Implantation is arguably the most critical stage in the establishment of pregnancy. In humans, it has been estimated that between 30% and 70% of conceptuses are lost before or at the time of implantation, without women being aware that they were pregnant. Of these losses, half are probably a consequence of genetic defects in the conceptus. The etiology of the remaining losses is unknown. In hum...

Changes in rat urerine luminal proteins were analysed during pregnancy and after ovariectomy on Day 3 of pregnancy plus daily administration of progesterone, when delay of implantation is imposed. Total protein levels reached a peak level on Day 5 of pregnancy, the day of implantation, in the intact but not the ovariectomized females. Qualitative analyses of protein-SDS complexes showed an incr...

In polytocous animals, blastocysts are evenly distributed along each uterine horn and implant. The molecular mechanisms underlying these precise events remain elusive. We recently showed that lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) has critical roles in the establishment of early pregnancy by affecting embryo spacing and subsequent implantation through its receptor, LPA3. Targeted deletion of Lpa3 in mice ...

P erforming cataract extraction in patients with zonular weakness presents many challenges and increases the risk of intraand postoperative complications. Capsular tension rings (CTRs) and other endocapsular support devices have been important management options for patients with significant zonulopathy. Hara et al1 and Nagamato and Bissen-Miyajima2 introduced the first endocapsular devices, bu...

OBJECTIVES To determine whether longer periods of stent balloon inflation result in greater minimal luminal diameter (MLD) as measured by quantitative coronary analysis (QCA), and to determine whether measured size correlated with that predicted by pressure-diameter nomograms. METHODS Seventy-four stents were implanted in 52 patients. Stent acquisitions at a steady inflation pressure were tak...

Semiconductor devices with shallow junctions can be fabricated using plasma immersion ion implantation. In this technique BF3 gas has been used as the boron dopant source due to its low toxicity. Not only are ions implanted but, because of the fluorine ions, there is etching and deposition at the wafer surface. Therefore, the relationship between total dose and processing time is not straightfo...

We report a case of an 84-year-old man with a history of surgical aortic-valve replacement for chronic aortic regurgitation (AR) who later developed severe prosthetic valve AR. Subsequent treatment with a Corevalve® was unsuccessful with severe AR seen at 3 years after the valve-in-valve procedure. The patient was then successfully treated with a second catheter-based Corevalve® implantation.

C EMENTED arthroplasty is among the most common and effective surgical procedures performed for elderly patients. The cement implantation syndrome is a well-recognized complication of this procedure, characterized by systemic hypotension, pulmonary hypertension and oxygen desaturation at the time of cement and prosthesis insertion. ~ This syndrome is now thought to be caused by the haemodynamic...

There has been a worldwide increase in the number of patients receiving implantable pacemakers, defibrillators, and resynchronization therapy devices. Although, there is evidence from previous studies and clinical trials that implant complication rates modestly increase with the complexity of devices, these reports may not be entirely reflective of the real-world experience. This is of particul...

Implantation failure is the most frequent cause of pregnancy loss in couples who try to conceive, either in a natural way or using assisted reproductive techniques (ART). Identify the precise mechanisms of implantation failure can lead to identify couples at risk and also providing appropriate therapeutic options to affected couples. Despite the high prevalence of this disorder, a few causing f...