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This report describes the disarming of Agrobacterium tumefaciens Chry5, a strain highly tumorigenic on soybean. Disarming was achieved by removing an approximately 16.5-kb segment of the 285-kb Ti plasmid pTiChry5, including approximately 4 kb of the oncogenic T-DNA and an extended region right of the T-DNA, and replacing it with a gene for carbenicillin resistance, through homologous recombination. The deletion was confirmed with Southern analysis, and the loss of tumorigenicity was verified in tobacco and tomato plant stem inoculation assays. The deletion mutant, named KYRT1, successfully transferred the β-glucuronidase (GUS) gene into tobacco leaf tissue, producing GUS-expressing callus which could be regenerated into viable plants. In a comparative study, the transformation efficiency of A. tumefaciens KYRT1, GV3850, and EHA105 was assayed by inoculating cotyledonary node explants. The results of this study revealed that, in a binary vector system, KYRT1 is equally or more effective than EHA105 or GV3850 at delivering DNA into soybean.

A new Chile ridge tectonic framework is developed based on satellite altimetry data, shipboard geophysical data and, primarily, 38,500 km of magnetic data gathered on a joint U.S.-Chilean aeromagnetic survey. Eighteen active transforms with fossil fracture zones (FZs), including two complex systems (the Chile FZ and Valdivia FZ systems), have been mapped between the northern end of the Antarctic-Nazca plate boundary (Chile ridge) at 35°S and the Chile margin triple junction at 47°S. Chile ridge spreading rates from 23 Ma to Present have been determined and show slowdowns in spreading rates that correspond to times of ridge-trench collisions. The Valdivia FZ system, previously mapped as two FZs with an uncharted seismically active region between them, is now recognized to be a multiple-offset FZ system composed of six FZs separated by short ridge segments 22 to 27 km long. At chron 5A (∼12 Ma), the Chile ridge propagated from the Valdivia FZ system northward into the Nazca plate through crust formed 5 Myr earlier at the Pacific-Nazca ridge. Evidence for this propagation event includes the Friday and Crusoe troughs, located at discontinuities in the magnetic anomaly sequence and interpreted as pseudofaults. This propagation event led to the formation of the Friday microplate, which resulted in the transferal of crust from the Nazca plate to the Antarctic plate, and in a 500-km northward stepwise migration of the Pacific-Antarctic-Nazca triple junction. Rift propagation, microplate formation, microplate extinction, and stepwise triple junction migration are found to occur during large-scale plate motion changes and plate boundary changes in the southeast Pacific.

The author served as the second Editor of this journal. In the article that follows, he reminisces about the state of the publication when he assumed responsibility for it and comments on the nature of the profession during the time of his incumbency. He reflects on the creative innovation and ferment in both the theories and tactics of psychotherapy unfolding during the 1970s and closes with statements of concern about developments within the field that are ominous and have come to the fore over the decades since he left office in 1983.

Many insects survive cold winter temperatures by entering into a transient, dormant state. Social wasp queens in the genus Vespula undergo such a state of physiological dormancy known as diapause to survive winter conditions. We experimentally investigated the effects of size, shape, genotype, and matedness on the overwintering survival of Vespula maculifrons Buysson (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) queens in two study years. Queens first were mated in the laboratory and then subjected to overwintering conditions. The sizes of several morphological traits of each queen were measured, and the genotype of each queen was determined at polymorphic microsatellite loci allowing queens to be assigned to distinct patrilines. We found that overall large body size resulted in high overwintering survival for queens in one study year. In addition, queen thinness was positively and significantly associated with overwintering survival in both years. In contrast, we found no evidence for an effect of patriline on overwintering survival, which is consistent with the idea that natural selection removes genetic variation associated with traits directly linked to fitness. We also found no effect of queen matedness on overwintering survival, as expected under models suggesting that mating should not adversely affect female viability in social hymenopteran insects. Overall, our study demonstrates that some aspects of body size and shape are significantly associated with overwintering survival in V. maculifrons queens. However, variation in survival arising from genotypic differences or mating effects is limited due, in part, to the way selection operates in social insect species.

In this study the Ca levels were determined in amateur runners blood at LABEX (Laboratorio de Bioquimica do Exercicio - UNICAMP, Brazil), using Neutron Activation Analyses (NAA) technique. The range established at rest (162 - 410 mgL−1) when compared with control group (51 - 439 mgL−1) suggests that there is a dependency of these limits in the function of the adopted physical training.

