Nested-PCR and TaqMan real-time quantitative PCR assays for human adenoviruses in environmental waters.

Human adenovirus (HAdV) infections can occur throughout the year. Cases of HAdV-associated respiratory disease have been more common in the late winter, spring, and early summer. In this study, to provide viral pollution data for further epidemiological studies and governmental actions, the presence of HAdV in the aquatic environment was quantitatively surveyed in the summer.

Intraoperative three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography for assessing the defect geometries of mitral prosthetic paravalvular leak during transcatheter closure.

Background: Paravalvular leaks (PVLs) are a common complication of prosthetic valve replacement. Use of the transcatheter intervention technique is a suitable alternative in high-risk patients who may not tolerate repeat surgery. Common reasons for failure of this demanding intervention include poor imaging quality and unsuitable anatomy.

The additional value of live/real-time three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography over two-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography for assessing mitral regurgitation with eccentric jets.

Background: Two-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (2D TEE) Doppler color flow imaging is the gold standard for assessing the severity of mitral regurgitation (MR). Severe MR with very eccentric jet may involve more than one mitral leaflet lesion and can be missed by 2D TEE. The purpose of this study was to assess the usefulness and the incremental value of real-time three-dimensional (RT 3D) TEE over 2D TEE findings in the evaluation of patients suffering eccentric MR with more than one mitral leaflet lesion.

Successful transcatheter closure of a residual patent ductus arteriosus with complex anatomy after surgical ligation using an amplatzer ductal occluder guided by live three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography.

Residual patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) after surgical ligation is not common, but the anatomy of the residual duct may be distorted by the surgical ligation resulting in a difficult transcatheter closure. Such distorted anatomy of the duct may not be demonstrated by the two-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (2D TEE). Fortunately, live 3D TEE provided the precise anatomy of the elongated distorted residual duct, and as in the case presented herein, guided the Amplatzer ductal occluder (ADO).

Emergent bedside real-time three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography in a patient with cardiac arrest following a caesarean section.

Post-caesarean pulmonary embolism (PE) is associated with significant peri-operative morbidity and mortality. This report describes a case of sudden cardiac arrest 2 days post-caesarean due to massive PE diagnosed via bedside transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). Recognition of the PE at the bifurcation of the right and left pulmonary arteries was achieved by real-time three-dimensional TEE, but not two-dimensional TEE.

Live three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography in an unusual case of aorto-left ventricular tunnel with a large interventricular septal aneurysm.

Aorto-left ventricular tunnel (ALVT) is a rare congenital malformation. We report an unusual case of ALVT with a large interventricular septal aneurysm causing severe aortic regurgitation and left ventricular outflow obstruction diagnosed with real time three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (3D TEE). Real time 3D TEE allows for assessment and novel views of complex cardiac abnormalities and can aid in perioperative monitoring.

Embolization of the stent to the right heart after a motor vehicle accident.

Endovascular stent grafts have become increasingly used in the management of arterial trauma, chronic vascular occlusive diseases, and deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Here, we describe a case of stent migration to the right heart due to a motor vehicle accident in a patient with iliac venous stent implanted for venous stenosis. Computed tomography (CT) scan imaging identification of a metallic stent was superior to the standard two-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) techniques without imaging artifact from reverberation.

The utility of live three-dimensional echocardiography in the surgical treatment of bilateral coronary fistulas.

In patients with coronary and pulmonary arterial fistulas, the drainage sites may be difficult to identify if there are multiple connections by standard 2D echocardiography techniques. However, real time 3D TEE was used intraoperatively in our case to facilitate site identification, the number of fistulous connections, and documentation of the fistula ligation.

The routine use of live three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography in mitral valve surgery: clinical experience.

Background: Perioperative monitoring of mitral valve (MV) anatomy, function, and pathology is essential for surgical management of different MV disease.

Aims: To overcome the several potential pitfalls of two-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (2D TEE) and offline 3D TEE.

Methods: Live 3D TEE was used to assess 73 patients (44 men and 29 women) with Carpentier type II MV regurgitation undergoing MV surgery perioperatively.

Desipramine activated Bcl-2 expression and inhibited lipopolysaccharide-induced apoptosis in hippocampus-derived adult neural stem cells.

Desipramine (DP) is a tricyclic antidepressant used for treating depression and numerous other psychiatric disorders. Recent studies have shown that DP can promote neurogenesis and improve the survival rate of hippocampal neurons. However, whether DP induces neuroprotection or promotes the differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs) needs to be elucidated.

Long-term survival and prognostic implications after coronary artery bypass grafting in Chinese patients with coronary artery disease.

Objectives: This hospital-based study was conducted to determine the survival rates of patients after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery and the associated prognostic factors related to all-cause mortality during a 7-year follow-up in Taiwan.

Methods And Results: Between January 1997 and December 2003, the medical records of 1877 patients who underwent primary, isolated CABG surgery were studied. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate survival.