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Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) was used to investigate the interaction between N-methyl mesoporphyrin IX (NMM) and different G-quadruplex (G4) topologies. The study was associated with circular dichroism analysis (CD) to assess the topology of the G4s when they interacted with NMM. We demonstrate the high selectivity of NMM for the parallel G4 structure with a dissociation constant at least ten times lower than those of other G4 topologies. We also confirm the ability of NMM to shift the G4 conformation from both the hybrid and antiparallel topologies toward the parallel structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sea ice concentration has been retrieved in polar regions with satellite microwave radiometers for over 30 years. However, the question remains as to what is an optimal sea ice concentration retrieval method for climate monitoring. This paper presents some of the key results of an extensive algorithm inter-comparison and evaluation experiment. The skills of 30 sea ice algorithms were evaluated sysematically over low and high sea ice concentrations. Evaluation criteria included standard deviation relative to independent validation data, performance in the presence of thin ice and melt ponds, and sensitivity to error sources with seasonal to inter-annual variations and potential climatic trends, such as atmospheric water vapour and water-surface roughening by wind. A selection of 13 algorithms is shown in the article to demonstrate the results. Based on the findings, a hybrid approach is suggested to retrieve sea ice concentration globally for climate monitoring purposes. This approach consists of a combination of two algorithms plus dynamic tie points implementation and atmospheric correction of input brightness temperatures. The method minimizes inter-sensor calibration discrepancies and sensitivity to the mentioned error sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the growing adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) population, the number of catheter ablation procedures is expected to dramatically increase. Data reporting experience and evolution of catheter ablation in ACHD patients, over a significant period of time, remain scarce. We aimed to describe temporal trends in volume and outcomes of catheter ablation in ACHD patients. Retrospective observational study including all consecutive ACHD patients undergoing attempted catheter ablation in a large tertiary referral center over a 15-year period. Acute procedural success rate and freedom from recurrence at 12 months were analyzed. From November 2004 to November 2019, 302 catheter ablations in 221 ACHD patients (43.6 ± 15.0 years, 58.9% males) were performed. The annual number of catheter ablation increased progressively from 4 to 60 cases per year (P < 0.001). Intra-atrial reentrant tachycardia/focal atrial tachycardia was the most common arrhythmia (n = 217, 71.9%). Over the study period, acute procedural success rate increased from 45.0% to 93.4% (P < 0.001). Use of irrigated catheters (OR = 4.03, 95% CI: 1.86–8.55), 3D-mapping system (OR = 3.70, 95% CI: 1.72–7.74), contact force catheters (OR = 3.60, 95% CI: 1.81–7.38), and high-density mapping (OR = 3.69, 95% CI: 1.82–8.14) were associated with acute procedural success. The rate of freedom from any recurrence at 12 months increased from 29.4% to 66.2% (P = 0.001). Seven (2.3%) non-fatal complications occurred (Fig. 1). The number of catheter ablation procedures in ACHD patients has considerably increased over the last 15 years. Growing experience and advances in ablative technologies appear to be associated with a significant improvement in acute and midterm outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the remote sensing of the sea ice, highlighting the project Developing Arctic Modeling and Observing Capabilities for Long-term Environmental Studies (DAMOCLES). It states that a method to determine the effective size of the snow grains from observations in the visible range (MODIS) is developed and demonstrated in an application on the Ross ice shelf.

