Comparison of electrochemical impedance spectra for electrolyte-supported solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and protonic ceramic fuel cells (PCFCs).

Protonic ceramic fuel cells (PCFCs) are expected to achieve high power generation efficiency at intermediate temperature around 400-600 °C. In the present work, the distribution of relaxation times (DRT) analysis was investigated in order to deconvolute the anode and cathode polarization resistances for PCFCs supported on yttria-doped barium cerate (BCY) electrolyte in comparison with solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) supported on scandia-stabilized zirconia (ScSZ) electrolyte. Four DRT peaks were detected from the impedance spectra measured at 700 °C excluding the gas diffusion process for ScSZ and BCY.

Comparison of Long-Term Outcomes Between Combination Antiplatelet and Anticoagulant Therapy and Anticoagulant Monotherapy in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation and Left Atrial Thrombi.

Anticoagulation for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) complicated by left atrial thrombi (LAT) is a frequent cause of bleeding complications, but risk factors remain unknown. Of 3,139 AF patients who underwent transesophageal echocardiography, 82 with LAT under anticoagulation were included in this study. Patients treated with combination antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapy (n=31) were compared with those receiving anticoagulant monotherapy (n=51) to investigate the effects of antiplatelet agents during anticoagulation on bleeding complications.

Suvorexant for insomnia in patients with psychiatric disorder: A 1-week, open-label study.

Aim: There have been no previous reports on the efficacy and safety of suvorexant for insomnia in people with psychiatric disorders.

Methods: This one-week, prospective, single-arm, clinical trial of fixed dose of suvorexant (20 mg if ages 18-64 or 15 mg if age ≥ 65 years) for insomnia included 57 patients with psychiatric disorders who had experienced any of the following insomnia symptoms for four or more nights during the week prior to the start of the study: total sleep time (TST) <6 hours, time to sleep onset (TSO) ≥30 minutes, or two or more episodes of wake after sleep onset.

Results: The mean age of the patients was 49.

Microscopic ion migration in solid electrolytes revealed by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy.

Terahertz spectroscopy is one of the most suitable methods for the analysis of electron transport in solids, and has been applied to various materials. Here, we demonstrate that terahertz spectroscopy is the technique of choice to characterize solid electrolytes. We measure the terahertz conductivity of stabilized zirconia, a widely used solid electrolyte material, by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy at high temperatures, providing a wealth of information unavailable from conventional techniques.

Effect of Extensive Ablation on Recurrence in Patients with Persistent Atrial Fibrillation Treated with Pulmonary Vein Isolation (EARNEST-PVI) trial: Design and rationale.

Background: Although extensive substrate modification in addition to pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) has been recommended in catheter ablation for persistent atrial fibrillation (AF), recent randomized controlled trials have not demonstrated efficacy of such additional ablations.

Methods And Study Design: The Osaka Cardiovascular Conference will conduct a multicenter, randomized, open-label trial aiming to examine whether PVI alone is non-inferior to PVI plus additional ablation such as linear ablation and/or complex fractionated atrial electrogram ablation in patients with persistent AF. The primary outcome is recurrence of AF documented by scheduled or symptom-driven electrocardiogram tests during a 1-year follow-up period after the index ablation.

A prospective multicenter observational study evaluating the risk of periendoscopic events in patients using anticoagulants: the Osaka GIANT Study.

 An increasing number of patients have been using anticoagulants including anti-vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) and direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs); however, in patients using anticoagulants, limited data are available with regard to the risks of gastrointestinal bleeding and thromboembolic events during the peri-endoscopic period. We aimed to evaluate the peri-endoscopic bleeding and thrombotic risks in patients administered VKAs or DOACs.  Consecutive patients using anticoagulants who underwent endoscopic biopsy, mucosal resection, or submucosal dissection were prospectively enrolled across 11 hospitals.

Differences in amiodarone efficacy in relation to ejection fraction and basal rhythm in patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) and ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. However, data are lacking concerning the association of AF and VAs. This study aimed to clarify the association between AF and VAs and to investigate the effect of amiodarone on the incidence of VAs in patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs).

Time in Therapeutic Range and Disease Outcomes in Elderly Japanese Patients With Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation.

Background: The relationship between warfarin treatment quality and prognosis for Japanese patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) has not been studied thoroughly.

