Titin, the largest single chain protein known so far, has long been known to play a critical role in passive muscle function but recent studies have highlighted titin's role in active muscle function. One of the key elements in this role is the Ca-dependent interaction between titin's N2A region and the thin filament. An important element in this interaction is I83, the terminal immunoglobulin domain in the N2A region.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: The authors performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the predictive value of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) cardiac magnetic resonance for ventricular tachyarrhythmia in ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) and nonischemic cardiomyopathy (NICM) patients with ventricular dysfunction.
Background: The use of LGE to detect myocardial fibrosis and its related arrhythmic substrate is well established. Several recent studies have described the predictive value of LGE for ventricular tachyarrhythmias; however, their validity is limited by small sample size and low number of events.
Clinical use of modern Information and Communication Technologies such as Social Media (SM) can easily reach and empower groups of population at risk or affected by chronic diseases, and promote improvement of quality of care. In the paper we present an assessment of SM (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: X-ray imaging is frequently used as diagnostic approach for scoliosis in children and adolescents. X-ray procedures are considered as justified only when expected benefits exceed related risks. While benefits are well known to physicians, radiological risk awareness can be vague, impeding an optimal communication with patients' parents and possibly leading to discomfort and anxiety.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA new innovative low-wear bearing for use in total hip arthroplasty, a wear couple consisting of carbon fiber-reinforced poly-ether-ether-ketone (CF-PEEK), has been shown to be highly biocompatible and to have excellent tribological performance in the laboratory. We report the results of our technical and histologic analysis of a CF-PEEK composite acetabular cup component articulating against an alumina-head total hip arthroplasty prosthesis retrieved because of posttrauma infection from a patient in whom the components had been in place for 28 months. Histologic findings showed only a small amount of particles from the composite insert in the patient's periprosthetic tissue.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF