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Higher assessment is necessary for students' personal development, and the student assessment system is an important part of education. There is a big difference between the standards of the system in Mainland China and Hong Kong, and students and educators in mainland China and Hong Kong have different opinions about the assessment system. Therefore, whether these differences can adapt to students' innovation ability and future development has become a key part of attention. This paper aims to compare the higher education assessment systems of the two regions. Firstly, the assessment problem is discussed. The original assessment system mainly consists of formative and summative, with the participation of educators and even administrative forces. The single thinking paradigm makes it difficult to realize the fairness of the assessment. Based on the above situation, this paper puts forward some suggestions. First, implement a variety of assessment forms, will be in addition to the examination methods, such as scientific research and social practice; Second, include students as the participants and listen to students' opinions on the assessment; Third, reduce the influence of administrative power to ensure fairness in the process of students being assessed.

Small-molecule organic single crystals (SCs) with an inherent in-plane anisotropic nature enable direct linearly polarized light emission without the need for spatially separated polarizer and complex optical structures. However, the device performance is severely restricted by the starvation of appropriate SC emitters and the difficulty in the construction of efficient SC electroluminescence (EL) devices, leading to a low external quantum efficiency (EQE) of usually smaller than 1.5%. Here, we demonstrate highly efficient inherent linearly polarized light-emitting diodes (LP-LEDs) by exploiting 2,6-diphenylanthracene (DPA) SCs as intrinsically polarized emitters. The LP-LEDs exhibit a 2.5-fold enhanced maximum EQE of 3.38%, which approaches the theoretical limit for the DPA SC-based EL device and is the highest among organic SC-based light-emitting diodes reported thus far. More importantly, a high degree of polarization (DOP) up to 0.74 is achieved for the intrinsically polarized EL emission of the DPA SC-based LP-LEDs. By leveraging the highly efficient LP-LED, we demonstrate for the first time an inter-chip polarized optical communication system consisting of organic SCs. This work creates a solid foundation for the exploitation of a vast new library of small-molecule organic SCs for LP-LEDs and carries broad implications for polarized optics and relevant optoelectronic devices. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

The aim of this study was to explore the most updated changing trends of non-rheumatic calcific aortic valve disease (nrCAVD) and reveal possible improvements. We analyzed the age-standardized rates (ASRs) of prevalence, incidence, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and mortality trends of nrCAVD from 1990 to 2019 using data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study 2019. The relations between ASRs and socio-demographic index (SDI) were analyzed with Pearson’s correlation coefficients. Decomposition and frontier analysis were employed to reveal the contribution proportion of influence factors and regions where improvement can be achieved. In 2019, there were 9.40 million (95% uncertainty interval (UI): 8.07 to 10.89 million) individuals with nrCAVD globally. From 1990 to 2019, the prevalence rate of nrCAVD increased by 155.47% (95% IU: 141.66% to 171.7%), with the largest increase observed in the middle SDI region (821.11%, 95% UI: 709.87% to 944.23%). Globally, there were no significant changes in the mortality rate of nrCAVD (0.37%, 95% UI: −8.85% to 7.99%). The global DALYs decreased by 10.97% (95% UI: −17.94% to −3.46%). The population attributable fraction (PAF) of high systolic blood pressure increased in the population aged 15–49 years, while it declined slightly in population aged 50+ years. Population growth was the main contributing factor to the increased DALYs across the globe (74.73%), while aging was the driving force in the high-SDI region (80.27%). The Netherlands, Finland, Luxembourg, Germany, and Norway could reduce DALY rates of nrCAVD using their socio-demographic resources. According to these results, we revealed that the burden of nrCAVD increased markedly from 1990 to 2019 in high-SDI and high-middle-SDI regions. There was a downward trend in the mortality due to nrCAVD since 2013, which is possibly owing to profound advances in transcatheter aortic valve replacement. Some countries may reduce burdens of nrCAVD using their socio-demographic resources.

