The Role of CCTA-derived Cardiac Structure and Function Analysis in the Prediction of Readmission in Nonischemic Heart Failure.

Cardiac function and structure significantly impact nonischemic heart failure (HF) patient outcomes. This study investigated 236 patients (107 nonischemic heart failure, 129 healthy) to assess the relationship between coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA)-derived parameters and clinical outcomes. Among the nonischemic heart failure patients, 37.3% experienced readmissions. In this group, specific CCTA measurements were identified as significant predictors of readmission: epicardial adipose tissue (CTEAT) at 54.49 cm3 (HR: 1.05; 95% CI: 1.03-1.07; P < 0.001), cardiac muscle mass to lumen volume (CTV/M) at 20% (HR: 0.59; 95% CI: 0.48-0.72; P < 0.001), peri-coronary adipose (CTPCAT) at -64.68 HU (HR: 1.1; 95% CI: 1.03-1.16; P = 0.002) for the right coronary artery, -81.07 HU (HR: 1.3; 95% CI: 1.1-1.53; P = 0.002) for the left anterior descending artery, and -73.42 HU (HR: 1.33; 95% CI: 1.18-1.51; P < 0.001) for the circumflex branch of the left coronary artery. In patients with nonischemic heart failure, increased CTEAT, CTPCAT, and CTV/M independently predicted rehospitalization.

Efficiency of diesel-contaminated soil washing with different tween 80 surfactant concentrations, pH, and bentonite ratios.

Soil contaminated with diesel fuel is a hazard to the environment and people; therefore, it needs to be remediated. Soil washing enhanced with Tween 80 (TW80), non-toxic and non-ionic surfactant, can effectively remove diesel from contaminated soils. In this study, the effects of 0.01%, 0.1%, 0.5%, 1%, and 1.5% (v/v) [TW80] concentrations; 0%, 5%, and 15% (w/w) bentonite; and variation in pH on washing efficiency were examined in a batch test. The prepared samples were physiochemically characterized on the basis of particle size, zeta potential, cation exchange capacity (CEC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis. When the bentonite content in soil was 5% or 15%, 1.5% [TW80] solution exhibited the highest washing efficiency. The diesel removal efficiencies in soil with 0% bentonite were slightly higher than those in soils with 5% and 15% bentonite because of the increase in adsorption sites by bentonite; consequently, diesel could not be easily washed out. The extracted n-alkanes showed that the percentage of carbon number 20 was higher than that of the other even-numbered carbons in the retained washed samples analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). In all the washing tests, the diesel removal efficiencies in soil with 15% bentonite and 0.1% [TW80] were lower than those in soil with 15% bentonite and water because of adsorption. The bentonite samples washed with TW80 have different morphologies, with a voluminous structure composed of the fusion of all layered structures, as supported by SEM results. Changes in the diesel content and residual TW80 content in the soil before and after washing were shown by the carbon content in the EDS results. The mechanism of the washing effect was investigated by CEC and zeta potential measurements. This study may aid in selecting appropriate conditions for improving washing efficiencies in future field applications.

Small extracellular vesicles containing miR-486-5p promote angiogenesis after myocardial infarction in mice and nonhuman primates.

Stem cell-derived small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) promote angiogenesis after myocardial infarction (MI). However, the components of sEVs that contribute to these effects and the safety and efficiency of engineered sEV treatment for MI remain unresolved. Here, we observed improved cardiac function, enhanced vascular density, and smaller infarct size in mice treated with the sEVs from hypoxia-preconditioned (HP) mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) (HP-sEVs) than in mice treated with normoxia-preconditioned (N) MSCs (N-sEVs). MicroRNA profiling revealed a higher abundance of miR-486-5p in HP-sEVs than in N-sEVs, and miR-486-5p inactivation abolished the benefit of HP-sEV treatment, whereas miR-486-5p up-regulation enhanced the benefit of N-sEV treatment. Matrix metalloproteinase 19 (MMP19) abundance was lower in HP-sEV-treated than N-sEV-treated mouse hearts but was enriched in cardiac fibroblasts (CFs), and Mmp19 was identified as one of the target genes of miR-486-5p. Conditioned medium from CFs that overexpressed miR-486-5p or silenced MMP19 increased the angiogenic activity of endothelial cells; however, medium from CFs that simultaneously overexpressed Mmp19 and miR-486-5p abolished this effect. Mmp19 silencing in CFs reduced the cleavage of extracellular vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Furthermore, miR-486-5p-overexpressing N-sEV treatment promoted angiogenesis and cardiac recovery without increasing arrhythmia complications in a nonhuman primate (NHP) MI model. Collectively, this study highlights the key role of sEV miR-486-5p in promoting cardiac angiogenesis via fibroblastic MMP19-VEGFA cleavage signaling. Delivery of miR-486-5p-engineered sEVs safely enhanced angiogenesis and cardiac function in an NHP MI model and may promote cardiac repair.