Elevated meteorin-like protein from high-intensity interval training improves heart function via AMPK/HDAC4 pathway.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has been found to be more effective in relieving heart failure (HF) symptoms, than moderate-intensity continuous aerobic training (MICT). Additionally, higher meteorin-like protein (Metrnl) levels are seen after HIIT versus MICT. We investigated whether Metrnl contributed to post-HF cardiac functional improvements, and the signaling pathways involved. 50 HF patients underwent MICT, and another 50, HIIT, which was followed by cardiac function and serum Metrnl measurements. Metrnl was also measured in both blood and skeletal muscle samples of mice with transverse aortic constriction-induced HF after undergoing HIIT. Afterward, shRNA-containing adenovectors were injected into mice, yielding five groups: control, HF, HF + HIIT + scrambled shRNA, HF + HIIT + shMetrnl, and HF + Metrnl (HF + exogenous Metrnl). Mass spectrometry identified specific signaling pathways associated with increased Metrnl, which was confirmed with biochemical analyses. Glucose metabolism and mitochondrial functioning were evaluated in cardiomyocytes from the five groups. Both HF patients and mice had higher circulating Metrnl levels post-HIIT. Metrnl activated AMPK in cardiomyocytes, subsequently increasing histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4) phosphorylation, leading to its cytosolic sequestration and inactivation via binding with chaperone protein 14-3-3. HDAC4 inactivation removed its repression on glucose transporter type 4, which, along with increased mitochondrial complex I-V expression, yielded improved aerobic glucose respiration and alleviation of mitochondrial dysfunction. All these changes ultimately result in improved post-HF cardiac functioning. HIIT increased skeletal muscle Metrnl production, which then operated on HF hearts to alleviate their functional defects, via increasing aerobic glucose metabolism through AMPK-HDAC4 signaling.

Metagenomic analysis reveals high diversity of gut viromes in yaks (Bos grunniens) from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP), renowned for its exceptional biological diversity, is home to numerous endemic species. However, research on the virology of vulnerable vertebrates like yaks remains limited. In this study, our objective was to use metagenomics to provide a comprehensive understanding of the diversity and evolution of the gut virome in yak populations across different regions of the QTP. Our findings revealed a remarkably diverse array of viruses in the gut of yaks, including those associated with vertebrates and bacteriophages. Notably, some vertebrate-associated viruses, such as astrovirus and picornavirus, showed significant sequence identity across diverse yak populations. Additionally, we observed differences in the functional profiles of genes carried by the yak gut virome across different regions. Moreover, the virus-bacterium symbiotic network that we discovered holds potential significance in maintaining the health of yaks. Overall, this research expands our understanding of the viral communities in the gut of yaks and highlights the importance of further investigating the interactions between viruses and their hosts. These data will be beneficial for revealing the crucial role that viruses play in the yak gut ecology in future studies.

Ultrathin Small Outline Package Key Techniques for High-Speed Chips with Multi-Leads.

The key technologies for the ultrathin small outline package (TSOP) of large-sized high-speed chips have been designed and developed in this paper. The designing techniques, such as a 25 µm precise positioning dice attaching technique, a lead frame unit structure without a base island, and a lead co-plane layout inside the frame, were developed. The TSO package outline with a large number of leads, a frame unit arrangement, and a frame distribution with a base island and without one were improved. The technological problems, including the reduction in thickness, wafer cutting, chip sticking bonding, and plastic sealing, were successfully solved. The designed large-sized package products have many advantages, such as high availability, low cost, high reliability, and a short production cycle. This package technique can be widely used in various intellectual application regions.

Design of Miniaturized and Wideband Four-Port MIMO Antenna Pair for WiFi.

