Exponential growth, high prevalence of SARS-CoV-2, and vaccine effectiveness associated with the Delta variant.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections were rising during early summer 2021 in many countries as a result of the Delta variant. We assessed reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction swab positivity in the Real-time Assessment of Community Transmission–1 (REACT-1) study in England. During June and July 2021, we observed sustained exponential growth with an average doubling time of 25 days, driven by complete replacement of the Alpha variant by Delta and by high prevalence at younger, less-vaccinated ages.

External validation of the HCM Risk-Kids model for predicting sudden cardiac death in childhood hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Aims: Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is the most common mode of death in childhood hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). The newly developed HCM Risk-Kids model provides clinicians with individualized estimates of risk. The aim of this study was to externally validate the model in a large independent, multi-centre patient cohort.

Effect of Religious Fasting in Ramadan on Blood Pressure: Results From LORANS (London Ramadan Study) and a Meta-Analysis.

Background Ramadan fasting is practiced by hundreds of millions every year. This ritual practice changes diet and lifestyle dramatically; thus, the effect of Ramadan fasting on blood pressure must be determined. Methods and Results LORANS (London Ramadan Study) is an observational study, systematic review, and meta-analysis.

Photochemistry of Heteroleptic 1,4,5,8-Tetraazaphenanthrene- and Bi-1,2,3-triazolyl-Containing Ruthenium(II) Complexes.

Diimine metal complexes have significant relevance in the development of photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photoactivated chemotherapy (PACT) applications. In particular, complexes of the TAP ligand (1,4,5,8-tetraazaphenanthrene) are known to lead to photoinduced oxidation of DNA, while TAP- and triazole-based complexes are also known to undergo photochemical ligand release processes relevant to PACT. The photophysical and photochemical properties of heteroleptic complexes [Ru(TAP)(btz)] (btz = 1,1'-dibenzyl-4,4'-bi-1,2,3-triazolyl, = 1 (), 2 ()) have been explored.

Regulation of CYLD activity and specificity by phosphorylation and ubiquitin-binding CAP-Gly domains.

Non-degradative ubiquitin chains and phosphorylation events govern signaling responses by innate immune receptors. The deubiquitinase CYLD in complex with SPATA2 is recruited to receptor signaling complexes by the ubiquitin ligase LUBAC and regulates Met1- and Lys63-linked polyubiquitin and receptor signaling outcomes. Here, we investigate the molecular determinants of CYLD activity.

Predictive symptoms for COVID-19 in the community: REACT-1 study of over 1 million people.

Background: Rapid detection, isolation, and contact tracing of community COVID-19 cases are essential measures to limit the community spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We aimed to identify a parsimonious set of symptoms that jointly predict COVID-19 and investigated whether predictive symptoms differ between the B.1.

Household Air Pollution and Blood Pressure, Vascular Damage, and Subclinical Indicators of Cardiovascular Disease in Older Chinese Adults.

Background: Limited data suggest that household air pollution from cooking and heating with solid fuel (i.e., coal and biomass) stoves may contribute to the development of hypertension and vascular damage.

Quantitative SPECT/CT parameters of myocardial Technetium-3,3-diphosphono-1,2-propanodicarboxylic acid (DPD) uptake in suspected cardiac transthyretin amyloidosis.

Background: Tc-labelled bisphosphonates are used for imaging assessment of patients with transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR). Present study evaluates whether quantitative SPECT/CT measurement of absolute myocardial Tc-labelled 3,3-diphosphono-1,2-propanodicarboxylic acid (Tc-DPD) uptake can diagnose patients with suspected ATTR.

Methods: Twenty-eight patients (25 male, age 80.

Effect of Salt Substitution on Cardiovascular Events and Death.

Background: Salt substitutes with reduced sodium levels and increased potassium levels have been shown to lower blood pressure, but their effects on cardiovascular and safety outcomes are uncertain.

Methods: We conducted an open-label, cluster-randomized trial involving persons from 600 villages in rural China. The participants had a history of stroke or were 60 years of age or older and had high blood pressure.

Spin/Valley Coupled Dynamics of Electrons and Holes at the MoS-MoSe Interface.

The coupled spin and valley degrees of freedom in transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are considered a promising platform for information processing. Here, we use a TMD heterostructure MoS-MoSe to study optical pumping of spin/valley polarized carriers across the interface and to elucidate the mechanisms governing their subsequent relaxation. By applying time-resolved Kerr and reflectivity spectroscopies, we find that the photoexcited carriers conserve their spin for both tunneling directions across the interface.

