The magnitude and impact of the 431 CE Tierra Blanca Joven eruption of Ilopango, El Salvador.

The Tierra Blanca Joven (TBJ) eruption from Ilopango volcano deposited thick ash over much of El Salvador when it was inhabited by the Maya, and rendered all areas within at least 80 km of the volcano uninhabitable for years to decades after the eruption. Nonetheless, the more widespread environmental and climatic impacts of this large eruption are not well known because the eruption magnitude and date are not well constrained. In this multifaceted study we have resolved the date of the eruption to 431 ± 2 CE by identifying the ash layer in a well-dated, high-resolution Greenland ice-core record that is >7,000 km from Ilopango; and calculated that between 37 and 82 km of magma was dispersed from an eruption coignimbrite column that rose to ∼45 km by modeling the deposit thickness using state-of-the-art tephra dispersal methods.

Young woman's digestive arterial occlusion--a case report and literature review.

The authors report the observation of a 31-year-old woman who presented with total occlusion of digestive arteries and was successfully treated pharmacologically. A review of the literature shows that digestive arteries thrombosis is a rare condition in young women. Only 15 cases have been previously reported.

[Uretero-arterial fistulas: report of 2 cases and review of the literature].

Uretero-arterial fistulas are rare. The authors report two new cases complicating iliac vascular surgery. These fistulas occurred in a particular context: aorto-iliac disease, neoplasm and pelvic radiotherapy.

Coxiella burnetii infection of aneurysms or vascular grafts: report of seven cases and review.

The most frequent clinical presentation of chronic Q fever is endocarditis, although infections of aneurysms and vascular prostheses have also been described. We report seven new cases of Coxiella burnetii infection of aneurysms or vascular grafts. We also review the literature and compare our cases with the six previously reported cases.

[Aortic sarcomas with peripheral emboli: apropos of 2 cases].

The authors report two cases of aortic angiosarcomas. These cases were similar and characterized by a typical pejorative clinical course, with peripheric emboli and many osteolytic metastasis. Immunohistochemical study was in favour of an endothelial origin, electronic microscopy indicated a mixed tumor with myofibroblasts and poorly differentiated endothelial cells.