The impact of age on the electroanatomical characteristics and outcome of catheter ablation in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Background: Previous studies have indicated that atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients over the age of 60 at diagnosis is a risk factor for a substantial increase in cardiovascular events. However, information about the impact of age on the atrial substrate and clinical outcome after catheter ablation of AF is limited.

Methods: This study included 350 patients (53 ± 12 years, 254 males) who underwent circumferential pulmonary vein isolation (CPVI) of AF, guided by a NavX mapping system.

Driving plasticity in the motor cortex in recurrent low back pain.

The sensory and motor systems can reorganise following injury and learning of new motor skills. Recently we observed adaptive changes in motor cortical organisation in patients with recurrent low back pain (LBP), which are linked to altered motor coordination. Although changes in motor coordination can be trained and are associated with improved symptoms and function, it remains unclear whether these training-induced changes are related to reorganisation of the motor cortex.

Molecular therapeutic approaches to melanoma.

Metastatic melanoma is a highly lethal cancer that has historically been refractory to all tested pharmacological agents. An understanding of the mechanisms responsible for its oncogenesis is critical for developing successful therapies. An enormous amount of data generated over the last few decades have revealed important biological insights into melanoma initiation, progression and maintenance, which bring new directions and approaches to treatment of this devastating skin cancer.

Family Income at the Bottom and at the Top: Income Sources and Family Characteristics.

Attention has recently been focused on wealth as a source of long-term economic security and on wealth ownership as a crucial aspect of the racial economic divisions in the United States. This literature, however has been concerned primarily with the wealth gap between poor and middle-class families, and between the white and black middle class. In this paper, we investigate the incomes of families at the top and bottom of the family income distribution.

Prognostic implications of the high-sensitive C-reactive protein in the catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation.

Previous studies have reported that increased high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels are associated with an inflammatory state. This study investigated the association among hs-CRP, substrate properties, and long-term clinical outcomes after catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF). A total of 137 patients with AF (54 +/- 13 years) who underwent mapping and catheter ablation were included.

Magnetic-activated cell sorting for sperm preparation reduces spermatozoa with apoptotic markers and improves the acrosome reaction in couples with unexplained infertility.

Background: Couples with unexplained infertility (UI) tend to have low fertilization rates with current IVF procedures. Here, we attempted to identify spermatozoa with apoptotic markers in couples with UI and unsuccessful intrauterine insemination (IUI) and we investigated the efficiency and benefit of magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS) for sperm preparation in such patients.

Methods: Sixty couples with UI and two IUI failures were recruited.

SUMOylation attenuates c-Maf-dependent IL-4 expression.

The function of transcription factors can be critically regulated by SUMOylation. c-Maf, the cellular counterpart of v-maf oncogene, is a potent transactivator of the IL-4 gene in Th2 cells. We found in a yeast two-hybrid screen that c-Maf can interact with Ubc9 and PIAS1, two key enzymes of the SUMOylation pathway.

Estimating CDKN2A carrier probability and personalizing cancer risk assessments in hereditary melanoma using MelaPRO.

Personalized cancer risk assessment remains an essential imperative in postgenomic cancer medicine. In hereditary melanoma, germline CDKN2A mutations have been reproducibly identified in melanoma-prone kindreds worldwide. However, genetic risk counseling for hereditary melanoma remains clinically challenging.

The novel electrophysiology of complex fractionated atrial electrograms: insight from noncontact unipolar electrograms.

Background: The noncontact mapping (NCM) system possesses the merit of global endocardial recording for unipolar and activation mapping.

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the unipolar electrogram characteristics and activation pattern over the bipolar complex fractionated atrial electrogram (CFAE) sites during atrial fibrillation (AF).

Methods: Twenty patients (age 55 +/- 11 years old, 15 males) who underwent NCM and ablation of AF (paroxysmal/persistent = 13/7) were included.

Mimetic total coronary sinus occlusion due to superselection with the balloon catheter.

A 77-year-old man with dilated cardiomyopathy, atrial fibrillation, QRS duration of 140 ms, and NYHA functional class III was referred for cardiac resynchronization therapy device implantation. Coronary sinus (CS) contrast venography by balloon catheter showed no evidence of tributary veins, mimicking total occlusion of the CS. It was found to be due to superselection of a side branch with the balloon catheter.

The disparities in the electrogram voltage measurement during atrial fibrillation and sinus rhythm.

Introduction: The peak electrogram voltage is a typical metric applied at each site for voltage mapping. However, the peak amplitude depends on the direction and complexity of the wavefront propagation. The root-mean-square (RMS) measure of the amplitude is a temporal integral that represents the steady-state value.

Dynamic gene expression analysis links melanocyte growth arrest with nevogenesis.

Like all primary cells in vitro, normal human melanocytes exhibit a physiologic decay in proliferative potential as it transitions to a growth-arrested state. The underlying transcriptional program(s) that regulate this phenotypic change is largely unknown. To identify molecular determinants of this process, we performed a Bayesian-based dynamic gene expression analysis on primary melanocytes undergoing proliferative arrest.

In vitro and in vivo isotope effects with hepatitis C protease inhibitors: enhanced plasma exposure of deuterated telaprevir versus telaprevir in rats.

Telaprevir 2 (VX-950), an inhibitor of the hepatitis C virus (HCV(a)) NS3-4A protease, is in phase 3 clinical trials. One of the major metabolites of 2 is its P1-(R)-diastereoisomer, 3 (VRT-394), containing an inversion at the chiral center next to the alpha-ketoamide on exchange of a proton with solvent. Compound 3 is approximately 30-fold less active against HCV protease.

Moderate- to low-risk variant alleles of cutaneous malignancies and nevi: lessons from genome-wide association studies.

