Exploration and Validation of Immune and Therapeutic-Related Hub Genes in Aortic Valve Calcification and Carotid Atherosclerosis.

Background: Cardiovascular diseases, such as aortic valve calcification (AVC) and carotid atherosclerosis (CAS), impose substantial health challenges on a global scale. Both disorders have overlapping risk factors, which might trigger similar immune-inflammatory reactions in both diseases.

Methods: Shared differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the AVC and CAS datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO).

A Semi-Supervised Adaptive Matrix Machine Approach for Fault Diagnosis in Railway Switch Machine.

The switch machine, an essential element of railway infrastructure, is crucial in maintaining the safety of railway operations. Traditional methods for fault diagnosis are constrained by their dependence on extensive labeled datasets. Semi-supervised learning (SSL), although a promising solution to the scarcity of samples, faces challenges such as the imbalance of pseudo-labels and inadequate data representation.

Multi-Agent System Based Cooperative Control for Speed Convergence of Virtually Coupled Train Formation.

This paper investigates the problem of spacing control between adjacent trains in train formation and proposes a distributed train-formation speed-convergence cooperative-control algorithm based on barrier Lyapunov function. Considering practical limitations such as communication distance and bandwidth constraints during operation, not all trains can directly communicate with the leader and obtain the expected trajectory it sends, making it difficult to maintain formation consistency as per the predetermined ideal state. Furthermore, to address the challenge of unknown external disturbances encountered by trains during operation, this paper designs a distributed observer deployed on each train in the formation.

Ethyl pyruvate alleviates pulmonary arterial hypertension via PI3K-Akt signaling.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a pathophysiological syndrome that is extremely difficult to manage, and there is currently no effective treatment. We want to elucidate the therapeutic effect of ethyl pyruvate (EP) on PAH and its possible mechanism. Pulmonary artery endothelial cells (PAECs) were cultured in conventional low-oxygen environments, and cellular proliferation was monitored after treatment with EP.

A Mendelian randomization-based study of the causal relationship between leisure sedentary behavior and delirium.

Background: Delirium is an acute or subacute change in mental status caused by various factors. We evaluated the causal relationship between leisure sedentary behaviors (LSBs) and delirium.

Methods: A two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study was performed to evaluate the causal relationship between sedentary behaviors (time spent watching television, time spent using computer, and time spent driving) and delirium.

Ultrasound-mediated HGF Gene Microbubbles Mitigate Hyperkinetic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension in Rabbits.

Aim: Hyperkinetic pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a complication of congenital heart disease. Gene therapy is a new experimental treatment for PAH, and ultrasound-mediated gene-carrying microbubble targeted delivery is a promising development for gene transfer.

Methods: This study successfully established a hyperkinetic PAH rabbit model by a common carotid artery and jugular vein shunt using the cuff style method.

WGCNA combined with machine learning algorithms for analyzing key genes and immune cell infiltration in heart failure due to ischemic cardiomyopathy.

Background: Ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) induced heart failure (HF) is one of the most common causes of death worldwide. This study aimed to find candidate genes for ICM-HF and to identify relevant biomarkers by machine learning (ML).

Methods: The expression data of ICM-HF and normal samples were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database.

Corrected Transposition of Great Arteries with Cor Triatriatum and Atrial Septal Defect-Case Report.

A 37-year-old male patient with corrected transposition of great arteries (ccTGA) with cor triatriatum sinister (CTS), left superior vena cava, and atrial septal defects is reported in our case. None of these impacted the patient's growth or development, nor daily work until age 33. Later, the patient developed symptoms of obvious impaired heart function, which improved after medical treatment.

Exploration and validation of the influence of angiogenesis-related factors in aortic valve calcification.

Over the years, bioinformatics tools have been used to identify functional genes. In the present study, bioinformatics analyses were conducted to explore the underlying molecular mechanisms of angiogenic factors in calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD). The raw gene expression profiles were from datasets GSE153555, GSE83453, and GSE51472, and the angiogenesis-related gene set was from the Gene Set Enrichment Analysis database (GSEA).