Mapping Paris: Social and Artistic Networks, 1855–1889 charts and analyzes 19th-century social networks in order to map the artistic collaborations taking place in Paris between the Universal Expositions of 1855 and 1889. In doing so, it allows scholars to view the data in novel ways and to foster considerations of aesthetic dialogue through crossed paths, acquaintances, friendships, conversations and collaborations in the social condenser of Paris. This article focuses on situating the project on its theoretical foundations, considers some of the research questions that can be investigated through such a methodological tool and contemplates the implications on the discipline of art history.

1. Mutations in the gene encoding the alpha 1-subunit of the skeletal muscle dihydropyridine (DHP) receptor are responsible for familial hypokalaemic periodic paralysis (HypoPP), an autosomal dominant muscle disease. We investigated myotubes cultured from muscle of patients with arginine-to-histidine substitutions in putative voltage sensors, IIS4 (R528H) and IVS4 (R1239H), of the DHP receptor alpha 1-subunit. 2. Analysis of the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) in the myotubes from such patients indicated transcription from both the normal and mutant genes. 3. In control myotubes, the existence of the slow L-type current and of two rapidly activating and inactivating calcium current components (T-type with a maximum at about -20 mV and 'third type' with a maximum at +10 to +20 mV) was confirmed. In the myotubes from patients with either mutation, the third-type current component was seen more frequently and, on average, with larger amplitude. 4. In myotubes with the IVS4 mutation (R1239H) the maximum L-type current density was smaller than control (-0.53 +/- 0.31 vs. -1.41 +/- 0.71 pA pF-1). The voltage dependence of activation was normal, and hyperpolarizing prepulses to -120 mV for 20 s did not increase the reduced current amplitude during test pulses. 5. In myotubes with the IIS4 mutation (R528H) the L-type current-voltage relation, determined at a holding potential of -90 mV, was normal. However, the voltage dependence of inactivation was shifted by about 40 mV to more negative potentials (voltage at half-maximum inactivation, V1/2 = -41.5 +/- 8.2 vs. -4.9 +/- 4.3 mV in normal controls).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

This paper consists of two basic parts: We show the way, how CogInfoCom becomes necessary during waste material management, taking car sheet metal parts as example. Solutions are given how to analyse, measure and evaluate production value of enterprises of any size, making any products.

PURPOSE To obtain reference values for healthy participants performing the Functional Mobility Assessment (FMA). The FMA is a reliable and valid tool used to examine functional abilities subjectively and objectively in patients with lower-extremity sarcoma in all components of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health model (body function, activity, and participation). METHODS Children, adolescents, and young adults who were healthy, representing a sample of convenience (n = 503; 260 females, age 10-21 years), participated in this study. RESULTS Means and standard deviations for all participants: Timed Up and Down Stairs 6.18 ± 0.8 seconds, Timed Up and Go 3.78 ± 0.6 seconds, 9-minute run/walk 4161 ± 893 feet, and the FMA total 59 ± 3. CONCLUSION The reference values provided in this study will allow health care professionals to compare the functional abilities of children, adolescents, and young adults with lower extremity sarcoma to age- and gender-matched healthy peers when using the FMA.

The twelve essays in this work explore various aspects of Clement’s hermeneutical theory and his exegetical practice, including his use of allegory and his interpretation of specific texts such as Proverbs, the Sermon on the Mount, and Pauline letters.

This chapter traces the main lines of Clement's interpretation, with particular attention to three questions: why does Clement choose this text, and how does his exegesis of it function in the context of the whole of Stromateis VII ?; what help does Clement find in Platonic and Stoic philosophy as he seeks to spell out the deeper meaning of Paul's words; and how does the chapter exemplify Clement's inner biblical exegesis? At the beginning of Stromateis VII Clement states that the purpose of this book is to demonstrate to "the Greeks," in particular to "the philosophers" among them, that they are totally mistaken when they accuse Christians of atheism. Clement goes through Corinthians, treating thirteen of the twenty verses. In Clement's eyes, the person who conforms his life to Scripture's teachings is in fact the best possible human being, a model of piety towards God and benevolence to all people. Keywords:Clement; Corinthians; exegesis; God; Paul; Stoic philosophy; Stromateis VII

The twelve essays in this work explore various aspects of Clement’s hermeneutical theory and his exegetical practice, including his use of allegory and his interpretation of specific texts such as Proverbs, the Sermon on the Mount, and Pauline letters.

