Surprisingly, patients did not differ significantly in satisfaction with medication. No significant differences between typical and atypical antipsychotics

were found in the quality of life index and specific life domains. In addition, no significant correlations were found between daily doses or duration of Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical treatment and quality of life. Multiple regression analysis showed that adverse side effects accounted for only 3.2% of the variance in quality of life ratings, which is significantly less than other Selleckchem Sorafenib clinical and psychosocial parameters. Several studies have evaluated the impact of some side effects on quality of life of schizophrenic patients, but the results are contradictory, especially concerning extrapyramidal side effects (EPS). While some studies have found negative influence of EPS on quality of life,6,12,22 others have not found any53,54 (Table II). Table II. Antipsychotic Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical side effects and quality of life. MLDL, Munich Quality of Life Dimensions; PGWB, Psychological General Well-Being Index; Q-LES-Q, Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire; QLS, Quality of Life Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical Scale; QoL, Quality

of Life; … Two studies57,58 have evaluated the impact of weight gain on quality of life among persons with schizophrenia. Both of them demonstrated that weight gain was related to poorer quality of life. Strassnig

et al58 studied 143 patients Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective, and psychotic disorder not otherwise specified (NOS). Patients completed the SF-36.45 The authors found that obese patients (BMI ≥30) had worse scores on the following SF-36 scales: physical functioning, gen_ eral health, role emotional and physical health summary component than both overweight (BMI =25-29.9) and healthy weight (BMI <25) subjects. They did not find a correlation between BMI and the mental health Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical summary component. These results were replicated in the CATIE study.59 This study analyzed the influence of the metabolic syndrome on the quality of life of schizophrenic patients using the Short because Form-12 (SF-12).They found that those with metabolic syndrome obtained significantly worse scores on physical health than those patients without metabolic syndrome. Allison et al,57 using the Psychological General Well-Being Index (PGWBI),61 found that patients who gained weight had poorer quality of life, general psychological well-being (not statistically significant), self -reported general health, and vitality. Kaneda56 investigated the impact of prolactin elevation with antipsychotic medications on quality of life in schizophrenic patients. He studied 42 inpatients with chronic schizophrenia using the Schizophrenia Quality of Life Scale (SQLS)62 – Japanese version.

”8 In allele-sharing methods of analysis, one checks whether or not the inheritance pattern of a chromosomal region is consistent with random mendelian segregation. If not, patients and their affected relatives will inherit identical copies of DNA markers within that chromosomal region more often than expected by chance. Since allele-sharing methods are nonparamctric (that is, they assume no model for the inheritance of the trait), they tend to be more robust than linkage analysis, particularly for complex disorders, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical for which the inheritance

pattern is not clear. Association studies are case-control studies based on a comparison of unrelated affected and unaffected individuals from a population. An allele of a gene of interest is said to be associated with the trait if it occurs at a significantly higher frequency among affected compared with control individuals. Familial inheritance patterns are irrelevant to the method, however, the choice of the control group and its match to the patient group Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical is

vital to the study. Population associations between a genetic marker and a phenotypic trait can arise either from population stratification (ie, ethnic differences, and hence different allele Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical frequencies between populations) or genetic transmission. A refinement of association studies is to use family trios (a patient and his or her parents) or sibling pairs, in an attempt to eliminate problems of population stratification. Association studies have most been applied to genes or DNA markers linked to genes proposed as candidates for a particular trait. Experimental crosses of mice and rats Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical offer an ideal setting for the genetic dissection of mammalian physiology. With the opportunity to Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical study hundreds of meioses from a single set of parents, the problem of genetic heterogeneity disappears, and far more complex genetic interactions can be probed than would be possible in human families. Animal studies relating to anxiety will be described in more detail in the final section of this review. One way to undertake genetic studies of psychiatric illness is to find a Inhibitor Library order classification that might relate more below directly

to the inheritance pattern. The ideal would be to find pedigrees in which the disorder segregates in a strictly mendelian fashion, as a recessive or dominant. Although these families may not be phenotypically typical of the disorder, there would be good chance of finding genetic linkage and the first step towards isolating an abnormal gene. This gene and its product may provide a clue as to the type of pathway or mechanism causing the disorder. Unfortunately, such families are not abundant. An alternative is to find other genetically determined features that predispose to psychiatric illness, for example, the deletion of chromosomal region 22qll has been shown to be associated with an increased risk of developing a psychotic illness.

