Outcomes of catheter ablation in cardiac sarcoidosis patients with ventricular tachycardia: a propensity score-matched retrospective analysis.

Background: Ventricular tachycardia (VT) in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) can lead to sudden cardiac death. The role of ventricular tachycardia ablation (VTA) in CS has been investigated in a few small, single-center, and larger observational studies, but the evidence still needs to be provided. This study aimed to investigate the clinical outcomes of VTA in patients with CS admitted with a diagnosis of VT.

Altered microbiome signature in Cushing's syndrome persists beyond remission. A longitudinal and cross-sectional analysis.

Introduction: Patients with Cushing's syndrome (CS) suffer from metabolic and cardio-vascular comorbidities caused by hypercortisolism. The human gut microbiome responds to different pathological conditions. Aim of our study was to analyze the impact of chronic endogenous cortisol excess on the gut microbiome.

Rapid volcanic ash entombment reveals the 3D anatomy of Cambrian trilobites.

Knowledge of Cambrian animal anatomy is limited by preservational processes that result in compaction, size bias, and incompleteness. We documented pristine three-dimensional (3D) anatomy of trilobites fossilized through rapid ash burial from a pyroclastic flow entering a shallow marine environment. Cambrian ellipsocephaloid trilobites from Morocco are articulated and undistorted, revealing exquisite details of the appendages and digestive system.

Transient fertilization of a post-Sturtian Snowball ocean margin with dissolved phosphate by clay minerals.

Marine sedimentary rocks deposited across the Neoproterozoic Cryogenian Snowball interval, ~720-635 million years ago, suggest that post-Snowball fertilization of shallow continental margin seawater with phosphorus accelerated marine primary productivity, ocean-atmosphere oxygenation, and ultimately the rise of animals. However, the mechanisms that sourced and delivered bioavailable phosphate from land to the ocean are not fully understood. Here we demonstrate a causal relationship between clay mineral production by the melting Sturtian Snowball ice sheets and a short-lived increase in seawater phosphate bioavailability by at least 20-fold and oxygenation of an immediate post-Sturtian Snowball ocean margin.

Health literacy in patients with pulmonary embolism: development and validation of the HeLP (Health Literacy in Pulmonary Embolism)-Questionnaire.

Background: Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a common cardiovascular disease and health literacy is necessary to deal with its consequences after the acute event. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a new questionnaire to measure PE-specific health literacy.

Methods: A mixed-methods design with qualitative and quantitative elements was used in the development process.