Single coronary ostium with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy treated using the Morrow procedure: a case report.

Background: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a commonly inherited heart disease. In addition, single coronary artery (SCA) is a rare congenital anomaly of the coronary arteries. And SCA concomitant with severe hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) has seldom been reported in the literature.

Anomalous Double Blood Supply to the Anterior Descending (LAD, RAD) Artery in an Infective Endocarditis Patient: A Case Report.

Background: Double blood supply to the anterior descending artery is a rare finding of coronary angiography. However, infective endocarditis (IE) combined with anomalous double blood supply to the anterior descending artery has not been reported.

Case Presentation: A 58-year-old male previously diagnosed with IE came to the emergency department with complaints of chest tightness and dyspnea.

Silencing TUFM Inhibits Development of Monocrotaline-Induced Pulmonary Hypertension by Regulating Mitochondrial Autophagy via AMPK/mTOR Signal Pathway.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is an extremely malignant cardiovascular disease which mainly involves the uncontrollable proliferation of the pulmonary arterial smooth muscular cells (PASMCs). Recent studies have confirmed that mitochondria play an important role in the pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension through sensing cell hypoxia, energy metabolism conversion, and apoptosis. As a mitochondrial membrane protein, TUFM has been regarded to be related to mitochondrial autophagy (mitophagy), apoptosis, and oxidative stress.

Case report: Double-chambered right ventricle diagnosed in a middle-aged female with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and atrial flutter: A rare case.

Double-chambered right ventricle (DCRV) is a rare congenital heart defect in adults, manifesting with progressive right ventricular outflow tract obstruction. We describe the first case of DCRV coexisting with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which is complicated by atrial flutter. A middle-aged woman with recurrent symptomatic atrial flutter who had previously been diagnosed with biventricular hypertrophic cardiomyopathy was admitted to our department.

Mitral valve regurgitation and endocarditis triggered by a needle.

Background: Cardiac foreign bodies are extremely rare in clinical patients, especially when foreign bodies damage the internal structure of the heart coincidentally after they penetrate the heart.

Case Presentation: Here, we report the case of a two-year-old girl whose heart was penetrated by a needle, which triggered mitral valve regurgitation and endocarditis. After a comprehensive inspection, accurate judgment and surgical preparation, we removed the needle and repaired her mitral valve.

Ethyl Pyruvate Alleviates Pulmonary Hypertension through the Suppression of Pulmonary Artery Smooth Muscle Cell Proliferation via the High Mobility Group Protein B1/Receptor for Advanced Glycation End-Products Axis.

Purpose: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a formidable disease with no effective treatment at present. With the goal of developing potential therapies, we attempted to determine whether ethyl pyruvate (EP) could alleviate PAH and its mechanism.

Methods: Pulmonary smooth muscle cells were cultured in conventional low-oxygen environments, and cellular proliferation was monitored after treatment with either EP or phosphate-balanced solution (PBS).

Knockdown of miR-665 Protects Against Cardiomyocyte Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury-Induced ROS Accumulation and Apoptosis Through the Activation of Pak1/Akt Signaling in Myocardial Infarction.

Myocardial infarction (MI) is one of the major causes of death worldwide, and the therapeutic strategies of MI are still limited. In this study, we investigated the function of miR-665 in MI. In the present study, an ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) rat model and a hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R)-induced H9c2 cell model were successfully established to mimic the MI for in vivo and in vitro studies.

Leukemia Inhibitory Factor Decreases Neurogenesis and Angiogenesis in a Rat Model of Intracerebral Hemorrhage.

Neurogenesis and angiogenesis can improve the neurologic function after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) plays an important role in neurogenesis and angiogenesis. In this study, a rat model of autologous blood-induced ICH was used to evaluate the effect of LIF on the neurogenesis and angiogenesis following ICH.

