Apparent Ophidiomycosis Alters Eastern Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) Behavior and Habitat Use.

Pathogens not only cause mortality but also impose nonlethal fitness consequences. Snakes experience trade-offs associated with behaviors that combat disease but divert time and energy away from other critical activities. The impacts of such behaviors on fitness remain poorly understood, raising concerns amid the emergence of novel herpetofaunal diseases.

A human stomach cell type transcriptome atlas.

Background: The identification of cell type-specific genes and their modification under different conditions is central to our understanding of human health and disease. The stomach, a hollow organ in the upper gastrointestinal tract, provides an acidic environment that contributes to microbial defence and facilitates the activity of secreted digestive enzymes to process food and nutrients into chyme. In contrast to other sections of the gastrointestinal tract, detailed descriptions of cell type gene enrichment profiles in the stomach are absent from the major single-cell sequencing-based atlases.

Global Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Distinct Phases of the Endothelial Response to TNF.

The vascular endothelium acts as a dynamic interface between blood and tissue. TNF-α, a major regulator of inflammation, induces endothelial cell (EC) transcriptional changes, the overall response dynamics of which have not been fully elucidated. In the present study, we conducted an extended time-course analysis of the human EC response to TNF, from 30 min to 72 h.

A human adipose tissue cell-type transcriptome atlas.

The importance of defining cell-type-specific genes is well acknowledged. Technological advances facilitate high-resolution sequencing of single cells, but practical challenges remain. Adipose tissue is composed primarily of adipocytes, large buoyant cells requiring extensive, artefact-generating processing for separation and analysis.

A systems-approach reveals human nestin is an endothelial-enriched, angiogenesis-independent intermediate filament protein.

The intermediate filament protein nestin is expressed during embryonic development, but considered largely restricted to areas of regeneration in the adult. Here, we perform a body-wide transcriptome and protein-profiling analysis to reveal that nestin is constitutively, and highly-selectively, expressed in adult human endothelial cells (EC), independent of proliferative status. Correspondingly, we demonstrate that it is not a marker for tumour EC in multiple malignancy types.

[Clinical, anatomical-pathological and therapeutic correlates of benign intracavitary heart tumors].

Benign intracavitary cardiac tumors lead to "malignant" complications, so early diagnosis and adequate treatment are of vital importance. Our investigation summarizes a 10-year experience after surgical treatment of 29 patients suffering from benign intracavitary cardiac tumors. The postoperative histological examination revealed a myxoma in 27 cases; in 2 cases a papillary fibroelastoma was diagnosed.

Linear repair versus ventricular reconstruction for treatment of left ventricular aneurysm: a 10-year experience.

Objective: To describe a 10-year experience with surgical treatment of left ventricular aneurysm and compare the results of linear repair and ventricular reconstruction.

Design: A retrospective data analysis.

Setting: Department of cardiothoracic surgery.

[Primary hemangiosarcoma of the heart].

Primary cardiac sarcomas are malignant neoplasmas of mesenchymal cells. Angiosarcomas, unlike all other primary cardiac sarcomas, are typically found in the right atrium. We present the case of a 52-year-old patient in whom through echocardiography, computed tomography and angiography the precise diagnosis and extent of the tumor was revealed.

[Surgical treatment of acute pericardial tamponade in an infestation of the heart by Echinococcus].

History And Clinical Findings: A 56-year-old turkish patient, previously in good health, was admitted because of pain suggesting myocardial infarction. Physical examination of the heart, lungs and abdomen was unremarkable.

Investigations And Diagnosis: The concentrations of myocardium-specific enzymes were not elevated and the ECG showed no signs of ischaemia.

[The quadri-cusp aortic valve: a congenital defect, responsible for pathologic changes?].

We report on a 61-year-old patient with considerable insufficiency of a quadricuspid aortic valve and coronary three vessel disease. The congenital quadricuspid aortic valve has become symptomatic due to the development of (post-endocarditic) insufficiency only in the advanced stage of life. It was treated by replacement of the aortic valve and bypass myocardial revascularization.

[Quality assurance in heart surgery in Germany. Development, current status and outlook].

In a multicenter pilot study and with the support of the German Federal Ministry of Research and Technology, a commission of the German Association for Thoracic, Cardiac and Vascular Surgery developed a procedure for cardiosurgical quality assurance. After concluding the pilot phase, the data were reduced for general practicability to the essential characteristics and now comprise 205 items. After a cooperation contract between funding agents, the German Hospital Association, The German Federal Hospital Association and the German Association for Thoracic, Cardiac and Vascular Surgery, The Federal Working Group on Cardiosurgical Quality Assurance was founded.

Aortic valve debridement by ultrasonic surgical aspirator in degenerative, aortic valve stenosis: follow-up with Doppler echocardiography.

Objective: Recently there has been an emphasis on reconstructing diseases native valves as an alternative to prosthetic valve replacement. Whereas; the surgical repair of aortic valve stenosis has been always problematic. This study was performed to estimate the clinical results after aortic valve debridement using ultrasonic energy.

Paradoxical embolism in the presence of right-to-left shunt due to tricuspid occlusion.

