BACKGROUND Abdominal aortic calcifications were already ubiquitous in ancient populations from all continents. Although nowadays generally considered as an innocent end stage of stabilised atherosclerotic plaques, increasing evidence suggests that arterial calcifications contribute to cardiovascular risk. In this review we address abdominal aortic calcification from an evolutionary perspective and review the literature on histology, prevalence, risk factors, clinical outcomes and pharmacological interventions of abdominal aortic calcification. DESIGN The design of this study was based on a literature review. METHODS Pubmed and Embase were systematically searched for articles on abdominal aortic calcification and its synonyms without language restrictions. Articles with data on histology, prevalence, risk factors clinical outcomes and/or pharmacological interventions were selected. RESULTS Abdominal aortic calcification is highly prevalent in the general population and prevalence and extent increase with age. Prevalence and risk factors differ between males and females and different ethnicities. Risk factors include traditional cardiovascular risk factors and decreased bone mineral density. Abdominal aortic calcification is shown to contribute to arterial stiffness and is a strong predictor of cardiovascular events and mortality. Several therapies to inhibit arterial calcification have been developed and investigated in small clinical trials. CONCLUSIONS Abdominal aortic calcification is from all eras and increasingly acknowledged as an independent contributor to cardiovascular disease. Large studies with long follow-up must be carried out to show whether inhibition of abdominal aortic calcification will further reduce cardiovascular risk.BACKGROUND Adult athletes undergo cardiac adaptions in what is known as the "athlete's heart". Cardiac adaptations in young athletes have not been described in longitudinal studies but have previously been believed to be uniform in nature. METHODS Seventy-six cross-country skiers were assessed at age 12. Forty-eight (63%) completed the first follow-up at age 15 and 36 (47%) the second follow-up at age 18. Comprehensive exercise data were collected. Echocardiography with three-dimensional measurements and cardiopulmonary exercise testing were performed at all time points. The cohort was divided into active and former endurance athletes, with an eight hours of weekly endurance exercise cut-off at age 18. RESULTS The athletes underwent eccentric remodelling between ages 12 and 15, and concentric remodelling between ages 15 and 18. At age 18, the active endurance athletes had greater increases in inter-ventricular wall thickness (1.8 ± 1.4 Δmm vs 0.6 ± 1.0 Δmm, p  less then  0.05), left ventricular (LV) posterior wall thickness (1.6 ± 1.2 Δmm vs 0.8 ± 0.8 Δmm, p  less then  0.05), LV mass (63 ± 30 Δg vs 27 ± 21 Δg, p  less then  0.01), right ventricular (RV) end-diastolic area (3.4 ± 4.0 Δcm2 vs 0.6 ± 3.5Δ cm2, p  less then  0.05), RV end-systolic area (1.0 ± 2.3 Δcm2 vs -0.9 ± 2.0 Δcm2, p  less then  0.05) and left atrial volume (24 ± 21 ΔmL vs 6±10 ΔmL, p  less then  0.05) and had greater indexed maximal oxygen uptake (66.3 ± 7.4 mL/min/kg vs 57.1 ± 8.2 mL/min/kg, p  less then  0.01). There was no significant difference for LV volumes. CONCLUSION This study finds a shift in the development of the young athlete's heart. Between ages 12 and 15, the active endurance athletes underwent eccentric remodelling. This dynamic switched to concentric remodelling between ages 15 and 18.This study explores how attachment orientation (i.e., people's characteristic approach to close relationships) is associated with dating application (app) users' motives and outcomes. We collected data from 395 current dating app users. Regression analyses showed that attachment anxiety positively predicted all dating app motives, whereas attachment avoidance positively predicted traveling, but negatively predicted pass time/entertainment. Logistic regression analyses showed a decreased likelihood for people with higher scores on attachment anxiety to meet up with other dating app users. In a similar vein, a decreased likelihood to meet up with other dating app users while in a committed relationship was found for both individuals with higher scores on anxious attachment and avoidant attachment. Finally, higher scores on anxious attachment and avoidant attachment were significantly related to reporting a higher number of romantic relationships and friendships with other dating app users, whereas only higher scores on anxious attachment were related to reporting a higher number of casual sexual experiences while being single and while in a committed relationship.PURPOSE To present effects of the inverted internal limiting membrane flap technique in full-thickness macular holes coexisting with dry age-related macular degeneration. METHODS Our database was retrospectively reviewed in order to spot patients with the simultaneous diagnosis of dry age-related macular degeneration and full-thickness macular hole.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/Gefitinib.html  Vitrectomy with the inverted internal limiting membrane flap technique was performed. Inclusion criteria were full-thickness macular hole, drusen, vitrectomy performed, and spectral domain optical coherence tomography (Copernicus HR, Optopol, Poland) or swept source optical coherence tomography (Triton, Topcon, Japan) before surgery, then 1 week (±3 days), 1 month (±1 week), 3 months (±1 month), 6 months (±1 month), 12 months (±2 months), and 18 months to 12 years after surgery. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Closure of macular hole and visual acuity at the final control. RESULTS A total of 18 eyes of 12 patients (mean age 68 years) were included. Mean minimum macular hole diameter was 493 μm. Mean maximum macular hole diameter was 1072 μm. Macular hole was closed in 16 eyes after first surgery and in all eyes after second surgery. Improvement of visual acuity was statistically significant (P = 0.05), but there was no statistical significant correlation observed between initial macular hole diameters and final visual acuity (P > 0.1). CONCLUSION The inverted internal limiting membrane flap technique improves anatomical and functional results in eyes with coexisting dry age-related macular degeneration and full-thickness macular holes. Final development of choroidal neovascularization or geographic atrophy is possible in rare cases.