Beware of the Dragon: A Case Report of a Komodo Dragon Attack

Komodo dragon attacks are rare occurrences, especially in the United States. Attacks are believed to be highly infectious and venomous, leading to demise of its prey. We present a case of a 43-year-old female zookeeper attacked by an adult dragon leading to tendon and neurovascular injuries

Fiber Optic RealShape imaging using upper extremity and transfemoral access for fenestrated-branched endovascular aortic aneurysm repair

We report our initial experience using Fiber Optic RealShape (FORS), an innovative real-time three-dimensional visualization technology that uses light instead of radiation, to achieve upper extremity (UE) access during fenestrated/branched endovascular aortic aneurysm repair (FBEVAR). An 89-year-old male patient with a type III thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm, unfit for open aortic repair, underwent FBEVAR. Dual fluoroscopy, intravascular ultrasound, and three-dimensional fusion overlay were used, in addition to FORS. All target artery catheterizations were successfully accomplished using FORS, from UE access, without radiation. Our experience demonstrates that FBEVAR with FORS using UE access can be used for target artery catheterization without radiation

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field