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Objective: This study aims to investigate the anatomical variations in femoral vasculature and evaluate the clinical value of ultrasound‐guided femoral vein puncture in catheter ablation procedures. Methods: In this retrospective analysis conducted from January 2023 to March 2023, we examined data from patients who underwent catheter ablation with ultrasound‐guided femoral venipuncture. We evaluated the anatomy of the femoral vasculature at both high and low inguinal levels. Based on the relationship between the femoral vein and artery, we classified the anatomy into four types: Type I (vein parallel to artery without overlap), Type II (vein medial to artery with lumen overlap ≤50%), Type III (vein posterior to artery with lumen overlap > 50%), and Type IV (vein lateral to artery). Additionally, we assessed procedure‐related vascular complications that required interventions or prolonged hospital stays. Results: A total of 254 patients were included in this study. At the upper inguinal level, most cases (92.5%) exhibited Type II, followed by Type I (6.5%), while Type III (0.6%) and IV (0.4%) were less common. At the lower inguinal level, Type II accounted for 70.7%, there was a significantly higher proportion of Type III (23.4%) and Type IV (5.9%). The overall complication rate was 0.4%, no pseudoaneurysm or hematoma was observed in our study. Conclusion: Our study revealed significant anatomical variations in the relationship between the femoral vein and femoral artery. Ultrasound‐guided femoral venipuncture significantly reduced vascular complication rate, making it a valuable tool for guiding puncture procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. This study aims to investigate the association between waist circumference (WC) and cardiovascular death in patients with permanent pacemakers (PPMs). Methods. This is a retrospective cohort study that enrolled patients who underwent PPM implantation in Fuwai Hospital from May 2010 to April 2014, according to the BIOTRONIK Home Monitoring database. The WC was treated as sex-specific quartiles, and patients were divided into three groups according to body mass index (BMI): normal (≤22.9 kg/m2), overweight (23–24.9 kg/m2), and obese (≥25 kg/m2). Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for cardiovascular death according to WC and BMI in patients. Results. 492 patients with PPMs implantation were analyzed (mean age: 71.9 ± 10.8 years; 55.1% men (n = 271)). Data showed that after a mean follow-up 67.2 ± 17.5 months, 24 (4.9%) patients had experienced cardiovascular death and 71 (14.4%) were cases of all-cause mortality. Men in the third quartile of WC had an HR of 10.67 (Model 4, 95% CI: 1.00–115.21, p trend = 0.04) for cardiovascular death. However, the association disappeared in female patients (Model 4, HR = 3.99, 95% CI: 0.37–42.87, p trend = 0.25). There was no association between BMI and cardiovascular death or all-cause mortality in both male and female patients. Conclusions. Abdominal obesity was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular death in patients with PPMs, and this relationship was only in male patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black mulberry (Morus nigra L.) is considered a medicinal and food-homologous plant in China. An obstacle to its widespread use is that its annual season and shelf life are extremely short. In this paper, fermented black mulberry juice (FBMJ) was prepared with various probiotic strains, and response surface methodology was used to determine the optimum production conditions for achieving the maximum active substance content in the resulting product. The fermentation process increased levels of biological enzymes and total phenols in the resulting juice. When the ratios of the Lactobacillus inocula to the total inoculum were 27.96% for L. paracasei, 15.37% for L. casei, 16.64% for L. plantarum, and 5.12% for L. delbrueckii, the B. animalis subsp. lactis content reached 15.83%, the L. fermentum content reached 19.08%, and the superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity reached 310 U/g. To study the antioxidant characteristics of the juice, C2C12 cells were treated with H2O2 to induce oxidative stress and the cytoprotective activity of FBMJ was subsequently evaluated. After treatment with FBMJ for 24 h, cell viability was found to be protected under H2O2 exposure, while SOD and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) levels were increased. The reactive oxygen species level and malondialdehyde content were also decreased. These results provide molecular evidence for the antioxidant effect of FBMJ and demonstrate that lactic acid bacteria fermentation has a positive effect on black mulberry juice (BMJ). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The method of vacuum preloading for foundation treatments is used in the construction of the Fangchenggang coastal area in Guangxi province, China. The thick marine dredger-filled silt has a considerable impact on the treatment effort. In this study, the mineral composition and grain size distribution of these silts were analyzed to investigate their consolidation settlement property and microstructures. The scanning electron microscope and finite element method were adopted. The results reveal that the dredger-filled silt in this area is composed mainly of sand with particle size mostly smaller than 0.075 mm. To replicate the construction process, the process of drainage by the vacuum preloading method was simulated by setting different water levels in the finite element analysis. The displacement and the dissipation of the pore water pressure obtained by simulations were reasonably consistent with the field monitoring data. In addition, the results obtained using the scanning electron microscope indicate that the equivalent diameter of the structural unit and that of the pore unit decrease with the silt depth. However, the value of the structural abundance approaches one, whereas the pore abundance is significantly different from one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the obesity paradox and its interrelationship with objective physical activity (PA) in patients at high risk of sudden cardiac death.Methods: A total of 782 patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators/cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators in the Study of Home Monitoring System Safety and Efficacy in Cardiac Implantable Electronic Device-Implantable Patients registry were retrospectively analyzed and grouped by body mass index (BMI) (kg/m2): normal weight (18.5 ≤ BMI < 25) and overweight or class I obesity (25 ≤ BMI < 35). PA was measured with home monitoring and categorized into 4 groups (Q1-Q4) by the baseline quartiles. The main endpoint was all-cause mortality.Results: During a mean follow-up period of 59.9 ± 21.9 months, 182 all-cause mortality events occurred. Mortality tended to be lower in overweight and obesity patients (18.9% vs 25.1%, P = 0.061) and decreased by PA quartiles (44.1% vs 22.6% vs 15.3% vs 11.2%, Q1-Q4, P < 0.001). Multivariate Cox analysis indicated BMI (hazard ratio, 0.918; 95% confidence interval, 0.866-0.974; P = 0.004) and PA (0.436, 0.301-0.631, Q2 vs Q1; 0.280, 0.181-0.431, Q3 vs Q1; 0.257, 0.158-0.419, Q4 vs Q1; P < 0.001 for all) were associated with reduced risk. The obesity paradox was significant in the total cohort (log rank P = 0.049) and low PA group (log rank P = 0.010), but disappeared in the high PA group (log rank P = 0.692). Dose-response curves showed a significant reduction in risk with low-moderate PA, and the pattern varied between different BMI groups.Conclusions: The obesity paradox only persisted in physically inactive patients. PA might be related to the development of the obesity paradox. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: This study was to use implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) home monitoring (HM) feature to evaluate the role of mean night-time heart rate (MNHR) in the occurrence of ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) and mortality.Methods and Results: This study retrospectively analysed clinical and ICD device data in 318 ICD patients. Data of the first 30-day MNHR (recorded 02:00-06:00 am) by HM were collected. The average and standard deviation of 30-day MNHR (AVHR and SDHR, respectively) were then determined in each patient. The primary endpoint was appropriate ICD treatment of VAs. The secondary endpoint was all-cause mortality. During a mean follow-up period of 32 ± 10 months, 179 of the 318 patients (56.3%) experienced VAs, 123 patients (38.7%) were treated by ICD shocks, and 37 patients (11.6%) died. The overall SDHR in this study cohort was 4.5 ± 3.0 bpm. Based on the receiver operating characteristic curve, the cut-off value of SDHR = 3.685 bpm was identified to predict VAs. In the Kaplan-Meier survival, SDHR ≥ 3.685 bpm was associated with increased VAs [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.885; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.362-2.609; P < 0.001], shock events (HR = 1.637; 95% CI = 1.11-2.414; P = 0.013), all-cause mortality (HR = 2.42; 95% CI = 1.266-4.627; P = 0.008), and the combined endpoints (HR = 1.872; 95% CI = 1.365-2.567; P < 0.001). In univariate and multivariate Cox models (adjusting for clinical factors), SDHR ≥ 3.685 bpm was still an independent predictor for all endpoints.Conclusion: In ICD population, SDHR ≥ 3.685 bpm was an independent predictor for VAs and all-cause mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preventive Effectiveness of Implantable Cardioverter. Introduction: This prospective and multicenter trial of the implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) aimed to evaluate the mortality rate (including sudden cardiac death [SCD]) and the efficacy of ICD in Chinese patients with high risk of sudden death. Methods and Results : This trial was conducted in 31 centers in China. We enrolled 497 patients who fulfilled Class I indication for ICD (2002 ACC/AHA/NASPE guideline). All patients were followed-up at 3, 6, and 12 months. Clinical characteristics and echocardiographic parameters were collected at baseline and follow-up; Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed. Among 497 enrolled patients with Class I indication of ICD therapy, 112 (22.5%) agreed to and received ICD implantation (ICD group). The remaining 385 patients who were not available for ICD therapy were designated as the non-ICD group. During a mean follow-up of 11 ± 3 months, there were a total of 38 deaths, 2 in the ICD group with a mortality of 1.8% and 36 in the non-ICD group, with a mortality of 9.4% and 26 due to SCD. The overall survival rate was 93% at 3 months of follow-up, 91% at 6 months, and 89% at 12 months, with an incidence of SCD of 5%, 7%, and 8% at 3, 6, and 12 months, respectively. Conclusions : In patients with Class I indication of ICD implantation, the total mortality and incidence of SCD were high. ICD therapy can effectively reduce the mortality in such patients. (J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 23, pp. S5-S9, November 2012) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the classic techniques of silkworm breeding and achieve the integration of good economic traits and disease resistance traits, a cross-breeding and molecular marker assisted breeding technology combined was developed in this experiment. The practical strain Jingsong and the strain NB, highly resistant to the BmNPV found from the library of silkworm races and strains in China, were selected as the breeding material. Through cross-breeding and backcrossing, the disease resistant gene was introducted into the economic strain Jingsong. At the same time, the strain Qiufeng, resistant to the BmDNV, was used as the donor material of resistance gene. In this experiment, a new strain resistant to the two virus, BmNPV and BmDNV-Z, was obtained through the method of virus administrion and molecular marker assisted breeding technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bombyx mori parvo-like virus ( BmPLV) has two complementary single-stranded DNA genome (VD1 and VD2) and owns a self-encoding DNA polymerase motif, but its replication mechanism is unclear . In our previous research, a protein encoded by VD1-ORF1 was indentified in the midgut of BmPLV China Zhenjiang isolate-( BmPLV-Z) infected silkworm larvae via two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE). This protein was named as non-structural protein 2 (NS2), which showed no similarity to that of parvoviruses. To date, little is known about it. In this study, sequence alignment results showed that NS2 shared homology with some chromosomal replication initiator protein dnaA and DNA-binding response regulators. The ns2 was cloned and expressed in