Introduction: SARS-CoV-2 infection leads to a hypercoagulable state. The prevalence of pulmonary embolism (PE) seems to be higher in this subgroup of patients. Patients and methods: We combined data from two tertiary referral centers specialized in the management of PE. The aims of this study were as follows: (1) to evaluate the prevalence of PE among a large population of consecutive patients admitted for COVID-19 pneumonia in two centers, (2) to identify a plasma D-dimer threshold that may be useful in PE diagnostic assessment, (3) to characterize the abnormalities associated with PE and mortality in COVID-19 patients. Results: The incidence of symptomatic acute PE was 19.3%. For diagnosing PE in COVID-19 patients, based on ROC curve analysis, we identified a D-dimer concentration/patient’s age ratio of 70, which improved D-dimer diagnostic capacity for PE and led to a reclassification improvement of 14% (NRI 0.14, p = 0.03) when compared to a cut-off level of 1000 ng/mL. Especially in severe COVID-19 lung involvement, D-dimer/age ratio cut-off equal to 70 was characterized by high diagnostic feasibility (sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, positive predictive value of 83%, 94%, 96%, and 73%, respectively). Apart from PE status, lung involvement and troponin T concentration were also independent predictors of in-hospital mortality. In the subgroup of PE patients, mortality was comparable with non-PE patients (19/88 (21.5%) vs. 101/368 (27.4%) for non-PE, p = 0.26) and was associated with older age, higher Bova scores, and higher troponin T concentrations. Age was the sole independent predictor for mortality in this subgroup. Conclusions: PE in COVID-19 patients is common, but it may not influence mortality when managed at a specialized center. In suspected PE, age-adjusted D-dimer levels (upper limit of normal obtained from the formula patient’s age × 70) may still be a useful tool to start the diagnostic workup. In COVID-19 patients without PE, older age, more extensive parenchymal involvement, or higher D-dimer levels are factors predicting mortality.

With Gdansk artists an approach to the subject of the marine photography, was marked on several levels – artistic, documentary, journalistic and usable. Since 1945 to the first half of the 80s, we notice the popularization of maritime theme in the environment throughout artistic exhibition activities, and the program objectives. Maritime photography or maritime themes in photography? An analysis of the photographic medium in terms of belonging to the art can give the answer to this question. It is also worth considering whether there was „Gdansk School of the Maritime Photography”? The phenomenon of Polish marine art in the case of photography has been strongly emphasized in the Gdansk photography environment. The traditional display of the maritime theme has been broken, and with the approval of the authorities. Shipyard workers and dockers joined to the effigy of the sea people (fishermen, sailors). Photographers began to enter the maritime economy and use the effects of cooperation with maritime institutions for artistic purposes. Thematic exhibitions on shipyards and ports were created showing the sea from a different point of view, from the perspective of land. Socio-political events related to Solidarity stopped the promotion of the sea through the image of a shipyard worker and a shipyard, which became icons of the struggle for freedom. The Gdansk photographic community after the socio-political crisis of the first half of the 1980s, has not yet rebuilt its leading position in the dissemination of the maritime theme in photography on a large scale. Maritime exhibitions still appeared, but mainly on the local level, and the sea was reduced to the landscape understood very traditionally. At the same time photographers of the younger generation were interested in completely different issues of the style and aesthetics of photography. Te slogan „face to the sea” ceased to correspond with new times.

Metropolises and cities have always fascinated artists, including those who use photography. World War II brought a hitherto unknown image of the city–ruins. Those who survived the annihilation made an attempt to depict the destruction. The photographs were supposed to be a testimony of the cruelty of war, and years later they also became material used by researchers from many scientific disciplines. Here emerges the specificity of showing the ruins in the context of a photo, which can be a document, but also a piece of art. The ruins became a journalistic and artistic challenge for the creators. Images of the destroyed cities began to be exhibited in museums and galleries, not only in the first years after the end of World War II. In Poland, the way of showing the devastation of Warsaw is symptomatic compared to the cities in the Recovered Territories. The capital has become a symbol of the drama of the whole country. The image of the city from before 1939 was often compared with the image of war damage. The photographs of the ruined: Gdańsk, Szczecin and Wrocław, had a slightly different message. In these cities, they looked for evidence of Polish identity, a centuries-old tradition and historical belonging to the Polish state. The views of the destroyed cities were juxtaposed with the image of the country’s reconstruction, emphasizing the new geopolitical order. It is estimated that ninety percent of the historic center of Gdańsk was destroyed during World War II. In the fall of 1945, Kazimierz Lelewicz (1896–1986), an engineer and artist-photographer by education, came to such a ruined city. He began a long process of documenting the destruction and reconstruction of Gdańsk. What is striking in Lelewicz’s photographs is the juxtaposition of the image of a city–ruin, an extinct, autonomous space, with a city-building, full of life. This combination of images of the urban tissue has a very symbolic and allegorical meaning. In this context, the image of the ruin and the way it was interpreted by Kazimierz Lelewicz is also worth considering. The topic itself provokes the consideration of the theme of ruin in the discourse of memory or oblivion.

The present report summarizes the most interesting new clinical studies that were reported during the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2021. The AVATAR study evaluated earlier surgical aortic valve replacement. A study by Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network focused on concomitant mitral and tricuspid valve surgery. The CRAVE study provided important data for coffee lovers. Use of empagliflozin in heart failure was evaluated in the EMPULSE and EMPEROR-Preserved trials. A study of an oral PCSK9 inhibitor is an initial step towards full evaluation of the efficacy of this drug. Reversal of ticagrelor action was reported in the REVERSE-IT study.