BACKGROUND Previous studies have shown cross-sectional 3-dimensional (3D) transesophageal echocardiographic (TEE) measurements to severely underestimate multidetector row computed tomographic (MDCT) measurements for the assessment of aortic annulus before transcatheter aortic valve replacement. This study compares annulus measurements from 3D-TEE using off-label use of commercially available so...

Chondroitin sulphate chains on cell and extracellular matrix proteoglycans play important regulatory roles in developing systems. Specific, developmentally regulated, sulphation motifs within the chondroitin glycosaminoglycan structure may help bind, sequester or present bioactive signalling molecules to cells thus modulating their behaviour. Using monoclonal antibodies 3B3(-), 4C3, 6C3 and 7D4...

Scales (n = 552) of chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) collected in the North Pacific Ocean in May 1998 and 1999 and April 1999 were used to compare time of annulus formation between years, regions, and ages. May samples were collected from approximately the same location and time, during two years of very different ocean conditions, 1998 a strong EI Nino year and 1999 a strong La Nina year. Sea s...

Male infertility has become a worldwide health problem, but the etiologies of most cases are still unknown. SEPT12, a GTP-binding protein, is involved in male fertility. Two SEPT12 mutations (SEPT12(T89M) and SEPT12(D197N)) have been identified in infertile men who have a defective sperm annulus with a bent tail. The function of SEPT12 in the sperm annulus is still unclear. Here, we found that ...

BACKGROUND To allow performance of "stand-alone" mitral annuloplasty with minimal invasiveness, percutaneous techniques consisting of delivery into the coronary sinus (CS) of devices intended to shrink the mitral valve annulus have recently been tested in animal models. These techniques exploit the anatomic proximity of the CS and mitral valve annulus in ovine or dogs. Knowledge of a detailed a...

We show that the number of lattice points lying in a thin annulus has a Gaussian value distribution if the width of the annulus tends to zero sufficiently slowly as we increase the inner radius.

Background Imaging of the aortic annulus is paramount for the success of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) to obviate prosthesis size mismatch. The aortic annulus is a dynamic structure with alterations of its ellipsoid shape during the cardiac cycle. The objective of this study was to investigate with cine-MRI the changes of the sagittal and coronal diameter of the aortic annulus ...

We performed real-time 3D echocardiography in sixteen sheep to compare acute geometric changes in the mitral annulus after left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD, n=8) ligation and those after left circumflex coronary artery (LCX, n=8) ligation. The mitral regurgitation (MR) was quantified by regurgitant volume (RV) using the proximal isovelocity surface area method. The mitral annulus w...

OBJECTIVE To assess the influence of the pulmonary annulus diameter after reconstruction of the right ventricular (RV) outflow tract at repair of tetralogy of Fallot on pulmonary regurgitation and RV pressure load; and to evaluate the impact of pulmonary regurgitation on RV size and function. SETTING Paediatric cardiology and diagnostic radiology departments of a tertiary referral centre. P...

OBJECTIVE Although it is known that the papillary muscles ensure the continuity between the left ventricle (LV) and the mitral apparatus, their precise mechanism needs further study. We hypothesize that the papillary muscles function as shock absorbers to maintain a constant distance between their tips and the mitral annulus during the entire cardiac cycle. MATERIALS AND METHODS Sonomicrometr...