Oleanolic Acid Modulates DNA Damage Response to Camptothecin Increasing Cancer Cell Death.

Targeting DNA damage response (DDR) pathways represents one of the principal approaches in cancer therapy. However, defects in DDR mechanisms, exhibited by various tumors, can also promote tumor progression and resistance to therapy, negatively impacting patient survival. Therefore, identifying new molecules from natural extracts could provide a powerful source of novel compounds for cancer treatment strategies.

Major Bleeding and Mortality After Revascularization of Left Main Disease.

Background: The incidence and prognostic impact of major bleeding (MB) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) for left main coronary artery disease (LMCAD) are unknown.

Objectives: The goal of this study was to investigate the rates and outcomes of MB after LMCAD revascularization.

Methods: In the EXCEL (Evaluation of XIENCE versus Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery for Effectiveness of Left Main Revascularization) trial, 1,905 patients with unprotected LMCAD were randomized to undergo PCI (n = 948) or CABG (n = 957) and followed up for 5 years.

Sperm Chromatin Dispersion Test Detects Sperm DNA Fragmentation Mainly Associated with Unviable Spermatozoa and Underestimates the Values with Respect to TUNEL Assay.

Several clinical laboratories assess sperm DNA fragmentation (sDF) in addition to semen analysis in male infertility diagnosis. Among tests evaluating sDF, TUNEL (Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling) and SCD (Sperm Chromatin Dispersion) are widely used. Our lab developed a modified version of TUNEL (TUNEL/PI) able to distinguish two sperm populations (PI Brighter and PI Dimmer) differently associated with sperm viability and reproductive outcomes.

CDK9-55 guides the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) in choosing the DNA repair pathway choice.

DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) contribute to genome instability, a key feature of cancer. DSBs are mainly repaired by homologous recombination (HR) and non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ). We investigated the role of an isoform of the multifunctional cyclin-dependent kinase 9, CDK9-55, in DNA repair, by generating CDK9-55-knockout HeLa clones (through CRISPR-Cas9), which showed potential HR dysfunction.

Preemptive alcohol septal ablation prior to transcatheter mitral valve replacement.

Background: Alcohol septal ablation (ASA) has been shown to increase the neo-left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) area before transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) but there is little literature on its success and use with dedicated devices.

Aims: To describe our experience with preemptive ASA to increase the predicted neo-LVOT area and its utility with both dedicated TMVR devices and balloon-expandable valves.

Methods: All patients who underwent ASA for TMVR candidacy in our center between May 2018 and October 2022 and had computed tomography (CT) scans done before and after ASA were included.

Effects of Benzo[a]pyrene on Human Sperm Functions: An In Vitro Study.

Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) is considered one of the most dangerous air pollutants for adverse health effects, including reproductive toxicity. It is found both in male and female reproductive fluids likely affecting spermatozoa after the selection process through cervical mucus, a process mimicked in vitro with the swim-up procedure. In vitro effects of BaP (1, 5, 10 µM) were evaluated both in unselected and swim-up selected spermatozoa after 3 and 24 h of incubation.

Risk Influence of Some Environmental and Behavioral Factors on Air Contamination in the Operating Room: An Experimental Study.

Air contamination in operating rooms (ORs) depends on the conditions of the room and on activities therein performed. Methodologies of air quality assessment in ORs are often inadequately described in the scientific literature, and the time required for a change in status in air quality is never taken into account. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of the state and the presence of human operators on air quality by implementing a precise measurement protocol that also took into account the time required for changes in the room to affect air pollution.

Bedside Clinician's Guide to Pulmonary Artery Catheters.

Background: Pulmonary artery catheters provide important information about cardiac function, mixed venous oxygenation, and right-sided pressures and potentially provide temporary pacing ability.

Objective: To provide bedside clinicians with guidance for techniques to insert right heart monitors and devices, describe risk factors for difficult insertion and contraindications to placement, and provide updates on new technologies that may be encountered in the intensive care unit.

Methods: An extensive literature review was performed.

The hydrophilic extract from a new tomato genotype (named DHO) kills cancer cell lines through the modulation of the DNA damage response induced by Campthotecin treatment.

Introduction: DNA double-strand breaks are the most toxic lesions repaired through the non-homologous and joining (NHEJ) or the homologous recombination (HR), which is dependent on the generation of single-strand tails, by the DNA end resection mechanism. The resolution of the HR intermediates leads to error-free repair (Gene Conversion) or the mutagenic pathways (Single Strand Annealing and Alternative End-Joining); the regulation of processes leading to the resolution of the HR intermediates is not fully understood.

