Circumferential quantitative analysis of planar 201T1 myocardial scintigraphy in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease

Methodology for the computer analysis of 201T1 myocardial perfusion images has been developed by several laboratories. Substantial evidence of the advantage of this approach over visual inspection alone has been reported. The currently available computer analyses use different algorithms to analyze 201T1 kinetics in the myocardium. The authors evaluated and compared two widely used software programs, Medical Data System (MDS): a mean-count profile, and the Cedars Sinai (CS): a maximal-count profile, of planar 201T1 scintigraphy for their ability to detect coronary artery disease (CAD).     

Jumping to delusions? Paranoia,probabilistic reasoning,and need for closure

Introduction. The present study was designed to replicate and extend the findings of Bentall and Swarbrick (2003). It was hypothesised that patients with a history of persecutory delusions would display higher need for closure and a more extreme jumping to conclusions bias than healthy control participants.

Methods. Twenty-two patients with a history of persecutory delusions and nineteen healthy control participants were administered a probabilistic reasoning task, along with self-report measures of depression and need for closure.

Results. The clinical group scored higher on need for closure than the controls, but showed no greater tendency to jump to conclusions. No relationship was found between need for closure and a jumping to conclusions bias.

Conclusions. The results confirm an association between persecutory delusions and need for closure, yet suggest that persecutory delusions in an outpatient sample can be seen in the absence of a jumping to conclusions bias.     

Accessory mitral valve leaflet causing aortic regurgitation and left ventricular outflow tract obstruction. Case report and review of published reports

Arrhythmias, aortic regurgitation, and symptoms of severe intermittent ventricular outflow obstruction developed in a 14 year old boy with a heart murmur who had been followed from infancy. These were caused by an accessory mitral leaflet, which was successfully removed at open heart operation. A review of 21 previously reported cases found a high incidence of associated cardiac malformations, appreciable subaortic obstruction in most patients, and a consistent attachment of the accessory tissue to the ventricular aspect of the anterior mitral leaflet. The characteristic echocardiographic appearance of a mobile mass arising from the area of aortic-mitral continuity is sufficient for the diagnosis of accessory mitral leaflet and echocardiographic examination will facilitate the surgical management of this condition.     

Rural family medicine training site: Proposed framework

Objective

To develop a framework for a successful rural family medicine training program and to assess the potential for a rural family medicine residency training program using the Weyburn and Estevan areas of Saskatchewan as test sites.

Design

A mixed-method design was used; however, the focus of this article was on the qualitative data collected. Questions formulated for the semistructured interviews evolved from the literature.

Setting

Rural Saskatchewan.

Participants

Community physicians and representatives from the Sun Country Regional Health Authority, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health, and the University of Saskatchewan.

Methods

The data were documented during the interviews using a laptop computer, and the responses were reviewed with participants at the end of their interviews to ensure accuracy. The qualitative data collected were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis.

Main findings

Through the analysis of the data several themes emerged related to implementing a rural family medicine residency training program. Key predictors of success were physical resources, physician champions, physician teachers, educational support, administrative support, and other specialist support. Barriers to the development of a rural family medicine training site were differing priorities, lack of human resources, and lack of physical resources.

Conclusion

A project of this magnitude requires many people at different levels collaborating to be successful.     

Determination of the safety and efficacy of therapeutic neutralization of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) using AZD9773, an anti-TNF-α immune Fab, in murine CLP sepsis

Objective and design

TNF-α neutralization is associated with increased mortality in mouse cecal ligation puncture (CLP) models. AZD9773 is an ovine polyclonal human TNF-α immune Fab, with pharmacological properties that differ from previously studied anti-TNF-α agents. We explored the safety and efficacy of therapeutically administered AZD9773 in mouse CLP sepsis.

Methods

A moderate/severe-grade CLP model resulting in 20–30 % 5-day survival and a mild-grade CLP model resulting in ~70 % 5-day survival were established in human TNF-α transgene/murine TNF null (Tg1278/?/?) mice.

Treatment

Mice received saline resuscitation and imipenem administration every 12 h (0–72 h post-CLP). AZD9773 (or DigiFab control) was dosed 24, 36, 48 and 60 h post-CLP.

Results

Therapeutic dosing of AZD9773 in moderate/severe-grade CLP resulted in significantly increased survival (>70 %) compared with DigiFab (27 %, P < 0.05). Therapeutic dosing of AZD9773 in mild-grade CLP did not significantly affect survival outcome compared with DigiFab or imipenem alone (~60–70 % survival).

Conclusions

These data demonstrate that TNF-α neutralization can improve survival in moderate/severe CLP sepsis. TNF-α suppression in mild-grade models was not associated with survival benefit and did not increase 5-day mortality. These findings suggest that therapeutic benefit following TNF-α attenuation in models of sepsis may depend on model severity.     

Requirements and limits for life in the context of exoplanets

The requirements for life on Earth, its elemental composition, and its environmental limits provide a way to assess the habitability of exoplanets. Temperature is key both because of its influence on liquid water and because it can be directly estimated from orbital and climate models of exoplanetary systems. Life can grow and reproduce at temperatures as low as −15 °C, and as high as 122 °C. Studies of life in extreme deserts show that on a dry world, even a small amount of rain, fog, snow, and even atmospheric humidity can be adequate for photosynthetic production producing a small but detectable microbial community. Life is able to use light at levels less than 10⁻⁵ of the solar flux at Earth. UV or ionizing radiation can be tolerated by many microorganisms at very high levels and is unlikely to be life limiting on an exoplanet. Biologically available nitrogen may limit habitability. Levels of O₂ over a few percent on an exoplanet would be consistent with the presence of multicellular organisms and high levels of O₂ on Earth-like worlds indicate oxygenic photosynthesis. Other factors such as pH and salinity are likely to vary and not limit life over an entire planet or moon.The list of exoplanets is increasing rapidly with a diversity of masses, orbital distances, and star types. The long list motivates us to consider which of these worlds could support life and what type of life could live there. The only approach to answering these questions is based on observations of life on Earth. Compared with astronomical targets, life on Earth is easily studied and our knowledge of it is extensive––but it is not complete. The most important area in which we lack knowledge about life on Earth is its origin. We have no consensus theory for the origin of life nor do we know the timing or location (1). What we do know about life on Earth is what it is made of, and we know its ecological requirements and limits. Thus, it is not surprising that most of the discussions related to life on exoplanets focus on the requirements for life rather than its origin. In this paper we follow this same approach but later return briefly to the question of the origin of life.