Correlation between immune-related adverse events and efficacy of PD-(L)1 inhibitors in small cell lung cancer: a multi-center retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Patients receiving PD-(L)1 inhibitors frequently encounter unusual side effects known as immune-related adverse events (irAEs). However, the correlation of irAEs development with clinical response in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is unknown. METHOD: This retrospective study enrolled 244 stage IV SCLC patients who receiving PD-(L)1 inhibitors from 3 cancer centers. The correlation of irAEs with objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were evaluated. RESULTS: 140 in 244 (57%) patients experienced irAEs, with 122 (87.1%) experiencing one and 18 (12.9%) experiencing two or more. Compared to patient without irAEs, those developing irAEs had higher ORR (73.6% vs. 52.9%, P < 0.001) and DCR (97.9% vs. 79.8%, P < 0.001), as well as prolonged median PFS (8.8 vs. 4.5 months, P < 0.001) and OS (23.2 vs. 21.6 months, P < 0.05). Among the different spectra of irAEs, thyroid dysfunction, rash, and pneumonitis were the most powerful indicator for improved PFS. When analyzed as a time-dependent covariate, the occurrence of irAEs was associated with significant improvement in PFS rather than in OS. Furthermore, patients experiencing multisystem irAEs displayed a longer PFS and OS compared with single-system irAEs and the irAE-free ones. IrAEs grade and steroid use did not impact the predictive value of irAEs on PFS. CONCLUSION: The presence of irAEs predicts superior clinical benefit in SCLC. Patients who develop multi-system irAEs may have an improved survival than those developed single-system irAEs and no-irAEs. This association persists even when systemic corticosteroids were used for irAEs management.

Prognostic value of myocardial salvage index assessed by cardiovascular magnetic resonance in reperfused ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.

Aims: Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is a powerful tool to quantify the myocardial area at risk (AAR) and infarct size (IS), and evaluate the extent of myocardial salvage in acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). This study aimed to assess the prognostic value of myocardial salvage index (MSI) assessed by CMR in reperfused STEMI and investigate whether MSI could improve the predictive efficacy of the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) risk score. Methods and results: About 104 consecutive patients who were hospitalized with first-time STEMI and received reperfusion therapy were prospectively enrolled. The primary endpoint was the incident of major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) including all-cause mortality, non-fatal myocardial reinfarction and congestive heart failure within 36 months after the index event. Cox regression analysis was used to evaluate the prognostic association of MSI with MACE risk. About 21 (20.2%) patients developed MACE during the 3-year follow-up period, and patients with MSI < median had a higher incidence of MACE than those with MSI ≥ median [16 (30.8%) vs. 5 (9.6%), P = 0.007]. After adjusting all the parameters associated with MACE in univariate Cox analysis, MSI assessed by CMR remained independently significant as a predictor of MACE in multivariate Cox analysis (hazard ratio 0.963, 95% CI: 0.943-0.983; P < 0.001). Adding MSI to the GRACE risk score significantly increased the prognostic accuracy of the GRACE risk score (area under the curve: 0.833 vs. 0.773; P = 0.044), with a net reclassification improvement of 0.635 (P = 0.009) and an integrated discrimination improvement of 0.101 (P = 0.002). Conclusion: This study confirmed that MSI assessed by CMR had a good long-term prognostic value in reperfused STEMI and improve the prognostic performance of the GRACE risk score.

The Association of Stage 1 Hypertension, Defined by the 2017 ACC/AHA Guidelines, With Cardiovascular Events Among Rural Women in Liaoning Province, China.

Background: The recent American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) guidelines redefined blood pressure levels 130-139/80-89 mmHg as stage 1 hypertension. However, the association of stage 1 hypertension with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its age-specific differences among the rural women in Liaoning province remains unclear. It needs to be quantified in considering guideline adoption in China. Methods: In total, 19,374 women aged ≥35 years with complete data and no cardiovascular disease at baseline were followed in a rural community-based prospective cohort study of Liaoning province, China. Follow-up for the new cases of CVD was conducted from the end of the baseline survey to the end of the third follow-up survey (January 1, 2008-December 31, 2017). Adjusted Cox proportional hazards models were applied to estimate the Hazard Ratios (HR) and 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) with the normal blood pressure as a reference. Results: During the median follow-up period of 12.5 years, 1,419 subjects suffered all-cause death, 748 developed CVD, 1,224 participants suffered stroke and 241 had Myocardial Infarction (MI). Compared with normal BP, Stage 1 hypertension had a HR (95% CI) of 1.694 (1.202-2.387) in CVD mortality, 1.575 (1.244-1.994) in the incidence of stroke. The results obtained that the risk of CVD mortality and incidence of stroke was significantly associated with stage 1 hypertension in rural women aged ≥45 years after adjusting for other potential factors. However, in participants aged 35-44 years, stage 1 hypertension was not associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Conclusions: The newly defined stage 1 hypertension is associated with an increased risk of CVD mortality and also incidence of stroke in the rural women aged ≥45 years population of Liaoning province. This study can be a good reference for health policy makers and clinicians workers to make evidence-based decisions toward lowering burden of cardiovascular disease more efficient, timely measures on prevention and control of stage 1 hypertension in China.