Association between egg intake and blood pressure in the USA: the INTERnational study on MAcro/micronutrients and blood Pressure (INTERMAP).

Objectives: To investigate associations of egg intake with blood pressure (BP) and the role of dietary variables and other macro- and micro-nutrients in the association.

Design: We used cross-sectional data for the USA as part of the INTERnational study on MAcro/micronutrients and blood Pressure (INTERMAP). INTERMAP was surveyed between 1996 and 1999, including four 24-h dietary recalls, two 24-h urine collections and eight measurements of systolic BP and diastolic BP (SBP, DBP).

Myocardial Perfusion Defects in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Mutation Carriers.

Background Impaired myocardial blood flow (MBF) in the absence of epicardial coronary disease is a feature of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Although most evident in hypertrophied or scarred segments, reduced MBF can occur in apparently normal segments. We hypothesized that impaired MBF and myocardial perfusion reserve, quantified using perfusion mapping cardiac magnetic resonance, might occur in the absence of overt left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and late gadolinium enhancement, in mutation carriers without LVH criteria for HCM (genotype-positive, left ventricular hypertrophy-negative).

Effect of ultraprocessed food intake on cardiometabolic risk is mediated by diet quality: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: To examine the effect of the consumption of ultraprocessed food on diet quality, and cardiometabolic risk (CMR) in an occupational cohort.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Setting: Occupational cohort.

Protocol for the economic evaluation of the China Salt Substitute and Stroke Study (SSaSS).

Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. Reducing dietary salt consumption is a potentially cost-effective way to reduce blood pressure and the burden of CVD. To date, economic evidence has focused on sodium reduction in food industry or processed food with blood pressure as the primary outcome.

Randomised trial on effect of involving media reporters in salt reduction programme to increase media reports and the public's knowledge, belief and behaviors on salt and health: Changzhi reporters trial.

Objective: To assess the effects of a novel mass media intervention in increasing media reports on salt and health by involving media reporters in a scientifically well designed salt reduction trial.

Methods: We recruited and trained 66 media reporters in Changzhi, Shanxi province, China to conduct a randomized controlled trial on blood pressure lowering effect of salt substitute in Dec, 2012 and Jan 2013 among their own relatives or friends (253 from 129 families in the salt substitute arm and 263 from 133 families in the control arm for two months). We shared trial results and other information on salt and health with the reporters within a month after the trial.

Alpha-protein kinase 3 (ALPK3) truncating variants are a cause of autosomal dominant hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Aims: The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of heterozygous truncating ALPK3 variants (ALPK3tv) in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and confirm their pathogenicity using burden testing in independent cohorts and family co-segregation studies.

Methods And Results: In a discovery cohort of 770 index patients with HCM, 12 (1.56%) were heterozygous for ALPK3tv [odds ratio(OR) 16.

Use of Acute Psychiatric Hospitalisation: A Study of the Factors Influencing Decisions to Arrange Acute Admission to Inpatient Mental Health Facilities.

Human decision-making involves a complex interplay of intra- and inter-personal factors. The decisions clinicians make in practise are subject to a wide range of influences. Admission to a psychiatric hospital is a major clinical intervention, but the decision-making processes involved in admissions remain unclear.

Maximal Wall Thickness Measurement in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: Biomarker Variability and its Impact on Clinical Care.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to define the variability of maximal wall thickness (MWT) measurements across modalities and predict its impact on care in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).

Background: Left ventricular MWT measured by echocardiography or cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) contributes to the diagnosis of HCM, stratifies risk, and guides key decisions, including whether to place an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD).

Methods: A 20-center global network provided paired echocardiographic and CMR data sets from patients with HCM, from which 17 paired data sets of the highest quality were selected.

Community factors and excess mortality in first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in England.

Risk factors for increased risk of death from COVID-19 have been identified, but less is known on characteristics that make communities resilient or vulnerable to the mortality impacts of the pandemic. We applied a two-stage Bayesian spatial model to quantify inequalities in excess mortality in people aged 40 years and older at the community level during the first wave of the pandemic in England, March-May 2020 compared with 2015-2019. Here we show that communities with an increased risk of excess mortality had a high density of care homes, and/or high proportion of residents on income support, living in overcrowded homes and/or with a non-white ethnicity.