Epicardial adipose tissue density is a better predictor of cardiometabolic risk in HFpEF patients: a prospective cohort study.

Background: Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) accumulation is associated with multiple cardiometabolic risk factors and prognosis of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). The correlation between EAT density and cardiometabolic risk and the effect of EAT density on clinical outcome in HFpEF remain unclear. We evaluated the relationship between EAT density and cardiometabolic risk factors, also the prognostic value of EAT density in patients with HFpEF.

Relationship between adipose tissue distribution and arterial stiffness in HFpEF.

Objectives: Heart failure and preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) in patients is often complicated by abdominal obesity and arteriosclerosis. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between adipose tissue distribution and arterial stiffness in patients with HFpEF.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study involving 93 patients with HFpEF.

The relationship between ambulatory arterial stiffness index and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in HFpEF: a prospective observational study.

Background: The relationship between ambulatory arterial stiffness index (AASI) and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is unknown. We aimed to investigate the association between the AASI and LVDD in HFpEF.

Methods: We prospective enrolled consecutive patients with HFpEF in Chongqing, China.

Reduced graphene oxide coated nickel foam for stir bar sorptive extraction of benzotriazole ultraviolet absorbents from environmental water.

The use of porous carrier and coating sorbents in stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) contributes to the improvement of extraction efficiency and dynamics. Herein, porous nickel foam (NF) with large surface area and magnetic property was used as the carrier of stir bar. NF was added into the mixture of graphene oxide (GO) and reducing agent, and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) coating was obtained on the surface of NF substrate by in situ hydrothermal reduction.

Enhanced Osseointegration of Titanium Implants by Surface Modification with Silicon-doped Titania Nanotubes.

Introduction: Despite great progress made in developing orthopedic implants, the development of titanium (Ti) implants with ideal early osseointegration remains a big challenge. Our pilot study has demonstrated that Si-TiO nanotubes on the surface of Ti substrates could enhance their osteogenic activity. Hence, in this study, we aim to comprehensively evaluate the effects of silicon-doped titania (Si-TiO) nanotubes on the osseointegration property of Ti implants.

Prognostic value of NT-proBNP in patients with severe COVID-19.

Background: The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in China has been declared a public health emergency of international concern. The cardiac injury is a common condition among the hospitalized patients with COVID-19. However, whether N terminal pro B type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) predicted outcome of severe COVID-19 patients was unknown.

TNAP inhibition attenuates cardiac fibrosis induced by myocardial infarction through deactivating TGF-β1/Smads and activating P53 signaling pathways.

Tissue nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (TNAP) is expressed widely in different tissues, modulating functions of metabolism and inflammation. However, the effect of TNAP on cardiac fibrosis remains controversial and needs to be further studied. The present study aims to investigate the role of TNAP on myocardial infarction (MI)-induced fibrosis and its mechanism.

Spiral stir bar sorptive extraction with polyaniline-polydimethylsiloxane sol-gel packings for the analysis of trace estrogens in environmental water and animal-derived food samples.

A spiral stir bar was proposed by using stainless steel spring as the extraction phase carrier to avoid the extraction phase friction and increase the amount of extraction phase for improving extraction efficiency. The extraction phase is filled in the cavity of the spring, resulting in a larger amount of the extraction phase than that conventionally coated on glass stir bar or stainless steel wire. Polyaniline-polydimethylsiloxane sol-gel packed spiral stir bar was prepared and evaluated for the extraction of five estrogens.

DNA hydroxymethylation combined with carotid plaques as a novel biomarker for coronary atherosclerosis.

Little is known about the diagnostic value of DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation for coronary atherosclerosis. Carotid plaque is a common marker for coronary atherosclerosis. Our aim is to determine whether DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation combined with carotid plaques can be useful to the diagnosis of coronary atherosclerosis.

DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation are associated with the degree of coronary atherosclerosis in elderly patients with coronary heart disease.

Aims: DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation are significantly related to the occurrence and development of coronary heart disease (CHD) and atherosclerosis (AS). 5-Methylcytosine (5-mC) and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC) are used to assess DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation levels, respectively. However, 5-mC and 5-hmC levels associated with CHD remain controversial.

One-pot synthesis of zeolitic imidazolate framework-8/poly (methyl methacrylate-ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate) monolith coating for stir bar sorptive extraction of phytohormones from fruit samples followed by high performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection.

In this work, zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8)/poly (methyl methacrylate-ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate) (MMA-EGDMA) composite monolith was in situ synthesized on stir bar by one-pot polymerization. Compared with the neat monolith, ZIF-8/poly(MMA-EGDMA) composite monolith has larger surface area and pore volume. It also exhibits higher extraction efficiency for target phytohormones than poly(MMA-EGDMA) monolith and commercial polyethylene glycol (PEG) coated stir bar.

Polydimethylsiloxane/MIL-100(Fe) coated stir bar sorptive extraction-high performance liquid chromatography for the determination of triazines in environmental water samples.

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)/MIL-100(Fe) coated stir bar was prepared by sol gel technique, and good preparation reproducibility was achieved with relative standard deviations (RSDs) ranging from 2.6% to 7.5% (n=7) and 3.

Water-compatible graphene oxide/molecularly imprinted polymer coated stir bar sorptive extraction of propranolol from urine samples followed by high performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detection.

Due to the high selectivity and stability, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have been successfully applied in stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) as a special coating to improve the selective extraction capability for target analytes. However, traditional MIPs usually suffer from incompatibility in aqueous media and low adsorption capacity, which limit the application of MIP coated stir bar in aqueous samples. To solve these problems, a water-compatible graphene oxides (GO)/MIP composite coated stir bar was prepared in this work by in situ polymerization.