Finally, we highlight the synergistic effort that will be needed by researchers in different disciplines if we are to develop a more complete understanding of interpersonal touch in the years to come. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Objectives: Since 1996, we have routinely used a minimally invasive sex-differentiated surgical approach for surgical repair of various simple congenital heart diseases, mostly including a right anterior minithoracotomy in female subjects and a midline ministernotomy in male subjects.

Methods: Between August 1996 and December

2004, all patients who underwent a sex-differentiated surgical approach were included. Hospital results were compared with those of FXR agonist a group undergoing full sternotomy (control subjects). Patients’ clinical conditions and satisfaction at follow-up were evaluated.

Results: Three hundred eight patients underwent the sex-differentiated surgical approach: (1) EGFR inhibitor minithoracotomy in 147 (47.7%) and

(2) ministernotomy in 161 (52.3%). Thirty patients had a full sternotomy for atrial septal defect closure. The most common diagnosis was an atrial septal defect (231 [75%] patients). None of the patients required an extension of the surgical access. There were neither major complications nor hospital deaths. All patients were discharged home without residual defects. Median follow-up time was 71.5 months (range, 48.2-85.7 months). There were no late deaths. No scoliosis, asymmetric breast development, or lactation problems were reported in the minithoracotomy group. Twenty-five (17%) of 147 patients with minithoracotomies complained of a trivial, persistent

(<6 months), sensitive skin deficit in the mammary area, most often localized at the inferomedial quadrant. The vast majority of patients (296 [96%] 308 patients) were in New York Heart Association class I, and 282 (91.5%) of 308 patients were satisfied with the cosmetic result of the operation.

Conclusions: The sex-differentiated surgical approach for simple congenital heart disease is a safe procedure, providing both excellent functional and cosmetic results. Anterolateral minithoracotomy is a valid and highly appreciated procedure in female patients.”
“Grooming Bafilomycin A1 molecular weight is a widespread activity throughout the animal kingdom, but in primates (including humans) social grooming, or allo-grooming (the grooming of others), plays a particularly important role in social bonding which, in turn, has a major impact on an individual’s lifetime reproductive fitness. New evidence from comparative brain analyses suggests that primates have social relationships of a qualitatively different kind to those found in other animal species, and I suggest that, in primates, social grooming has acquired a new function of supporting these.