ternarea collected 3-MA from different regions of the country was assessed using 25 RAPD primers and HPLC analysis respectively. Only 7 primers amplified a total of 71 reproducible, clear and scorable bands of which 32(45%) were polymorphic.

The number of RAPD bands per primer was in the range of 7-14 with an average of 10 bands per primer. The genetic distance ranged from 0.02 to 0.28. A dendrogram based on UPGMA clustering method revealed two major clusters. Cluster 1 comprises of the accessions of North India while cluster 2 includes accessions of Central and South India. The Kaempferol content was 9.31-20.01 mg/g dw, being highest in the accession of Kurukshetra (Haryana). (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.”
“The traditional method of thoracoabdominal retroperitoneal

approach BKM120 in vitro requires dissection of diaphragm which bears potential complications such as postoperatively weakened abdominal breathing and dysfunction of diaphragm. Mini-open anterior instrumentation with diaphragm sparing is designed to minimize the damage to diaphragm and improve cosmesis. This study compared the traditional anterior instrumentation and mini-open anterior instrumentation under the hypothesis that both results in similar surgical outcomes in treating thoracolumbar scoliosis. In Group A, 38 patients with an average age of 16.5 years underwent mini-open anterior instrumentation with diaphragm sparing. The average standing coronal Cobb angle was 56.4A degrees in Group A. Thirty-eight patients with average age of 16.7 years in Group B received traditional open approach. The preoperative average Cobb angle was 55.8A

learn more degrees in Group B. The average correction rate of coronal curve was 78% in group A while 75% in group B. No statistical difference between the two groups in terms of coronal curve correction, sagittal profile restoration and estimated blood loss was observed. The operation time was significantly higher in Group A than that in Group B. All patients in the two groups had good healing of incisions without neurological and instrumental complications during minimal 2 year follow-up. In Groups A and B, two patients suffered from pleural effusion, respectively. The wedging of the vertebral discs distal to the lowest fused level occurred in three and four patients in Group A and B, respectively. One case in group B was found to be suspicious pseudoarthrosis without loss of correction. Mini-open anterior instrumentation with diaphragm sparing could minimize the surgical invasion as well as achieve similar clinical outcomes compared with classical anterior approach.”
“We are presenting data from the largest clinical trial on optical tomographic imaging of finger joints to date. Overall we evaluated 99 fingers of patients affected by rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and 120 fingers from healthy volunteers. Using frequency-domain imaging techniques we show that sensitivities and specificities of 0.

This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of depressive symptoms and to explore its predictive factors. Methods A face-to-face interview was conducted with 312 cancer caregivers in Shenyang. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the Center for Epidemiologic

Studies Depression scale. Prexasertib solubility dmso Hierarchical multivariate regression analysis was used to explore the factors related to depressive symptoms. In the hierarchical regression, caregiver demographic characteristics were entered in the first step, patients’ characteristics were entered in the second step, objective caregiving loads were entered in the third step, subjective caregiving burden was entered in the fourth step, and Sense of Coherence (SOC) was entered in the last step. Results The MI-503 concentration prevalence of caregivers’ depressive symptoms was 63.5%. Regression analyses showed that demographic characteristics of caregivers and subjective caregiving burden explained most of the total

variance, accounting for 28.5% and 14.6%, respectively. Subjective caregiving burden was positively associated with depressive symptoms, whereas SOC was negatively associated with depressive symptoms. Conclusions Chinese caregivers of cancer patients experienced higher levels of depressive symptoms. Demographic characteristics of caregivers and subjective caregiving burden were the most significant predictors of depressive symptoms, whereas SOC could attenuate the levels of depressive symptoms. Caregiving burden should be decreased, and SOC is highly recommended to manage caregiving tasks in order to alleviate depressive symptoms. Copyright (c) 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.”
“The dynamics of microcantilever beams can be strongly affected by immersion in fluid. While Galunisertib ic50 the importance of viscosity for devices of microscale dimensions is well established, the significance of fluid compressibility has not been investigated in detail. Here, we present a rigorous theoretical model for the frequency response of a rectangular cantilever beam that is executing normal and torsional oscillations, and is immersed in

