Objectives The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of automated measurement of fetal atrioventricular (AV) plane displacement (AVPD) over several cardiac cycles using myocardial velocity traces obtained by color tissue Doppler imaging (cTDI). The secondary objectives were to establish reference ranges for AVPD during the second half of normal pregnancy, to assess fetal ...

Venous air embolism, which may complicate medical and surgical procedures, activates complement and triggers thromboinflammation. In lepirudin-anticoagulated human whole blood, we examined the effect of air bubbles on complement and its role in thromboinflammation. Whole blood from 16 donors was incubated with air bubbles without or with inhibitors of C3, C5, C5aR1, or CD14. Complement activation, ...

Background - Circulating levels of leptin, an adipocyte-derived hormone, are frequently elevated in obesity. Leptin has been reported to upregulate prothrombotic hemostatic factors in vitro and could potentially mediate venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk in obesity. However, whether leptin is associated with VTE remains uncertain.<p> <p>Objective - This article investigates the association between ...

Background. Age-related reduction of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is a major contributor to the global chronic kidney disease (CKD) epidemic. We investigated whether baseline serum levels of the pro-fibrotic matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2), MMP7 and their inhibitor, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP1), which mediates fibrosis development in aging animals, were associated with ...

Purpose: GATA2 deficiency is a rare primary immunodeficiency that has become increasingly recognized due to improved molecular diagnostics and clinical awareness. The only cure for GATA2 deficiency is allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). The inconsistency of genotype-phenotype correlations makes the decision regarding "who and when" to transplant challenging. Despite ...

<b>Objective:</b> Endothelial cell (EC) dysfunction is a well-established response to cardiovascular disease risk factors, such as smoking and obesity. Risk factor exposure can modify EC signaling and behavior, leading to arterial and venous disease development. Here, we aimed to identify biomarker panels for the assessment of EC dysfunction, which could be useful for risk stratification or to monitor ...

Background: Achilles tendinopathy is a painful disorder, and various treatment options are available. Bipolar radiofrequency microtenotomy (RFM) has shown promising results in treating tendinosis.<p> <p>Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose was to compare the results between treatment with bipolar RFM and physical therapy (PT) for patients with midportion Achilles tendinopathy. It was hypothesized that ...

Background - Negatively charged procoagulant phospholipids, phosphatidylserine (PS) in particular, are vital to coagulation and expressed on the surface membrane of extracellular vesicles. No previous study has investigated the association between plasma procoagulant phospholipid clotting time (PPL_CT) and future risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE).<p> <p>Objectives - To investigate the ...

Background - Hypertension can be detected at the primary health-care level and low-cost treatments can effectively control hypertension. We aimed to measure the prevalence of hypertension and progress in its detection, treatment, and control from 1990 to 2019 for 200 countries and territories.<p> <p>Methods - We used data from 1990 to 2019 on people aged 30–79 years from population-representative ...

Background - Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a frequent cardiovascular disease with severe complications, including recurrence and death. There is a great need for alternative prophylactic treatment options as anticoagulation is accompanied by increased bleeding risk. Statins are reported to reduce the risk of incident and recurrent VTE, but the mechanisms are elusive. Procoagulant phospholipids ...