Background Left ventricular negative remodelling after ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is considered as the major cause for the poor prognosis. But the predisposing factors and potential mechanisms of left ventricular negative remodelling after STEMI remain not fully understood. The present research mainly assessed the association between the stress hyperglycaemia ratio (SHR) and left ventricular negative remodelling. Methods We recruited 127 first-time, anterior, and acute STEMI patients in the present study. All enrolled patients were divided into 2 subgroups equally according to the median value of SHR level (1.191). Echocardiography was conducted within 24 h after admission and 6 months post-STEMI to measure left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD), and left ventricular end-systolic diameter (LVESD). Changes in echocardiography parameters (δLVEF, δLVEDD, δLVESD) were calculated as LVEF, LVEDD, and LVESD at 6 months after infarction minus baseline LVEF, LVEDD and LVESD, respectively. Results In the present study, the mean SHR was 1.22 ± 0.25 and there was significant difference in SHR between the 2 subgroups (1.05 (0.95, 1.11) vs 1.39 (1.28, 1.50), p p = 0.001). Additionally, the global LVEDD (49.84 ± 5.10 vs 51.81 ± 5.60, p = 0.040) and LVESD (33.27 ± 5.03 vs 35.38 ± 6.05, p = 0.035) at 6 months after STEMI were lower in the low SHR group. Most importantly, after adjusting through multivariable linear regression analysis, SHR remained associated with δLVEF (beta = −9.825, 95% CI −15.168 to −4.481, p p = 0.003), and δLVESD (beta = 5.079, 95% CI 1.421 to 8.738, p = 0.007). Conclusions In the present research, we demonstrated for the first time that SHR is significantly correlated with left ventricular negative remodelling after STEMI.

Jing Nan, Shuai Meng, Hongyu Hu, Ruofei Jia, Zening Jin Department of Cardiology and Macrovascular Disease, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Zening JinDepartment of Cardiology and Macrovascular Disease, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 119 South Fourth Ring West Road, Fengtai District, Beijing 100070, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail Jin_zening@163.comIntroduction: The efficacy of fibrinolysis therapy with deferred percutaneous coronary angioplasty (FPCI) versus primary angioplasty (PPCI) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is unclear when medical quarantine is needed.Patients and Methods: Acute ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients underwent PPCI after finishing the screening protocol from January 23, 2020 to June 10, 2020 while FPCI was applied when COVID-19-confirmed cases reoccurred in Beijing near our hospital from June 11, 2020 to July 20, 2020. The door-to-balloon time (DTB) or door-to-needle time (DTN) as well as in-hospital adverse clinical outcomes were compared between the two groups. A propensity score-matched (PSM) analysis was performed to diminish the potential influence of confounding factors on the clinical outcomes.Results: A total of 126 STEMI patients underwent PPCI after finishing the screening protocol and 17 patients received FPCI before PSM. Patients who received FPCI were younger than patients who underwent PPCI (50.8± 14.0 versus 64.1± 14.2 years, p=0.001), and chronic kidney disease (CKD) was less common in FPCI patients than in patients who underwent PPCI (0% versus 24.6%, p=0.024). The DTN was significantly shorter than DTB (25.8± 4.2 versus 61.1± 10.7, p=0.000) before PSM. The DTN was significantly shorter than DTB (26.9± 4.2 versus 64.9± 23.6, p=0.000); however, the incidence rate of in-hospital ischemia and bleeding adverse clinical outcomes were comparable between the two groups after PSM.Conclusion: Fibrinolysis therapy combined with deferred PCI can reduce the ischemia time and has a similar in-hospital adverse clinical outcome rate compared with patients who underwent primary PCI during the COVID-19 pandemic.Keywords: ST elevation myocardial infarction, fibrinolysis therapy, percutaneous coronary intervention, coronavirus disease 2019, propensity score-matched analysis