A miniaturized and wideband four-port multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna pair for Wi-Fi mobile terminals application is proposed. The proposed antenna pair consists of four multi-branch antenna elements arranged orthogonally, with an overall size of 40 × 40 × 3.5 mm3 and each antenna element size of 15.2 × 3.5 mm × 0.8 mm3. The performance of the proposed antenna shows the advantages of a wide frequency band, low mutual coupling, high efficiency, and a compact structure. The wideband characteristics of the antenna elements are achieved through multi-mode resonance. The suppression of coupling is accomplished by strategically positioning the four compact antenna elements to ensure their maximum radiation directions are orthogonal, thus eliminating the need for an additional decoupling structure. In this paper, the proposed antenna is optimized in terms of the parameters then simulated and measured. The simulated results illustrate that an impedance bandwidth of the antenna is about 15% (5.06~5.88 GHz) with S11 < -10 dB, excellent port isolation exceeds 20 dB between all ports, a high radiation efficiency ranges from 51.2% to 89.9%, the maximum gain is 4.5 dBi, and the ECCs are less than 0.04. The measured results show that the -10 dB impedance bandwidth of the antenna is about 13% (5.13~5.80 GHz), the isolation between the antenna elements is better than 21 dB, the radiation efficiency ranges from 51.8% to 92.3%, the maximum gain is 5.3 dBi, and the ECCs are less than 0.05. The proposed four-port MIMO antenna works on the 5G LTE band 46 and Wi-Fi 6E operating bands. As a mobile terminal antenna, the proposed design scheme demonstrates excellent performance and applicability, fulfilling the requirements for 5G mobile terminal applications.

Differences between the intestinal microbial communities of healthy dogs from plateau and those of plateau dogs infected with Echinococcus.

OBJECTIVE: Cystic echinococcosis (CE) represents a profoundly perilous zoonotic disease. The advent of viral macrogenomics has facilitated the exploration of hitherto uncharted viral territories. In the scope of this investigation, our objective is to scrutinize disparities in the intestinal microbiotic ecosystems of canines dwelling in elevated terrains and those afflicted by Echinococcus infection, employing the tool of viral macrogenomics. METHODS: In this study, we collected a comprehensive total of 1,970 fecal samples from plateau dogs infected with Echinococcus, as well as healthy control plateau dogs from the Yushu and Guoluo regions in the highland terrain of China. These samples were subjected to viral macrogenomic analysis to investigate the viral community inhabiting the canine gastrointestinal tract. RESULTS: Our meticulous analysis led to the identification of 136 viral genomic sequences, encompassing eight distinct viral families. CONCLUSION: The outcomes of this study hold the potential to enhance our comprehension of the intricate interplay between hosts, parasites, and viral communities within the highland canine gut ecosystem. Through the examination of phage presence, it may aid in early detection or assessment of infection severity, providing valuable insights into Echinococcus infection and offering prospects for potential treatment strategies.

Influence of pasteurization and spray drying on the fat digestion behavior of human milk fat analog emulsion: a simulated in vitro infant digestion study.

BACKGROUND: Human milk fat analog emulsion (HMFAE) is an emulsion that mimics the composition and structure of human milk (HM) fat globules. The application of HMFAE in infant formula requires a series of milk powder processing steps, such as pasteurization and spray drying. However, the effect of milk powder processing on fat digestion of HMFAE is still unclear. In this study, the influence of pasteurization and spray drying on the lipolysis behavior of HMFAE was studied and compared with HM using a simulated infant in vitro digestion model. RESULTS: Pasteurization and spray drying increased the flocculation and aggregation of lipid droplets in HMFAE during digestion. Spray drying destroyed the lipid droplet structure of HMFAE, and partial milk fat globule membrane-covered lipid droplets turned into protein-covered lipid droplets, which aggravated lipid-protein aggregation during gastric digestion and hindered fat digestion in the small intestine. The final lipolysis degree was in the order HM (64.55%) > HMFAE (63.41%) > pasteurized HMFAE (61.75%) > spray-dried HMFAE (60.57%). After complete gastrointestinal digestion, there were no significant differences in free fatty acid and sn-2 monoacylglycerol profile among the HMFAE, pasteurized HMFAE, and spray-dried HMFAE. CONCLUSION: Milk powder processing can reduce lipolysis by altering the lipid droplet structure of HMFAE and the degree of lipid droplet aggregation during digestion. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Meteorin-like protein elevation post-exercise improved vascular inflammation among coronary artery disease patients by downregulating NLRP3 inflammasome activity.

