Prediction models for different plaque morphology in non-significantly stenosed regions of saphenous vein grafts assessed with optical coherence tomography

Introduction: Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is a method of choice in treatment of diffuse coronary artery disease (CAD), although it has some limitations such as late saphenous vein graft (SVG) patency loss, which occurs in one fifth of all conduits at 5 years. Since atherosclerosis in SVG has diffuse characteristics, it appears that significantly and non-significantly stenosed lesions may have an equal impact on worse prognosis. Aim: To assess non-significant lesions of SVG by the use of optical coherence tomography (OCT) and investigate the clinical and laboratory findings with the potential impact on plaque composition. Material and methods: Twenty-nine patients with 43 non-significant lesions were enrolled in the study. All variables were assessed using uni- and multivariable logistic regression analysis with each plaque morphology as a dependent variable. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were computed. Results: Plaque rupture (PRT) was independently associated with age (OR = 1.49, 95% CI: 1.09–2.04, p = 0.015) and lower rates of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) cholesterol (OR = 0.67, 95% CI: 0.49–0.92, p = 0.016). Intimal tearing or rupture (ITR) was related to reduced GFR (OR = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.38–0.72, p = 0.0004). Lipid-rich plaque (LRP) was associated with raised platelet count (PLT) (OR = 1.51, 95% CI: 1.16–1.96, p = 0.004) and increased frequency of smoking (OR = 1.45, 95% CI: 1.12–1.89, p = 0.007). Conclusions: Atherosclerosis of SVG is not restricted to significantly stenosed lesions. Plaque composition is independently associated with different types of clinical and laboratory findings, mostly recognized as risk factors of CAD

Reddening and Extinction Toward the Galactic Bulge from OGLE-III: The Inner Milky Way's Rv ~ 2.5 Extinction Curve

We combine VI photometry from OGLE-III with VVV and 2MASS measurements of E(J-K_{s}) to resolve the longstanding problem of the non-standard optical extinction toward the Galactic bulge. We show that the extinction is well-fit by the relation A_{I} = 0.7465*E(V-I) + 1.3700*E(J-K_{s}), or, equivalently, A_{I} = 1.217*E(V-I)(1+1.126*(E(J-K_{s})/E(V-I)-0.3433)). The optical and near-IR reddening law toward the inner Galaxy approximately follows an R_{V} \approx 2.5 extinction curve with a dispersion {\sigma}_{R_{V}} \approx 0.2, consistent with extragalactic investigations of the hosts of type Ia SNe. Differential reddening is shown to be significant on scales as small as as our mean field size of 6', with the 1{\sigma} dispersion in reddening averaging 9% of total reddening for our fields. The intrinsic luminosity parameters of the Galactic bulge red clump (RC) are derived to be (M_{I,RC}, \sigma_{I,RC,0}, (V-I)_{RC,0}, \sigma_{(V-I)_{RC}}, (J-K_{s})_{RC,0}) = (-0.12, 0.09, 1.06, 0.121, 0.66). Our measurements of the RC brightness, brightness dispersion and number counts allow us to estimate several Galactic bulge structural parameters. We estimate a distance to the Galactic center of 8.20 kpc, resolving previous discrepancies in distance determinations to the bulge based on I-band observations. We measure an upper bound on the tilt {\alpha} \approx 40{\deg}. between the bar's major axis and the Sun-Galactic center line of sight, though our brightness peaks are consistent with predictions of an N-body model oriented at {\alpha} \approx 25{\deg}. The number of RC stars suggests a total stellar mass for the Galactic bulge of 2.0*10^{10} M_{\odot}, if one assumes a Salpeter IMF.Comment: 61 Pages, 21 Figures, 4 Tables, Submitted to The Astrophysical Journal and modified as per a referee report. Includes reddening, reddening law, differential reddening, mean distance, dispersion in distance, surface density of stars and errors thereof for ~9,000 bulge sightlines. For a brief video explaining the key result of this paper, see http://www.youtube.com/user/OSUAstronom

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Księga poświęcona Profesorowi Hieronimowi Kubiakowi w 75. rocznicę urodzin. Tom ofiarowany przez przyjaciół i uczniów

