Landscapes and bacterial signatures of mucosa-associated intestinal microbiota in Chilean and Spanish patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), which include ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), cause chronic inflammation of the gut, affecting millions of people worldwide. IBDs have been frequently associated with an alteration of the gut microbiota, termed dysbiosis, which is generally characterized by an increase in abundance of Proteobacteria such as , and a decrease in abundance of Firmicutes such as (an indicator of a healthy colonic microbiota). The mechanisms behind the development of IBDs and dysbiosis are incompletely understood.

Variants in DNA double-strand break repair genes and risk of familial breast cancer in a South American population.

The double-strand break (DSB) DNA repair pathway has been implicated in breast cancer (BC). RAD51 and its paralogs XRCC3 and RAD51D play an important role in the repair of DSB through homologous recombination (HR). Some polymorphisms including XRCC3-Thr241Met, RAD51-135G>C, and RAD51D-E233G have been found to confer increased BC susceptibility.

Morbidity and mortality of a failed attempt at mitral valve repair converted to replacement at the same operation.

Background And Aim Of The Study: Although mitral valve repair (MVRpr) is the preferred operation for mitral disease worldwide, some surgeons are reluctant to attempt this, believing that excess morbidity and mortality will result if the attempt fails and conversion to mitral valve replacement (MVR) is necessary during surgery.

Methods: Typical preoperative, operative and postoperative parameters were reviewed retrospectively on 2,017 consecutive adults undergoing mitral valve operations (MVO), with and without additional cardiac surgery, between 1986 and 1999. Morbidity and mortality were compared for all MVRpr, MVR and attempted repairs, which failed and were converted to replacement at the same operation (FRpr).

Trends in mitral valve surgery in a large multi-surgeon, multi-hospital practice, 1979-1999.

Background And Aim Of The Study: Trends in mitral valve operations (MVO) may help to predict the future of mitral valve surgery in the context of changing case mix, population demographics, emerging technology and shifting paradigms.

Methods: All adults undergoing single mitral valve operations (MVO) between 1979 and 1999 were reviewed retrospectively according to age, gender and other typical clinical variables, surgical complexity, specific operation and immediate outcome.

Results: A total of 2,055 single MVO was performed.

Trends in aortic valve surgery in a large multi-surgeon, multi-hospital practice, 1979-1999.

Background And Aim Of The Study: Trends in aortic valve operations (AVO) may help to predict the future of aortic valve surgery in the context of changing case mix, population demographics, emerging technology and shifting paradigms.

Methods: All adults undergoing single AVO between 1979 and 1999 were reviewed retrospectively according to age, gender and other typical clinical variables, surgical complexity, specific operation and immediate outcome.

Results: There were 3,917 single AVO.