The Efficacy and Safety of Phase I Cardiac Rehabilitation in Patients Hospitalized in Cardiac Intensive Care Unit With Acute Decompensated Heart Failure: A Study Protocol for a Randomized, Controlled, Clinical Trial.

Background: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) improves outcomes in patients with heart failure. However, data on CR efficacy in patients with acute decompensated heart failure is limited. This study is designed to assess the efficacy and safety of CR in patients hospitalized in cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). Methods: This is a single-center, randomized controlled, single-blind clinical trial. A total of 120 participants hospitalized in CICU with ADHF will be randomly allocated in the ratio of 1:1 to two groups: CR group and control group. Participants will receive tailored and progressive CR intervention or attention control. The CR intervention include personalized breathing training, small muscle group resistance training, and aerobic endurance training based on the physical fitness assessment results. The subjects will receive the CR training for 5 days and will be followed up for 6 months. The primary endpoints are the score of the short physical performance battery (SPPB) and 6-month all-cause rehospitalization. The secondary endpoints include cardio-pulmonary function, activities of daily living (ADL), in-hospital mortality rate and 6-month all-cause mortality rate. Discussion: This randomized, controlled, clinical trial will assess whether CR improves physical function and reduces rehospitalization in patients hospitalized in CICU with ADHF. The results will provide further research-based evidence for the clinical application of CR in patients with ADHF. Trial Registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2100050151. Registered on 19 August 2021.

miR-429 and miR-424-5p inhibit cell proliferation and Ca2+ influx by downregulating CaSR in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells.

Cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration is a key factor in pulmonary vasoconstriction and vascular remodeling of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs). These processes contribute to pulmonary arterial hypertension and are influenced by expression of calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR). Although regulation of CaSR expression is precisely controlled, the contribution of microRNAs (miR) is incompletely understood. Here, we demonstrate that miR-429, miR-424-5p, miR-200b-3p, and miR-200c-3p regulate CaSR by targeting specific 3'-untranslated region, suggesting that these miRNAs function as CaSR inhibitors in PASMCs. Moreover, miR-429 and miR-424-5p inhibit proliferation of PASMCs by downregulating CaSR, resulting in reduced Ca2+ influx under both normoxia and hypoxia. These findings indicate miR-429 and miR-424-5p target CaSR and may function as Ca2+ influx suppressors in pulmonary arterial hypertension-associated diseases.

Isolation and characterization of LcSAP, a Leymus chinensis gene which enhances the salinity tolerance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

A number of members of the SAP ("stress-associated protein") gene family have been implicated in the plant stress response. Here, a SAP gene has been isolated using PCR RACE from the perennial grass Leymus chinensis, a species which has reputation for ecological adaptability. The 17.6 kDa LcSAP product comprised 161 residues, including both an A20 domain and an AN1 domain, a feature of type I SAPs. Using a semi-quantitative RT-PCR assay to profile its transcription, it was shown that LcSAP was more strongly transcribed in the leaf than in the root under control conditions. The level of LcSAP transcription began to rise 6 h after the plant's exposure to 400 mM NaCl, and the abundance of transcript remained stable for at least 24 h. Exposing the plant to 100 mM Na2CO3 also induced LcSAP transcription, but the abundance of SAP transcript faded after 6 h. When LcSAP was introduced into yeast cells, the transgenic cells grew better than wild type ones when the medium contained 1.4 M NaCl. The ability of LcSAP to respond to salinity stress in yeast suggests that it also makes a contribution to the stress tolerance shown by L. chinensis.

Hollow alloy nanostructures templated by Au nanorods: synthesis, mechanistic insights, and electrocatalytic activity.

A unique methodology having access to Au nanorods (AuNRs)-based hollow alloy nanostructures has been developed. The syntheses and characterization of the hollow Pt-Au nanoalloys with ellipsoidal and cylindrical shapes together with a rattle-type hollow Cu-Au nanoheterostructure are described. Unlike the conventional nanoscale Kirkendall process, the formation of these AuNRs-based hollow nanostructures occurs under extremely mild conditions, indicating a distinctive underlying mechanism. The key step for this present synthesis method is the incubation of AuNRs with CuCl2 at 60 °C in the presence of hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) or hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC). The selective etching of the tips of AuNRs caused by Cu(2+) ions combined with the dissolved molecular oxygen promotes the generation of defects and vacancies, leading to a facile alloying reaction by the crystal fusion of AuNRs. Particularly, the results of the formation of the hollow nanoalloys in conjunction with various control experiments demonstrate that the halide ions that are specifically adsorbed on the AuNR surface afford sinks for vacancy accumulation and condensation during the unbalanced interdiffusion of alloying atoms, presumably because of the disproportion in the equilibrium concentration of vacancies. Thus, the void formation becomes kinetically favorable. The Pt-Au nanocages can provide modified surface electronic structures, resulting from their non-uniform crystalline structures and the surface segregation of Pt in the nanocages. These characteristics enable them to exhibit excellent electrocatalytic performance for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR).

Large-scale, solution-phase growth of semiconductor nanocrystals into ultralong one-dimensional arrays and study of their electrical properties.

One-dimensional (1D) assemblies of semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) represent an important kind of 1D nanomaterial system due to their potential for exploring novel and enhanced electronic and photonic performances of devices. Herein, we present mass fabrication of a series of 1D arrays of CdSe and PbSe NCs on a large length scale with ultralong, aligned Se nanowires (NWs) as both the reactant and structure-directing template. The 1D self-assembly patterns are the anchored growth of CdSe quantum dots (QDs) on the surface of Se NWs (i.e., 1D Se NWs/CdSe QDs core-shell heterostructure) and 1D aggregates of unsupported PbSe NCs formed by substantially increased collective particle-particle interactions. The size of CdSe QDs and shape of PbSe NCs in the 1D arrays can be effectively controlled by varying the synthetic conditions. Room temperature electrical measurements on the 1D Se/CdSe heterostructure field effect transistors (FETs) exhibit a pronounced improvement in the on/off ratio, device carrier mobility, and transconductance compared to the Se NW FETs fabricated in parallel. Furthermore, upon visible light excitation, the photocurrent from the Se/CdSe heterostructure FETs responses sharply (small time constant) and increases linearly with increasing the light intensity, indicating excellent photoconductive properties.