Intramyocardial Inflammation after COVID-19 Vaccination: An Endomyocardial Biopsy-Proven Case Series

Myocarditis in response to COVID-19 vaccination has been reported since early 2021. In particular, young male individuals have been identified to exhibit an increased risk of myocardial inflammation following the administration of mRNA-based vaccines. Even though the first epidemiological analyses and numerous case reports investigated potential relationships, endomyocardial biopsy (EMB)-proven cases are limited. Here, we present a comprehensive histopathological analysis of EMBs from 15 patients with reduced ejection fraction (LVEF = 30 (14–39)%) and the clinical suspicion of myocarditis following vaccination with Comirnaty^® (Pfizer-BioNTech) (n = 11), Vaxzevria^® (AstraZenica) (n = 2) and Janssen^® (Johnson & Johnson) (n = 2). Immunohistochemical EMB analyses reveal myocardial inflammation in 14 of 15 patients, with the histopathological diagnosis of active myocarditis according the Dallas criteria (n = 2), severe giant cell myocarditis (n = 2) and inflammatory cardiomyopathy (n = 10). Importantly, infectious causes have been excluded in all patients. The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein has been detected sparsely on cardiomyocytes of nine patients, and differential analysis of inflammatory markers such as CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells suggests that the inflammatory response triggered by the vaccine may be of autoimmunological origin. Although a definitive causal relationship between COVID-19 vaccination and the occurrence of myocardial inflammation cannot be demonstrated in this study, data suggest a temporal connection. The expression of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein within the heart and the dominance of CD4⁺ lymphocytic infiltrates indicate an autoimmunological response to the vaccination.     

Size and shape influence of luminescent orthovanadate nanoparticles on their accumulation in nuclear compartments of rat hepatocytes

In this paper the process of nonfunctionalized negatively charged orthovanadate nanoparticle accumulation and redistribution in cells dependent on their shape and size was investigated. Aqueous colloidal solutions of nReVO₄:Eu^3 + (Re = Gd, Y, La) luminescent nanocrystals of different sizes and shapes have been synthesized. The average sizes of spherical particles were 2, 20, and 300 nm, of spindle-like particles – 22 × 6.3 nm, and of rod-like particles – 57 × 4.4 nm. Luminescence of nReVO₄:Eu^3 + nanocrystals was effectively excited by UV and visible irradiation. By means of luminescence microscopy and luminescence microspectroscopy, it has been revealed that spherical nanocrystals with an average diameter of 2 nm tend to accumulate mainly in the rat hepatocyte nuclei in situ and also in the isolated nuclei of these cells. An additional experiment has shown that nanoparticles reveal tropism to nuclear structural components. The penetration into nuclei does not require any modifications of the surface of nanoparticle and is governed by the shape and size of nanoparticle and also is determined by the cellular type.     

Phenomena at three-phase electroslag remelting

The electroslag remelting (ESR) process is widely used to produce high-quality ingots and billets for high-alloyed steels and alloys.Both the single-phase and three-phase alternating current diagram with bifilar and monofilar connection are in use for heavy ingot manufacturing.The numerical simulation of the three-phase bifilar circuit for the 120 t three-phase bifilar six-electrode ESR furnace at different variants of electric connection was presented and discussed.At the bifilar diagram of power supply,the geometrical location of electrodes in a mould holds critical importance for performances:the close location of bifilar pair electrodes provides the highest heat productivity,but the equidistant location of electrodes gives a much more uniform heat distribution.The monofilar mulit-electrode diagram of three-phase connection without phase shift shows the most uniform distribution of potential and heat generation as well as a favorable magnetic field that makes this kind the most promising for providing a high quality of heavy ingots.     

Theoretical and experimental studies of the composition and reducibility of the dust from arc steel-melting furnaces

The chemical and mineralogical composition of the dust from electric gas-cleaning filters of the steelmaking furnaces at the Moldavian metallurgical works is studied. The conditions of effective removal of zinc and lead from the ASF gas-cleaning dust are determined.     