The clinical utility of the quantitative flow ratio (QFR), a novel angiography-based index for the functional assessment of coronary stenoses, has recently been demonstrated in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).This study aimed to ascertain whether the beneficial outcomes of QFR guidance for lesion selection during PCI is affected by diabetes status.This substudy from the FAVOR III China trial, in which diabetes was one of the prespecified factors for stratified randomization, compared clinical outcomes of QFR-guided vs angiography-guided PCI lesion selection according to the presence of diabetes. The primary endpoint was the 1-year risk of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) (a composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction, or ischemia-driven revascularization).Among 3,825 patients enrolled, 1,295 (33.9%) had diabetes, 347 (26.8%) of whom were treated with insulin. Baseline characteristics were well balanced between treatment arms in both diabetic and nondiabetic patients. Compared with standard angiography-based lesion selection, the QFR-guided strategy consistently reduced the risk of 1-year MACE in both diabetic patients (6.2% vs 9.6%; HR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.43-0.95) and nondiabetic patients (5.6% vs 8.3%; HR: 0.66; 95% CI: 0.49-0.89) (PA QFR-guided lesion selection strategy improves PCI outcomes compared with standard angiography guidance in patients both with and without diabetes. (The Comparison of Quantitative Flow Ratio Guided and Angiography Guided Percutaneous Intervention in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease [FAVOR III China Study]; NCT03656848).

Background The clinical value of monocyte count to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (MHR) in in-stent restenosis (ISR) of patients who have undergone bare metal stent implantation has been studied. However, the predictive value of MHR in ISR for patients who have undergone drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation has not been explored. Methods Non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) patients who had undergone DES implantation and coronary angiography follow-up at the Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2018, were retrospectively enrolled. Patients were divided into ISR and non-ISR groups depending on the follow-up coronary angiography results. Relative clinical information was recorded and analyzed. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to determine the optimum cut-off pre-procedural MHR to predict ISR. Results A total of 214 patients were enrolled in our study. The mean period between two coronary angiography procedures was 25.4±9.8 months. Percutaneous coronary intervention due to NSTE myocardial infarction, a bifurcation lesion, increased platelet count, and a high MHR were the independent risk factors in multivariate logistic regression analyses. Conclusion Our results indicated that elevated MHR is an independent and useful predictor of ISR in NSTE-ACS patients who have undergone DES implantation.

Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) are fundamental building blocks for flexible and large-area electronics due to their superior solution-processability, flexibility and stretchability. OFETs with high ideality are essential to their practical applications. In reality, however, many OFETs still suffer from non-ideal behaviors, such as gate-dependent mobility, which thus hinders the extraction of their intrinsic performance. It is much desired to gain a comprehensive understanding of the origins of these non-idealities. OFETs are primarily interface-related devices, and hence their performance and ideality are highly dependent on the interface properties between each device component. This review will focus on the recent progress in investigating the non-ideal behaviors of OFETs. In particular, the roles of interfaces, including the organic semiconductor (OSC)/dielectric interface, OSC/electrode interface and OSC/atmosphere interface, in determining the ideality of OFETs are summarized. Viable approaches through interface optimization to improve the device ideality are also reviewed. Finally, an overview of the outstanding challenges as well as the future development directions for the construction of ideal OFETs is given.

Objective. To clarify the effect of LINC00460 on mediating the proliferative ability of vascular endothelial cells (ECs) by targeting microRNA-24-3p (miRNA-24-3p), thus influencing the progression of atherosclerotic diseases. Methods. Relative levels of LINC00460 and miRNA-24-3p in ECs induced with different doses of ox-LDL (oxidized low density lipoprotein) for different time points were determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Influences of LINC00460 and miRNA-24-3p on the viability of ECs were assessed by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and 5-ethynyl-2 ′ -deoxyuridine (EdU) assay. Through dual-luciferase reporter gene assay, the binding between LINC00460 and miRNA-24-3p was evaluated. At last, rescue experiments were performed to identify the function of the LINC00460/miRNA-24-3p axis in regulating the proliferative ability of ECs. Results. LINC00460 was upregulated after ox-LDL treatment in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Viability of ECs gradually increased with the prolongation of ox-LDL treatment and the treatment of increased dose. The overexpression of LINC00460 enhanced the viability and EdU-positive rate in ECs treated with ox-LDL. miRNA-24-3p was the direct target of LINC00460, which was negatively regulated by LINC00460. miRNA-24-3p was downregulated with the prolongation of ox-LDL treatment. The overexpression of miRNA-24-3p could reverse the effect of LINC00460 on regulating the proliferative ability of ECs. Conclusions. LINC00460 regulates the proliferative ability of ECs and thus the occurrence and development of coronary atherosclerotic diseases by targeting miRNA-24-3p.

