Transcatheter Edge-to-Edge Repair for Left Atrioventricular Valve Cleft After Previously Repaired Complete Atrioventricular Canal Defect in Down Syndrome.

• TEER of mitral leaflet clefts has been reported sparingly. • Patients with DS may have left AVV disease including clefts. • TEER may be feasible in high surgical risk patients with AVV cleft.

Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator placement among patients with left ventricular ejection fraction ≤35 % at least 40 days after acute myocardial infarction.

Background: Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death among patients with persistently reduced (≤35 %) left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) at least 40 days following acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Few prior studies have used LVEF measured after the 40-day waiting period to examine primary prevention ICD placement.

Methods: We sought to determine factors associated with ICD placement among patients who met LVEF criteria post-MI within a large integrated health care system in the U.

Valves, Vegetations, and Valves.

We present a novel method for the treatment of right-sided bioprosthetic valve endocarditis with AngioVac debulking followed by percutaneous pulmonic and tricuspid valve replacement for residual transcatheter valve degeneration and right ventricular dysfunction.

Factors associated with remote monitoring adherence for cardiovascular implantable electronic devices.

Background: Professional societies strongly recommend remote monitoring (RM) of all cardiac implantable electronic devices, and higher RM adherence is associated with improved patient outcomes. However, adherence with RM is suboptimal.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to better understand factors associated with RM adherence.

Cardiovascular Implications and Therapeutic Considerations in COVID-19 Infection.

The ongoing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has profoundly impacted all fields of medicine. Infection with SARS-CoV-2 and the resulting coronavirus of 2019 (COVID-19) syndrome has multiorgan effects. The pandemic has united researchers from bench to bedside in attempts to understand the pathophysiology of the disease and define optimal treatment strategies.

Conduction System Abnormalities After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: Mechanism, Prediction, and Management.

Conduction disturbances following TAVR are a common occurrence given the proximity of the various conduction system tissues, including the AV node, His-bundle, and bundle branches to the left ventricular outflow tract and aortic root. Impairment of these conduction system abnormalities may necessitate permanent pacemaker implantation, which increases morbidity and mortality, as well as length of stay, for the patient. The incidence, mechanisms, and predictors of conduction abnormalities and treatment options are discussed in this up-to-date review of the topic.

Evaluation of controlled-release devices for providing chromium sesquioxide and zinc in Huacaya alpacas at pasture.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of controlled-release devices (CRDs) for providing zinc and for estimating faecal output in alpacas and sheep at pasture.

Methods: The study groups of 10 alpacas and 10 sheep at pasture were paired within species and allocated at random to receive by mouth either one CRD containing chromium sesquioxide designed to function for at least 21 days or two CRDs, one containing chromium sesquioxide and the other zinc oxide designed to release over a nominal 60-day period. Faecal concentrations of chromium, zinc and ash, blood and plasma concentrations of zinc and plasma activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were measured over a period of 117 days after treatment.

Expression of IGF/insulin receptor in prostate cancer tissue and progression to lethal disease.

Circulating insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) is consistently associated with prostate cancer risk. IGF-1 binds to IGF-1 receptor (IGF1R) and insulin receptor (IR), activating cancer hallmark pathways. Experimental evidence suggests that TMPRSS2:ERG may interact with IGF/insulin signaling to influence progression.

Longitudinal Blood Pressure Changes and Kidney Function Decline in Persons Without Chronic Kidney Disease: Findings From the MESA Study.

Background: While changes in blood pressure (BP) are independently associated with cardiovascular events, less is known about the association between changes in BP and subsequent changes in renal function in adults with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of >60 ml/min/1.73 m2.

Methods: The present study included 3,920 participants in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) study who had ≥2 BP measurements during the first 5 years of MESA and had eGFR measurements at both year 5 and 10.

The Association of Five-Year Changes in the Levels of N-Terminal Fragment of the Prohormone Brain-Type Natriuretic Peptide (NT-proBNP) with Subsequent Heart Failure and Death in Patients with Stable Coronary Artery Disease: The Heart and Soul Study.

Background: The N-terminal fragment of the prohormone brain-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is a powerful predictor of adverse outcomes in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). However, little is known regarding the prognostic significance of longitudinal changes in NT-proBNP levels.

Methods: We evaluated the ability of 5-year changes in NT-proBNP levels to predict subsequent heart failure (HF) hospitalization or cardiovascular (CV) death in 635 participants with stable CAD enrolled in the Heart and Soul Study.

Circulating Antioxidant Levels and Risk of Prostate Cancer by TMPRSS2:ERG.

Background: Few studies have considered etiological differences across molecular subtypes of prostate cancer, despite potential to improve opportunities for precision prevention of a disease for which modifiable risk factors have remained elusive. Factors that lead to DNA double-strand breaks, such as oxidative stress, may promote the formation of the TMPRSS2:ERG gene fusion in prostate cancer. We tested the hypothesis that increasing levels of pre-diagnostic circulating antioxidants, which may reduce oxidative stress, are associated with lower risk of developing TMPRSS2:ERG positive prostate cancer.

