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Purpose: Postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) has been associated with increased risk of death in women but not in men. We aimed to explore predictors and long-term mortality in POAF following isolated aortic valve replacement (AVR) surgery in men and women. Methods: This study included 379 severe aortic stenosis patients with no prior atrial fibrillation (AF) who underwent isolated AVR surgery. We used multiple logistic regression to investigate independent gender-specific predictors of new-onset POAF, and we performed Kaplan-Meier (KM) to determine the impact of POAF in long-term mortality according to gender. Results: Advanced age and coronary artery disease prevalence were higher among POAF patients in both genders. On multiple analysis, increased postoperative peak lactate was independently associated with POAF in men, while lower mean aortic valve gradient was associated with POAF in women. Area under the curve (AUC) for the model was 0.77 [0.68-0.86] and 0.69 [0.60-0.78] for men and women, respectively. At 4-year follow-up, POAF was linked to increased risk of death in men but not in women. Conclusion: In severe aortic stenosis, factors associated with POAF and its impact on mortality differed between genders, with an increased risk of death observed only in men.

In a first stage a cancer promotes an intense process of vascularization at the affected area increasing blood flow and modifying the local temperature of the body. Using a thermal camera, the infrared radiation emitted by the human body can be captured and then used in the measuring of body temperature, turning the results into an image. Moreover, thermography can detect suspicious regions in patients of any age, even in cases of dense breasts, where the detection of an abnormality cannot be accomplished by others exams. A fundamental step in the use of thermal images is the development of computer aided diagnosis (CAD) systems. These could allow the execution of exams by technicians, following well established routines and protocols, as already occurs in mammography exams, allowing doctors to have a greater possibility of dedication in the analysis and in the meaning of the exams. In this work, an automatic detection of the regions of interest (ROI) is proposed and compared with segmentations performed manually. This work presents a methodology for the automatic segmentation of lateral breast thermal images. For the evaluation of the results, different groups of ground truth are generated, which are available on the internet, in order to allow the verification of the results' correctness. Finally, the obtained results by the proposed methodology for the 328 images used in this work are demonstrated. The results showed average values of accuracy

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia with adverse clinical outcomes. Aortic valve replacement (AVR) is one of the most frequently performed cardiac surgeries, although there is scarce evidence on arrhythmic outcomes. We aimed to evaluate AF during the first year post- isolated aortic valve replacement surgery and its clinical, analytical, and echocardiographic predictors. Methods: Severe aortic stenosis patients with no prior atrial fibrillation submitted to isolated aortic valve replacement surgery were included in our study, of which 316 remained in sinus rhythm and 24 developed AF. We performed logistic regression searching for AF predictors and a longitudinal comparison between pre and post-operative echocardiographic data. Results: Postoperative AF (POAF), diabetes, and follow-up indexed Left Atrium Diameter (iLAD) were significantly higher in the group of patients developing AF. POAF and iLAD were independent AF predictors at follow-up. No differences between groups were found regarding baseline and follow-up echocardiographic data except for indexed Left Ventricle End-diastolic Diameter (LVED), which failed to decrease after surgery in the AF group. Conclusions: POAF and iLAD independently predicted AF at 1 year following isolated AVR surgery in aortic stenosis patients with no AF history. iLVED did not decrease significantly at follow-up in AF patients, possibly reflecting adverse ventricular remodeling.

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This research identifies the benefits that occur from the use of gamification in loyalty programs, particularly the degree of need satisfaction of competence and relatedness of individuals, as well as their intrinsic motivation to participate in the program. These may be preponderant factors for the engagement and loyalty of customers. The research was based on a questionnaire created around a leading European sports nutrition online shop, through which the influence of the gamification elements already existing in the shop was analyzed, as well as the influence of the introduction of new gamification elements on the behavior of customers. The results show that the inclusion of gamification elements does not influence the need satisfaction of competence and relatedness of individuals and that also does not influence their intrinsic motivation to participate in the activities. Its use in an online shop context is therefore ineffective.

Phoretic mites have been found attached to different body parts of the red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier, 1790), to disperse. However, the question of how the patterns of attachment sites are formed remains intriguing. Here, we conducted the first study of RPW-associated phoretic mites in Portugal, particularly in the districts of Viana do Castelo, Braga, Porto and Aveiro in Northern Portugal (macrohabitat), and investigated the patterns of mite distribution on six body parts of RPW (microhabitat). At the macrohabitat level, we detected seven phoretic mite taxa actively using the RPW host in each of the four studied districts, all documented for the first time in association with this invasive exotic species in Portugal. However, their relative abundance (species evenness) varied between districts, as did species diversity. All examined weevils carried mites, and the prevalence of the different taxa did not differ between districts or sex of weevils. Measured by mean abundance and degree of aggregation, Centrouropoda sp. proved to be the common dominant taxon, while Acarus sp. and C. rhynchoporus were considered common subordinate taxa and Uroovobella sp., Mesostigmata, N. extremica and Dendrolaelaps sp. sparse taxa. At the microhabitat level, all taxa were present in all body parts of the RPW; the highest abundance was in a region encompassing the inner surface of the elytra and the membranous hind wings (subelytral space). Analysis of niche overlap revealed that the distribution patterns of phoretic mite taxa on the RPW were not randomly structured. In the subelytral space, interspecific coexistence of mites increased as a function of body size difference with the dominant Centrouropoda sp. We conclude that the distribution patterns of RPW-associated phoretic mites show body size-dependent effects that resulted in the dominant taxon displacing similar size taxa and accepting taxa with which it has the greatest size difference as co-habitants.