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    Two-dimensional echocardiographic evaluation of ventricular asynergy induced by dipyridamole: correlation with thallium scanning.

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    Myocardial asynergies detected by two-dimensional echocardiography during intravenous administration of Dipyridamole (0.75 mg/kg) were evaluated in 54 patients referred for angiographic evaluation of chest pain. Technically adequate two-dimensional echocardiograms suitable for analysis were recorded in 42 of 54 (77.7%) patients studied. Thallium-201 myocardial perfusion scintigraphy, during dipyridamole test was performed in the same patients. Thirty of the 42 patients studied showed significant coronary narrowing at cardiac catheterization. Dipyridamole-induced wall motion abnormalities and myocardial perfusion defects were detected, respectively, in 19 (63.3%) and 21 (70%) of 30 patients with significant coronary artery disease. Wall by wall comparison of the distribution of dipyridamole-induced echocardiographic asynergy with reversible thallium-201 (201Tl) perfusion defects demonstrated complete correlation in 42 segments examined. Three segments with perfusion defects at thallium scanning did not show asynergy during the test while two segments showing wall motion abnormalities during dipyridamole infusion did not manifest perfusion defects. Our study demonstrates that two-dimensional echocardiography during dipyridamole testing is useful in detecting patients with coronary artery disease. Furthermore,ventricular asynergies detected during the test show a high correspondence with site of myocardial perfusion defects at thallium scanning

    Effect of mexiletine on reperfusion-induced ventricular arrhythmias - comparison with lidocaine

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    Thirty mongrel dogs underwent proximal occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery to evaluate the comparative action of mexiletine and lidocaine on ventricular arrhythmias during myocardial reperfusion. Heart rate, arterial blood pressure, left ventricular end-diastolic pressure and dp/dt max were evaluated before and at the 20th and 25th min after coronary occlusion; at the 25th min coronary occlusion was removed. Dogs were randomly assigned to one of the following groups of 10: 1) control group; 2) dogs given i.v. mexiletine; 3) dogs given i.v. lidocaine. As expected, during ischemia, myocardial contractility decreased after mexiletine or lidocaine administration more than in the control group. Ventricular arrhythmias during myocardial reperfusion occurred in 9 dogs of the control group (ventricular tachycardia in 2 cases and ventricular fibrillation in 7 cases). Among dogs given mexiletine only 1 had ventricular fibrillation (p less than 0.001 vs control). Six of the 10 dogs given lidocaine had ventricular arrhythmias (ventricular tachycardia in 5 cases and ventricular fibrillation in 1 case) (p = ns vs control group; p less than 0.05 vs mexiletine group). Thus mexiletine and lidocaine had similar effects on cardiac function during myocardial ischemia and only mexiletine showed a protective effect against reperfusion ventricular arrhythmias

    Effect of beta-blockade on thallium-201 dipyridamole myocardial scintigraphy

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    The effect of beta-blockade on dipyridamole thallium-201 images was assessed in 8 patients with coronary artery disease and positive dipyridamole test. Three dipyridamole thallium-201 tests were performed, the first in basal conditions, the second 30' after propranolol and the third with propranolol and atrial pacing. After dipyridamole heart rate and double product increased respectively from 75 +/- 7 to 98 +/- 15 b/min (p less than 0.01 vs starting values) and from 10 551 +/- 1255 to 11 740 +/- 4542 mmHg X b/min (p less than 0.05 vs starting values). Propranolol reduced heart rate to 64 +/- 6 b/min (p less than 0.05 vs basal conditions), systolic blood pressure to 136 +/- 13 and double product to 8733 +/- 1248 (p less than 0.05 vs basal conditions). Dipyridamole when infused after propranolol, induced an increase in heart rate to 70 +/- 5 b/min (p less than 0.05 vs starting values) while double product was 9133 +/- 1189 mmHg X b/min (p = NS vs starting values). Atrial pacing prevented the fall in heart rate and double product induced by propranolol so during dipyridamole infusion double product increased to 13 271 +/- 1868 (p less than 0.05 vs propranolol treatment; p less than 0.05 vs starting values). Segmental score calculated after dipyridamole was 5.2 +/- 2.0 in basal conditions, 5.1 +/- 1.3 after propranolol (p = NS) and 4.8 +/- 1.3 after propranolol plus atrial pacing (p = NS). Thus the results of the study show that beta-blockade does not worsen dipyridamole thallium-201 images. Furthermore the steal phenomenon seems to be the main mechanism of the dipyridamole induced ischemia. In fact, also when the increase, oxygen consumption is blunted with beta-blockade the disparity in myocardial blood flow resulted unaffected

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed

    Variations on the Author

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    “Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship

    Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis

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    We provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis

    Effects of acetylstrophanthidin on baroreflex sensitivity in patients with acute myocardial infarction

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    We evaluated the effects of acetylstrophanthidin on baroreflex sensitivity in patients soon after an acute myocadial infarction. Baroreflex control of heart rate is frequently depressed after acute myocardial infarction and few data are available as to the effects of pharmacological intervention on this parameter. The reflex chronotropic response to arterial baroreceptor stimulation was assessed in 29 patients with uncomplicated acute myocardial infarction in control conditions (72-96 h after symptom onset) and 30 min after acetylstrophanthidin administration. To check for spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity variations, 24 patients with the same characteristics were evaluated at the same time intervals before and after a 10-cc bolus of saline placebo. Baroreflex sensitivity was assessed by calculating the regression line relating phenylephrine-induced increases in systolic blood pressure to the attendant changes in RR intervals. Mean baseline baroreflex sensitivity value for the whole study population was 7.4 ± 4.5 ms/mmHg and was unchanged, 7.0 ± 4.5 ms/mmHg, after acetylstrophanthidin (P=NS). Mean baroreflex sensitivity values were also comparable dividing patients according to the site of infarction both before and after acetylstrophanthidin. Despite the lack of difference in mean baroreflex sensitivity values between the two studies, at a post hoc analysis an inverse relation was found in the total study population between baseline baroreflex sensitivity values and their changes after acetylstrophanthidin (r = -0.62; P < 0.005). The inverse relation was also evident separately in anterior (r = -0.57; P < 0.05) and in inferior (r =-0.70; P < 0.005) myocardial infarction patients. In the control group no difference was observed between mean baroreflex sensitivity values obtained in the two studies, nor was there any relationship between baseline baroreflex sensitivity values and their changes after placebo administration. These data demonstrate that after myocardial infarction acetylstrophanthidin administration had no effect on mean baroreflex sensitivity value. However, this drug seems to improve baroreflex sensitivity when it is depressed and to worsen it when normal or nearly normal
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