International Comparison of Quality Indicators for Adults Hospitalized for Heart Failure: A Systematic Review.

Background: There is limited international agreement on defining care quality for the millions of people hospitalized with heart failure worldwide. Our objective was to compare and measure agreement across existing internationally published quality indicators (QIs) for the care of adults hospitalized for heart failure.

Methods: Systematic review and evidence gap map of internationally published articles reporting on QIs for adults hospitalized for heart failure, using PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and TRIP from inception to July 18, 2022.

Synthesis of Ag-Doped Tetrahedral Amorphous Carbon Coatings and Their Antibiofilm Efficacy for Medical Implant Application.

Tetrahedral amorphous carbon (taC) is a hydrogen-free carbon with extensive properties such as hardness, optical transparency, and chemical inertness. taC coatings have attracted much attention in recent times, as have coatings doped with a noble metal. A known antimicrobial metal agent, silver (Ag), has been used as a dopant in taC, with different Ag concentrations on the Ti64 coupons using a hybrid filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) and magnetron sputtering system.

Off-axis metasurfaces for folded flat optics.

The overall size of an optical system is limited by the volume of the components and the internal optical path length. To reach the limits of miniaturization, it is possible to reduce both component volume and path length by combining the concepts of metasurface flat optics and folded optics. In addition to their subwavelength component thickness, metasurfaces enable bending conventional folded geometries off axis beyond the law of reflection.

Potentiating the Cross-Reactive IFN-γ T Cell and Polyfunctional T Cell Responses by Heterologous GX-19N DNA Booster in Mice Primed with Either a COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine or Inactivated Vaccine.

Waning vaccine-induced immunity, coupled with the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants, has inspired the widespread implementation of COVID-19 booster vaccinations. Here, we evaluated the potential of the GX-19N DNA vaccine as a heterologous booster to enhance the protective immune response to SARS-CoV-2 in mice primed with either an inactivated virus particle (VP) or an mRNA vaccine. We found that in the VP-primed condition, GX-19N enhanced the response of both vaccine-specific antibodies and cross-reactive T Cells to the SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern (VOC), compared to the homologous VP vaccine prime-boost.

Synthesis of antibacterial hydroxypropyl methylcellulose and silver nanoparticle biocomposites via solution plasma using silver electrodes.

The biocomposites of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC)/silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized using the solution plasma process (SPP). HPMC/AgNPs were synthesized in 1-5 % HPMC solutions using silver electrodes. UV-Vis spectroscopy showed a peak near 400 nm and the peak increased as the concentration of HPMC and discharge time increased.

Relative immunogenicity of blood group antigens: First report in a Korean population.

Background: The immunogenicity of a blood group antigen is a measure of its likelihood of inducing alloantibodies. Although the immunogenicity of blood group antigens has been analyzed in Caucasian populations, immunogenicity to date has not been analyzed in Asian subjects. The present study therefore evaluated the relative immunogenicity of blood group antigens in a Korean population.

Clinical Features, Neuropathology, and Surgical Outcome in Patients With Refractory Epilepsy and Brain Somatic Variants in the Gene.

Background And Objectives: The gene, located at chromosome Xp11.23, encodes for a uridine diphosphate-galactose transporter. We describe clinical, genetic, neuroimaging, EEG, and histopathologic findings and assess possible predictors of postoperative seizure and cognitive outcome in 47 patients with refractory epilepsy and brain somatic gene variants.

Association of β-Amyloid and Basal Forebrain With Cortical Thickness and Cognition in Alzheimer and Lewy Body Disease Spectra.

Objective: Cholinergic degeneration and β-amyloid contribute to brain atrophy and cognitive dysfunction in Alzheimer disease (AD) and Lewy body disease (LBD), but their relationship has not been comparatively evaluated.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we recruited 28 normal controls (NC), 55 patients with AD mild cognitive impairment (MCI), 34 patients with AD dementia, 28 patients with LBD MCI, and 51 patients with LBD dementia. Participants underwent cognitive evaluation, brain MRI to measure the basal forebrain (BF) volume and global cortical thickness (CTh), and F-florbetaben (FBB) PET to measure the standardized uptake value ratio (SUVR).

Lateral Wall Implant as an Adjunct to Lateral Wall Orbital Decompression in Severe Thyroid Eye Disease.

Purpose: To describe the use of a lateral wall implant as an adjunct in lateral orbital wall decompression in severe thyroid eye disease.

Methods: This study is a retrospective review of 6 patients who underwent prior orbital decompression but had persistent proptosis. These patients underwent lateral wall decompression with adjunct lateral wall implant placement with a manually vaulted 0.

Clinical Characteristics and Predictors of In-Hospital Mortality in Patients With Cardiogenic Shock: Results From the RESCUE Registry.

Background: In the current era of mechanical circulatory support, limited data are available on prognosis of cardiogenic shock (CS) caused by various diseases. We investigated the characteristics and predictors of in-hospital mortality in Korean patients with CS.

Methods: The RESCUE study (Retrospective and Prospective Observational Study to Investigate Clinical Outcomes and Efficacy of Left Ventricular Assist Device for Korean Patients With CS) is a multicenter, retrospective, and prospective registry of patients that presented with CS.

Treatable cardiac disease in hospitalised COPD exacerbations.

Introduction: Acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD) are accompanied by escalations in cardiac risk superimposed upon elevated baseline risk. Appropriate treatment for coronary artery disease (CAD) and heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) could improve outcomes. However, securing these diagnoses during AECOPD is difficult, so their true prevalence remains unknown, as does the magnitude of this treatment opportunity.

Breast Cancer Risk Genes - Association Analysis in More than 113,000 Women.

Background: Genetic testing for breast cancer susceptibility is widely used, but for many genes, evidence of an association with breast cancer is weak, underlying risk estimates are imprecise, and reliable subtype-specific risk estimates are lacking.