Objective: A large cohort of studies have addressed the therapeutic importance of microRNA (miR) in the treatment of myocardial infarction (MI). The current paper gives prominence to the role of miR-322-5p in MI by regulating B-cell translocation gene 2 (BTG2).Methods: In a rat model of MI miR-322-5p and BTG2 expression was estimated. Adenovirus that altered miR-322-5p or BTG2 expression was injected into MI rats. After that, cardiac function, inflammation, myocardial injury, pathological condition, apoptosis, and the NF-κB pathway-related genes in the myocardial tissue of MI rats after targeted treatment were evaluated. The targeting relationship between miR-322-5p and BTG2 was assessed.Results: miR-322-5p was lowly expressed and BTG2 was highly expressed in the myocardial tissue of MI rats. Restored miR-322-5p improved cardiac function, relived inflammation and myocardial injury, suppressed pathological condition and apoptosis and inactivated NF-κB pathway in MI rats. BTG2 expression was negatively mediated by miR-322-5p. Overexpressed BTG2 rescued miR-322-5p-induced cardioprotection on MI rats.Conclusion: It is evident that miR-322-5p protects against MI through suppressing BTG2 expression.

Jing Han,&ast; Ruofei Jia,&ast; Chengzhi Yang,&ast; Zening Jin Department of Cardiology and Macrovascular Disease, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Zening JinDepartment of Cardiology and Macrovascular Disease, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, No. 119 South Fourth Ring West Road, Beijing, 100070, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail jin_zening@ccmu.edu.cnAim: The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in 2019 has negatively impacted the care of patients with other life-threatening diseases, including acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, there is little published information concerning the depth of the impact on the clinical management and outcome following AMI.Methods: We enrolled patients with AMI who received urgent primary percutaneous coronary intervention at the Beijing Tiantan Hospital (Beijing, China) between December 1, 2019 and April 10, 2020. Patients were divided into 2 cohorts, the pre-COVID-19 group (from December 1, 2019 to January 31, 2020) and during-COVID-19 group (from February 1, 2020 to April 10, 2020) for analysis. The door-to-balloon (D to B) time, total hospitalization stay (days) and coronary care unit (CCU) hospitalization days were calculated. New York Heart Association heart functional class (NYHA class), re-hospitalization and death ratio in patients were assessed between the two cohorts.Results: A total of 148 AMI patients were enrolled in this study comprising 53 patients pre-COVID-19 group and 95 patients during-COVID-19 group. Patients with AMI during-COVID-19 group had longer symptom onset to hospital time (4.5 [2.0– 9.3] vs 3.0 [2.0– 5.0] hours, p = 0.013) and D to B time (96 [74– 119] vs 67 [52– 81] minutes, p < 0.001); the D to B time shortened during the study period. The two cohorts did not have significantly different number of hospitalization days, re-hospitalization rates, peak cTnI, BNP or death rates. For the one-year follow-up, the patients in the during-COVID-19 group were classified as NYHA class III–IV more frequently (9 [9.7%] vs 0 [0%], p=0.004).Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected one measure of critical care of patients with AMI, NYHA classification, which may have resulted in increased medical expenses.Keywords: acute myocardial infarction, COVID-19 pandemic, in-hospital outcome, New York Heart Association heart functional class

Growth of two-dimensional (2D) organic single crystals (2DOSCs) on water surface has attracted increasing attention, because it can serve as a molecularly flat and defect-free substrate. However, large-area growth of 2DOSCs with controllable crystal orientation on water surface remains a key challenge. Herein, we develop a simple method, i.e. external-force-driven solution epitaxy (EFDSE), for the large-area growth of 2DOSCs at air/water interface. Using 2,7-didecylbenzothienobenzothiophene (C10-BTBT) as an example, high-quality 2D C10-BTBT crystals on centimeter scale are generated by directionally controlling the spreading of organic solution on water surface with external force. Benefiting from the controllable crystal orientation with optimal charge transport, the corresponding 2DOSC-based organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) exhibit a high carrier mobility of 13.5 cm2·V-1·s-1 (effective mobility ≈ 5.4 cm2·V-1·s-1 according to a reliability factor of 40%), which represents the best result achieved for water-surface-assembled 2DOSC-based OFETs. Furthermore, by transferring the C10-BTBT 2DOSCs to flexible substrates, devices with excellent bending stability are achieved. It is anticipated that our method will provide new insight into the controllable growth of large-area 2DOSCs for high-performance organic devices.

