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The concept of minimally invasive cardiac surgery has been put forward for more than decades and continued to develop. Recently, minimally invasive aortic valve surgery is established as a safe and effective treatment for various aortic valvular heart diseases and ascending aorta disorders. This study is aimed at analyzing the safety and effectiveness of aortic valve replacement (AVR) through right anterior minithoracotomy for the treatment of patients with low left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Retrospective analyses of 43 cases with low LVEF undergoing AVR through median sternotomy and 43 cases with low LVEF undergoing AVR through right anterior minithoracotomy were performed. Extracorporeal circulation time and aortic cross-clamping time were longer in patients undergoing AVR through right anterior minithoracotomy than those in patients undergoing AVR through median sternotomy (P < 0.05). Patients undergoing AVR through right anterior minithoracotomy exhibited declines in the cardiac surgery intensive care unit (CSICU) stay, duration of mechanical ventilation, and the length of hospital stay than those undergoing AVR through median sternotomy (P < 0.05). The volumes of 24 h chest drainage were reduced in patients undergoing AVR through right anterior minithoracotomy compared with those undergoing AVR through median sternotomy (P < 0.05). The incidence rates of blood transfusion within 24 h and postoperative atrial fibrillation were lower in patients undergoing AVR through right anterior minithoracotomy than those in patients undergoing AVR through median sternotomy (P < 0.05). As for cardiac function, patients with right anterior minithoracotomy had decreased left ventricular end diastolic diameter (LVEDD) but increased LVEF and left ventricular fractional shortening (LVFS) when compared to median sternotomy (P < 0.05). With regard to inflammatory response, the serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in patients with right anterior minithoracotomy were much lower than those in median sternotomy (P < 0.05). All these results indicate that right anterior minithoracotomy is an alternative, less invasive approach to median sternotomy during AVR for patients with low LVEF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a novel multimode detection aptasensor with three signal responses (i.e., fluorescence recovery, enhanced Raman signal, and color change).The presence of adenosine induces the conformational switch of the adenosine aptamer (Apt), forming adenosine-aptamer complex and releasing quantumdots (QDs) from AuNPs, resulting in the recovered fluorescence, the enhanced Raman signal, and color change of the solution. The multimode signal recognition is potentially advantageous in improving the precision and reliability of the detection in complex environments compared to the conventional single-mode sensing system. The multimode detection strategy opens up a new possibility in sensing and quantifying more other target molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nodal ring material has recently attracted wide attention due to its singular properties and potential applications in spintronics. Here, two-dimensional Zn3C6S6 is calculated and discussed by using first-principle calculations. We found that two-dimensional Zn3C6S6 can generate a nodal ring at 10% compressive strain, and the existence of the ring is proved by a partial charge density map. And as the compressive strain increases, the nodal ring does not disappear. At the same time, the stability of the electron-orbit coupling to the nodal ring is applied. Our findings indicate that the two-dimensional Zn3C6S6 is promising in new electronic and spintronic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monolayers of transition metal ReX2 and ReSX (X=S, Se) have been proposed as new electronic materials for nanoscale devices. In this paper, there are three structures: ReS2, Janus ReSSe, and ReSe2. Based on the first-principles theory, we analyzed the structures, electronic properties, and Fermi speed. Remarkably, we studied the stability of structures of ReS2, Janus ReSSe, and ReSe2 monolayers under biaxial tensile and compressive strain by density functional approach. It is worth noting that when the strain changes, not only the band gap changes but also the band gap properties (direct and indirect) also change. The bond gaps decrease with the increase of tensile strain and compressive strain; Moreover, when the strain is greater than 0, the bond angle decreases as the strain increases, and when the strain is less than 0, the bond angle increases as the strain increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the density functional theory, we systematically calculated the stability, electronic, and optical properties of monolayer and multilayer blue phosphorus. The results show the structures are all dynamically stable, and the gaps decrease with an increase of the number of layers. An unexpected transformation from indirect to direct band gaps is also observed as the tensile strain increases. In addition, the optical properties indicate the optical absorption peak of the material is in the ultraviolet region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under external transverse electronic fields and hydrogen passivation, the electronic structure and band gap of tin dioxide nanoribbons (SnO2NRs) with both zigzag and armchair shaped edges are studied by using the first-principles projector augmented wave (PAW) potential with the density function theory (DFT) framework. The results showed that the electronic structures of zigzag and armchair edge SnO2NRs exhibit an indirect semiconducting nature and the band gaps demonstrate a remarkable reduction with the increase of external transverse electronic field intensity, which demonstrate a giant Stark effect. The value of the critical electric field for bare Z-SnO2NRs is smaller than A-SnO2NRs. In addition, the different hydrogen passivation nanoribbons (Z-SnO2NRs-2H and A-SnO2NRs-OH) show different band gaps and a slightly weaker Stark effect. The band gap of A-SnO2NRs-OH obviously is enhanced while the Z-SnO2NRs-2H reduce. Interestingly, the Z-SnO2NRs-OH presented the convert of metal-semiconductor-metal under external transverse electronic fields. In the end, the electronic transport properties of the different edges SnO2NRs are studied. These findings provide useful ways in nanomaterial design and band engineering for spintronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porous MnO@C core-shell nanowires were prepared via a simple and facile method. The morphologies, the phase purity, the mass contents, and the BET surface area of the composite were characterized by SEM, XRD, TGA, and N2 adsorption test, respectively. When the composite served as an anode for lithium-ion batteries, it showed superior electrochemical performances. The MnO@C composite presented a reversible capacity of 448.1 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at the current rate of 200 mA g−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inexpensive liposome-polymer transfection complexes (LPTCs) were developed and used as for DNA or protein delivery. The particle sizes of the LPTCs were in the range of 212.2 to 312.1 nm, and the zetapotential was +38.7mV. LPTCs condensed DNA and protected DNA fromDNase I digestion and efficiently delivered LPTC/DNA complexes in Balb/3T3 cells. LPTCs also enhanced the cellular uptake of antigen in mouse macrophage cells and stimulated TNF-a release in naï ve mice splenocytes, both indicating the potential of LPTCs as adjuvants for vaccines. In vivo studies were performed using H. pylori relative heat shock protein 60 as an antigen model. The vaccination of BALB/c mice with LPTC-complexed DNA and protein enhanced the humoral immune response. Therefore, we developed a DNA and protein delivery system using LPTCs that is inexpensive, and we successfully applied it to the development of a DNA and subunit vaccine [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]