Transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement with LuX-valve device: Overview of key echocardiographic considerations.

Tricuspid regurgitation is a common valve disease with high incidence and poor prognosis. For elderly patients and those with a history of open heart surgery, second thoracotomy and valve replacement carry a high risk. Transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement (TTVR) has become an alternative treatment for patients with high surgical risk. LuX-Valve is a novel self-expandable valve that does not rely on radial force to anchor the valve annulus. The preliminary results have been satisfactory, and this technology is gradually being adopted in China and around the world. Successful implementation of this technique depends on echocardiographic preoperative screening, intraoperative guidance, and postoperative follow-up. The purpose of this article is to provide a state-of-the-art review of the key points and technical considerations for preoperative screening, intraoperative guidance, and postoperative follow-up for TTVR.

Photodynamic therapy combined with antifungal drugs against kerion: A report of six cases and literature review.

Kerion, a severe manifestation of tinea capitis caused by dermatophytes, is a fungal skin disease primarily affecting children. This report discusses six cases of pediatric kerion that were successfully treated with a combination of photodynamic therapy (PDT) and antifungal agents. Additionally, we conducted a literature review, identifying and analyzing six published reports on kerion and tinea capitis. The characteristics and efficacies of these cases are summarized. In summary, early combination therapy and proactive pre-treatment interventions proved effective in maximizing therapeutic outcomes, reducing disease duration and minimizing adverse reactions such as cicatricial alopecia. This approach has emerged as a favorable choice for the treatment of kerion.

Compact Micropatterned Chip Empowers Undisturbed and Programmable Drug Addition in High-Throughput Cell Screening.

Simultaneously adding multiple drugs and other chemical reagents to individual droplets at specific time points presents a significant challenge, particularly when dealing with tiny droplets in high-throughput screening applications. In this study, a micropatterned polymer chip is developed as a miniaturized platform for light-induced programmable drug addition in cell-based screening. This chip incorporates a porous superhydrophobic polymer film with atom transfer radical polymerization reactivity, facilitating the efficient grafting of azobenzene methacrylate, a photoconformationally changeable group, onto the hydrophilic regions of polymer matrix at targeted locations and with precise densities. By employing light irradiation, the cyclodextrin-azobenzene host-guest complexes formed on the polymer chip can switch from an "associated" to a "dissociated" state, granting precise photochemical control over the supramolecular coding system and its surface patterning ability. Significantly, the exceptional spatial and temporal control offered by these chemical transitions empowers to utilize digital light processing systems for simultaneous regulation and release of cyclodextrin-bearing drugs across numerous droplets containing suspended or adhered cells. This approach minimizes mechanical disruption while achieving precise control over the timing of addition, dosage, and integration varieties of released drugs in high-throughput screening, all programmable to meet specific requirements.

Programmable supramolecular chirality in non-equilibrium systems affording a multistate chiroptical switch.

The dynamic regulation of supramolecular chirality in non-equilibrium systems can provide valuable insights into molecular self-assembly in living systems. Herein, we demonstrate the use of chemical fuels for regulating self-assembly pathway, which thereby controls the supramolecular chirality of assembly in non-equilibrium systems. Depending on the nature of different fuel acids, the system shows pathway-dependent non-equilibrium self-assembly, resulting in either dynamic self-assembly with transient supramolecular chirality or kinetically trapped self-assembly with inverse supramolecular chirality. More importantly, successive conducting of chemical-fueled process and thermal annealing process allows for the sequential programmability of the supramolecular chirality between four different chiral hydrogels, affording a new example of a multistate supramolecular chiroptical switch that can be recycled multiple times. The current finding sheds new light on the design of future supramolecular chiral materials, offering access to alternative self-assembly pathways and kinetically controlled non-equilibrium states.

Hierarchical PdNi alloy nanochains coupled with Ni(OH)2 nanosheets to enhance CO-poisoning resistance for the methanol oxidation reaction.