Additional file1: Table S1: Subgroup analysis comparing successful CTO-PCI versus failed CTO-PCI, initial MT in DM patients. Table S2: Subgroup analysis comparing successful CTO-PCI versus failed CTO-PCI, initial MT in non-DM patients. Figure S1: Forest plot comparing MACEs following successful CTO-PCI in patients with versus without DM. MACEs, major adverse cardiac events; CTO, chronic total occlusions; PCI, percutaneous coronary intervention; DM, diabetes mellitus. Figure S2: Funnel plot assessing the publica bias of the studies reporting risk of MACEs following successful CTO-PCI in patients with or without DM. MACEs, major adverse cardiac events; CTO, chronic total occlusions; PCI, percutaneous coronary intervention; DM, diabetes mellitus. Figure S3 Funnel plot assessing the publica bias of the studies reporting risk of MACEs following successful CTO-PCI in patients with or without DM in the subgroups. MACEs, major adverse cardiac events; CTO, chronic total occlusions; PCI, percutaneous coronary intervention; DM, diabetes mellitus. Figure S4 Funnel plot assessing the publica bias of studies reporting the risk of secondary endpoints following successful CTO-PCI in patients with versus without DM. MACEs, major adverse cardiac events; CTO, chronic total occlusions; PCI, percutaneous coronary intervention; DM, diabetes mellitus.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-COV-2), has compromised health care systems and normal management of patients with cardiovascular diseases [1–3]. Patients with non-communicable diseases, including acute myocardial infarction (AMI) are vulnerable to this stress [4, 5]. Acute ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), the most critical type of AMI, is associated with high mortality even with modern medicine [6–8]. Timely reperfusion therapy is critical for STEMI patients because a short ischemia time is associated with better clinical outcomes and lower acute and long -term mortality [9–12]. The COVID-19 pandemic placed the management of STEMI patients in a difficult situation due to the need to balance timely reperfusion therapy and maintaining strict infection control practices [13, 14]. Telemedicine, which is used to deliver health care services using information or communication technology, provides an opportunity to carry out the evaluation, diagnosis, and even monitor the patients after discharge when social distancing is needed [15]. In this article, we reported our preliminary experience with the usefulness of telemedicine in managing STEMI patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also provided a review of this topic.

Background Diabetes mellitus (DM) is highly prevalent among patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for chronic total occlusion (CTO). Therefore, the purpose of our study was to investigate the clinical outcomes of CTO-PCI in patients with or without DM. Methods All relevant articles published in electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library) from inception to August 7, 2020 were identified with a comprehensive literature search. Additionally, we defined major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) as the primary endpoint and used risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to express the pooled effects in this meta-analysis. Results Eleven studies consisting of 4238 DM patients and 5609 non-DM patients were included in our meta-analysis. For DM patients, successful CTO-PCI was associated with a significantly lower risk of MACEs (RR = 0.67, 95% CI 0.55–0.82, p = 0.0001), all-cause death (RR = 0.46, 95% CI 0.38–0.56, p p p = 0.03) than DM patients after successful CTO-PCI, especially in the subgroup with a follow-up period of less than 3 years (RR = 1.43, 95% CI 1.22–1.67, p Conclusions Compared with CTO-MT alone, successful CTO-PCI was found to be related to a better long-term prognosis in DM patients but not in non-DM patients. However, compared with non-DM patients, the risk of MACEs may be higher in DM patients after successful CTO-PCI in the drug-eluting stent era, especially during a follow-up period shorter than 3 years.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been considered as crucial regulators of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). In this study, to analyze the effect of differentiation antagonizing nonprotein coding RNA (DANCR) of lncRNA on cardiomyocyte damage in AMI, cardiomyocyte injury was induced by oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD). Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and flow cytometry were used to assess cell viability and apoptosis, respectively. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure the expression levels of DANCR and miR-19a-3p. Bioinformatics analysis and luciferase gene reporter assay were utilized to explore the relationship among DANCR, miR-19a-3p, and mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 (MAPK1). CCK-8 and TUNEL assays were used to explore the effects of DANCR alone or plus miR-19a-3p on the viability and apoptosis of OGD/R-exposed HL-1 cells. Western blot analysis was used to detect changes in the MAPK1/ERK1/2 pathway in HL-1 cells. We found that DANCR expression and miR-19a-3p level are negatively correlated as DANCR expression is increased, while miR-19a-3p level is decreased in AMI patients' serum and OGD/R-exposed HL-1 cells. DANCR knockdown increased miR-19a-3p level, and miR-19a-3p inhibition increased DANCR expression. Moreover, DANCR directly binds to miR-19a-3p. DANCR knockdown reduced viability but induced apoptosis in OGD/R-exposed HL-1 cells, while miR-19a-3p inhibition weakens these effects. Furthermore, MAPK1 is a target of miR-19a-3p. miR-19a-3p overexpression decreases MAPK1 and ERK1/2 in HL-1 cells, while miR-19a-3p inhibition increases MAPK1 and ERK1/2 in HL-1 cells. Moreover, DANCR knockdown reduces myocardium apoptosis in mice with the left anterior descending artery ligated. DANCR knockdown effectively restores myocardial cell apoptosis by regulating the miR-19a-3p/MAPK1/ERK1/2 axis.

