Identifying coronary artery bypass grafting patients at high risk for adverse long-term prognosis using serial health-related quality of life assessments

Background:Patients who undergo coronary artery bypass grafting(CABG)are known to be at a significant risk of experiencing long-term adverse events,emphasizing the importance of regular assessments.Evaluating health-related quality of life(HRQoL)serves as a direct method to gauge prognosis.Our objective is to ascertain the prognostic significance of consecutive HRQoL assessments using the Physical Component Summary(PCS)and Mental Component Summary(MCS)derived from the Short-Form 36(SF-36)health survey in CABG patients.Methods:The study population consisted of 433 patients who underwent isolated elective CABG at Fuwai Hospital between 2012 and 2013.SF-36 assessments were conducted during both the hospitalization period and follow-up.The primary endpoint of the study was all-cause mortality,while the secondary outcome was a composite measure including death,myocardial infarction,stroke,and repeat revascularization.We assessed the relationships between the PCS and MCS at baseline,as well as their changes during the first 6 months after the surgery(referred to asΔPCS andΔMCS,respectively),and the observed outcomes.Results:The patients were followed for an average of 6.28 years,during which 35 individuals(35/433,8.1%)died.After adjusting for clinical variables,it was observed that baseline MCS scores(hazard ratio[HR]for a 1-standard deviation[SD]decrease,1.57;95%confidence interval[CI],1.07-2.30)andΔMCS(HR for a 1-SD decrease,1.67;95%CI,1.09-2.56)were associated with all-cause mortality.However,baseline PCS scores andΔPCS did not exhibit a significant relationship with all-cause mortality.Notably,there was a dose-response relationship observed betweenΔMCS and the likelihood of all-cause mortality(HRs for the 2nd,3rd and 4th quartiles compared to the 1st quartile,0.33,0.45 and 0.11,respectively).Conclusions:Baseline MCS and changes in MCS were independent predictors for long-term mortality of CABG.Better mental health status and recovery indicated better prognosis.

Enhanced electrocatalytic performance of ultrathin PtNi alloy nanowires for oxygen reduction reaction

In this paper, ultrathin Pt nanowires （Pt NWs） and PtNi alloy nanowires （PtNi NWs） supported on carbon were synthesized as electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction （ORR）. Pt and PtNi NWs catalysts composed of interconnected nanoparticles were prepared by using a soft template method with CTAB as the surface active agent. The physical characterization and electrocatalytic perfor- mance of Pt NWs and PtNi NWs catalysts for ORR were investigated and the results were compared with the commercial Pt/C catalyst. The atomic ratio of Pt and Ni in PtNi alloy was approximately 3 to 1. The results show that after alloying with Ni, the binding energy of Pt shifts to higher values, indicating the change of its electronic structure, and that Pt3Ni NWs catalyst has a significantly higher electrocatalytic activity and good stability for ORR as compared to Pt NWs and even Pt/C catalyst. The enhanced electrocatalytic activity of Pt3Ni NWs catalyst is mainly resulted from the downshifted-band center of Pt caused by the interaction between Pt and Ni in the alloy, which facilitates the desorption of oxygen containing species （Oads or OHads） and the release of active sites.