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We demonstrate pulse compressibility from 840 fs to 38 fs of 10 mJ pulses from a thin-disk amplifier at a repetition rate of 3 kHz after nonlinear broadening in a multipass cell. In addition, the temporal-intensity contrast is enhanced via nonlinear ellipse rotation of more than a factor 50 with an optical efficiency of 56%. We believe this is the first published experimental combination of multipass cell-based nonlinear compression and nonlinear ellipse rotation-based contrast enhancement preserving both pulse compressibility and beam quality.

Understanding the interactions of surfactants and wettability alteration of surfaces is important for many fields, including oil and gas recovery. This work utilizes the quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation to study the interaction of stabilized linear and branched alkylbenzene sulfonates (ABSs), among the most cost-efficient industrial surfactants, with water- and oil-wet calcite surfaces under high-salinity and high-temperature conditions. Confocal laser scanning microscopy is also used to study the effect of the type of ABS on their interaction with oil-wet calcite surfaces. Experiments demonstrate that vesicles made of linear and branched ABSs interact differently with both water- and oil-wet surfaces. Therefore, surfactant formulations made of ABSs for high-salinity applications can further be improved for advantageous wettability properties by varying the hydrophobic chain of the surfactants. When interacting with a water-wet surface, both types of vesicles adsorb onto the surface as is. Upon dilution, however, vesicles made of linear ABS stay adsorbed as is, and vesicles made of branched ABSs disassemble and produce a layered structure with altered wettability. Linear ABSs show greater efficiency in desorbing oil from the oil-wet calcite. The results of this study demonstrate an improved method for studying and understanding the interaction of surfactant formulations with water- and oil-wet surfaces. This approach could significantly benefit applications in which wettability alteration of surfaces is of great interest and facilitate the implementation of low-cost surfactants based on petroleum sulfonates.

We demonstrate a thin-disk based regenerative amplifier system with a maximum pulse energy before compression of 550 mJ at a repetition rate of 1 kHz. A fraction of the output was recompressed to 602 fs.

International audience; We present an ultrafast thin-disk based multipass amplifier operating at a wavelength of 1030 nm, designed for atmospheric research in the framework of the Laser Lightning Rod project. The CPA system delivers a pulse energy of 720 mJ and a pulse duration of 920 fs at a repetition rate of 1 kHz. The 240 mJ seed pulses generated by a regenerative amplifier are amplified to the final energy in a multipass amplifier via four industrial thin-disk laser heads. The beam quality factor remains ∼ 2.1 at the output. First results on horizontal long-range filament generation are presented.

Palliative care is a central component of the therapy in terminally ill patients. During treatment in non-palliative departments this can be realized by consultation.To analyze the change in symptom burden during palliative care consultation.In this observational study, we enrolled all cancer cases (n = 163) receiving inpatient treatment for 2015 to 2018 at our institution. We used the MDASI-questionnaire (0 = 'not present' and 10 = "as bad as you can imagine") and the FAMCARE-6 (1 = very satisfied, 5 = very dissatisfied) to analyze the treatment effect and patient satisfaction, respectively.We examined the association of symptom burden and patient satisfaction using Spearman-correlation. Comparing mean values, we applied the Wilcoxon-test and one-way ANOVA.An improvement in MDASI-core-items after treatment completion was significant (P

Ultrafast thin-disk lasers are based on the mature thin-disk technology. This technique allows for highest pump powers due to very efficient cooling. Therefore, the thin-disk geometry offers exceptional scaling of laser performance in terms of average power. Over the last decade industrial lasers for cutting and welding applications were continuously improved. More than 12kW can be obtained by a single thin-disk in continuous wave mode. TRUMPF Scientific Lasers uses the same thin-disk components to develop and manufacture ultrafast amplifiers. The achieved output power is close to 2kW with record pulse energies >95 mJ.

A thin-disk based CPA system with a maximum compressed pulse energy of 206 mJ at a repetition rate of 5 kHz and output powers close to 2 kW at 20 kHz is presented. Spectral amplitude shaping led to pulse durations of < 500 fs at 206 mJ.

A thin-disk based CPA system with a maximum compressed pulse energy of 260 mJ at a repetition rate of 1 kHz and output powers close to 2 kW at 20 kHz is presented. Spectral amplitude shaping led to pulse durations of < 500 fs at 206 mJ.

