Deformacja wzdłużna stentu uwalniającego lek Synergy w trakcie wyjmowania balonu tnącego

Contemporary stent platforms have reduced strut thickness and fewer connectors. This improves deliverability and conformability, at the expense of reduction in strength. Recently longitudinal shortening has been reported, often associated with adjunctive devices after stent deployment. We present an unusual, impressive case of longitudinal shortening of a previously implanted Synergy stent (Boston Scientific, MA USA), within the proximal left anterior descending artery (LAD). The patient subsequently represented with restenosis of a further stent in the mid LAD. On withdrawal of a Flextome cutting balloon catheter (Boston Scientific), this device snared and dramatically shortened the Synergy. This was successfully treated with progressive dilatation using a series of enlarging balloons and subsequent implantation of another stent (Xience Xpedition, Abbott, CA USA). This case illustrates, that despite having additional connectors to enhance longitudinal strength, Synergy is not immune from compression. Furthermore, it is imperative, that stents are sized and post-dilated appropriately to ensure complete expansion.Rusztowania nowoczesnych stentów cechują się zmniejszoną grubością rozpórek i mniejszą liczbą łączników. To powoduje, że łatwiej je wprowadzić do naczynia i odpowiednio dopasować, jednak zmniejsza ich wytrzymałość. W ostatnim czasie opisywano wiele przypadków skrócenia stentu, często związanych ze stosowaniem dodatkowych narzędzi po implantacji stentu. W niniejszej pracy przedstawiono rzadki, ciekawy przypadek skrócenia wszczepionego wcześniej stenu Synergy (BostonScientific, USA), znajdującego się w proksymalnym odcinku gałęzi międzykomorowej przedniej (LAD). W następstwieu chorego wystąpiła restenoza w dalszej części stentu w środkowym odcinku LAD. W trakcie wyjmowania cewnika z balonem tnącym Flextome (Boston Scientific) urządzenie zaczepiło o stent Synergy i spowodowało jego znaczne skrócenie. Udało się poprawić drożność naczynia przez stopniowe rozszerzanie stenu za pomocą coraz większych balonów oraz wszczepienia kolejnego stentu (Xience Xpedition, Abbott, USA). Opisany przypadek ukazuje, że mimo zastosowania dodatkowych łączników służących wzmocnieniu wytrzymałości stentSynergy nie jest odporny na kompresję. Ponadto należy się zawsze upewnić, że stent został odpowiednio dobrany podwzględem rozmiaru i odpowiednio rozszerzony, aby zapewnić jego całkowite rozprężenie

Effects of treatment of acromegaly with Sandostatin® LAR® on lipolytic enzymes and cholesteryl ester transfer protein activities

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Addressing a cavity with patterns at ultra-wideband detune

We demonstrate an amplified fiber ring cavity at telecommunication window addressed by optical pattern at 1.0 μm. A storage time longer than 38 μs and an ultra-wideband wavelength conversion of ~500 nm have been obtained. © 2015 OSApostprin

60-MHz wavelength-encoded tomography (WET)

Paper JW2A.82Wavelength-encoded tomography (WET) is upgraded to a triple-time-lens system to perform ultrafast cross-sectional imaging through 68.4x-temporal magnification. 60-MHz A-scan rate is demonstrated by imaging a glass sample with 180-μm axial resolution. © 2015 OSApostprin

Graphene-deposited photonic crystal fibers for continuous refractive index sensing applications

© 2015 Optical Society of America. We present a pilot demonstration of an optical fiber based refractive index (RI) sensor involving the deposition of graphene onto the surface of a segment of a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) in a fiber-based Mach-Zehnder Interferometer (MZI). The fabrication process is relatively simple and only involves the fusion splicing of a PCF between two single mode fibers. The deposition process relies only on the cold transfer of graphene onto the PCF segment, without the need for further physical or chemical treatment. The graphene overlay modified the sensing scheme of the MZI RI sensor, allowing the sensor to overcome limitations to its detectable RI range due to free spectral range issues. This modification also allows for continuous measurements to be obtained without the need for reference values for the range of RIs studied and brings to light the potential for simultaneous dual parameter sensing. The sensor was able to achieve a RI sensitivity of 9.4 dB/RIU for the RIs of 1.33-1.38 and a sensitivity of 17.5 dB/RIU for the RIs of 1.38-1.43. It also displayed good repeatability and the results obtained were consistent with the modeling

No evidence for a common blood microbiome based on a population study of 9,770 healthy humans

