BACKGROUND Response to cardiac resynchronization therapy depends both on dyssynchrony and (regional) contractility. We hypothesized that septal deformation can be used to infer integrated information on dyssynchrony and regional contractility, and thereby predict cardiac resynchronization therapy response. METHODS AND RESULTS In 132 cardiac resynchronization therapy candidates with left bundl...

In this paper we present an experiment to determine the types of constituents that influence polysyllabic shortening. Materials were designed to encourage the use of rhythmic, prominencebased, cross-word (Abercrombian) feet. Our preliminary results suggest that when polysyllabic shortening occurs, it operates preferentially within word-based constituents of the prosodic hierarchy (Selkirk [9], ...

BACKGROUND Ketamine is a commonly used clinical anesthetic and a popular recreational drug. However, with the exception of studies about the nervous system, studies about the effect of early ketamine exposure on embryos are rare. Xenopus laevis is a commonly used vertebrate model for assessing teratogenicity. Therefore, we treated Xenopus embryos with ketamine to evaluate its teratogenicity on ...

BACKGROUND Left bundle branch block (LBBB) influences on regional left ventricular (LV) structure, perfusion, and metabolism have not yet been thoroughly investigated in dilated cardiomyopathy patients. METHODS AND RESULTS Eleven dilated cardiomyopathy patients with LBBB (mean+/-SD age, 62+/-11 years; LV ejection fraction, 35+/-8%) and 7 dilated cardiomyopathy patients without LBBB (mean+/-SD...

This study is intended to describe and analyze the durational patterns of native Japanese speakers learning English, with a focus on two major prosodic effects: phrase-final lengthening and stresstimed shortening. To investigate the relative contribution of these effects, a production experiment was conducted, adapting the methodological framework of Beckman and Edwards (1990). The effects of t...

Background Response to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) depends both on dyssynchrony and (regional) contractility. We hypothesized that septal deformation can be used to infer integrated information on dyssynchrony and regional contractility and thereby predict CRT response. Methods and Results In 132 CRT-candidates with left bundle branch block (LBBB)like ECG morphology (left ventricula...

AIMS In patients with congestive heart failure, plasma parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels are positively associated with cardiac function. PTH, used to mobilize stem cells from the bone marrow after myocardial infarction, causes an increased left ventricular ejection fraction. The aim of this study was to investigate whether low but plasma-relevant concentrations of PTH directly influence the con...

Fractional shortening (FS) by echocardiography is considered to represent the short-axis contribution to the stroke volume (SV), also called short-axis function. However, FS is mathematically coupled to the amount of myocardium, since it rearranges during atrioventricular plane displacement (AVPD). The SV is the sum of the volumes generated by 1) reduction in outer volume of the heart, and 2) i...

BACKGROUND Eukaryotic chromosomes end with telomeres, which in most organisms are composed of tandem DNA repeats associated with telomeric proteins. These DNA repeats are synthesized by the enzyme telomerase, whose activity in most human tissues is tightly regulated, leading to gradual telomere shortening with cell divisions. Shortening beyond a critical length causes telomere uncapping, manife...

BACKGROUND Functional mitral regurgitation is one of the severe complications of non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Non-contrast native T1 mapping has emerged as a non-invasive method to evaluate myocardial fibrosis. We sought to evaluate the potential relationship between papillary muscle T1 time and mitral regurgitation in DCM patients. METHODS Forty DCM patients (55 ± 13 years) and...