Evaluating the impact of Sacubitril/valsartan on diastolic function in patients with heart failure: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Heart failure is a common and severe condition, often complicated by diastolic dysfunction. Current standard therapies such as ACEIs and ARBs have limited efficacy in managing diastolic function. Sacubitril/Valsartan, an emerging therapy, warrants rigorous investigation to elucidate its impact on diastolic function in heart failure patients. METHODS: This systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted adhering to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines and utilized the PICO schema. Searches were performed on 4 databases-PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library-without temporal restrictions. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were strictly defined, and quality assessments were conducted using the Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias tool. Both fixed-effects and random-effects models were used for statistical analysis, depending on inter-study heterogeneity assessed by I2 statistics and Chi-square tests. RESULTS: Out of 1129 identified publications, 8 studies met the criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. These studies consisted of both randomized controlled trials and cohort studies and featured diverse global populations. Significant reductions were found in the echocardiographic parameter E/e' ratio and LAVi upon treatment with Sacubitril/Valsartan compared to standard therapies, with mean differences of -1.38 and -4.62, respectively, both with P values < .01. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis demonstrates that Sacubitril/Valsartan significantly improves diastolic function parameters in heart failure patients compared to standard treatments. These findings underscore the potential benefits of Sacubitril/Valsartan in the management of heart failure, particularly for patients with diastolic dysfunction.

The important role of EPS in mediated biosynthesis of CdS QDs: Comparative study of EPS-intact and EPS-free.

In this study, we investigated the adsorption of Cd(II) and the biosynthesis of CdS quantum dots (QDs) mediated by cells of sulfate-reducing bacteria before and after the removal of EPS to determine whether EPS or the cell wall plays a major role. Potentiometric titration revealed that the concentration of proton-active binding sites on cells with EPS (EPS-intact) was notably higher than that on cells without EPS (EPS-free) and that the sites were predominantly carboxyl, phosphoryl, hydroxyl, and amine groups. The protein content in EPS-intact cells was higher, and thus the Cd(II) adsorption capacity was stronger. The CdS QDs biosynthesized using EPS-intact possessed better properties, including uniform size distribution, good crystallinity, small particle size, high fluorescence, and strong antimicrobial activity, and the yields were significantly higher than those of EPS-free by a factor of about 1.5-3.7. Further studies revealed that alkaline amino acids in EPS play a major role and serve as templates in the biosynthesis of QDs, whereas they were rarely detected in the cell wall. This study emphasizes the important role of EPS in the bacterial binding of metals and efficient recycling of hazardous waste in water.

Fe-codoped carbon dots serving as a peroxidase mimic to generate in situ hydrogen peroxide for the visual detection of glucose.

Nanozyme technology has gained significant regard and been successfully implemented in various applications including chemical sensing, bio-medicine, and environmental monitoring. Fe-CDs were synthesized and characterized well in this study. As compared to HRP (3.7 mM), the Fe-CDs exhibited a higher affinity towards H2O2 (0.2 mM) using the steady-state kinetic assay and stronger catalytic capability by changing the color of TMB to the blue color of the oxidized state, oxTMB. Additionally, an efficient peroxidase mimic, Fe-CDs/GOx, based on the hybrid cascade system to produce in situ H2O2 for the visual detection of glucose (color change: colorless to blue, and then to green), has been developed in detail, with limits of detection (LODs) for H2O2 and glucose of 0.33 µM and 1.17 µM, respectively. The changes further demonstrate a linear relationship between absorbance and H2O2 concentration, ranging from 10 to 60 µM, and for glucose (1 to 60 µM). To assess the accuracy and detection capability of the Fe-CDs/GOx system, we evaluated a real human serum sample obtained from adult males in a local hospital. In conclusion, Fe-CDs serving as a peroxidase mimic have the potential for various applications in the fields of biomedicine and nanozymes.

Effect of valve opening on starting performance of pump as turbine.

