plaque formation model to unravel biofilm formation dynamics on implant abutment surfaces.

Background: Biofilm formation on implant-abutment surfaces can cause inflammatory reactions. Ethical concerns often limit intraoral testing, necessitating preliminary in vitro or animal studies. Here, we propose an in vitro model using human saliva and hypothesize that this model has the potential to closely mimic the dynamics of biofilm formation on implant-abutment material surfaces in vivo.

Metabolic syndrome as risk factor for left ventricular hypertrophy in children with chronic kidney disease.

Background: The metabolic syndrome (MS), a cluster of clinical and biochemical abnormalities including insulin resistance, dyslipidemia and hypertension, is often diagnosed in chronic kidney disease (CKD) children. Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is a major target organ damage in hypertension and an important cardiovascular risk factor in CKD patients. We aimed to identify the most significant risk factors of LVH in children with CKD.

Recent achievements in transcatheter closure of ventricular septal defects: a systematic review of literature and a meta-analysis.

Background: Ventricular septal defect (VSD) is one of the most common congenital heart defects. Currently, surgery remains the treatment of choice. However, transcatheter techniques for closing of various types of VSDs have become an alternative.

Echocardiography and Newer Imaging Techniques in Diagnosis and Long-Term Follow-Up of Primary Heart Tumors in Children.

Background: Primary heart tumors (PHTs) in the pediatric population are very rare and do not manifest any characteristic symptoms.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of 61 cases was undertaken. Data from three centers for the years 2003-2018 were gathered.

Amiodarone-induced thyroid dysfunction in the developmental period: prenatally, in childhood, and adolescence - case reports and a review of the literature.

Introduction: Amiodarone is an important antiarrhythmic drug used in paediatric practice, mainly in children with complex congenital cardiac diseases and/or severe arrhythmias. One of the side effects of amiodarone therapy is thyroid dysfunction, which is observed in about 20% of patients. The thyroid dysfunction may present with various forms: from subclinical changes in hormone levels to amiodaroneinduced thyrotoxicosis (AIT) and amiodarone-induced hypothyroidism (AIH).

Genetic evidence for a western Chinese origin of broomcorn millet ().

Broomcorn millet () is a key domesticated cereal that has been associated with the north China centre of agricultural origins. Early archaeobotanical evidence for this crop has generated two major debates. First, its contested presence in pre-7000 cal.

[B-type natriuretic peptide as a marker of cardiac dysfunction in children with chronic kidney disease].

Unlabelled: Left ventricular hypertrophy is the most common organ damage in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the usefulness of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) as a marker of heart injury in children with CKD.

Materials And Methods: We included 66 children (41 boys and 25 girls) aged 0.

Contemporary outcomes of catheter ablation of accessory pathways: complications and learning curve.

Background And Aim: The aim of this study was to examine contemporary results of accessory pathway (AP) ablation in a sizeable number of patients, focusing on periprocedural complications and the learning curve.

Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of consecutive AP ablation procedures at three centresby the same operator. In total 629 electrophysiological studies and 610 AP ablation procedures were performed in 570 patients (age: 33 ± 18.

Efficacy and safety of oral sildenafil in children with Down syndrome and pulmonary hypertension.

Background: Despite the increased risk for pulmonary hypertension in children with Down syndrome, the response to treatment with targeted therapies for pulmonary hypertension in these patients is not well characterized. The Sildenafil in Treatment-naive children, Aged 1-17 years, with pulmonary arterial hypertension (STARTS-1) trial was a dose-ranging study of the short-term efficacy and safety of oral sildenafil in children with pulmonary arterial hypertension. We assessed the safety and efficacy of oral sildenafil in children with Down syndrome and pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Intermittent preexcitation indicates "a low-risk" accessory pathway: Time for a paradigm shift?

We report three patients with intermittent loss of the preexcitation pattern in the ECG that had undergone an electrophysiological study. Despite apparently poorly conducting accessory pathway (AP), in each case a fast anterograde conduction, either during spontaneous atrial fibrillation or during incremental atrial pacing (on isoproterenol) was documented; shortest preexcited RR intervals of 200-240 ms were observed. We review the literature and conclude that intermittent preexcitation observed on resting 12-lead ECG lacks sufficient specificity for the diagnosis of an AP with long refractory period and cannot be considered a substitute for electrophysiological study in patients with this electrocardiographical phenomenon.