Table 1 summarizes all types of control and relate it to the entries in D. All other ε values, ε11 and ε33, are based on mass action and have Bioactive Compound Library datasheet positive values. Table 1 Control schemes during growth on carbohydrates. Note that fructose-1,6-bisphosphate acts directly as allostericeffector on pyruvatekinase as well as via FruR. 1 Activation should be seen as double repression: fructose-1,6-bisphosphate inhibits FruR activity; … The following derivatives are Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical calculated: (3) As can be seen immediately for the important metabolites fructose-1,6-bisphosphate and pyruvate, the sign is fixed and positive while the sign of glucose 6-phosphate

shows a complex pattern. The sign of PEP only depends on the feedforward activation and could be positive or negative.

For a more complete Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical network of central metabolism in E. coli, all entries of the Jacobian matrix were determined and analyzed [10]. It turns out that most entries have fixed signs for a given flux distribution with exception of the feedforward loop represented here by ε32. Matrix D is related to the inverse of the Jacobian and a similar pattern can also be found here. To further explore these equations, a more detailed analysis Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical was done with the following kinetic approximations [4]: (4) and the following kinetics for the lumped PTS system: (5) In many studies, classical saturation kinetics are chosen for the kinetic rate laws. Here, saturation is not explicitly taken into account and kinetic rate

laws are approximated with power law exponents (κi for genetic control, all other exponents for mass action and allosteric control) which are not necessarily integers. Since PEP is involved in Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical signaling, the behavior of PEP is analyzed in more detail. As discussed in [4], PEP is a highly energetic compound and it is expected that for low growth rates this metabolite should not accumulate. However, based on the analysis of the feedforward loop [11], Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical a monotonously decreasing behavior is necessary for a robust behavior. To resolve this conflict (a high value of the concentration of PEP is good for robustness, a low value is expected from physiological considerations), Astemizole the behavior of PEP depending on the uptake rate is studied in more detail. Here, we found that a strict local maximum for PEP depending on the input flux rup could be obtained under the following conditions: (6) (7) Equation (6) poses a constraint on the reaction order and the influence from transcriptional control. In order to avoid high values of PEP for small growth rates, the condition could be verified with the results of NCA and parameter estimation for the other parameters. The constraint can be interpreted as follows: the strength of control on pyruvate kinase (κ3 and α) should be larger than the strength of control on the lumped glycolytic reaction rgly (κ2 and β). The second constraint requires that the latter one is reversible.

It is worth noting that when glycerol uptake is set to zero the bacteria are still able to growth using glucose, albeit at a slow rate. For any given condition, the FBA solution is not unique as there are many alternative flux distributions that can sustain the same objective function, but only a particular solution is needed to provide a feasible flux distribution. Flux distribution data obtained under each Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical experimental condition was

then used as an input data source to estimate the parameters of our kinetic model. The precision of values in each dataset was limited to three decimal places for faster computing. A major difficulty in building genome-scale kinetic models is the lack of quantitative data available to fully define the model [21]; as a consequence, we set the initial concentrations of metabolites and enzyme species to an arbitrary unit of 1 by default. We performed three separate Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical parameter estimations for each of the three glycerol consumption rates. The kinetic parameters for each reaction in the model were estimated using GRaPe’s genetic algorithm. Model 1, with a glycerol consumption rate at 0 mmol/gDW/h, had 2297 kinetic parameters after parameter estimation; Model 2 had 2537 parameters

with a glycerol consumption rate at 0.5 mmol/gDW/h, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical and Model 3 had 2931 parameters after parameter estimation with a glycerol consumption rate at 1 mmol/gDW/h. The this website difference in the number of parameters after each estimation Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical was due to different numbers of reactions having a zero flux in each case. Furthermore, reactions with negative fluxes had their substrates and