This paper describes use of Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) C-band scatterometer data for determination of the sea ice edge. The variation in backscatter with measurement geometry is different for the sea ice surface compared to the open water surface. Utilizing the ASCAT antenna configuration with three different look angles for the same surface spot, a new ASCAT sea ice parameter has been defined. One year of ASCAT measurements has been collocated with background sea ice information to derive probability distributions for the ASCAT sea ice parameter given the known ice condition. The result can be used in an inverse methodology, a Bayesian approach, to calculate the probability of sea ice from the ASCAT measurements. The method has been tested for a full year and validated against high-resolution satellite images and ice charts from an operational Ice Service. It reveals a realistic ice edge result, however, with weather-induced noise problems in terms of “false sea ice.” For automatic ice edge detection, ancillary information is needed to remove this noise. The paper shows how the method also can be used for ice edge detection with passive microwave data from SSM/I, and how it can be extended to utilize ASCAT together with SSM/I in a multisensor approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper examines the rationale for and implications of using a near-infrared band to estimate the absorption of visible light by vegetation canopies. The benefits of using near-infrared observations have already been documented extensively in the literature, notably in the context of applications based on vegetation indices. These include, for instance, a degree of normalization with respect to undesirable perturbing factors. Our intent here is twofold: provide the theoretical basis to justify using measurements outside the main absorption band of vegetation for the purpose of retrieving canopy properties, and uncover the implications of doing so. On the basis of simple radiation transfer considerations, we conclude that near-infrared observations are critical to ensure the accurate retrieval of absorption estimates in the visible domain, and that observations within the absorption band help control the perturbing effect of the soil background. The analytical approach implemented here is conceptually similar to a scale analysis which permits us assessing the most significant contributions to the absorption and scattering processes in the vast majority of geophysical situations. Our final conclusions derived from a series of intermediate steps that need to be performed first. To this end, we illustrate in Section 2 the fact that a suitably-defined one-dimensional radiation transfer model can always be setup to represent accurately the reflected, transmitted and absorbed fraction of vertical fluxes in any vegetation volume at medium spatial resolutions (100 m or lower), and this irrespective of the local variability exhibited by the canopy attributes. This finding is exploited throughout the paper to show that 1) measurements performed in the near-infrared band are needed to ensure a large dynamic range in albedo for dense canopy conditions, by contrast to the visible domain, 2) measurements in the visible domain are effective to remove the contribution due to the background below vegetation for low to intermediate LAI conditions. This is made possible thanks to the soil line concept and the spectral invariance of the interception process, and 3) the estimation of visible light absorption in a canopy on the basis of combinations of spectral bands (as implemented in traditional vegetation indices) hinges on spectral correlations between variables, most notably those controlling the absorbing and scattering properties of the soil and leaves. A series of implications and consequences is drawn from our analysis and, in particular, the suggestion to adopt modern interpretation techniques, superseding the commonly used vegetation index approaches. These advances allow us to improve on current approaches, in particular by lifting some of the hypotheses associated with approaches based on combinations of spectral bands. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objectives: Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is associated with arrhythmias and sudden death. Some studies suggest that abnormalities of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) may contribute to these arrhythmias. In a family investigation with genetic analysis of patients carrying a MVP, we performed a Holter study to define the autonomic profile of MVP.Methods and Results: A 24-hour digitized 3-lead Holter ECG was recorded in 30 patients with MVP and in two control groups, a group of 30 healthy relatives and a group of 31 healthy volunteers. We studied especially heart rate variability (HRV) and QT dynamicity. The slope of the