ResultsBaseline factor XIII activity was 79%, decreased to 71% after CPB (P=0.102) and increased back up to 77% at ICU arrival (P=0.708). There was no significant correlation between factor XIII, CTD, age, cyanosis, platelet count, and transfusion requirements at any time point. Only preoperative fibrinogen levels correlated significantly with factor XIII activity. Perioperative blood transfusions (PRBC P=0.712, FFP P=0.909, platelets P=0.807) and chest tube losses (P=0.424 at 6h and P=0.215 at 24h) were not significantly different above or below a 70% factor XIII activity at ICU arrival.

ConclusionFactor XIII activity in infants with congenital heart defects is within

the lower range of normal adults, independent of patient’s age and the presence of cyanosis. Reconstituted

blood prime maintains factor XIII activity at sufficient levels during pediatric cardiac surgery. We could not detect a correlation between Apoptosis Compound Library clinical trial FXIII and CTD.”
“While there is widespread interest in and admiration of individuals with exceptional talents, surprisingly little is known about the cognitive and neural mechanisms underpinning talent, and indeed SB273005 purchase how talent relates to expertise. Because many talents are first identified and nurtured in childhood, it can be difficult to determine whether talent is innate, can be acquired through extensive practice or can only be acquired in the presence of the developing brain. We sought to address some of these issues by studying healthy adults who acquired expertise in adulthood. We focused on the domain of memory and used licensed London taxi drivers as a model system. Taxi drivers have to learn the layout

of 25 000 streets in London and the locations of thousands of places of interest, and pass stringent examinations in check details order to obtain an operating licence. Using neuropsychological assessment and structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging, we addressed a range of key questions: in the context of a fully developed brain and an average IQ, can people acquire expertise to an exceptional level; what are the neural signatures, both structural and functional, associated with the use of expertise; does expertise change the brain compared with unskilled control participants; does it confer any cognitive advantages, and similarly, does it come at a cost to other functions? By studying retired taxi drivers, we also consider what happens to their brains and behaviour when experts stop using their skill. Finally, we discuss how the expertise of taxi drivers might relate to the issue of talent and innate abilities. We suggest that exploring talent and expertise in this manner could have implications for education, rehabilitation of patients with cognitive impairments, understanding individual differences and possibly conditions such as autism where exceptional abilities can be a feature.