One common issue when implementing wearable strain sensors for health-monitoring is the limited service time when they are inevitably subjected to mechanical operation in practical applications. ...Therefore, integrating multi-functionality with reliable performance is a long-term pursing target. To this end, we have developed a promising strain sensor utilising a facile 3D printing technology of digital light processing (DLP), thereby simultaneously realising super-high stretchability and intrinsic self-healing ability. Owing to the incorporation of carboxyl multi-walled carbon nanotubes (c-CNTs), the over-curing of the N-acryloylmorpholine (ACMO) resin was adequately mitigated, and good electrical conductivity of the nanocomposite was obtained. On the basis of multi-functionality, the strain sensor before and after self-healing can be applied for real-time and accurate detection of human activities. Therefore, it is expected that the highly stretchable and intrinsically self-healing strain sensor will have promising applications in wearable electronics, personal health care, etc.
Objective
This study aims to translate the Health Professional Communication Skills Scale (HP-CSS) into Chinese and assess its psychometric properties.
Methods
A total of 836 healthcare professionals ...were recruited. The demographic characteristics form and HP-CSS were used for data collection. The psychometric properties of HP-CSS were evaluated by examining item analysis, construct validity, known-group discriminant validity, internal consistency, and split-half reliability.
Results
In terms of item analysis, the critical ratio (CR) of 18 items was both >3 (CR ranging from 9.937 to 28.816), and the score of each item was positively correlated with the total score (
r
ranging from 0.357 to 0.778,
P
< 0.001). The fit indices showed that the original correlated four-factor model of HP-CSS was adequate: χ
2
=722.801; df = 126; χ
2
/df = 5.737; RMSEA = 0.075; CFI = 0.923; NNFI = 0.908; TLI = 0.906; IFI = 0.923. In terms of known-group discriminant validity, the HP-CSS total score was related to gender, occupation, work years, and communication skill training. Cronbach's α coefficient was 0.922, and the split-half reliability was 0.865 for the total scale.
Conclusion
The Chinese version of the HP-CSS is a reliable and valid instrument to evaluate communication skills among healthcare professionals in China.
Abstract Background Endothelial microparticles (EMPs) can be involved in inflammatory process, blood coagulation, and regulation of vascular function. However, it remains unclear whether EMPs ...participate in the pathogenesis of ACS. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of EMPs on Th1/Th2 development and functions in vitro. Methods Eight-five patients were allocated into SAP group (n = 27), UAP group (n = 28), and AMI group (n = 30). Twenty hospitalized patients with normal coronary angiography were recruited as controls. The frequency of EMPs, IFN-γ, and IL-4 levels were measured, and the correlation between EMPs and Th1/Th2 cytokine was analyzed. PBMCs isolated from patients with ACS were treated in vitro with EMPs. This was followed by flow cytometry for Th1/Th2 counts, real-time PCR and western blotting for T-bet and GATA mRNA and protein expression, and ELISA for IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-4, and IL-10. Results This study proved that the frequency of EMPs was significantly increased in ACS patients. There was a significant positive correlation between EMPs and IFN-γ. EMPs could significantly upregulate the differentiation and function of Th1 through increasing the expression of T-bet mRNA and protein. Furthermore, this study also indicated that EMP treatment in vitro could promote the expression of TNF-α, which exerts adverse effects on the pathogenesis and progression of atherosclerosis. Conclusions EMPs may be involved in the immune and inflammatory processes that take part in artery atherosclerosis and that they do so by regulating Th1/Th2 differentiation and function. They may play an important role in the pathogenesis of coronary atherosclerosis and plaque instability.
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Stretchable lithium-ion batteries (SLIBs) hold great potential as a power source for wearable electronics. A major challenge in the development of SLIBs is fabricating stable and ...reliable stretchable electrodes. Herein, we develop a novel laser-structured microarray electrodes based SLIBs. An active material film adhered to a planar stretchable current collector is ablated by ultrafast laser into an independent microscale square array, enabling electrodes stretchable. A one-dimensional elastic analytical model is developed to evaluate the stretchability of the microarray electrodes under tensile conditions. The microscale square array adheres to the current collector and keeps intact if the shear stress is less than the adhesion force as well as the tensile stress is less than the tensile strength of the active material. The demonstrated electrodes have a mass active material loading of 10 mg cm−2 and maintain robust electrochemical performance when stretched beyond 500 cycles at 100 % strains. The fabricated SLIBs show a stable capacity of 1.2 mAh cm−2, and over 70 % of initial capacity can be maintained at 100 % strain.
To examine the effects of metoprolol on expression of myocardial inflammatory cytokines and myocardial function in rats following coronary microembolization (CME).
Male rats were randomly assigned to ...receive either sham-operation (control group), CME plus saline (CME group), or CME plus metoprolol (metoprolol group). CME was induced by injecting 3000 polyethylene microspheres (42μm) into the left ventricle during a 10-second occlusion of the ascending aorta. Metoprolol (2.5mg/kg) or saline was administered as three intravenous bolus injections after CME. At 3h, 6h, 12h, 24h and 4weeks after CME, myocardial function was measured with echocardiography; and the mRNA and protein levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-10 (IL-10) and interleukin 1-β (IL-1β) were determined.
Induced CME led to markedly higher mRNA and protein levels of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-10 at 3, 6, 12, and 24h, as well as reduced left ventricular function, compared to the control group. Metoprolol administration reduced TNF-α and IL-1β levels, but increased IL-10 levels at 3, 6, 12, and 24h compared to the CME group. Moreover, metoprolol treatment resulted in significantly improved left ventricular function at 12h, 24h and 4weeks, but afforded no cardiac protection at 3h and 12h, compared to the CME group.
Higher levels of TNF-α and IL-1β in rats following CME are associated with the development of myocardial contractile dysfunction. Metoprolol-conferred protection against progressive contractile dysfunction following CME may be mediated by its anti-inflammation potential.
Coronary microembolization (CME) is a spontaneous event in patients with ischemic heart disease and a potential iatrogenic complication in patients undergoing coronary interventions. CME induces an ...obvious inflammatory reaction, characterized by cellular infiltration, particularly of eosinophils, and multifocal microinfarcts. However, little is known on the correlation between pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and cardiac function following CME. In this study, microspheres with a diameter of 42 μm were intracoronarily injected into the apex of the left ventricle to induce CME (CME group). Rats injected with normal saline served as controls (sham operated control group). Expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, TNF-α and IL-1β, and an anti-inflammatory cytokine, IL-10, was measured at 3, 6, 12, 24 h, and 4 weeks post-injection by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry. At the same time points, cardiac function and histological changes were evaluated by echocardiographic imagining and H&E staining, respectively. It was observed that the mRNA and protein expressions of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-10 all started to increase at 3 h, reached to the peak levels at 12 h, and returned to the normal levels at 4 weeks post-injection. The left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was significantly lower in the CME group than in the control group at 3, 6, 12, 24 h, and 4 weeks post-injection. Obvious myocardial microinfarcts with surrounding myocardial edema and degeneration, caryolysis, and infiltration of neutrophils and monocytes were observed in the CME group at 3, 6, 12, 24 h, and 4 weeks post-injection. Moreover, mRNA expression of TNF-α and IL-1β was negatively correlated with LVEF, although not with myocardial microinfarcts, in the CME group. It is concluded that both protein and mRNA expression of TNF-α IL-1β and IL-10 are dynamically changed following CME, which is associated with reduced cardiac function. Therefore, these cytokines may be potential therapeutic targets for clinical treatment of CME.
