BACKGROUND The maze procedure is an effective way to treat atrial fibrillation (AF) associated with mitral valve disease. In a last several years, cryoablation was substituted for atrial incision in many reports to simplify the maze procedure. However, there has been no comparative study to delineate the feasibility of the use of cryoablation. METHODS AND RESULTS We compared the early and int...

BACKGROUND Although catheter ablation (CA) is a standard treatment for atrial fibrillation (AF), its long-term efficacy remains unclear. This study aimed to elucidate the incidences of AF recurrence and of progression from paroxysmal to persistent AF, after CA, in patients with paroxysmal AF. METHODS AND RESULTS We examined the incidence of AF recurrence and AF progression in 1220 consecutive...

This paper gives a solution of the synchronic distance between any two transitions in a fair Petri net. In order to describe the synchronic distance between two transitions more accurately, the concept of weighted synchronic distance is adopted. The solution method is firstly to add a weighted observe-place between two transitions, and a net system with a weighted observe-place is constructed b...

Regional data needed for effective stream restoration include hydraulic geometry relationships (i.e., regional curves) and reference channel morphology parameters. Increasingly ecological conditions are being considered when designing, implementing, and assessing restoration efforts. We provide morphology relationships and associated ecological endpoint curves for reference streams in the Alaba...

BACKGROUND We previously reported that stable rotors were observed in in-silico human atrial fibrillation (AF) models, and were well represented by dominant frequency (DF). We explored the spatiotemporal stability of DF sites in 3D-AF models imported from patient CT images of the left atrium (LA). METHODS We integrated 3-D CT images of the LA obtained from ten patients with persistent AF (mal...

We would like to comment on the use of ultrasound (USS)guided drainage of the pleural cavity. The technique we have described is a cheaper and less traumatic alternative to the use of bigger bore chest tubes. It is, however, not meant as an alternative for situations where USS guidance is needed, such as in difficult patient anatomy or in the drainage of loculated effusions. As Kelly has pointe...

The catchment, or catchment area, is the area associated with a segment of a drainage network. Surface runoff in a catchment flows into the associated network segment. Catchment area is commonly used for estimating watershed parameters, such as upstream drainage area, flood frequency, or surface-water flow. Hydrologic analyses require relatively accurate catchment area estimates to furnish subs...

BACKGROUND To assess the incidence of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with atrial septal aneurysm (ASA) and the relationship between ASA morphology and the incidence of AF. METHODS Among 12,941 patients evaluated echocardiographically, 88 (0.68%) were diagnosed with ASA [with 35 (39.8%) males and 53 (60.2%) females; mean age, 54.3 +/- 14.4 years]. The morphology of the aneurys...

BACKGROUND Conversion to sinus rhythm (SR) is rarely attempted in patients with rheumatic atrial fibrillation (AF) because the length of AF duration and the dilation of left atrium (LA) make maintenance of SR difficult. In this study, predictors of the successful maintenance of SR with amiodarone and electrical cardioversion in rheumatic AF patients receiving percutaneous transluminal mitral va...

A 66-year-old female was admitted to our hospital to undergo catheter ablation for symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF). After pulmonary vein isolation was achieved by cryoballoon and adenosine triphosphate was injected to confirm the dormant conduction of the pulmonary veins, AF was induced. Sinus rhythm was restored by cardioversion, whereas AF was sustained only in the superior ve...