Early Acute Kidney Injury Recovery in Elderly Patients Undergoing Valve Replacement Surgery.

Objectives: This study was designed to determine the incidence, contributing factors, and prognostic implications of acute kidney injury (AKI) recovery patterns in patients who experienced AKI after valve replacement surgery (VRS).

Design: A retrospective cohort study was conducted.

Setting: The work took place in a postoperative care center in a single large-volume cardiovascular center.

The study on the characteristics of carbon pressure agglomeration and the dynamic evolution of heterogeneity in China from a regional perspective.

Provinces (cities and districts) with identifiable boundaries are under intense pressure to reduce emissions as a fundamental unit and research object of carbon peaking and carbon-neutrality goals. Due to the significant variability of regional development, achieving equilibrium between carbon emissions and carbon absorption is challenging, contributing to the difficulty of developing carbon emission reduction and relevant green strategic initiatives in China. Therefore, this paper explored the spatial effect of carbon balance with carbon pressure as the starting point.

Activation of Piezo1 promotes osteogenic differentiation of aortic valve interstitial cell through YAP-dependent glutaminolysis.

Hemodynamic overload and dysregulation of cellular metabolism are involved in development of calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD). However, how mechanical stress relates to metabolic changes in CAVD remains unclear. Here, we show that Piezo1, a mechanosensitive ion channel, regulated glutaminase 1 (GLS1)-mediated glutaminolysis to promote osteogenic differentiation of valve interstitial cells (VICs).

Hesperetin, a Promising Dietary Supplement for Preventing the Development of Calcific Aortic Valve Disease.

Background: No effective therapeutic agents for calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) are available currently. Dietary supplementation has been proposed as a novel treatment modality for various diseases. As a flavanone, hesperetin is widely abundant in citrus fruits and has been proven to exert protective effects in multiple diseases.

Albumin-Bilirubin Score to Predict Outcomes in Patients with Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy.

Background: Liver dysfunction is a postulated variable for poor prognosis in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of the albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) score, a relatively new model for evaluating liver function, in patients with idiopathic DCM.

Methods: A total of 1025 patients with idiopathic DCM were retrospectively included and divided into three groups based on ALBI scores: grade 1 (≤ -2.

Estimated glomerular filtration rate derived from different formulas and prognosis in acute coronary syndrome: Findings from the improving care for cardiovascular disease in China-acute coronary syndrome project.

Background: The optimal formula for the estimation of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in terms of predicting in-hospital mortality and adverse events remains unclear.

Methods: A nationwide registry study, Improving CCC (Care for Cardiovascular Disease in China) ACS project, was launched in 2014 as a collaborative study of the American Heart Association and Chinese Society of Cardiology. The Cockcroft-Gault, modification of diet in renal disease (MDRD) formula for Chinese (C-MDRD), Mayo, and Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) formulas were used to calculate estimated GFR in 61,545 ACS patients (38,734 with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction [STEMI] and 22,811 with non-ST-segment-elevation ACS [NSTE-ACS]).

Pathophysiologic Basis and Diagnostic Approaches for Ischemia With Non-obstructive Coronary Arteries: A Literature Review.

Ischemia with non-obstructive coronary arteries (INOCA) has gained increasing attention due to its high prevalence, atypical clinical presentations, difficult diagnostic procedures, and poor prognosis. There are two endotypes of INOCA-one is coronary microvascular dysfunction and the other is vasospastic angina. Diagnosis of INOCA lies in evaluating coronary flow reserve, microcirculatory resistance, and vasoreactivity, which is usually obtained invasive coronary interventional techniques.

Red blood cell distribution width: A severity indicator in patients with COVID-19.

Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) was frequently assessed in COVID-19 infection and reported to be associated with adverse outcomes. However, there was no consensus regarding the optimal cutoff value for RDW. Records of 98 patients with COVID-19 from the First People's Hospital of Jingzhou were reviewed.

The effect of preoperative statin treatment on acute kidney injury in elderly patients undergoing valve replacement surgery.