Hybridizing Pd-based electrocatalysts with Ni-based species has been recognized as an effective pathway to enhance the catalytic performance for the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). However, doping Ni-based species with heterogeneous valences into Pd nanocrystals still remains challenging, although heterogeneous valence Ni species may result in improved properties of Pd from different aspects. Herein, a facile one-pot synthetic method is reported to simultaneously introduce alloyed Ni0 into Pd lattices and couple hydroxy Ni2+ species with a Pd surface, generating 1D porous PdNi alloy nanochains@Ni(OH)2 nanosheet hybrids (PdNi NCs@Ni(OH)2 NSs). Borane-tert-butylamine (C4H14BN) plays the key role in realizing the formation of Ni-based species with heterogeneous valence. On one hand, it works as a reducing agent to facilitate the doping of alloyed Ni0 into the lattice of Pd nanochains. On the other hand, it raises the solution pH value and converts the remaining [Ni(CN)4]2- into Ni(OH)2 nanosheets. Each component of the PdNi NCs@Ni(OH)2 NSs plays an important role: Pd serves as the active site, alloyed Ni0 modifies the electronic structure of Pd, and Ni(OH)2 provides abundant OHads species to strengthen the anti-poisoning capability, thus greatly enhancing the activity, CO-tolerance, and durability for the MOR.

H2O2/O2 self-supply and Ca2+ overloading MOF-based nanoplatform for cascade-amplified chemodynamic and photodynamic therapy.

Introduction: Reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated therapies have typically been considered as noninvasive tumor treatments owing to their high selectivity and efficiency. However, the harsh tumor microenvironment severely impairs their efficiency. Methods: Herein, the biodegradable Cu-doped zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) was synthesized for loading photosensitizer Chlorin e6 (Ce6) and CaO2 nanoparticles, followed by surface decoration by hyaluronic acid (HA), obtaining HA/CaO2-Ce6@Cu-ZIF nano platform. Results and Discussion: Once HA/CaO2-Ce6@Cu-ZIF targets tumor sites, the degradation of Ce6 and CaO2 release from the HA/CaO2-Ce6@Cu-ZIF in response to the acid environment, while the Cu2+ active sites on Cu-ZIF are exposed. The released CaO2 decompose to generate hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and oxygen (O2), which alleviate the insufficiency of intracellular H2O2 and hypoxia in tumor microenvironment (TME), effectively enhancing the production of hydroxyl radical (•OH) and singlet oxygen (1O2) in Cu2+-mediated chemodynamic therapy (CDT) and Ce6-induced photodynamic therapy (PDT), respectively. Importantly, Ca2+ originating from CaO2 could further enhance oxidative stress and result in mitochondrial dysfunction induced by Ca2+ overloading. Conclusion: Thus, the H2O2/O2 self-supplying and Ca2+ overloading ZIF-based nanoplatform for cascade-amplified CDT/PDT synergistic strategy is promising for highly efficient anticancer therapy.

Three-Dimensional Nickel Cobalt Phosphide Nanocrosses with Well-Defined Axial Arms for Efficient Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

Concave nanostructure with highly branched architecture and abundant step atoms is one kind of desirable materials for energy conversion devices. However, current synthetic strategies for non-noble metal-based NiCoP concave nanostructure still remain challenging. Herein, we demonstrate a site-selective chemical etching and subsequent phosphorating strategy to fabricate highly branched NiCoP concave nanocrosses (HB-NiCoP CNCs). The HB-NiCoP CNCs are consisted of six axial arms in three-dimensional space and each protruding arm is equipped with high-density atomic steps, ledges and kinks. As an electrocatalyst towards oxygen evolution reaction, the HB-NiCoP CNCs exhibit remarkably enhanced activity and stability, with small overpotential of 289 mV to reach 10 mA cm-2 , surpassing the NiCoP nanocages and commercial RuO2 . The superior OER performance of HB-NiCoP CNCs is originated from the highly branched concave structure, the synergistic effect between bimetal Ni and Co atoms, as well as the electronic structure modulation from P.

Prognostic value of the dynamic hepatorenal function on intermediate-term mortality in TAVI patients with survival to discharge.