Cutaneous malignancies, especially malignant melanoma, exhibit great genetic heterogeneity. As a result, some individuals and families have particularly increased risk due to genetic predisposition to the disease. The susceptibility alleles range from rarely occurring, heritable, high-risk variants to ubiquitously occurring low-risk variants.

New insights into pigmentary pathways and skin cancer.

The ability of cells to respond to and to mitigate environmental stress is crucial for their survival. Constitutive and facultative pigmentation have evolved in order for human skin to contend with high levels of terrestrial ultraviolet radiation (UVR). When this melanin 'shield' is compromised, individuals are exposed to increased skin cancer risk.

Characteristics of complex fractionated electrograms in nonpulmonary vein ectopy initiating atrial fibrillation/atrial tachycardia.

Background: Nonpulmonary vein (PV) ectopy initiating atrial fibrillation (AF)/atrial tachycardia (AT) is not uncommon in patients with AF. The relationship of complex fractionated atrial electrograms (CFAEs) and non-PV ectopy initiating AF/AT has not been assessed. We aimed to characterize the CFAEs in the non-PV ectopy initiating AF/AT.

The impact of catheter ablation on the dynamic function of the left atrium in patients with atrial fibrillation: insights from four-dimensional computed tomographic images.

Introduction: Elucidating the functional properties and remodeling process of the entire left atrium (LA) is important not only for offering the mechanistic insight into atrial fibrillation (AF) but also for assessing the effectiveness of catheter ablation.

Methods: We included 65 patients with paroxysmal AF and 29 controls. Baseline multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) was acquired in all subjects and a follow-up MDCT was available in 48 patients after pulmonary vein and LA ablation.

Donnan potential of dilute colloidal dispersions: Monte Carlo simulations.

Donnan equilibrium between a salt-free colloidal dispersion and an electrolyte solution has been investigated by Monte Carlo simulations. The Donnan potential is directly calculated by considering two compartments separated by a semipermeable membrane. In order to understand the role played by colloid-ion interactions, the influences of colloidal characteristics, including particle size R, intrinsic particle charge Z, counterion valency z(c), and concentration c(p), on Donnan potential Psi(D) and effective charge Z(eff) are examined.

All-fiber passively Q-switched erbium laser using mismatch of mode field areas and a saturable-amplifier pump switch.

We propose and demonstrate an all-fiber self-Q-switched erbium laser system that is saturable-absorber Q switched by the mismatch of the mode-field areas in the resonator and stabilized with a saturable-amplifier pump switch. Sequential pulses with a pulse energy of 8-6 microJ and a pulse duration of 80-320 ns, corresponding to a pulse repetition rate of 0.25-1 kHz, were obtained using a cw 980 nm laser-diode pump.

Design of novel histone-derived antimicrobial peptides.

Previous studies have identified several naturally occurring antimicrobial peptides derived from histone proteins. This research aimed to design novel histone-derived antimicrobial peptides (HDAPs). To this end, three novel peptides (DesHDAP1, DesHDAP2, and DesHDAP3) were designed based on a histone-DNA crystal structure and structural properties of buforin II, the best characterized naturally occurring HDAP.

Selection criteria for genetic assessment of patients with familial melanoma.

Approximately 5% to 10% of melanoma may be hereditary in nature, and about 2% of melanoma can be specifically attributed to pathogenic germline mutations in cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A (CDKN2A). To appropriately identify the small proportion of patients who benefit most from referral to a genetics specialist for consideration of genetic testing for CDKN2A, we have reviewed available published studies of CDKN2A mutation analysis in cohorts with invasive, cutaneous melanoma and found variability in the rate of CDKN2A mutations based on geography, ethnicity, and the type of study and eligibility criteria used. Except in regions of high melanoma incidence, such as Australia, we found higher rates of CDKN2A positivity in individuals with 3 or more primary invasive melanomas and/or families with at least one invasive melanoma and two or more other diagnoses of invasive melanoma and/or pancreatic cancer among first- or second-degree relatives on the same side of the family.

Phenotypic categorization of genetic skin diseases reveals new relations between phenotypes, genes and pathways.

Motivation: Systematic analysis of connection between proteins, their cellular function and phenotypic manifestations in disease is a central problem of biological and clinical research. The solution to this problem requires the development of new approaches to link the rapidly growing dataset of gene-disease associations with the many complex and overlapping phenotypes of human disease.

Results: We analyze genetic skin disorders and suggest a manually designed set of elementary phenotypes whose combinations define diseases as points in a multidimensional space, providing a basis for phenotypic disease clustering.

The optimal automatic algorithm for the mapping of complex fractionated atrial electrograms in patients with atrial fibrillation.

CFAEs and the Voltage. Introduction: Catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) can be guided by the identification of complex fractionated atrial electrograms (CFAEs). We aimed to study the prediction of the CFAEs defined by an automatic algorithm in different atrial substrates (high voltage areas vs low voltage areas).

The impact of left atrial size on long-term outcome of catheter ablation of chronic atrial fibrillation.

Background: The left atrial (LA) size is an important predictor of atrial fibrillation (AF) procedural termination and the long-term outcome. We sought to evaluate the long-term outcome in regard to the LA size and procedural termination.

Methods: Eighty-seven consecutive chronic AF patients (72 males, 53 +/- 10 years) underwent 3D mapping (NavX) and ablation.

Gender differences of electrophysiological characteristics in focal atrial tachycardia.

Gender differences of supraventricular tachycardias such as atrioventricular nodal re-entry, atrioventricular re-entry, and atrial fibrillation have been reported. There is little evidence of the effect of gender on focal atrial tachycardia (FAT). The study consisted of 298 patients who were referred to this institution for radiofrequency catheter ablation of FAT from October 1992 to April 2008 and included 156 men (52%) and 142 women (48%).