Triple-Branched Stent Graft Implantation for Acute Non-A-non-B Aortic Dissection.

BACKGROUND: The optimal treatment for acute non-A-non-B aortic dissection remains controversial. Triple-branched stent graft (TBSG) implantation has been used to treat acute type A aortic dissection. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of TBSG as a treatment for acute non-A-non-B aortic dissection. METHODS: Fifty patients with non-A-non-B dissection received TBSG implantation in our center between January 2014 and December 2019. Early mortality, morbidity, and dissected aorta remodeling during follow-up were calculated. RESULTS: There were no deaths in-hospital or within 30 days. Postoperative complications included pneumonia (n = 12), acute kidney injury (n = 6; preoperative renal malperfusion, n = 4), transient cerebral injury (n = 6; preoperative cerebral malperfusion, n = 4), pleural effusion (n = 4), and pericardial effusion (n = 2). During follow-up, 1 patient experienced a stroke, and 2 patients required secondary interventional therapy for residual dissection below the level of the TBSG. All implanted TBSGs had good positioning, and all sidearm stent graft grafts were fully patent. No retrograde aortic dissection or type I endoleak was detected. CONCLUSIONS: TBSG implantation for acute non-A-non-B aortic dissection had a low incidence of mortality and morbidity, featuring good remodeling of the dissected aortic wall during follow-up. The early outcomes of this technique were satisfactory.

In Silico Screening of Metal-Organic Frameworks for Formaldehyde Capture with and without Humidity by Molecular Simulation.

Capturing formaldehydes (HCHO) from indoor air with porous adsorbents still faces challenges due to their low capacity and poor selectivity. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with tunable pore properties were regarded as promising adsorbents for HCHO removal. However, the water presence in humid air heavily influences the formaldehyde capture performance due to the competition adsorption. To find suitable MOFs for formaldehyde capture and explore the relationship between MOFs structure and performance both in dry air and humid air, we performed grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) molecular simulations to obtain working capacity and selectivity that evaluated the HCHO capture performance of MOFs without humidity. The results reveal that small pore size (~5 Å) and moderate heat of adsorption (40-50 kJ/mol) are favored for HCHO capture without water. It was found that the structure with a 3D cage instead of a 2D channel benefits the HCHO adsorption. Atoms in these high-performing MOFs should possess relatively small charges, and large Lennard-jones parameters were also preferred. Furthermore, it was indicated that Henry's constant (KH) can reflect the HCHO adsorption performance without humidity, in which the optimal range is 10-2-101. Hence, Henry's constant selectivity of HCHO over water (SKH HCHO/H2O) and HCHO over mixture components (H2O, N2, and O2) was obtained to screen MOFs at an 80% humidity condition. It was suggested that SKH for the mixture component overestimates the influence of N2 and O2, in which the top structures absorb a quantity of water in GCMC simulation, while SKH HCHO/H2O can efficiently find high-performing MOFs for HCHO capture at humidity in low adsorption pressure. The ECATAT found in this work has 0.64 mol/kg working capacity, and barely adsorbs water during 0-1 bar, which is the promising candidate MOF for HCHO capture.

Transthoracic Device Closure, Transcatheter Device Closure, and Surgical Repair via Right Submammary Thoracotomy for Restrictive Ventricular Septal Defect, a Respective Comparative Study.

BACKGROUND: Few comparative studies have focused on the advantages and disadvantages of transthoracic device closure, transcatheter device closure, and surgical repair via right submammary thoracotomy for restrictive ventricular septal defect (VSD). In this article, we compared the safety, efficacy, and clinical effects of these three treatments. Methods: The clinical data of 192 pediatric patients with a restrictive VSD in our hospital from January 2017 to May 2018 were retrospectively collected and analyzed. According to the different treatments, the patients were divided into three groups (the surgical and device groups). Results: There was no significant difference in the demographic characteristics, VSD size, mean pulmonary artery pressure, or cardiothoracic ratio. In addition, there were significant differences in the duration of mechanical ventilation, operation, hospitalization, and ICU stay between the two device groups and the surgical group, but there were no significant differences between the two device groups. Conclusions: Transthoracic device closure, transcatheter device closure, and surgical repair via right submammary thoracotomy for restrictive VSD repair are all safe and feasible. These three treatments have their own disadvantages and advantages and should be selected according to individual patients.

