Quality of life benefits from arrhythmia ablation: A longitudinal study using the C-CAP questionnaire and EQ5D.

Aims: To investigate long-term efficacy of cardiac ablation for symptomatic arrhythmia by gathering generic and arrhythmia-related quality of life data using patient-reported outcome measures before and after ablation.

Methods: Consecutive patients undergoing cardiac ablation procedures at three sites in the United Kingdom were enrolled (n = 561). Data were collected at baseline, at 8-16 weeks, and 12 months after the ablation with responses from 390 patients received at all three time points.

Thopaz+ Portable Digital System for Managing Chest Drains: A NICE Medical Technology Guidance.

The Thopaz+ portable digital system was evaluated by the Medical Technologies Advisory Committee (MTAC) of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). The manufacturer, Medela, submitted a case for the adoption of Thopaz+ that was critiqued by Cedar, on behalf of NICE. Due to a lack of clinical evidence submitted by the manufacturer, Cedar carried out its own literature search.

ENDURALIFE-Powered Cardiac Resynchronisation Therapy Defibrillator Devices for Treating Heart Failure: A NICE Medical Technology Guidance.

ENDURALIFE™-powered cardiac resynchronisation therapy defibrillator (CRT-D) devices were the subject of an evaluation by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, through its Medical Technologies Evaluation Programme, for the treatment of heart failure. Boston Scientific (manufacturer) submitted a case for the adoption of the technology, claiming that it has a longer battery life resulting in a longer time to CRT-D replacement. Other claimed benefits were fewer complications associated with replacement procedures, fewer hospital admissions, less time spent in hospital and reduced demand on cardiology device implantation rooms.

Tophaceous gout with rare involvement of the patella.

Gout arthritis is an inflammatory arthritis caused by hyperuricemia from various etiologies. It is typically a polyarticular arthritis with the most common joint involved being the first metatarsophalangeal joint. We present a case of gout of the knee with characteristic magnetic resonance imaging findings and rare involvement of the patella.

End-to-end continuous manufacturing of pharmaceuticals: integrated synthesis, purification, and final dosage formation.

A series of tubes: The continuous manufacture of a finished drug product starting from chemical intermediates is reported. The continuous pilot-scale plant used a novel route that incorporated many advantages of continuous-flow processes to produce active pharmaceutical ingredients and the drug product in one integrated system.

The gut microbiome: the role of a virtual organ in the endocrinology of the host.

The human microbiome contains a vast array of microbes and genes that show greater complexity than the host's own karyome; the functions of many of these microbes are beneficial and show co-evolution with the host, while others are detrimental. The microbiota that colonises the gut is now being considered as a virtual organ or emergent system, with properties that need to be integrated into host biology and physiology. Unlike other organs, the functions that the gut microbiota plays in the host are as yet not fully understood and can be quite easily disrupted by antibiotics, diet or surgery.

MR imaging of hypervascular liver masses: a review of current techniques.

Major technologic advances in magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, including the advent of novel pulse sequences (eg, diffusion-weighted and steady-state free precession sequences) and the use of hepatocyte-specific contrast agents, have led to better image quality and shorter acquisition times, resulting in dramatic improvements in the noninvasive detection and characterization of hepatic lesions, particularly hypervascular neoplasms. However, as the role of MR imaging in clinical evaluation of the liver continues to evolve, keeping abreast of new developments can be daunting as well as confusing. A systematic approach that makes use of a simple decision algorithm can help differentiate hypervascular hepatic lesions on the basis of their distinguishing MR imaging characteristics and related clinical information.

Molecular dynamics study of the interactions of ice inhibitors on the ice {001} surface.

The interactions of antifreeze protein (AFP) type I, antifreeze glycoproteins, polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), and various amino acids with ice are investigated using Cerius2, a molecular modelling tool. Binding energies of these additives to a major ice crystal face {001} are computed. Binding energy comparison of threonine molecules (by themselves) and as threonine residues within AFP type I demonstrate their role in improving AFP's binding ability to the ice crystal face.