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Nonischemic cardiomyopathy (NICM) resulting from long-standing hypertension, valvular disease, and genetic mutations is a major cause of heart failure worldwide. Recent observations suggest that myeloid cells can impact cardiac function, but the role of tissue-intrinsic vs. tissue-extrinsic myeloid cells in NICM remains poorly understood. Here, we show that cardiac resident macrophage proliferation occurs within the first week following pressure overload hypertrophy (POH; a model of heart failure) and is requisite for the heart's adaptive response. Mechanistically, we identify Kruppel-like factor 4 (KLF4) as a key transcription factor that regulates cardiac resident macrophage proliferation and angiogenic activities. Finally, we show that blood-borne macrophages recruited in late-phase POH are detrimental, and that blockade of their infiltration improves myocardial angiogenesis and preserves cardiac function. These observations demonstrate previously unappreciated temporal and spatial roles for resident and nonresident macrophages in the development of heart failure.

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Little is known about the mechanism of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-induced critical illness and death. The host infection mediated by SARS-CoV-2 is mainly relied on ACE2 receptor. There is still a lack of clinical data about the effects of interaction of ACE2 and SARS-CoV-2 on RAS system and disease progression. We investigated the plasma angiotensin II (Ang II) and renin levels in 82 non-hypertensive patients (42 mild cases, 25 severe cases, and 15 critically ill cases) infected by SARS-CoV-2 and 12 critically ill patients not infected by SARS-CoV-2 serving as control. Plasma Ang II level was higher than that of normal range in the majority of COVID-19 cases (90.2%), especially the plasma Ang II positive rate in the critically ill COVID-19 patients (100%). Plasma Ang II level in critically ill COVID-19 patients was significantly higher than that of control and those with mild COVID-19 symptoms (Fig. 1). Univariate analysis indicated a positive correlation between plasma Ang II level and COVID-19 severity. Partial SARS-CoV-2 patients (12.2%) showed elevation of renin content than normal range. There were no statistical differences in renin among the mild, severe, and appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material.

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Graphene oxide/polypyrrole (GO/PPy) composites were synthesized via a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma technique in nitrogen conditions, and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The sorption of U(VI) ions on GO/PPy composites from aqueous solutions was investigated as a function of contact time, pH, ionic strength and U(VI) initial concentrations. The sorption capacity of U(VI) on GO/PPy composites was much higher than those of U(VI) on GO, PPy and many other materials of today. The sorption of U(VI) on GO/PPy composites obeyed the Langmuir model, and was mainly attributed to surface complexation via the coordination of U(VI) ions with oxygen-and nitrogen-containing functional groups. The selectivity sorption of U(VI) ions on GO/PPy composites in the presence of other metal ions (i.e., Co(II), Ni(II), Cd(II), Sr(II), Zn(II)) indicated an overall preference for U(VI) ions. Moreover, the GO/PPy composites could be regenerated through the desorption of adsorbed U(VI) ions by using 1.0 M HCl solution, and cycling reused without an obvious decrease of sorption capacity. All these performances indicate that GO/PPy composites are suitable materials for the highly selective removal and preconcentration of U(VI) ions from aqueous solutions in environmental pollution management.

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BACKGROUND: The epidemiologic and clinical characteristics of heart transplant (HTx) recipients during the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) epidemic remains unclear. We studied the characteristics of HTx recipients from December 20, 2019, to February 25, 2020, in an effort to understand their risk and outcomes. METHODS: All accessible HTx recipients were included in this single-center retrospective study. We collected information on the recipients using a web-based questionnaire as well as the hospital database. RESULTS: We followed 87 HTx recipients (72.4% were men, and the average age was 51 years). A total of 79 recipients resided in Hubei, and 57 recipients had a Wuhan-related history of travel or contact. Most took precautionary measures while in contact with suspicious crowds, and 96.6% of the families and communities undertook prevention and quarantine procedures. Four upper airway infections were reported, and 3 of them tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 (the fourth recovered and was not tested). All cases were mild and successfully recovered after proper treatment. Laboratory results of 47 HTx cases within the last 2 months were extracted. Of these, 21.3% of recipients had pre-existing lymphopenia, and 87.2% of recipients had a therapeutic concentration of tacrolimus (5−12 ng/ml). Liver and kidney insufficiency was seen in 5 and 6 recipients, respectively. CONCLUSION: HTx recipients who practiced appropriate prevention measures had a low rate of infection with SARS-CoV-2 and transition to the associated disease COVID-19. These early data will require confirmation as the pandemic establishes around the world.