The study on transient characteristics of pump as turbines during atypical startup has not been deeply explored yet. In order to reveal the transient characteristics of a small centrifugal pump reversing as turbine during startup process in this paper, the transient hydraulic performance experiments are conducted for three steady rotational speed cases. Under the condition of each case, three, five and, three valve opening scenarios are completed to measure the performance. The dimensionless analysis are also employed so as to better reveal transient behavior of the pump as turbine during atypical startup. The results show that the rise rate of each performance parameter is different, wherein the shaft power and rotational speed have the fastest rising rate, followed by the flow rate, and the head rise is the slowest. It is clearly seen that the shock phenomenon in static pressure easily occurs at the outlet of pump as turbine. With the increase of valve opening, the dimensionless flow rate, head and, power coefficient all show the evolution trend of gradually increasing.

Influence of Isocyanate Structure on Recyclable Shape Memory Poly(thiourethane).

In this study, poly(thiourethane) (PTU) with different structures is synthesized by click chemistry from trimethylolpropane tris(3-mercaptopropionate) (S3) and different diisocyanates (hexamethylene diisocyanate, HDI, isophorone diisocyanate, IPDI and toluene diisocyanate, TDI). Quantitative analysis of the FTIR spectra reveals that the reaction rates between TDI and S3 are the most rapid, resulting from the combined influence of conjugation and spatial site hindrance. Moreover, the homogeneous cross-linked network of the synthesized PTUs facilitates better manageability of the shape memory effect. All three PTUs exhibit excellent shape memory properties (Rr and Rf are over 90%), and an increase in chain rigidity is observed to negatively impact the shape recovery rate and fix rate. Moreover, all three PTUs exhibit satisfactory reprocessability performance, and an increase in chain rigidity is accompanied by a greater decrease in shape memory and a smaller decrease in mechanical performance for recycled PTUs. Contact angle (<90°) and in vitro degradation results (13%/month for HDI-based PTU, 7.5%/month for IPDI-based PTU, and 8.5%/month for TDI-based PTU) indicate that PTUs can be used as long-term or medium-term biodegradable materials. The synthesized PTUs have a high potential for applications in smart response scenarios requiring specific glass transition temperatures, such as artificial muscles, soft robots, and sensors.

The acceleration effect of pump as turbine system during starting period.

In order to reveal the influence of starting acceleration on starting process of a pump as turbine system, this paper carries out a numerical calculation of the three-dimensional viscous unsteady flow of pump as turbine circulating piping system under three starting acceleration conditions, and obtains the external and internal flow characteristics of each overflow component during the starting process, and also analyzes the energy loss of each component in the piping system in depth with the help of entropy production method and Q criterion method. The results show that during system start-up, the flow rate and outlet static pressure curves of the pump as turbine are hysteresis relative to the rotational speed, the head curve is similar to a linear rise during slow and medium speed start-up, while it shows a parabolic rise during rapid start-up, the entropy production and vorticity in the impeller domain of the pump as turbine are mainly distributed between the blades, and the distribution decreases during start-up. In addition, the pump similarity law does not apply to the performance prediction during the transient start of the pump as turbine.

High-performance SiGe anode materials obtained by dealloying a Sr-modified Al-Si-Ge eutectic precursor.

In exploring the anode materials for high efficiency Li-ion batteries, it has been found that the electrochemical performance of Si can be enhanced via alloying with Ge. In the present work, we modified the Al-Si-Ge eutectic ribbons as the precursor by adding a trace of Sr to the alloy. The SiGe particles obtained by dealloying the Al-Si-Ge eutectic precursor have a porous coral-like nano-architecture with numerous fibrous branches towards various directions. Because of the large surface area and porosity, the as-prepared Sr-modified SiGe anode delivers an excellent capacity of 1166.6 mA h g-1 at 0.1 A g-1 after 100 cycles with a fantastic initial coulombic efficiency of 83.62%. Besides, it has a superior rate performance with a reversible capacity of 675.3 mA h g-1 at the current density of 8 A g-1. It is demonstrated that the modification treatment that is widely used in metallurgy is also a promising strategy to synthesize high-performance battery electrodes and other energy storage materials.

Radical-/non-radical-mediated catalyst activation of peroxymonosulfate for efficient atrazine degradation.

