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☆ This statement is to certify that all authors have seen being submitted, have contributed significantly to the w legitimacy of the data and its interpretation, and ag International Journal of Cardiology. We attest that the artic has not received prior publication and is not under elsewhere. We adhere to the statement of ethical pub (Shewan LG et al 2013 in press). ☆☆ On behalf of all co-authors, the corresponding author the submission. ⁎ Corresponding author at: Division of Cardiology II, D and Cardiovascular Diseases, University Hospital Paolo Gi 90127 Palermo, Italy. Tel.: +39 1 6554303; fax: +39 1 65 E-mail address: odisseos86@alice.it (V. Sucato).

Solar cells based on semiconductor thin films are emerging as alternative to silicon;however,the materials giving the highest efficiency,CdTe and CuInGaSe,contain toxic (Cd) and rare (In) elements.In this field,the challenge is to substitute In and Cd with abundant and non-toxic elements without lowering the high efficiency achieved with these technologies.Compounds based on copper,zinc,tin and sulfur (CZTS) are potentially promising materials,because they present all the above listed features.Among the different methods to obtain CZTS,the electrochemical route appears of great interest because easy to conduct.Up to date,the literature shows that non-uniformity in composition and/or the presence of secondary phases prevent the obtainment of electrochemical CZTS thin-film of high quality.In this paper,we present the principal results of an extensive investigations conducted in order to find suitable conditions for growing CZTS thin films with good performance through the simultaneous electrodeposition of elements having different standard electrochemical potentials.Thin films were obtained on a flexible substrate by potentiostatic deposition from aqueous baths by changing different deposition parameters (bath composition and temperature,deposition time).Chemical composition and structure of the electrodeposited films were evaluated by EDS,SEM,RAMAN and XRD.Preliminary results on the photoelectrochemical behaviour of the films will be also presented.

Takotsubo cardiomyopaty is a recently described syndrome characterized by transient left ventricular dysfunction, mimicking an acute coronary syndrome and usually precipitated by a physical or emotional stress. We report the first case of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy after acute diarrhea in a man. It may be argued that severe diarrhea in predisposed individuals may cause an acute stress resulting in increased sympathetic activity leading to this syndrome. Probably the relationship between the adrenergic system and the heart is more complex than general thought and the stimuli which favor an autonomic imbalance and precipitate the syndrome are very disparate in clinical practice.

This is the case of a young man suffering from schizophrenia and treated with clozapine. He developed acute heart failure associated with pericardial effusion and midventricular dyskinesia with severe systolic dysfunction and left ventricular dilatation at echocardiogram, readily resolved after the suspension of clozapine therapy. The segmental wall motion abnormalities observed at echocardiogram in this case are peculiar and have never been described before. The possible cardiotoxic effects of clozapine have been reported previously in the literature. Because of its serious potential side effects this drug is not considered the first choice for treatment of schizophrenia. Before beginning treatment, patients should undergo a cardiac evaluation, and they should also be periodically followed up with echocardiograms.

A 71 year-old man with a history of previous anterior myocardial infarction, triple coronary artery bypass graft and left ventricular (LV) aneurysmectomy was admitted to the cardiology unit for chest pain. Physical examination showed a pulsing mass in the left chest wall. Cardiac multislice computed tomography showed a rare case of LV pseudoaneurysm (6.3 x 6 x 10 cm) communicating by a fistulous trait (1 cm) with the left anterior chest wall (C7-C8), creating a subfascial mass (7.1 x 3.6 cm).

Scopo L'obiettivo del presente studio è quello di valutare se, nella popolazione in esame, il Myocardial Blush Grade e gli altri parametri angiografici siano correlati ad altri indici clinici dopo la riapertura dell'arteria epicardica. Materiali e metodi Il presente studio consiste in una valutazione retrospettiva dei parametri angiografici, in relazione a dati ecocardiografici ed elettrocardiografici, di una popolazione osservata comprendente 118 pazienti, tra Febbraio 2003 e Giugno 2007, con sopraslivellamento del tratto ST > 1 mm in almeno due derivazioni elettrocardiografiche vicine, sottoposti ad angioplastica primaria nel nostro Dipartimento. Risultati Dopo PCI, un flusso TIMI 3 è stato riscontrato in 94 pazienti (79%); un valore di MBG 3 è stato osservato in 45 pazienti(38%); un cTFC significativamente più basso è stato rilevato nei pazienti che presentavano un flusso TIMI 3 e un valore di MBG 3. Una migliore riperfusione tissutale era rilevabile in pazienti che presentavano una maggiore risoluzione del tratto SI. Conclusioni Il tempo dall'insorgenza dei sintomi è un importante determinante del no-reflow. Il myocardial blush grade risulta essere il miglior parametro angiografico per la diagnosi di riperfusione dopo infarto miocardico, in grado di dare anche indicazioni prognostiche. La giusta definizione angiografica di "efficace riperfusione miocardica" andrà sicuramente rivista e completata, in quanto deve essere ormai intesa come riottenuto flusso TIMI 3 dell'arteria epicardica ma in presenza di MB 2-3.

