Predictive Factors for New-Onset Left Bundle Branch Block in Patients with Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction and Its Prognostic Value.

It remains unclear whether elevated ventricular wall pressure and left ventricular enlargement in patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) can lead to left bundle branch block (LBBB). In this study, 801 consecutive hospitalized patients with a left ventricular ejection fraction of < 50% were enrolled. The primary outcome was the occurrence of new-onset LBBB or heart failure-related hospitalization, all-cause mortality, ventricular tachycardia, or implantation of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) /cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT).

Atmospheric Mercury Concentrations and Isotopic Compositions Impacted by Typical Anthropogenic Mercury Emissions Sources.

Coal-fired power plants (CFPPs) and cement plants (CPs) are important anthropogenic mercury (Hg) emission sources. Mercury speciation profiles in flue gas are different among these sources, leading to significant variations in local atmospheric Hg deposition. To quantify the impacts of Hg emissions from CFPPs and CPs on local-scale atmospheric Hg deposition, this study determined concentrations and isotopes of ambient gaseous elemental mercury (GEM), particulate-bound mercury (PBM), and precipitation total Hg (THg) at multiple locations with different distances away from a CFPP and a CP.

Combating air pollution significantly reduced air mercury concentrations in China.

In the past decade, China has motivated proactive emission control measures that have successfully reduced emissions of many air pollutants. For atmospheric mercury, which is a globally transported neurotoxin, much less is known about the long-term changes in its concentrations and anthropogenic emissions in China. In this study, over a decade of continuous observations at four Chinese sites show that gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) concentrations continuously increased until the early 2010s, followed by significant declines at rates of 1.

Influence of sources and atmospheric processes on metal solubility in PM in urban Guangzhou, South China.

Water-soluble metals exert a significant influence on human and ecosystem health. In this study, a comprehensive investigation was undertaken to elucidate the solubilities of metals in PM and potential influencing factors during the dry season of 2019-2020 in urban Guangzhou, South China. The observed average solubility was <20 % for Al, Fe, Sn, and Ti; 20-40 % for V, Cr, Sb, Pb, and Ni; 40-60 % for Ba and Cu; and 60-80 % for Zn, As, Se, Cd, and Mn.

Protective effects of flavonoids against intracerebral and subarachnoid hemorrhage (Review).

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), known as non-traumatic cerebrovascular rupture and hemorrhage, often occurs in the deep basal brain segment. It is known for its high morbidity and mortality rates. Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a clinical syndrome caused by the rupture of blood vessels at the base or surface of the brain that allows blood to flow directly into the subarachnoid space.

C-phycocyanin reinforces autophagy to block pulmonary fibrogenesis by inhibiting lncIAPF biogenesis.

Pulmonary fibrosis is a chronic and irreversible progressive lung disease caused by various factors, such as age and environmental pollution. With countries stepping into an aging society and the seriousness of environmental pollution caused by global industrialization, the incidence of pulmonary fibrosis is annually increasing. However, no effective drug is available for pulmonary fibrosis treatment.

Epidemiology and prognostic nomogram for locally advanced gastric signet ring cell carcinoma: A population-based study.

Background: Gastric signet ring cell carcinoma (GSRC) represents a specific subtype of gastric cancer renowned for its contentious epidemiological features, treatment principles, and prognostic factors.

Aim: To investigate the epidemiology of GSRC and establish an improved model for predicting the prognosis of patients with locally advanced GSRC (LAGSRC) after surgery.

Methods: The annual rates of GSRC incidence and mortality, covering the years 1975 to 2019, were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database to explore the temporal trends in both disease incidence and mortality rates using Joinpoint software.

Mercury sources, transport, and transformation in rainfall-runoff processes: Mercury isotope approach.

Mercury (Hg) in runoff water poses significant ecological risks to aquatic ecosystems that can affect organisms. However, accurately identifying the sources and transformation processes of Hg in runoff water is challenging due to complex natural conditions. This study provides a comprehensive investigation of Hg dynamics in water from rainfall to runoff.

Using Mercury Stable Isotopes to Quantify Directional Soil-Atmosphere Hg(0) Exchanges in Rice Paddy Ecosystems: Implications for Hg(0) Emissions to the Atmosphere from Land Surfaces.

Gaseous elemental mercury [Hg(0)] emissions from soils constitute a large fraction of global total Hg(0) emissions. Existing studies do not distinguish biotic- and abiotic-mediated emissions and focus only on photoreduction mediated emissions, resulting in an underestimation of soil Hg(0) emissions into the atmosphere. In this study, directional mercury (Hg) reduction pathways in paddy soils were identified using Hg isotopes.

Contribution of emissions from the oil sands activities in Alberta, Canada to atmospheric concentration and deposition of nitrogen and sulfur species at a downwind site.

Oil sands activities in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region in Alberta, Canada, are large sources of atmospheric NO and SO. This study investigated the impact of oil sands emissions on the atmospheric deposition of nitrogen and sulfur species at a downwind site, about 350 km from the oil sands facilities. Measurement data are from the Canadian Air and Precipitation Monitoring Network (CAPMoN) from 2015 to 2019, including ambient concentrations of HNO, pNO, NO, pNH, NH, SO, pSO and base cations, as well as concentrations of NO, SO, NH, and base cations in precipitation.

