Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation-Influence of Modifiable Risk Factors and Ablation Modality on Procedural Efficacy and Safety.

Background: Modifiable lifestyle risk factors, in particular obesity and related conditions, are important drivers of atrial fibrillation (AF), impacting the severity of symptoms and influence the efficacy and safety of treatment.

Objective: The study aimed to assess the impact of modifiable lifestyle factors on the effectiveness and safety of AF ablation, and examine the procedural characteristics, efficacy, safety and cost outcomes of cryoballoon vs radiofrequency ablation, in a real-world clinical setting.

Method: Patients undergoing catheter ablation for AF (June 2017 to December 2020) were included in this retrospective analysis.

Self-reported Measures of Function Compared to Lower Limb Motor Performance in People With and Without Imaging Evidence of Unilateral Lumbar Nerve Root Compression: A Cross-sectional Study.

Objective: The primary objective of the present study was to determine if imaging findings of unilateral lumbar nerve root compression (ULNRC) impact performance on a coordinated motor performance task and to determine if there were correlations between motor performance and self-reported clinical measures.

Methods: People with back pain (N = 45) were stratified into 3 groups based on combinations of: lumbar imaging; and clinical presentation for ULNRC. Group 1 included people with imaging of lumbar nerve root compression, who presented with neurological deficit.

Endothelial structure contributes to heterogeneity in brain capillary diameter.

The high metabolic demand of brain tissue is supported by a constant supply of blood through dense microvascular networks. Capillaries are the smallest class of vessels and vary in diameter between ∼2 to 5 μm in the brain. This diameter range plays a significant role in the optimization of blood flow resistance, blood cell distribution, and oxygen extraction.

Regenerative potential and limitations in a zebrafish model of hyperglycemia-induced nerve degeneration.

Background: Previous work from our lab has described a model of motor nerve degeneration in hyperglycemic zebrafish larvae which resembles mammalian models of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN). Here, we optimized the hyperglycemic-induction protocol, characterized deficits in nerve structure and behavioral function, and then examined the regenerative potential following recovery from the hyperglycemic state.

Results: In agreement with our previous work, hyperglycemia induced motor nerve degeneration and behavioral deficits.

Delaying ripening using 1-MCP reveals chilling injury symptom development at the putative chilling threshold temperature for mature green banana.

Storage at the putative chilling threshold temperature (CTT) to avoid chilling injury still limits postharvest handling of tropical fruit like banana in that ripening may occur at the CTT. To determine whether chilling injury (CI) symptoms would develop in mature green (MG) banana fruit if the CTT exposure was extended by inhibiting ethylene action and thus ripening, 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) was applied. Individual 'fingers' from multiple 'clusters' of MG bananas were either immersed in water or 50 μg L 1-MCP (a.

Modeling the relationship between air temperature and grapefruit quality traits.

Background: Consumers of grapefruit require consistent fruit quality with a good physical appearance and taste. The air temperature during the growing season affects both the external (external color index (ECI)) and internal (titratable acidity (TA) and total soluble solids ratio (TSS/TA)) fruit quality of grapefruit. The objective of this study was to develop computer models that encompass the relationship between preharvest air temperature and fruit quality to predict fruit quality of grapefruit at harvest.

"I believe this team will change how society views youth in disasters": the EnRiCH Youth Research Team: a youth-led community-based disaster risk reduction program in Ottawa, Canada.

Setting: The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction promotes an "all-of-society" approach to disaster risk reduction (DRR). Since 2013, the EnRiCH Research Lab has implemented a community-based, participatory program to promote youth development and engagement in DRR in Ottawa-Gatineau. The EnRiCH Youth Research Team used an existing community education program called the Enrichment Mini-Course Program as a framework to engage youth in DRR.

Low storage temperature for tree ripe mangoes under controlled atmospheres with elevated CO concentrations.

Background: Tree-ripe mangoes are of a better quality than the more commonly marketed mature-green fruit. However, the postharvest life of tree-ripe mangoes at the chilling threshold temperature for mature-green fruit of 12 °C is insufficient to allow long distance transport for international marketing. Because the chilling sensitivity often decreases as fruit ripen, lower temperatures (5 and 8 °C) in combination with a controlled atmosphere of 5 kPa O plus 10 or 25 kPa CO were tested to determine whether the quality of tree-ripe mangoes could be maintained longer without chilling injury (CI).

Novel presentation of eosinophilic granuloma complex in a cat.

Case Summary: A 9-year-old neutered male domestic shorthair cat was presented for multiple deep lesions on all four limbs and a nodule on the right pinna. The limb lesions ranged from nodules with necrotic surfaces to full-thickness ulcerations with exposure of muscles and tendons. The cat lived indoors only in a single-pet household and had no prior history of trauma.

The Patient Experience and Safety.

