Myocardial reperfusion injury exacerbation due to ALDH2 deficiency is mediated by neutrophil extracellular traps and prevented by leukotriene C4 inhibition.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The Glu504Lys polymorphism in the aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) gene is closely associated with myocardial ischaemia/reperfusion injury (I/RI). The effects of ALDH2 on neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation (i.e. NETosis) during I/RI remain unknown. This study aimed to investigate the role of ALDH2 in NETosis in the pathogenesis of myocardial I/RI. METHODS: The mouse model of myocardial I/RI was constructed on wild-type, ALDH2 knockout, peptidylarginine deiminase 4 (Pad4) knockout, and ALDH2/PAD4 double knockout mice. Overall, 308 ST-elevation myocardial infarction patients after primary percutaneous coronary intervention were enrolled in the study. RESULTS: Enhanced NETosis was observed in human neutrophils carrying the ALDH2 genetic mutation and ischaemic myocardium of ALDH2 knockout mice compared with controls. PAD4 knockout or treatment with NETosis-targeting drugs (GSK484, DNase1) substantially attenuated the extent of myocardial damage, particularly in ALDH2 knockout. Mechanistically, ALDH2 deficiency increased damage-associated molecular pattern release and susceptibility to NET-induced damage during myocardial I/RI. ALDH2 deficiency induced NOX2-dependent NETosis via upregulating the endoplasmic reticulum stress/microsomal glutathione S-transferase 2/leukotriene C4 (LTC4) pathway. The Food and Drug Administration-approved LTC4 receptor antagonist pranlukast ameliorated I/RI by inhibiting NETosis in both wild-type and ALDH2 knockout mice. Serum myeloperoxidase-DNA complex and LTC4 levels exhibited the predictive effect on adverse left ventricular remodelling at 6 months after primary percutaneous coronary intervention in ST-elevation myocardial infarction patients. CONCLUSIONS: ALDH2 deficiency exacerbates myocardial I/RI by promoting NETosis via the endoplasmic reticulum stress/microsomal glutathione S-transferase 2/LTC4/NOX2 pathway. This study hints at the role of NETosis in the pathogenesis of myocardial I/RI, and pranlukast might be a potential therapeutic option for attenuating I/RI, particularly in individuals with the ALDH2 mutation.

Electromagnetic-acoustic splitter with a tunable splitting ratio based on copper plates.

Acoustic splitters and electromagnetic splitters can be applied in various fields (e.g., navigation and interference detection). However, there is still a lack of study of structures that can simultaneously split acoustic and electromagnetic beams. In this study, a novel, to the best of our knowledge, electromagnetic-acoustic splitter (EAS) based on copper plates is proposed, which can simultaneously produce identical beam-splitting effects for transverse magnetic (TM)-polarized electromagnetic and acoustic waves. Different from previous beam splitters, the beam splitting ratio of the proposed passive EAS can be simply tuned by changing the incident angle of the input beam, i.e., a tunable splitting ratio can be achieved without additional energy consumption. The simulated results verify that the proposed EAS can create two transmitted split beams with a tunable splitting ratio for both electromagnetic and acoustic waves. This may have applications in dual-field navigation/detection, which can provide additional information and higher accuracy compared with single-field navigation/detection.

Predictive Value of N-Terminal Pro B-Type Natriuretic Peptide for Contrast-Induced Nephropathy Non-Recovery and Poor Outcomes Among Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

BACKGROUND: Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) is a frequent complication in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The degree of recovery of renal function from CIN may affect long-term prognosis. N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is a simple but useful biomarker for predicting CIN. However, the predictive value of preprocedural NT-proBNP for CIN non-recovery and long-term outcomes in patients undergoing PCI remains unclear.Methods and Results: This study prospectively enrolled 550 patients with CIN after PCI between January 2012 and December 2018. CIN non-recovery was defined as persistent serum creatinine >25% or 0.5 mg/dL over baseline from 1 week to 12 months after PCI in patients who developed CIN. CIN non-recovery was observed in 40 (7.3%) patients. Receiver operating characteristic analysis indicated that the best NT-proBNP cut-off value for detecting CIN non-recovery was 876.1 pg/mL (area under the curve 0.768; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.731-0.803). After adjusting for potential confounders, multivariable analysis indicated that NT-proBNP >876.1 pg/mL was an independent predictor of CIN non-recovery (odds ratio 1.94; 95% CI 1.03-3.75; P=0.0042). Kaplan-Meier curves showed higher rates of long-term mortality among patients with CIN non-recovery than those with CIN recovery (Chi-squared=14.183, log-rank P=0.0002). CONCLUSIONS: Preprocedural NT-proBNP was associated with CIN non-recovery among patients undergoing PCI. The optimal cut-off value for NT-proBNP to predict CIN non-recovery was 876.1 pg/mL.

