Streamlined Surgical Draping Reduces Subcutaneous Implantable Cardioverter-defibrillator Implant Procedure Preparation Time.

The subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (S-ICD) is a proven alternative to transvenous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator systems. One critique of S-ICD use, however, has been the time required for implantation. Here, we discuss the use of an alternative surgical draping technique to reduce preparation time for device implantation.

Embodied health: the effects of a mind-body course for medical students.

Objective: An effective career in medicine requires empathy and compassion, yet the demands of a medical education increase stress and decrease students' ability to connect with patients. However, research suggests mind-body practices improve psychological well-being. This study aimed to evaluate the psychological effects on medical students of an 11-week elective course, Embodied Health or EH, which combines yoga and meditation with neuroscience didactics.

Release of superoxide dismutase-1 by day 3 embryos of varying quality and implantation potential.

Purpose: To determine if the antioxidant superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD1 or Cu,Zn-SOD) is released by cultured human cleavage-stage embryos and to assess any link between SOD1 and implantation potential.

Methods: Women (n = 91; ≤40 years old) undergoing IVF treatment with transfer of one or two 8-cell embryos that resulted in 0 or 100% implantation were included. Following individual embryo culture, spent medium samples (n = 122) were collected and levels of SOD1 protein were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Mutational analysis of GCMB, a parathyroid-specific transcription factor, in parathyroid adenoma of primary hyperparathyroidism.

Sporadic primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT), one of the most common endocrine disorders, is characterized by hypercalcemia and elevated PTH levels. The majority of cases are caused by a benign parathyroid adenoma, but somatic or de novo germ-line mutations that lead to adenoma formation have only been identified in few glands. GCMB is a parathyroid-specific transcription factor, which causes hypoparathyroidism when inactivated on both parental alleles or when a dominant-negative, heterozygous mutation is present.

Fluctuations in total antioxidant capacity, catalase activity and hydrogen peroxide levels of follicular fluid during bovine folliculogenesis.

Follicular fluid is an important environment for oocyte development, yet current knowledge regarding its in vivo oxidant and antioxidant levels remains limited. Examining follicular fluid oxidants and antioxidants will improve understanding of their changes in vivo and contribute to optimisation of in vitro maturation conditions. The aim of the present study was to consider selected markers, namely catalase (CAT) enzyme activity, total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) in follicular fluid samples (n = 503) originating from bovine antral follicles.

Profiling of superoxide dismutase isoenzymes in compartments of the developing bovine antral follicles.

The antral follicle constitutes a complex and regulated ovarian microenvironment that influences oocyte quality. Oxidative stress is a cellular state that may play a role during folliculogenesis and oogenesis, although direct supporting evidence is currently lacking. We thus evaluated the expression of the three isoforms (SOD1, SOD2, and SOD3) of the enzymatic antioxidant superoxide dismutase in all the cellular (granulosa cells, cumulus cells, and oocytes) and extracellular (follicular fluid) compartments of the follicle.