Bilirubin Elevation During Hospitalization Post Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation of Persistent Atrial Fibrillation: Variation Trend, Related Factors, and Relevance to 1-Year Recurrence

Jia-Meng Shao,&ast; Bing Shen,&ast; Zhi-Xiang Zhou, Lucia D’Angelo, Shea Michaela James, Jia-Feng Lin, Cheng Zheng Department of Cardiology, the Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325000, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Cheng Zheng; Jia-Feng Lin, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, East Section of Wenzhou Avenue, No. 1111, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, 325000, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-13587688177 ; +86-13806685498, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: The role of total bilirubin (TBIL) in cardiovascular disease has been increasingly recognized in recent decades. Studies have shown a correlation between total bilirubin levels and the prognosis of patients after heart surgery. This study aimed to investigate the clinical significance of bilirubin elevation in persistent atrial fibrillation (PAF) patients who received radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA).Methods and Results: A total of 184 patients with PAF who received RFCA were retrospectively studied. Laboratory examinations and demographic data were analyzed to identify independent predictors of TBIL elevation. The relationship between TBIL and prognosis was further investigated. Our results indicated that TBIL increased significantly after RFCA. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that TBIL elevation owned a negative correlation with the percentile of low voltage areas (LVAs) in left atria (β=− 0.490, P< 0.001). In contrast, a positive correlation was observed with the white blood cell (WBC) ratio (β=0.153, P=0.042) and left atrial diameter (LAD) (β=0.232, P=0.025). It was found that postoperative TBIL levels increased and then gradually decreased to baseline within 5 days without intervention. The bilirubin ratio < 1.211 indicated the possibility of 1-year AF recurrence after ablation with a predictive value of 0.743 (specificity = 75.00%, sensitivity = 66.67%).Conclusion: Bilirubin elevation post PAF RFCA was a common phenomenon and was associated with 1-year recurrence of AF in PAF patients after RFCA.Keywords: bilirubin, atrial fibrillation, radiofrequency catheter ablation, oxidative stress, prognosi

The enhanced photoluminescence of zinc oxide and polyaniline coaxial nanowire arrays in anodic oxide aluminium membranes

A novel nanomaterial, an array of zinc oxide (ZnO) and polyaniline (PANI) coaxial nanowires, was synthesized using an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane as the template. The morphology of these coaxial nanowires was observed with transmission electron microscope (TEM). The experiments on photoluminescence (PL) of coaxial nanowires and their array in AAO membrane show that the visible emission band of ZnO shifts from 530 to 400 nm for the coaxial nanowires array in AAO membrane, and to a lower wavelength (385 nm) for coaxial nanowires in NaOH solution. When compared with the PL spectrum of ZnO nanowires array in AAO membrane, an about 100 times PL enhancement was found in the PL spectrum of ZnO and PANI coaxial nanowires array in AAO membrane. The possible explanations for these two blue shifts of visible emission band of ZnO and the PL enhancement were presented

FORMATION AND COALESCENCE OF FULLERENE IONS FROM DIRECT LASER VAPORIZATION

A series of carbon cluster ions have been created by direct laser vaporization of elementary carbons and organic compounds with different structures and compositions. The mass spectra of the carbon cluster ions were recorded in situ by a time-of-flight mass spectrometer and the experimental results showed that the formation of fullerenes and their relative abundances are closely related to the surface structure of the sample. Under direct laser vaporization, the products from a perfect (0001) surface of graphite were mainly C-60 and C-70. The surface perpendicular to the (0001) plane of graphite could not produce C-60, other fullerene ions or compounds containing six-membered aromatic carbon rings. The products of amorphous carbon and aromatic compounds included C-60 and other fullerenes, among which those with a mass twice that of C-60 were most abundant. Furthermore, C-60 and C-70 could also be aggregated from direct laser vaporization. Based on these experimental results, mechanism for formation of C-60 and other fullerenes is suggested

China’s Weibo: is faster different?

The popularization of microblogging in China represents a new challenge to the state’s regime of information control. The speed with which information is diffused in the microblogosphere has helped netizens to publicize and express their discontent with the negative consequences of economic growth, income inequalities and official corruption. In some cases, netizen led initiatives have facilitated the mobilization of online public opinion and forced the central government to intervene to redress acts of lower level malfeasance. However, despite the growing corpus of such cases, the government has quickly adapted to the changing internet ecology and is using the same tools to help it maintain control of society by enhancing its claims to legitimacy, circumscribing dissent, identifying malfeasance in its agents and using online public opinion to adapt policy and direct propaganda efforts. This essay reflects on microblogging in the context of the Chinese internet, and argues that successes in breaking scandals and mobilizing opinion against recalcitrant officials should not mask the reality that the government is utilizing the microblogosphere to its own advantage

Synthesis of silver nanotubes by electroless deposition in porous anodic aluminium oxide templates

An electroless deposition method has been employed for the synthesis of silver nanotubes using porous anodic aluminium oxide as templates, by which high-yield silver nanotubes with length over ten microns have been synthesized