Feasibility and reproducibility of feature-tracking-based strain and strain rate measures of the left ventricle in different diseases and genders.

BACKGROUND: The measurement of myocardial deformation by strain analysis is an evolving tool to quantify regional and global myocardial function. PURPOSE: To assess the feasibility and reproducibility of myocardial strain/strain rate measurements with magnetic resonance feature tracking (MR-FT) in healthy subjects and in patient groups. STUDY TYPE: Prospective study. POPULATION: Sixty patients (20 hypertensives with left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy (H); 20 nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (D); 20 ischemic heart disease (I); as well as 20 controls (C) were included, 10 men and 10 women in each group. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: A 1.5T MR protocol including steady-state free precession (SSFP) cine sequences in the standard views and late enhancement sequences. ASSESSMENT: LV volumes, mass, global and regional radial, circumferential, and longitudinal strain/strain rate were measured using CVI42 software. The analysis time was recorded. STATISTICAL TESTS: Intraobserver and interobserver agreement and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were obtained for reproducibility assessment as well as differences according to gender and group of pertinence. RESULTS: Strain/strain rate analysis could be achieved in all subjects. The average analysis time was 14 ± 3 minutes. The average intraobserver ICC was excellent (ICC >0.90) for strain and good (ICC >0.75) for strain rate. Reproducibility of strain measurements was good to excellent (ICC >0.75) for all groups of subjects and both genders. Reproducibility of strain measurements was good for basal segments (ICC >0.75) and excellent for middle and apical segments (ICC >0.90). Reproducibility of strain rate measurements was moderate for basal segments (ICC >0.50) and good for middle and apical segments. DATA CONCLUSION: MR-FT for strain/strain rate analysis is a feasible and highly reproducible technique. CVI42 FT analysis was equally feasible and reproducible in various pathologies and between genders. Better reproducibility was seen globally for middle and apical segments, which needs further clarification. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3 Technical Efficacy Stage 2 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2018;47:1415-1425.

Coping With Trauma, Celebrating Life: Reinventing Patient And Staff Support During The COVID-19 Pandemic.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic presented unprecedented challenges to the New York City Health + Hospitals system. In addition to ramping up capacity and adapting operations quickly to handle the patient surge, NYC Health + Hospitals had to find new ways to provide emotional and psychological support for patients, families, and staff. To help families keep in touch, dedicated staff members provided daily updates by telephone and used tablets for virtual visits. An expanded palliative care team held virtual consultations with families to discuss advance care planning and end-of-life decisions. Bereavement hotlines were set up for families who lost loved ones. Enhanced staff support included one-on-one and group sessions with behavioral health specialists, a behavioral health hotline, a webinar series, and respite rooms, as well as complimentary lodging and child care. NYC Health + Hospitals created new rituals to celebrate recoveries and mourn losses. As regular operations resume, NYC Health + Hospitals plans to sustain and build on emotional and psychological support initiatives developed during the surge.

Prevalence and predictors of sexual aggression in dating relationships of adolescents and young adults.

Dyadic influences among the diverse forms of aggression in dating relationships of adolescents and young adults have been reported in various studies. The goal of this research was to extend a dyadic model of physical aggression against partners to sexual aggression against partners. An urban sample of 4,052 adolescents and young adults of both genders, between 16 and 26 years old, was used. The percentage of male aggressors was significantly higher than that of the females (35.7% vs. 14.9%) and the percentage of victimization was higher for the women (25.1% vs.21.7%). Sexual aggression and sexual victimization was almost solely psychological in nature, that is, verbal coercion. As predicted by the dyadic model of physical aggression in dating relationships, sexual victimization was best predicted by sexual aggression of the individuals in this study both for males and females.

Hydrogen peroxide modifies both activity and isoforms of acetylcholinesterase in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells.

The involvement of cholinergic system and the reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the pathogenesis of some degenerative diseases has been widely reported; however, the specific impact of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) on the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity as well as AChE isoform levels has not been clearly established. Hence, the purpose of present study is to clarify whether H2O2 alters these parameters. Human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells were treated with H2O2 (1-1000µM) for 24h and AChE activity and AChE and cytochrome c levels were evaluated. AChE activity was strongly increased from 1µM to 1000µM of H2O2. The results of the kinetic study showed that H2O2 affected Vmax but not Km; and also that H2O2 changed the sigmoid kinetic observed in control samples to hyperbolic kinetic. Thus, results suggest that H2O2 acts as an allosteric activators. In addition, H2O2, (100-1000µM) reduced the total AChE content and modified its isoform profile (mainly 50-, 70-, and 132-kDa)·H2O2 from 100µM to 1000µM induced cytochrome c release confirming cell death by apoptosis. All these results together suggest: a) the involvement of oxidative stress in the imbalance of AChE; and b) treatment with antioxidant agents may be a suitable strategy to protect cholinergic system alterations promoted by oxidative stress.

Toxicity of binary mixtures of oil fractions to sea urchin embryos.

The assumption of additive toxicity for oil compounds is related to a narcotic mode of action. However, the joint toxicity of oil fractions has not been fully investigated. A fractionation of Maya crude oil into aliphatics, aromatics and polars was performed, fractions were dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and subsequently toxicity of single fractions and binary mixtures was assessed using the sea urchin embryo test. The descriptive ability of Concentration Addition (CA), Independent Action (IA) and modifications of both models for describing the joint toxicity of mixtures has also been evaluated. The hydrocarbon content extractable with dichloromethane of the fractions dissolved in DMSO was: 12.0 ± 1.8 mg mL(-1), 39.0 ± 0.5 mg mL(-1) and 20.5 ± 2.5 mg mL(-1) for aliphatics, aromatics and polars, respectively. The toxicity of the extracts in DMSO of the fractions as EC50 (µLL(-1)) was: aliphatics (165.8-242.3)

Aggression in adolescent dating relationships: prevalence, justification, and health consequences.

PURPOSE: To assess the prevalence of verbally and physically aggressive behaviors in dating relationships in a sample of Spanish adolescents. METHODS: Cross-sectional self-report data were obtained with The Modified Conflict Tactics Scale (MCTS) from a representative sample of 2416 adolescents and young adults of both genders, between ages of 16 and 20 years. RESULTS: The results showed that a significantly higher percentage of women engaged in verbal aggression (95.3% vs. 92.8%), whereas the males engaged in more severe physical aggression (4.6% vs. 2.0%) and produced worse consequences for their female partners' health (especially slight cuts/slight bruises, broken nose, black eye, broken bone and requiring medical treatment/hospitalization). Justification for aggression also revealed differential results. Whereas women said they attacked their partners while under the influence of emotional states of intense anger (22.4% vs. 13.9%), the males said they did so in response to aggression received (13.0% vs. 6.6%). The analysis of the group differences as a function of age showed that verbal aggression was very high and was not different across the age groups. In contrast, physical aggression decreased significantly across the age groups, but health consequences became more severe with age (e.g., broken nose, black eye, broken bone, went from 1% at 16 years to 4.5% at 20 years of age). CONCLUSIONS: These differential tendencies of aggression typology for men and women help clinicians to develop preventive interventions for every age, with the aim of diminishing their continuity in future relationships.