Registry Assessment of Peripheral Interventional Devices objective performance goals for superficial femoral and popliteal artery peripheral vascular interventions.

Background: The Superficial Femoral Artery-Popliteal EvidencE Development Study Group developed contemporary objective performance goals (OPGs) for peripheral vascular interventions (PVI) for superficial femoral artery (SFA)-popliteal artery disease using the Registry Assessment of Peripheral Interventional Devices.

Methods: The Society for Vascular Surgery Vascular Quality Initiative PVI registry from January 2010 to October 2016 was used to develop OPGs based on SFA-popliteal procedures (n = 21,377) for intermittent claudication and critical limb ischemia (CLI). OPGs included 1-year rates for target lesion revascularization (TLR), major amputation, and 1 and 4-year survival rates.

Spatiotemporal persistence of bat roadkill hotspots in response to dynamics of habitat suitability and activity patterns.

Wildlife roadkill hotspots are frequently used to identify priority locations for implementing mitigation measures. However, understanding the landscape-context and the spatial and temporal dynamics of these hotspots is challenging. Here, we investigate the factors that drive the spatiotemporal variation of bat mortality hotspots on roads along three years.

Thermal tolerance and the importance of microhabitats for Andean frogs in the context of land use and climate change.

Global warming is having impacts across the Tree of Life. Understanding species' physiological sensitivity to temperature change and how they relate to local temperature variation in their habitats is crucial to determining vulnerability to global warming. We ask how species' vulnerability varies across habitats and elevations, and how climatically buffered microhabitats can contribute to reduce their vulnerability.

Taste sensitivity and lifestyle are associated with food preferences and BMI in children.

Oral food perception together with lifestyle may affect food preferences and choices, influencing weight gain and obesity development. The present study was designed to evaluate the association of biological (taste sensitivity) and lifestyle variables with children food preferences, assessing whether all these variables contribute to explain BMI percentile. After anthropometric evaluation, 387 children were classified for bitter and sweet taste sensitivities.

Species traits, patch turnover and successional dynamics: when does intermediate disturbance favour metapopulation occupancy?

Background: In fragmented landscapes, natural and anthropogenic disturbances coupled with successional processes result in the destruction and creation of habitat patches. Disturbances are expected to reduce metapopulation occupancy for species associated with stable habitats, but they may benefit species adapted to transitory habitats by maintaining a dynamic mosaic of successional stages. However, while early-successional species may be favoured by very frequent disturbances resetting successional dynamics, metapopulation occupancy may be highest at intermediate disturbance levels for species with mid-successional habitat preferences, though this may be conditional on species traits and patch network characteristics.

Climate shapes mammal community trophic structures and humans simplify them.

Nature's complexity is intriguing, but the circumstances determining whether or how order emerges from such complexity remains a matter of extensive research. Using the geographical distributions and food preferences of all terrestrial mammal species with masses >3 kg, we show that large mammals group into feeding guilds (species exploiting similar resources) and that these guilds form trophic structures that vary across biomes globally. We identify five trophic structures closely matching climate variability and named them boreal, temperate, semiarid, seasonal tropical and humid tropical owing to their relative overlap with the distribution of biomes.

Anti-Müllerian hormone levels before and after uterine artery embolization.

Objective: To determine the effects of uterine artery embolization (UAE) on ovarian reserve as measured by Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels.

Material And Methods: Non-randomized, observational study of 89 women 23-40 years of age who received UAE. Control hormone levels were measured prior to UAE and the first post-embolization measurement was taken at various times post-procedure (mean = 190 ± 229 days).

Haemostasis with the FISH Vascular Closure Device after 6 French Transfemoral Accesses in Interventional Radiology: Clinical Results.

Introduction: Endovascular procedures have increased for different indications over the recent years. To achieve a safe haemostasis after arterial puncture and for more comfort for the patients different vascular closure devices have been developed.

Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of a percutaneous closure system based on a matrix patch for achieving haemostasis.

Early experience with a modified preloaded system for fenestrated endovascular aortic repair.

Objective: Preloaded endovascular delivery systems expand the anatomic eligibility for complex aortic repair by requiring only one iliac access vessel and providing a stable platform for guiding sheaths into challenging target vessels. This article reports the lessons learned and early clinical outcomes using a modified preloaded delivery system for fenestrated endovascular aneurysm repair (FEVAR) in three aortic centers in Europe.

Methods: From October 2015 to March 2016, consecutive patients presenting with extensive aortic aneurysm treated with a modified preloaded FEVAR were prospectively enrolled from three high volume European aortic centers.

Tibiopedal Access for Crossing of Infrainguinal Artery Occlusions: A Prospective Multicenter Observational Study.

Purpose: To report a prospective, multicenter, observational study (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT01609621) of the safety and effectiveness of tibiopedal access and retrograde crossing in the treatment of infrainguinal chronic total occlusions (CTOs).

Methods: Twelve sites around the world prospectively enrolled 197 patients (mean age 71±11 years, range 41-93; 129 men) from May 2012 to July 2013 who met the inclusion criterion of at least one CTO for which a retrograde crossing procedure was planned or became necessary.

Incidence and clinical implication of TT virus in patients with hepatitis and its frequency in blood donors in India.

Background: Transfusion Transmitted Virus (TTV), also known as Torque Teno Virus is a new novel viral agent which appears to correlate with some acute and chronic hepatitis cases and may produce liver damage under specific circumstances. Aim of this study was to detect TT virus by real-time PCR, study its clinical implications and effects of its co-infection in HBV and HCV chronic liver diseases.