A radiomic nomogram for prediction of major adverse cardiac events in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to establish and validate a non-contrast T1 map-based radiomic nomogram for predicting major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS: This retrospective study included 157 consecutive patients (training sets, 109 patients; test sets, 48 patients) with acute STEMI undergoing PCI. An open-source radiomics software was used to segment the myocardium on the non-contrast T1 mapping and extract features. A radiomic signature was constructed to predict MACEs using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator method. The performance of the radiomic nomogram for predicting MACEs in both the training and test sets was evaluated by its discrimination, calibration, and clinical usefulness. RESULTS: The radiomic signature showed a good prognostic ability in the training sets with an AUC of 0.94 (95% CI, 0.86 to 1.00) and F1 score of 0.71, which was confirmed in the test sets with an AUC of 0.90 (95% CI, 0.74 to 1.00) and F1 score of 0.62. The nomogram consisting of the radiomic scores and cardiac troponin I showed good discrimination ability in the training and test sets with AUCs of 0.96 (95% CI, 0.91 to 1.00; F1 score, 0.71) and 0.94 (95% CI, 0.83 to 1.00; F1 score, 0.70), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The non-contrast T1 map-based radiomic nomogram is a useful tool for the prediction of MACEs in patients with acute STEMI undergoing PCI that can assist clinicians for optimised risk stratification of individual patients. KEY POINTS: • Radiomic signature improved MACE prediction in acute STEMI patients. • T1 mapping-derived radiomic signature outperformed conventional cardiac MRI parameters in predicting MACEs in acute STEMI patients. • The non-contrast T1 mapping-based radiomic nomogram can be used for prediction of MACEs and improvement of risk stratification in acute STEMI.

Erratum to "Expression Profiles and Ontology Analysis of Circular RNAs in a Mouse Model of Myocardial Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2020/2346369.].

Circulating miR-1 as a potential predictor of left ventricular remodeling following acute ST-segment myocardial infarction using cardiac magnetic resonance.

BACKGROUND: The identification of patients with a high likelihood of left ventricular (LV) remodeling with a high-risk prognosis has critical implications for risk stratification after acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between circulating miR-1 and 6-month post-infarct LV remodeling based on cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging. METHODS: A total of 80 patients with a first STEMI treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) who underwent CMR imaging 1 week and 6 months after STEMI were evaluated. The percentage changes of LV ejection fraction (LVEF), LV end-diastolic volume (LVEDV), LV end-systolic volume index (LVESV) at 1 week and 6 months after PCI (%ΔLVEF, %ΔLVEDV and %ΔLVESV) were calculated. miR-1 was measured using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based technologies in plasma samples that were collected at admission. The study group was divided into two groups based on a 10% cutoff value for the percentage of change in the LV end-diastolic volume (%ΔLVEDV): remodeling at high risk of major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) (%ΔLVEDV ≥10%, termed the LV remodeling group) and remodeling at lower risk of MACEs (%ΔLVEDV <10%, termed the non-LV remodeling group). The associations of miR-1 expression with the %ΔLVEDV, percentage change in the LV end-systolic volume (%ΔLVESV), and percentage change in the LV ejection fraction at follow-up were estimated. RESULTS: Twenty-two patients (27.5%) showed adverse LV remodeling, and 58 patients (72.5%) did not show adverse LV remodeling at the 6-month follow-up of CMR. The mean LVEF, LVEDV index, and LVESV index values at 1 week were 50.6%±8.2%, 74.6±12.8 mL/m2, and 37.2±10.2 mL/m2, respectively. Mean LVEF at follow-up (53.5%±10.6%) was increased compared with baseline (P<0.001). There were significant decreases in LVEDV index and LVESV index values at follow-up (72.0±14.9 mL/m2 and 33.7±11.0 mL/m2, respectively; P=0.009 and P<0.001, respectively). The expression of miR-1 at admission was positively correlated with the %ΔLVEDV (r=0.611, P<0.001) and %ΔLVESV (r=0.268, P=0.016). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed that miR-1 expression predicted LV remodeling with an area under the curve (AUC) value of 0.68 (95% CI: 0.56-0.78). Compared with the clinical factors of peak creatine kinase-myocardial band (CK-MB) and peak troponin T level, peak logNT-proBNP showed the highest predictive power, with an AUC value of 0.75 (95% CI: 0.64-0.84). A model including the clinical, CMR, and miR-1 factors showed greater predictive power (P=0.034) than a model including only clinical and CMR factors, with AUCs of 0.89 (95% CI: 0.80-0.95) and 0.81 (95% CI: 0.71-0.89), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Circulating miR-1 at admission is an independent predictor of LV remodeling 6 months after STEMI. miR-1 showed incremental value in predicting LV remodeling compared with the clinical and CMR measurements.

