Endovascular Transvenous versus Open Femoropopliteal Bypass.

: Lower extremity arterial disease is one of the most prevalent manifestations of atherosclerosis. The results from numerous studies regarding the best revascularization method of an occluded superficial femoral artery have been conflicting. The aim of this study was to compare the patency of transvenous endovascular with open femoropopliteal bypass, both with vein and prosthetic grafts.

Ischemia-Guided Coronary Revascularization Following Lower-Extremity Revascularization Improves 5-Year Survival of Patients With Chronic Limb-Threatening Ischemia.

Purpose: To determine whether diagnosis of asymptomatic (silent) coronary ischemia using coronary computed tomography (CT)-derived fractional flow reserve (FFR) together with targeted coronary revascularization of ischemia-producing coronary lesions following lower-extremity revascularization can reduce adverse cardiac events and improve long-term survival of patients with chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI).

Materials And Methods: Prospective cohort study of CLTI patients with no cardiac history or symptoms undergoing elective lower-extremity revascularization. Patients with pre-operative coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) and FFR evaluation with selective post-operative coronary revascularization (FFR group) were compared with patients with standard pre-operative evaluation and no post-operative coronary revascularization (control group).

What Is the Added Value of Carotid CEUS in the Characterization of Atherosclerotic Plaque?

: Unstable atherosclerotic plaque in the arteries is one of the main risk factors for cerebral ischemia. Duplex ultrasound is a frequently used diagnostic method, but it has some limitations for microvascularization and neovascularization evaluation. The aim of this review was to evaluate the role of the new multiparametric US method-contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS)-in atherosclerotic plaque instability verification.

Diagnosis and treatment of ischemia-producing coronary stenoses improves 5-year survival of patients undergoing major vascular surgery.

Objective: Patients undergoing vascular surgery procedures have poor long-term survival due to coexisting coronary artery disease (CAD), which is often asymptomatic, undiagnosed, and undertreated. We sought to determine whether preoperative diagnosis of asymptomatic (silent) coronary ischemia using coronary computed tomography (CT)-derived fractional flow reserve (FFR) together with postoperative ischemia-targeted coronary revascularization can reduce adverse cardiac events and improve long-term survival following major vascular surgery METHODS: In this observational cohort study of 522 patients with no known CAD undergoing elective carotid, peripheral, or aneurysm surgery we compared two groups of patients. Group I included 288 patients enrolled in a prospective Institutional Review Board-approved study of preoperative coronary CT angiography (CTA) and FFR testing to detect silent coronary ischemia with selective postoperative coronary revascularization in addition to best medical therapy (BMT) (FFR guided), and Group II included 234 matched controls with standard preoperative cardiac evaluation and postoperative BMT alone with no elective coronary revascularization (Usual Care).

Three-Year Patency Results following Endovascular Transvenous Femoropopliteal Bypass.

: Peripheral artery disease is one of the most common vascular pathologies. There is an ongoing debate among specialists on whether open or endovascular revascularization is preferred in cases of complex superficial femoral artery (SFA) lesions. The purpose of this study was to assess patency results of a relatively new transvenous endovascular bypass device.

Long term clinical and functional venous outcomes after endovascular transvenous femoro-popliteal bypass.

Background: Peripheral artery disease is widespread in Western societies affecting around 13% of the population above 50 years of age. Despite recent improvements of endovascular treatment, open surgical bypass is still recommended as the treatment of choice for long segment TASC D lesions. The DETOUR procedure was introduced as an endovascular alternative in cases of long-segment superficial femoral artery occlusion.

GISS-E2.1: Configurations and Climatology.

This paper describes the GISS-E2.1 contribution to the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, Phase 6 (CMIP6). This model version differs from the predecessor model (GISS-E2) chiefly due to parameterization improvements to the atmospheric and ocean model components, while keeping atmospheric resolution the same.

Retrieval of volcanic and man-made stratospheric aerosols from orbital polarimetric measurements.