Kaempferol mitigates sepsis-induced acute lung injury by modulating the SphK1/S1P/S1PR1/MLC2 signaling pathway to restore the integrity of the pulmonary endothelial cell barrier.

Sepsis-induced acute lung injury (SALI) is the common complication of sepsis, resulting in high incidence and mortality rates. The primary pathogenesis of SALI is the interplay between acute inflammation and endothelial barrier damage. Studies have shown that kaempferol (KPF) has anti-sepsis properties.

Neonicotinoid insecticides in paddy fields: Dissipation dynamics, migration, and dietary risk.

Neonicotinoid insecticides (NNIs) have caused widespread contamination of multiple environmental media and posed a serious threat to ecosystem health by accidently injuring non-target species. This study collected samples of water, soil, and rice plant tissues in a water-soil-plant system of paddy fields after spaying imidacloprid (IMI), thiamethoxam (THM), and clothianidin (CLO) to analyze their distribution characteristics and migration procedures and to assess related dietary risks of rice consumption. In the paddy water, the concentrations of NNIs showed a dynamic change of increasing and then decreasing during about a month period, and the initial deposition of NNIs showed a trend of CLO (3.

Nitroaromatic compounds in six major Chinese cities: Influence of different formation mechanisms on light absorption properties.

Nitroaromatic compounds (NACs) are important nitrogen organics in aerosol with strong light-absorbing and chemically reactive properties. In this study, NACs in six Chinese megacities, including Harbin (HB), Beijing (BJ), Xi'an (XA), Wuhan (WH), Chengdu (CD), and Guangzhou (GZ), were investigated for understanding their sources, gas-particle partitioning, and impact on BrC absorption properties. The concentrations of ΣNACs in PM in the six cities ranged from 9.

Discovery of novel ocotillol derivatives modulating glucocorticoid receptor/NF-κB signaling for the treatment of sepsis.

Glucocorticoids (GCs) have been used in the treatment of sepsis because of their potent anti-inflammatory effects. However, their clinical efficacy against sepsis remains controversial because of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) downregulation and side effects. Herein, we designed and synthesized 30 ocotillol derivatives and evaluated their anti-inflammatory activities.

Study on Seepage Characteristics of Grouting Slurry for Water-Absorbing Mudstone with Rough Fissure.

Based on the computed tomography scanning, which abbreviation is CT scanning, and fractal theory, geometric parameters of mudstone fissures are obtained. The physical model of a single fissured channel is obtained in combination with Barton standard curves and 3D printing technology, and similar materials of mudstone are developed based on the water absorption of natural mudstone to prepare single fissured water-absorbing grouting test blocks with different roughness levels for the grouting simulation testing. By analyzing the viscosity change characteristics of grouting slurry before and after grouting, the seepage characteristics of the grouting slurry in the rough fissures of the water-absorbing mudstone are revealed.

Measurement constrained emission estimates of alkylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the Canadian Athabasca oil sands region.

Alkylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (APAH) are important contaminants of crude oil production and exhibit similar toxicity to their parent compounds. This study developed an emission inventory of APAH in a major oil sands development region of Alberta, Canada, and validated the inventory with ambient concentration measurements through dispersion modeling. The initial estimate of regional total annual emissions of 21 APAH species was 362 tonnes/year in the last decade, of which 309 and 53 tonnes/year were in particle-bound and gas-phase APAH, respectively.

Association between left bundle branch block and ventricular septal mid-wall fibrosis in patients with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction.

Background: The left bundle branch block (LBBB) is associated with ventricular septal mid-wall fibrosis (SMF) in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). However, whether LBBB is also associated with SMF in patients with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) remains unclear.

Methods: We performed a retrospective study of 210 patients with preserved LVEF (male, n = 116; female, n = 94; mean age, 44 ± 17 years).

Lixisenatide ameliorated lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced expression of mucin and inflammation in bronchial epithelial cells.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) induces serious social and economic burdens due to its high disability and mortality, the pathogenesis of which is highly involved with inflammation, oxidative stress (OS), and mechanism of mucin 5AC (MUC5AC) secretion. Lixisenatide is a selective glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist recently reported to have anti-inflammatory properties. Our study will focus on the potential impact of lixisenatide on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced mucin secretion and inflammation in 16 human bronchial epithelial (16HBE) cells to check its potential function in COPD.

Chemical characteristics, distribution patterns, and source apportionment of particulate elements and inorganic ions in snowpack in Harbin, China.

Snowpack, which serves as a natural archive of atmospheric deposition of multiple pollutants, is a practical environmental media that can be used for assessing atmospheric records and input of the pollutants to the surface environments and ecosystems. A total of 29 snowpack samples were collected at 20 sampling sites covering three different functional areas of a major city (Harbin) in Northeast China. Two samples at the "snow layer" and one or two samples at the "particulate layer" were collected at each sampling site in the industrial areas characterized by multi-layer snowpack, and only one sample at the "snow layer" was collected at each sampling site in the cultural and recreational as well as agricultural areas.

Design and synthesis of novel hederagonic acid analogs as potent anti-inflammatory compounds capable of protecting against LPS-induced acute lung injury.

Acute lung injury (ALI) presents a significant clinical challenge due to its high mortality rates and the lack of effective treatment strategies. The most effective approaches to treating ALI include disrupting inflammatory cascades and associated inflammatory damage within the lung. Hederagenin was utilized as a core skeleton to design and synthesize 33 hederagonic acid derivatives.