Oxidative Stress Biomarkers and Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in Children with Chronic Kidney Disease.

Cardiovascular diseases remain the most frequent cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The aim of the study was to assess the association between oxidative stress biomarkers and cardiovascular risk factors and left ventricular hypertrophy in children with CKD. Material and Methods.

Atypical cardiac myxoma in the course of Carney complex in the child. Case Report.

Cardiac tumors in infants and children are rare. Myxomas are the second (after rhabdomyomas) most common primary cardiac tumors in pediatric patients. Cardiac, cutaneous and mucous myxomas are likewise the second most frequent manifestation of the Carney complex, an autosomal dominant multi neoplasia syndrome, which consists of myxomas in different locations, spotty skin pigmentation and endocrine overactivity.

Storytelling and story testing in domestication.

The domestication of plants and animals marks one of the most significant transitions in human, and indeed global, history. Traditionally, study of the domestication process was the exclusive domain of archaeologists and agricultural scientists; today it is an increasingly multidisciplinary enterprise that has come to involve the skills of evolutionary biologists and geneticists. Although the application of new information sources and methodologies has dramatically transformed our ability to study and understand domestication, it has also generated increasingly large and complex datasets, the interpretation of which is not straightforward.

[Pseudo-PJRT in an 8 year-old boy with severe decompensated heart failure and recurrent episodes of ventricular fibrillation].

We present a case of 8 year-old boy with several episodes of ventricular fibrillation in the course of tachycardia-mediated cardiomyopathy and severe decompensated heart failure. The cardiomyopathy was caused by incessant long-RP tachycardia that was resistant to pharmacotherapy. Despite initial suspition that the arrhythmia was permanent junctional reciprocating tachycardia (PJRT) electrophysiology study revealed atypical atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia.

Assessment of the role of copy-number variants in 150 patients with congenital heart defects.

Background: Congenital heart defects are the most common group of major birth anomalies and one of the leading causes of infant deaths. Mendelian and chromosomal syndromes account for about 20% of congenital heart defects and in some cases are associated with other malformations, intellectual disability, and/or dysmorphic features. The remarkable conservation of genetic pathways regulating heart development in animals suggests that genetic factors can be responsible for a significantly higher percentage of cases.

Coronary artery abnormalities in Kawasaki disease.

Introduction: Kawasaki disease is the number one cause of acquired heart disease among children in developed countries.

Aim: The aim of the study was a retrospective analysis of the factors that may influence the persistence of coronary artery abnormalities in patients with Kawasaki disease.

Materials And Methods: Analyzing the medical records of patients hospitalized in the University Children's Hospital of Krakow in the years 2005-2011 we collected the data of 28 patients diagnosed with Kawasaki disease.

[Paediatric echocardiography in clinical practice. 2012 Recommendations of the Echocardiography Working Group of the Polish Cardiac Society].

Echocardiography has become the primary imaging tool in the diagnosis and assessment of cardiological disorders in children. The purposes of this paper are to describe indications for paediatric echocardiography, define optimal instrumentation and laboratory setup for paediatric echocardiographic examinations and establish a baseline list of recommended measurements to be performed in a complete pediatric echocardiogram.

Impact of right ventricle-pulmonary artery conduit placement on pulmonary artery development after the Norwood procedure in hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

Objectives: The right ventricle-to-pulmonary artery (RV-PA) shunt in the Norwood procedure (NP) for children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) provides stable haemodynamics and improves interstage survival. The aim of the study was to find the effect of RV-PA placement on pulmonary artery development after the NP.

Methods: A prospective, randomized study of 60 children with HLHS was carried out between 2008 and 2010.

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging study of oral sildenafil citrate in treatment-naive children with pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Background: Safe, effective therapy is needed for pediatric pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Methods And Results: Children (n=235; weight ≥8 kg) were randomized to low-, medium-, or high-dose sildenafil or placebo orally 3 times daily for 16 weeks in the Sildenafil in Treatment-Naive Children, Aged 1-17 Years, With Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (STARTS-1) study. The primary comparison was percent change from baseline in peak oxygen consumption (PV(O(2))) for the 3 sildenafil doses combined versus placebo.