The role of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt in the management of portal vein thrombosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The role of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) in the management of portal vein thrombosis (PVT) remains controversial. This study aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the role of TIPS for the management of PVT in adult patients with liver disease.

Patients And Methods: Multiple databases were searched through April 2017.

Drinking in snakes: resolving a biomechanical puzzle.

Snakes have long been thought to drink with a two-phase buccal-pump mechanism, but observations that some snakes can drink without sealing the margins of their mouths suggest that buccal pumping may not be the only drinking mechanism used by snakes. Here, we report that some snakes appear to drink using sponge-like qualities of specific regions of the oropharyngeal and esophageal mucosa and sponge-compressing functions of certain muscles and bones of the head. The resulting mechanism allows them to transport water upward against the effects of gravity using movements much slower than those of many other vertebrates.