Effect of Prunus cerasus (Sour Cherry) on Nephrolithiasis in Children: The First Noninferiority Two-Arm Randomized Clinical Trial.

Objective:  The present study evaluated the effect of Prunus cerasus (sour cherry) on children with nephrolithiasis.

Method:  We conducted a randomized noninferiority controlled trial to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of P. cerasus among children with nephrolithiasis.

A Computational Study on Deformed Bioprosthetic Valve Geometries: Clinically Relevant Valve Performance Metrics.

Transcatheter aortic valves (TAV) are symmetrically designed, but they are often not deployed inside cylindrical conduits with circular cross-sectional areas. Many TAV patients have heavily calcified aortic valves, which often result in deformed prosthesis geometries after deployment. We investigated the effects of deformed valve annulus configurations on a surgical bioprosthetic valve as a model for TAV.

Aortic Valve Cusp Coaptation Surface Area Using 3-Dimensional Transesophageal Echocardiography Correlates with Severity of Aortic Valve Insufficiency.

Objective: The aim of this study was to test both in humans and using finite element (FE) aortic valve (AV) models whether the coaptation surface area (CoapSA) correlates with aortic insufficiency (AI) severity due to dilated aortic roots to determine the validity and utility of 3-dimensional transesophageal echocardiographic-measured CoapSA.

Design: Two-pronged, clinical and computational approach.

Setting: Single university hospital.

Planar biaxial testing of heart valve cusp replacement biomaterials: Experiments, theory and material constants.

Objectives: Aortic valve (AV) repair has become an attractive option to correct aortic insufficiency. Yet, cusp reconstruction with various cusp replacement materials has been associated with greater long-term repair failures, and it is still unknown how such materials mechanically compare with native leaflets. We used planar biaxial testing to characterize six clinically relevant cusp replacement materials, along with native porcine AV leaflets, to ascertain which materials would be best suited for valve repair.

Impact of aortic annular geometry on aortic valve insufficiency: Insights from a preclinical, ex vivo, porcine model.

Objectives: We sought to create a model of aortic insufficiency in a left heart simulator combined with 3-dimensional echocardiography and finite element modeling of the aortic valve. We examined the effects of aortic root geometry alteration on aortic insufficiency.

Methods: Porcine aortic roots were analyzed on a left heart simulator before (control, n = 8) and after intervention (n = 8).