The case of a 33-year-old woman suffering from a paradoxical peripheral embolism in the presence of a right-to-left shunt at the level of an ostium secundum defect is presented. A functional stenosis of the tricuspid valve due to obstruction through a thrombotic atrial mass was found to be responsible for the right-to-left shunt. Treatment consisted of peripheral embolectomy, removal of the atrial mass, and closure of the atrial septum defect.

Composite graft (Medtronic-Hall) replacement of the ascending aorta and aortic valve in aortic aneurysms: what is adequate follow-up?

Between 1987 and 1994, 39 patients underwent 41 replacements (2 reoperations) of the aortic valve and ascending aorta by composite grafts with mechanical valves. One patient had annuloaortic ectasia, one had a sinus of valsalva aneurysm, 13 patients had a Debakey type I acute dissection, 10 had a Debakey type II acute dissection including two Marfan patients, and 14 had atherosclerotic aneurysms. 6 patients (15%) died within a postoperative period of 30 days.

Therapy and results of surgery: requiring infarction complications. An 8-year experience.

Among myocardial infarction (MI) secondary complications requiring surgical intervention, the primary sequel is the left ventricular aneurysm (LVA), as a matter of fact, the ventricle septum rupture (VSR) and the moderate to severe ischemic mitral valve regurgitation (IMR) are common as secondary or third follow ones. Between June 1985 and June 1993 in our department, we performed 6418 operations with the support of the heart-lung-machine. This number includes 74 (1.

Efficacy of aprotinin in different doses and autologous blood transfusions in cardiac surgery.

A study was undertaken to compare the two doses of aprotinin and the amount of autologous blood transfused in order to determine the optimal dose of this inhibitor for use in cardiac surgery. A total of 120 patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery from November 1990 to April 1992 took part in this randomized double-blind study. Two groups of 60 patients were treated.

The use of intra-aortic balloon pump after surgical treatment of DeBakey type I dissecting aneurysm of the aorta.

The case is reported of a sixty-four-year-old patient with DeBakey type I aortic dissection in whom postoperative extensive intra-aortic balloon pumping was applied. Surgical repair involved replacing the ascending aorta with a Medtronic Hall valved conduit. After surgery severe low-output syndrome occurred.

[Can administration of trasylol in reduced Hammersmith dosage with simultaneous transfusion of autologous blood meet the requirements of open heart surgery?].

Problem: The general positive effect of the proteinase inhibitor trasylol on blood loss and transfusion demand in cardiac surgery has been demonstrated in several placebo-controlled studies. Given the possibility of cardiac and renal side effects associated with a high dose of trasylol (Hammersmith dosage: 6 x 10(6) kallikrein inactivator units KIU), the question of a dose reduction was raised.

Methods: Being designed as a randomized double-blind comparative group study, the investigation included 120 patients with elective primary cardiac surgery from November 1990 to April 1992.

[Emergency management of type A aortic dissection in the acute rupture phase with pericardial tamponade].

A case of successful operative repair of a previously unknown aortic dissection type A after intrapericardial rupture is presented. Under resuscitative measures an inferior pericardiotomy was done, followed by sternotomy to control bleeding under then stabilized circulation. Without detailed diagnostic evaluation, immediate operation with resection of the aneurysm and supracoronary prosthesis interposition was carried out.

Brachial plexus injury after cardiac surgery. The role of internal mammary artery preparation: a prospective study on 1000 consecutive patients.

Brachial plexus injury is a typical complication after median sternotomy. A prospective study was performed on 1000 consecutive patients to determine whether preventive actions, including lower position and least possible opening of the sternal retractor, help to reduce the complication rate. Twenty-seven patients were observed with postoperative brachial plexus injury.

Frequency of trisomy 21 in Germany before and after the Chernobyl accident.

For Berlin (West) the rate of trisomy 21 among newborn and all prenatally diagnosed cases can be almost completely recorded, including the maternal age distribution. During the 9-year-period from 1980 and 1988 the average number of trisomy 21 per month was about 2, following a Poisson distribution. A significant increase (P less than 0.

Development and application of a quality assurance information system in cardiac surgery (QUADRA study).

Preventive measures for quality in cadiac surgery which are based on electronic data processing initially have to overcome a variety of obstacles. Some of the most serious encountered are the need for more extensive but more precise and correct documentation, the definition of quality and the identification of parameters to assess it, fears that means to check everything and everybody are being installed, and finding ways to found the measures. The measures have two aims at least: ensuring a broad general standard of treatment which every patient can expect, and supporting efforts at a continuous improvement of treatment methods and thus of the results.

Multicentric quality assurance in cardiac surgery. QUADRA study of the German Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (QUADRA: quality data retrospective analysis).

A method for initiating quality assurance in cardiac surgery was developed multicentrically by a commission of the German Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (QUADRA Study). To appraise the quality of cardiosurgical action, variables were compiled from the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative treatment course. The data collection was carried out at the same time as treatment.

[Is preservation of erythrocyte concentrates with added solutions an alternative to deep freezing in heart surgery autologous blood donation?].

In patients undergoing cardiovascular operations the deep freezing of autologous red blood cells (RBC) was compared with the liquid storage in PAGGS-Sorbitol. On an average 3.9 units of blood were predeposited in the group with deep freezing and 3.