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Purpose: For assessing the severity of tricuspid regurgitation (TR), there is no gold standard. We developed a parameter, the right ventricular systolic force ratio—RIVIERA, using the continious wave Doppler analysis of TR and pulsed‐wave analysis of the right ventricle outflow tract. We hypothesized that the RIVIERA would facilitate the ability to identify severe TR in clinical settings. Materials and Methods: We obtained data from routine transthoracic echocardiograms. All records reporting no or mild TR (n = 732), moderate TR (n = 584), and severe TR (n = 519) TR were reanalyzed to measure vena contracta (VC) width, TR jet area, effective regurgitant orifice (EROA) derived with the proximal isovelocity surface area method, the RIVIERA, and right‐sided chamber volumes. Results: Significant linear trends were demonstrated for right atrial volume index, end‐diastolic volume index, RVOT velocity time integral, TR jet area, TR‐Vmax, TR‐VTI, TR acceleration, VC width, EROA with increasing TR severity. Independent predictors of severe RT included RIVIERA <4.8, VC width ≥0.7 cm, TR jet area > 10 cm2, and EROA ≥0.4 cm2. Conclusion: The RIVIERA is a feasible, effective, and independent predictor of severe TR that enhances established techniques for estimating TR severity. For clinical decision‐making and management, accurate measurement and classification of TR severity are essential. Therefore, it should be thought about include the RIVIERA in the integrative method to assessing TR severity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Carboplatin and cisplatin based regimens are used in the treatment of NSCLC. The aim of the study was to find out whether there is a difference in white matter (WM) changes between two platinum-based chemotherapy agents using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). 25 patients who received chemotherapy for NSCLC and 27 age-matched healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Fractional anisotropy (FA), axial diffusivity (AD), mean diffusivity (MD) and radial diffusivity (RD) values of the study population were measured from 11 regions of interest in pre-chemotherapy and post-chemotherapy MRI data. Cisplatin group showed a significant decrease in the FA of the inferior longitudinal fasciculus (P = 0.028). Carboplatin group showed a significant FA decrease and RD increase in the forceps minor (P = 0.022 and P = 0.011, respectively), and a significant reduction in AD and increase in MD in frontal white matter (WM) (P = 0.008 and P = 0.029, respectively). In comparison of post chemotherapy DTI values of the two groups, carboplatin group showed lower FA, and higher MD and RD values than cisplatin group in parieto-occipital WM (P = 0.034, P = 0.034, P = 0.029, respectively). The findings of the study suggest that subtle effects of chemotherapy detectable with DTI may emerge after the treatment. In addition, carboplatin regimen may have more impact on WM than cisplatin regimen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The reaction of the Schiff base salicylideneaminopyridine with [M(sac)2(H2O)4] 2H2O, where M is copper(II) or zinc(II), and sac is the saccharinate anion, results in the formation of the new tris(saccharinato) complexes ApyH[Cu(N-sac)2(O-sac)(H2O)2] (1) and ApyH[Zn(N-sac)3(H2O)] (2), which have been characterized by elemental analyses, magnetic measurements, FT-IR spectroscopy, thermal analysis and X-ray diffraction. The Schiff base did not coordinate to the metal ions, but decomposed during the reaction, forming a 2-aminopyridinium cation ApyH, which remained outside the coordination sphere as a counter ion. (1) and (2) are the first examples of mononuclear tris(saccharinato) complexes of copper(II) and zinc(II). Both complexes are isomorphous with the triclinic space group P-1, (1) consisting of an ApyH cation and a [Cu(sac)3(H2O)2]- anion in which the copper(II) ion has trigonal bipyramidal surroundings. The sac ligands in (1) exhibit unusual and non-equivalent coordination, behaving as ambidentate ligands. One of them coordinates to the metals through the carbonyl oxygen atom, while the other two sac ligands are bonded to the metals via the imino nitrogen atom. The zinc(II) ion in (2) is tetrahedrally coordinated by three N-donor sac ligands and an aqua ligand. The crystal structures of (1) and (2) are stabilized by intermolecular hydrogen bonds and aromatic pp stacking interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]