Expression Profiles and Ontology Analysis of Circular RNAs in a Mouse Model of Myocardial Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) play important roles in cellular physiology. The association between circRNAs and myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury remains largely unknown. The aim of this study was to test the effects of myocardial I/R circRNA expression and explore the potential roles of these circRNAs. CircRNAs were screened by high-throughput sequencing, and the expression of dysregulated circRNAs was further validated using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Nineteen upregulated and 20 downregulated circRNAs were identified. Gene Ontology analysis indicated that the dysregulated transcripts were associated with fundamental pathophysiologic processes. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis showed significant changes in adherens junction, the HIF-1 signaling pathway, the cell cycle, and the FoxO signaling pathway which have a close relationship with myocardial I/R injury. The circRNA-miRNA analysis demonstrated the broad potential of the differentially expressed circRNAs to regulate target genes by acting on the miRNAs. This study provides a foundation for understanding the roles and mechanisms of circRNAs in myocardial I/R injury.

Intracoronary compared with intravenous bolus tirofiban on the microvascular obstruction in patients with STEMI undergoing PCI: a cardiac MR study.

To investigate the potential effect of intracoronary administration of the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor tirofiban on the microvascular obstruction (MVO) assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging compared to the intravenous route in patients with ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Two hundred eight patients were randomized into two groups (tirofiban i.v. and tirofiban i.c.). CMR was completed within 3-7 days after ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction. One hundred thirty-two patients had a follow-up CMR at 6 months after discharge. The primary end point was the CMR measurements including myocardium strain, myocardial perfusion index, final infarct size, prevalence and extent of MVO, and the change of left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV) at six months follow-up. The second endpoint was major adverse cardiovascular events (composite of all-cause death, nonfatal reinfarction and congestive heart failure) in one year. The MVO prevalence and extent [56% versus 36%, p = 0.004; 2.08 (IQR: 1.18-5.07) g versus 1.68 (IQR: 0.30-3.28) g, p = 0.041] showed a significant difference between the intravenous and intracoronary groups. Global left ventricular peak longitudinal strain was significantly different in intracoronary groups compared to intravenous groups, - 12.5 [IQR: - 13.4 to - 10.9] versus - 12.3 [IQR: - 13.4 to - 10.4], respectively (P = 0.042). Infarcted myocardial perfusion index was significantly different in intracoronary groups compared to intravenous groups, 0.11 [IQR: 0.08 to 0.15] versus 0.09 [IQR: 0.07 to 0.14], respectively (P = 0.026). Intracoronary tirofiban was associated with a higher change in LVEDV compared with intravenous group (- 10.2% [IQR: - 13.7% to - 2.6%] versus 1.3% [IQR: - 5.6% to 6.1%], p < 0.001). Intracoronary tirofiban application showed no benefit on the occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events during follow-up compared to intravenous administration. This CMR study in ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction patients showed a benefit in MVO and left ventricular remodeling for intracoronary tirofiban administration compared to intravenous administration in patients undergoing PCI.

Impact of Prehypertension on the Risk of Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events in a Chinese Rural Cohort.

