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We summarize the direct utilization of versatile waste sources in various electrocatalysis and energy storage systems in view of synthetic strategies, structural properties, electrochemical performance and the challenges and prospects.

Succeeding at a task often depends on the success or failure of component events. Such multicomponent risks can take one of two general forms. Disjunctive risks require the success of just one such component; conjunctive risks, all of them. Seven studies converge to show people prefer to consolidate disjunctive risks into fewer components and to spread conjunctive risks across more components, independent of the objective or subjective implications for the probability of overall success. These tendencies were reflected in preferences for how to approach potential investors, decisions about how much to invest in different business opportunities, and gamble valuations. Such preferences were specific to multicomponent risks as compared to single-component risks whose overall prospects for success were yoked to participants' own perceptions of a matched multicomponent risk. Participants confronted multicomponent risks myopically, swayed by whether positive or disappointing news would likely be delivered at a single point in time instead of by the overall prospects for success. Supporting this account, these preferences for consolidating or spreading risks were reduced when the components' outcomes would be revealed at once. Anticipated confidence while proceeding through the risk (even controlling for perceived probabilities of success) explained these preferences. After all, these preferred risk structures actually do allow people to traverse a multicomponent risk with more confidence that the next piece of news they receive will be positive (or not negative), though such myopic perspectives neglect just how many components will offer a chance for success (disjunctive risks) or the potential for failure (conjunctive risks). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

African swine fever virus (ASFV) causes hemorrhagic infectious disease in pigs with a fatality rate of nearly 100%. In this study, we developed a visual strand exchange amplification detection assay for ASFV. In the presence of ASFV, DNA amplification products containing multimeric G-quadruplex sequences were amplified by strand exchange amplification. These G-quadruplexes, assembled with hemin to form DNAzyme, displayed enhanced significant "turned-on" colorimetric signals to indicate detection results. The results showed that dimeric DNAzyme had the best visualization effect. Under the optimal reaction parameters, there was a linear relationship between the absorbance of the reaction solution at 417 nm and the logarithm of ASFV concentration ranged from 1 × 10

Essential oils have been proven to exert multiple effects on growth performance, production quality, and health status in poultry nutrition, which is dependent on the component and/or dose of essential oils. Diets with the optimal combination of essential oils might be able to improve the performance traits and welfare of laying hens. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary essential oils, which are composed of cinnamaldehyde with carvacrol or thymol, on performance, egg quality, and intestinal health in post-peak laying hens. A total of 384, 50-week-old Hy-line brown laying hens were randomly divided into three groups with 8 replicates of 16 birds each: (1) a basal diet (Ctrl), (2) a basal diet with 100 mg/kg of essential oils consisting of 4.5% cinnamaldehyde with 13.5% carvacrol (CAR+CIN), and (3) a basal diet containing 100 mg/kg of essential oils composed of 4.5% cinnamaldehyde with 13.5% thymol (THY+CIN). The CAR+CIN diet increased the feed consumption from 52 to 55 weeks more than the Ctrl and the THY+CIN diet. Compared with the Ctrl group, the addition of essential oils decreased the dirty egg rate (P = 0.07) in the whole trial period. Regarding egg quality, the birds that received the CAR+CIN and THY+CIN diets increased the eggshell strength (P = 0.099) or Haugh unit (HU, p = 0.03) at 54 weeks, respectively. Supplementation of both CAR+CIN and THY+CIN diets significantly increased the ratio of villus height to crypt depth in the duodenum through increasing villus height and decreasing crypt depth as well as upregulated the mRNA abundances of duodenal occluding and cadherin (P < 0.05). However, the treatment with dietary essential oils did not notably change the proportion of cecal microbiota and bacterial diversity. This study suggested that dietary supplementation of cinnamaldehyde with carvacrol or thymol, the active components of essential oils, could promote egg quality in post-peak laying hens, which might be associated with improved intestinal development and barrier.

This study investigated the protective effects of sodium alginate (SA) on the gut microbiota, immunity, and intestinal mucosal barrier function in cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppressed BALB/c mice. SA alleviated spleen tissue damage and restored impaired immune functions, such as increasing the immune organ index, decreasing splenic T lymphocytes, and markedly increasing the secretion of serum immunoglobulins and cytokines in immunosuppressed mice. In addition, SA reversed the intestinal mucosal injury and increased the intestinal permeability by upregulating the expression of tight junction proteins. Moreover, SA decreased gut inflammation by reducing serum d-lactic acid (D-LA) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) concentrations and downregulating toll-like receptor 4 (Tlr4) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (Mapk) pathway expression. Furthermore, SA significantly increased the abundance of beneficial bacteria (Lactobacillus, Roseburia, and Lachnospiraceae NK4A136) and decreased pathogenic bacteria (Helicobacter, Peptococcus, and Tyzzerella) in the intestine as determined by 16S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing. In conclusion, our study provides a scientific basis for SA as a functional food in modulating gut microbiota and protecting against intestinal mucosal injury and indicates that SA has potential application for enhancing immunity.

