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Epicardial right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) ablation has been described for the treatement of Brugada syndrome (BrS) high risk patients. Purpose Success evaluation of epicardial ablation for BrS. Methods Type 1 ECG was defined as spontaneous if recorded in absence of drugs and/or specific conditions. BrS patients were scheduled for ablation if presented at least one of: spontaneous type 1 ECG, syncope, ventricular arrhythmias (VA). Programmed electrical stimulation (PES) was performed (2 extrastimuli, 2 sites) in basal conditions and after ajmaline infusion. Epicardial subxifoid access and electroanatomical endo-epicardial maps were obtained during sinus rhythm. Delayed fragmented/low-frequency, low-voltage electrograms (EGM) were targeted: substrate area measured in basal conditions and after ajmaline. Epicardial ablation Radiofrequency (RF) was delivered (50 W power control mode) till complete elimination of targeted EGM and BrS-ECG pattern after ajmaline. Eventually PES repeated: if positive a repeated PES scheduled at follow-up (fu). Success was defined as absence of type 1 ECG either spontaneous or with ajmaline challenge at 3 month. Recurrences were scheduled to redo ablation. Results 55 patients were submitted to 58 ablation procedures. 38 spontaneous type 1 ECG: 18 symptomatic for syncope/polimorphic VT/VF or appropriate ICD shock; 13 had VA induction at PES. 4 patients with ajmaline-type 1 ECG had VA induction. 36% of the symptomatic patients and 26% of asymptomatic had PES-VA induction. In all patients abnormal EGM area (cm2) was detected in epicardial RVOT (table 1). Acute success: No patient had ECG type 1 with ajmaline. 5 patients had PES induction of VA. Complications: 1 cardiac tamponade, 16 mild pericarditis. At FU of 1,1±0,6 yrs no patient had spontaneous ECG type 1 nor arrhythmic events. 50 had negative ajmaline challenge (90% success rate after single procedure), 3 underwent redo: 2 had negative ajmaline challenge at FU, 1 had persistence type 1-ajmaline induction; 2 are scheduled for redo. No patient had VT induction at PES. Multivariate analysis: Single procedure success was not related either to history (symptoms, VA, type 1 ECG) or to procedural findings (PES results, substrate area). Conclusion Epicardial substrate ablation was safe end effective in BrS. No clinical or procedural findings were related to success Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None

In this paper, the spectrum occupancy of the VHF and UHF bands are investigated. The primary objective is to identify the bands that have low utilization and could be accessed for future developments in TV broadcasting, especially in the analog to digital transition as well as other digital technological developments. Results could provide an avenue for emerging technologies such as cognitive radio. The study consists of data collection and analyses in the VHF and UHF TV bands. Average occupancy calculations based on measurements and results taken over a two-day period show an overall average occupancy of about 16% of the total spectrum surveyed. Specifically, average occupancies for the low band VHF, high band VHF and UHF band are about 57%, 60% and 7% of the respective bands. Since the study on white space is at its early stages, this paper serves as a preliminary study, thus further studies are needed to fully optimize the white spaces of the spectrum for future applications in the advancement of the technology.

BackgroundThe 28-item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) developed by Goldberg and Hillier in 1979 is constructed on the basis of a principal components analysis of the GHQ-60. When used on a Spanish population, a translation of the GHQ-28 developed for an English population may lead to worse predictive values.MethodsWe used our Spanish sample to replicate the entire process of construction of the GHQ-28 administered in a primary-care setting.ResultsTwo shorter versions were proposed: one with six scales and 30 items, and the other with four scales and 28 items.ConclusionsThe resulting GHQ-28 was a successful adaptation for use on the Spanish sample. When compared with the original version, only 21 items were the same. Moreover, contrary to the English version, which groups sleep problems and anxiety in the same scale, a scale with items related exclusively to ‘Sleep disturbances’ was found.

Background: Respiratory allergies are inversely related to early acquisition of food-borne and fecal-oral infections, consumption of unpasteurized milk, early exposure to stables and high endotoxin concentrations in a farming environment. We tested therefore if infection by Salmonella in early life can protect from development of respiratory allergies later in life. Methods: During 2003, we studied two groups of Sardinian children (age 6–18 years) who had been hospitalized before 4 years of age (during 1989–2001) with non-typhoid salmonellosis (n = 148) or acute enteritis of nonbacterial etiology (NB-enteritis) (n = 167). Allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (AR) and asthma were evaluated by telephonic interview with a ISAAC questionnaire; participants reporting AR and/or asthma were further examined through a complete diagnostic work-up to objectively confirm or exclude current disease. Kaplan–Meier curves and Cox proportional hazard models were used to analyze the role of different types of enteritis on the risk of developing allergic rhinoconjunctivitis or asthma over time. Results: Children who had been hospitalized with salmonellosis had a lower prevalence of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (eight of 148, 5.4%vs 23 of 167, 13.8%; P = 0.019) or asthma (five of 148, 3.4%vs 21 of 167, 12.6%; P = 0.006) than those who had been hospitalized with NB-enteritis. The proportional hazard of salmonellosis for asthma was 0.23 (95% CI: 0.08–0.67; P

The adrenal steroid secretion was studied in 6 prepubertal obese boys and 6 obese boys at the first stage of sexual maturation according to Tanner. Twelve normal boys, closely matched for age and stage of sexual maturation, were also studied as controls. Pregnenolone and dehydroepiandrosterone plasma levels were found to be significantly (P less than 0.001) higher in both groups when compared with normal boys. All the values, apart from pregnenolone in the prepubertal group, returned to normal after weight loss. Progesterone was found significantly increased (P less than 0.001) in both groups and normal after weight loss. 17-OH-progesterone plasma levels showed no significant difference between the obese and control groups. Androstenedione was increased in the prepubertal group before and normal after weight loss; no significant difference was found in the other group. Testosterone and estradiol showed normal values in the two groups both before and after weight loss. Cortisol showed a similar pattern. It can be concluded that an increased cortico-adrenal activity is present in obese boys as already reported in obese girls. This finding could explain the precocious adrenarche which often occurs in these patients. The increased adrenal androgen secretion might be due to an increased cortico adrenal stimulating hormone secretion or to an enhanced adrenal sensitivity to this hypothetical hormone.