Among the countries in Central and Eastern Europe, Hungary has a high oral contraceptive prevalence rate. Until recently, however, Hungarian women have not had access to combined oral contraceptives with new, third-generation progestogens. Marvelon (30 μg ethinylestradiol and 150 μg desogestrel) was first introduced in 1981 in Western Europe and has, in a number of different studies, proven an effective and well-tolerated oral contraceptive with no effect on blood pressure and a favorable lipid profile. Marvelon was introduced in Hungary in October 1991. Prior to its introduction, a multicenter study was undertaken in Hungary with Marvelon to confirm the clinical results of studies from other countries. The present study confirmed Marvelon to be an effective, welltolerated combined oral contraceptive with no relevant effect on blood pressure. Remarkable improvements were noted, especially with regard to side-effects, in switchers from other oral contraceptives. It is concluded that Marvelon is a valuable extension of the range of contraceptive methods available in Hungary.

The first molecular biology study on the purple sulfur photosynthetic bacterium Thiocapsa roseopersicina is reported, namely, the construction of cosmid libraries and isolation of a hydrogenase gene cluster by hybridization with hydrogenase structural genes from the purple non-sulfur bacterium, Rhodobacter capsulatus. The sequenced gene cluster contains six open reading frames, the products of which show significant degrees of identity (from 40 to 78%) with hydrogenase gene products necessary for biosynthesis of the group-I of [NiFe]hydrogenases. The structural hupSLC genes encode the small and large hydrogenase subunits and a hydrophobic protein shown to accept electrons from hydrogenase in R. capsulatus. They are followed downstream by three genes, hupDHI, which are similar to hydrogenase accessory genes found in other bacteria.

Carotenoids are organic pigments commonly synthesized by plants, algae and some micro-organisms. Through absorption of light energy, carotenoids facilitate photosynthesis and provide protection against photo-oxidation. While it was presumed that all carotenoids in animals were sequestered from their diets, aphids were recently shown to harbour genomic copies of functional carotenoid biosynthesis genes that were acquired via horizontal gene transfer from fungi. Our search of available animal transcripts revealed the presence of two related genes in the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae . Phylogenetic analyses suggest that the T. urticae genes were transferred from fungi into the spider mite genome, probably in a similar manner as recently suggested for aphids. The genes are expressed in both green and red morphs, with red morphs exhibiting higher levels of gene expression. Additionally, there appear to be changes in the expression of these genes during diapause. As carotenoids are associated with diapause induction in these animals, our results add to recent findings highlighting the importance of eukaryotic horizontal gene transfer in the ecology and evolution of higher animals.

In the treatment of esophageal cancer neoadjuvant radiotherapy often leads to vascular damage of the usual recipient arteries for free jejunal transfer. End-to-side anastomosis to the carotid artery could be a potential alternative.A total of 70 patients with locally advanced carcinoma of the esophagus underwent esophagectomy after neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy. In all patients reconstruction was carried out with a free jejunal transfer. Smaller vessels could be used for anastomoses in 54 of these patients and in 16 cases the jejunal flap artery was attached to the carotid artery.Out of 54 patients 9 (17%) with microvascular anastomoses to the smaller vessels needed surgical intervention for ischemia. In 16 patients with anastomosis to the carotid artery no significant failure of perfusion occurred.The carotid artery as recipient vessel in free jejunal transfer seems to be a safe therapeutic option for intestinal reconstruction of preradiated esophageal cancer with good functional results.

The perceived problems with the management of solid waste in the United States are a direct result of failed leadership, not of technology or the ability to develop adequate and environmentally safe disposal capacity. The Federal Congress enacted in the 1970s comprehensive laws that focused on solid waste planning, material and energy conservation, recycling and markets for recyclable materials. In each instance, the Congress failed to fund or implement such laws. By 1988, the states began to address the growing solid waste problems, however, after the “barge incident” the Congress realized it could receive coverage and therefore, wants to jump back into the management of solid waste. Unfortunately, the Congress wants the federal government to approve all state plans but it is not providing any money, direction or even assuming responsibility. Meanwhile, disposal capacity is decreasing at an alarming rate and it is projected that this nation will be short 56 million tons of disposal capacity each year by 2000. If this occurs, this nation will either eliminate industrial capacity or eliminate the environmental laws that created this situation. This either/or situation is intolerable and political leadership is urgently needed to ensure increased disposal capacity that is environmentally sound, notwithstanding the objections of the NIMBYists who are more against an industrial society than for environmentally sound disposal capacity. If this nation cannot preserve and increase its solid waste disposal capacity, it will gradually cease to be a competitive industrial nation which will mean it will be less able to protect itself and its environment.

