Vascular Endothelial Cells Derived from Transgene-Free Pig Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells for Vascular Tissue Engineering.

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) hold great promise for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases through cell-based therapies, but these therapies require extensive preclinical testing that is best done in species-in-species experiments. Pigs are a good large animal model for these tests due to the similarity of their cardiovascular system to humans. However, a lack of adequate pig iPSCs (piPSCs) that are analogous to human iPSCs has greatly limited the potential usefulness of this model system.

Fully biologic endothelialized-tissue-engineered vascular conduits provide antithrombotic function and graft patency.

Tissue-engineered vascular conduits (TEVCs), often made by seeding autologous bone marrow cells onto biodegradable polymeric scaffolds, hold promise toward treating single-ventricle congenital heart defects (SVCHDs). However, the clinical adoption of TEVCs has been hindered by a high incidence of graft stenosis in prior TEVC clinical trials. Herein, we developed endothelialized TEVCs by coating the luminal surface of decellularized human umbilical arteries with human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived endothelial cells (ECs), followed by shear stress training, in flow bioreactors.

Clinical outcomes of Asian patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation and previously diagnosed atrial fibrillation: Insights from the CODE-AF Registry.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) may have different clinical features in its early phase.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the characteristics and clinical outcomes of early-phase AF with later-phase AF using a large multicenter prospective registry (CODE-AF [COmparison study of Drugs for symptom control and complication prEvention of Atrial Fibrillation]).

Methods: Patients enrolled between June 2016 and March 2021 were divided into 2 groups based on AF duration: (1) newly diagnosed (AF duration ≤90 days); and (2) previously diagnosed (AF duration >90 days).

Self-rated health and the risk of incident atrial fibrillation in general population.

The association between self-rated health (SRH) and the development of atrial fibrillation (AF) in the general population remains underexplored. We reviewed the data of 9,895 participants in the Ansung-Ansan cohort study, a community-based Korean study. SRH was categorised as 'poor', 'fair', or 'good'.

Impact of Atrial Fibrillation with Rapid Ventricular Response on Atrial Fibrillation Recurrence: From the CODE-AF Registry.

: Relatively little has been established about the association of rapid ventricular response (RVR) with further recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF). This study investigated the impact of RVR on the recurrence of AF. : Data were obtained from a multicenter, prospective registry of non-valvular AF patients.

Red ginseng extract inhibits lipopolysaccharide-induced platelet-leukocyte aggregates in mice.

Background: Platelet-leukocyte aggregates (PLAs) play important roles in cardiovascular disease and sepsis. Red ginseng extract (RGE) has been well-studied for its antiplatelet and anti-inflammatory activities. However, the potential inhibitory effects of RGE on PLA have not been investigated.

Accelerates the Progression of Prostate Cancer the EFNA3-Erk1/2 Signaling Pathway.

Background/aim: Human melanoma-associated antigen A2 (hMAGEA2) family members play several roles in many types of cancer and have been explored as potential prognostic markers. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanism underlying hMAGEA2-mediated tumorigenesis of prostate cancer.

Materials And Methods: Immunohistochemistry and western blot were used to assess protein expression whereas microarray and quantitative reverse transcription-PCR determined mRNA expression.

Applications, challenges, and prospects of induced pluripotent stem cells for vascular disease.

Vascular disease, including heart disease, stroke, and peripheral arterial disease, is one of the leading causes of death and disability and represents a significant global health issue. Since the development of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) in 2007, hiPSCs have provided unique and tremendous opportunities for studying human pathophysiology, disease modeling, and drug discovery in the field of regenerative medicine. In this review, we discuss vascular physiology and related diseases, the current methods for generating vascular cells (eg, endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and pericytes) from hiPSCs, and describe the opportunities and challenges to the clinical applications of vascular organoids, tissue-engineered blood vessels, and vessels-on-a-chip.

De Novo Elastin Assembly Alleviates Development of Supravalvular Aortic Stenosis-Brief Report.

Background: A series of incurable cardiovascular disorders arise due to improper formation of elastin during development. Supravalvular aortic stenosis (SVAS), resulting from a haploinsufficiency of , is caused by improper stress sensing by medial vascular smooth muscle cells, leading to progressive luminal occlusion and heart failure. SVAS remains incurable, as current therapies do not address the root issue of defective elastin.

An Ultrasoft and Flexible PDMS-Based Balloon-Type Implantable Device for Controlled Drug Delivery.

Non-biodegradable implants have undergone extensive investigation as drug delivery devices to enable advanced healthcare toward personalized medicine. However, fibroblast encapsulation is one of the major challenges in all non-biodegradable implants, besides other challenges such as high initial burst, risk of membrane rupture, high onset time, non-conformal contact with tissues, and tissue damage. To tackle such challenges, we propose a novel ultrasoft and flexible balloon-type drug delivery device for unidirectional and long-term controlled release.