products swapped around to prevent having negative kinetic parameter values. The three models are provided in SBML format in Supplementary File 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical 3.3. Model Validation We performed a steady-state analysis for Model 1, 2 and 3 using COPASI. The results were then compared with the FBA flux distribution obtained from the Beste model under the same experimental conditions. Our verification analysis showed a near-perfect agreement between the results obtained from our models and the respective FBA simulation. Figure 2 shows the flux distributions in part of the central metabolic pathways; the complete comparisons of flux distributions for Model 1, 2 and 3 are provided in Supplementary File 4. These comparisons demonstrate the ability to accurately reproduce a steady-state flux distribution at the genome-scale using our model building approach. Figure 2 Main see more response of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to glycerol uptake rates at 0, 0.5 and 1.0 mmol/gDW/h. The network shows a selected set of reactions in the central metabolic pathways of M. tuberculosis. Reactions are represented using arrows and the positive … We identified reactions that showed the greatest change in flux with respect to change in glycerol consumption rate (Figure 3). We calculated the relative change in fluxes between glycerol consumption rates at 0 and 0.

26 He listed situations where, in contrast to the classical paradigm, incidents do not compensate for each other, but are additive, and where statistical predictions become invalid. He described his theory in a book,27 where he presented what is now known as the Mandelbrot set. This is a fractal defined as the set of points c from the complex Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical plane for which the recurring

series defined by zn+1 = zn 2 + c, with the condition z0 = 0, remains bounded (Figure 3). Figure 3. The Mandelbrot set a point c is colored black if it belongs to the set and white if not. A characteristic of fractals is the repetition of similar forms at different levels of observation (theoretically at all levels of observation). Thus, a part of a cloud looks like the complete cloud, or a rock looks like Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical a mountain. Fractal forms in living species are for example, a cauliflower or the bronchial tree, where the parts are the image of the whole. A simple mathematical example of a fractal is the so-called Koch curve, or Koch snowflake.28 Trametinib cost Starting with a segment of a straight line, one substitutes the two sides of an equilateral triangle to the central third of the line. This is then repeated for each of the smaller segments obtained. At each substitution, the total length of the figure increased

Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical by 4/3, and within 90 substitutions, from a 1 -meter segment, one obtains the distance from the earth to the sun (Figure 4). Figure 4. The first four interations of the Koch snowflake. Fractal objects have the following fundamental property: the finite (in the case of the Koch snowflake, a portion Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical of the surface) can be associated with the infinite (the length of the line). A second fundamental property of fractal objects, clearly found in snowflakes, is that of self similarity, meaning that parts are identical to the whole, at each scaling step. A few years later, Mandelbrot discovered fractal geometry and found that Lorenz’s attractor was a fractal figure, as are the majority of strange attractors. He defined fractal dimension (Table I). Mandelbrot quotes, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical as illustration of this new sort of randomness, the French coast

of Brittany; its length depends on the scale at which it is measured, and has a fractal dimension between 1 and 2. This coast is neither of a one-dimensional nor a two-dimensional object. For comparison the dimension of Koch snowflake is 1.26, that of Lorenz’s attractor is around 2.06, and that of the bifurcations of Feigenbaum is around 0.45. Thorn, Prigogine, and determinism again René Thorn is the author of catastrophe theory.29 This theory is akin to chaos theory, but it was constructed from the study of singularities, ie, continuous actions that produce discontinuous results. Catastrophe theory is interesting in that it places much emphasis on explanation rather than measurement. Thom was at the origin of a renewed debate on the issue of determinism.

