Parameters affecting the formation of perfluoroalkyl acids during wastewater treatment.

This study examined the fate and behaviour of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in liquid and solid samples from five different wastewater treatment types: facultative and aerated lagoons, chemically assisted primary treatment, secondary aerobic biological treatment, and advanced biological nutrient removal treatment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest data set from a single study available in the literature to date for PFAAs monitoring study in wastewater treatment. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was the predominant PFAA in wastewater with levels from 2.

Design of an acute dP/dt hemodynamic measurement protocol to isolate cardiac effect of pacing.

Background: Invasively measured maximum increase in left ventricular pressure (LV dP/dtmax) has been used to assess biventricular (BiV) pacing. We quantified extracardiac factors contributing to its variability, and developed a protocol to minimize these effects in an acute pacing experiment.

Methods And Results: Continuous pressure was recorded by a guidewire sensor placed in the LV.

Mechanical stability and reversible fracture of vault particles.

Vaults are the largest ribonucleoprotein particles found in eukaryotic cells, with an unclear cellular function and promising applications as vehicles for drug delivery. In this article, we examine the local stiffness of individual vaults and probe their structural stability with atomic force microscopy under physiological conditions. Our data show that the barrel, the central part of the vault, governs both the stiffness and mechanical strength of these particles.

School-based physical activity and nutritional education interventions on body mass index: a meta-analysis of randomised community trials - project PANE.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of school-based physical activity (PA) and nutritional education (NE) interventions on children's and adolescents' body mass index.

Methods: We conducted a systematic search in fourteen databases until September 2012 for randomised controlled trials on PA and NE, conducted in the school setting, and delivered to children and adolescents. Additionally, we performed a cross-reference check in related papers.

Occurrence and fate of antibiotic, analgesic/anti-inflammatory, and antifungal compounds in five wastewater treatment processes.

The presence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the aquatic environment as a result of wastewater effluent discharge is a concern in many countries. In order to expand our understanding on the occurrence and fate of PPCPs during wastewater treatment processes, 62 antibiotic, analgesic/anti-inflammatory, and antifungal compounds were analyzed in 72 liquid and 24 biosolid samples from six wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) during the summer and winter seasons of 2010-2012. This is the first scientific study to compare five different wastewater treatment processes: facultative and aerated lagoons, chemically-enhanced primary treatment, secondary activated sludge, and advanced biological nutrient removal.

Evidence of VP7 and VP4 intra-lineage diversification in G4P[8] Italian human rotaviruses.

Intragenotypic heterogeneity of co-circulating rotaviruses is remarkable. Sequence and phylogenetic analyses of the rotavirus VP7 and VP4 genes were performed on selected human G4P[8] strains identified in Parma, Northern Italy, during 2004-2005 and 2008-2012. All the strains clustered into lineages Ic (VP7) and P[8]-III (VP4) in different subclusters with a nucleotide sequence variation up to 4 %.

Structural insights into the Ca2+ and PI(4,5)P2 binding modes of the C2 domains of rabphilin 3A and synaptotagmin 1.

Proteins containing C2 domains are the sensors for Ca(2+) and PI(4,5)P2 in a myriad of secretory pathways. Here, the use of a free-mounting system has enabled us to capture an intermediate state of Ca(2+) binding to the C2A domain of rabphilin 3A that suggests a different mechanism of ion interaction. We have also determined the structure of this domain in complex with PI(4,5)P2 and IP3 at resolutions of 1.

Charting a course for cardiac electrophysiology training in Canada: the vital role of fellows in advanced cardiovascular care.

Canadian electrophysiology (EP) fellowship programs have evolved in an ad hoc fashion over 30 years. This evolution has occurred in many fields in medicine and is natural when innovators and pioneers attract research fellows who help change the status quo from predominantly research to a predominantly clinical application and focus. Fellows not only push their supervisors and their centres into new areas of inquiry but also function at the most advanced level to encourage and teach junior trainees and to provide examples of excellence to residents, medical students, and other health professionals.

Attentional disengagement is modulated by the offset of unpleasant pictures: a saccadic reaction time study.

