The Impact of Patient Adherence to Dual Antiplatelet Medication Following Percutaneous Coronary Intervention on the Occurrence of Adverse Cardiovascular Events.

Background: The objective of this study is to examine the impact of medication adherence on the timing of non-cardiovascular serious events (NCDS) onset in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods: This prospective study was conducted at a single center and involved 220 ACS patients who underwent sequential PCI with stenting. The Morisky Green Levine Medication Adherence Scale was employed to assess adherence to dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) and its impact on NCDS occurrence. Early in their hospitalization, all patients received education at the Coronary Heart Disease School. The survival rates of patients in both the main group and a control group (n=355) were subsequently evaluated. Results: The study findings indicated an inverse relationship between stent thrombosis development (Rho=-0.334; p=0.001) and the timing of recurrent myocardial ischemia. There was also an inverse correlation between patient adherence and stent thrombosis development (Rho=-0.275; p=0.009). Non-adherent individuals had a 16.8 times higher likelihood of experiencing stent thrombosis compared to compliant patients (p<0.001). Following participation in the CHD School program, treatment adherence increased from 56.5% to 88.2%. Education for ACS patients post-stenting was significantly associated with all-cause mortality within the first 6 months (p=0.040). Conclusion: Secondary preventive measures, including education, impact the success of endovascular interventions in both the early hospital phase and the long term. Patient education can serve as a supplementary intervention to enhance DAPT adherence, thus diminishing the risk of recurrent cardiovascular events and mortality post endovascular intervention.

Characterization of a Timepix detector for use in SEM acceleration voltage range.

Hybrid pixel direct electron detectors are gaining popularity in electron microscopy due to their excellent properties. Some commercial cameras based on this technology are relatively affordable which makes them attractive tools for experimentation especially in combination with an SEM setup. To support this, a detector characterization (Modulation Transfer Function, Detective Quantum Efficiency) of an Advacam Minipix and Advacam Advapix detector in the 15-30 keV range was made. In the current work we present images of Point Spread Function, plots of MTF/DQE curves and values of DQE(0) for these detectors. At low beam currents, the silicon detector layer behaviour should be dominant, which could make these findings transferable to any other available detector based on either Medipix2, Timepix or Timepix3 provided the same detector layer is used.

Insights into the Photoelectrocatalytic Behavior of gCN-Based Anode Materials Supported on Ni Foams.

Graphitic carbon nitride (gCN) is a promising n-type semiconductor widely investigated for photo-assisted water splitting, but less studied for the (photo)electrochemical degradation of aqueous organic pollutants. In these fields, attractive perspectives for advancements are offered by a proper engineering of the material properties, e.g., by depositing gCN onto conductive and porous scaffolds, tailoring its nanoscale morphology, and functionalizing it with suitable cocatalysts. The present study reports on a simple and easily controllable synthesis of gCN flakes on Ni foam substrates by electrophoretic deposition (EPD), and on their eventual decoration with Co-based cocatalysts [CoO, CoFe2O4, cobalt phosphate (CoPi)] via radio frequency (RF)-sputtering or electrodeposition. After examining the influence of processing conditions on the material characteristics, the developed systems are comparatively investigated as (photo)anodes for water splitting and photoelectrocatalysts for the degradation of a recalcitrant water pollutant [potassium hydrogen phthalate (KHP)]. The obtained results highlight that while gCN decoration with Co-based cocatalysts boosts water splitting performances, bare gCN as such is more efficient in KHP abatement, due to the occurrence of a different reaction mechanism. The related insights, provided by a multi-technique characterization, may provide valuable guidelines for the implementation of active nanomaterials in environmental remediation and sustainable solar-to-chemical energy conversion.

Renal denervation in resistant hypertension treatment.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Purpose of the study is the assessment of the effectiveness of renal denervation with different types of catheters, as well as its long-term effects, in the patients with resistant hypertension. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This single-center prospective study included 81 patients who underwent a renal denervation procedure using 2 types of catheters: monopolar and helical (Medtronic Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota, the USA) between 2015 and 2018. Baseline demographics, clinical, functional and laboratory characteristics of the patients were assessed. A comparative analysis of the dynamics of office systolic and diastolic blood pressure during 5 years of follow-up was carried out. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to study the survival of the patients with resistant hypertension after renal denervation. RESULTS: A total of 81 patients with a mean age of 57.79 ± 9.87 years, of whom 37.04 % were men, were included in the 2-stage study (first stage using monopolar catheters and second stage using spiral catheters). At the time of inclusion, study participants were receiving an average of 4.5 ± 1.4 antihypertensive medications. In 36 (or 44.4 %), the procedure was performed using a monopolar catheter; in 45 (or 55.6 %), a spiral catheter was used. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups of the patients. The analysis established statistically significant changes in the dynamics of office SBP and DBP (p < 0.001) assessed 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years after the renal denervation procedure. The analysis demonstrated a stability in the reduction of office SBP and DBP during the 5-year follow-up. The results of the study showed that the median survival time was 1061 days from the beginning of follow-up (95% CI: 728.03 to 1 393.97 days); the median survival time in the monopolar catheter group was 777 days (95% CI: 692.314 to 861.686) and in the spiral catheter group 1 294 days (95% CI: 713.079 to 1 874.921). FINDINGS: Our results demonstrated the efficiency and safety of renal denervation in both short-term and long-term follow-up using monopolar and spiral catheters in the treatment of uncontrolled hypertension with combined antihypertensive therapy. The most significant is the demonstrated stability of the effect after the procedure. In addition, the survival rate of the patients with resistant hypertension after the intervention has been carried out (Tab. 2, Fig. 3, Ref. 22).