3 (NCIC-CTG PA.3) study which showed that the addition of erlotinib to gemcitabine resulted in a modestly improved survival as compared with gemcitabine alone (45). A recent phase III study presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in 2010, investigated the combination of 5-fluorouracil, oxaliplatin and irinotecan (FOLFIRINOX) vs. gemcitabine for the treatment of patients Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical with advanced pancreatic cancer (46). In this study, 342 patients were enrolled;

at a preplanned interim analysis, the median overall survival in the FOLFIRINOX arm was significantly longer than that in the gemcitabine arm (10.5 vs. 6.9 months, p<0.0001) at the cost of higher toxicities including diarrhea, emesis and neutropenia in the study arm. While the toxicities associated with this regimen are concerning, there is now an alternative to gemcitabine chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer patients. As discussed below, there are promising Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical biomarkers that correlate with gemcitabine resistance and the availability of a valid alternative regimen that excludes gemcitabine opens avenues for biomarker-driven

cytotoxic chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer. Limitations of tissue acquisition in pancreatic cancer An important limitation in case of biomarkers to study pancreatic cancer is that tissue procurement Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical is limited in this disease. A dense fibrotic stroma surrounds the tumor and most biopsies are obtained via fine Selleck ABT 263 needle aspiration. These aspirates are paucicellular and this limits biomarker assessment. On the other hand, core needle biopsies are feasible from metastatic sites such as liver and often yield adequate tissue for biomarkers. This however, limits the stage of cancers

Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical for study and introduces a selection bias. Better technologies Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical to examine biomarkers in the peripheral blood or from fine needle aspirates are required. Cancer biomarkers: better indicators of ‘non-responsiveness’ Despite advances in biomarker technology, the currently available biomarkers are more effective in identifying patients who will not respond to targeted mafosfamide agents rather than identify those who will benefit. For instance k-ras mutation or HER2 neu status of the tumors have thus far been more effective as a negative predictive markers for cetuximab or herceptin therapy for colorectal and breast cancers than as predictors of response. For instance, the response rate for patients treated with panitumumab in the phase III trial of panitumumab versus supportive care (BSC) was 10%, but the retrospective analysis of patients with wild-type k-ras tumors from that trial demonstrated a response rate to panitumumab of 17% (47), (48). These results are comparable with those from the phase III trial of cetuximab versus BSC, with response rates of 8% for those patients receiving cetuximab and 12.8% for patients with wild-type k-ras tumors receiving cetuximab (49).

The membranes were stripped and reprobed for the total form of Akt, Erk, STAT3, and CREB (1:2000). Data analysis Data for cell survival over multiple time points were analyzed using repeat-measure analysis of variance (ANOVA). All other data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA followed by post hoc Tukey’s test. All data were presented as mean ± SEM. A value of P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results ACDM and MCDM protect OPC against growth factor withdrawal-induced Inhibitor Library degeneration Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical OPCs require trophic support for their survival, therefore growth factor deprivation can trigger OPC degeneration through apoptosis. To test whether the conditioned

medium could prevent OL degeneration, cells were incubated with Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical ACMD, MCDM, or the control medium (without growth factors). Within first few days, a large number of cells degenerated in the control, thus leaving only a small percentage of live cells in a long-term culture. Typically, the degenerative OPCs showed apoptotic characteristics such as shrunk in cell bodies, retraction in the processes, and increase in the brightness under invert microscopy at 48 h (Fig. Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical ​(Fig.1A).1A). Immunocytochemistry data showed that a considerable number of cells in the control were already immunopositive for caspase-3 at 24 h (Fig. ​(Fig.1C),1C), further confirming that cells died

via apoptosis. In contrast, both ACDM and MCDM significantly prevented OL degeneration triggered by growth factor withdrawal, which was associated with their ability to suppress Bax translocation from cytosol to mitochondria membrane. As shown in Figure ​Figure1B,1B, the punctate colabeling pattern of Bax with Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical MitoTracker was noted