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery disease (CAD) has become the most common cause of death worldwide. However, the negative effects of CAD are able to be alleviated via exercises, possibly via increased production of meteorin-like protein (Metrnl). In this study, we aim to evaluate the connection between Metrnl production during exercise with lowered CAD risk and severity. METHODS: Two age and gender-matched groups of 60 human patients, one with CAD, and one without were randomly recruited. The CAD group were subjected to continuous training exercises. Mice were exercised by using a treadmill, establishing an animal exercise model. ELISA was used to measure plasma Metrnl and inflammatory factors. To determine the impact of Metrnl on glucose metabolism, oxygen consumption and extracellular acid rates were taken for untreated, palmitic acid (PA)-treated, and PA+Metrnl co-treated human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Western blot was used to measure expression levels for the NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 inflammasome. RESULTS: CAD patients had lower Metrnl levels compared to non-CAD controls. Furthermore, higher Metrnl levels post-exercise were inversely associated with LDL, inflammatory cytokines, and CAD severity, as well as being positively associated with HDL. Metrnl was able to counteract against PA-induced HUVEC glucose metabolic dysfunction via reducing ROS production, which in turn lowered NLRP3 inflammasome expression, thereby serving as the basis behind the inverse correlation between Metrnl and inflammatory cytokines. CONCLUSIONS: Exercise was able to increase Metrnl production from skeletal muscle among CAD patients, and subsequently improve patient atherosclerosis via counteracting against endothelial metabolic dysfunction and pro-inflammatory activities.

Toxic vascular effects of polystyrene microplastic exposure.

Polystyrene microplastics (PSMPs) are some of the most common microplastic components, and the resulting pollution has become a global problem. Extensive studies have been conducted on the toxic effects of PSMPs on the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, nerves, intestines and other tissues. However, the impact of PSMPs on vascular toxicity is poorly understood at present. The aim of this study was to reveal the vascular toxicity of microplastics (MPs). Patients were assigned to a calcification group (25 patients) or a non-calcification group (22 patients) based on the presence or absence of calcification in the thoracic aorta wall. We detected 7 polymer types in human feces. Patients with vascular calcification (VC) had higher levels of total MPs, polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS) in feces than patients without VC. The thoracic aortic calcification score was significantly positively correlated with the total MP abundance (Spearman r = 0.8109, p < 0.0001), PP (Spearman r = 0.7211, p = 0.0160) and PS (Spearman r = 0.6523, p = 0.0471) in feces. We then explored the effects of PSMP exposure on normal and vitamin D3 + nicotine (VDN)-treated rats. PSMP exposure induced mild VC in normal rats and aggravated VC in VDN-treated rats. PSMP exposure disturbed the gut microbiota, causing Proteobacteria and Escherichia_Shigella to be the dominant phylum and genus, respectively. It also induced intestinal inflammatory responses in normal rats, aggravated intestinal inflammation in VDN-treated rats, impaired the intestinal mucosal barrier, and increased intestinal permeability. This study provides a theoretical basis for the risk assessment of MP-induced cardiovascular disease.

Virome of high-altitude canine digestive tract and genetic characterization of novel viruses potentially threatening human health.

The majority of currently emerging infectious illnesses are zoonotic infections, which have caused serious public health and economic implications. The development of viral metagenomics has helped us to explore unknown viruses. We collected 1,970 canine feces from Yushu and Guoluo in the plateau region of China for this study to do a metagenomics analysis of the viral community of the canine digestive tract. Our analysis identified 203 novel viruses, classified into 11 known families and 2 unclassified groups. These viruses include the hepatitis E virus, first identified in dogs, and the astrovirus, coronavirus, polyomavirus, and others. The relationship between the newly identified canine viruses and known viruses was investigated through the use of phylogenetic analysis. Furthermore, we demonstrated the cross-species transmission of viruses and predicted new viruses that may cause diseases in both humans and animals, providing technical support for the prevention and control of diseases caused by environmental pollution viruses. IMPORTANCE Most emerging infectious diseases are due to zoonotic disease agents. Because of their effects on the security of human or animal life, agriculture production, and food safety, zoonotic illnesses and livestock diseases are of worldwide significance. Because dogs are closely related to humans and domestic animals, they serve as one of the important links in the transmission of zoonotic and livestock diseases. Canines can contaminate the environment in which humans live such as water and soil through secretions, potentially altering the human gut microbiota or causing diseases. Our study enriched the viral community in the digestive tract microbiome of dogs and found types of viruses that threaten human health, providing technical support for the prevention and control of early warning of diseases caused by environmental contaminant viruses.