We studied the influence of passively viewing a picture on saccade latencies to peripheral targets. Thirty-two volunteers were instructed to look at a central picture, wait for the onset of a peripheral target, and execute a saccade toward it as quickly as possible - saccadic reaction time (SRT). The central picture (neutral or unpleasant) could be turned off simultaneously with target onset (the no-gap condition) or 200ms prior to target onset (the gap-200 condition).

The effect of school-based physical activity interventions on body mass index: a meta-analysis of randomized trials.

This study reviewed the effectiveness of school-based physical activity interventions aimed at reducing overweight, obesity and hypertension in children. We searched 14 databases and analyzed studies published between April 2009 and September 2012. Only randomized controlled trials performed at the school level that included elements of physical activity but did not include nutritional co-interventions were analyzed.

Histopathology of cryoballoon ablation-induced phrenic nerve injury.

Introduction: Hemi-diaphragmatic paralysis is the most common complication associated with cryoballoon ablation for atrial fibrillation, yet the histopathology of phrenic nerve injury has not been well described.

Methods And Results: A preclinical randomized study was conducted to characterize the histopathology of phrenic nerve injury induced by cryoballoon ablation and assess the potential for electromyographic (EMG) monitoring to limit phrenic nerve damage. Thirty-two dogs underwent cryoballoon ablation of the right superior pulmonary vein with the objective of inducing phrenic nerve injury.

Pulmonary vein isolation using a pace-capture-guided versus an adenosine-guided approach: effect on dormant conduction and long-term freedom from recurrent atrial fibrillation--a prospective study.

Background: Atrial fibrillation recurrence after pulmonary vein (PV) isolation is associated with PV to left atrium reconduction. We prospectively studied the use of 2 procedural techniques designed to facilitate identification of residual gaps within the index ablation line.

Methods And Results: After wide circumferential PV isolation, 40 patients received additional ablation targeted at locations of left atrial capture during high-output pacing (pace-capture group), while 40 patients underwent adenosine testing with targeted ablation at sites of dormant conduction (adenosine group).

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in sewage sludge and treated biosolids: effect factors and mass balance.

Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants have been consistently detected in sewage sludge and treated biosolids. Two hundred and eighty-eight samples including primary sludge (PS), waste biological sludge (WBS) and treated biosolids from fifteen wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Canada were analyzed to investigate the factors affecting accumulation of PBDEs in sludge and biosolids. Factors examined included environmental/sewershed conditions and operational parameters of the WWTPs.

Ultrasound in sialadenitis.

The salivary glands are located superficially and are therefore easily accessible to ultrasound (US) examination, particularly if a high-frequency probe designed for small parts is used. Hence, US examination of these organs is widely applied particularly in non-neoplastic pathologies. In this way, it is possible to obtain adequate images without the use of ionizing radiation or complex instrumentation such as magnetic resonance imaging.

Cyclocondensation of 2,3-butanedione in the presence of amino acids and formation of 4,5-dimethyl-1,2-phenylendiamine.

The chemical interaction of 2,3-butanedione with amino acids through Strecker reaction has been studied extensively. However, the formation of previously reported 4,5-dimethyl-1,2-benzoquinone from 2,3-butanedione/amino acid model systems has not been investigated in detail. In this study such model systems containing 2,3-butanedione were investigated under pyrolytic conditions using glycine, sodium glycinate and glycine hydrochloride as amino acids able to modulate acid/base catalytic activity of the reaction medium.

Relationship of quality of life with procedural success of atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation and postablation AF burden: substudy of the STAR AF randomized trial.

Background: The Substrate and Trigger Ablation for Reduction of Atrial Fibrillation (STAR AF) trial compared 3 strategies for ablation of high-burden paroxysmal/persistent atrial fibrillation (AF): complex fractionated electrogram ablation (CFE), pulmonary vein isolation (PVI), or a combined approach (PVI with CFE). This subanalysis aimed to identify the effect on quality of life (QOL) conferred by ablation strategy, AF recurrence, and type of AF.

Methods: The STAR AF study (n = 100) found 88%, 68%, and 38% freedom from AF > 30 seconds at 12 months for PVI with CFE, PVI, and CFE approaches, respectively (P = 0.

The time course of exit and entrance block during cryoballoon pulmonary vein isolation.