Variants of MIR137HG Genes are Associated with Liver Cancer Risk in Chinese Li Population.

BACKGROUND: Liver cancer (LC) is the sixth most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide, and its incidence rate is high in China. METHODS: In this study, we aimed to investigate the contribution of MIR137HG (MIR137 Host Gene) polymorphisms to LC risk in a case-control study with 432 LC patients and 430 healthy controls. A logistic recession model was used to evaluate the effects of candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on LC risk. HaploReg v 4.1 database was conducted to predict the potential functionality of SNPs. RESULTS: The results revealed that rs17371457 and rs7554283 in the MIR137HG gene were correlated with an enhanced LC risk under the allele (P = 0.001 and P = 0.043, respectively) and genetic models (P < 0.05). When the sample was stratified by gender and age, statistically significant associations were found. Rs9440302, rs17371457 and rs7554283 were associated with an increased the risk of LC among individuals aged >55 years (P < 0.05); rs17371457 was related to higher LC risk in males (P < 0.05). Similarly, the haplotype AG constituted by rs12333983 and rs3735451 significantly increased LC risk in Chinese Li population (P = 0.043). Six SNPs distributed in MIR137HG were successfully predicted as regulatory SNPs with different biological functions. CONCLUSION: Our research firstly showed that MIR137HG gene polymorphisms were implicated in LC susceptibility among Chinese Li population.

The plasma miR-125a, miR-361 and miR-133a are promising novel biomarkers for Late-Onset Hypogonadism.

Circulating miRNAs have been shown to serve as diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers in cancers and other diseases. However, the role of plasma miRNAs in Late-onset hypogonadism (LOH) diagnosis is still unknown. Using Illumina HiSeq2000 sequencing at discovery phase, and then two-step validated by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays in verification phases. We verified that the expression levels of miR-125a-5p, miR-361-5p and miR-133a-3p were significantly altered in LOH group compared to the control group. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) is 0.682, 0.698 and 0.765, respectively. The combination of three miRNAs showed a larger AUC (0.835) that was more efficient for the diagnosis of LOH. Among three miRNAs, miR-133a-3p had the best diagnostic value for LOH with 68.2% sensitivity and 77.3% specificity. Regression analyses show that miR-133a-3p level was negatively associated with the ageing males' symptoms (AMS) scale. However, miR-361-5p level was positively associated with serum testosterone concentrations. In summary, plasma miRNAs are differentially expressed between LOH and healthy controls. We validated three miRNAs that could act as novel biomarkers for diagnosis of LOH. These miRNAs may be involved in the development of LOH. However, further large and functional studies are warranted to confirm our findings.

[Population intervention of thalassemia relying on family planning service system].

OBJECTIVE: To set up thalassemia population intervention model in order to decrease the birth of thalassemia major, relying on population and family planning service system. METHODS: Pregnant women and their husbands were educated about thalassemia, and participated in screening and prenatal diagnosis if the couple were carriers of thalassemia in the areas of Huangpu, Panyu, Zengcheng and Tianhe districts of Guangzhou. RESULTS: The network of thalassemia intervention mainly dependent on family planning service system was set up in these regions. A total of 10 695 families participated in thalassemia screening and 16 thalassemia major fetuses were diagnosed in the last two years. No one was thalassemia major in the 8360 newborn. CONCLUSION: Thalassemia population intervention model was set up relying on family planning service system and it significantly decreased the birth of thalassemia major.