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N-terminal Prohormone Of Brain Natriuretic Peptide
The N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP or BNPT) is a prohormone with a 76 amino acid N-terminal inactive protein that is cleaved from the molecule to release brain natriuretic peptide. Both BNP and NT-proBNP levels in the blood are used for screening, diagnosis of acute congestive heart failure (CHF) and may be useful to establish prognosis in heart failure, as both markers are typically higher in patients with worse outcome. The plasma concentrations of both BNP and NT-proBNP are also typically increased in patients with asymptomatic or symptomatic left ventricular dysfunction and is associated with coronary artery disease and myocardial ischemia. Blood levels There is no level of BNP that perfectly separates patients with and without heart failure. In screening for congenital heart disease in pediatric patients, an NT-proBNP cut-off value of 91 pg/mL could differentiate an acyanotic heart disease (ACNHD) patient from a healthy patient with a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brain Natriuretic Peptide
Brain natriuretic peptide 32 (BNP), also known as B-type natriuretic peptide, is a hormone secreted by cardiomyocytes in the heart ventricles in response to stretching caused by increased ventricular blood volume. Along with NT-proBNP, BNP is one of two natriuretic peptides. The 32-amino acid polypeptide BNP is secreted attached to a 76–amino acid N-terminal fragment in the prohormone called NT-proBNP (BNPT), which is biologically inactive. Once released, BNP binds to and activates the atrial natriuretic factor receptor NPRA, and to a lesser extent NPRB, in a fashion similar to atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) but with 10-fold lower affinity. The biological half-life of BNP, however, is twice as long as that of ANP, and that of NT-proBNP is even longer, making these peptides better targets than ANP for diagnostic blood testing. The physiologic actions of BNP are similar to those of ANP and include decrease in systemic vascular resistance and central venous pressure as wel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
More Than
The greater-than sign is a mathematical symbol that denotes an inequality between two values. The widely adopted form of two equal-length strokes connecting in an acute angle at the right, , has been found in documents dated as far back as the 1560s. In mathematical writing, the greater-than sign is typically placed between two values being compared and signifies that the first number is greater than the second number. Examples of typical usage include ''1.5 > 1'' and ''1 > −2''. The less-than sign and greater-than sign always "point" to the smaller number. Since the development of computer programming languages, the greater-than sign and the less-than sign have been repurposed for a range of uses and operations. History The earliest known use of the symbols and is found in (''The Analytical Arts Applied to Solving Algebraic Equations'') by Thomas Harriot, published posthumously in 1631. The text states: " a > b a b (The sign of majority a > ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Life Insurance
Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death of an insured person (often the policyholder). Depending on the contract, other events such as terminal illness or critical illness can also trigger payment. The policyholder typically pays a premium, either regularly or as one lump sum. The benefits may include other expenses, such as funeral expenses. Life policies are legal contracts and the terms of each contract describe the limitations of the insured events. Often, specific exclusions written into the contract limit the liability of the insurer; common examples include claims relating to suicide, fraud, war, riot, and civil commotion. Difficulties may arise where an event is not clearly defined, for example, the insured knowingly incurred a risk by consenting to an experimental m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories (NWT) to the north, and the U.S. state of Montana to the south. It is one of the only two landlocked provinces in Canada (Saskatchewan being the other). The eastern part of the province is occupied by the Great Plains, while the western part borders the Rocky Mountains. The province has a predominantly continental climate but experiences quick temperature changes due to air aridity. Seasonal temperature swings are less pronounced in western Alberta due to occasional Chinook winds. Alberta is the fourth largest province by area at , and the fourth most populous, being home to 4,262,635 people. Alberta's capital is Edmonton, while Calgary is its largest city. The two are Alberta's largest census metropolitan areas. More tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Congenital Nonspherocytic Hemolytic Disease
Congenital hemolytic anemia refers to hemolytic anemia which is primarily due to congenital disorders. Types Basically classified by causative mechanism, types of congenital hemolytic anemia include: * Genetic conditions of RBC Membrane ** Hereditary spherocytosis ** Hereditary elliptocytosis * Genetic conditions of RBC metabolism (enzyme defects). This group is sometimes called ''congenital nonspherocytic (hemolytic) anemia'', which is a term for a congenital hemolytic anemia without spherocytosis, and usually excluding hemoglobin abnormalities as well, but rather encompassing defects of glycolysis in the erythrocyte.medconditions.net > Hemolytic Congenital, Nonspherocytic Anemia Definition Retrieved April 15, 2011 ** Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PD or favism) ** Pyruvate kinase deficiency ** Aldolase A deficiency * Hemoglobinopathies/genetic conditions of hemoglobin ** Sickle cell anemia ** Congenital dyserythropoietic anemia ** Thalassemia See also * Hem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sensitivity And Specificity
''Sensitivity'' and ''specificity'' mathematically describe the accuracy of a test which reports the presence or absence of a condition. Individuals for which the condition is satisfied are considered "positive" and those for which it is not are considered "negative". *Sensitivity (true positive rate) refers to the probability of a positive test, conditioned on truly being positive. *Specificity (true negative rate) refers to the probability of a negative test, conditioned on truly being negative. If the true condition can not be known, a " gold standard test" is assumed to be correct. In a diagnostic test, sensitivity is a measure of how well a test can identify true positives and specificity is a measure of how well a test can identify true negatives. For all testing, both diagnostic and screening, there is usually a trade-off between sensitivity and specificity, such that higher sensitivities will mean lower specificities and vice versa. If the goal is to return the ratio at w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acyanotic Heart Disease
