Aneurysm Ostium Angle: A Predictor of the Need for Stent as Assistance for Endovascular Aneurysm Coiling in Internal Carotid Artery Sidewall Aneurysms

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: There is no satisfactory parameter that can predict the need for assistant devices for endovascular aneurysm coiling. Our aim was to evaluate the utility of MOA as a predictor of the need for stent-assisted coiling in ICA sidewall aneurysms

Anti-CD45 Pretargeted Radioimmunotherapy Prior to Bone Marrow Transplantation without Total Body Irradiation Facilitates Engraftment From Haploidentical Donors and Prolongs Survival in a Disseminated Murine Leukemia Model

s / Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 19 (2013) S211eS232 S228 chemotherapy was HIDAC (1-3 grams/m2 for 6-8 doses)/ Etoposide(15-40mg/kg) in 16 patients and growth factor alone in one patient. Median time from diagnosis to ASCT was 4.2 (range 3.6-7) months. Preparative regimen for ASCT was Busulfan (3.2mg/kg x 4)/Etoposide (60 mg/kg) in 12 patients and high dose melphalan in 5 patients. The median CD34 cells infused was 4.9 x 10e6/kg (range 2.8 to 15.9).All patients engrafted with a median time to neutrophil engraftment of 11 (range10-12) days. The median time to platelet engraftment was 20 (range15-40) days. The median length of inpatient stay during the ASCT admission was 14 (range 10-25) days. One patient died of progressive disease 14 months post ASCT. Two patients died in remission on day 53 (sepsis) and day 836 (unknown cause) post ASCT. Fourteen patients (82%) are currently alive in complete remission. at a median follow-up of 20 (range 140) months post ASCT. Conclusion: Consolidation of good risk AML patients with ASCT following induction of complete remission is safe and effective in preventing relapse in good risk AML patients

Reference intervals for the echocardiographic measurements of the right heart in children and adolescents: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Transthoracic echocardiography is the primary imaging modality for the diagnosis of right ventricular (RV) involvement in congenital and acquired heart diseases. There is increasing recognition of the contribution of RV dysfunction in heart diseases affecting children and adolescents, but there is insufficient information on reference intervals for the echocardiographic measurements of the right heart in children and adolescents that represent all the continental populations of the world.OBJECTIVE:The aim of this systematic review was to collate, from published studies, normative data for echocardiographic evaluation of the right heart in children and adolescents, and to identify gaps in knowledge in this field especially with respect to sub-Saharan Africans. METHODS: We performed a systematic literature search to identify studies of reference intervals for right heart measurements as determined by transthoracic echocardiography in healthy children and adolescents of school-going age. Articles were retrieved from electronic databases with a combination of search terms from the earliest date available until May 2013. RESULTS: Reference data were available for a broad range of variables. Fifty one studies out of 3096 publications were included. The sample sizes of the reference populations ranged from 13 to 2036 with ages varying from 5 to 21 years. We identified areas lacking sufficient reference data. These included reference data for determining right atrial size, tricuspid valve area, RV dimensions and areas, the RV % fractional area change, pulmonary artery pressure gradients and the right-sided haemodynamics, including the inferior vena cava dimensions and collapsibility. There were no data for sub-Saharan African children and adolescents. CONCLUSION: Reliable reference data are lacking for important echocardiographic measurements of the RV in children and adolescents, especially for sub-Saharan Africans

Study of solar flares’ latitudinal distribution during the solar period 2002–2017: GOES and RHESSI data comparison

The purpose of the present research is to study the latitudinal distribution and its asymmetry of solar flares during the period 2002–2017 and make a comparison between the studied data from two different satellites (GOES and RHESSI). We tried to benefit from available advantages of GOES and RHESSI satellites, where GOES satellite is providing classes associated to each flare, while RHESSI is providing the location of the recorded solar flare events. The distribution of the solar flares' location during the period 2002–2017 shows that most of the flares are located in the southern hemisphere (57% of C – class, 61% of B – class, 56% of M – class and 61% of X – class). The study of the solar flare events from RHESSI flare catalog during each phase of the solar cycles 23 and 24 (during the period 2002–2017) showed that the most of flare events are happening during the declining phase of the solar cycle and keeping the tendency to have more southern events (61%) than the northern ones, while there are more flares found in the northern hemisphere (64%) than the southern hemisphere during the rising phase of the solar cycle 24. We calculated the mean latitude value in the northern hemisphere and found it to be about +13° (about 7.5% of all solar flare records are located on this latitude) using flare events recorded by GOES and RHESSI, but there is a slight difference between the mean latitude values calculated using GOES (about −13°) and RHESSI (about −15°), about 6% of all solar flares recorded by RHESSI in the southern hemisphere are located on this latitude. © 2018 COSPA

A single component conducting polymer hydrogel as a scaffold for tissue engineering

Conducting polymers (CPs) have exciting potential as scaffolds for tissue engineering, typically applied in regenerative medicine applications. In particular, the electrical properties of CPs has been shown to enhance nerve and muscle cell growth and regeneration. Hydrogels are particularly suitable candidates as scaffolds for tissue engineering because of their hydrated nature, their biocompatibility, and their tissue-like mechanical properties. This study reports the development of the fi rst single component CP hydrogel that is shown to combine both electro-properties and hydrogel characteristics. Poly(3-thiopheneacetic acid) hydrogels were fabricated by covalently crosslinking the polymer with 1,1 ′ -carbonyldiimidazole (CDI). Their swelling behavior was assessed and shown to display remarkable swelling capabilities (swelling ratios up to 850%). The mechanical properties of the networks were characterized as a function of the crosslinking density and were found to be comparable to those of muscle tissue. Hydrogels were found to be electroactive and conductive at physiological pH. Fibroblast and myoblast cells cultured on the hydrogel substrates were shown to adhere and proliferate. This is the fi rst time that the potential of a single component CP hydrogel has been demonstrated for cell growth, opening the way for the development of new tissue engineering scaffolds

An erodible polythiophene-based composite for biomedical applications

We report here the design of a novel conducting erodible platform based on the water soluble conducting polymer, poly[ammonium(3-thienyl) ethoxypropanesulfonate] (SPT). This study shows for the first time a conducting polymeric system that is electroactive, fully erodible and promotes cell adhesion and growth