relationship between ventricular repolarization and heart rate was studied separately during day and night. There was no difference in HRV (SDNN, rMSSD) among the three groups. On the contrary, QT interval duration was increased in patients with MVP as compared to healthy relatives (QT end: 409+/-52 ms vs 372+/-23 ms, P<0.05; QT apex: 319+/-42 ms vs 286+/-23 ms, P<0.01) and to healthy volunteers (QT end: 409+/-52 ms vs 376+/-25 ms, P=0.004; QT apex: 319+/-42 ms vs 289+/-23 ms, P<0.01). Nocturnal ventricular repolarization rate dependence was increased in MVP as compared to healthy relatives (0.16+/-0.06 vs 0.13+/-0.04, P<0.05) and to healthy volunteers (0.16+/-0.06 vs 0.11+/-0.06, P<0.001) whereas the 24-hour and diurnal QT-R-R slope was not disturbed.Conclusion: In MVP, QT is increased and the circadian modulation of QT end/RR slope is disturbed with an increased nocturnal rate dependence. These abnormalities of ventricular repolarization might explain the risk of arrhythmic events in MVP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-annual time series of remote sensing data acquired over Europe from the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) and Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) instruments were analysed to assess the state of health of vegetation in Spring 2004, compared to previous years. These data show (1) the dramatic impact of the 2003 drought on a variety of land cover types in Europe and (2) the recovery of most ecosystems to a normal situation in early 2004. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research with corn-soybean meal diets was conducted to compare phytase sources in commercial broilers. A Ca to nonphytate P (nPP) ratio of 2.5:1 was maintained in all diets. Experiments 1 and 2 were conducted from d 4 to 13 (experiment 1) or d 9 to 23 post-hatching (experiment 2) in batteries. The 10 treatments used in both experiment were: Diets 1 to 4 = 0.20, 0.25, 0.30, or 0.35% nPP; Diets 5 to 7 = diet 1 plus 100, 200, or 300 phytase units/kg of diet from Natuphos (NAT); and Diets 8 to 10 = diet 1 plus 100, 200, or 300 phytase units/ kg of diet from Ronozyme (RON). As nPP levels increased, daily gain (ADG), feed intake (ADFI), gain:feed, and toe and tibia ash percentage were linearly increased (P < 0.06) in experiments 1 and 2. Incremental addition of phytase, regardless of source, linearly increased (P < 0.07) ADG and ADFI in experiment 1. Broilers fed NAT had higher (P < 0.07) toe ash percentage in experiment 1 and 2, and higher (P < 0.02) ADG and ADFI in experiment 2 than those fed RON. In experiment 3, 3,360 broilers were used to test 2 dry phytase products from 0 to 41 d posthatching in a 3-phase feeding program. The treatments were: Diet 1) adequate Ca and nPP; Diet 2) nPP reduced by 0.20%; Diets 3 to 5 = diet 2 plus 300, 500, or 750 phytase units/kg of diet from NAT; and Diets 6 to 8 = Diet 2 plus 300, 500, or 750 phytase units/kg of diet from RON. Broilers fed the adequate Ca and nPP diet had improved ADG and ADFI overall, and tibia ash weight and percentage in all growth phases (P < 0.03) compared with those fed the reduced Ca and nPP diets. Overall, ADG and ADFI were linearly increased (P < 0.05) by incremental phytase addition in experiment 3. Both NAT and RON produce similar growth and bone ash traits in commercial broilers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 28-d experiment using 288 Hy-Line W-36 laying hens was conducted to compare sodium selenite (SS) with Se-enriched yeast (SY). The Se from SS or SY was supplemented into a corn-soybean meal basal diet at 0, 0.15, 0.30, 0.60, or 3.00 ppm, and the basal diet was formulated to provide 0.82% lysine and 2,950 kcal/kg of ME. Each treatment was replicated 4 times with 2 cages of 4 hens per cage in each replicate. Hen production was assessed daily, and 2 eggs per replicate were collected every 4 d for whole-egg Se analysis. Albumen quality was assessed at 2 egg storage temperatures (7.2 vs. 22.2°C) with the eggs collected on d 24 and 28, respectively. The percentage of dirty and cracked eggs was greater (P < 0.04) in hens fed SY than in those fed SS. Percentage hen-day production was not affected (P > 0.05) by diet. Albumen quality of eggs stored at 22.2°C was improved (P <0.04) in eggs from hens fed SS, but there was no difference (P > 0.05) in albumen quality of eggs stored at 7.2°C. Egg weight was linearly increased (P < 0.01) by SY. Whole-egg Se levels were linearly increased (P < 0.01) as dietary Se level increased for both sources