1,720,967 research outputs found
Cardiac and vascular characteristics and gender-related modifications induced by ageing in the founder population of SardiNIA project (ProgeNIA)
Full text linkBackground.Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death and disability in Western countries and this is expected to worsen as the population is aging. Aging induces structural and functional changes in the heart and vessels which increase the likelihood of cardiovascular events. Little data is available about gender-related and population-related differences in cardiovascular adaptation to aging. In 2001 the SardiNIA (ProgeNIA) project began in Sardinia. It’s brief was to identify the genetic determinants of complex traits associated with aging in 6148 volunteers with documented Sardinian parentage, enrolled in four villages in the Ogliastra province. In 2013 echocardiography was introduced to investigate the structural and functional cardiac traits.Aim.1) To describe the clinical and echocardiographic characteristics of a large sample of the SardiNIA cohort; 2) To assess the normal values of the echocardiographic parameters and the best method of their indexation for body size (height, weight, body mass index, body surface area), in a sample free of cardiovascular diseases; 3) To investigate the effects of ageing on the heart and aorta and the gender-specific differences.Methods.Of the original 6148 SardiNIA volunteers, 3131 subjetcs underwent a transthoracic echocardiogram according to a standardized protocol and were enrolled in this study. Complete clinical and laboratory data and good quality 2D and M-mode echocardiographic images were available in 2926 of them (47.6% of the whole SardiNIA cohort). All the echocardiographic images were analyzed by a single expert cardiologist. The following parameters were measured: end-diastolic left ventricular (LV) internal diameter (EDD) and volume (EDV), interventricular septum, posterior wall thickness, LV mass (LVM), ejection fraction (EF), stroke volume (SV), transmitral early (E) and atrial (A) flow velocity and their ratio (E/A), left atrial diameter (LAD) and volume (LAV), aortic root and ascending aorta dimensions. According to clinical and laboratory data, office blood pressure, ABPM, ECG and echocardiography, 1977 subjects (62% women) were free of diabetes and apparent cardiovascular disease and were considered normal.Results.The prevalence of some cardiovascular risk factors in the SardiNIA sample group was quite low, probably due to the relatively young mean age of the sample, but genetic and environmental factors may also play a role. Gender-specific normal reference values of the major echocardiographic parameters were obtained, after normalizing for body surface area (BSA). In the Sardinian population ageing is associated with significant left ventricular remodelling, left atrial enlargement and diastolic dysfunction, while systolic function is preserved. It is noteworthy that all these changes are quantitatively more pronounced in women.Discussion.This study provides normal reference values of the echocardiographic indices, specific for the Sardinian population. The best method of their indexation resulted in being the isometric scaling using BSA, whereas the allometric methods of normalizing LVM (LVM/height2.7 and LVM/height1.7) overestimated LVM in the smallest subjects (mostly women) of the Sardinian population, with potential distorsive effect in estimating the true prevalence of LV hypertrophy. This data suggests that the best methods of indexing LVM for body size depend on the anthropometric
characteristics of the study population. In the Sardinian population, ageing is associated with significant left ventricular remodelling, left atrial enlargement, aortic dilatation and diastolic dysfunction, while systolic function is preserved. It is worth noting that all these changes are more pronounced in women
Spontaneous device detachment after its partial deployment during left atrial appendage occlusion: A nightmare in the Cath Lab
No full textUnderstanding the complex interplay between coronary artery disease and Takotsubo syndrome: not all swans are white.