E. coli, and then a polyclonal antibody of the NS2 protein was prepared successfully. The data from real-time quantitative PCR displayed that the transcription of VD1-ORF1 from BmPLV-Z-infected midguts started from 28-h post inoculation (h p.i.) in low amounts, but in high amounts at late stages of infection. Immunofluorescence showed that NS2 ultimately concentrated on the nuclear membrane in BmN cells at late stages, indicating that NS2 might be associated with integral membrane protein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] concentrations, apolipoprotein(a) [apo(a)] isoform, and coronary artery disease (CAD) stratification in Han Chinese., Methods: Logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the association between Lp(a) concentrations, apo(a) isoform and CAD stratification. Lp(a) concentrations and apo(a) isoforms were combined with other risk factors to establish the optimal prediction model of CAD risk., Results: Individuals with the top quarter of Lp(a) concentrations had more than a two-fold higher risk of stable CAD and three-fold higher risk of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) compared with those in the bottom quarter. This association was no longer significant after adjustment for apo(a) isoforms in stable CAD (OR 2.198, 95% CI 0.991 - 4.875, p = 0.053), but remained significant in the ACS (OR 3.583, 95% CI 1.278 - 5.614, p < 0.05). Individuals with small apo(a) isoforms had more than a two-fold higher risk of stable CAD and almost three-fold higher risk of ACS compared with those carrying larger apo(a) isoforms; however, this association was significantly alleviated after adjustment for Lp(a) concentrations (OR 2.133, 95% CI 0.964 - 4.742, p = 0.098; OR 2.642, 95% CI 1.032 - 5.833, p = 0.298, respectively). A combination of Lp(a) concentrations and apo(a) isoforms with other risk factors was the optimal prediction model of CAD risk (AUC 0.800, 95% CI 0.752 - 0.848, p < 0.001)., Conclusions: Elevated Lp(a) concentrations and small apo(a) isoforms were significant risk factors for CAD stratification, and their effects on CAD risk were mediated by each other. Combined application of Lp(a) concentrations and apo(a) isoform with conventional risk factors could aid in the assessment and prediction of CAD.

Background: There is an individual variation in response to antihypertensive effect of the angiotensin II receptor antagonist. This study aimed to determine the allele and genotype frequencies of CYP2C9 and AGTR1 genetic polymorphisms and explore the potential role of these polymorphisms in guiding the selection of angiotensinIIreceptor antagonist in Han Chinese hypertensive patients., Methods: Totally 2419 Han Chinese hypertensive patients and 126 normotensive controls were recruited in this study. Venous blood samples were collected from each patient, and the genetic polymorphisms of CYP2C9 and AGTR1 were assessed using a gene chip platform. The allele and genotype frequency of each gene and the combined genotypes in this study were analyzed respectively., Results: The gene chip analysis identified an allelic frequency of 96.51% for CYP2C9*1 and 3.49% for CYP2C9*3 in the cohort of Han Chinese hypertensive patients. Statistical analysis showed that the frequency of wild-type homozygous for CYP2C9*1/*1 was 93.30%, while the frequency of heterozygous for *1/*3 or mutant homozygous for *3/*3 was 6.41% or 0.29%. Meanwhile, we detected allelic frequencies of 95.06% and 4.94% for the A and C allele of AGTR1, respectively. While the genotype frequency of wild-type homozygous for AA was 90.41%, the frequency of heterozygous for AC or mutant homozygous for CC was 9.30% or 0.29%. Notably, we observed that 84.66% (2048/2419) of the subjects exhibited a combined genotype of CYP2C9 and AGTR1 as *1/*1 + AA, while the combined genotypes *3/*3 + AC or *3/*3 + CC were not detected in hypertension patients. Besides, no significant association was found between normotensive controls and hypertensive patients, or among the three grades of hypertensive patients., Conclusions: These data revealed the polymorphisms characteristics of CYP2C9 and AGTR1 in Han Chinese hypertensive patients, providing valuable information for genotype-based antihypertension therapy in prospective clinical studies in the future.

