Atrial fibrillation （AF） is the most frequent arrhythmia. Due to population aging, AF is a growing epidemic and its importance will continue to increase in the next decades. Although the prevalence of AF is high in ...Atrial fibrillation （AF） is the most frequent arrhythmia. Due to population aging, AF is a growing epidemic and its importance will continue to increase in the next decades. Although the prevalence of AF is high in advanced age, the number of subjects with predisposing factors for AF is even higher. Most of these factors increase the risk of atrial fibro- sis, an important component of atrial arrhythmia mecha- nisms. In fact, the new techniques to detect atrial fibrosis are showing the strong association between atrial fibrosis and AF risk. Regarding predisposing factors for AF, interatrial block （LAB） seems to be a key factor.展开更多
Objective:This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of the disease journey and patients'care needs with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis(IPF).Methods:Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted wit...Objective:This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of the disease journey and patients'care needs with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis(IPF).Methods:Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sampling of IPF patients admitted to the department of respiratory medicine in a tertiary hospital in Beijing.Interview data were analyzed using the thematic analysis method.In the end,16 patients were interviewed.Results:Four themes emerged from the qualitative data included the long and confusing journey to reach a diagnosis,living with the disease,understanding the disease and treatment and desire for continuity of care.A series of subthemes were also identified,including uncertainty of diagnosis,delaying the process,living with physical symptoms,living with emotional distress,loss of independence,uncertainty with the prognosis,questioning the cause of the disease,concerning the side effects of treatments,lacking continuity of care,and wanting a better quality ofhealthcare in community hospitals.Conclusions:Based on the findings,there is an urgent need to improve the care delivery to this vulnerable population in China.To meet their health needs,it is of paramount importance to develop effective education programs for health professionals and IPF patients and improve care models of healthcare systems,especially in remote areas,to enhance care continuity in the communities.展开更多
This study reports an increase in power generation of a MFC （microbial fuel cell） by the addition of Korean ginseng （Panax ginseng）. It was noted that the use of ginseng enhances the microbial anaerobic degradatio...This study reports an increase in power generation of a MFC （microbial fuel cell） by the addition of Korean ginseng （Panax ginseng）. It was noted that the use of ginseng enhances the microbial anaerobic degradation of cellobiose, a disaccharide that was used as a substrate in the anode chamber of the MFC. The power output of the MFC where ginseng was added showed noticeable enhancement compared to the control MFC. The increase slowly ramped at the initial days and became appreciably higher after the 11th day of incubation in an experiment set up for 16 days duration. It is attributed that the ginseng increases the CO2 production by accelerating the fermentation process. Decrease in CH4/CO2 ratio was observed also due to decrease in methane production per digested cellobiose, the proton donor in the current study. Four ring steroid-like structural moiety Ginsenoside of Panax ginseng seemed to play a beneficial role in the electron transfer from ceilobiose to the anode, perhaps by rendering easier electron transfer due to favorable energy level alignments.展开更多
In the last twenty years, new imaging techniques to assess atrial function and to predict the risk of recurrence of atrial fibrillation after treatment have been developed. The present review deals with the role of th...In the last twenty years, new imaging techniques to assess atrial function and to predict the risk of recurrence of atrial fibrillation after treatment have been developed. The present review deals with the role of these techniques in the detection of structural and functional changes of the atrium and diagnosis of atrial remodeling, particularly atrial fibrosis. Echocardiography allows the detection of anatomical, functional changes and deformation of the atrial wall during the phases of the cardiac cycle. For this, adequate acquisition of atrial images is necessary using speckle tracking imaging and interpretation of the resulting strain and strain rate curves. This allows to predict new-onset atrial fibrillation and recurrences. Its main limitations are inter-observer variability, the existence of different software manufacturers, and the fact that the software used were originally developed for the evaluation of the ventricular function and are now applied to the atria. Cardiac magnetic resonance, using contrast enhancement with gadolinium, plays a key role in the visualization and quantification of atrial fibrosis. This is the established method for in vivo visualization of myocardial fibrotic tissue. The non-invasive evaluation of atrial fibrosis is associ- ated with the risk of recurrence of atrial fibrillation and with electro-anatomical endocardial mapping. We discuss the limitations of these techniques, derived from the difficulty of demonstrating the correlation between fibrosis imaging and histology, and poor intra- and inter- observer reproducibility. The sources of discordance are described, mainly due to image acquisition and processing, and the challenges ahead in an attempt to eliminate differences between operators.展开更多
文摘Atrial fibrillation （AF） is the most frequent arrhythmia. Due to population aging, AF is a growing epidemic and its importance will continue to increase in the next decades. Although the prevalence of AF is high in advanced age, the number of subjects with predisposing factors for AF is even higher. Most of these factors increase the risk of atrial fibro- sis, an important component of atrial arrhythmia mecha- nisms. In fact, the new techniques to detect atrial fibrosis are showing the strong association between atrial fibrosis and AF risk. Regarding predisposing factors for AF, interatrial block （LAB） seems to be a key factor.