Successful pregnancy outcome is the result of a tailored adaptation of the maternal endocrine and immune system throughout gestation. We aimed to investigate if maternal endocrine, anthropometric and life style factors assessed longitudinally throughout pregnancy allow prediction of birth weight.Data on maternal factors and obstetrical characteristics from 220 pregnancies from a German prospective pregnancy cohort were analyzed using univariate and multivariate regression models. The association between maternal progesterone levels at the end of the 1st (gw 12-14), the 2nd (gw 22-24) and the 3rd trimester (gw 34-36) and birth weight of children born at term was examined. Interaction terms were included to identify possible sex-specific associations. Furthermore, associations between maternal and obstetric characteristics and progesterone levels were tested.After controlling for possible confounders, progesterone in the 2nd trimester emerged as an independent predictor for birth weight in pregnancies with female (p=0.01), but not male fetuses (p=0.6). In female fetuses each increase of progesterone by 1ng/ml in the 2nd trimester was associated with an increase of birth weight by 6.8g (95%-CI=1.44-12.24). Maternal 1st trimester BMI showed a significant inverse correlation to progesterone levels throughout gestation (p0.0001 in the 1st and 2nd, p=0.01 in the 3rd trimester). This inverse association between maternal BMI and progesterone levels was confined to overweight women.Our data support that maternal progesterone levels have the potential to serve as early biomarker for reduced birth weight and underpins the importance of normal weight when entering the reproductive phase.

Verovatno nema oblast medicine u kojoj postoji toliko podataka koji su dobijeni na osnovu velikih, dobro izvedenih randomizovanih studija, nego sto je dijagnostka i lecenje bolesnika sa akutnim infarktom miokarda. Osim toga, nigde u medicini se najnoviji tehnoloski pronalasci i celokupna organizacija lecenja nisu tako snažno stavili u službu lecenja kao kad je u pitanju lecenje akutnog infarkta. Svakih pet godine, kada se nakupi novo znanje i rezultat velikih randomizovanih studija izlaze nove preporuke Evropskog drustva kardiologa iz određenih kardiovaskularnih oblast. Ove godine su izasle i nove preporuke za dijagnostku i lecenje akutnog infarkta miokarda sa ST elevacijom (STEMI) i slobodno možemo reci da su to preporuke koje su zasnovane na najvise dokaza od svih preporuka i da su napisane veoma praktcno i korisno. U ovom kratkom prikazu su prikazane ukratko novine iz Evropskih STEMI preporuka. Zahvaljujuci katedri za Kardiologiju Univerziteta u Beogradu je prevedeno i džepno izdanje preporuka koje je izuzetno korisno za svakodnevni rad. Ujedno želimo i sve da potsetmo na ljude koji su imali hrabrost i znanja da 1982. godine urade primarnu balon angioplastku u infarktu srca u kateterizacionoj sali Insttuta za kardiovaskularne bolest Sremska Kamenica na celu sa doktorom Sretenom Grujicicem.

Ultrafast amplifiers using industrial thin-disk technology from TRUMPF deliver record pulse energies of 200 mJ at 5 kHz. In addition, multipass amplifiers to increase the average power and pulse energy and concepts for nonlinear compression to reach pulse durations below 50 fs will be discussed.

International audience; We study the use of frequency upconversion schemes of near-IR picosecond laser pulses and compare their ability to guide and trigger electric discharges through filamentation in air. Upconversion, such as Second Harmonic Generation, is favorable for triggering electric discharges for given amount of available laser energy, even taking into account the losses inherent to frequency conversion. We focus on the practical question of optimizing the use of energy from a given available laser system and the potential advantage to use frequency conversion schemes.

We present results of an thin-disk based regenerative amplifier. Record high output powers of 1.9 kW at 20 kHz before compression, with good beam quality and a spectrum supporting < 600 fs, could be achieved.