of Se, but eggs from hens fed SY had higher (P < 0.01) Se concentrations than those fed SS. The results from this experiment indicate that percentage hen-day production is not affected by Se source, and that SY increases egg Se concentrations more than SS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biventricular pacing (BiV) is emerging for patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and asynchrony. We measured basal asynchrony and early resynchronization by radionuclide angioscintigraphy (RNA) in order to predict long-term evolution of ventricular function after BiV. Thirty-four patients (NYHA Class III-IV,65.4 +/- 11 years) with large QRS(179 +/- 18 ms)were implanted with BiV and studied by RNA before (D0), at day 8 (D8), and during follow-up(20 +/- 7 months). We calculated left and right ejection fractions, the interventricular dyssynchrony (TRVLV), and the apicobasal dyssynchrony (Tab). LVEF improved from 20.2 +/- 8.1%(D0) to27.1%+/- 12.6%(follow-up,P < 0.003 vs D0) and RVEF from 28.6%+/- 13%(D0) to 34.3 +/- 11.5%(follow-up,P < 0.03 vs D0). Inter- (DeltaTRVLV) and intraventricular resynchronization was immediate and remained stable: TRVLV decreased from 68.3 +/- 38 ms(D0) to 13.4 +/- 48.5 ms(D8) and1.8 +/- 39.2 ms(follow-up,P < 0.0001 vs D0); and Tab from 45.8 +/- 64.1 msto-18 +/- 68(D8) and-28.3 +/- 53.6 ms(follow-up,P < 0.0001 vs D0). Early inter- and intraventricular resynchronization (DeltaTab) at D8 were related to late LVEF and RVEF improvement. Together, an LVEF > 15% and a significant interventricular dyssynchrony (TRVLV > 60 ms) at D0 have a sensitivity of 79% and a positive predictive value of 83% to predict an improvement of LVEF superior to 5% at follow-up. In DCM patients, BiV resynchronizes ventricles early and in the long-term, while RVEF and LVEF improve progressively. Patients with large electromechanical dyssynchrony benefit most from BiV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transcatheter radiofrequency (RF) ablation of atrial fibrillation or flutter requires the creation of linear lesions. However, conventional catheters are not predictably effective because of poor endocardial contact, and limited lesion size and penetration. The purpose of the study was to assess, in the right atrium, the efficacy and safety of a new catheter designed to create long myocardial tissue lesions using RF energy. The main characteristics of this 8 Fr deflectable RF ablation catheter were: (1) a perpendicularly contacting articulated bilimb electrodes ensuring stable and firm endocardial firm contact; and (2) an irrigated planar interface. Three different electrode prototypes were tested. Fourteen anesthetized sheep weighing 61 ± 7 kg underwent RF ablation in the right atrium using three incremental power levels (25 to 45, 50, 55 to 75 W) with the aim of creating fully transmural (FT) lesions, defined as continuous and complete epicardial and endocardial lesion imprints. The animals were euthanized 1 hour later for macroscopic and histologic examinations. Forty-three of the 80 right atrial lesions created, in smooth us well as in trabeculated areas, were FT. The percentage of FT lesions increased with the applied power from 37% with 25-45 W, to 49% with 50 W, and up to 86% for 55-75 W. in all but two cases, histologic examination showed no discontinuity between FT lesions produced by both limbs resulting in 19 coalescent linear lesi ons with an average size of 25 × 6 × 4 mm (length × width × depth). In situ bipolar electrograms after ablation in the FT group showed split potentials and/or a marked decrease in amplitude from 2.85 ± 1.79 to 0.33 ± 0.14 mV (P = 0.001) accompanied by near complete disappearance of unipolar electrograms. There was no perforation due to RF ablation. In conclusion, continuous and FT lesions can be achieved in various areas of sheep atria, including the trabecular right atrium, with a perpendicularly contacting bilimb electrode catheter. it represents a promising tool for catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation and flutter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While outcomes of intra-atrial re-entrant tachycardia (IART) catheter ablation have considerably improved in adult congenital heart disease (ACHD), recurrences remain common with different circuits frequently encountered. We aimed to assess the value of programmed atrial stimulation after successful clinical IART catheter ablation in ACHD patients. Retrospective study including all ACHD patients undergoing IART