Employing the Sirolimus-Eluting Poly (Propylene Carbonate) Mesh for the Prevention of Arteriovenous Graft Stenosis in Rats.

Poly (propylene carbonate, PPC) is a new member of the aliphatic polyester family. An outstanding feature of PPC is that it produces mainly water and carbon dioxide when degraded in vivo, causing minimal side effects. This unique property together with excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability makes PPC a promising material for drug delivery.

Oxygenation impairment after total arch replacement with a stented elephant trunk for type-A dissection.

Objective: To study the risk factors of oxygenation impairment in patients with type-A acute aortic dissection who underwent total arch replacement with a stented elephant trunk.

Methods: In this study, 169 consecutive patients were enrolled who were diagnosed with type-A acute aortic dissection and underwent a total arch replacement procedure at the Qilu Hospital of Shandong University between January 2015 and February 2017. Postoperative oxygenation impairment was defined as arterial oxygen partial pressure/inspired oxygen fraction ≤ 200 with positive end expiratory pressure ≥ 5 cm HO that occurred within 72 hours of surgery.

Detection of low-abundance point mutations by competitive strand assisted endonuclease IV signal amplification system.

Genetic mutations are important molecular biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and surveillance. Therefore, the development of methods for mutation detection characterized with straightforward, highly specific and sensitive to low-level mutations within various sequence contexts is extremely needed. Although some of the currently available methods have shown very encouraging results, their discrimination efficiency is still very low.

Intratracheal instillation of ethyl pyruvate nanoparticles prevents the development of shunt-flow-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension in a rat model.

Purpose: To investigate whether inhalation of ethyl pyruvate (EP) encapsulated with poly(ethylene glycol)-block-lactide/glycolide copolymer nanoparticles (EP-NPs) can prevent the development of shunt-flow-induced hyperkinetic pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in a rat model.

Materials And Methods: Rats were separated into five groups: blank (ie, no treatment after shunt flow), normal control (ie, no shunt flow or treatment), EP-NP instillation, EP-only instillation, and vehicle. The animals received intratracheal instillation of EP-NPs or other treatments immediately after a shunt flow, and treatment continued weekly until the end of the experiment.

Combined hypoxia inducible factor-1α and homogeneous endothelial progenitor cell therapy attenuates shunt flow-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension in rabbits.

Background: Hyperkinetic pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a common complication in congenital heart disease, and affects operations, indications, and prognoses for patients. Gene-based stem cell transplantation is an alternative treatment that can attenuate PAH.

Methods: Hyperkinetic PAH rabbit models were successfully established, using common carotid artery and jugular vein anastomosis.

Establishment and comparison of two reliable hyperkinetic pulmonary hypertension models in rabbits.

Objectives: We sought to explore and create a reliable, convenient, and economic hyperkinetic pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH) model and confirm the exact time of establishing a reversible or irreversible model to serve as a platform for future studies.

Methods: We used a common carotid artery and jugular vein shunt with an anastomosis and cuff to create a hyperkinetic PAH model in rabbits. At 1, 2, 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively, the systolic pressure, mean pulmonary arterial pressure, and mean arterial pressure were measured by catheterization and the right ventricle hypertrophy index was calculated.

Ethyl pyruvate ameliorates monocrotaline-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension in rats.

Background: Ethyl pyruvate (EP) is an anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant agent associated with many diseases. In this study, we evaluated whether EP could attenuate monocrotaline-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

Methods: A PAH model was established by subcutaneously injecting a single dose of monocrotaline (60 mg/kg).

Pre-treatment with bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells inhibits systemic intravascular coagulation and attenuates organ dysfunction in lipopolysaccharide-induced disseminated intravascular coagulation rat model.

Background: Bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) can activate immunological cells to secrete various proinflammatory cytokines involved in the pathophysiological process of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) during infection. In recent years, it has been found that bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) can affect the activity of these immune cells and regulate the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines. Here, we report the possible protective effect of BMSCs pre-treatment in LPS-induced DIC rat model and the mechanism.