Coherent diffraction imaging (CDI) at wavelengths in the extreme ultraviolet range has become an important tool for nanoscale investigations. Employing laser-driven high harmonic sources allows for lab-scale applications such as cancer cell classification and phase-resolved surface studies in reflection geometry. The excellent beam properties support a spatial resolution below the wavelength, i.e., close to the Abbe limit. Unfortunately, the usually low photon flux of HHG sources limits their applicability. Recent advances in ultrafast fiber laser development cumulated in sources delivering average powers approaching the milliwatt level in the extreme ultraviolet. In comparison, a tabletop soft X-ray laser driven by moderate pump energies was recently employed for CDI featuring excellent temporal coherence and extraordinary high flux allowing for single-shot imaging.

In this contribution, we report about tomographic nanoscale imaging using a laser-produced plasma-based laboratory transmission X-ray microscope (LTXM ) in the water window. The soft X-ray radiation of the LTXM is provided by a high average power laser-produced (1.3 kHz repetition rate, 0.5 ns pulse duration, 140 W average power) plasma source, a multilayer condenser mirror, an objective zone plate, and a back-illuminated CCD camera as a detector. In the second part of the contribution, we will present recent results on holography and coherent diffraction imaging using our high repetition rate X-ray laser. We will discuss advantages of these methods and its potential for nanoscale imaging.

Coherent diffraction imaging (CDI) in the extreme ultraviolet has become an important tool for nanoscale investigations. Laser-driven high harmonic generation (HHG) sources allow for lab scale applications such as cancer cell classification and phase-resolved surface studies. HHG sources exhibit excellent coherence but limited photon flux due poor conversion efficiency. In contrast, table-top soft X-ray lasers (SXRL) feature excellent temporal coherence and extraordinary high flux at limited transverse coherence. Here, the performance of a SXRL pumped at moderate pump energies is evaluated for CDI and compared to a HHG source. For CDI, a lower bound for the required mutual coherence factor of |μ12| ≥ 0.75 is found by comparing a reconstruction with fixed support to a conventional characterization using double slits. A comparison of the captured diffraction signals suggests that SXRLs have the potential for imaging micron scale objects with sub-20 nm resolution in orders of magnitude shorter integration time compared to a conventional HHG source. Here, the low transverse coherence diameter limits the resolution to approximately 180 nm. The extraordinary high photon flux per laser shot, scalability towards higher repetition rate and capability of seeding with a high harmonic source opens a route for higher performance nanoscale imaging systems based on SXRLs.

Near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy in the soft X-ray range is feasible in the laboratory using laser-produced plasma sources. We present a study using seven different target materials for optimized data analysis. The emission spectra of the materials with atomic numbers ranging from Z = 6 to Z = 79 show distinct differences, rendering the adapted selection of a suitable target material for specialized experiments feasible. For NEXAFS spectroscopy a 112.5 nm thick polyimide film is investigated as a reference exemplifying the superiority of quasi-continuum like emission spectra.

In this contribution, we report about nanoscale imaging using a laser produced plasma source based laboratory transmission X-ray microscope (LTXM) in the water window. The highly brilliant soft X-ray radiation of the LTXM is provided by a laser-produced nitrogen plasma source focused by a multilayer condenser mirror to the sample. An objective zone plate maps the magnified image of the sample on the super resolution camera. This camera employs a deep cooled soft-X-ray CCD imaging sensor sandwiched with a xy piezo stage to allow subpixel displacements of the detector. The camera is read out using a very low noise electronics platform, also directing low µm shifts of the sensor between subsequent image acquisitions. Finally an algorithm computes a high resolution image from the individual shifted low-resolution image frames.