Methods: We used a panel of 34 putative susceptibility genes to perform sequencing on samples from 60,466 women with breast cancer and 53,461 controls. In separate analyses for protein-truncating variants and rare missense variants in these genes, we estimated odds ratios for breast cancer overall and tumor subtypes.

Baricitinib plus Remdesivir for Hospitalized Adults with Covid-19.

Background: Severe coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) is associated with dysregulated inflammation. The effects of combination treatment with baricitinib, a Janus kinase inhibitor, plus remdesivir are not known.

Methods: We conducted a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial evaluating baricitinib plus remdesivir in hospitalized adults with Covid-19.

Observation of the B_{s}^{0}→X(3872)ϕ Decay.

Using a data sample of proton-proton collisions at sqrt[s]=13  TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 140  fb^{-1} collected by the CMS experiment in 2016-2018, the B_{s}^{0}→X(3872)ϕ decay is observed. Decays into J/ψπ^{+}π^{-} and K^{+}K^{-} are used to reconstruct, respectively, the X(3872) and ϕ. The ratio of the product of branching fractions B[B_{s}^{0}→X(3872)ϕ]B[X(3872)→J/ψπ^{+}π^{-}] to the product B[B_{s}^{0}→ψ(2S)ϕ]B[ψ(2S)→J/ψπ^{+}π^{-}] is measured to be [2.

Coronary Vascular Function and Cardiomyocyte Injury: A Report From the WISE-CVD.

Objective: Women with symptoms or signs of myocardial ischemia but no obstructive coronary artery disease (INOCA) often have coronary vascular dysfunction and elevated risk for adverse cardiovascular events. We hypothesized that u-hscTnI (ultra-high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I), a sensitive indicator of ischemic cardiomyocyte injury, is associated with coronary vascular dysfunction in women with INOCA. Approach and Results: Women (N=263) with INOCA enrolled in the WISE-CVD study (Women's Ischemic Syndrome Evaluation-Coronary Vascular Dysfunction) underwent invasive coronary vascular function testing and u-hscTnI measurements (Simoa HD-1 Analyzer; Quanterix Corporation, Lexington, MA).

Use of Chest Imaging in the Diagnosis and Management of COVID-19: A WHO Rapid Advice Guide.

The World Health Organization (WHO) undertook the development of a rapid guide on the use of chest imaging in the diagnosis and management of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The rapid guide was developed over 2 months by using standard WHO processes, except for the use of "rapid reviews" and online meetings of the panel. The evidence review was supplemented by a survey of stakeholders regarding their views on the acceptability, feasibility, impact on equity, and resource use of the relevant chest imaging modalities (chest radiography, chest CT, and lung US).

Personalized iPSC-Derived Dopamine Progenitor Cells for Parkinson's Disease.

We report the implantation of patient-derived midbrain dopaminergic progenitor cells, differentiated in vitro from autologous induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), in a patient with idiopathic Parkinson's disease. The patient-specific progenitor cells were produced under Good Manufacturing Practice conditions and characterized as having the phenotypic properties of substantia nigra pars compacta neurons; testing in a humanized mouse model (involving peripheral-blood mononuclear cells) indicated an absence of immunogenicity to these cells. The cells were implanted into the putamen (left hemisphere followed by right hemisphere, 6 months apart) of a patient with Parkinson's disease, without the need for immunosuppression.

Validating patient prioritization in the 2018 Revised United Network for Organ Sharing Heart Allocation System: A single-center experience.

The 2018 Revised United Network for Organ Sharing Heart Allocation System (HAS) was proposed to reclassify status 1A candidates into groups of decreasing acuity; however, it does not take into account factors such as body mass index (BMI) and blood group which influence waitlist (WL) outcomes. We sought to validate patient prioritization in the new HAS at our center. We retrospectively evaluated patients listed for heart transplantation (n = 214) at Emory University Hospital from 2011 to 2017.

Prognostic Value and Risk Continuum of Noninvasive Fractional Flow Reserve Derived from Coronary CT Angiography.

Background Coronary CT angiography with noninvasive fractional flow reserve (FFR) predicts lesion-specific ischemia when compared with invasive FFR. The longer term prognostic value of CT-derived FFR (FFR) is unknown. Purpose To determine the prognostic value of FFR when compared with coronary CT angiography and describe the relationship of the numeric value of FFR with outcomes.

Injury-specific variables improve risk adjustment and hospital quality assessment in severe traumatic brain injury.

Background: Hospital benchmarking is essential to quality improvement, but its usefulness depends on the ability of statistical models to adequately control for inter-hospital differences in patient mix. We explored whether the addition of injury-specific clinical variables to the current American College of Surgeons-Trauma Quality Improvement Program (TQIP) algorithm would improve model fit.

Methods: We analyzed a prospective registry containing all adult patients who presented to a regional consortium of 14 trauma centers between 2010 and 2011 with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Inhibitory effect of different Dendrobium species on LPS-induced inflammation in macrophages via suppression of MAPK pathways.

Dendrobii Caulis (DC), named 'Shihu' in Chinese, is a precious herb in traditional Chinese medicine. It is widely used to nourish stomach, enhance body fluid production, tonify "Yin" and reduce heat. More than thirty Dendrobium species are used as folk medicine.

Circulating Progenitor Cells and Racial Differences.

Rationale: Blacks compared with whites have a greater risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes. Impaired regenerative capacity, measured as lower levels of circulating progenitor cells (CPCs), is a novel determinant of adverse outcomes; however, little is known about racial differences in CPCs.

Objective: To investigate the number of CPCs, PC-mobilizing factors, PC mobilization during acute myocardial infarction and the predictive value of CPC counts in blacks compared with whites.