a compressible fluid. Both the viscous case and the inviscid limit are considered, and the model is valid for arbitrary mode number. We find that compressibility becomes increasingly important as the mode number rises. This is particularly relevant for gases, where compressibility is found to be important for high mode numbers of practical interest. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3254191]“
“The goal of our investigation was to find a neurological explanation for neuropathies reported following some uterosacral ligament suspension (USLS) [2-3].

We dissected the neural structures beneath the USL in seven female, adult, embalmed cadavers. We made a literature review to determine the spinal nerve sensory fiber composition of each exposed neural structure and the dermatome(s) that it innervates.

(C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3532035]“
“When partly soluble chemical curatives are mixed with raw rubber, they migrate to the rubber surface, which can be detrimental to the rubber properties. Two rubber compounds with different amounts of

curatives selleck compound were prepared by mixing natural rubber with a high loading of precipitated amorphous white silica nanofiller. The silica surfaces were pretreated with bis(3-triethoxysilylpropyl)-tetrasulfide coupling agent to chemically adhere silica to the rubber. The chemical bonding between the filler and rubber was optimized via the tetrasulfane groups of bis(3-triethoxysilylpropyl)-tetrasulfide by adding accelerator and activator. The rubber compounds were cured and stored at ambient temperature for up to 65 days. One compound showed extensive blooming as a function of storage time. The cyclic fatigue life of the rubber vulcanizates was subsequently measured at a constant strain amplitude and test frequency at ambient temperature. The blooming of the

chemical curatives reduced the cyclic fatigue life of the rubber vulcanizate by more than 100%. The migrated 4EGI-1 chemical curatives produced a thin layer approximately 15 mu m in size beneath the rubber surface. When the rubber was stressed repeatedly in the fatigue test, cracks initiated in this layer and subsequently grew, causing the fatigue life of the vulcanizate to decrease. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 120: 2497-2507, 2011″
“This study evaluated the safety and efficacy of levetiracetam as adjunctive therapy for partial seizures in everyday clinical practice in Asian populations. Patients aged >= 16 years (N = 251) with inadequately controlled partial epilepsy were recruited from 29 centers across Asia. Levetiracetam was added to existing antiepileptic medication for 16 weeks at a starting dose 5-Fluoracil mouse of 500 or 1000 mg/day and titrated to a maximum

of 3000 mg/day according to clinical response. The study completion rate was 86.9%. Adverse events were reported by 73.3% of patients and were generally mild, leading to treatment withdrawal in only 7.2%. The most common adverse events were somnolence (30.3%) and dizziness (14.7%). Compared with pretreatment baseline, 44.0% of patients had a >= 50% reduction in seizure frequency, with a median reduction of 46.4%, and 17.7% became seizure free during the treatment period. Levetiracetam was well tolerated and efficacious as adjunctive therapy for partial epilepsy in clinical practice among Asian populations. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“The thermoelectric properties of Bi-doped compounds (Zn1-xBix)(4)Sb-3 (x=0,0.0025,0.005,0.01) were studied experimentally as well as theoretically. The results indicate that low-temperature (T < 300 K) thermal conductivity of moderately doped (Zn0.9975Bi0.

