Acute lung injury and post-cardiac arrest syndrome: a narrative review.

Background: Post-cardiac arrest syndrome (PCAS) presents a multifaceted challenge in clinical practice, characterized by severe neurological injury and high mortality rates despite advancements in management strategies. One of the important critical aspects of PCAS is post-arrest lung injury (PALI), which significantly contributes to poor outcomes. PALI arises from a complex interplay of pathophysiological mechanisms, including trauma from chest compressions, pulmonary ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury, aspiration, and systemic inflammation.

Organ-Specific Mitochondrial Alterations Following Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Post-Cardiac Arrest Syndrome: A Comprehensive Review.

Background: Mitochondrial dysfunction, which is triggered by systemic ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury and affects various organs, is a key factor in the development of post-cardiac arrest syndrome (PCAS). Current research on PCAS primarily addresses generalized mitochondrial responses, resulting in a knowledge gap regarding organ-specific mitochondrial dynamics. This review focuses on the organ-specific mitochondrial responses to IR injury, particularly examining the brain, heart, and kidneys, to highlight potential therapeutic strategies targeting mitochondrial dysfunction to enhance outcomes post-IR injury.

Therapeutic potential of mitochondrial transplantation in modulating immune responses post-cardiac arrest: a narrative review.

Background: Mitochondrial transplantation (MTx) has emerged as a novel therapeutic strategy, particularly effective in diseases characterized by mitochondrial dysfunction. This review synthesizes current knowledge on MTx, focusing on its role in modulating immune responses and explores its potential in treating post-cardiac arrest syndrome (PCAS).

Methods: We conducted a comprehensive narrative review of animal and human studies that have investigated the effects of MTx in the context of immunomodulation.

Understanding physiologic phospholipid maintenance in the context of brain mitochondrial phospholipid alterations after cardiac arrest.

Cardiac arrest (CA) induces whole-body ischemia resulting in mitochondrial dysfunction. We used isolated mitochondria to examine phospholipid alterations in the brain, heart, kidney, and liver post-CA. Our data shows that ischemia/reperfusion most significantly alters brain mitochondria phospholipids, predominately after resuscitation.

Mitochondrial transplantation therapy for ischemia reperfusion injury: a systematic review of animal and human studies.

Background: Mitochondria are essential organelles that provide energy for cellular functions, participate in cellular signaling and growth, and facilitate cell death. Based on their multifactorial roles, mitochondria are also critical in the progression of critical illnesses. Transplantation of mitochondria has been reported as a potential promising approach to treat critical illnesses, particularly ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI).

Prospective analysis of SARS-CoV-2 dissemination to environmental surfaces during endoscopic procedures.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted routine medical care due to uncertainty regarding the risk of viral spread. One major concern for viral transmission to both patients and providers is performing aerosol-generating procedures such as endoscopy. As such, we performed a prospective study to examine the extent of viral contamination present in the local environment before and after endoscopic procedures on COVID-19 positive patients.

Effectiveness of SARS-CoV-2 Decontamination and Containment in a COVID-19 ICU.

Health care systems in the United States are continuously expanding and contracting spaces to treat patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in intensive care units (ICUs). As a result, hospitals must effectively decontaminate and contain severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in constructed and deconstructed ICUs that care for patients with COVID-19. We assessed decontamination of a COVID-19 ICU and examined the containment efficacy of combined contact and droplet precautions in creating and maintaining a SARS-CoV-2-negative ICU "antechamber".

Relative Ratios Enhance the Diagnostic Power of Phospholipids in Distinguishing Benign and Cancerous Ovarian Masses.

Ovarian cancer remains a highly lethal disease due to its late clinical presentation and lack of reliable early biomarkers. Protein-based diagnostic markers have presented limitations in identifying ovarian cancer. We tested the potential of phospholipids as markers of ovarian cancer by utilizing inter-related regulation of phospholipids, a unique property that allows the use of ratios between phospholipid species for quantitation.

Recent advances in personalizing cardiac arrest resuscitation.

Cardiac arrest remains a significant cause of death and disability throughout the world. However, as our understanding of cardiac arrest and resuscitation physiology has developed, new technologies are fundamentally altering our potential to improve survival and neurologic sequela. Some advances are relatively simple, requiring only alterations in current basic life support measures or integration with pre-hospital organization, whereas others, such as extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation, require significant time and resource investments.

Challenges and Inconsistencies in Using Lysophosphatidic Acid as a Biomarker for Ovarian Cancer.

Increased detection of plasma lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) has been proposed as a potential diagnostic biomarker in ovarian cancer, but inconsistency exists in these reports. It has been shown that LPA can undergo an artificial increase during sample processing and analysis, which has not been accounted for in ovarian cancer research. The aim of this study is to provide a potential explanation about how the artificial increase in LPA may have interfered with previous LPA analysis in ovarian cancer research.

Comparing phospholipid profiles of mitochondria and whole tissue: Higher PUFA content in mitochondria is driven by increased phosphatidylcholine unsaturation.

