Hyperoxia impairs induced pluripotent stem cell-derived endothelial cells and drives an atherosclerosis-like transcriptional phenotype.

Background: Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) directed to endothelial identity (iPSC-ECs) are emerging as a potent tool for regenerative medicine in vascular disease. However, iPSC-ECs lose expression of key identity markers under standard in vitro conditions, limiting their clinical applications.

Methods: To model physiological in vivo conditions, we examined the bioenergetics, presence of key cell markers, and proliferative and angiogenic capacity in iPSC-ECs at late and early passage under hyperoxic (21%) and physiological (4%) oxygen concentrations.

Unconscious bias in speaker introductions at a national vascular surgery meeting: The impact of rank, race and gender.

Objectives: Unconscious bias can impact manner of speaker introductions in formal academic settings. We examined speaker introductions at the Society of Vascular Surgeons Annual Meeting to determine factors associated with non-professional address.

Methods: We examined speaker introductions from the 2019 SVS Vascular Annual Meeting.

Single-Cell RNA sequencing investigation of female-male differences under PAD conditions.

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is an age-related medical condition affecting mostly muscular arteries of the limb. It is the 3 leading cause of atherosclerotic morbidity. The mechanical environment of endothelial cells (ECs) in PAD is characterized by disturbed blood flow (d-flow) and stiff extracellular matrices.

Autophagy Enhances Longevity of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Endothelium via mTOR-Independent ULK1 Kinase.

Stem cells are enabling an improved understanding of the peripheral arterial disease, and patient-specific stem cell-derived endothelial cells (ECs) present major advantages as a therapeutic modality. However, applications of patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived ECs are limited by rapid loss of mature cellular function in culture. We hypothesized that changes in autophagy impact the phenotype and cellular proliferation of iPSC-ECs.

Efficacy and safety of sonographer discretion to terminate a venous duplex ultrasound for diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis in coronavirus disease 2019 patients.

Objective: Sonographers performing venous duplex ultrasound (VDUS) of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have an increased risk of exposure owing to their close contact with these patients for an extended period. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of a modified COVID-19 VDUS protocol to reduce sonographer exposure to COVID-19 patients.

Methods: We performed a single-center retrospective review.

Direct oral anticoagulants decrease treatment failure for acute lower extremity deep venous thrombosis.

Objective: Optimal medical therapy for acute lower extremity deep venous thrombosis (DVT) remains an enigma. While clinical trials demonstrate non-inferiority with an oral anti-Xa inhibitor, or direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC), versus combined low-molecular weight heparin (LMWH) and oral vitamin K antagonist (VKA), the most effective regimen remains to be determined.

Methods: This study is a single-center retrospective cohort study from October 2014 to December 2015 of patients with a diagnosis of acute DVT and subsequent serial lower extremity venous duplex.

Modifiable risk factors for burnout in vascular surgery trainees.

Objective: Burnout is prevalent among vascular surgery trainees. Here we aim to identify modifiable risk factors for burnout in vascular surgery training, to facilitate the development of programs to enhance and sustain trainee well-being.

Methods: The Association of Program Directors in Vascular Surgery issued the Annual Training survey in the fall of 2018 to all trainees.

Current issues and future directions for vascular surgery training from the results of the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 Association of Program Directors in Vascular Surgery annual training survey.

Background: Surgical training is constantly adapting to better prepare trainees for an evolving landscape of surgical practice. Training in vascular surgery additionally underwent a paradigm shift with the introduction of the integrated training pathway now more than a decade ago. With this study, we sought to characterize the needs and goals of our current vascular surgery trainee population.

Evidence-Based Bundled Quality Improvement Intervention for Reducing Surgical Site Infection in Lower Extremity Vascular Bypass Procedures.

Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) poses a significant burden to patients and healthcare resources. Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI) data identify a higher rate of SSIs for lower extremity bypass than other vascular procedures. Bundled interventions have successfully reduced SSIs in other surgical procedures.

Impact of Body Mass Index on Outcomes after Mesenteric Revascularization for Chronic Mesenteric Ischemia.

Background: Historically, patients with chronic mesenteric ischemia (CMI) are underweight with a low body mass index (BMI). However, with the recent obesity epidemic many of these patients now are overweight with a high BMI. We evaluated the impact of BMI on outcomes after mesenteric revascularization for CMI.

The autosomal dominant spinocerebellar ataxias: emerging mechanistic themes suggest pervasive Purkinje cell vulnerability.

The spinocerebellar ataxias are a genetically heterogeneous group of disorders with clinically overlapping phenotypes arising from Purkinje cell degeneration, cerebellar atrophy and varying degrees of degeneration of other grey matter regions. For 22 of the 32 subtypes, a genetic cause has been identified. While recurring themes are emerging, there is no clear correlation between the clinical phenotype or penetrance, the type of genetic defect or the category of the disease mechanism, or the neuronal types involved beyond Purkinje cells.

A conserved eEF2 coding variant in SCA26 leads to loss of translational fidelity and increased susceptibility to proteostatic insult.

The autosomal dominant spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) are a genetically heterogeneous group of disorders exhibiting cerebellar atrophy and Purkinje cell degeneration whose subtypes arise from 31 distinct genetic loci. Our group previously published the locus for SCA26 on chromosome 19p13.3.

Positive and negative predictors for good outcome after decompressive surgery for Chiari malformation type 1 as scored on the Chicago Chiari Outcome Scale.

Objective: Posterior fossa decompression (PFD) is commonly applied as treatment for Chiari malformation type 1 (CM1), an entity which is associated with a variety of presenting symptoms but little data correlating symptoms to surgical outcome. We applied the Chicago Chiari Outcome Scale (CCOS), a novel 16-point tool for evaluating outcome, to a consecutive series of CM1 patients to identify specific factors or symptoms that predispose to a better or worse surgical outcome.

Methods: A series of 167 CM1 patients who underwent initial PFD at our institution (consisting of suboccipital craniectomy, C1 laminectomy, subarachnoid exploration, and expansile autologous pericranial duraplasty) were reviewed.

A novel scoring system for assessing Chiari malformation type I treatment outcomes.

Background: Outcome assessment for the management of Chiari malformation type 1 is difficult because of the lack of a reliable and specific surgical outcome assessment scale. Such a scale could reliably correlate postoperative outcomes with preoperative symptoms.

Objective: We developed a novel scoring system and applied it retrospectively to 146 patients treated at our institution in order to create and verify a simple and quantifiable assessment of Chiari outcomes.

An intrastrand three-DNA-base interaction is a key specificity determinant of F transfer initiation and of F TraI relaxase DNA recognition and cleavage.

Bacterial conjugation, transfer of a single conjugative plasmid strand between bacteria, diversifies prokaryotic genomes and disseminates antibiotic resistance genes. As a prerequisite for transfer, plasmid-encoded relaxases bind to and cleave the transferred plasmid strand with sequence specificity. The crystal structure of the F TraI relaxase domain with bound single-stranded DNA suggests binding specificity is partly determined by an intrastrand three-way base-pairing interaction.