Towards pump-probe single-crystal XFEL refinements for small-unit-cell systems.

Serial femtosecond crystallography for small-unit-cell systems has so far seen very limited application despite obvious scientific possibilities. This is because reliable data reduction has not been available for these challenging systems. In particular, important intensity corrections such as the partiality correction critically rely on accurate determination of the crystal orientation, which is complicated by the low number of diffraction spots for small-unit-cell crystals.

Multipole electron densities and structural parameters from synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction data obtained with a MYTHEN detector system (OHGI).

Powder X-ray diffraction has some inherent advantages over traditional single-crystal X-ray diffraction in accurately determining electron densities and structural parameters due to the lower requirements for sample crystallinity, simpler corrections and measurement simultaneity. For some simple inorganic materials, it has been shown that these advantages can compensate for disadvantages such as peak overlap and error-prone background subtraction. Although it is challenging to extend powder X-ray diffraction-based electron-density studies to organic materials with significant peak overlap, previous results using a dedicated vacuum diffractometer with a large image-plate camera (AVID) demonstrated that it can be done.

Multipole electron densities and atomic displacement parameters in urea from accurate powder X-ray diffraction.

Electron density determination based on structure factors obtained through powder X-ray diffraction has so far been limited to high-symmetry inorganic solids. This limit is challenged by determining high-quality structure factors for crystalline urea using a bespoke vacuum diffractometer with imaging plates. This allows the collection of data of sufficient quality to model the electron density of a molecular system using the multipole method.

Long-term outcome of percutaneous transluminal septal myocardial ablation in hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy: a Scandinavian multicenter study.

Background: Single-center reports on percutaneous transluminal septal myocardial ablation (PTSMA) in patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy have shown considerable differences in outcome.

Methods And Results: We report the long-term outcome of 313 PTSMA procedures performed in 279 patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy aged 59±14 years from 1999 to 2010 in 4 Scandinavian centers. Sixty-nine percent of patients had ≥1 comorbidity at baseline.

Glycaemic control and restenosis after percutaneous coronary interventions in patients with diabetes mellitus: a report from the Insulin Diabetes Angioplasty study.

Objective: We investigated the impact of glucose control on target lesion restenosis after PCI in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Methods: Ninety-three consecutive patients with type 2 diabetes accepted for PCI were randomised to intensified glucose control based on insulin (I-group; n=44) or to continue ongoing glucose-lowering treatment (C-group; n=49).The treatment target was a FBG of 5-7 mmol/L and HbA1c <6.

Intracoronary endothelin receptor blockade improves endothelial function in patients with coronary artery disease.

Endothelin (ET)-1 receptor blockade improves endothelial function in the forearm of patients with atherosclerosis. The aim was to investigate whether intracoronary ET receptor blockade improves coronary endothelial function and increases blood flow in patients with coronary artery disease. Ten patients received a 60-minute infusion of either the selective ETA receptor antagonist BQ123 (40 nmol/min, n = 6) or BQ123 + the ETB receptor antagonist BQ788 (40 nmol/min, n = 4).

Catheter-guided open ligation of a pulmonary artery to left atrium connection.

Congenital malformations causing mild cyanosis can be overlooked. A large intrapulmonary right pulmonary artery to left atrium connection was the unusual etiology of arterial oxygen desaturation and erythrocytosis in an asymptomatic 30-year-old patient. The shunt was not possible to detect at echocardiography.

The inflammatory response to femoral arterial closure devices: a randomized comparison among FemoStop, AngioSeal, and Perclose.

The objectives of this study were to investigate whether the systemic inflammatory response differs, in patients undergoing coronary angiography, among the arterial closure devices FemoStop, AngioSeal, and Perclose. The study is a prospective and randomized study. We measured pre- and postprocedural C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, and interleukin-6 (IL-6) plasma levels and collected clinical and procedural data on 77 patients who underwent coronary angiography because of stable angina pectoris.

