A multicenter analysis of aortic root replacement: Non-native chest increases risk of postoperative mortality.

Objective: Re-do root replacement poses a significant technical challenge, increasing the potential risk of morbidity and mortality. This multi-institution study compared the outcomes of aortic root replacement stratified by chest surgery and aortic root history.

Methods: A retrospective review by the Western Aortic Collaborative was performed of 3 different aortic centers for patients who underwent nonemergency root replacement from 2017 to 2023 with exclusion of patients who underwent more than hemiarch replacement or presented with acute or hyperacute aortic dissection.

The Prevalence and Changes in Alcohol Consumption across Three Trimesters of Pregnancy Assessed by Ethyl Glucuronide Concentration in Maternal Hair and Self-Reports: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Introduction: The teratogenic effect of alcohol is well known, but its prevalence is usually underestimated. This study presents the findings of a cross-sectional study conducted in Poland, which aimed to assess the prevalence and changes in alcohol consumption during pregnancy. The study utilized ethyl glucuronide (EtG) concentration in maternal hair and self-reports as measures to evaluate alcohol intake across the three trimesters of pregnancy.

Induction and Characteristics of Callus Cultures of the Medicinal Plant L.

L. is a traditional medicinal plant valued for its potentially health-promoting metabolites. Its herbal raw material has been recognized and used since ancient times and continues to be widely used in traditional medicine.

The landscape of congenital heart disease treated with the Ross procedure.

Background: The Ross procedure has excellent outcomes in the pediatric population. Some series have reported age- and anatomy-dependent outcomes, but a comprehensive analysis stratified by these variables has not been reported to date. We sought to describe the landscape of congenital heart disease (CHD) treated with the Ross procedure and identify the patients best served by this operation.

The double barrel Impella exchange: A reliable method for uninterrupted mechanical circulatory support.

Classic Impella exchange interrupts flow when the old device is pulled into the aorta before advancing the new device across the aortic valve, threatening circulatory collapse and loss of left ventricular access. In "double barrel," uninterrupted Impella exchange, the new device is placed into the ventricle alongside the old, where flow is first transitioned completely. Of 31 consecutive patients undergoing this procedure, none experienced intraoperative cardiac arrest, and 96.

Surgical pulmonary arterioplasty at bidirectional cavopulmonary anastomosis leads to favorable pulmonary hemodynamics at final stage palliation.

Objective: Pulmonary arterioplasty (PA plasty) at bidirectional cavopulmonary anastomosis (BDCA) is associated with increased morbidity, but outcomes to final stage palliation are unknown. We sought to determine the influence of PA plasty on pulmonary artery growth and hemodyamics at Fontan.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed clinical data and outcomes for BDCA patients from 2006 to 2018.

Impella 5.5 Bridge to Heart Transplant: An Institutional Series and a Closer Look at Device Removal Technique.

Limited donor organ availability often necessitates mechanical circulatory support, and recently the Impella 5.5, as a bridge to heart transplant. Of 175 Impella 5.

Peptide-based inhibitors targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis: potential immunotherapeutics for cancer.

The PD-1/PD-L1 complex belongs to the group of inhibitory immune checkpoints and plays a critical role in immune regulation. The PD-1/PD-L1 axis is also responsible for immune evasion of cancer cells, and this complex is one of the main targets of immunotherapies used in oncology. Treatment using immune checkpoint inhibitors is mainly based on antibodies.

Branch-first aortic arch replacement strategy decreases perioperative mortality.

Objective: Sparce evidence suggests superiority of total arch replacement with the branch-first technique and antegrade cerebral perfusion over conventional techniques with respect to morbidity and mortality. Thus, we aimed to compare perioperative outcomes of patients undergoing traditional total arch replacement versus branch-first total arch replacement.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 144 patients undergoing total arch replacement from January 2017 to December 2021.

Morbidity and Mortality in Adult Congenital Heart Surgery: Physiologic Component Augments Risk Prediction.

Background: We sought to evaluate whether the anatomic and physiologic stratification system (ACAP score), released as part of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association updated guidelines for management of adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) in 2018, better estimated mortality and morbidity after cardiac operations for ACHD.

Methods: The ACAP score was determined for 318 patients (age ≥18 years) with ACHD undergoing heart surgery at our institution between December 2001 and August 2019. The primary end point was perioperative mortality.

BTLA-derived peptides as inhibitors of BTLA/HVEM complex formation - design, synthesis and biological evaluation.

Immune checkpoints can be divided into co-stimulatory and co-inhibitory molecules that regulate the activation and effector functions of T cells. The co-inhibitory pathways mediated by ICPs are used by cancer cells to escape from immune surveillance, and therefore the blockade of these receptor/ligand interactions is one of the strategies used in the treatment of cancer. The two main pathways currently under investigation are CTLA-4/CD80/CD86 and PD-1/PD-L1, and the monoclonal Abs targeting them have shown potent immunomodulatory effects and activity in clinical environments.

Contemporary outcomes of mitral valve repair for degenerative disease in the era of increased penetrance of percutaneous mitral valve technology.

Objective: The study objective was to evaluate the surgical outcomes of mitral valve repair in the era of percutaneous technology.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 452 patients who underwent mitral valve repair for degenerative disease between 2010 and 2021. Survival, mitral valve reoperation, and mitral regurgitation recurrence were assessed using Cox regression, dichotomized for those aged more than or less than 60 years.