Simple Summary In the current study, the roles of dietary cinnamaldehyde, carvacrol, and thymol blend in the tibia characteristics in post-peak laying hens were evaluated. We firstly analyzed the tibia bone properties and demonstrated that a diet supplemented with a 100 mg/kg combination of cinnamaldehyde with carvacrol or thymol could increase the strength of tibia in layers. We also found that the role of dietary essential oils enhanced intestinal barrier, decreased systemic inflammation, and reduced bone resorption marker in serum. These data indicated that a diet with a blend of cinnamaldehyde and carvacrol or thymol could improve the mechanical properties of tibiae for laying hens, in which enhancing intestinal barrier and decreasing systemic inflammation might be a key mediator. Roles of plant-derived cinnamaldehyde, carvacrol, and thymol in the gut and bone health of laying hens was evaluated in the present study. After acclimation for 2 weeks, a total 384 of 52-week-old laying hens were allocated into three groups for 6 weeks: (1) basal diet group (Ctrl), (2) combination of cinnamaldehyde with carvacrol group (CAR+CIN), and (3) blend of cinnamaldehyde with thymol (THY+CIN). The dietary essential oil level was 100 mg/kg. Each treatment group had eight replicate pens (16 birds/pen). The stiffness and ultimate load of the tibiae from both the CAR+CIN and THY+CIN groups were higher than that of the Ctrl group (p < 0.05), along with comparable tibia ash, calcium, and phosphorus content among groups. At the same time, the manipulation of essential oils upregulated the transcription abundances of intestinal barrier proteins to varying degrees, whereas the experimental treatment failed to affect the composition in phyla of cecal microbiota. When compared to the Ctrl group, birds fed the CAR+CIN and THY+CIN diet displayed decreased bone resorption markers, reduced interleukin-1 concentrations, and increased transforming growth factor beta levels in serum. These findings suggest that cinnamaldehyde with carvacrol or thymol in feed of hens could enhance intestinal barrier and improve the mechanical properties of tibiae through structural modelling but not increase the mineral density, which might be involved in suppressing inflammation-mediated bone resorption.

People struggle regularly with the selfish impulse to maximize personal benefits and the prosocial impulse to care for others. However, little is known about how people naturally react in crises. W...

Chloramphenicol (CAP) is a kind of broad-spectrum antibiotic, which has been forbidden in food by most countries because of its side effects. In this study, a simple and low-cost biosensor for CAP detection in food was developed. The biosensor consisted of an aptamer specific to CAP and a pair of split probes that could self-assemble as DNAzyme. The detection result could be identified by the naked eye and the visual limit was 10 nM CAP. The absorbance of final reaction products at 417 nm had a linear relationship with the logarithm of the CAP concentration in a range from 10 to 200 nM, and the limit of detection was 87.3 pM. The visual analysis by imageJ also showed a linear detection range between 25 and 200 nM. The entire detection procedure could be completed in about 1.5 h at a cost of about 0.16 dollars per reaction. We believe that the biosensor shows great potential in the rapid and sensitive detection of CAP in food.

Empirical audit and review is an approach to assessing the evidentiary value of a research area. It involves identifying a topic and selecting a cross-section of studies for replication. We apply the method to research on the psychological consequences of scarcity. Starting with the papers citing a seminal publication in the field, we conducted replications of 20 studies that evaluate the role of scarcity priming in pain sensitivity, resource allocation, materialism, and many other domains. There was considerable variability in the replicability, with some strong successes and other undeniable failures. Empirical audit and review does not attempt to assign an overall replication rate for a heterogeneous field, but rather facilitates researchers seeking to incorporate strength of evidence as they refine theories and plan new investigations in the research area. This method allows for an integration of qualitative and quantitative approaches to review and enables the growth of a cumulative science.

When being asked for help, people sometimes can only offer part of what is requested (i.e., partial help). The present research investigates whether helpers can accurately forecast how much help-seekers appreciate this understudied form of assistance. From multiple helping scenarios and a face-to-face interaction, we demonstrate an asymmetry in helpers’ and help-seeker’s appraisals of partial help: Helpers anticipated less appreciation for partial help than help-seekers felt in receiving it. This asymmetry arose from helpers’ greater valuation of helping outcomes over intentions to be helpful than help-seekers’. Accordingly, when helpers’ intentions were discounted, this asymmetry no longer persisted. Another account—helpers feel worse for breaking norms of helping than help-seekers—was not supported. We discuss several directions for future research on the psychology of partial prosocial behaviors.

