Catheter ablation restores decreased plasma miR-409-3p and miR-432 in atrial fibrillation patients.

Aims: Despite numerous studies identifying specific microRNA (miRNA) expression profiles associated with atrial fibrillation (AF), changes in plasma miRNA expression in pre- and post-operative AF patients who have received catheter ablation, remain poorly characterized. This study aimed to reveal disease-related biomarkers by detecting plasma miRNA expression in AF patients, and examining the levels of AF-specific miRNAs in patients after catheter ablation, in order to help gauge therapeutic effects and assess prognosis.

Methods And Results: A total of 100 Han Chinese patients with AF who had received catheter ablation, and 100 healthy individuals, were sequentially recruited to the study.

Aluminum-centered tetrahedron-octahedron transition in advancing Al-Sb-Te phase change properties.

Group IIIA elements, Al, Ga, or In, etc., doped Sb-Te materials have proven good phase change properties, especially the superior data retention ability over popular Ge2Sb2Te5, while their phase transition mechanisms are rarely investigated. In this paper, aiming at the phase transition of Al-Sb-Te materials, we reveal a dominant rule of local structure changes around the Al atoms based on ab initio simulations and nuclear magnetic resonance evidences.

Inositol pyrophosphates promote tumor growth and metastasis by antagonizing liver kinase B1.

The inositol pyrophosphates, molecular messengers containing an energetic pyrophosphate bond, impact a wide range of biologic processes. They are generated primarily by a family of three inositol hexakisphosphate kinases (IP6Ks), the principal product of which is diphosphoinositol pentakisphosphate (IP7). We report that IP6K2, via IP7 synthesis, is a major mediator of cancer cell migration and tumor metastasis in cell culture and in intact mice.

Electronic and optical properties of quaternary alloy GaAsBiN lattice-matched to GaAs.

Employing first-principles combined with hybrid functional calculations, the electronic and optical properties of GaAs alloyed with isovalent impurities Bi and N are investigated. As GaAsBiN alloy is a quaternary alloy, the band gap and the lattice constant of the alloy can be individually tuned. Both impurities are important to the valence band and conduction band of the alloy, with the band gap of the alloy being dramatically reduced by Bi 6p states and N localized 2s states.

A comparative analysis of clustering algorithms: O2 migration in truncated hemoglobin I from transition networks.

The ligand migration network for O2-diffusion in truncated Hemoglobin N is analyzed based on three different clustering schemes. For coordinate-based clustering, the conventional k-means and the kinetics-based Markov Clustering (MCL) methods are employed, whereas the locally scaled diffusion map (LSDMap) method is a collective-variable-based approach. It is found that all three methods agree well in their geometrical definition of the most important docking site, and all experimentally known docking sites are recovered by all three methods.

Five-year epidemiological survey of valvular heart disease: changes in morbidity, etiological spectrum and management in a cardiovascular center of Southern China.

Objective: The objective of the present study is to analyze the epidemiological profile of patients with abnormal valvular structure and function and highlight the etiological spectrum and management of valvular heart disease (VHD) in a single cardiovascular center of Southern China in five years.

Methods: The retrospective study included 19,428 consecutive patients (9,441 men and 9,987 women with a mean age of 52.03±20.

Comparison of drug-eluting balloon versus drug-eluting stent in patients with in-stent restenosis: insight from randomized controlled trials.

Backgrounds: In-stent restenosis (ISR) remains an important issue even in the current drug-eluting stent (DES) era. We performed a meta-analysis to assess the clinical efficacy and safety of drug-eluting balloon (DEB) as compared with DES for the treatment of ISR.

Methods: The published literature was scanned by formal searches of electronic databases from January 2005 to February 2014.

Inositol hexakisphosphate kinase-1 mediates assembly/disassembly of the CRL4-signalosome complex to regulate DNA repair and cell death.

