Plaque contact surface area and lumen volume predict stroke risk in extracranial carotid artery stenosis.

Background: The standard indication for intervention in asymptomatic disease is currently percent stenosis in the internal carotid artery as measured by the North American Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy Trial (NASCET) method, which remains limited in discriminating power. Computed tomography angiography (CTA) is widely used to calculate NASCET stenosis, but also offers the opportunity to analyze carotid artery plaques from a morphological perspective that has not been widely used. We aim to improve stroke risk stratification of patients with carotid artery stenosis using plaque three-dimensional (3D) modeling and image analysis.

The Principles and Practice of Endonasal Rhinoplasty: Special Topics for Clinics in Plastic Surgery Journal.

Endonasal rhinoplasty is a minimally invasive approach in which esthetic and functional improvements are made solely through intranasal, without transcolumellar, incisions and with limited soft tissue and skeletal disruption. In addition to intentionally limiting surgical dissection, the rhinoplasty surgeon must preoperatively recognize and surgically correct 4 common anatomic variants which predictably create all 3 patterns of secondary deformity. In combination, respecting these principles gives the surgeon greater predictability in achieving esthetic and functional improvements, and the ability to limit the adverse effects of skin contractility and postoperative scar contracture, thus reducing the risk of secondary deformity, patient dissatisfaction, and reoperation.

Devices to enhance organ perfusion during cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Introduction: The recommended method of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) has been closed-chest cardiac compressions, but the development of CPR adjunctive devices has called into question the efficacy and role of these adjunctive devices. In this review, we provide a comprehensive evaluation and discussion on the commercially available noninvasive CPR adjuncts used during out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA).

Areas Covered: We review the three most common CPR adjunctive devices: the piston mechanism, the load distributing band, and the impedance threshold device.

Predictors for Postoperative Chyle Leak Following Neck Dissection, a Technique-Based Comparison.

Objective: Assess the impact of surgical technique used to address level IV on the rate of postoperative chyle leak.

Study Design: Retrospective chart review.

Setting: Academic tertiary care center.

Are metatarsal fractures indicative of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women?

Patients who sustain low trauma fractures are at a higher risk of osteoporosis. However, there are conflicting data concerning whether metatarsal fractures are also associated with low bone mineral density. The authors retrospectively analyzed data on 68 postmenopausal women who had sustained a low trauma metatarsal fracture.

Are fibromyalgia patients as inactive as they say they are?

Both fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients self-report similar disability. These diseases are viewed differently by the medical profession as one has ample evidence of tissue damage and inflammation and the other does not. We were interested to see if an objective measure produced similar results.

The cabbage aphid: a walking mustard oil bomb.

The cabbage aphid, Brevicoryne brassicae, has developed a chemical defence system that exploits and mimics that of its host plants, involving sequestration of the major plant secondary metabolites (glucosinolates). Like its host plants, the aphid produces a myrosinase (beta-thioglucoside glucohydrolase) to catalyse the hydrolysis of glucosinolates, yielding biologically active products. Here, we demonstrate that aphid myrosinase expression in head/thoracic muscle starts during embryonic development and protein levels continue to accumulate after the nymphs are born.

Endoscopic transnasal management of intracranial foreign bodies.

Foreign bodies may be introduced into the paranasal sinuses or cranium through a variety of traumatic or iatrogenic events. A variety of open and, more recently, endoscopic approaches have been used for the removal of sinonasal foreign bodies. Intracranial foreign bodies, however, typically require retrieval via a craniotomy approach, which continues to carry significant perioperative risks.

Spatial organization of the glucosinolate-myrosinase system in brassica specialist aphids is similar to that of the host plant.

Secondary metabolites are important in plant defence against pests and diseases. Similarly, insects can use plant secondary metabolites in defence and, in some cases, synthesize their own products. The paper describes how two specialist brassica feeders, Brevicoryne brassicae (cabbage aphid) and Lipaphis erysimi (turnip aphid) can sequester glucosinolates (thioglucosides) from their host plants, yet avoid the generation of toxic degradation products by compartmentalizing myrosinase (thioglucosidase) into crystalline microbodies.