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-psp-10.1177_0146167220975276 for Halfway to My Request Is Not Halfway to My Heart: Underestimating Appreciation for Partial Help by Yilu Wang and Xiaofei Xie in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-psp-10.1177_0146167220975276 for Halfway to My Request Is Not Halfway to My Heart: Underestimating Appreciation for Partial Help by Yilu Wang and Xiaofei Xie in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

This study compared and contrasted Automated Writing Evaluation system feedback (hereinafter referred to as “AWE feedback”) with peer feedback, and obtained the views of the teacher and students of both types. A mixed-method approach was used to assess their impact on the writing performance of 64 second-year non-English-major students in two classes at a college. The scores given to students’ assignments were analyzed, with results indicating that both types of feedback can significantly improve students’ writing scores. To further explore which aspects of students’ writing are impacted, some textual features of the texts were analyzed. We found that AWE feedback significantly improved accuracy, lexical diversity and syntactic complexity, while peer feedback only significantly improved accuracy, but not lexical diversity or syntactic complexity. Classroom observations and interviews were conducted and a questionnaire administered to gain the teacher’s and students’ perspectives on different types of feedback. The implications for implementing both types of feedback and integrating them into classroom teaching effectively are drawn out.

Supplemental material, sj-docx-2-psp-10.1177_0146167220975276 for Halfway to My Request Is Not Halfway to My Heart: Underestimating Appreciation for Partial Help by Yilu Wang and Xiaofei Xie in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

Supplemental material, sj-docx-2-psp-10.1177_0146167220975276 for Halfway to My Request Is Not Halfway to My Heart: Underestimating Appreciation for Partial Help by Yilu Wang and Xiaofei Xie in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

With the global net-zero strategy implementation, decarbonisation of transport by massive deployment of electric vehicles (EVs) has been considered to be an essential solution. However, charging EVs and integration into electricity grids is going to be a fundamental challenge to future electricity systems. Hence, in this situation, how to effectively deploy massive numbers of EVs, and in the meantime what can be developed to deliver vehicle-to-grid (V2G) services, become a fundamental yet interesting tech-economical issues. Furthermore, uncertainty in lack of vehicle availability and EV battery degradation could lead to revenue loss when using EVs as ancillary services aggregators. With such considerations, this paper presents a new optimised V2G aggregator scheduling service that has taken into consideration of a number of risks, including EV availability and battery degradation through conditional value-at-risk. The proposed method for V2G scheduling service, as an independent aggregator, is formulated as a bi-level optimisation problem. The performance of the proposed method is to be evaluated through case studies on the Birmingham International Airport parking lot with onsite renewable generation. Uncertainties of EVs and the differences in weekdays and weekends are also compared.

Objectives: The relationship between a fragmented QRS (fQRS) and clinical outcomes in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic significance of fQRS in patients with HCM. Methods: Between 2000 and 2012, 326 unrelated patients with HCM (72% male with a mean age of 52 years) were included and were divided into 2 groups: those with fQRS and those without fQRS. Results: A total of 105/326(32.2%) patients with HCM presented with fQRS at enrollment. During a follow-up of 5.3 ± 2.4 years, 33 patients died, 30 of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Cox regression analysis revealed that fQRS predicted a higher risk of all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 2.24; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.08-4.64; p = 0.030) and CVD mortality (adjusted HR 2.68; 95% CI 1.22-5.91; p = 0.014). Our study also showed that fQRS increased the risk of heart failure-related death (adjusted HR 3.75; 95% CI 1.24-11.30; p = 0.019). Conclusions: Our results indicate that fQRS is associated with adverse clinical outcomes in patients with HCM.

Pterocarya stenoptera, also called Chinese wingnut in China, is a tall deciduous tree of the walnut family (Juglandaceae). P. stenoptera is one of the most popular shade trees owing to its tall and graceful form and rapid growth rate. In the present study, the chloroplast genome of P. stenoptera was assembled and analyzed phylogenetically. The chloroplast genome of P. stenoptera is 160,212 bp in length, with a large single-copy region (LSC) of 88,724 bp, a small single-copy region (SSC) of 18,396 bp, and a pair of inverted repeat regions (IRs) of 26,046 bp, forming a typical quadripartite structure. A total of 130 genes are annotated from the chloroplast genome of P. stenoptera, including 82 protein-coding genes, 40 transfer RNA (tRNAs) genes, and 8 ribosomal RNA (rRNAs) genes. The GC content of the chloroplast genome is 36.2%. Phylogenetic analysis based on the common proteins from P. stenoptera and 14 related species confirmed the close relationship between Pterocarya and Juglans.

Engaging in altruistic behaviors is costly, but it contributes to the health and well-being of the performer of such behaviors. The present research offers a take on how this paradox can be understood. Across 2 pilot studies and 3 experiments, we showed a pain-relieving effect of performing altruistic behaviors. Acting altruistically relieved not only acutely induced physical pain among healthy adults but also chronic pain among cancer patients. Using functional MRI, we found that after individuals performed altruistic actions brain activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and bilateral insula in response to a painful shock was significantly reduced. This reduced pain-induced activation in the right insula was mediated by the neural activity in the ventral medial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), while the activation of the VMPFC was positively correlated with the performer’s experienced meaningfulness from his or her altruistic behavior. Our findings suggest that incurring personal costs to help others may buffer the performers from unpleasant conditions.

