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PurposeTo investigate static and dynamic brain functional alterations in dysthyroid optic neuropathy (DON) using resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) with the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo).Materials and methodsFifty-seven thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) patients (23 DON and 34 non-DON) and 27 healthy controls (HCs) underwent rs-fMRI scans. Static and dynamic ALFF (sALFF and dALFF) and ReHo (sReHo and dReHo) values were compared between groups. The support-vector machine (SVM) classification method was used to examine the diagnostic performance of the identified models.ResultsCompared to non-DON patients, DON patients showed decreased sALFF in the bilateral lingual gyrus (LING) and right cuneus (CUN), alongside increased sALFF in the bilateral medial part of the superior frontal gyrus, right dorsolateral part of the superior frontal gyrus (SFGdor), and right precentral gyrus. DON patients also exhibited decreased dALFF in the left LING and right CUN, together with increased dALFF in the right orbital part of the middle frontal gyrus and right SFGdor in comparison to non-DON patients. Meanwhile, DON patients had lower sReHo in the right LING, and higher sReHo and dReHo in the right supramarginal gyrus compared to non-DON patients. When detecting DON, the dALFF model showed optimal diagnostic performance (AUC 0.9987).ConclusionDysthyroid optic neuropathy patients exhibited both static and dynamic brain functional alterations in visual, cognitive, and emotion-related brain regions, deepening our current understanding of the underlying neural mechanisms of this disease. Rs-fMRI-based metrics, especially dALFF, may serve as relevant neuroimaging markers for diagnosing DON.

ObjectivesTo identify clinical characteristics and risk factors for pulmonary involvements in asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant by chest imaging analysis.MethodsDetailed data and chest computed tomography (CT) imaging features were retrospectively analyzed from asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic patients infected with Omicron between 24 April and 10 May 2022. We scored chest CT imaging features and categorized the patients into obvious pulmonary involvements (OPI) (score > 2) and not obvious pulmonary involvements (NOPI) (score ≤ 2) groups based on the median score. The risk factors for OPI were identified with analysis results visualized by nomogram.ResultsIn total, 339 patients were included (145 were male and 194 were female), and the most frequent clinical symptoms were cough (75.5%); chest CT imaging features were mostly linear opacities (42.8%). Pulmonary involvements were more likely to be found in the left lower lung lobe, with a significant difference in the lung total severity score of the individual lung lobes (p < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis revealed age stratification [odds ratio (OR) = 1.92, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.548–2.383); p 8d) [OR = 1.842, 95% CI (1.104–3.073); p = 0.019], and pulmonary diseases [OR = 4.698, 95% CI (1.159–19.048); p = 0.03] as independent OPI risk factors.ConclusionAsymptomatic and mildly symptomatic patients infected with Omicron had pulmonary involvements which were not uncommon. Potential risk factors for age stratification, prolonged NCT, and pulmonary diseases can help clinicians to identify OPI in asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic patients infected with Omicron.

Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) is a promising neurostimulation approach for emotion regulation. This research aimed to clarify the underlying neural basis responsible for taVNS’s impact on emotional regulation related brain regions. Thirty-two healthy volunteers were allocated into a taVNS group, which received electrical stimulation at the concha area of the ear, and a sham group, which received earlobe stimulation. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected from both the taVNS and sham groups pre- and post-stimulation. To evaluate the alterations in neural activity and connectivity resulting from auricular electrical stimulation, degree centrality and functional connectivity analyses were used. The results indicated that taVNS modulated the neural activity of several brain regions, including the bilateral precuneus, temporal gyrus, precentral gyrus, and postcentral gyrus, whereas earlobe stimulation did not produce such effects. taVNS may improve emotion regulation by modulating neural activation and functional connectivity in key brain regions, then facilitating the integration of emotional responses, memories, and experiences. Thus, these brain regions may serve as potential therapeutic targets for taVNS in treating disorders associated with emotional dysregulation. These findings provide insight into the neural basis through which taVNS influences emotion regulation and hold potential for the development of neuromodulation-based therapeutic strategies for emotional disorders.

