To determine the safety and effectiveness of a peripheral artery chronic total occlusion (CTO) crossing catheter following failed crossing attempts with standard guidewires.
 
  CTO crossing remains a challenge during peripheral artery interventions.
 
  In this prospective, international, single-arm study, patients with a peripheral artery CTO that was uncrossable with standard guidewires were treated with a crossing catheter (Wingman, Reflow Medical). The primary efficacy endpoint of CTO crossing success was compared to a performance goal of 70.7%. The primary composite safety endpoint (major adverse event [MAE], clinically significant perforation or embolization, or grade C or greater dissection) was assessed over a 30-day follow-up period and compared to a performance goal of 13.0%.
 
  A total of 85 patients were treated using the Wingman catheter for peripheral artery CTO crossing. Key patient characteristics were mean age of 71±9 years, 66% male, and mean lesion length of 188±94 mm in the superficial femoral artery (71%), popliteal artery (15%), or infrapopliteal arteries (14%). Both primary endpoints of the trial were met¾CTO crossing success was 90% (lower confidence limit=82.5%) and 5 primary safety events occurred in 4 (4.8%) patients (upper confidence limit=10.7%). Over 30 days of follow-up, Rutherford score decreased by at least 2 categories in 74% patients; the percentage of patients with normal hemodynamics assessed with the ankle-brachial index increased from 1% to 51%.
 
  Among patients with a CTO that was unable to be crossed with a standard guidewire, the Wingman catheter was able to cross 90% of occlusions with a favorable safety profile.
 Among patients with a CTO that was unable to be crossed with a standard guidewire, the Wingman catheter was able to cross 90% of occlusions with a favorable safety profile.Copy number alterations detected by comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) can lead to the identification of novel cancer-related genes. We analyzed chromosomal aberrations in a set of 100 human primary colorectal cancers (CRCs) using CGH and found a solute carrier (SLC) 7A1 gene, which encodes cationic amino acid transporter 1 (CAT1) with 14 putative transmembrane domains, in a chromosome region (13q12.3) with a high frequency of gene amplifications. SLC7A1/CAT1 is a transporter responsible for the uptake of cationic amino acids (arginine, lysine, and ornithine) essential for cellular growth. Microarray and PCR analyses have revealed that mRNA transcribed from CAT1 is overexpressed in more than 70% of human CRC samples, and RNA interference-mediated knockdown of CAT1 inhibited the cell growth of CRCs. Rats were immunized with rat hepatoma cells expressing CAT1 tagged with green fluorescent protein (GFP), and rat splenocytes were fused with mouse myeloma cells. Five rat monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) (CA1 ~ CA5) reacting with HEK293 cells expressing CAT1-GFP in a GFP expression-dependent manner were selected from established hybridoma clones. Novel anti-CAT1 mAbs selectively reacted with human CRC tumor tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues according to immuno-histochemical staining and bound strongly to numerous human cancer cell lines by flow cytometry. Anti-CAT1 mAbs exhibited internalization activity, antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, and migration inhibition activity against CRC cell lines. Furthermore, CA2 inhibited the in vivo growth of human HT29 and SW-C4 CRC tumors in nude mice. This study suggested CAT1 to be a promising target for mAb therapy against CRCs.A soft tissue defect is often an unavoidable consequence of various surgical procedures or a result of trauma. Recently, intraoperative use of xenograft as a patch to the soft tissue defect has become popular with various products available in the market. In this study, mechanical properties of the OrthADAPT™ Bioimplants (Pegasus Biologics, Irvine, CA), new xenograft products composed of collagen from equine pericardium, were evaluated individually and against an existing bioimplant product. The OrthADAPT™ Bioimplants have three subtypes which differ in the degree of crosslinking of collagen strands. The three products are named as FX, PX, and MX in the order of the degree of collagen crosslinking and likely durability in vivo, with FX most dense in crosslinking and hence most durable. The three subtypes underwent three destructive mechanical tests tensile strength, suture pull-out strength, and burst strength test. In tensile strength and suture pull-out strength tests, the three products were compared with CuffPatch™, a similar collagen-based xenograft product from a competing manufacturer. In the burst strength test, the three products were compared with untreated equine pericardium tissue. In tensile strength and suture pull-out strength tests, the products FX and MX were shown to have mechanical properties that were comparable with CuffPatch, while the mechanical strength of PX was significantly inferior to FX and CuffPatch in tensile strength test. In burst strength test, there were no differences in mechanical properties among the three OrthADAPT Bioimplants. This study demonstrates the biomechanical equivalence of OrthADAPT with CuffPatch. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B Appl Biomater, 2007.Osteoarthritis (OA), a prevalent degenerative arthritis disease, principle characterized by the destruction of cartilage and associated with the inflammatory response. Maltol, a product formed during the processing of red ginseng (Panax ginseng, CA Meyer), has been reported to have the potential effect of anti-inflammatory. However, its specific mechanisms are not demonstrated. We investigated the protective effect of maltol in the progression of OA both in vitro and in vivo experiments. Human chondrocytes were pre-treated with maltol (0, 20, 40, 60 μM, 24 hours) and incubated with IL-1β (10 ng/mL, 24 hours) in vitro. Expression of PGE2, TNF-α and NO was measured by the ELISA and Griess reaction. The expression of iNOs, COX-2, aggrecan, ADAMTS-5, MMP-13, IκB-α, p65, P-AKT, AKT, PI3K and P-PI3K was analysed by Western blotting.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/mpp-dihydrochloride.html  The expression of collagen II and p65-active protein was detected by immunofluorescence. Moreover, the serious level of OA was evaluated by histological analysis in vivo. We identified that maltol could suppress the IL-1β-stimulated generation of PGE2 and NO.