Feasibility and value of two-dimensional volumetric stress echocardiography.

Background: Stroke volume response during stress is a major determinant of functional status in heart failure and can be measured by two-dimensional (2-D) volumetric stress echocardiography (SE). The present study hypothesis is that SE may identify mechanisms underlying the change in stroke volume by measuring preload reserve through end-diastolic volume (EDV) and left ventricular contractile reserve (LVCR) with systolic blood pressure and end-systolic volume (ESV).

Methods: We enrolled 4735 patients (age 63.

Neuroma of the appendix, a rare cause of appendicitis and an important reason for close follow-up.

Acute appendicitis is the most common surgical pathology worldwide, frequently, the patient history and clinical examination are so similar to other appendicular pathologies that preoperative diagnosis is almost impossible for the medical team. Neuroma of the appendix is a rare tumor of neural origin that usually resembles the symptoms of acute appendicitis. Pathology along with close follow-ups are key, as the diagnosis is based on the presence of nerve neuronal cells in the appendicular lumen.

Transpalpebral Electrical Stimulation as a Novel Therapeutic Approach to Decrease Intraocular Pressure for Open-Angle Glaucoma: A Pilot Study.

Purpose: To determine the effect on intraocular pressure of transpalpebral specific exogenous voltages in a cohort of open-angle glaucoma patients.

Methods: This is a prospective, comparative, and experimental pilot study. The electrical stimuli applied consisted of 10 Hz, biphasic, nonrectangular current pulses (100 A) delivered from an isolated constant current stimulator.

A Novel Strategy for Very-Large-Scale Cash-Crop Mapping in the Context of Weather-Related Risk Assessment, Combining Global Satellite Multispectral Datasets, Environmental Constraints, and In Situ Acquisition of Geospatial Data.

Cash crops are agricultural crops intended to be sold for profit as opposed to subsistence crops, meant to support the producer, or to support livestock. Since cash crops are intended for future sale, they translate into large financial value when considered on a wide geographical scale, so their production directly involves financial risk. At a national level, extreme weather events including destructive rain or hail, as well as drought, can have a significant impact on the overall economic balance.

Prevalence and Phenotypic Expression of Mutations in the MYH7, MYBPC3 and TNNT2 Genes in Families with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy in the South of Brazil: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background:: Mutations in sarcomeric genes are found in 60-70% of individuals with familial forms of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). However, this estimate refers to northern hemisphere populations. The molecular-genetic profile of HCM has been subject of few investigations in Brazil, particularly in the south of the country.

Ergospirometry and echocardiography in early stage of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and in healthy individuals.

Background: Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction is a syndrome characterized by changes in diastolic function; it is more prevalent among the elderly, women, and individuals with systemic hypertension (SH) and diabetes mellitus. However, in its early stages, there are no signs of congestion and it is identified in tests by adverse remodeling, decreased exercise capacity and diastolic dysfunction.

Objective: To compare doppler, echocardiographic (Echo), and cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) variables - ergospirometry variables - between two population samples: one of individuals in the early stage of this syndrome, and the other of healthy individuals.

The Influence of Low-Level Laser on Osseointegration Around Machined and Sandblasted Acid-Etched Implants: A Removal Torque and Histomorphometric Analyses.

Evaluation of the influence of laser application on osseointegration around implants with different surface characteristics is limited. This study aims to evaluate the influence of low-level lasers on the early stages of osseointegration. Ninety-six external hex implants (3.

Ventricular arrhythmias and left ventricular hypertrophy in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Background: In hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), the degree of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) could influence the development of ventricular arrhythmias.

Objective: In HCM, analyze the association between the occurrence of ventricular arrhythmias determined by Holter electrocardiogram (ECG-Holter) and the degree of LVH determined by maximum wall thickness (MWT) in echocardiography and body mass index (BMI).

Methods: Fifty-four consecutive patients with HCM underwent 24-hour ECG-Holter and echocardiography for assessment of level of LVH through MWT and BMI.

The diagnosis of left ventricular outflow tract obstruction in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a prevalent genetic disease characterized by left ventricular hypertrophy, presenting dynamic obstruction of outflow tract with subaortic gradient happening at rest in 30% of the cases. It is attributed to the intricate interaction between the anterior mitral leaflet, the interventricular septum and altered flow vectors generated in left ventricle along with changes in outflow tract geometry. Mitral regurgitation in varying degrees is found with or without association with structural deformities of the valve apparatus.

Diagnostic evaluation of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in its clinical and preclinical phases.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a familial, genetic disease caused by mutations in genes encoding sarcomeric proteins. It is characterized by various deGrees of left ventricular hypertrophy, usually diffuse, predominantly involving the interventricular septum. The asymptomatic forms with mild or no segmental hypertrophy makes it difficult to establish the diagnosis and screening for familial forms.

[Assessment of left ventricular diastolic function in hypertensive patients under different hemodynamic conditions: comparative study between transmitral and tissue Doppler echocardiography].

Objective: To evaluate the behavior of LV diastolic displacement velocities of basal posterior septum near mitral ring segment obtained by tissue Doppler in relation to mitral flow velocities of hypertensive subjects, submitted to preload increase by left inferior limbs elevation for 5 minutes, and during 1 minute of handgrip (conditions 1 and 2, respectively).

Methods: Twenty five outpatients (15 men, 52+/-11 years), with arterial hypertension > 3 years, by the transmitral flow Doppler variables: E, A and E/A, and of tissue Doppler: E', A' and E'/A', in basal situation and in conditions 1 and 2. For comparison of results in basal situation with conditions 1 and 2 a paired t test was applied.

Anemia in low-income exclusively breastfed infants.

Objective: To verify the behavior of hemoglobin levels and anemia prevalence in full term infants, aged 3 to 6 months and on exclusive breastfeeding.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of 242 infants aged 3 to 6 months with birth weights of more than 2,500 g, on exclusive breastfeeding and monitored by the Program for the Promotion of Infant Growth and Development, part of the Paraisópolis Einstein Community Program. Hemoglobin was assayed by finger prick between the third and sixth months of life.

Association between the effect of spontaneous contrast in the thoracic aorta and recent ischemic stroke determined by transesophageal echocardiography.

Objective: To assess the independent association between the presence of spontaneous echo contrast in the aorta and recent stroke events.

Methods: Two hundred and twenty-four individuals with a diagnosis of recent stroke and 85 control individuals who were examined due to various present/suspected heart diseases were studied through transesophageal echocardiography. The effects of spontaneous contrast in the aorta and the presence of other potential sources of cardiac embolism associated with them were researched and a questionnaire was completed about patients' clinical risk factors at the time of examination.