catheter ablation in a large tertiary centre. After successful catheter ablation of the clinical arrhythmia, survival free from arrhythmia recurrence was analysed according to whether all inducible IART were targeted. From 2004 to 2020, 238 IART catheter ablations were performed (mean age 44.1 ± 15.0 years, 61.3% males). Acute procedural success of clinical arrhythmia was achieved in 208 (87.4%) procedures. Among 122 (58.7%) patients with programmed atrial stimulation, at least one other IART was induced in 61 (50%) patients. All inducible IART were ablated in 54 (88.5%) patients whereas 7 (11.5%) patients had at least one non-targeted inducible IART. Patients with non-targeted inducible IART had a higher risk of atrial arrhythmia recurrence compared to inducible patients with ablation of all IART (HR = 5.7, 95% CI: 1.7–18.4), with 12-month survival rates of 22.9% and 77.7%, respectively. Inducible patients with successful ablation of all IART had a similar risk of atrial arrhythmia recurrence compared to non-inducible patients (HR = 0.6, 95% CI: 0.3–1.3) (Fig. 1). Our findings suggest that final programmed atrial stimulation is associated with improved outcomes in ACHD patients referred for IART ablation when all inducible IART are targeted and successfully ablated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dietary prebiotics are thought to be potentially important alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters in poultry production because of their beneficial performance and health effects. The administration of dietary prebiotics has been demonstrated to improve animal health, growth performance, and microbial food safety in poultry production. In this study, we evaluated the effects of Saccharomyces- derived prebiotic refined functional carbohydrates (RFC) with yeast culture on growth performance and gastrointestinal and environmental microbiota when administered in-feed and through drinking water to broiler chickens. Broilers were administered 2 doses of prebiotic in-feed through 42 d of production and prebiotic-treated water in the final 72 h. Administration of prebiotic RFC improved ADG and decreased cecal Campylobacter counts, while the high dose also increased final BW. Additionally, significant main effects of prebiotic RFC dose were observed with the high dose improving ADG and ADFI over the finisher phase and final BW. Although the effects were not significant, the prevalence of Campylobacter in the cecum after feed withdrawal was 17% lower when broilers were administered the high prebiotic dose, and recovery of Campylobacter from litter was up to 50% lower when broilers were administered prebiotic RFC. Our results suggest that co-administration of RFC with yeast culture as a prebiotic can be used to improve growth performance and reduce human foodborne pathogens in poultry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

La sarcoïdose est une granulomatose systémique de cause inconnue. L'atteinte cardiaque est associée à un risqué élevé de blocs auriculoventriculaires et d'arythmies ventriculaires. Bien que la sarcoïdose cardiaque soit de plus en plus reconnue comme une cause de bloc auriculo-ventriculaire chez le sujet jeune, la dysfonction sinusale n'est que très peu rapportée. Nous rapportons un cas de sarcoïdose cardiaque associée à une dysfonction sinusale et insistons sur l'intérêt de l'imagerie dans cette situation pour évoquer le diagnostic. La dysfonction sinusale peut-être la première manifestation clinique d'une sarcoïdose cardiaque. Dans les cas de dysfonction sinusale sans cause évidente, la réalisation d'un scanner thoracique et d'une IRM cardiaque et/ou d'une TEP-TDM au 18-FDG peut orienter vers un diagnostic de sarcoïdose cardiaque. Le diagnostic précoce d'atteinte cardiaque permet de discuter rapidement l'implantation d'un défibrillateur automatique implantable et la mise sous immunosuppresseurs. Sarcoidosis is a multisystemic granulomatous disease of unknown cause occurring in young adults. Cardiac sarcoidosis patients are at increased risk for atrioventricular blocks and ventricular arrhythmias. Sinus node dysfunction is scarcely reported. We report a case of cardiac sarcoidosis revealed by a sinus node dysfunction and focus on cardiac and thoracic imaging to guide diagnosis. Sinus node dysfunction may be the first manifestation of cardiac sarcoidosis. In unexplained sinus node dysfunction in young patients, advanced cardiac imaging is a key to cardiac sarcoidosis diagnostic. Early recognition of cardiac