Social media fatigue (SMF), which refers to social media users’ tendency to withdraw from social media because of feeling overwhelmed, is closely related to individuals’ social life and well-being. Many studies focused on understanding SMF and exploring its enablers and influences. However, few pieces of research administered a standard measurement of SMF. This study aimed to develop and validate a measure of SMF, and a cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1599 participants in total. Semi-structured interviews of 30 participants were firstly conducted as a pilot study, and an initial version of the social media fatigue scale (SMFS) with 24 items was generated. Then, both exploratory factor analysis (N = 509) and confirmatory factor analysis (N = 552) as well as reliability and validity analysis (N = 508) were conducted and a 15-item SMFS was finally developed. The results demonstrated that: 1) SMF was a multi-dimension concept including a cognitive aspect, an emotional aspect and a behavioral aspect; 2) the three-dimensional structure of the SMFS (cognitive-behavioral-emotional structure) fitted the data well; 3) the McDonald’s Omega coefficients for the SMFS was 0.83, suggesting that the SMFS was reliable; 4) criterion validity was satisfactory as indicated by both the significant correlations between self-rated scores of fatigue and total SMFS scores and the significant regression model of SMF on social media privacy, social media confidence, and negative feeling after comparison. Based on the Limited Capacity Model, the present study expanded SMF from a unidimensional model to a three-dimension model, and developed a 15-item SMFS. The study enriched the existing knowledge of SMF, and coined a reliable and valid tool for measuring it. Besides, concluding the typical characteristics of SMF, the study may provide some inspiration for both researchers and social media managers and operators in mitigating SMF.

We present the results of the reinforcement of plant root systems in surface soil in a model test to simulate actual precipitation conditions. In the test, Eleusine indica was selected as herbage to reinforce the soil. Based on the various moisture contents of plant roots in a pull-out test, a fitting formula describing the interfacial friction strength between the roots and soil and soil moisture content was obtained to explain the amount of slippage of the side slope during the process of rainfall. The experimental results showed that the root systems of plants successfully reinforced soil and stabilized the water content in the surface soil of a slope and that the occurrence time of landslides was delayed significantly in the grass-planting slope model. After the simulated rainfall started, the reinforcement effect of the plant roots changed. As the rainfall increased, the interfacial friction between the roots and the soil exhibited a negative power function relationship with the water content. These conclusions can be used as a reference for the design of plant slope protection and reinforcement.

Uric acid (UA) has been shown to be an independent risk factor for various cardiovascular diseases. However, its significance in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) has not yet been evaluated. The objective of the present study was to evaluate clinical implications of plasma UA levels on the prognosis of patients with HCM.A total of 588 adult patients with HCM were enrolled at FuWai Hospital from 1999-2011 and followed until 2014. The plasma levels of UA were measured at enrollment.During the follow-up of 5.2 ± 2.4 years, 44 (7.5%) patients had cardiovascular-related deaths, and 100 (17.0%) patients had cardiac events. Compared with the first tertile of UA concentration ( 284.6 μmol/L), patients in the highest tertile (358.7 μmol/L) had a higher risk for the development of adverse events: cardiovascular death (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 3.10; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.37-7.04; P = 0.007), all-cause mortality (adjusted HR, 2.33; 95% CI, 1.11-4.89; P = 0.025), cardiac events (adjusted HR, 4.20, 95% CI, 2.38-7.42; P0.001), heart failure events (adjusted HR, 3.46; 95% CI, 1.86-6.45; P0.001), and arrhythmic events (adjusted HR, 9.19; 95% CI, 2.40-35.25; P = 0.001). Similarly, the continuous variable of UA (for every 1 mg/dL higher concentration) was also an independent predictor for adverse outcomes: cardiovascular death (adjusted HR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.11-1.49; P = 0.001), all-cause mortality (adjusted HR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.07-1.41; P = 0.004), cardiac events (adjusted HR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.15-1.41; P0.001), heart failure events (adjusted HR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.06-1.33; P = 0.003), and arrhythmic events (adjusted HR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.30-1.98; P0.001).Our results indicate that UA is an independent predictor of adverse outcomes in patients with HCM.

