Clover stitch technique for aortic valve in mitral valve repair.

In the case of mitral repair with severe aortic regurgitation, aortotomy and selective cardioplegia are necessary for myocardiac protection. In this situation, the saline test for mitral valve repair cannot be accomplished due to incomplete left ventricular filing. In patients undergoing mitral valve repair concomitant with severe aortic valve insufficiency, after cardiac stand still was achieved by selective cardioplegia.

Salinity and pH effects on survival, growth, and reproduction of quagga mussels.

Background: In recent decades, invasive quagga mussels have expanded to the Western United States from the Great Lakes region of North America. Most studies that evaluate the invasion potential of quagga mussels in western water bodies have utilized physiological and life history information from zebra mussels, a related taxon. Few studies have assessed the potential for invasion using specific information from quagga mussel life history or experiments that test for their survival in the fresh and saline waters of the western United States.

Endoscopic evaluation technique using a camera port for valve-sparing root reconstruction.

Intraoperative aortic valve evaluation should be accurate in valve-sparing root replacement to minimize postoperative aortic valve regurgitation. Ascending aorta de-clamping and weaning of cardiopulmonary bypass are required in intraoperative transoesophageal echocardiography. Aortic valve endoscopy aids in the magnification of structures and enables image sharing within the operative team.

[Preoperative Evaluation of Saphenous Vein Graft Using Plain Computed Tomography for Endoscopic Saphenous Vein Harvesting].

We report the preoperative evaluation of saphenous vein (SV) graft using plain computed tomography (CT) for endoscopic saphenous vein harvesting (EVH). We made three-dimensional (3D) images of SV by using plain CT images. EVH was performed in 33 patients from July 2019 to September 2020.

[Posterior Mediastinal Cyst Resection during Cardiac Surgery through Median Sternotomy:Report of a Case].

A 47-year-old man presented with hematuria. Computed tomography( CT) showed a posterior mediastinal cyst. Chest magnetic resonance imaging showed a well defined mass with high intensity on T2-weighted images.

[Incidental Diagnosis of Giant Cell Myocarditis at Open Heart Surgery:Report of Case].

Giant cell myocarditis (GCM) is one of the rare diseases that cause fatal heart failure and suspected to be associated with autoimmune disorder. There are few reports that the patients of GCM live long because of their progressive heart failure. We report a rare case of patient who was suspected two long hospitalizations due to heart failure in her childhood and peripartum period, and incidentally diagnosed with GCM by myocardial biopsy performed at the aortic valve replacement and mitral annuloplasty for severe aortic valve regurgitation and moderate mitral regurgitation.

[Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting and Mitral Annuloplasty in a Patient with Left Ventricular Noncompaction with Low Ejection Fraction:Report of a Case].

A 71-year-old man who hospitalized frequently for heart failure was referred to our hospital for severe coronary disease with mitral regurgitation. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed marked left ventricular dilatation, low ejection fraction (20%) and moderate mitral regurgitation with leaflet tethering. It also revealed myocardium with prominent trabeculations and deep intertrabecular recesses.

Smoke from regional wildfires alters lake ecology.

Wildfire smoke often covers areas larger than the burned area, yet the impacts of smoke on nearby aquatic ecosystems are understudied. In the summer of 2018, wildfire smoke covered Castle Lake (California, USA) for 55 days. We quantified the influence of smoke on the lake by comparing the physics, chemistry, productivity, and animal ecology in the prior four years (2014-2017) to the smoke year (2018).

[Aortic Valve Replacement through an Upper Hemisternotomy in an Eldery Patient with Heart Failure:Report of a Case].

Cardiac surgery for elder patients should be minimally invasive because of their frailty and concomitant multiple chronic diseases. We performed aortic valve replacement (AVR) via upper hemisternotomy (UHS) on an 85-year-old patient who suffered from severe aortic regurgitation with dobutamine support. The postoperative course was uneventful.

New bioanalytical method for the quantification of (-) - hydroxycitric acid in human plasma using UPLC-MS/MS and its application in a Garcinia cambogia pharmacokinetic study.

A new, rapid, selective and sensitive UPLC-MS/MS method was developed and validated for the quantification of (-) - hydroxycitric acid (HCA) in human plasma, using DL-malic acid-2,3,3-d3 as internal standard (IS) and simple protein precipitation for the sample preparations. HCA is a highly polar compound make challenging its determination in biological fluids. A specific chromatography column Acquity UPLC HSS T3 (100 × 2.

Acute aortic regurgitation following fibrous strand rupture of aortic valve successfully diagnosed by transesophageal echocardiography.

Fibrous strand rupture is a rare cause of acute aortic regurgitation, but is a serious condition because of acute massive regurgitation. Therefore, prompt and accurate diagnosis is required. We saw a 53-year-old man who presented with acute dyspnea without evidence of infection.

Aqueous humor concentrations of topical fluoroquinolones alone or in combination with a steroid.

Purpose: To compare the aqueous humor (AH) concentrations of moxifloxacin 0.5% and gatifloxacin 0.3% solutions alone or when treatment was combined with steroids, and to correlate these concentrations with the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) for the most common endophthalmitis-causing organisms.

