A loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for the detection of Cryptotermes brevis West Indian drywood termite (Blattodea: Kalotermitidae).

Cryptotermes brevis is one of the most destructive invasive termites in the subtropics and tropics and is a common biosecurity intercept at the Australian border. Drywood termite species are cryptic and difficult to identify morphologically in situations when soldiers or imagos are unavailable. We developed a novel DNA based loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay to detect C.

Priorities for professionalism: what do surgeons think?

Objective: To gain an understanding of the relative importance of the nine surgical competencies and their 27 attributes defined by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS), which together provide the curriculum framework for today's surgeons.

Design, Setting And Participants: Between 9 August and 30 September 2010, trainees and Fellows of the RACS across Australia and New Zealand actively involved in educational activities rated, via questionnaire, the importance of the RACS competencies (technical expertise, communication, professionalism, medical expertise, judgement and decision making, scholarship and teaching, collaboration and teamwork, management and leadership, and health advocacy) and associated attributes.

Main Outcome Measures: Importance ranking of competencies and their attributes for surgical education and training.

Educational and health impact of the Baume Report: 'A Cutting Edge: Australia's Surgical Workforce'.

Objectives: The Baume Report (1994) on Australia's surgical workforce had the potential to impact upon the health and educational sectors. This paper analyses the recommendations of this report and their impact at the time and 15 years later (2009).

Methods: A questionnaire-based study was performed with the 18 senior Fellows and the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) solicitor who had been instrumental in facilitating responses to the review.

Welcome to the world of telehealth: physicians reaping significant benefits.

With helthcare cost and red tape spinning out of control, telehealth companies have come up with a way to streamline patient access to physicians 24/7/365 while giving physicians more flexibility and a chance to supplement their income. This article demonstrates how telehealth companies, like TelaDoc, make it increasingly possible for physicians to diagnose routine, nonemergency medical problems via telephone, as well as recommend treatment and prescribe medication when necessary. This simple and efficient approach enhances the role of primary care physicians, supports the "medical home" model, and improves patient access to care.

Custodiol versus Plegisol: A phase 3 multicentre myocardial protection study.

Background: While considered simple and effective, crystalloid antegrade cardioplegia solutions have had few prospective multicentre comparison trials.

Methods: A commercial intracellular-type histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate (HTK) cardioplegia solution (Custodiol HTK; Köhler Chemie GmbH, Germany) designed for 4 h of protection after a single administration was compared with a standard extracellular multidose product (Plegisol [PL]; Hospira Inc, USA) in an open-label, randomized, prospective seven-institution trial. A total of 136 isolated coronary bypass patients were randomly assigned into two groups and stratified by ejection fraction into categories of 40% or greater (n=118) and 20% to 39% (n=18).

Chordae tendinae tumor as the cause of cardioembolic stroke.

We describe the case of a chordae tendinae papillary fibroelastoma with patent foramen ovale and interatrial septal aneurysm in a healthy young woman who suffered from acute ischemic right middle cerebral artery infarction.

Risk-stratified evaluation of amiodarone to prevent atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery.

Background: Amiodarone prophylaxis (AMP) reduces the prevalence of postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) after cardiac surgery. We investigated the impact of AMP on the frequency and duration of POAF, the intensive care unit and hospital length of stay, and its cost-effectiveness in a risk-stratified cohort.

Methods: A retrospective, observational analysis of 509 patients who underwent cardiac surgery in 2003 was performed.

Hemolytic anemia produced by regurgitation through transposed chordae tendineae.

Hemolytic anemia after mitral repair and annuloplasty ring placement is very uncommon, and rarely described. The case is presented of a 53-year-old woman who developed severe mitral regurgitation and transfusion-dependent hemolytic anemia following mitral valve repair with a Carpentier-Edwards annuloplasty ring, which included transposition of chordae tendineae from the posterior leaflet to the anterior leaflet. Transesophageal echocardiography suggested that the transposed chordae tethered the anterior leaflet, causing malcoaptation of the leaflets.

Tricuspid annuloplasty significantly reduces early tricuspid regurgitation after biatrial heart transplantation.

Background: The incidence of tricuspid annuloplasty (TR) observed early after cardiac biatrial implantation is unpredictable and in our experience not infrequently problematic. Although the bicaval method of implant may reduce the incidence of TR, its benefit has not been conclusively documented.

Methods: In an attempt to reduce the incidence of TR observed early after cardiac transplantation, 25 consecutive patients undergoing cardiac transplantation received donor heart tricuspid annuloplasty (TA) with either a DeVega or Ring technique.