Inositol polyphosphates containing an energetic pyrophosphate bond are formed primarily by a family of three inositol hexakisphosphate (IP6) kinases (IP6K1-3). The Cullin-RING ubiquitin ligases (CRLs) regulate diverse biological processes through substrate ubiquitylation. CRL4, comprising the scaffold Cullin 4A/B, the E2-interacting Roc1/2, and the adaptor protein damage-specific DNA-binding protein 1, is activated by DNA damage.

Two cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease from an ongoing dementia registry in Pakistan.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a rare prion disease that leads to a rapidly progressive dementia (RPD) and associated neurological features. It is not well documented in our country; therefore its true prevalence in Pakistan is not known. Here we report two cases of sporadic probable CJD seen in our hospital.

Upregulation of 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor signaling in coronary arteries after organ culture.

Background: 5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) is a powerful constrictor of coronary arteries and is considered to be involved in the pathophysiological mechanisms of coronary-artery spasm. However, the mechanism of enhancement of coronary-artery constriction to 5-HT during the development of coronary artery disease remains to be elucidated. Organ culture of intact blood-vessel segments has been suggested as a model for the phenotypic changes of smooth muscle cells in cardiovascular disease.

Drug-coated balloon angioplasty for drug-eluting stent restenosis: insight from randomized controlled trials.

Background: The best treatment option for drug-eluting stent (DES) restenosis has not been established. We performed a meta-analysis to assess the clinical efficacy of drug-coated balloon (DCB) for the treatment of DES restenosis.

Methods: Trials were identified through a literature search from January 2005 through April 2014.

Understanding phase-change behaviors of carbon-doped Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ for phase-change memory application.

Phase-change materials are highly promising for next-generation nonvolatile data storage technology. The pronounced effects of C doping on structural and electrical phase-change behaviors of Ge2Sb2Te5 material are investigated at the atomic level by combining experiments and ab initio molecular dynamics. C dopants are found to fundamentally affect the amorphous structure of Ge2Sb2Te5 by altering the local environments of Ge-Te tetrahedral units with stable C-C chains.

Structure and dynamics of water in crowded environments slows down peptide conformational changes.

The concentration of macromolecules inside the cell is high with respect to conventional in vitro experiments or simulations. In an effort to characterize the effects of crowding on the thermodynamics and kinetics of disordered peptides, molecular dynamics simulations were run at different concentrations by varying the number of identical weakly interacting peptides inside the simulation box. We found that the presence of crowding does not influence very much the overall thermodynamics.

Topological dynamics in supramolecular rotors.

Artificial molecular switches, rotors, and machines are set to establish design rules and applications beyond their biological counterparts. Herein we exemplify the role of noncovalent interactions and transient rearrangements in the complex behavior of supramolecular rotors caged in a 2D metal-organic coordination network. Combined scanning tunneling microscopy experiments and molecular dynamics modeling of a supramolecular rotor with respective rotation rates matching with 0.

One order of magnitude faster phase change at reduced power in Ti-Sb-Te.

To date, slow Set operation speed and high Reset operation power remain to be important limitations for substituting dynamic random access memory by phase change memory. Here, we demonstrate phase change memory cell based on Ti0.4Sb2Te3 alloy, showing one order of magnitude faster Set operation speed and as low as one-fifth Reset operation power, compared with Ge2Sb2Te5-based phase change memory cell at the same size.

Network analysis of proton transfer in liquid water.

Proton transfer in macromolecular systems is a fascinating yet elusive process. In the last ten years, molecular simulations have shown to be a useful tool to unveil the atomistic mechanism. Notwithstanding, the large number of degrees of freedom involved make the accurate description of the process very hard even for the case of proton diffusion in bulk water.

Nutritional status and blood pressure assessment in vulnerable children from two schools in Cutral Co and Plaza Huincul: a quantitative and qualitative study.

