First evidence of testate amoebae in Lago fagnano (54\ub0S), Tierra del Fuego (Argentina): Proxies to reconstruct environmental changes

We report here the first findings of testate amoebae at high southern latitudes (54 S) from four gravity cores recovered in the Lago Fagnano (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina), where twelve taxa have been recognized. Among them, Centropyxis constricta \u201cconstricta\u201d, Centropyxis elongata, Difflugia globulus, Difflugia oblonga \u201coblonga\u201d, and Difflugia protaeiformis \u201camphoralis\u201d are always present, while other taxa are randomly distributed. According to the sand/silt ratio in the different cores, the Total Organic Carbon content and the Carbon/Nitrogen ratio, as well as the presence/disappearance and abundance of testate amoebae from cluster analysis, we infer a correlation between major textural/granulometrical changes found in the cores and environmental changes. A seismic event occurred on 1949, which substantially modified the morphology of the eastern Lago Fagnano shoreline and the supply pattern from two main eastern tributaries of the lake, is recorded in the studied cores. This event has in part modified the distribution of testate amoebae taxa within the studied cores. Present results show that testate amoebae represent important indicators to detect changes occurring in the environment in which they live

Persistence of Restrictive Left Ventricular Filling Pattern in Dilated Cardiomyopathy: An Ominous Prognostic Sign

AbstractObjectives. We sought to assess the prognostic implications of the evolution of restrictive left ventricular filling pattern (RFP) in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).Background. Previous work has demonstrated that a RFP in DCM is associated with a poor prognosis. Few data are available on the prognostic implications of the evolution of this pattern.Methods. The evolution of left ventricular filling was studied by Doppler echocardiography in 110 patients with DCM. According to the left ventricular filling pattern at presentation and after 3 months of treatment, the patients were classified into three groups: Group 1A (n = 24) had persistent restrictive filling; Group 1B (n = 29) had reversible restrictive filling; and Group 2 (n = 57) had nonrestrictive filling.Results. During follow-up (41 ± 20 months), mortality plus heart transplantation was significantly higher in Group 1A than in Groups 1B and 2 (p < 0.0001). On multivariate analysis, the model incorporating E wave deceleration time at 3 months was more powerful at predicting mortality with respect to this variable at baseline (p = 0.0039). Clinical improvement at 1 and 2 years was significantly more frequent in Groups 1B and 2 than in Group 1A (p < 0.0001 at 2 years).Conclusions. In patients with DCM, the persistence of restrictive filling at 3 months is associated with a high mortality and transplantation rate. The patients with reversible restrictive filling have a high probability of improvement and excellent survival. Doppler echocardiographic reevaluation of these patients after 3 months of therapy gives additional prognostic information with respect to the initial study.(J Am Coll Cardiol 1997;29:604–12

Holocene evolution of the Venice Lagoon

The Venice Lagoon is characterized by a remarkable vertical and lateral variability of deposits, mainly produced by delta, tidal channels and sand bar migration. High resolution seismic surveys and coring analysis, carried out in the frame of the Co.Ri.La. research line 3.16, produced new insight in the evolution of the Venice Lagoon through the Holocene. Based on the new data, it has been possible, for the first time, to image and map the three main phases that characterized the formation and the evolution of the lagoon. Initially, the marine ingression, between 10,000 and 6,000 years B.P., produced the submersion by the Adriatic Sea of the Pleistocene alluvial plain. During this phase, longshore drift triggered the formation of the Venice palaeo lagoon. Then, the following sea level highstand recorded the predominance of sediment supply from rivers and the progressive advance of the coastline toward the sea. Finally, the more recent phase was characterized by the predominance of erosion and sediment exportation from the lagoon, as the consequence of human interventions on river mouths and inlets since historical time. These distinct phases are associated to sedimentary deposits with different geotechnical, sedimentological and geochemical characteristics, which play different roles in the erodibility of the sea floor and in the hydrogeological regime. In this paper we present the main results from the surveys carried between 2003 and 2006 in the southern portion of the lagoon, where the Holocene deposits reaches their maximum thickness

An uncommon case of inferior vena cava injury during atrial fibrillation ablation

A 64-year-old man underwent catheter ablation (CA) of atrial fibrillation with intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) assistance. As the probe was advanced toward the right atrium, sudden abdominal pain was felt by the patient with hypotension and tachycardia requiring fluids and vasopressors for hemodynamic stabilization. The inferior vena cava (IVC) was injured by the passing probe and open repair was then performed. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of symptomatic IVC laceration by the probe used for ICE during CA