Background Elevated high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein (hs CRP ) has been associated with increased risks of adverse outcomes of various cardiovascular diseases. The relationship between hs CRP and the prognosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy remains to be evaluated. Methods and Results The study used an observational cohort methodology. A total of 490 patients were enrolled in the Fuwai Hospital from 2001 to 2011 and were followed for 3.7±2.0 years. According to the risk category of hs CRP , subjects in the high hs CRP group (>3.0 mg/L) had a higher risk of developing adverse events than the low hs CRP group (HR ] 5.41, 95% CI 1.96–14.93, P =0.001), all‐cause mortality (adjusted HR 4.78, 95% CI 1.99–11.47, P HR 11.29, 95% CI 1.38–92.20, P =0.024), and heart failure–related death (adjusted HR 4.38, 95% CI 1.15–16.60, P =0.030). Similarly, the continuous variable of hs CRP was also an independent predictor for adverse outcomes: cardiovascular death (adjusted HR 1.15, 95% CI 1.06–1.25, P =0.001), all‐cause mortality (adjusted HR 1.17, 95% CI 1.09–1.26, P HR 1.20, 95% CI 1.06–1.36, P =0.003), and heart failure–related death (adjusted HR 1.15, 95% CI 1.02–1.30, P =0.020). Conclusions Our results indicate that elevated plasma hs CRP is associated with increased risk for adverse outcomes in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

The molecular mechanisms that drive the development of cardiac hypertrophy in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) remain elusive. Accumulated evidence suggests that microRNAs are essential regulators of cardiac remodelling. We have been suggested that microRNAs could play a role in the process of HCM. To uncover which microRNAs were changed in their expression, microRNA microarrays were performed on heart tissue from HCM patients (n = 7) and from healthy donors (n = 5). Among the 13 microRNAs that were differentially expressed in HCM, miR-451 was the most down-regulated. Ectopic overexpression of miR-451 in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (NRCM) decreased the cell size, whereas knockdown of endogenous miR-451 increased the cell surface area. Luciferase reporter assay analyses demonstrated that tuberous sclerosis complex 1 (TSC1) was a direct target of miR-451. Overexpression of miR-451 in both HeLa cells and NRCM suppressed the expression of TSC1. Furthermore, TSC1 was significantly up-regulated in HCM myocardia, which correlated with the decreased levels of miR-451. As TSC1 is a known positive regulator of autophagy, we examined the role of miR-451 in the regulation of autophagy. Overexpression of miR-451 in vitro inhibited the formation of the autophagosome. Conversely, miR-451 knockdown accelerated autophagosome formation. Consistently, an increased number of autophagosomes was observed in HCM myocardia, accompanied by up-regulated autophagy markers, and the lipidated form of LC3 and Beclin-1. Taken together, our findings indicate that miR-451 regulates cardiac hypertrophy and cardiac autophagy by targeting TSC1. The down-regulation of miR-451 may contribute to the development of HCM and may be a potential therapeutic target for this disease.

Left ventricular non-compaction (LVNC) is genetically heterogeneous. It has been previously shown that LVNC is associated with defects in TAZ, DNTA, LDB3, YWHAE, MIB1, PRDM16, and sarcomeric genes. This study was aimed to investigate sarcomeric gene mutations in a Chinese population with LVNC. From 2004 to 2010, 57 unrelated Chinese patients with LVNC were recruited at Fuwai Hospital, Beijing, China. Detailed clinical evaluation was performed on the probands and available family members. DNA samples isolated from the peripheral blood of the index cases were screened for 10 sarcomeric genes, including MYH7, MYBPC3, MYL2, MYL3, MYH6, TNNC1, TNNT2, TNNI3, TPM1, and ACTC1. Seven heterozygous mutations (6 missense and 1 deletion) were identified in 7 (12 %) of the patients. These mutations were distributed among 4 genes, 4 in MYH7, and 1 each in ACTC1, TNNT2, and TPM1. Six of the mutations were novel and another one was reported previously. All mutations affected conserved amino acid residues and were predicted to alter the structure of the proteins by in silico analysis. No significant difference was observed between mutation-positive and mutation-negative patients with respect to clinical characteristics at baseline and mortality during follow-up. In conclusion, our study indicates that sarcomeric gene mutations are uncommon causes of LVNC in Chinese patients and genetic background of the disease may be divergent among the different races.

Genotype-phenotype correlation of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) has been challenging because of the genetic and clinical heterogeneity. To determine the mutation profile of Chinese patients with HCM and to correlate genotypes with phenotypes, we performed a systematic mutation screening of the eight most commonly mutated genes encoding sarcomere proteins in 200 unrelated Chinese adult patients using direct DNA sequencing. A total of 98 mutations were identified in 102 mutation carriers. The frequency of mutations in MYH7, MYBPC3, TNNT2 and TNNI3 was 26.0, 18.0, 4.0 and 3.5 % respectively. Among the 200 genotyped HCM patients, 83 harbored a single mutation, and 19 (9.5 %) harbored multiple mutations. The number of mutations was positively correlated with the maximum wall thickness. We found that neither particular gene nor specific mutation was correlated to clinical phenotype. In summary, the frequency of multiple mutations was greater in Chinese HCM patients than in the Caucasian population. Multiple mutations in sarcomere protein may be a risk factor for left ventricular wall thickness.