Analysis of Himalayan marmot distribution and plague risk in Qinghai province of China using the "3S" technology.

To provide guidance for plague surveillance and a reliable basis for plague prevention and control, we analyzed the habitat characteristics of Himalayan marmots, developed Himalayan marmot information collection system V3.0 based on global navigation satellite system (GNSS), remote sensing, and geographic information system ("3S") technology, and drew a predictive spatial distribution map of Himalayan marmots in Qinghai Province. Field survey data of 352 marmot plague sites in Qinghai Province were collected in 2014, and the data from 80 sample sites were included. The Himalayan marmot habitat characteristics were analyzed based on "3S" technology using five environment variables (elevation, slope, aspect, vegetation cover, and grass type) and the geographical coordinates. Himalayan marmot information collection system V3.0, which has been approved by the National Copyright Administration of the People's Republic of China (No.00764743), was used to draw a predictive spatial distribution map of Himalayan marmots in Qinghai province. Moreover, from 2015 to 2017, positioning data of the plague-foci and plague-free areas in Qinghai Province were collected using GNSS receptor for field validations to verify the accuracy of the marmot predictive spatial distribution map. Elevation, slope, vegetation cover, and grassland type were identified as important environmental factors that determine the spatial distribution of Himalayan marmots. The suitable range of environmental features was 3400-4600 m elevation, 5°-20° slope, 0.60-1.00 vegetation cover, and alpine meadows. The Himalayan marmot predictive spatial distribution map in Qinghai Province based on "3S" technology and marmot information collection system V3.0 had a spatial resolution of 30 m. Field validation in areas of Qinghai Province revealed a prediction accuracy and mean absolute error of 0.8669 and 0.1331, respectively, which indicated excellent prediction accuracy. This study greatly improved the work efficiency of plague surveillance and effectively reduced the work intensity of researchers. Application of "3S" technology and marmot information collection system V3.0 has improved the data collection efficiency, provided new technical means for plague investigation and research, and provided a reference for development of plague surveillance programs. The research results will play a positive role in promoting the improvement and perfection of plague prevention and control strategies in Qinghai province and even in China.

Slow flow induces endothelial dysfunction by regulating thioredoxin-interacting protein-mediated oxidative metabolism and vascular inflammation.

Endothelial cells are highly sensitive to hemodynamic shear stresses, which act in the blood flow's direction on the blood vessel's luminal surface. Thus, endothelial cells on that surface are exposed to various physiological and pathological stimuli, such as disturbed flow-induced shear stress, which may exert effects on adaptive vascular diameter or structural wall remodeling. Here we showed that plasma thioredoxin-interactive protein (TXNIP) and malondialdehyde levels were significantly increased in patients with slow coronary flow. In addition, human endothelial cells exposed to disturbed flow exhibited increased levels of TXNIP in vitro. On the other hand, deletion of human endothelial TXNIP increased capillary formation, nitric oxide production and mitochondrial function, as well as lessened oxidative stress response and endothelial cell inflammation. Additional beneficial impacts from TXNIP deletion were also seen in a glucose utilization study, as reflected by augmented glucose uptake, lactate secretion and extracellular acidification rate. Taken together, our results suggested that TXNIP is a key component involved in mediating shear stress-induced inflammation, energy homeostasis, and glucose utilization, and that TXNIP may serve as a potentially novel endothelial dysfunction regulator.

