Drug Therapy Vs. Ablation Therapy for Patients with Atrial Fibrillation

The prevalence of atrial fibrillation is 6.5 percent in the adult population in the United States, in an attempt to treat this patient population, there are numerous options and this study attempts to find the optimal treatment plan that has the least Atrial fibrillation(AF) reoccurrence, best quality of life and is the most effective. This is a Systematic Review comparing catheter ablation therapy vs. drug therapy in treating patients with atrial fibrillation. The search engines used in this analysis include PubMed, UpToDate, Google Scholar and Academic Search Premier. A total of 19 articles were analyzed and data was extracted, and conclusions were made. This review came to three conclusions, Anti-arrhythmic drugs (AAD) had no statistical significance over rate control 2,7,19 but specifically amiodarone had poorer side effects and more hospitalizations 3,7,19. Secondly, catheter ablation therapy was more effective than drug therapy, specifically with multiple procedures and concomitant AAD use in reducing AF reoccurrence and improving quality of life 12,13 . Thirdly, catheter ablation therapy was associated with serious adverse effects such as cardiac tamponade and a 4.7 % increased risk for stroke9 . Keeping this in mind, Amiodarone showed to have an increased risk of stroke by 1.8-fold 2,3, and an increased mortality p=0.0082,19 . AAD therapy has limited use because of the toxic side effects, therefore catheter ablation therapy serves as a promising long-term solution. There should be continued improved efforts towards advancing and optimizing the ablation therapy technique. Patients who fit the characteristics of more likely to succeed should be offered ablation therapy as first line treatment, and additional procedures should be offered until complete cessation of AF

Social and Psycho-political Impacts in the Social Construction of Political Memory of the Brazilian Military Dictatorship

This article refers to a research on the political memory of the military dictatorship in Brazil, held in three Brazilian cities (Belo Horizonte, Curitiba and São Paulo) in which we analyzed the social and psychopolitical impacts caused by the dictatorship as well as the redemocratization process in building the political memory of community and union leaders. The study revealed two important legacies that were found in the reports of interviewees: the first one refers to police repression, impunity, and authoritarianism still present in Brazilian society; the second legacy refers to the existence of a political memory built by social movements and communities that care about passing on, to the new generations, the events that occurred during the military dictatorship.Research has clearly shown that there is no single memory but several "underground memories" (Pollak, 1989), built by the popular classes, which contradict the versions disseminated by the official memory and enhance the social movements capacity of action as a strategy of resistance and political struggle of the movements today. To the extent that this fight is assumed by other spheres of Brazilian society it may contribute to memory policies in the fight against forgetting

The decline of a dominant party : the Indian National Congress, 1967-1977

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-109).This thesis is concerned with the phenomenon of Single Party Dominance (SPD) and the implications of such a phenomenon on the party system in post-Independence India. Specifically, the work is tasked with explaining how dominance can end by providing an analytical narrative of a single case of SPD and its collapse. This will be done by examining the precipitous decline of the Indian National Congress over a ten-year period from 1967, where Congress lost its first state-level elections, to 1977, where the party was finally rejected at the national level after three decades of dominance

The Relationship Between Codependency, Alcoholism, and the Family of Origin

This study examined the relationship between the construct of codependency, family alcohol consumption patterns, degree of family dysfunction, and gender. It was proposed that codependent behaviors, feelings, and attitudes would be present in persons regardless of the reported degree of family alcohol abuse if dysfunctional patterns of relating exsisted in the family of origin. It was further hypothesised that women would evidence higher codependency scores than males in all groups. The Spann-Fischer codependency assessment instrument was use to measure subjects feelings and attitudes. Subjects were divided into four groups based on their report of family dysfunction and family alcohol consumption patterns. Results indicated codependent characteristics were more prevalent in subjects from the maximum dysfunction group compaired to those in the minimum dysfunction group regardless of reported degree of family alcohol consumption. Females did not score significantly higher than males. The additional questions assessing the concept of Hypervigilence did not show significant intercorrelations and only correlated moderately with the Spann-Fisher assessment instrument. The concept of codependency is reviewed and implications for future research are discussed

Capillary patterns in vertebrates

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University, 1947. This item was digitized by the Internet Archive

Probabilistic risk assessment of the environmental impacts of pesticides in the Crocodile (west) Marico catchment, North-West Province