BACKGROUND The efficacy of telemedicine in reducing delay times and short-term adverse clinical outcomes in patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is unclear. This study compared outcomes in patients with STEMI who had percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and the use of a telemedicine app from August 2019 to March 2020 at a single center in Beijing, China. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 243 patients with STEMI who underwent PCI were consecutively enrolled and divided into 2 groups according to the date, before or after the pandemic. The 2 groups were further divided into patients who used the app for consulting and those who did not. RESULTS The time from symptom onset to calling an ambulance (SCT), door to balloon time (DTB), and total ischemia time (TIT) were significantly prolonged in patients after the pandemic. Patients who used the app had shorter SCT, DTB, and TIT before and after the pandemic compared to those who did not. Adverse clinical outcomes were significantly higher after compared with before the pandemic, despite the incidence rate of stroke, any revascularization, and stent thrombosis. However, there was no significant difference in short-term adverse clinical outcomes between patients who used the app and those who did not before and after the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS Telemedicine reduced the delay time of STEMI patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. The difference in short-term adverse clinical outcomes was not statistically significant between patients who used the app and those who did not.

BackgroundLeft ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) occurs frequently after acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The predisposing factors and underlying mechanism of post-infarct LVSD are not fully understood. The present study mainly investigated the correlation between glycaemic gap, a novel index of stress-induced hyperglycaemia (SIH), and post-infarct LVSD.MethodsA total of 274 first STEMI patients were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Transthoracic echocardiography was performed within 48 h after admission and at 6 months after discharge to obtain left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). The change in LVEF was calculated as LVEF at 6 months after discharge minus baseline LVEF. Additionally, post-infarct LVSD was defined as LVEF ≤ 50%. Most importantly, glycaemic gap was calculated as admission blood glucose (ABG) minus the estimated average glucose over the previous 3 months.ResultsIn patients without diabetes mellitus (DM), multivariate linear regression analysis revealed that both glycaemic gap (Beta = − 1.214, 95% CI − 1.886 to − 0.541, p ConclusionsGlycaemic gap was strongly associated with a change in LVEF and an increased risk of having post-infarct LVSD in patients following STEMI. In STEMI patients with DM, glycaemic gap could provide more valuable information than ABG in identifying patients at high risk of developing post-infarct LVSD.