Efficient degradation technologies are urgent to be developed to avoid the ecological and healthy hazards brought from atrazine (ATZ). LaCoO3-δ/peroxymonosulfate (PMS) system was proved to have strong degradation capabilities to contaminants. In this work, we intended to investigate the effect of the synthesis method on LaCoO3-δ. However, the hydrothermal method yielded a new material (H-Co) with better catalytic performance than LaCoO3-δ, which showed stable catalytic ability at pH 3.0-9.0 and 5 consecutive cycles. The coexistence of inorganic Cl-, SO42-, NO3-, H2PO4-, HCO3- and organic humic acids exerted little influences on the H-Co/PMS system. In addition, the actual livestock and poultry breeding wastewater could be well degraded and mineralized by the H-Co/PMS system. Free radical burst experiments and EPR characterization were performed to verify the synergistic effects of free radicals and non-free radicals during ATZ degradation. Based on SEM, XRD, O2-TPD, FTIR, XPS, and electrochemistry characterizations, the efficient catalytic ability of H-Co could be attributed to the abundant oxygen vacancies, surface hydroxyl groups, zero-valent cobalt sites and high electronic conductivity. The degradation pathways were proposed based on the detection of degradation intermediates of ATZ by UPLC-MS. Moreover, the toxic of ATZ during the oxidation was evaluated by TEXT and E. coli inhibition assay. This work comprehensively analyzed the catalytic reaction mechanism of the H-Co/PMS system and provided a feasible pathway for the treatment of the actual livestock and poultry breeding wastewater.

Simultaneous detection of 9 respiratory pathogens using a newly developed multiplex real-time PCR panel based on an automatic molecular detection and analysis system.

Timely identification of respiratory pathogens guides specific treatment, reduces hospital costs and minimizes the excessive use of antibiotics. A new multiplex real-time PCR panel was developed based on an automatic molecular detection and analysis system (AutoMolec system), consisting of three separate internally controlled assays. Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydia pneumoniae, adenovirus, human metapneumovirus, influenza B virus, respiratory syncytial virus and human parainfluenza virus 1-3 may be directly detected in original samples. The system's clinical performance was evaluated by comparison with an approved commercial kit, using 517 clinical samples. The limit of detection of the AutoMolec mRT-PCR panel ranged from 4 × 10-4 ∼3.3 TCID50/mL and no cross-reaction with common respiratory pathogens was observed. The AutoMolec mRT-PCR panel had 99.09% sensitivity and 100.0% specificity and overall detection consistency was 99.61%, making it comparable to that of the commercial kit. Therefore, the AutoMolec mRT-PCR panel has great potential for routine screening of respiratory infection in China.

A porous silicon anode prepared by dealloying a Sr-modified Al-Si eutectic alloy for lithium ion batteries.

Silicon has been considered to be one of the most promising anode materials for next generation lithium ion batteries due to its high theoretical specific capacity. However, its huge volume expansion during the lithiation/delithiation process that can result in rapid capacity fading and low conductivity present significant challenges for application. In this study, the morphology of Si in an Al-Si eutectic alloy was modified by Sr, and porous Si was then produced by dealloying the precursor. Profiting from the unique structure, the Si anode exhibits an excellent reversible capacity of 405 mA h g-1 at 0.5 A g-1 after 100 cycles and a fantastic first cycle coulombic efficiency of 83.74%. Furthermore, the porous silicon modified by Sr delivers a stable capacity of 594.8 mA h g-1 even at a high current density of 2 A g-1 after 50 cycles, suggesting a good rate capability.

Vertical Transmission of Zika Virus by Jiegao and Mengding Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) Strains in Yunnan Province in China.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne pathogen classified in the genus Flavivirus of the family Flaviviridae. Vertical transmission is considered to be the primary way to maintain some arboviruses under adverse natural conditions, which play a critical epidemiological role in arbovirus spread and maintenance. Aedes aegypti is the primary vector for ZIKV. In this study, we demonstrated vertical transmission in two Ae. aegypti strains from Jiegao (JG) and Mengding (MD) in the border area of Yunnan province. The minimum infection rate of F1 adult progeny from JG Ae. aegypti strain was significantly higher than that of MD Ae. aegypti strain in the second gonotrophic cycle (1:14.29 and 1:200, respectively, p < 0.05). The cytopathic effect was observed in C6/36 cells after infection of ZIKV isolated from the progeny. The results suggest that Ae. aegypti mosquitoes from JG and MD play potential roles in ZIKV spread and maintenance. Therefore, more adult and eggs control methods should be implemented to control mosquitoes if a Zika epidemic occurs.

