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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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Use of Cardiac Imaging to Evaluate Cardiac Function and Pulmonary Hemodynamics in Patients with Heart Failure

Purpose of Review: Noninvasive hemodynamic assessments in patients with heart failure (HF) are essential for appropriate diagnosis and establishment of the best treatment strategies. Recently, the impact of pulmonary circulation and right ventricular function on prognosis in HF patients has drawn increasing attention. In this article, we explore the usefulness of cardiac imaging for hemodynamic assessments, mainly focusing on echocardiographic evaluation. Recent Findings: The reliability of Doppler echocardiography as a noninvasive alternative to Swan-Ganz catheterization has been well investigated with higher than 80% accuracy for estimating pulmonary artery pressure. Strain measurement and three-dimensional echocardiography are useful for evaluating right ventricular function together with pulmonary circulation. The accuracy of analyzing left and right ventricular functions by cardiac computed tomography and cardiac magnetic resonate imaging has also been established. These modalities can provide myocardial tissue information and allow calculation of the extracellular volume fraction as well. Summary: According to the rapid improvement of technologies, cardiac imaging has become an essential tool for hemodynamic evaluation in HF management.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

The impact of combined cardiopulmonary exercise testing and SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging on downstream evaluation and management

Objective: The diagnostic yield of combined cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) and myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) in patients referred for stress testing has received limited study. Methods: We evaluated consecutive patients who underwent combined CPET-MPI at a single tertiary referral center between 2011 and 2015. An abnormal CPET was defined as any of the following: reduced oxygen consumption, cardiac output impairment, or pulmonary impairment. Normal MPI was defined as the absence of resting or stress perfusion defect. The primary study outcome was change in clinical decision-making after CPET-MPI including management of pulmonary disease, management of deconditioning, heart failure management, and referral for cardiac catheterization. Outcomes of patients with normal and abnormal MPI were presented based on the specific CPET abnormality. Results: 415 patients were included in the study. Of the 269 patients that had normal MPI, 206 (77%) had abnormal CPET. Patients with abnormal CPET and normal MPI, compared with patients that had normal CPET and normal MPI, were more frequently diagnosed with pulmonary disease (11.7% vs 3.2%, P = .04) and deconditioning (33.5% vs 17.4%, P = .01). Of the 146 patients that had abnormal MPI, 128 (88%) had abnormal CPET. Patients with abnormal CPET and abnormal MPI, compared with patients that had normal CPET and abnormal MPI, did not statistically differ with regard to the study outcome. Conclusion: An abnormal CPET, if the MPI was normal, prompted further evaluation and led to management of pulmonary disease and deconditioning.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

Quantile-Specific Heritability of Inflammatory and Oxidative Stress Biomarkers Linked to Cardiovascular Disease

Purpose: Heritability (h 2 , the proportion of the phenotypic variance attributable to additive genetic effects) is traditionally assumed to be constant throughout the distribution of the phenotype. However, the heritabilities of circulating C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1 (PAI-1), and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) concentrations depend upon whether the phenotype is high or low relative to their distributions (quantile-dependent expressivity), which may account for apparent gene–environment interactions. Whether the heritabilities of other inflammatory biomarkers linked to cardiovascular disease are quantile-dependent remain to be determined. Patients and Methods: Quantile-specific offspring-parent (β OP ) and full-sib regression slopes (β FS ) were estimated by applying quantile regression to the age- and sex-adjusted phenotypes of families surveyed as part of the Framingham Heart Study. Quantile-specific heritabilities were calculated as: h 2 =2β OP /(1+r spouse ) and h 2 ={(1+8r spouse β FS ) 0.5 – 1}/(2r spouse ). Results: Heritability (h 2 ± SE) of lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA 2 ) mass concentrations increased from 0.11 ± 0.03 at the 10 th percentile, 0.08 ± 0.03 at the 25 th , 0.12 ± 0.03 at the 50 th , 0.20 ± 0.04 at the 75 th , and 0.26 ± 0.06 at the 90 th percentile, or 0.0023 ± 0.0006 per each one-percent increase in the phenotype distribution (P linear trend = 0.0004). Similarly, h 2 increased 0.0029 ± 0.0011 (P linear trend = 0.01) for sP-selectin, 0.0032 ± 0.0009 (P linear trend = 0.0001) for soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (sICAM-1), and 0.0026 ± 0.0006 for tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 (TNFR2) (P linear trend = 5.0 × 10 -6 ) per each one-percent increase in their distributions when estimated from β OP . Osteoprotegerin and soluble ST2 heritability also increased significantly with increasing percentiles of their distributions when estimated from β FS . Lp-PLA 2 activity, CD40 ligand, TNFα, interleukin-18, and myeloperoxidase heritability showed no significant quantile-dependence. Conclusion: The heritabilities of circulating Lp-PLA 2 -mass, sP-selectin, sICAM-1, TNFR2, osteoprotegerin and soluble ST2 concentrations are quantile-dependent, which may contribute to purported genetic modulations of: 1) sP-selectin’s relationships to venous thrombosis, pulmonary hypertension, type 2 diabetes and atorvastatin treatment; 2) sICAM-I’s relationships to brain abscess and atorvastatin treatment; and 3) Lp-PLA 2 ’s relationships to myocardial infarction and preeclampsia.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Naphthalene-DNA Adduct Formation in a Lung Airway Explant Model: The Role of Bioactivation and Naphthalene Metabolites