sarcoidosis enables to start immunosuppressive treatment and discuss implantable cardioverter defibrillator implantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anise oil (AO) is a phytochemical with antibiotic properties and it reduces the growth of Clostridium perfringens in vitro, which is the main causal agent of necrotic enteritis. A series of battery experiments was conducted to determine an AO dosage to feed to broilers and its effect during 2 C. perfringens challenges, and a floor pen experiment to determine its effect in performance. Anise oil linearly reduced (P < 0.05) ADFI and ADG, but feeding broilers 500 to 2,000 mg/kg of AO resulted in similar performance with positive control (PC) fed broilers. Broilers were challenged on d 10 (Experiment 2) or on d 10 and 13 (Experiment 3). Broilers fed AO had lower (P < 0.05) ADFI and ADG compared with broilers fed PC from zero to 18 d (Experiment 2). Growth performance of broilers fed AO was not affected (P > 0.05) during Experiment 3. In both challenges, the jejunum of broilers fed AO had fewer and milder (P < 0.05) lesions compared with broilers fed PC or negative control (NC) diets. In a floor pen trial, 1,000 mg/kg of AO was fed to broilers from zero to 42 days. Broilers fed AO or PC had similar (P > 0.10) growth performance for the entire trial. Broilers fed PC or AO had greater ADG (P < 0.05) and tended (P = 0.07) to be heavier than broilers fed NC at the end of the trial. Breast yield percentage was similar (P > 0.10) among broilers fed any of the dietary treatments. Residues of AO were not present at detectable levels in breast meat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Joint Research Centre Two-stream Inversion Package (JRC-TIP) makes use of white sky albedo products—derived from MODIS and MISR observations in the visible and near-infrared domain—to deliver consistent sets of information about the terrestrial environments that gave rise to these data. The baseline version of the JRC-TIP operates at a spatial resolution of 0.01° and yields estimates of the Probability Distribution Functions (PDFs) of the effective canopy Leaf Area Index (LAI), the canopy background albedo, the vegetation scattering properties, as well as, the absorbed, reflected and transmitted fluxes of the vegetation canopy. In this contribution the evaluation efforts of the JRC-TIP products are extended to the deciduous forest site of Hainich (Germany) where multiannual datasets of in-situ estimates of canopy transmission—derived from LAI-2000 observations—are available. As a Fluxnet site, Hainich offers access to camera acquisitions from fixed locations in and above the canopy that are being used in phenological studies. These images qualitatively confirm the seasonal patterns of the effective LAI, canopy transmission and canopy absorption products (in the visible range of the solar spectrum) derived with the JRC-TIP. Making use of the LAI-2000 observations it is found that 3/4 of the JRC-TIP products lie within a ±0.15 interval around the in-situ estimates of canopy transmission and absorption. The largest discrepancies occur at the end of the senescence phase when the scattering properties of the vegetation (evidenced by the pictures) and the images qualitatively confirm the seasonal patterns of the effective LAI, canopy transmission and canopy absorption products (in the visible range of the solar spectrum) derived with the JRC-TIP. Making use of the LAI-2000 observations it is found that 3/4 of the JRC-TIP products lie within a ±0.15 interval around the in-situ estimates of canopy transmission and absorption. The largest discrepancies occur at the end of the senescence phase when the scattering properties of the vegetation (evidenced by the pictures) and the effective LAI (also derived from LAI-2000 measurements) are experiencing large simultaneous changes. It was also found that the seasonal pattern of vegetation scattering properties derived from MISR observations in the near-infrared varies together with the Excess Green index computed from the various channels of the camera data acquired at the top of the canopy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The exploitation of global Earth Observation data hinges increasingly on physically-based radiative transfer (RT) models. These models simulate the interactions of solar radiation within a given medium (e.g., clouds, plant canopies) and are used to generate look-up-tables that are embedded into quantitative retrieval algorithms, such as those delivering