The COORDINATE Pilot Study: Impact of a Transcatheter Aortic Valve Coordinator Program on Hospital and Patient Outcomes.

The transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) treatment pathway is complex, leading to procedure-related delays. Dedicated TAVI coordinators can improve pathway efficiency. COORDINATE was a pilot observational prospective registry at three German centers that enrolled consecutive elective patients with severe aortic stenosis undergoing TAVI to investigate the impact a TAVI coordinator program.

Factors associated with a high or low implantation of self-expanding devices in TAVR.

Objectives: Optimizing valve implantation depth (ID) plays a crucial role in minimizing conduction disturbances and achieving optimal functional integrity. Until now, the impact of intraprocedural fast (FP) or rapid ventricular pacing (RP) on the implantation depth has not been investigated. Therefore, we aimed to (1) evaluate the impact of different pacing maneuvers on ID, and (2) identify the independent predictors of deep ID.

Biomarking Trait Resilience With Salivary Cortisol in Chinese Undergraduates.

This study aimed to examine the relationship between trait resilience and salivary cortisol in a group of Chinese undergraduates. The Chinese versions of the Brief Resilience Scale and a measure of optimism, the revised Life Orientation Test were administered to 49 Chinese undergraduates who provided self-collected saliva samples six times per day (immediately after waking; 0.5, 3, 6, and 12 h thereafter; and at bedtime) over 3 consecutive weekdays.

Rapid and Detergent-Free Decellularization of Cartilage.

The use of decellularized tissues or organs as cell culture scaffolds has proven to be a promising approach for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, as these decellularized tissues can provide the instructive niche for cell differentiation and functions. Cartilage is a largely avascular tissue with limited regenerative capacity. Lesions caused by arthritis can lead to severe cartilage degeneration.

MULTI-LIGAMENT KNEE RECONSTRUCTION AND NOVEL MENISCUS RADIAL REPAIR TECHNIQUE, WITH RETURN TO OLYMPIC LEVEL SKIING: A CASE REPORT.

Background And Purpose: Multi-ligament knee injuries (MLKI) can be debilitating and often career ending injuries for athletes. Current literature reports on outcomes following these injuries for return to activities of daily life; however, there is a paucity of evidence evaluating the return to sport following a MLKI. The purpose of this case report is to describe the treatment and outcome following a MLKI and novel meniscus radial repair technique in which the athlete returned to compete in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games 14 months postoperatively.

Development of a Visible Light Triggerable Traceless Staudinger Ligation Reagent.

A series of substituted 9-methylenylanthracene photocages for diphenylphosphinothioesters have been synthesized to explore their photo-uncaging properties by visible light. Substituents such as phenyl, p-trifluoromethylphenyl, p-methoxyphenyl, ethyn-1-ylbenzene, and 3,3-dimethylbut-1-yn-1-yl have been introduced in order to extend the π-conjugation of the photocage and to shift the wavelength response of the uncaging process to the visible spectral range. Among these new photocages, the (10-(3,3-dimethylbut-1-yn-1-yl)anthracen-9-yl)methyl has been shown to have the best performance in terms of fast photo-uncaging and minimal byproduct formation.

Loneliness and Diurnal Salivary Cortisol in Emerging Adults.

This study aimed to examine the relationship between trait loneliness and diurnal rhythms of salivary cortisol. Fifty-One Chinese undergraduates provided six saliva samples on a weekday at immediately, 0.5, 3, 6, and 12 h after waking, and at bedtime.

Glycation of antibodies: Modification, methods and potential effects on biological functions.

Glycation is an important protein modification that could potentially affect bioactivity and molecular stability, and glycation of therapeutic proteins such as monoclonal antibodies should be well characterized. Glycated protein could undergo further degradation into advance glycation end (AGE) products. Here, we review the root cause of glycation during the manufacturing, storage and in vivo circulation of therapeutic antibodies, and the current analytical methods used to detect and characterize glycation and AGEs, including boronate affinity chromatography, charge-based methods, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and colorimetric assay.

