Severe Takayasu's arteritis of the pulmonary arteries: Report of a case with successful surgical treatment

Although involvement of the aorta and its large branches is more common, Takayasu's arteritis involving the pulmonary arteries is well recognized. This report describes an adolescent girl with an uncommonly severe form ofTakayasu's arteritis involving the pulmonary arteries. A successful surgical treatment is presented

Orthotopic cardiac transplantation after minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass

AbstractJ Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1999;117:390-

Bistability in organic magnetic materials: a comparative study of the key differences between hysteretic and non-hysteretic spin transitions in dithiazolyl radicals

Dithiazolyl (DTA)- based radicals have furnished many examples of organic spin- transition materials, some of them occurring with hysteresis and some others without. Herein, we present a combined computational and experimental study aimed at deciphering the factors controlling the existence or absence of hysteresis by comparing the phase transitions of 4- cyanobenzo- 1,3,2- dithiazolyl and 1,3,5trithia- 2,4,6- triazapentalenyl radicals, which are prototypical examples of non- bistable and bistable spin transitions, respectively. Both materials present low- temperature diamagnetic and high- temperature paramagnetic structures, characterized by dimerized (center dot center dot center dot A-A center dot center dot center dot A-A center dot center dot center dot) n and regular (center dot center dot center dot A center dot center dot center dot A center dot center dot center dot A center dot center dot center dot A center dot center dot center dot) n pi- stacks of radicals, respectively. We show that the regular pi-stacks are not potential energy minima but average structures arising from a dynamic inter-conversion between two degenerate dimerized configurations: (center dot center dot center dot A-A center dot center dot center dot A-A center dot center dot center dot)n (-A center dot center dot center dot A-A center dot center dot center dot A-)n. The emergence of this intrastack dynamics upon heating gives rise to a second-order phase transition that is responsible for the change in the dominant magnetic interactions of the system. This suggests that the promotion of a (center dot center dot center dot A-A center dot center dot center dot A-A center dot center dot center dot)n (-A center dot center dot center dot A-A center dot center dot center dot A-) n dynamics is a general mechanism for triggering spin transitions in DTA-based materials. Yet, this intra-stack dynamics does not suffice to generate bistability, which also requires a rearrangement of the intermolecular bonds between the pstacks via a first-order phase transition

Cardiac Papillary Fibroelastoma: Single-Institution Experience with 14 Surgical Patients

In general, treatment for symptomatic and asymptomatic cardiac papillary fibroelastoma is surgical resection-particularly of left-sided lesions, because of the risk of systemic embolization. However, few institutions have enough experience with these tumors to validate this approach. We present our institutional experience with papillary fibroelastoma and discuss our current approach. We searched our institution\u27s cardiac tumor database, identified all patients diagnosed with cardiac papillary fibroelastoma from 1992 through 2014, and recorded the clinical and pathologic characteristics of each case. We found 14 patients (mean age, 60.5 ± 12.3 yr) who had 18 lesions. Eleven patients (79%) were symptomatic; however, we could not always definitively associate their symptoms with a cardiac tumor. Most lesions were solitary and ≤1.5 cm in diameter; half involved the left side of the heart. All 18 lesions were surgically excised. There were no operative or 30-day deaths, and no patient needed valve replacement postoperatively. There was one late death; at one year, another 3 patients were lost to follow-up, and the others were alive without tumor recurrence. Because of the embolic risk inherent to intracardiac masses and our relatively good postoperative outcomes, we recommend the surgical resection of all left-sided papillary fibroelastomas in surgical candidates, and we discuss with patients the advisability of resecting right-sided lesions

Clinical impact of baseline chronic kidney disease in patients undergoing transcatheter or surgical aortic valve replacement