pylori eradication. In screening patients, the combined use of IgG ELISA and LB revealed a sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 94%, 81%, and 90%, respectively, whereas IgG ELISA alone exhibited a low specificity selleck products of 75%. In diabetic and follow-up patients, IgA ELISA exhibited high accuracy of 89% and 93%, respectively, whereas IgG detection was unreliable (accuracy < 80%). In conclusion, using HP0175, p17, p19, CagA, and VacA as LB substrates significantly improves the specificity of anti-H. pylori IgG analysis, providing a reliable

tool for (1) confirmation/refutation of ELISA-based screening results and (2) assessment of the CagA/VacA status.”
“Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive disease characterized by recurrent inflammatory febrile attacks, abdominal, chest or joint pain, myalgia, and erysipelas-like

skin lesions. Several types of vasculitis are associated with FMF such as polyarteritis nodosa and Henoch-Schonlein purpura. We aimed to determine microvascular abnormalities in FMF patients via nailfold capillaroscopy using a dermoscope. Thirty-one FMF patients were assessed; capillary www.selleckchem.com/products/Gefitinib.html enlargement, tortuosity, avascular areas and microhemmoraghes were investigated. Capillary enlargement was found in five patients and microhemorrhages in one patient. Our study supports that nailfold capillary abnormalities, which are nonspecific, can be seen in FMF patients, but more studies are needed to clarify the importance of these findings.”
“We performed classical molecular dynamics simulations of defect production in small-diameter hexagonal Si nanowires under Ar ion irradiation. Using irradiation energies of 30 eV to 10 keV, we find that for low selleck chemical energies the defect production in the nanowires may be enhanced by as much as a factor of 3 in comparison to bulk Si due to the large surface-to-volume ratio of the systems. Conversely, at higher energies the increased transmission of ions causes a significant decrease in defect production. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:

10.1063/1.3627234]“
“Pregnant sow nutrition has potential effects on the muscle fiber development of progeny in utero. A total of 199 Landrace x Large White sows from parities 0 to 6 and their offspring were used to evaluate the effects of increasing the feeding amount during midpregnancy on the muscle tissue, growth performance, and meat quality of the progeny. The experiment was divided into 2 study replicates, and in each replicate, sows were assigned to 1 of the 2 treatments: 1) sows in the control group (C sows) were fed 2.5 to 3.0 kg/d (feed: 12.1 MJ of ME/kg and 0.62% lysine) throughout gestation; and 2) sows in the high group ( H sows) received an extra feed allowance of 1.5 kg/d for gilts and 2.0 kg/d for multiparous sows above the C amount from d 45 to 85 of gestation (period of secondary muscle fiber formation). Sow backfat was recorded on d 40 and 85 of gestation.

juncea. (C) 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.”
“The effect of Si and Ga substitutions on the magnetic and the magnetocaloric properties in Heusler based system Ni(46)Co(4)Mn(38)Sb(12-x)Z(x) (Z = Si and Ga) has been studied. From the M(T) plots it is found that Si substitution stabilizes the austenite phase, whereas Ga substitution stabilizes the martensite phase. Strong metamagnetic behavior is observed in the M(H) isotherms for Si = 0.75 and 1, whereas such a behavior is absent in the Ga substituted alloys. Associated with magneto-structural transition,

a large magnetocaloric effect (MCE) of 58 and 70 J/kg K is observed for x = 0.75 and 1, respectively, in the case of Si. Though the MCE observed in x = 0.5 and 1 in the case of Ga is much lower, the MCE peak is found

to be quite broad. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3554219]“
“PURPOSE: To assess selleck products the risk for intraoperative and postoperative bleeding associated with antiplatelet and/or anticoagulant treatment in patients having uneventful phacoemulsification.

SETTING: Kokura Memorial Hospital, Kitakyusyu, Japan.

METHODS: In a nonrandomized case series, consecutive patients had phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation BX-795 inhibitor under sub-Tenon anesthesia. All patients were on warfarin, acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) therapy, or both. Patients discontinued therapy 1 week before surgery (discontinuation group) or continued the therapeutic regimen until ACY-738 the time of surgery

(maintenance group).