[Effects of Omphalia lapidescens and Praziquantel on the Infectivity and Ultrastructure of Spirometra erinacei Plerocercoids].

OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of Omphalia lapidescens and praziquantel on the infectivity and ultrastructure of Spironetra erinacei plerocercoids. METHODS: The plerocercoids were taken from frogs (Rana nigromaculata). A total of 168 mice were divided into 21 groups (8 mice per group), each of them was orally infected with 5 plerocercoids. The mice in group 1-9 were inoculated with plerocercoids cultured in media respectively containing different concentrations of O. lapidescens suspension (20, 40 or 80 mg/ml) for 4, 12 or 24 h, respectively. The mice in group 10-18 were inoculated with plerocercoids cultured in media respectively containing different concentrations of praziquantel (20, 80 or 320 µg/ml) for 4, 12 or 24 h, respectively. The mice in group 19-21 were inoculated with plerocercoids cultured in normal culture fluid for 4, 12 or 24 h, respectively, and served as controls. One week after infection, the mice were sacrificed to collect the plerocercoids. Worm reduction rate was calculated. The ultrastructure changes of plerocercoids were observed under transmission electron microscope (TEM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM), respectively. RESULTS: The average number of plerocercoids detected from mice infected by pleroceroids treated with 40, 80 mg/ml O. lapidescens suspension for 4, 12 or 24 h were 1.6, 1.0, and 0.3; 0.3, 0, and 0, respectively, and significantly lower than that of the infected controls (4.1, 3.5 and 3.3) (P < 0.05); the worm reduction rates were 60.0%, 71.4%, and 90.1%; 92.7%, 100%, and 100%, respectively. The average number of pleroceroids detected from mice infected with pleroceroids treated with 320 µg/ml praziquantel for 4, 12, or 24 h were 1.9, 1.3, and 0.4, and significantly lower than that of the infected controls (P < 0.05); the worm reduction rates were 53.7%, 62.9%, and 87.9%, and lower than that of 20 µg/ml praziquantel group (14.6%, 2.9%, and 6.1%) and 80 µg/ml praziquantel group (24.4%, 17.1%, and 24.2%) (P < 0.05). The ultrastructure of plerocercoids cultured in 20 mg/ml O. lapidescens suspension, 20 or 80 µg/ml praziquantel for 4, 12 or 24 h had no significant difference compared with control groups. The plerocercoids cultured in 40 mg/ml O. lapidescens for 4 h or 320 µg/ml praziquantel for 4 or 12 h, showed mild contracture. The pleroceroids cultured in 40 mg/ml O. lapidescens for 12-24 h showed: agglutinate, fusion, fracture or abscission of microtriches, breakdown of plasma membrane, excretion of calcareous corpuscles, and tegument tissue damages. After cultured in 80 mg/ml of O. lapidescens for 24 h, the tissues of plerocercoid were damaged seriously. After cultured in 320 µg/ml praziquantel for 24 h, the plerocercoids showed: obvious contracture in the anterior end of plerocercoid, edema and bulge of plasma membrane, morphological changes of calcareous corpuscles, increase of secretory granules, glycogen depletion, and chromatin compaction in flame cells. CONCLUSION: The infectivity of Spironetra erinacei plerocercoids decreases along with the time of culture and the increase of drug concentration. Omphalia lapidescens and praziquantel can cause extensive tissue damage to the plerocercoids in vitro, and the effect of 0. lapidescens on the infectivity and ultrastructure of plerocercoid is more considerable than that of praziquantel.

Oxidation of Ca-α-SiAlON Powders Prepared by Combustion Synthesis.

The oxidation of Ca-α-SiAlON synthesized by the combustion synthesis (CS) method with different additives was investigated in air atmosphere using thermogravimetric (TG) analysis in a temperature range from 1453 K to 1653 K. The experimental results indicated that oxidation was controlled by mixed chemical and diffusion steps. The oxidation products by XRD analysis were composed of SiO2 and CaAl2Si2O8 at low oxidation temperature, whereas the SiO2-Al2O3-CaO ternary glassy phase was formed at elevated temperature. The deviation of oxidation resistance from each sample may be due to the morphological difference brought about by different additive additions. This study reveals the effects of additives on the oxidation resistance of synthesized Ca-α-SiAlON powders.

Target recycling amplification for label-free and sensitive colorimetric detection of adenosine triphosphate based on un-modified aptamers and DNAzymes.

Based on target recycling amplification, the development of a new label-free, simple and sensitive colorimetric detection method for ATP by using un-modified aptamers and DNAzymes is described. The association of the model target molecules (ATP) with the corresponding aptamers of the dsDNA probes leads to the release of the G-quadruplex sequences. The ATP-bound aptamers can be further degraded by Exonuclease III to release ATP, which can again bind the aptamers of the dsDNA probes to initiate the target recycling amplification process. Due to this target recycling amplification, the amount of the released G-quadruplex sequences is significantly enhanced. Subsequently, these G-quadruplex sequences bind hemin to form numerous peroxidase mimicking DNAzymes, which cause substantially intensified color change of the probe solution for highly sensitive colorimetric detection of ATP down to the sub-nanomolar (0.33nM) level. Our method is highly selective toward ATP against other control molecules and can be performed in one single homogeneous solution, which makes our sensing approach hold great potential for sensitive colorimetric detection of other small molecules and proteins.

Development and control of a lower extremity assistive device (LEAD) for gait rehabilitation.

This research developed a wearable lower extremity assistive device intended to aid stroke patient during rehabilitation. The device specifically aims to assist the patient in sit-to-stand, stand-to-sit, and level-walking tasks in order to promote active gait rehabilitation exercises. The device adopts an anthropomorphic structure with hip and knee joint actuated in sagittal plane. A finite state machine strategy was proposed to control the device. At different states, appropriate assist torque is added to each joint. EMG signals are used to assess the assist performance. Tests on an able-bodied subject show that the device could successfully detect and transit between states. In sit-to-stand tasks, the integrated EMG (iEMG) of the Vastus Medialis for standing up with 11 Nm of assistance torque were found to be significantly less (P = 0.00187) than the iEMG of without assistance for standing up which indicate reduced muscle effort with the device assistance. Results show the device could potentially assist stroke patient in similar tasks.

A potential association between Toxoplasma gondii infection and schizophrenia in mouse models.

Schizophrenia is a serious neuropsychiatric disease of uncertain etiology, which causes human mental disorder and affects about 1% of the population. In recently years, some studies showed that some cases of schizophrenia may be associated with Toxoplasma gondii infection. In order to investigate a potential association between Toxoplasma infection and schizophrenia, we investigated the relative clinical symptom of schizophrenia such as learning and memory capability, depression and stereotypy to find some useful information by behavioral test in mouse models. Our results demonstrated that mice from Toxoplasma infection and MK-801 administration (as the model of schizophrenia) were impaired in learning and memory capability, and they had more serious depression and stereotypy compared with the control mice, especially the mice from congenital Toxoplasma infection. In addition, our results clearly showed that the number of cysts in brain tissue of congenital Toxoplasma infection mice was significantly low than in acquired Toxoplasma infected mice. Collectively, these results suggested a potential association between Toxoplasma infection and schizophrenia.