Background Immediate and long-term functional outcomes after percutaneous treatment of small vessel disease (SVD) with drug-coated balloon (DCB) versus drug-eluting stent (DES) remain unknown. The study sought to investigate whether treatment of de novo SVD with DCB yields similar functional results compared with DES, as judged with angiography-based quantitative flow ratio (QFR). Methods and results QFR was measured at pre-procedural, post-procedural and 9-month angiography in all available subjects from the non-inferiority RESTORE SVD China trial, in which patients were randomized to Restore DCB (n = 116) or Resolute DES (n = 114) study arms. Primary outcome of this analysis was 9-month QFR. Pre-procedural, post-procedural and 9-month QFR was performed in 84.8% (195/230), 83.0% (191/230) and 93.8% (181/193) cases, respectively. At 9 months, the QFR of DCB showed no significant difference to DES (0.88 ± 0.23 vs. 0.92 ± 0.12, p = 0.12). Both 9-month QFR and the QFR difference between post-procedure and 9-month follow-up were correlated with angiographic percentage of diameter stenosis and late loss, and predictive of 2-year clinical outcome. Conclusions Treatment of coronary SVD with DCB resulted in similar 9-month functional results compared with DES. This study provides evidences to the value of QFR as a mean of evaluating device performance after coronary revascularization. Clinical trial registration URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; ClinicalTrial.gov: Identifier: NCT02946307 .

Additional file 1: Table S1. Procedural characteristics of patients enrolled.

Recreating the visual-perception properties using organic electronic devices is highly desired for visual prosthetics and artificial intelligence. Although the integration of organic light-sensing components with synaptic devices can realize the recognition and memory functions for perceived images, complicated problems in device integration for practical applications are generally encountered. Here we demonstrate a new type of organic photosynaptic device based on organic molecular crystals, which can provide optical-sensing and synaptic functions together in one device by means of a unique photon-induced charge transfer effect. This device successfully emulates the working principles of human visual perception in terms of short-term plasticity, long-term potentiation, and spike-timing-dependent plasticity. Moreover, a proof-of-concept artificial image-perception system is demonstrated by integrating the photosynapses on a flexible substrate. The new devices using organic semiconductors may open up innovative application areas, such as artificially intelligent electronic and perception systems, and facilitate the integration of such devices into next-generation flexible and stretchable electronics. A device powered by organic crystals can act as an artificial vision system capable of recognizing and remembering optical images. Jiansheng Jie from Soochow University in Suzhou, China and colleagues fabricated light-sensitive thiophene-based crystals on top of an array of field-effect transistors. When light strikes the crystal’s upper surface, the photons are converted into electrical charges, emulating the actions of nerve cells in the retinas. The photogenerated charges then migrate into the transistors, where they can be electrically manipulated for image perception. For example, steady accumulation of charges in the transistors mimics how the brain builds memories by strengthening synapses over time. A prototype integrated onto a flexible substrate proved capable of resolving illuminated letters and retaining the image for several minutes after removing the optical signal. Organic molecular crystals (OMCs) are shown to be an ideal material for organic photosynaptic devices, which provide homophylic memory and transinformation functions of neurons by means of a unique photon-induced charge transfer effect. As a result, a proof-of-concept artificial image-perception system is demonstrated by integrating the OMC-based photosynapses on a flexible substrate.

Associations between elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and the angina pectoris risk have been reported for many years, but the results remain controversial. To address this issue, a meta-analysis was therefore conducted. Eligible studies were identified by searching PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane library, and web of science up to January 2019. Altogether, 10 prospective cohort studies and 11 case-control studies were included, and they were published from 1997 to 2013 and summed up to 18,316 samples totally. The pooled mean difference of CRP levels was 4.44 (95% confidence interval 2.71 to 6.17) between angina patients and healthy controls. The combined odds ratio of CRP for major adverse cardiac events in angina patients was 1.67 (95% CI 1.23 to 2.26). In conclusion, the meta-analysis indicated that elevated CRP levels were associated with angina pectoris, especially unstable angina pectoris, and were probably a risk factor of major adverse cardiac events.

We report direct in situ selective growth of hierarchical GaN block-like nanoflakes on the graphene nanosheets without a seed/catalyst. The selective growth behavior is attributed to surface dangling bonds and edge terraces of graphene nanosheets, especially the edge terraces on the boundaries can play a important role on the position constrain of grown GaN nanoflakes. The GaN showed polycrystalline hexagonal wurtzite structure, and with the morphology, diameter and density depended strongly on the gas flow rate. The suitable gas flow rate results in the appropriate nucleation of GaN on the rGO nanosheet and the adatoms migrated to their suitable position towards the [11-22] direction, thereby producing in situ block-like GaN nanoflakes selective growth without assist of a seed or catalyst. Furthermore, the GaN nanoflakes/rGO hybrids suggests good UV-vis absorption and photoluminescence properties. These results demonstrate it provides a efficient route for the growth of hierarchical GaN nanostructures on the graphene nanosheets, which are highly desirable for fabricating GaN/rGO hybrid optoelectronic devices, particularly for photodetectors, sensors and photocatalysis.