A cyanotic heart defect is any congenital heart defect (CHD) that occurs due to deoxygenated blood bypassing the lungs and entering the systemic circulation, or a mixture of oxygenated and unoxygenated blood entering the systemic circulation. It is caused by structural defects of the heart such as right-to-left or bidirectional shunting, malposition of the great arteries, or any condition which increases pulmonary vascular resistance. The result may be the development of collateral circulation. Types * Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) * Total anomalous pulmonary venous connection * Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) * Transposition of the great arteries (d-TGA) * Truncus arteriosus (Persistent) * Tricuspid atresia * Interrupted aortic arch * Pulmonary atresia (PA) * Pulmonary stenosis (critical) * Eisenmenger syndrome (reversal of shunt due to pulmonary hypertension).Page Signs and symptoms Presentation includes the following: * Clubbing * The patient assuming a crouching posi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Congenital Heart Disease
A congenital heart defect (CHD), also known as a congenital heart anomaly and congenital heart disease, is a defect in the structure of the heart or great vessels that is present at birth. A congenital heart defect is classed as a cardiovascular disease. Signs and symptoms depend on the specific type of defect. Symptoms can vary from none to life-threatening. When present, symptoms may include rapid breathing, bluish skin (cyanosis), poor weight gain, and feeling tired. CHD does not cause chest pain. Most congenital heart defects are not associated with other diseases. A complication of CHD is heart failure. The cause of a congenital heart defect is often unknown. Risk factors include certain infections during pregnancy such as rubella, use of certain medications or drugs such as alcohol or tobacco, parents being closely related, or poor nutritional status or obesity in the mother. Having a parent with a congenital heart defect is also a risk factor. A number of genetic condition ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Less Than
In mathematics, an inequality is a relation which makes a non-equal comparison between two numbers or other mathematical expressions. It is used most often to compare two numbers on the number line by their size. There are several different notations used to represent different kinds of inequalities: * The notation ''a'' ''b'' means that ''a'' is greater than ''b''. In either case, ''a'' is not equal to ''b''. These relations are known as strict inequalities, meaning that ''a'' is strictly less than or strictly greater than ''b''. Equivalence is excluded. In contrast to strict inequalities, there are two types of inequality relations that are not strict: * The notation ''a'' ≤ ''b'' or ''a'' ⩽ ''b'' means that ''a'' is less than or equal to ''b'' (or, equivalently, at most ''b'', or not greater than ''b''). * The notation ''a'' ≥ ''b'' or ''a'' ⩾ ''b'' means that ''a'' is greater than or equal to ''b'' (or, equivalently, at least ''b'', or not less than ''b''). The re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prohormone
A prohormone is a committed Precursor (chemistry), precursor of a hormone consisting of peptide hormones synthesized together that has a minimal hormonal effect by itself because of its expression-suppressing structure, often created by protein folding and binding additional peptide chains to certain ends, that makes hormone receptor binding sites located on its peptide hormone chain segments inaccessible. Prohormones can travel the blood stream as a hormone in an inactivated form, ready to be activated later in the cell by post-translational modification. The body naturally produces prohormones as a way to regulate hormone expression, making them an optimal storage and transportation unit for inactive hormones. Once prohormones are needed to be expressed, prohormone convertase, a protein, cleaves the prohormones and separates them into one or more active hormones. Often in nature, this cleaving process happens immediately, and a prohormone is quickly converted to a set of one or mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Congestive Heart Failure
Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, and leg swelling. The shortness of breath may occur with exertion or while lying down, and may wake people up during the night. Chest pain, including angina, is not usually caused by heart failure, but may occur if the heart failure was caused by a heart attack. The severity of the heart failure is measured by the severity of symptoms during exercise. Other conditions that may have symptoms similar to heart failure include obesity, kidney failure, liver disease, anemia, and thyroid disease. Common causes of heart failure include coronary artery disease, heart attack, high blood pressure, atrial fibrillation, valvular heart disease, excessive alcohol consumption, infection, and cardiomyopathy. These cause heart failure by altering ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mass Concentration (chemistry)
In chemistry, the mass concentration (or ) is defined as the mass of a constituent divided by the volume of the mixture . :\rho_i = \frac For a pure chemical the mass concentration equals its density (mass divided by volume); thus the mass concentration of a component in a mixture can be called the density of a component in a mixture. This explains the usage of (the lower case Greek letter rho), the symbol most often used for density. Definition and properties The volume in the definition refers to the volume of the solution, ''not'' the volume of the solvent. One litre of a solution usually contains either slightly more or slightly less than 1 litre of solvent because the process of dissolution causes volume of liquid to increase or decrease. Sometimes the mass concentration is called titre. Notation The notation common with mass density underlines the connection between the two quantities (the mass concentration being the mass density of a component in the solution), bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
