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Abstract Conflicting evidence still exists regarding Vitamin B12’s involvement in coronary heart disease (CHD). There is no precedent for previous studies to include both Vitamin B12, Vitamin B6, as well as Vitamin E in the consideration of CHD associating factors. Our data derived from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which covers the period 2003–2020. 33,640 samples were included in this cross-sectional study. We used an unadjusted covariates and three adjusted covariates. The intake percentage of Vitamins E, B6, and B12 was categorized into continuous and categorical variables using multivariate logistic regression analysis and subgroup logistic regression. To estimate these trends, we applied the percentage categories of Vitamin E, B6, and B12 intake as continuous variables. We recorded Vitamin E, B6, B12, age, race, BMI, gender, household annual income, education level, hypertension status, diabetes status, smoking status, and drinking status for included samples. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that Vitamin E and B6 were negatively associated with CHD and exerted protective effects, while Vitamin B12 had little correlation with CHD. Based on the quartiles of Vitamin E and Vitamin B6 percentage, the strongest protective effect was observed in the third quartile (Q3). Analyses of subgroups showed the effects of Vitamin B6 and Vitamin E on CHD were more noticeable in women, the participant’s BMI was in the 25–30 range, and participants who smoked. We identified the possible protective effect of Vitamin E and Vitamin B6 against CHD, especially in female, obese, and smoking populations, whereas income and education were also viewed as influencing factors that could be taken into account.

Resumo Fundamento: Como comportamento sedentário predominante no lazer, foi documentado que assistir televisão aumenta as doenças cardiovasculares em estudos observacionais, mas a relação causal e os mecanismos potenciais ainda precisam ser determinados. Objetivos: Investigar sistematicamente a relação causal entre o tempo de exibição de televisão, doenças cardiovasculares e mecanismos potenciais. Métodos: Realizamos uma análise de randomização mendeliana (RM) de duas amostras para estimar associações causais com doenças cardiovasculares e biomarcadores de risco cardiometabólico. O método aleatório ponderado pela variância inversa foi utilizado como estimativa primária. Para contabilizar múltiplas comparações, um valor P de correção de Bonferroni para doenças cardiovasculares e biomarcadores de risco cardiometabólico foi 0,0045 e 0,0024, respectivamente. Resultados: O tempo de visualização de televisão geneticamente instrumentado foi associado a riscos mais elevados de diabetes tipo 2 (odd ratio [OR]=2,51; intervalo de confiança [IC] de 95%: 1,89-3,33; p

Abstract Background Although some studies have indicated that Psoriasis could contribute to the risk of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), no study has reported a clear causal association between them. Our aim was to explore the potential relationship between Psoriasis and IPF using Mendelian randomization (MR) design. Methods To explore a causal association between Psoriasis and IPF, we used genetic instruments from the largest available genome-wide association study (GWAS) of European ancestry, including psoriasis (5314 cases, 457,619 controls) and IPF (1028 cases, 196,986 controls). Our main analyses were conducted by inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method with random-effects model, with the other complementary four analyses: weighted median method, weighted mode, multivariable MR and MR-Egger approach. Results The results of IVW methods demonstrated that genetically predicted psoriasis was significantly associated with higher odds of IPF, with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.09 (95%CI, 1.01–1.18; P = 0.02). Weighted median method, weighted mode and multivariable MR also demonstrated directionally similar results (P

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and outcomes of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in Chinese patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) aged ≥75 years. Methods: We identified STEMI patients aged ≥75 years between 2013 and 2014 from a multicenter registry. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. The secondary outcome was major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular event (MACCE) including a composite of all-cause mortality, cardiac death, recurrent MI, stroke, revascularization, and major bleeding. Hazard ratios (HR) and associated 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated. Results: Approximately 32.9% (n = 999) patients received primary PCI. Primary PCI was associated with lower risks of two-year all-cause mortality (18.0% vs. 36.4%; adjusted HR: 0.54, 95% CI: 0.45 to 0.65, P