Cardiac remodeling is one of major pathological process in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Endothelin-1 has been linked to cardiac remodeling. Big endothelin-1 is the precursor of endothelin-1.A total of 245 patients with HCM were enrolled from 1999 to 2011 and partitioned to low, middle and high level groups according to their plasma big endothelin-1 levels.At baseline, significant associations were found between high level of big endothelin-1 and left atrium size, heart function and atrial fibrillation. Big endothelin-1 was positively correlated with N-terminal B-type natriuretic peptide (r=0.291, p0.001) and late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) on magnetic resonance imaging (r=0.222, p=0.016). During a follow-up of 3 (range, 2-5) years, big endothelin-1 level was positively associated with the risks of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular death and progression to NYHA class 3 or 4 (p=0.020, 0.044 and 0.032, respectively). The rate of above events in the highest tertile were 18.1%, 15.7%, 24.2%, respectively. After adjusting for multiple factors related to survival and cardiac function, the significance remained in the association of big endothelin-1 with the risk of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio (HR)=4.94, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.07-22.88; p=0.041) and progression to NYHA class 3 or 4 (HR=4.10, 95%CI 1.32-12.75, p=0.015).Our study showed that high level of plasma big endothelin-1 predicted prognosis for patients with HCM and it can be added to the marker panel in stratifying HCM patients for giving treatment priority to those at high risk.

Previous research has revealed the significant impact of shared leadership on team creativity, yet the mechanism underlying this relationship has rarely been investigated. The current research examined how shared leadership influenced team creativity (novelty and usefulness) across 3 studies using both long-term project teams and temporal task teams in the laboratory. The results showed that shared leadership enhanced the novelty dimension of team creativity by improving constructive controversy. Furthermore, team goal orientation moderated this effect. The indirect effect of constructive controversy holds for teams with learning goal orientation but not for those with performance goal orientation. Such patterns were not found in the usefulness dimension of team creativity.

The present study was performed to identify the genotype of a hypertrophic cardiomyopathy family and investigate the clinicopathogenic characteristics and prognostic features of relevant genetic abnormalities. Target sequence capture sequencing was performed to screen for pathogenic alleles in a 32-year-old female patient (proband). Sanger sequencing was carried out to verify the results. Sanger sequencing was also performed on other family members to identify allele carriers. A survival analysis was carried out using published literature and our findings. We found that the proband and her son harboured a Gly716Arg sequence variant of the β-myosin heavy chain. Neither the proband’s father nor the mother were carriers of this sequence variant; thus, the mutation was classified as “de novo”. Further survival analysis revealed that female patients appear to have a longer life expectancy compared with males. Our study may provide an effective approach for the genetic diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

To identify the casual mutation of a Chinese pedigree with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), and to analyze the genotype-phenotype relationship.The coding exons of 26 reported disease genes were sequenced by targeted resequencing in the proband and the identified mutation were detected with bi-directional Sanger sequencing in all family members and 307 healthy controls. The genotype-phenotype correlation was analyzed in the family.A missense mutation (c.2191CT, p. Pro731Ser) in the 20th exon of MYH7 gene was identified. This mutation was absent in 307 healthy controls and predicted to be pathogenic by PolyPhen-HCM. Totally 13 family members carried this mutation, including 10 patients with HCM and 3 asymptomatic mutation carriers. The proband manifested severe congestive heart failure and 8 patients expressed various clinical manifestations of heart failure, including dyspnea, palpitations, chest pain, amaurosis or syncope. Five patients were diagnosed as HCM at the age of 16 or younger. One family member suffered sudden cardiac death.The Pro731Ser of MYH7 gene mutation is a causal and malignant mutation linked with familiar HCM.

Aims Although genetic testing has been recommended in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) in current clinical practice, its utility in prognostic prediction remains to be ascertained. We assessed the dosage effect of rare variants in sarcomere genes on the long-term outcomes of HCM. Methods and results A total of 529 unrelated HCM patients were prospectively recruited and followed for 4.7 ± 3.2 years. Eight sarcomere genes were screened with targeted resequencing and identified variants were validated through Sanger sequencing. After polymorphisms and likely neutral rare variants were excluded, the patients were segregated into three groups based on the dosage of rare variants: no rare variant, a single rare variant, and multiple rare variants. Multiple rare variants were identified in 7.2% (38/529) of the study patients. Patients with multiple rare variants were younger at diagnosis, and had greater maximum LV wall thicknesses and larger left atria. The risk for cardiovascular death in patients with multiple rare variants was higher than in those without rare variants (P = 10−5) or in those with a single rare variant (P = 2 × 10−5). Multivariable analysis revealed that multiple rare variants were a risk factor for cardiovascular death [hazard ratio (HR) 3.74, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.84–7.58, P = 0.0003], as well as sudden cardiac death (HR 3.57, 95% CI 1.23–10.35, P = 0.019) and heart failure-related death (HR 4.62, 95% CI 1.67–12.76, P = 0.003). Conclusions The presence of multiple rare variants in sarcomere genes is a risk factor for malignant outcomes in HCM, and may be appropriate to consider as a criterion in the risk stratification of HCM patients.