BACKGROUND: The study was performed to investigate the impact of prehypertension defined by the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC7) on the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in a Chinese rural cohort. METHODS: The epidemiological prospective cohort study included 38,765 participants aged ≥35 years followed for a median of 12.5 years-divided into normal BP (n = 7,366), prehypertension (n = 18,095), and hypertension groups (n = 13,304)-were enrolled for the final analysis. Follow-up for MACE including cardiovascular disease (CVD) death, stroke and myocardial infarction (MI) was conducted. Adjusted Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: The age and sex-adjusted incidence of MACE and its subtypes rose progressively with elevation of BP levels (P < 0.001). After adjusting multivariable Cox proportional hazards, significant increases were observed from the prehypertensive group for incident MACE (HR = 1.337, 95% CI: 1.186-1.508, P < 0.001), CVD mortality (HR = 1.331, 95% CI: 1.109-1.597, P = 0.002), and stroke (HR = 1.424, 95% CI：1.237-1.639, P < 0.001) but not MI (P > 0.05) compared with normal BP. CONCLUSION: Prehypertensive individuals had a greater risk of incident MACE, CVD mortality, and stroke, implying that improvements in BP monitoring and early intervention in individuals with prehypertension in rural China are urgently needed.

Hospital mortality in acute coronary syndrome: adjustment of GRACE score by D-dimer enables a more accurate prediction in a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUD: To assess the value of D-dimer and its combination with The Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) score in predicting in-hospital mortality in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS: In 5923 ACS patients undergoing PCI, the role of D-dimer and the added value of D-dimer to GRACE score for predicting in-hospital mortality were tested. RESULTS: After multivariable adjustment, D-dimer could significantly predict in-hospital mortality. Also, it could significantly improve the prognostic performance of GRACE score (C-statistic: z = 2.269, p = 0.023; IDI: 0.016, p = 0.032; NRI: 0.291, p = 0.035). CONCLUSION: In patients with ACS undergoing PCI, D-dimer was an independent predictor of in-hospital death. It could also improve the prognostic performance of GRACE score.

Prognostic value of fibrinogen-to-albumin ratio in predicting 1-year clinical progression in patients with non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.

Previous studies have indicated that fibrinogen and low serum albumin levels are associated with poor cardiovascular outcomes. The objective of the present study was to examine whether the fibrinogen-to-albumin ratio (FAR) was able to predict the 1-year prognosis of patients with non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). A total of 1,352 patients with NSTE-ACS undergoing PCI were included in this prospective study and were divided into a low-FAR group (FAR ≤8.713, n=901) and a high-FAR group (FAR>8.713, n=451). FAR was defined as the concentration ratio of fibrinogen (mg/dl) to albumin (mg/dl) multiplied by 100. The endpoint was the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs), including all-cause mortality, cardiac mortality, non-fatal myocardial reinfarction and unscheduled repeat revascularisation. The predictive performance was validated by receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. A total of 127 MACEs were noted during the 1-year follow-up period. Multivariate Cox analysis suggested that a high FAR was an independent predictor of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio=2.223, 95% confidence interval: 1.002-4.931, P=0.049). Regarding the predictor of MACEs, the FAR exhibited an area under the ROC curve of 0.676 with a sensitivity of 0.630 and a specificity of 0.726. The cut-off value was 9.114. The FAR was an independent prognostic factor in NSTE-ACS. The present results suggest that the FAR may serve as a potential prognostic indicator for patients with NSTE-ACS undergoing PCI (approval no. NCT02667548; January 29, 2016; Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University).

Prognostic impact of alkaline phosphatase for in-hospital mortality in patients with acute coronary syndrome: a prospective cohort study in China.

OBJECTIVES: Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) can promote vascular calcification, but the association between ALP and in-hospital mortality in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is not well defined. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A total of 6368 patients with ACS undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2017 were analysed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: In-hospital mortality was used in this study. RESULTS: ALP was analysed both as a continuous variable and according to three categories. After multivariable adjustment, in-hospital mortality was significantly higher in Tertile 3 group (ALP＞85 U/L) (OR: 2.399, 95% CI 1.080 to 5.333, p=0.032), compared with other two groups (Tertile 1: ＜66 U/L; Tertile 2: 66-85 U/L). When ALP was evaluated as a continuous variable, after multivariable adjustment, the ALP level was associated with an increased risk of in-hospital mortality (OR: 1.011, 95% CI 1.002 to 1.020, p=0.014). C-statistic of ALP for predicting in-hospital mortality was 0.630 (95% CI 0.618 to 0.642, p=0.001). The cut-off value was 72 U/L with a sensitivity of 0.764 and a specificity of 0.468. However, ALP could not significantly improve the prognostic performance of Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) score (GRACE score+ALP vs GRACE score: C-statistic: z=0.485, p=0.628; integrated discrimination improvement: 0.014, p=0.056; net reclassification improvement: 0.020, p=0.630). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with ACS undergoing PCI, ALP was an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality. But it could not improve the prognostic performance of GRACE score.

