Left atrial appendage occlusion for patients with valvular diseases without atrial fibrillation (the OPINION Study): study protocol for a multicentre, randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a significant cause of perioperative stroke in aortic and mitral valve surgeries. Although several large studies have evaluated surgical left atrial appendage occlusion (SLAAO) during cardiac surgeries, their retrospective nature and an uncontrolled broad spectrum of conditions leave them subject to potential residual confounding. This trial aims to test the hypothesis that opportunistic SLAAO can prevent long-term stroke after cardiac surgery in patients receiving mitral or aortic valve surgeries without a history of AF and with a CHA2DS2-VASc score of 2 or higher.

The enlargement rate of ventricular septal rupture is a risk factor for 30-day mortality in patients with delayed surgery.

Background: Postinfarction ventricular septal rupture (VSR) is an uncommon but challenging mechanical complication for surgeons. This study analyzed the impacts of rupture size on surgical outcomes in patients with VSR.

Methods: During a 15-year period, from January 2006 to December 2020, 112 patients underwent repairs of postinfarction VSR.

Risk Factors for Aortic Regurgitation Progression After Repair of Sinus of Valsalva Aneurysm.

Background: The main treatment for a ruptured sinus of Valsalva aneurysm (SVA) is surgical repair. Postoperative progression of aortic regurgitation (AR) following SVA repair increases the risk of reoperation, which decreases the long-term survival. Thus, identifying the risk factors for postoperative AR progression is of great significance.

Extracardiac Tricuspid Annuloplasty: A Novel Technique for Functional Tricuspid Regurgitation.

We report 3 cases of functional tricuspid regurgitation and demonstrate a novel tricuspid repair technique through the right atrioventricular groove without cardiopulmonary bypass or open heart surgery, which provides a new idea for the treatment of functional tricuspid regurgitation.

Online Health Information Seeking Using "#COVID-19 Patient Seeking Help" on Weibo in Wuhan, China: Descriptive Study.

Background: First detected in Wuhan, China in December 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic stretched the medical system in Wuhan and posed a challenge to the state's risk communication efforts. Timely access to quality health care information during outbreaks of infectious diseases can be effective to curtail the spread of disease and feelings of anxiety. Although existing studies have extended our knowledge about online health information-seeking behavior, processes, and motivations, rarely have the findings been applied to an outbreak.

Surface Architecture Design of LiNi Co Al O Cathode with Synergistic Organics Encapsulation to Enhance Electrochemical Stability.

Ni-rich LiNi Co Al O (NCA) material attracts extensive attention due to its high discharge specific capacity, but its distinct drawbacks of rapid capacity decline and poor cycle performance at elevated temperatures and high voltage during charge/discharge cycling restricts its widespread application. To solve these problems, a multifunctional coating layer composed of a lithium-ion-conductive lithium polyacrylate (LiPAA) inner layer and a cross-linked polymer outer layer from certain organic substances of silane-coupling agent (KH550) and polyacrylic acid (PAA) is successfully designed on the surface of NCA materials, which is favorable for eliminating residual lithium and improving lithium-ion conductivity, surface stability, and hydrophobicity of NCA materials. In addition, the amount of the coating material is also investigated.

[A New Calibrated Model of Coal Calorific Value Detection with LIBS].

A set of coal samples were used for laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) experiment to measure the coal calorific value. Traditional channel normalization method didn’t consider the physical / chemical mechanism of coal, which would limit the model in precision, accuracy and repeatability. Thus a new calibrated model based on the kinds of the effects of spectral deviation was proposed in this paper.