Fetal Arrhythmia Leading to a Diagnosis of Congenital Long QT Syndrome Type II.

We describe the case of an asymptomatic young pregnant woman with a diagnosis of congenital long QT syndrome type II in the context of in utero fetal 2:1 heart block and ventricular tachycardia. The presentation, clinical considerations, and management of the mother and baby in the antepartum and postpartum periods are discussed.

Organisation of care for people receiving drug-resistant tuberculosis treatment in South Africa: a mixed methods study.

Objectives: Treatment for multidrug-resistant/rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (MDR/RR-TB) is increasingly transitioning from hospital-centred to community-based care. A national policy for decentralised programmatic MDR/RR-TB care was adopted in South Africa in 2011. We explored variations in the implementation of care models in response to this change in policy, and the implications of these variations for people affected by MDR/RR-TB.

The role of emergent champions in policy implementation for decentralised drug-resistant tuberculosis care in South Africa.

Objective: Champions are recognised as important to driving organisational change in healthcare quality improvement initiatives in high-income settings. In low-income and middle-income countries with a high disease burden and constrained human resources, their role is highly relevant yet understudied. Within a broader study on policy implementation for decentralised drug-resistant tuberculosis care in South Africa, we characterised the role, strategies and organisational context of emergent policy champions.

Systemic embolism in amyloid transthyretin cardiomyopathy.

Aims: Although systemic embolism is a potential complication in transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM), data about its incidence and prevalence are scarce. We studied the incidence, prevalence and factors associated with embolic events in ATTR-CM. Additionally, we evaluated embolic events according to the type of oral anticoagulation (OAC) and the performance of the CHA DS -VASc score in this setting.

Diverse clinical and social circumstances: developing patient-centred care for DR-TB patients in South Africa.

Objective: To describe the medical, socio-economic and geographical profiles of patients with rifampicin-resistant TB (RR-TB) and the implications for the provision of patient-centred care.

Setting: Thirteen districts across three South African provinces.

Design: This descriptive study examined laboratory and healthcare facility records of 194 patients diagnosed with RR-TB in the third quarter of 2016.

Drug-resistant tuberculosis patient care journeys in South Africa: a pilot study using routine laboratory data.

Thirteen districts in Eastern Cape (EC), KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and Western Cape (WC) Provinces, South Africa. To pilot a methodology for describing and visualising healthcare journeys among drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) patients using routine laboratory records. Laboratory records were obtained for 195 patients with laboratory-detected rifampicin-resistant TB (RR-TB) during July-September 2016.

Strategy of Using Intratreatment Hypoxia Imaging to Selectively and Safely Guide Radiation Dose De-escalation Concurrent With Chemotherapy for Locoregionally Advanced Human Papillomavirus-Related Oropharyngeal Carcinoma.

Purpose: To report a small substudy of an ongoing large, multi-arm study using functional imaging to assess pre-/intratreatment hypoxia for all head and neck cancer, in which we hypothesized that pre- and early-treatment hypoxia assessment using functional positron emission tomography (PET) imaging may help select which human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive (HPV(+)) oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) patients can safely receive radiation de-escalation without jeopardizing treatment outcomes.

Methods And Materials: Patients with HPV(+) oropharyngeal carcinoma were enrolled on an institutional review board-approved prospective study of which de-escalation based on imaging response was done for node(s) only. Pretreatment (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose and dynamic (18)F-FMISO (fluoromisonidazole) positron emission tomography (PET) scans were performed.

Survey of patient and physician influences and decision-making regarding CT utilization for minor head injury.

Objective: Assess factors that influence both the patient and the physician in the setting of minor head injury in adults and the decision-making process around CT utilization.

Methods: This is a convenience sample survey study of adult minor head injury patients (GCS 15) and their physicians regarding factors influencing the decision to use CT to evaluate for intra-cranial haemorrhage. Once a head CT was ordered and before the results were known, both the patient and physician were given a one-page survey asking questions about their concern for injury and rationale for CT use.