Organic Heterojunctions Formed by Interfacing Two Single Crystals from a Mixed Solution.

Organic heterojunctions are widely used in organic electronics and they are composed of semiconductors interfaced together. Good ordering in the molecular packing inside the heterojunctions is highly desired but it is still challenging to interface organic single crystals to form single-crystalline heterojunctions. Here, we describe how organic heterojunctions are formed by interfacing two single crystals from a droplet of a mixed solution containing two semiconductors. Based on crystallization of six organic semiconductors from a droplet on a substrate, two distinct crystallization mechanisms have been recognized in the sense that crystals form at either the top interface between the air and solution or the bottom interface between the substrate and solution. The preference for one interface rather than the other depends on the semiconductor-substrate pair and, for a given semiconductor, it can be switched by changing the substrate, suggesting that the preference is associated with the semiconductor-substrate molecular interaction. Furthermore, simultaneous crystallization of two semiconductors at two different interfaces to reduce their mutual disturbance results in the formation of bilayer single crystals interfaced together for organic heterojunctions. These single-crystalline heterojunctions exhibit ambipolar charge transport in field-effect transistors, with the highest electron mobility of 1.90 cm2 V-1 s-1 and the highest hole mobility of 1.02 cm2 V-1 s-1. Hence, by elucidating the interfacial crystallization events, this work should greatly harvest the solution-grown organic single-crystalline heterojunctions.

Value of the fT3/fT4 ratio and its combination with the GRACE risk score in predicting the prognosis in euthyroid patients with acute myocardial infarction undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Thyroid hormones deeply influence the cardiovascular system; however, the association between the fT3/fT4 ratio and the clinical outcome in euthyroid patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is not well defined. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the prognostic performance of the fT3/fT4 ratio in predicting the long-term prognosis in euthyroid patients with AMI undergoing PCI. METHODS: In a prospective cohort study with a 1-year follow-up, according to the clinical end point, 953 euthyroid individuals (61.0 ± 11.6; female, 25.8%) were divided into two groups: (1) the survival group (n = 915) and (2) the death group (n = 38). RESULTS: According to Cox regression multivariate analysis, fT4 (HR: 1.249, 95% CI: 1.053-1.480, p = 0.010) and the fT3/fT4 ratio (HR: 3.546, 95% CI: 1.705-7.377, p = 0.001) were associated with an increased risk of 1-year all-cause mortality. The prognostic performance of the fT3/fT4 ratio was similar to the Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) score in predicting 1-year all-cause mortality (C-statistic: z = 0.261, p = 0.794; IDI: -0.017, p = 0.452; NRI: -0.049, p = 0.766), but better than fT4 (C-statistic: z = 2.438, p = 0.015; IDI: 0.053, p = 0.002; NRI: 0.656, p < 0.001). The fT3/fT4 ratio also significantly improved the prognostic performance of the GRACE score (GRACE score vs GRACE score + fT3/fT4 ratio: C-statistic: z = 2.116, p = 0.034; IDI: 0.0415, p = 0.007; NRI: 0.614, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In euthyroid patients with AMI undergoing PCI, the fT3/fT4 ratio was an independent predictor of 1-year all-cause mortality. Its prognostic performance was similar to the GRACE score, and also improved its prognostic performance (GRACE score vs GRACE score + fT3/fT4 ratio).

Self-Healing Electronic Materials for a Smart and Sustainable Future.

The survivability of living organisms relies critically on their ability to self-heal from damage in unpredictable situations and environmental variability. Such abilities are most important in external facing organs such as the mammalian skin. However, the properties of bulk elemental materials are typically unable to perform self-repair. Consequently, most conventional smart electronic devices today are not designed to repair themselves when damaged. Thus, inspired by the remarkable capability of self-healing in natural systems, smart self-healing materials are being intensively researched to mimic natural systems to have the ability to partially or completely self-repair damages inflicted on them. This exciting area of research could potentially power a sustainable and smart future.

