Aim
Information on systolic dysfunction, as assessed by left-ventricular (LV) mechanics, in patients with pheochromocytoma after surgical treatment is scanty. We performed a systematic meta-analysis ...of speckle tracking echocardiographic studies to provide an updated comprehensive information on this issue.
Methods
The PubMed, OVID-MEDLINE, and Cochrane library databases were analyzed to search for articles published from the inception up to May 31st 2021. Studies were identified using MeSH terms and crossing the following search items: “myocardial strain” “left ventricular mechanics”, “speckle tracking echocardiography”, “systolic dysfunction”, “pheochromocytoma”, and “paraganglioma”.
Results
A total of 92 surgically treated patients with pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma were included in 3 longitudinal studies. Successful surgical treatment was associated with a decrease in relative wall thickness (SMD − 0.25 ± 0.10, CI − 0.45/− 0.05,
p
< 0.01) and an improvement in global longitudinal strain (SMD − 0.45 ± 0.10, CI − 0.66/− 0.24,
p
< 0.0001). The favorable effects of treatment on LV geometry and mechanics were not accompanied by significant changes in ejection fraction (SMD − 0.07 ± 0.10, CI − 0.27/0.12,
p
= 0.44).
Conclusions
This meta-analysis adds a new piece of evidence, suggesting that surgical treatment of patients with pheochromocytoma impacts favorably on LV geometry and LV mechanics, and, more importantly, the assessment of LV changes in this setting can no longer rely on conventional echocardiographic parameters such as ejection fraction.
IntroductionSeveral studies show a negative impact of mass media contents on adolescents’ mental health, especially on perceived body uneasiness. COVID-19 lockdown determined an increased use of ...social networks (SN). Psychiatrists highlighted an increase in Eating Disorders’ (ED) diagnoses.ObjectivesThe aim of this study is to assess the pattern of SN use in patients with ED using a self-administered questionnaire.Methods30 patients with clinical diagnosis of ED (Anorexia nervosa, Bulimia nervosa or Binge eating disorder) admitted to the ED unit, underwent clinical assessment, and filed a questionnaire on SN use. The questionnaire assesses time spent on SN, weight-control apps use, exposure to fitness- or food-related contents and to ED-promoting contents, distractibility, weight changes and feeling of body uneasiness.ResultsMean age was 20.63 (SD 4.71), mean BMI 20.24 (SD 5.27); 93.3% (28) of patients were females. Eating behaviours were divided into restrictive type (66.7%, 20) or binge/bulimic (33.3%, 10). 16.7% (5) of patients reported self-injury behaviours. In 46.7% (14) of cases, the onset of the ED occurred during COVID-19 pandemic; the remaining 53.3% (16) experienced a relapse of a previous ED during this period. 66.7% (20) of subjects reported an increased use of social media and fitness apps. 90% (27) experienced weight changes during the pandemic, with 76.7% (23) seeking nutritional or psychological interventions. 53.3% (16) perceived an increase in body- or food-related contents on their SN feeds, with 50% declaring of knowing the meaning of the terms pro-ana and pro-mia.Table 1 displays reported answers to the questionnaire. Table 2 shows mean age of patients according to self-injury behaviours and to the onset time of ED.Table 1.Questionnaire subscales (n)Rarely occurred % (n)Often occurred % (n)Increase of time spent on SNs (30)33.3% (10)66.7% (20)Distractibility (30)70% (21)30% (9)Self-injury contents (30)96.7% (1)3.3% (29)Body uneasiness (30)26.7% (8)73.3% (22)Pro-ana/pro-mia contents influence (15)53.3% (8)46.7% (7)Body- and food-related contents influence (30)20% (6)80% (24)Table 2.Eating disorders features (n)Mean age (SD)Self-injury – Yes (5)18.20 (1.92)p<0.05Self-injury – No (25)21.12 (4.97)Onset during Covid-19 pandemic (14)18.29 (1.82)p<0.01Worsening during Covid-19 pandemic (16)22.69 (5.51)ConclusionsED onset during the COVID-19 pandemic and self-injury behaviours appear as pivotal characteristics of younger patients, displaying a greater severity of the disorder in our clinical experience. With a more consistent number of patients, it would be possible to correlate SN use and body- and food-related contents to the onset and the severity of ED, focusing on pandemic periods.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared
