BACKGROUND In recent years, catheter ablation has increasingly been used for ablation of idiopathic premature ventricular complexes (PVCs) or ventricular tachycardias (IVTs). However, the mapping and catheter ablation of the arrhythmias originating from the vicinity of tricuspid annulus (TA) may not be fully understood. This study aimed to investigate electrophysiologic characteristics and effe...

BACKGROUND Transcatheter aortic valve implantation is indicated in high-risk patients with aortic stenosis. We compared the clinical outcome of 180 consecutive patients who underwent transapical (TA) and transfemoral (TF) procedures in a single centre. METHODS Ninety consecutive TA (TA-group) and 90 consecutive TF (TF-group) were performed from 2009 to 2014. Clinical variables were prospectiv...

The relative contributions of respiratory and cutaneous evaporation to total evaporative water loss (TEWL) and how the partitioning of these two avenues varies with environmental temperature has received little attention in bats. We trained Wahlberg's epauletted fruit bats (Epomophorus wahlbergi) captured in Pretoria, South Africa, to wear latex masks while hanging in respirometry chambers, and...

Type II toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems are most commonly composed of two genes encoding a stable toxin, which harms the cell, and an unstable antitoxin that can inactivate it. TA systems were initially characterized as selfish elements, but have recently gained attention for regulating general stress responses responsible for pathogen virulence, formation of drug-tolerant persister cells and biof...

We describe the molecular study in a cohort of 120 Portuguese patients with the clinical diagnosis of Gilbert syndrome and in one with the diagnosis of Crigler-Najjar syndrome type II, as well as a prenatal diagnosis of Crigler-Najjar syndrome type I. Among the 120 unrelated patients with Gilbert syndrome, 110 were homozygous for the [TA]7 allele ([TA]7/[TA]7), and one patient was a compound he...

OBJECTIVE We analyzed the concordance between two methods for measuring treatment adherence (TA) and studied the determinants of TA in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study in a primary care center, involving 320 diabetic patients. TA was measured using the Haynes-Sackett (H-S) adherence test during the patient interview and based on ...

BACKGROUND Proteinuria is a target for renoprotection in kidney diseases. However, optimal level of proteinuria reduction in IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is unknown. METHODS We conducted a retrospective observational study in 500 patients with biopsy-proven IgAN. Time-averaged proteinuria (TA-P) was calculated as the mean of every 6 month period of measurements of spot urine protein-to-creatinine r...

"Ecstasy" [3,4-methylenedioxymetamphetamine (MDMA)] is of considerable interest in light of its prosocial properties and risks associated with widespread recreational use. Recently, it was found to bind trace amine-1 receptors (TA(1)Rs), which modulate dopaminergic transmission. Accordingly, using mice genetically deprived of TA(1)R (TA(1)-KO), we explored their significance to the actions of M...

SUMMARY In plants, many trans-acting small interfering RNA (ta-siRNA) regulatory pathways have been identified as significant components of the gene networks involved in development, metabolism, responses to biotic and abiotic stresses and DNA methylation at the TAS locus. To obtain a more comprehensive understanding on the nature of ta-siRNA regulatory pathways, we developed a freely accessibl...

Few therapeutic alternatives to prednisone are available for severe, corticosteroid-resistant asthma. Injectable triamcinolone acetonide (TA) has been used in this type of asthma, although its use is controversial. TA shows considerable efficacy when compared with prednisone according to nearly all studies, although the majority do not provide a high level of evidence. The use of TA has been qu...