Physicochemical comparison of electroslag remelting with consumable electrode and electroslag refining with liquid metal

The paper is devoted to comparison of electroslag remelting (ESR) with consumable electrode and electroslag refining with liquid metal (ESR LM) processes. The possibility of rearrangement of the heat contributions coming from the consumable electrode and current supplying mould (non-consumable electrode, CSM) makes the core of the ESR process organisation in the CSM. The usage of liquid metal instead of consumable electrodes allows to reduce liquid bath temperature and volume in order to provide low segregation ingot. The formal assessment of physico-chemical conditions and experimental measurements of desulphurisation have shown the same level of refining ability of both processes. Replacing the classic ESR by the ESR LM is a prospective way to produce high-quality ingots from sophisticated and hard-to-deform materials, whereas manufacturing of the consumable electrodes is technically problematic and costly.     

Physicochemical grounds for the substitution of nitrogen for argon during out-of-furnace treatment of high-carbon steel

Physicochemical grounds for the possibility of replacing of argon with nitrogen during blowing a metal in the course of degassing and in a ladle-furnace unit are obtained using a mathematical model of degassing steel for out-of-furnace treatment. According to the data of examining the model for adequacy, the calculation error does not exceed 1%. A numerical experiment demonstrates that the replacement of argon with nitrogen during degassing of steel does not lead to any increase in the nitrogen content in it. Blowing in a ladle-furnace unit can be performed using an argon-nitrogen mixture taken in the proportion (2–3): 1. The replacement of argon with nitrogen allows the cost of the out-of-furnace treatment of steel to be decreased.     

Encapsulation of the Dinuclear Trithiolato-Bridged Arene Ruthenium Complex Diruthenium-1 in an Apoferritin Nanocage: Structure and Cytotoxicity

The effects of encapsulating the cytotoxic dinuclear trithiolato-bridged arene ruthenium complex [(η⁶-p-MeC₆H₄iPr)₂Ru₂(μ₂-S-p-C₆H₄tBu)₃]Cl (DiRu-1) within the apoferritin (AFt) nanocage were investigated. The DiRu-1-AFt nanocarrier was characterized by UV/Vis spectroscopy, ICP-MS, CD and X-ray crystallography. In contrast to previously reported Au- and Pt-based drug-loaded AFt carriers, we found no evidence of direct interactions between DiRu-1 and AFt. DiRu-1-AFt is cytotoxic toward immortalized murine BALB/c-3T3 fibroblasts transformed with SV40 virus (SVT2) and human epidermoid carcinoma A431 malignant cells, and exhibits moderate selectivity for these cancer cells over normal BALB/c-3T3 cells. DiRu-1-AFt triggers the production of reactive oxygen species, depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential, and induces cell death via p53-mediated apoptosis. Comparison between our data and previous results suggests that the presence of specific interactions between a metal-based drug and AFt within the protein cage is not essential for drug encapsulation.     

Current trends in the production of railroad wheels and the effect of out-of-furnace treatment of the steel on their properties

Current trends in the production of railroad wheels show the use of some promising techniques: a reduction in the carbon content of the finished steel; degassing the steel in a vacuum to decrease its hydrogen content; more efficient deoxidation and alloying of the steel. When used together, these measures are ensuring that the finished steel has the mechanical and service properties prescribed for wheel steel. Studies and factory testing of a new technology for making wheel steel have shown that the oxygen content of the steel can be reduced by its self-deoxidation during vacuum degassing. This approach also helps lower the steel’s hydrogen content while saving deoxidizers. Researchers have discovered certain laws that govern the relationship between the characteristics of wheel steel and its contents of sulfur and gases. The amount of sulfur and gases in this type of steel can be reduced by using efficient parameters for the treatment that is administered outside the steelmaking furnace. __________ Translated from Metallurg, No. 8, pp. 56–60, August, 2006.