Agreement between SPECT V/Q scan and CT angiography in patients with high clinical suspicion of PE.

Objective: To track agreement between single positron emission computed tomography (SPECT) V/Q and CT angiography in patients with high clinical suspicion of pulmonary embolism (PE). If significant agreement occurs, a case could be made for more frequent use of chest radiography followed by SPECT V/Q scanning given its lower risk profile.

Introduction: Diagnosis of PE can be difficult.

Quantitative assessments of residual stress fields at the surface of alumina hip joints.

In-depth and in-plane response functions of photo- and electro-stimulated probes have been modeled and quantitatively evaluated in order to assess their suitability to detect the highly graded residual stress fields generated at the surface of alumina hip joints. Optical calibrations revealed large differences in probe size, which strongly affected the detected magnitude of residual stress. A comparison between the responses of Raman and fluorescence probes in polycrystalline alumina showed that the depth of those probes spread to an extent in the order of the tens of microns even with using a confocal probe configuration.

On the role of oxygen vacancies and lattice strain in the tetragonal to monoclinic transformation in alumina/zirconia composites and improved environmental stability.

The aim of this paper is to clarify at the nanometer scale the relevant factors influencing the hydrothermal resistance to polymorphic transformation of alumina/zirconia composites, primary candidates for artificial joint applications. The topographic distribution of oxygen vacancies and lattice strain on the composite surface were visualized by means of cathodoluminescence spectroscopy and mapped as a function of exposure time in a thermally activated water vapor environment (i.e.

Non-typhoid Salmonellae and prosthetic valve endocarditis: more than a rare coincidence? A review of the literature.

Non-typhoid Salmonellae (NTS) commonly cause gastroenteritis but are rarely found pathogens in prosthetic heart valve endocarditis. The details of two patients from the authors' institution and 15 published cases are reviewed in terms of their risk factors, clinical findings and outcomes. Only two of eight patients with paravalvular leakage or abscess--the most serious local complications--survived, both with surgery.

A postoperative Gerbode defect in aortic prosthesis endocarditis with non-typhoid Salmonella.

The Gerbode defect is a congenital shunt from the left ventricle to the right atrium. The type I defect (2) results in a direct shunt through a portion of the membranous septum, while a type II (indirect) defect occurs if the membranous septal defect lies below the attachment of the septal leaflet of the tricuspid valve. The shunt is directed towards the right atrium through a cleft or perforations of the septal leaflet.