BACKGROUND: Renal and liver dysfunctions are risk factors for mortality in patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS). Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has the potential to break the vicious cycle between AS and hepatorenal dysfunction by relieving aortic valve obstruction. HYPOTHESIS: A part of patients can derive hepatorenal function improvement from TAVI, and this noncardiac benefit improves the intermediate-term outcomes. METHODS: We developed this retrospective cohort study in 439 consecutive patients undergoing TAVI and described the dynamic hepatorenal function assessed by model for end-stage liver disease model for end-stage liver disease (MELD)-XI score in subgroups. The endpoint was 2-year all-cause mortality. RESULTS: Receiver-operating characteristic analysis showed that the baseline MELD-XI score of 10.71 was the cutoff point. A high MELD-XI score (>10.71) at baseline was an independent predictor of the 2-year mortality hazard ratio (HR: 2.65 [1.29-5.47], p = .008). After TAVI, patients with irreversible high MELD-XI scores had a higher risk of 2-year mortality than patients who improved from high to low MELD-XI scores (HR: 2.50 [1.06-5.91], p = .03). Factors associated with reversible MELD-XI scores improvement were low baseline MELD-XI scores (≤12.00, odds ratio [OR]: 2.02 [1.04-3.94], p = .04), high aortic valve peak velocity (≥5 m/s, OR: 2.17 [1.11-4.24], p = .02), and low body mass index (≤25 kg/m2 , OR: 2.73 [1.25-5.98], p = .01). CONCLUSION: High MELD-XI score at baseline is an independent predictor for 2-year mortality. Patients with hepatorenal function improvement after TAVI have better outcomes. For patients with irreversible hepatorenal dysfunction after TAVI, further optimization of the subsequent treatment after TAVI is needed to improve the outcomes.

Sex Difference in Outcomes Following Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement in Bicuspid Aortic Stenosis.

BACKGROUND: It is unknown whether the sex difference whereby female transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) candidates had a lower risk profile, a higher incidence of in-hospital complications, but more favorable short- and long-term survival observed in tricuspid cohorts undergoing TAVR would persist in patients with bicuspid aortic valves (BAVs). OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to reexamine the impact of sex on outcomes following TAVR in patients with BAVs. METHODS: In this single-center study, patients with BAVs undergoing TAVR for severe aortic stenosis from 2012 to 2021 were retrospectively included. Baseline characteristics, aortic root anatomy, and in-hospital and 1-year valve hemodynamic status and survival were compared between sexes. RESULTS: A total of 510 patients with BAVs were included. At baseline, women presented with fewer comorbidities. Men had a greater proportion of Sievers type 1 BAV, higher calcium volumes (549.2 ± 408.4 mm3 vs 920.8 ± 654.3 mm3; P < 0.001), and larger aortic root structures. Women experienced more vascular complications (12.9% vs 4.9%; P = 0.002) and bleeding (11.1% vs 5.3%; P = 0.019) and higher residual gradients (16.9 ± 7.7 mm Hg vs 13.2 ± 6.4 mm Hg; P < 0.001), while men were more likely to undergo second valve implantations during index TAVR (6.3% vs 15.9%; P = 0.001). Death at 1 year was not significantly different between sexes (HR: 1.15; 95% CI: 0.56-2.35; P = 0.70). Bleeding (adjusted HR: 4.62; 95% CI: 1.51-14.12; P = 0.007) was the single independent predictor of 1-year death for women. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with BAVs undergoing TAVR, women presented with fewer comorbidities, while men had a greater proportion of type 1 BAV, more calcification, and larger aortic roots. In-hospital outcomes favored men, with fewer complications except for the need for second valve implantation, but 1-year survival was comparable between sexes.

Mechanical Behavior of Shape Memory Alloy Fibers Embedded in Engineered Cementitious Composite Matrix under Cyclic Pullout Loads.

The incorporation of superelastic shape memory alloy (SMA) fibers into engineered cementitious composite (ECC) materials can provide high seismic energy dissipation and deformation self-centering capabilities for ECC materials. Whether the SMA fibers can be sufficiently bonded or anchored in the ECC matrix and whether the mechanical properties of the SMA fibers in the ECC matrix can be effectively utilized are the key scientific issues that urgently need to be studied. In order to study the mechanical behavior of SMA fiber embedded in ECC matrix, four groups of semi-dog-bone pullout specimens were fabricated, and the cyclic pullout tests were conducted in this paper. The pullout stress, displacement, and self-centering capability were analyzed, and different influencing factors were discussed. The results show that the knotted ends can provide sufficient anchorage force for SMA fibers, and the maximum pullout stress of SMA fiber can reach 1100 MPa, thus the superelasticity can be effectively stimulated. The SMA fibers show excellent self-centering capability in the test. The minimum residual deformation in the test is only 0.29 mm, and the maximum self-centering ratio can reach 0.93. Increasing bond length can increase the ultimate strain of SMA fibers with knotted ends, but reduce the maximum pullout stress. Increasing fiber diameter can increase both the ultimate strain and the maximum stress of knotted end SMA fibers. While neither bond length nor fiber diameter has significant effect on the self-centering ratio. This paper provides a theoretical basis for further study of the combination of SMA fibers and ECC materials.

