Mitral valve replacement and implantation of an extracardial mesh frame in patients with severe heart failure: results of a clinical study and a description of a clinical case 18 years after surgery.

Aim    Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCMP) is a major cause for severe heart failure. Development of a combination (drug and surgery) treatment of this disease is relevant. This prospective observational study was aimed at evaluating short- and long-term results of extracardiac mesh implantation in DCMP patients with heart failure resistant to the optimum drug therapy.

Sudden death due to rupture of an aortic syphilitic aneurysm.

A 26-year-old man who suddenly collapsed and died was found at autopsy to have a ruptured aortic aneurysm which had the classic "tree bark" appearance of tertiary syphilis. Tracking of blood into the pericardial sac had resulted in sudden death from cardiac tamponade. Serological results were consistent with syphilis and HIV was excluded.

The Prognostic Value of ADAMTS-13 and von Willebrand Factor in COVID-19 Patients: Prospective Evaluation by Care Setting.

Background: Endothelial dysfunction, coupled with inflammation, induces thrombo-inflammation. In COVID-19, this process is believed to be associated with clinical severity. Von Willebrand factor (VWF), and a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs 13 (ADAMTS-13), are strong markers of endothelial dysfunction.

Approach to the Evaluation and Treatment of Venous Thromboembolism in Pregnancy.

Thrombosis in pregnancy is a major cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Risk stratification of venous thromboembolism (VTE) during pregnancy is complex. The hypercoagulability observed in pregnant women can reduce bleeding during childbirth, but may cause thrombosis especially in the presence of additional prothrombotic risk factors such as antiphospholipid antibodies or genetic thrombophilic defects.

[Congenital hypopituitarism with monosomy of chromosome 18].

Congenital hypopituitarism is a rare disease. It can be caused by isolated inborn defects of the pituitary, gene mutations (PROP1, PIT1), and chromosomal abnormalities.Deletions of chromosome 18 (De Grouchy syndrome types 1 and 2) are a group of rare genetic diseases with a frequency of 1:50,000.

Third Trimester Myocardial Performance Index in Fetuses from Women with Hyperglycemia in Pregnancy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Introduction:  The myocardial performance index (MPI) has been proposed to evaluate cardiac dysfunction in newborns from diabetic mothers. Although MPI is routinely assessed in newborns, its role in the evaluation of fetuses from women with hyperglycemia in pregnancy (HIP) is still under evaluation. We aimed to evaluate the differences in third trimester fetal MPI in pregnant women with hyperglycemia compared to healthy controls.

Reference ranges for fetal brain structures using magnetic resonance imaging: systematic review.

Objective: To evaluate the methodology of studies reporting reference ranges for fetal brain structures on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and the Web of Science databases were searched electronically up to 31 December 2020 to identify studies investigating biometry and growth of the fetal brain and reporting reference ranges for brain structures using MRI. The primary aim was to evaluate the methodology of these studies.

Microsurgical treatment of symptomatic vestibular schwannomas in patients under 40: different results before and after age of 30.

In 10-15% of cases of vestibular schwannoma (VS), age at diagnosis is 40 years or less. Little is known about the differences in natural history, surgical findings, and postoperative outcomes of such younger patients as compared to those of greater age. To analyze clinical and surgical and imaging data of a consecutive series of n = 50 patients with unilateral sporadic VS, aged 40 years or younger - separated in a very young group (15-30 years) and a moderately young group (31-40 years).

EGCG as an anti-SARS-CoV-2 agent: Preventive versus therapeutic potential against original and mutant virus.

In the search for anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs, much attention is given to safe and widely available native compounds. The green tea component epigallocatechin 3 gallate (EGCG) is particularly promising because it reportedly inhibits viral replication and viral entry in vitro. However, conclusive evidence for its predominant activity is needed.

Maternal cardiovascular function in the prediction of fetal distress in labor: a prospective cohort study.

Objective: To explore the strength of association and the diagnostic accuracy of maternal hemodynamic parameters detected noninvasively in predicting an adverse perinatal outcome in labor.

Methods: Prospective cohort study of singleton women undergoing antepartum care at 37-39 weeks of gestation. A noninvasive ultrasonic cardiac output monitor (USCOM®) was used for cardiovascular assessment.

Progressive chronic SARS-CoV-2-positive giant cell myoendocarditis with atrial standstill and sudden cardiac death.