Selecting which interpolation method to use significantly affects the results of atmospheric studies. The goal of this study is to examine the performance of several interpolation techniques under ...typical atmospheric conditions. Several types of kriging and artificial neural networks used as spatial interpolators are here compared and evaluated against ordinary kriging, using real airborne CO2 mixing-ratio data and synthetic data. The real data were measured (on December 26, 2012) between Billings and Lamont, near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, within and above the planetary boundary layer (PBL). Predictions were made all along the flight trajectory within a total volume of 5000 km3 of atmospheric air (27 × 33 × 5.6 km). We evaluated (a) universal kriging, (b) ensemble neural networks, (c) universal kriging with ensemble neural network outputs used as covariates, and (d) ensemble neural networks with ordinary kriging of the residuals as interpolation tools. We found that in certain cases, when the weaknesses of ordinary kriging interpolation schemes (based on an omnidirectional isotropic variogram presumption) became apparent, more sophisticated interpolation methods were in order. In this study, preservation of the potentially nonlinear relationship between the trend and coordinates (by using neural kriging output as a covariate in a universal kriging scheme) was attempted, with varying degrees of success (it was best performer in 4 out of 8 cases). The study confirmed the necessity of selecting an interpolation approach that includes a combination of expert understanding and appropriate interpolation tools. The error analysis showed that uncertainty representations generated by the kriging methods are superior to neural networks, but that the actual error varies from case to case.
•We compare geostatistical and machine learning methods for data interpolation.•We test the effectiveness of hybrids between them.•It is shown that anisotropy has to be taken care of in urban outflow problem.•We provide an alternative to ordinary kriging based on isotropic variograms.
In this paper, we report the vertical profiles of CO 2 and CH 4 measured with a cavity ring-down spectrometer (CRDS) on a research aircraft from near-ground level to 8 km above mean sea level. The ...airborne platform employed in this paper is an Alpha Jet aircraft operated from NASA's Ames Research Center. Flights were undertaken to Railroad Valley, NV, USA, to coincide with overpasses of the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT). Ground-based CO 2 and CH 4 were simultaneously measured using CRDS, at the time and location of the airborne and satellite measurements. Results of three GOSAT coordinated aircraft profiles and ground-based measurements in June 2011 are presented and discussed in this paper. The accuracy of the CO 2 and CH 4 measurements has been determined based upon laboratory calibrations (World Meteorological Organisation traceable standard) and pressure/temperature flight simulations in a test chamber. The overall uncertainty for the airborne measurements ranged from 0.31 to 0.39 ppm for CO 2 and from 3.5 to 5.6 ppb for CH 4 . Our column-averaged CO 2 and CH 4 measurements, which include about 61% of the total atmospheric mass, are extrapolated, using different techniques, to include the remainder of the tropospheric and stratospheric CO 2 and CH 4 . The CO 2 data are then analyzed using the Atmospheric CO 2 Observations from Space 2.9 and 3.3 algorithms. For methane data, the RemoTeC v2.1 algorithm was used in its full physics setup. Column-averaged CO 2 and XCO 2 , measured by GOSAT and analyzed from our data, ranged from 388.1 to 396.4 ppm, and XCH 4 ranged from 1.743 to 1.822 ppm. The agreement of the satellite and aircraft CO 2 mixing ratios, as well as ground measurements, falls within the uncertainties of the methods employed to acquire these numbers.
