Early Result Research Articles

Early Clinical Result of Computerized Navigated Screw Fixation in Treatment of Fragility Pelvic Fracture

Introduction:Minimal invasive fixation of fragility pelvic fracture is feasible with advancement of computerized navigation. However, the clinical outcomes compared with conservative care were seldom mentioned.Method:This is a retrospective study comparing the outcomes of elderly with stable pelvic fracture treated conservatively or operatively using computerized navigation. Outcome parameters included pain score, analgesics requirement, length of hospital stay and complication(s), if any.Result:Operations were performed in 15 patients from July 2017 to November 2018. A retrospective cohort of 37 patients who were treated conservatively was recruited. In the operative group, it showed a statistically significant reduction in analgesics consumption at 4-week time only. There was significant improvement in pain score at 1-week, 4-week and 3-month time. Patients showed earlier return to premorbid walking status. No major surgical complication was noted.Conclusion:Treating fragility pelvic fracture with computerized navigated screw fixation achieve better pain control, reduction in analgesics requirement and earlier mobilization.

Transversals, duality, and irrational rotation

An early result of Noncommutative Geometry was Connes’ observation in the 1980’s that the Dirac-Dolbeault cycle for the 2 2 -torus T 2 \mathbb {T}^2 , which induces a Poincaré self-duality for T 2 \mathbb {T}^2 , can be ‘quantized’ to give a spectral triple and a K-homology class in K K 0 ( A θ ⊗ A θ , C ) \mathrm {KK}_0(A_\theta \otimes A_\theta , \mathbb {C}) providing the co-unit for a Poincaré self-duality for the irrational rotation algebra A θ A_\theta for any θ ∈ R ∖ Q \theta \in \mathbb {R}\setminus \mathbb {Q} . Connes’ proof, however, relied on a K-theory computation and does not supply a representative cycle for the unit of this duality. Since such representatives are vital in applications of duality, we supply such a cycle in unbounded form in this article. Our approach is to construct, for any non-zero integer b b , a finitely generated projective module L b \mathcal {L}_{b} over A θ ⊗ A θ A_\theta \otimes A_\theta by using a reduction-to-a-transversal argument of Muhly, Renault, and Williams, applied to a pair of Kronecker foliations along lines of slope θ \theta and θ + b \theta + b , using the fact that these flows are transverse to each other. We then compute Connes’ dual of [ L b ] [\mathcal {L}_{b}] and prove that we obtain an invertible τ b ∈ K K 0 ( A θ , A θ ) \tau _{b}\in \mathrm {KK}_0(A_\theta , A_\theta ) , represented by an equivariant bundle of Dirac-Schrödinger operators. An application of equivariant Bott Periodicity gives a form of higher index theorem describing functoriality of such ‘ b b -twists’ and this allows us to describe the unit of Connes’ duality in terms of a combination of two constructions in KK-theory. This results in an explicit spectral representative of the unit – a kind of ‘quantized Thom class’ for the diagonal embedding of the noncommutative torus.

The first stellar parallaxes revisited

AbstractWe have reanalyzed the data used by Bessel, von Struve, and Henderson in the 1830s to measure the first parallax distances to stars. We can generally reproduce their results, although we find that von Struve and Henderson have underestimated some of their measurement errors, leading to optimistic parallax uncertainties. We find that temperature corrections for Bessel's measured positions are larger than anticipated, explaining some systematics apparent in his data. It has long been a mystery as to why von Struve first announced a parallax for Vega of 0.″125 only to later revise it to double that value using more data. We resolve this mystery by finding that von Struve's early result used two dimensions of position data, which independently give significantly different parallaxes but, when combined, only fortuitously give the correct result. With later data, von Struve excluded the “problematic” dimension, leading to the larger parallax value. Allowing for likely temperature corrections and using his data from both dimensions reduce von Struve's parallax for Vega to a value consistent with the correct value.

On Hollow acts

In this paper, we complete an early result by R. Khosravi and M. Roueentan on the hollow act and obtained new properties and characterizations for this notion continues the account of hollow act for commutative monoids begun on 2019. This notion (hollow acts) represents a dual notion to the uniform acts which were submit by M. Roueentan and M. Sedaghatjoo on 2017. An S-act Ms is referred to as hollow act if every subact Ns of Ms is small where a subact Ns is called small (or superfluous) in Ms if for every subact Hs of MS, NS∪HS=MS implies Hs=Ms. Equally, we reformulate this definition in another words as follows: an S-act Ms is referred to as hollow if whenever N1,N2 are subacts of Ms and N1 ∪N2 = Ms implies either N1=Ms or N2= Ms. Conditions under which subacts are inheriting the property of the Hollow act have been examined. As well as the condition on the quotient subact to be Hollow act was studied. Other properties of the small subact differ from those properties which were early studied by the author are investigated. In the interests of simplicity, the relationship between hollow acts and cyclic act is considered. As a consequence, conditions to coincide those classes are shown. Ultimately, the notion of the Hollow act was used to study when the endomorphism monoid will be local.