RESULTS: The discontinuation group comprised 182 patients and the maintenance group, 173 patients. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups in the mean prothrombin time international normalized ratio in patients taking warfarin (P = .6). Although there was no significant intraoperative bleeding in any case, 47 eyes (16.5%) in the maintenance group and 31 eyes (10.8%) in the discontinuation group had a subconjunctival hemorrhage postoperatively (P = .0309). Minor postoperative ocular bleeding occurred in 11 eyes (4.0%) in the maintenance group and 7 eyes (2.5%) in the discontinuation group (P = .4). During the 1-month postoperative period, the mean change in corrected distance visual acuity was -0.462 logMAR +/- 0.331 (SD) in the maintenance group and -0.434 +/- 0.318 logMAR in the discontinuation group (P = .3).

CONCLUSIONS: Patients taking warfarin, aspirin, or both up to the time of phacoemulsification had a significantly higher incidence of subconjunctival hemorrhage than those who discontinued therapy. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups in the incidence of intraoperative and postoperative complications or in visual improvement.”
“Aluminium (Al) stress is an important factor limiting crop yields in acid soils. Despite this, very little is known about the mechanisms of resistance to this stress in woody plants.

3% (-0.63) over 3 (Y1 -> Y4), and -4.5% (-0.78) over 4 years. Spearman correlations were 0.33 for Y1 -> Y2 vs BL -> Y4, and 0.17 for BL -> Y1 vs Y2 -> Y4 change. Percent agreement between knees showing progression during Y1 -> Y2 vs BL -> Y4 was 59%, and 64% for BL -> Y1 vs

Y2 -> Y4. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.66 for using Y1 -> Y2 to predict BL -> Y4, and 0.59 for using BL -> Y1 to predict Y2 -> Y4 change.

Conclusion: Weak to moderate correlations and agreement were observed between individual short- vs long-term cartilage loss, and between initial and subsequent observation periods. Hence, longer observation periods are recommended to achieve robust results on cartilage loss in individual knees. At cohort and subcohort level (e.g., KLG3 vs KLG2 knees), the mean cartilage loss increased almost linearly with the length of the observation Bucladesine period and was constant throughout the study. (C) 2012 Osteoarthritis Research Society International. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Purpose of review

To evaluate recent trials and reviews of physical modalities and conservative treatments for selected upper extremity musculoskeletal conditions for evidence supporting their use.

Recent findings

Recent

evidence suggests that many localized tendinopathies are related more to degenerative than inflammatory processes. With this realization, there is increased {Selleck Anti-cancer Compound Library|Selleck Anticancer Compound Library|Selleck Anti-cancer Compound Library|Selleck Anticancer Compound Library|Selleckchem Anti-cancer Compound Library|Selleckchem Anticancer Compound Library|Selleckchem Anti-cancer Compound Library|Selleckchem Anticancer Compound Library|Anti-cancer Compound Library|Anticancer Compound Library|Anti-cancer Compound Library|Anticancer Compound Library|Anti-cancer Compound Library|Anticancer Compound Library|Anti-cancer Compound Library|Anticancer Compound Library|Anti-cancer Compound Library|Anticancer Compound Library|Anti-cancer Compound Library|Anticancer Compound Library|Anti-cancer Compound Library|Anticancer Compound Library|Anti-cancer Compound Library|Anticancer Compound Library|Anti-cancer Compound Library|Anticancer Compound Library|buy Anti-cancer Compound Library|Anti-cancer Compound Library ic50|Anti-cancer Compound Library price|Anti-cancer Compound Library cost|Anti-cancer Compound Library solubility dmso|Anti-cancer Compound Library purchase|Anti-cancer Compound Library manufacturer|Anti-cancer Compound Library research buy|Anti-cancer Compound Library order|Anti-cancer Compound Library mouse|Anti-cancer Compound Library chemical structure|Anti-cancer Compound Library mw|Anti-cancer Compound Library molecular weight|Anti-cancer Compound Library datasheet|Anti-cancer Compound Library supplier|Anti-cancer Compound Library in vitro|Anti-cancer Compound Library cell line|Anti-cancer Compound Library concentration|Anti-cancer Compound Library nmr|Anti-cancer Compound Library in vivo|Anti-cancer Compound Library clinical trial|Anti-cancer Compound Library cell assay|Anti-cancer Compound Library screening|Anti-cancer Compound Library high throughput|buy Anticancer Compound Library|Anticancer Compound Library ic50|Anticancer Compound Library price|Anticancer Compound Library cost|Anticancer Compound Library solubility dmso|Anticancer Compound Library purchase|Anticancer Compound Library manufacturer|Anticancer Compound Library research buy|Anticancer Compound Library order|Anticancer Compound Library chemical structure|Anticancer Compound Library datasheet|Anticancer Compound Library supplier|Anticancer Compound Library in vitro|Anticancer Compound Library cell line|Anticancer Compound Library concentration|Anticancer Compound Library clinical trial|Anticancer Compound Library cell assay|Anticancer Compound Library screening|Anticancer Compound Library high throughput|Anti-cancer Compound high throughput screening| emphasis on