the operational surface products for MODIS, MISR and MERIS. An assessment of the quality of canopy RT models thus appears essential if accurate and reliable information is to be derived from them. Until recently such an undertaking was a time consuming and labour intensive process that was made even more challenging by the general lack of absolute reference standards. Several years of benchmarking activities in the frame of the RAdiation transfer Model Intercomparison (RAMI) exercise have now led to the development of the RAMI On-line Model Checker (ROMC). The ROMC is a web-based tool allowing model developers and users to autonomously assess the performance of canopy RT models (http://romc.jrc.ec.europa.eu/). Access to the ROMC is free and enables users to obtain both statistical and graphical indications as to the performance of their canopy RT model. In addition to providing an overall indication of the skill of a given model to correctly match the reference data, the ROMC allows also for interactive comparison/evaluations of different model versions/submissions of a given user. All ROMC graphs can be downloaded in PostScript format and come with a reference number for easy usage in presentations and publications. It is hoped that the ROMC will prove useful for the RT modeling community as a whole, not only by providing a convenient means to evaluate models outside the triennial phases of RAMI but also to attract participation in future RAMI activities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Aim. – Supraventricular arrhythmia is a major public health problem because of its prevalence and clinical consequences. The first step of the treatment usually consists in restoring sinusal rhythm. The aim of this study is to evaluate results and predictive factors of success of electrical cardioversion.Methods. – We studied a series of 143 consecutive electric cardioversion preformed in 131 French patients.Results. – The rate of successful direct current cardioversion was 91.2%. Negative predictive factors are the height body mass index and the age of arrhythmia. Atrial flutter is a predictive factor of success. These results agree with published results. Our study highlights the interest of some nonantiarrhythmic drugs received by the patient during the period before the direct current cardioversion. Thus, a spironolactone treatment appears to be a new predictive factor of the success of electrical cardioversion (success in patients treated with spironolactone: 100% vs 89% without, P = 0.04).Conclusions. – Our results agree with usual predictive factors of the success of cardioversion. Nevertheless, a new approach is that of the positive effect of spironolactone on cardioversion. A prospective randomized study is necessary to confirm this result. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common of all sustained cardiac arrhythmias, is frequently resistant to antiarrhythmic drugs, and physicians have seen limited success with catheter ablation limited to the right atrium. As a result, the safety and efficacy of systematic biatrial linear ablation for drug resistant AF was investigated. Forty-four patients (54 +/- 7 years) underwent catheter ablation of daily drug-resistant AF. Two right-atrial lines (1 septal and 1 cavotricuspid) and 3-4 left-atrial lines were transseptally performed: 2 joining each superior pulmonary vein to the posterior mitral annulus and 1 interconnecting them. An additional left-atrial septal line from the right superior pulmonary vein (RSPV) to the foramen ovalis was performed in 23 patients. Radiofrequency was delivered with a conventional thermocouple-equipped ablation catheter or with an irrigated tip ablation catheter for resistant cases and for sparing the endocardium. Of the 44 patients, 25 (57%) were successfully treated without antiarrhythmic drugs. Twelve patients (27%) improved (<6 hours of AF per trimester under a previously ineffective drug) and 7 (16%) were considered treatment failures. Multiple sessions were required to ablate new left-atrial macro-reentry and initiating foci (2.7 +/- 1.3 procedures per patient). Five patients had a pericardial effusion and 1 each a pulmonary embolism, an inferior myocardial infarction, and a reversible cerebral ischemic event. One patient had thrombosis of the 2 left pulmonary veins. Despite a relatively high success rate, this procedure is too long, and the safely and efficacy need to be improved and applied to a broader range of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]