ARID3a expression in human hematopoietic stem cells is associated with distinct gene patterns in aged individuals

BackgroundImmunologic aging leads to immune dysfunction, significantly reducing the quality of life of the elderly. Aged-related defects in early hematopoiesis result in reduced lymphoid cell development, functionally defective mature immune cells, and poor protective responses to vaccines and pathogens. Despite considerable progress understanding the underlying causes of decreased immunity in the elderly, the mechanisms by which these occur are still poorly understood. The DNA-binding protein ARID3a is expressed in a subset of human hematopoietic progenitors. Inhibition of ARID3a in bulk human cord blood CD34+ hematopoietic progenitors led to developmental skewing toward myeloid lineage at the expense of lymphoid lineage cells in vitro. Effects of ARID3a expression in adult-derived hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) have not been analyzed, nor has ARID3a expression been assessed in relationship to age. We hypothesized that decreases in ARID3a could explain some of the defects observed in aging.ResultsOur data reveal decreased frequencies of ARID3a-expressing peripheral blood HSCs from aged healthy individuals compared with young donor HSCs. Inhibition of ARID3a in young donor-derived HSCs limits B lineage potential, suggesting a role for ARID3a in B lymphopoiesis in bone marrow-derived HSCs. Increasing ARID3a levels of HSCs from aged donors in vitro alters B lineage development and maturation. Finally, single cell analyses of ARID3a-expressing HSCs from young versus aged donors identify a number of differentially expressed genes in aged ARID3A-expressing cells versus young ARID3A-expressing HSCs, as well as between ARID3A-expressing and non-expressing cells in both young and aged donor HSCs.ConclusionsThese data suggest that ARID3a-expressing HSCs from aged individuals differ at both molecular and functional levels compared to ARID3a-expressing HSCs from young individuals.

830 - HoLEP in men with catheter dependent urinary retention: Does early surgical intervention result in better outcomes?

830 - HoLEP in men with catheter dependent urinary retention: Does early surgical intervention result in better outcomes?

Building Material in The Perspective of Energy Efficiency and Thermal Environment in TOD Area

The development of urban area such as a Transit Oriented Development (TOD) involves a lot of building materials that are forming the physical environment which rises problems of urban heat island (UHI) and energy consumption. The TOD forming urban corridors that rise urban canyon issues with high air temperature, poor air quality, high energy consumption for air cooling and purifying (HVAC). The common heavyweight building materials that dominate the physical environment of TOD and other urban areas have low specific heat and high heat capacity. Another thermal property of concrete and brick storing the heat energy influence the air temperature during the night. The lightweight modern building materials that are cheap in construction cost show the worse phenomenon in the UHI perspective due to its lower specific heat. This review paper discusses the role of building material in the urban thermal environment such as the TOD area in the energy and environment perspective. The early result shows that both heavyweight and lightweight modern building material have a bad performance for the environment and should be mitigated otherwise our future will become worse. The energy consumption that rises uncontrollably due to bad air quality and high temperature will decrease the liveability level of the urban area.

Potential Implications of COVID-19 for the 2020-2021 Residency Application Cycle

Improving the Residency Application and Selection Process—An Optional Early Result Acceptance Program

Thermal activation of persulfates for wastewater depollution on pilot scale solar equipment

Thermal activation of new oxidant chemicals like Persulfate (PS) has recently gained attention in driving advanced oxidation processes (AOP) for a number of applications. On the other hand, addressing energy demand with carbon free and sustainable energy solutions represents an asset for new technologies in the modern society. This paper then investigates on the removal of pharmaceuticals residues in wastewater (WW), conducted with PS advanced oxidation reactions on a solar thermal pilot equipment. Indoor preliminary investigations on small scale laboratory experimentations show how increasing temperature has a direct positive impact on pollutants degradations rate (kapp value ranging from 0.4·10−3s−1 at ambient to 10.4·10−3 s−1 at 75 °C). However, after an experimental screening methodology, 65 °C and 200 µM appear as the appropriate target temperature and PS oxidant dosage to cope with both activation of PS oxidant and degradation of ten target micropollutants typically found in WW stream. Outdoor experimentations on the solar pilot equipment were conducted according to a batch running mode at a treatment capacity scale of a cubic meter. 95% pollutant removal rate is achieved within 2 h once the temperature has raised up to the target value (65 °C) in the bulk treated WW effluent. Series of treatment cycles under the natural day/night period demonstrate the reproducibility of the performance. As an early step result of the process optimization approach, heat recovery demonstration on the pilot equipment improves significantly the energetic balance over the now innovative thermal solar water treatment.