finding new modalities to treat tendinopathies and other localized musculoskeletal conditions that rely on other than anti-inflammatory mechanisms. Although there is INCB28060 in vivo good evidence to support the short-term benefits of corticosteroid injections, convincing evidence in support of other conservative treatments and modalities is generally lacking. Extracorpal shock wave therapy may have significant clinical benefit for calcific tendinitis; however, it requires intravenous sedation in most cases and does not appear to be effective in lateral epicondylitis. The most consistent positive treatment effects for rotator cuff tendinitis were achieved by ultrasound-guided subacromial corticosteroid injection as well as manual therapy in conjunction with therapeutic exercise.

Summary

Although there is evidence supporting the use of several different physical modalities and conservative treatments for upper extremity musculoskeletal conditions, there is a strong need for larger, higher quality randomized controlled trials. Although most studies are able to demonstrate short-term benefits, there is a lack of high-quality data demonstrating that these conservative treatments have long-term benefits, particularly, with regard to functional outcomes.”
“Objective: Degeneration in cruciate ligaments results from abnormal biomechanical stress and the aging process. Such degeneration is a common outcome in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee and contributes to the progression of OA.

We show that the blueshift in the emission energies due to ring formation is mainly caused by (i) the geometric change from a dot to ring and (ii) the weakened heavy hole light hole splitting, and not by the enhanced compressive strain. The relaxation of the ring along the radial direction also considerably enhances

the shear strain and piezoelectric potential, and the piezoelectric potential partially compensates for the blueshift resulting from the ring evolution and GaAs capping. We also show that the tensile strained GaAs selectively acts as a potential well for light holes and as JIB-04 Epigenetics inhibitor potential barriers for both the electrons and heavy holes. As a consequence, the GaAs layer considerably enhances the light-hole character of the hole states in our quantum

ring. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3580291]“
“We present a case of a 31-year-old woman, gravida 4 para 1, pregnant at 33 + 2 weeks of gestational age with acute abdomen due to hemoperitoneum. Hemoperitoneum was suspected for non-specific symptoms such as acute abdominal pain, vomit, cardiotocography alterations and maternal acute anaemia. An emergency caesarean section was performed; 3 L of blood was present in abdomen. Careful exploration of the uterus, placenta, abdominal organs and vessels was negative; only a bleeding from a rupture in Amino acid transport inhibitor a varix of the left broad ligament was observed. Hemoperitoneum due to a ruptured uterine varix in pregnancy is a rare condition. The solution to prevent the development of maternal hypovolemic shock is an immediate surgical intervention. A good foetal prognosis principally CA3 research buy depends from gestational age and from good hemodynamic maternal conditions.”
“Excessive receptor activator of NF-kappa B ligand (RANKL) signaling causes enhanced osteoclast formation and bone resorption. The downregulation