Modifier genes contribute to the diverse clinical manifestations of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), but are still largely unknown. Muscle ring finger (MuRF) proteins are a class of muscle-specific ubiquitin E3-ligases that appear to modulate cardiac mass and function by regulating the ubiquitin-proteasome system. In this study we screened all the three members of the MuRF family, MuRF1, MuRF2 and MuRF3, in 594 unrelated HCM patients and 307 healthy controls by targeted resequencing. Identified rare variants were confirmed by capillary Sanger sequencing. The prevalence of rare variants in both MuRF1 and MuRF2 in HCM patients was higher than that in control subjects (MuRF1 13/594 (2.2%) vs. 1/307 (0.3%), p = 0.04; MuRF2 22/594 (3.7%) vs. 2/307 (0.7%); p = 0.007). Patients with rare variants in MuRF1 or MuRF2 were younger (p = 0.04) and had greater maximum left ventricular wall thickness (p = 0.006) than those without such variants. Mutations in genes encoding sarcomere proteins were present in 19 (55.9%) of the 34 HCM patients with rare variants in MuRF1 and MuRF2. These data strongly supported that rare variants in MuRF1 and MuRF2 are associated with higher penetrance and more severe clinical manifestations of HCM. The findings suggest that dysregulation of the ubiquitin-proteasome system contributes to the pathogenesis of HCM.

Background— Although mutations of several genes are associated with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), the exact correlation between genotype and ventricular arrhythmia features remains unclear. This study was aimed to examine the possible association of the 9 known genes of ARVC with clinical and electrophysiological characteristics. Methods and Results— Ninety subjects diagnosed with ARVC who underwent electrophysiological study were recruited for screening the 9 known ARVC-causing genes. A total of 53 mutations were identified in 57 (63%) subjects. Mutation carriers had more frequent clinical ventricular tachycardia (VT; 89% versus 55%; P 1 to V 3 (61% versus 33%; P =0.016). Subjects with plakophilin-2 ( PKP2 ) mutations also had more frequent VT than those without mutations in PKP2 . Comparison between subjects with multiple and single mutations showed that syncope occurred more often in the former group (58% versus 24%; P =0.018). VT was significantly more often induced in mutation carriers compared with noncarriers (75% versus 39%; P =0.001), as well as in PKP2 mutation carriers compared with subjects without PKP2 mutations (80% versus 48%; P =0.002). Induced VT with a rate ≥200 bpm was more often documented in mutation carriers (88% versus 54%; P =0.013), as well as in PKP2 mutation carriers (91% versus 67%; P =0.041). Conclusions— Pathogenic gene mutations were found in nearly two thirds of subjects diagnosed with ARVC. Mutation carriers, especially PKP2 , had a higher proportion of a history of VT and more inducible fast VT.

Objectives: The clinical outcomes of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) are largely unpredictable. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between atrial fibrillation (AF) and its prognostic implications in Chinese patients with HCM. Methods: From 1999 to 2011, 654 unrelated HCM patients were consecutively recruited at Fuwai Hospital. Medical history, including electrocardiographic and echocardiographic data, was analyzed. Results: AF was documented in 158 patients (24%). During follow-up of 4.2 ± 2.8 years, Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the presence of AF was associated with an increased risk for all-cause death (p = 0.001), cardiovascular death (p < 0.001), severe heart failure (p < 0.001) and ischemic stroke (p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis identified AF as an independent predictor of stroke-related death (HR 6.71, 95% CI 1.23-38.58, p = 0.03), advanced heart failure (HR 1.83, 95% CI 1.04-3.22, p = 0.04) and ischemic stroke (HR 9.98, 95% CI 4.06-24.53, p < 0.001). Furthermore, enlarged left atrial diameter was positively related to all-cause death (HR 1.09, 95% CI 1.05-1.13, p < 0.001), cardiovascular death (HR 1.08, 95% CI 1.04-1.20, p < 0.001) and development of advanced heart failure (HR 1.05, 95% CI 1.01-1.10, p = 0.01). Conclusions: AF predicts poor outcomes for patients with HCM. Left atrial dilation is also related to an adverse prognosis and provides additional prognostic information.