Stratospheric aerosols that are caused by a major volcanic eruption can serve as a valuable test of global climate models, as well as severely complicate tropospheric-aerosol monitoring from space. In either case, it is highly desirable to have accurate global information on the optical thickness, size, and composition of volcanic aerosols. We report sensitivity study results, which reveal the implications of making precise multi-angle photopolarimetric measurements in a 1.

Reducing Multi-sensor Monthly Mean Aerosol Optical Depth Uncertainty Part II: Optimal Locations for Potential Ground Observation Deployments.

Surface remote sensing of aerosol properties provides "ground truth" for satellite and model validation, and is an important component of aerosol observation system. Due to the different characteristics of background aerosol variability, information obtained at different locations usually have different spatial representativeness, implying that the location should be carefully chosen so that its measurement could be extended to a greater area. In this study, we present an objective observation array design technique that automatically determines the optimal locations with the highest spatial representativeness based on the Ensemble Kalman Filter (EnKF) theory.

Reducing multisensor satellite monthly mean aerosol optical depth uncertainty: 1. Objective assessment of current AERONET locations.

Various space-based sensors have been designed and corresponding algorithms developed to retrieve aerosol optical depth (AOD), the very basic aerosol optical property, yet considerable disagreement still exists across these different satellite data sets. Surface-based observations aim to provide ground truth for validating satellite data; hence, their deployment locations should preferably contain as much spatial information as possible, i.e.

First-principles definition and measurement of planetary electromagnetic-energy budget.

The imperative to quantify the Earth's electromagnetic-energy budget with an extremely high accuracy has been widely recognized but has never been formulated in the framework of fundamental physics. In this paper we give a first-principles definition of the planetary electromagnetic-energy budget using the Poynting-vector formalism and discuss how it can, in principle, be measured. Our derivation is based on an absolute minimum of theoretical assumptions, is free of outdated notions of phenomenological radiometry, and naturally leads to the conceptual formulation of an instrument called the double hemispherical cavity radiometer (DHCR).

The proper delivery pressure for cardioplegic solution in neonatal cardiac surgery - an investigation of biomechanical and structural properties of neonatal and adult coronary arteries.

When cardioplegic solution is injected into coronary arteries with a pump in order to ensure myocardial protection, it is necessary to determine the correct delivery pressure to avoid damage of the heart. Biomechanical and structural properties of the neonatal coronary artery wall should be taken into account when determining the delivery pressure. We investigated twelve coronary artery specimens without cardiac pathology retrieved from autopsies of neonates 9.

Follow-up of the patients after stem cell transplantation for pediatric dilated cardiomyopathy.

Dilated cardiomyopathy is a serious problem in pediatric cardiology. Despite the relatively low incidence, the mortality is high. The conservative therapy does not improve the prognosis, and possibilities of heart transplantation are limited.

Intramyocardial administration of autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells in a critically ill child with dilated cardiomyopathy.

Almost half of the children with symptomatic dilated cardiomyopathy receive a transplant or die within 2 years; however, cardiac stem cell transplantation has become a promising therapeutic option. The present case demonstrates for the first time, to our knowledge, the intramyocardial administration of autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells in a critically ill 4-month-old child with severe dilated cardiomyopathy. Left ventricular ejection fraction increased from 20% before stem cell transplantation to 41% at 4 months of follow-up.

Atmospheric CO2: principal control knob governing Earth's temperature.

Ample physical evidence shows that carbon dioxide (CO(2)) is the single most important climate-relevant greenhouse gas in Earth's atmosphere. This is because CO(2), like ozone, N(2)O, CH(4), and chlorofluorocarbons, does not condense and precipitate from the atmosphere at current climate temperatures, whereas water vapor can and does. Noncondensing greenhouse gases, which account for 25% of the total terrestrial greenhouse effect, thus serve to provide the stable temperature structure that sustains the current levels of atmospheric water vapor and clouds via feedback processes that account for the remaining 75% of the greenhouse effect.

