Structure, Luminescent Sensing and Proton Conduction of a Boiling-Water-Stable Zn(II) Metal-Organic Framework.

A novel Zn(II) metal-organic framework [Zn4O(C30H12F4O4S8)3]n, namely ZnBPD-4F4TS, has been constructed from a fluoro- and thiophenethio-functionalized ligand 2,2',5,5'-tetrafluoro-3,3',6,6'-tetrakis(2-thiophenethio)-4,4'-biphenyl dicarboxylic acid (H2BPD-4F4TS). ZnBPD-4F4TS shows a broad green emission around 520 nm in solid state luminescence, with a Commission International De L'Eclairage (CIE) coordinate at x = 0.264, y = 0.403. Since d10-configured Zn(II) is electrochemically inert, its photoluminescence is likely ascribed to ligand-based luminescence which originates from the well-conjugated system of phenyl and thiophenethio moieties. Its luminescent intensities diminish to different extents when exposed to various metal ions, indicating its potential as an optical sensor for detecting metal ion species. Furthermore, ZnBPD-4F4TS and its NH4Br-loaded composite, NH4Br@ZnBPD-4F4TS, were used for proton conduction measurements in different relative humidity (RH) levels and temperatures. Original ZnBPD-4F4TS shows a low proton conductivity of 9.47 × 10-10 S cm-1 while NH4Br@ZnBPD-4F4TS shows a more than 25,000-fold enhanced value of 2.38 × 10-5 S cm-1 at 40 °C and 90% RH. Both of the proton transport processes in ZnBPD-4F4TS and NH4Br@ZnBPD-4F4TS belong to the Grotthuss mechanism with Ea = 0.40 and 0.32 eV, respectively.

High serum YKL-40 level positively correlates with coronary artery disease.

AIM: We investigated the predictive value of chitinase-like protein YKL-40 in coronary artery disease (CAD). PATIENTS: Serum YKL-40 levels in 116 CAD patients and 82 healthy controls were analyzed. Severity of CAD was evaluated using Gensini scores. Spearman's correlation was used to evaluate the correlation between Gensini scores and YKL-40 levels. The predictive value of YKL-40 was determined by receivers operating characteristic curve analysis. RESULTS: Serum YKL-40 levels were significantly elevated in CAD group as compared with control group. A positive correlation was found between the serum YKL-40 level and Gensini score. The optimum cut-off value of YKL-40 concentration was 127.7 ng/ml for distinguishing CAD patients from healthy controls with a 75.9% sensitivity and 57.3% specificity. CONCLUSION: A positive correlation exists between YKL-40 levels and CAD, and YKL-40 might be a useful adjunct in the diagnosis of CAD.

[The echocardiographic diagnostic characteristics and follow-up of apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the echocardiographic features of apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (ApHCM). METHODS: Twenty-seven patients with ApHCM including 21 men and 6 women, average age (42.7 +/- 5.1) years old were followed up from 1995 to 2008 to investigate the clinical, electrocardiographic and echocardiographic features. RESULTS: The major features of ECG were increased R amplitude (V(4) > V(5) > V(3)) and inverteted T wave (especially in V(3-5) leads and the voltage of the inverteted T waves may be up to >/= 10 mm). The major feature of echocardiography was the thickening of left ventricular apical wall to 15 - 37 (18.0 +/- 3.3) mm. The final follow up showed that the mean thickness of the apical wall was (19.7 +/- 3.7) mm. The ratio of the thickness of left ventricular apical wall to posterior wall before and after the follow up was 1.7 +/- 0.3 and 1.9 +/- 0.9 respectively, with significant statistical difference (P < 0.05). There was no difference in the left ventricular end-diastolic dimension and left ventricular ejection fraction. The main cardiovascular events were atrial fibrillation (16 cases), heart failure of NYHA III-IV class (3 cases), anterior wall myocardial infarction (1 case) and sudden death (1 case). CONCLUSIONS: The final diagnosis of ApHCM depends on the characteristic inverteted T wave in ECG and apical hypertrophy in echocardiography. The prognosis of ApHCM is rather good for its progression is relatively slow.