The coronary guidewire re-crossing position before the final kissing balloon post-dilation is important to reduce the incidence of incomplete stent apposition in bifurcation lesions. Angiography and intravascular ultrasonography are unreliable at detecting the site of wire re-crossing. The high resolution of optical coherence tomography (OCT) offers the advantage of precise assessment of construction in bifurcation. However, the OCT technique still has some limitations, including the requirement for additional contrast and expense. We present two cases where the ClearStent Live system technique was used to estimate the wire location, which was verified by using OCT. In conclusion, ClearStent can be used with or to replace the intracoronary imaging technique in selected cases.

Plaques with a large necrotic core or lipid pool and thin-cap fibroatheroma manifest as attenuated plaques on intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). Their impact on TIMI grade flow and clinical outcomes remains undefined. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to summarize the association between attenuated plaque and distal embolization and clinical outcomes of coronary artery disease (CAD) from pooled data of published eligible cohort studies.We searched the literature on TIMI grade flow and clinical outcomes on PubMed, Ovid, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, CNKI and WanFang databases. Study heterogeneity and publication bias were estimated.A total of 3,833 patients were enrolled in nine studies. Five studies investigated TIMI grade flow and attenuated plaques. They revealed no difference in TIMI grade flow before percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) between the attenuated and non-attenuated plaque group (RR =1.25; 95% CI: 0.65 to 2.41; P=0.50). After balloon dilation and stent implantation, the incidence of TIMI 0~2 grade flow in the attenuated plaque group was statistically significant higher than that of the non-attenuated plaque group (RR =4.73; 95% CI: 3.03 to 7.40; P0.001). Five other studies investigated major cardiovascular events (MACEs) and attenuated plaques and found no difference in MACE rates within three years of follow up.Our study presents the evidence that plaque with ultrasound signal attenuation would induce slow/no reflow phenomenon and distal embolization during PCI, but this appearance has no impact on MACE rates within three years.

Objective: Adiponectin receptor 1 (encoded by ADIPOR1) is one of the major adiponectin receptors, and plays an important role in glucose and lipid metabolism. However, few studies have reported simultaneous associations between ADIPOR1 variants and type 2 diabetes (T2D), coronary artery disease (CAD) and T2D with CAD. Based on the "common soil" hypothesis, we investigated whether ADIPOR1 polymorphisms contributed to the etiology of T2D, CAD, or T2D with CAD in a Northern Han Chinese population. Methods: Our multi-disease comparison study enrolled 657 subjects, including 165 with T2D, 173 with CAD, 174 with both T2D and CAD (T2D+CAD), and 145 local healthy controls. Six ADIPOR1 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped and their association with disease risk was analyzed. Results: Multi-case-control comparison identified two ADIPOR1 variants: rs3737884-G, which was simultaneously associated with an increased risk of T2D, CAD, and T2D+CAD (P-value range, 9.80×10-5-6.30×10-4; odds ratio (OR) range: 1.96-2.42) and 16850797-C, which was separately associated with T2D and T2D+CAD (P-value range: 0.007-0.014; OR range: 1.71-1.77). The risk genotypes of both rs3737884 and 16850797 were consistently associated with common metabolic phenotypes in all three diseases (P-value range: 4.81×10 -42-0.001). We observed an increase in the genetic dose-dependent cumulative risk with increasing risk allele numbers in T2D, CAD and T2D+CAD (Ptrend from 1.35×10-5-0.002). Conclusions: Our results suggest that ADIPOR1 risk polymorphisms are a strong candidate for the "common soil" hypothesis and could partially contribute to disease susceptibility to T2D, CAD, and T2D with CAD in the Northern Han Chinese population. © 2014 Jin et al.