Supramolecular Gel-Derived Highly Efficient Bifunctional Catalysts for Omnidirectionally Stretchable Zn-Air Batteries with Extreme Environmental Adaptability.

Most existing stretchable batteries can generally only be stretched uniaxially and suffer from poor mechanical and electrochemical robustness to withstand extreme mechanical and environmental challenges. A highly efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst is herein developed via the unique self-templated conversion of a guanosine-based supramolecular hydrogel and presents a fully integrated design strategy to successfully fabricate an omnidirectionally stretchable and extremely environment-adaptable Zn-air battery (ZAB) through the synergistic engineering of active materials and device architecture. The electrocatalyst demonstrates a very low reversible overpotential of only 0.68 V for oxygen reduction/evolution reactions (ORR/OER). This ZAB exhibits superior omnidirectional stretchability with a full-cell areal strain of >1000% and excellent durability, withstanding more than 10 000 stretching cycles. Promisingly, without any additional pre-treatment, the ZAB exhibits outstanding ultra-low temperature tolerance (down to -60 °C) and superior waterproofness, withstanding continuous water rinsing (>5 h) and immersion (>3 h). The present work offers a promising strategy for the design of omnidirectionally stretchable and high-performance energy storage devices for future on-skin wearable applications.

Low-molecular-weight supramolecular adhesives based on non-covalent self-assembly of a small molecular gelator.

Currently developed adhesives are overwhelmingly polymeric in nature. Herein, we highlight for the first time the potential of supramolecular eutectogels assembled from small molecules as robust low-molecular-weight (LMW) supramolecular adhesives in air, water and organic solvents, and under low temperatures. These supramolecular eutectogels were produced from commercial alkyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CnTAB) in emerging deep eutectic solvents (DESs), which demonstrated rapid (∼2 min), robust, and tunable adhesion to both hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces at room temperature in air. Moreover, high adhesion performance was maintained even in liquid nitrogen (-196 °C), underwater, and in organic solvents. A study of the structure-property relationship of these adhesives and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations further clarified the assembly and adhesion mechanism of the C12TAB molecules in DESs. Compared with traditional polymer adhesives and several existing examples of LMW supramolecular adhesives with solvent-free dry network structures, the spontaneous self-assembly of LMW gelators in versatile DESs provides a new strategy for the facile construction of high-strength supramolecular adhesives with gel network structures for a diverse range of harsh environments.

In†Silico Analysis Identifies the Anti-Liver Injury Targets of Diammonium Glycyrrhizinate: Validated in Perfluorooctanoic Acid-Lesioned Mouse Model.

Liver injury refers to a pathological condition that causes dysfunction to hepatic parenchymal cells. And diammonium glycyrrhizinate (DG) is clinically prescribed for hepatoprotection. To date, detailed information regarding DG against liver injury in molecular mechanisms remains unrevealed totally. In the present study, we applied network pharmacology and molecular docking to decipher substantial genes, biological functions of DG for treating liver injury. Furthermore, preclinical experiments using perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)-induced liver injury in mice were used to validate the bioinformatic findings. Our results showed that the target network of DG and liver injury predominantly shared 90 genes. Eleven core genes of DG treating liver injury including ALB, TP53, TNF, CASP3, PTGS2, JUN, TLR4, IL10, STAT3, NOS3, FOS. The gene ontology and KEGG enrichment further highlighted their importance in regulation of cell proliferation, regulation of transcription, inflammatory response, regulation of NF-kappaB import into nucleus, regulation of apoptotic process, T cell receptor signaling pathway, and Toll-like receptor signaling pathway. Moreover, DG treatment was found to rescue the PFOA-induced liver injury through the modulation of identified genes including TNF, CASP3, PTGS2, and ALB. Current integrated data from bioinformatics method and experimental validation uncovered that DG exerts potent actions to treat liver injury through regulating core targets associated with inflammation and immunomodulation.

Programmable Transient Supramolecular Chiral G-quadruplex Hydrogels by a Chemically Fueled Non-equilibrium Self-Assembly Strategy.

