We have developed a process based on hot-embossing lithography (HEL) to pattern at high-throughput micron-size through-holes in thin thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) membranes. This novel HEL process, which is shown to provide key advantages for microfluidics applications, was applied to the fabrication of highly-integrated 3D microfluidic devices designed to precisely immobilize biomolecules on t...

Therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) is a well-established therapeutic procedure commonly used in many neurologic immune-mediated disorders. It is thought that the beneficial effects of TPE occur through elimination of pathognomonic autoantibodies, immune complexes, inflammatory mediators, complement components and cytokines, which play a crucial role in many kinds of neurologic autoimmune disease...

QT dispersion (QTD) on 12-lead ECGs has been proposed as a marker of malignant ventricular tachyarrhythmias, and increased QTD has been reported in long QT syndrome (LQTS). On the other hand, it has been demonstrated that transmural dispersion is associated with ventricular tachyarrhythmias in an experimental model. However, the precise type of QTD or transmural dispersion that contributes most...

BACKGROUND Previous studies investigated the QT/RR relationship by linear regressions of QT and RR intervals. However, the pattern of the QT/RR relationship is not necessarily linear. This study investigated the QT/RR and T-peak-to-end (Tpe)/RR curvatures and corresponding slopes in chronic heart failure (CHF) patients, and studied their differences between sudden cardiac death (SCD) victims an...

Several epidemiological studies have shown an inverse association between the consumption of polyphenol-rich foods and risk of cardiovascular diseases. However, accuracy and reliability of these studies may be increased using urinary total polyphenol excretion (TPE) as a biomarker for total polyphenol intake. Our aim was to assess if antioxidant activity, measured by a Folin-Ciocalteu assay in ...

BACKGROUND: Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a rare clinical disorder which was associated with poor prognosis for a long time. The outcome has been improved by the consistent introduction of thera-peutic plasma exchange (TPE) as standard treatment of TTP. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We describe our experience in the use of solvent/detergent-treated plasma (SDP) for TPE in TTP. We retrosp...

BACKGROUND Transmural dispersion of repolarization (TDR) may be related to the genesis of torsade de pointes (TdP) in patients with the long-QT (LQT) syndrome. Experimentally, LQT2 models show increased TDR compared with LQT1, and beta-adrenergic stimulation increases TDR in both models. Clinically, LQT1 patients experience symptoms at elevated heart rates, but LQT2 patients do so at lower rate...

Evaluation of a national progamme of therapeutic patient education for farmers with cardiovascular diseases in France. Introduction: The french health social organization for farmers (Mutualité Sociale Agricole MSA), has launched in 2006–2008 a therapeutic patient education (TPE) project for his afiliated members with cardiovascular diseases. Seven hundred eighty-six volunteers in 16 french reg...

Educative attitude is an essential, if implicit, aspect of training to acquire competency in therapeutic patient education (TPE). With multiple (or nonexistent) definitions in the literature, however, the concept needs clarification. The primary aim of this study was to analyze the representations and transformations experienced by health care professionals in the course of TPE training in orde...