Update on surgical repair in functional mitral regurgitation.

Background: Functional mitral regurgitation (FMR) is common in patients with myocardial infarction or dilated cardiomyopathy, and portends a poor prognosis despite guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT). Surgical or transcatheter mitral repair for FMR from recent randomized clinical trials showed disappointing or conflicting results.

Aims: To provide an update on the role of surgical repair in the management of FMR.

MicroRNA-26b relieves inflammatory response and myocardial remodeling of mice with myocardial infarction by suppression of MAPK pathway through binding to PTGS2.

Background: Myocardial infarction (MI) is a common cardiovascular disease caused by myocardial ischemia. Also, microRNA (miRNA) participates in the pathophysiology of many cardiovascular diseases, which can affect stem cell transplantation in the treatment of MI. In this study, our aim is to explore effect of miR-26b on inflammatory response and myocardial remodeling through the MAPK pathway by targeting PTGS2 in mice with MI.

IRAK3 gene silencing prevents cardiac rupture and ventricular remodeling through negative regulation of the NF-κB signaling pathway in a mouse model of acute myocardial infarction.

Cardiac rupture and ventricular remodeling are recognized as the severe complications and major risk factors of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). This study aims to evaluate the regulatory roles of interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase 3 (IRAK3) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) signaling pathway in cardiac rupture and ventricular remodeling. Microarray analysis was performed to screen AMI-related differentially expressed genes and IRAK3 was identified.

Quality Measurement and Improvement Study of Surgical Coronary Revascularization: Medication Adherence (MISSION-2).

Background: Secondary preventive therapies play a key role in the prevention of adverse outcomes after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). However, medication adherence after CABG is often poor, and conventional interventions for improving adherence have limited success. With increasing penetration of smartphones, health-related smartphone applications might provide an opportunity to improve adherence.

The Effects of Phellinus linteus Polysaccharide Extracts on Cholesterol Efflux in Oxidized Low-Density Lipoprotein-Loaded THP-1 Macrophages.

The removal of excess cellular cholesterol is critical for maintaining cellular cholesterol homeostasis. Phellinus linteus polysaccharide extracts (PLPEs) is an immunomudulatory agent with a molecular weight of 153 kd. Here, we analyzed the effects of PLPEs on cholesterol efflux in oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL)-loaded THP-1 (human acute monocytic leukemia cell line) macrophages.

[Effects of on-pump beating-heart coronary artery bypass grafting for left-main patients].

Objective: To explore the value of on-pump beating-heart coronary artery bypass grafting (OnP-BH CABG) for left-main patients with coronary heart disease through a comparative study with conventional coronary artery bypass grafting (CCABG).

Methods: The clinical data were retrospectively analyzed for 66 patients of OnP-BH and 48 control cases undergoing CCABG from January 2009 to January 2012 at Department of Cardiac Surgery, People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University.

Results: OnP-BH group had a better clinical outcome than CCABG group.

Caffeine and dithiothreitol delay ovine oocyte ageing.

The intracellular glutathione levels and developmental competence of aged oocytes after parthenogenetic activation, somatic cell nuclear transfer and intracytoplasmic sperm injection in the presence or absence of caffeine or dithiothreitol (DTT) were examined. The following results were found: (1) ovine oocytes were fully aged 30 h post-onset of maturation culture; (2) the appropriate concentrations of caffeine and DTT for oocyte culture were 5 mM and 1 mM, respectively; (3) when nuclear transfer-reconstructed embryos were treated with caffeine or DTT following fusion, no increase in the frequency of development to blastocyst was observed (P > 0.05), but the cell numbers of blastocysts increased (P < 0.