Long-term monitoring after surgical ablation for atrial fibrillation: how much is enough?

Introduction: Evaluating and comparing the success of surgical ablation techniques in the treatment of atrial fibrillation is complicated by clinicians' use of varying techniques to measure the burden of atrial fibrillation after ablation. Intuitively, one would expect longer monitoring to be more accurate, picking up atrial fibrillation events occurring at a low rate, but how long is long enough? This study compared rates of normal sinus rhythm recorded after atrial fibrillation ablation in a cohort of patients monitored for a range of durations.

Methods: Two hundred fifty-four patients (50.

Neuroanatomical profiles of personality change in frontotemporal lobar degeneration.

Background: The neurobiological basis of personality is poorly understood. Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) frequently presents with complex behavioural changes, and therefore potentially provides a disease model in which to investigate brain substrates of personality.

Aims: To assess neuroanatomical correlates of personality change in a cohort of individuals with FTLD using voxel-based morphometry (VBM).

Investigating the contribution of community nurses to anticipatory care: a qualitative exploratory study.

Aims: To investigate how one aspect of anticipatory care is understood and delivered in practice. 'Anticipatory care' in this context can be understood as proactive care, which is oriented towards prevention of adverse events.

Background: Scotland has identified the intention to move away from a preoccupation with acute care and invest in health improvement and anticipatory care.

The true incidence of near-term postoperative complications in prosthetic breast reconstruction utilizing human acellular dermal matrices: a meta-analysis.

Background: The use of human acellular dermal matrix (HADM) materials in prosthetic-based breast reconstruction has gained popularity in recent years. Questions remain, however, regarding the nature and incidence of postoperative complications associated with this technique. The results reported in the available literature vary widely.

Human resources and healthcare delivery in the United States.

This paper provides a brief overview of the supply of healthcare professionals and some of the factors impacting supply. The demand for healthcare professionals and some of the factors impacting demand are then addressed. Finally, a brief overview of the health reform law recently passed, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, is provided as it pertains to the supply of and demand for health professionals.

A mouse model for human anal cancer.

Human anal cancers are associated with high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPV) that cause other anogenital cancers and head and neck cancers. As with other cancers, HPV16 is the most common high-risk HPV in anal cancers. We describe the generation and characterization of a mouse model for human anal cancer.

Feasibility study of a human papillomavirus E6 oncoprotein test for diagnosis of cervical precancer and cancer.

In a feasibility study using a prototype, lateral-flow test for human papillomavirus type 16, 18, and/or 45 (HPV16/18/45) E6 oncoproteins, 51 of 75 (68%; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] of 56 to 78%) of HPV16/18/45 DNA-positive specimens from women with a diagnosis of CIN3+ (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3+ or cervical cancer) tested positive for HPV16/18/45 E6 oncoprotein. None of 16 (95% CI of 0 to 37%) HPV16/18/45 DNA-positive cervical specimens from women with a negative or CIN1 diagnosis tested positive for HPV16/18/45 E6 oncoprotein.

North is up(hill): route planning heuristics in real-world environments.

Navigators use both external cues and internal heuristics to help them plan efficient routes through environments. In six experiments, we discover and seek the origin of a novel heuristic that causes participants to preferentially choose southern rather than northern routes during map-based route planning. Experiment 1 demonstrates that participants who are tasked to choose between two equal-length routes, one going generally north and one south, show reliable decision preferences toward the southern option.

Acute caffeine consumption enhances the executive control of visual attention in habitual consumers.

Recent work suggests that a dose of 200-400 mg caffeine can enhance both vigilance and the executive control of visual attention in individuals with low caffeine consumption profiles. The present study seeks to determine whether individuals with relatively high caffeine consumption profiles would show similar advantages. To this end, we examined the effects of four caffeine doses (0 mg, 100 mg, 200 mg, 400 mg) on low- and high-level visual attention in individuals with high consumption profiles (n=36), in a double-blind study using a repeated measures design.

Characterization of composition C4 explosives using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

The application of surface analytical techniques such as time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is explored as a means of differentiating between composition C4 plastic explosives (C-4). Three different C-4 samples including U.S.

You heard it here first: readers mentally simulate described sounds.

The present experiments examined whether readers spontaneously simulate implied auditory elements of sentences. Participants read sentences that implicitly conveyed details that could provoke auditory imagery (e.g.

Lateralization of the central circadian pacemaker output: a test of neural control of peripheral oscillator phase.

To evaluate the contribution of neural pathways to the determination of the circadian oscillator phase in peripheral organs, we assessed lateralization of clock gene expression in Syrian hamsters induced to split rhythms of locomotor activity by exposure to constant light. We measured the ratio of haPer1, haPer2, and haBmal1 mRNA on the high vs. low (H/L) side at 3-h intervals prior to the predicted activity onset (pAO).

Keeping your eyes on the prize: anger and visual attention to threats and rewards.

People's emotional states influence what they focus their attention on in their environment. For example, fear focuses people's attention on threats, whereas excitement may focus their attention on rewards. This study examined the effect of anger on overt visual attention to threats and rewards.

High-throughput applicable genomic sex typing of chicken by TaqMan real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction.

Genetic sex typing of vertebrate animals is an essential technique for research on reproductive phenomena such as sex determination of embryonic tissues. Polymerase chain reaction amplification of genomic DNA segments in the Z and W sex chromosomes has been widely used as a standard laboratory method to determine genetic sex of the chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus). However, conventional protocols for PCR determination of avian sex typically involve tedious steps of genomic DNA isolation, which often require relatively large amounts of tissue samples, and the purity of genomic DNA specimens significantly affects PCR efficiency.