Predictive Value of Mean Platelet Volume/Platelet Count for Prognosis in Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Increased mean platelet volume (MPV) has been associated with adverse clinical outcomes in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We aim to assess whether MPV/platelet count (MPV/PC) ratio is a useful marker to predict long-term prognosis in patients with STEMI undergoing PCI. Moreover, the prognostic accuracy of MPV/PC ratio is compared with MPV. 962 consecutive patients with STEMI treated with P-PCI were considered. According to the admission MPV/PC values, the population was divided into two groups: high MPV/PC group (n = 320, MPV/PC ≥ 0.055) and low MPV/PC group (n = 642, MPV/PC < 0.055). Multivariate analysis showed that high MPV/PC was an independent predictor of major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE; hazard ratio [HR]: 1.121, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.056-1.190, P < 0.01), all-cause mortality (HR: 1.109, 95% CI: 1.016-1.209, P = 0.020), cardiac mortality (HR: 1.141, 95% CI: 1.038-1.253, P = 0.006), nonfatal myocardial reinfarction (HR: 1.148, 95% CI: 1.044-1.262, P = 0.004), and unplanned repeat revascularization (HR: 1.073, 95% CI: 1.007-1.144, P = 0.030), respectively. MPV/PC ratio has good accuracy for predicting MACE (the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve: 0.764), and the cut-off value was 0.054 with a sensitivity of 0.813 and a specificity of 0.662. The discriminatory performance of MPV/PC ratio was better than MPV for predicting MACE (MPV/PC ratio versus MPV: z = 2.285, P = 0.022), in patients with STEMI undergoing P-PCI. MPV/PC ratio is able to but better than MPV to predict long-term adverse outcomes in patients with STEMI undergoing P-PCI.

Preparation of Single-Crystalline Heterojunctions for Organic Electronics.

Organic single-crystalline heterojunctions are composed of different single crystals interfaced together. The intrinsic highly ordered heterostructure in these multicomponent solids holds the capacity for multifunctions, as well as superior charge-transporting properties, promising high-performance electronic applications such as ambipolar transistors and solar cells. However, this kind of heterojunction is not easily available and the preparation methods need to be developed. Recent advances in the efficient strategies that have emerged in yielding high-quality single-crystalline heterojunctions are highlighted here. The advantages and limitations of each strategy are also discussed. The obtained single-crystalline heterojunctions have started to exhibit rich physical properties, including metallic conduction, photovoltaic effects, and so on. Further structural optimization of the heterojunctions to accommodate the electronic device configuration is necessary to significantly advance this research direction.

Polymorphic Phase-Dependent Optical and Electrical Properties of a Diketopyrrolopyrrole-Based Small Molecule.

Four different polymorphic conformations of diethyl 5,5'-[5,5'-[2,5-bis(2-ethylhexyl)-3,6-dioxo-2,3,5,6-tetrahydropyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4-diyl]bis(thiophene-5,2-diyl)]difuran-2-carboxylate (DPP-(CF)2), namely, DPP-(CF)2-α, DPP-(CF)2-ß, DPP-(CF)2-γ, and DPP-(CF)2-ω, were identified from X-ray diffraction analysis conducted on their thin films and single crystals. Highly crystalline and well-textured thin films of these four polymorphs were successfully prepared via postgrowth solvent vapor and thermal annealing treatments to investigate the polymorphic phase-dependent optical and electrical properties of DPP-(CF)2. Interestingly, during the phase transition from DPP-(CF)2-α to DPP-(CF)2-ω, the optical band gap decreases from 1.75 to 1.5 eV because of the enhanced π-π interaction between the neighboring molecules. Except for DPP-(CF)2-γ, the other three phases show ambipolar charge transport. Although DPP-(CF)2-ß and DPP-(CF)2-γ exhibit a similar way of packing, a small increment in the π-π-stacking distance (0.006 Å) and twist conformation of the grafted electron-donating moieties of DPP-(CF)2-γ are found to reduce its hole mobility.

Interfacing Solution-Grown C60 and (3-Pyrrolinium)(CdCl3 ) Single Crystals for High-Mobility Transistor-Based Memory Devices.

Aligned ferroelectric single crystals of (3-pyrrolinium)(CdCl3 ) can be prepared from solution on top of aligned semiconducting C60 single crystals using an orthogonal solvent. Memory devices based on these ferroelectric/semiconductor bilayered heterojunctions exhibit much larger hysteresis compared with that of only C60 single crystals. More importantly, the introduction of the ferroelectric layer induces the memory window without dramatically reducing the charge mobility.

Solution-grown organic single-crystalline p-n junctions with ambipolar charge transport.

Organic single-crystalline p-n junctions are grown from mixed solutions. First, C60 crystals (n-type) form and, subsequently, C8-BTBT crystals (p-type) nucleate heterogeneously on the C60 crystals. Both crystals continue to grow simultaneously into single-crystalline p-n junctions that exhibit ambipolar charge transport characteristics. This work provides a platform to study organic single-crystalline p-n junctions.