The correlation between serum total bilirubin and outcomes in patients with different subtypes of coronary artery disease.

Backgrounds: The relation between serum total bilirubin (TBi) and mortality in patients with established coronary artery disease (CAD) remains undefined. We try to investigate the role of the subtypes of CAD in the association.

Methods: A total of 3013 patients with angiographically obstructive CAD were enrolled.

NaMV(PO) (M = Mn, Fe, Ni) Structure and Properties for Sodium Extraction.

NASICON (Na super ionic conductor) structures of NaMV(PO) (M = Mn, Fe, Ni) were prepared, characterized by aberration-corrected STEM and synchrotron radiation, and demonstrated to be durable cathode materials for rechargeable sodium-ion batteries. In NaMnV(PO), two redox couples of Mn/Mn and V/V are accessed with two voltage plateaus located at 3.6 and 3.

Longitudinal treatment patterns with ADP receptor inhibitors after myocardial infarction: Insights from the Canadian Observational AntiPlatelet sTudy.

Background: After myocardial infarction (MI) treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), guidelines recommend dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with aspirin and an ADP receptor inhibitor (ADPri) for at least 1year. However, whether real-world Canadian practice patterns reflect this recommendation is unknown.

Methods: We studied 2175 MI patients treated with PCI and discharged from 26 Canadian hospitals between 12/2011 and 05/2013 in the Canadian Observational Antiplatelet sTudy (COAPT).

Self-assembled polymeric nanoparticles film stabilizing gold nanoparticles as a versatile platform for ultrasensitive detection of carcino-embryonic antigen.

In this work, a novel impedimetric immunosensor was developed based on electrophoretic deposition of polymeric self-assembled nanoparticles for the sensitive determination of carcino-embryonic antigen (CEA). Biocompatible polymeric nanoparticles γ-PGA-DA@CS were prepared by self-assembly of chitosan (CS) and dopamine modified poly(γ-glutamic acid) (γ-PGA-DA) under mild conditions. A dense and nanostructured nanoparticles film was obtained on the electrode surface by electrophoretic deposition of γ-PGA-DA@CS nanoparticles.

Baseline characteristics, adenosine diphosphate receptor inhibitor treatment patterns, and in-hospital outcomes of myocardial infarction patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention in the prospective Canadian Observational AntiPlatelet sTudy (COAPT).

Background: Contemporary use of dual antiplatelet therapy and consistency with guideline recommendations in acute coronary syndrome patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) have not been well characterized.

Methods: The COAPT was a prospective, observational, multicenter, longitudinal study of patients with myocardial infarction (MI) undergoing PCI. Baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, processes of care, factors associated with switching to and from novel adenosine diphosphate receptor inhibitors (ADPris), and in-hospital outcomes are described.

Nontoxic virus nanofibers improve the detection sensitivity for the anti-p53 antibody, a biomarker in cancer patients.

The presence of anti-p53 antibody in serum is a biomarker for cancer. However, its high sensitivity detection is still an issue in cancer diagnosis. To tackle this challenge, we used fd phage, a human-safe bacteria-specific virus nanofiber that can be mass-produced by infecting host bacteria in an error-free manner, and genetically engineered it to display a peptide capable of recognizing and capturing anti-p53 antibody on its side wall.

Built-in microscale electrostatic fields induced by anatase-rutile-phase transition in selective areas promote osteogenesis.

Bone has a built-in electric field because of the presence of piezoelectric collagen. To date, only externally applied electric fields have been used to direct cell behavior; however, these fields are not safe or practical for use. In this work, for the first time, we use a periodic microscale electric field (MEF) built into a titanium implant to induce osteogenesis.

Antimony/Porous Biomass Carbon Nanocomposites as High-Capacity Anode Materials for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Antimony/porous biomass carbon nanocomposites have been prepared by a chemical reduction method and applied as anodes for sodium-ion batteries. The porous biomass carbon derived from a black fungus had a large Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area of 2233 m  g in which antimony nanoparticles were uniformly distributed in the porous carbon. The as-prepared antimony/porous biomass carbon nanocomposites exhibited a high reversible sodium storage capacity of 567 mA h g at a current density of 100 mA g , extended cycling stability, and good rate capability.

Opposing Roles of Wnt Inhibitors IGFBP-4 and Dkk1 in Cardiac Ischemia by Differential Targeting of LRP5/6 and β-catenin.

