Predictive Scoring System for Spontaneous Closure of Infant Ventricular Septal Defect: The P-VSD Score.

Ventricular septal defect (VSD) is a common congenital heart disease. However, consensus on the utility of echocardiography in predicting spontaneous closure (SC) of VSD remains lacking. This study aimed to identify and validate significant predictors of SC through a predictive scoring system.

Myocardial Rotation and Torsion in Child Growth.

Background: The speckle tracking echocardiography can benefit to assess the regional myocardial deformations. Although, previous reports suggested no significant change in left ventricular (LV) torsion with aging, there are certain differences in LV rotation at the base and apex. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the change and relationship of LV rotation for torsion with aging in children.

Improving a prediction system for oil spills in the Yellow Sea: effect of tides on subtidal flow.

A multi-nested prediction system for the Yellow Sea using drifter trajectory simulations was developed to predict the movements of an oil spill after the MV Hebei Spirit accident. The speeds of the oil spill trajectories predicted by the model without tidal forcing were substantially faster than the observations; however, predictions taking into account the tides, including both tidal cycle and subtidal periods, were satisfactorily improved. Subtidal flow in the simulation without tides was stronger than in that with tides because of reduced frictional effects.