Mariculture activities including enclosure, raft and cage cultures employ a variety of plastic gear such as fishing nets, buoyant material and net cages. The plastic gear poses a potential source of ...microplastics to the coastal environment, but relevant data on the impacts of mariculture are still limited. To this end, a semi-enclosed narrow bay (i.e., Xiangshan Bay, China) with a long-term mariculture history was investigated to assess how mariculture activities affect microplastics in seawater and sediment. The results indicated that mariculture-derived microplastics accounted for approximately 55.7% and 36.8% of the microplastics in seawater and sediment, respectively. The average microplastic abundances of seawater and sediment were 8.9 ± 4.7 (mean ± SD, n = 18) items/m3 seawater and 1739 ± 2153 (n = 18) items/kg sediment, respectively. The types of mariculture-derived microplastics included polyethylene (PE) foam, PE nets, PE film, polypropylene (PP) rope, polystyrene (PS) foam and rubber. PE foam had the highest proportion (38.6%) in the seawater samples. High usage rates and the porous structure of PE foam led to the high abundance. The average microplastic sizes of seawater and sediment are 1.54 ± 1.53 mm and 1.33 ± 1.69 mm, respectively. The spatial variations in the abundance and size of microplastics implied that the mariculture-derived microplastics in Xiangshan Bay were transported along the Bay to the open sea. The results of this study indicate that mariculture activity can be a significant source of microplastics. Further research is required to investigate how the high microplastic abundance in mariculture zone affects marine organisms, especially cultured seafood.
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•The surface seawater of Xiangshan Bay had 8.9 ± 4.7 (n = 18) microplastics per m3 seawater.•The sediments of Xiangshan Bay had 1739 ± 2153 (n = 18) microplastics per kg sediment.•Approximately 55.7% and 36.8% of the seawater and sediment microplastics were from mariculture, respectively.•The porous structure of PE foam led to high fragmentation.•Mariculture-derived microplastics in Xiangshan Bay were transported to the open sea.
Results of this work imply that the long-term intensive mariculture activities have caused a significant microplastic issue for Xiangshan Bay, China.
Electrochemical conversion of CO2 to value‐added chemicals using renewable electricity provides a promising way to mitigate both global warming and the energy crisis. Here, a facile ion‐adsorption ...strategy is reported to construct highly active graphene‐based catalysts for CO2 reduction to CO. The isolated transition metal cyclam‐like moieties formed upon ion adsorption are found to contribute to the observed improvements. Free from the conventional harsh pyrolysis and acid‐leaching procedures, this solution‐chemistry strategy is easy to scale up and of general applicability, thus paving a rational avenue for the design of high‐efficiency catalysts for CO2 reduction and beyond.
A feasible ion‐adsorption strategy is highlighted to bring unprecedentedly efficient and selective CO2 reduction activity to nitrogen‐doped graphene. Free from high‐temperature pyrolysis and acid leaching, this solution‐chemistry route incorporating molecular‐catalyst moieties into a highly conductive carbon matrix provides a practical approach to design high‐efficiency electrocatalysts for CO2 reduction and related catalytic reactions.
...it can be postulated that either the identified predicting factors of recurrence or the electrophysiological findings in the repeat ablation may point to the role of the right atrial remodeling in ...the initiation and maintenance of AF, with the former as the clinical prepositions and the latter as the electrophysiological consequences. ...it may be of special significance to investigate the genetic characteristics of those AF patients with the background of "normal" left atrium. ...not the least, it is important to develop the tailored strategy targeting the right atrial substrate beyond the PVs in this presumed subset of patients.
BACKGROUND—The high incidence of postprocedural atrial tachycardia reduces the absolute arrhythmia-free success rate of extensive ablation strategies to treat nonparoxysmal atrial fibrillation ...(NPAF). We hypothesized that a strategy of targeting low-voltage zones and sites with abnormal electrograms during sinus rhythm (SR-AEs) in the left atrium after circumferential pulmonary vein isolation and cavotricuspid isthmus ablation in patients with NPAF is superior.
METHODS AND RESULTS—A total of 86 consecutive patients with NPAF were enrolled in study group. After circumferential pulmonary vein isolation, cavotricuspid isthmus ablation and cardioversion to SR, high-density mapping of left atrium was performed. Areas with low-voltage zone and SR-AE were targeted for further homogenization and elimination, respectively; 78 consecutive sex- and age-matched patients with NPAF who were treated with the stepwise approach served as the historical control group. In the study group, 92% (79/86) were successfully cardioverted after circumferential pulmonary vein isolation and cavotricuspid isthmus ablation. Among the patients converted to SR, 70% (55/79) had low-voltage zone and SR-AE and received additional ablation, whereas in 30% (24/79) without SR-AE or low-voltage zone, no further ablation was performed. During a follow-up period of >30 months, the Kaplan–Meier estimated probability to maintain SR at 24 months was 69.8% versus 51.3%. And after a single procedure, 3.5% (3/86) developed postprocedural atrial tachycardia in study group, compared with 30% (24/78) in control group (P=0.0003).
CONCLUSIONS—A strategy of selective electrophysiologically guided atrial substrate modification in SR after circumferential pulmonary vein isolation and cavotricuspid isthmus ablation is clinically more effective than the stepwise approach for NPAF ablation.
CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION—URLhttp://clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifierNCT01716143.