Using treated wastewater for agricultural irrigation is a common practice in many water-scarce countries. Apart from the beneficial effects associated with the nutrient load and organic substrates, some negative effects on soil properties, such as increased water repellency or priming effects have been observed. The objective of this study was to determine if negative effects are associated with differences in microbial activity parameters. Soil samples were collected from three sites in Israel (IL) and Palestine (PA): (i) a lysimeter experiment near Lachish (IL) with three soils irrigated with four different water qualities; (ii) a long-term field experiment in a citrus orchard (Batsra, IL) irrigated with fresh water (FW) and treated wastewater (TWW), and (iii) an arable field experiment with also FW and TWW irrigation (Gaza, PA). Samples were collected from 0 to 5 (top-crust) and 5–20 mm (sub-crust) and analyzed for biological and chemical properties. The results show little influence of water quality on the tested parameters. Only total phosphorus content in soils was enhanced due to TWW irrigation at all sites. Soil organic carbon showed a trend to lower contents under TWW irrigation compared to FW irrigation. Microbial biomass showed no significant influences of irrigation water quality while enzyme activities were higher in FW irrigated soils compared to TWW at Gaza. Instead, depth stratification within the top 20 mm was very pronounced at all sites, independent of irrigation water quality. Associated with a 13–34% higher SOC content in the top-crust, microbial biomass, basal respiration and enzyme activities were greatly elevated compared to the underlying sub-crust. At the arable sites (Lachish, Gaza), amino-peptidases dominated in the top-crusts while β-glucosidase activity dominated in the orchard soil (Batsra) independent of irrigation water qualities. These differences are attributed to the occurrence of phototrophic N-fixing organisms (i.e. cyanobacteria, lichens) on the surface of the lysimeter and Gaza soils. Overall, no significant effect of TWW irrigation on the microbial activity within the C-, N-, P-, and S-cycle was observed in this study. Instead, soil crusts formed on light-exposed soil surfaces are characterized by high microbial activity forming a hotspot of fertility which should be protected to maintain soil functionality.

Introduction. Double heart rupture is a rare complication of acute myocardial infarction with high mortality. Case report. We presented a 67-year-old female patient with symptoms and signs of myocardial infarction, diagnosed with echocardiography, rupture of the septum, the presence of a thrombus and a small pericardial effusion. Soon after admission the patient died. Autopsy revealed tamponade and double myocardial rupture, free wall rupture and ventricular septal rupture, as a cause of death. Conclusion. This case highlights the need to evaluate patients with myocardial infarction, recurrent chest pain, echocardiographic signs of effusion and the presence of thrombus in the pericardium in terms of double rupture of the heart.

Background and Aims An increasing number of patients referred for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) have had prior percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We sought to determine whether a relationship exists between increased postoperative mortality and morbidity following CABG procedure in patients with prior PCI. Methods Over an 18-month period, 950 patients having first-time isolated CABG were divided into two groups based on absence (Group A, 819 patients—86.21%) or presence of a prior PCI (Group B, 131 patients—13.79%). Results In the prior PCI population, 74 patients (56.4%) had only one stent, and only 6.8% had multiple admissions for PCI. The overall incidence of three vessel disease in the entire patient population was only 65% and the average ejection fraction was 52%. Multivariate analysis demonstrated age (OR 1.080; 95% CI: 1.020 to 1.145; p = 0.009), left ventricular ejection fraction (OR 0.939; 95% CI: 0.901 to 0.978; p = 0.002), and emergency surgery (OR 0.138; 95% CI: 0.0.045 to 0.424; p = 0.001) as risk factors for 30-day mortality, while age (OR 1.059; 95% CI: 1.016 to 1.104; p = 0.007) and emergency surgery (OR 0.205; 95% CI: 0.078 to 0.537; p = 0.001) predicted major adverse cardiac events (MACE). Prior PCI did not influence mortality or MACE at 30 days. Conclusion In this study involving low risk patients, a PCI prior to CABG did not increase morbidity or mortality. doi: 10.1111/jocs.12141 (J Card Surg 2013;28:353–358)

A regenerative amplifier based on thin-disk technology has been upgraded and optimized. Within a CPA laser system chirped 1 ns pulses are amplified to more than 300 mJ pulse energy. In addition to the high pulse energy the amplifier shows a very good energy stability with 0.25% (rms) fluctuation as well as an excellent beam quality of M(2) = 1.04. The regenerative amplifier is equipped with an Yb:YAG thin-disk of 17 mm in diameter pumped with 1.75 kW peak power. It is operated at a repetition rate of 100 Hz. The optical-to-optical efficiency is better than 18%. The laser pulses are compressed to 1.8 ps pulse duration.