Aqueous Humor Penetration and Biological Activity of Moxifloxacin 0.5% Ophthalmic Solution Alone or with Dexamethasone 0.1.

Purpose: To compare aqueous humor concentrations of topically applied moxifloxacin 0.5% ophthalmic solution alone or in combination with dexamethasone 0.1% and to correlate these concentrations with the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for common endophthalmitis-causing organisms.

A fast and sensitive UHPLC-MS/MS method for the determination of N-butylscopolamine in human plasma: application in a bioequivalence study.

We have developed and validated a fast and sensitive ultra high-performance liquid chromatography with positive ion electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry method for determining N-butylscopolamine levels in human plasma using propranolol as an internal standard. The acquisition was set up in the multiple reaction monitoring mode with the transitions m/z 360.3 → 138.

Identification of New Diterpenes as Putative Marker Compounds Distinguishing Agnus Castus Fruit (Chaste Tree) from Shrub Chaste Tree Fruit (Viticis Fructus).

Agnus Castus Fruit is defined in the European Pharmacopoeia as the dried ripe fruit of Vitex agnus-castus. In Europe it is used as a medicine targeting premenstrual syndrome and climacteric disorder. In Japan, Agnus Castus Fruit is becoming popular as a raw material for over-the-counter drugs and health food products, though its congenic species, Vitex rotundifolia and Vitex trifolia, have been used as Shrub Chaste Tree Fruit in traditional medicines.

Ascending aortic replacement for acute type A aortic dissection in octogenarians.

Objective: The management of acute type A aortic dissection in elderly patients is controversial. This study aimed to investigate the validity of ascending aortic replacement for acute type A aortic dissection in octogenarians compared with younger patients.

Methods: Twenty-five octogenarians, among 117 consecutive patients with acute type A aortic dissection between January 2000 and October 2013 who underwent emergency surgery, were reviewed retrospectively.

[Intraoperative Endoscopic Evaluation of the Aortic Valve in Aortic Valve Repair].

This report discusses intraoperative endoscopic evaluation of the aortic valve performed in 2 cases of aortic valve repair. The "direct" or real image by the endoscopy helped to confirm the preoperatively-known lesion and even to detect a new legion which was not detected preoperatively. The endoscopy also enabled the evaluation of the aortic valve under the pressure-loaded condition without releasing the aortic clamp.

Impact of transapical aortic cannulation for acute type A aortic dissection.

Objective: Early and mid-term result of transapical aortic (TAA) cannulation technique was evaluated compared with femoral artery (FA) cannulation in Acute Type A Aortic Dissection(AAAD).

Methods: From January 2000 to October 2013, 80 consecutive patients with AAAD were underwent the ascending aortic replacement at Nagasaki Kouseikai Hospital. These patients were divided into two groups according to the cannulation site, FA cannulation (n = 34) and TAA cannulation (n = 46).

[Surgical therapy for coronary artery stenosis with coronary artery aneurysm in the left main trunk due to Kawasaki disease; report of a case].

A 56-year-old woman was admitted for ST depression in V4 to V6 in electrocardiogram. Coronary angiography showed a coronary artery aneurysm with severe calcification on the bifurcation of the left main trunk and 99% stenosis in the left anterior descending artery. She did not have a history of Kawasaki disease in her childhood.

Physical interaction between bacterial heat shock protein (Hsp) 90 and Hsp70 chaperones mediates their cooperative action to refold denatured proteins.

In eukaryotes, heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is an essential ATP-dependent molecular chaperone that associates with numerous client proteins. HtpG, a prokaryotic homolog of Hsp90, is essential for thermotolerance in cyanobacteria, and in vitro it suppresses the aggregation of denatured proteins efficiently. Understanding how the non-native client proteins bound to HtpG refold is of central importance to comprehend the essential role of HtpG under stress.

An aptamer that binds efficiently to the hemagglutinins of highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (H5N1 and H7N7) and inhibits hemagglutinin-glycan interactions.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5 and H7 viruses have ravaged the poultry industry in numerous countries in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, and have resulted in the deaths of millions of birds. Although HPAI H5N1 viruses currently remain avian viruses, they are continuously evolving and have the potential to become pandemic-type viruses capable of human-human transmission. To develop specific reagents to allow better preparedness against this threat, we selected an aptamer (8-3) from a completely random RNA pool that binds with high affinity (∼ KD 170pM) to the hemagglutinins (HAs) derived from HPAI H5N1 (A/H5N1/Vietnam/1194/2004 and A/H5N1/Indonesia/05/2005) and H7N7 (A/H7N7/Netherlands/219/2003) influenza A viruses.

Effects of heme oxygenase-1 on bacterial antigen-induced articular chondrocyte catabolism in vitro.

This study tested the hypothesis that heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) expression counteracts bacterial antigen-induced catabolic metabolism in human articular chondrocytes. HO-1 expression was induced in chondrocytes by the iron-containing porphoryin, hemin. Anti-catabolic and anti-apoptotic effects of HO-1 expression were evaluated following bacterial antigen (lipopolysaccharides, LPS) activation of chondrocytes by quantification of cytokine and cartilage matrix protein expression.