Comparison of morphologic assessment of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy by magnetic resonance versus echocardiographic imaging

To compare the value of echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the assessment of the amount and extent of hypertrophy in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HC) and, second, to correlate the degree of hypertrophy, as assessed by MRI, with clinical and electrocardiographic parameters, 30 consecutive patients (16 men and 14 women, aged 20 to 74 years) with HC were studied. Measurements of left ventricular wall thickness were performed at 11 predetermined segments (5 basal, 5 midventricular, and 1 apical) by 2-dimensional echocardiography and MRI. Two parameters derived from MRI studies were considered as indicators of the degree and extent of hypertrophy: (1) mean of the measured wall thickness at the 11 segments, and (2) the number of segments with thickness > 15 mm. Results showed that, from a total of 330 myocardial segments, thickness could be measured by echocardiography in 221 (67%), whereas MRI allowed measurement of 320 segments (97%). When compared with clinical and electrocardiographic data, no correlation was found regarding mean wall thickness and number of hypertrophied segments by MRI except for the presence of an abnormal electrocardiographic repolarization pattern. It is concluded that MRI allows a better assessment of the degree and extension of left ventricular hypertrophy than echocardiography in HC. Despite the precise information on hypertrophy provided by MRI, the amount and degree of hypertrophy bears no correlation with most of the clinical data in these patients.     

Complement resistance of capsulated strains of Aeromonas salmonicida

1. We investigated the effect of exercise on plasma adrenomedullin, atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) concentrations and studied the relationship between these peptides and haemodynamic parameters in nine patients with old myocardial infarction (MI) and in eight normal subjects. 2. The exercise protocol consisted of two fixed work loads (40 and 80 W) for 4 min each and venous blood samples were taken at rest, during each exercise stage and after exercise while monitoring the mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR). In MI, pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP), pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP), left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) and cardiac output (CO) were measured throughout exercise. 3. Adrenomedullin levels did not significantly increase with exercise. Adrenomedullin levels correlated with PAP and PCWP at rest (P < 0.05). Atrial natriuretic peptide levels correlated with PAP, PCWP and LVEDP throughout exercise (P < 0.05) but, on multiple regression analysis, PCWP correlated only with ANP (P < 0.01). Brain natriuretic peptide levels correlated with LVEDP throughout exercise (P < 0.01) and its increment correlated closely with basal BNP levels at rest (P < 0.01). 4. These results suggest that adrenomedullin does not respond to the acute haemodynamic changes of exercise, whereas ANP responds to it and PCWP is the major stimulus factor. Brain natriuretic peptide responds to exercise in proportion to the basal synthesis of BNP in patients with left ventricular dysfunction and LVEDP may play a role in increasing BNP during exercise.     

Optical measurements of thermal diffusivity of a material

The measurement of thermal diffusivity of a material (in particular, a thin film) is important for various reasons, e.g., to predict the heat transfer in the solid subjected to a thermal process, to monitor surface composition or morphology, or to detect invisible subsurface defects like delaminations. This measurement can be done in a noncontact manner using various photothermal methods. Such methods typically involve pulsed heating of the surface by small amounts using a laser source; the decay of the surface temperature after this pulsed photothermal heating is then probed to provide the thermal diffusivity. Various probing methods have been developed in the literature, including the probing of reflection, refraction, and diffraction from the pulsed heated area, infrared thermal radiometry, and surface deformation. This paper provides an overview of such techniques and some examples of their applications.     

Controversy and consensus regarding the use of cognitive ability testing in organizations.

Seven hundred three members of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology indicated agreement or disagreement with 49 propositions regarding cognitive ability tests in organizations. There was consensus that cognitive ability tests are valid and fair, that they provide good but incomplete measures, that different abilities are necessary for different jobs, and that diversity is valuable. Items dealing with the unique status of cognitive ability were most likely to generate polarized opinions. A 2-factor model, classifying items as those reflecting societal concerns over the consequences of ability testing and those reflecting an emphasis on the unique status of "g," fit the data well, and these factors proved especially important for predicting responses to the more controversial items. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organizational determinants of IT adoption in the pharmaceutical distribution sector

The aim of this paper is to propose new organizational factors that might explain the differences in the extent and the speed of IT adoption. With this in mind, we carried out an analysis of 16 cases in the pharmaceutical distribution sector in Spain. The results indicate that there are certain intangible assets that favour the introduction and development of IT. Among these are a frank and fluid communication between departments and members of the organization, low levels of conflict, the explicit support of top management towards IT adoption and learning and creative skills of IT-staff. In addition to these factors, we found others that we propose as catalysts of IT adoption. Among these we might mention the special relationship between the member-clients and the company in the case of cooperative firms.     

Effects of organic farming on minerals contents and aroma composition of Clemenules mandarin juice

Consumers demand organic products because they believe that the organic products are more flavorful and respectful to the environment and human health. The effects of organic farming on the minerals contents and aroma composition of Clemenules mandarin juices were studied. Minerals (Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn, Ca, Mg, K, and Na) were quantified using atomic absorption-emission spectroscopy, while volatile compounds were extracted using the dynamic headspace technique and were identified and quantified by GC–MS. In general, organic farming produced a mandarin juice with a higher quality than that produced by conventional agricultural practices. Higher concentrations of both minerals and positive volatile compounds were found in the organic juice, while the formation of off-flavors was higher in the conventional juice, although threshold values were not reached.     

New telechelic polymers and sequential copolymers by polyfunctional initiator transfer agents (inifers)

Summary The Kennedy-Smith plot routinely used for the characterization of end-reactive (telechelic) polyisobutylenes has been recast to increase its accuracy and thus to increase its diagnostic value for the compositional analysis of telechelic polymers containing chromophores. A detailed error estimation is given. The plotting method and error limits are shown for representative mono-, di-, and tri-ended telechelic polyisobutylenes.