Prevalence of hepatitis C among injecting drug users attending drug clinics.

Background: Chronic hepatitis C (HCV) infection is an important public health issue in New Zealand, and an increasing cause of advanced liver disease.

Method: This study examined the 2015 data on hepatitis C serology in patients on opiate substitution at four Alcohol and Drug Services, as well as rates of referral and responses to treatment for HCV.

Results: Among 579 patients tested, 439 (76 %) were positive for HCV antibody.

SPINK1 protein expression and prostate cancer progression.

Purpose: SPINK1 overexpression has been described in prostate cancer and is linked with poor prognosis in many cancers. The objective of this study was to characterize the association between SPINK1 overexpression and prostate cancer-specific survival.

Experimental Design: The study included 879 participants in the U.

Patterns of prescription drug misuse presenting to provincial drug clinics.

Aim: To survey new patients, presenting to three drug clinics, on the patterns, usage and costs of prescription pharmaceuticals.

Method: Consecutive patients seen by the medical staff for assessment had a 7-day history recorded for prescription drug (PD) usage, and the associated costs of these from street sources.

Results: There were 37 patients (26 males) with a mean age of 34 years (21-51).

Depot injection of barium selenate for long-term prevention of selenium inadequacy in beef cattle.

In southern Australia, cattle at risk from selenium (Se) deficiency can be given an oral dose of supplements that are effective in maintaining adequate Se status for between 9 and 12 months. The present study was undertaken to assess the duration of the effect of parenteral barium selenate (BaSe) in raising the Se status of cattle at pasture in an area of marginal Se deficiency. The BaSe was given subcutaneously to Hereford heifers, using an 18-gauge needle.

Immunohistochemical expression of BRCA1 and lethal prostate cancer.

BRCA1 functions as a tumor suppressor; recent work suggests that BRCA1 may also induce cell cycle arrest to allow for DNA repair. We hypothesized that BRCA1 expression in prostate tumor tissue may be associated with prostate cancer progression through regulation of the cell cycle. We used immunohistochemistry to evaluate BRCA1 protein expression in archival tumor samples from 393 prostate cancer cases in the Physicians' Health Study.

Drug injecting in patients in New Zealand Methadone Maintenance Treatment programs: an anonymous survey.

Introduction And Aims: To investigate the prevalence and nature of injecting behaviour among patients on Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) programs.

Design And Methods: A self-reported questionnaire was handed to 423 patients enrolled in MMT across six clinics in the lower North Island of New Zealand.

Results: A total of 151 patients responded, giving a 35.

Prospective study of Trichomonas vaginalis infection and prostate cancer incidence and mortality: Physicians' Health Study.

Background: A recent nested case-control study found that the presence of antibodies against Trichomonas vaginalis, a common nonviral sexually transmitted infection, was positively associated with subsequent incidence of prostate cancer. We confirmed these findings in an independent population and related serostatus for antibodies against T vaginalis to prostate cancer incidence and mortality.

Methods: We conducted a case-control study nested within the Physicians' Health Study that included 673 case subjects with prostate cancer and 673 individually matched control subjects who had available plasma samples.

Factors associated with low vitamin D status of Australian alpacas.

Objective: To investigate factors associated with low vitamin D status of alpacas at pasture in southern Australia.

Design: A 2-year survey of alpacas from two farms in South Australia and three in Victoria. Blood samples were collected from 20 to 30 alpacas on each farm on five occasions each year.

Evolution reversed: the ability to bind iron restored to the N-lobe of the murine inhibitor of carbonic anhydrase by strategic mutagenesis.

The murine inhibitor of carbonic anhydrase (mICA) is a member of the superfamily related to the bilobal iron transport protein transferrin (TF), which binds a ferric ion within a cleft in each lobe. Although the gene encoding ICA in humans is classified as a pseudogene, an apparently functional ICA gene has been annotated in mice, rats, cows, pigs, and dogs. All ICAs lack one (or more) of the amino acid ligands in each lobe essential for high-affinity coordination of iron and the requisite synergistic anion, carbonate.

Selenium in Australia: selenium status and biofortification of wheat for better health.

Selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient for humans and animals, but is deficient in at least a billion people worldwide. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a major dietary source of Se.

Trends in selenium status of South Australians.

Objective: To assess trends in selenium status in South Australians from 1977 to 2002.

Design: Six cross-sectional surveys.

Participants: 117 participants in 1977, 30 in 1979, 96 and 103 (separate surveys) in 1987, 200 in 1988, and 288 volunteer blood donors in 2002.

An assessment of the safety of copper heptonate for parenteral therapy in sheep.

Objective: To investigate any adverse effects of an intramuscular injection (i.m.) of copper heptonate (CuHep) in sheep.