Background
Deep terminal negativity of the P‐wave in V1 (DTNPV1) was considered if the absolute value of the depth of the negative phase was >100 μV in the presence of a biphasic P‐wave in V1. In ...this study, we aimed to determine the association between DTNPV1, a simpler P‐wave index, and the risk of stroke.
Methods
We compared P‐wave indices between participants with and without a self‐reported history of stroke in the United States Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). The association between DTNPV1 and stroke was quantified with logistic regression models.
Results
In total, 7732 participants were included (307 with a history of stroke). Patients with stroke had deeper terminal negativity of the P‐wave in V1 (52.3 ± 33.9 μV vs. 41.4 ± 27.0 μV, p < .001). After adjustment, DTNPV1 was associated with an increased risk of stroke (OR: 1.63, 95% CI: 1.03–2.60, p = .038). This association appeared to be stronger in people aged <75 years (interaction p = .023), and in those without heart failure (interaction p = .018) or ischemic heart disease (interaction p = .014). In contrast to the participants with 0 or ≥2 risk factors, in those with 1 risk factor, stroke prevalence was significantly different among the three categories of terminal negativity of the P‐wave (0 μV, >0 μV but ≤100 μV and > 100 μV) in V1 (2.8%, 3.3%, and 10.3%, respectively, p = .005).
Conclusion
In NHANES III, DTNPV1 was associated with a higher prevalence of stroke, suggesting that DTNPV1 might be a convenient marker to distinguish the risk of stroke.
DTNPV1 might be a simpler P‐wave index to distinguish stroke risk. The association between DTNPV1 and stroke risk was stronger in people age <75 years and in those without heart failure or ischemic heart disease. The association between DTNPV1 and stroke risk was stronger in people at intermediate stroke risk than those at low or high risk.
Diabetes is well recognized to increase the risk of heart failure, which is associated with higher mortality and morbidity. It is important for the development of novel therapeutic methods targeting ...heart failure in diabetic patients. Ferroptosis, an iron-dependent regulated cell death, has been implicated in the progression of diabetes-induced heart failure (DIHF). This study was designed to investigate the contribution of Nr2f2 to the activation of ferroptosis and mitochondrial dysfunction in DIHF. We established a diabetic model by a high-fat feeding diet combined with an intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. After 16 weeks, Nr2f2 expression was increased in heart tissue of DIHF mice. In vivo, DIHF mice overexpressing Nr2f2 (AAV9-cTNT-Nr2f2) exhibited severe heart failure and enhanced cardiac ferroptosis compared with DIHF control mice (AAV9-cTNT-ctrl), accompanied by mitochondrial dysfunction and aggravated oxidative stress reaction. In vitro, Nr2f2 knockdown ameliorated ferroptosis and mitochondrial dysfunction by negatively regulating PGC-1α, a crucial metabolic regulator. PGC-1α knockdown counteracted the protective effect of Nr2f2 knockdown. These data suggest that Nr2f2 promotes heart failure and ferroptosis in DIHF by modulating the PGC-1α signaling. Our study provides a new idea for the treatment of diabetes-induced heart failure.
Proteins and peptides have become a significant therapeutic modality for various diseases because of their high potency and specificity. However, the inherent properties of these drugs, such as large ...molecular weight, poor stability, and conformational flexibility, make them difficult to be formulated and delivered. Injection is the primary route for clinical administration of protein and peptide drugs, which usually leads to poor patient's compliance. As a portable, minimally invasive device, microneedles (MNs) can overcome the skin barrier and generate reversible microchannels for effective macromolecule permeation. In this review, we highlighted the recent advances in MNs-mediated transdermal delivery of protein and peptide drugs. Emphasis was given to the latest development in representative MNs design and fabrication. We also summarize the current application status of MNs-mediated transdermal protein and peptide delivery, especially in the field of infectious disease, diabetes, cancer, and other disease therapy. Finally, the current status of clinical translation and a perspective on future development are also provided.
Proteins and peptides have become a significant therapeutic modality for various diseases, and microneedles provide a great prospect for the transdermal delivery of proteins and peptides. Display omitted
Human-induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) technology and directed cardiac differentiation technology can provide a continuous supply of cells for disease modeling, drug screening, and cell therapy. ...However, two-dimensional (2D) cells often fail to faithfully reflect the physiological structure and function of the heart. Considering the contractile function is the most critical and easy-to-understand function of cardiomyocytes, the engineered cardiac tissues (ECT) with mechanical properties may serve as an appropriate three-dimensional (3D) platform for drug evaluation. At present, there are various methods to generate ECTs, some of which are quite costly. In the present study, we proposed that human foreskin fibroblast (HFF) cells, as a cost-effective and accessible cell source, can promote the compaction and remodeling of ECTs. The HFFs derived ECTs displayed stable structural and functional characteristics with a higher performance-to-price ratio. Moreover, both ECTs made from atrial and ventricular cardiomyocytes showed an excellent drug response, demonstrating that the ECT with HFFs as an easy and reliable platform for drug evaluation.
The electrical storm （ES） is defined as a state of electrical instability with three or more sustained ventricular arrhythmias （VAs） occurring within twenty-four hours, which needs intravenous ...antiarrhythmic medications and frequent defibrillation. Recently, radiofrequency catheter ablation evolved as a sole therapy to terminate ES in patients with ICD, and the survival has been reported to be improved with successful ablation during follow-up. In this review, we briefly summarize substrate mapping and substrate ablation strategy in patients with ES, and discuss the reason of recurrence after ablation.
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