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BACKGROUND Successful preclinical transplantations of porcine hearts into baboon recipients are required before commencing clinical trials. Despite years of research, over half of the orthotopic cardiac xenografts were lost during the first 48 hours after transplantation, primarily caused by perioperative cardiac xenograft dysfunction (PCXD). To decrease the rate of PCXD, we adopted a preservation technique of cold non-ischemic perfusion for our ongoing pig-to-baboon cardiac xenotransplantation project. METHODS Fourteen orthotopic cardiac xenotransplantation experiments were carried out with genetically modified juvenile pigs (GGTA1- KO/hCD46/hTBM) as donors and captive-bred baboons as recipients. Organ preservation was compared according to the two techniques applied: cold static ischemic cardioplegia (IC; n = 5) and cold non-ischemic continuous perfusion (CP; n = 9) with an oxygenated albumin-containing hyperoncotic cardioplegic solution containing nutrients, erythrocytes and hormones. Prior to surgery, we measured serum levels of preformed anti-non-Gal-antibodies. During surgery, hemodynamic parameters were monitored with transpulmonary thermodilution. Central venous blood gas analyses were taken at regular intervals to estimate oxygen extraction, as well as lactate production. After surgery, we measured troponine T and serum parameters of the recipient's kidney, liver and coagulation functions. RESULTS In porcine grafts preserved with IC, we found significantly depressed systolic cardiac function after transplantation which did not recover despite increasing inotropic support. Postoperative oxygen extraction and lactate production were significantly increased. Troponin T, creatinine, aspartate aminotransferase levels were pathologically high, whereas prothrombin ratios were abnormally low. In three of five IC experiments, PCXD developed within 24 hours. By contrast, all nine hearts preserved with CP retained fully preserved systolic function, none showed any signs of PCXD. Oxygen extraction was within normal ranges; serum lactate as well as parameters of organ functions were only mildly elevated. Preformed anti-non-Gal-antibodies were similar in recipients receiving grafts from either IC or CP preservation. CONCLUSIONS While standard ischemic cardioplegia solutions have been used with great success in human allotransplantation over many years, our data indicate that they are insufficient for preservation of porcine hearts transplanted into baboons: Ischemic storage caused severe impairment of cardiac function and decreased tissue oxygen supply, leading to multi-organ failure in more than half of the xenotransplantation experiments. In contrast, cold non-ischemic heart preservation with continuous perfusion reliably prevented early graft failure. Consistent survival in the perioperative phase is a prerequisite for preclinical long-term results after cardiac xenotransplantation.

Background The demand for donated human hearts far exceeds the number available. Xenotransplantation of genetically modified porcine organs provides an alternative. In 2000, an Advisory Board of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation set the benchmark for commencing clinical cardiac xenotransplantation as consistent 60% survival of non-human primates after life-supporting porcine heart transplantations. Recently, we reported the stepwise optimization of pig-to-baboon orthotopic cardiac xenotransplantation finally resulting in consistent success, with 4 recipients surviving 90 (n = 2), 182, and 195 days. Here, we report on 4 additional recipients, supporting the efficacy of our procedure. Results The first 2 additional recipients succumbed to porcine cytomegalovirus (PCMV) infections on Days 15 and 27, respectively. In 2 further experiments, PCMV infections were successfully avoided, and 3-months survival was achieved. Throughout all the long-term experiments, heart, liver, and renal functions remained within normal ranges. Post-mortem cardiac diameters were slightly increased when compared with that at the time of transplantation but with no detrimental effect. There were no signs of thrombotic microangiopathy. The current regimen enabled the prolonged survival and function of orthotopic cardiac xenografts in altogether 6 of 8 baboons, of which 4 were now added. These results exceed the threshold set by the Advisory Board of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation. Conclusions The results of our current and previous experimental cardiac xenotransplantations together fulfill for the first time the pre-clinical efficacy suggestions. PCMV-positive donor animals must be avoided.

Catalytic oxidation of formaldehyde (HCHO) is the most efficient way to purify indoor air of HCHO pollutant. This work investigated rare earth La-doped Pt/TiO 2 for low concentration HCHO oxida-tion at room temperature. La-doped Pt/TiO 2 had a dramatically promoted catalytic performance for HCHO oxidation. The reasons for the La promotion effect were investigated by N 2 adsorption, X-ray diffraction, CO chemisorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-angle annular dark field scanning TEM. The Pt nanoparticle size was reduced to 1.7 nm from 2.2 nm after modification by La, which led to higher Pt dispersion, more exposed active sites and enhanced metal-support interaction. Thus a superior activity for indoor low concentration HCHO oxidation was obtained. Moreover, the La-doped TiO 2 can be wash-coated on a cordierite monolith so that very low amounts of Pt (0.01 wt%) can be used. The catalyst was evaluated in a simulated indoor HCHO elimination environment and displayed high purifying efficiency and stabil-ity. It can be potentially used as a commercial catalyst for indoor HCHO elimination.