Background: Myocardial infarction is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, triggering irreversible myocardial cell damage and heart failure. The role of low-density lipoprotein receptor-related proteins 5 and 6 (LRP5/6) as coreceptors of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway in the adult heart remain unknown. Insulin-like growth factor binding protein 4 and dickkopf-related protein 1 (Dkk1) are 2 secreted LRP5/6 binding proteins that play a crucial role in heart development through preventing Wnt/β-catenin pathway activation.

Identification of Novel Short BaTiO-Binding/Nucleating Peptides for Phage-Templated in Situ Synthesis of BaTiO Polycrystalline Nanowires at Room Temperature.

Ferroelectric materials, such as tetragonal barium titanate (BaTiO), have been widely used in a variety of areas including bioimaging, biosensing, and high power switching devices. However, conventional methods for the synthesis of tetragonal phase BaTiO usually require toxic organic reagents and high temperature treatments, and are thus not environment-friendly and energy-efficient. Here, we took advantage of the phage display technique to develop a novel strategy for the synthesis of BaTiO nanowires.

Electrophoretic deposition of colloidal particles on Mg with cytocompatibility, antibacterial performance, and corrosion resistance.

Unlabelled: Magnesium (Mg) has recently received increasing attention due to its unique biological performance, including cytocompatibility, antibacterial and biodegradable properties. However, rapid corrosion in physiological environment and potential toxicity limits its clinical applications. To improve the corrosion resistance meanwhile not compromise other excellent performance, self-assembled colloidal particles were deposited onto magnesium surfaces in ethanol by a simple and effective electrophoretic deposition (EPD) method.

One-step formation of multiple Pickering emulsions stabilized by self-assembled poly(dodecyl acrylate-co-acrylic acid) nanoparticles.

In this study, a one-step generation of stable multiple Pickering emulsions using pH-responsive polymeric nanoparticles as the only emulsifier was reported. The polymeric nanoparticles were self-assembled from an amphiphilic random copolymer poly(dodecyl acrylate-co-acrylic acid) (PDAA), and the effect of the copolymer content on the size and morphology of PDAA nanoparticles was determined by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The emulsification study of PDAA nanoparticles revealed that multiple Pickering emulsions could be generated through a one-step phase inversion process by using PDAA nanoparticles as the stabilizer.

Effect of chain microstructure on self-assembly and emulsification of amphiphilic poly(acrylic acid)-polystyrene copolymers.

In this study, a series of random copolymer poly(acrylic acid-co-styrene) (P(AA-co-St)) and block copolymer poly(acrylic acid)-b-polystyrene (PAA-b-PSt) with similar chemical composition but different chain microstructure were synthesized. The self-assembly behavior of random and block copolymers in selective solvent was investigated, and the structural evaluation of random and block copolymers micelles was carried out by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurement, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Moreover, together with experimental characterization, the theoretical method dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) approach was applied to investigate the morphological structures of micelles composed from random and block copolymers.

Corrosion resistance of biodegradable Mg with a composite polymer coating.

Degrading Mg and its alloys are a category of implant materials for bone surgery, but rapid corrosion in physiological environment limits their clinical applications. To improve the corrosion resistance of Mg-based implants, a biodegradable composite polymer coating is deposited on an Mg rod in this work. The strategy is to decorate Mg surfaces with poly(γ-glutamic acid)-g-7-amino-4-methylcoumarin/hydroxyapatite (γ-PGA-g-AMC/HAp) composite nanoparticles through electrophoretic deposition in ethanol.

Surface-Selective Preferential Production of Reactive Oxygen Species on Piezoelectric Ceramics for Bacterial Killing.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) can be used to kill bacterial cells, and thus the selective generation of ROS from material surfaces is an emerging direction in antibacterial material discovery. We found the polarization of piezoelectric ceramic causes the two sides of the disk to become positively and negatively charged, which translate into cathode and anode surfaces in an aqueous solution. Because of the microelectrolysis of water, ROS are preferentially formed on the cathode surface.

Synthesis of Water-Dispersible Molecularly Imprinted Electroactive Nanoparticles for the Sensitive and Selective Paracetamol Detection.

A novel kind of water-dispersible molecularly imprinted electroactive nanoparticles was prepared combining macromolecular self-assembly with molecularly imprinting technique employing paracetamol (PCM) as template molecule. An amphiphilic electroactive copolymer (P(NVC-EHA-AA), PNEA) containing carbazole group was first synthesized through a one-pot free radical copolymerization. The coassembly of the electroactive copolymers with the template molecules (PCM) in aqueous solution generated nanoparticles embedded with PCM, leading to the formation of molecularly imprinted electroactive nanoparticles (MIENPs).

