AFM is used to study the biophysics of hypertension-induced tachyarrhythmia.

Patients with long-lasting hypertension often suffer from atrial or ventricular arrhythmias. Evidence suggests that mechanical stimulation can change the refractory period and dispersion of the ventricular myocyte action potential through stretch-activated ion channels (SACs) and influence cellular calcium transients, thus increasing susceptibility to ventricular arrhythmias. However, the specific pathogenesis of hypertension-induced arrhythmias is unknown.

[Chinese consensus of cardiopulmonary resuscitation guides prevention, treatment and rescue of cardiac arrest in pregnancy].

Pregnant women are a group of people in a special period, once sudden cardiac arrest (CA) occurs, it will threaten the life of both mother and child. It has become a great challenge for hospital, doctors and nurses to minimize maternal mortality during pregnancy. All the efforts should ensure the safety of both mother and child throughout the perinatal period.

Vaspin Alleviates Sepsis-Induced Cardiac Injury and Cardiac Inflammation by Inhibiting Kallikrein 7 in Mice.

Background: Vaspin is an important adipokine that is involved in cardiovascular diseases. This study is aimed at investigating whether vaspin participates in sepsis-induced cardiac injury and explored the possible mechanism.

Methods: First, cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were used to establish a mouse model of sepsis, and cardiac vaspin expression was examined.

Trauma-induced pulmonary thromboembolism: What's update?

Trauma-induced pulmonary thromboembolism is the second leading cause of death in severe trauma patients. Primary fibrinolytic hyperactivity combined with hemorrhage and consequential hypercoagulability in severe trauma patients create a huge challenge for clinicians. It is crucial to ensure a safe anticoagulant therapy for trauma patients, but a series of clinical issues need to be answered first, for example, what are the risk factors for traumatic venous thromboembolism? How to assess and determine the status of coagulation dysfunction of patients? When is the optimal timing to initiate pharmacologic prophylaxis for venous thromboembolism? What types of prophylactic agents should be used? How to manage the anticoagulation-related hemorrhage and to determine the optimal timing of restarting chemoprophylaxis? The present review attempts to answer the above questions.

Lipocalin-2 Predicts Long-Term Outcome of Normotensive Patients with Acute Pulmonary Embolism.

Normotensive patients with acute pulmonary embolism (APE) are accompanied by heterogeneously adverse events. Responding to tissue injury, lipocalin-2 (LCN-2) is elevated in experimental APE model and associated with short-term prognosis. However, the prognostic value of LCN-2 in normotensive patients with APE for long-term major adverse events (MAEs) remains unknown.

BMP2/Smad signaling pathway is involved in the inhibition function of fibroblast growth factor 21 on vascular calcification.

Vascular calcification is extremely common and associated with major adverse cardiovascular events. Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 21 has been identified as a potent metabolic regulator and a protector of the cardiovascular system. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of FGF21 on calcification of vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) and its mechanism.

Changes in cardiac arrest patients' temperature management after the publication of 2015 AHA guidelines for resuscitation in China.

A survey was performed to assess the current management of targeted temperature management (TTM) in patients following cardiac arrest (CA) and whether healthcare providers will change target temperature after publication of 2015 American Heart Association guidelines for resuscitation in China. 52 hospitals were selected from whole of China between August to November 2016. All healthcare providers in EMs and/or ICUs of selected hospitals participated in the study.

Risk factors for noninvasive ventilation failure in patients with acute cardiogenic pulmonary edema: A prospective, observational cohort study.

Purpose: We identified risk factors for noninvasive ventilation (NIV) failure in patients with acute cardiogenic pulmonary edema (ACPE).

Materials And Methods: We conducted an observational cohort study over a 3-year period in a 28-bed emergency intensive care unit (EICU) and prospectively included all consecutive patients in whom NIV was attempted as initial ventilatory support for ACPE. The primary outcome variables were NIV failure rate and risk factors for NIV failure.

Venous thromboembolism has the same risk factors as atherosclerosis: A PRISMA-compliant systemic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Previous studies have shown that idiopathic pulmonary embolism is positively associated with other cardiovascular events, such as myocardial infarction and stroke, suggesting a potentially important association between atherosclerosis risk factors and venous thromboembolism (VTE). We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the correlation between risk factors for atherosclerosis and VTE.

