Volatile organic compounds in rural atmospheres of central Portugal.

Atmospheric concentrations of volatile organic compounds were measured at two rural sites in central Portugal. The sites were chosen to be in line with the summer northwesterly sea breezes in order to study the evolution of the chemical composition of air masses during transport to inland areas. The most abundant non-oxygenated hydrocarbon in the ambient air was isoprene and the monoterpenes alpha-pinene, beta-pinene and 1,8 cineol.

Catheter-based autologous bone marrow myocardial injection in no-option patients with advanced coronary artery disease: a feasibility study.

Objectives: We conducted a pilot study to evaluate the feasibility of transendocardial delivery of autologous bone marrow (ABM) strategy in patients with severe symptomatic chronic myocardial ischemia not amenable to conventional revascularization.

Background: Transendocardial injection of ABM cells appears to enhance perfusion of ischemic porcine myocardium.

Methods: Ten patients underwent transendocardial injection of freshly aspirated and filtered unfractionated ABM using left ventricular electromechanical guidance.

[Occupational accidents treated in an emergency room].

In Brazil, work-related injuries are only reported to the National Social Security data system. Therefore, records are limited to formally hired workers, who represent less than half of the active work force. In this cross-sectional study, cases of work-related injuries were identified and interviewed in an emergency room in the city of Salvador, capital of Bahia State, Brazil, to estimate their frequency and characteristics.

Prognostic value of normal exercise and adenosine (99m)Tc-tetrofosmin SPECT imaging: results from the multicenter registry of 4,728 patients.

Unlabelled: Event rates associated with a normal or low-risk myocardial perfusion SPECT imaging study have been shown by numerous investigators to be associated with <1%/y of follow-up. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of a normal (99m)Tc-tetrofosmin study in a geographically diverse registry of patients undergoing stress myocardial perfusion SPECT. A total of 4,728 consecutively tested patients who underwent stress (99m)Tc-tetrofosmin SPECT at 5 U.

Radiation induced valvulitis with late leaflet rupture.

Various cardiac sequelae of mediastinal irradiation have been reported, from pericarditis to conduction defects. Despite the potentially fatal nature of some of these abnormalities, many may present with few or no symptoms. In this case report, the patient, who had received 4000 rads to the mediastinum 24 years previously, presented with worsening shortness of breath and two episodes of lightheadedness.

Nuclear cardiology update.

This article focuses on the following areas of myocardial perfusion imaging: radiotracer and protocol options, pharmacologic stress agents, and protocols and functional assessment with ECG-gated single photon emission CT.

Early patency of the infarct-related artery after myocardial infarction preserves diastolic filling.

A patent infarct-related artery (IRA) following myocardial infarction has been associated with lower mortality, increased systolic function, decreased left ventricular remodeling, and electrical stability. The purpose of this study was to determine whether coronary artery patency early after myocardial infarction is associated with greater early diastolic filling than a closed artery. Radionuclide ventriculograms were performed at a central laboratory on 167 patients who received alteplase for an acute myocardial infarction and had infarct artery patency determined by cardiac catheterization.

Current status of radionuclide tracer imaging of thrombi and atheroma.

The imaging of thrombi and atherosclerotic plaques has great potential for decision making in the management of patients with all types of disease within the circulatory system. This importance is owing to the developments showing that areas of moderate stenosis with underlying atheroma are physiologically reactive and capable of causing reversible clinical symptoms that can progress to irreversible end-organ damage if not effectively treated. Identifying and quantifying areas of smaller vulnerable plaque and areas of acute thrombosis will assist in identification of patients at risk and help determine when and how to treat these patients.

The additive values of left ventricular function and extent of myocardium at risk to dipyridamole perfusion imaging for optimal risk stratification prior to vascular surgery.

Although the increased risk of cardiac complications in surgical patients with diminished left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is well-established, this method has been supplanted in recent years by assessment of ischaemic burden using myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). This study was conducted to determine if MPI and LVEF determination provide complementary or redundant information in preoperative evaluation of vascular surgery patients. A total of 101 patients were studied with dipyridamole MPI and radionuclide ventriculography before surgery.