Full-space omnidirectional cloak by subwavelength metal channels filled with homogeneous dielectrics.

Cloaks can greatly reduce the scattering cross-section of hidden objects through various mechanisms, thereby making them invisible to outside observers. Among them, the full-space omnidirectional cloak based on transformation optic with full parameters are difficult to realize without metamaterials and often needs to be simplified before realization, while most cloaks with simplified parameters have limited working direction and cannot achieve omnidirectional cloaking effect. In this study, a full-space omnidirectional cloak is designed based on transformation optics and optic-null medium, which only needed natural materials without metamaterials. The designed omnidirectional cloak is realized by subwavelength metal channels filled with isotropic dielectrics whose refractive indices range from 1 to 2, which is homogeneous in each channel. The numerical simulation results verify good scattering suppression effect of the designed cloak for various detecting waves.

COVID-19 and coagulation dysfunction in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

The outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has posed a grave threat to the global public health. The COVID-19-induced infection is closely related to coagulation dysfunction in the affected patients. This paper attempts to conduct a meta-analysis and systematically review the blood coagulation indicators in patients with severe COVID-19. A meta-analysis of eligible studies was performed to compare the blood coagulation indicators in patients with severe and nonsevere COVID-19. PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library were searched for studies published between 1 December 2019 and 7 May 2020. A total of 13 studies with 1341 adult patients were enrolled in this analysis. Platelet (weighted mean difference [WMD] = -24.83, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -34.12 to -15.54; P < .001), d-dimer (WMD = 0.19, 95% CI: 0.09-0.29; P < .001), and fibrinogen (WMD = 1.02, 95% CI: 0.50-1.54; P < .001) were significantly associated with the severity in patients with COVID-19. The meta-analysis revealed that no correlation was evident between an increased severity risk of COVID-19 and activated partial thromboplastin time (WMD = -1.56, 95% CI: -5.77 to 2.64; P = .468) or prothrombin time (WMD = 0.19, 95% CI: -0.13 to 0.51; P = .243). The single arm meta-analysis showed that compared with the nonsevere group, the severe group had a lower pooled platelet (165.12 [95% CI: 157.38-172.85] vs 190.09 [95% CI: 179.45-200.74]), higher d-dimer (0.49 [95% CI: 0.33-0.64] vs 0.27 [95% CI: 0.20-0.34]), and higher fibrinogen (4.34 [95% CI: 1.98-6.70] vs 3.19 [95% CI: 1.13-5.24]). Coagulation dysfunction is closely related to the severity of patients with COVID-19, in which low platelet, high d-dimer, and fibrinogen upon admission may serve as risk indicators for increased aggression of the disease. These findings are of great clinical value for timely and effective treatment of the COVID-19 cases.

Association between urine pH and risk of contrast-associated acute kidney injury among patients after emergency percutaneous coronary intervention: a V-shape relationship?

AIM: We investigated whether perioperative urine pH was associated with contrast-associated acute kidney injury (CA-AKI) in patients undergoing emergency percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS: The study enrolled 1109 consecutive patients undergoing emergency PCI. Patients were divided into three groups based on perioperative urine pH (5.0-6.0, 6.5- 7.0, 7.5-8.5). The primary endpoint was the development of CA-AKI, defined as an absolute increase ≥ 0.3 mg/dL or a relative increase ≥ 50% from baseline serum creatinine within 48 h after contrast medium exposure. RESULTS: Overall, 181 patients (16.3%) developed contrast-associated acute kidney injury. The incidences of CA-AKI in patients with urine pH 5.0-6.0, 6.5-7.0, and 7.5-8.5 were 19.7%, 9.8%, and 23.3%, respectively. After adjustment for potential confounding factors, perioperative urine pH 5.0-6.0 and 7.5-8.5 remained independently associated with CA-AKI [odds ratio (OR)1.86, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.25-2.82, P = 0.003; OR 2.70, 95% CI 1.5-4.68, P < 0.001, respectively]. The association was consistent in subgroups of patients stratified by several CA-AKI risk predictors. However, the risk of CA-AKI associated with urine pH 7.5-8.5 was stronger in patients with worse renal function (estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 60 mL/min/1.73m2) (HR 5.587, 95% CI 1.178-30.599 vs. HR 2.487, 95% CI 1.331-4.579; overall interaction P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The urine pH and CA-AKI may underlie the V-shape relationship.

