Intentional left subclavian artery coverage during thoracic endovascular aortic repair for traumatic aortic injury

BackgroundThoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) is widely used for treatment of traumatic aortic injury (TAI). Stent graft coverage of the left subclavian artery (LSA) may be required in up to 40% of patients. We evaluated the long-term effects of intentional LSA coverage (LSAC) on symptoms and return to normal activity in TAI patients compared with a similarly treated group whose LSA was uncovered (LSAU).MethodsPatients were identified from a prospective institutional trauma registry between September 2005 and July 2012. TAI was confirmed using computed tomography angiography. The electronic medical records, angiograms, and computed tomography angiograms were reviewed in a retrospective fashion. In-person or telephone interviews were conducted using the SF-12v2 (Quality Metrics, Lincoln, RI) to assess quality of life. An additional questionnaire was used to assess specific LSA symptoms and the ability to return to normal activities. Data were analyzed by Spearman rank correlation and multiple linear and logistic regression analysis with appropriate transformations using SAS software (SAS Institute, Cary, NC).ResultsDuring the study period, 82 patients (57 men; mean age 40.5 ± 20 years, mean Injury Severity Score, 34 ± 10.0) underwent TEVAR for treatment of TAI. Among them, LSAC was used in 32 (39.5%) and LSAU in 50. A group of the LSAU patients (n = 22) served as matched controls in the analysis. We found no statistically significant difference in SF-12v2 physical health scores (ρ = −0.08; P = .62) between LSAC and LSAU patients. LSAC patients had slightly better mental health scores (ρ = 0.62; P = .037) than LSAU patients. LSAC patients did not have an increased likelihood of experiencing pain (ρ = −0.0056; P = .97), numbness (ρ = −0.12; P = .45), paresthesia (ρ = −0.11; P = .48), fatigue (ρ = −0.066; P = .69), or cramping (ρ = −0.12; P = .45). We found no difference between groups in the ability to return to activities. The mean follow-up time was 3.35 years. Six LSAC patients (19%) died during the follow-up period of unrelated causes.ConclusionsIntentional LSAC during TEVAR for TAI appears safe, without compromising mental or physical health outcomes. Furthermore, LSAC does not increase the long-term risk of upper extremity symptoms or impairment of normal activities

Direct evidence for the amorphous silicon phase in visible photoluminescent porous silicon

Article on direct evidence for the amorphous silicon phase in visible photoluminescent porous silicon

The ARCH Projects: design and rationale (IAASSG 001)

OBJECTIVE A number of factors limit the effectiveness of current aortic arch studies in assessing optimal neuroprotection strategies, including insufficient patient numbers, heterogenous definitions of clinical variables, multiple technical strategies, inadequate reporting of surgical outcomes and a lack of collaborative effort. We have formed an international coalition of centres to provide more robust investigations into this topic. METHODS High-volume aortic arch centres were identified from the literature and contacted for recruitment. A Research Steering Committee of expert arch surgeons was convened to oversee the direction of the research. RESULTS The International Aortic Arch Surgery Study Group has been formed by 41 arch surgeons from 10 countries to better evaluate patient outcomes after aortic arch surgery. Several projects, including the establishment of a multi-institutional retrospective database, randomized controlled trials and a prospectively collected database, are currently underway. CONCLUSIONS Such a collaborative effort will herald a turning point in the surgical management of aortic arch pathologies and will provide better powered analyses to assess the impact of varying surgical techniques on mortality and morbidity, identify predictors for neurological and operative risk, formulate and validate risk predictor models and review long-term survival outcomes and quality-of-life after arch surger

A Novel Microwave Sensor to Detect Specific Biomarkers in Human Cerebrospinal Fluid and Their Relationship to Cellular Ischemia During Thoracoabdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair

Thoraco-abdominal aneurysms (TAAA) represents a particularly lethal vascular disease that without surgical repair carries a dismal prognosis. However, there is an inherent risk from surgical repair of spinal cord ischaemia that can result in paraplegia. One method of reducing this risk is cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage. We believe that the CSF contains clinically significant biomarkers that can indicate impending spinal cord ischaemia. This work therefore presents a novel measurement method for proteins, namely albumin, as a precursor to further work in this area. The work uses an interdigitated electrode (IDE) sensor and shows that it is capable of detecting various concentrations of albumin (from 0 to 100 g/L) with a high degree of repeatability at 200 MHz (R2 = 0.991) and 4 GHz (R2 = 0.975)

Clinical history and management recommendations of the smooth muscle dysfunction syndrome due to ACTA2 arginine 179 alterations

Smooth muscle dysfunction syndrome (SMDS) due to heterozygous ACTA2 arginine 179 alterations is characterized by patent ductus arteriosus, vasculopathy (aneurysm and occlusive lesions), pulmonary arterial hypertension, and other complications in smooth muscle-dependent organs. We sought to define the clinical history of SMDS to develop recommendations for evaluation and management. Medical records of 33 patients with SMDS (median age 12 years) were abstracted and analyzed. All patients had congenital mydriasis and related pupillary abnormalities at birth and presented in infancy with a patent ductus arteriosus or aortopulmonary window. Patients had cerebrovascular disease characterized by small vessel disease (hyperintense periventricular white matter lesions; 95%), intracranial artery stenosis (77%), ischemic strokes (27%), and seizures (18%). Twelve (36%) patients had thoracic aortic aneurysm repair or dissection at median age of 14 years and aortic disease was fully penetrant by the age of 25 years. Three (9%) patients had axillary artery aneurysms complicated by thromboembolic episodes. Nine patients died between the ages of 0.5 and 32 years due to aortic, pulmonary, or stroke complications, or unknown causes. Based on these data, recommendations are provided for the surveillance and management of SMDS to help prevent early-onset life-threatening complications

Information Systems Development and TECHNOLOGY Plan for F.i Auto Supply

F.I Auto Supply is a small retail store of auto parts located in Salvacion, Panabo City. The company has dealt daily with the traditional manual transaction process, which gave them difficulties in tracking the conciseness of the company's products' sales and inventory. The researchers proposed an Auto Supply Management System with Automated Inventory Mobile Scanning to aid the problem. This system will help automate the company's inventory and sales conduct and produce concise and accurate information regarding how well the business is running in a specified period. Moreover, it will also help them be attentive to the number of stocks available in the store to make plans ahead of time, like what supplier the products should be coming from, and estimate the time of transaction. Furthermore¸the proposed system also gives the business an edge to a higher quality of image branding and customer relationships thru enhanced service time efficiency