Purpose: The aim was to determine the combined value of serological lipid metabolism and an orbital MRI quantitative parameter in predicting the effectiveness of glucocorticoid (GC) therapy in patients with thyroid eye disease (TED). Methods: This study retrospectively enrolled 46 patients with active and moderate-to-severe TED (GC-effective group, n = 29; GC-ineffective group, n = 17). Serological lipid metabolism, the orbital MRI-based minimum signal intensity ratio of extraocular muscles (EOM-SIRmin), as well as other clinical parameters before GC therapy were collected and compared between the two groups. Multivariate logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis were adopted to identify independent predictable variables and assess their predictive performances. Results: Compared to the GC-ineffective group, the GC-effective group showed lower serum total cholesterol levels (P = 0.006), lower serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (P = 0.019), higher EOM-SIRmin values (P = 0.005), and shorter disease durations (P = 0.017). Serum total cholesterol and EOM-SIRmin were found to be independent predictors of GC-effective TED through multivariate analysis (odds ratios = 0.253 and 2.036 per 0.1 units, respectively) (both P < 0.05). The integration of serum total cholesterol ≤4.8 mmol/L and EOM-SIRmin ≥ 1.12 had a better predictive efficacy (area under the curve, 0.834) than EOM-SIRmin alone, with a sensitivity of 75.9% and a specificity of 82.4% (P = 0.031). Conclusion: Serological lipid metabolism, combined with an orbital MRI-derived parameter, was a useful marker for predicting the effectiveness of GCs in patients with active and moderate-to-severe TED.

In [16], using Rudin sets, Miao, Li and Zhao introduced a new concept of weakly well-filtered spaces—$ k $-bounded well-filtered spaces. Now, also using Rudin sets, we introduce another type of $ T_0 $ spaces—weakly bounded well-filtered spaces, which are strictly stronger than $ k $-bounded well-filtered spaces. Some basic properties of $ k $-bounded well-filtered spaces and weakly bounded well-filtered spaces are investigated and the relationships among some kinds of weakly sober spaces and weakly well-filtered spaces are posed. It is proved that the category $ {\bf KBWF} $ is not reflective in the category $ {\bf Top}_{0} $.

In this paper, we mainly study function spaces related to some kinds of weakly sober spaces, such as bounded sober spaces, $ k $-bounded sober spaces and weakly sober spaces. For $ T_{0} $ spaces $ X $ and $ Y $, it is proved that $ Y $ is bounded sober iff the function space $ {\bf{Top}}(X, Y) $ of all continuous functions $ f : X\longrightarrow Y $ equipped with the pointwise convergence topology is bounded sober iff $ {\bf{Top}}(X, Y) $ equipped with the Isbell topology is bounded sober. But for a $ k $-bounded sober space $ X $, the function space $ {\bf{Top}}(X, Y) $ equipped with the pointwise convergence topology or the Isbell topology may not be $ k $-bounded sober. It is shown that if the function space $ {\bf{Top}}(X, Y) $ equipped with the pointwise convergence topology or the Isbell topology is weakly sober (resp., a cut space), then $ Y $ is weakly sober (resp., a cut space). Relationships among some kinds of (weakly) sober spaces are also investigated.