Nutritional status and risk of contrast-associated acute kidney injury in elderly patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the connection between malnutrition evaluated by the Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score and the risk of contrast-associated acute kidney injury (CA-AKI) in elderly patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS: A total of 1308 patients aged over 75 years undergoing PCI was included. Based on the CONUT score, patients were assigned to normal (0-1), mild malnutrition (2-4), moderate-severe malnutrition group (≥ 5). The primary outcome was CA-AKI (an absolute increase in ≥ 0.3 mg/dL or ≥ 50% relative serum creatinine increase 48 h after contrast medium exposure). RESULTS: Overall, the incidence of CA-AKI in normal, mild, moderate-severe malnutrition group was 10.8%, 11.0%, and 27.2%, respectively (p < 0.01). Compared with moderate-severe malnutrition group, the normal group and the mild malnutrition group showed significant lower risk of CA-AKI in models adjusting for risk factors for CA-AKI and variables in univariate analysis (odds ratio [OR] = 0.48, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.26-0.89, p = 0.02; OR = 0.46, 95%CI: 0.26-0.82, p = 0.009, respectively). Furthermore, the relationship were consistent across the subgroups classified by risk factors for CA-AKI except anemia. The risk of CA-AKI related with CONUT score was stronger in patients with anemia. (overall interaction p by CONUT score = 0.012). CONCLUSION: Moderate-severe malnutrition is associated with higher risk of CA-AKI in elderly patients undergoing PCI.

Association between red blood cell distribution width and long-term mortality among patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention with previous history of cancer.

Background: The number of patients suffering from coronary heart disease with cancer is rising. There is scarce evidence concerning the biomarkers related to prognosis among patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with cancer. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the association between red blood cell distribution width (RDW) and prognosis in this population.Methods: A total of 172 patients undergoing PCI with previous history of cancer were enrolled in this retrospective study. The endpoint was long-term all-cause mortality. According to tertiles of RDW, the patients were classified into three groups: Tertile 1 (RDW <12.8%), Tertile 2 (RDW ≥12.8% and <13.5%) and Tertile 3 (RDW ≥13.5%).Results: During an average follow-up period of 33.3 months, 29 deaths occurred. Compared with Tertile 3, mortality of Tertile 1 and Tertile 2 was significantly lower in the Kaplan-Meier analysis. In multivariate Cox regression analysis, RDW remained an independent risk factor of mortality (HR: 1.938, 95% CI: 1.295-2.655, p < 0.001). The all-cause mortality in Tertile 3 was significantly higher than that in Tertile 1 (HR: 5.766; 95% CI: 1.426-23.310, p = 0.014).Conclusions: An elevated RDW level (≥13.5%) was associated with long-term all-cause mortality among patients undergoing PCI with previous history of cancer.

Predictive value of admission D-dimer for contrast-induced acute kidney injury and poor outcomes after primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

BACKGROUND: DD was found to be associated with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and renal insufficiency. However, it is uncertain whether DD is an independent risk factor of CI-AKI in patients undergoing pPCI. METHODS: We prospectively enrolled 550 consecutive patients with STEMI undergoing pPCI between January 2012 and December 2016. The predictive value of admission DD for CI-AKI was assessed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and multivariable logistic regression analysis. CI-AKI was defined as an absolute serum creatinine increase ≥0.3 mg/dl or a relative increase in serum creatinine ≥50% within 48 h of contrast medium exposure. RESULTS: Overall, the incidence of CI-AKI was 13.1%. The ROC analysis showed that the cutoff point of DD was 0.69 µg/ml for predicting CI-AKI with a sensitivity of 77.8% and a specificity of 57.3%. The predictive value of DD was similar to the Mehran score for CI-AKI (AUCDD = 0.729 vs AUCMehran = 0.722; p = 0.8298). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that DD > 0.69 µg/ml was an independent predictor of CI-AKI (odds ratio [OR] = 3.37,95% CI:1.80-6.33, p < 0.0001). Furthermore, DD > 0.69 µg/ml was associated with an increased risk of long-term mortality during a mean follow-up period of 16 months (hazard ratio = 3.41, 95%CI:1.4-8.03, p = 0.005). CONCLUSION: Admission DD > 0.69 µg/ml was a significant and independent predictor of CI-AKI and long-term mortality in patients undergoing pPCI.

Negative association between free triiodothyronine level and contrast-induced acute kidney injury in patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

BACKGROUND: A low FT3 level is significantly associated with a variety of kidney disease and acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, it remains unclear whether low FT3 is associated with CI-AKI in patients who underwent pPCI. METHODS: Single-center retrospective study evaluated 363 STEMI patients undergoing pPCI. Patients were classfied into 2 groups, low FT3 group (FT3 < 3.1 pmol/L) and normal FT3 group (FT3 ≥ 3.1 pmol/L);CI-AKI was defined as an increase in the serum creatinine levels of ≥50% or 0.3 mg/dL above the baseline level within 48 h after contrast medium exposure. RESULTS: Overall, 80(22.0%) patients had low FT3, and 59(16.3%) patients developed CI-AKI. The incidence of CI-AKI and in-hospital mortality was significantly higher in patients with low FT3 than normal (31.3% vs 12.0%; 15.0% vs 3.2%, respectively, both p < 0.0001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that low FT3 was an independent predictor of CI-AKI (odds ratio [OR] = 2.62, 95%CI:1.35-5.07, p < 0.05). In addition, low FT3 was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality during a mean follow-up period of 20 months (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.54, 95%CI:1.15-5.60, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Low FT3 was associated with CI-AKI, short- and long-term mortality in STEMI patients after pPCI.

Aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 serves as a key cardiometabolic adaptation regulator in response to plateau hypoxia in mice.

High-altitude heart disease (HAHD) is a complex pathophysiological condition related to systemic hypobaric hypoxia in response to transitioning to high altitude. Hypoxia can cause myocardial metabolic dysregulation, leading to an increased risk of heart failure and sudden cardiac death. Aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) could regulate myocardial energy metabolism and plays a protective role in various cardiovascular diseases. This study aims to determine the effects of plateau hypoxia (PH) on cardiac metabolism and function, investigate the associated role of ALDH2, and explore potential therapeutic targets. We discovered that PH significantly reduced survival rate and cardiac function. These effects were exacerbated by ALDH2 deficiency. PH also caused a shift in the myocardial fuel source from fatty acids to glucose; ALDH2 deficiency impaired this adaptive metabolic shift. Untargeted/targeted metabolomics and transmission electron microscopy revealed that ALDH2 deficiency promoted myocardial fatty-acid deposition, leading to enhanced fatty-acid transport, lipotoxicity and mitochondrial dysfunction. Furthermore, results showed that ALDH2 attenuated PH-induced impairment of adaptive metabolic programs through 4-HNE/CPT1 signaling, and the CPT1 inhibitor etomoxir significantly ameliorated ALDH2 deficiency-induced cardiac impairment and improved survival in PH mice. Together, our data reveal ALDH2 acts as a key cardiometabolic adaptation regulator in response to PH. CPT1 inhibitor, etomoxir, may attenuate ALDH2 deficiency-induced effects and improved cardiac function in response to PH.

Active Thermal Metasurfaces for Remote Heating/Cooling by Mimicking Negative Thermal Conductivity.

Remote temperature control can be obtained by a long-focus thermal lens that can focus heat fluxes into a spot far from the back surface of the lens and create a virtual thermal source/sink in the background material, around which the temperature field distribution can be remotely controlled by varying the parameters of the thermal lens. However, because of the lack of negative thermal conductivity, existing thermal lenses have extremely short focal lengths and cannot be used to remotely control the temperature field around the virtual thermal source/sink. In this study, a general approach is proposed to equivalently realize materials with negative thermal conductivity using elaborately distributed active thermal metasurfaces (ATMSs). Subsequently, the proposed ATMS is used to implement a novel thermal lens with a long focal length designed using transformation thermodynamics, and finally realize the ATMS with realistic materials and experimentally verify the performance of the designed long-focus thermal lens (measured focal length of 19.8 mm) for remote heating/cooling. The proposed method expands the scope of the thermal conductivity and provides new pathways to realize unprecedented thermal effects with effective negative thermal conductivity, such as "thermal surface plasmon polaritons," a thermal superlens, the thermal tunneling effect, and the thermal invisible gateway.

Predictive value of preprocedural albuminuria for contrast-induced nephropathy non-recovery in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.

OBJECTIVE: The present study investigated the predictive value of albuminuria for contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) non-recovery in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS: We retrospectively enrolled 550 consecutive patients inflicted with CIN after PCI and reassessing kidney function among 1 week-12 months between January 2012 and December 2018. Patients were stratified into three groups according to urine albumin: negative group (urine dipstick negative), trace group (urine dipstick trace) and positive group (urine dipstick ≥ 1 +). The primary outcomes were CIN non-recovery (a decrease of serum creatinine which remains ≥ 25% or 0.5 mg/dL over baseline at 1 week-12 months after PCI in patients inflicted with CIN). The odds ratio (OR) of CIN non-recovery was analyzed by logistic regression using the negative urine dipstick group as the reference group. RESULTS: Overall, 88 (16.0%) patients had trace urinary albumin, 74 (13.5%) patients had positive urinary albumin and 40 (7.3%) patients developed CIN non-recovery. Patients with positive urinary albumin had significantly higher incidence of CIN non-recovery [negative (3.4%), trace (11.4%) and positive (23.0%), respectively; P < 0.0001]. Multivariate analysis showed that trace and positive urinary albumin were associated with an increased risk of CIN non-recovery (trace vs negative: OR 2.88, P = 0.022; positive vs negative: OR 2.99, P = 0.021). These associations were consistent in subgroups of patients stratified by CIN non-recovery risk predictors. And CIN non-recovery was associated with an increased risk of long-term mortality during a mean follow-up period of 703 days (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Preprocedural albuminuria was associated with CIN non-recovery in patients undergoing PCI.