The application of organic soil amendments is a common practice for increasing soil fertility and soil organic carbon (SOC) content. In recent years, a new product from biogas production, biogas slurry is increasingly applied to agricultural soils, although little is known about its effects on soil properties. In this study, the influence of this new product in comparison with liquid manure and sewage sludge on the organic carbon dynamics and enzyme activities were investigated in two different agricultural soils in short-term incubation studies. As a control, biologically inert sand was also amended with these organic wastes. In sand, biogas slurry degraded to 10.4% within 14 days, while no differences were found between the degradability of liquid manure and sewage sludge with 6.6% and 5.4%, respectively. However, although the degradability of biogas slurry was highest among the organic amendments, liquid manure application resulted in the highest respiration rates in the soil samples. This was likely due to the organic waste borne easily decomposable substrates which were most dominant in liquid manure. Organic waste applications were found to generally increase the activity of numerous enzymes but did not change the soil enzyme patterns. Thus, in general it was shown that the microbial population of the organic wastes will not become prominent when introduced with the manures to soils. Thus, an inoculation with organic waste borne microorganisms could likely be neglected when discussing the extent of organic carbon dynamics after organic waste application to agricultural soils.

Background/Aim. The coronary angiography provides information on the anatomical state of the coronary tree, while myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (MPI) facilitates the evaluation of the grade of ischaemia that a particular stenosis produces. The purpose of MPI is to detect the coronary stenosis that provokes the ischaemia and is termed the "culprit lesion". The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of 1-day DypEX 99mTc-tetrofosmin tomography in the identification and localization of culprit lesion in the patients with known coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods. Ninety-one (91) patients with known CAD were studied. In all of them significant coronary narowing (? 75% luminal stenosis) was angiographically detected. All the patients were submitted to 2 iv. injections of 99mTc-tetrofosmin, one in a peak of pharmacologic dipyridamole stress protocol with concomitant low level bicycle exercise 50W (DypEX) and the other 3 h after exercise. Quantification of regional tetrofosmin uptake was performed using short-axis myocardial tomogram that was divided on 17-segments for each study. Reversibility scor (RS) ? 3 determinated culprit lesion. Two of segments with scor 5 (index of reversibility scor - IRS) in the territory of coronary artery stenoses determinated culprit lesion. Results. A total of 273 vascular territories (4641 segments) were analyzed before percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Overall sensivity, specificity, and accuracy using RS ? 3 and IRS were 90.1%, 87.1%, 89.4%, with positive predictive value 95.8%, and 94.1%, 93.3%, 94%, with positive predictive value 98%, respectively. Conclusion. RS and IRS significantly improve sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for determination of culprit lesion in patients undergoing PCI.

In microscopy, where the theoretical resolution limit depends on the wavelength of the probing light, radiation in the soft X-ray regime can be used to analyze samples that cannot be resolved with visible light microscopes. In the case of soft X-ray microscopy in the water-window, the energy range of the radiation lies between the absorption edges of carbon (at 284 eV, 4.36 nm) and oxygen (543 eV, 2.34 nm). As a result, carbon-based structures, such as biological samples, posses a strong absorption, whereas e.g. water is more transparent to this radiation. Microscopy in the water-window, therefore, allows the structural investigation of aqueous samples with resolutions of a few tens of nanometers and a penetration depth of up to 10μm. The development of highly brilliant laser-produced plasma-sources has enabled the transfer of Xray microscopy, that was formerly bound to synchrotron sources, to the laboratory, which opens the access of this method to a broader scientific community. The Laboratory Transmission X-ray Microscope at the Berlin Laboratory for innovative X-ray technologies (BLiX) runs with a laser produced nitrogen plasma that emits radiation in the soft X-ray regime. The mentioned high penetration depth can be exploited to analyze biological samples in their natural state and with several projection angles. The obtained tomogram is the key to a more precise and global analysis of samples originating from various fields of life science.

Nanoscale imaging of biological samples in the lab as well as mask inspection in extreme ultraviolet lithography near the production line with sub 30 nm resolution require high spectral brightness soft x-ray sources. Laser produced plasma (LPP) sources and plasma based X-ray lasers (XRL) emit soft X-ray radiation in the wavelength region of interest between 2 and 20 nm. Whereas LPP sources easily can be tuned to the so called water window (2.2–4.4 nm) the output of an XRL is restricted to relatively few fixed wavelengths in the extreme ultraviolet range. However due to the relatively high degree of coherence the XRL is well suited also for nanoscale imaging using coherent techniques like coherent diffraction imaging or Fourier transform holography.

