BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to investigate if nodal ratio has a prognostic role in the survival of patients with recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in the neck. METHODS Patients with recurrent NPC in the neck who were treated in Queen Mary Hospital from 2000 to 2011 were identified. Clinical data, pathological results, and survival outcome were analyzed. RESULTS Only noda...

Since quinidine was introduced by Frey in 1918 it has remained the drug of choice for the conversion of certain arrhythmias to sinus rhythm and for the maintenance of normal rhythm once achieved. It is commonly used in this manner for atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, -paroxysmal tachycardia of atrial, nodal, and ventricular origin, and ventriculat fibrillation. It has also been employed as ...

Precise regulation of the signaling range of secreted molecules is essential for proper pattern formation during development. The Nodal family of TGF-beta proteins has been shown to function as both short- and long-range signals. But the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. In this study, we investigated the regulation of the signaling range of zebrafish Nodal proteins Cyclops and Squint, whic...

A patient with refractory paroxysmal atrioventricular nodal re-entrant tachycardia had required direct current cardioversion to terminate attacks on 83 occasions. A dual demand pacemaker was implanted to sense and interrupt attacks of tachycardia automatically. The pacing electrode was positioned in the proximal coronary sinus near to the atrioventricular node; a site from which fixed rate unde...

In this paper a Bond Graph methodology described in a previous contribution is used to model incompressible one-dimensional duct flows with rigid walls. Since the volumetric flow is independent of position, the balance equations can be simplified. The volumetric flow and a nodal vector of entropy are defined as Bond Graph state variables. The state equations and the coupling with the inertial a...

Introduction Unroofed coronary sinus is a rare congenital anomaly that may alter the complex anatomy of the atrioventricular (AV) node. Arrhythmia circuits occurring among these patients may not be located in the usual position, especially those circuits involving the AV node. We report a case of the coexistence of this uncommon coronary sinus (CS) anomaly and the atypical form of atrioventricu...

Nodal is a TGF-β-related embryonic morphogen that is expressed in multiple human cancers. Detection of Nodal expression in these tissues can be challenging if issues related to Nodal transcription and protein processing are not considered. Here, we discuss certain characteristics related to Nodal expression and function and how these can facilitate acquisition and interpretation of expression d...

Nodal signals belong to the TGF-beta superfamily and are essential for the induction of mesoderm and endoderm and the determination of the left-right axis. Nodal signals can act as morphogens-they have concentration-dependent effects and can act at a distance from their source of production. Nodal and its feedback inhibitor Lefty form an activator/inhibitor pair that behaves similarly to postul...