of RANKL expression and its downstream signals may be an effective therapeutic approach to the treatment of bone loss diseases such as osteoporosis. Here, we found that coptisine, one of the isoquinoline alkaloids from Coptidis Rhizoma, exhibited inhibitory effects on osteoclastogenesis in vitro. Although coptisine has been studied for its antipyretic, antiphotooxidative, dampness dispelling, antidote, antinociceptive, and anti-inflammatory activities in vitro and in vivo, its effects on osteoclastogenesis have not been investigated. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of coptisine on osteoblastic cells as well as osteoclast precursors for osteoclastogenesis in vitro. The addition of coptisine to cocultures of mouse bone marrow cells and primary osteoblastic cells with 10(-8) M 1 alpha,25(OH)(2)D(3) caused significant inhibition of osteoclast formation in a dose-dependent manner.

The influences of the monomer feed molar ratio, catalyst concentration, and reaction time as well as the reaction temperature on the copolymerization process were also studied. The copolymerization of CL and PTC monomers was a nonideal copolymerization, and the copolymerization reactivity

ratio of CL was higher than that of PTC in the polymerization process. In vitro degradation tests indicated that the partly deprotected copolymers possessed faster degradation rates and greater hydrophilicity than the unreduced copolymers. In, vitro release profiles of fluorouracil from the copolymers showed that these two types of copolymers had steady drug-release rates and good controlled-release properties. Moreover, the partly deprotected copolymers had faster drug-release rates than the unreduced copolymers. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym

Sci 114: 3087-3096, 2009″
“The concept CBL0137 manufacturer of robustness of regulatory networks has received much attention in the last decade. One measure of robustness has been associated with the volume of the feasible region, namely, the region in the parameter space in which the system is functional. In this paper, we show that, in addition to volume, the geometry of this region has important consequences for the robustness and the fragility of a network. We develop Stem Cell Compound Library cell line an approximation within which we could algebraically specify the feasible region. We analyze the segment polarity gene network to illustrate our approach. The study of

random walks in the parameter space and how they exit the feasible region provide us with a rich perspective on the different modes of failure of this network model. In particular, we found that, between two alternative ways of activating Wingless, one is more robust than the other. Our method provides a more complete measure of robustness to parameter variation. As a general modeling strategy, our approach is an interesting alternative to Boolean representation Selleck Cl-amidine of biochemical networks.”
“Background The skin possesses unique biochemical properties that allow it to protect and conform to the body that it covers. Elements constituting the dermiscollagen and elastinprimarily afford these properties. Objectives To define these properties and explore their relevance with regard to aging skin and dermatologic surgery. Materials and Methods In the first part of this review, the determinants of mechanical properties of the skin will be outlined, through an extensive review of the literature. General physical properties that explain the behavior of skin will be defined, and diseases that manifest the extremes of those properties will be discussed. In the second half of this discussion, the surgical implications of skin biomechanics will be reviewed.

J Cataract Refract Surg 2009; 35:1401-1409 (C) 2009

ASCRS Estrogen inhibitor and ESCRS”
“Background: Insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs) have been shown to reduce morbidity and mortality due to malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. Strategies using incentives to increase ITN use could be more efficient than traditional distribution campaigns. To date, behavioural incentives have been studied mostly in developed countries. No study has yet looked at the effect of incentives on the use of ITNs. Reported here are the results of a cluster randomized controlled trial testing household-level incentives for ITN use following a free ITN distribution campaign in Madagascar.

Methods: The study took place from July 2007 Birinapant datasheet until February 2008. Twenty-one villages were randomized to either intervention or control clusters. Households in both clusters received

a coupon redeemable for one ITN. After one month, intervention households received a bonus for ITN use, determined by visual confirmation of a mounted ITN. Data were collected at baseline, one month and six months. Both unadjusted and adjusted results, using cluster specific methods, are presented.