Human blood is conventionally considered sterile but recent studies suggest the presence of a blood microbiome in healthy individuals. Here we characterized the DNA signatures of microbes in the blood of 9,770 healthy individuals using sequencing data from multiple cohorts. After filtering for contaminants, we identified 117 microbial species in blood, some of which had DNA signatures of microbial replication. They were primarily commensals associated with the gut (n = 40), mouth (n = 32) and genitourinary tract (n = 18), and were distinct from pathogens detected in hospital blood cultures. No species were detected in 84% of individuals, while the remainder only had a median of one species. Less than 5% of individuals shared the same species, no co-occurrence patterns between different species were observed and no associations between host phenotypes and microbes were found. Overall, these results do not support the hypothesis of a consistent core microbiome endogenous to human blood. Rather, our findings support the transient and sporadic translocation of commensal microbes from other body sites into the bloodstream

Harnessing technology and molecular analysis to understand the development of cardiovascular diseases in Asia: a prospective cohort study (SingHEART)

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) imposes much mortality and morbidity worldwide. The use of "deep learning", advancements in genomics, metabolomics, proteomics and devices like wearables have the potential to unearth new insights in the field of cardiology. Currently, in Asia, there are no studies that combine the use of conventional clinical information with these advanced technologies. We aim to harness these new technologies to understand the development of cardiovascular disease in Asia. METHODS: Singapore is a multi-ethnic country in Asia with well-represented diverse ethnicities including Chinese, Malays and Indians. The SingHEART study is the first technology driven multi-ethnic prospective population-based study of healthy Asians. Healthy male and female subjects aged 21-69 years old without any prior cardiovascular disease or diabetes mellitus will be recruited from the general population. All subjects are consented to undergo a detailed on-line questionnaire, basic blood investigations, resting and continuous electrocardiogram and blood pressure monitoring, activity and sleep tracking, calcium score, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, whole genome sequencing and lipidomic analysis. Outcomes studied will include mortality and cause of mortality, myocardial infarction, stroke, malignancy, heart failure, and the development of co-morbidities. DISCUSSION: An initial target of 2500 patients has been set. From October 2015 to May 2017, an initial 683 subjects have been recruited and have completed the initial work-up the SingHEART project is the first contemporary population-based study in Asia that will include whole genome sequencing and deep phenotyping: including advanced imaging and wearable data, to better understand the development of cardiovascular disease across different ethnic groups in Asia

Continuous refractive index sensing based on carbon-nanotube-deposited photonic crystal fibers

We present a carbon nanotubes (CNTs) deposited photonic crystal fiber (PCF) featuring a Mach-Zehnder interferometer configuration for refractive index (RI) sensing applications. The high RI of the CNTs deposited on the surface of the PCF not only enhances the interaction of the evanescent waves of the cladding modes with the ambient environment around the fiber, but also modifies the sensing scheme to that of intensity variations. Such a modification makes the sensor susceptible to power fluctuations from the optical source but allows the sensor to gain immunity to free spectral range limitations which is commonly found in PCF-based sensors. As such continuous and repeatable measurements can be obtained for the range of RIs being measured. The sensor registered a sensitivity of 19.4 dB/RIU within the RI range of 1.33 to 1.38 and a sensitivity of 24.2 dB/RIU within the RI range of 1.38 to 1.42. Since there is no mechanical modification of the overall structure of the sensing element, the fiber retains its mechanical strength which makes it viable for practical applications. The experimental results are found to be consistent with the modeling of the sensor's behavior. © 2014 Elsevier B.V

Carbon-nanotube-deposited long period fiber grating for continuous refractive index sensor applications

We present a carbon-nanotube-deposited long period fiber grating for refractive index sensing applications in liquid. Carbon nanotubes are deposited around the surface of a long period fiber grating to form the refractive index sensing element. The sensing mechanism relies mainly on the high refractive index properties of the carbon-nanotube thin film, which enhances the cladding mode of the long period fiber grating in order to have a significant interaction between the propagating light and the target medium. A sensitivity of 31 dB/RIU and 47 dB/RIU are obtained for the refractive index ranges of 1.33-1.38 and 1.38-1.42, respectively, which have not been demonstrated with normal long period fiber gratings as the sensing element. As the sensing mechanism is based on the change of the transmitted optical power, our proposed scheme can intrinsically solve the limitations of the free spectral range commonly seen in other reported schemes, and continuous and repeatable measurements can be obtained while only acquiring errors mainly from the power fluctuations from the light source. The fiber grating also does not require any further mechanical modification like etching or tapering, which allows the sensing element to have the advantage of mechanical strength for practical applications. The experimental results are consistent with the modeling of the sensing mechanism. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved