From Paroxysmal to Persistent Atrial Fibrillation: Progressive Fibrosis of the Left Atrial Posterior Wall.

Background: The path from paroxysmal to persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) is still poorly understood, leading to suboptimal treatment outcomes.

Objectives: In this study, the authors sought to investigate the level of fibrosis in different stages of AF with the use of F-labeled aluminum fluoride (AlF) targeting fibroblast activation protein inhibitor (FAPI) positron emission tomography (PET)-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Methods: A total of 78 patients with AF and 49 health volunteers were enrolled in this study.

Simultaneous F-labeled AlF-FAPI PET/MR images targeting the myocardial fibrosis in coronary artery disease and degenerative mitral valve regurgitant participants with left ventricular mechanical dyssynchrony.

Background: Myocardial fibrosis contributes to LV mechanical dyssynchrony and fibroblast activation protein is considered as a specific biomarker related to tissue remodeling. The authors aimed to explore the relationship between LVMD and myocardial fibrosis, and patterns of LV fibrosis distribution in CAD and Degenerative Mitral Valve Regurgitant (DMVR) participants by the technique of F-AlF-FAPI PET/MR.

Methods: 37 CAD and DMVR participants with LVMD and normal ones underwent cardiac PET/MR imaging, the correlations between SUV of FAPI-uptakes and score/percentage of LV wall thickening, peak myocardial strains, and displacements were analyzed in PET/MR images, and ejection fractions and function parameters of mitral valve were compared.

Gender-specific association between a novel atherogenic index of plasma, metabolic parameters and inflammation among obese adults.

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated the association between lipoprotein combined index (LCI), as a novel atherogenic index with cardiovascular disease, fatty liver, diabetes and numerous other health problems; however, its association with metabolic syndrome risk and its components has not been investigated before. The current study was aimed to investigate the association between LCI metabolic and inflammatory risk factors among obese men and women.

Methods: In the current cross-sectional study, the association between LCI, anthropometric parameters and metabolic risk factors including serum lipids, glycemic markers, insulin resistance and C - reactive protein (CRP) concentrations were measured.

Cardiovascular Disease-Specific Responses to Autonomic Denervation.

Background: Calcium-mediated autonomic denervation has been shown to suppress postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) after coronary artery bypass grafting.

Objectives: This study sought to evaluate whether similar autonomic denervation can prevent POAF after mitral or aortic valve surgeries.

Methods: This research consisted of 2 single-center, randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trials: CAP-AF2 (Calcium Autonomic Denervation Prevents Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation in Patients Undergoing Isolated Mitral Valve Surgery for Mitral Regurgitation) for mitral valve (MV) surgery and CAP-AF3 (Calcium Autonomic Denervation Prevents Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation in Patients Undergoing Isolated Aortic Valve Surgery) for aortic valve surgery.

A comprehensive physiological and -Omic analysis of trypsin-mediated protection of green pepper fruits from chilling injury.

Chilling injury (CI) in green pepper fruits during low-temperature storage causes a significant decline in quality. The present study utilized physiological, transcriptomic, and metabolomic analyses to idneitfy the mechanisms by which trypsin mitigates CI in green peppers stored at 4 °C for 8 days, followed by 3 days of shelf life. Results indicated that the trypsin treatment significantly reduced electrolyte leakage and the CI index in peppers, effectively extending their shelf life and preserving postharvest quality.

Long-Term Results and Risk Factors of Treatment for Post-Infarction Ventricular Septal Rupture: A Single-Center Experience.

Background: Ventricular septal rupture (VSR) following myocardial infarction (MI) is a rare but lethal complication. We analyzed the long-term results and risk factors for survival in the treatment of VSR.

Methods: From January 2012 to December 2021, 115 consecutive patients with post-MI VSR were admitted to our hospital.

Gut Microbiota in Patients with Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation Undergoing Off-Pump Coronary Bypass Graft Surgery.

Background: Post-operative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is one of the most common complications of cardiac surgery. However, the underlying mechanism is not well understood. Alterations in the gut microbiota are associated with the development of atrial fibrillation (AF).

Preventive Effect of Berberine on Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation.

