Impact of left atrial appendage location on risk of thrombus formation in patients with atrial fibrillation

Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology - Most strokes in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) are thought to arise from thrombus formation in the left atrial appendage (LAA). Assessing the...     

Protein-protein interaction networks as miners of biological discovery

Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) form the basis of a myriad of biological pathways and mechanism, such as the formation of protein complexes or the components of signaling cascades. Here, we reviewed experimental methods for identifying PPI pairs, including yeast two-hybrid (Y2H), mass spectrometry (MS), co-localization, and co-immunoprecipitation. Furthermore, a range of computational methods leveraging biochemical properties, evolution history, protein structures and more have enabled identification of additional PPIs. Given the wealth of known PPIs, we reviewed important network methods to construct and analyze networks of PPIs. These methods aid biological discovery through identifying hub genes and dynamic changes in the network, and have been thoroughly applied in various fields of biological research. Lastly, we discussed the challenges and future direction of research utilizing the power of PPI networks.     

Impact of Coronary Artery Curvature on the Longitudinal Stent Foreshortening: Real-World Observations

Longitudinal stent foreshortening is a known phenomenon, however, the impact of coronary artery curvature on longitudinal stent foreshortening remains unclear. The aim of this study is to determine the impact of coronary artery curvature on the longitudinal stent foreshortening in the real-world scenarios. A total of 86 consecutive patients underwent coronary stent implantation were included in the present study. The degree of coronary artery curvature was defined as the length of the coronary artery curvature divided by the straight length. Longitudinal stent foreshortening was defined as the stent length after implantation divided by the stent length before implantation. The mean longitudinal foreshortening rate of coronary stents was about 94% in curved coronary arteries. Longitudinal stent foreshortening rate was positively correlated with the degree of coronary artery curvature (r = –0.86, P < 0.01). Coronary artery curvature is associated with significant longitudinal foreshortening of coronary stents, thus longitudinal foreshortening should be considered on deciding the stent length in curved coronary artery and a longer stent is usually needed in curved coronary artery.     

Impact of cyclic bending on coronary hemodynamics

Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology - It remains unknown that the degree of bias in computational fluid dynamics results without considering coronary cyclic bending. This study aims to...