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Background: Although several biomarkers, including natriuretic peptides and inflammatory biomarkers, have proven to be useful prognostic predictors in patients with heart failure (HF), their predictive value for incident HF has not been extensively studied.Methods and Results: The "Study of Men Born in 1943" is a longitudinal, prospective study of men living in the city of Gothenburg, Sweden. A panel of biomarkers consisting of interleukin-6 (IL-6), cystatin C, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) was analyzed from blood samples collected in 1993 in men aged 50 years. Incident HF was recorded from multiple sources, including an echocardiographic assessment in 2014. A total of 747 (94%) of the 798 participants with no previous history of HF were included. Of these 747 participants, 85 (11.4%) developed HF over a 21-year follow-up. After adjustment for body mass index (BMI) and hypertension at baseline, NT-proBNP ≥25 ng/L was associated with a higher risk of HF (odds ratio [OR] 2.09, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.30-3.36; P = .0024), as was hs-CRP >3 mg/L (OR 2.61, 95% CI 1.59-4.29; P = .0002). In a multivariable model, the expected probability of HF was 0.33 (95% CI 0.23-0.45) in hypertensive patients with hs-CRP >3 mg/L, NT-proBNP ≥25 ng/L, and BMI ≥25 kg/m2, compared with a probability of 0.04 (95% CI 0.02-0.07) in nonhypertensive patients with hs-CRP ≤3 mg/L, NT-proBNP <25 ng/L, and BMI <25 kg/m.2 CONCLUSIONS: NT-proBNP ≥25 ng/L and elevated hs-CRP levels in men aged 50 years were predictive biomarkers for HF over a 2one year follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The pathophysiology of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF) is not fully understood. A recently proposed mechanism for HFPEF is that it is a systemic pro-inflammatory state induced by comorbidities, leading to microvascular endothelial dysfunction and subsequent cardiac remodeling and dysfunction. We hypothesize that targeting comorbidities will improve outcomes in elderly patients with HFPEF. Thus, the aim of this study is to determine whether the combination of systematic screening and optimal management of prespecified comorbidities associated with HFPEF improves outcomes.Methods: This multicenter, prospective, randomized intervention trial uses an open procedure with blinded endpoint assessment. Patients with HFPEF aged >60 years (n = 360) will be randomized 1:1 to the usual care or intervention arm of the trial. When randomized to the intervention arm, all patients will be systematically screened and optimally treated for the most frequent cardiovascular, metabolic, respiratory, and renal comorbidities. The primary endpoint is a composite clinical score that classifies each randomized patient as improved or deteriorated based on objective and subjective data at a 24-month follow-up performed by a blinded endpoint committee.Conclusion: Rather than targeting cardiac dysfunction, our study aims to present evidence for a possible paradigm shift in the management of HFPEF. Our novel concept focuses on the management of comorbidities as predisposing factors in HFPEF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) employing aqueous electrolytes have emerged as one of the most promising alternatives to lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Nonetheless, the development of ZIBs is hindered by the scarcity of cathode materials with suitable electrochemical properties. In this work, we investigate the unique properties of zinc vanadate oxide (Z n V 2 O 4 , ZVO) and zinc vanadate sulfide (Z n V 2 S 4 , ZVS) compounds as cathode materials, focusing on their crystal structures, electrochemical performance, spectroscopic features and potential applications in ZIBs. Additionally, we investigate a new cathode material, zinc vanadate selenide (Z n V 2 S e 4 , ZVSe), constructed by replacing sulfur with selenium in the ZVS cubic structure. Our findings reveal that these compounds exhibit distinct electronic and electrochemical properties, although they have similar magnetic properties due to the fact that vanadium has the same oxidation state in all three compounds. On average, ZVS stands out as the most promising candidate for ZIBs cathodes, followed by ZVO. ZVSe, shows lower electrochemical performance and also has the obvious drawback of being more costly than the sulfur- and oxygen-based compounds. Our theoretical results align closely with available experimental data, both for electrochemical properties as well as x-ray and photoelectron spectroscopy, where a comparison can be made. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LiMn 2 O 4 is a battery cathode material with desirable properties such as low cost, low toxicity, high natural abundance of Mn, and environmental compatibility. By means of first-principles calculations, we study the structural, magnetic, and electronic properties of LiMn 2 O 4 under ambient conditions and high hydrostatic pressures (until 20 GPa). We obtain two oxidation states for Mn, even using a cubic structure, which differ in all analyzed properties: structural, electronic, and magnetic. At P > 0 , such properties were found to display a standard behavior decreasing smoothly and linearly with pressure. Furthermore, the enthalpy of cubic and orthorhombic structures under low and high-pressure conditions were examined, showing that no cubic to orthorhombic phase transition exists in all the investigated pressure range, nor is a magnetic cubic to a non-magnetic cubic phase transition possible. • LiMn 2 O 4 cathode material theoretical simulations with pressure. • Cubic to orthorhombic phase transition with pressure in LiMn 2 O 4 battery cathode. • Cubic magnetic to non-magnetic transition under pressure in LiMn 2 O 4 battery cathode. • Ab-initio DFT calculations for LiMn 2 O 4 battery cathode with Pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]