ObjectiveTo report the efficacy, long-term safety, and tolerability of using a small dose (125 mg/m2 weekly for 4 weeks) of rituximab to treat Chinese patients with thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO).MethodsSeven patients with active moderate-to-severe TAO were prospectively recruited in this study. A small dose of rituximab (125mg/m2 body surface area) was given weekly with a duration of four weeks. Thyroid function, thyrotropin receptor antibody (TRAb), B cell and T cell subsets, ophthalmological examination, magnetic resonance imaging derived parameters, and adverse reactions were recorded at each visit.ResultsSeven patients were followed for an average of 224 weeks. B-cell depletion was observed in all patients following rituximab infusion. The clinical activity score (CAS) decreased from 4.86 ± 0.69 to 3.00 ± 0.82 at 5 weeks after treatment (P = 0.033) and remained significantly lower than baseline values at the end of follow-up (P = 0.001). Compared to baseline values, significant decreases in exophthalmos of the right eye, the thickness of extraocular muscles with maximum signal intensity, and the highest signal intensity ratio (SIR) of extraocular muscle to ipsilateral temporal muscle values were observed at the last follow-up (all P < 0.05). Disease progressions or recurrences were not observed during follow-up. Only mild fatigue was observed after the first infusion as a side effect (n = 1).ConclusionSmall dose of rituximab may be a promising option with adequate safety, tolerability, and long-term efficacy for patients with active moderate-to-severe TAO.

Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is a highly aggressive and the most lethal type of thyroid cancer. The standard-of-care for unresectable ATC is radiotherapy and chemotherapy, usually based on doxorubicin (Dox). However, most patients develop resistance shortly after treatment. To overcome the drug resistance, we synthesized the mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles (MONPs) loaded with Dox and stabilized the nanocomposites by bovine serum albumin (BSA). The surface area and pore volume of MONPs were 612.653 m2/g and 0.589 cm3/g. The loading capacity of Dox-MONPs reached 47.02%. Compared to Dox-MONPs and free Dox, BSA-Dox-MONPs had more durable tumor-killing power on both drug-sensitive cell line HTh74 and drug-resistant cell line HTh74R. The cellular uptake of BSA-Dox-MONPs was 28.14 and 65.53% higher than that of Dox-MONP in HTh74 and HTh74R. Furthermore, the BSA coating decreased the efflux rate of nanocomposites in HTh74 (from 38.95 to 33.05%) and HTh74R (from 43.03 to 32.07%). In summary, BSA-Dox-MONPs reversed the chemotherapy resistance of ATC cells via increased drug uptake and inhibited drug efflux, offering a promising platform for the treatment of chemo-resistant ATC.

We introduce and study a new class of $T_0$ spaces, called open well-filtered spaces. The main results we proved include (1) every well-filtered space is an open well-filtered space; (2) every core-compact open well-filtered space is sober. As an immediate corollary, we deduce that every core-compact well-filtered space is sober. This provides another different and relatively more straight forward method to answer the open problem posed by Jia and Jung: Is every core-compact well-filtered space sober?

PURPOSEDiffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) - fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) mismatch was proven useful to time the onset of wake-up stroke; however, identifying the status of FLAIR imaging has been mostly subjective. We aimed to evaluate the value of relative DWI signal intensity (rDWI), and relative apparent diffusion coefficient (rADC) in identifying the FLAIR status in the acute period.METHODSAutologous clot was used to embolize left middle cerebral artery in 20 dogs. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed 3–6 hours and 24 hours after embolization. DWI-FLAIR mismatch was defined as hyperintense signal detected on DWI, but not on FLAIR. The mean values of rDWI or rADC of FLAIR- and FLAIR+ lesions were compared and the critical cutoff values of rDWI and rADC for identifying the FLAIR status were determined.RESULTSStroke models were successfully established in all animals. DWI+ lesions were found in all 20 dogs from three hours, while FLAIR+ lesions were found in three, 11, 16, 19, and 20 dogs at five time points after embolization, respectively. The mean rDWI values were significantly different between FLAIR- and FLAIR+ lesions (P < 0.001), but rADC values were not (P = 0.73). Using rDWI=1.90 as the threshold value, excellent diagnostic efficacy was achieved (AUC, 0.88; sensitivity, 0.77; specificity, 0.88). However, rADC appeared not useful (AUC, 0.48; sensitivity, 0.52; specificity, 0.58) in identifying the FLAIR status.CONCLUSIONIn our embolic canine stroke model, rDWI was useful to identify FLAIR imaging status in the acute period, while rADC was not.

AIMS:This retrospective study was carried out to compare the outcomes between elderly (≥70 years of age) and nonelderly patients (