Patient harm continues to be a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Among high-risk industries, the health care system has a significantly lower safety profile than that of others. There are many driving forces behind this, including significant resistance within the medical community in the late 1960s to consumer demand of patient-centered and family-centered care.

DC cardioversion of atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter in the emergency department: improving specialist protocols for the generalist.

Background: Direct current cardioversion (DCCV) is a safe and effective treatment for recent-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) or flutter and when performed in the emergency department (ED), it can provide an excellent treatment option for patients as well as reducing unnecessary hospital admissions and healthcare costs. However, appropriate periprocedural anticoagulation is absolutely essential to reduce the risk of adverse outcomes, chiefly thromboembolic stroke. Our intention was for 100% of patients undergoing DCCV in the ED to receive appropriate periprocedural anticoagulation.

Understanding the decision-making environment for people in minimally conscious state.

Patients in minimally conscious state (MCS) show minimal, fluctuating but definitive signs of awareness of themselves and their environments. They may exhibit behaviours ranging from the ability to track objects or people with their eyes, to the making of simple choices which requires the ability to recognise objects and follow simple commands. While patients with MCS have higher chances of further recovery than people in vegetative states, this is not guaranteed and their prognosis is fundamentally uncertain.

Safety of undiluted intracameral moxifloxacin without postoperative topical antibiotics in cataract surgery.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the safety of undiluted 0.5 % intracameral moxifloxacin for postoperative endophthalmitis prophylaxis in cataract surgery patients without the use of additional postoperative topical antibiotics. All phacoemulsification cataract surgeries performed by a single surgeon (B.

Insulin regulates Rab3-Noc2 complex dissociation to promote GLUT4 translocation in rat adipocytes.

Aims/hypothesis: The glucose transporter GLUT4 is present mainly in insulin-responsive tissues of fat, heart and skeletal muscle and is translocated from intracellular membrane compartments to the plasma membrane (PM) upon insulin stimulation. The transit of GLUT4 to the PM is known to be dependent on a series of Rab proteins. However, the extent to which the activity of these Rabs is regulated by the action of insulin action is still unknown.

The role of behavioral health services in accountable care organizations.

Nationally, care delivery organizations are developing accountable care organizations (ACOs), but few have an appreciation of the importance of behavioral health services or knowledge about how to include them in an ACO since their funding and delivery are currently segregated from other medical services. This commentary reviews data on the impact of patients with concurrent medical and behavioral health conditions. They indicate that three-fourths of patients with behavioral health disorders are seen in the medical setting, but are largely untreated because few medical patients choose to access the behavioral health sector, which is where behavioral health providers are paid to work.

An unbiased approach to identifying tau kinases that phosphorylate tau at sites associated with Alzheimer disease.

Neurofibrillary tangles, one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer disease (AD), are composed of paired helical filaments of abnormally hyperphosphorylated tau. The accumulation of these proteinaceous aggregates in AD correlates with synaptic loss and severity of dementia. Identifying the kinases involved in the pathological phosphorylation of tau may identify novel targets for AD.

Ethylene-induced overproduction of reactive oxygen species is responsible for the development of watersoaking in immature cucumber fruit.

Watersoaking is an ethylene-induced disorder observed in some members of the Cucurbitaceae including cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.), watermelon (Citrullus lanatus Thunb. Matsum and Nakai), and tropical pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duch.

Classification of impacted blueberries during storage using an electronic nose.

Background: An electronic nose (EN) was used to determine the effect of repeated impacts on changes in volatile characteristics of fresh blueberries during storage. Hand-harvested 'Misty' blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum) were treated either as (1) undropped (control) fruits, (2) fruits poured six times from a picking bucket 200 mm into a plastic field lug or (3) fruits dropped as above ten times onto a steel surface. Fruits from all treatments were stored in vented polystyrene clamshell containers at 2 °C and 95% relative humidity.

An overview of sedation for adult patients in hospital.

Sedatives may be administered to patients in the hospital setting to provide comfort and reduce anxiety and pain. A variety of sedative agents can be used depending on the circumstances and the type of sedation required. This article provides an overview of the different levels of sedation, the most common pharmacological agents, used and the potential side effects and complications.

Translating an evidence-based protocol for nurse-to-nurse shift handoffs.

Purpose: Ineffective communication is the most frequently reported cause of sentinel events in U.S. hospitals.

The impact of enteral feeding protocols on nutritional support in critically ill children.

Background: Studies have shown that feeding protocols may assist in achieving optimal nutritional care in critically ill children. The present study aimed to assess the impact of enteral feeding protocols on nutritional support practices through a continuous auditing process over a defined period.

Materials And Methods: A prospective audit on nutritional practice was initiated in 1994-1995 on all ventilated patients who were admitted for more than a complete 24-h period in the paediatric intensive care unit.