Abstract Background Previous observational studies indicated that atrial fibrillation may increase the risk of breast cancer. Following a breast cancer diagnosis, the chance of developing atrial fibrillation may increase as well. However, it is uncertain whether the link is causal or just due to confounding factors. Objective Using bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis, we sought to assess the bidirectional causal relationship between atrial fibrillation and breast cancer from a genetic level. Methods Large genome‐wide association studies yielded summary‐level data for atrial fibrillation and breast cancer. The preliminary estimate was inverse variance weighted (IVW) under a random model. MR–Egger, weighted median, simple mode, weighted mode, and multivariable MR (adjusting body mass index, smoking, and alcohol drinking) were performed as sensitivity analyses. Results Genetically predicted atrial fibrillation presented no statistically significant association with overall breast cancer (odds ratio [OR] = 1.00; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.97–1.04; p = 0.79), estrogen receptor (ER) + (OR = 1.00; 95% CI: 0.96–1.03; p = 0.89) or ER− subtypes (OR = 1.00; 95% CI: 0.97–1.04; p = 0.89). Similarly, genetically predicted overall breast cancer (OR = 1.01; 95% CI: 0.98–1.04; p = 0.37), ER+ (OR = 1.02; 95% CI: 0.99–1.05; p = 0.16) or ER− (OR = 0.98; 95% CI: 0.93–1.02; p = 0.32) subtypes had no causal effect on atrial fibrillation. Sensitivity analyses yielded similar results. Individual single nucleotide polymorphism had little effect on the total estimate. We did not observe any evidence of horizontal pleiotropy. Conclusions Our bidirectional MR studies revealed that there may be no causal links between atrial fibrillation and breast cancer.

Abstract Background Extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) pretreated with atorvastatin (ATV) (MSCATV-EV) have a superior cardiac repair effect on acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The mechanisms, however, have not been fully elucidated. This study aims to explore whether inflammation alleviation of infarct region via macrophage polarization plays a key role in the efficacy of MSCATV-EV. Methods MSCATV-EV or MSC-EV were intramyocardially injected 30 min after coronary ligation in AMI rats. Macrophage infiltration and polarization (day 3), cardiac function (days 0, 3, 7, 28), and infarct size (day 28) were measured. EV small RNA sequencing and bioinformatics analysis were conducted for differentially expressed miRNAs between MSCATV-EV and MSC-EV. Macrophages were isolated from rat bone marrow for molecular mechanism analysis. miRNA mimics or inhibitors were transfected into EVs or macrophages to analyze its effects on macrophage polarization and cardiac repair in vitro and in vivo. Results MSCATV-EV significantly reduced the amount of CD68+ total macrophages and increased CD206+ M2 macrophages of infarct zone on day 3 after AMI compared with MSC-EV group (P

