North Pontic crossroads: Mobility in Ukraine from the Bronze Age to the early modern period.

The North Pontic region, which encompasses present-day Ukraine, was a crossroads of migration, connecting the vast Eurasian Steppe with Central Europe. We generated shotgun-sequenced genomic data for 91 individuals dating from around 7000 BCE to 1800 CE to study migration and mobility history in the region, with a particular focus on historically attested migrating groups during the Iron Age and the medieval period. We infer a high degree of temporal heterogeneity in ancestry, with fluctuating genetic affinities to different present-day Eurasian groups.

The global status of genetic counselors in 2023: What has changed in the past 5 years?

Purpose: The profession of genetic counselors has existed for over 50 years. This article provides an update on the global state of the genetic counseling (GC) profession in 2022 and 2023.

Methods: We used a survey approach to collect data from individuals who were identified as being leaders in GC practice and/or education around the world.

Image quality assessment and automation in late gadolinium-enhanced MRI of the left atrium in atrial fibrillation patients.

Background: Late gadolinium-enhanced (LGE) MRI has become a widely used technique to non-invasively image the left atrium prior to catheter ablation. However, LGE-MRI images are prone to variable image quality, with quality metrics that do not necessarily correlate to the image's diagnostic quality. In this study, we aimed to define consistent clinically relevant metrics for image and diagnostic quality in 3D LGE-MRI images of the left atrium, have multiple observers assess LGE-MRI image quality to identify key features that measure quality and intra/inter-observer variabilities, and train and test a CNN to assess image quality automatically.

Neonatal intracranial pathologies on ultrasound imaging in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Annually, 30 million children are affected by newborn conditions, most in low-income countries, with long-term implications for survivors. We aimed to evaluate neonatal intracranial pathologies identifiable on cranial ultrasound (CUS) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This systematic review and meta-analysis explored the spectrum of neonatal intracranial pathology, in nine databases, using the Joanna Briggs Institute Systematic Review Tools.

Functional and Structural Remodeling as Atrial Fibrillation Progresses in a Persistent Atrial Fibrillation Canine Model.

Background: Contractile, electrical, and structural remodeling has been associated with atrial fibrillation (AF), but the progression of functional and structural changes as AF sustains has not been previously evaluated serially.

Objectives: Using a rapid-paced persistent AF canine model, the authors aimed to evaluate the structural and functional changes serially as AF progresses.

Methods: Serial electrophysiological studies in a chronic rapid-paced canine model (n = 19) prior to AF sustaining and repeated at 1, 3, and 6 months of sustained AF were conducted to measure changes in atrial conduction speed and direction.

Effective ablation settings that predict chronic scar after atrial ablation with HELIOSTAR™ multi-electrode radiofrequency balloon catheter.

Background: Radiofrequency balloon (RFB) ablation (HELIOSTAR™, Biosense Webster) has been developed to improve pulmonary vein ablation efficiency over traditional point-by-point RF ablation approaches. We aimed to find effective parameters for RFB ablation that result in chronic scar verified by late gadolinium enhancement cardiac magnetic resonance (LGE-CMR).

Methods: A chronic canine model (n = 8) was used to ablate in the superior vena cava (SVC), the right superior and the left inferior pulmonary vein (RSPV and LIPV), and the left atrial appendage (LAA) with a circumferential ablation approach (RF energy was delivered to all electrodes simultaneously) for 20 s or 60 s.

Diffuse functional and structural abnormalities in fibrosis: Potential structural basis for sustaining atrial fibrillation.

Background: Structural remodeling has been associated with increased incidence of atrial fibrillation, but how fibrotic regions allow atrial fibrillation to be sustained remains unclear.

Objective: With a novel transgenic goat model, we evaluated structural and functional differences between structurally remodeled and healthy regions of the atria.

Methods: A novel transgenic goat model with cardiac-specific overexpression of transforming growth factor β1 was used.

Performance of off-the-shelf machine learning architectures and biases in low left ventricular ejection fraction detection.

Background: Artificial intelligence-machine learning (AI-ML) has demonstrated the ability to extract clinically useful information from electrocardiograms (ECGs) not available using traditional interpretation methods. There exists an extensive body of AI-ML research in fields outside of cardiology including several open-source AI-ML architectures that can be translated to new problems in an "off-the-shelf" manner.

Objective: We sought to address the limited investigation of which if any of these off-the-shelf architectures could be useful in ECG analysis as well as how and when these AI-ML approaches fail.

Left atrial functional changes associated with repeated catheter ablations for atrial fibrillation.

Introduction: The impact of repeated atrial fibrillation (AF) ablations on left atrial (LA) mechanical function remains uncertain, with limited long-term follow-up data.

