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These observations suggest a deposition scenario in which large and uniform aggregates become deposits, which reduce porosity, lead to higher fluid shear forces, which then decompose the deposits, filling the pore space with small and dendritic fragments of aggregate.

Chagas' disease (CD) has been associated with atrial fibrillation (AF) and electrocardiographic (ECG) conduction defects. However, prior studies have shown conflicting results. We performed a meta-analysis comparing the prevalence of AF and conduction abnormalities between CD and non-CD patients.

PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central, and Latin American databases were searched for studies that directly compared the prevalence of AF and conduction defects in CD and non-CD patients. Odds ratios (OR) were computed using random-effects model due to anticipated heterogeneity. We further performed subanalyses limited to studies that included only patients with cardiomyopathy.

A total of 17,238 patients from 30 studies were included, of whom 6,840 (40%) had a positive serology for CD. In the pooled data, AF was significantly more prevalent in the CD group (OR 1.62; 95%CI 1.21-2.15; P = 0.001). However, no significant difference was observed between groups when the analysis included only patients with cardiomyopathy (OR 1.21; 95%CI 0.97-1.50; P = 0.08) or heart failure (OR 1.09; 95%CI 0.81-1.47; P = 0.55). The combination of right bundle branch block (RBBB) and left anterior fascicular block (LAFB) had the highest OR for increased prevalence in patients with Chagas' cardiomyopathy compared to non-CD etiologies (OR 5.31; 95%CI 1.23-22.86; P = 0.03).

Our meta-analysis suggests that the prevalence of AF in patients with Chagas' cardiomyopathy is not significantly different from non-CD cardiomyopathies. The pattern of RBBB and LAFB in patients with cardiomyopathy of unknown etiology and epidemiologic risk factors should raise the possibility of CD and prompt specific diagnostic testing.