Results: At baseline, 8.5% of households owned an ITN and 6% were observed to have a net mounted over a bed in the household. At one month, there were no differences in ownership between the intervention and control groups (99.5% vs. 99.4%), but net use was substantially higher in the intervention group (99% vs. 78%), with an adjusted risk ratio of 1.24 (95% CI: 1.10 to 1.40; p < 0.001). After six months, net ownership had decreased in the intervention compared to the control group (96.7% vs. 99.7%), with an adjusted risk ratio of 0.97 (p < 0.01). There was no difference between the groups in terms of ITN use at six months; however, VX-770 molecular weight intervention households were more likely to use a net that they owned (96% vs. 90%; p < 0.001).

Conclusions: Household-level incentives have the potential

to significantly increase the use of ITNs in target households in the immediate-term, but, over time, the use of ITNs is similar to households that did not receive incentives. Providing incentives for behaviour change is a promising tool that can complement traditional ITN distribution programmes and improve the effectiveness of ITN programmes in protecting vulnerable populations, especially in the short-term.”
“The poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate) (PHO) is a biodegradable polyester containing hydrophobic side chains. One way to obtain more hydrophilic polyester consisted in the introduction of polar groups in the side chains. Carboxyl groups (PHO(75)COOH(25)) were introduced by chemical modifications.

Methods: Simultaneous click here bipolar

filtered at 30-500 Hz and unipolar (high-pass filtered at 30 Hz) signals were recorded during ventricular voltage maps in 24 patients (group A). In five subsequent patients, low voltage surface areas were compared in electroanatomic maps (group B).

Results: Of 2,789 mapping points in group A, filtered unipolar EG amplitude correlated well with bipolar EG amplitude. Agreement of filtered unipolar recordings in classifying sites as > 1.5 mV or <1.5 mV with bipolar EG amplitude was 83%. Discordance was due to unipolar > bipolar amplitude at 83% of the discordant sites, consistent with possible reduction of bipolar amplitude due to direction dependence. Discordance was more frequent during epicardial than endocardial mapping. Double potentials were more frequently observed in bipolar than in unipolar recordings (3.2% vs 1.8%, P < 0.0001). In group B, the mean low-voltage PARP activation surface area (< 1.5 mV) was 70.1 +/- 48.9 cm(2) for bipolar and 61.3 +/- 52.2 cm(2) for filtered unipolar EG maps.

Conclusion: Direction dependent effects on bipolar EG amplitude may influence the identification of substrate for arrhythmias. High-pass filtered unipolar EGs might be a reasonable alternative

to bipolar recordings for creation of voltage maps. (PACE 2012; 35:157-163)”
“Background: Mosquito age and species identification is a crucial determinant of the efficacy of vector control programmes. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has previously been applied successfully to rapidly, non-destructively, and simultaneously determine the age and species of freshly anesthetized African

malaria vectors from the Anopheles gambiae s.l. species complex: An. gambiae s. s. and Anopheles arabiensis. However, this has only been achieved on freshly-collected specimens and future applications will require samples to be preserved between field collections and scanning by NIRS. In this study, a sample preservation method (RNAlater (R)) was evaluated for mosquito age and species identification by NIRS find more against scans of fresh samples.

Methods: Two strains of An. gambiae s. s. (CDC and G3) and two strains of An. arabiensis (Dongola, KGB) were reared in the laboratory while the third strain of An. arabiensis (Ifakara) was reared in a semi-field system. All mosquitoes were scanned when fresh and rescanned after preservation in RNAlater (R) for several weeks. Age and species identification was determined using a cross-validation.

Results: The mean accuracy obtained for predicting the age of young (<7 days) or old (>= 7 days) of all fresh (n = 633) and all preserved (n = 691) mosquito samples using the cross-validation technique was 83% and 90%, respectively. For species identification, accuracies were 82% for fresh against 80% for RNAlater (R) preserved.