Long Term Evaluation of Quantitative Cumulative Irradiation in Patients Suffering from ILDs.

Background: Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) are an heterogeneous group of infiltrating lung pathologies, for which prompt diagnosis and continuous assessment are of paramount importance. While chest CT is an established diagnostic tool for ILDs, there are no formal guidelines on the follow-up regimen, leaving the frequency and modality of follow-up largely at the clinician's discretion.

Methods: The study retrospectively evaluated the indication of chest CT in a cohort of 129 ILD patients selected from the ambulatory care polyclinic at University Hospital of Liège.

Feasibility and Safety of Post-Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Coronary Revascularization Guided by Stress Cardiac Imaging.

Systematic revascularization of asymptomatic coronary artery stenosis before transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is controversial. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and safety of functional evaluation of coronary artery disease (CAD) followed by selective ischemia-guided percutaneous coronary revascularization following TAVR. This prospective, bi-centric, single-arm, open-label trial included all patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) eligible for TAVR and with significant CAD defined as ≥1 coronary stenosis ≥ 70%.

[Prevention of contrast-induced nephropathy].

Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) is a renal complication occurring after the administration of iodinated contrast agents routinely used in medical imaging. CIN causes acute renal failure of varying severity. The pathophysiology of CIN is probably multifactorial: it involves (i) renal vasoconstriction inducing tissue hypoxia, and (ii) a possible direct toxicity of iodine derivatives leading to tubular inflammation and necrosis.

Balloon predilation or direct valve implantation in TAVI for women: Insights from the DIRECTAVI study.

Background: The randomized DIRECTAVI trial demonstrated safety and feasibility of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) without balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV) using SAPIEN 3 balloon-expandable devices. However, the female population with smaller anatomy may have potential higher risk of residual gradient and/or mismatch.

Purpose: We assessed the impact of BAV on the procedural success rate and clinical outcomes in the female population of the DIRECTAVI trial.

Chemically Enhanced Convective Dissolution of CO_{2}.

Convective dissolution, one of the main mechanisms for geological storage of CO_{2}, occurs when supercritical or gas CO_{2} dissolves partially into an aqueous solution, thus triggering downward convection of the denser CO_{2}-enriched liquid. Chemical reaction in the liquid can greatly enhance the process. Here, experimental measurements of convective flow inside a cylinder filled with a sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution show that the plume's velocity can be increased tenfold as compared to a situation with no NaOH.