Despite the transformative effects of millennia of human occupation, China remains a tremendous storehouse of biological diversity. The extremely mountainous terrain has fostered speciation by continuously isolating populations of plants and animals. This topography (combined with the large area of the country that is sub-tropical and tropical) also provided refuge for many taxonomic groups during the major climate change-induced mass extinctions of the Pleistocene era, as well as the more recent Ice Ages. As a result, China is one of the world's major centres of biological diversity (or biodiversity), a term which refers to the variety of ecosystem types, the number of different of species and the genetic variability within a single species. In certain respects, thousands of years of human habitation has actually enhanced this diversity. Rice, soybeans, oranges, tea and many other crops were first domesticated in China, and generation upon generation of careful selection by farmers and pastoralists have made it one the earth's richest centres of crop and domesticated animal germplasm. The country's variety of wild plants and animals is greater than that of either North America or Europe, and equal to one-eighth of all species on earth.

Observed differences in the sinus of origin, age at presentation, associated cardiac malformations, and mortality in our Western series versus previous Asian cohort studies likely reflect a racial disparity and higher prevalence of acquired versus congenital SoV aneurysms. We recommend a thorough search for a VSD in all cases and use of patch repair, regardless of size, to reduce risk of recurrence.

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Objectives We sought to evaluate the impact of coronary artery calcium (CAC) burden and regional distribution on the need for and type of future coronary revascularization (percutaneous [PCI] vs. surgical [CABG]) among asymptomatic individuals. Background The need for coronary revascularization and the chosen mode of revascularization are thought to be a function of disease burden and anatomic distribution. The association between the baseline burden and regional distribution of CAC and the risk and type of future coronary revascularization remains unknown. Methods 6,540 MESA participants (individuals aged 45-84 years, free of known baseline cardiovascular disease) with vessel-specific CAC measurement were followed for median 8.5 (7.7 – 8.6) years. Annualized rates and multivariable adjusted hazard ratios for revascularization and revascularization type were analyzed according to CAC score category, number of vessels with CAC (0-4, including the left main), and by involvement of individual coronary arteries. Results A total of 265 revascularizations (4.2%) occurred during follow-up, and 206 (78% of total) were preceded by adjudicated symptoms. Revascularization was uncommon when CAC=0 (0.6%), with graded increase over both rising CAC burden and increasingly diffuse CAC distribution. The revascularization rate per 1,000 person-years for CAC 1-100, 101-400, and >400 was 4.9, 11.7 and 25.4; for 1, 2, 3, and 4 vessels with CAC the rates were 3.0, 8.0, 16.1, and 24.8. In multivariable models adjusting for CAC score, number of vessels with CAC remained predictive of mode of revascularization. Independent predictors of CABG vs. PCI included 3 or 4 vessel CAC, higher CAC burden, and involvement of the left main. Risk for CABG was extremely low with <3 vessel baseline CAC. Results were similar when considering only symptom-driven revascularizations. Conclusions In this multi-ethnic cohort of asymptomatic individuals, baseline CAC was highly predictive of future coronary revascularization procedures, with measures of CAC burden and distribution each independently predicting need for PCI vs. CABG over 8.5 year follow-up.

ImportanceIn patients with severe aortic valve stenosis at intermediate surgical risk, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with a self-expanding supra-annular valve was noninferior to surgery for all-cause mortality or disabling stroke at 2 years. Comparisons of longer-term clinical and hemodynamic outcomes in these patients are limited.ObjectiveTo report prespecified secondary 5-year outcomes from the Symptomatic Aortic Stenosis in Intermediate Risk Subjects Who Need Aortic Valve Replacement (SURTAVI) randomized clinical trial.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsSURTAVI is a prospective randomized, unblinded clinical trial. Randomization was stratified by investigational site and need for revascularization determined by the local heart teams. Patients with severe aortic valve stenosis deemed to be at intermediate risk of 30-day surgical mortality were enrolled at 87 centers from June 19, 2012, to June 30, 2016, in Europe and North America. Analysis took place between August and October 2021.InterventionPatients were randomized to TAVR with a self-expanding, supra-annular transcatheter or a surgical bioprosthesis.Main Outcomes and MeasuresThe prespecified secondary end points of death or disabling stroke and other adverse events and hemodynamic findings at 5 years. An independent clinical event committee adjudicated all serious adverse events and an independent echocardiographic core laboratory evaluated all echocardiograms at 5 years.ResultsA total of 1660 individuals underwent an attempted TAVR (n = 864) or surgical (n = 796) procedure. The mean (SD) age was 79.8 (6.2) years, 724 (43.6%) were female, and the mean (SD) Society of Thoracic Surgery Predicted Risk of Mortality score was 4.5% (1.6%). At 5 years, the rates of death or disabling stroke were similar (TAVR, 31.3% vs surgery, 30.8%; hazard ratio, 1.02 [95% CI, 0.85-1.22]; P = .85). Transprosthetic gradients remained lower (mean [SD], 8.6 [5.5] mm Hg vs 11.2 [6.0] mm Hg; P &amp;lt; .001) and aortic valve areas were higher (mean [SD], 2.2 [0.7] cm2 vs 1.8 [0.6] cm2; P &amp;lt; .001) with TAVR vs surgery. More patients had moderate/severe paravalvular leak with TAVR than surgery (11 [3.0%] vs 2 [0.7%]; risk difference, 2.37% [95% CI, 0.17%- 4.85%]; P = .05). New pacemaker implantation rates were higher for TAVR than surgery at 5 years (289 [39.1%] vs 94 [15.1%]; hazard ratio, 3.30 [95% CI, 2.61-4.17]; log-rank P &amp;lt; .001), as were valve reintervention rates (27 [3.5%] vs 11 [1.9%]; hazard ratio, 2.21 [95% CI, 1.10-4.45]; log-rank P = .02), although between 2 and 5 years only 6 patients who underwent TAVR and 7 who underwent surgery required a reintervention.Conclusions and RelevanceAmong intermediate-risk patients with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis, major clinical outcomes at 5 years were similar for TAVR and surgery. TAVR was associated with superior hemodynamic valve performance but also with more paravalvular leak and valve reinterventions.