Age- and sex-related features of atherosclerosis from coronary computed tomography angiography in patients prior to acute coronary syndrome: results from the ICONIC study.

Aims: Although there is increasing evidence supporting coronary atherosclerosis evaluation by coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA), no data are available on age and sex differences for quantitative plaque features. The aim of this study was to investigate sex and age differences in both qualitative and quantitative atherosclerotic features from CCTA prior to acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

Methods And Results: Within the ICONIC study, in which 234 patients with subsequent ACS were propensity matched 1:1 with 234 non-event controls, our current subanalysis included only the ACS cases.

A Boosted Ensemble Algorithm for Determination of Plaque Stability in High-Risk Patients on Coronary CTA.

Objectives: This study sought to identify culprit lesion (CL) precursors among acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients based on qualitative and quantitative computed tomography-based plaque characteristics.

Background: Coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) has been validated for patient-level prediction of ACS. However, the applicability of coronary CTA to CL assessment is not known.

Association of High-Density Calcified 1K Plaque With Risk of Acute Coronary Syndrome.

Importance: Plaque morphologic measures on coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) have been associated with future acute coronary syndrome (ACS). However, the evolution of calcified coronary plaques by noninvasive imaging is not known.

Objective: To ascertain whether the increasing density in calcified coronary plaque is associated with risk for ACS.

Coronary Atherosclerotic Precursors of Acute Coronary Syndromes.

Background: The association of atherosclerotic features with first acute coronary syndromes (ACS) has not accounted for plaque burden.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify atherosclerotic features associated with precursors of ACS.

Methods: We performed a nested case-control study within a cohort of 25,251 patients undergoing coronary computed tomographic angiography (CTA) with follow-up over 3.

The influence of left renal vein entrapment on outcome after surgical varicocele repair: a color Doppler sonographic demonstration.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of left renal vein entrapment on outcome after surgical varicocele repair using color Doppler sonography.

Methods: Eighty-four men had varicoceles on color Doppler sonography (2 right sided, 74 left sided, and 8 bilateral), which were diagnosed on the basis of a venous diameter of 3 mm or greater and venous retrograde flow in the pampiniform plexus of veins during the Valsalva maneuver or when changing from a supine to an upright position. Diagnosis of the left renal vein entrapment was based on the following criteria: antero-posterior diameter of greater than 1 cm and peak velocity of less than 15 cm/s for the left renal vein at the mid portion and anteroposterior diameter of less than 0.

Isoform-specific quantification of metallothionein in the terrestrial gastropod Helix pomatia. II. A differential biomarker approach under laboratory and field conditions.

The two function-specific metallothionein (MT) isoforms characterized from the midgut gland and mantle tissue of Helix pomatia differ substantially in their metal-binding preferences, as well as molecular and biochemical features. These differences make them potential candidates for biomarker studies based on a differential, isoform-specific approach. To prove this hypothesis, induction experiments with two metals (Cd and Cu) that are normally bound by the two isoforms were compared with a range of organic chemicals and physical stressors under laboratory conditions to test the responsiveness of the two isoforms to the stressors applied.