Introduction: Knowing the nutritional status of children is critical to plan primary health care interventions in the setting of the present obesity epidemic and the great increase in the prevalence of childhood metabolic syndrome. For this reason, nutritional status and blood pressure were assessed among children from two schools of high social vulnerability, results were qualitatively analyzed, and community members feedback was obtained in order to be fully aware of the situation and accordingly plan local health interventions.

Population And Methods: Cross-sectional study conducted at purposively selected schools, with results analyzed using focus groups.

A hydro-kinetic scheme for the dynamics of hydrogen bonds in water-like fluids.

A hydro-kinetic scheme for water-like fluids, based on a lattice version of the Boltzmann equation, is presented and applied to the popular TIP3P model of liquid water. By proceeding in much larger steps than molecular dynamics, the scheme proves to be very effective in attaining global minima of classical pair potentials with directional and radial interactions, as confirmed by further simulations using the three-dimensional Ben-Naim water potential. The scheme is shown to reproduce the propensity of water to form nearly four hydrogen bonds per molecule, as well as their statistical distribution in the presence of thermal fluctuations, at a linear cost of computational time with the system size.

Inositol pyrophosphates mediate the DNA-PK/ATM-p53 cell death pathway by regulating CK2 phosphorylation of Tti1/Tel2.

The apoptotic actions of p53 require its phosphorylation by a family of phosphoinositide-3-kinase-related-kinases (PIKKs), which include DNA-PKcs and ATM. These kinases are stabilized by the TTT (Tel2, Tti1, Tti2) cochaperone family, whose actions are mediated by CK2 phosphorylation. The inositol pyrophosphates, such as 5-diphosphoinositol pentakisphosphate (IP7), are generated by a family of inositol hexakisphosphate kinases (IP6Ks), of which IP6K2 has been implicated in p53-associated cell death.

PPARγ ligands decrease hydrostatic pressure-induced platelet aggregation and proinflammatory activity.

Hypertension is known to be associated with platelet overactivity, but the direct effects of hydrostatic pressure on platelet function remain unclear. The present study sought to investigate whether elevated hydrostatic pressure is responsible for platelet activation and to address the potential role of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ). We observed that hypertensive patients had significantly higher platelet volume and rate of ADP-induced platelets aggregation compared to the controls.

Genetic implication of a novel thiamine transporter in human hypertension.

Objectives: This study coupled 2 strategies-trait extremes and genome-wide pooling-to discover a novel blood pressure (BP) locus that encodes a previously uncharacterized thiamine transporter.

Background: Hypertension is a heritable trait that remains the most potent and widespread cardiovascular risk factor, although details of its genetic determination are poorly understood.

Methods: Representative genomic deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) pools were created from male and female subjects in the highest- and lowest-fifth percentiles of BP in a primary care population of >50,000 patients.

Heritable influence of DBH on adrenergic and renal function: twin and disease studies.

Background: Elevated sympathetic activity is associated with kidney dysfunction. Here we used twin pairs to probe heritability of GFR and its genetic covariance with other traits.

Methods: We evaluated renal and adrenergic phenotypes in twins.

Dexras1 mediates glucocorticoid-associated adipogenesis and diet-induced obesity.

Adipogenesis, the conversion of precursor cells into adipocytes, is associated with obesity and is mediated by glucocorticoids acting via hitherto poorly characterized mechanisms. Dexras1 is a small G protein of the Ras family discovered on the basis of its marked induction by the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone. We show that Dexras1 mediates adipogenesis and diet-induced obesity.

Heat shock improves Sca-1+ stem cell survival and directs ischemic cardiomyocytes toward a prosurvival phenotype via exosomal transfer: a critical role for HSF1/miR-34a/HSP70 pathway.

Stem cell-based therapy is a promising intervention for ischemic heart diseases. However, the functional integrity of stem cells is impaired in an ischemic environment. Here, we report a novel finding that heat shock significantly improves Sca-1(+) stem cell survival in an ischemic environment by the regulation of the triangle: heat shock factor 1 (HSF1), HSF1/miR-34a, and heat shock protein 70 (HSP70).