Butanol production from hydrothermolysis-pretreated switchgrass: Quantification of inhibitors and detoxification of hydrolyzate.

The present study evaluated butanol production from switchgrass based on hydrothermolysis pretreatment. The inhibitors present in the hydrolyzates were measured. Results showed poor butanol production (1g/L) with non-detoxified hydrolyzate.

Identification of multifunctional graphene-gold nanocomposite for environment-friendly enriching, separating, and detecting Hg²⁺ simultaneously.

By virtue of the specific amalgam of mercury with gold and high specific area of a graphene scaffold, an environment-friendly multifunctional graphene-gold nanocomposite (G-AuNPs) has been identified and prepared by a simple one-pot redox reaction. The resultant G-AuNPs can reversibly enrich about 94% of Hg(2+) in water samples, which can be further separated by only a simple filtration. Importantly, the color of the G-AuNPs suspension exclusively changes from purple-red to light brown upon the addition of Hg(2+) in the presence of ascorbic acid, which can be applied for colorimetric detection of Hg(2+) with a detection limit (3σ, n = 20) of 1.

Comparison of body-powered voluntary opening and voluntary closing prehensor for activities of daily life.

Persons with an upper-limb amputation who use a body-powered prosthesis typically control the prehensor through contralateral shoulder movement, which is transmitted through a Bowden cable. Increased cable tension either opens or closes the prehensor; when tension is released, some passive element, such as a spring, returns the prehensor to the default state (closed or open). In this study, we used the Southampton Hand Assessment Procedure to examine functional differences between these two types of prehensors in 29 nondisabled subjects (who used a body-powered bypass prosthesis) and 2 persons with unilateral transradial amputations (who used a conventional body-powered device).

Describing Adequacy of cure with maximum hardness ratios and non-linear regression.

Knoop Hardness (KH) ratios (HR) > or = 80% are commonly used as criteria for the adequate cure of a composite. These per-specimen HRs can be misleading, as both numerator and denominator may increase concurrently, prior to reaching an asymptotic, top-surface maximum hardness value (H(MAX)). Extended cure times were used to establish H(MAX) and descriptive statistics, and non-linear regression analysis were used to describe the relationship between exposure duration and HR and predict the time required for HR-H(MAX) = 80%.

Spiral CT of the neck: When do neck malignancies delineate best during contrast enhancement?

The aim of this study was to determine the time of best contrast of neck malignancies in contrast-enhanced CT. The CT was done in 20 patients with squamous cell carcinoma using a standard protocol (100 ml contrast agent at 2 ml/s). Dynamic series of the tumors were performed (scan interval 6 s).

[Tracheostomy valve with integrated cough flap for improving hands-free speech in laryngectomized patients--development and clinical applications].

Background: Following successful voice restoration after laryngectomy either by a voice prosthesis, a surgical shunt or microvascular laryngoplasty, a further goal in rehabilitation is the insertion of a tracheostoma valve, which enables the patient to speak without using his fingers for closure of the tracheostoma. One important disadvantage of the tracheostoma valves, which are available today, is the necessity of removal of the valve in case of coughing, because the valve could be thrown from the stoma by the strong air flow during coughing. As many laryngectomies suffer from chronic bronchitis, this coughing problem is one of the reasons why only few patients could be provided with this useful aid.

[Voice prostheses with sound-producing metal reed element--an experimental study and initial clinical results].

Background: Following total laryngectomy the voice is produced by esophageal speech as well as with voice prostheses by vibrations of pharyngeal mucosal folds. This pharyngeal sound normally has a significantly lower fundamental frequency than the healthy voice (men about 120 Hz, women about 240 Hz, pharyngeal voice about 70 Hz), which is a handicap especially for female laryngectomy patients. In order to improve the postlaryngectomy voice, a new type of voice prostheses containing an integrated sound-producing metallic reed element was developed (ADEVA Company, Lübeck, Germany).