One,two, three … breakdance and twist

Wire breakage during percutaneous coronary intervention is a rare event. It occurs especially when treating complex lesions, and it should be prevented with careful planning of each procedural step. We reported a case in which wire breakage occurred when treating the left anterior descending (LAD)/first diagonal bifurcation with the T‐stenting technique. After careful evaluation of all the available retrieval techniques and failure of the balloon–catheter trapping, the twin‐twisting wires technique (TTWT) was applied. This technique allows the retrieval of a foreign body thanks to its entrapment in the spiral made by two twisting wires. At the first attempt, the broken wire was only withdrawn and not retrieved, while the two twisting wires went broken. The second attempt was performed using stronger wires as twisting wires. The two recently broken fragments were successfully retrieved together with a long proximal remnant of the initially broken wire, which distal tip was further withdrawn. The broken wire was successfully retrieved with the third attempt, together with the previously implanted LAD stent that was accidentally entrapped in the twist. This is the first report of TTWT implementation for the retrieval of a broken wire from a two‐stent bifurcation, both proximal and distal wire remnants and a total of three broken wires. The improvements we made to the technique, tips and tricks, caveats, and suggestions for successful wire retrieval and avoidance of the complications that we experienced are described in detail.     

Intracardiac metastases, report of three cases

Three patients with intracardiac metastases are described, diagnosed by means of physical examination, electrocardiography (ECG) and echocardiography. Cardiac involvement of the heart by malignant disease is not uncommon, but intracardiac metastases have only occasionally been reported. There are only a few case reports of metastases to the heart that were diagnosed antemortem, because these are rarely clinically significant. Two of the reported patients had clear physical evidence of cardiac involvement. A third case was diagnosed as the result of an abnormal ECG.     

Erratic overdispersion of three molecular clocks: GPDH, SOD, and XDH

The neutrality theory predicts that the rate of neutral molecular evolution is constant over time, and thus that there is a molecular clock for timing evolutionary events. It has been observed that the variance of the rate of evolution is generally larger than expected according to the neutrality theory, which has raised the question of how reliable the molecular clock is or, indeed, whether there is a molecular clock at all. We have carried out an extensive investigation of three proteins, glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH). We have observed that (i) the three proteins evolve erratically through time and across lineages and (ii) the erratic patterns of acceleration and deceleration differ from locus to locus, so that one locus may evolve faster in one than another lineage, whereas the opposite may be the case for another locus. The observations are inconsistent with the predictions made by various subsidiary hypotheses proposed to account for the overdispersion of the molecular clock.     

beta-Adducin polymorphisms, blood pressure, and sodium excretion in three European populations

The associations of the beta-adducin C1797T polymorphism with blood pressure (BP) and various indexes of sodium homeostasis were investigated in 388 men and 456 women, aged 18 to 60 years, recruited from three European populations (Cracow, Poland, n = 300; Novosibirsk, Russian Federation, n = 274; Mirano, Italy; n = 270). Phenotypes included 24-h ambulatory BP and urinary excretion of electrolytes and aldosterone. Subjects were genotyped for the beta-adducin polymorphism. Both a population-based association study and a family-based analysis were performed. Urinary sodium excretion was higher in Cracow than in Mirano (241 v 185 mmol/24 h, P <.05) and intermediate in Novosibirsk (206 mmol/24 h). The beta-adducin T allele (15.2% v 9.1%, P <.0001) was more prevalent in Mirano than in the two Slavic centers. In both population-based and family-based association analyses, there was significant heterogeneity between Slavic and Italian subjects in the phenotype-genotype relationships with beta-adducin. In the Slavic centers, 24-h systolic BP was higher in T allele carriers than in CC homozygotes (122.3 v 119.7 mm Hg, P =.03), whereas this was not the case in Mirano (121.8 v 122.9 mm Hg, P =.42). In Slavic (212.6 v 233.1 mmol/24 h) as well as in Italian (166.1 v 191.5 mmol/24 h) participants, 24-h sodium excretion was lower (P =.01) in T allele carriers than in CC homozygotes. These results were confirmed in the family-based analysis of offspring using a quantitative transmission disequilibrium test. In conclusion, the frequency of the beta-adducin T allele and salt intake differ across European populations. Thus, both variation in genetic background and salt intake may explain the observed heterogeneity in the phenotype-genotype relationships. Genetic determinants of complex quantitative traits such as BP can only be investigated within their epidemiologic context.     

Construction of three plasmids, each containing two or three different human globin gene fragments

Three plasmids (labeled pUC-2 gamma-beta, pUC-2 beta-delta, and pL-alpha-zeta), each containing two or three different human globin gene fragments (beta IVS-II, inter-gamma, and gamma IVS-II in pUC-2 gamma-beta; 5'-beta, 3'-beta, and delta IVS-II in pUC-2 beta-delta; alpha and zeta in pL-alpha-zeta) have been constructed. The gene fragments could be isolated simultaneously from Eco RI/Bam HI double digests of each of the first two plasmids or from a Pst I digest of the third, using electrophoresis in an 1.0% agarose gel. This facilitates the large-scale isolation of gene fragments for use as probes in studies such as the analysis of polymorphisms or the molecular basis of some hemoglobinopathies.     

Association between essential hypertension and three vasoactive peptides,urotensin II,endothelin and adrenomedullin

Abstract

Aim: The aim of the study is to measure the vasoactive peptides, urotensin II (UII), endothelin (ET) and adrenomedullin (ADM) in a well-characterized population of normal controls and patients with essential hypertension, and to study their association with this disease. Methods: The contents of plasma UII, ET and ADM were measured by radioimmunoassay in 40 normal controls and 120 patients with essential hypertension. Echocardiographic examinations were performed using an ultrasonic system, and the left ventricular end diastolic diameter (LVEDd) along with the left ventricular posterior wall thickness (LVPWT) and interventricular septal thickness (IST) were determined. The left ventricular mass index (LVMI) was calculated according to the method reported by Devereux et al. Results: Plasma UII, ET and ADM contents were increased in patients than healthy controls (3.28?±?1.257?pmol/L vs. 1.80?±?0.639?pmol/L, p?<?0.01), and correlated with the severity of hypertension in patients. Besides, all the three vasoactive peptides in plasma had significant correlations with SBP, IST, LVPWT, LVMI (p?≤?0.05), while they showed insignificant associations with LVEDd (p?>?0.05). UII was remarkably associated with ADM content, while the association of UII level with LVEDd and ET content were not significant. Conclusion: The vasoactive peptides UII, ET and ADM may be involved in the pathophysiologic process of essential hypertension, and function as the indicators for severity of this disease.     

The relationship among negative life events, cognitions, and depression within three generations

This study investigates the extent to which cognitions mediate the relationship between negative life events and depression. College students and their same-sex parents and grandparents (N = 171) completed measures of stressful life events, automatic thoughts, dysfunctional attitudes, and depression. There was an interaction between negative life events and cognition for the young adults but not for either of the older groups.     

Persistent atrial standstill, report of three cases

Three cases, of which two are brothers, of persistent atrial standstill are reported. The diagnosis was made by the lack of P wave in routine 12 leads and right atrial cavity lead, no response of atrium to electrical stimulation and absence of "a" wave in right atrial pressure curve.