Purposes: The effects of preoperative statin treatment on acute kidney injury (AKI) remain controversial, and current clinical evidence regarding statin use in the elderly undergoing valve replacement surgery (VRS) is insufficient. The present study aimed to investigate the association between preoperative statin treatment and AKI after VRS in the elderly.

Methods: Three thousand seven hundred ninety-one elderly patients (≥ 60 years) undergoing VRS were included in this study and divided into 2 groups, according to the receipt of statin treatment before the operation: statin users (n = 894) and non-users (n = 2897).

Gender Differences in the Attitudes of Parents Living with Adult Children with Schizophrenia.

Background: This paper explored the gender differences in the attitudes of parents toward taking care of their adult daughters or sons with schizophrenia, and focused on how parents define and think about the roles of their children, and how they cope with fulfilling the expected roles.

Methods: Qualitative research design and purpose sampling were used to enroll parents who had adult patients with schizophrenia at a medical center in central Taiwan. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted and content analysis was used to analyze the data.

The national dental undergraduate clinical skills competition known as the Guanghua Cup: an innovative and effective program that promoted undergraduate dental education in China.

Background: The National Dental Undergraduate Clinical Skills Competition known as the Guanghua Cup was held in Guangzhou, China, for three consecutive years from 2017 to 2019 to promote the clinical teaching of undergraduate dental education and to enhance communication among different universities. The present study aimed to introduce the organization, procedures, and consequences of the competition, in addition to analyzing the influences of competition on the reform of undergraduate dental education.

Methods: By analyzing the descriptive statistics of the Guanghua Cup, the competitions' organization, the participating students' performances, and the outcomes of competitions were analyzed.

Shock Index-C: An Updated and Simple Risk-Stratifying Tool in ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction.

Shock index (heart rate/systolic blood pressure, SI) is a simple scale with prognostic value in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The present study introduces an updated version of SI that includes renal function. A total of 1,851 consecutive patients with STEMI undergoing PCI were retrospectively included at Cardiac Care Unit in Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital and divided into two groups according to their admission time: derivation database (from January 2010 to December 2013, = 1,145) and validation database (from January 2014 to April 2016, = 706).

Prognostic value of D-dimer for adverse outcomes in patients with infective endocarditis: an observational study.

Background: Increased D-dimer levels have been shown to correlate with adverse outcomes in various clinical conditions. However, few studies with a large sample size have been performed thus far to evaluate the prognostic value of D-dimer in patients with infective endocarditis (IE).

Methods: 613 patients with IE were included in the study and categorized into two groups according to the cut-off of D-dimer determined by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis for in-hospital death: > 3.

Development and Validation of Retinal Vasculature Nomogram in Suspected Angina Due to Coronary Artery Disease.

Aims: To develop and validate a nomogram using retinal vasculature features and clinical variables to predict coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with suspected angina.

Methods: The prediction model consisting of 795 participants was developed in a training set of 508 participants with suspected angina due to CAD, and data were collected from January 2018 to June 2019. The held-out validation was conducted with 287 consecutive patients from July 2019 to November 2019.

Comparison of Prognostic Value Among 4 Risk Scores in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome: Findings from the Improving Care for Cardiovascular Disease in China-ACS (CCC-ACS) Project.

BACKGROUND Accurate risk assessment and prospective stratification are of great importance for treatment of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). However, the optimal risk evaluation systems for predicting different type of ACS adverse events in Chinese population have not been established. MATERIAL AND METHODS Our data were derived from the Improving Care for Cardiovascular Disease in China-ACS (CCC-ACS) Project, a multicenter registry program.

Retinal microvasculature impairments in patients with coronary artery disease: An optical coherence tomography angiography study.

Purpose: To investigate the association between retinal microvasculature and the presence and severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).

Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted in Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, China. Retinal microvasculature parameters were measured by OCTA of the optic disc, including the vessel density (VD) and retinal nerve fibre thickness of the radial peripapillary capillary.

Predictive Value of Prognostic Nutritional Index on COVID-19 Severity.

The prognostic nutritional index (PNI) has been described as a simple risk-stratified tool for several diseases. We explored the predictive role of the PNI on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity. A total of 101 patients with COVID-19 were included in this retrospective study from January 2020 to March 2020.