PREVALENCE OF METABOLIC SYNDROME IN PATIENTS WITH ACUTE CORONARY SYNDROME

Early after the beginning of the pacemaker era, endocardial right ventricular apex has been the most extensively used site for cardiac pacing because it was easily accessible and reliable in a long-term perspective. However many data have demonstrated that this kind of pacing is suboptimal from a physiologic point of view because it causes several adverse effects such as altered ventricular contraction geometry, mitral regurgitation, perfusion alterations and interference with myocardial ion channels which determine a worsening of left ventricular function. Several strategies have been proposed to solve these problems (alternative pacing sites, specific algorithms able to reduce the percentage of ventricular pacing) which are still under evaluation. In this review we analyzed the effects of right apical ventricular pacing and its possible alternatives.

Aim. The clinical and prognostic role of cardiac natriuretic peptides (CNP) in patients with heart failure is well known; recently, several studies have evaluated the possibility of using CNP to evaluate their potential prognostic role in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). The aim of this study was to evaluate the short term prognostic value of NT-proBNP in 70 patients admitted for ACS. Methods. The authors studied 70 patients with ACS, evaluating, at admission, clinical-anamnestic, instrumental and laboratory characteristics including NT-proBNP plasma levels. Patients were monitored in a 6-month-follow-up to record adverse fatal events and their possible correlation with baseline characteristics. Results. The incidence of adverse events during the follow-up period was 28% (10 patients). In patients with adverse events, the authors observed lower left ventricle ejection fraction (P=0.01), higher prevalence of ST elevation myocardial infarction (P=0.03) and higher NT-proBNP levels (P=0.03), compared to those without adverse events. Moreover, the logistic regression analysis underlined how ST elevation myocardial infarction (P=0.05) and higher NT-proBNP levels (P=0.05) were the only predictive variables for adverse events during the follow up period. Conclusion. This study demonstrates the short term prognostic role of NT-pro BNP in patients admitted for ACS

Aim. Impaired endothelial function and increased carotid intima-media thickness are key events in the atherosclerotic process and predict future cardiovascular events in subjects with and without coronary artery disease. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the vasodilator response to increased flow in the brachial artery and the presence of carotid lesions may have a prognostic significance for in-stent restenosis in patients undergoing coronary angioplasty. Methods. The study population included 58 patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with stenting and at least 10 months of follow-up. All patients underwent ultrasound detection of brachial artery reactivity 30 days after PCI. Flow mediated dilatation (FMD) was investigated after 5 minutes of occlusion of the artery and nitroglycerin mediated dilation (NMD) was investigated after administration of sublingual nitrates. Vascular echography was performed to measure intima media thickness (IMT) of carotid arteries. At baseline we evaluated all the established traditional cardiovascular risk factors. We also subdivided our study cohort according to values of FMD in patients with FMD above and patients below the median value. Results. Patients with FMD above the median value showed higher prevalence of hypertension (P=0.002), diabetes (P=0.02) and carotid IMT (P=0.006) than those below the median. Brachial FMD was inversely correlated (P=0.001) to carotid IMT. At the end of follow-up clinical events occurred in nine patients. In a multivariate analysis, including all the variables evaluated at baseline, carotid IMT (P=0.02), level of glycemia (P=0.001), a lower FMD (P=0.005) and presence of carotid plaque remained the only variables predictive of restenosis. Conclusion. Evaluation of FMD and carotid IMT may provide important prognostic information in patients undergoing PCI

AIM: The aim of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of carotid atherosclerosis and endothelial dysfunction in 45 young patients (38 mens and 7 females) with myocardial infarction (MI), age 29-45, mean age 42+/-3 years, to verify its possible role as a marker of coronary atherosclerosis. METHODS: Vascular echography was performed to verify the presence of carotid atherosclerosis and/or endothelial dysfunction in 45 young patients with MI and in 45 healthy control subjects well matched for age and sex. RESULTS: We observed a normal intima media thickness (IMT) only in 30% of patients with juvenile myocardial infarction (JMI) compared with 66% in the control group (P