Totally Invariant Divisors of Int-Amplified Endomorphisms of Normal Projective Varieties

We consider an arbitrary int-amplified surjective endomorphism $f$ of a normal projective variety $X$ over $\mathbb{C}$ and its $f^{-1}$-stable prime divisors. We extend the early result for the case of polarized endomorphisms to the case of int-amplified endomorphisms. Assume further that $X$ has at worst Kawamata log terminal singularities. We prove that the total number of $f^{-1}$-stable prime divisors has an optimal upper bound $\dim X+\rho(X)$, where $\rho(X)$ is the Picard number. Also, we give a sufficient condition for $X$ to be rationally connected and simply connected. Finally, by running the minimal model program (MMP), we prove that, under some extra conditions, the end product of the MMP can only be an elliptic curve or a single point.

BASF's New Creation Centers Focus on Collaboration

Plastics EngineeringVolume 76, Issue 2 p. 20-25 Design Notes BASF's New Creation Centers Focus on Collaboration One early result is the VisionVenture ‘camper van of the future’ Robert Grace, Robert GraceSearch for more papers by this author Robert Grace, Robert GraceSearch for more papers by this author First published: 03 February 2020 https://doi.org/10.1002/peng.20252Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Volume76, Issue2February 2020Pages 20-25 RelatedInformation

Vertebral-carotid transposition can treat various diseases

Vertebral-carotid transposition (VCT), which is a treatment of vertebral artery stenosis, has excellent long-term efficacy. VCT can also be suitable for various situations where the blood supply of the vertebral artery must be reconstructed. Here, we present an early result of six cases for these anomalies by VCT. Case 1: A 58-year-old male presented with the severe stenosis at the left vertebral V1 segment. Case 2: A 59-year-old female suffered from moderate-to-severe stenosis at the first portion of the left subclavian artery. Case 3: A 55-year-old female experienced severe stenosis at the left vertebral V1 segment, which the wire could not pass through. Case 4: A 53-year-old female presented with the subclavian aneurysm at the origin of the right vertebral artery. Case 5: A 65-year-old male suffered from the long complete occlusion at the origin of the left subclavian artery, a severe stenosis at the origin of the left internal carotid artery, a severe stenosis at the origin of the right internal carotid artery, and a severe stenosis at the right vertebral V1 segment. Case 6: A 56-year-old male experienced the thrombus in the stent of the vertebral artery which had been placed 6 months ago. There are six cases, in which VCT was adapted. VCT is safe and effective for various situations when the blood supply of the vertebral artery must be reconstructed.

528: Evaluation of early screening for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) with standard HbA1c

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes and early detection allows for timely management of the disease. Early DM screening is currently recommended for pregnant women who are considered high risk via a 1-hour glucose challenge test (1h GCT). This test is often bothersome for women as it is time-consuming and may induce gastrointestinal distress. Hemoglobin A1c (A1c) is a fast and reliable method of assessing long term glycemic control. We sought to examine the correlation between hemoglobin A1c (A1c) and 1h GCT for DM screening in early pregnancy This was a retrospective cohort study of pregnant women who were high-risk for DM that underwent early A1c and 1h GCT between October 2017 and July 2019. We defined ‘high-risk’ as women that met the criteria for early testing based on the screening strategy in American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists practice bulletin # 180. Three-hour glucose tolerance test (3h GTT) data was also collected if the 1h GCT was abnormal (>135 mg/dL). DM was diagnosed if the A1c was 6.5% or higher. Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated to investigate the relationship between early A1c and 1h GCT A total of 115 patients were included with mean age of 30.4 and mean BMI of 36.8 kg/m2. Median gestational age was 8.9 weeks at A1c draw and 13.8 weeks at 1h GCT draw. Two (1.7%) women were diagnosed with DM based on an early A1c. Four of 20 women (20.0%) with early A1c of 5.7-6.4% and 2 of 93 (2.2%) with A1c< 5.7% had an early diagnosis of DM. A significant positive correlation between A1c and early 1h GCT result was detected (Pearson correlation coefficient=0.55, P< 0.01). A1c significantly predicts the risk of early 1h GCT with AUC=0.75 (95%CI: 0.63,0.86) and the risk of DM with AUC=0.91 (95%CI: 0.83,0.99). An early A1c of 5.3% or less (61.7% of patients) had a 100% negative predictive value for DM A1c correlates with 1h GCT for the early screening of gestational DM. Our findings suggest that women with an early A1c ≤ 5.3% in a similar-risk population could potentially forego further testingView Large Image Figure ViewerDownload Hi-res image Download (PPT)