Handheld Capillary Blood Lactate Analyzer as an Accessible and Cost-Effective Prognostic Tool for the Assessment of Death and Heart Failure Occurrence during Long-Term Follow-Up

Impact of tissue lactate accumulation on prognosis after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is biased. The study aimed to assess the prognostic role of lactate concentration (LC) in patients with AMI during one year of follow-up. 145 consecutive patients admitted due to AMI were enrolled. The data on the frequency of endpoint occurrence (defined as I, death; II, heart failure (HF); and III, recurrent myocardial infarction (re-MI)) were collected. The patients were divided into group A (LC below the cut-off value) and group B (LC above the cut-off value) for the endpoints according to receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The cumulative survival rate was 99% in group I-A and 85% in group I-B (p = 0.0004, log-rank test). The HF-free survival rate was 95% in group II-A and 82% in group II-B (p = 0.0095, log-rank test). The re-MI-free survival rate did not differ between groups. A multivariate Cox analysis showed a statistically significant influence of LC on death [Hazard Ratio (HR): 1.41, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) (1.13–1.76), and p = 0.002] and HF [HR: 1.21, 95% CI (1.05–1.4), and p = 0.007] with no impact on re-MI occurrence. LC in capillary blood may be considered a useful prognostic marker of late-onset heart failure and death after AMI

The Impact of Beta Blockers on Survival in Heart Transplant Recipients: Insights from the Zabrze HTx Registry

Introduction. The data assessing the impact of beta blocker (BB) medication on survival in patients after heart transplantation (HTx) are scarce and unequivocal; therefore, we investigated this population. Methods. We retrospectively analyzed the HTx Zabrze Registry of 380 consecutive patients who survived the 30-day postoperative period. Results. The percentage of patients from the entire cohort taking BBs was as follows: atenolol 24 (17%), bisoprolol 67 (49%), carvedilol 11 (8%), metoprolol 28 (20%), and nebivolol 8 (6%). The patients receiving BBs were older (56.94 ± 14.68 years vs. 52.70 ± 15.35 years, p=0.008) and experienced an onset of HTx earlier in years (11.65 ± 7.04 vs. 7.24 ± 5.78 p≤0.001). They also had higher hematocrit (0.40 ± 0.05 vs. 0.39 ± 0.05, p=0.022) and red blood cells (4.63 (106/μl) ± 0.71 vs. 4.45 (106/μl) ± 0.68, p=0.015). Survival according to BB medication did not differ among the groups (p=0.655) (log-rank test). Univariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis revealed that the following parameters were associated with unfavorable diagnosis: serum concentration of albumin (g/l) HR: 0.87, 95% CI (0.81–0.94), p=0.0004; fibrinogen (mg/dl) HR: 1.006, 95% CI (1.002–1.008), p=0.0017; and C-reactive protein (mg/l) HR: 1.014, 95% CI (1.004–1.023), p=0.0044. Conclusions. The use of BBs in our cohort of patients after HTx was not associated with survival benefits

The X-shaped Milky Way bulge in OGLE-III photometry and in N-body models

International audienceWe model the split red clump of the Galactic bulge in OGLE-III photometry, and compare the results to predictions from two N-body models. Our analysis yields precise maps of the brightness of the two red clumps, the fraction of stars in the more distant peak, and their combined surface density. We compare the observations to predictions from two N-body models previously used in the literature. Both models correctly predict several features as long as one assumes an angle alpha(Bar) approximate to 30 degrees between the Galactic bar's major axis and the line of sight to the Galactic Centre. In particular that the fraction of stars in the faint red clump should decrease with increasing longitude. The biggest discrepancies between models and data are in the rate of decline of the combined surface density of red clump stars towards negative longitudes and of the brightness difference between the two red clumps towards positive longitudes, with neither discrepancy exceeding similar to 25 per cent in amplitude. Our analysis of the red giant luminosity function also yields an estimate of the red giant branch bump parameters towards these high-latitude fields, and evidence for a high rate (similar to 25 per cent) of disc contamination in the bulge at the colour and magnitude of the red clump, with the disc contamination rate increasing towards ightlines further distant from the plane