Methane dry reforming (MDR) is a very important reaction, which can efficiently use two kinds of greenhouse gases (CO2 and CH4) to prepare synthesis gas or produce green hydrogen energy. What inhibits the industrialization of MDR is the sintering of active Ni nanoparticles and severe carbon deposition for Ni-based catalysts. To resolve these problems, a novel structured catalyst with multiple ultra-small Ni nanoparticles (4.3 nm) as the core and microporous silica as the shell was rationally fabricated by a facial one-pot reverse micelle method and applied for MDR. The multiple-cores@shell (M-Ni@SiO2) catalyst displays superior carbon resistance and long-term durability with the methane and carbon dioxide conversion close to thermodynamic equilibrium and a H2 to CO molar ratio near 1, whereas the commercial catalyst, Ni/Al2O3, and Ni directly supported on silica spheres (Ni/SiO2) show low stability and notable carbon deposition. The ultra-small Ni particle size and confinement effect of the porous silica shell are believed to be the determining factors for the outstanding performance of the multiple-cores@shell catalyst. The novel multiple-cores@shell structure catalyst could be potentially used for industrial applications of MDR.

With an improved one-step reverse micelle method, Pd@SiO2-RM with thermally stable, 1.1 nm ultra-small Pd nanoparticles were prepared in one-pot. HRTEM results reveal that the ultra-small Pd nanoparticles are embedded in the bulk of the silica nanospheres around 30 nm to form a multi-core shell structure. Therefore, the migration and agglomeration of the ultra-small Pd nanoparticle cores can be impeded effectively at elevated temperatures. Compared with Pd/SiO2-IMP prepared by impregnation, core–shell Pd@SiO2-ST and Pd@SiO2-ME catalysts prepared by Stober and regular micro-emulsion processes, Pd@SiO2-RM possesses a much higher metal surface area. As a consequence, this catalyst shows remarkable activity and superior thermal stability for CO oxidation. It is concluded that the Pd grain size and metal surface area are the determining factors for the activity, as evidenced by the strict linear relationship between the differential rates and the Pd sizes/metal surface areas.

Heart transplantation is the only cure for patients with terminal cardiac failure, but the supply of allogeneic donor organs falls far short of the clinical need1–3. Xenotransplantation of genetically modified pig hearts has been discussed as a potential alternative4. Genetically multi-modified pig hearts that lack galactose-α1,3-galactose epitopes (α1,3-galactosyltransferase knockout) and express a human membrane cofactor protein (CD46) and human thrombomodulin have survived for up to 945 days after heterotopic abdominal transplantation in baboons5. This model demonstrated long-term acceptance of discordant xenografts with safe immunosuppression but did not predict their life-supporting function. Despite 25 years of extensive research, the maximum survival of a baboon after heart replacement with a porcine xenograft was only 57 days and this was achieved, to our knowledge, only once6. Here we show that α1,3-galactosyltransferase-knockout pig hearts that express human CD46 and thrombomodulin require non-ischaemic preservation with continuous perfusion and control of post-transplantation growth to ensure long-term orthotopic function of the xenograft in baboons, the most stringent preclinical xenotransplantation model. Consistent life-supporting function of xenografted hearts for up to 195 days is a milestone on the way to clinical cardiac xenotransplantation7.

A series of polycrystalline NiO catalysts with different morphologies have been prepared in this study with a simple precipitation method by changing the precipitants, and used for CH 4 deep oxidation. NiO-NaOH, a sample prepared with NaOH solution, displays the highest CH 4 oxidation activity among all the catalysts, which is competitive to that of 0.5 wt.% Pd/Al 2 O 3 , especially at high WHSV. SEM demonstrates that it consists of uniform nano-sheets with an average thickness around 23 nm. Compared with other two samples composed of irregular nano-particles, this nano-sheet mesoporous sample possesses higher surface area, larger pore volume and pore size. H 2 -TPR demonstrates that it also contains less Ni 3+ cations, which are found to be harmful to the activity. Furthermore, it is revealed that more active oxygen species has been formed on the surface of this nano-sheet sample. As a result, NiO-NaOH shows the highest CH 4 oxidation activity among all the NiO catalysts. Water vapour has no any negative effect on the activity of NiO-NaOH, as testified by the long-term stability test in the presence of water vapour.

Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemases-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (KPC-Kp) has caused a global public health crisis, and the severity of its infection is associated with high mortality in hospitalized patients. Therefore, the KPC-Kp prevention methods and the corresponding treatment strategy exploration are imminent. The risk factors and the treatment progress of KPC-Kp colonization or infection are reviewed in this paper to explore corresponding preventive measures and treatment strategies for clinical prevention and treatment.

In this Letter, Mayuko Kurome and Valeri Zakhartchenko have been added to the author list (affiliated with Institute of Molecular Animal Breeding and Biotechnology, Gene Center, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany). The author list and 'Author contributions' section have been corrected online; see accompanying Amendment.

Social network analysis has been one of the research focuses with the developing of social media services. Social influence also attracts ever-increasing attention and interests from both the sociology and the data mining scholars, but the research of influence is mainly limited in the user level, the community level influence is rarely involved. In this paper, we develop a novel model to analyze and evaluate the community level influence and help the decision maker to comprehend the disparity in influence of different communities. This paper also proposes a simple heuristic node-selection strategy considering the community influence to spread influence, and the experiments of the spread of influence through the social network datasets prove the rationality of the proposed community influence analysis model.