Joins on samples

Despite decades of research on AQP (approximate query processing), our understanding of sample-based joins has remained limited and, to some extent, even superficial. The common belief in the community is that joining random samples is futile. This belief is largely based on an early result showing that the join of two uniform samples is not an independent sample of the original join, and that it leads to quadratically fewer output tuples. Unfortunately, this early result has little applicability to the key questions practitioners face. For example, the success metric is often the final approximation's accuracy, rather than output cardinality. Moreover, there are many non-uniform sampling strategies that one can employ. Is sampling for joins still futile in all of these settings? If not, what is the best sampling strategy in each case? To the best of our knowledge, there is no formal study answering these questions. This paper aims to improve our understanding of sample-based joins and offer a guideline for practitioners building and using real-world AQP systems. We study limitations of offline samples in approximating join queries: given an offline sampling budget, how well can one approximate the join of two tables? We answer this question for two success metrics: output size and estimator variance. We show that maximizing output size is easy, while there is an information-theoretical lower bound on the lowest variance achievable by any sampling strategy. We then define a hybrid sampling scheme that captures all combinations of stratified, universe, and Bernoulli sampling, and show that this scheme with our optimal parameters achieves the theoretical lower bound within a constant factor. Since computing these optimal parameters requires shuffling statistics across the network, we also propose a decentralized variant in which each node acts autonomously using minimal statistics. We also empirically validate our findings on popular SQL and AQP engines.

Determinants of preterm birth among mothers who gave birth at public hospitals in the Amhara region, Ethiopia: A case-control study.

BackgroundPreterm birth (PTB) is a public health issue worldwide. In developing nations, like Ethiopia, PTB is under reported and underestimated. However, it is the leading cause of neonatal and under-five mortality in Ethiopia. Besides, limited and non-comparative research studies to date has been conducted in the country to address the prevalence of PTB. Therefore, this study aims to determine predictors of PTB.MethodsHospital-based unmatched case control study was employed on a sample of 139 cases and 278 controls from October 2017 to December 2017 in the Amhara region, Ethiopia. The cases and controls were proportionally allocated in each hospital based on the last one-year case flows. As soon as a case was identified, the respective two controls were enrolled until the required sample size was satisfied. The outcome variable was measured by using either last menstrual period (LMP), early ultrasound result, or Ballard maturity examination. Face-to-face interviews were conducted using a standardized, structured, and pre-tested questionnaire to collect data. The collected data was entered into Epi-data and exported into SPSS for analysis. Independent variables with p-values < 0.25 in the bivariate analysis were entered into multivariable logistic regression models with forward logistic regressions method to control the influence of covariates. Ethical clearance was ensured.ResultsA total of 134 cases and 268 controls participated with a response rate of 96.4%. After adjusting for covariates, the following variables were associated with PTB: residing in rural areas [AOR = 2.99: 95% CI 1.19, 7.48], low maternal age [AOR = 3.47: 95% CI 1.11, 10.83], being illiterate [AOR = 4.56: 95% CI 1.11,8.62], short birth spacing [AOR = 2.48: 95% CI 1.07, 5.75], no antenatal care visits for this index pregnancy [AOR = 10.78: 95% CI 4.43, 26.25], having a history of previous adverse birth outcomes [AOR = 3.47: 95% CI 1.51, 8.02], and exposure to medical problems during pregnancy [AOR = 13.94: 95% CI 4.39, 24.27].ConclusionThe study revealed maternal sociodemographic factors, short birth space, lack of antenatal care, exposure to previous adverse birth outcomes and facing medical illnesses during pregnancy were the predictors of PTB. Therefore, inclusive preventive and control interventions should be developed at regional, zonal and district levels to reduce the burden of PTB among women resided in rural areas such as integrating antenatal care services into the existing health extension packages. Study results suggest increasing the awareness of PTB, contraceptive utilization and counseling to enhance birth spacing, antenatal care visits, and accessibility to services among women in Ethiopia should be given due attention. Health care providers should focus on mothers with previous adverse birth outcomes and those exposed to medical problems during pregnancy. Additional community based longitudinal studies supplemented with qualitative methods are recommended.