The human blood glucose system is one of the most important systems of the human body, as energy transport is fulfilled through this complex endocrine control process. Because of its great importance, many models were published, most of them with phenomenological approach. The current paper focuses on a new molecular model published recently which is capable of describing the normal blood glucose household. Type 1 diabetes can be modeled by transforming the original model, then soft computing based controller is designed. Rough rule base is generated with subtractive clustering which is later followed by its refinement by parameter tuning. As a result, an Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) is designed. A simple absorption model is presented in order to test the designed controller for different absorption curves. Simulation results are in accordance with the behavior of the healthy human blood glucose system.

In parallel with aging, increasing skin laxity and subcutaneous atrophy occur in many regions of the human body. Apart from the most obvious facial region, where most aesthetic operations for rejuvenation are done, also the dorsum of the hand is continuously visible in daily life. This region exhibits skin laxity, subcutaneous atrophy and age-related pigmentations in a comparable manner to the face. Autologous transplantation of fatty tissue (structural fat grafting, lipofilling) enables subcutaneous regeneration by refilling the subcutaneous space and hence reducing some of the age-related degenerative process. This paper illustrates the special operative technique on the hand in the form of a case report. Furthermore, 3D surface laser scanning permits an objective evaluation of the permanent volume effect over time. In the presented case a volume effect of 69% of the injected volume was measured after 6 months follow-up time. This amount of injected tissue seems to be integrated as a graft and results in a reduction of subcutaneous atrophy in terms of a true regeneration. Structural fat grafting of the dorsum of the hand is thus a method of regenerative medicine. Together with other methods which reduce the age-related pigmentations, it plays a key role in our treatment concept for rejuvenation of the hand.

Two-dimensional echocardiography can detect regional wall motion abnormalities resulting from myocardial ischemia produced by dobutamine infusion. In 60 patients undergoing elective aortic surgery (27 with aneurysms, 33 with occlusive disease), we evaluated the ability of dobutamine stress echocardiography to predict perioperative cardiac events. Echo images were obtained at rest and during incremental dobutamine infusion to a peak dose of 50 micrograms/kg/min, unless another test end point was reached (angina, heart rate greater than or equal to 85% of age-predicted maximum, significant ST segment depression, or new stress-induced wall motion abnormalities). Dobutamine stress echocardiography results were stratified as follows: group I, no wall motion abnormalities; group II, resting wall motion abnormalities unchanged with stress; group III, stress-induced worsening of resting wall motion abnormalities; group IV, new-onset wall motion abnormalities with stress. Twelve cardiac events occurred within the first 30 postoperative days: three cardiac deaths (5%), six nonfatal myocardial infarctions (10%), two patients with unstable angina (3.3%), and one patient with asymptomatic elevation of creatine phosphokinase MB isoenzymes without electrocardiographic changes (1.7%). Eleven events occurred in the 38 patients with an abnormal dobutamine stress echocardiograph (groups II to IV); in contrast, only one of 22 patients with a normal dobutamine stress echocardiograph (group I) had a cardiac event. These event rates (29% vs 4.6%) differed significantly (p less than 0.025). Dobutamine stress echocardiography is a new, safe, rapid, relatively low cost, noninvasive, nonexercise cardiac stress test for risk stratification before major vascular surgery.