Giant cell myocarditis (GCM) is a rare condition. Its association with SARS-CoV-2 has not been described before. The 46-year-old female patient was admitted to the clinic on September 2020.

Artificial intelligence-driven phenotyping of zebrafish psychoactive drug responses.

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are rapidly emerging in biomedicine as promising tools for disease modelling and drug discovery. The use of zebrafish for neuroscience research is also growing rapidly, necessitating novel reliable and unbiased methods of neurophenotypic data collection and analyses. Here, we applied the artificial intelligence (AI) neural network-based algorithms to a large dataset of adult zebrafish locomotor tracks collected previously in a series of in vivo experiments with multiple established psychotropic drugs.

Ultrasound vs routine care before instrumental vaginal delivery: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: The objective was to report the role of intrapartum ultrasound examination in affecting maternal and perinatal outcome in women undergoing instrumental vaginal delivery.

Material And Methods: MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Google Scholar and ClinicalTrial.gov databases were searched.

Subacute and chronic post-covid myoendocarditis: clinical presentation, role of coronavirus persistence and autoimmune mechanisms.

Aim    To study clinical features of myoendocarditis and its possible mechanisms, including persistence of SARS-Cov-2 in the myocardium, in the long-term period following COVID-19.Material and methods    This cohort, prospective study included 15 patients aged 47.8±13.

Novel artificial intelligence approach for automatic differentiation of fetal occiput anterior and non-occiput anterior positions during labor.

Objectives: To describe a newly developed machine-learning (ML) algorithm for the automatic recognition of fetal head position using transperineal ultrasound (TPU) during the second stage of labor and to describe its performance in differentiating between occiput anterior (OA) and non-OA positions.

Methods: This was a prospective cohort study including singleton term (> 37 weeks of gestation) pregnancies in the second stage of labor, with a non-anomalous fetus in cephalic presentation. Transabdominal ultrasound was performed to determine whether the fetal head position was OA or non-OA.

"Limited" Extreme Lateral Infrajugular Transcondylar-Transtubercular Exposure (ELITE) for the Microsurgical Management of C1-C2 Schwannoma: Operative Video.

The extreme lateral infrajugular transcondylar-transtubercular exposure (ELITE) is a surgical approach developed in the late 1980s by Prof. T. Fukushima and represents the dorsolateral inferior skull base procedure of choice to approach lesion located ventrolaterally at the level of the craniocervical junction (CCJ).

On-off transition and ultrafast decay of amino acid luminescence driven by modulation of supramolecular packing.

Luminescence of biomolecules in the visible range of the spectrum has been experimentally observed upon aggregation, contrary to their monomeric state. However, the physical basis for this phenomenon is still elusive. Here, we systematically examine all coded amino acids to provide non-biased empirical insights.

Prokineticin-2 prevents neuronal cell deaths in a model of traumatic brain injury.

Prokineticin-2 (Prok2) is an important secreted protein likely involved in the pathogenesis of several acute and chronic neurological diseases through currently unidentified regulatory mechanisms. The initial mechanical injury of neurons by traumatic brain injury triggers multiple secondary responses including various cell death programs. One of these is ferroptosis, which is associated with dysregulation of iron and thiols and culminates in fatal lipid peroxidation.

Computer assisted three-dimensional reconstruction of scene in firearm homicide.

Worldwide advances in computer techniques are not yet recognised in the practice of forensic medicine. A promising application is their use in making a three-dimensional reconstruction of the crime scene. This study analyses this technique in a homicide by firearm.

Thrombophilia, Inflammation, and Recurrent Pregnancy Loss: A Case-Based Review.

Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is defined as the loss of two or more pregnancies and is often multifactorial with the majority of miscarriages being due to aneuploidy and anatomic or physiological abnormalities. However, inherited or acquired thrombophilias have also been associated with RPL, albeit inconsistently. While inherited thrombophilias, such as factor V Leiden and prothrombin gene mutation, are relatively prevalent in women with RPL compared with the general population, a causal link has yet to be definitively established.

Development of a Promising Method for Producing Oligomeric Mixture of Branched Alkylene Guanidines to Improve Substance Quality and Evaluate Their Antiviral Activity against SARS-CoV-2.

This paper reports the synthesis of branched alkylene guanidines using microfluidic technologies. We describe the preparation of guanidine derivatives at lower temperatures, and with significantly less time than that required in the previously applicable method. Furthermore, the use of microfluidics allows the attainment of high-purity products with a low residual monomer content, which can expand the range of applications of this class of compounds.