基金The study was supported by grants from Beijing Excellent Talents Training Programme(2018000021469G220)Beijing Hospitals Authority Youth Programme(QML20200309),Beijing,China.
文摘Objective:This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of the disease journey and patients'care needs with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis(IPF).Methods:Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sampling of IPF patients admitted to the department of respiratory medicine in a tertiary hospital in Beijing.Interview data were analyzed using the thematic analysis method.In the end,16 patients were interviewed.Results:Four themes emerged from the qualitative data included the long and confusing journey to reach a diagnosis,living with the disease,understanding the disease and treatment and desire for continuity of care.A series of subthemes were also identified,including uncertainty of diagnosis,delaying the process,living with physical symptoms,living with emotional distress,loss of independence,uncertainty with the prognosis,questioning the cause of the disease,concerning the side effects of treatments,lacking continuity of care,and wanting a better quality ofhealthcare in community hospitals.Conclusions:Based on the findings,there is an urgent need to improve the care delivery to this vulnerable population in China.To meet their health needs,it is of paramount importance to develop effective education programs for health professionals and IPF patients and improve care models of healthcare systems,especially in remote areas,to enhance care continuity in the communities.
文摘This study reports an increase in power generation of a MFC （microbial fuel cell） by the addition of Korean ginseng （Panax ginseng）. It was noted that the use of ginseng enhances the microbial anaerobic degradation of cellobiose, a disaccharide that was used as a substrate in the anode chamber of the MFC. The power output of the MFC where ginseng was added showed noticeable enhancement compared to the control MFC. The increase slowly ramped at the initial days and became appreciably higher after the 11th day of incubation in an experiment set up for 16 days duration. It is attributed that the ginseng increases the CO2 production by accelerating the fermentation process. Decrease in CH4/CO2 ratio was observed also due to decrease in methane production per digested cellobiose, the proton donor in the current study. Four ring steroid-like structural moiety Ginsenoside of Panax ginseng seemed to play a beneficial role in the electron transfer from ceilobiose to the anode, perhaps by rendering easier electron transfer due to favorable energy level alignments.
文摘In the last twenty years, new imaging techniques to assess atrial function and to predict the risk of recurrence of atrial fibrillation after treatment have been developed. The present review deals with the role of these techniques in the detection of structural and functional changes of the atrium and diagnosis of atrial remodeling, particularly atrial fibrosis. Echocardiography allows the detection of anatomical, functional changes and deformation of the atrial wall during the phases of the cardiac cycle. For this, adequate acquisition of atrial images is necessary using speckle tracking imaging and interpretation of the resulting strain and strain rate curves. This allows to predict new-onset atrial fibrillation and recurrences. Its main limitations are inter-observer variability, the existence of different software manufacturers, and the fact that the software used were originally developed for the evaluation of the ventricular function and are now applied to the atria. Cardiac magnetic resonance, using contrast enhancement with gadolinium, plays a key role in the visualization and quantification of atrial fibrosis. This is the established method for in vivo visualization of myocardial fibrotic tissue. The non-invasive evaluation of atrial fibrosis is associ- ated with the risk of recurrence of atrial fibrillation and with electro-anatomical endocardial mapping. We discuss the limitations of these techniques, derived from the difficulty of demonstrating the correlation between fibrosis imaging and histology, and poor intra- and inter- observer reproducibility. The sources of discordance are described, mainly due to image acquisition and processing, and the challenges ahead in an attempt to eliminate differences between operators.