GLO1-A novel amplified gene in human cancer.

To identify a novel amplified cancer gene a systematic screen of 975 human cancer DNA samples, 750 cell lines and 225 primary tumors, using the Affymetrix 10K SNP microarray was undertaken. The screen identified 193 amplicons. A previously uncharacterized amplicon located on 6p21.

Glutathione peroxidase-1 modulates lipopolysaccharide-induced adhesion molecule expression in endothelial cells by altering CD14 expression.

CD14 contributes to LPS signaling in leukocytes through formation of toll-like receptor 4/CD14 receptor complexes; however, a specific role for endogenous cell-surface CD14 in endothelial cells is unclear. We have found that suppression of glutathione peroxidase-1 (GPx-1) in human microvascular endothelial cells increases CD14 gene expression compared to untreated or siControl (siCtrl)-treated conditions. Following LPS treatment, GPx-1 deficiency augmented LPS-induced intracellular reactive oxygen species accumulation, CD14 expression, and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) mRNA and protein expression compared to LPS-treated control cells.

Moving through imagined space: Mentally simulating locomotion during spatial description reading.

Readers mentally simulate the perceptual and motoric elements related through text. Sound is one perceptual characteristic of these embodied simulations that has received little attention. Two experiments tested whether movement sounds (walking vs.

Microstructure and elution of tetracycline from block copolymer coatings.

A critical metrology issue for pharmaceutical industries is the application of analytical techniques for the characterization of drug delivery systems to address interrelationships between processing, structure, and drug release. In this study, cast coatings were formed from solutions of poly(styrene-b-isobutylene-b-styrene) (SIBS) and tetracycline in tetrahydrofuran (THF). These coatings were characterized by several imaging modalities, including time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) for chemical imaging and analysis, atomic force microscopy (AFM) for determination of surface structure and morphology, and laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM), which was used to characterize the three-dimensional structure beneath the surface.

Fluorinated copolymer nanoparticles for multimodal imaging applications.

Nanomaterials have emerged as valuable tools in biomedical imaging techniques. Here, the synthesis and characterization of a novel fluorinated nanoparticle with potential applications as an MRI contrast agent is reported. Particles were synthesized using a free radical polymerization technique.

Totally thorascopic surgical ablation of persistent AF and long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation using the "Dallas" lesion set.

Minimally invasive surgery consisting of bipolar radiofrequency pulmonary vein (PV) isolation and limited ganglionated plexus ablation is effective in eliminating atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with paroxysmal AF but is less effective in those with persistent AF or long-standing persistent AF. The purpose of this study was examine the results of minimally invasive surgery incorporating an additional set of radiofrequency ablation lines replicating a left-sided Cox maze III procedure. Thirty patients with persistent AF (n = 10) or long-standing persistent AF (n = 20) underwent minimally invasive surgery with an extended lesion set and PV isolation for a minimum follow-up of 6 months.

Simulating an enactment effect: Pronouns guide action simulation during narrative comprehension.

Recent research has suggested that reading involves the mental simulation of events and actions described in a text. It is possible however that previous findings did not tap into processes engaged during natural reading but rather those triggered by task demands. The present study examined whether readers spontaneously mentally simulate the actions described in simple narratives by using a memory task that did not encourage the formation of mental images.

Three-dimensional time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry imaging of a pharmaceutical in a coronary stent coating as a function of elution time.

Three-dimensional (3D) chemical images reveal the surface and subsurface distribution of pharmaceutical molecules in a coronary stent coating and are used to visualize the drug distribution as a function of elution time. The coronary stent coating consists of 25% (w/w) sirolimus in a poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) matrix and is spray-coated onto metal coupons. Information regarding the 3D distribution of sirolimus in PLGA as a function of elution time was obtained by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) imaging using a Au(+) ion beam for analysis in conjunction with a C(60)(+) ion beam for sputter depth profiling.

What predicts recovery orientation in county departments of mental health? A pilot study.

In this pilot study we examined the determinants of recovery orientation among employees and influential stakeholders in a sample of 12 county departments of mental health in California. A two-level hierarchical linear model with random intercepts was estimated. Analyses show that recovery orientation has a U-shaped relationship with the age of staff/influential stakeholders and is negatively related to the difference between the desired level of adhocracy and the current level of adhocracy.

Voluntary dehydration and cognitive performance in trained college athletes.

Cognitive and mood decrements resulting from mild dehydration and glucose consumption were studied. Men and women (total N = 54; M age = 19.8 yr.

MicroRNA-210 controls mitochondrial metabolism during hypoxia by repressing the iron-sulfur cluster assembly proteins ISCU1/2.

Repression of mitochondrial respiration represents an evolutionarily ancient cellular adaptation to hypoxia and profoundly influences cell survival and function; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms are incompletely understood. Primarily utilizing pulmonary arterial endothelial cells as a representative hypoxic cell type, we identify the iron-sulfur cluster assembly proteins (ISCU1/2) as direct targets for repression by the hypoxia-induced microRNA-210 (miR-210). ISCU1/2 facilitate the assembly of iron-sulfur clusters, prosthetic groups that are critical for electron transport and mitochondrial oxidation-reduction reactions.