Evaluation of 3D Templated Synthetic Vascular Graft Compared with Standard Graft in a Rat Model: Potential Use as an Artificial Vascular Graft in Cardiovascular Disease.

Although the number of vascular surgeries using vascular grafts is increasing, they are limited by vascular graft-related complications and size discrepancy. Current efforts to develop the ideal synthetic vascular graft for clinical application using tissue engineering or 3D printing are far from satisfactory. Therefore, we aimed to re-design the vascular graft with modified materials and 3D printing techniques and also demonstrated the improved applications of our new vascular graft clinically.

Prevalence, biosecurity factor, and antimicrobial susceptibility analysis of Salmonella species isolated from commercial duck farms in Korea.

Duck meat consumption in South Korea has increased in recent years, but no standard about duck farm-specific biosecurity and hygiene guidelines have yet been established. We here investigated Salmonella contamination levels in duck farms to evaluate biosecurity and hygiene practices. We collected 1,116 environmental samples from 31 duck farms in Jeonnam Province, South Korea.

Anti-thrombotic and anti-inflammatory activity of sulodexide compared to aspirin in the rat model.

Background: Although the number of vascular surgeries performed is increasing, the incidence of complications associated with this surgery has not improved and re-operations are frequently required. Thrombosis in a vessel is the most hazardous postoperative complication.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-thrombotic and anti-inflammatory effects of sulodexide compared to aspirin in a rat model.

The difference of detection rate of avian influenza virus in the wild bird surveillance using various methods.

Korea is located within the East Asian-Australian flyway of wild migratory birds during the fall and winter seasons. Consequently, the likelihood of introduction of numerous subtypes and pathotypes of the Avian influenza (AI) virus to Korea has been thought to be very high. In the current study, we surveyed wild bird feces for the presence of AI virus that had been introduced to Korea between September 2017 and February 2018.

Features of Invariant Extended Kalman Filter Applied to Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Navigation.

This research used an invariant extended Kalman filter (IEKF) for the navigation of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and compared the properties and performance of this IEKF with those of an open-source navigation method based on an extended Kalman filter (EKF). The IEKF is a fairly new variant of the EKF, and its properties have been verified theoretically and through simulations and experiments. This study investigated its performance using a practical implementation and examined its distinctive features compared to the previous EKF-based approach.

A non-randomized retrospective observational study on the subcutaneous esophageal reconstruction after esophagectomy: is it feasible in high-risk patients?

Background: Esophageal reconstruction after esophagectomy is a complex procedure with high morbidity and mortality. Anastomotic leakage is more severe and frequent in patients with preoperative comorbidities and may present with septic conditions. Considering the possibility of an easier management of such cases, we evaluated the safety and feasibility of subcutaneous esophageal reconstruction in patients with high operative risks.

Tumor-derived IL-18 induces PD-1 expression on immunosuppressive NK cells in triple-negative breast cancer.

Purpose: While the inflammatory cytokine interleukin-18 (IL-18) is known to activate natural killer (NK) cells, its precise role in cancer is controversial. In this study, we investigated the role of tumor-derived IL-18 on peripheral blood NK cells in breast cancer patients.

Results: In breast cancer cell lines, IL-18 was expressed and secreted in the triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell lines MDA-MB-231 and HCC-70 but not in MCF-7 cells.

Versatile Metal Nanowiring Platform for Large-Scale Nano- and Opto-Electronic Devices.

A versatile metal nanowiring platform enables the fabrication of Ag nanowires (AgNW) at a desired position and orientation in an individually controlled manner. A printed, flexible AgNW has a diameter of 695 nm, a resistivity of 5.7 μΩ cm, and good thermal stability in air.

Epicardial thoracoscopic ablation versus endocardial catheter ablation for management of atrial fibrillation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: In the treatment of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), the efficacy and safety of epicardial thoracoscopic ablation (TA) versus endocardial catheter ablation (CA) using radiofrequency energy remains unclear. This meta-analysis was performed to assess the efficacy and safety of each ablation technique using a pooled comparative analysis.

Methods: Studies comparing the efficacy and safety of TA and CA were identified by searching electronic databases.

Transfusion Risk and Clinical Knowledge (TRACK) Score and Cardiac Surgery in Patients Refusing Transfusion.

Objective: The Transfusion Risk and Clinical Knowledge (TRACK) score is a simple tool to predict the chance of undergoing blood transfusion in cardiac surgery. The authors evaluated the relationship between the TRACK score and clinical outcomes of cardiac surgery in patients who refused blood transfusion.

Design: An observational study.

Value-added Synthesis of Graphene: Recycling Industrial Carbon Waste into Electrodes for High-Performance Electronic Devices.

We have developed a simple, scalable, transfer-free, ecologically sustainable, value-added method to convert inexpensive coal tar pitch to patterned graphene films directly on device substrates. The method, which does not require an additional transfer process, enables direct growth of graphene films on device substrates in large area. To demonstrate the practical applications of the graphene films, we used the patterned graphene grown on a dielectric substrate directly as electrodes of bottom-contact pentacene field-effect transistors (max.

Flexible Lamination Encapsulation.

A novel flexible encapsulation method (Flex Lami-capsulation) is reported, which can be applied in the roll-to-roll process for mass production of organic electronic devices. Flex Lami-capsulation is very simple, fast, and getter-free, and is as effective as glass encapsulation. Use of this method is feasible in large-area flexible displays and does not have the drawbacks of conventional encapsulation methods.

Cabrol-Type Aortocoronary Anastomosis Technique in Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery.