Conflicting gender-related differences in the natural history of patients with Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Objective. To evaluated possible clinical and instrumental, natural history and prognostic divergences in women and men with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDCM). Patients and Methods. From 1988 to 2012, we evaluated 803 consecutive patients with IDCM recorded in the Heart Muscle Disease Registry of Trieste (Italy). All patients had serial follow-up evaluations at 6, 12, and 24 months, and subsequently every two years, or more frequently if clinically indicated. Results. Two hundred and twenty-seven patients (28%) were female. At first evaluation women were significantly older (48 vs. 45 years old, p = 0.008); presented more frequently left bundle branch block at ECG (38% vs. 28%, p = 0.01), smaller left ventricular end-diastolic indexed volume at echocardiography (85 vs. 93 ml/m2, p &lt;0.002) and more frequently moderate to severe mitral regurgitation at Doppler (43% vs. 33%, p = 0.015). No differences in NYHA class, medical treatment and device implantation rates were found. During a median of 108 months follow-up, women showed a significantly lower ten-year total mortality/heart transplantation (20% vs. 32% respectively, p = 0.001) and cardiovascular mortality rates (9% vs. 15%, p = 0.024) despite a less marked clinical and echocardiographic improvement. Conclusions. In our population of patients with IDCM, women showed a better long-term prognosis notwithstanding a presentation with a more advanced disease and a lower clinical-instrumental improvement on optimal medical therapy compared to men.&nbsp

New perspectives in diagnosis and risk stratification of non-ischaemic dilated cardiomyopathy

Dilated cardiomyopathy is a primitive heart muscle condition, characterized by structural and functional abnormalities, in the absence of a specific cause sufficient to determine the disease. It is, though, an 'umbrella' term that describes the final common pathway of different pathogenic processes and gene-environment interactions. Performing an accurate diagnostic workup and appropriate characterization of the patient has a direct impact on the patient's outcome. The physician should adapt a multiparametric approach, including a careful anamnesis and physical examination and integrating imaging data and genetic testing. Aetiological characterization should be pursued, and appropriate arrhythmic risk stratification should be performed. Evaluations should be repeated thoroughly at follow-up, as the disease is dynamical over time and individual risk might evolve. The goal is an all-around characterization of the patient, a personalized medicine approach, in order to establish a diagnosis and therapy tailored for the individual patient

Left Ventricular Response to Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy: Insights From Hemodynamic Forces Computed by Speckle Tracking

Aims: Despite continuous efforts in improving the selection process, the rate of non-responders to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) remains high. Recent studies on intraventricular blood flow suggested that the alignment of hemodynamic forces (HDFs) may be a reproducible biomarker of mechanical dyssynchrony. We aimed to explore the relationship between pacing-induced realignment of HDFs and positive response to CRT. Methods and results: We retrospectively analyzed 38 patients from the CRT database of our institution fulfilling the inclusion criteria for HDFs-related echocardiographic assessment early pre and post CRT implantation, with available mid-term follow-up ( 65 6 months) evaluation. Standard echocardiographic and deformation parameters early pre and post CRT implantation were integrated with the measurement of HFDs through novel methods based on speckle-tracking analysis. At midterm follow-up 71% of patients were classified as responders (reduction of Left Ventricular Systolic Volume Indexed 65 15%). Patients did not display significant changes between close evaluations pre and post-implant in terms of ejection fraction and strain metrics. A significant reduction of the ratio between the amplitudes of transversal and longitudinal force components was found. The variation of this ratio strongly correlates (R2 =0.60) with Left Ventricular (LV) end-systolic volume variation at mid-term follow up. Conclusion: Pacing-induced realignment of HDFs is associated with CRT efficacy at follow up. These preliminary results claim for dedicated prospective clinical studies testing the potential impact of HDFs study for patient selection and pacing optimization in CRT

Glacial, \ufb02uvioglacial and \ufb02uvial sedimentary discharge in the northwestern coastal sectorof the Ross Sea continental margin since upper Miocene to LGM