Design of Wideband Decoupling Antenna Pairs for 5G Portable Devices at N77/N78/N79 Bands.

We proposed an antenna pair that is applicable for mobile terminals: a type of coupling feed planar antenna that has a size of 28×6 mm2, a wide band, coupling suppression and compact size. Different from the conventional antenna design, the process of band expansion comes from a dual-band antenna pair and is based on characteristic modes theory (CMA). By observing characteristic current distributions, the optimization emphasis is placed on current sensitive parts in antenna structures, which is an effective method to create or modify resonant points for exciting band potential. Meanwhile, the multiple defective ground structure (DGS) is introduced for isolation enhancement. The −10 dB bandwidth of 3.23−5.24 GHz can be realized, and the isolation of two antenna pairs with only 2 mm spacing is lower (−17.34 dB). The eight-port MIMO system constructed by four proposed antenna pairs has been fabricated. The simulated and measured results of MIMO indicate that its −10 dB operating bandwidth can work at N77/N78/N79/WLAN 5 GHz bands. Moreover, a lower ECC of less than 0.04 and a high efficiency of more than 60% can be obtained, which confirms that it is capable of excellent data transmission as a terminal MIMO antenna system.

Beneficial effect of the short-chain fatty acid propionate on vascular calcification through intestinal microbiota remodelling.

BACKGROUND: Vascular calcification is a major cause of the high morbidity and mortality of cardiovascular diseases and is closely associated with the intestinal microbiota. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are derived from the intestinal microbiota and can also regulate intestinal microbiota homeostasis. However, it remains unclear whether exogenous supplementation with propionate, a SCFA, can ameliorate vascular calcification by regulating the intestinal microbiota. This study was conducted to explore the roles of propionate and the intestinal microbiota in the process of vascular calcification. METHODS: In total, 92 patients were enrolled consecutively as the observational cohort to analyse the relationship between SCFAs and vascular calcification in both blood and faecal samples. A rat model of vascular calcification was induced by vitamin D3 and nicotine (VDN) to validate the effect of propionate. Differences in the intestinal microbiota were analysed by 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing. Faecal microbiota transplantation and Akkermansia muciniphila transplantation experiments were performed to evaluate the functions of the intestinal microbiota. RESULTS: The results of the observational cohort study revealed that the levels of SCFAs (particularly propionate) in both blood and faecal samples independently correlated negatively with calcification scores (P < 0.01). To verify the activities of propionate, it was provided to VDN-treated rats, and oral or rectal propionate delivery reshaped the intestinal microbiota, resulted in elevated SCFA production, improved intestinal barrier function and alleviated inflammation, ultimately ameliorating vascular calcification. Furthermore, we demonstrated that transplantation of the propionate-modulated intestinal microbiota induced beneficial outcomes similar to those with oral or rectal propionate administration. Interestingly, linear discriminant analysis (LDA) effect size (LEfSe) revealed that oral or rectal propionate administration and propionate-modulated intestinal microbiota transplantation both enriched primarily Akkermansia. Subsequently, we demonstrated that Akkermansia supplementation could ameliorate VDN-induced vascular calcification in rats. CONCLUSIONS: Propionate can significantly ameliorate vascular calcification in VDN-treated rats, and this effect is mediated by intestinal microbiota remodelling. The findings in our study indicate that the intestinal tract-vessel axis is a promising target for alleviating vascular calcification. Video Abstract.

Antiocclusion Visual Tracking Algorithm Combining Fully Convolutional Siamese Network and Correlation Filtering.