in many cells in the control, but very few, if any, were noted in the condition medium-treated cultures, suggesting that the conditioned medium was able to interrupt the intrinsic, caspase-dependent apoptotic pathway. Figure 1 ACDM and MCDM protect OPCs against growth factor Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical withdrawal-induced apoptosis, as well as support long-term OL survival. (A) Representative phase contrast micrographs show that OPCs maintained in the control medium (without growth factors) started to … We then tested whether the during condition medium could also support long-term OL survival. As shown in Figure ​Figure1D,1D, the survival rate of the control cells declined sharply due to lack of trophic factors, and only 10.1% of cells survived after 8 days of culture. In contrast, there were significantly more survived cells in ACDM- or MCDM-exposed cultures. However, although ACDM and MCDM equally protected cell death in the first 48 h, ACDM was significantly more effective than MCDM in supporting OL survival in the long-term cultures (Fig. ​(Fig.1D).1D). Cell survival rates were 27.8%, 33.4%, and 50% higher in ACDM than in MCDM at 4, 6, and 8 days, respectively.

The ATA has said that prophylactic neck dissection “may be performed,”

particularly in patients with T3 or T4 tumors, though dissection “may be reasonably avoided” for patients with T1 or T2 disease.3 Furthermore, the role of preoperative genetic mutational status (e.g. BRAF, RET/PTC, etc.) are also controversial Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical at this point. Proponents of prophylactic central neck dissection cite the frequent involvement of cervical lymph nodes in thyroid cancer, in addition to the fact that preoperative imaging and the operating surgeon are frequently unable accurately to distinguish positive lymph nodes in the central compartment. In a recent study by Noguchi et al., where patients routinely underwent systematic node dissection,

80% of pathologically positive nodes in the study were found to be misjudged by the operating surgeon as being clinically negative.36,37 The removal and adequate identification of involved lymph nodes improves Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical the accuracy of staging patients Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical with thyroid cancer; however, this may not routinely affect management or overall survival. Lymphadenectomy is relatively safe to perform at the time of the initial operation, but re-operation, especially in the central neck compartment, is associated with an increased risk to the RLN and parathyroid glands. Additionally, it is unclear whether RAI is effective in eliminating residual disease

in the central or AZD5363 in vitro lateral lymph node basins. Frequently cited reasons to avoid routine lymphadenectomy include exposing patients to an unnecessary increased risk of nerve injury and hypoparathyroidism. Additionally, lymph node involvement does not appear to impact recurrence. Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical In a series of 300 patients that did not undergo dissection, Noguchi et al. reported no recurrences.36,37 Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical High rates of disease-free survival and overall survival are frequently observed, irrespective of dissection practices. As such, central and lateral neck dissections should generally be performed only in patients with clinically positive nodes. SUMMARY With over the increasing incidence of thyroid cancer, there has been a similar increase in development and utilization of multidisciplinary tools to assist in clinical management, such as the growth of genetic panels, incorporation of tumor biology into screening, improved diagnostic imaging, and the standardized TIRADS classification system. New controversies have emerged in surgical practice, such as the role of prophylactic neck dissection in well-differentiated thyroid cancers. While surgery remains the center of treatment for most patients with thyroid cancer, an increasing knowledge base and experience in the multidisciplinary management of thyroid cancer will be required.

All the five normozoospermic sperm samples showed LDH-C protein expression (figure 4A). Only the pools of the asthenozoospermic samples with higher motility and lower motility were used to detect LDH-C protein. While

LDH-C protein expression was detected only in the FF-treated sperms with high motility, LDH-C expression was not detectable in the other asthenozoospermic samples (figure 3B). Figure 4 Lactate dehydrogenase C (LDH-C) protein detection. Western blotting was used to evaluate LDH-C C protein in normozoospermic (A) and asthenozoospermic samples (B). All five normoozoospermic Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical samples expressed LDH-C protein, while the asthenozoospermic samples … Discussion Sperm motility is an important predictor of male fertility. Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical Sperms obtain their energy from aerobic respiration and anaerobic glycolysis pathway, which take place in the mitochondria located in the middle segment, and from glycolytic enzymes in the main segment of the flagellum and the surface of the fibrotic membrane, respectively.15