Background: Postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is one of the most common complications of cardiac surgery, but the underlying factors governing POAF are not well understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of berberine administration on POAF.

Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with patients who underwent isolated coronary artery bypass grafting in China to study the impact of oral berberine on the incidence of POAF.

Silencing of Sly-miR171d increased the expression of and enhanced postharvest chilling tolerance of tomato fruit.

The role of Sly-miR171d on tomato fruit chilling injury (CI) was investigated. The results showed that silencing the endogenous Sly-miR171d effectively delayed the increase of CI and electrolyte leakage (EL) in tomato fruit, and maintained fruit firmness and quality. After low temperature storage, the expression of target gene increased in STTM-miR171d tomato fruit, the level of GA anabolism and the expression of , an important regulator of cold resistance, both increased in STTM-miR171d tomato fruit, indicated that silencing the Sly-miR171d can improve the resistance ability of postharvest tomato fruit to chilling tolerance.

Chilling injury of tomato fruit was alleviated under low-temperature storage by silencing Sly-miR171e with short tandem target mimic technology.

In this study, the role of Sly-miR171e on post-harvest cold tolerance of tomato fruit was researched. The results showed that overexpression of Sly-miR171e (miR171e-OE) promoted postharvest chilling injury (CI) of tomato fruit at the mature red (MR) and mature green (MG) stage. Contrasted with the wild type (WT) and miR171e-OE fruit, the knockdown of Sly-miR171e (miR171e-STTM) showed a lower CI index, lower hydrogen peroxide (HO) content, and higher fruit firmness after harvest.

Survival and risk factors associated with surgical repair of ventricular septal rupture after acute myocardial infarction: A single-center experience.

Objective: To analyze the survival and risk factors associated with the surgical treatment of ventricular septal rupture (VSR) after acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 45 consecutive patients with VSR after AMI whose procedures were performed in the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at the General Hospital of Northern Theater Command between January 2012 and December 2021. Relevant clinical data, surgery-related conditions, and follow-up data of all patients were summarized.

The association between fetal fraction and pregnancy-related complications among Chinese population.

To examine the association of fetal fraction with a wide spectrum of pregnancy-related complications among Chinese population, we carried out a single-institution retrospective cohort study of women with negative Noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) results and singleton pregnancies between May 2018 and May 2020. Indicators of pregnancy-related complications were examined individually, including preterm birth, low birth weight, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, gestational diabetes, oligohydramnios and intrahepatic cholestasis. We evaluated disease odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), after controlling for potential confounders including body mass index (BMI), maternal age and gestational week at NIPT.

Selection and Validation of Reference Genes for Pan-Cancer in Platelets Based on RNA-Sequence Data.

Many studies in recent years have demonstrated that some messenger RNA (mRNA) in platelets can be used as biomarkers for the diagnosis of pan-cancer. The quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) molecular technique is most commonly used to determine mRNA expression changes in platelets. Accurate and reliable relative RT-qPCR is highly dependent on reliable reference genes.

Hydrothermal preparation of novel rGO-KTaO nanocubes with enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity.

In this study, nanocubes KTaO-reduced graphene oxide (rGO-KTaO) photocatalysts were synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. Different technical methods were carried out to characterize the as-prepared compounds. UV-Vis spectra show that the absorption sideband of the complexes red-shift to visible light region, which enhances the light utilization.

Xrare: a machine learning method jointly modeling phenotypes and genetic evidence for rare disease diagnosis.

Purpose: Despite the successful progress next-generation sequencing technologies has achieved in diagnosing the genetic cause of rare Mendelian diseases, the current diagnostic rate is still far from satisfactory because of heterogeneity, imprecision, and noise in disease phenotype descriptions and insufficient utilization of expert knowledge in clinical genetics. To overcome these difficulties, we present a novel method called Xrare for the prioritization of causative gene variants in rare disease diagnosis.

Methods: We propose a new phenotype similarity scoring method called Emission-Reception Information Content (ERIC), which is highly tolerant of noise and imprecision in clinical phenotypes.

Early- and intermediate-term results of surgical correction in 122 patients with total anomalous pulmonary venous connection and biventricular physiology.

Background: We retrospectively reported our 26-year experience with operative repair of total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC) with biventricular physiology.