Organisms must make important decisions on how to allocate resources to reproduction. We investigated allocation decisions in the social wasp Vespula maculifrons to understand how social insects make reproductive choices. We first determined how annual colonies apportioned resources to growth and reproduction by analysing developing brood. In contrast to expectations, colonies invested in both growth (workers) and reproduction (males) simultaneously. In addition, colonies showed evidence of producing males in pulses and reversing their reproductive choices by decreasing investment in males late in the season. This reversal is consistent with theory suggesting that colonies decrease production in males if fitness of late emerging males is low. To further investigate reproductive decisions within colonies, we determined if the male mates of multiply-mated queens varied in their reproductive success over time. Sperm use by queens did vary over time suggesting that male success may depend on sperm clumping within the female reproductive tract. Finally, we tested if colony sex ratio conformed to expectations under kin selection theory that nestmate relatedness would positively correlate with investment in new queens if workers controlled sex allocation. Surprisingly, the proportion of queens produced by colonies was negatively correlated with nestmate relatedness, suggesting that allocation may be shaped by advantages arising from increased genetic diversity resulting from multiple mating by queens. Overall, our study suggests that the reproductive decisions of colonies are flexible and may depend both on environmental cues arising from energetic needs of the colony and genetic cues arising from mating behaviours of queens.

Purpose: In the last years precise three-dimensional (3-D) tumor detection and localization for oncologic purposes increased by improved image reconstruction algorithms. Accurate diagnostic quantification of mass size, infiltration, volume, expansions and tumor boundaries supports and optimizes the planned oncologic intervention. Especially plastic and reconstructive surgeons benefit from the implementation of modern 3-D imaging techniques in the field of computed assisted surgery. But existing 3-D imaging techniques and software algorithms are limited concerning preoperative surgical planning. Aim of this work is to present the potential clinical application of computer aided 3-D surgical planning tools for reconstructive oncologic surgical procedures.

In the present study Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) technique was used to determine sodium concentration in whole blood of mice immunized with Bothrops venom. With this value it was possible to perform clinical investigation in this animal model using whole blood.

In five studies, the advantage of repeated vaginal prophylaxis by a new preparation of hexetidine vaginal suppositories (10 mg) was investigated prospectively, randomised and method-controlled (n = 2 x 50). After a five-day application, the hexetidine group achieved bacterial reductions of five log CFU/ml in the vagina and nearly three log CFU/ml in the cervix uteri, whilst no reduction was found in the controls at any time (p less than 0.01). The reduction of individual bacterial species was investigated in 224 pregnant and also gynaecological patients. In cases of impending preterm childbirth, a five-day application of 20 mg hexetidine/day could reduce all bacteria sufficiently with the exception of lactobacilli; especially beta Streptococci were reduced. The same was achieved by a three-day application of 10 mg hexetidine/day pre-operatively. A long-term study in 11,724 deliveries showed, that neonatal infectious mortality and morbidity after 36 gestational weeks could be reduced significantly by hexetidine. The new hexetidine preparation appeared to be efficient in vaginal antisepsis, especially in pregnancy. A favourable lactobacilli-selective effect was demonstrated. Since the importance of lactobacilli in vaginal ecology is known, hexetidine prophylaxis must be considered as advantageous in Obstetrics and Gynecology. From a practical and economic point of view, the application of hexetidine as vaginal suppositories appears favourable compared to antiseptic solutions.

In this paper we present a novel agent-based simulation model for the natural selection of replicating agents whose survival depends on their programs for selecting their strategy to interact with each other. Game theoretic models describe this kind of interaction. The simulator can be used both for analysis, design and verification of autonomous systems (by intuitively abstracting them into our model and running the simulation). Good system design can be selected even for difficult, underspecified design problems. Although the inspiration of the model comes from evolutionary game theory, the evolving agents may represent not only biological, but also technical systems (e.g. software agents), and thus in some cases the underlying evolutionary mechanisms and observations differ from the typically published results.

The EG4 experiment (The proton/deuteron g1 structure function and Gerasimov‐Drell‐Hearn (GDH) sum at low Q2) ran in JLab Hall B in early 2006. The goal was to extend our knowledge of the deuteron and proton spin structure to the lowest possible momentum transfer (0.015