[Immunogenicity of the recombinant plasmid of Leishmania donovani amastigote gene].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the immunogenicity of recombinant plasmid pcDNA3.1-amastigote with Leishmania donovani amastigote gene. METHODS: Eighteen female BALB/c mice were randomly divided into experimental group and control group. Mice in experimental group and control group were intramuscularly injected with 50 microg recombinant plasmid pcDNA3.1-amastigote and blank plasmid vector pcDNA3.1(+), respectively, and then received equivalent dose of plamid after 2 weeks. On days 7, 14, and 21 after the second immunization, serum samples were collected from 3 mice each group. The mice were then sacrificed, spleens were removed and splenocytes were collected. Serum antibody level was determined by indirect ELISA. Splenocyte proliferation responses and cytotoxicity of spleen-derived lymphocytes were analyzed by MTT colorimetry after stimulation with ConA. Level of IFN-gamma, IL-2 and IL-4 in the splenocyte culture supernatants was determined by double antibody sandwich ELISA. RESULTS: On days 7, 14, and 21 after the second immunization, specific IgG antibody (more than 1:640) was found in experimental group, but not in the control (P < 0.01); stimulation index (SI) of spleen cells in experimental group (428 +/- 0.51, 5.01-0.60, and 4.39 +/- 0.50) was higher than that of control group (P < 0.01); the level of IFN-gamma [(42.06 +/- 4.26), (66.02 +/- 6.02), and (58.29 +/- 3.75) pg/ml] and IL-2 [(38.21 +/- 5.11), (64.79 +/- 8.67), and (52.69 +/- 7.15) pg/ml] in splenocyte culture supernatants of experimental group was higher than that of control group (P < 0.01); IL-4 was not found in the two groups; cytotoxicity of spleen-derived lymphocytes in experimental group [(42.20 +/- 5.96)%, (63.66 +/- 5.44)%, and (52.24 +/- 4.56)%] was stronger than that of control (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The recombinant plasmid pcDNA3.1-amastigote can induce specific humoral and Th1 type cellular immune responses in mice.

[Synergism of plant volatiles to insect pheromones and related mechanisms].

Host plant volatiles and insect pheromones are the most important semiochemicals for insects, and their synergism can modulate insect behaviors. The attraction to sex- and aggregation pheromones of insects can be greatly enhanced by specific plant volatiles through the increased electroantennogram, pheromone incepting neuron action potential, and pulse-frequency. When the specific plant volatiles are bound with octopamine receptors, the threshold of sex pheromone incepting neuron to sex pheromones is decreased, while the sensibility of sex pheromone incepting neuron is increased, which may be the main mechanism for the synergism of plant volatiles to insect pheromones.

[Cloning of avastin gene of leishmania donovani isolates from Sichuan Province and its expression in eucaryotic system].

OBJECTIVE: To clone and express the avastin gene of two Leishmania donovani isolates from Sichuan Province of China. METHODS: Avastin gene was amplified from nuclear DNA of two L.donovani isolates, cloned into pcDNA3.1(+), and sequenced by the dideoxy chain termination. NIH3T3 cell was transfected by recombinant plasmid. Transient expression of avastin gene was detected by immunofluoresence and stable expression was detected by RT-PCR and Western blot. RESULTS: Avastin gene of both isolates was 552 bp. Sequence analysis showed that the similarity was 86% between the two isolates. A high green fluorescence was found on the cell membrane and inside the cell. The NIH3T3 cell was transfected by the recombinant plasmid successfully. Avastin gene was obtained by RT-PCR from the transfected NIH3T3 cells. Western blot analysis showed that there was a protein about Mr 20 000 in lysate of the transfected NIH3T3 cells, indicating that the avastin gene was expressed in the cells. CONCLUSION: Avastin gene of the two L.donovani isolates has been cloned and the gene can be expressed stably in the NIH3T3 cell.

[Construction and expression of recombinant eucaryotic expression plasmid of amastin gene of Leishmania Donovani].

AIM: To construct recombinant eukaryotic expression plasmid of amastin gene of Leishmania Donovani and detect expression of the gene in NIH3T3 cells. METHODS: Amastin gene was amplified from nuclear DNA of Leishmania Donovani isolates and cloned into an eukaryotic expression vector pcDNA3.1(+). The recombinant plasmid was named pcDNA3.1-amastin. NIH3T3 cell was transfected by pcDNA3.1-amastin. Transient and stable expression of amastin gene were detected by immunofluoresence and RT-PCR. RESULTS: It was found that there was high green fluorescence on the cell membrane and inside the cell. It showed that NIH3T3 cell was transfected by pcDNA3.1-amastin successfully. CONCLUSION: A recombinant eukaryotic expression plasmid of amastin gene of Leishmania Donovani was successfully constructed, and can be expressed stably in the NIH3T3 cells.