Multiscale optoacoustic assessment of skin microvascular reactivity in carotid artery disease.

Microvascular endothelial dysfunction may provide insights into systemic diseases, such as carotid artery disease. Raster-scan optoacoustic mesoscopy (RSOM) can produce images of skin microvasculature during endothelial dysfunction challenges via numerous microvascular features. Herein, RSOM was employed to image the microvasculature of 26 subjects (13 patients with single carotid artery disease, 13 healthy participants) to assess the dynamics of 18 microvascular features at three scales of detail, i.

Association of Centre Quality Certification with Characteristics of Patients, Management, and Outcomes Following Carotid Endarterectomy or Carotid Artery Stenting.

The aim of this study was to analyze the association between center quality certifications and patients' characteristics, clinical management, and outcomes after carotid revascularization. This study is a pre-planned sub-study of the ISAR-IQ project, which analyzes data from the Bavarian subset of the nationwide German statutory quality assurance carotid database. Hospitals were classified as to whether a certified vascular center (cVC) or a certified stroke unit (cSU) was present on-site or not.

Clinical outcome of combined intracavitary / interstitial brachytherapy using a hybrid applicator in locally advanced cervical cancer.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical outcome in locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) after image-guided adaptive brachytherapy (IGABT) with combined intracavitary and interstitial (IC/IS) techniques using the hybrid Venezia applicator (Elekta AB, Sweden).

Methods: LACC patients (UICC Stage IIB - IVB) treated with radiochemotherapy followed by IGABT with the hybrid IC/IS Venezia applicator at a single institution were retrospectively analyzed. Treatment comprised EBRT of the pelvis with 45 Gy and concomitant weekly cisplatin chemotherapy (40 mg/m) followed by MRI-based IGABT.

Monitoring chlorinated pesticides and toxic elements in tissues of food-producing animals in Yugoslavia.

According to the established monitoring program in Yugoslavia, 941 swine, 561 cattle, and 358 lamb samples collected during a 5-year period were analyzed for chlorinated pesticide residues. Less than 10% of the examined samples contained residues of HCB (hexachlorobenzene), HCH (hexachlorocyclohexane), lindane (gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane), and total DDT (p,p'-DDT and metabolites) at concentrations greater than the lowest detectable limit. None of the swine and cattle samples exceeded the residue limit (RL).