External agricultural inputs, such as pesticides, may pose risks to aquatic ecosystems and affect aquatic populations, communities and ecosystems. To predict these risks, a tiered approach was followed, incorporating both the PRIMET and PERPEST models. The first-tier PRIMET model is designed to yield a relatively worst-case risk assessment requiring a minimum of input data, after which the effects of the risks can be refined using a higher tier PERPEST model. The risk assessment initially depends on data supplied from local landowners, pesticide characteristic, application scheme and physical scenario of the environment under question. Preliminary results are presented, together with ecotoxicological data on several frequently-used pesticides in a section of the Crocodile (west) Marico Water Management Area (WMA) in South Africa. This area is historically known to have a high pesticide usage, with deltamethrin, aldicarb, parathion, cypermethrin and dichlorvos being the main pesticides used. Deltamethrin was indicated as having the highest probability of risks to aquatic organisms occurring in the study area. Cypermethrin, parathion, dichlorvos, carbaryl, romoxynil, linuron, methomyl and aldicarb were all indicated as having possible risks (ETR 1-100) to the aquatic environment. Pesticides posing no risk included fenamiphos, abamectin, pendimethalin, captan, endosulfan, alachlor, bentazone and cyromazine (ET

Multiple Roles and Women's Mental Health in Canada

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Health Issue</p> <p>Research on the relationship between women's social roles and mental health has been equivocal. Although a greater number of roles often protect mental health, certain combinations can lead to strain. Our study explored the moderating affects of different role combinations on women's mental health by examining associations with socioeconomic status and differences in women's distress (depressive symptoms, personal stress (role strain) and chronic stress (role strain plus environmental stressors).</p> <p>Key Findings</p> <p>Women with children, whether single or partnered, had a higher risk of personal stress. Distress, stress and chronic stress levels of mothers, regardless of employment, or marital status, are staggeringly high. Single, unemployed mothers were significantly more likely than all other groups to experience financial stress and food insecurity. For partnered mothers, rates of personal stress and chronic stress were significantly lower among unemployed partnered mothers. Married and partnered mothers reported better mental health than their single counterparts. Lone, unemployed mothers were twice as likely to report a high level of distress compared with other groups. Lone mothers, regardless of employment status, were more likely to report high personal and chronic stress.</p> <p>Data Gaps and Recommendations</p> <p>National health surveys need to collect more data on the characteristics of women's work environment and their care giving responsibilities. Questions on household composition should include inter-generational households, same sex couples and multifamily arrangements. Data disaggregation by ethno-racial background would be helpful. Data should be collected on perceived quality of domestic and partnership roles and division of labours.</p

O Legado da greve de Perus: lembranças de uma luta operária

The present article analyzes the legacy of a workers' strike that lasted seven years (1962-1969) during the period of the military dictatorship in Brazil, emphasizing the workers' resistance in a working class neighborhood (Perus), localized in the outskirts of the city of São Paulo. The study is the result of a master's thesis titled "Repression and Workers´ Struggles in the Collective Memory of the Working Class in São Paulo", in which is analyzed the collective memory of different generations who did not experience the period of the strike: current community and union leaders and the strikers' grandchildren. This text contains a brief history of strikes in Brazil and how the struggle of the workers at the Perus Portland Cement Factory, known as the "Queixadas´ struggles"² came about and developed, emphasizing the legacy of the strike as it was preserved in a memory of the organization and resistance of the workers. Through the investigation of this movement, the author became aware of how, throughout the years, this workers' movement - marked by conflict and confrontation with businessmen, labor courts and the government - imprinted the history of the neighborhood and, mainly, the lives of the people, influencing the generations that followed and also becoming an ethical point of reference for new generations.O presente artigo tem por objetivo apresentar o legado de uma greve operária que durou sete anos (de 1962-1969) no período da ditadura militar no Brasil, destacando a resistência dos trabalhadores do bairro de Perus, localizado na periferia de São Paulo. Este estudo refere-se à dissertação de mestrado intitulada "Repressão e lutas operárias na memória coletiva da classe trabalhadora em São Paulo" na qual analisamos a memória coletiva de diferentes gerações que não viveram o período da greve: netos dos operários, lideranças sindicais e comunitárias atuais. Ao longo deste texto foi apresentado um breve histórico das greves no Brasil e como se deu a luta dos operários da Fábrica de Cimento Perus Portland, conhecida como a "Luta dos Queixadas",¹ destacando-se o legado da greve como uma memória da organização e resistência dos operários. Investigando esse movimento deu-se conta de como, no decorrer dos anos, este movimento operário - demarcado pelo conflito e enfrentamento contra empresário, justiça do trabalho e governo - marcou a história do bairro e, principalmente, a vida das pessoas, influenciando as gerações que se seguiram e se transformando, inclusive, em princípio ético de novas gerações