Abstract Aims Several observational studies indicated that atrial fibrillation might aggravate other cardiovascular diseases apart from ischaemic stroke. However, it remains to be determined whether these associations reveal independent causation. Using Mendelian randomization (MR), we systematically investigated how genetically predicted atrial fibrillation affected other cardiovascular diseases and cardiac death. Methods and results Summary‐level data for atrial fibrillation and other cardiovascular diseases were obtained from public genome‐wide association study data. The random inverse‐variance weighted method was treated as the primary analysis. Sensitivity analyses (including weighted median, MR‐Egger, and multivariable MR methods) were also performed. Atrial fibrillation was significantly associated with higher risks of heart failure [odds ratio (OR): 1.24; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.19–1.28; P 0.05) and funnel plot yielded no indication of directional pleiotropy. The leave‐one‐out analysis suggested that the causal associations were not driven by individual single nucleotide polymorphism. Conclusions This comprehensive MR analysis verified the causal associations between atrial fibrillation and high risks of heart failure, ischaemic stroke, transient ischaemic attack, peripheral artery diseases, cardiac death, and hypertension. Interventions to reduce cardiovascular diseases beyond ischaemic stroke are warranted in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Abstract Background Bone marrow cells (BMCs), especially mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), have shown attractive application prospects in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, the weak efficacy becomes their main limitation in clinical translation. Based on the anti-inflammation and anti-apoptosis effects of a Chinese medicine-Tongxinluo (TXL), we aimed to explore the effects of TXL-pretreated MSCs (MSCsTXL) in enhancing cardiac repair and further investigated the underlying mechanism. Methods MSCsTXL or MSCs and the derived exosomes (MSCsTXL-exo or MSCs-exo) were collected and injected into the infarct zone of rat hearts. In vivo, the anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammation effects, and cardiac functional and histological recovery were evaluated. In vitro, the apoptosis was evaluated by western blotting and flow cytometry. miRNA sequencing was utilized to identify the significant differentially expressed miRNAs between MSCsTXL-exo and MSCs-exo, and the miRNA mimics and inhibitors were applied to explore the specific mechanism. Results Compared to MSCs, MSCsTXL enhanced cardiac repair with reduced cardiomyocytes apoptosis and inflammation at the early stage of AMI and significantly improved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) with reduced infarct size in an exosome-dependent way. Similarly, MSCsTXL-exo exerted superior therapeutic effects in anti-apoptosis and anti-inflammation, as well as improving LVEF and reducing infarct size compared to MSCs-exo. Further exosomal miRNA analysis demonstrated that miR-146a-5p was the candidate effector of the superior effects of MSCsTXL-exo. Besides, miR-146a-5p targeted and decreased IRAK1, which inhibited the nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 thus protecting H9C2 cells from hypoxia injury. Conclusions This study suggested that MSCsTXL markedly facilitated cardiac repair via a new mechanism of the exosomal transfer of miR-146a-5p targeting IRAK1/NF-κB p65 pathway, which has great potential for clinical translation.

Resumo Fundamento A eficiência do manejo invasivo em pacientes mais velhos (≥75 anos) com infarto do miocárdio sem supradesnivelamento do segmento ST (IAMSSST) permanece ambígua. Objetivos Avaliar a eficiência do tratamento invasivo em pacientes idosos com IAMSSST com base em metanálise e análise sequencial de estudo (TSA). Métodos Ensaios clínicos randomizados relevantes (ECR) e estudos observacionais foram incluídos. Os resultados primários foram morte por todas as causas, infarto do miocárdio, acidente vascular cerebral e hemorragia grave. O odd ratio agrupado (OR) e o intervalo de confiança de 95% (IC) foram calculados. P

Buildings are important components of urban areas, and the construction of rooftop photovoltaic systems plays a critical role in the transition to renewable energy generation. With rooftop solar photovoltaics receiving increased attention, the problem of how to estimate rooftop photovoltaics is under discussion; building detection from remote sensing images is one way to address it. In this study, we presented an available approach to estimate a building’s rooftop solar photovoltaic potential. A rapid and accurate rooftop extraction method was developed using object-based image classification combining normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and digital surface models (DSMs), and a method for the identification of suitable rooftops for solar panel installation by analysing the geographical restrictions was proposed. The approach was validated using six scenes from Beijing that were taken using Chinese Gaofen-2 (GF-2) satellite imagery and Pleiades imagery. A total of 176 roofs in six scenarios were suitable for PV installation, and the estimated photovoltaic panel area was 205,827 m2. The rooftop photovoltaic potential was estimated to total 22,551 GWh. The results indicated that the rooftop photovoltaic potential estimation method performs well.