The aim of this study was to establish correlation of chemical composition and antioxidant activity of bilberry plants from Montenegro. Total phenolic, tannin, flavonoid, procyanidin and anthocyanin ...contents were determined in fruits and leaves extracts using spectrophotometric methods, while the measurements of metal content was carried out in an Inductively Coupled Atomic Emission Spectrometer. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of major phenolics were achieved by HPLC. In the investigated extracts, the most abundant phenolic was chlorogenic acid, followed by protocatechuic acid, while resveratrol, isoquercetin, quecetin and hyperoside were also present in significant quantities. Antioxidant potential was evaluated using two in vitro assays-FRAP and DPPH-being in the accordance with the cyclic voltammetry tests, performed as well. The results revealed that all the investigated extracts were rich in phenolic and essential mineral constituents, with significant antioxidant activity, depending on the polyphenolic and mineral contents, which was confirmed by principal component analysis.
Dipping and nondipping blood pressure (BP) patterns are associated with different levels of target organ damage and cardiovascular risk. The aim of our investigation was to determine the relationship ...between different BP patterns (dipping, nondipping, extreme dipping and reverse dipping type) and cardiac structure, and function in hypertensive patients. This cross-sectional study included 376 hypertensive patients. All subjects underwent 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring, and complete two-dimensional, pulsed and tissue Doppler echocardiography. Most of the parameters of the left ventricular (LV) diastolic function (E/A, e'/a', E/e') significantly and progressively deteriorated from the extreme dippers to the dippers and nondippers, and finally to the reverse dippers. In contrast, LV structural parameters (IVS, RWT, LV mass index) showed a statistically important difference only by comparing the dippers and the extreme dippers with the rest of the patients. Simultaneously, the right ventricular (RV) structural parameter (RVT, right ventricular thickness), and most RV diastolic parameters significantly and progressively worsened from the extreme dippers, over the dippers and the nondippers, to the reverse dippers. Daytime and night time systolic BP, nocturnal systolic BP fall, and the nondipping and the reverse dipping status were independently associated with LV and RV structure, as well as with diastolic function. LV and RV structure, and diastolic function were significantly more impaired with the nondippers and the reverse dippers compared with others.
Validation of ground-based and satellite remote sensing CO2 observations involves comparisons among platforms and with in situ airborne measurements. Several factors unrelated to observational errors ...can lead to mismatches between measurements, and must be assessed to avoid misinterpreting actual differences in observed values as errors. Here we explore the impact of CO2 horizontal variability and differences in the spatial support of measurements. Case studies based on flights over Walnut Grove and Petaluma, California, are used to compare hypothetical airborne, TCCON, GOSAT, and OCO-2 measurements. We find that high CO2 variability can lead to differences in inferred XCO2 (1) of over 0.5 ppm between airborne and remote sensing observations, due to the spatial mismatch between spiral flight trajectories and atmospheric columns, and (2) of up to 0.3 ppm among remote sensing platforms, due to differences in the spatial support of observations. Horizontal CO2 variability must therefore be considered in intercomparisons aimed at validation of remote sensing observations.
•Remote sensing CO2 data are often validated via intercomparison to other observations.•We assess impacts of spatial support and horizontal variability on data comparisons.•We find that these factors can lead to differences of >0.5 ppm in observed XCO2.•Uncertainties due to support and variability must be considered in validation studies.