X-ray laser simulations based on Ehybrid code have shown that enhanced plasma x-ray laser emission can be achieved mastering the ionization dynamics and plasma temperature using one long and two short pulses (Ursescu and Ionel, J Optoelectron Adv Mat 12:48–51, 2010). In parallel, two simple methods to generate multiple short pulses for pumping x-ray lasers were reported in conjunction with x-ray laser developments. Five to ten fold enhancement in the emission of the silver x-ray laser was demonstrated using the newly developed pump methods, when compared with the traditional one, based on a long pulse followed by one short pump pulse. An overview of these recent experiments will be presented. The possible implementation of these novel x-ray laser pumping methods at Extreme Light Infrastructure—Nuclear Physics facility will be discussed.

We report on a CPA system providing two synchronized pulses with more than 500 mJ, each. We also report on a special thin-disk ring amplifier that delivers 1 J pulse energy.

Associating corporate performance and shareholder value creation with growth in earnings (or sales) has been the modus operandi in the investment industry. It has greatly influenced managerial compensation schemes and portfolio decisions. We shed light on the relationship between growth and performance by addressing two broad questions. First, what is the relationship between corporate profitability metrics, such as economic value added, and the company's earnings or sales growth rate? Second, does maximizing corporate profitability necessarily enhance shareholder value (as measured by Jensen's alpha)? Using multivariate analysis, we show that, although the corporate profitability measures generally rise with earnings and sales growth, an optimal point exists beyond which further growth destroys shareholder value and adversely affects profitability.

Introduction Wall stress or wall tension is a conception derived from physics (Laplace's law) and represents the systolic force or work per surface unit. It is the systolic force made by myocardial tissues. Stress increase indicates enlargement of the left ventricle or increase of intracavitary pressure. Material and methods This investigation included 170 subjects; control group consisted of 50 patients (pts) with normal coronary angiographic finding without valvular anomalies and the examination group included 120 pts with coronary disease. Transthoracic echocardiography was performed in the left lateral position using computerized Hewlett Packard Sonos 1000 apparatus. Invasive hemodynamic procedure was performed using General Electrics CGR 300. Meridional and equatorial systolic and diastolic stress were calculated according to Grossman formula. Results The meridional end-diastolic equatorial stress was 18.55(12.12 dyn/cm2 x 10? in the control group, while in coronary patients it was 28.15?13.42 dyn/cm2 x 10?. In healthy persons the meridional end-systolic stress established by echocardiography was 190.37?23.15 dyn/cm2 x 10?, while in coronary patients 203.82?17.88 dyn/cm2 x 10?. End-diastolic equatorial stress was 34.32?17.18 dyn/cm2 x 10? in the control group and 46.13(17.82 dyn/cm2 x 10? in coronary patients. Systolic equatorial stress in the control group was 357.42(32.15 dyn/cm2 x 10? and in coronary patients 385.34(35.72 dyn/cm2 x 10?. The same parameters determined by invasive hemodynamic procedure were slightly higher, but without statistical significance in relation to the values determined by echocardiography (P>0.05). Conclusion Values equatorial and particulary meridional stress were higher in coronary patients in relations to healthy persons, but without significant difference. The correlation coefficients of all investigated parameters established by noninvasive 2D echocardiography and invasive hemodynamic procedure were in one domain of medium high values. meridional stress increases in coronary patients equatorial in hypertensive patients or valvular anomalies with severe myocardial hypertrophy. In regard to high correlation between these two techniques, echocardiography may be considered a highly reliable method in evaluation of wall tension.