PurposeWe sought to investigate the short- and long-term outcomes in patients with right ventricular infarction in China.MethodsData from China Acute Myocardial Infarction (CAMI) Registry for patients with right ventricular infarction between January 2013 and September 2014 were analyzed.ResultsOf the 1,988 patients with right ventricular infarction, 733 patients did not receive reperfusion therapy, 281 patients received thrombolysis therapy, and 974 patients underwent primary PCI. Primary PCI and thrombolysis were all associated with lower risks of in-hospital (3.1 vs. 12.6%; adjusted OR: 0.48; 95% CI: 0.27–0.87; P = 0.0151 and 5.7 vs. 12.6%; adjusted OR: 0.43; 95% CI: 0.22–0.85; P = 0.0155, respectively), and 2-year all-cause mortality (6.3 vs. 20.9%; adjusted HR: 0.50; 95% CI: 0.34–0.73; P = 0.0003 and 11.0 vs. 20.9%; adjusted HR: 0.59; 95% CI: 0.38–0.92; P = 0.0189, respectively), compared with no reperfusion therapy. Meanwhile, primary PCI was superior to thrombolysis in reducing the risks of in-hospital atrial-ventricular block (4.2 vs. 8.9%; adjusted OR: 0.46; 95% CI: 0.23–0.91; P = 0.0257), cardiogenic shock (5.3 vs. 13.9%; adjusted OR: 0.43; 95% CI: 0.23–0.83; P = 0.0115), and heart failure (8.5 vs. 23.5%; adjusted OR: 0.35; 95% CI: 0.22–0.56; P < 0.0001). Primary PCI could reduce the risk of 2-year major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular event (19.1 vs. 33.3%; adjusted HR: 0.72; 95% CI: 0.56–0.92; P = 0.0092) relative to no reperfusion therapy, whereas thrombolysis may increase the risk of 2-year revascularization (15.5 vs. 8.7%; adjusted HR: 1.90; 95% CI: 1.15–3.16; P = 0.0124) compared with no reperfusion therapy.ConclusionsTimely reperfusion therapy is essential for patients with right ventricular infarction. Primary PCI may be considered as the default treatment strategy for patients with right ventricular infarction in the contemporary primary PCI era.

Background: New randomized trials and modalities in guiding percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) have become available. Objective: We aimed to compare the clinical outcomes of coronary angiography (CAG), intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), optical coherence tomography (OCT), fractional flow reserve (FFR), instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR), and optical frequency domain imaging (OFDI)-guided PCI. Methods: A network meta-analysis was performed to compare different PCI guidance modalities. The clinical outcomes included major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), all-cause death, myocardial infarction (MI), and target vessel/lesion revascularization (TVR/TLR). Odds ratio (OR) and corresponding 95% credible interval (CrI) were calculated. Results: Thirty-six randomized trials, including 19,042 patients, were included. In comparison with CAG, IVUS significantly reduced MACE (OR: 0.71; 95% CrI: 0.57 to 0.86) and TVR/TLR (OR: 0.53; 95% CrI: 0.43 to 0.66). MACE (OR: 1.44; 95% CrI: 1.02 to 2.08) and TVR/TLR (OR: 1.87; 95% CrI: 1.04 to 3.71) were significantly increased in the FFR group, compared with IVUS group. There were no significant differences in MACE or TVR/TLR among the left guidance modality comparisons. Differences in all-cause death or MI were not observed in any comparisons. Conclusions: IVUS could reduce MACE and TVR/TLR, compared with CAG or FFR. Therefore, IVUS may be the optimal modality in guiding PCI.

Photovoltaic (PV) power generation has become an important clean energy generation source. In the context of transportation development and its very large energy demand, scholars have begun to use PV power generation technology on roads and their surrounding road spaces. Current research on PV power generation in road spaces has mostly focused on its feasibility and technical potential, but there have been few studies on its economic potential. For this reason, this paper used the Zhengding County of Hebei Province, China, to study the evaluation method of the technical and economic potential of PV power generation in road spaces and to analyze the development potential of PV power generation in road spaces. The results show that Zhengding County has a very high amount of road space available for PV power generation, with an effective PV installation area of 20.98 km2 and an annual theoretical power generation capacity of 1.5 billion kWh. If the PV road space project is fully operational in 2021, it could be profitable by 2026, and the net profit (NP) could reach $705 million in 2030. The application of photovoltaic power generation in road spaces is a very promising method of sustainable energy supply.