The temporal and spatial control of natural systems has aroused great interest for the creation of synthetic mimics. By using boronic ester based dynamic covalent chemistry and coupling it with an internal pH feedback system, we have developed a new chemically fueled reaction network for non-equilibrium supramolecular chiral G-quadruplex hydrogels with programmable lifetimes from minutes, to hours, to days, as well as high transparency and conductivity, excellent injectability, and rapid self-healing properties. The system can be controlled by the kinetically controlled in situ formation and dissociation of dynamic boronic ester bonds between the cis-diol of guanosine (G) and 5-fluorobenzoxaborole (B) in the presence of chemical fuels (KOH and 1,3-propanesultone), thereby leading to a precipitate-solution-gel-precipitate cycle under non-equilibrium conditions. A combined experimental-computational approach showed the underlying mechanism of the non-equilibrium self-assembly involves aggregation and disaggregation of right-handed helical G-quadruplex superstructures. The proposed dynamic boronic ester-based non-equilibrium self-assembly strategy offers a new option to design next-generation adaptive and interactive smart materials.

Super-stretchable and extreme temperature-tolerant supramolecular-polymer double-network eutectogels with ultrafast in situ adhesion and flexible electrochromic behaviour.

The current tough and stretchable gels with various integrated functions are mainly based on polymer hydrogels. By introducing a non-covalent supramolecular self-assembled network into a covalently cross-linked polymer network in the presence of eco-friendly and cost-effective deep eutectic solvents (DESs), we developed a new small molecule-based supramolecular-polymer double-network (SP-DN) eutectogel platform. This exciting material exhibits high stretchability and toughness (>18 000% areal strain), spontaneous self-healing ability, ultrafast (∼5 s) in situ underwater and low-temperature (-80 °C) adhesion, and unusual boiling water-resistance, as well as strong base-, strong acid- (even aqua regia), ultra-low-temperature- (liquid nitrogen, -196 °C), and high-temperature- (200 °C) resistance. All these outstanding properties strongly recommend the SP-DN eutectogels as a quasi-solid electrolyte for soft electrochromic devices, which exhibited exceptional flexibility and consistent electrochromic behaviours in harsh mechanical or temperature environments. The experimental and simulation results uncovered the assembly mechanism of the SP-DN eutectogels. Unlike polymer hydrogels, the obtained SP-DN eutectogels showed high molecular design freedom and structural versatility. The findings of this work offer a promising strategy for developing the next generation of mechanically robust and functionally integrated soft materials with high environmental adaptability.

Exploring anti-liver cancer targets and mechanisms of oxyresveratrol: in silico and verified findings.

The aim of current study was to exhume the potential targets and molecular mechanisms of oxyresveratrol, a structurally re-constructed resveratrol, for treating liver cancer through bioinformatics investigation and experimentative validation. To start with, the network pharmacology approach and molecular docking technology were used to uncover all candidate targets of oxyresveratrol to treat liver cancer, accompanied with identified anti-liver cancer targets including estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). In addition, more pharmacological mechanisms of oxyresveratrol against liver cancer were revealed in details. In experimental verification, the clinical samples of liver cancer showed elevated ESR1, EGFR mRNA expressions. The in-vitro data indicated that intracellular contents of ESR1, EGFR mRNAs in oxyresveratrol-treated liver cancer cells were reduced. Taken together, the bioinformatics and validated findings have highlighted detailed pharmacological targets and molecular mechanisms of oxyresveratrol for treating liver cancer. Following with experimental verification, the identified genes of ESR1, EGFR may function as potential screening anti-liver cancer markers.

Therapeutic targets and molecular mechanism of calycosin for the treatment of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury.

This study was designed to understand the pivotal anti-cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury (CIRI) targets and pathways of calycosin through network pharmacology and molecular docking analyses. In this study, bioinformatics tools were employed to characterize and identify the pharmacological functions and mechanisms of calycosin for CIRI management. The network pharmacology data identified potential, merged CIRI-associated targets of calycosin including tumor protein p53 (TP53), protein kinase B (AKT1), vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA), interleukin 6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 (MAPK1). Molecular docking analysis indicated the binding efficacy of calycosin with three of the targets, namely TP53, AKT1, and VEGFA. The biological processes of calycosin for the treatment of CIRI are mainly involved in the improvement of endothelial cell proliferation and growth, inflammatory development, and cellular metabolism. In addition, the anti-CIRI actions of calycosin were primarily through suppression of the toll-like receptor, PI3K-AKT, TNF, MAPK, and VEGF signaling pathways. Taken together, the current bioinformatic findings revealed pivotal targets, biological functions, and pharmacological mechanisms of calycosin for the treatment of CIRI. In conclusion, calycosin, a functional phytoestrogen, can be potentially used for the treatment of CIRI in future clinical trials.