This document may be broadly used as a standard reference regarding the current state of the IVOCT imaging modality, intended for researchers and clinicians who use IVOCT and analyze IVOCT data.

Aims The aim of this study was to understand the impact of optical coherence tomography (OCT)-detected thin-cap fibroatheroma (TCFA) on clinical outcomes of diabetes mellitus (DM) patients with fractional flow reserve (FFR)-negative lesions. Methods and results COMBINE OCT-FFR study was a prospective, double-blind, international, natural history study. After FFR assessment, and revascularization of FFR-positive lesions, patients with ≥1 FFR-negative lesions (target lesions) were classified in two groups based on the presence or absence of ≥1 TCFA lesion. The primary endpoint compared FFR-negative TCFA-positive patients with FFR-negative TCFA-negative patients for a composite of cardiac mortality, target vessel myocardial infarction, clinically driven target lesion revascularization or unstable angina requiring hospitalization at 18 months. Among 550 patients enrolled, 390 (81%) patients had ≥1 FFR-negative lesions. Among FFR-negative patients, 98 (25%) were TCFA positive and 292 (75%) were TCFA negative. The incidence of the primary endpoint was 13.3% and 3.1% in TCFA-positive vs. TCFA-negative groups, respectively (hazard ratio 4.65; 95% confidence interval, 1.99–10.89; P < 0.001). The Cox regression multivariable analysis identified TCFA as the strongest predictor of major adverse clinical events (MACE) (hazard ratio 5.12; 95% confidence interval 2.12–12.34; P < 0.001). Conclusions Among DM patients with ≥1 FFR-negative lesions, TCFA-positive patients represented 25% of this population and were associated with a five-fold higher rate of MACE despite the absence of ischaemia. This discrepancy between the impact of vulnerable plaque and ischaemia on future adverse events may represent a paradigm shift for coronary artery disease risk stratification in DM patients.

Oxide-semiconductor interface quality of high-pressure reactive sputtered (HPRS) TiO 2 films annealed in O 2 at temperatures ranging from 600 to 900 • C, and atomic layer deposited (ALD) TiO 2 films grown at 225 or 275 • C from TiCl 4 or Ti(OC 2 H 5 ) 4 , and annealed at 750 • C in O 2 , has been studied on silicon substrates. Our attention has been focused on the interfacial state and disordered-induced gap state densities. From our results, HPRS films annealed at 900 • C in oxygen atmosphere exhibit the best characteristics, with D it density being the lowest value measured in this work (5-6 × 10 11 cm −2 eV −1 ), and undetectable conductance transients within our experimental limits. This result can be due to two contributions: the increase of the SiO 2 film thickness and the crystallinity, since in the films annealed at 900 • C rutile is the dominant crystalline phase, as revealed by transmission electron microscopy and infrared spectroscopy. In the case of annealing in the range of 600-800 • C, anatase and rutile phases coexist. Disorder-induced gap state (DIGS) density is greater for 700 • C annealed HPRS films than for 750 • C annealed ALD TiO 2 films, whereas 800 • C annealing offers DIGS density values similar to ALD cases. For ALD films, the studies clearly reveal the dependence of trap densities on the chemical route used.

An electrical characterization of Al2O3 based metal-insulator-semiconductor structures has been carried out by using capacitance-voltage, deep level transient spectroscopy, and conductance-transient (G-t) techniques. Dielectric films were atomic layer deposited (ALD) at temperatures ranging from 300 to 800 °C directly on silicon substrates and on an Al2O3 buffer layer that was grown in the same process by using 15 ALD cycles at 300 °C. As for single growth temperatures, 300 °C leads to the lowest density of states distributed away from the interface to the insulator [disorder-induced gap states (DIGS)], but to the highest interfacial state density (Dit). However, by using 300∕500°C double growth temperatures it is possible to maintain low DIGS values and to improve the interface quality in terms of Dit. The very first ALD cycles define the dielectric properties very near to the dielectric-semiconductor interface, and growing an upper layer at higher ALD temperature produces some annealing of interfacial states, thus improving the interface quality. Also, samples in which the only layer or the upper one was grown at the highest temperature (800 °C) show the poorest results both in terms of Dit and DIGS, so using very high temperatures yield defective dielectric films.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the discriminatory ability of ultrasound in calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease (CPPD), using microscopic analysis of menisci and knee hyaline cartilage (HC) as reference standard.MethodsConsecutive patients scheduled for knee replacement surgery, due to osteoarthritis (OA), were enrolled. Each patient underwent ultrasound examination of the menisci and HC of the knee, scoring each site for presence/absence of CPPD. Ultrasound signs of inflammation (effusion, synovial proliferation and power Doppler) were assessed semiquantitatively (0–3). The menisci and condyles, retrieved during surgery, were examined microscopically by optical light microscopy and by compensated polarised microscopy. CPPs were scored as present/absent in six different samples from the surface and from the internal part of menisci and cartilage. Ultrasound and microscopic analysis were performed by different operators, blinded to each other’s findings.Results11 researchers from seven countries participated in the study. Of 101 enrolled patients, 68 were included in the analysis. In 38 patients, the surgical specimens were insufficient. The overall diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound for CPPD was of 75%—sensitivity of 91% (range 71%–87% in single sites) and specificity of 59% (range 68%–92%). The best sensitivity and specificity were obtained by assessing in combination by ultrasound the medial meniscus and the medial condyle HC (88% and 76%, respectively). No differences were found between patients with and without CPPD regarding ultrasound signs of inflammation.ConclusionUltrasound demonstrated to be an accurate tool for discriminating CPPD. No differences were found between patents with OA alone and CPPD plus OA regarding inflammation.