Background: Previous studies have reported inconsistent results on the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and clinical outcomes in implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) patients. Additionally, research on ICD patients with nonischemic cardiomyopathy (NICM) is lacking., Hypothesis: This study aimed to investigate the impact of BMI on mortality and ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) in NICM patients with an ICD., Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed the data from the Study of Home Monitoring System Safety and Efficacy in Cardiac Implantable Electronic Device-implanted patients (SUMMIT) in China. Four hundred and eighty NICM patients with an ICD having BMI data were enrolled. Patients were divided into two groups: underweight and normal range group (BMI < 24 kg/m 2 ), overweight and obese group (BMI≥24 kg/m 2 ). The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality. The secondary endpoint was the first occurrence of VAs requiring appropriate ICD therapy or shock., Results: During a median follow-up of 61 (1-95) months, 70 patients (14.6%) died, 173 patients (36%) experienced VAs requiring appropriate ICD therapy, and 112 patients (23.3%) were treated with ICD shock. Multivariate Cox regression modeling indicated a decreased mortality risk in the overweight and obese group compared with the underweight and normal range group (hazard ratio = 0.44, 95% confidence interval 0.26-0.77, P = .003). However, the risk of VAs was similar in both groups in univariate and multivariate Cox models., Conclusions: Compared with underweight and normal weight, overweight and obesity are protective against mortality but have only a neutral impact on VAs risk in NICM patients with an ICD., (© 2020 The Authors. Clinical Cardiology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Objective: To investigate the obesity paradox and its interrelationship with objective physical activity (PA) in patients at high risk of sudden cardiac death., Methods: A total of 782 patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators/cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators in the Study of Home Monitoring System Safety and Efficacy in Cardiac Implantable Electronic Device-Implantable Patients registry were retrospectively analyzed and grouped by body mass index (BMI) (kg/m2): normal weight (18.5 ≤ BMI < 25) and overweight or class I obesity (25 ≤ BMI < 35). PA was measured with home monitoring and categorized into 4 groups (Q1-Q4) by the baseline quartiles. The main endpoint was all-cause mortality., Results: During a mean follow-up period of 59.9 ± 21.9 months, 182 all-cause mortality events occurred. Mortality tended to be lower in overweight and obesity patients (18.9% vs 25.1%, P = 0.061) and decreased by PA quartiles (44.1% vs 22.6% vs 15.3% vs 11.2%, Q1-Q4, P < 0.001). Multivariate Cox analysis indicated BMI (hazard ratio, 0.918; 95% confidence interval, 0.866-0.974; P = 0.004) and PA (0.436, 0.301-0.631, Q2 vs Q1; 0.280, 0.181-0.431, Q3 vs Q1; 0.257, 0.158-0.419, Q4 vs Q1; P < 0.001 for all) were associated with reduced risk. The obesity paradox was significant in the total cohort (log rank P = 0.049) and low PA group (log rank P = 0.010), but disappeared in the high PA group (log rank P = 0.692). Dose-response curves showed a significant reduction in risk with low-moderate PA, and the pattern varied between different BMI groups., Conclusions: The obesity paradox only persisted in physically inactive patients. PA might be related to the development of the obesity paradox., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Endocrine Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Because of previous ventricular arrhythmia (VA) episodes, patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) for secondary prevention (SP) are generally considered to have a higher burden of VAs than primary prevention (PP) patients. However, when PP patients experienced VA, the difference in the prognosis of these two patient groups was unknown., Methods: The clinical characteristics and follow-up data of 835 ICD patients (364 SP patients and 471 PP patients) with home monitoring feature were retrospectively analysed. The incidence rate and risk of subsequent VA and all-cause mortality were compared between PP patients after the first appropriate ICD therapy and SP patients., Results: During a mean follow-up of 44.72 ± 20.87 months, 210 (44.59%) PP patients underwent appropriate ICD therapy. In the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, the PP patients after appropriate ICD therapy were more prone to VA recurrence and all-cause mortality than SP patients (P<0.001 for both endpoints). The rate of appropriate ICD therapy and all-cause mortality in PP patients after the first appropriate ICD therapy was significantly higher than that in SP patients (for device therapy, 59.46 vs 20.64 patients per 100 patient-years; incidence rate ratio [IRR] 2.880, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.305-3.599; P<0.001; for all-cause mortality, 14.08 vs 5.40 deaths per 100 patient-years; IRR 2.607, 95% CI: 1.884-3.606; P<0.001). After propensity score matching for baseline characteristics, the risk of VA recurrence in PP patients with appropriate ICD therapy was still higher than that in SP patients (41.80 vs 19.10 patients per 100 patient-years; IRR 2.491, 95% CI: 1.889-3.287; P<0.001), but all-cause mortality rates were similar between the two groups (12.61 vs 9.33 deaths per 100 patient-years; IRR 1.352, 95% CI: 0.927-1.972; P = 0.117)., Conclusions: Once PP patients undergo appropriate ICD therapy, they will be more prone to VA recurrence and death than SP patients.

