The Association of Echocardiographically Measured Donor Left Ventricular Mass and 1-Year Outcomes After Heart Transplantation.

Background: Donor-recipient heart size matching is crucial in heart transplantation; however, the often-used predicted heart mass (PHM) ratio may be inaccurate in the setting of obesity.

Objectives: In this study, the authors sought to investigate the association between echocardiographically measured donor left ventricular mass (LVM) for heart size matching and the risk of the primary 1-year composite outcome of death or retransplantation.

Methods: The Donor Heart Study was a prospective, multicenter, observational cohort study that collected echocardiograms from brain-dead donors.

Association between emergency department disposition and mortality in patients with COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Objectives: Patients hospitalized for COVID-19 frequently develop hypoxemia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) after admission. In non-COVID-19 ARDS studies, admission to hospital wards with subsequent transfer to intensive care unit (ICU) is associated with worse outcomes. We hypothesized that initial admission to the ward may affect outcomes in patient with COVID-19 ARDS.

Identifying consistent echocardiographic thresholds for risk stratification in pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Several indices of right heart remodeling and function have been associated with survival in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Outcome analysis and physiological relationships between variables may help develop a consistent grading system. Patients with Group 1 PAH followed at Stanford Hospital who underwent right heart catheterization and echocardiography within 2 weeks were considered for inclusion.

The Echocardiographic Evaluation of the Right Heart: Current and Future Advances.

Purpose Of Review: To discuss physiologic and methodologic advances in the echocardiographic assessment of right heart (RH) function, including the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and point-of-care ultrasound.

Recent Findings: Recent studies have highlighted the prognostic value of right ventricular (RV) longitudinal strain, RV end-systolic dimensions, and right atrial (RA) size and function in pulmonary hypertension and heart failure. While RA pressure is a central marker of right heart diastolic function, the recent emphasis on venous excess imaging (VExUS) has provided granularity to the systemic consequences of RH failure.

Right Ventricular Dysfunction Patterns among Patients with COVID-19 in the Intensive Care Unit: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis.

Right ventricular (RV) dysfunction is common among patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease (COVID-19); however, its epidemiology may depend on the echocardiographic parameters used to define it. To evaluate the prevalence of abnormalities in three common echocardiographic parameters of RV function among patients with COVID-19 admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), as well as the effect of RV dilatation on differential parameter abnormality and the association of RV dysfunction with 60-day mortality. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of ICU patients with COVID-19 between March 4, 2020, and March 4, 2021, who received a transthoracic echocardiogram within 48 hours before to at most 7 days after ICU admission.

Resonant nano-dimer metasurface for ultra-thin a-Si:H solar cells.

Low-cost hydrogenated amorphous silicon solar cells (a-Si:H) can perform better and be more competitive by including nanostructures. An optimized nano-dimer structure embedded in close contact with the back electrode of an aSi:H ultra-thin solar cells can enhance the deliverable short-circuit current up to 27.5 %.

Editor's Choice-Prospective registry of cardiac critical illness in a modern tertiary care Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.

Background: The changing landscape of care in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) has prompted efforts to redesign the structure and organization of advanced CICUs. Few studies have quantitatively characterized current demographics, diagnoses, and outcomes in the contemporary CICU.

Methods: We evaluated patients in a prospective observational database, created to support quality improvement and clinical care redesign in an AHA Level 1 (advanced) CICU at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.

Effect of lysyl oxidase inhibition on angiotensin II-induced arterial hypertension, remodeling, and stiffness.

It is well accepted that angiotensin II (Ang II) induces altered vascular stiffness through responses including both structural and material remodeling. Concurrent with remodeling is the induction of the enzyme lysyl oxidase (LOX) through which ECM proteins are cross-linked. The study objective was to determine the effect of LOX mediated cross-linking on vascular mechanical properties.

[Decreasing systolic blood pressure with isometric muscle training: a CAT].

Introduction: Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease or heart failure. One of the interventions for the management of this disorder is isometric muscle training on upper and lower limbs.

Purpose: To prove the validity and applicability of results regarding the effectiveness of isometric training in hypertensive subjects.

Modified technique for obtaining mediastinal samples with endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration: results from a prospective observational study.

Background: Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is a widely-accepted method for obtaining both benign and malignant mediastinal lymph node samples. We present the results obtained with a modification that simplifies sampling, known as fine-needle capillary sampling or EBUS-FNC.

Methods: A prospective observational study with 44 consecutive patients who underwent EBUS at the University of Navarra Clinic in Pamplona (Spain).

Microparticles and the hygiene hypothesis.

Departing from the functional parallelism that undoubtedly exists between the nervous and immune system, we suggest that the latter also counts with means for information exchange that may result in a mutual influence of immune processes between nearby individuals. Our concept relies on a molecular interface that is composed and, at the same time, interfered or modulated by the vast number of environmental agents from the surrounding milieu. We highlight the possibility that microparticles, previously shown to act as mediators of the transfer of receptors and other relevant immune molecules between distant cells, may represent a minor immune medium.