing any kind of entities to what they reveal in the course of their (inter)action? The contributions to Le Sujet de l’Acteur are looking for interferences between the idea of ‘agency’ and cultural dynamics. How can we relate questions of (social) action with those of cultural manifestations? Focusing on questions of symmetry or dissymmetry between the world of ‘things’ and ‘human beings,’ the volume includes contributions from the fields of social studies, literary studies, and philosophy. Although the contents are categorized in systematic and historical aspects, all contributions draw on the importance of case studies for the theoretical framework, either starting with systematic questions that are then answered exemplary, or starting from historical cases as well as theoretical options