Proof of concept study of a novel pacemapping algorithm as a basis to guide ablation of ventricular arrhythmias.

Aims: To determine if a software algorithm can use an individualized distance-morphology difference model, built from three initial pacemaps, to prospectively locate the exit site (ES) of ventricular arrhythmias (VA).

Methods And Results: Consecutive patients undergoing ablation of VA from a single centre were recruited. During mapping, three initial pacing points were collected in the chamber of interest and the navigation algorithm applied to predict the ES, which was corroborated by conventional mapping techniques.

Relationship Between Distance and Change in Surface ECG Morphology During Pacemapping as a Guide to Ablation of Ventricular Arrhythmias: Implications for the Spatial Resolution of Pacemapping.

Background: Pacemapping is used to localize the exit site of ventricular arrhythmia. Although the relationship between distance and change in QRS morphology is its basis, this relationship has not been systematically quantified.

Methods And Results: Patients (n=68) undergoing ventricular arrhythmia ablation between March 2012 and July 2013 were recruited.

Nonpharmacologic approach to minimizing shivering during surface cooling: a proof of principle study.

Purpose: This study had 2 objectives: (1) to quantify the metabolic response to physical cooling in febrile patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and (2) to provide proof for the hypothesis that the efficiency of external cooling and the subsequent shivering response are influenced by site and temperature of surface cooling pads.

Methods: To quantify shivering thermogenesis during surface cooling for fever, we monitored oxygen consumption (VO(2)) in 6 febrile patients with SIRS during conventional cooling with cooling blankets and ice packs. To begin to determine how location and temperature of surface cooling influence shivering, we compared 5 cooling protocols for inducing mild hypothermia in 6 healthy volunteers.

Oligonucleotide microarrays for identification of microbial pathogens and detection of their virulence-associated or drug-resistance determinants.

Microarrays are spatially ordered arrays with ligands chemically immobilized in discrete spots on a solid matrix, usually a microscope slide. Microarrays are a high-throughput large-scale screening system enabling simultaneous identification of a large number of labeled target molecules (up to several hundred thousand) that bind specifically to the immobilized ligands of the array. DNA microarrays represent a promising tool for clinical, environmental, and industrial microbiology since the technology allows relatively rapid identification of large number of genetic determinants simultaneously, providing detailed genomic level information regarding the pathogen species, including identification of their virulence-associated factors and the presence of antibiotic resistance genes.

Rapid DNA amplification using a battery-powered thin-film resistive thermocycler.

A prototype handheld, compact, rapid thermocycler was developed for multiplex analysis of nucleic acids in an inexpensive, portable configuration. Instead of the commonly used Peltier heating/cooling element, electric thin-film resistive heater and a miniature fan enable rapid heating and cooling of glass capillaries leading to a simple, low-cost Thin-Film Resistive Thermocycler (TFRT). Computer-based pulse width modulation control yields heating rates of 6-7 K/s and cooling rates of 5 K/s.

A simple portable electroluminescence illumination-based CCD detector.

In this chapter we describe a simple and relatively inexpensive Electroluminescence (EL) illumination and charged-coupled device (CCD) camera (EL-CCD) based detector for monitoring fluorescence and colorimetric assays. The portable battery-operated fluorescence detector includes an EL panel for fluoro-genic excitation at 490 nm, a cooled CCD digital camera to monitor emission at 523 nm, filters and a close up lens. The detector system is controlled by a laptop computer for camera operation, image acquisition and analysis.

Food microbial pathogen detection and analysis using DNA microarray technologies.

Culture-based methods used for microbial detection and identification are simple to use, relatively inexpensive, and sensitive. However, culture-based methods are too time-consuming for high-throughput testing and too tedious for analysis of samples with multiple organisms and provide little clinical information regarding the pathogen (e.g.

Biosensors for the analysis of food- and waterborne pathogens and their toxins.

Biosensors are devices which combine a biochemical recognition element with a physical transducer. There are various types of biosensors, including electrochemical, acoustical, and optical sensors. Biosensors are used for medical applications and for environmental testing.

Microarray analysis of Bacillus cereus group virulence factors.

Bacillus cereus, B. thuringiensis and B. anthracis are closely related medically and economically important bacterial species that belong to the B.

Oligo Design: a computer program for development of probes for oligonucleotide microarrays.

Oligonucleotide microarrays have demonstrated potential for the analysis of gene expression, genotyping, and mutational analysis. Our work focuses primarily on the detection and identification of bacteria based on known short sequences of DNA. Oligo Design, the software described here, automates several design aspects that enable the improved selection of oligonucleotides for use with microarrays for these applications.