Combined use of meteorological drought indices at multi-time scales for improving hydrological drought detection.

Prediction of hydrological drought in the absence of hydrological records is of great significance for water resources management and risk assessment. In this study, two meteorological drought indices, including standardized precipitation index (SPI) and standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) calculated at different time scales (1 to 12months), were analyzed for their capabilities in detecting hydrological droughts. The predictive skills of meteorological drought indices were assessed through correlation analysis, and two skill scores, i.

Tuning photothermal properties of gold nanodendrites for in vivo cancer therapy within a wide near infrared range by simply controlling their degree of branching.

Although dendritic nanoparticles have been prepared by many different methods, control over their degree of branching (DB) is still impossible, preventing us from understanding the effect of the DB on the properties of the nanodendrites as cancer therapeutics. Herein, we developed a novel seed-mediated method to prepare gold nanodendrites (AuNDs) in an organic solvent using long chain amines as a structural directing agent. We discovered that the DB could be tuned facilely by simply adjusting synthetic parameters, such as the solvent type, the type and concentration of the long chain amines.

The influence of age on the clinical implications of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide in acute coronary syndrome.

Currently, there are no studies addressing the influence of age on the prognostic information of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in Asian population with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The purpose of this study was to investigate the prognostic performance of NT-proBNP in Chinese patients with ACS across different age groups. A total of 1512 ACS patients with venous blood NT-proBNP measured were enrolled.

Size-Dependent Mechanism of Intracellular Localization and Cytotoxicity of Mono-Disperse Spherical Mesoporous Nano- and Micron-Bioactive Glass Particles.

Mono-disperse spherical mesoporous nano- and micro- bioactive glass particles (NMBGs) can find potential use in bone tissue engineering. However, their size-dependent interaction with osteoblasts has never been studied. Herein, the proliferation, morphology, cytoskeleton organization and apoptosis of MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts are studied in response to the NMBGs with varying sizes (from 61 to 1085 nm) at different concentrations.

Inhibition of mTOR Signaling Pathway Delays Follicle Formation in Mice.

In mammalian ovaries, follicle assembly requires proper germ cell cyst breakdown and the invasion of somatic cells to encapsulate individual oocytes. Abnormalities in this process lead to a number of pathologies such as premature ovarian failure and infertility. As a conserved pathway regulating cell growth and metabolism in response to growth factors and nutrients, the roles of mTOR signaling in follicular development have been extensively studied in recent years.

Bio-Templated Growth of Bone Minerals from Modified Simulated Body Fluid on Nanofibrous Decellularized Natural Tissues.

Small intestine submucosal (SIS) membrane used in this study is a decellularized, naturally occurring nanofibrous scaffold derived from a submucosal layer of porcine small intestine. It is predominantly composed of type I collagen fibers. Here we studied the bio-templated growth of hydroxylapatite (HAP) bone minerals on the SIS membrane from a modified simulated body fluid (1.

Determination of Arbutin in Rat Plasma Using Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry: Application to a Pharmacokinetic Study After Oral Administration of the Extract of Vaccinium vitis-idaea.

A rapid and sensitive bioassay based on liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) has been developed and validated to measure arbutin in rat plasma. Sample preparation of plasma after the addition of indapamide as internal standard (IS) involved solid-phase extraction (SPE) on C18 cartridges. Reversed-phase chromatography using acetonitrile and 0.

Molecularly imprinted nanohybrids based on dopamine-modified poly(γ-glutamic acid) for electrochemical sensing of melamine.

A voltammetric sensor for melamine (MEL) was prepared from molecularly imprinted nanohybrids (MINBs). A dopamine modified poly-γ-glutamic acid copolymer (γ-PGA-DA) and MEL were self-assembled into MEL/γ-PGA-DA nanoparticles (NPs) in aqueous solution via weak interactions, followed by adding an aqueous AgNO3 solution into the mixture. The Ag(+) was adsorbed in the MEL/γ-PGA-DA NPs and spontaneously reduced to Ag NPs by the dopamine moieties of γ-PGA-DA, forming Ag/MEL/γ-PGA-DA MINBs, which were then cast on a gold electrode to form a MINBs film.