A framework for automatic heart sound analysis without segmentation

Background  

A new framework for heart sound analysis is proposed. One of the most difficult processes in heart sound analysis is segmentation, due to interference form murmurs.     

Propagation velocity profile in a cross-section of a cardiac muscle bundle from PSpice simulation

Background  

The effect of depth on propagation velocity within a bundle of cardiac muscle fibers is likely to be an important factor in the genesis of some heart arrhythmias.     

In vitro calibration of a system for measurement of in vivo convective heat transfer coefficient in animals

Background  

We need a sensor to measure the convective heat transfer coefficient during ablation of the heart or liver.     

Identification of cardiac malformations in mice lacking <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ptdsr</Emphasis>using a novel high-throughput magnetic resonance imaging technique

Background  

Congenital heart defects are the leading non-infectious cause of death in children. Genetic studies in the mouse have been crucial to uncover new genes and signaling pathways associated with heart development and congenital heart disease. The identification of murine models of congenital cardiac malformations in high-throughput mutagenesis screens and in gene-targeted models is hindered by the opacity of the mouse embryo.     

A comparative study of discriminating human heart failure etiology using gene expression profiles

Background  

Human heart failure is a complex disease that manifests from multiple genetic and environmental factors. Although ischemic and non-ischemic heart disease present clinically with many similar decreases in ventricular function, emerging work suggests that they are distinct diseases with different responses to therapy. The ability to distinguish between ischemic and non-ischemic heart failure may be essential to guide appropriate therapy and determine prognosis for successful treatment. In this paper we consider discriminating the etiologies of heart failure using gene expression libraries from two separate institutions.     

Hepatic mitochondrial dysfunction in Friedreich Ataxia

Background  

Mitochondrial dysfunction due to respiratory chain impairment is a key feature in pathogenesis of Friedreich ataxia. Friedreich ataxia affects the nervous system, heart and pancreas.     

Regional differences in APD restitution can initiate wavebreak and re-entry in cardiac tissue: A computational study

Background  

Regional differences in action potential duration (APD) restitution in the heart favour arrhythmias, but the mechanism is not well understood.     

Appetite suppressants and valvular heart disease – a systematic review

Background  

Although appetite suppressants have been implicated in the development of valvular heart disease, the exact level of risk is still uncertain. Initial studies suggested that as many as 1 in 3 exposed patients were affected, but subsequent research has yielded substantially different figures. Our objective was to systematically assess the risk of valvular heart disease with appetite suppressants.     

Prolonged morphine administration alters protein expression in the rat myocardium

Background  

Morphine is used in clinical practice as a highly effective painkiller as well as the drug of choice for treatment of certain heart diseases. However, there is lack of information about its effect on protein expression in the heart. Therefore, here we aimed to identify the presumed alterations in rat myocardial protein levels after prolonged morphine treatment.     

Cardiac Tamponade Secondary to Metastasis from Adenocarcinoma of the Parotid Gland

Background  

Metastatic involvement of pericardium producing cardiac tamponade is rare. When occurs it is mainly from the lung, breast and the neoplasms of the lymphoreticular system. Hematogenous spread of parotid adenocarcinoma to heart is extremely rare and only two cases have been reported in literature so far.     

A robust method for diagnosis of morphological arrhythmias based on Hermitian model of higher-order statistics

Background  

Electrocardiography (ECG) signal is a primary criterion for medical practitioners to diagnose heart diseases. The development of a reliable, accurate, non-invasive and robust method for arrhythmia detection could assists cardiologists in the study of patients with heart diseases. This paper provides a method for morphological heart arrhythmia detection which might have different shapes in one category and also different morphologies in relation to the patients. The distinctive property of this method in addition to accuracy is the robustness of that, in presence of Gaussian noise, time and amplitude shift.     

The zebrafish heart regenerates after cryoinjury-induced myocardial infarction

Background  

In humans, myocardial infarction is characterized by irreversible loss of heart tissue, which becomes replaced with a fibrous scar. By contrast, teleost fish and urodele amphibians are capable of heart regeneration after a partial amputation. However, due to the lack of a suitable infarct model, it is not known how these animals respond to myocardial infarction.     

Identification of a subunit of NADH-dehydrogenase as a p49/STRAP-binding protein

Background  

The p49/STRAP (or SRFBP1) protein was recently identified in our laboratory as a cofactor of serum response factor that contributes to the regulation of SRF target genes in the heart.     

Dynamic functional modules in co-expressed protein interaction networks of dilated cardiomyopathy

Background  

Molecular networks represent the backbone of molecular activity within cells and provide opportunities for understanding the mechanism of diseases. While protein-protein interaction data constitute static network maps, integration of condition-specific co-expression information provides clues to the dynamic features of these networks. Dilated cardiomyopathy is a leading cause of heart failure. Although previous studies have identified putative biomarkers or therapeutic targets for heart failure, the underlying molecular mechanism of dilated cardiomyopathy remains unclear.     

Open source model for generating RR intervals in atrial fibrillation and beyond

Background  

Realistic modeling of cardiac inter-beat (RR) intervals is highly desirable for basic research in cardiac electrophysiology, clinical management of heart diseases, and developing signal processing tools for ECG analysis.     

Induction of apoptosis and inhibition of cell growth by <Emphasis Type="Italic">tbx5</Emphasis> knockdown contribute to dysmorphogenesis in Zebrafish embryos

Background  

The tbx5 mutation in human causes Holt-Oram syndrome, an autosomal dominant condition characterized by a familial history of congenital heart defects and preaxial radial upper-limb defects. We report aberrant apoptosis and dormant cell growth over head, heart, trunk, fin, and tail of zebrafish embryos with tbx5 deficiency correspond to the dysmorphogenesis of tbx5 morphants.     

The impact of non-significant variable decelerations appearing in the latent phase on delivery mode: a prospective cohort study

Background  

Variable decelerations are the most frequent fetal heart rate changes that are related to labor. The objective of the study was to estimate the impact of non-significant variable decelerations (NSV) appearing during the latent phase of labor on delivery mode and neonatal outcome.     

Genomic organization and single-nucleotide polymorphism map of desmuslin, a novel intermediate filament protein on chromosome 15q26.3

Background  

Desmuslin is an α-dystrobrevin-interacting protein expressed primarily in heart and skeletal muscle. The desmuslin protein interacts with and is closely related to desmin, a protein encoded by a locus mutated in some forms of hereditary distal myopathy. As a muscle-specific intermediate filament protein, desmuslin is also a candidate for myopathies of unknown etiology.     

A reference dataset for verifying numerical electrophysiological heart models

Background  

The evaluation, verification and comparison of different numerical heart models are difficult without a commonly available database that could be utilized as a reference. Our aim was to compile an exemplary dataset.