Aims: The dynamic time course of entrance and exit block during pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is unknown. The purpose of this series was to dynamically evaluate the manifestation of entrance and exit conduction block during simultaneous circumferential PVI.

Methods And Results: Pacing manoeuvres were performed during cryoballoon ablation of left-sided pulmonary veins (PVs) in 30 consecutive patients with a history of drug-refractory paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

Corticosteroid use during pulmonary vein isolation is associated with a higher prevalence of dormant pulmonary vein conduction.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence after pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is associated with PV to left atrium reconduction.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to prospectively determine if the use of intraprocedural corticosteroids to limit the extent of tissue edema and/or inflammation alters the prevalence of spontaneous and adenosine-induced acute PV reconnection after PVI.

Methods: Prior to wide circumferential PVI, 45 patients received a single intravenous (IV) bolus of hydrocortisone 250 mg immediately after transseptal access (steroid group).

The worldwide prevalence of insufficient physical activity in adolescents; a systematic review.

Objective: To perform a systematic review of crosssectional studies on the prevalence of insufficient physical activity (IPA) based on a WHO-defined cutoff point (< 60 min/d of moderate and vigorous physical activity).

Methods: The search was carried out using online databases (BioMed Central, CINAHL, EMBASE, ERIC, PsycInfo, PubMed MEDLINE, SCOPUS, SPORTDiscus), and included articles published from the beginning of the databases until February18th, 2012, as well as references cited by the retrieved articles and information provided by the authors. Only original articles using questionnaires in the diagnosis were considered.

Perfluoroalkyl acids in the Canadian environment: multi-media assessment of current status and trends.

In Canada, perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) have been the focus of several monitoring programs and research and surveillance studies. Here, we integrate recent data and perform a multi-media assessment to examine the current status and ongoing trends of PFAAs in Canada. Concentrations of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), and other long-chain perfluorocarboxylates (PFCAs) in air, water, sediment, fish, and birds across Canada are generally related to urbanization, with elevated concentrations observed around cities, especially in southern Ontario.

Secondary coenzyme Q10 deficiency and oxidative stress in cultured fibroblasts from patients with riboflavin responsive multiple Acyl-CoA dehydrogenation deficiency.

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is essential for the energy production of the cells and as an electron transporter in the mitochondrial respiratory chain. CoQ10 links the mitochondrial fatty acid β-oxidation to the respiratory chain by accepting electrons from electron transfer flavoprotein-ubiquinone oxidoreductase (ETF-QO). Recently, it was shown that a group of patients with the riboflavin responsive form of multiple acyl-CoA dehydrogenation deficiency (RR-MADD) carrying inherited amino acid variations in ETF-QO also had secondary CoQ10 deficiency with beneficial effects of CoQ10 treatment, thus adding RR-MADD to an increasing number of diseases involving secondary CoQ10 deficiency.

New features of vault architecture and dynamics revealed by novel refinement using the deformable elastic network approach.

The vault particle, with a molecular weight of about 10 MDa, is the largest ribonucleoprotein that has been described. The X-ray structure of intact rat vault has been solved at a resolution of 3.5 Å [Tanaka et al.

Atrial fibrillation in heart failure: drug therapies for rate and rhythm control.

Pharmacological treatment of atrial fibrillation in the context of heart failure poses numerous challenges. Management decisions are limited by contraindications to several drugs and the paucity of robust clinical trials that provide evidence-based guidance. This review proposes a structured action plan for managing atrial fibrillation coexisting with heart failure that considers published clinical guidelines and integrates recent data derived from substudies of randomized trials, including the atrial fibrillation and congestive heart failure (AF-CHF) trial.

Cryoballoon ablation of pulmonary veins for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation: first results of the North American Arctic Front (STOP AF) pivotal trial.

Objectives: This study sought to assess the safety and effectiveness of a novel cryoballoon ablation technology designed to achieve single-delivery pulmonary vein (PV) isolation.

Background: Standard radiofrequency ablation is effective in eliminating atrial fibrillation (AF) but requires multiple lesion delivery at the risk of significant complications.

Methods: Patients with documented symptomatic paroxysmal AF and previously failed therapy with ≥ 1 membrane active antiarrhythmic drug underwent 2:1 randomization to either cryoballoon ablation (n = 163) or drug therapy (n = 82).