Machine learning only uses single-channel grayscale features to model the target, and the filter solution process is relatively simple. When the target has a large change relative to the initial frame, the tracking effect is poor. When there is the same kind of target interference in the target search area, the tracking results will be poor. The tracking algorithm based on the fully convolutional Siamese network can solve these problems. By learning the similarity measurement function, the similarity between the template and the target search area is evaluated, and the target area is found according to the similarity. It adopts offline pre-training and does not update online for tracking, which has a faster tracking speed. According to this study, (1) considering the accuracy and speed, the target tracking algorithm based on correlation filtering performs well. A sample adaptive update model is introduced to eliminate unreliable samples, which effectively enhances the reliability of training samples. With simultaneous changes in illumination and scale, fast motion and in-plane rotation IPR can still be maintained. (2) Determined by calculating the Hessian matrix, in the Struck function, Bike3 parameter adjustment can achieve fast tracking, and Boat5 ensures that the system stability is maintained in the presence of interference factors. The position of the highest scoring point in the fine similarity score map of the same size as the search image is obtained by bicubic interpolation as the target position. (3) The parallax discontinuity caused by the object boundary cannot be directly processed as a smooth continuous parallax. The MeanShift vector obtained by calculating the target template feature and the feature to be searched can increase the accuracy by 53.1%, reduce the robustness by 31.8%, and reduce the error by 28.6% in the SiamVGG algorithm.

Renal Safety and Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System Inhibitors in Patients With Contrast Media Exposure: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Study.

ABSTRACT: There is no clear consensus on the safety of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors in patients with contrast media exposure. We aimed to assess the safety of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors in patients exposed to contrast media at 1-year follow-up. Patients treated with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker (ACEI/ARB) were recruited and randomly divided into 2 groups (1:1 ratio): with ACEI/ARB group (ACEI/ARB continued throughout the study period) and without ACEI/ARB group (ACEI/ARB stopped 24 hours before and continued 48 hours after the procedure). The primary endpoint was contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) and secondary endpoints were major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs), and the need for renal replacement therapy during hospitalization and at 1-year follow-up. The occurrence rates of CI-AKI were not comparable in the ACEI/ARB group and the without ACEI/ARB group (2.92% and 2.62%, respectively; P = 0.866). No significant between-group differences were found with respect to the frequency of MACEs or renal replacement therapy during hospitalization and at 1-year follow-up. On subgroup analysis, among patients with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 45 mL/min, the incidence of CI-AKI was significantly higher in the ACEI/ARB group [17.95% (14/78) vs. 6.02% (5/83), P = 0.029]. Among patients with eGFR ≥ 45 mL/min, the incidence of CI-AKI was comparable in the 2 groups [0.87% (5/572) vs. 2.12% (12/567), P = 0.094]. The incidence of MACEs and renal replacement therapy was not comparable in the 2 groups, during hospitalization and at 1-year follow-up. ACEI or ARB treatment can safely be continued after exposure to contrast media, but not in patients with eGFR < 45 mL/min.

Highly Crystalline Graphene as the Atomic 2D Blanket of a Perovskite Absorber for Enhanced Photovoltaic Performance.

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have demonstrated enormous potential for next-generation low-cost photovoltaics. However, due to the intrinsically low bond energy of the perovskite lattice, the long-term stability is normally undermined by ion migration initiated by the electric field and atmospheric conditions. Therefore, ideal ion migration inhibition is important to achieve an enhanced stability of PSCs. Herein, we first introduce a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) fabricated highly crystalline graphene as an atomic 2D blanket directly for the perovskite absorber of PSCs. Iodine and lithium ion migration is effectively inhibited for perovskite solar cells under a continuous static electric field. The water and oxygen corrosion of the unencapsulated device has been dramatically mitigated with atomic graphene blanketing on the perovskite film. With triphenylamine (TPA) molecule modification, the photoconversion efficiencies (PCEs) of the blanketed devices reach 21.54%. The sample with blanket graphene maintains 85% of the initial efficiency, in comparison to 52% of the control sample under voltage bias. After 600 h of aging at 25 °C and 55 RH%, 86% in comparison to <30% of the PCE for the control device is obtained for the sample with a graphene blanket. Thus, we propose that crystalline graphene has an excellent and effective ion-blocking blanket potential for highly stable perovskite devices.

Revalidation of preservice physical education teacher's teacher identity scale in Chinese physical education student teachers.

