Effect-directed analysis of a hospital effluent sample using A-YES for the identification of endocrine disrupting compounds.

An effect-directed analysis (EDA) approach was used to identify the compounds responsible for endocrine disruption in a hospital effluent (Basque Country). In order to facilitate the identification of the potentially toxic substances, a sample was collected using an automated onsite large volume solid phase extraction (LV-SPE) system. Then, it was fractionated with a two-step orthogonal chromatographic separation and tested for estrogenic effects with a recombinant yeast (A-YES) in-vitro bioassay.

Incidence of arrhythmias in a large cohort of patients with current implantable cardioverter-defibrillators in Spain: results from the UMBRELLA Registry.

Aims: The benefit of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) in patients at risk of sudden death has been established in randomized clinical trials (RCTs) using the ICD models available at the time. However, observational large-scale data on the incidence of arrhythmias in up-to-date ICDs implanted according to the current guidelines are scarce. The aim was to assess the incidence of arrhythmias in a large, current ICD population based on a blinded peer review of the detected episodes.

Laparoscopic video analysis for training and image-guided surgery.

Automatic analysis of Minimally Invasive Surgical video has the potential to drive new solutions for alleviating needs of safe and reproducible training programs, objective and transparent evaluation systems and navigation tools to assist surgeons and improve patient safety. Surgical video is an always available source of information, which can be used without any additional intrusive hardware in the operating room. This paper is focused on surgical video analysis methods and techniques.

Gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing treatment by hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing hemodialysis (HD) or peritoneal dialysis (PD) treatment.

Methods: Patients undergoing HD or chronic ambulatory PD in the Department of Renal Medicine of our hospital were asked to complete a locally validated Rome II questionnaire. The same questionnaire was also administered to age- and gender-matched medical outpatients without renal failure, and community subjects.