High-resolution liquid metal-based stretchable electronics enabled by colloidal self-assembly and microtransfer printing.

Liquid metal-based stretchable electronics offer high electrical performance and seamless integration with deformable systems but face challenges in achieving scalable, high-resolution patterning. In this work, we present a method for micropatterning liquid metal particle (LMP) films with feature sizes as small as 5 micrometers by integrating electrostatically enabled colloidal self-assembly and microtransfer printing. The resulting cold-welded LMP micropatterns exhibit exceptional electromechanical properties, high conductivity (2.

Temporary Pacing for Electric Cardiac Stimulation and Neuromodulatory Cardiovascular Therapy.

The widespread prevalence and significant consequences of cardiac arrhythmias have been addressed by adopting cardiac stimulation and neuromodulation implantable devices. The oldest, most commonly employed, and most well-known technology is the permanent transvenous cardiac pacemaker. However, in select emergent clinical scenarios and transient pathologies, temporary pacing is preferred.

Factors associated with the use of guideline-directed medical therapy in patients with left ventricular assist device.

Aims: Societal guidelines have recently supported the use of guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) in patients with left ventricular assist device (LVAD) to promote ventricular recovery. We sought to characterize patient factors associated with use of GDMT in durable LVAD recipients.

Methods And Results: We performed a retrospective analysis of patients with a HeartMate 3 (HM3) LVAD at our institution, including comprehensive data from the past 12 months.

Coronary microvascular dysfunction by positron emission tomography and outcomes in patients after cardiac transplantation.

Aims: Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) affects both epicardial and microvascular coronary arteries, however, few studies have characterized microvascular dysfunction in this population. Several prior studies have shown that positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) can be used to screen for epicardial CAV, however, the clinical implications of abnormal blood flow in the absence of epicardial CAV are unknown. Our study sought to assess the prognostic implications of microvascular dysfunction and its subtypes, endogen/functional and classical/structural, using PET/CT in cardiac transplant patients without epicardial CAV.

Time-varying analyses of survival and outcomes in patients with HeartMate 3 left ventricular assist devices.

Aims: As patients experience longer survival on HeartMate 3 left ventricular assist devices, there is a need to characterize long-term risks of adverse outcomes more precisely. This study characterized temporal variations in risks of mortality and adverse outcomes in patients with a HeartMate 3.

Methods And Results: From October 2015 to January 2023, 431 HeartMate 3 devices were implanted at Cleveland Clinic.

Trajectories following Impella 5.5 support are associated with initial presentation acuity.

Background: Impella 5.5 is a temporary left ventricular assist device utilized to support patients with cardiogenic shock and those undergoing high-risk cardiac interventions.

Methods: From October 2019 to January 2023, 226 patients received Impella 5.

Frequency of screening for cardiac allograft vasculopathy: warranty period of initial low risk positron emission tomography.

Aims: The short-term risk of moderate-severe cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) after a low-risk positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) is unknown, and therefore, there is no guidance on how frequently to perform screening. The aim of this study was to assess the rate of progression to moderate-severe CAV as part of an annual screening programme.

Methods And Results: Patients with no history of CAV 2/3 and a low-risk result on initial screening PET/CT (CAV 0/1) were enrolled in the study.

Negative Predictive Value and Prognostic Associations of Rb-82 PET/CT with Myocardial Blood Flow in CAV.

Background: Invasive coronary angiography (ICA) is the traditional screening modality for cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV). Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scan with myocardial blood flow (MBF) quantification has emerged as a potential noninvasive alternative.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to validate the diagnostic and prognostic value of a previously published algorithm for diagnosing CAV via PET/CT scans with MBF in a larger population.

Predictors of in-hospital mortality in a cohort of people living with HIV (PLHIV) admitted to an academic medical intensive care unit from 2009 to 2014: A retrospective cohort study.

Outcomes for critically ill people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLHIV) have changed with the use of antiretroviral therapy (ART). To identify these outcomes and correlates of mortality in a contemporary critically ill cohort in an urban academic medical center in Baltimore, a city with a high burden of HIV, we conducted a retrospective cohort study of individuals admitted to a medical intensive care unit (MICU) at a tertiary care center between 2009 and 2014. PLHIV who were at least 18 years of age with an index MICU admission of ≥24 hours during the 5-year study period were included in this analysis.

Outcomes of bariatric surgery in patients with left ventricular assist device.

Background: Class II obesity affects 1 in 5 patients with left ventricular assist device (LVAD) and is considered a potential barrier to heart transplantation (HT). Studies about the outcomes of bariatric surgery in this population are scarce.

