Conduits

BACKGROUND: Four-dimensional flow magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) enables blood flow visualization. The absence of left atrial vortex flow (LAVF) has been implicated in the development of thrombus formation and arrhythmias. However, the clinical relevance of this phenomenon in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) remains unclear. This study aimed to unravel the relationship of LAVF with left atrial functions in patients with CHD. RESULTS: Twenty-five participants who underwent cardiac MRI examinations were included (8 postoperative patients with CHD aged 17-41 years and 17 volunteers aged 21-31 years)...

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is increasingly used as a therapeutic approach for gastrointestinal diseases, especially with the advent of lumen-apposing metal stents (LAMS). This has led to a rise in of EUS-guided gastrointestinal anastomosis procedures. Due to the reliability of intestinal conduits with LAMS, indications for EUS-guided gastrointestinal anastomosis are becoming more common and trend to potentially be standard care for gastric outlet obstruction, afferent loop syndrome, and EUS-directed transgastric interventions such as EUS-directed endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography...

The physiological role of dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHOD) enzymes is to catalyze the oxidation of dihydroorotate to orotate in pyrimidine biosynthesis. DHOD enzymes are structurally diverse existing as both soluble and membrane-associated forms. The Family 1 enzymes are soluble and act either as conventional single subunit flavin-dependent dehydrogenases known as Class 1A (DHODA) or as unusual heterodimeric enzymes known as Class 1B (DHODB). DHODBs possess two active sites separated by ∼20 Å, each with a noncovalently bound flavin cofactor...

Passive whole-body hyperthermia increases limb blood flow and cardiac output ( <mml:math xmlns:mml="https://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:semantics><mml:mover><mml:mi>Q</mml:mi> <mml:mo>̇</mml:mo></mml:mover> <mml:annotation>$\dot Q$</mml:annotation></mml:semantics> </mml:math> ), but the interplay between peripheral and central thermo-haemodynamic mechanisms remains unclear. Here we tested the hypothesis that local hyperthermia-induced alterations in peripheral blood flow and blood kinetic energy modulate flow to the heart and <mml:math xmlns:mml="https://www...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness of the microsurgical treatment in restoring full sensory recovery following trigeminal nerve injuries caused by iatrogenic oral and maxillofacial surgical interventions. METHODS: A detailed search was conducted on the Cochrane central register of controlled trials, Medline and Embase. Clinical studies with at least twelve months of follow up were included and assessment of risks of bias was made using the Robbin I assessment tool ...

The tumor microenvironment is a complex network of cells, extracellular matrix, and signaling molecules that plays a critical role in tumor progression and metastasis. Lymphatic and blood vessels are major routes for solid tumor metastasis and essential parts of tumor drainage conduits. However, recent studies have shown that lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) and blood endothelial cells (BECs) also play multifaceted roles in the tumor microenvironment beyond their structural functions, particularly in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)...

BACKGROUND: The association between the prevalence of cirrhosis and the types of Fontan operations remains unclear. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective chart review of 332 patients who underwent the Fontan procedure at our institution. Four patients who underwent the atriopulmonary connection Fontan were excluded from the analysis. Patients who had intracardiac-extracardiac conduit (126) between 1989 and 2021 were pooled with those having extra-cardiac conduit (ECC) (134)...

BACKGROUND: In patients with tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) or ToF-like anatomy, factors possibly impacting the longevity of biological valves in pulmonary position were investigated. METHOD: Between 1997 and 2017, 79 consecutive hospital survivors with a median age of 8.7 years (range 0.2-56.1 years; IQR 14.8 years) with ToF or ToF-like anatomy underwent surgical implantation of Contegra™ (n=34), Hancock™ (n=23), Perimount™ (n=9), pulmonary homograft (n=9), and miscellaneous (n=4) conduits...

In 2020, when COVID-19 patients first recognized their complex and progressive symptoms, patient activists defined "Long Covid" on social media. While patient support groups are by no means new, the predominance of online support groups and those leveraging the power of social media has become a defining characteristic of Long Covid. In this article, we argue that naming Long Covid served as a powerful conduit of legitimacy for patient activists in media, medicine, and policy. We conducted 57 in-depth qualitative interviews with patients (n = 22), clinicians (n = 20), and policy and academic experts (n = 15)...

INTRODUCTION: Patients with primary mitral regurgitation (MR) usually remain asymptomatic for a long time due to compensatory mechanisms and an adequate treatment could be delayed. Stress echocardiography and speckle-tracking analysis could help to evaluate impaired left atrium (LA) function before the manifestation of clinically significant myocardial changes in asymptomatic patients with primary MR and preserved left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF). METHODS: This study prospectively enrolled 91 patients with preserved LV EF (≥60%) at rest, of which 60 patients had moderate-to-severe MR and 31 were healthy controls...

