[Treatment of coronary artery stenoses has substantially changed; previous cardiac surgery methods have been replaced by percutaneous coronary interventions, especially coronary stent implantations. Nevertheless, stenonis can reoccur in the artery following stent implantation; this process is called in-stent restenosis. In the present study, we examined the technical characteristics of coronary stents that, if selected optimally, can reduce the frequency of in-stent restenoses. These characteristics include the technology used for the manufacturing of the stent, the stent’s structure, the area of its metal-covered surface, its strut profile and coating. In our study, we examined strut width and profile of ten coronary stents (AVE GFX, Express, Liberté, Multi-Link Zeta, Orbus R, Pro-Kinetic, Sanocor, Tecnic Carbostent, Tentaur, Tentaur-C). We measured strut’s width using an Olympus PMG3 metallurgical microscope, and studied changes of the Sanocor Stent’s strut thickness during the manufacturing process. Our results showed that the Sanocor Stent’s strut thickness was reduced during the manufacturing process.]

[During the past years the frequency of pulmonary mycoses has increased; the most serious cases include Candida- and Aspergillus-infections. In this article, we discuss primarily the clinical manifestations of these infections, but we also mention the Pneumocystis jiroveci, Cryptococcus neoformans and Zygomycosis/ Mucormycosis infections. We describe the role of the chest physician in the diagnostic procedure and position the bronchoscopic examinations in the diagnostic algorythm.]