Background/Aim. In our Intensive Coronary Care Unit (CCU) a specific scoring system named the AMIS_NS was developed both for prediction of mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction and for evaluation of the quality of work. One of the most important variables of the AMIS_NS system is the variable Jung which stands for the interrelationship unified mortality predictors. The variable includes all the values of systolic blood pressure, heart rate and age, without limiting values for any of these. The cutoff value is 2.08. The patients with the lower variable value account for a significantly higher mortality. Data on the actual infarction are not necessitated now for this variable. The aim of this study was to assess the significance of the variable Jung in non-infarction patients with acute pulmonary edema. Methods. In a 24-month period out of 2,223 patients there were 1,087 and 1,136 patients with and without acute myocardial infarction, respectively. There was the subgroup without myocardial infarction of 312 (84.1%) patients admitted with the diagnosis of pulmonary edema. The subgroup with myocardial infarction consisted of 59 (15.9%) patients who were admitted for acute myocardial infarction and pulmonary edema which developed immediately after admission or during hospitalization in the CCU. For all the patients a uniform questionnaire was fulfilled on admission. Data were put into the personal computer. The variable “Jung” was used: (systolic bloog pressure/heart rate × age) × 100. Results. Regarding sex, there was no difference in mortality, so that males and females were regarded as a whole. Previous myocardial infarction was equally registered in both groups. The investigated persons had less percent of mortality and a significantly higher systemic pressure as well as higher value of the variable Jung. There was no statistically significant difference in the heart rate between the two groups. In both groups of deceased patients the variable Jung (1.5 vs 1.6) was significantly lower in respect to the survived patients (2.3 vs 2.1). Conclusion. The variable Jung is simple, highly reliable and can absolutely be used as a significant indicator of clinical status also in noninfarction patients with the acute pulmonary edema, no matter if it is caused by acute myocardial infarction or not.

Introduction. Miopericarditis with clinical presentation of chest pain, electrocardiographic changes and positive cardio specific enzymes is often a differential diagnostic dilemma in relation to acute myocardial infarction. Literature data are very scarce and only case reports or small series of patients can be found in the literature so each case is a significant contribution to this issue. Case report. A 19-year-old patient was admitted to the intensive care unit, with chest pain, electrocardiographic signs of suspected myocardial lesion and highly positive cardio specific enzymes. Since echocardiography revealed segmental hypocinesia of the left ventricle, urgent coronary angiography was done, which diagnosed normal luminogram of coronary arteries. Having received the adequate therapy, the patient was subjectively asymptomatic, hemodynamically stable, sub-febrile at the beginning of hospitalization. Two weeks after admission, the patient was discharged in good condition with diagnosis of myopericarditis. Conclusion. This case shows that it is sometimes difficult to differentiate acute miopericarditis from acute myocardial infarction only according to anamnesis, clinical, electrocardiographic sings and echocardiography.

Background. The most important predictors of subsequent patients outcome after acute myocardial infarction (AIM) are infarct size, left ventricular ejection fraction, left ventricular volumes and presence and extent of residual myocardial ischemia. All of these variables can be directly determined through scintigraphic approaches. The presence and extent of myocardial ischemia are strong predictors for fatal and nonfatal cardiac events and improve risk statification beyond the information gleaned from clinical variables. Case report. We presented a case of 66-years-old male with myocardial infarction of anteroseptal localization. Myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) detected a large zone of residual ischemia (culprit lesion) within infarction zone. It has an important role in risk stratification after myocardial infarction, and indicates subsequent therapeutic decision making, in this case rescue percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). After PCI we followed the therapy effect by MPI, and we found practically normal perfusion with minimal zone of defect perfusion in the apex. Conclusion. Myocardial perfusion imaging has an important role in the initial evaluation and risk stratification of patients surviving myocardial infarction. It also plays a major role in guiding subsequent therapeutic decision making, and in monitoring the benefits of these therapeutic measures.

An increasing number of patients referred for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) have had prior percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We sought to determine whether a relationship exists between increased postoperative mortality and morbidity following CABG procedure in patients with prior PCI.Over an 18-month period, 950 patients having first-time isolated CABG were divided into two groups based on absence (Group A, 819 patients--86.21%) or presence of a prior PCI (Group B, 131 patients--13.79%).In the prior PCI population, 74 patients (56.4%) had only one stent, and only 6.8% had multiple admissions for PCI. The overall incidence of three vessel disease in the entire patient population was only 65% and the average ejection fraction was 52%. Multivariate analysis demonstrated age (OR 1.080; 95% CI: 1.020 to 1.145; p = 0.009), left ventricular ejection fraction (OR 0.939; 95% CI: 0.901 to 0.978; p = 0.002), and emergency surgery (OR 0.138; 95% CI: 0.0.045 to 0.424; p = 0.001) as risk factors for 30-day mortality, while age (OR 1.059; 95% CI: 1.016 to 1.104; p = 0.007) and emergency surgery (OR 0.205; 95% CI: 0.078 to 0.537; p = 0.001) predicted major adverse cardiac events (MACE). Prior PCI did not influence mortality or MACE at 30 days.In this study involving low risk patients, a PCI prior to CABG did not increase morbidity or mortality.