Humans are widely exposed to naphthalene. Once inhaled or ingested, naphthalene is metabolized by cytochrome P450 and other enzymes to form toxic metabolites known to harm lung epithelial cells. Naphthalene metabolites circulate in the blood. Chronic naphthalene inhalation promotes lesions in the epithelium of the mouse lung and rat nose. Oral naphthalene exposure leads to DNA adduct formation in mouse lung, but the contributions of different enzymatic pathways and the metabolites they generate are not fully understood. This study explores the influence of naphthalene metabolites on DNA adduct formation in the lungs of two species (mice and primates). To isolate the lung response, conducting airway explants containing Club cells, a target for pulmonary naphthalene toxicity, were microdissected from live lung tissue and incubated with 14 C-naphthalene or its metabolites: 14 C-1,2-naphthoquinone or 14 C-naphthalene-1,2-dihydrodiol. Explants were incubated for 1 h, then processed immediately (T1), or were transferred to clean media for the remainder of the 24 h (T24), to monitor 14 C in DNA over time. Accelerator mass spectrometry analysis revealed the formation of DNA adducts by all three radiolabeled compounds by T24. Our results support the notion that P450 enzymes of the Cyp2abfgs subfamily contribute to naphthalene-induced DNA adduct formation (approximately 4-fold reduction in male mice lacking the Cyp2abfgs genes, P < 0.01). The finding that naphthalene-1,2-dihydrodiol, a stable metabolite, formed DNA adducts (102–117 adducts/10 8 nucleotides) at 24 h following addition to the culture media validates the concern that circulating naphthalene metabolites can contribute to DNA adduct formation in the lung. DNA adducts persisted to 24 h after exposure in both mouse and primate airways and at comparable levels between species (77.8 vs 129 adducts/10 8 nucleotides, respectively). Together, these results support the importance of a potential genotoxic mechanism of naphthalene and its metabolites in vivo in both mice and nonhuman primates, and possibly also in humans.

Biological and medical sciences↗

Pitfalls in the Diagnosis of Acute Pulmonary Embolism on Computed Tomography: Common Pathologic and Imaging Mimics

Purpose of Review: Acute pulmonary embolism (PE) is the third most-common acute cardiovascular disease in the United States. Nearly 900,000 new diagnoses are made each year, with 250,000 associated hospitalizations and up to 100,000 deaths (Palacio et al. in Semin Roentgenol 50(3):217–225, 2015; Metter et al. in Am J Roentgenol 208(3):489–494, 2017; Jaff et al. in Circulation 123(16):1788–830, 2011). Timely and accurate diagnosis of acute PE is crucial for the prevention of most deaths associated with PE, even more so than optimal medical therapy (Palacio et al. in Semin Roentgenol 50(3):217–225, 2015; Jaff et al. in Circulation 123(16):1788–830, 2011; Raja et al. in Ann Intern Med 163(9):701, 2015). Recent Findings: Computed tomography (CT) has emerged as the primary imaging modality used in the diagnosis of acute PE. Thus, radiologists play a key role in the correct diagnosis of acute PE, and must differentiate this diagnosis from other conditions that mimic the imaging findings of acute PE, as well as from artifacts associated with imaging techniques (Palacio et al. in Semin Roentgenol 50(3):217–225, 2015; Jaff et al. in Circulation 123(16):1788–830, 2011; Raja et al. in Ann Intern Med 163(9):701, 2015). Understanding how these diagnoses present on CT is necessary for improved patient care. Summary: This article will discuss the diagnosis of acute PE with CT, the diagnosis of diseases that may be mistaken for acute PE, and how to identify imaging artifacts that may be mistaken for an acute PE.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

Exacerbation of ozone-induced pulmonary and systemic effects by β 2 -adrenergic and/or glucocorticoid receptor agonist/s

Agonists of β 2 adrenergic receptors (β 2 AR) and glucocorticoid receptors (GR) are prescribed to treat pulmonary diseases. Since ozone effects are mediated through the activation of AR and GR, we hypothesized that the treatment of rats with relevant therapeutic doses of long acting β 2 AR agonist (LABA; clenbuterol; CLEN) and/or GR agonist (dexamethasone; DEX) would exacerbate ozone-induced pulmonary and systemic changes. In the first study, male 12-week-old Wistar-Kyoto rats were injected intraperitoneally with vehicle (saline), CLEN (0.004 or 0.02 mg/kg), or DEX (0.02 or 0.1 mg/kg). Since dual therapy is commonly used, in the second study, rats received either saline or combined CLEN + DEX (each at 0.005 or 0.02 mg/kg) one day prior to and on both days of exposure (air or 0.8ppm ozone, 4 hr/day x 2-days). In air-exposed rats CLEN, DEX or CLEN + DEX did not induce lung injury or inflammation, however DEX and CLEN + DEX decreased circulating lymphocytes, spleen and thymus weights, increased free fatty acids (FFA) and produced hyperglycemia and glucose intolerance. Ozone exposure of vehicle-treated rats increased bronchoalveolar lavage fluid protein, albumin, neutrophils, IL-6 and TNF-α. Ozone decreased circulating lymphocytes, increased FFA, and induced hyperglycemia and glucose intolerance. Drug treatment did not reverse ozone-induced ventillatory changes, however, lung effects (protein and albumin leakage, inflammation, and IL-6 increase) were exacerbated by CLEN and CLEN + DEX pre-treatment in a dose-dependent manner (CLEN > CLEN + DEX). Systemic effects induced by DEX and CLEN + DEX but not CLEN in air-exposed rats were analogous to and more pronounced than those induced by ozone. These data suggest that adverse air pollution effects might be exacerbated in people receiving LABA or LABA plus glucocorticoids.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