Our meta-analysis suggests that the prevalence of AF in patients with Chagas' cardiomyopathy is not significantly different from non-CD cardiomyopathies. The pattern of RBBB and LAFB in patients with cardiomyopathy of unknown etiology and epidemiologic risk factors should raise the possibility of CD and prompt specific diagnostic testing.The structures and electronic properties of the Pd-MoS2 contact are investigated using density functional calculations under different strains. The height of Schottky barrier for the Pd-MoS2 contact can be tuned by different strains. Our results show that the contact nature is of n-type Schottky barrier and the barrier height can be decreased to zero under increased tensile strain (6%). However, under increased compressive strain, the MoS2 layers become indirect bandgap semiconductors, which is a disadvantage for the electron transition in the Pd-MoS2 interface. By analyzing the near band gaps and charge distribution of MoS2 orbitals, we find that the Schottky barrier height is determined by the Mo dz(2) orbitals in the Pd-MoS2 contact. Our calculation results may prove to be instrumental in future design and fabrication of MoS2-based field effect transistors.A 3-year-old neutered female poodle with a long history of dermatophytic skin disease was presented with lethargy, anorexia and progressive weight loss. Abdominal ultrasonography revealed markedly enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes and multiple hypoechoic foci in the spleen. Cytology of the mesenteric lymph nodes and spleen showed granulomatous inflammation with fungal organisms and negatively stained intracytoplasmic bacterial rods consistent with Mycobacteria spp. Based on culture, multiplex polymerase chain reaction and sequence analysis, the bacterium was identified as Mycobacterium avium subspecies hominissuis. Despite treatment with antibiotics, the dog's condition deteriorated, and it died approximately 3 weeks after first presentation.Contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is useful to evaluate tissue perfusion in the kidney. In veterinary medicine, sedation or anesthesia may be required in uncooperative or panting patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the normal kidney perfusion patterns in conscious and anesthetized dogs using CEUS. Eight healthy beagles were used in this study. Scanning was performed in conscious dogs using manual restraint (conscious group), or under general anesthesia using tiletamine-zolazepam and medetomidine (TZM group) or medetomidine (M group). The contrast agent (Sonovue(®)) was administered as an IV bolus. The peak intensity (PI), time to peak enhancement from injection (TTP0) and the time to peak enhancement from the initial rise (TTPup), upslope, downslope and area under the curve (AUC) were analyzed. Compared to the cortical values in the conscious group, TTP0 was significantly delayed in the TZM group, and upslope, TTP0 and TTPup were significantly different in the M group. The AUCs in the TZM and M groups were not different from those in the conscious group. The upslope of renal medullary perfusion was significantly decreased in the TZM and M groups. TTP0 and TTPup were also significantly delayed in these groups. The AUC of the medulla was significantly decreased in the M group. Therefore, TZM is useful as an anesthetic protocol when performing CEUS, and the obtained data may serve as reference values in the evaluation of renal perfusion using CEUS in dogs under anesthesia.This paper provides a process-oriented perspective on the combined effects of ozone (O3), climate change and/or nitrogen (N) on vegetation. Whereas increasing CO2 in controlled environments or open-top chambers often ameliorates effects of O3 on leaf physiology, growth and C allocation, this is less likely in the field. Combined responses to elevated temperature and O3 have rarely been studied even though some critical growth stages such as seed initiation are sensitive to both. Under O3 exposure, many species have smaller roots, thereby enhancing drought sensitivity. Of the 68 species assessed for stomatal responses to ozone, 22.5% were unaffected, 33.5% had sluggish or increased opening and 44% stomatal closure. The beneficial effect of N on root development was lost at higher O3 treatments whilst the effects of increasing O3 on root biomass became more pronounced as N increased. Both responses to gradual changes in pollutants and climate and those under extreme weather events require further study.While the potential of plants to uptake polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is widely acknowledged, empirical evidence of the effects of this process on local atmospheric PAH concentrations and human health is tenuous. We measured gaseous PAH concentrations using passive samplers in urban tree-covered areas and adjacent open, treeless areas in a near-road environment in Finland to gain information on the ability of urban vegetation to improve air quality. The ability of urban, mostly deciduous, vegetation to affect PAHs was season dependent during summer, concentrations were significantly higher in tree-covered areas, while in the fall, concentrations in open areas exceeded those in tree-covered areas. During winter, concentrations in tree-covered areas were either lower or did not differ from those in open areas. Results of this study imply that the commonly believed notion that trees unequivocally improve air quality does not apply to PAHs studied here.We investigated the effect of different urban traffic-flow patterns on pollutant dispersion in different winds in a real asymmetric street canyon. Free-flow traffic causes more turbulence in the canyon facilitating more dispersion and a reduction in pedestrian level concentration. selleck products The comparison of with and without a vehicle-induced-turbulence revealed that when winds were perpendicular, the free-flow traffic reduced the concentration by 73% on the windward side with a minor increase of 17% on the leeward side, whereas for parallel winds, it reduced the concentration by 51% and 29%. The congested-flow traffic increased the concentrations on the leeward side by 47% when winds were perpendicular posing a higher risk to health, whereas reduced it by 17-42% for parallel winds. The urban air quality and public health can, therefore, be improved by improving the traffic-flow patterns in street canyons as vehicle-induced turbulence has been shown to contribute significantly to dispersion.This paper presents a performance evaluation framework for streetscape vegetation. A performance index (PI) is conceived using the following seven traits, specific to the street environments - Pollution Flux Potential (PFP), Carbon Sequestration Potential (CSP), Thermal Comfort Potential (TCP), Noise Attenuation Potential (NAP), Biomass Energy Potential (BEP), Environmental Stress Tolerance (EST) and Crown Projection Factor (CPF). Its application is demonstrated through a case study using fifteen street vegetation species from the UK, utilising a combination of direct field measurements and inventoried literature data. Our results indicate greater preference to small-to-medium size trees and evergreen shrubs over larger trees for streetscaping. link2 The proposed PI approach can be potentially applied two-fold one, for evaluation of the performance of the existing street vegetation, facilitating the prospects for further improving them through management strategies and better species selection; two, for planning new streetscapes and multi-functional biomass as part of extending the green urban infrastructure.Public health surveillance programs in the U.S. are undergoing landmark changes with the availability of electronic health records and advancements in information technology. Injury narratives gathered from hospital records, workers compensation claims or national surveys can be very useful for identifying antecedents to injury or emerging risks. However, classifying narratives manually can become prohibitive for large datasets. link3 The purpose of this study was to develop a human-machine system that could be relatively easily tailored to routinely and accurately classify injury narratives from large administrative databases such as workers compensation. We used a semi-automated approach based on two Naïve Bayesian algorithms to classify 15,000 workers compensation narratives into two-digit Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) event (leading to injury) codes. Narratives were filtered out for manual review if the algorithms disagreed or made weak predictions. This approach resulted in an overall accuracy of 87%, with consistently high positive predictive values across all two-digit BLS event categories including the very small categories (e.g., exposure to noise, needle sticks). The Naïve Bayes algorithms were able to identify and accurately machine code most narratives leaving only 32% (4853) for manual review. This strategy substantially reduces the need for resources compared with manual review alone.Internationally, drowsy driving is associated with around 20% of all crashes. Despite the development of different detection methods, driver drowsiness remains a disconcerting public health issue. Detection methods can estimate drowsiness by directly measuring the physiology of the driver, or they can measure the effect that drowsiness has on the state of the vehicle due to the behavioural changes that drowsiness elicits in the driver. The latter has the benefit that it could measure the net effect that drowsiness has on driving performance which links to the actual safety risk. Fusing multiple sources of driving performance indicators like lane position and steering wheel metrics in order to detect drowsiness has recently gained increased attention. However, not much research has been conducted with regard to using integrated measures to detect increased drowsiness within an individual driver. Different levels of drowsiness are also rarely classified in terms of safe or unsafe. In the present study, we attempt to slowly induce drowsiness using a monotonous driving task in a simulator, and fuse lane position and steering wheel angle data into a single measure for lateral control performance.