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BackgroundData on drug-coated balloons (DCB) for de novo coronary chronic total occlusion (CTO) are limited. We aimed to investigate the long-term outcomes of substitution of drug-eluting stents (DES) by DCB.MethodsWe compared the outcomes of less DES strategy (DCB alone or combined with DES) and DES-only strategy in treating de novo coronary CTO in this prospective, observational, multicenter study. The primary endpoints were major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), target vessel revascularization, myocardial infarction, and death during 3-year follow-up. The secondary endpoints were late lumen loss (LLL) and restenosis until 1-year after operation.ResultsOf the 591 eligible patients consecutively enrolled between January 2015 and December 2019, 281 (290 lesions) were treated with DCB (DCB-only or combined with DES) and 310 (319 lesions) with DES only. In the DCB group, 147 (50.7%) lesions were treated using DCB-only, and the bailout stenting rate was relatively low (3.1%). The average stent length per lesion in the DCB group was significantly shorter compared with the DES-only group (21.5 ± 25.5 mm vs. 54.5 ± 26.0 mm, p p p p > 0.999). The Kaplan–Meier estimates of MACE at 3-year (11.8% vs. 12.0%, log-rank p = 0.688) was similar between the groups.ConclusionPercutaneous coronary intervention with DCB is a potential “stent-less” therapy for de novo CTO lesions with satisfactory long-term clinical results compared to the DES-only approach.

In this study, a ternary blend modifier (TBM) was prepared with RPE, RPP, and various dosages of PP-g-MAH (i.e., 0%, 1%, 3%, 5%, 7%, and 9% by weight of RPE and RPP) by a twin-screw extruder. The performance of TBM (4% by weight of asphalt) modified asphalt was studied, with the increase of PP-g-MAH content, the penetration decreases gradually, but softening point and viscosity increases and ductility exists minimum value at 7% content, with the increasing of PP-g-MAH percentage, the dynamic rheological properties show that |G*| increases, while the δ and |G*|cosδ decrease, and the fatigue performance (|G*|sinδ) of TBM modified asphalt is worse than virgin asphalt. Dynamic stability test shows that TBM shows the prominent high-temperature properties of a modified (asphalt mixture. BBR test indicates that the m-value of asphalt modified with TBM does not fulfill the requirements (m-value>0.3) except at 5% and 7%, but the S meets the standard requirements (S < 300 MPa), and increases from 0% to 7%, then decreases slightly. In order to illuminate possible reasons, a chemical reaction (ester compounds generated) and physical twines of concerned polymer molecules were put forward, and the results were confirmed by infrared analysis.

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Objective: To detect the changes of gray matter volume (GMV) and their correlation with severity of symptom in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who were defined with updated DSM-5 diagnostic criteria. Method: 71 participants were assigned into PTSD group (n = 35) or trauma-exposed control (TEC) group (n = 36) with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. Voxel-based morphometry analysis was used to detect alterations in GMV in the PTSD group. Results: We found that the PTSD group had larger GMV in the left middle temporal gyrus (MTG) and in the right dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), and smaller GMV in the region of the right temporal pole (TP) than the TEC group. We also found that PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) scores correlated positively with the left MTG and right dmPFC GMV, and negatively with left TP GMV. These correlations were consistent with the findings of the between-group comparisons. Conclusions: GMV alterations in the MTG, dmPFC, and TP are detected in the group comparisons and correlated with symptom severity when classifying PTSD individuals according to DSM-5 diagnostic criteria within an earthquake-exposed population.