A CPA laser system for high pulse energy at high average power has been developed. The system is based on Yb:YAG thin-disk technology. It provides two laser beams with more than 500 mJ pulse energy each at 100 Hz repetition rate and 2 ps pulse duration. The system consists of a common oscillator, a grating stretcher and compressor and two identical amplifier chains that are both equipped with a regenerative amplifier and a ring amplifier. The compressor supports an individual alignment of the dispersion for the two laser channels.

Myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) was developed in the 1970s and has been used increasingly in clinical cardiology since the 1980s (Underwood et al., 2004). Technical developments that have fuelled this recent increases are single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging, pharmacological stress and ECG-gated SPECT imaging. MPI comprises the only widely available method of assessing myocardial perfusion directly and many previously published reports support its evidence in the diagnosis of myocardial ischemia and necrosis. Moreover, the prognostic value of this method for patients’ risk stratification has already been extensively reported, with an incremental prognostic value after clinical assessment, exercise electrocardiography and even above coronary angiography. Thus, MPI is an established imaging technique that is already an integral part of the management of coronary artery disease (CAD) (diagnosis, prognostication, selection for revascularization and assessment of acute coronary syndromes) and is included in a number of professional guidelines. (1, 2) In the past two decades, a great body of literature has established the use of nuclear imaging for risk stratification in patients with known or suspected CAD. Risk stratification is of crucial importance for the practice of contemporary medicine. Extending the paradigm of noninvasive cardiac testing beyond the detection of disease is especially important, may risk assessment permits patients who are identified as being at a high risk for subsequent cardiac events should receive aggressive management, possibly including cardiac catheterization for potential revascularization procedures that may improve their outcome. Conversely, the management focus in patients with low future event rate should be shifted toward risk factor modification and aggressive medical therapy, reserving invasive procedures for

Financial market spillovers around the globeThis paper investigates the transmission of return and volatility spillovers around the globe. It draws on index futures of three representative indices, namely the Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50, the S&P 500 and the Nikkei 225. Devolatised returns and realised volatilities are modeled separately using a structural vector autoregressive model, thereby accounting for the particular sequential time structure of the trading venues. Within this framework, we test hypotheses in the spirit of Granger causality tests, investigate the short-run dynamics in the three markets using impulse response functions, and identify leadership effects through variance decomposition. Our key results are as follows. We find weak and shortlived return spillovers, in particular from the USA to Japan. Volatility spillovers are more pronounced and persistent. The information from the home market is most important for both returns and volatilities; the contribution from foreign markets is less pronounced in the case of returns than in the case of volatility. Possible gains in terms of forecasting precision when applying our modelling strategy are illustrated by a forecast evaluation.

Thin disk technology has the potential for providing laser pulses with high pulse energy and high repetition rate. Large laser projects like ELI or HiPER benefit from this technology as well as stand alone systems like e.g. laser driven x-ray sources

This prospective, open-label multicenter study was conducted to assess the pharmacokinetics of Biolimus A9 after elution from BioMatrix II coronary stents. Recent clinical trials have demonstrated the efficacy and safety of Biolimus A9 eluted from different stent platforms. To date, the pharmacokinetics of Biolimus A9 in patients following the deployment of BioMatrix II stents has not yet been studiedBioMatrix II stents were implanted into 27 patients with coronary artery disease. The primary endpoints of the study were the systemic concentrations of Biolimus A9 after 28 days and 6 months as measured using a sensitive validated liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry assay.The highest measured blood concentration at any time point was 394 pg/mL. At 28 days and 6 months following stent placement, 51.8 and 100% of patients, respectively, had Biolimus A9 concentrations10 pg/mL. After 9 months, 100% of the patients were free of major cardiac adverse events (MACE). There was no Biolimus A9 toxicity, no cardiac or non-cardiac deaths, no myocardial infarctions, nor target vessel or target lesion revascularizations during the 9 months of follow-up. No case of acute, subacute, or late stent thrombosis was detected.Compared to other drug-eluting stents, such as Cypher, BioMatrix II results in relatively low systemic exposure, which may be explained by the ablominal coating of the Biomatrix II stent in combination with Biolimus A9's high lipophilicity.