The Borchgrevink Coast stretches from the Coulman Island northward to the Cape Adare for at least 200 km, bordering the western side of the northern Drygalski Trough. The early phase of the acquisition objectives of the PNRAProjectGlevors(GlacialEvolutioninthenorthwesternRossSea,offshoreNorthVictoriaLand,Antarctica) was accomplished in the north western coastal sector of the Ross Sea continental margin along the Borchgrevink Coast, from Coulman Island to Cape Hallett. Single channel seismic and sub bottom pro\ufb01les, swath bathymetry and gravity cores were collected during the Austral summer of 2016/2017, by the scienti\ufb01c research vessel OGS/Explora. The studied area along this segment of the Borchgrevink Coast documents, by the analysis and the interpretation of available geophysical, geological and oceanographic data, the paleo ice discharge and ice \ufb02owing patterns of the inferred Mariner-Borchgrevink and Tucker coastal glaciers, since at least the Upper Miocene until the Holocene Time. The repeated and possibly asynchronous oscillations of these valley glaciers from the North Victoria Land coast, at least about tens km offshore, and their interaction with fast \ufb02owing ice streams from the south are recorded. In particular, the analysis of the architecture and of the geometrical relationship of the interpreted seismic facies and units allows to infer past glacial and interglacial environments. Modelling of paleo environments and related climate condition is achieved despite the age constrain uncertainty of local seismic stratigraphy and of biostrathigraphic correlations to coeval sediment section in southern Ross Sea inner-shelf sector (McMurdo Sound), and besides the acoustic facies ambiguity due to not enough data resolution. The interpreted shallower and Holocene-Present glacial related features are simple or composite ice-marginal landforms, with overstepping smaller recessional deposits on top or behind. They testify the coastal glaciers grounded events and the ice retreat modality during the pre-LGM and the LGM. We infer that northern coastal glaciers, from the Tucker glacier northward, about 72\u25e6 latitude, did not advance or reach the northwestern Ross Sea shelf edge at the LGM, but possibly before. The grounding line of NVL coastal glaciers would correlate with the pre-LGM grounding lineament reconstructed for the major ice-streams \ufb02owing from the south. More ancient and buried wedge, underlying the main composite Grounding Zone Wedge (GZW) system raises the issue if it was possible the formation and the preservation as a pinning point, of a previously developed GZW or of the upper part of a \ufb02uvioglacial delta in late Miocene or Pliocene time. Moreover, further offshore from the coast, the evidence, of an ancient buried glacial/\ufb02uvioglacial or \ufb02uvial delta, embedded within the glaciomarine clinoforms of the Trough Mouth Fans (TMFs) deposits \ufb01lling the Northern Drygalski Trough, suggest climate change and an inferred preceding coastal open-sea condition

INTERMUSCULAR TWO-INCISION TECHNIQUE FOR S-ICD IMPLANTATION

Background The traditional technique for subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillator (S-ICD) implantation, which involves three incisions and a subcutaneous pocket, is associated with possible complications, including inappropriate interventions. The aim of this prospective multicenter study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of an alternative intermuscular two-incision technique for S-ICD implantation. Methods The study population included 36 consecutive patients (75% male, mean age 44 ± 12 years [range 20–69]) who underwent S-ICD implantation using the intermuscular two-incision technique. This technique avoids the superior parasternal incision for the lead placement and consists of creating an intermuscular pocket between the anterior surface of the serratus anterior and the posterior surface of the latissimus dorsi muscles instead of a subcutaneous pocket. Results All patients were successfully implanted in the absence of any procedure-related complications with a successful 65-J standard polarity defibrillation threshold testing, except in one, who received a second successful shock after pocket revision. During a mean follow-up of 10 months (range 3–30), no complications requiring surgical revision were observed. At device interrogation, stable sensing without interferences was observed in all patients. Two patients (5.5%) experienced appropriate and successful shock on ventricular fibrillation and in four patients (11%), a total of seven nonsustained self-terminated ventricular tachycardias were correctly detected. No inappropriate interventions were observed. Conclusions Our experience suggests that the two-incision intermuscular technique is a safe and efficacious alternative to the current technique for S-ICD implantation that may help reducing complications including inappropriate interventions and offer a better cosmetic outcome, especially in thin individuals

Paleochannel and beach-bar palimpsest topography as initial substrate for coralligenous buildups offshore Venice, Italy

We provide a model for the genesis of Holocene coralligenous buildups occurring in the northwestern Adriatic Sea offshore Venice at 17-24 m depth. High-resolution geophysical surveys and underwater SCUBA diving reconnaissance revealed meandering shaped morphologies underneath bio-concretionned rocky buildups. These morphologies are inferred to have been inherited from Pleistocene fluvial systems reactivated as tidal channels during the post-Last Glacial Maximum transgression, when the study area was a lagoon protected by a sandy barrier. The lithification of the sandy fossil channel-levee systems is estimated to have occurred at ca. 7 cal. ka BP, likely due to the interaction between marine and less saline fluids related to onshore freshwater discharge at sea through a sealed water-table. The carbonate-cemented sandy layers served as nucleus for subsequent coralligenous buildups growth.Contiene material complementario: consultar en https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-01483-z#Sec5Centro de Investigaciones Geológica