The prognostic value of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease in acute myocardial infarction: A propensity score-matched analysis.

AIM: Patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) are at increased risk of incident cardiovascular disease. However, the clinical characteristics and prognostic importance of MASLD in patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) have yet to be examined. METHODS: This study compared the characteristics and outcomes of patients with and without MASLD presenting with AMI at a tertiary centre in Singapore. MASLD was defined as hepatic steatosis, with at least one of five metabolic criteria. Hepatic steatosis was determined using the Hepatic Steatosis Index. Propensity score matching was performed to adjust for age and sex. The Kaplan-Meier curve was constructed for long-term all-cause mortality. Cox regression analysis was used to investigate independent predictors of long-term all-cause mortality. RESULTS: In this study of 4446 patients with AMI, 2223 patients with MASLD were matched with patients without MASLD using propensity scores. The mean follow-up duration was 3.4 ± 2.4 years. The MASLD group had higher rates of obesity, diabetes and chronic kidney disease than their counterparts. Patients with MASLD had early excess all-cause mortality (6.8% vs. 3.6%, p < .001) at 30 days, with unfavourable mortality rates sustained in the long-term (18.3% vs. 14.5%, p = .001) compared with those without MASLD. After adjustment, MASLD remained independently associated with higher long-term all-cause mortality (hazard ratio 1.330, 95% confidence interval 1.106-1.598, p = .002). CONCLUSION: MASLD embodies a higher burden of metabolic dysfunction and is an independent predictor of long-term mortality in the AMI population. Its early identification may be beneficial for risk stratification and provide therapeutic targets for secondary preventive strategies in AMI.

Phonetic Dissimilarity and L2 Category Formation in L2 Accommodation.

Many studies of speech accommodation focus on native speakers with different dialects, whereas only a limited number of studies work on L2 speakers' accommodation and discuss theories for second language (L2) accommodation. This paper aimed to fill the theoretical gap by integrating the revised speech learning model (SLM) with the exemplar-based models for L2 speech accommodation. A total of 19 Cantonese-English bilingual speakers completed map tasks with English speakers of Received Pronunciation and General American English in two separate experiments. Their pronunciations of THOUGHT and PATH vowels, and fricatives [z] and [θ] were examined before, during, and after the map tasks. The role of phonetic dissimilarity in L2 accommodation and L2 category formation in the revised SLM (SLM-r) were tested. First, the results suggested that global phonetic dissimilarity cannot predict Hong Kong English (HKE) speakers' accommodation patterns. Instead, the segment-specific phonetic dissimilarity between participants and interlocutors was found to be positively correlated with the participants' degree of accommodation. In addition, HKE speakers who did not form a new L2 category of [z] were found to significantly accommodate toward their interlocutor, suggesting that L2 accommodation might not be constrained by phonological category. An integrated exemplar model for L2 accommodation is proposed to explain these findings.

Chrysosporide, a cyclic pentapeptide from a New Zealand sample of the fungus Sepedonium chrysospermum.

A new cyclic pentapeptide, chrysosporide (1), was isolated from a New Zealand sample of the mycoparasitic fungus Sepedonium chrysospermum by bioactivity-guided fractionation. The planar structure was deduced by detailed spectroscopic analysis, and the absolute configurations of the amino acid residues were defined by Marfey's method. As both enantiomers of Leu occurred in chrysosporide, molecular mechanics calculations were applied to the analysis to distinguish between the possible structural isomers. Only the lowest energy conformers of the cyclo-(L-Val-D-Ala-L-Leu-L-Leu-D-Leu) isomer were in agreement with the observed NOEs, suggesting that this was the most probable amino acid sequence for chrysosporide (1).

Nafion-coated bismuth film and nafion-coated mercury film electrodes for anodic stripping voltammetry combined on-line with ICP-mass spectrometry.

Nafion-coated bismuth film electrodes (NCBFEs) and Nafion-coated mercury film electrodes (NCMFEs) were used to electrochemically preconcentrate metal analytes for subsequent analysis by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Either type of electrodes is part of a thin-layer electrochemical flow cell that is positioned upstream of a microconcentric nebulizer for the ICP-MS. Performances of these electrodes were compared in terms of the analytical "figures of merit" (e.g., dynamic ranges, reproducibility, hydrodynamic stability, and elimination of matrix effects detrimental to ICP-MS). The coupled technique (ASV-ICP-MS) is found to possess a wide dynamic range (at least 4 to 5 orders of magnitude) and to be reproducible. Both electrodes are much more stable than the thin mercury film electrode (TMFE) traditionally used for ASV-ICP-MS, with the lifetime of the NCBFE exceeding 8 h. Adopting these electrodes for ASV-ICP-MS overcomes the problems associated with a TMFE, the erosion of which decreases the sample throughput, affects the analysis precision, and contaminates conventional glass nebulizers and spray chambers of the spectrometer. The medium exchange procedure inherent in ASV is successfully implemented with a two-valve flow injection system for the accumulation of trace Cd2+ into the electrode from a certified seawater sample, followed by stripping Cd into a solution that is compatible to the ICP-MS operation.