Aerosol retrievals over the ocean by use of channels 1 and 2 AVHRR data: sensitivity analysis and preliminary results.

We outline the methodology of interpreting channels 1 and 2 Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) radiance data over the oceans and describe a detailed analysis of the sensitivity of monthly averages of retrieved aerosol parameters to the assumptions made in different retrieval algorithms. The analysis is based on using real AVHRR data and exploiting accurate numerical techniques for computing single and multiple scattering and spectral absorption of light in the vertically inhomogeneous atmosphere-ocean system. We show that two-channel algorithms can be expected to provide significantly more accurate and less biased retrievals of the aerosol optical thickness than one-channel algorithms and that imperfect cloud screening and calibration uncertainties are by far the largest sources of errors in the retrieved aerosol parameters.

Optical depth measurements by shadow-band radiometers and their uncertainties.

Shadow-band radiometers in general, and especially the Multi-Filter Rotating Shadow-band Radiometer (MFRSR), are widely used for atmospheric optical depth measurements. The major programs running MFRSR networks in the United States include the Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program, U.S.

Long-term satellite record reveals likely recent aerosol trend.

Analysis of the long-term Global Aerosol Climatology Project data set reveals a likely decrease of the global optical thickness of tropospheric aerosols by as much as 0.03 during the period from 1991 to 2005. This recent trend mirrors the concurrent global increase in solar radiation fluxes at Earth's surface and may have contributed to recent changes in surface climate.

Earth's energy imbalance: confirmation and implications.

Our climate model, driven mainly by increasing human-made greenhouse gases and aerosols, among other forcings, calculates that Earth is now absorbing 0.85 +/- 0.15 watts per square meter more energy from the Sun than it is emitting to space.

Morphology-dependent resonances of nearly spherical particles in random orientation.

We use precise T-matrix calculations for prolate and oblate spheroids, Chebyshev particles, and spheres cut by a plane to study the evolution of Lorenz-Mie morphology-dependent resonances (MDRs) with increasing asphericity of nearly spherical particles in random orientation. We show that, in the case of spheroids and Chebyshev particles, the deformation of a sphere by as little as one hundredth of a wavelength essentially annihilates supernarrow MDRs, whereas significantly larger asphericities are needed to suppress broader resonance features. The MDR position and profile are also affected when the deviation of the particle shape is increased from that of a perfect sphere.

Global atmospheric black carbon inferred from AERONET.

AERONET, a network of well calibrated sunphotometers, provides data on aerosol optical depth and absorption optical depth at >250 sites around the world. The spectral range of AERONET allows discrimination between constituents that absorb most strongly in the UV region, such as soil dust and organic carbon, and the more ubiquitously absorbing black carbon (BC). AERONET locations, primarily continental, are not representative of the global mean, but they can be used to calibrate global aerosol climatologies produced by tracer transport models.

Giant fibroma of the right ventricle.

Cardiac fibromas are rare benign tumours of connective tissue that occur most frequently in children within the left ventricle. Spontaneous regression has not been observed, and surgical intervention is usually required. We have successfully treated a 1-year old girl with a giant fibroma of the right ventricle using the principles of the Batista procedure.

Global warming in the twenty-first century: an alternative scenario.

A common view is that the current global warming rate will continue or accelerate. But we argue that rapid warming in recent decades has been driven mainly by non-CO(2) greenhouse gases (GHGs), such as chlorofluorocarbons, CH(4), and N(2)O, not by the products of fossil fuel burning, CO(2) and aerosols, the positive and negative climate forcings of which are partially offsetting. The growth rate of non-CO(2) GHGs has declined in the past decade.

Climate forcings in the industrial era.

The forcings that drive long-term climate change are not known with an accuracy sufficient to define future climate change. Anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs), which are well measured, cause a strong positive (warming) forcing. But other, poorly measured, anthropogenic forcings, especially changes of atmospheric aerosols, clouds, and land-use patterns, cause a negative forcing that tends to offset greenhouse warming.