PURPOSE Customized laser surgery attempts to correct higher order aberrations, as well as defocus and astigmatism. The success of such a procedure depends on using a laser beam that is small enough to produce fine ablation profiles needed to correct higher order aberrations. METHODS Wave aberrations were obtained from a population of 109 normal eyes and 4 keratoconic eyes using a Shack-Hartma...

Checkpoint kinase 1 (CHK1) is an essential serine/threonine kinase that responds to DNA damage and stalled DNA replication. CHK1 is essential for maintenance of replication fork viability during exposure to DNA antimetabolites. In human tumor cell lines, ablation of CHK1 function during antimetabolite exposure led to accumulation of double-strand DNA breaks and cell death. Here, we extend these...

Catheter ablation (CA) is an accepted treatment option for symptomatic atrial fibrillation (AF). Historically, CA has been performed with a point-by-point technique, using standard focal radiofrequency catheters and 3-dimensional (3D) navigation systems, with a procedural end point of electric pulmonary vein isolation (PVI). However, this CA approach requires advanced training and operator skil...

BACKGROUND Laxity and rhytidosis of eyelid skin as a result of photoaging is a frequent cosmetic concern. Fine lines and deep wrinkles may not be optimally addressed with traditional ablative carbon dioxide (CO(2)) resurfacing. Modern devices allow for surface fractional ablation and deep fractional ablation with narrow treatment columns that target deep dermal layers. OBJECTIVES To examine t...

PURPOSE Expression of tumor suppressor gene, MASPIN, is associated with inhibition of tumor cell invasion and metastasis. Loss of or decreased expression of Maspin is found frequently in breast and prostate cancer cells. The objective of this study is to investigate Maspin expression in prostate tumor specimens and explore the mechanisms of hormonal regulation of Maspin expression in prostate t...

PURPOSE The dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) method is used to provide a reliable forecasting of tumor ablation treatment simulation in real time, which is quite needed in medical practice. To achieve this, an extended Pennes bioheat model must be employed, taking into account both the water evaporation phenomenon and the tissue damage during tumor ablation. METHODS A meshless point collocati...

LESSONS LEARNED Percutaneous thermal ablation combined with in situ granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor cytokine therapy was technically feasible and well tolerated.No significant clinical or immunologic responses were seen. BACKGROUND Melanoma tumor-derived heat-shock proteins (HSPs) and HSP-peptide complexes can elicit protective antitumor responses. The granulocyte-macrophage ...

AIM To investigate the microRNA expression profile in esophageal neosquamous epithelium from patients who had undergone ablation of Barrett's esophagus. METHODS High throughput screening using TaqMan® Array Human MicroRNA quantitative PCR was used to determine expression levels of 754 microRNAs in distal esophageal mucosa (1 cm above the gastro-esophageal junction) from 16 patients who had un...

BACKGROUND Aiming to define the profile of curative atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation in Brazil, the Brazilian Cardiac Arrhythmia Society [Sociedade Brasileira de Arritmias Cardíacas] (SOBRAC) created the Brazilian Registry of AF Ablation [Registro Brasileiro de Ablação da FA]. OBJECTIVE To describe the results of this registry. METHODS A questionnaire was sent to SOBRAC members asking abou...

CardioARM, a highly flexible "snakelike" medical robotic system (Medrobotics, Raynham, MA), has been developed to allow physicians to view, access, and perform complex procedures intrapericardially on the beating heart through a single-access port. Transthoracic epicardial catheter mapping and ablation has emerged as a strategy to treat arrhythmias, particularly ventricular arrhythmias, origina...