Elsevier's AAM Policy: Authors retain the right to use the accepted author manuscript for personal use, internal institutional use and for permitted scholarly posting provided that these are not for purposes of commercial use or systematic distribution.Elsevier believes that individual authors should be able to distribute their AAMs for their personal voluntary needs and interests, e.g. posting to their websites or their institution's repository, e-mailing to colleagues. However, our policies differ regarding the systematic aggregation or distribution of AAMs to ensure the sustainability of the journals to which AAMs are submitted. Therefore, deposit in, or posting to, subjectoriented or centralized repositories (such as PubMed Central), or institutional repositories with systematic posting mandates is permitted only under specific agreements between Elsevier and the repository, agency or institution, and only consistent with the publisher's policies concerning such repositories. AbstractLipid vesicles have received significant attention in areas ranging from pharmaceutical and biomedical engineering to novel materials and nanotechnology. Microfluidic-based synthesis of liposomes offers a number of advantages over the more traditional synthesis methods such as extrusion and sonication. One such microfluidic approach is microfluidic hydrodynamic focusing (MHF), which has been used to synthesize nanoparticles and vesicles of various lipids. We show here that this method can be utilized in synthesis of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) vesicles with controllable size. Since POPC is among the primary constituents of cellular membranes, this work is of direct applicability to modelling of biological systems and development of nanocontainers with higher biologic compatibility for pharmaceutical and medical applications.

The authors report the first case of successful implantation of a dorsal root ganglion stimulator at L1 and L2 for sustained improvement in chronic pelvic girdle pain.

An optimized contemporary digital fluoroscopy system, with low radiation dose configuration and continued good procedural practice, can result in ultra-low radiation levels for all electrophysiology procedures, without compromising procedural time or procedural success.

Patients with Brugada syndrome are at risk of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias. Epicardial substrate ablation for Brugada syndrome has been described as a means of controlling these arrhythmias and recent reports describe elimination of the Brugada phenotype with ablation. We describe a unique case in which a patient developed inferior J waves with an early repolarization-type electrocardiogram following successful epicardial infundibular substrate ablation (which eliminated the Brugada syndrome electrocardiogram on ajmaline challenge). We discuss the likely underlying pathophysiology responsible for this phenomenon, its relationship to the anatomic obstacles encountered during epicardial ablation, and the implications for long-term arrhythmic risk.

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ponent score (MCS). Linear regression analysis was conducted with PCS and MCS scores as dependent variables. Age, race and sex were included as baseline variables in all models while incorporating Charlson/D'hoore, Elixhauser, and HRQoL-CI measures one at a time. Adjusted R2 were compared to assess the comparative performances of risk-adjustment measures. RESULTS: The mean age was 68Ϯ13 years, with 80.63% non-Hispanic whites. The average PCS and MCS for HF patients were 45.53Ϯ12.28 and 30.64Ϯ11, respectively. HRQoL-CI (R2 ϭ 0.2083) outperformed Elixhauser (R2 ϭ 0.1784) and Charlson/D'hoore (R2 ϭ 0.1359) in predicting PCS. Whereas, Elixhauser (R2 ϭ 0.2184) had the best prediction of MCS compared to HRQoL-CI (R2 ϭ 0.1920) and Charlson/D'hoore (R2 ϭ 0.0918). CONCLUSIONS: No single comorbidity measure was best in predicting both PCS and MCS in HF patients; HRQoL-CI performed best in predicting PCS whereas Elixhauser measure had the best prediction for MCS. Selection of risk adjustment method should be based on the type of dimension used to evaluate HRQoL.OBJECTIVES: Re-hospitalization in heart failure (HF) patients is often the result of a patient's inability to adequately self-manage the condition. The objective of this study is to determine if engaging inpatients in their care through technology is a solution to improving patient self-management. METHODS: Two hundred seventy-five patients with HF completed the HF interactive care plan while an inpatient at one of six hospitals throughout the United States. A pretest posttest design was used to evaluate a patient's activation using the 13-item Patient Activation Measure (PAM-13), a valid and reliable instrument to measure a patient's knowledge, skill, and confidence to perform self-management of their chronic disease(s). After completing the baseline PAM-13 following admission for a HF diagnosis, all 275 patients completed a self-paced set of interactive, educational modules throughout their inpatient stay. These modules were typically completed 3 or 4 days after admission, and then patients would complete the PAM-13 prior to discharge. The PAM-13 places individuals into activation levels 1 (lowest) through 4 (highest) based on an individual's responses. RESULTS: A two-tailed t-test between baseline and posttest scores of all participants showed a difference of 0.38 levels of activation (pϽ .001). Because 168 of the 275 participants were at level 4 on the PAM-13 at baseline, these individuals were removed and secondary analysis was performed on the remaining 107 individuals. A two-tailed t-test revealed a difference of 1.05 levels of activation (pϽ 0.001) after patients completed the interactive solution. CONCLUSIONS: Providing education through an interactive solution while in the hospital can improve activation scores in HF patients.