Measures to Prevent Infection in Cardiac Implantable Electronic Device Replacements or Upgrades.

Cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) infections represent one of the most threatening complications associated with device implantation, due to an increase in morbidity and mortality rates, as well as healthcare costs. Besides, it is important to highlight that when compared to the initial implantation of a device, the risks associated with procedures like generator changes, lead and pocket revisions, or device upgrades double. Consequently, to address this issue, various scoring systems, like the PADIT (Prior Procedures, Age, Depressed Renal Function, Immunocompromised Status, Type of Procedure), the RI-AIAC (Ricerca Sulle Infezioni Associate a ImpiAnto o Sostituzione di CIED), and the Shariff score, along with predictive models, have been developed to identify patients at a greater risk of infection.

Clinical Interpretation of Genetic Variants in the Evaluation and Management of Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm and Dissection.

Background: We aimed to elucidate clinical implications of genetic variant interpretation in assessing disease severity and progression in thoracic aortic aneurysm and dissection (TAAD) patients.

Methods: Consecutive TAAD patients with aortic root and/or ascending aortic aneurysms seen between 2011 and 2020 were included. Serial echocardiography, family history of TAAD, and management information were retrospectively collected and analyzed.

Association between screen time and physical activity on mental health among preschoolers: a cross-sectional study from Southwest China.

Background: Screen time and physical activity behaviors undergo development during early childhood and impact mental health. However, there is limited knowledge regarding the associations between physical activity, screen time, and mental health problems (MHP) in preschoolers. This study examines these associations using a large sample size and brief measures.

Electrocardiographic Associations of Cardiac Biomarkers and Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Measures of Fibrosis in the Multiethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).

Abnormalities in myocardial substrate, including diffuse and replacement fibrosis, increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Data are sparse on whether electrocardiogram (ECG) measures, coupled with circulating biomarkers, may aid in identifying cardiac fibrosis. This study aimed to determine whether 12-lead ECG and biomarkers together augment the prediction of cardiac fibrosis in participants who are free of known CVD.

Isolated diffuse choroidal hemangioma without systemic symptoms: a case report.

Background: Sturge-Weber syndrome is a nonhereditary congenital neurocutaneous syndrome characterized by a distinctive facial capillary malformation,neurological abnormalities, and ocular abnormalities such as glaucoma and choroidal hemangioma.It can be divided into different subtypes according to different clinical manifestations. It is rare for a patient to present with isolated difuse choroidal hemangioma and ipsilateral abnormal conjunctival and episcleral vessels without other systemic symptoms.

Association between proteomic biomarkers and myocardial fibrosis measured by MRI: the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis.

Background: Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) determines the extent of interstitial fibrosis, measured by increased extracellular volume (ECV), and replacement fibrosis with late gadolinium myocardial enhancement (LGE). Despite advances in detection, the pathophysiology of subclinical myocardial fibrosis is incompletely understood. Targeted proteomic discovery technologies enable quantification of low abundance circulating proteins to elucidate cardiac fibrosis mechanisms.

Acute Perimyocarditis Unmasking Anomalous Coronary Artery: Is Treating the Inflammation Enough? Does Surgery Fix All?

We report the case of a patient with anomalous right coronary artery (RCA) unmasked by acute perimyocarditis who continued to have ischemic symptoms despite total resolution of perimyocarditis and required surgical intervention of the anomalous RCA. This case was further complicated by ventricular arrhythmia after surgical repair. Collaboration among different cardiac specialists was essential in this case.

Association of coronary artery calcification and thoracic aortic calcification with incident peripheral arterial disease in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).

Aims: The association of subclinical atherosclerotic disease in the coronary arteries and thoracic aorta with incident peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is unknown. We investigated the association between coronary artery calcium score (CACs) and thoracic aortic calcium score (TACs) with incident clinical and subclinical PAD.

