Omecamtiv mecarbil in chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, GALACTIC‐HF: baseline characteristics and comparison with contemporary clinical trials

Aims: The safety and efficacy of the novel selective cardiac myosin activator, omecamtiv mecarbil, in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is tested in the Global Approach to Lowering Adverse Cardiac outcomes Through Improving Contractility in Heart Failure (GALACTIC‐HF) trial. Here we describe the baseline characteristics of participants in GALACTIC‐HF and how these compare with other contemporary trials. Methods and Results: Adults with established HFrEF, New York Heart Association functional class (NYHA) ≥ II, EF ≤35%, elevated natriuretic peptides and either current hospitalization for HF or history of hospitalization/ emergency department visit for HF within a year were randomized to either placebo or omecamtiv mecarbil (pharmacokinetic‐guided dosing: 25, 37.5 or 50 mg bid). 8256 patients [male (79%), non‐white (22%), mean age 65 years] were enrolled with a mean EF 27%, ischemic etiology in 54%, NYHA II 53% and III/IV 47%, and median NT‐proBNP 1971 pg/mL. HF therapies at baseline were among the most effectively employed in contemporary HF trials. GALACTIC‐HF randomized patients representative of recent HF registries and trials with substantial numbers of patients also having characteristics understudied in previous trials including more from North America (n = 1386), enrolled as inpatients (n = 2084), systolic blood pressure < 100 mmHg (n = 1127), estimated glomerular filtration rate < 30 mL/min/1.73 m2 (n = 528), and treated with sacubitril‐valsartan at baseline (n = 1594). Conclusions: GALACTIC‐HF enrolled a well‐treated, high‐risk population from both inpatient and outpatient settings, which will provide a definitive evaluation of the efficacy and safety of this novel therapy, as well as informing its potential future implementation

Performance variance of anode-supported SOFC-stacks: systematic evaluation of material characteristics for maximum output

Anode supported Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (ASC) manufactured at Forschungszentrum Jülich have proven excellent electrical efficiency and long term performance when combined of a Nickel/8 mol% yttria stabilized zirconia (Ni/8YSZ) substrate, a Ni/8YSZ anode, a dense 8YSZ electrolyte membrane, a gadolinia doped ceria (GDC) barrier layer and lanthanum strontium iron cobaltite (LSCF) cathode. However, recently we observed a large scatter of the electrical performance during stack operation with hydrogen fuel. In this study, we systematically examined this performance variance of planar anode-supported SOFC stacks. In close cooperation with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), anode supported cells were characterized before and after stack operation by SEM-imaging and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. While a number of factors, including the contacting of the LSCF cathode, the properties of the interconnector protection layers and operational parameters contribute to the performance variation, we were able to identify the microstructure of the GDC barrier layer as the major source for lowered and fluctuating performance. The ability of this barrier layer to inhibit the formation of low conductivity strontium zirconates at the 8YSZ electrolytes surface was revealed to be strongly and asymmetrically dependent on the sintering parameters applied to the GDC layer