Methods: The study population comprised 50 acute hepatitis, 50 chronic hepatitis patients and 100 voluntary blood donors.

Fertility after uterine artery embolization: a review.

Uterine artery embolization (UAE) research has largely been focused on women over 40 years, yet women of reproductive age undergo UAE without any increased morbidity. Some physicians refrain from recommending UAE to women in this age group because of some research findings showing a negative effect on fertility. This review presents a comprehensive discussion of the fertility potential of women undergoing UAE, in terms of pregnancy rates and complications as well as ovarian function and reserve.

The effectiveness of combined abdominal myomectomy and uterine artery embolization.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of abdominal myomectomy after uterine artery embolization (UAE-AM) among patients with myomas.

Methods: In a retrospective study, chart data were reviewed for patients attending a center in California, USA, who underwent UAE-AM between 1999 and 2012. Patients had been offered the combined procedure if the diameter of the myoma was at least 4cm, they wished to preserve fertility, or they were candidates for a traditional abdominal myomectomy.

Endovascular Repair of Saccular Ascending Aortic Aneurysm After Orthotopic Heart Transplantation Using an Investigational Zenith Ascend Stent-Graft.

Purpose: To report the use of an investigational stent-graft to treat an ascending aortic aneurysm in a patient with a heart transplant.

Case Report: A 48-year-old man presented with a 3.5×1.

Five-Lumen Antibiotic-Impregnated Femoral Central Venous Catheters in Severely Burned Patients: An Investigation of Device Utility and Catheter-Related Bloodstream Infection Rates.

The objective of this study is to determine the catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI) rate in a severely burned patient population, many of whom required prolonged use of central venous catheters (CVCs). Between January 2008 and June 2012, 151 patients underwent placement of 455 five-lumen minocycline/rifampin-impregnated CVCs. CRBSI was defined as at least one blood culture (>100,000 colonies) and one simultaneous roll-plate CVC tip culture (>15 colony forming units) positive for the same organism.

Results of the United States multicenter prospective study evaluating the Zenith fenestrated endovascular graft for treatment of juxtarenal abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Objective: This study reports the results of a prospective, multicenter trial designed to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the Zenith fenestrated endovascular graft (Cook Medical, Bloomington, Ind) for treatment of juxtarenal abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs).

Methods: Sixty-seven patients with juxtarenal AAAs were prospectively enrolled in 14 centers in the United States from 2005 to 2012. Custom-made fenestrated stent grafts were designed with one to three fenestrations on the basis of analysis of computed tomography data sets.

Magnetic gastrointestinal anastomosis in pediatric patients.

Background/purpose: To describe 17 patients who underwent magnetic, non-surgical gastrointestinal (GI) anastomoses.

Methods: Patients with GI obstruction, stenosis, or atresia were treated with image-guided and/or endoscopically placed discoid magnet pairs or catheter-based bullet-shaped magnet pairs.

Results: Anastomosis was achieved in 7 days in an 11-year-old with gastric outlet obstruction due to metastatic colon cancer.

2-Amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) is selectively toxic to primary dopaminergic neurons in vitro.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease. Much data has linked the etiology of PD to a variety of environmental factors. The majority of cases are thought to arise from a combination of genetic susceptibility and environmental factors.

Five-year results of thoracic endovascular aortic repair with the Zenith TX2.

Background: This trial evaluated thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) compared with open surgical repair of descending thoracic aortic aneurysms and large ulcers at 42 international sites. Whereas several studies demonstrate early safety and utility advantages with TEVAR, longer follow-up is important because of concerns about durability of TEVAR.

Methods: This prospective, nonrandomized study enrolled 160 TEVAR patients treated with the Cook Zenith TX2 and 70 open surgical repair patients.

Autologous muscle derived cells for treatment of stress urinary incontinence in women.

Purpose: We assess the 12-month safety and potential efficacy of autologous muscle derived cells for urinary sphincter repair (Cook MyoSite Incorporated, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) in women with stress urinary incontinence.

Materials And Methods: Pooled data from 2 phase I/II studies with identical patient selection criteria and outcome measures were analyzed. Enrolled patients had stress urinary incontinence refractory to prior treatment and no symptom improvement during the last 6 months.

Aortic remodeling after endovascular treatment of complicated type B aortic dissection with the use of a composite device design.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to report updated clinical and aortic remodeling results from the Study for the Treatment of complicated Type B Aortic Dissection using Endoluminal repair (STABLE) trial, a prospective, multicenter study evaluating safety and effectiveness of a pathology-specific endovascular system (proximal stent graft and distal bare metal stent) for the treatment of complicated type B aortic dissection.

Methods: All 86 enrolled patients (mean age, 59 years; 73.3% men) were treated within 90 days of symptom onset (55 with acute dissections and 31 with nonacute dissections).

Predictive observation-based endpoint criteria for mice receiving total body irradiation.

Total body irradiation of mice is a commonly used research technique; however, humane endpoints have not been clearly identified. This situation has led to the inconsistent use of various endpoints, including death. To address this issue, we refined a cageside observation-based scoring system specifically for mice receiving total body irradiated.

Endoscopic treatment of malignant gastric and duodenal strictures: a prospective, multicenter study.

Background: Malignant gastric outlet obstruction is often treated by stent placement.

Objective: To investigate the outcomes of stent placement in the palliative treatment of malignant neoplasms.

Design: Prospective, observational, multicenter registry.