Methods: Between December 1982 and December 2008, 122 TAPVC patients with biventricular heart underwent surgical repair in our department. Moderate or deep hypothermia was induced at the time of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB).

Iridium-catalyzed synthesis of diaryl ethers by means of chemoselective C-F bond activation and the formation of B-F bonds.

Transition-metal-catalyzed CF activation, in comparison with CH activation, is more difficult to achieve and therefore less fully understood, mainly because carbon-fluorine bonds are the strongest known single bonds to carbon and have been very difficult to cleave. Transition-metal complexes are often more effective at cleaving stronger bonds, such as C(sp(2) )X versus C(sp(3) )X. Here, the iridium-catalyzed CF activation of fluorarenes was achieved through the use of bis(pinacolato)diboron with the formation of the BF bond and self-coupling.

GLiMMPS: robust statistical model for regulatory variation of alternative splicing using RNA-seq data.

To characterize the genetic variation of alternative splicing, we develop GLiMMPS, a robust statistical method for detecting splicing quantitative trait loci (sQTLs) from RNA-seq data. GLiMMPS takes into account the individual variation in sequencing coverage and the noise prevalent in RNA-seq data. Analyses of simulated and real RNA-seq datasets demonstrate that GLiMMPS outperforms competing statistical models.

High-throughput two-dimensional root system phenotyping platform facilitates genetic analysis of root growth and development.

High-throughput phenotyping of root systems requires a combination of specialized techniques and adaptable plant growth, root imaging and software tools. A custom phenotyping platform was designed to capture images of whole root systems, and novel software tools were developed to process and analyse these images. The platform and its components are adaptable to a wide range root phenotyping studies using diverse growth systems (hydroponics, paper pouches, gel and soil) involving several plant species, including, but not limited to, rice, maize, sorghum, tomato and Arabidopsis.

Transcriptome landscape of the human placenta.

Background: The placenta is a key component in understanding the physiological processes involved in pregnancy. Characterizing genes critical for placental function can serve as a basis for identifying mechanisms underlying both normal and pathologic pregnancies. Detailing the placental tissue transcriptome could provide a valuable resource for genomic studies related to placental disease.

Staged procedures versus primary repair for tetralogy of Fallot and small left ventricle.

Introduction: This study was conducted to address whether staged surgical intervention or primary repair would be preferred for treating patients with tetralogy of Fallot and small left ventricle.

Methods: We retrospectively assessed 28 patients with tetralogy of Fallot and small left ventricle at the Chinese PLA 208th Hospital, Changchun, between January 2005 and December 2008. Of this cohort, 11 patients had undergone a systemic-to-pulmonary arterial shunt with a polytetrafluoroethylene interposition graft (off pump), followed by ancillary repair procedures as a surgically staged group; the remaining 17 patients underwent primary intracardiac repair via cardiopulmonary bypass.

Preventing intimal thickening of vein grafts in vein artery bypass using STAT-3 siRNA.

Background: Proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) play a key role in neointimal formation which leads to restenosis of vein graft in venous bypass. STAT-3 is a transcription factor associated with cell proliferation. We hypothesized that silencing of STAT-3 by siRNA will inhibit proliferation of VSMCs and attenuate intimal thickening.

Genome-wide association mapping reveals a rich genetic architecture of complex traits in Oryza sativa.

Asian rice, Oryza sativa is a cultivated, inbreeding species that feeds over half of the world's population. Understanding the genetic basis of diverse physiological, developmental, and morphological traits provides the basis for improving yield, quality and sustainability of rice. Here we show the results of a genome-wide association study based on genotyping 44,100 SNP variants across 413 diverse accessions of O.

Genetic architecture of aluminum tolerance in rice (Oryza sativa) determined through genome-wide association analysis and QTL mapping.

Aluminum (Al) toxicity is a primary limitation to crop productivity on acid soils, and rice has been demonstrated to be significantly more Al tolerant than other cereal crops. However, the mechanisms of rice Al tolerance are largely unknown, and no genes underlying natural variation have been reported. We screened 383 diverse rice accessions, conducted a genome-wide association (GWA) study, and conducted QTL mapping in two bi-parental populations using three estimates of Al tolerance based on root growth.