Pulmonary arteriovenous fistulas are a frequent complication after a Kawashima procedure. We present a 15-year-old patient with a significant left pulmonary arteriovenous fistula managed via embolisation using three Micro Vascular Plugs. This technique achieved effective occlusion through the left internal jugular vein, since these are low-profile flexible devices that accommodate through an acute angle without long and stiff sheath.

This report describes a 41-year-old female with left isomerism, interrupted inferior caval vein with azygos continuation, dextrocardia, and repaired tetralogy of Fallot, who underwent percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation using the Venus P-valve system. Due to anatomical constraints, left jugular venous access was utilised. A Venus P-valve (30 by 25 mm) was successfully implanted in the right ventricular outflow tract using a simplified, one-curve trajectory directly on its delivery system without a delivery sheath. Contrast injections during valve implantation were not possible, and the pre-implanted duct occluder was our anatomical landmarks. This case highlights the adaptability of the Venus P-valve and the importance of individualised procedural strategies in addressing anatomical challenges and achieving optimal outcomes.

The High Court has not definitively explained the legal status of the constitutionally implied freedom of political association since its existence was first raised in 1992. Tajjour v New South Wales affirmed the majority view that any constitutional protection enjoyed by political association is derived from the freedom of political communication; or, in the words of the Court, a ‘corollary to’ that freedom. In this article, we argue that the High Court should acknowledge the freedom of political association as a free-standing freedom rather than a corollary of political communication. The reasoning that gave rise to the implied freedom of political communication can also be applied to political association. The Court’s approach to the implication of freedom of communication, of building on the text of ss 7, 24 and 128 of the Constitution and the structures they establish, does not appear to be at odds with the implication of freedom of association. Consequently, we argue the Court has erred in favouring the corollary form of political association (pt IV). The corollary freedom has not been justified and appears either entirely unnecessary (being subsumed by political communication) or overly subjective in application. By contrast, the free-standing freedom could adopt the well-established Lange test of validity with only minor adjustments and therefore represent only a modest development of existing jurisprudence.

Invasion by nonnative woody species poses a major threat to the environment, biodiversity, and economies worldwide. Nahuel Huapi National Park in Argentina is a protected area for habitat conservation that harbors several invasive Pinaceae species, where Douglas-fir [Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco] is one of the most aggressive and abundant conifer tree invaders. Management of invasions in protected areas must include efficient, easy to deploy, and cost-effective techniques, while reducing the impact on native ecosystems. Because the region has no control measures applied other than conventional felling, we analyzed the effectiveness of two systemic herbicides (glyphosate and aminopyralid + triclopyr) at two different concentrations, applied with the drill and fill method. We then quantified defoliation of P. menziesii trees 6, 12, and 24 mo after application and performed an economic cost analysis to determine profitability. For the application, the trees were grouped into diameter at breast height classes and randomly assigned to one of the four treatments. Herbicide doses were adjusted according to tree size. We found that glyphosate at high concentrations completely defoliated 33% of the trees after 6 mo and 87% after 12 and 24 mo. Glyphosate at low concentrations defoliated almost 30% of the trees after 24 mo, most of which were smaller trees. The aminopyralid + triclopyr treatment did not produce significant defoliation at any of the tested concentrations. When compared with conventional felling, the drill and fill method was found to reduce removal costs by 98%. We observe that differences in costs are mainly due to dead trees that remain standing, decompose slowly, and do not generate costs associated with their removal and debris management. Drill and fill is a suitable method for treating scattered trees in a native forest community, with reduced environmental consequences compared with other removal techniques currently applied within conservation areas of the Patagonian forest.

Groundnut plants can obtain N from N2 fixation via symbiosis with rhizobia, and inoculation with selected strains can improve grain yields. We report the results of four field experiments carried out under subtropical conditions to confirm whether microbial inoculants can improve groundnut performance through the effects of single inoculation with Bradyrhizobium arachidis (SEMIA6144), coinoculation with Arthrospira platensis (IPR7059) or Synechocystis sp. (IPR7061), or N fertilization with 100 kg ha-1 N on plant growth, nodulation, N accumulation in tissues, grain protein concentration (GPC), and grain yield. There were no effects of inoculation treatment or N fertilizer on shoot or root dry weight. In clayey soil, coinoculation with B. arachidis and cyanobacteria increased grain productivity by an average of 19% compared to that in the noninoculated control. In this clayey soil with a higher P content, regardless of whether coinoculated with B. arachidis or cyanobacteria or single inoculated, grain productivity was 16% greater on average than that resulting from N fertilizer addition. In conclusion, the success of rhizobial inoculation in groundnuts is dependent on the soil, probably due to P limitation and weather conditions.

Economic sanctions have inflicted various economic difficulties on Iranian families. The extent to which these sanctions-induced calamities have affected Iranian older adults’ material well-being remains unknown. Meanwhile, inadequate institutional support for the disadvantaged older population may worsen their precarious economic well-being. We use household-level surveys and quantile regression analysis to explore changes in Iranian older persons’ material well-being during the sanctions era. We also examine whether Iran’s pension system has alleviated the adverse effects of economic sanctions. Our investigation indicates that older adults’ material well-being decreases during sanctions. However, those without pension coverage are economically more vulnerable compared with pensioners. Among the non-pensioners, low-income and low-consumption ones are susceptible to relatively more considerable material well-being losses. To protect these vulnerable groups, policymakers should implement appropriate policy interventions, such as expansions in non-contributory anti-poverty schemes.