Sideritis scardica Griseb. (ironwort, mountain tea), an endemic plant of the Balkan Peninsula, has been used in traditional medicine in the treatment of gastrointestinal complaints, inflammation, and ...rheumatic disorders. This study aimed to evaluate its gastroprotective and anti-inflammatory activities. Besides, continuously increasing interest in assessing the role of the plant active constituents preventing the risk of cancer was a reason to make a detailed examination of the investigated ethanol, diethyl ether, ethyl acetate, and N-butanol extracts regarding cytotoxicity. Oral administration of the investigated extracts caused a dose-dependent anti-inflammatory effect in a model of carrageenan-induced rat paw edema. Gastroprotective activity of the extracts was investigated using an ethanol-induced acute stress ulcer in rats. The cytotoxic activity of plant extracts was assessed on PBMC, B16, and HL-60 cells and compared to the cytotoxicity of phenolic compounds identified in extracts. Apoptotic and necrotic cell death were analyzed by double staining with fluoresceinisothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated annexin V and PI. The developed HPLC method enabled qualitative fingerprint analysis of phenolic compounds in the investigated extracts. Compared to the effect of the positive control, the anti-inflammatory drug indomethacine (4 mg/kg), which produced a 50 % decrease in inflammation, diethyl ether and N-butanol extracts exhibited about the same effect in doses of 200 and 100 mg/kg (53.6 and 48.7 %; 48.4 and 49.9 %, respectively). All investigated extracts produced dose-dependent gastroprotective activity with the efficacy comparable to that of the reference drug ranitidine. The diethyl ether extract showed significant dose-dependent cytotoxicity on B16 cells and HL-60 cells, decreasing cell growth to 51.3 % and 77.5 % of control, respectively, when used at 100 µg/mL. It seems that phenolic compounds (apigenin, luteolin, and their corresponding glycosides) are responsible for the diethyl ether extract cytotoxic effect. It also appears that induction of oxidative stress might be involved in its cytotoxicity, since B16 and HL-60 cells increased their ROS production in response to treatment with diethyl ether extract. Neither of the tested extracts nor any phenolic compounds showed significant cytotoxic effect to human PBMC. These results demonstrated the potent anti-inflammatory and gastroprotective activities, as well as the promising cytotoxicity.
NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 (OCO-2) satellite launched in summer of 2014. Its observations could allow scientists to constrain CO2 fluxes across regions or continents that were previously ...difficult to monitor. This study explores an initial step toward that goal; we evaluate the extent to which current OCO-2 observations can detect patterns in biospheric CO2 fluxes and constrain monthly CO2 budgets. Our goal is to guide top-down, inverse modeling studies and identify areas for future improvement. We find that uncertainties and biases in the individual OCO-2 observations are comparable to the atmospheric signal from biospheric fluxes, particularly during Northern Hemisphere winter when biospheric fluxes are small. A series of top-down experiments indicate how these errors affect our ability to constrain monthly biospheric CO2 budgets. We are able to constrain budgets for between two and four global regions using OCO-2 observations, depending on the month, and we can constrain CO2 budgets at the regional level(i.e., smaller than seven global biomes) in only a handful of cases (16 % of all regions and months). The potential of the OCO-2 observations, however,is greater than these results might imply. A set of synthetic data experiments suggests that retrieval errors have a salient effect. Advances in retrieval algorithms and to a lesser extent atmospheric transport modeling will improve the results. In the interim, top-down studies that use current satellite observations are best-equipped to constrain the biospheric carbon balance across only continental or hemispheric regions.
The number of greenhouse gas (GHG) observing satellites has greatly expanded in recent years, and these new datasets provide an unprecedented constraint on global GHG sources and sinks. However, a ...continuing challenge for inverse models that are used to estimate these sources and sinks is the sheer number of satellite observations, sometimes in the millions per day. These massive datasets often make it prohibitive to implement inverse modeling calculations and/or assimilate the observations using many types of atmospheric models. Although these satellite datasets are very large, the information content of any single observation is often modest and non-exclusive due to redundancy with neighboring observations and due to measurement noise. In this study, we develop an adaptive approach to reduce the size of satellite datasets using geostatistics. A guiding principle is to reduce the data more in regions with little variability in the observations and less in regions with high variability. We subsequently tune and evaluate the approach using synthetic and real data case studies for North America from NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) satellite. The proposed approach to data reduction yields more accurate CO2 flux estimates than the commonly used method of binning and averaging the satellite data. We further develop a metric for choosing a level of data reduction; we can reduce the satellite dataset to an average of one observation per ∼ 80–140 km for the specific case studies here without substantially compromising the flux estimate, but we find that reducing the data further quickly degrades the accuracy of the estimated fluxes. Overall, the approach developed here could be applied to a range of inverse problems that use very large trace gas datasets.
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