Association Between Atrial Fibrillation Symptoms and Clinical Outcomes: A Prospective Multicenter Registry Study.

The presence of symptoms plays an important role in determining whether to focus on rhythm control or rate control when treating atrial fibrillation (AF). Previous comparative studies on the clinical outcomes of symptomatic and asymptomatic AF have yielded inconsistent results, and a link between AF symptoms and left atrial (LA) remodeling is not established. Patients selected from the COmparison study of Drugs for symptom control and complication prEvention of AF (CODE-AF) registry, which is a prospective, multicenter study consisting of patients with non-valvular AF, were grouped into 2 groups: symptomatic and asymptomatic.

Decreased SMP30 Expression Is Related With EMT in the Kidneys of Two Siberian Tigers With CKD.

Background/aim: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is one of the most common causes of mortality in wild non-domestic felidae. The molecular mechanism regulating renal fibrosis in nephropathy is not fully understood especially in the felidae. This study aimed to elucidate senescence marker protein 30 (SMP30) expression patterns and its relationship with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) by immunostaining in two necropsied Siberian tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) with CKD.

Electrocardiography score based on the Minnesota code classification system predicts cardiovascular mortality in an asymptomatic low-risk population.

Background: The use of a single abnormal finding on electrocardiography (ECG) is not recommended for stratifying the risk of cardiovascular (CV) events in low-risk general populations because of its low discriminative power. However, the value of a scoring system containing multiple abnormal ECG findings for predicting CV death has not been sufficiently evaluated.

Methods: In a prospective community-based cohort study, 8417 participants without atherosclerotic CV diseases (ASCVDs) and any related symptoms were followed for 18 years.

Boosting Alkaline Hydrogen Oxidation Activity of Ru Single-Atom Through Promoting Hydroxyl Adsorption on Ru/WC Interfaces.

The sluggish kinetics of the hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) in alkaline conditions continue to pose a significant challenge for the practical implementation of anion-exchange membrane fuel cells. Developing single-atom catalysts can accelerate the pace of new HOR catalyst discovery for highly cost-effective and active HOR performance. However, single-atom catalysts (SACs) for the alkaline HOR have rarely been reported, and fundamental studies on the rational design of SACs are still required.

Case report: Fatal neonatal sepsis associated with infection in a common bottlenose dolphin ().

A 25-day-old male common bottlenose dolphin () died suddenly while swimming at a dolphinarium. The gross examination revealed ulceration on the dorsal and pectoral fins and rostrum. Severe congestion, hemorrhage, and edema were observed in the gastrointestinal tract, liver, mesenteric lymph nodes, lungs, and kidneys.

The anti-platelet activity of panaxadiol fraction and panaxatriol fraction of Korean Red Ginseng in vitro and ex vivo.

Background: The anti-platelet activity of the saponin fraction of Korean Red Ginseng has been widely studied. The saponin fraction consists of the panaxadiol fraction (PDF) and panaxatriol fraction (PTF); however, their anti-platelet activity is yet to be compared. Our study aimed to investigate the potency of anti-platelet activity of PDF and PTF and to elucidate how well they retain their anti-platelet activity via different administration routes.

Disrupted intestinal mucosal barrier mediated by alcohol consumption aggravates systemic microplastic accumulation.

Waste plastics are degraded into microplastics (MPs), which are easily accumulated in the human body through digestive tracts, via the food chain. Alcohol is a widely consumed chemical throughout the world with the ability to alter the intestinal barrier. For this reason, this study was aimed to investigate exact relevance between alcohol consumption and organ distributions of MPs in an ethanol feeding animal model characterized by disrupted intestinal mucosal barriers.

Rhythm Control and Cardiovascular or Cerebrovascular Outcomes in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation: A Study of the CODE-AF Registry.

Background: It is not clear whether the data regarding rhythm control during atrial fibrillation (AF) contained in AF registries is prognostically significant. Thus, this study investigated the relationship between rhythm control and cardiovascular outcomes in patients in contemporary AF registries.

Methods: This study was conducted using data from 6670 patients with AF receiving oral anticoagulation in the CODE-AF registry.

Considerations on the methane correction factor and fraction of methane parameters in the IPCC first-order decay model for active aeration landfills.

Understanding the behavior of organic carbon in municipal solid waste landfills is a major challenge for estimating methane (CH) emissions using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) first-order decay (FOD) model. According to the IPCC guidelines, the default values of CH correction factor (MCF) and fraction of CH (F) for active aeration landfills are set as 0.4 and 0.