Methods and results: Data from the J-RHYTHM Registry were used to determine the time in therapeutic range (TTR) of the international normalized ratio (INR) of prothrombin time in elderly patients (≥70 years). Target INR was 1.

Continuous ST-Monitoring Function of Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Detects Silent Ischemia in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease.

Background: Newer implantable cardioverter defibrillators can monitor intracardiac ECGs , but their ability to detect ischemia is unclear. This study investigated the usefulness of implantable cardioverter defibrillators with an ST-monitoring function in coronary artery disease patients.

Methods And Results: We conducted a prospective study of implantable cardioverter defibrillator patients with the ST-monitoring function.

Effects of vitamin K antagonist on aortic valve degeneration in non-valvular atrial fibrillation patients: Prospective 4-year observational study.

Background: The prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) is high in elder subjects. Our previous observational study suggested that vitamin K antagonist (VKA) promotes aortic valve degeneration, a principal cause of aortic stenosis in the elderly, and that angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) attenuates its progression. This study aimed to prospectively investigate these observations in non-valvular AF patients.

Eplerenone might affect atrial fibrosis in patients with hypertension.

Background: Eplerenone is reported to reduce the development of atrial fibrillation (AF). The aim of this study was to clarify the mechanism of eplerenone for AF prevention from the viewpoint of P wave morphology, which is reported to correlate with atrial fibrosis.

Methods: Thirty-five patients with hypertension, who were randomized to receive eplerenone (n = 16) or amlodipine (n = 19) for 1 year, were evaluated.

Chaotic itinerancy within the coupled dynamics between a physical body and neural oscillator networks.

Chaotic itinerancy is a phenomenon in which the state of a nonlinear dynamical system spontaneously explores and attracts certain states in a state space. From this perspective, the diverse behavior of animals and its spontaneous transitions lead to a complex coupled dynamical system, including a physical body and a brain. Herein, a series of simulations using different types of non-linear oscillator networks (i.

Outcomes for Atrial Fibrillation Patients with Silent Left Atrial Thrombi Detected by Transesophageal Echocardiography.

Although we have occasionally experienced silent thrombi in the left atrium (LA), defined as thrombi free from embolic events, by screening transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) for atrial fibrillation (AF), few data are available on predictors and outcomes of silent LA thrombi in patients with AF. We retrospectively reviewed clinical records and identified 83 patients (2.6%) with silent LA thrombi, out of 4,214 TEE procedures in 3,139 patients with AF at 6 hospitals from January 2010 to December 2012.

Significant correlation between renal I-metaiodobenzylguanidine scintigraphy and muscle sympathetic nerve activity in patients with primary hypertension.

Background: Iodine-123 metaiodobenzylguanidine (I-MIBG) scintigraphy is used as a noninvasive imaging method for assessing cardiac sympathetic nerve activity. We tested the hypothesis that renal I-MIBG imaging is correlated with muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) in patients with primary hypertension.

Methods: Thirty-one consecutive patients with primary hypertension were included.

Efficacy and tolerability of topiramate-augmentation therapy for schizophrenia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

This study aimed to perform a comprehensive meta-analysis of topiramate-augmentation therapy in patients with schizophrenia receiving antipsychotic agents. Data published up to June 20, 2016 were obtained from the PubMed, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Library databases. Twelve randomized controlled trials comparing topiramate to placebo or antipsychotic only were included (n=676 patients).

Sodium channel blockade unmasked Brugada electrocardiographic pattern in a patient with complete right bundle branch block and early repolarization in the lateral leads.

Early repolarization syndrome (ERS) and Brugada syndrome (BrS) share many electrocardiographic and clinical features, and recently have been collectively grouped as J wave syndrome. However, the effects of sodium channel blockers on the J waves differ greatly between ERS and BrS.

Regional Differences in Frequency of Warfarin Therapy and Thromboembolism in Japanese Patients With Non-Valvular Atrial Fibrillation - Analysis of the J-RHYTHM Registry.

Background: The proportion of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) treated with anticoagulation varies from country to country. In Japan, little is known about regional differences in frequency of warfarin use or prognosis among patients with non-valvular AF (NVAF).

Methods and results: In J-RHYTHM Registry, the number of patients recruited from each of 10 geographic regions of Japan was based on region population density.