White tail disease (WTD), a major disease prevailing in the larval stage of Macrobrachium rosenbergii, caused by Macrobrachium rosenbergii nodavirus (MrNV) associated with extra small virus (XSV), led to the economic loss of shrimp industry in China. In order to establish a convenient, sensitive and selective molecular diagnostic method to detect MrNV and XSV for the Chinese shrimp (MrNV/XSV-chin), a reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay combined with a lateral flow dipstick (LFD) method were developed. A set of four specific primers and a labeled probe were designed according to the six conserved gene sequence regions encoding for the MrNV capsid protein CP43 and the XSV capsid protein CP17. The detection of MrNV and XSV simultaneously by RT-LAMP was performed at 61 °C in a single reaction for 60 min followed by hybridization with an FITC-labeled probe for 5 min and visualized by LFD. The RT-LAMP-LFD assay had a sensitivity of approximately 100-fold higher than conventional PCR. In addition, the assay could detect MrNV/XSV-chin from limited amount of RNA extracts as low as 1.0 pg extracted from Macrobrachium rosenbergii. This assay was simple to use, required little instrumentation, and exhibited excellent specificity for the MrNV/XSV-chin compared with other shrimp viruses. In conclusion, a convenient, sensitive and selective practical molecular diagnostic method was developed with the potential for diagnosis and prevention of WTD., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Aims: The present study was to assess the reduction of right ventricular pacing (RVP) by pacemaker algorithms of Managed Ventricular Pacing (MVP) and Search AV+ (SAV+) interval over a period of 12 months., Methods and Results: A total of 385 patients indicated for a dual-chamber pacemaker (DC-PM) were enrolled in the prospective, randomized COMPARE study at 29 centres in China between June 2009 and April 2011. Patients implanted with DC-PMs were randomized in a 1 : 1 ratio to the MVP group or the SAV+ group. The percentage of VP (%VP) was obtained from the device diagnostic data at 1-, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups and was expressed as the median %VP over all beats in patients with sinus node dysfunction (SND) and atrioventricular block (AVB) excluding persistent third-degree AVB. Of 385 enrolled patients, 253 had SND and 72 had AVB. The %VP in the MVP group was significantly lower than that in the SAV+ group at 1-, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups, respectively. At 12-month follow-up, the median %VP in SND patients was 0.20% in the MVP group and 1.4% in the SAV+ group (P < 0.0001) and the median %VP in AVB patients was 11.8% in the MVP group and 98.1% in the SAV+ group (P < 0.001). There was no statistical difference in %VP from 1- to 12-month follow-up. A trend in the correlation between %VP and AT/AF burden was observed., Conclusion: Over 12-month follow-up, the %VP was lower for MVP than SAV+ in patients with either SND or AVB. The sustainable %VP reduction has potential implications in reducing the development of heart failure and/or atrial arrhythmia morbidity., (Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2014. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Objective: To determine the incidence and predictors of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in the current era of revascularisation of myocardial infarction (MI) survivors with reduced LVEF., Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted in FuWai Hospital from 2004 to 2009. A total of 1018 consecutive patients who had an LVEF ≤35% and New York Heart Association Class II/III heart failure at least 40 days after MI were enrolled if they were not available for implantation of an implantable cardioverter defibrillator. The degree of coronary artery disease and revascularisation were analysed. The primary outcome was SCD and secondary outcome was all-cause death., Results: During a mean follow-up of 2.8 years, the SCD rate was 5% and all-cause mortality was 7.4%. The annual incidence of SCD was 1.8%. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the cumulative rate of SCD was significantly increased in patients with triple-vessel disease (6.7% vs 0.6%), left main coronary disease (10.3% vs 4.1%), EF ≤25% (8.3% vs 3.9%) and non-revascularisation therapy (9.6% vs 2.7%) (all log-rank, p<0.05). After multivariable Cox regression analysis, the risk of SCD was predicted by age (HR 1.05, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.09), EF ≤25% (HR 1.82, 95% CI 1.04 to 3.21) and non-revascularisation (HR 3.97, 95% CI 2.15 to 7.31)., Conclusions: Revascularisation may reduce the risk of SCD in post-MI patients with an LVEF ≤35% on the basis of medical therapy, and the increased risk for SCD may be predicted by age, LVEF ≤25% and non-revascularisation., (Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.)

Objective: Bombyx mori parvo-like virus is a type of virus containing two single-stranded linear DNA molecules (VD1, VD2). In the present work, the structural proteins of B. mori parvo-like virus (China Zhenjiang isolate) (BmDNV-Z) were identified., Methods: The virions were purified by cesium chloride density gradient centrifugation from the feces of B. mori larvae infected with BmDNV-Z and analyzed by SDS-PAGE, Western blotting and MALDI-TOF/mass spectometry., Results: There were seven polypeptides of the virions, named P1 to P7, which reacted with the anti-virion serum. In addition, two polypeptides, P5 and P6, were recognized by the antibody against a viral protein encoded by VD1-ORF3., Conclusion: The results showed that the viral polypeptides were mainly composed of 7 proteins named P1 to P7. Western blotting with anti-virion serum indicated that structural proteins P5, P6 and P7 had molecular weights of around 50, 55 and 130 kDa, respectively. They were the major immunogens of the virion. Among them, P5 and P6 were coded by VD1-ORF3 and P7 was encoded by VD2-ORF1. Taken together, three viral structural proteins encoded by VD1-ORF3 and VD2-ORF1 were identified in BmDNV-Z for the first time., (Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

NS1 gene of Bombyx mori parvo-like virus (China Zhenjiang isolate, BmDNV-Z) codes a predicted 316-amino acid protein, but its function remains unknown. Results of the current study showed that purified recombinant 6 x His-NS1 protein possesses ATP binding, ATPase, DNA binding, and helicase activities. Only one protein was captured in infected Bombyx mori midgut cells against NS1 target protein by employing co-immunoprecipitation, which was identified to be a viral protein by mass spectrometry. The NS1-interacting protein is encoded by BmDNV-Z ORF4 and its molecular is about 100 kD. Analysis of His pull-down confirmed that binding of identified viral protein to purified recombinant 6 x His-NS1 protein in vitro. Taken together, our results indicated that BmDNV-Z NS1 was a multifunctional protein, which may be involved with virus replication.

The invertebrate parvovirus Bombyx mori Densonucleosis Virus type 3 (China isolate), named BmDNV-3, is a kind of bidensovirus. It is a new type of virus with unique replication mechanisms. To investigate the effects of the NS3 gene during viral DNA replication, a pair of primers was designed for amplifying NS3 gene of Bombyx mori densovirus (China isolate). Gene NS3 amplified was cloned into a prokaryotic expression vector pET-30a and the donor plasmid pFastBacHTe, respectively. The NS3 protein was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21. The pFastBacHTe-NS3 was transformed to E. coli DH10Bac. The recombinant bacmid baculoviruses (rBacmid-EGFP-NS3) isolated from the white colonies were transfected into BmN-4 cells using a transfection reagent. BmN-4 cells were infected with recombinant virus to express fusion proteins. The expression of fusion protein around 30 kDa in E. coli BL21 was identified by SDS-PAGE, Western blotting, and mass spectrometry. The expressed NS3 protein by B. mori nucleopolyhedrovirus bacmid system was confirmed by Western blotting using an anti-NS3 polyclonal antibody. And about 45 kDa protein was found. The expressed fusion protein was smaller than the expected size of EGFP-NS3, 55 kDa. Western blotting analysis indicated that EGFP-NS3 protein was expressed in infected larvae with smaller molecular size.