Methods: This retrospective study involved 108 AF patients who underwent two catheter ablations with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) done before and 3 months after each of the ablations from 2010 to 2021. The rate of change in peak longitudinal atrial strain (PLAS) assessed LA function.

Are drivers recurring or ephemeral? observations from serial mapping of persistent atrial fibrillation.

Aims: Rotational re-entries and ectopic foci, or 'drivers', are proposed mechanisms for persistent atrial fibrillation (persAF), but driver-based interventions have had mixed success in clinical trials. Selective targeting of drivers with multi-month stability may improve these interventions, but no prior work has investigated whether drivers can be stable on such a long timescale.

Objective: We hypothesized that drivers could recur even several months after initial observation.

Ohnut vs waitlist control for the self-management of endometriosis-associated deep dyspareunia: a pilot randomized controlled trial.

Background: Deep dyspareunia affects 50% of people with endometriosis. The Ohnut is a set of interlocking rings that fit over the penis/insertive object. One or more rings can be used to limit insertion depth and reduce deep dyspareunia.

Evaluation of five methods for the interpolation of bad leads in the solution of the inverse electrocardiography problem.

This study aims to assess the sensitivity of epicardial potential-based electrocardiographic imaging (ECGI) to the removal or interpolation of bad leads.We utilized experimental data from two distinct centers. Langendorff-perfused pig (= 2) and dog (= 2) hearts were suspended in a human torso-shaped tank and paced from the ventricles.

Uncertainty Quantification of the Effect of Variable Conductivity in Ventricular Fibrotic Regions on Ventricular Tachycardia.

Ventricular tachycardia (VT) is a life-threatening cardiac arrhythmia for which a common treatment pathway is electroanatomical mapping and ablation. Recent advances in both noninvasive ablation techniques and computational modeling have motivated the development of patient-specific computational models of VT. Such models are parameterized by a wide range of inputs, each of which is associated with an often unknown amount of error and uncertainty.

Uncertainty Quantification of Fiber Orientation and Epicardial Activation.

Predictive models and simulations of cardiac function require accurate representations of anatomy, often to the scale of local myocardial fiber structure. However, acquiring this information in a patient-specific manner is challenging. Moreover, the impact of physiological variability in fiber orientation on simulations of cardiac activation is poorly understood.

Capturing the Influence of Conduction Velocity on Epicardial Activation Patterns Using Uncertainty Quantification.

Individual variability in parameter settings, due to either user selection or disease states, can impact accuracy when simulating the electrical behavior of the heart. Here, we aim to test the impact of inevitable uncertainty in conduction velocities (CVs) on the output of simulations of cardiac propagation, given three stimulus locations on the left ventricular (LV) free wall. To understand the role of physiological variability in CV in simulations of cardiac activation, we generated detailed maps of the variability in propagation simulations by implementing bi-ventricular activation simulations and quantified the effects by deploying robust uncertainty quantification techniques based on polynomial chaos expansion (PCE).

Beta-amyloid interacts with and activates the long-form phosphodiesterase PDE4D5 in neuronal cells to reduce cAMP availability.

Inhibition of the cyclic-AMP degrading enzyme phosphodiesterase type 4 (PDE4) in the brains of animal models is protective in Alzheimer's disease (AD). We show for the first time that enzymes from the subfamily PDE4D not only colocalize with beta-amyloid (Aβ) plaques in a mouse model of AD but that Aβ directly associates with the catalytic machinery of the enzyme. Peptide mapping suggests that PDE4D is the preferential PDE4 subfamily for Aβ as it possesses a unique binding site.

Ablation-induced left atrial mechanical dysfunction recovers in weeks after ablation.

Background: The immediate impact of catheter ablation on left atrial mechanical function and the timeline for its recovery in patients undergoing ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF) remain uncertain. The mechanical function response to catheter ablation in patients with different AF types is poorly understood.

Methods: A total of 113 AF patients were included in this retrospective study.

Inhibition of MER proto-oncogene tyrosine kinase by an antisense oligonucleotide enhances treatment efficacy of immunoradiotherapy.

Background: The combination of radiotherapy and immunotherapy (immunoradiotherapy) has been increasingly used for treating a wide range of cancers. However, some tumors are resistant to immunoradiotherapy. We have previously shown that MER proto-oncogene tyrosine kinase (MerTK) expressed on macrophages mediates resistance to immunoradiotherapy.

Effects of Biventricular Pacing Locations on Anti-Tachycardia Pacing Success in a Patient-Specific Model.

Patients with drug-refractory ventricular tachycardia (VT) often undergo implantation of a cardiac defibrillator (ICD). While life-saving, shock from an ICD can be traumatic. To combat the need for defibrillation, ICDs come equipped with low-energy pacing protocols.