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“Background and aim of the study: High-risk patients referred for aortic valve replacement (AVR) may benefit from sutureless technology in order to reduce mortality and morbidity. Herein is described the authors’ initial experience and short-term results of the sutureless 3f Enable aortic bioprosthesis. Methods: A total of 28 patients (19 females, nine males; mean age 76.8 +/- 5.1 years; range: 66 to 86

years) with symptomatic aortic valve disease underwent AVR with the 3f Enable bioprosthesis between May 2010 and May 2011. Preoperatively, the mean logistic EuroSCORE was 13.7 +/- 10.8%. Concomitant procedures included mitral valve replacement (n = 1), tricuspid valve repair (n = Selleckchem DZNeP 3) and coronary artery bypass grafting (n = 5). Echocardiography was performed preoperatively, at postoperative day 1, at discharge, and at follow up. Results: The in-hospital mortality was 3.5% (1/28). Seventeen patients underwent minimally invasive AVR via an upper partial ministernotomy PD98059 (n = 13) or a right anterior minithoracotomy (n = 4) approach. The cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and aortic cross-clamp (ACC) times were 99.4 +/- 22.9 and 65.9 +/- 18.0 min, respectively, for isolated AVR, and 138.8 +/- 62.2 and 100.5 +/- 52.2 min, respectively, for combined procedures. One patient underwent aortic root replacement for an intimal aortic lesion after

sutureless implantation. At a median follow up of four months (range: 2-10 months), survival was 96.5%, freedom from reoperation was 96.5%, and the mean transvalvular pressure gradient was 11.1 +/- 5.4 mmHg. Conclusion: AVR with the 3f Enable

bioprosthesis in high-risk patients is a safe and feasible procedure that is associated with a low mortality and excellent hemodynamic performance.”
“Specific and efficient recognition of import cargoes is essential to ensure nucleocytoplasmic transport. To this end, the prototypical karyopherin importin beta associates with import cargoes directly or, more commonly, through import adaptors, such as importin alpha and snurportin. Adaptor proteins bind the Selleckchem Dinaciclib nuclear localization sequence (NLS) of import cargoes while recruiting importin beta via an N-terminal importin beta binding (IBB) domain. The use of adaptors greatly expands and amplifies the repertoire of cellular cargoes that importin beta can efficiently import into the cell nucleus and allows for fine regulation of nuclear import. Accordingly, the IBB domain is a dedicated NLS, unique to adaptor proteins that functions as a molecular liaison between importin beta and import cargoes. This review provides an overview of the molecular role played by the IBB domain in orchestrating nucleocytoplasmic transport. Recent work has determined that the IBB domain has specialized functions at every step of the import and export pathway.