Alternating Superconducting and Charge Density Wave Monolayers within Bulk 6R-TaS2.

Van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures continue to attract intense interest as a route of designing materials with novel properties that cannot be found in nature. Unfortunately, this approach is currently limited to only a few layers that can be stacked on top of each other. Here, we report a bulk vdW material consisting of superconducting 1H TaS2 monolayers interlayered with 1T TaS2 monolayers displaying charge density waves (CDW). This bulk vdW heterostructure is created by phase transition of 1T-TaS2 to 6R at 800 °C in an inert atmosphere. Its superconducting transition (Tc) is found at 2.6 K, exceeding the Tc of the bulk 2H phase. Using first-principles calculations, we argue that the coexistence of superconductivity and CDW within 6R-TaS2 stems from amalgamation of the properties of adjacent 1H and 1T monolayers, where the former dominates the superconducting state and the latter the CDW behavior.

Nanorolls Decorated with Nanotubes as a Novel Type of Nanostructures: Fast Anodic Oxidation of Amorphous Fe-Cr-B Alloy in Hydrophobic Ionic Liquid.

The formation of oxide nanorolls decorated with nanotubes during anodic oxidation of amorphous Fe70Cr15B15 alloy in hydrophobic ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (IL) was revealed. The unusual architecture was observed for the first time on the surface of amorphous alloy. The generation of the novel type of nanostructure by electrochemical oxidation of the amorphous Fe70Cr15B15 alloy occurs only in hydrophobic ionic liquid and in the presence of the natural oxide film at the surface. Anodization of the oxide-free metal surface of the amorphous Fe70Cr15B15 alloy to be achieved by the treatment of the electrode with benzoic acid was found to result in no formation of both nanorolls and nanotubes. Electrochemical behavior of the amorphous Fe70Cr15B15 alloy in ionic liquid was proved to depend strongly on the state of the electrode surface before oxidation. The influence of the state of the surface of amorphous Fe70Cr15B15 alloy leading to the nanostructure formation was studied by means of preliminary partial etching with benzoic acid of various concentrations.

Twin-jet electropolishing for damage-free transmission electron microscopy specimen preparation of metallic microwires.

A method to prepare TEM specimens from metallic microwires and based on conventional twin-jet electropolishing is introduced. The wire is embedded in an opaque epoxy resin medium and the hardened resin is mechanically polished to reveal the wire on both sides. The resin containing wire is then cut into discs of the appropriate size. The obtained embedded wire is electropolished in a conventional twin-jet electropolishing machine until electron transparency in large areas without radiation damage is achieved.

Unravelling stacking order in epitaxial bilayer MX2 using 4D-STEM with unsupervised learning.

Following an extensive investigation of various monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (MX2), research interest has expanded to include multilayer systems. In bilayer MX2, the stacking order strongly impacts the local band structure as it dictates the local confinement and symmetry. Determination of stacking order in multilayer MX2 domains usually relies on prior knowledge of in-plane orientations of constituent layers. This is only feasible in case of growth resulting in well-defined triangular domains and not useful in-case of closed layers with hexagonal or irregularly shaped islands. Stacking order can be discerned in the reciprocal space by measuring changes in diffraction peak intensities. Advances in detector technology allow fast acquisition of high-quality four-dimensional datasets which can later be processed to extract useful information such as thickness, orientation, twist and strain. Here, we use 4D scanning transmission electron microscopy combined with multislice diffraction simulations to unravel stacking order in epitaxially grown bilayer MoS2. Machine learning based data segmentation is employed to obtain useful statistics on grain orientation of monolayer and stacking in bilayer MoS2.

Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Reactor for Redox Transformation of Mercury Dichloride.

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) possessing a confined inner space protected by chemically resistant shells are promising for delivery, storage, and desorption of various compounds, as well as carrying out specific reactions. Here, we show that SWCNTs interact with molten mercury dichloride (HgCl2) and guide its transformation into dimercury dichloride (Hg2Cl2) in the cavity. The chemical state of host SWCNTs remains almost unchanged except for a small p-doping from the guest Hg2Cl2 nanocrystals. The density functional theory calculations reveal that the encapsulated HgCl2 molecules become negatively charged and start interacting via chlorine bridges when local concentration increases. This reduces the bonding strength in HgCl2, which facilitates removal of chlorine, finally leading to formation of Hg2Cl2 species. The present work demonstrates that SWCNTs not only serve as a template for growing nanocrystals but also behave as an electron-transfer catalyst in the spatially confined redox reaction by donation of electron density for temporary use by the guests.

Structural peculiarities of single crystal diamond needles of nanometer thickness.

Diamond is attractive for various applications due to its unique mechanical and optical properties. In particular, single crystal diamond needles with high aspect ratios and sharp apexes of nanometer size are demanded for different types of optical sensors including optically sensing tip probes for scanning microscopy. This paper reports on electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy characterization of the diamond needles having geometrically perfect pyramidal shapes with rectangular atomically flat bases with (001) crystallography orientation, 2-200 nm sharp apexes, and with lengths from about 10-160 µm. The needles were produced by selective oxidation of (001) textured polycrystalline diamond films grown by chemical vapor deposition. Here we study the types and distribution of defects inside and on the surface of the single crystal diamond needles. We show that sp3 type point defects are incorporated into the volume of the diamond crystal during growth, while the surface of the lateral facets is enriched by multiple extended defects. Nitrogen addition to the reaction mixture results in increase of the growth rate on {001} facets correlated with the rise in the concentration of sp3 type defects.