Methods: Here, we used a hydrophilic extract of a new tomato genotype (named DHO) in order to modulate the Camptothecin (CPT) DNA damage response.

Effects of Meteo-Climatic Factors on Hospital Admissions for Cardiovascular Diseases in the City of Bari, Southern Italy.

The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between weather conditions and hospital admissions for cardiovascular diseases (CVD). The analysed data of CVD hospital admissions were part of the database of the Policlinico Giovanni XXIII of Bari (southern Italy) within a reference period of 4 years (2013-2016). CVD hospital admissions have been aggregated with daily meteorological recordings for the reference time interval.

Utilization of TandemHeart in cardiogenic shock: Insights from the THEME registry.

Background: TandemHeart has been demonstrated to improve hemodynamic and metabolic complications in cardiogenic shock (CS). Contemporary outcomes have not been reported.

Objectives: To evaluate the outcomes of the TandemHeart (LivaNova) in contemporary real-world use.

The impact of COVID-19 on clinical outcomes among acute myocardial infarction patients undergoing early invasive treatment strategy.

Background: The implications of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection on outcomes after invasive therapeutic strategies among patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) are not well studied.

Hypothesis: To assess the outcomes of COVID-19 patients presenting with AMI undergoing an early invasive treatment strategy.

Methods: This study was a cross-sectional, retrospective analysis of the National COVID Cohort Collaborative database including all patients presenting with a recorded diagnosis of AMI (ST-elevation myocardial infarction (MI) and non-ST elevation MI).

Patients With Diabetes at High Bleeding Risk With 1-Month Dual Antiplatelet Therapy: Onyx ONE Clear Results.

Background: Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) are at a higher risk of ischemic events compared with patients without DM. Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with the Resolute Onyx zotarolimus-eluting stent (ZES) followed by 1-month dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) is safe and effective in patients with high bleeding risk. However, outcomes in patients with DM are not fully understood.

Socioeconomic Distress Associated With Increased Use of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Over Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting.

Background: The influence of socioeconomic determinants of health on choice of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) vs coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) for coronary artery disease is unknown. We hypothesized that higher Distressed Communities Index (DCI) scores, a comprehensive socioeconomic ranking by zip code, would be associated with more frequent PCI.

Methods: All patients undergoing isolated CABG or PCI in a regional American College of Cardiology CathPCI registry and The Society of Thoracic Surgeons database (2018-2021) were assigned DCI scores (0 = no distress, 100 = severe distress) based on education level, poverty, unemployment, housing vacancies, median income, and business growth.

The "July Effect" in the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory.

In Interventional Cardiology, the academic year and a new training cycle begin in July. It is unclear if patient outcomes are impacted by the time of year in the training cycle. The National Cardiovascular Data Registry collects outcomes related to percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs).

Characteristics and outcomes of surgically ineligible patients with multivessel disease treated with percutaneous coronary intervention.

Objectives: In this study we evaluated the clinical characteristics and outcomes of surgically ineligible patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) who underwent multivessel percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Background: Patients with multivessel CAD who are surgically ineligible and undergo PCI are not well represented in large trials.

Methods: Out of 1,061 consecutive patients who underwent a non-emergent PCI for unprotected left main or multivessel CAD at the University of Virginia Medical Center, 137 patients were determined to be surgically ineligible for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery by a heart team.

Stress Assessment by Combining Neurophysiological Signals and Radio Communications of Air Traffic Controllers.

Air Traffic Control (ATC) has been classified as the fourth most stressful job. In this regard, sixteen controllers were asked to perform ecological ATC simulation during which behavioral (Radio Communications with pilots - RCs), subjective (stress perception) and neurophysiological signals (brain activity and skin conductance - SC) were collected. All the considered parameters reported significant changes under high stress conditions.

Intentional removal of erroneously deployed coronary stents: A case series and review of the literature.

Most reports of stent retrieval involve undeployed, embolized stents. While the retrieval of fully deployed stents has been sporadically reported, most of these were not intentional. The feasibility and safety of intentional retrieval of fully deployed, but erroneously placed stents have not been well described.

Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography Demonstrates a High Burden of Coronary Artery Disease Despite Low-Risk Nuclear Studies in Pre-Liver Transplant Evaluation.

We investigated the presence and severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) in orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) candidates using coronary artery calcium score (CACS) and coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) as compared with the prevalence of normal and abnormal single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). A total of 140 prospective OLT candidates without known CAD underwent coronary artery calcium (CAC) scans with (n = 77) or without CCTA and coronary computed tomography angiography-derived fractional flow reserve (FFR ; n = 57) using a dual-source computed tomography (CT) and were followed for 2.6 ± 1.