Many studies have shown that FF enhances sperm motility, especially progressive motility, in vitro. Various concentrations of FF have been tested at different Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical time points by different investigators.7,15-18 Mendoza et al.16 used 20% FF in B2 medium for 6 h, and Kulin et al.17 showed that 100% FF incubated for 6 h improves sperm motility. Getpook et al.18 used a range of concentrations (0-100%) of FF at different time points and revealed that the highest improvement of sperm motility can be detected at 20-50% FF. They also reported that over 80% FF inverts Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical its beneficial properties and that sperm incubation with FF more than 12 h reduces sperm motility. The present study confirms the results of the Getpook et al.18 study, which Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical reported that FF increases sperm progressive motility in a time and Verteporfin mw dose-dependent manner. Sperm treated with 75% FF for 2 hours significantly increased the percentage of progressive motile sperms and decreased

the percentage of non-motile sperms, but the percentage of slow progressive crotamiton and non-progressive sperms did not alter significantly. Unlike the current study, most studies have utilized normal specimens with good quality, which can explain the disparity in results. Briton-Jones et al.19 incubated oligospermic and normal samples with FF for 2 hours, and detected an increase only in the percentage of progressive motility in the normal specimen. Because of its various components, FF can affect sperm motility. Hamamah et al.20 demonstrated that FF changes the sperm cell membrane and consequently, sperm motility. In the current study, washed sperms of asthenozoospermic patients were also treated with various concentrations of PAF at different time points.

Non-invasive BP and heart rate (HR) were measured just before echocardiography examination. Routine standard echocardiography examination included M-mode, 2D, and Doppler echocardiography. LV EF was calculated by the modified Simpson method. Peak early (E) and late (A) diastolic velocities of the mitral

inflow were measured using a pulsed-wave Doppler at the tip of mitral valve Z VAD FMK leaflets, and peak early (E’) and late (A’) diastolic mitral annular velocities were acquired at the septal side in the apical 4 chamber view. Recording of aortic valve maximal systolic velocity (AV Vmax) was acquired from multiple views including suprasternal, right Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical parasternal, apical and subcostal transducer positions with a continuous-wave Doppler echocardiographic Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical technique, among which only the highest peak velocity was chosen for subsequent analyses. Pulsed-wave Doppler at LV outflow tract (LVOT) was also obtained at the apical 5-chamber view. LV end-systolic wall stress was calculated as follows; (LV end-systolic wall stress is in g/cm2, Pes, which stands for LV end-systolic pressure plus maximal pressure gradient of aortic valve, is in mmHg, Des and Hes are in cm, and 0.34 is the factor for converting Pes from mmHg to g/cm2.) Specially designed pneumatic trousers Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical without the bladder for compression of the lower abdomen were put on the patients as previously described.6) After baseline echocardiography

data acquisition, a specially designed compressor inflated the pneumatic trousers up to a pressure of 100 mmHg on both lower extremities Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical and this pressure was maintained throughout the examination. Echocardiography was performed including Doppler parameters 3 minutes after pneumatic compression of the lower extremities (Pcom). BP and HR were again measured under Pcom. ANALYSIS OF DOPPLER AND HEMODYNAMIC PARAMETERS Doppler echocardiographic measurements were derived from the average of 3

consecutive cardiac cycles. Doppler measurements of AV Vmax, transvalvular peak and mean pressure gradient (AV peak PG and AV mean PG), and time-velocity integral of Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical LV outflow tract (TVILVOT) and aortic valve (TVIAV) were also made. EOAAV was calculated by continuity equation as previously described.7) Doppler velocity index (TVILVOT/TVIAV) was calculated, as well. LVOT area (CSALVOT) was calculated from the diameter obtained at the level of the aortic annulus during systole with the assumption of a circular shape of LVOT. LV Edoxaban stroke volume was calculated by multiplying CSALVOT by TVILVOT as previously described.8) Cardiac output (CO) was calculated by multiplying SV and HR. Systemic vascular resistance (SVR) was estimated as: SVR = 80 × mean BP / CO and systemic arterial compliance (SAC) was calculated as: SAC = SV / (SBP – DBP) STATISTICAL ANALYSIS Numerical data are expressed as means ± SD or median (interquartile range) where appropriate. Categorical data are expressed as numbers and percentages.