No full textImproving adherence to rehabilitation for heart failure patients through immersive virtual reality (VIRTUAL-HF): A protocol for a randomized controlled trial
No full textBackground: To improve symptoms and reduce poor outcomes related to heart failure (HF), international guidelines recommend cardiac rehabilitation (CR), particularly for those with a reduced ejection fraction. Unfortunately, patient adherence to rehabilitation programs remains suboptimal, with dropouts ranging from 15.4 to 63.3%. An innovative and promising intervention that could improve adherence to rehabilitation is virtual reality (VR). This study aims to evaluate the effects of VR in patients with HF who undergo CR using this technology in terms of adherence (primary outcome), functional capacity, perceived exertion, angina, quality of life, heart rate, oxygen saturation, blood pressure, maximum oxygen uptake, minute ventilation/carbon dioxide production slope, oxygen pulse, blood values of NT-proBNP and HF related rehospitalization rates (secondary outcomes). Methods: A randomized controlled trial will be conducted in a sample of 80 patients referred to CR. Participants will be enrolled in a cardiological rehabilitation unit of a large university hospital in Italy and randomized (1:1) to the experimental intervention consisting of CR performed with high-quality immersive VR with PICO 4® Head Mounted Display headset and TREADMILL XR® software (Arm 1) or standard CR (Arm 2). Patients, according to guidelines, will perform 30-min of CR sessions with moderate intensity, twice a week for one month. Results: Significant improvements in primary and secondary outcomes are expected in patients in the intervention group. Conclusions: If proven to be effective, VR could be an innovative, safe, and easy digital health intervention to improve adherence to CR in patients with HF, as well as important clinical outcomes
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe 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
Full text link“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
Full text linkWe 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
Cardiac and vascular characteristics and gender-related modifications induced by ageing in the founder population of SardiNIA project (ProgeNIA)
Full text linkBackground. Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death and disability in Western countries and this is expected to worsen as the population is aging. Aging induces structural and functional changes in the heart and vessels which increase the likelihood of cardiovascular events. Little data is available about gender-related and population-related differences in cardiovascular adaptation to aging. In 2001 the SardiNIA (ProgeNIA) project began in Sardinia. It’s brief was to identify the genetic determinants of complex traits associated with aging in 6148 volunteers with documented Sardinian parentage, enrolled in four villages in the Ogliastra province. In 2013 echocardiography was introduced to investigate the structural and functional cardiac traits.
Aim. 1) To describe the clinical and echocardiographic characteristics of a large sample of the SardiNIA cohort; 2) To assess the normal values of the echocardiographic parameters and the best method of their indexation for body size (height, weight, body mass index, body surface area), in a sample free of cardiovascular diseases; 3) To investigate the effects of ageing on the heart and aorta and the gender-specific differences.
Methods. Of the original 6148 SardiNIA volunteers, 3131 subjetcs underwent a transthoracic echocardiogram according to a standardized protocol and were enrolled in this study. Complete clinical and laboratory data and good quality 2D and M-mode echocardiographic images were available in 2926 of them (47.6% of the whole SardiNIA cohort). All the echocardiographic images were analyzed by a single expert cardiologist. The following parameters were measured: end-diastolic left ventricular (LV) internal diameter (EDD) and volume (EDV), interventricular septum, posterior wall thickness, LV mass (LVM), ejection fraction (EF), stroke volume (SV), transmitral early (E) and atrial (A) flow velocity and their ratio (E/A), left atrial diameter (LAD) and volume (LAV), aortic root and ascending aorta dimensions. According to clinical and laboratory data, office blood pressure, ABPM, ECG and echocardiography, 1977 subjects (62% women) were free of diabetes and apparent cardiovascular disease and were considered normal.
Results. The prevalence of some cardiovascular risk factors in the SardiNIA sample group was quite low, probably due to the relatively young mean age of the sample, but genetic and environmental factors may also play a role. Gender-specific normal reference values of the major echocardiographic parameters were obtained, after normalizing for body surface area (BSA). In the Sardinian population ageing is associated with significant left ventricular remodelling, left atrial enlargement and diastolic dysfunction, while systolic function is preserved. It is noteworthy that all these changes are quantitatively more pronounced in women.
Discussion. This study provides normal reference values of the echocardiographic indices, specific for the Sardinian population. The best method of their indexation resulted in being the isometric scaling using BSA, whereas the allometric methods of normalizing LVM (LVM/height2.7 and LVM/height1.7) overestimated LVM in the smallest subjects (mostly women) of the Sardinian population, with potential distorsive effect in estimating the true prevalence of LV hypertrophy. This data suggests that the best methods of indexing LVM for body size depend on the anthropometric
characteristics of the study population. In the Sardinian population, ageing is associated with significant left ventricular remodelling, left atrial enlargement, aortic dilatation and diastolic dysfunction, while systolic function is preserved. It is worth noting that all these changes are more pronounced in women
- …