Introduction: Teacher identity (TI) is a crucial aspect to pre-service physical education teachers (PPETs) to becoming high quality teachers and plays an important role in their career choice. Thus, a deep understanding of their TI may help improve the quality of future PE teachers. This study aimed to provide further evidence of reliability and validity for Preservice Physical Education Teacher's Teacher Identity Scale (PPET-TI scale). Methods: The study went through a three-stage development process: (a) examining the content validity of original scale; (b) data collection using a sample of student teachers in physical education; (c) re-test the reliability and validity of the scale developed by Zhang. Results and Discussion: After having re-examined the content validity, the domain of affects was deleted. The modified scale then consisted of the three domains (i.e., value and expectation, perceived confidence of teaching PE, and professional growth). A total of 944 physical education student teachers in China participated in the study. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was employed to investigate the construct validity, the results suggested the data did not fit the original model. After the unfitted item was excluded. All CFA fit indices were within the acceptable range. Reliability of the scale was then examined by calculating G-C alphas. The alpha values were within the acceptable range. The modified model was reliable and valid. The revalidation of the scale provided more us with a scale that could produce reliable and valid score measuring PPETs' TI.

Vaspin Mediates the Intraorgan Crosstalk Between Heart and Adipose Tissue in Lipoatrophic Mice.

Lipoatrophy is characterized as selective loss of adipose tissues, leading to the severity of cardiovascular disorders. Therefore, there was close intraorgan crosstalk between adipose tissue and cardiovascular in lipoatrophy. A-ZIP/F-1 mouse, a well-established lipoatrophic model, and primary cardiomyocytes were used for investigating the pathophysiological changes and molecular mechanisms. A-ZIP/F-1 mice had severe fat loss and impaired ventricular function during growth, but closely associated with the reduction of circulating vaspin levels. Administration of recombinant vaspin protein improved cardiac structural disorders, left ventricular dysfunction, and inflammatory response in lipoatrophic mice. In detail, vaspin decreased cardiac lipid deposits, but enhanced mitochondrial biogenesis and activities. Interestingly, A-ZIP/F-1 mice transplanted with normal visceral adipose tissues exhibited improvement in cardiac structural remodeling and mitochondrial function. Mechanistically, vaspin increased cardiac AKT activity, which guaranteed the mitochondrial benefits of vaspin in lipoatrophic mice and primary mouse cardiomyocytes. The present study suggested that vaspin possessed biological benefits in attenuating lipoatrophy-induced cardiomyopathy onset, and targeting vaspin/AKT signaling was a potential strategy to maintain heart metabolism.

C-Reactive Protein at Hospital Discharge and 1-Year Mortality in Acute Infective Endocarditis: A Prospective Observational Study.

Background: An accurate biomarker at hospital discharge is needed to identify patients with acute infective endocarditis (IE) who are at high risk of mortality. This prospective observational study evaluated the prognostic value of C-reactive protein (CRP). Methods: Patients with acute IE (n = 343) and hospitalized at 2 university-affiliated medical centers from January 2014 to December 2019 were enrolled. Patients were categorized as having low or high CRP (n = 217 and 126, respectively) at hospital discharge according to the optimal cutoff (CRP = 6.5 mg/L) determined via receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis. The primary endpoint was all-cause death, from hospital discharge to 1 year. The secondary endpoint was the cumulative rate of rehospitalization or paravalvular abscess at 1 year. Results: At the 12-month follow-up, the mortality rate of the high-CRP group (21.43%) was significantly higher than that of the low-CRP group (2.76%, log-rank P < 0.0001). The multivariate regression analysis indicated that the high-CRP group had a higher excess mortality hazard risk (HR = 4.182; 95% CI: 2.120, 5.211; P < 0.001). The cumulative 1-year incidence of paravalvular abscess of the high-CRP group (11.90%) was significantly higher than that of the low-CRP (5.07%; P = 0.022). The cumulative rate of heart rehospitalizations of the 2 groups were similar (18.25% cf. 14.29%, P = 0.273). Conclusion: For hospitalized patients with acute IE, a high CRP at discharge suggests a poor prognosis for 1-year mortality and paravalvular abscess.