Auto-acetylation stabilizes p300 in cardiac myocytes during acute oxidative stress, promoting STAT3 accumulation and cell survival.

The nuclear acetyltransferase p300 is rapidly and stably induced in the heart during hemodynamic stress, but the mechanism of this induction is unknown. To determine the role of oxidative stress in p300 induction, we exposed neonatal rat cardiac myocytes to doxorubicin (DOX, 1 μM) or its vehicle, and monitored p300 protein content and stability for 24 h. Levels of p300 rose substantially within 1 h and remained elevated for at least 24 h, while p300 transcript levels declined.

[Prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus infection and behaviors associated with its transmission among parenteral drug users selected on the street].

Background: To estimate the prevalence of HIV infection and the associated risk behaviours among intravenous drug users not receiving treatment for their drug dependence.

Patients And Methods: A cross-sectional study of 200 intravenous drug users recruited from the streets of Barcelona in 1993. Information about the socio-demographic aspects and behaviours was obtained through a personal interview using a standardised questionnaire which was carried out by three ex-drug users.

Model of visual localization.

The position of an object in the visual field is a global characteristic of the object which must be determined shortly after its appearance. This characteristic is useful for organizing actions towards the object or for its better examination. A model of visual localization based on the concept of "image function" is proposed.

Perceiving the center of irregular contour quadrangles.

This investigation examined how subjects perceived and localized the centers of irregular quadrangles. Five contour figures in four orientations were used. Seventeen subjects localized the centers of the figures in each orientation, three times.

Errors in estimating the orientation of dot patterns.

The error in estimating the orientation of a dot pattern was measured as the difference between the orientation of the least-squared-distances line (LS-line) of the pattern and the orientation of a line adjusted by the subject to match the perceived orientation of the pattern. Analysis of the mean errors (averaged over ten subjects) obtained for one hundred patterns confirmed that the orientation of the LS-line represents the orientation of elongated dot-patterns. It is shown that estimated orientation was systematically biased towards the nearest 45 degrees oblique meridian.

Is the 45 degrees-oblique a third dominant direction?

Vertical and horizontal are widely accepted as dominant directions or norms of visual orientation in the frontoparallel plane. They are supposed to cause a normalization effect consisting in the apparent rotation of a tilted straight line towards the nearest dominant direction. The evidence for tilt normalization towards the vertical or horizontal visual meridia is indirect.

Perception time and reaction time.

Two experiments were performed in order to examine the possible contribution of visual perception time in motor response time under conditions of pursuit eye movements. Subjects had to follow with their eyes a light spot moving horizontally along a reference scale at a constant velocity of 14 degrees/s. Stimuli (the disappearance of the moving spot) were presented randomly at distances of 11.

In search of paintings influence on time judgement.

The influence of paintings on short time interval perception was studied. Three methods for time estimation were tested: direct scaling and two modifications of the method of reproduction – with and without simultaneous presentation of the painting whose duration was, reproduced. The results show that short time interval perception is influenced by such complex stimuli as paintings.

Determination of the threshold of simultaneity and temporal order using the "step-ladder" method.

The article considers the sensitivity of the mechanisms for perceiving simultaneity and temporal order. A method similar to the psychophysical "staircase" method is used for determining the thresholds of the perception of simultaneity and temporal order. The simultaneity and temporal order thresholds are measured for two levels of visual adaptation of the subjects.

Spatial frequency, contrast and duration estimation.

Duration estimation of square-wave gratings presented for "short" (up to 150 ms) and "long" (above 190 ms) time intervals was studied. The spatial frequency (SF) of the gratings with equal mean luminance and contrast 85% varied from 0.7 to 12 c/deg.

Estimating the duration of briefly presented physiognomic stimuli.

The influence of complex stimuli which are supposed to induce different attitude and emotional effects in the observer on short time interval perception was studied. It is concluded that emotional and/or aesthetical factors do not interfere with short time interval perception.