We performed a meta-analysis to compare therapeutic outcome/safety of drug-eluting stent (DES) and conventional in-stent restenosis (ISR) treatments. We browsed through large volume of clinical data ...by searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane central register of controlled trials, and EBSCO databases. In this study, 11 randomized controlled trials, 17 non-randomized controlled trials, 6,330 patients, and 6,662 lesions were included. Clinical and coronary angiography follow-up for 6–16 months was included. The major outcomes were target lesion revascularization (TLR) and major adverse cardiac events (MACE). We found that DES showed advantage in TLR (OR = 0.46; 95 % CI: 0.34, 0.62;
P
< 0.00001), MACE (OR = 0.51; 95 % CI: 0.34, 0.77;
P
= 0.001), Late Lumen Loss (IV = −0.30; 95 % CI: −0.44, −0.15;
P
< 0.0001), stenosis of lumen diameter (OR = −17.45; 95 % CI: −23.69, −11.21;
P
< 0.00001), and restenosis (OR = 0.26; 95 % CI: 0.17, 0.40;
P
< 0.00001) over conventional ISR treatment. Regarding cardiac death (OR = 0.80; 95 % CI: 0.55, 1.17;
P
= 0.25), myocardial infarction (OR = 1.00;95 %CI: 0.66, 1.51;
P
= 1.00) and late thrombosis (OR = 0.70; 95 % CI: 0.42, 1.17;
P
= 0.18), there was no significant difference between different treatments. We, therefore, concluded that in treating percutaneous coronary intervention–ISR, DES was more effective in reducing incidence of TLR, MACE, and restenosis, and decreasing severity of late lumen loss/stenosis of lumen diameter compared with bare metal stent, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, intracoronary brachytherapy, and cutting balloon treatments. There was no significant difference between DES and conventional therapy for ISR. As suggested by current statistical analysis, DES after ISR did not involve a higher incidence of cardiac death, myocardial infarction, and thrombosis.
We determined the effect of atorvastatin on myocardial apoptosis and caspase-8 activation following coronary microembolization (CME) in a rat model. For this, 50 rats were randomly and equally ...divided into CME; sham-operated (control); atorvastatin lavage; gastric lavage control; and caspase-8 inhibitor (CHO) groups. In CME animals, a microembolization ball was injected through the left ventricle. Sham animals were injected with normal saline (NS). Atorvastatin group received atorvastatin gastric lavage once-a-day, 1 week before surgery. Gastric lavage controls had similar lavage with NS. CHO group was i.p-injected (CHO: 10 mg/kg) 30 min before surgery. Cardiac indices in each group were determined by echocardiography 6-h postoperatively. TUNEL assay and western blot were used for myocardial apoptosis and expression of caspases-3/-8, respectively. Echocardiography data show that left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in CME group was significantly decreased (
P
< 0.05) compared with sham controls. Besides, left ventricular fractional shortening (FS) and cardiac output (CO) were also decreased with an increase in left ventricular end-diastolic dimension (LVEDd). Atorvastatin and CHO animals had significantly improved (
P
< 0.05) cardiac function compared with CME group. Myocardial apoptosis and activation levels of caspases-3/-8 were significantly increased (
P
< 0.05) compared with sham; myocardial apoptosis and activation levels of caspases-3/-8 were significantly decreased (
P
< 0.05) in atorvastatin and CHO groups compared with CME group. In conclusion, atorvastatin pretreatment suppressed post-CME myocardial apoptosis and improved cardiac function through the blockade of a myocardial death receptor-mediated apoptotic pathway.
Two new coordination polymers Zn(IHQS)(4,4′-bipy)
1/2(H
2O)
2
n
(
1) and Mn(IHQS)(4,4′-bipy)
1/2(H
2O)
2
n
(
2) (IHQS
=
7-iodo-8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulfonic acid) have been synthesized and ...characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction. Both of them display one-dimensional chain framework in which the cage-like dimeric units formed by two metal ions, two IHQS anions and four water molecules are bridged by 4,4′-bipy. The hydrogen bonds and weak C--I···X (X
=
N, O, S) interactions extend the one-dimensional chains into three-dimensional supramolecular frameworks. The fluorescent properties of both polymers and IHQS were measured in solid state at room temperature. The results indicated that the emission spectra of the two polymers could be assigned to intraligand transition.
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