Clinical Impact of Ventricular Tachycardia and/or Fibrillation During the Acute Phase of Acute Myocardial Infarction on In-Hospital and 5-Year Mortality Rates in the Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Era.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic impact of acute-phase ventricular tachycardia and fibrillation (VT/VF) on ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients in the percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) era.

Methods and results: Using the database of the Osaka Acute Coronary Insufficiency Study (OACIS), we studied 4,283 consecutive patients with STEMI who were hospitalized within 12 h of STEMI onset and underwent emergency PCI. Acute-phase VT/VF, defined as ≥3 consecutive ventricular premature complexes and/or VF within the 1st week of hospitalization, occurred in 997 (23.

Net clinical benefit of adding aspirin to warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation: Insights from the J-RHYTHM Registry.

Background: Concomitant use of vitamin K antagonist (VKA) and aspirin (ASA) is becoming increasingly prevalent among atrial fibrillation (AF) patients. We quantified the net clinical benefit of adding ASA to a VKA using nationwide prospective AF registry data.

Methods: We studied 6074 patients (VKA monotherapy: 83% and VKA+ASA: 17%) between January 2009 and July 2009, and followed them for a mean follow-up period of 2years.

[Device treatment approaches targeting the sympathetic nervous system in patients with resistant hypertension].

A large percentage of patients with hypertension do not meet guideline blood pressure goal, which increases cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Involvement of sympathetic nervous system has been recognized but our intervention for the system was limited to pharmacological therapy. The new interventions, such as intra-renal artery ablation and baroreflex activation therapies, directed toward the sympathetic nervous system, were intensely examined in various areas of cardiovascular disease.

Risk Stratification for Ventricular Tachyarrhythmias by Ambulatory Electrocardiogram-Based Frequency Domain T-Wave Alternans.

Background: Ambulatory electrocardiogram (ECG)-based T-wave alternans (TWA) quantified by the modified moving average method (MMA) can be used to identify patients at risk for sudden cardiac death. However, there is no information available on ambulatory ECG-based TWA as quantified by the frequency domain (FD) method to identify patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) who are at high risk for ventricular tachyarrhythmias. Further, there are few data regarding the comparison of clinical utility of FD-TWA with MMA-TWA, heart rate variability (HRV), and heart rate turbulence (HRT).

Investigation of optimal position for implantable loop recorders by potential mapping with Reveal DX.

Background: Electrode positioning is important for the operation of implantable loop recorders (ILRs). This study aimed to investigate optimal electrode positions for the implantation of ILRs.

Methods: Fifteen male subjects participated in the study and R wave amplitude data were collected from 15 areas in the left anterior chest area, with 4 variations of electrode angles and body positions.

Impact of atrial fibrillation ablation on cardiac sympathetic nervous system in patients with and without heart failure.

Background/objectives: Catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) might influence the cardiac autonomic nervous system. To investigate the impact of catheter ablation on the sympathetic nervous function in AF patients with and without heart failure (HF) using cardiac iodine-123-metaiodobenzylguanidine ((123)I-mIBG) scintigraphy, and the association of this effect with AF recurrence.

Methods: Forty consecutive patients (median age, 65 (54-69) years; male, 29) with paroxysmal (n=22) and persistent (n=18) AF who were scheduled for ablation were enrolled.

Abundant epicardial adipose tissue surrounding the left atrium predicts early rather than late recurrence of atrial fibrillation after catheter ablation.

Purpose: Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) surrounding the left atrium has been reported to have a pro-arrhythmic influence on atrial myocardium and to play an important role in the pathophysiology of atrial fibrillation (AF). The purpose of this study was to explore whether the abundance of EAT correlates with early and late recurrences of AF after ablation.

Methods: We included 53 consecutive patients with drug-refractory AF scheduled for ablation.

Non-valvular atrial fibrillation patients with low CHADS2 scores benefit from warfarin therapy according to propensity score matching subanalysis using the J-RHYTHM Registry.

Introduction: Recently, direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have been introduced, with increasing use in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). However, warfarin continues to be widely used and the benefits and risks of warfarin in NVAF patients warrant closer inspection.

Materials And Methods: Thromboembolism, major hemorrhage, and total and cardiovascular mortalities were analyzed in 7,406 NVAF patients in the J-RHYTHM Registry from January to July 2009, prior to DOAC introduction.