Background:  In conventional coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), multiple anastomoses in the ascending aorta are needed for multiple coronary targeting. We have introduced a single-site proximal anastomosis technique for multiple coronary targeting. A single anastomosis between the ascending aorta and graft was performed using a side-to-side maneuver (Cabrol type).

Evaluation of fluid warmer safety using hemorheologic analysis with outdated human blood.

Purpose: A newly developed fluid warmer (ThermoSens®) has a direct blood warming plate, which can result in hemolysis or red blood cell injury during heating. Therefore, to evaluate the safety of heating blood products with a fluid warmer, we conducted laboratory tests to study hemolysis and erythrocyte rheology.

Methods: We used outdated human blood taken from a Korean blood bank.

Multicolored organic/inorganic hybrid perovskite light-emitting diodes.

Bright organic/inorganic hybrid perov-skite light-emitting diodes (PrLEDs) are realized by using CH3 NH3 PbBr3 as an emitting layer and self-organized buffer hole-injection layer (Buf-HIL). The PrLEDs show high luminance, current efficiency, and EQE of 417 cd m(-2) , 0.577 cd A(-1) , and 0.

Individually position-addressable metal-nanofiber electrodes for large-area electronics.

A individually position-addressable large-scale-aligned Cu nanofiber (NF) array is fabricated using electro-hydrodynamic nanowire printing. The printed single-stranded Cu NF has a diameter of about 710 nm and resistivity of 14.1 μΩ cm and is effectively used as source/drain nanoelectrode in pentacene transistors, which show a 25-fold increased hole mobility than that of a device with Cu thin-film electrodes.

Organic nanowire fabrication and device applications.

Organic nanowires (ONWs) are flexible, stretchable, and have good electrical properties, and therefore have great potential for use in next-generation textile and wearable electronics. Analysis of trends in ONWs supports their great potential for various stretchable and flexible electronic applications such as flexible displays and flexible photovoltaics. Numerous methods can be used to prepare ONWs, but the practical industrial application of ONWs has not been achieved because of the lack of reliable techniques for controlling and patterning of individual nanowires.

A case of partial congenital pericardial defect presenting as acute coronary syndrome.

Congenital pericardial defects are rare and asymptomatic for both partial and complete defects. However, some patients can experience syncope, arrhythmia, and chest pain. When a patient experiences a symptom, it may be caused by herniation and dynamic compression or torsion of a heart structure including the coronary arteries.

Double accessory left atrial chordae tendineae resulting in mitral regurgitation.

The presence of accessory left atrial chordae tendineae inserting into the mitral valve leaflet is extremely rare. Two long and thin accessory chordae tendineae, one arising from the left atrial dome and the other from the inferior interatrial septum, were incidentally identified during corrective surgery for severe mitral regurgitation from A3 prolapse. Triangular resection of the A3 portion of the anterior mitral valve leaflet including the double accessory chordae tendineae and primary repair followed by posterior ring annuloplasty was successfully performed.

Single and multiple valve surgery in native valve infective endocarditis.

Background: Surgical treatment of infective endocarditis (IE) remains a challenge, especially in cases of multiple valve surgery. We evaluated the clinical outcomes of native valve IE and compared the outcomes of single valve surgery with those of multiple valve surgery.

Materials And Methods: From 1997 to 2011, 90 patients underwent surgery for native valve IE; 67 patients with single valve surgery (single valve group) and 23 patients with multiple valve surgery (multiple valve group).

Large-scale organic nanowire lithography and electronics.

Controlled alignment and patterning of individual semiconducting nanowires at a desired position in a large area is a key requirement for electronic device applications. High-speed, large-area printing of highly aligned individual nanowires that allows control of the exact numbers of wires, and their orientations and dimensions is a significant challenge for practical electronics applications. Here we use a high-speed electrohydrodynamic organic nanowire printer to print large-area organic semiconducting nanowire arrays directly on device substrates in a precisely, individually controlled manner; this method also enables sophisticated large-area nanowire lithography for nano-electronics.

Long-term mortality and morbidity after button Bentall operation.

Background And Aim Of The Study: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the long-term outcomes of the button Bentall procedure for the correction of aortic root disease.

Methods: A total of 195 patients who underwent the button Bentall procedure between 1997 and 2010 were studied. The main pathology was annuloaortic ectasia.

Aortic root and ascending aortic aneurysm in an adult with a repaired tetralogy of fallot.

Surgical repair of the tetralogy of Fallot is one of the most successful operations in the treatment of congenital heart diseases. We report the case of a 65-year-old man who had an aortic valve replacement at the time of complete repair of the tetralogy of Fallot at the age of forty-three. He subsequently had progressive aortic root and ascending aorta dilation to 9 cm.

Preoperative Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Severe Ischemic Mitral Regurgitation - 2 case reports -.

Indication for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been extended as the experience of ECMO in various clinical settings accumulates and the outcome after ECMO installation improves. We report two cases of successful mitral valve surgery for severe ischemic mitral regurgitation in patients on ECMO support for cardiogenic shock which developed upon coronary angiography.

T lymphocytes derived from human cord blood provide effective antitumor immunotherapy against a human tumor.

Background: Although the graft-versus-tumor (GVT) effect of donor-derived T cells after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation has been used as an effective adoptive immunotherapy, the antitumor effects of cord blood (CB) transplantation have not been well studied.

Methods: We established the animal model by transplantation of CB mononuclear cells and/or tumor cells into NOD/SCID mice. The presence of CB derived T cells in NOD/SCID mice or tumor tissues were determined by flow cytometric and immunohistochemical analysis.