Background and objectives: The effect of beta-blocker use after discharge on patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the contemporary reperfusion era remains ambiguous. By applying meta-analysis, we sought to assess the role of beta-blockers in the contemporary reperfusion era. Materials and Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCT) and observational studies using propensity score matching, comparing use of beta-blockers with non-use of beta-blockers, in patients with AMI after discharge. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. Odds ratios (OR) and associated 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. Results: One RCT and eight observational studies, containing 47,339 patients with AMI, were included. Compared with non-use of beta-blockers, beta-blocker use after discharge may have reduced the risk of all-cause mortality (OR: 0.70, 95% CI: 0.61 to 0.80, I2 = 14.4%), cardiac death (OR: 0.63, 95% CI: 0.44 to 0.91, I2 = 22.8%), myocardial infarction (OR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.62 to 0.86, I2 = 0), and revascularization (OR: 0.92, 95% CI: 0.85 to 0.99, I2 = 0). No significant differences were found in major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE, OR: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.66 to 1.17, I2 = 78.4%), heart failure (OR: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.29 to 1.08, I2 = 0) or stroke (OR: 1.13, 95% CI: 0.92 to 1.39, I2 = 0). For patients with preserved left ventricular function, beta-blocker use after discharge may have also reduced the risk of all-cause mortality (OR: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.44 to 0.84, I2 = 0). Conclusions: Use of beta-blockers after discharge may still be beneficial for AMI patients in the contemporary reperfusion era, with or without preserved left ventricular function.

Background: Observational studies have suggested that paternal longevity is associated with reduced risks of cardiovascular diseases, yet the causal association remains to be determined. Objectives: To investigate whether Mendelian randomization (MR) results support a causal role of paternal longevity for risks of cardiovascular diseases. Methods: Genetic variants associated with paternal longevity and cardiovascular diseases were obtained from public genome-wide association study data. We used inverse variance weighted MR under a random-effects model to provide causal estimates between paternal longevity and cardiovascular diseases. Results: Paternal longevity was associated with decreased risks of coronary heart disease (odds ratio (OR): 0.08; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.02–0.37; p = 0.001) and peripheral artery disease (OR: 0.15; 95% CI: 0.03–0.65; p = 0.011). No significant differences were observed in hypertension, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, transient ischemic attack, ischemic stroke, or cardiac death. The weighted median method revealed consistent results between genetically instrumented paternal longevity and decreased risk of coronary heart disease and peripheral artery disease. No significant differences were observed in the MR-Egger results. Multivariable MR consistently indicated causal associations between paternal longevity and decreased cardiovascular diseases. The leave-one-out analysis suggested that the causal associations were not affected by individual single-nucleotide polymorphisms. The intercept of the MR-Egger estimator and funnel plot revealed no indication of horizontal pleiotropic effects. Conclusions: Our MR analyses supported a causal role of paternal longevity for decreased risks of coronary heart disease and peripheral artery disease, which highlighted the need for better monitoring and intervention of cardiovascular diseases in populations with premature paternal death.

Rapid quantification of soil organic matter (SOM) is a great challenge for the health assessment and fertility management of agricultural soil. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) with appropriate modeling algorithms is an alternative tool for this measurement. However, the current calibration strategy limits the prediction performance of the LIBS technique. In this study, 563 soil samples from Hetao Irrigation District in China were collected; the LIBS spectra of the soils were recorded in the wavenumber range of 288–950 nm with a resolution of 0.116 nm; a self-adaptive partial least squares regression model (SAM–PLSR) was employed to explore optimal model parameters for SOM prediction; and calibration parameters including sample selection for the calibration database, sample numbers and sample location sites were optimized. The results showed that the sample capacity around 60–80, rather than all of the samples in the soil library database, was selected for calibration from a spectral similarity re-ordered database regarding unknown samples; the model produced excellent predictions, with R2 = 0.92, RPD = 3.53 and RMSEP = 1.03 g kg−1. Both the soil variances of the target property and the spectra similarity of the soil background were the key factors for the calibration model, and the small sample set led to poor predictions due to the low variances of the target property, while negative effects were observed for the large sample set due to strong interferences from the soil background. Therefore, the specific unknown sample depended strategy, i.e., self-adaptive modelling, could be applied for fast SOM sensing using LIBS for soils in varied scales with improved robustness and accuracy.