Psychosocial stress and atherosclerosis: family and work stress accelerate progression of coronary disease in women. The Stockholm Female Coronary Angiography Study.

Objective: To examine the impact of psychosocial stress, experienced in the family and work life, on the progression of coronary atherosclerosis in women cardiac patients.

Design: Longitudinal follow-up study. The mean luminal diameter change over 3 years was averaged over 10 predefined coronary segments, representing the entire coronary tree.

Physical activity and exercise performance predict long-term prognosis in middle-aged women surviving acute coronary syndrome.

Aim: To evaluate the importance of exercise testing (ET) parameters and leisure time physical activity in predicting long-term prognosis in middle-aged women hospitalized for acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

Methods And Results: Women aged <66 years recently hospitalized for ACS in the Greater Stockholm area in Sweden were recruited. All underwent baseline clinical examinations including ET and then were followed up for 9 years.

Response of serum C-reactive protein to percutaneous coronary intervention has prognostic value.

Background: Data are sparse regarding the association between C-reactive protein (CRP) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in long-term prognosis. Previous studies have shown that PCI evokes an inflammatory response. We tested the hypothesis that the CRP response to PCI has a prognostic value.

Stent implantation, but not pathogen burden, is associated with plasma C-reactive protein and interleukin-6 levels after percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with stable angina pectoris.

Background: The systemic inflammatory response to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is associated with recurrent cardiac events; however, the pathophysiology of this inflammatory response is not well understood. The present study was performed to investigate the role of pathogen burden of infection in determining the magnitude of C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) response to PCI.

Methods: One hundred patients with stable angina pectoris undergoing elective PCI at a single center were recruited.

Alcohol consumption and coronary atherosclerosis progression--the Stockholm Female Coronary Risk Angiographic Study.

Objective: To assess the association of alcohol intake with progression of coronary atherosclerosis. Although moderate drinkers have a lower risk of coronary heart disease than abstainers, the relation of alcohol use and coronary atherosclerosis has not been well studied.

Methods And Results: In the Stockholm Female Coronary Risk Angiographic Study, we evaluated 103 women, aged 65 years or younger, hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction or unstable angina pectoris who underwent serial quantitative coronary angiography 3-6 months following their index event and repeated an average of 3 years and 3 months (range 2-5 years) later.

C-reactive protein and myocardial infarction during percutaneous coronary intervention.

Objective: To evaluate the prognostic information of preprocedural C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in serum to predict myocardial infarction during percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI).

Design: Prospective study.

Setting: University hospital.

Classification of left main coronary obstruction--feasibility of surgical angioplasty and survival after coronary artery bypass surgery.

Angiographies of 384 patients who had coronary artery bypass surgery because of left main coronary artery (LMCA) obstruction during 1970-1989 were reviewed by analysing the pathology, feasibility of surgical angioplasty and survival. Complete LMCA occlusion was found in 2%, proximal ostial stenosis in 9%, mid-shaft stenosis in 24%, circular stenosis in 25% and distal bifurcation stenosis in 40% of the patients. Patients with an ostial stenosis were younger, more often women with less coronary artery disease and less calcified obstructions.

A comparison of spiral computed tomography and latex agglutination D-dimer assay in acute pulmonary embolism using pulmonary arteriography as gold standard.

Objective: To compare the diagnostic accuracy of contrast medium enhanced spiral computed tomography of the pulmonary arteries (s-CTPA) and a latex agglutination D-dimer assay in patients with suspected acute pulmonary embolism (PE) by using pulmonary arteriography (PA) and clinical follow-up as reference method.

Design: Ninety hemodynamically stable patients with symptoms of acute pulmonary embolism were prospectively evaluated with s-CTPA and pulmonary arteriography (PA) within 24 h from admission. Plasma D-dimer levels on admittance were analyzed using a rapid latex agglutination D-dimer assay.

Significant predictors of poor prognosis in women aged

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the importance of different clinical parameters predicting long-term cardiac prognosis in younger women with an acute coronary event.