Landscape is analyzed here principally in terms of its aesthetic value and function. As an expression of a sentimental response it is concerned not only with natural beauty but also the world of human beings, since it has always been integral to the creativity of our visionary sensibility. In it we find ethical truth since we celebrate not only the wildness of nature but also the life-space that unifies human beings and the site of the contingent and the possible, that which Aristotle referred to as endekhomenon. Modern history serves as a starting point for an examination of the present significance of the landscape in Europe. The image of its countless particulars and nature’s “spiritual physiognomy” seem to respond to the full spectrum of our most intimate emotions; we are convinced that something that transcends the vast panorama of discrete elements must exist, namely the landscape. It is more than the sum of the parts, the individual fragments of our perception scattered along the continuum of our sensibility or the attraction of mental processes. It is the spirit of an infinite and magical connectedness of forms. The notion of landscape and beautiful landscape develops both in history and in individuals, bound up with the rhythm of lines and surfaces that human beings invent almost instinctively. It is the outcome of the art of culture, the poesis of individuals and communities.

We report a 20-year-old female patient (76 Kg/164 cm) with an extra-cardiac Fontan circulation who was referred to our institution for exertional dyspnoea and desaturation. The patient was diagnosed with a large calcified thrombus at the level of the Fontan fenestration, protruding inside the lumen of the conduit and reducing the diameter by half with a 3 mmHg pressure gradient. Transcatheter stent expansion of the obstructed extra-cardiac conduit was done with a 48 mm long XXL PTFE-covered Optimus-CVS® under temporary cerebral embolic protection with a TriGUARD-3™ deflection filter device (Keystone Heart). There was no procedural complication and the 3 months clinical outcomes are good.

The deleterious effects of adversity are likely intergenerational, such that one generation’s adverse experiences can affect the next. Epidemiological studies link maternal adversity to offspring depression and anxiety, possibly via transmission mechanisms that influence offspring fronto-limbic connectivity. However, studies have not thoroughly disassociated postnatal exposure effects nor considered the role of offspring sex. We utilized infant neuroimaging to test the hypothesis that maternal childhood maltreatment (CM) would be associated with increased fronto-limbic connectivity in infancy and tested brain-behavior associations in childhood. Ninety-two dyads participated (32 mothers with CM, 60 without; 52 infant females, 40 infant males). Women reported on their experiences of CM and non-sedated sleeping infants underwent MRIs at 2.44 ± 2.74 weeks. Brain volumes were estimated via structural MRI and white matter structural connectivity (fiber counts) via diffusion MRI with probabilistic tractography. A subset of parents (n = 36) reported on children’s behaviors at age 5.17 ± 1.73 years. Males in the maltreatment group demonstrated greater intra-hemispheric fronto-limbic connectivity (b = 0.96, p= 0.008, [95%CI 0.25, 1.66]), no differences emerged for females. Fronto-limbic connectivity was related to somatic complaints in childhood only for males (r = 0.673, p = 0.006). Our findings suggest that CM could have intergenerational associations to offspring brain development, yet mechanistic studies are needed.

In neonatal Ebstein’s anomaly of the tricuspid valve, prolonged ductal patency in patients without anatomic pulmonary valve atresia can be deleterious. Circular shunts may develop in patients with different degrees of pulmonary and tricuspid insufficiency. Closure of the arterial duct may result in haemodynamic improvement in particular scenarios. The transcatheter approach is a valuable closure alternative despite some technical difficulties in large-sized arterial ducts and low birth weight neonates. Herein, we report on two consecutive term newborns with Ebstein’s anomaly and large arterial ducts in whom mechanical stimulus of the arterial duct during failed attempts of transcatheter closure led after two days to definitive closure followed by good clinical outcomes.

KONAR-MultifunctionalTM VSD Occluder (Lifetech, Shenzhen, China) is one of the most recent additions to the armamentarium of device closure interventions offering special features to tackle complex cardiac anatomies. Herein, we report the first use of the KONAR-MFO in an 8.5-year-old female patient (27 kg/129 cm) with stage III palliated univentricular heart to close an acquired post-operative tunnel-like communication (5 mm long × 2.6 mm large) between the right anterior non-coronary aortic sinus and the rudimentary right ventricular cavity. The shunt was diagnosed two and a half years after bulboventricular foramen surgical enlargement. The 5× 3 mm KONAR-MFO was retrogradely implanted under ultrasound and biplane fluoroscopic guidance. Immediate and 12-month follow-up confirmed successful outcomes with complete shunt closure and preserved aortic valve competence.

Censorship has been as much a part of Iran's literary history as betrayed love, bewitched lovers, and broken love affairs. In other words, it began long before the establishment of the "Imperial Printing Office" during the reign of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (ruled 1848-1896).

In earlier times some dissident writers were forced to lick off the ink from pages of their writings. Others had their mouths filled with gold or silver. Some were thrown in dungeons or seas. Others were exiled or executed.

Modern rulers have been no less adamant or imaginative in their methods of silencing opposition artists. "Mohammad 'Ali Shah had the two writers and orators, Malek-ol-Motakallamin and Sur-e Esrafil, hanged in the Bagh-e Shah Garrison, while he himself sat on the balcony facing the gallows and ate an entire plateful of rice and kabob as he watched." Farrokhi Yazdi (1889-1939) had his lips sewn together.