OBJECTIVES The theoretical differences in energy losses as well as coronary flow with different band sizes for branch pulmonary arteries (PA) in hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) remain unknown. Our objective was to develop a computational fluid dynamic model (CFD) to determine the energy losses and pulmonary-to-systemic flow rates. This study was done for three different PA band sizes. ...

BACKGROUND Gastric banding is thought to decrease appetite in addition to the mechanical effects of food restriction, although this has been difficult to demonstrate in human studies. Our aim was to investigate the changes in orexigenic signals in the obese Zucker rat after gastric banding. METHODS Obese Zucker rats (fa/fa) were submitted to gastric banding (GBP), sham gastric banding fed ad ...

BACKGROUND After Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB), a substantial number of patients do not achieve successful long-term weight loss. In cases of loss of restriction, the application of an adjustable gastric band ("salvage banding") over the gastric pouch, or gastrojejunostomy, could prevent weight regain or increase weight loss. The objective of this literature review is to provide an overview o...

BACKGROUND We have recently shown that angiotensin II-induced hypertrophy of cultured rat cardiomyocytes was partially blocked by an endothelin (ET) receptor antagonist (BQ123) selective for the ETA subtype, suggesting the possible involvement of endogenous ET-1 in the mechanism of cardiac hypertrophy in vitro. In the present study, we studied the in vivo blockade effects of BQ123 on cardiac hy...

Human metaphase chromosomes were photooxidized in the presence of methylene blue, a process that destroys guanine residues in DNA. Indirect immunofluorescence showed that such chromosomes reacted with a cytosine-specific antibody revealing a consistent fluorescent banding pattern by which each chromosome could be identified. The observed fluorescent patterns were the reverse of those produced i...