Design: The Stockholm Female Coronary Risk Study is a follow-up study in women
Setting: Patients were included between 1991 and 1994 from all 10 coronary care or intensive care units in the greater Stockholm area.

Cortisol and vital exhaustion in relation to significant coronary artery stenosis in middle-aged women with acute coronary syndrome.

Background: The role of chronic stress in coronary artery disease (CAD) is not well known. Conflicting results have been obtained with regard to the stress hormone cortisol and 'vital exhaustion', a psychological construct defining the effects of long-term stress. We investigated the relationship between chronic stress, assessed by serum cortisol and vital exhaustion, and coronary artery stenosis and the importance of chronic stress in relation to standard risk factors of CAD.

Visual classification of emphysema heterogeneity compared with objective measurements: HRCT vs spiral CT in candidates for lung volume reduction surgery.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether spiral CT is superior to high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) in evaluating the radiological morphology of emphysema, and whether the combination of both CT techniques improves the evaluation in patients undergoing lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS). The material consisted of HRCT (with 2-mm slice thickness) and spiral CT (with 10-mm slice thickness) of 94 candidates for LVRS. Selected image pairs from these examinations were evaluated.

Visual grading of emphysema severity in candidates for lung volume reduction surgery. Comparison between HRCT, spiral CT and "density-masked" images.

Purpose: To investigate which of three types of CT imaging yielded the best results in estimating the degree of emphysema in patients undergoing evaluation for lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS), whether there was any difference in this regard between the cranial and caudal part of the lung, and whether the degree of emphysema had an impact on the estimation.

Material And Methods: Four radiologists visually classified different degrees of emphysema on three different types of CT images into four groups. The degree of emphysema was calculated by a computer.

Thin-section CT vs spiral CT in candidates for lung volume reduction surgery: a comparison based on radiologists' subjective preferences.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether high-resolution (HRCT) or spiral CT was preferred in evaluating severe emphysema in patients undergoing lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS), whether there is any difference in this regard between the cranial and caudal part of the lung, and whether the degree of emphysema has an impact on the radiologists' preference. The study was performed by letting four radiologists compare images obtained with the two techniques (film pairs) and decide which technique they preferred or if the techniques were considered as equal in evaluating emphysema. In evaluation of 188 film pairs, the HRCT images were preferred in 56 %, spiral CT in 19 % and the techniques considered as equal in 25 %.

Changes in Systolic and Diastolic Function Indexes Throughout Dobutamine Stress Echocardiography in Healthy Volunteers and Patients with Ischemic Heart Disease.

BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS: Dobutamine stress echocardiography is a well-established diagnostic method for investigating patients with suspected ischemic coronary disease. A positive test result is based on systolic parameters, but left ventricular filling parameters also are affected by myocardial ischemia. The aim of the present study was to study changes in both systolic and diastolic left ventricular variables throughout the test, including the period following it.

Intracoronary ultrasound measurements in women with myocardial infarction without significant coronary lesions.

Methods: Morphologic characteristics of coronary arteries in eight women with myocardial infarction and angiographically normal or not significantly stenosed vessels were investigated with intracoronary ultrasound. The infarct-related vessel was assessed by three-dimensional volumetric analysis and compared with a control vessel from a noninfarcted area.

Results: Atherosclerosis was found in all infarct-related arteries.

Clinical importance of risk factors and exercise testing for prediction of significant coronary artery stenosis in women recovering from unstable coronary artery disease: the Stockholm Female Coronary Risk Study.

Background: The objectives of this study were to investigate the relation between coronary risk factors, exercise testing parameters, and the presence of angiographically significant coronary artery disease (CAD) (> or =50% luminal stenosis) in female patients previously hospitalized for an acute CAD event.

Methods And Results: All women younger than age 66 years in the greater Stockholm area in Sweden who were hospitalized for acute coronary syndromes during a 3-year period were recruited. Besides collection of clinical parameters, coronary angiography and a symptom-limited exercise test were performed in 228 patients 3 to 6 months after the index hospitalization.