ObjectivesTo assess the treatment effect of TAVR versus SAVR on clinical outcomes to 3 years in patients stratified by chronic kidney disease (CKD) by retrospectively studying patients randomized to TAVR or SAVR.BackgroundThe impact of CKD on mid‐term outcomes of patients undergoing TAVR versus SAVR is unclear.MethodsPatients randomized to TAVR or SAVR in the CoreValve US Pivotal High Risk Trial were retrospectively stratified by eGFR: none/mild or moderate/severe CKD. To evaluate the impact of baseline CKD in TAVR patients only, all patients undergoing an attempted TAVR implant in the US Pivotal Trial and CAS were stratified by baseline eGFR into none/mild, moderate, and severe CKD. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiovascular and renal events (MACRE), a composite of all‐cause mortality, myocardial infarction, stroke/TIA, and new requirement of dialysis.ResultsModerate/severe CKD was present in 62.7% and 60.7% of high‐risk patients randomized to TAVR or SAVR, respectively. Baseline characteristics were similar between TAVR and SAVR patients in both CKD subgroups, except for higher rates of diabetes and higher serum creatinine in SAVR patients. Among high‐risk patients with moderate/severe CKD, TAVR provided a lower 3‐year MACRE rate compared with SAVR: 42.1% vs. 51.0, P = .04. Of 3,733 extreme‐ and high‐risk TAVR patients, 39.9% had none/mild, 53.8% moderate, and 6.4% severe CKD. Worsening baseline CKD was associated with increased 3‐year MACRE rates [none/mild 51.5%, moderate 54.5%, severe 63.1%, P = .001].ConclusionsTAVR results in lower 3‐year MACRE versus SAVR in high‐risk patients with moderate/severe CKD. In patients undergoing TAVR, worsening CKD increases mid‐term mortality and MACRE. Randomized trials of TAVR vs. SAVR in patients with moderate‐severe CKD would help elucidate the best treatment for these complex patients.Trial RegistrationCoreValve US Pivotal Trial: NCT01240902.CoreValve Continued Access Study: NCT01531374.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/148361/1/ccd27928_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/148361/2/ccd27928.pd

“What if There's Something Wrong with Her?”‐How Biomedical Technologies Contribute to Epistemic Injustice in Healthcare

While there is a steadily growing literature on epistemic injustice in healthcare, there are few discussions of the role that biomedical technologies play in harming patients in their capacity as knowers. Through an analysis of newborn and pediatric genetic and genomic sequencing technologies (GSTs), I argue that biomedical technologies can lead to epistemic injustice through two primary pathways: epistemic capture and value partitioning. I close by discussing the larger ethical and political context of critical analyses of GSTs and their broader implications for just and equitable healthcare delivery

Repair of aortoesophageal fistula due to a penetrating atherosclerotic ulcer of the descending thoracic aorta and literature review

Penetrating atherosclerotic ulcer rupturing into the esophagus is rare and the resulting aortoesophageal fistula carries a high mortality. In view of the emergency nature of the entity and complexity of the procedure management of such a condition is not standardized. The immediate concern is to save the patient from life threatening exsanguinations. Contrary to the practice hitherto followed no active surgical intervention was carried out for the esophageal lesion and cardiopulmonary bypass support was not employed. We present a case of rupture of a penetrating atherosclerotic ulcer of descending thoracic aorta, where in an emergency surgery was performed and the patient is doing well 21 months later

Expression profiling and cross-species RNA interference (RNAi) of desiccation-induced transcripts in the anhydrobiotic nematode Aphelenchus avenae.

BACKGROUND: Some organisms can survive extreme desiccation by entering a state of suspended animation known as anhydrobiosis. The free-living mycophagous nematode Aphelenchus avenae can be induced to enter anhydrobiosis by pre-exposure to moderate reductions in relative humidity (RH) prior to extreme desiccation. This preconditioning phase is thought to allow modification of the transcriptome by activation of genes required for desiccation tolerance. RESULTS: To identify such genes, a panel of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) enriched for sequences upregulated in A. avenae during preconditioning was created. A subset of 30 genes with significant matches in databases, together with a number of apparently novel sequences, were chosen for further study. Several of the recognisable genes are associated with water stress, encoding, for example, two new hydrophilic proteins related to the late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) protein family. Expression studies confirmed EST panel members to be upregulated by evaporative water loss, and the majority of genes was also induced by osmotic stress and cold, but rather fewer by heat. We attempted to use RNA interference (RNAi) to demonstrate the importance of this gene set for anhydrobiosis, but found A. avenae to be recalcitrant with the techniques used. Instead, therefore, we developed a cross-species RNAi procedure using A. avenae sequences in another anhydrobiotic nematode, Panagrolaimus superbus, which is amenable to gene silencing. Of 20 A. avenae ESTs screened, a significant reduction in survival of desiccation in treated P. superbus populations was observed with two sequences, one of which was novel, while the other encoded a glutathione peroxidase. To confirm a role for glutathione peroxidases in anhydrobiosis, RNAi with cognate sequences from P. superbus was performed and was also shown to reduce desiccation tolerance in this species. CONCLUSIONS: This study has identified and characterised the expression profiles of members of the anhydrobiotic gene set in A. avenae. It also demonstrates the potential of RNAi for the analysis of anhydrobiosis and provides the first genetic data to underline the importance of effective antioxidant systems in metazoan desiccation tolerance.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are