Prognostic utility and characterization of left ventricular hypertrophy using global thickness.

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) can accurately measure left ventricular (LV) mass, and several measures related to LV wall thickness exist. We hypothesized that prognosis can be used to select an optimal measure of wall thickness for characterizing LV hypertrophy. Subjects having undergone CMR were studied (cardiac patients, n = 2543; healthy volunteers, n = 100).

Empagliflozin improves insulin sensitivity in patients with recent acute coronary syndrome and newly detected dysglycaemia : Experiences from the randomized, controlled SOCOGAMI trial.

Background: Empagliflozin reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and high cardiovascular risk via mechanisms which have not been fully explained. The mechanisms of such benefit have not been fully understood, and whether empagliflozin can be safely administered as first-line treatment in patients with CVD at the initial stages of glycaemic perturbations remains to be established. We investigated the effects of empagliflozin on insulin resistance, insulin sensitivity and β-cell function indexes in patients with a recent acute coronary event and newly detected dysglycaemia, i.

Plasma catecholamine levels in the acute and subacute stages of takotsubo syndrome: Results from the Stockholm myocardial infarction with normal coronaries 2 study.

Aims: It is well-accepted that takotsubo syndrome (TS) is characterized by a massive surge of plasma catecholamines despite lack of solid evidence. The objective of this study was to examine the hypothesis of a massive catecholamine elevation in TS by studying plasma-free catecholamine metabolites in patients participating in the Stockholm myocardial infarction (MI) with normal coronaries 2 (SMINC-2) study where TS constituted more than one third of the patients.

Methods And Results: The patients included in the SMINC-2 study were classified, according to cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging findings (148 patients), which was performed at a median of 3 days after hospital admission.

Early Comprehensive Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Patients With Myocardial Infarction With Nonobstructive Coronary Arteries.

Objectives: The objective of the SMINC-2 (Stockholm Myocardial Infarction With Normal Coronaries 2) study was to determine if more than 70% of patients with myocardial infarction with nonobstructed coronary arteries (MINOCA), investigated early with comprehensive cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR), could receive a diagnosis entirely by imaging.

Background: The etiology of MINOCA is heterogeneous, including coronary, cardiac, and noncardiac causes. Patients with MINOCA, therefore, represent a diagnostic challenge where CMR is increasingly used.

BioMAX - the first macromolecular crystallography beamline at MAX IV Laboratory.

BioMAX is the first macromolecular crystallography beamline at the MAX IV Laboratory 3 GeV storage ring, which is the first operational multi-bend achromat storage ring. Due to the low-emittance storage ring, BioMAX has a parallel, high-intensity X-ray beam, even when focused down to 20 µm × 5 µm using the bendable focusing mirrors. The beam is tunable in the energy range 5-25 keV using the in-vacuum undulator and the horizontally deflecting double-crystal monochromator.

Fungi Burger from Stale Bread? A Case Study on Perceptions of a Novel Protein-Rich Food Product Made from an Edible Fungus.

The current study aims to assess how a novel fungi product made from the filamentous fungus , cultivated on bread residuals, is perceived using questionnaires. Participants were asked to rate characteristic attributes of a fungi burger patty and state their preference when comparing it to Quorn and hamburger patties. The data were analyzed to assess whether gender or age was statistically associated with preference profiles.

Diffusely Increased Myocardial Extracellular Volume With or Without Focal Late Gadolinium Enhancement: Prevalence and Associations With Left Ventricular Size and Function.

Purpose: Myocardial extracellular volume fraction (ECV) using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) can identify diffuse lesions not detected by late gadolinium enhancement (LGE). We aimed to determine the prevalence of increased ECV and its relation to other CMR findings.

Materials And Methods: Consecutive patients (n=609, age median [interquartile range] 53 [39 to 66] y, 62% male) underwent CMR at 1.

The effect of levosimendan on survival and cardiac performance in an ischemic cardiac arrest model - A blinded randomized placebo-controlled study in swine.

Background: Survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest remains poor. Levosimendan could be a new intervention in this setting. Therefore, we conducted a blinded, placebo controlled randomized study investigating the effects of levosimendan on survival and cardiac performance in an ischemic cardiac arrest model in swine.

Stationary tissue background correction increases the precision of clinical evaluation of intra-cardiac shunts by cardiovascular magnetic resonance.

We aimed to evaluate the clinical utility of stationary tissue background phase correction for affecting precision in the measurement of Qp/Qs by cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR). We enrolled consecutive patients (n = 91) referred for CMR at 1.5T without suspicion of cardiac shunt, and patients (n = 10) with verified cardiac shunts in this retrospective study.

The electrical determinants of increased wall thickness and mass in left ventricular hypertrophy.

Introduction: Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), defined as an increased left ventricular mass (LVM), can manifest as increased wall thickness, ventricular dilatation, or both. Existing LVH criteria from the electrocardiogram (ECG) have poor sensitivity. However, it is unknown whether changes in wall thickness and mass, respectively, can be separately detected by the ECG.

Detection of myocarditis using T and ECV mapping is not improved by early compared to late post-contrast imaging.

Background: Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) of myocarditis may include early gadolinium enhancement (EGE) and global relative enhancement (GRE) by T -weighted images acquired before and early after contrast administration. However, the importance of timing for post-contrast imaging has not been evaluated using T mapping. We aimed to improve the understanding of the contrast mechanisms by evaluating whether early or late post-contrast T mapping was better at detecting myocarditis.

The Effect of Glycerol, Sugar, and Maleic Anhydride on Pectin-Cellulose Thin Films Prepared from Orange Waste.

This study was conducted to improve the properties of thin films prepared from orange waste by the solution casting method. The main focus was the elimination of holes in the film structure by establishing better cohesion between the major cellulosic and pectin fractions. For this, a previously developed method was improved first by the addition of sugar to promote pectin gelling, then by the addition of maleic anhydride.

Synthetic late gadolinium enhancement cardiac magnetic resonance for diagnosing myocardial scar.

Objectives: Late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) is the in vivo reference standard for assessing focal myocardial fibrosis. Post-contrast T1-mapping by Modified Look-Locker Inversion recovery (MOLLI) can be used to generate synthetic late gadolinium enhancement (SynLGE) images with an image contrast similar to conventional LGE images. We hypothesized that SynLGE has an accuracy that approaches conventional LGE for diagnosing focal myocardial fibrosis.

Blood correction reduces variability and gender differences in native myocardial T1 values at 1.5 T cardiovascular magnetic resonance - a derivation/validation approach.

Background: Myocardial native T1 measurements are likely influenced by intramyocardial blood. Since blood T1 is both variable and longer compared to myocardial T1, this will degrade the precision of myocardial T1 measurements. Precision could be improved by correction, but the amount of correction and the optimal blood T1 variables to correct with are unknown.

Biological Pretreatment of Chicken Feather and Biogas Production from Total Broth.

Chicken feathers are available in large quantities around the world causing environmental challenges. The feathers are composed of keratin that is a recalcitrant protein and is hard to degrade. In this work, chicken feathers were aerobically pretreated for 2-8 days at total solid concentrations of 5, 10, and 20 % by Bacillus sp.

Quantitative assessment of distance to collection point and improved sorting information on source separation of household waste.

The present study measures the participation of households in a source separation scheme and, in particular, if the household's application of the scheme improved after two interventions: (a) shorter distance to the drop-off point and (b) easy access to correct sorting information. The effect of these interventions was quantified and, as far as possible, isolated from other factors that can influence the recycling behaviour. The study was based on households located in an urban residential area in Sweden, where waste composition studies were performed before and after the interventions by manual sorting (pick analysis).

A novel process simulation model (PSM) for anaerobic digestion using Aspen Plus.

A novel process simulation model (PSM) was developed for biogas production in anaerobic digesters using Aspen Plus®. The PSM is a library model of anaerobic digestion, which predicts the biogas production from any substrate at any given process condition. A total of 46 reactions were used in the model, which include inhibitions, rate-kinetics, pH, ammonia, volume, loading rate, and retention time.

Pellet formation of zygomycetes and immobilization of yeast.

Pelleted growth provides many advantages for filamentous fungi, including decreased broth viscosity, improved aeration, stirring, and heat transfer. Thus, the factors influencing the probability of pellet formation of Rhizopus sp. in a defined medium was investigated using a multifactorial experimental design.

Pretreatment of chicken feather waste for improved biogas production.

This study deals with the utilization of chicken feather waste as a substrate for anaerobic digestion and improving biogas production by degradation of the compact structure of the feather keratin. In order to increase the digestibility of the feather, different pretreatments were investigated, including thermal pretreatment at 120 °C for 10 min, enzymatic hydrolysis with an alkaline endopeptidase [0.53-2.

Co-digestion of different waste mixtures from agro-industrial activities: kinetic evaluation and synergetic effects.

Several wastes from agro-industrial activities were mixed in different ratios to evaluate the co-digestion process. Methane yield YCH4, specific methanogenic activity (SMA) and a kinetic parameter (k0) were determined. A second feeding was also performed to examine the recovery of bacterial activity after exhaustion.

Pretreatment of paper tube residuals for improved biogas production.

Paper tube residuals, which are lignocellulosic wastes, have been studied as substrate for biogas (methane) production. Steam explosion and nonexplosive hydrothermal pretreatment, in combination with sodium hydroxide and/or hydrogen peroxide, have been used to improve the biogas production. The treatment conditions of temperature, time and addition of NaOH and H(2)O(2) were statistically evaluated for methane production.

Size dependent fragmentation of argon clusters in the soft x-ray ionization regime.

Photofragmentation of argon clusters of average size ranging from 10 up to 1000 atoms is studied using soft x-ray radiation below the 2p threshold and multicoincidence mass spectroscopy technique. For small clusters (=10), ionization induces fast fragmentation with neutral emission imparting a large amount of energy. While the primary dissociation takes place on a picosecond time scale, the fragments undergo slow degradation in the spectrometer on a microsecond time scale.