Solar-powered heart? Harnessing light to create myocardial renewable energy.

BackgroundAlthough the study of calcium (Ca2+) is classically associated with excitable cells such as myocytes or neurons, the ubiquity of this essential element in all cellular processes has led to interest in other cell types. The importance of Ca2+ to apoptosis, cell signaling, and immune activation is of special import in cancer.MainHere we review the current understanding of Ca2+ in each of these processes vital to the initiation, spread, and drug resistance of malignancies. We describe the involvement of Ca2+, and Ca2+ related proteins in cell cycle checkpoints and Ca2+ dependent apoptosis and discuss their roles in cellular immortalization. The role of Ca2+ in inter-cellular communication is also discussed in relevance to tumor-stromal communication, angiogenesis, and tumor microinvasion. The role that Ca2+ plays in immune surveillance and evasion is also addressed. Finally, we discuss the possibility of targeting Ca2+ singling to address the most pressing topics of cancer treatment: metastatic disease and drug resistance.ConclusionThis review discusses the current understanding of Ca2+ in cancer. By addressing Ca2+ facilitated angiogenesis, immune evasion, metastasis, and drug resistance, we anticipate future avenues for development of Ca2+ as a nexus of therapy.

Objectives: To determine the utility of diagnostic laryngoscopy and bronchoscopy in children with tracheostomies and to describe the incidence of airway findings. Methods:Retrospective cohort study examining children with tracheostomies who underwent direct laryngoscopy and bronchoscopy (DLB) at Duke University Hospital between 2008 and 2016.Results: A total of 81 patients who underwent 114 bronchoscopies met inclusion criteria. The median time between tracheostomy and first DLB was 13 months ). Sixty-six patients were diagnosed with findings on DLB (81.5%). Suprastomal granulation tissue was the most common complication (59.0%), followed by increased tracheal secretions (23%), stomal and peristomal granulation (13.2%), tracheal ulcer (3.3%), and suprastomal collapse (1.6%). The proportion of patients with airway findings who underwent endoscopy >6 months posttracheostomy was higher than those <6 months post-tracheostomy, although this did not reach statistical significance (90.6% vs. 75.5%, p=0.087). However, when examining tracheostomyrelated findings, the proportion of patients with airway findings who underwent DLB >6 months post-tracheostomy (61%) compared to <6 months post-tracheostomy (36%) was significantly different (p = 0.026). Patients who were symptomatic before bronchoscopy were more likely to have positive findings (91.9% vs. 72.7%, p=0.027) and patients were more likely to be symptomatic if they had DLB >6 months after tracheostomy versus <6 months after tracheostomy (68.8% vs. 30.6%; p<0.001). Conclusion:The high incidence of airway findings, especially tracheostomy-related findings, noted on DLB supports the continued use of airway endoscopies in children post-tracheostomy.