We present a detailed study of the time-dependent photophysics and photochemistry of a known conformation of the two protonated pentapeptides Leu-enkephalin (Tyrosine-Glycine-Glycine-Phenylalanine-Leucine, YGGFL) and its chromophore-swapped analogue FGGYL, carried out under cryo-cooled conditions in the gas phase. Using ultraviolet-infrared (UV-IR) double resonance, we record excited state IR spectra as a function of time delay between UV and IR pulses. We identify unique Tyr OH stretch transitions due to the S1 state and the vibrationally excited triplet state(s) formed by intersystem crossing, T n (v)...

<b/>This study reviews the latest progress on the research of electrical stimulation（ES） in peripheral nerve regeneration, summarizes the parameters in preclinical experiments and discusses the effect on nerve regeneration. A detailed description is given in the study of conditioning electrical stimulation and nerve conduit scaffolding technology combined with ES, which have been hotly researched in recent years.

BACKGROUND: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with worse prognosis in patients with myocardial infarction (MI). However, it is unclear how MetS in MI patients is associated with left atrial (LA) and left ventricular (LV) deformation. PURPOSE: To determine the effect of MetS on LA and LV deformation and atrioventricular interactions in MI patients. STUDY TYPE: Retrospective. POPULATION: One hundred eighty-one MI patients (73 MetS+ and 108 MetS-), 107 age- and sex-matched controls (49 MetS+ and 58 MetS-)...

OBJECTIVE: To develop and internally validate a nomogram to predict recurrence-free survival (RFS) including the time to radical cystectomy (RC) and perioperative blood transfusion (PBT) as potential predictors. METHODS: Patients who underwent open RC and ileal conduit between January 1996 to December 2016 were split into developing ( n =948) and validating ( n =237) cohorts. The time to radical cystectomy (TTC) was defined as the interval between the onset of symptoms and RC...

Surgery for cancer of the esophagus or gastro-esophageal junction can be performed with a variety of minimally invasive and open approaches. The left thoracoabdominal esophagectomy (LTE) is an open technique that gives an opportunity to operate in the chest and abdomen with excellent exposure of the gastro-esophageal junction through a single incision, and there is currently no equivalent minimally invasive technique available. The aim of this multi-institutional review was to study a large contemporary international study cohort of patients treated with LTE...

Hydromagnetically associated heat convection can greatly enhance the performance of high-efficiency thermal appliances and renewable energy sources through an optimized design. This investigation examines the production of thermodynamic irreversibility and heat convection for a double lid-driven flow within a partially porous stratified hexagonal enclosure. The top and bottom-wall are moving in the opposite direction with an equal velocity U0 . The top-wall and the bottom-wall are kept at temperature Tc and Th (Th   <mml:math xmlns:mml="https://www...

BACKGROUND: The Fontan operation is used to palliate single ventricle congenital heart defects (CHD) but poses significant morbidity and mortality risks. We present the design, planned analyses and rationale for a long-term Fontan cohort study aiming to examine the association of patient characteristics at the time of Fontan with post-Fontan morbidity and mortality. METHODS AND RESULTS: We used the Pediatric Cardiac Care Consortium (PCCC), a US-based, multicenter registry of pediatric cardiac surgeries to identify patients who underwent the Fontan procedure for single ventricle CHD between 1 and 21 years of age...

BACKGROUND: Data regarding the prognostic value of left atrial (LA) strain in aortic stenosis (AS) is scarce, especially in Asian population and moderate AS. METHOD: Left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LVGLS), LA reservoir strain (LASr), conduit strain (LAScd), and contractile strain (LASct) were measured using automated speckle-tracking echocardiography in consecutive patients with moderate or severe AS. The primary endpoint was a composite of all-cause death (ACD) and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE; myocardial infarction, syncope, and heart failure hospitalization)...

Bladder cancer ranks as the 10th most prevalent cancer globally with an increasing incidence. Radical cystectomy combined with urinary diversion represents the standard treatment for muscle-invasive bladder cancer, offering a range of techniques tailored to patient factors. Overall, urinary diversions are divided into non-continent and continent. Among the first category, cutaneous ureterostomy and ileal conduit represent the most common procedures while in the second category, it could be possible to describe another subclassification which includes ureterosigmoidostomy, continent diversions requiring catheterization and orthotopic voiding pouches and neobladders...

There are many commercially available artificial nerve conduits, used mostly to repair short gaps in sensory nerves. The stages of nerve regeneration in a nerve conduit are fibrin matrix formation between the nerve stumps joined to the conduit, capillary extension and Schwann cell migration from both nerve stumps, and, finally, axon extension from the proximal nerve stump. Artificial nerves connecting transected nerve stumps with a long interstump gap should be biodegradable, soft and pliable; have the ability to maintain an intrachamber fibrin matrix structure that allows capillary invasion of the tubular lumen, inhibition of scar tissue invasion and leakage of intratubular neurochemical factors from the chamber; and be able to accommodate cells that produce neurochemical factors that promote nerve regeneration...