Prognostic significance of acute bundle branch block in patients with acute myocardial infarction

Background/Aim. Acute bundle branch block (ABBB) presence is associated with the increasing mortality of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The aim of this study was investigate ABBB influence with respect to in-hospital (IN) and long-term mortality in patients with AIM, as well as total mortality in follow-up, the presence of in-hospital congestive cardiac insufficiency (CCI) and the presence of CCI at follow-up. Methods. This study included 606 consecutive patients with AMI. A total of 415 (68.5%) were males and 191 (31.5%) females, mean age 64.0±11.9. After the dismissal the patients underwent 18-month follow-up period. Results. Acute bundle branch block was registered in 44 patients (7.2%), out of which 15 patients (2.4%) had the left (L) ABBB and 29 patients (4.8%) had the right (R) ABBB. The patients with ABBB showed higher proportion of IH CCI (Killip III and IV) and hypotension compared with the control group (patients without ABBB). In the group of patients with ABBB β-blockers, statins, aspirin and ACE-inhibitors were less applied. All the three ABBB groups exhibited an increased IH mortality (ABBB 47.7% vs 11.2%, p < 0.01, ARBBB 55.1% vs 11.2% p < 0.01, ALBBB 33.3% vs 11.2%, p < 0.01). Follow-up mortality of the patients with ABBB and ALBBB was higher in comparison with the control group (log-rank p = 0.046 and log-rank p = 0.01, respectively), whereas the group with ARBBB did not show any differences (log-rank, p = 0.59). Conclusion. The patients with ABBB AMI are a risk group of patients that commonly exhibit both early and remote CCI accompanied by high mortality. That is the reason why this sub-group of AMI patients should receive an urgent diagnostics followed by aggressive therapeutic treatment. <br><br><font color="red"><b> This article has been retracted. Link to the retraction <u><a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2298/VSP0901074U">10.2298/VSP0901074U</a></u></b></font&gt

Synthesis and Supercapacitive Performances of Electrospun Carbon Nanofibers Decorated with Spinel Co1.5Mn1.5O4 Nanocrystals

Herein, a novel composite material of coupled carbon fibers and Co1.5Mn1.5O4 spinel oxide crystals has been fabricated by a facile twoͲstage process. In the first stage, fibers were produced by singleͲspinneret electrospinning of polymer solutions with the cobalt and manganese acetate precursors. In the second stage, fibers were heatͲtreated to convert them into composite structure. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis confirmed the formation of composite fibers with spinel crystals deposited on the surface. Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and energy dispersive XͲray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis of composite fibers crossͲsection revealed that carbon occupies space inside spinel rings. The composite electrode delivers a specific capacity of about 740 mAh g –1, at a current density of 5 A g–1 in alkaline solution, which is more than 37 times superior to neat carbon fibers. Furthermore, the electrode retained 135% of its initial capacity, after 1000 cycles of galvanostatic charge/discharge at 5 A gо1

Association between risk factors, basal viral load, virus genotype and the degree of liver fibrosis with the response to the therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection

Background/Aim. Hepatitis C is an important sociomedical problem worldwide due to frequent progression to chronic disease, occurrence of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Standard pegylated interferon alfa 2a plus ribavirin therapy results in resolution of infection only in 50% of patients. The aim of this study was to determine the association of various factors with response to the therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Age and sex of patients, inoculation risk factors, histopathological changes in the liver, viral load and HCV genotype were analyzed. Methods. The study included a group of 121 patients with chronic HCV infection. The treatment was carried out 24 weeks for virus genotype 2 and 3, and 48 weeks for genotype 1 and 4. The degree of histopathological changes in the liver was determined by hematoxylin and eosin staining, whereas polimerase chain reaction was used for HCV genotyping. Results. In the group of non-responding patients genotype 1 was represented with 100%, while in the other groups, although predominantly present, its percentage was lower. Unresponsiveness to therapy and relapse of disease were associated with higher viral load and advanced fibrosis. Intravenous use of psychoactive substances, as a risk factor, was present in a high percentage in the group of patients with sustained response, while blood transfusion and dialysis were leading risk factors in the group of relapse responders and non-responders. Conclusion. The results of our study showed that the treatment outcome of chronic HCV infection was associated with baseline HCV ribonucleic acid, HCV genotype, route of infection and the degree of histopathological changes in the liver. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. III41010

Tetragonal CoMn2O4 nanocrystals on electrospun carbon fibers as high-performance battery-type supercapacitor electrode materials

We herein report a simple two-step procedure for fabricating tetragonal CoMn2O4 spinel nanocrystals on carbon fibers. The battery-type behavior of these composite fibers arises from the redox activity of CoMn2O4 in an alkaline aqueous solution, which, in combination with the carbon fibers, endows good electrochemical performance and long-term stability. The C"CoMn2O4 electrode exhibited high specific capacity, up to 62 mA h g(-1) at 1 A g(-1) with a capacity retention of around 90% after 4000 cycles. A symmetrical coin-cell device assembled with the composite electrodes delivered a high energy density of 7.3 W h kg(-1) at a power density of 0.1 kW kg(-1), which is around 13 times higher than that of bare carbon electrodes. The coin cell was cycled for 5000 cycles with 96.3% capacitance retention, at a voltage of up to 0.8 V, demonstrating excellent cycling stability

Core-shell carbon fiber"Co1.5Mn1.5O4 mesoporous spinel electrode for high performance symmetrical supercapacitors

We report a mesoporous composite system consisting of carbon fiber cores surrounded with Co1.5Mn1.5O4 spinel nanocrystal shells, synthesized by a simple two-step process involving single-nozzle co-electrospinning and subsequent calcination. Benefiting from the obtained core-shell structure, this composite has exhibited high specific capacitance in the two-electrode configuration, up to 384 F g(-1) at 0.28 A g(-1), with no capacitance loss after 2000 cycles at 50 mV s(-1). The incorporation of spinel nanocrystals improved the capacitive performances of composite fibers due to a synergistic effect of redox-active shells and the conductive cores, making this novel material promising for symmetrical supercapacitors