Background: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) due to mutations in genes encoding sarcomere proteins is most commonly inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. Since nearly 50% of HCM cases occur in the absence of a family history, a recessive inheritance pattern may be involved. Methods: A pedigree was identified with suspected autosomal recessive transmission of HCM. Twenty-six HCM-related genes were comprehensively screened for mutations in the proband with targeted second generation sequencing, and the identified mutation was confirmed with bi-directional Sanger sequencing in all family members and 376 healthy controls. Results: A novel missense mutation (c.1469G.T, p.Gly490Val) in exon 17 of MYBPC3 was identified. Two siblings with HCM were homozygous for this mutation, whereas other family members were either heterozygous or wild type. Clinical evaluation showed that both homozygotes manifested a typical HCM presentation, but none of others, including 5 adult heterozygous mutation carriers up to 71 years of age, had any clinical evidence of HCM. Conclusions: Our data identified a MYBPC3 mutation in HCM, which appeared autosomal recessively inherited in this family. The absence of a family history of clinical HCM may be due to not only a de novo mutation, but also recessive mutations that failed to produce a clinical phenotype in heterozygous family members. Therefore, consideration of recessive mutations leading to HCM is essential for risk stratification and genetic counseling.

Cardiac hypertrophy has been known as an independent predictor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Molecular mechanisms underlying the development of heart failure remain elusive. Recently, microRNAs (miRs) have been established as important regulators in cardiac hypertrophy. Here, we reported miR-221 was up-regulated in both transverse aortic constricted mice and patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Forced expression of miR-221 by transfection of miR-221 mimics increased myocyte cell size and induced the re-expression of fetal genes, which were inhibited by the knockdown of endogenous miR-221 in cardiomyocytes. The TargetScan algorithm-based prediction identified that p27, a cardiac hypertrophic suppressor, is the putative target of miR-221, which was confirmed by luciferase assay and Western blotting. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that miR-221 regulated cardiomyocyte hypertrophy probably through down-regulation of p27, suggesting that miR-221 may be a new intervention target for cardiac hypertrophy.

A gelation of a material for immobilization, waterborne polyurethane (WPU). Using the WPU gel as the carrier and nitrifying bacteria as the microbe, we have tested the feasibility of the proposed immobilization method. The effects of WPU prepolymer and gelation process on the activity of nitrifying bacteria were investigated by relative respiratory activity. The microbial growth and distribution of immobilized nitrobacteria were observed with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) before and after acclimation. The nitrogen removal efficiency of immobilized acclimated nitrifying bacteria from inorganic synthetic wastewater was estimated in batch experiment and continuous experiment in up-flow inner circulation reactor. Also the maximum specific ammonia utilization rate, Ka, could reach 300 mg-N/(L-pellet-h). The results have verified the fact that the waterborne polyurethane entrapped-cell method developed in this study has a great potential for a variety of biological wastewater treatment applications.

Background Sex plays an important role in the clinical expression and prognosis of various cardiovascular diseases. This study was designed to observe the effects of sex on hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Methods and Results A total of 621 unrelated patients with HCM without heart failure (460 males) were enrolled from 1999 to 2011. Compared to male patients, at baseline female patients were older at diagnosis (49.6±17.2 years vs. 46.7±14.4 years, P = 0.033), and had greater frequency of left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (72/161, 44.7% vs. 149/460, 32.4%, P = 0.005). During the average four year follow-up period (range 2–7 years), survival analysis showed that the incidences of mortality from all causes, cardiovascular death and progression to chronic heart failure were greater in women than in men (P = 0.031, 0.040 and 0.012, respectively). After adjustment for multiple factors that may confound survival and cardiac function, female sex remained an independent risk factor for all-cause mortality, cardiovascular death, and chronic heart failure [hazard ratio (HR) 2.19, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.21–3.95, P = 0.010; HR 2.19, 95% CI 1.17–4.09, P = 0.014; HR 1.73, 95% CI 1.12–2.69, P = 0.014, respectively] in HCM patients. Subgroup analysis revealed that female sex as a risk factor was identified only in patients younger than 50 years old (P = 0.011, 0.011 and 0.009, respectively), but not for those 50 years or older. Conclusion Our results suggest that female sex is associated with worse survival and heart failure in HCM patients. Further studies are required to determine whether female hormones modify the clinical expression and prognosis of HCM.

The principle of optical method for measuring electric current utilizing the Faraday magneto-optical effect is stated inthe paper . A practical power source of semiconductor laser diode is presented, the sensing head designed by ourselvesis introduced . The signal processing technique with one chip microcomputer is described . In addition, the experimental results are given. The study shows that this method has many advantages. Therefor, it is expecting to be used in electric systems in the future.Keywords : magneto—optical effect, electric current, optical measurement . 1 . INTRODUCTION With the economy development, the number of plants using the large electric current is getting more and more, thevoltage is becoming higher and higher. The disadvantages of the traditional electromagnetic current transformerhaving been used in the measurement of electric current with high voltage and/or large current are becoming moreobviously. They are short of safety, huge in size, heavy in weight and low accuracy. The paper presents the optical