Consensus guidelines for the use and interpretation of angiogenesis assays

The formation of new blood vessels, or angiogenesis, is a complex process that plays important roles in growth and development, tissue and organ regeneration, as well as numerous pathological conditions. Angiogenesis undergoes multiple discrete steps that can be individually evaluated and quantified by a large number of bioassays. These independent assessments hold advantages but also have limitations. This article describes in vivo, ex vivo, and in vitro bioassays that are available for the evaluation of angiogenesis and highlights critical aspects that are relevant for their execution and proper interpretation. As such, this collaborative work is the first edition of consensus guidelines on angiogenesis bioassays to serve for current and future reference

Coronary microvascular disease

Abnormalities in the function and structure of the coronary microcirculation can occur in the absence of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). In clinical practice, a significant proportion of patients with chest pain do not have obstructive CAD, and approximately 30–50% of these patients are believed to have coronary microvascular disease (CMD). CMD is typically defined as an inadequate increase in coronary blood flow during stress due to impaired vasodilatation of the arterioles or increased resistance in the coronary microvasculature. The diagnosis of CMD involves the assessment of microvascular function, which is determined by coronary flow reserve (CFR) and/or myocardial perfusion reserve (MPR). The causes and pathophysiology of CMD are not well understood, and thus its treatment mainly consists of the more established treatment strategies of CAD

X-ray free-electron lasers

With intensities 10(8)-10(10) times greater than other laboratory sources, X-ray free-electron lasers are currently opening up new frontiers across many areas of science. In this Review we describe how these unconventional lasers work, discuss the range of new sources being developed worldwide, and consider how such X-ray sources may develop over the coming years