Methods: In December 2014, we searched MEDLINE and EMBASE for studies evaluating the associations between VTE and risk factors for atherosclerosis and pooled outcome data using random-effects meta-analysis.

[Clinical efficacies of bilevel positive airway pressure ventilator treatment in uremic patients with acute heart failure].

Objective: To explore the clinical efficacies of bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP) ventilation in uremic patients with acute heart failure.

Methods: Fifty uremic patients with acute heart failure on dialysis were recruited from February 2008 to October 2012 at our center. All of them received angiectasis, heart strengthening and continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), but their clinical symptoms had no relief 30 min later.

Recombinant tissue plasminogen activator plus heparin compared with heparin alone for patients with acute submassive pulmonary embolism: one-year outcome.

Objective: To evaluate the long-term effects of thrombolysis on patients with submassive pulmonary embolism (PE).

Methods: Data of 136 patients with acute submassive PE and low risk of bleeding were prospectively collected from January 2005 to October 2011 in a single medical center. Patients received recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (r-tPA) plus low molecular weight heparin (LMWH, TT group, n = 79) or LMWH alone (AT group, n = 57), depending on treating physician's recommendation and patient's preference.

Predicting value of serum soluble ST2 and interleukin-33 for risk stratification and prognosis in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Background: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a common cardiac emergency with high mortality. Serum soluble ST2 (sST2) is a new emerging biomarker of cardiac diseases. The present study is to investigate the predictive value of sST2 and interleukin-33 (IL-33) for risk stratification and prognosis in patients with AMI.

Enhanced solar energy conversion in Au-doped, single-wall carbon nanotube-Si heterojunction cells.

The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of single-wall carbon nanotube (SCNT)/n-type crystalline silicon heterojunction photovoltaic devices is significantly improved by Au doping. It is found that the overall PCE was significantly increased to threefold. The efficiency enhancement of photovoltaic devices is mainly the improved electrical conductivity of SCNT by increasing the carrier concentration and the enhancing the absorbance of active layers by Au nanoparticles.

[Improvement in left ventricular filling properties after thrombolysis and anticoagulant therapy with heparin for acute pulmonary thromboembolism].

Objective: The purpose of the present study mainly aimed to evaluate whether thrombolysis and heparin anticoagulation for acute pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) could improve the abnormal left ventricular diastolic filling induced by acute PTE.

Methods: A total of 71 acute PTE patients (36 males and 35 females; age 64 ± 13 years, range 24 - 87 years) admitted to the emergency intensive care unit of Beijing Anzhen Hospital were consecutively recruited from January of 2006 to June of 2011. Fifty-one age-and gender-matched healthy controls (29 males and 22 females, age 61 ± 9 years, range 31 - 79 years) were also recruited from Health Center during the same period of time.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for critically ill patients with 2009 influenza A (H1N1)-related acute respiratory distress syndrome: preliminary experience from a single center.

From early May 2009, the novel influenza A (H1N1) pandemic affected mainland China. Of those infected, a small proportion of patients developed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) so rapidly and severely that conventional ventilation treatment was ineffective. As an alternative treatment, the effect of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) was evaluated.

[Assessment of left ventricular systolic function and diastolic filling characteristics in patients with pulmonary thromboembolism].

Objective: The purpose of the present study aimed to evaluate the left ventricular systolic function and diastolic filling characteristics in pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE).

Methods: A total of 102 patients with PTE, including acute or acute on chronic PTE, were consecutively recruited from January of 2006 to December of 2010. The patients [53 males and 49 females; age (64 ± 14) years, range 23 - 85 years] all underwent Doppler echocardiographic assessment before thrombolytic therapy or within 24 h of hospital admission to the emergency intensive care unit of Beijing Anzhen hospital.

[Epidemiological survey of the incidence of bronchial asthma in occupational populations in Beijing area].

Objective: To investigate the correlation of asthma incidence with environmental pollution.

Methods: We performed stratified-cluster-disproportional-random-sampling survey in the occupational populations from 10 professional systems by using an uniform protocol, questionnaire and procedure in this multicenter study. Original data were processed and statistically analyzed with SPSS 8.