The total right/left-volume index: a new and simplified cardiac magnetic resonance measure to evaluate the severity of Ebstein anomaly of the tricuspid valve: a comparison with heart failure markers from various modalities.

Background: The classification of clinical severity of Ebstein anomaly still remains a challenge. The aim of this study was to focus on the interaction of the pathologically altered right heart with the anatomically-supposedly-normal left heart and to derive from cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) a simple imaging measure for the clinical severity of Ebstein anomaly.

Methods And Results: Twenty-five patients at a mean age of 26±14 years with unrepaired Ebstein anomaly were examined in a prospective study.

Investigations of the water clusters of the protected amino acid Ac-Phe-OMe by applying IR/UV double resonance spectroscopy: microsolvation of the backbone.

In order to investigate the influence of hydration on the backbone of a peptide or protected amino acid, the successive aggregation of water to Ac-Phe-OMe is analysed by means of IR/UV double resonance spectroscopy. To achieve meaningful results the spectra have been recorded in the region of the amide A and OH stretching vibrations as well as the amide I/II modes. Comparison with ab initio and DFT calculations leads to size-selective structural assignments.

Intrathoracic impedance monitoring to detect chronic heart failure deterioration: relationship to changes in NT-proBNP.

Background: An alert algorithm, based on intrathoracic impedance monitoring, has been incorporated into a cardiac resynchronisation device (CRT) to detect pulmonary fluid accumulation, and to audibly alert patients to decompensating chronic heart failure (CHF).

Aims: To evaluate this algorithm, alert events were correlated with changes in NT-proBNP concentration and CHF status.

Methods And Results: In a prospective observational study of 62 patients (89% male, aged 67+/-1 year), NT-proBNP plasma concentrations, clinical CHF status, and device data were collected at enrolment, during regular follow-up and at device alerts.

Structures and rearrangement reactions of 4-aminophenol(H2O)1+ and 3-aminophenol(H2O)1+ clusters.

In this paper the structures of 4-aminophenol(H2O)1+ and 3-aminophenol(H2O)1+ clusters are investigated in molecular beam experiments by different IR/UV-double resonance techniques as well as the mass analyzed threshold ionization spectroscopy yielding both inter- and intramolecular vibrations of the ionic and neutral species. Possible structures are extensively calculated at the level of density functional theory (DFT) or at the ab initio level of theory. From the experimental and theoretical investigations it can be concluded that in the case of 4-aminophenol(H2O)1 one O-H.