A study on evaluation of solitary nodular thyroid lesions by FNAC and its histopathological correlation

Background: Solitary nodular enlargement of thyroid is one of the common indications for surgical excision. Since most of the nodules are benign, symptomless, normal thyroid hormone profile, they do not require excision. This study was done to evaluate the utility of FNAC as a rapid diagnostic method in various thyroid lesions and guide the clinician for further treatment.&#x0D; Objective: This main objective of the study to evaluate the cyto-histopathological findings, and the accuracy of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) procedure in solitary nodular thyroid lesions.&#x0D; Materials and Methods: This prospective study comprises total 160 cases with thyroid lesions referred to cytopathology laboratory and gland morphology studied by ultrasonography (USG). Based on ultrasonography report Fine Needle Aspiration were done manually or guided and aspirated material fixed on fixative and stained to examine.&#x0D; Results: Age incidence varied from 10-80 yrs. The commonest age group affected was 21-40 yrs. The ratio of male to female was 1:2.2. The duration of symptoms ranged from 10 days to 15 years. Maximum number of cases presented with midline swelling of the neck. On cytology 52 (32.5%) cases were diagnosed as colloid goiter, 46 (28.75%) as colloid goiter with cystic change, 16(10%) as thyroiditis - among them 6(3.75%) as granulomatous thyroiditis, 8(5%) as lymphocytic thyroiditis, 2(1.25%) as dequervain thyroiditis, 10 (6.25%) as follicular neoplasm, 2(1.25%) as hurthle cell adenoma, 5(3.3%) as papillary carcinoma, 2 (1.25%) as medullary carcinoma, 1(0.33%) anaplastic carcinoma and 1(0.33%) NHL as suspicious smear. Histopathological examination was possible in 60 cases. The overall sensitivity was 90.2%, specificity was 98.2% and accuracy was 97.1%.&#x0D; Conclusion: FNAC is a rapid, efficient, cost-effective, relatively painless procedure and produces a early result with a high diagnostic accuracy. It has high rates of sensitivity and specificity to diagnose the solitary thyroid lesions and thereby it is an important diagnostic tool and further management of patients with thyroid lesions.&#x0D; Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.18(4) 2019 p.789-795

Early promising result of bicompartmental knee replacement in middle-aged patients

Introduction: Partial knee replacement (PKR) is one of the treatment options in middle-aged patients with less extensive knee osteoarthritis, with unicompartmental knee replacement (UKR) most commonly done for medial osteoarthritis. There are numerous advantages like bone/ligament preserving and faster recovery. However, the indications of UKR remain controversial, as most patients have some patellofemoral joint (PFJ) osteoarthritis. We performed modular bicruciate-retaining bicompartmental knee replacement (BKR) in this group of patients and compared the outcome with total knee replacement (TKR). Materials and Methods: From 2016 to 2017, 14 BKR were performed in patients with medial and PFJ osteoarthritis. They were retrospectively compared with 14 TKR performed in patients with similar age and severity. The incision length, operative time, blood loss (in terms of hemoglobin drop), and length of stay were recorded. Pre- and postoperative range of motion and Knee Society knee score at 1-year follow-up were compared. Results: The mean incision length for BKR was shorter than TKR (130.1 vs. 185.1 mm), but the mean operative time was also longer (152.6 vs. 88.1 min). There was also less mean hemoglobin drop (1.8 vs. 2.6 g/dL) and shorter length of stay (7.4 vs. 9.2 days). The mean postoperative function score is better in BKR group (90.4 vs. 77.5), and the mean postoperative knee score (87.2 vs 88.9) and flexion (115.7° vs. 111.4°) were similar for both groups. Discussion: In selected patients, BKR is a good alternative to TKR. It preserves advantages of UKR while also tackle the PFJ which is the most controversial aspect of UKR. The early clinical outcome in our study is promising. However, there is a learning curve. Longer follow-up is necessary to study on the performance and survivorship as compared with UKR and TKR.