Methods: We identified Medicare beneficiaries who had an LVAD placed from 2012 to 2019 and had at least class II obesity at the time of LVAD placement and identified patients who underwent bariatric surgery during or after the LVAD implantation admission.

MUC1 ectodomain is a flagellin-targeting decoy receptor and biomarker operative during Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection.

We previously reported that flagellin-expressing Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa) provokes NEU1 sialidase-mediated MUC1 ectodomain (MUC1-ED) desialylation and MUC1-ED shedding from murine lungs in vivo. Here, we asked whether Pa in the lungs of patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia might also increase MUC1-ED shedding. The levels of MUC1-ED and Pa-expressed flagellin were dramatically elevated in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) harvested from Pa-infected patients, and each flagellin level, in turn, predicted MUC1-ED shedding in the same patient.

Arrhythmias in Cardiac Sarcoidosis Bench to Bedside: A Case-Based Review.

Cardiac sarcoidosis is a component of an often multiorgan granulomatous disease of still uncertain cause. It is being recognized with increasing frequency, mainly as the result of heightened awareness and new diagnostic tests, specifically cardiac magnetic resonance imaging and F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography scans. The purpose of this case-based review is to highlight the potentially life-saving importance of making the early diagnosis of cardiac sarcoidosis using these new tools and to provide a framework for the optimal care of patients with this disease.

Rice body formation due to -associated chronic arthropathy.

A 68-year-old woman with a medical history significant for psoriatic arthritis was found to have an enlarged, painful lump on her left hip 15 months after intramedullary rod placement for a left subtrochanteric femur fracture sustained in a fall. Histopathological findings showed rice body formation (RBF) with concurrent . RBF is a relatively rare arthropathy of a subset of chronic inflammatory disease such as rheumatoid arthritis or tuberculous arthropathy.

Association of Use of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors and Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers With Testing Positive for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Importance: The role of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARB) in the setting of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is hotly debated. There have been recommendations to discontinue these medications, which are essential in the treatment of several chronic disease conditions, while, in the absence of clinical evidence, professional societies have advocated their continued use.

Objective: To study the association between use of ACEIs/ARBs with the likelihood of testing positive for COVID-19 and to study outcome data in subsets of patients taking ACEIs/ARBs who tested positive with severity of clinical outcomes of COVID-19 (eg, hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, and requirement for mechanical ventilation).

Prognostic Value of Functional Capacity in Different Exercise Protocols.

Background Functional capacity is associated with mortality, although the prognostic value of achieved estimated metabolic equivalents (METs) across various exercise protocols is not established. We sought to determine whether achieved METs had different prognostic implications according to the protocol employed. Methods and Results From 1991 to 2015, we identified 120 705 consecutive patients from a stress testing registry who underwent the following 7 different standardized exercise protocols: Bruce, modified Bruce, Cornell 0%, Cornell 5%, Cornell 10%, Naughton, and modified Naughton.

Impella RP as a bridge to cardiac transplant for refractory late right ventricular failure in setting of left ventricular assist device.

Right ventricular (RV) failure remains a major complication after surgical implantation of a left ventricular assist device (LVAD). While the use of a percutaneous RV assist device has been described as a short-term bridge to recovery in end-stage heart failure patients with early post-operative RV failure after index LVAD implant, management of refractory late RV failure remains challenging in these patients. We report the first successful case of extended Impella RP use as a safe and effective bridge to orthotopic heart transplant in an LVAD patient with refractory, haemodynamically significant late RV failure.

Herpes hepatitis as a complication of total abdominal hysterectomy; an unusual complication of abdominal instrumentation.

Herpes simplex virus hepatitis is a rare but potentially fatal disease without early intervention. Impaired immunity is a major predisposing risk factor but infection in immunocompetent individuals is not unheard of. Diagnosis is complicated by its rarity and nonspecific signs and symptoms on presentation.

A case report: anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis.

-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antibody encephalitis is a potentially fatal autoimmune syndrome in which there is antibody production against the NMDAR causing profound dysregulation of neurotransmission. The syndrome is frequently associated with ovarian teratomas and women are disproportionately affected. Patients most often present with a constellation of neuropsychiatric signs and symptoms, including memory loss, hallucinations, and decreased level of consciousness.

Drosophila muller f elements maintain a distinct set of genomic properties over 40 million years of evolution.

The Muller F element (4.2 Mb, ~80 protein-coding genes) is an unusual autosome of Drosophila melanogaster; it is mostly heterochromatic with a low recombination rate. To investigate how these properties impact the evolution of repeats and genes, we manually improved the sequence and annotated the genes on the D.