We describe the implementation, optimization, sensitivity determination and first clinical results of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of polymorphic short tandem repeat (STR) markers and Amelogenin locus coupled with fluorescent detection and capillary electrophoresis in chimerism monitoring of patients transplanted at three different transplant centers using a commercially available multiplex microsatellite assay. The chimerism analysis was performed with genomic DNA extracted from unselected peripheral blood leukocytes of one hundred pediatric and adult patients, who underwent allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) from human leukocyte antigen (HLA) matched or one antigen mismatched related or unrelated donors for malignant (70 patients) and non-malignant (30 patients) diseases. Tested were 79 donor recipient pairs for 15 STR systems and identified an informative marker in all but one of them (98,7%), using 6 selected systems out of these fifteen, that appeared highly informative in our patients population. In 21 sex-mismatched donor recipient pairs we used the Amelogenin locus to distinguish the X and Y chromosome. In sixty-three out of these 100 patients chimerism was regularly analyzed from blood samples taken at various time points after SCT with the median follow up of 17 months. Complete chimerism (CC), maintained over the whole follow-up period, was detected in 24 (38, 1%), stable and decreasing mixed chimerism (MC) in 28 (44, 4%) and increasing MC in 11 patients (17, 5%). Patients with CC, stable and decreasing MC showed a significantly better (p 0,005) overall survival rate (0, 81), compared to those with increasing MC (0, 24). These results demonstrate that STR-based chimerism monitoring with sensitivity above 1% and high informativity (98, 7% of donor recipient pairs) is necessary in establishing the origin of engrafted cells after an allogeneic SCT, in detecting graft rejection and that it may contribute in identifying patients with imminent leukemia relapse.

The severe functional deficits in patients suffering from traumatic peripheral nerve damage underline the necessity of an optimal therapy. The development of microsurgical techniques in the sixties contributed significantly to the progress in nerve repair. Since then, no major clinical innovation has become established. However, with an increased understanding of cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying nerve regeneration, various tubulization concepts have been developed which yield possible alternatives to direct suturing and to autologous nerve grafting in cases of short nerve defects. The vast knowledge gathered in the field of nerve regeneration needs to be further exploited in order to develop alternative therapeutic strategies to nerve autografting, which can result in donor-site defects and often lead to inappropriate results. Considering the encouraging results from preclinical studies, innovative nerve repair strategies are likely to improve the outcome of reconstructive surgical interventions. This paper outlines, in addition to the fundamentals of nerve regeneration, the current treatment options for defects of peripheral nerves. This article also reviews the developments in the use of alternative nerve guides and demonstrates new perspectives in the field of peripheral nerve reconstruction.

Social insects display extreme cooperative and helping behaviours. However, social insect colonies are also arenas of intense competitive interactions. One particularly important matter over which colony members may compete centres on the development of sexual offspring. Specifically, colony members may engage in selfish behaviours leading to reproductive competition, whereby individuals either strive to develop as sexuals or assist kin so that close relatives emerge as new reproductives. We investigated whether reproductive competition occurred in the polyandrous social wasp Vespula maculifrons. We genotyped V. maculifrons workers and new queens at eight polymorphic microsatellite loci to determine if larvae of particular genotypes were reared as gynes more frequently than expected by chance. However, we found no significant evidence of reproductive competition in this species. The proportional contributions of males to workers and new queens did not vary within colonies. Moreover, male reproductive skew did not differ between workers and new queens. Finally, novel statistical techniques uncovered no evidence of patriline reversal, the phenomenon whereby males that contribute little to worker production contribute substantially to new queen production. Consequently, we conclude that individual level selection operating to increase the frequency of selfish behaviours that would lead to reproductive competition has been nullified by colony-level selection acting to maintain colony efficiency and cooperation.

The paper presents a design of an software application called Iris Detector v1.0.0. This application is developed using Matlareg b v7.0.0 and it offers interactive iris detection, due to its friendly interface which allows the user to interact with the software along the process. The interface is designed in such way that the user who is not familiar with Matlab can easily perform the detection.

In this experimental study on 96 CD rats, microvascular end-to-end anastomoses created via suture or alternatively by means of a VCS-Clip-Application-System, were compared. The aorta abdominalis of the animals, with a diameter of 1.5 +/- 0.2 mm, was experimentally dissected, and the free ends of the vessel then anastomosed. The results were evaluated using sonography, microangiography, histologic examination, and vascular imprints. Postoperative examination was carried out after 1, 3, 7, 14, or 30 days. Major advantages of the VCS-Clip technique over suturing were that it was easy to learn, significantly faster to perform (execution of anastomosis 10.9 +/- 2.6 min versus 19.4 +/- 5.0 min), and produced significantly more favorable histologic results in terms of less inflammatory response, foreign body reaction, necrosis of the tunica media, hyperplasia of the intima, and thrombosis of the vessel lumen. The main disadvantage of the clip technique was a significantly higher rate of stenoses (15.8 +/- 6.0 versus 4.1 +/- 6.6 percent).