Methods And Results: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) recruited 6814 men and women aged 45-84 from four ethnic groups who were free of clinical cardiovascular disease at enrolment.

Noninvasive biomarkers in heart transplant: 2020-2021 year in review.

Purpose Of Review: Endomyocardial biopsy (EMB), the current gold standard for cardiac allograft monitoring is invasive, may have a low sensitivity and is associated with significant variability in histopathologic interpretation. Fortunately, on-going research is identifying noninvasive biomarkers that address some of these limitations. This review provides an update on noninvasive blood-based methods for rejection surveillance and diagnosis in heart transplantation.

In Situ Growth of Metallic 1T-MoS on TiO Nanotubes with Improved Photocatalytic Performance.

1T-MoS is in situ grown on TiO nanotubes (TNTs) using a hydrothermal method, forming a 1T-MoS@TNTs composite, which is confirmed by its physical characterization. The prepared composites show enhanced photocatalytic performance for the degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride under visible light, and the improved photocatalytic activity is closely related to the loaded amount of 1T-MoS. Therein, 0.

Recent advances in photodegradation of antibiotic residues in water.

Antibiotics are widely present in the environment due to their extensive and long-term use in modern medicine. The presence and dispersal of these compounds in the environment lead to the dissemination of antibiotic residues, thereby seriously threatening human and ecosystem health. Thus, the effective management of antibiotic residues in water and the practical applications of the management methods are long-term matters of contention among academics.

MrDNM: A Novel Mutual Information-Based Dendritic Neuron Model.

By employing a neuron plasticity mechanism, the original dendritic neuron model (DNM) has been succeeded in the classification tasks with not only an encouraging accuracy but also a simple learning rule. However, the data collected in real world contain a lot of redundancy, which causes the process of analyzing data by DNM become complicated and time-consuming. This paper proposes a reliable hybrid model which combines a maximum relevance minimum redundancy (Mr) feature selection technique with DNM (namely, MrDNM) for classifying the practical classification problems.

Integrated bioinformatics analysis reveals that the expression of cathepsin S is associated with lymph node metastasis and poor prognosis in papillary thyroid cancer.

The prognosis of the majority of patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is excellent, although there are patients who experience disease recurrence and progression. The aim of the present study was to identify potential prognostic risk markers in PTC. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs), identified from four Genome Expression Omnibus cohorts were subjected to functional enrichment analyses with Gene Ontology terms and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome pathways.

MicroRNA-134-5p promotes high glucose-induced podocyte apoptosis by targeting bcl-2.

Podocyte apoptosis is a typical early feature of diabetic nephropathy (DN), with loss of nephrin integrity contributing to increased proteinuria in patients with DN. Emerging evidence shows that microRNAs (miRNAs) play vital roles in the pathogenesis of DN. Thus, we aimed to further elucidate the role of miRNAs in podocyte apoptosis in DN.

Neuroimaging and endocrine disorders in paediatric optic nerve hypoplasia.

Purpose: Optic nerve hypoplasia (ONH) is one of the leading causes of blindness among children. The purpose of this retrospective study is to determine the risk factors and association between brain MRI findings, pituitary abnormalities and endocrine disorders with the presence of ONH.

Methods: A retrospective review of patients seen at paediatric ophthalmology clinics from January 2006 to December 2016 at Children's Hospital and Medical Center and the University of Nebraska Medical Center was performed.

Microarray analysis of long noncoding RNA expression patterns in diabetic nephropathy.

Aims: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are implicated in various biological processes and human diseases. Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). We explored the potential functions of lncRNAs in DN.

Myeloid Sarcoma in the Orbit.

The authors describe a case of myeloid sarcoma of the orbit in a pediatric patient. An 8-month-old male infant presented to the ophthalmology clinic with a left orbital mass, which had been increasing in size over the previous 2 months. The mass was initially diagnosed at another clinic as an infantile hemangioma, and had been treated with a topical formulation of timolol.