Antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs) are frequently initiated in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) prior to electrical cardioversion (ECV), achieving pharmacological cardioversion (PCV) in some cases. Little is known about the mode of cardioversion and the effect of the type of AAD used in the maintenance of sinus rhythm (SR). From three national surveys of patients with persistent AF referred for ECV, we selected those who were pre-treated with AADs (amiodarone or group Ic AADs). read more We analyzed the effect of the type of cardioversion (pharmacological vs. electrical) and the AAD used in the maintenance of SR at three months. Among the 665 patients selected, 151 had a successful PCV prior to the planned ECV. In the remaining 514 patients, 460 had a successful ECV. A successful PCV was related to a higher rate of SR maintenance than a successful ECV (77.9% vs. 57.5%; < 0.0001). After a successful PCV, the maintenance of SR was identical in those patients treated with amiodarone and those treated with group Ic AADs (77.4% vs. 77.5%; = 0.99), whereas after a successful ECV, amiodarone was clearly superior to group Ic AADs (61.3% vs. 43.0%; = 0.001). Considering patients with successful PCV and ECV together, PCV was an independent factor related to the maintenance of SR. In patients with persistent AF, successful PCV selects a subgroup with a high probability of maintenance of SR. With regard to drugs, amiodarone was superior to group Ic AADs in patients with ECV, whereas in PCV, no differences were observed.In patients with persistent AF, successful PCV selects a subgroup with a high probability of maintenance of SR. With regard to drugs, amiodarone was superior to group Ic AADs in patients with ECV, whereas in PCV, no differences were observed.The ultrasound-assisted preparation of a curcumin-loaded metal organic framework (MOF) UiO-66-NH2 stabilized Pickering emulsion system was carried out in this study. A 3-level-4-factor Box-Behnken design (BBD) and response surface methodology (RSM) analysis were employed to systematically evaluate the effect of different experimental parameters (i.e., ultrasonic power, ultrasonic time, oil content, and MOF content) on curcumin loading capacity (LC) and encapsulation efficiency (EE). The results indicated that ultrasonic power and MOF content significantly affected LC and EE, whereas ultrasonic time and oil content had little effect. A mathematical model for optimizing the preparation of emulsion systems was established. Based on the ridge max analysis, an optimal condition for the newly developed curcumin-loaded MOF-Pickering emulsion was identified, i.e., ultrasonic power 150 W, ultrasonic time 11.17 min, oil content 20.0%, and MOF content 1.10%. At this condition, the LC and EE of curcumin obtained from the experiment reached 7.33% ± 0.54% and 56.18% ± 3.03%, respectively, which were within the prediction range of LC (7.35% ± 0.29%) and EE (54.34% ± 2.45%). The emulsion systems created in this study may find new applications for the delivery of bioactive compounds in food and pharmaceutical areas.Guiana is a little-known and endemic variety of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.), native to French Guiana. No data were available regarding its chemical composition and biological properties; therefore, a study was necessary, using Forastero as a reference. To exemplify biological activities of the cacao species, cocoa extracts were evaluated by antioxidant (DPPH, FRAP, ORAC) and anti-inflammatory assays. Our results showed that raw Guiana presented equivalent DPPH and FRAP activities, but a 1.3-fold higher antioxidant activity (1097 ± 111.8 μM ET/g DM) than Forastero (838.5 ± 67.8 μM ET/g DM) in ORAC assay. Furthermore, the impact of fermentation (under four conditions unfermented, two days, four days and six days of fermentation) on Guiana cocoa beans composition and health properties was also studied. Indeed, fermentation, a key step necessary to obtain the taste and color of chocolate, is generally known to alter bean composition and modulate its health benefits. At six days, the fermentation process led to a nearly 25% lower antioxidative capacity in various assays. Moreover, in inflammation-induced macrophage assays, Guiana and Forastero unfermented extracts induced a 112% stimulation in TNF-α production, and a 56.8% inhibition of IL-6 production. Fermentation altered the cocoa composition by diminishing bioactive compounds, which could be responsible for these biological activities. Indeed, after six days of fermentation, compounds decreased from 614.1 ± 39.3 to 332.3 ± 29 mg/100 g DM for epicatechin, from 254.1 ± 14.8 to 129.5 ± 20.7 mg/100 g DM for procyanidin B2 and from 178.4 ± 23.5 to 81.7 ± 2.9 mg/100 g DM for procyanidin C1. The similar composition and the equivalent or higher antioxidant activity of Guiana leads us to propose it as an alternative to Forastero.The aging of bitumen is detrimental to the durability and service life of asphalt pavement. Previous studies found that bitumen was suspected to be aged by not only thermal oxidation but also solution immersion. This research aims to compare the effect of thermal-oxidative aging and salt solution aging on bitumen performance. For this purpose, a thin film oven test (TFOT) and pressure aging vessel aging (PAV) were selected as thermal-oxidative aging, and 10% NaCl aging and 10% CaCl2 aging were selected as salt solution aging. The morphology, oxygen content, physical properties, low-temperature properties, and high-temperature properties of bitumen were analysed by employing scanning electron microscopy with an energy dispersive spectrometer (SEM-EDS), physical tests, a bending beam rheometer (BBR), and a dynamic shear rheometer (DSR). Test results show that both thermal-oxidative aging and salt solution aging had similar influencing trends in the oxygen content, physical, low-temperature, and high-temperature properties of bitumen but had different changes in morphology. The aging degrees caused by four kinds of aging methods were obtained based on the summed values of the absolute aging factor of all parameters PAV > 10% NaCl > TFOT > 10% CaCl2. The conclusions could provide a theoretical basis to establish a standard for the solution aging of bitumen.