The U-shaped association of non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in general adult population.

Background: Non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) has been associated with atherosclerosis. However, the association between non-HDL-C and mortality in adult population remains unclear. We intended to investigate the association of non-HDL-C with cardiovascular and all-cause mortality using national representative data.

Spatiotemporal changes, trade-offs, and synergistic relationships in ecosystem services provided by the Aral Sea Basin.

Intense human activities in the Aral Sea Basin have changed its natural distribution of land use. Although they provide certain economic benefits, these anthropogenic influences have led to the rapid shrinkage of the Aral Sea, severely affecting the region's ecosystem. However, the spatiotemporal variability of the Aral Sea Basin's Ecosystem Service Values (ESVs) is not well understood.

Corallimorpharians are not "naked corals": insights into relationships between Scleractinia and Corallimorpharia from phylogenomic analyses.

Calcification is one of the most distinctive traits of scleractinian corals. Their hard skeletons form the substratum of reef ecosystems and confer on corals their remarkable diversity of shapes. Corallimorpharians are non-calcifying, close relatives of scleractinian corals, and the evolutionary relationship between these two groups is key to understanding the evolution of calcification in the coral lineage.

Vascular complications in biliary atresia patients undergoing living donor liver transplantation: Analysis of 110 patients over 10 years.

Introduction: Vascular complications are very common in pediatric living donor liver transplants. We present our experience in vascular complications in biliary atresia patients undergoing liver transplantation.

Materials And Methods: All the patients who have undergone living donor liver transplant for biliary atresia from January 2003 to March 2013 were retrospectively analyzed.

Using low graft/recipient's body weight ratio graft with portal flow modulation an effective way to prevent small-for-size syndrome in living-donor liver transplant: a retrospective analysis.

Objectives: Small-sized grafts are associated with high rates of graft failure and small-for-size syndrome. Portal flow is a causative factor for small-for-size syndrome. We sought to evaluate early graft dysfunction in smaller-sized grafts and the study factors responsible for it.

Portal flow is the main predictor of early graft dysfunction regardless of the GRWR status in living donor liver transplantation - a retrospective analysis of 134 patients.

Background: Sometimes even in adequate graft to recipient weight ratio (GRWR) settings and after ruling out all other causes, recipients still show features of the small for size syndrome. The purpose of this study was to evaluate all causative factors responsible for early graft dysfunction fulfilling the definition of the small for size syndrome, regardless of the GRWR status, and with particular emphasis on portal flow (ml/min/100 g). We also tried to establish whether a high portal flow on intraoperative Doppler study immediately after reperfusion can predict graft dysfunction.

Use of a refined operative strategy in combination with the multidisciplinary approach to manage blunt juxtahepatic venous injuries.

Background: Despite continuous advances in traumatology, juxtahepatic venous injuries are still the most difficult and deadly form of liver trauma. Most deaths result from exsanguination, and reported mortality ranges from 50% to 80%. This is an evaluation on our experience with the management of this high mortality injury following a refined operative strategy.

Angioplasty treatment of hepatic vein stenosis in pediatric liver transplants: long-term results.

We reviewed long-term results of percutaneous venoplasty in children with hepatic vein stenosis after partial liver transplants, of which excellent early results were shown. Percutaneous transjugular hepatic venoplasty using balloon dilatation or stent implantation was performed in six cases with hepatic vein stenosis identified on routine post-transplant Doppler sonography and confirmed by transjugular hepatic venography from 1994 to 2003. Repeated procedure was carried out if necessary.

Risk factors for intraoperative portal vein thrombosis in pediatric living donor liver transplantation.

Pathologic changes of the recipient native portal venous system may cause thrombosis of the portal vein, especially in pediatric living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). This study assessed the utility of Doppler ultrasound (US) for the detection of intraoperative portal vein occlusion and identification of predisposing risk factors in the recipients. Seventy-three pediatric recipients who underwent LDLT at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan, from 1994 to 2002 were included.

3DCT angiography for detection of vascular complications in pediatric liver transplantation.

Unlabelled: Catheter angiography for early diagnosis of vascular complications in pediatric liver transplant yields excellent results but remains an extremely invasive examination for younger children, precluding its routine use. We assessed the efficacy of three-dimensional multislice computed tomographic angiography (3DCTA) as an alternative option in these patients.

Methods: Twenty children suspected of vascular complications on clinical grounds, laboratory findings, or Doppler ultrasound underwent 3DCTA between April 2000 and April 2003.

Splenic embolization in treatment of portal vein occlusion deferring liver transplantation.

The number of liver transplantations performed in this country is limited to the availability of cadaver liver donors, which are always short of demand. Deterioration of patient's clinical condition during the long wait for a compatible donor usually casts a poor prognosis on the patient. We report a 6-year-old girl who underwent splenic artery embolization as an alternative procedure due to a life-threatening clinical condition while liver graft was not immediately available.

Multislice computed tomography angiography in pediatric liver transplantation.

Background: Preoperative delineation of any vascular anomalies offers planning for possible alteration of surgical procedures, especially in pediatric recipients undergoing living-related liver transplantation.

Purpose: We assess the efficacy of three-dimensional (3D) multislice computed tomography (CT) angiography in the hope of replacing conventional angiography as the pretransplant evaluation of the hepatic vascular system for potential recipients of liver transplantation.

Methods: 3D CT angiography was performed in 38 children with biliary atresia.

Antihypertensive efficacy of olmesartan medoxomil, a new angiotensin II receptor antagonist, as assessed by ambulatory blood pressure measurements.

Olmesartan medoxomil is a new angiotensin II receptor blocker. In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, the efficacy and safety of olmesartan medoxomil was assessed in 334 patients with moderate to severe essential hypertension. Patients were randomized to receive placebo; 5, 20, or 80 mg olmesartan medoxomil q.