Phospholipids content in cellular and mitochondrial membranes is essential for maintaining normal function. Previous studies have found a lower polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content in mitochondria than whole tissue, theorizing decreased PUFA protects against oxidative injury. However, phospholipids (PPLs) are uniquely difficult to quantify without class separation and, as prior approaches have predominately used reverse-phase HPLC or shotgun analysis, quantitation of PPL classes may have been complicated due to the existence of numerous isobaric and isomeric species.

The histone acetyltransferase GCN5 and the transcriptional coactivator ADA2b affect leaf development and trichome morphogenesis in Arabidopsis.

The histone acetyltransferase GCN5 and associated transcriptional coactivator ADA2b are required to couple endoreduplication and trichome branching. Mutation of ADA2b also disrupts the relationship between ploidy and leaf cell size. Dynamic chromatin structure has been established as a general mechanism by which gene function is temporally and spatially regulated, but specific chromatin modifier function is less well understood.

Implementing a protocol to optimize blood use in a cardiac surgery service: results of a pre-post analysis and the impact of high-volume blood users.

Background: Blood transfusions are a common and costly intervention for cardiac surgery patients. Evidence suggests that a more restrictive transfusion strategy may reduce costs and transfusion-related complications without increasing perioperative morbidity and mortality.

Study Design And Methods: A transfusion-limiting protocol was developed and implemented in a cardiovascular surgery unit.

Bilateral internal mammary artery Y construct with multiple sequential grafting improves survival compared to bilateral internal mammary artery with additional vein grafts: 10-year experience at 2 different institutions†.

Objectives: Utilization of bilateral internal mammary arteries (BIMAs) has been shown to improve long-term outcomes in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. To achieve complete revascularization, BIMAs may be used as either sole conduits for revascularization through a Y-graft configuration (BIMA-Y) or deployed with additional grafts used in conjunction with BIMAs. The purpose of this study was to compare the long-term outcomes of two institutions that predominantly used either the BIMA-Y configuration or BIMA plus additional grafts to achieve optimal revascularization.

Bilateral internal thoracic artery graft configuration and coronary artery bypass grafting conduits.

Purpose Of Review: Bilateral internal thoracic arteries (BITAs) have demonstrated their superiority over all other types of graft in terms of patency and survival benefit. BITA implementation requires the surgeon's evaluation of the patient's coronary anatomy and demographics. There is no single ideal approach to BITA utilization, but instead a variety of configurations that can be implemented based on the patient characteristics.

Complete myocardial revascularization using only bilateral internal thoracic arteries provides a low-risk and durable 10-year clinical outcome.

Objectives: Bilateral internal thoracic artery (BITA) bypass provides long-term survival benefits over strategies that use single internal mammary arteries during coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). However, the rate of adoption of this strategy remains very low. Moreover, optimal BITA configuration and the use of cardiopulmonary bypass still remain a matter of debate.

The effects of using a radial artery in patients already receiving bilateral internal mammary arteries during coronary bypass grafting: 30-day outcomes and 14-year survival in a propensity-matched cohort.

Objectives: Recent studies have demonstrated the superiority of bilateral internal mammary arteries (BIMAs) as conduit material for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery. However, there is limited research on the effects of other graft conduits used in patients who require additional bypasses. The goal of this study was to evaluate the impact of the radial artery (RA) when used in conjunction with the BIMAs.

Effects of a protocol-based management of type A aortic dissections.

Background: Ascending aortic dissections (AADs) require prompt diagnosis and surgical treatment. We present the results of implementing a multidisciplinary aortic dissection protocol on the outcomes of AAD treatment at a nonteaching hospital.

Methods: From January 2002-December 2013, 54 patients with the diagnosis of AAD were treated at our institution.

Drosophila muller f elements maintain a distinct set of genomic properties over 40 million years of evolution.

The Muller F element (4.2 Mb, ~80 protein-coding genes) is an unusual autosome of Drosophila melanogaster; it is mostly heterochromatic with a low recombination rate. To investigate how these properties impact the evolution of repeats and genes, we manually improved the sequence and annotated the genes on the D.

Homograft subclavian interposition graft to left main coronary artery ostium in aortic root replacement.

Performing a reoperative root replacement in cases of prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) can often be challenging due to significant inflammation and scarring. During these cases, surgeons may decide to utilize an interpositional graft when mobilization of the coronary ostia becomes too hazardous. The authors describe their experience performing a reoperative root replacement on a patient with PVE.

Impact of pump status and conduit choice in coronary artery bypass: A 15-year follow-up study in 1412 propensity-matched patients.

Objective: Previous studies have demonstrated that bilateral internal mammary artery (BIMA) grafts lead to superior outcomes compared with single internal mammary artery grafts. This study examines whether cardiopulmonary bypass affects conduit-dependent outcomes of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery.

Methods: From 1994 to 2013, a total of 6666 patients underwent isolated CABG surgery at our institution.