Formation of hot, stable, long-lived field-reversed configuration plasmas on the C-2W device

TAE Technologies’ research is devoted to producing high temperature, stable, long-lived field-reversed configuration (FRC) plasmas by neutral-beam injection (NBI) and edge biasing/control. The newly constructed C-2W experimental device (also called ‘Norman’) is the world’s largest compact-toroid (CT) device, which has several key upgrades from the preceding C-2U device such as higher input power and longer pulse duration of the NBI system as well as installation of inner divertors with upgraded electrode biasing systems. Initial C-2W experiments have successfully demonstrated a robust FRC formation and its translation into the confinement vessel through the newly installed inner divertor with adequate guide magnetic field. They also produced dramatically improved initial FRC states with higher plasma temperatures (Te ~ 250 + eV; total electron and ion temperature >1.5 keV, based on pressure balance) and more trapped flux (up to ~15 mWb, based on rigid-rotor model) inside the FRC immediately after the merger of collided two CTs in the confinement section. As for effective edge control on FRC stabilization, a number of edge biasing schemes have been tried via open field-lines, in which concentric electrodes located in both inner and outer divertors as well as end-on plasma guns are electrically biased independently. As a result of effective outer-divertor electrode biasing alone, FRC plasma is well stabilized and diamagnetism duration has reached up to ~9 ms which is equivalent to C-2U plasma duration. Magnetic field flaring/expansion in both inner and outer divertors plays an important role in creating a thermal insulation on open field-lines to reduce a loss rate of electrons, which leads to improvement of the edge and core FRC confinement properties. An experimental campaign with inner-divertor magnetic-field flaring has just commenced and early result indicates that electron temperature of the merged FRC stays relatively high and increases for a short period of time, presumably by NBI and E × B heating.

Irreversible Electroporation versus Radiofrequency Ablation: Comparison of Systemic Immune Responses in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma

PurposeIrreversible electroporation (IRE) differs from thermal radiofrequency (RF) ablation, especially in terms of the reparative process in the ablation zone induced. To elucidate this, the systemic immune responses after 2 mechanistically different types of ablation (IRE and RF ablation) were evaluated in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Materials and MethodsTwenty-one patients with HCC who underwent either RF ablation (n = 11) or IRE (n = 10) were studied. Peripheral blood samples were collected from all patients at 4 timepoints: before ablation, within 1 hour after ablation, 1 day after ablation, and 4 days after ablation. The phenotypes and functions of immune cells in peripheral blood and serum levels of cytokines and chemokines were monitored and analyzed using the mixed-effects model. Follow-up radiological images were also obtained to assess temporal changes in the ablation zone. ResultsThe most significant difference was seen in the levels of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) in the IRE group compared to the RF ablation group (P = .0011): the serum levels of MIF in the IRE group significantly increased immediately after IRE and then rapidly decreased to the pre-ablation range 1 day after IRE, but, in contrast, no consistent trend was observed in the RF ablation group. The axial diameter (P = .0009) and area (P = .0192) of the ablation zone of IRE were significantly smaller than those of RF ablation 1 year after ablation. ConclusionsIRE was found to be associated with a significant early increase in MIF levels, which may facilitate the early reparative process and result in significant shrinkage of the ablation zone.

The surgical treatment of anomalous origin of one pulmonary artery from the ascending aorta

ObjectiveThis study sought to summarize the clinical experience of surgical treatment of anomalous origin of pulmonary arteries from the ascending aorta (AOPA) in Fuwai hospital.MethodsFifty-two patients (28 males, 17.2 ± 27.2 months old and 8.7 ± 10.2 Kg weight) who have AOPA undertook surgical treatment between 1998 and 2017 were reviewed in this study, 47 out of 52 are anomalous origin of the right pulmonary artery (AORPA), among the rest of the patients are anomalous origin of left pulmonary artery (AOLPA). 27 out of 52 associate with simple cardiac abnormalities, 20 out of 52 associate with complex cardiac malformations, the remaining 5 patients without cardiac abnormalities. Among all patients who underwent surgical treatment, the direct end-to-side anastomosis strategy was applied in 26 patients, autologous pericardial-homograft patch and aortic flap were employed in 20 patients, and synthetic graft was used in 6 patients.ResultsNo patient died during the perioperative period. 50 out of 52 patients were followed-up for 100.1 ± 70.9 months. The rate of pulmonary arterial free restenosis for 2 years, 5 years, and 10 years is 98.0, 96.0 and 92.0%, respectively.ConclusionsThe correct diagnosis and appropriate surgical treatment for AOPA could obtain excellent early and medium-term result.