Surgical Outcomes After Reconstruction of the Aortomitral Curtain.

Repair of concomitant aortic and mitral valvular disease with involvement of the aortomitral curtain requires a technically complex operation colloquially termed the commando procedure. Surgical outcomes of this procedure are not well described. The objective of this study was to examine outcomes of the commando procedure at our center.

Computational Fluid Dynamics Could Enable Individualized Surgical Treatment of Nasal Obstruction (A Preliminary Study).

Passage of nasal airflow during breathing is crucial in achieving accurate diagnosis and optimal therapy for patients with nasal disorders. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is the dominant method for simulating and studying airflow. The present study aimed to create a CFD nasal airflow model to determine the major routes of airflow through the nasal cavity and thus help with individualization of surgical treatment of nasal disorders.

Is the merA gene sufficient as a molecular marker of mercury bacterial resistance?

Gene encoding mercuric ion reductase, merA is a crucial component of the mer operon for reduction of nonorganic mercury ions into less toxic form. The merA gene or its fragments are commonly used as a molecular marker of bacterial resistance to mercury. In this study, it was tested whether the merA gene can be considered as a molecular marker of mercury bacterial resistance.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of PD-1 derived peptides as inhibitors of PD-1/PD-L1 complex formation for cancer therapy.

Over the past few years, many molecules such as monoclonal antibodies, affibodies, nanobodies, and small compounds have been designed and tested as inhibitors of PD-1/PD-L1 complex formation. Some of them have been successfully implemented into clinical oncology practice. However, the majority of these compounds have disadvantages and limitations, such as high production price, potential for immunogenicity and/or prolonged clearance.

Expectations for engagement in community issues as perceived by young people.

Background: Involvement in constructive activities is an important but rarely empirically studied developmental asset.

Objective: The aim of the study is to assess the intentions of Polish youth to undertake prosocial activities after graduating from high school, and the selected determinants of these intentions.

Material And Methods: Anonymous surveys were conducted in 213 schools within the last round of the HBSC (Health Behaviour in School-aged Children) survey in 2018.

Everyday challenges faced by Polish teenagers during the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of selected demographic factors.

Background: The enforced restrictions, including physical isolation and school lockdowns after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, have brought about anxiety and uncertainty the younger generation.

Objective: The main objective is to analyse the everyday challenges faced by adolescents in Poland during the time of social isolation in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Material And Methods: A nationwide, online survey of adolescents aged 11-18 (N=2408) was conducted in April 2020.

Surgical Resection of a Symptomatic Ascending Aortic Mural Thrombus.

Aortic mural thrombus (AMT) is a rare disease with an unclear optimal treatment strategy. AMT in the ascending aorta is particularly uncommon and is associated with the additional risk of embolization to the brain. Resection of an ascending AMT is particularly challenging given the high risk of thrombus dislodgment during aortic cannulation and cross-clamp application.

Myosteatosis at diagnosis is adversely associated with 2-year survival in women with estrogen receptor-negative metastatic breast cancer.

Purpose: To examine the relationship between skeletal muscle (SM) and cancer-specific outcomes for women with estrogen receptor-negative (ER-) metastatic breast cancer (MBC).

Methods: For this retrospective cohort, females (≥ 18 years) with histologically confirmed ER- MBC and computerized tomography (CT) imaging were screened. Demographic, anthropometric, and clinical data were collected uniformly from the electronic medical record.

Demographic analysis of difficulties related to remote education in Poland from the perspective of adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction And Objective: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic all schools in Poland were closed and obliged to conduct lessons remotely. The aim of the study is to present the demographic analysis of difficulties with remote learning, as perceived by students during coronavirus pandemic in Poland.

Material And Methods: In April 2020, a nationwide online survey was conducted among adolescents aged 11-18 (N=2408).

Long-term outcomes with the pulmonary autograft inclusion technique in adults with bicuspid aortic valves undergoing the Ross procedure.

Objective: To compare outcomes with wrapped (pulmonary autograft inclusion) versus unwrapped techniques in adults with bicuspid aortic valves undergoing the Ross procedure.

Methods: Between 1992 and 2019, 129 adults with bicuspid aortic valves (aged ≥18 years) underwent the Ross procedure by a single surgeon. Patients were divided into those without autograft inclusion (unwrapped, n = 71) and those with autograft inclusion (wrapped, n = 58).

Ultrasensitive electrochemical determination of the cancer biomarker protein sPD-L1 based on a BMS-8-modified gold electrode.

This work describes the modification of a gold electrode with the BMS-8 compound that interacts with the Programmed Death-Ligand 1 (PD-L1), an immune checkpoint protein. The results show that we can confirm the presence of the sPD-L1 in the concentration range of 10 to 10 M using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) with a limit of detection (LOD) of 1.87 × 10 M for PD-L1 (S/N = 3.

Neighborhood socioeconomic status is associated with differences in operative management and long-term survival after coronary artery bypass grafting.

Objective: We sought to characterize differences in operative management and surgical outcomes after coronary artery bypass grafting associated with the socioeconomic context in which a patient lives.

Methods: We used a validated index of 17 variables derived from the US Census Bureau to assign socioeconomic status at the block group level to patients who underwent isolated coronary artery bypass grafting at a single institution over a 16-year period. Operative mortality, stroke, renal failure, prolonged ventilation, sternal wound infection, reoperation, composite morbidity or mortality, long-term survival, and use of arterial conduits were the outcomes assessed.